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EYE-BALL Guru on – Treasurer SWAN – “A Craven” when it comes to dealing with the markets …
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| Title: Treasurer SWAN – “A Craven” when it comes to dealing with the markets … |
| The Bank of Japan (BOJ) intervened in the markets today in response to further speculation forcing the ¥en to new highs against the USD$. Treasurer Swan was ‘chicken’ he curdled in the face of the markets when he should have taken the high road and forced the A$v$US lower to really get rid of the speculators getting mega rich on the back of the ‘cash and carry trade’. Here we are two weeks later and the A$ v US$ is pushing A$1.08c again … further evidence that Swan and the RBA are ‘craven’ when it comes to market intervention. They would much rather see Australian business’s lose $100’s billions in export revenues that would feed into the Australian economy if they held the A$ at 40 year mean averages near A$0.75c … I have sung this song for many months now – and the trade has been part of the syphon of Australian assets since early 2000’s – when will this dunce wake up and do something as opposed to waiting for it to fall into his lap … ____________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Guru … |
EYE-BALL on – Commercial Television & its worth … Part I
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| Title: Commercial Television & its worth … Part I |
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| For many years now the Commercial Television market has struggled with their identity and how they use the habits and viewers and integrate and cater for the demographics within their programing schedules.
The following is an appraisal offered up as a reason why many of us have given up on Commercial Television across so many levels – such as – which Commercial Station reports News as News as opposed to the entertainment value content … the same question applies to Political and Current Affairs reporting … Yea – the morning shows – or Danoz and the like advertising talkfests catering for home shoppers who like their TV’s on to provide noise background … Then there is the afternoon entertainment – reruns and soaps to appease the lounge chair moms and kids who aren’t working or home on sickies – and then we get to the prime time entertainment – that 7:30-9:30pm time slots – I swear the programmers all talk to one another to make sure that each stations top raters don’t go up against each other … Below is the 2010 Highest Rated TV Broadcasts: [source linked here]
Some 8 of the 10 top broadcasts were Sports – the winner and second place was a reality Cook show – there is no drama – no News – no Politics or Current Affairs – just League, AFL and Horse Racing – and a Cook Show. Below is the 2009 Highest Rated TV Broadcasts: [source linked here]
Once again Sport dominates with the same 2010 Cook Show – but there is one drama show in Underbelly – who rated 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 15th, and 18th in the top 20. So much is learned about Australia from these statistics. Drama needs to be local content – might be one – Australia’s love with the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the State Of Origin Rugby League and the AFL and League Grant Finals another. Seven and 10 share the AFL, Nine has the League and Seven has the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Underbelly is with Nine – and this year the series has been a dismal flop as fiction takes over embellished non-fiction. From these stats – we are a simple people with simple tastes – Ten is a station that relies on reality TV and it struck gold with Master Chef – this is the same station that gave us Big Brother – it caters for the teen through to late 20’s market – nothing serious happens on Ten. Nine and Seven try to compete in the News and Current Affairs – Seven is hopeless at Current Affairs – I call it Lipstick or eye-candy Journalism – Nine’s Current Affair is not much better – the News is where they give each other a contest. The issue there comes down to the style and eye-candy offered through their presenters and story reporters … which Presenter has the most appeal – nothing about the story or News content … how shallow that must feel for those who choose that line of profession … To be honest – the Commercial stations are collective money making business’ – they generate massive revenues via the advertising and what is offered as the carrier for that advertising often makes the ad more thought provoking than the TV show. If you want serious reporting of global and domestic News and Current Affairs – stay away from the Commercials throughout the Week – the weekend is a little different and then it depends on which reporters present the stories. Having staged my own silent protest over the quality of Commercial TV by watching the National Broadcasters ABC and SBS – I found that the content on these stations offers quality if not the content … it is no wonder that I have turned to downloading TV show series and Movies to fill the void – all without the advertising. Yet another Internet advantage … ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
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EYE-BALL MovieZone – Best Picture Oscar Nominated Movies – 1964
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| EYE-BALL MovieZone – Oscar Movies 1964: |
 1964 Nominees:
[Oscar Best Picture Winner – highlighted – click Nominee Movie links provided to navigate your way up and down the page – each Movie has additional links to Bit Torrent ‘downloads’ links, Wikipedia Links for all the information about the nominated movie, and the EYE-BALL MovieZone Reviews and ratings. Movie posters appearing at this site have been copied from Wikipedia and other research related source sites.] Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
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“My Fair Lady”: Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
Summary: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation (1938) (Pygmalion), rather than from the original play. The film was directed by George Cukor and starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. Plot: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – In Edwardian London, Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), an arrogant, irascible, misogynistic professor of phonetics, believes that the accent and tone of one’s voice determines a person’s prospects in society. He boasts to a new acquaintance, Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White), himself an expert in phonetics, that he could teach any woman to speak so “properly” that he could pass her off as a duchess at an embassy ball, citing, as an example, a young flower seller from the slums, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), who has a strong Cockney accent. Eliza goes to Higgins seeking speech lessons. Her great ambition is to work in a flower shop, but her thick accent makes her unsuitable for such a position. All she can afford to pay is a shilling per lesson, whereas Higgins is used to training wealthier members of society.[2] Pickering, who is staying with Higgins, is intrigued by the idea of passing a common flower girl off as a duchess and bets Higgins he cannot make good his boast, offering to pay for the lessons himself. Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle (Stanley Holloway), a dustman, shows up three days later, ostensibly to protect his daughter’s virtue, but in reality simply to extract some money from Higgins, and is bought off with £5. Higgins is impressed by the man’s honesty, his natural gift for language, and especially his brazen lack of morals – “Can’t afford ’em!” claims Doolittle. Higgins recommends Doolittle to a wealthy American who is interested in morality. Eliza goes through many forms of speech training, such as speaking with marbles in her mouth, enduring Higgins’ harsh approach to teaching and his treatment of her personally. She makes little progress, but just as she, Higgins, and Pickering are about to give up, Eliza finally “gets it”; she instantly begins to speak with an impeccable upper class accent. As a test, Higgins takes her to Ascot Racecourse, where she makes a good impression with her stilted, but genteel manners, only to shock everyone by a sudden and vulgar lapse into Cockney while encouraging a horse to win a race: “C’mon Dover, move your bloomin’ arse!” Higgins, who dislikes the pretentiousness of the upper class, partly conceals a grin behind his hand. Eliza poses as a mysterious lady at an embassy ball and even dances with a foreign prince. At the ball is Zoltan Karpathy (Theodore Bikel), a Hungarian phonetics expert trained by Higgins. After a brief conversation with Eliza, he certifies that she is of royal blood. This makes Higgins’ evening, since he has always looked upon Karpathy as a bounder and a crook. After all the effort she has put in however, Eliza is given hardly any credit, all the praise going to Higgins. This, and his callous treatment towards her afterwards, especially his indifference to her future, causes her to walk out on him, leaving him mystified by her ingratitude. Accompanied by Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett), a young man she met at Ascot and who has become enamoured of her, Eliza returns to her old stomping ground at Covent Garden, but finds that she no longer fits in. She meets her father, who has been left a large fortune by the wealthy American Higgins had sent him to and is resigned to marrying Eliza’s stepmother. Alfred feels that Higgins has ruined him, since he is now bound by morals and responsibility. Eventually, Eliza ends up visiting Higgins’ mother, who is incensed at her son’s behaviour. Higgins finds Eliza the next day and attempts to talk her into coming back to him. During a testy exchange, Higgins becomes incensed when Eliza announces that she is going to marry Freddy and become Karpathy’s assistant. Higgins explodes and Eliza is satisfied that she has had her “own back.” Higgins has to admit that rather than being a “a millstone around my neck… now you’re a tower of strength, a consort battleship. I like you this way.” Eliza leaves, saying they will never meet again. After an argument with his mother—in which he asserts that he does not need Eliza or anyone else — Higgins makes his way home, stubbornly predicting that Eliza will come crawling back. However, he comes to the horrified realization that he has “grown accustomed to her face.” Then, to his surprise, Eliza reappears in Higgins’ study: she knows now that he cares for her after all. In the ending of the original play Eliza makes it clear that she will marry Freddy. Shaw later wrote an essay[3] in which he explained precisely why it was impossible for the story to end with Higgins and Eliza getting married, though they would continue to be close throughout their lives. Higgins himself does not appear to want to marry Eliza. Towards the end of the original play, he sees the future as “You and I and Pickering will be three old bachelors together instead of only two men and a silly girl.” The ending of the stage version of My Fair Lady comes from the 1938 film version of Pygmalion, starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller; This ending was faithfully retained in the film version. EYE-BALL MovieZone Review … I had forgotten just how powerful this movie was – Hepburn again amazed me as did Harrison as Higgins … The movie follows the Pygmalion script closely and we are delivered George Bernard Shaw’s masterpiece on screen. Hepburn as Eliza is wonderful – yet she never received a Best Actress Nomination – Harrison won Best Actor for his role – Julie Andrews won the Best Actress for her role in “Mary Poppins” – and this was a forerunner to her performance in “The Sound of Music” the following year. At the time few could have played the part of ‘Eliza’ or so was thought – take nothing away – Hepburn was sublime and her high diction carried her throughout the movie. Movie critics – it would appear that in a collective sense they could never run or organise a scout jamboree – too many chiefs and all ego’s … Hepburn’s performance to not be recognised with a Nomination was a snub … and as the research for this project continues – politics plays a big part in Oscar Nominations … or is that the ‘casting couch’ … This movie is a must have for your collection – and in my top 10 of all time great movies – that makes five so far – “Gone WIth the Wind” – 1939 & not yet reviewed – “Ben Hur” 1959 – “Lawrence of Arabia” 1962 – “My Fair Lady” 1964 – and “Sound of Music” 1965 – not yet reviewed. As movies go this 1959-1965 era produced 4 movies in my top 10 list. This will be discussed further in the 1960’s Decade review and in the final summary when all the Decade reviews are completed. EYE-BALL MovieZone Rating [scale 0-10]: 8.5/10 … ________________________________________
“Becket”: Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
Summary: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – Becket is a 1964 film adaptation of the play Becket or the Honour of God by Jean Anouilh made by Hal Wallis Productions and released by Paramount Pictures.[1] It was directed by Peter Glenville and produced by Hal B. Wallis with Joseph H. Hazen as executive producer. The screenplay was written by Edward Anhalt based on Anouilh’s play. The music score was by Laurence Rosenthal, the cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth and the editing by Anne V. Coates. The film stars Richard Burton as Thomas Becket and Peter O’Toole as King Henry II, with John Gielgud as King Louis VII, Donald Wolfit as Gilbert Foliot, Paolo Stoppa as Pope Alexander III, Martita Hunt as Empress Matilda, Pamela Brown as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, Siân Phillips, Felix Aylmer, Gino Cervi, David Weston, and Wilfrid Lawson. Newly restored prints of Becket were re-released in 30 theaters in the U.S. in early 2007, following an extensive restoration from the film’s YCM separation protection masters.[2] The film was released on DVD by MPI Home Video in May, 2007[3] and on Blu-ray Disc in Nov 2008. The new film prints carry a Dolby Digital soundtrack. Becket won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and was nominated for ten other awards, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and twice for Best Actor. Plot: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – The film’s action takes place during the late 12th century, about 100 years after the 1066 Norman Conquest of England. The conquest largely removed the native (largely Anglo-Saxon) ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy, and clerical hierarchy. The story line monitors the transformation of Thomas Becket, portrayed, following the play, as a Saxon protege and facilitator to the carousing King Henry, into a man who continually invokes the “honor of God”. Henry appoints Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in order to have a close confidant in this position that he could completely control. Instead, Becket becomes a major thorn in his side in a jurisdictional dispute. Much of the plot concerns Henry, the “perennial adolescent” as described by the Bishop of London, who finds his duties as king and his stale arranged marriage to be oppressive. Early in the film, we see him escaping them through drunken forays onto the hunting grounds and local brothels. He is increasingly dependent on Becket, a Saxon commoner, who arranges these debaucheries when he is not busy running Henry’s court. This foments great resentment on the part of Henry’s Norman noblemen, who distrust and envy this Saxon upstart, as well as the queen and queen mother, who see Becket as an unnatural and unseemly influence upon the royal personage. Henry finds himself in continuous conflict with the elderly Archbishop of Canterbury, who opposes the taxation of Church property in order to support Henry’s military campaigns in France (“Bishop, I must hire the Swiss Guards to fight for me – and no one has ever paid them off with good wishes and prayer!”). During one of his campaigns in coastal France, he receives word that the old bishop has “gone to God’s bosom”. In a burst of inspiration, Henry exercises his prerogative to pick the next Archbishop and informs an astonished Becket that he is the royal choice. Shortly thereafter, Becket sides with the Church, throwing Henry into a fury. One of the main bones of contention is Thomas’ excommunication of Lord Gilbert, one of Henry’s most loyal stalwarts, for seizing and ordering the killing of a priest who had been accused of sexual indiscretions with a young girl, before the priest can even be handed over for ecclesiastical trial. Gilbert then refuses to acknowledge his transgressions and seek absolution. The King has a dramatic secret meeting with the Bishop of London in his cathedral (“I have the Archbishop on my stomach, a big hard lump”). He lays out his plan to remove the troublesome cleric through scandal and innuendo which the position-conscious Bishop of London quickly agrees to (thus furthering Henry’s already deep contempt for church higher ups). These attempts fall flat when Becket, in full ecclesiastic garb, confronts his accusers outside the rectory and routs them causing Henry to laugh and bitterly note the irony of it all, “Becket is the only intelligent man in my entire kingdom…and he is against me!” Becket escapes to France where he encounters the conniving King Louis (John Gielgud). King Louis sees in Becket a means by which he can further his favorite pastime, tormenting the arrogant English. Becket gets to Rome, where he begs the Holy Pontiff to allow him to renounce his position and retire to a monastery as an ordinary priest. The Vatican is a hotbed of intrigue and political jockeying. The Pope reminds Becket that he has an obligation as a matter of principle to return to England and take a stand against civil interference in Church matters. Becket yields to this decision and asks Louis to arrange a meeting with Henry on the beaches at Normandy. Henry asks Becket whether or not he loved him and Becket replied that he loved Henry to the best of his ability. A shaky truce is declared and Becket is allowed to return to England. The remainder of the film shows Henry rapidly sinking into drunken fixation over Becket and his perceived betrayal. The barons worsen his mood by pointing out that Becket has become a folk hero among the vanquished Saxons who are ever restive and resentful of their Norman conquerors. There are comical fights between Henry and his frumpy consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, his dimwitted son/heir apparent, and his cold-blooded mother, who repeatedly reminds her son that his father would have quickly had someone like Becket done away with for the sake of the realm. During one of his drunken rages he asks “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” His faithful barons hear this and proceed quickly to Canterbury, where they put Thomas and his Saxon deputy, Brother John, to the sword. A badly shaken Henry then undergoes a penance by whipping at the hands of Saxon monks. The film concludes with Henry, fresh from his whipping, publicly proclaiming Thomas Becket a saint and that the ones who had killed him will be justly punished. EYE-BALL MovieZone Review … This movie has not been viewed – one of the missing so to speak … all Bit Torrent links have no seeders … so it remains unrated. EYE-BALL MovieZone Rating [scale 0-10]: Un-Rated … ________________________________________
“Dr Strangelove”: Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
