Talk about coming out of left field!!!!
The Gorgeous One proposed to me last night over a romantic dinner!!! On his knee!!! In a restaurant!!!!
Before I go any further, let me just say.... Would I be posting this if I had not given him a positive answer?
Anyway, no details determined yet. No dates, no site, no idea on ceremony, no rocks purchased, nada... Just had question popped and answer given... Oh, and much imbibing of adult beverages, including a glass on the house from the Restaurant (thank you The Razor's Edge!) and then popping of Cheesemaking Country's quality bubbles. YUM!!!
The best bit? The waitress coming up as The Gorgeous One was still on one knee and asking if he was proposing. Only in Sydney, as they say!!!
Anyway... going off to eat shortly, but, had to put it out there, everywhere!!!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Proof (if ir were needed) that J Ho is not serious about going green.....
Some of the Pacific Island countries are losing ground at a rate of knots. No surprise there, they are only just above sea level, and as the climate gets warmer, the polar ice melts, and the sea rises....
So... how does one respond to this? (direct from the Sydney Morning Herald)
Australia refused talks on sea levels, island nation says
Richard Baker
February 20, 2007
THE Prime Minister of a Pacific island nation in danger of being submerged if sea levels rise, Tuvalu, was rejected by his Australian counterpart when he sought a meeting on the topic, senior Tuvalu officials said.
An adviser to the Tuvalu Government's environment department, Ian Fry, said the Tuvalu Prime Minister, Maatia Toafa, requested a meeting with John Howard at the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji in October to discuss the climate change crisis facing the country, but was denied.
Mr Fry, an environmental law expert at the Australian National University, said: "It's unfathomable to me as to why they don't want to discuss it."
A senior Tuvalu Government source said it was the second time in six years that Australia had refused such requests. "Tuvalu has been seeking bilateral dialogue at prime ministerial level with Australia but more than twice now we have been turned away," he said.
Neither Mr Howard's office nor the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday responded to questions on the claims. In November a senior foreign affairs official told a Senate estimates hearing that Australia had never been approached by any Pacific island government to make arrangements for its people to come to Australia due to rising sea levels.
A high-ranking official from another vulnerable island nation, Kiribati, said his country had also considered approaching Australia to discuss population relocation but decided such action would be futile because the Howard Government was "not sympathetic to the issue".
Pacific nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati could become uninhabitable within decades due to rising sea levels, reduced rainfall and more extreme weather events.
Tuvalu and Kiribati government officials, who wished to remain anonymous, said Australia had a record of softening the language used on the issue of climate change in recent regional communiques.
"Australia either effectively blocks discussion on the issue those times where it can and plays a deaf partner in the circumstances that it can't," the Kiribati official said.
Documents from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet state that although Australia would assist its Pacific neighbours, there was no such thing as an "environmental refugee" because it is not a category under the Refugee Convention.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/australia-refused-talks-on-sea-levels-island-nation-says/2007/02/19/1171733684529.html
So... how does one respond to this? (direct from the Sydney Morning Herald)
Australia refused talks on sea levels, island nation says
Richard Baker
February 20, 2007
THE Prime Minister of a Pacific island nation in danger of being submerged if sea levels rise, Tuvalu, was rejected by his Australian counterpart when he sought a meeting on the topic, senior Tuvalu officials said.
An adviser to the Tuvalu Government's environment department, Ian Fry, said the Tuvalu Prime Minister, Maatia Toafa, requested a meeting with John Howard at the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji in October to discuss the climate change crisis facing the country, but was denied.
Mr Fry, an environmental law expert at the Australian National University, said: "It's unfathomable to me as to why they don't want to discuss it."
A senior Tuvalu Government source said it was the second time in six years that Australia had refused such requests. "Tuvalu has been seeking bilateral dialogue at prime ministerial level with Australia but more than twice now we have been turned away," he said.
Neither Mr Howard's office nor the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday responded to questions on the claims. In November a senior foreign affairs official told a Senate estimates hearing that Australia had never been approached by any Pacific island government to make arrangements for its people to come to Australia due to rising sea levels.
A high-ranking official from another vulnerable island nation, Kiribati, said his country had also considered approaching Australia to discuss population relocation but decided such action would be futile because the Howard Government was "not sympathetic to the issue".
Pacific nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati could become uninhabitable within decades due to rising sea levels, reduced rainfall and more extreme weather events.
Tuvalu and Kiribati government officials, who wished to remain anonymous, said Australia had a record of softening the language used on the issue of climate change in recent regional communiques.
