Comment:
Quite a few TB2000 regulars are interested in the Australian Tax debate. This link adds to the saga.

STORY LINK

Repairs take shine off GST vehicle...(segment)
The GST may not resemble the one we voted for in 1998, as MATTHEW HORAN reports.
30jan00

NOT for the first time in his political career, John Howard is facing a choice between the unacceptable and the unpalatable.

At some time in the next few weeks, he'll be forced to choose between keeping the GST on tampons and alienating almost 50 per cent of voters  the female ones  or removing it and having every other interest group in Australia push for similar exemptions. So far, he's held the line on not exempting tampons, but harsh political reality may force a rethink, with women's groups and much of his own back bench against the tax on feminine hygiene products.

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More Comment:
I follow the American political sights and sounds closely. However, I think our antipodean political scene is much more penetrating, with just so much persiflage. The nongs bring us rorts, chook raffles, knockers, stunned mullets, galahs, dills, tall poppy wankers, crook bludgers, maggoty yobboes, a dag or two, an ironbar from out beyond woop woop, and other outrageous utterances by silly buggers. We're mad as a cut snake about tax.

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 29, 2000

Answers

Pieter --

We have been following this debate closely, in recognition of the precdent-setting debate going on in in Oz. The ramifciations for our own debate on the same subject is close to incaclulable. Many thanks for the post.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.tree), January 29, 2000.

PATHETIC!!!

-- Z (Z@Z.Z), January 29, 2000.

...The nongs bring us rorts, chook raffles, knockers, stunned mullets, galahs, dills, tall poppy wankers, crook bludgers, maggoty yobboes, a dag or two, an ironbar from out beyond woop woop, and other outrageous utterances by silly buggers. We're mad as a cut snake about tax.

Ummmmm... Yeah, that was the impression I got...

-- Just Another Silly Bugger (Wish I Understood@Strine.Talk), January 30, 2000.

What do you expect?

It's one of the effects of years of drinking warm beer while living upside down in relation to the rest of the world. It absolutely devastates the language processing centers of the poor Aussies' brains, hence the unique combinations of existing words and the creation of words never seen elsewhaere in the English-speaking world.

WW;)

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 30, 2000.

WW,

I strongly resent any suggestion that we Aussies drink warm beer!

I spent many hundreds of dollars on a propane powered fridge for Y2K to prevent such an occurrence. Aussies are rightly famed for their icy brews.

It's the bloody pommies who drink it warm!

RonD

-- Ron Davis (rdavis@ozemail.com.au), January 30, 2000.

Bugrim Ron. Warm beer indeed.

I've just cottoned on that the Septics are 20% shy to the gallon, and that it applies equally to booze and oils; from now on anything from over the big pond will be discounted by the same. Always reckoned they weren't the full quid. Definite signs of loose 'roos in the top forty. Probably fly blown drinking that lemonade colored stuff pretending to be beer. Doesn't even froth and bubble. Just sorta hangs around limp-n-limpid-n-colourless. Hardly worth barracking for. Buggermedead, their lame stuff wouldn't sustain a poor bugger in a pinch like our beverages do. So, to my mind "bugrem all". These galahs wouldn't recognise a good thing if they were gobsmacked by a lump o' 4 by 2.

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 30, 2000.

Too right Pieter,

I'd comment more but I'm at work, and flat out like a lizard drinking!

RonD

-- Ron Davis (rdavis@ozemail.com.au), January 30, 2000.