Summary: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, and Slim Pickens. The film is loosely based on Peter George’s Cold War thriller novel Red Alert, also known as Two Hours to Doom. The story concerns an unhinged United States Air Force general who orders a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. It follows the President of the United States, his advisors, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer as they try to recall the bombers to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. It separately follows the crew of one B-52 as they try to deliver their payload. In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. It was listed as number three on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs. Plot: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – United States Air Force Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, initiates a plan to attack the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons in the paranoid belief that there is a Communist conspiracy involving water fluoridation and contamination of everyone’s “precious bodily fluids”. Ripper orders his nuclear-armed B-52s, which were holding at their fail-safe points, to move into Soviet airspace. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Peter Sellers), a Royal Air Force exchange officer serving as General Ripper’s executive officer, issues the command on Ripper’s order but later realizes it was not issued in retaliation to a Soviet attack on America. However Ripper refuses to disclose the three-letter recall code and locks the two of them in his office. In the “War Room” at The Pentagon, General Buck Turgidson (George C. Scott) briefs President Merkin Muffley (Sellers). He reports that Ripper apparently took advantage of “Wing Attack Plan R,” a wartime contingency plan which is intended to give Field Commanders authority to retaliate with nuclear weapons in the event that a Soviet first strike obliterates Washington, D.C. and incapacitates U.S. leadership. When President Muffley angrily begins to question the merits of this, the General responds that he does not “think it’s quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up”. When Muffley proposes that troops be sent to the Air Force Base to seize Ripper (and hopefully force the recall code from him), Turgidson warns that General Ripper will have put the security forces there on high alert—ready to repel any outside force. Turgidson tries to persuade Muffley to seize the moment and eliminate the Soviet Union by launching a full-scale attack on the Soviet Union. The General believes the United States is in a superior strategic position and a first strike would destroy the majority of the Soviets’ missiles before they could retaliate. Without such a response, the US would be annihilated. Muffley refuses to have any part of such a scheme, and instead summons the Soviet ambassador, Alexei de Sadeski (Peter Bull). The Ambassador calls Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov on the “Hot Line” and gives the Soviets information to help them shoot down the American planes, should they cross into Soviet airspace. The Ambassador reveals that his side has installed a doomsday device that will automatically destroy life on Earth if there is a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union. The American President expresses amazement that anyone would build such a device. But Dr. Strangelove (Sellers), a former Nazi and weapons expert, admits that it would be “an effective deterrent… credible and convincing.” However, a recent study by an American think tank had dismissed it as being too dangerous to be practical. From his wheelchair, Strangelove explains the technology behind the Doomsday Machine and why it is essential that not only should it destroy the world in the event of a nuclear attack but also be fully automated and incapable of being deactivated. He further points out that the “whole point of the Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret”. When asked why the Soviets did not publicize this, Ambassador de Sadeski sheepishly answers it was supposed to be announced the following Monday at the (Communist) Party Congress because “the Premier loves surprises.” U.S. Army forces arrive at Burpelson to arrest General Ripper. Because Ripper has warned his men that the enemy might attack disguised as American soldiers, the base’s security forces open fire on them. A pitched battle ensues, which the Army forces finally win and Ripper, fearing torture to extract the recall code shoots himself. Colonel “Bat” Guano (Keenan Wynn) forces his way into Ripper’s office and immediately suspects that Mandrake, whose uniform he does not recognize, is leading a mutiny and arrests him. Mandrake convinces Guano he must call the President with the recall code (OPE) which he has deduced from Ripper’s desk blotter doodles but has to use a pay phone to do so. Guano has to shoot open a Coca-Cola machine to obtain coins for the phone, which he does reluctantly. Off camera, Mandrake finally contacts the Pentagon and is able to get the code combinations to the President and Strategic Air Command. The correct recall code is issued to the planes and all those that have not been shot down by the Soviet military turn back toward base, except one. Its radio and fuel tanks were damaged by an anti-aircraft missile, leaving the plane unable either to receive the recall message or reach its primary or secondary targets, where the Soviets have concentrated all available defences at the urging of President Muffley. The pilot heads for the nearest target of opportunity, an ICBM complex. Aircraft commander Major T. J. “King” Kong (Slim Pickens) goes to the bomb bay to open the damaged doors manually, straddling a nuclear bomb as he repairs arcing wires overhead. When he effects his electrical patches, the bomb bay doors suddenly open, the bomb releases and Kong rides it to detonation like a rodeo cowboy, whooping and waving his cowboy hat. The H-bomb explodes and the Doomsday Device’s detonation is inevitable. In the War Room, Ambassador de Sadeski says life on Earth’s surface will be extinct in ten months. Dr. Strangelove recommends the President gather several hundred thousand people to be relocated into deep mine shafts, where the radioactivity would never penetrate so the United States can be repopulated. Strangelove suggests a sex ratio of “ten females to each male,” with the women selected for their stimulating sexual characteristics and the men selected for youth, health, intellectual capabilities and importance in business and government. He points out that with proper breeding techniques, the survivors could work themselves up to the present Gross National Product in 20 years and emerge after the radioactivity has ceased in about 100 years. At one point, Strangelove’s errant right arm tries to give the Nazi salute and then strangle him. General Turgidson warns of a possible “Mineshaft Gap” that might be a factor when the survivors emerge. De Sadeski walks away from the group and begins taking pictures of the war room’s Big Board with a spy camera disguised as a pocketwatch. Just as Dr. Strangelove miraculously gets up from his wheelchair, takes a couple of steps and shouts, “Mein Führer! I can walk!,” the Doomsday Machine activates. The film then cuts to a montage of nuclear detonations across the world, accompanied by Vera Lynn’s recording of “We’ll Meet Again.” EYE-BALL MovieZone Review … The movie highlights Peter Sellers as a brilliant comic – he plays several parts in the movie and it became a cult movie in later years. Based on the Cold War that was in full swing at the time and not long after the ‘Bay Of Pigs’ standoff … it put humour into a confrontation that allowed the World to breath for a while. If you’re a Sellers fan and like your humour dry and disguised as is Kubrick’s style – very enjoyable – but the plot has dated and the B&W shadows although intended I’m sure – does the movie no favours. EYE-BALL MovieZone Rating [scale 0-10]: 4.0/10 … ________________________________________
“Mary Poppins” Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
Summary: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by the Sherman Brothers. It was shot at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mary Poppins and the film also won Oscars for Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Best Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and Best Visual Effects, and received a total of 13 nominations. Plot: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – The film opens with Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) perched in a cloud high above London in Spring 1910.[2] The action descends to Earth where Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a Cockney jack-of-all-trades is performing as a one-man band at a park entrance, where he suddenly senses that his good friend is about to return. After the show, he breaks the fourth wall and introduces the audience to the well-to-do but troubled Banks family, headed by the cold and aloof George Banks (David Tomlinson) and the loving but highly distracted suffragette Winifred Banks (Glynis Johns). The Banks’ latest nanny, Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester), quits out of exasperation after the Banks children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) run off in pursuit of a wayward kite. Mr. Banks returns home from his job at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and Mrs. Banks reveals the children are missing. A policeman (Arthur Treacher), arrives with the children, who ask their father to help repair their damaged kite, but he dismisses them and advertises for an authoritarian nanny-replacement. Jane and Michael draft their own advertisement asking for a fun, kind-hearted and caring person, but Mr. Banks tears up the paper and throws it in the fireplace. Unnoticed, the remains of the note float up the dark chimney. The next day, a queue of elderly and disagreeable looking candidates await at the door. However a strong gust of wind blows the queue away and Mary Poppins floats down, held aloft by her magical umbrella, to apply. Mr. Banks is stunned to see that this calmly defiant new nanny has responded to the children’s ad despite the fact he destroyed it. As he puzzles, Mary Poppins employs herself and begins work, saying that she will stay for a trial period of one week, before deciding if she will take a permanent position. The children face surprises of their own: Mary possesses a bottomless carpetbag, and