Well this has turned into a congenial affair! I've been working my butt off milking the system today (how does that work?) that been unable to contribute, "not that anyone would notice" as Eeyore would say.

Paul,
Yuyutsu was quoting me, out of context of course, and thread:
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11658

Houellebecq,
I applaud your indifference to political correctness.

Paul again,
I agree. In fact I think "binge drinking" is non sequitur and that the youngens are scapegoats for a culture drunk on sensuality in general. Commodities have to press sensuous buttons to sell. And because maybe we're starting to rouse from our stupified state of poly-inebriation, in desperation the market just adds more alcohol, sugar, sex (alcopops have it all!), whatever keeps us on a high (consuming and sedated).

Poirot,
thank you for defending me so chivalrously from that nasty brute, Vanna!

As for women's day; how about updating it to something gender-neutral and more in keeping with the times, like "consumer's day"?
Maybe there is no qualitative difference between the sexes..
Society's just conducted missionary style.

Today, I've watched with increasing irritation the usual middle class professional women (like me but definitely not like me) and high achievers wheeled out to show how far we've come, and so far have not seen any indigenous women, or working class women, and I'm sick of the whole thing.

On The Drum (TV version) this evening we're talking about women on boards, which has about as much to do with most women's lives as does Paris Hilton.

It's a class celebration. Feminism is a white middle class ideology.
Over it.

Poirot,
Well I don’t need that much advice concerning women.

I have known enough women.

But boats are quite good, and not much more expensive really.

Robert,
I have found that once people know that I don’t drink alcohol, and I explain the reasons why (work reasons), then they tend to respect that.

I had to stop drinking alcohol because of work, but I no longer have a taste for it, and I don’t need to drink alcohol to prove anything.

I tend to think more young women are drinking heavily now than in the past, and I think they are trying to prove something by getting drunk.

Squeers,
Did you know that every plant operator is required 0.0 blood alcohol content, and that includes every truck driver, cab driver, bus driver, crane driver, miner and most factory workers.

Also also there are now many workplaces that carry out random drug and alcohol testing of employees.

But I am wondering what would be your verbose and impressive thoughts about a system whereby teachers and university lecturers would be required to have 0.0 blood alcohol content.

Do you think this would improve the quality of our teachers and university lecturers?

And do you think it a suitable thing if you mentioned at your next staff meeting, that there should be random drug and alcohol testing of all university staff members, so as to set a good example for the young students.

(No answer from Squeers)

Oh dear, where do i start? Women taking responsibility? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

girl caught out & still denying it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912#docid=-4733293919754933024

More girls behaving badly.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8221181/woman-jailed-over-fatal-qld-axe-attack

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/8970182/romanian-woman-a-grandmother-at-23/

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/how_gillard_practices_to_deceive/

that anybody would allow someone so young to do a sex change is just sick.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8216775/teen-girl-wins-right-to-sex-change-treatment

more girls behaving badly.

http://www.themonthly.com.au/node/2298

note in this one a man did something terrible because his wife wanted him to.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8211137/uk-man-raped-impregnated-teen-daughter

back to girls behaving badly on their own.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8209498/sydney-woman-drugged-partner-cut-off-his-penis

http://www.facebook.com/notes/ken-anson/the-woman-poem/10150174946051632

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8206393/zahras-stepmum-married-seven-times

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8202249/man-seeks-protection-from-sex-mad-wife

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8199622/baby-drowned-while-mother-checked-facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxhLZJ8rF5I

http://www.cis.org.au/publications/policy-monographs/article/903-fatally-flawed-the-child-protection-crisis-in-australia

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8193800/teacher-sacked-for-lesbian-sex-romp

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8192780/weathergirl-admits-rape-story-was-a-lie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zR6Ri4C0nA&feature=youtu.be

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8180868/house-mistress-guilty-of-sex-with-boys

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8178325/womans-severs-husbands-tongue-during-kiss

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8173385/child-dies-in-us-mall-fall

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8173138

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/8172978/big-babies-birth-problems-on-the-rise

http://mkg4583.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/children-harmed-by-sole-custody-report-says-thestar-com/

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8168133/woman-charged-with-attempted-murder-of-twin

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8114261

http://www.savethemales.ca/160303.html

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8111497/two-women-die-in-car-surf-stunt

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8110908/us-woman-drove-around-with-body-for-months

gotta love those love struck lesbians

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8109891/woman-guilty-over-parachute-sabotage

but heteros can do it too.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8109910/elderly-playboy-playmate-shot-lover

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8108668/ecstasy-scare-toddler-back-with-mum

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8107187/man-wins-650000-after-lap-dance-accident

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8103418/adopted-girl-poisoned-her-family

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8103270/bride-to-be-finds-out-she-was-abducted-by-mum

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8099976

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8097077

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8077131

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/8031520/lindsay-lohan-sent-back-to-jail

http://www.news.ninemsn.com.au/world/7963592/acid-hoax-woman-needs-help

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/7963597/porn-found-on-teachers-classroom-computer

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/7962804/mum-charged-over-pot-smoking-toddler-video

http://www.savethemales.ca/000185.html

http://www.cruelhoax.ca/?cruelhoaxbook

The Closet Communist Corporate Paedophiles just can't stop defending the indefensible, can they?

Vanna,
you completely mistake me if you think I defend our privatised universities one jot. They're more or less worthless sinecures for inflated egos.
For myself, I lecture on a strictly contract basis so that the tenured staff can do more important stuff, like attend international talk-fests and write mostly inane articles and worthless books.
I'm only busy now because I'm filling in (for the second year) for an alcoholic professor paid a princely salary for doing Sweet FA.
The only objection I would have to alcohol and drug testing in universities is that it would serve to spuriously validate an indefensible industry (the same applies to mining etc.).
In defence of university radicals; at least they set-up to buck the system, whereas the blue-collar minions (with whom I'm long familiar) make no pretence at all of being anything but politically purblind and self-seeking.
Indeed, if it were left to the blue collar set and the unions, Australia and the rest would be fascist states.

Formersnag,

"Closet Communist Corporate Paedophiles .... "

Utterly incoherent, but at least it's original :)

Joe