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1
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by dodge -
Pre 'professionalism' players could only go round for so long before they had to get a job.  Now the $ are good, they are going to player as long as they can.

Be nice to say this is a one-off, but it is an oft repeated pattern

Not much from the first couple of Sheffield Shield games to bring in...

There aren't many players that'd say 'Nah, I'm not up to it,  don't select me'. More the selectors fault for not rejuvenating the side and allowing players to determine when they will retire. By the time the current test bowlers retire, Neser, Richardson etc will be gone, so who will will be the pace bowlers?
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The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Cricket thread
Last post by crashlander -
We certainly don't seem to be able to bat very well. I'm afraid Maddinson looks to be a wrong step.
Konstas, on the other hand, appears to have settled a bit: mot playing too many weird shots. 100 from 167 ball todays.
Would he have done better than Maddinson? Another interesting question for our selectors to ponder.
7
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by DJC -
Quote from: Gointocarlton – on
Quote from: PaulP – on
Latest update on Helen Haines is pretty bad : she's lost one leg and surgeons are fighting to save the other leg. She remains in a critical condition.
She has indeed lost her second leg, just reported on the news. Awful, just awful.

Absolutely terrible ... and she's still in a critical condition  :(
9
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by Lods -
The issue lies not with the everyday run-of-the mill citizen who are able to make the distinction between the radical nonsense and ridiculous suggestions
The problem comes when the extreme messages get taken up by those suffering from a mental issue or extremist views and are then acted upon.
Sometimes it only takes a sideways glance or comment to trigger that behaviour.

The ears pricked up when it was revealed that 'anti-terror' personnel were involved in the investigation of the Haines incident.
Terrorism?

It turns out that one explanation may be that at some point a 'once fan', most likely suffering from mental health isssues, has been put off by a comment, perhaps even in a private conversation or message, and that has triggered him to the extent that he carried out the offence.

The alleged offender's parent's have suggested a long term friendship with Helen Haines. At the very least they were acquainted...and that would probably have extended to their son. They reportedly appeared have at one time shared similar views on a number of social and environmental issues

The extent of any realtionship, motives and the mental health of the offender will be for the courts to decide...but  it does remain that the events are almost always the result of inflammatory messaging that sets off the 'not right-minded' to act aggressively.

10
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Last post by DJC -
The AFP commissioner said that they are charging close to one person every week with threatening a Commonwealth politician.  I suspect that many are keyboard warriors with no means or intention of actually carrying out their threat, but that's not the point.  Politicians of all persuasions should be be able to represent their constituents without having to worry about their safety.

Any number of factors may be motivating those making threats but I can't help but think that the language politicians use about each other, and the language that public figures use about politicians, plays a significant role.  For example, Lib MP Angie Bell recently said that Anne Aly and Anthony Albanese "should be shamed and stoned in the square.” Anne Aly subsequently revealed that she has had 19 death threats this week.  Then there's Alan Jones advocating for Julia Gillard and Bob Brown to be placed in a "chaff bag" and dumped "as far out to sea as they can".  All sides of politics are guilty of inappropriate language and threatening, demeaning language against female politicians is being used all around the world.

It's time that our politicians took a stand and eliminated violent, threatening and demeaning language from political discourse.