makes contents of the children’s nursery come to life and tidy themselves (by snapping her fingers). The trio then meet Bert, who is a close friend of Mary, in the park at work as a screever, where Mary uses one of his chalk pavement drawings as a gateway to an outing in an animated countryside. While in the drawing, the children ride a Merry-Go-Round while Mary and Bert enjoy a stroll though the countryside, during which Bert dances at an outdoor bistro with four penguin waiters. Mary and Bert join the children on the Merry-Go-Round, from which the horses break loose and take their riders on a trip through the countryside. As they pass by a fox hunt, Bert manoeuvres to save an Irish-accented fox from the bloodhounds. Finally the quartet finds themselves in a horse race, which Mary wins. It is here that Mary first employs the nonsense word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The outing is interrupted by a rainstorm, which washes away the chalk drawing and returns the travellers to the park pavement. That evening, the children ask Mary how long she’ll stay with them. With a sombre expression, she replies, “I shall stay until the wind changes”. The next day, they all visit Bert’s jovial Uncle Albert, who floats whenever he laughs, and join him in a tea party in mid-air (though Mary finds it childish and ridiculous). Mr. Banks grows increasingly irate with his children’s stories of their adventures, but Mary effortlessly inverts his attempted dismissal of her services into a plan to take his children with him to the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, where he is employed. On the way there, as they pass the bank, the children see “The Bird Woman”, and they want to feed the birds, but George will have none of it as he expresses his uninterest in what Mary Poppins says and orders his children to “come along” and not mention her name for the rest of the day. Upon arriving at the bank, Mr. Dawes—Mr. Banks’ extremely elderly employer—aggressively tries to persuade Michael to invest his money in the bank to the point of actually snatching it out of his hand without waiting for his permission. When Michael protests, the other customers misunderstand, and start a run on the bank that forces the bank to suspend business. The children flee and wander into the slums of the East End of London. Fortunately, they run into Bert, now employed as a chimney sweep. He takes them safely home, explaining that their father does not hate them, but that he has problems of his own, and that unlike the children, has no-one to turn to but himself. At home, a departing Mrs. Banks employs Bert to clean the family’s chimney and mind the children. Mary Poppins arrives back from her day off and warns of the dangers of this activity, but is too late as the children are both sucked up the chimney to the roof. Bert and Mary follow them and lead a tour of the rooftops of London that concludes with a joyful dance with Bert’s chimney-sweep colleagues. A volley of fireworks from the Banks’ eccentric neighbour, Admiral Boom, who mistakes them for Hottentots, sends the entire gathering back down the Banks’ chimney. Mr. Banks arrives home, forcing Mary to conclude the festivities. Banks then receives a phone call from work ordering him to return immediately for disciplinary action. As Mr. Banks gathers his strength, Bert points out that while Mr. Banks does need to make a living, his offspring’s childhood will come and go in a blink of an eye, and he needs to be there for them while he can. The Banks children approach their father to apologize, and Michael gives Mr. Banks his tuppence in the hope that it will make things all right. Banks gently accepts the offering. A somber and thoughtful Mr. Banks walks alone through the night-time streets, for the first time noticing several of the buildings around him, including the cathedral and steps on which the woman was sitting earlier. At the bank, he is formally humiliated and sacked for causing the first run on the bank since 1773 (it is stated that the bank supplied the money for the shipment of tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party). However, after being at a loss when ordered to give a statement, Mr. Banks invokes Mary Poppins’ all-purpose word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” to tweak Mr. Dawes. He gives Dawes the tuppence, tells the old man one of Bert’s and Uncle Albert’s jokes and raucously departs. Dawes mulls over the joke, finally “gets it” and floats up into the air, laughing. The next morning, the wind has changed direction, and so Mary must depart. Meanwhile, the Banks adults cannot find Mr. Banks, and fear that he might have become suicidal. However, Mr. Banks, now loving and joyful, reappears with the now-mended kite and cheerfully summons his children. The greatly relieved Mrs. Banks supplies a tail for the kite, using one of her suffragette ribbons. They all leave the house without a backward glance as Mary Poppins watches from a window. In the park with other kite-flyers, Mr. Banks meets Mr. Dawes Jr., who says that his father literally died laughing. Instead of being upset, the son is delighted his father died happy, and re-employs Mr. Banks to fill the opening as partner. Her work done, Mary Poppins takes to the air with a fond farewell from Bert (who was selling kites), telling her not to stay away too long. EYE-BALL MovieZone Review … Very much a hit movie at its time – but and the but is big – even as a child the movie left no lasting impression on me … remember ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious‘ … that is what I remember about the movie … The music of the time created a wave of record sales … but it waned … A kids movie but be prepared to help them remember the lyrics and play along with the ‘super…..docious’ toungue twister. EYE-BALL MovieZone Rating [scale 0-10]: 4.5/10 … ________________________________________
“Zorba the Greek”: Movie Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
Summary: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn. The supporting cast includes Alan Bates, Lila Kedrova, Irene Papas, and Sotiris Moustakas. Plot: [Pasted from Wikipedia] – Basil (Alan Bates) is a half-English half-Greek writer who has been raised in Britain and bears all the hallmarks of an uptight, middle-class Englishman. He is waiting at a port in mainland Greece one day when he meets a gruff, yet enthusiastic peasant and musician named Zorba (Anthony Quinn). Basil explains to Zorba that he is traveling to a rural Cretan village where his father owns some land, with the intention of opening up a lignite mine and perhaps curing his writer’s block. Zorba relates his experience with mining and convinces Basil to take him along. When they arrive at Crete, they take a car to the village where they are greeted enthusiastically by the town’s impoverished peasant community. They stay with an old, French war widow named Madame Hortense (Lila Kedrova) in her self-styled “Hotel Ritz”. The ever audacious Zorba tries to persuade Basil into making a move on Madame Hortense, but when he is reluctant, Zorba instead seizes the opportunity, and they form a relationship. Over the next few days, Basil and Zorba attempt to work the old lignite mine, but find it too unsafe and shut it down. Zorba then has an idea to use the forest opposite as a kind of logging area (although his actual plan is left ambiguous), however the land is owned by the powerful monastery of the village, so Zorba goes over there and befriends the monks by getting them drunk. Afterwards, he comes home to Basil and begins to dance in a way that mesmerizes Basil. Meanwhile, Basil and Zorba get their first introduction to “the Widow” (Irene Papas), a young, widowed woman, who is incessantly teased by the townspeople for not remarrying, especially to a young, local boy who is madly in love with her, but whom she has spurned repeatedly. One rainy afternoon, Basil offers her his umbrella, which she reluctantly takes. Zorba suggests that she is attracted to him, but Basil, ever shy, denies this and refuses to pursue the widow. Basil hands Zorba some money, as he sends him off to the nearby town of Chania, where Zorba is to buy cable and other supplies for the implementation of his grand plan. Zorba says goodbye to Basil and Madame Hortense, who is by now madly in love with him. While in Chania, Zorba entertains himself at a cabaret and strikes up a brief romance with a much younger dancer. In a letter to Basil, he details his exploits and indicates that he has found love. Angered by Zorba’s apparent irresponsibility and the squandering of his money, Basil untruthfully tells Madame Hortense that Zorba has declared his love to her and intends to marry her upon his return — to which she is ecstatic to the point of tears. Meanwhile, the Widow returns Basil’s umbrella by way of Mimithos (Sotiris Moustakas), the simple-minded village idiot. When Zorba eventually returns with supplies and gifts, he is surprised and angered to hear about Basil’s lie to Madame Hortense. Nevertheless, he plays along and conjures up visions of white satin wedding dresses, lined with pearls, to keep Madame Hortense happy and not hurt her feelings. He also asks Basil concerning his whereabouts the night before. That night, Basil had finally gone to the Widow’s house, made love to her and spent the night. The brief encounter comes at great cost. A villager catches sight of them, and word spreads, until the young, local boy who is in love with the Widow is taunted mercilessly about it. The next morning, the villagers find his body by the sea, where he has drowned himself out of shame. The boy’s father holds a funeral which all the villagers attend. The widow attempts to come inconspicuously, but is blocked from entering the church. She is eventually trapped in the courtyard, where she is beaten and stoned by the villagers, who hold her responsible for the young boy’s suicide. Basil, meek and fearful of intervening, tells Mimithos to quickly fetch Zorba. Zorba arrives just as a villager, a friend of the boy, tries to pull a knife and