richard.obrien's blog

So what does Daesh (aka ISIS/ISIL/IS) really stand for?

CSIRO scientists have announced they have discovered a new and virulent strain of the Hanson virus infecting Australian fauna. Following a major outbreak in 1996 the virus was eventually brought under control with the introduction of the Common Sense vaccine in 1998. Despite this, scientists have so far been unsuccessful in their attempts to completely eradicate the Hanson virus due to its ability to remain dormant for years while waiting for an opportunity to once again spread.

Sometimes saying stuff is hard.

Like when you see a depressingly predictable headline like this, and you want to say “it’s not France, it’s their government”. You want to say that each of those 20 bombs carries a destructive power roughly equivalent to the Bali bombing. You want to say that even with laser-guidance systems, each of those bombs has, at best, a 50% chance of landing within 10 meters of its target. You want to say that according to the estimates of a number of NGOs, the casualties from those bombs will be 80-90% civilian.

Well my post on sponsoring a millionaire seems to have struck a chord. It’s also attracted a few messages from people accusing me of not telling the full story – so here is their side of the story:

This is , more on him later.

In 1990 an America lawyer and author, Mike Godwin, proposed Godwin's law which states: "As an online discussion grows longer and longer the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

It is a common misconception that Godwin's law implies that a person loses an argument once they make a comparison to Nazism. In fact Godwin's law was proposed to reduce the incidence of inappropriate hyperbole, in other words people should think harder about the Holocaust before making glib comparisons to the Nazis.

With Christmas just around the corner, Commonwealth Toys ® has announced a new range of action figurines - the Political Leaders series.

Poor sales figures earlier in the year lead to the manufacturer issuing a recall of the Tony Abbott action figurine - which most children found disappointing no matter what outfit it was dressed it in.

Forty years ago today the Whitlam government was sacked by the Governor General of Australia. In less than three years they had achieved the following:

A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection has confirmed that a riot is in progress at the Canberra Detention Centre. Some 123 detainees – mainly of Liberal and National Party origin – have caused significant damage to property as well as Australia’s international reputation.

For the cost of just 15% of your groceries, bills and sundry expenses per week you can sponsor a millionaire today and make a real difference. Your donation can help make the lives of millionaires throughout Australia better.

Millionaires like:

Gina, a 61 year old girl from Western Australia. When Gina's father died she was forced to become Chairman of Hancock Prospecting where she attempts to support herself and her lawyers on less than $33 million a day.

Following Team Australia's unsuccessful campaign in the Rugby World Cup the ARU has announced several changes for the forthcoming test series with a number of veterans being dropped from the team.

Tighthead prop Joe Hockey has announced his retirement following a string of poor performances during the tournament. Hockey's persistent problem with dislodging his head after the ball had left the scrum had begun to make him a liability for the team. Kevin Andrews and Eric Abetz have also been dropped due to poor form.