"Australia either effectively blocks discussion on the issue those times where it can and plays a deaf partner in the circumstances that it can't," the Kiribati official said.
Documents from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet state that although Australia would assist its Pacific neighbours, there was no such thing as an "environmental refugee" because it is not a category under the Refugee Convention.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/australia-refused-talks-on-sea-levels-island-nation-says/2007/02/19/1171733684529.html
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Um, excuse me???
Did the Treasury Dept here in Australia really say this????
THE Treasury says it has not made any detailed assessment of the economic impact of climate change, and there is no urgent need to do so.
The admission came as the Federal Government was put on the defensive yesterday on the environmental issues of climate change and water.
David Parker, the executive director of Treasury's macroeconomic group, said although the effects of drought had been modelled, climate change had not. "It would be fair to say that, to date, the environmental greenhouse issues haven't been in a sense sufficiently large as to have an obvious macro-economic impact," Mr Parker said.
I am sorry, but our fearless leader J. Ho. has just lost any economic credibility he might have once had, if he has not had the country's leading bunch of economists not prepare a costing on what financial effect global climate change might have on this country....
This just leaves me speechless...
btw, full article "here"
THE Treasury says it has not made any detailed assessment of the economic impact of climate change, and there is no urgent need to do so.
The admission came as the Federal Government was put on the defensive yesterday on the environmental issues of climate change and water.
David Parker, the executive director of Treasury's macroeconomic group, said although the effects of drought had been modelled, climate change had not. "It would be fair to say that, to date, the environmental greenhouse issues haven't been in a sense sufficiently large as to have an obvious macro-economic impact," Mr Parker said.
I am sorry, but our fearless leader J. Ho. has just lost any economic credibility he might have once had, if he has not had the country's leading bunch of economists not prepare a costing on what financial effect global climate change might have on this country....
This just leaves me speechless...
btw, full article "here"
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Ah, Australia, I despair for your humanity....
Some of you reading this may have heard of Robert Jovicic. If you are reading this from outside Australia, you probably aren't, and you probably are not aware of what a scandal has developed with our federal government and its immigration policies, or maybe that should be their "kick them out if you can" policy.
There have been a number of highly publicised, and a lot more not, cases where citizens have been deported, largely because of the current policies brought in during the reign of J.Ho. Being a citizen seems to be no longer a guarantee of being entitled to the right to remain here, unless there is no doubt you look and sound "like an Aussie".
Well, Robert Jovicic is a slightly different case.
He was born overseas, in France, to Serbian parents, and came here as a two year old. Now despite having lived all his life here, and having a legitimate visa, the federal government decided to cancell his visa and deport him to Serbia, a country that he had never lived in, simply because they could. Now, granted he was not exactly of high moral standing, but, why send him to a country where he is not a citizen, that his main connection to is his ancestry? A country whose language he does not speak with any significant degree of fluency, a country that declared him stateless and offered no options to gain employment or access to any of the services a government would normally give to its citizens.
Well, now in a crazy piece of logic, the government is asking him to take out Serbian citizenship, to avoid being deported to Serbia. Huh? Is it just me, or does it sound like once again, they are trying to get rid of him and send him off to Serbia? Why not ask him to take out French citizenship? At least he was born there.
Ah, no, France has already (rightly in my view) stated that he is Australia's problem, not theirs. Which leaves no real options left. Looks like Robert needs to learn Serbian, and fast!!!!
There have been a number of highly publicised, and a lot more not, cases where citizens have been deported, largely because of the current policies brought in during the reign of J.Ho. Being a citizen seems to be no longer a guarantee of being entitled to the right to remain here, unless there is no doubt you look and sound "like an Aussie".
Well, Robert Jovicic is a slightly different case.
He was born overseas, in France, to Serbian parents, and came here as a two year old. Now despite having lived all his life here, and having a legitimate visa, the federal government decided to cancell his visa and deport him to Serbia, a country that he had never lived in, simply because they could. Now, granted he was not exactly of high moral standing, but, why send him to a country where he is not a citizen, that his main connection to is his ancestry? A country whose language he does not speak with any significant degree of fluency, a country that declared him stateless and offered no options to gain employment or access to any of the services a government would normally give to its citizens.
Well, now in a crazy piece of logic, the government is asking him to take out Serbian citizenship, to avoid being deported to Serbia. Huh? Is it just me, or does it sound like once again, they are trying to get rid of him and send him off to Serbia? Why not ask him to take out French citizenship? At least he was born there.
Ah, no, France has already (rightly in my view) stated that he is Australia's problem, not theirs. Which leaves no real options left. Looks like Robert needs to learn Serbian, and fast!!!!
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