kill the widow. Zorba overpowers the much younger man and disarms him. Thinking that the situation is now under control, Zorba asks the Widow to follow him and turns his back. At that moment, the dead boy’s father pulls his knife and cuts the widow’s throat. She dies instantly, as the villagers shuffle away apathetically, whisking the father away. Only Basil, Zorba and Mimithos show any emotion at her murder. Basil proclaims his inability to intervene whereupon Zorba laments the futility of death. A while later, Madame Hortense who apparently has contracted pneumonia, is seen on her deathbed. Zorba stays by her side, along with Basil. Meanwhile, word gets round that “the foreigner” is dying, and that since she has no heirs, the State will take all her possessions and money. The desperately poor villagers crowd around her hotel, impatiently waiting for her demise so they can steal her belongings. Two old ladies enter her room and gaze expectantly at her, hoping to get first hands on all her belongings. Other women try to enter and raid her belongings, but Zorba can fight them off. In an instant of her death, the women re-enter Madame Hortense’s bed room to steal her most valued belongings. Zorba leaves, as the hotel is ransacked and stripped bare by the villagers. Finally, Zorba’s elaborate contraption to ferry timber down the hill is complete. A festive ceremony is held, and all the villagers have turned out to see it. After a blessing from the local priests, Zorba gives the signal to start. A log comes hurtling down the zip line at a worrying pace, destroying the log itself and slightly damaging part of the contraption. Zorba remains unconcerned and gives orders for a second log. This one also speeds down and shoots straight into the sea. By now the villagers and priests have become fearful and run for cover. Zorba remains unfazed and orders a third log, which accelerates down with such violence that it dislodges the entire contraption, destroying everything the men had worked for. The villagers flee, leaving only Basil and Zorba behind. Zorba declares his sadness about Basil’s now imminent return to England, whereupon Basil asks Zorba to teach him how to dance. The story ends with both men enthusiastically dancing the sirtaki on the beach. EYE-BALL MovieZone Review … A dark movie as many of Quinn’s movies were – the version I saw was subtitled – a movie much in the same vein as “America America” – and not my cup of tea – but Quinn shines and was Nominated as Best Actor – he was a very underestimated actor who was mostly successful in played Supporting roles – when he was the Lead – his movies were never as popular or as well received … EYE-BALL MovieZone Rating [scale 0-10]: 4.0/10 … ________________________________________ [Just a small note – this is a free website – and the information posted hereto is the product of genuine research which has taken considerable time and effort. If you have enjoyed the product of these efforts a small donation would be appreciated. There is a gratuity/donation link provided to the right of this text – please if you have the time and are so inclined to want to make a donation – please use the link provided. All funds received are thankfully received and they go a long way to help maintain the content of this site.] All EYE-BALL MovieZone Links: Please Report any broken LINKS – E-Mail – blogcomment@bigpond.com
________________________________________ The EYE-BALL MovieZone … |
EYE-BALL JokeZone – Anger Management:
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| EYE-BALL JokeZone – Anger Management: Last Updated Oct 30th ’11 |
| Anger Management:
A little boy about 12 years old is walking down the street dragging a flattened frog on a string behind him. He came up to the doorstep of ‘a house of ill repute’ and knocked on the door. When the Madam answered it, she saw the little boy and asked what he wanted He said, ‘I want to have sex with one of the women inside. I have the money to buy it, and I’m not leaving until I get it. The Madam figured, why not, so she told him to come in. Once in, she told him to pick any of the girls he liked. He asked, ‘Do any of the girls have any diseases?’ Of course the Madam said ‘No’. The boy said, ‘I heard all the men talking about having to get shots after making love with Amber – THAT’S the girl I want.’ Since the little boy was so adamant and had the money to pay for it, the Madam told him to go to the first room on the right. He headed down the hall dragging the squashed frog behind him. Ten minutes later he came back, still dragging the frog, The Madam stopped him and asked, ‘Why did you pick the only girl in the place with a disease, instead of one of the others?’ He said, ‘Well, if you must know, tonight when I get home, my parents are going out to a restaurant to eat, leaving me at home with a baby-sitter. After they leave, my baby-sitter will have sex with me because she just happens to be very fond of cute little boys. She will then get the disease that I just caught. When Mum and Dad get back, Dad will take the baby-sitter home. On the way, he’ll give her one in the car and he’ll catch the disease. Then when Dad gets home from the baby-sitter’s, he and Mum will go to bed and have sex, and Mum will catch it. In the morning when Dad goes to work, the Milkman will deliver the milk, have a quickie with Mum and catch the disease, and HE’S the prick who ran over my FROG!’ _______________________________ |
EYE-BALL on – Title: The QANTAS Dispute – CEO Alan Joyce turns Australia on its head …
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| Title: The QANTAS Dispute – CEO Alan Joyce turns Australia on its head … |
| The QANTAS dispute filled news feeds all day and overnight since it was announced yesterday. Both sides of Politicians are frantically trying to defuse and escalate the dispute as a political point scoring exercise – it reeks and demonstrates just how in touch with reality both sides are with to potential fallout from this dispute.
The ABC had a number of contributing stories – their headlines and links to the full story are provided below.
Australians – this is a serious issue and the Afghanistan soldiers to add to the crux of important decisions fast approaching – this week in Parliament will be eagerly awaited. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL on – Title: The QANTAS Dispute – CEO Alan Joyce turns Australia on its head …
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| Title: The QANTAS Dispute – CEO Alan Joyce turns Australia on its head … |
The QANTAS dispute filled news feeds all day and overnight since it was announced yesterday. Both sides of Politicians are frantically trying to defuse and escalate the dispute as a political point scoring exercise – it reeks and demonstrates just how in touch with reality both sides are with to potential fallout from this dispute.The ABC had a number of contributing stories – their headlines and links to the full story are provided below.
Australians – this is a serious issue and the Afghanistan soldiers to add to the crux of important decisions fast approaching – this week in Parliament will be eagerly awaited. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 9 – National Geographic and other YouTube Videos:
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| EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 9 – National Geographic and other YouTube Videos: Updated Oct 30th ’11 |
| The following set of YouTube videos arew courtesy of the National Graphic and other Nature public posts via YouTube – some have advertising attached as reflects their popularity -They are presented as a collection of viewing abstracts as nature would have us believe – some are brutal and demonstrate the power of Nature and all its wonderment … please enjoy.
_______________________________ Tidal Wave Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ Killer Whale vs. Sea Lions Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ Sea Monsters Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ Sea Monsters 2 Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ Whale hits & smashes yacht in South Africa Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ MEGALADON PREHISTORIC SHARK – but does it still exist – by Adamfuckinknowsit [29 million hits] Link to all Adanfuckinknowsit Videos _______________________________ Close Encounters of the Giant Kind [9 million hits] Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ Great White Shark Accident ★★★★★ [15 million hits] Link to all National Geographic Videos _______________________________ The internet is a wonderous place to view amazing things – YouTube serves a purpose and everybody should venture on the wild side once in a while … _______________________________ |
EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 8 – The Ballet of Sharks:
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| EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 8 – The Ballet of Sharks: Updated Oct 30th ’11 |
| If you believe that sharks are the most beautiful of sea creatures – this video should prove the point – if you don’t then this will offer many reasons why you are wrong … click on link below to watch.
This is one of the most amazing things you will ever see – superbly filmed, music glorious and wait to the end!!! Jaw dropping brilliance as it is beautiful … _______________________________ |
EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 4 – The Naked Balloon Dance:
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| EYE-BALL JokeZone Video 4 – The Ballet of Sharks: Updated Oct 30th ’11 |
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If you believe that sharks are the most beautiful of sea creatures – this video should prove the point – if you don’t then this will offer many reasons why you are wrong … click on link below to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=WK2LpUoqX6A&vq=medium _______________________________ |
EYE-BALL on – CHOGM – [Commonwealth Heads of Government] – Hoodwinked by an Ex-Pat Australian’s slap – and an Ally’s betrayal.
