Dear Indy,

On the contrary - facts are things I have to deal
with on a daily basis. They're not something I
could be oblivious to, even if I wanted to be.
However, what you're talking about is the fact
that people tend to see things, whether it's -
political parties, asylum seekers, or whatever,
from a viewpoint of subjectivity. That is an
interpretation based on personal values, and
experiences. Our views are shaped by our
past experience, our background, out training,
our education, and so on. And of course inevitably
all of us will be guilty of some measure of bias -
the tendency, often unconscious, to interpret
things according to our own values.

My experience, background, training, education,
and even values, are obviously very different to yours.

Cheers.

It's hot.

That citrus syrup cake at the coffee shop this morning was great.

It's very hot. The meat ants in the garden have gone mad, but there's no rain forecast.

The phone's playing up ... again. The NBN cable was laid along the highway outside my house over a year ago, but the town's not even on the list for connection before 2019. Damn. Will I still be here then (literally and metaphorically)? Still, technical problems have their bright side - last time I had an interesting conversation with a tech support person in Cape Town, South Africa.

It's very, very hot. 39 today and tomorrow, 41 Monday, 43 Tuesday and Wednesday.

Watched SBS Persons of Interest. Maybe I should check whether ASIO has a file on me from the time I gate-crashed that party for friends of the USSR on the Russian whaler docked in Melbourne in 1966? First time I tasted caviar or drank vodka.

It's very, very, very hot. Every now and then I go outside to check for the smell of smoke.

Why do so any OLO posters reduce everything to left wing/right wing?

Prediction: Someone will use this post to jump to conclusions that I'm
a) a warmist
b) a vegetarian
c) a supporter of Labor because I want a decent phone connection
d) a member of the left wing loony Fabians (or a sleeper communist - tho' that's so last century!)
e) a member of the local bush fire brigade

Best wishes to all for 2014. I'll come back when the conversation moves beyond the usual political footballs.

Dear Cossomby,

Thank You for your thoughts.

I've been tempted to leave this forum so many
times.
Perhaps we should all take a break like Belly
has done recently. It might make us realise
that there are other important issues we can
discuss aside from finger-pointing politics.

Hello there COSSOMBY...

I wouldn't have thought anyone of us would be of sufficient interest for ASIO to concern themselves with. Half of them at least, would be tasked with keeping within the Attorney General's annual budget. Another 25% would be on, either Recreation or Sick leave. A proportion would be merrily luxuriating away on Long Service Leave or Leave without pay. And, I suppose the final quarter, would be engaged with pursuing shadows, through the gloomy, deserted corridors and galleries of Parliament House and it's curtilages. Particularly as it's members are away on the summer break.

Most are heartily sick of gathering Intel. on disaffected members of the Armed Services and the AFP. Many of whom are (allegedly) whinging of low morale, and a seemingly rudderless Command structure ?

No COSSOMBY, neither ASIO or ASIS for that matter have any interest in us. Though, I'm not entirely sure about the 'Defence Intelligence Signal Directorate', at Russell Hill Emmm ? Anyway, we of the solitary and voiceless set, that daily converge on Graham Young's OLO and Forum, in order that we can vent our opinions, express our concerns and ventilate our needs ? None of us are of any importance to ASIO and through them, our illustrious political Masters.

I think that I also like sultanas.

O sung wu...

The point about the ASIO files is that they encompassed all kinds of ordinary people - I can think of other reasons why I might have been picked up, the university I went to in the 60s, friends who were in politics at the time of the moratoria (one had his student digs raided by the police), why, Albert Langer tried to recruit me to the Labor party (unsuccessfully) and there would definitely be a file on him, and possible anyone who crossed his path.

Actually, writing the previous post, I realised that there have been some real changes. I visited the Russian whaler as a science student to meet the scientists on board and look at the lab (then a few of us didn't leave when we were meant to, hung around for the 'friends of..' party and ended up drinking with the crew). It's a good thing I'm anonymous, because visiting a whaler for 'scientific' reasons would be considered really evil these days, much worse than being a fellow-traveller.