So much for population control!

I’m cackling at a report in an Australian newspaper. It seems that condoms have been shipped in vast quantities to Papua New Guinea, to promote safe sex and combat the spread of AIDS: but corruption and inefficiency have prevented their proper distribution, so that they’re being put to uses never envisaged by their manufacturers! Despite… Continue reading So much for population control!

News from South Africa

I see the bureaucracy in South Africa hasn’t improved any since I left that country. South Africans are being urged to confirm whether they are officially alive, as the beleaguered home affairs department attempts to do away with “fraudulent deaths”, government said Tuesday. “We really call upon citizens to confirm your alive status,” local government… Continue reading News from South Africa

A new light on fitness reports

Those of us who’ve served in armed forces around the world will be familiar with so-called ‘fitness reports’, the assessment of our performance compiled by our superior officers which could have so much effect on our promotion and career paths. A friend, Mike W., has e-mailed me a list of (alleged) entries from US and… Continue reading A new light on fitness reports

A sad finale to the Chagos Islanders’ last appeal

I’m saddened by the news that the Chagos Islanders have lost their appeal to Britain’s Law Lords over their expulsion from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960’s. As the BBC tells the story: In the mid-1960s, the US was worried about possible Soviet expansion in the Indian Ocean and wanted a base in the region… Continue reading A sad finale to the Chagos Islanders’ last appeal

Cellphones, privacy and the law

I know that many of us have read about how cellphones can be tracked to a given location by triangulating their bearings from cellphone towers. However, information that’s recently been leaking out of the FBI shows that law enforcement agencies have another way to locate a phone – and, of course, the person using it.… Continue reading Cellphones, privacy and the law

Doofus Of The Day #97

My, but this week’s producing Doofi like no other! Today’s Doofus award is a collective one, to Australia’s Environmental Protection Agency. They seem to have forgotten, in their collective environmental enthusiasm, that humans need protection too! A crocodile which has caused beaches to be closed at a north Queensland tourist mecca has gone missing as… Continue reading Doofus Of The Day #97