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| Title: CHOGM – [Commonwealth Heads of Government] – Hoodwinked by an Ex-Pat Australian’s slap – and an Ally’s betrayal. |
| The News cycle of the past week was supposed to be about the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Perth. Gillard spoke, Rudd Spoke, Abbott chided and the Queen was there as well – the talkfest was largely ignored by the World and in summary – what a waste of time and effort.The biggest decision to come out of this meeting between Heads of Governments was that women should be given the same rights to the throne as men. ‘Hells Bell’s’ it cost Australia $150m for this decision – where was the public discussion on Sir Lanka’s human rights record – Mugabe’s continued abuses – the abstention of India’s PM from the meeting in protest over Australia’s unwillingness to ship uranium to India – yet ship it to China – surely the Government of Australia should be required to explain its discriminate policy – India a Member of CHOGM and a Democracy – whereas China is everything different.
Yet – instead – the News cycle was hoodwinked late in the week by two significant events – the Australian soldier deaths and woundings in Afghanistan – and the announcement by QANTAS chief Noyce to ground all QANTAS aircraft indefinitely to bring the rolling industrial disputes to a head. QANTAS CEO’s Decision: Let’s first talk about the QANTAS decision – this is a high stakes bluff being played by the QANTAS chief – on the ABC’s Inside Business program this morning – CEO Joyce played his second card – his first being the press conference yesterday. It has to be said he is a short man, and one wonders whether the ‘short-man’ syndrome is in play here. CEO Joyce would have you believe that this decision and the immediate the disruptions – including to returning Heads of Governments from the CHOGM meeting – are needed to provide for the long term plans he has for the company. Purely on his public performances – anyone who believes or trusts him do so at their own peril … The public outcry 24 hours after his announcement is – ‘why’ – CEO Joyce’s responses to Inside Business presenter Alan Kohler’s probing questions this morning – [see interview here] – were as slimy as he looks and sounds. The heart of the QANTAS dispute is outsourcing – outsourcing maintenance contracts to Asia and points beyond – employing overseas trained pilots, and other cost cutting measures – all with the purpose to increase QANTAS’s shareholder profitability. ‘Bloody’ money again is cause of a power play between employer and employee. The secondary issue is contained within the Management pay rises – Joyce with a 71% approved increase just days ago at the QANTAS AGM – and his final $2 million bonus’ linked to QANTAS’s share price performance which is dependent on the ‘outsourcing’ cost reductions that will increase profitability. Joyce’s denials against self-serving interests in beating down the Unions with this latest action to achieve his long term plans are just another card played in this high stakes game. From what we have be exposed to about the concerns of both sides – Noyce is playing a very high handed game and looks the more desperate. An early EYE-BALL prediction is that any resolvement of this dispute will include Joyce being booted from his 1st Class office – watch for the underlings to align themselves for Noyce’s job. Noyce’s action comes during the Melbourne Cup carnival as well – his lack of respect as a ‘Pommie’ – for Australia’s traditions will not count in his favour. Afghanistan – More Australian Soldiers give their lives: Three Australian Soldiers are confirmed dead – several wounded, some seriously – and by and Afghan Police officer serving inside the compound – this is not the first ‘friendly fire’ incident and there is nothing more concerning then soldiers being exposed to harm by persons serving as allies … This will undermine any trust built up over the last sight odd years of helping the Afghan people – there is something here that goes to why soldiers die – Leaders who make the decision to send our soldiers into harms way have no idea what confronts a soldier when faced with what this recent event describes – this will sorely test the Leadership skills of this Government – more of the same and accepting these deaths as ‘casualties of War’ cannot be the answer they turn to – these were deaths caused by allies turning on the hand extended to help – a most hideous and dishonourable gesture – one that would be cause to withdraw all troops to protect further loss of life. If you can not trust the person next to you to help you fight the enemy in front of you – then your rear and your flanks are exposed and you must withdraw to ensure moral and integrity is restored in the soldiers confidence to defend the line. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL on – CHOGM – [Commonwealth Heads of Government] – Hoodwinked by an Ex-Pat Australian’s slap – and an Ally’s betrayal.
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| Title: CHOGM – [Commonwealth Heads of Government] – Hoodwinked by an Ex-Pat Australian’s slap – and an Ally’s betrayal. |
| The News cycle of the past week was supposed to be about the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Perth. Gillard spoke, Rudd Spoke, Abbott chided and the Queen was there as well – the talkfest was largely ignored by the World and in summary – what a waste of time and effort.The biggest decision to come out of this meeting between Heads of Governments was that women should be given the same rights to the throne as men. ‘Hells Bell’s’ it cost Australia $150m for this decision – where was the public discussion on Sir Lanka’s human rights record – Mugabe’s continued abuses – the abstention of India’s PM from the meeting in protest over Australia’s unwillingness to ship uranium to India – yet ship it to China – surely the Government of Australia should be required to explain its discriminate policy – India a Member of CHOGM and a Democracy – whereas China is everything different.
Yet – instead – the News cycle was hoodwinked late in the week by two significant events – the Australian soldier deaths and woundings in Afghanistan – and the announcement by QANTAS chief Noyce to ground all QANTAS aircraft indefinitely to bring the rolling industrial disputes to a head. QANTAS CEO’s Decision: Let’s first talk about the QANTAS decision – this is a high stakes bluff being played by the QANTAS chief – on the ABC’s Inside Business program this morning – CEO Noyce played his second card – his first being the press conference yesterday. It has to be said he is a short man, and one wonders whether the ‘short-man’ syndrome is in play here. CEO Noyce would have you believe that this decision and the immediate the disruptions – including to returning Heads of Governments from the CHOGM meeting – are needed to provide for the long term plans he has for the company. Purely on his public performances – anyone who believes or trusts him do so at their own peril … The public outcry 24 hours after his announcement is – ‘why’ – Noyce’s responses to Inside Business presenter Alan Kohler’s probing questions this morning – [see interview here] – were as slimy as he looks and sounds. The heart of the QANTAS dispute is outsourcing – outsourcing maintenance contracts to Asia and points beyond – employing overseas trained pilots, and other cost cutting measures – all with the purpose to increase QANTAS’s shareholder profitability. ‘Bloody’ money again is cause of a power play between employer and employee. The secondary issue is contained within the Management pay rises – Noyce with a 71% approved increase just days ago the QANTAS AGM – and his final bonus’ linked to QANTAS’s share price performance which is dependent on the ‘outsourcing’ cost reductions that will increase profitability. Noyce’s denials against self-serving interests in beating down the Unions with this latest action to achieve his long term plans are just another card played in this high stakes game. From what we have be exposed to about the concerns of both sides – Noyce is playing a very high handed game and looks the more desperate. An early EYE-BALL prediction is that any resolvement of this dispute will include Noyce being booted from his 1st Class office – watch for the underlings to align themselves for Noyce’s job. Noyce’s action comes during the Melbourne Cup carnival as well – his lack of respect as a ‘Pommie’ – for Australia’s traditions will not count in his favour. Afghanistan – More Australian Soldiers give their lives: Three Australian Soldiers are confirmed dead – several wounded, some seriously – and by and Afghan Police officer serving inside the compound – this is not the first ‘friendly fire’ incident and there is nothing more concerning then soldiers being exposed to harm by persons serving as allies … This will undermine any trust built up over the last sight odd years of helping the Afghan people – there is something here that goes to why soldiers die – Leaders who make the decision to send our soldiers into harms way have no idea what confronts a soldier when faced with what this recent event describes – this will sorely test the Leadership skills of this Government – more of the same and accepting these deaths as ‘casualties of War’ cannot be the answer they turn to – these were deaths caused by allies turning on the hand extended to help – a most hideous and dishonourable gesture – one that would be cause to withdraw all troops to protect further loss of life. If you can not trust the person next to you to help you fight the enemy in front of you – then your rear and your flanks are exposed and you must withdraw to ensure moral and integrity is restored in the soldiers confidence to defend the line. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL on – Proposed Poker Machine Legislation – Pissin’ in the wind … or a poison Chalice…
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| Title: Proposed “Poker Machine” Legislation – Pissin’ in the wind … or a poison Chalice … |
| The ‘Club Industry’has been a part of social and community activities since man first became civilised – Romans had their private Clubs and Membership societies – the Greeks likewise – then Europe and America and so it spread. In modern-day terms memberships like Masons, RSL, Lions, Rotary and the like remain the formal echelon of societies Membership groups.
