Cablog

April Investigate

The April Investigate has hit the stands featuring a special on The New Australian Family. It searches for the missing fathers, considers adoption options and has 'ol Bronnie Bishop revealing Government plans for parents and kids.

The issue of who's running the Aussie party-drug caper is given a good scrut, identifying the new players. Speaking of which, Jake Ryan looks at recreational drugs in sport.

Sheesh, so much content - click link for the rest of the headlines. I have a piece titled Walking Wounded dealing with two passengers, within hours of each other, carrying injuries from street incidents. When in doubt catch a cab.

Happy return

I'm back on deck after some overdue days off up the Coast. Purposefully avoided the blog and generally spent a relaxing time with The Angel and some family of mine. Just what the doctor ordered after endless shifts in the hack. With luck I'll now have a reduced work load through winter.

Friend of Cablog and new blogger Shelly Horton has shamelessly sought to suck me into a game about books. You know the deal...answer some existential questions then pass the game on like yesterdays pizza.

Shelly specializes in movie reviewing and appears on various media outlets delivering her unique take on what's hot and what's not. So add shellyonthetelly to your favourites for the latest reviews.

Hey Shelly, how about reviewing Footballer's Wifes, looks interesting..? And why does ABC TV need a human to introduce Parliament..?

Now, here's my answers to her book game...      

Not forgotten

Here's a moblog from the scene referred to in the previous post. From memory, the family were slammed by a 4WD whose driver had fallen asleep. However he successfully pleaded a rare sleep disorder leading to a change in the law on defence. A sad legacy.

Roadside memorials

Last night at work l listened to a timely special on ABC radio. A brilliant repeat called White Lines, White Crosses from December 2003. Appropriately for Good Friday and the holiday weekend, the program dealt with a growing phenomena in Australia - roadside memorials for accident victims,

Simple or elaborate, makeshift or permanent, these memorials are public markers of private grief, and turn public land into private sacred space. Whether or not you think they should be allowed, or you think they’re a useful road safety reminder, or a distraction and potential road hazard – they do hold great meaning for the people who erect them, and open a window on contemporary spirituality and the rituals of grief.

Personally, I accept and respect these sad memorials, considering them valid statements bearing witness to a life lost. Without fail, passing a memorial has me quietly reflecting on it's significance to the victim's connections, and motoring in general... (Click images to enlarge)

None more so than the five small white crosses on the Pacific Highway north of Taree. It's both a heartbreaking and chilling image as one flashes by at 100kph. A whole family were taken out some years ago at Easter. Five crosses send a powerful message.

Actually I'll be passing by in a few days, returning from a visit to The Angel. Despite the awkward location, I'll endeavour to take an image of the scene and send it via moblog.

Iraqi forces score

Today comes news Iraqi defence forces has scored their biggest victory to date against insurgents. In an Iraqi led action on Wednesday, a commando unit backed by Coalition troops killed 85 insurgents and destroyed an anti-Iraqi training camp in the Sunni area.

This is a significant victory which relied on rare intelligence. Coupled with last weeks action where Coalition forces destroyed insurgent convoy-ambushers, it indicates Iraqi and American forces are now receiving much better intelligence on the insurgents.

Furthermore, that a significant number of Wednesday's dead were foreign fighters puts paid to the myth Coalition forces are up against a home-grown insurgency. Additionally, recent interrogations of captured fighters have revealed many are purely mercenaries.

More of these results along with low casualities will bolster Iraqi confidence that their fledgling democracy can survive those hell-bent on starting a civil war. Witness this...

Unfortunately though these latest results aren't making it anywhere near the front pages of the Western press, being overshadowed by local issues such as Terri Schiavo and Tony Abbott, amongst others. Yet we're still at war. And a war from which many countries, who refuse to help, will happily reap the benefits. We'll remember them.

Round up

Two items from yesterday's The Australian caught my eye,

• Janet Albrechtson takes the opportunity to cover the increasingly easy access to DNA testing for paternity and the implications of such results. Feminists get a special mention. Darlene has more.
• Emma Tom reports on a weird new craze. The 'ol brown becomes the new black, and bleached. Call me old fashioned.

Plus a couple of additions to the Blogroll, which for some reason take a while to list,

• Ian of Res Publica was born in England, the same year as myself. He has lived in Aus for the last 24 years, now residing in Bundaberg Queensland. Besides raising a small army of girls, Ian is married to the delightfully named, The Handbrake. Not only is Ian a frustrated scribe but also a mixed bag politically. Yet a committed Republican.
• For many of my readers American Hugh Hewitt probably needs no introduction, being one of the top-gun bloggers in the world. Author of 4 books including Blog, and a New York Times best seller, Professor of Law, weekly columnist, radio broadcaster, Emmy awards for TV news show, you get the picture...
• Plus Bourbon bird has a new home and she's pissed off ! Sex offenders beware.

Email bug

Unfortunately I currently have an email problem. Whilst I can receive messages, I can't send messages due to some bug. So those of you who have contacted me recently, please bear with me till I can sort it out. At the same time I'd like to apologise to fellow bloggers for the lack of visits. Endless shifts suck. Cheers, Adrian.

UPDATE : Bug fixed.

Love of sorts

Manifestations of love come in various forms - click images to enlarge - whether it be in a sexy new sports car, a bride checking in or an old bloke checking out, a bus promotion for the Easter Carnival of thoroughbreds-Princesses prepare or Bruno Dutot's wonderful Girl on the Wall. (Star City Casino, Edgecliffe, Newtown and the Shangrila Hotel)

Whatagal !

Hot damm ! This girl knows how to make an entrance - check those boots ! And check those troops - she's loving every minute of it. Why is this woman single ???

At a recent Lebanese Cedar Revolution rally,

There was also an invitation from young Edgard Baradhy, for his heroine, Ms. Rice, to come to Beirut “and I am ready to take her for coffee."

Join the club Edgard. You've got lots of competition.

(Click image to enlarge)

CONDI UPDATE : This from Tina Brown in the Washington Post,

All the hype about Condi Rice's new rock-star persona is just because politics has lost its fizz. White House correspondents are bored. The newly self-infatuated bloggers are bored...

Is Tina Brown someone important..? She sure don't care for Condi,

Condi seems to have shed gender, shed race, shed the need for any visible emotional life. Her hobbies -- ice skating, chamber music -- are intellectually pristine and demurely glamorous...

Though Tina Brown loves Hillary Clinton. Let the catfights begin !

A ripper

Here's a report on Thursday night's shift. I thought I’d demonstrate what constitutes ‘a ripper’ for cabbies, by detailing a dream section early in the shift. Namely, a 4 hour bracket which not only involved back to back work, but also pleasant passengers...

Generally on a Thursday the shift commences slowly and starts peaking around 7 pm till well after close of late night shopping at 9 pm. However this Thursday, all day drizzle and intermittent rain ensured things were jumping as soon as I logged on, at 4 pm...