Ashes = Crashes

PM urges bosses to be flexible for Ashes.

*sniff* What's that in the air? *sniff* Oh no! - I smell a rant!

Prime Minister John Howard has urged employers to show flexibility if their workers are bleary eyed after watching the must-win deciding Ashes cricket Test against England.

"Well of course the hours are a little different," Mr Howard told the Nine Network.

With a dry cool wit like that, he could be PM one day!

I would encourage, as I do in all matters relating to workplace relations, flexibility.

You spin me right round baby, right round, like a record baby right round round round.
Warne needs to spin like that, wow. Look at how he couldn't give a flying shit about workers unless they're a bit tired from the cricket watching - which, as our cunning leader so aptly notes - THE HOURS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN MERRY OLD ENGLAND.

It makes the drive to work so much more exciting when you're nodding off on the freeway. But at least you saw the cricket!

To segue this, I went to the 3,000 strong union meeting (why do they call it a rally? It's a bunch of people sitting down quietly for a couple of hours.) It was interesting - after you wade past the 'Socialist Alliance! Capitalism sucks but GIVE US MONEY!' peoples.

There's one thing to note about unionists - they're predominately quiet normal hard working people. At the June 30 rally of 120,000 odd people, most everyone was walking quietly. Not chanting, not cheering jeering swearing fist waving lunatics. You never see this - probably because it doesn't make for particularly interesting television pictures - it'd be pretty boring watching what most of the rally was doing most of the time. People walking along, discussing television, the weather, work matters, how if one of them breaks wind how many of the ensuing masses will cop a nosefull. They showed the footage of the screaming crowd at the front waving whatever was in their hands at that particular time as they performed en cue.

At yesterday's do, the media had to leave early, apparently this is not common. My guess is some of the speakers are under threat, some pointed out there were certain things they could not say. It was really quite creepy as the camera crews left, free media has to go in a police state I suppose. It made me sad. But, back onto a lighter note, the media had recorded some of Combet, etc, and all they had was a few rounds of moderate claps from the audience, and a quite hand-raising vote or two. At this point, the chairman had to step in, and try to rile us up to do what we knew was what the camera's wanted, and that was a roaring cheer of 'no' or whatever the hell it was we were supposed to say and raised our voting hands. Then the chairman said 'OK, that's enough' - to which came a roaring laughter at the absurdity of it all. I don't think that would have made the cut. We are but dolphins in hoops?