Australian Sporting Clubs emerged early last century and they are now more at risk of fading from society than at any other time – if you were to believe the propaganda put forth by those who oppose the Poker Machine Legislation. To be sure you all know what this ‘Poker Machine Legislation’ states and hopes to achieve – the proposed Bill is posted below for information purposes: [The Legislation can be downloaded along with the Memorandum of notes that accompany the BILL using this link]
As Legislation goes this is about as ‘plain-english’ as it gets. Take out the Preamble and the Civil Penalties – and the Legislation comes down to four (4) relative points – ________________________________________ 9 – Restrictions on the practical operation of poker machines Restriction on bank note denomination
Restriction on entering credits
Maximum bet
Maximum loss
________________________________________ We all try and want to live in a world of reality – for far to long the world’s population has suffered under a fool’s paradise – paid for with ever-increasing easy debt and the marketing skills of those willing to prosper from those who would gamble. Pray tell – how do these four defining instructions listed above as part of the proposed legislation – hope to change the gambling habits of an Australian population infused and cultivated upon Poker Machine entertainment in Club environments for over 50 odd years? A poker machine limited to $120 losses per/hour [item 4] – does not know who the player is – be it a single or multiple players. Who is this Legislation targeted at – machine or the individual … Any gambler, professional, hobby, or addict will tell you some known truths – one being – ‘if gambling is intended – than placing a limit on how much a poker machine can lose in an hour is but a teardrop in the ocean of flooding options and ways gamblers will try to else wise feed their desire’. When was the last time a ‘stroke of a pen’ meant or tried to change society’s natural-born instincts – was it not Prohibition in 1920 – a movement originally started by America’s Temperance League in the late 1800’s and once legislated – so began the greatest hoodlum, bootlegging, and murderous era in America’s history. It largely remains unchecked in America and among other civilised society’s around the world. All that changed with the abolition of the Prohibition Legislation – was Government’s decided to tax the vice. Call it a moral tax if you will – or put another way – an immoral Government took an easier road to see that the Government profited off the weakness of human vices. They hid from the reality of what prohibition produced. And so it remains today – therein lies the conundrum this Government faces with its Poker Machine Legislation – half of this and half of that but not a full lad anywhere to be seen. This Government wants to retain power – and to have it they need MP Wilkie. Wilkie will only support the Government if they enact his Poker Machine Legislation – such are the type of deals done in our famed halls of power – more like a brothel walk to find suitable tastes before you partake in the exchange of money for favours. The desperation to hold power is there – and that facilitates this legislation to be put together as a kindergarten playbook – all that can be inferred is that this Government means to have this legislation fail – but not before giving Wilkie his promise fulfilled in terms of effort – but unfulfilled as an outcome – this will preserve State Government revenues and the reliance of Clubs on their Poker Machine revenues to fund their gold paved palaces with perks for those who manage and own them. Can you not see the big fat envelopes being swapped already? If this Legislation as presented is a serious attempt to help problem gamblers – then all that can be derived is that this Government and all its members should consider alternative employ. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL’s Herman on – Death and Taxes Part IV
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| Title: Death and Taxes Part IV. By: Herman O’Hermitage |
 Daily we are bombarded with utter nonsense.
Median Incomes are up by 40% from 1979 to 2007, (the mind boggles), lowest incomes are up by 18%, while the top 1% of incomes are up by 275%; Therefore proposals by President Obama to tie taxes for the rich (incomes above $1m p/a) to that of median incomes will lead to class warfare, Republicans say.
And if they do take industrial action, wholesale flights are cancelled to further penalise the entire workforce of Qantas, and that doesn’t create class warfare?
In Australia we have a two speed economy, the lucky and the strong, compared to those less fortunate who do the more mundane, if they have regular fulltime employment, to create these super profits for the banksters, amongst others and that too doesn’t create class warfare.
What if the Paramedics had refused to attend to the resultant injuries from the Police moving into Martin Place last weekend to disperse those who were part of the sit in? What if they said fix our pay claims too? The State Government can’t afford to pay. Maybe, just maybe, they can’t afford not to pay. Last night in Europe, we heard more gobble-de-gook about the European debt crisis. Holders of Greek Sovereign debt to accept a 50% write off on existing holdings (without time frame), a bigger bank bail out package is announced, banks require new capital rather than their executives accept pay cuts, to attempt to restore profitability……… Italian pensionable age rises to 67……Give me a break. This nonsense for mine just leads to my mind not wanting to take any more of this utter nonsense. This can not simply be true. It must not be true. This is all so ridiculous, what is the difference between wildest imagination and news? In any economic sense, the taxes on those who have capacity to pay, must increase. For those who are starving, they need a helping hand. Failing to see that, creates class warfare. Anything less than, is just gobble de gook. Governments must try to bring their debts back into reality. Where Australia does not have the unemployment of Europe or the USA, why does that mean they should not complain, or highlight where things are headed and going wrong? Recently I heard a joke that those Australian’s in nursing homes would prefer to be in prison, therefore prisoners should be housed in nursing homes, the aged and infirmed would be better treated in detention than they are in the nursing home system. That type of irony exists in Australia. Should they too be told to shut up and like it? Where are the humanitarian “do gooders” in that instance? Our politicians are constantly telling us we have never had it so good. Can they possibly hear that things can get better. They can change their ways and belief’s and we could all prosper further. Try to allocate resources more rationally, not simply to your mates. That will avoid class warfare. Failing to do so will be dire. Where does that very fine line exist. In reality, hope, expectation or a totally different stratosphere? ________________________________ Herman … |
EYE-BALL on – Who Really OWN’s the Carbon Tax?
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| Title: Who Really OWN’s the Carbon Tax? |
| Ifirst started to write this story some months back when the ‘Carbon Tax’ was splashed across all the daily’s and TV screens. I took a pause and thought that the heading was well in advance of where my thoughts and research were at the time.Present day – I decided to have another crack at the story.
