"Australia - The Idiots that Run it and the Morons who Let them."
A longish set of reflections on contemporary Australia, but quite interesting.
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"Australia - The Idiots that Run it and the Morons who Let them."
A longish set of reflections on contemporary Australia, but quite interesting.
What is the third category that covers the Aussie members of the Paco Enterprises commentariat?
ReplyDeleteThe Aggravated?
Just had a quick scroll through. I'll leave a proper comment later, but you weren't wrong about 'lengthy', Paco. I half suspect the author tried to move here and got rejected several years ago, and he's been working out his anger ever since. You don't write an article this long in a weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe opening story about Kerry Packer in the high rollers room is quite wrong. Packer hit the tables very hard and had the skill and the means to do well. That night even though he was winning what would clear most of our mortgages, he was feeling unwell and said he going to bed. An American complained that he wanted a chance to win his money back and Packer offered to toss him for it which was refused, he tipped the dealer something like 50K and left.
ReplyDeleteI scanned the rest and it seemed like bullshit to me. How does it go? Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus.
“Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus” is an old maxim of the law which is considered outdated even in the legal world where it originated. I think one has to be very careful in applying that approach in evaluating essays, and it doesn't work particularly well with the one I linked, anyway, because there is much in the “omnibus” that is clearly true. For example, some of the author's observations about London are indisputable, and the point he makes about the title of Donald Horne's book, The Lucky Country, having a negative connotation within the original context of the book is also true. As to the Kerry Packer story, I have read multiple versions from different sources, and it appears that the versions that introduce the most details tend to differ in (usually) small ways from other versions that include similar amounts of detail – which, to me, suggests that the story is either apocryphal, or contains a germ of truth that has been embellished over time. But the point is not the details; the point is that the thrust of the story underscores Packer's bold, gambler's spirit: a truth which is supported by numerous empirically observable aspects of his life, to which the casino story (or yarn) is simply an entertaining coda. I'm not sure the tale adds much to the essay, and may be so much padding, but that is a separate issue. And, of course, in spite of its inclusion of actual facts, the article's conclusions may still be b.s., since conclusions ultimately are only opinions, and it's quite possible to extrapolate from facts and be completely wrong in one's summing up. My Australian readers are probably in a better position to opine on that in the instant case.
DeleteOops, I seem to have upset you, not my intention. I read only about the first 10% of the story and passed judgement because I knew someone who witnessed the casino story first hand. I would promise not to use Latin again but as my only other phrase is "Nil Illegitimi Carborundum", it would be hollow.
DeleteNo, Mick, not at all. Please don't get that idea. Having read the article, I knew some of it was self-evidently true, regardless of whether or not the author's story about Packer was correct. The essay may still be b.s. I don't know enough about contemporary Australia to say, which is why I value the input of genuine Australians.
DeleteOkay, I've skimmed the article through and I take back what I said about the author being a disgruntled turned-away wannabe Australian. There are a couple of clues that imply he is a full-on Australian. This essay was maybe intended to be a book, given its length, but didn't achieve flying speed.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to outsiders, perhaps, but not much that's actually new to me. I will make just a few points.
About Kerry Packer: the author omitted to mention that Kerry was the second son. Firstborn Clyde was the heir, but he and Big Daddy Frank parted ways after a disagreement. Kerry inherited when his father died in 1974. So it was only two years after picking up the family business that KP made his move on Australian cricket. A great what-if game waits to be played with the scenario where Clyde and Frank stayed pals. Did Kerry remain the unpopular second son in the background, or did he go his own way? Did he find a way to do to his family what he to the cricket administrators?
Covid, Danfuhrer, Victoria. Appalling, no argument. On the other hand, it wasn't Scott Morrison who said "We've been patient with the unvaccinated... but our patience is wearing thin."
The dictation test and the exemption certificate. I can provide a little background here - during my 2023-25 assignment at the National Archives, I digitised more of those certificates than I care to remember. They were issued to nonwhite Australians who had arrived here prior to Federation when they wanted to leave the country (usually to visit the folks back home).
There were two copies of the cert. One went with the man in the photo and the other stayed with a government employee - here in WA, it was usually the Collector of Customs. I found a few instances where a third party had somehow got hold of the subject's copy and put their own photo on it.
As for the dictation test, the NAA found a copy of that and made it available for anyone to attempt. I know for sure that several white Anglo Australians gave it a shot. None of them passed.