The Carbon Tax was born from a Climate Change action concept – it can be traced back to the 70’s when mumblings were heard in far off corners – remember Greenpeace … and the Rainbow Warrior– that was about nuclear testing in the Pacific by the French. They were my first memories of someone talking about man made environmental damage to the globe. Here we are some 30-40 years later and ‘Climate Change’ is the biggest – or as PM Rudd put it as a election slogan leading into the 2007 election – ‘the largest moral challenge of the 21st century’. A statement that he and his Government roll-over on during their first term. That capitulation caused more political carnage than any other decision in many a year. We humans are a fickle species – be it fashion tastes and likes, movie tastes, food tastes, political attitudes, moral perceptions, lifestyle options, and the list could number hundred’s – but it is an ever-changing list of what seems important at the time and how we all respond in that same timeframe. Is Climate Change and a Carbon Tax just another ‘fad’ craze the globe is enduring as a distraction to some other unsolvable crisis i.e. the GFC – World Poverty – African Rim revolts – the Euro Zone meltdown – and that list could also be a 100 items long. No – smoke and mirrors are at work here and we are all players if we want or choose to be. The Scientists: If our scientists were so forward thinking at the time surely their forecasts on carbon emissions would have been announced decades ago – I don’t mean 10-20 years but the humble automobile has been around since the 1920’s – they exploded during the 1950’s and unleaded petrol was not available until the 1980’s – fossil fuels have been burning for centuries and it is only now that things are so desperate we have to bring in a tax to fix the problem – or that is what they would have us believe. Let us just refresh all that again – some 60 years after cars became household owned items – scientists or somebody – not even sure if cars were blamed in the first instance – but somebody became concerned about the rising lead content in the atmosphere. Shortly thereafter someone had a lightbulb moment and said – hey – petrol has lead in it and they began to test exhaust fumes and they all decided that leaded petrol was the cause of all the increasing atmospheric poisoning. It was no real biggie at the time – they thought they got it early enough and we just started to buy unleaded petrol because new cars would not take to old style of petrol. That was a pretty simple solution – who did it cost – was there any new tax? Then there was the OZONE depletion and a whole new panic was on and car air conditioners and aerosol cans became the baddies’ – they fixed that as well and it all seemed to return to normal – again no new tax. All through this the ‘carbon’ baddie was still biding its time if you would believe the current propaganda. Nobody has believed that ‘carbon’ was bad – we knew it was the essence of all life on this planet – how could too much carbon be a bad thing? We had been burning fossil fuels for energy, warmth and transport for centuries – burning forests – enduring volcanic eruptions for god knows how long – in all that time no scientist even raised the prospect that ‘carbon’ was a baddie and something that was going to cause the world as we know it to end – or so they would have us believe. A Reality Check on Scientists: Who do you remember as a great scientist? I learnt about Socrates, he was a philosopher of some note – Galileo, Einstein, Madam Currie – but after that my memory and knowledge fades – but no less than someone named Ross Garnaut is the Scientist the Government has asked to compile the Carbon Tax/Climate Change report. Mr Garnaut is an economic scientist according to his profile information – what would he know of the research undertaken to disprove Climate Change – really he is only reading other people’s pro Climate Change research and all paid for by Governments with no alternative reports to be considered. Talk about a paid for outcome – and again with taxpayers money. Here’s what I think I know about scientists – they have a theory or develop one during their younger years – something big and world changing if they can prove it. They sometimes make it their life’s work and go about finding the funding – when it’s secured they go away uninterrupted and unimpeded to try and prove or disprove their theory. They don’t like interference – they are schooled in methodical ways to approach the problems that deliver outcomes and they try to challenge everyday beliefs. Generally it is with nothing but good intent and for the betterment of the world. Oh – another Scientist just came to mind – Edison – hang on – no he was an inventor I think … the lightbulb … telephone … I’ll check that out! Anyway – I think scientist can be just like politicians at times – when they are young they are all full of gung-ho and want to take on the world and prove this and disprove that etc … etc … Remember John Howard in the 70’s under Fraser – he wanted to reform the water-front as Treasurer – he was 30’ish at the time and it was a childhood dream he had – ‘reform the waterfront’ – he would stay yup night thinking about it and planning it. During those times it came to him that he was the man to do it. After Fraser got booted and poor little Johnny spent several decades as Andrew Peacocks whipping boy he fell into some luck and had another shot. He had spent decades in the wilderness like Moses and he was not going to miss his opportunity to live his lifelong dream. What do you think was the first thing he though of when he realised he had the power of both houses – the bloody waterfront reform. Well – scientists are much the same – they dedicate a life to a cause – much the same as politicians do – they have a favourite that the go back to and keep having another crack at when they’re stumped … but all the while they have to earn a living and that is where the great big ‘baddie’ Carbon issue has saved so many. Any current type of research grant application in the Western World only has to mention ‘the effects and impact of climate change’ as part of their research outcomes – and Governments are only too willing to throw funds at the project. That is where the scientific community has been the last 10 or so years. There is no ready available funding that I know of to disprove ‘Climate Change’ or the bad influences of Carbon. Politicians and Scientists – they form the most toxic of mixes one can imagine – remember the Manhattan Project … almost destroyed the planet as I recall and still might – remember Japan’s nuclear meltdown earlier this year and the big hush since. The Al Gore – “Inconveinent Truth”: During the 90’s I was a happy little chappie flowing along with the environmental meltdown debate over pesticides usage – the ozone hole and its causes – the river waterways and the toxic waste being pumped into them – and so on. In 1995 I was so angry at what I believed was happening to our Planet and Society I wrote a Documentary titled: ‘Our Society and Planet in Decay’. An intro can be read at an old website that is still in existence without the images at this linked address – I was really into the movement back then and yet have to concede – I was all about believing what others were telling me on the subject … Even after I saw ‘Inconveinient Truth’ – I became more excited about the issue of Climate Change and its ghastly impact on my and my children’s lives – I was still content within my beliefs until this dirty stinking ‘Carbon Tax’ debate began, in the aftermath of the ETS and the Copenhagen disaster. The Carbon Tax: I am a far better researcher these days that I was when the internet was first available. Will all the hullabaloo over the introduction of a new Carbon Tax – I though it was time that I dug a little deeper into my Climate Change beliefs. The more I dug and found the more hollow the feeling was that I was gullible and that my beliefs were nothing more than the belief’s one has about heaven and hell – who’s been there and come back to really tell us what they’re like. I am now a ‘sceptic’ and have belief in both sides or parts thereof of the arguments claimed. I blogged earlier this year on some of this research – check out these posts for my discovery phase:
Reflecting on all these linked posts – I have to say I did invested quite a bit of time and effort and still the outcome belief is clouded with a certain amount of uncertainty. Who owns the Climate Change and Carbon Emissions debate? What are its origins and terms of reference? These are both questions that are now in the minds of Australians and many other people around the world. Should we believe what Politicians say about CLimate Change or do they have closed minds and hidden agenda’s? It’s been proved that Al Gore had a motive – reports are that he invested heavily in green energy before he made “Inconvenient Truth’ – where does his creditability now lie? Greg Combet – Australian Minister for Climate Change – I wrote to his office along with every other Labour Minister and Backbencher – and Malcolm Turnbull asking them to express their ‘lightbulb’ moment when they became supporters in the belief that Carbon was the cause of Climate Change. Not one MP responded in writing. I received a phone call from a staffed in Mr Combet’s office – [Heather] – and we had a 20 min discussion and all that could be proved was that she was educated in presenting the facts as Mr Combet wanted them told – my probing investigative questioning was largely seen as sceptic revolt – and poor Heather never knew half about what I was asking. A request was made for the minister of someone more senior in Mr Combet’s office to return my call – it never came. The League of Climate Change Sceptics: Depending on which end of this stick you want to hold – at one end is the likes of Alan Jones and his megaphone ego driven persona – and at the other end is the real science and rational thinking that refutes all the arguments put forward by the CSRIO and other collective pro Climate Change Scientist’s groups with reports advocating that Climate Change is here and happening as we live and breathe. The voice of scepticism is growing – Politicians like Howard and Abbott are closet sceptics with mousie voices on the subject – are there ever any other kind when polling results depend on the answer you give – but with Abbott – because he only knows the word “No” – if you put the question another way would he understand the question and still answer – “No”? No politician is going to draw a line and say – ‘never – never – never’ – remember GST and John Howard’s roll-over and sucker-punch – and how his eye-brows grew like Les Patterson’s because of that lie … No – the political football titled Climate Change is afoot and nobody knows how the game will end. The Carbon Tax game is at quarter-time with the Government gorging on oranges after their 1st quarter lead – the Senate and then the population are all still to come off the bench to play their part. Don’t you just love our decision making process – all that media copy – hot air and slimy action between the sheets trying to win over support and influence those so-called enemies … This ‘Game of Thrones’ is a dead mans game – it is a game played by knucklehead dumbass’s who have no idea where the real game is being played … will someone please ring a bell and let them know that the game they are playing is on the furthest outreaches of the playing fields – nobody is watching their game – yet the main stadium is still full and growing bored with the delay in the real game everybody showed up for and still want to see … That Game of course is the second half of the Rudd v Gillard showdown and who gets to knife Shorten, Howes, Arbib, Conroy and any of the other dirty filthy scumbag’s that turned the first half into an uproar when Rudd’s team first raised a white-flag – and then allowed Gillards usurpers in to slit the throats of those sleeping under a flag of truce. It’s a dirty game – but then two can play it that way and that is what everybody’s wanting and waiting to see. Now – that game is well worth the price of any admission … ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
EYE-BALL on – Immigration – be careful what you wish for …
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| Title: Immigration – be careful what you wish for … |
| The following YouTube link presentation was sent with genuine concerns about the spread of double standards within the same society.
The question is and always will be – should immigrants embrace the laws of their new adopted country to the exclusions of their old laws – or should they be allowed to bring their own laws and live by them and impose them on existing populations. Please watch the following broadcast and make a decision: If you have an opinion – feel free to express it via the ‘comments’ link at the top of the post. ________________________________________ The EYE-BALL Opinion … |
Liebster Award
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