full of hot air (again!)

I've been holding in a gazillion opinions lately, too nervous to put them out there, but increasingly frustrated at holding them in.

Since I'm short on energy and long on hot air tonight, I'm going to puff your way about a couple of things on the news tonight.

Gunns pulp mill. You know where Frank and I stand on this one. I haven't joined Frank in getting arrested, but if push came to shove, I might. At the moment the whole project seems stalled. Gunns is shedding assets as fast as it can in an effort to make themselves more attractive to overseas investors and, consequently, lots of people are losing their jobs. Despite all this, no investors are forthcoming (long may the Aussie dollar stay high, although I may well be lynched for saying so) and it's anyone's guess when things might start moving forward. I'm not sure how long Gunns can keep going, pouring money into a bottomless pit with no return. What really gets up my nose is their duplicity. They have claimed we need the pulp mill in Tasmania because it will bring so many jobs to the northern region, and yet now they are selling assets and closing saw mills to make the possibility of a pulp mill more attractive and potentially viable... and people are losing their jobs. So let's state it like it is: Gunns don't really care about jobs for the region at all, they just think they can make lots of money for themselves and their investors if they can ever get this thing off the ground.

Hot air issue number two: the security measures recently introduced in the USA. (Impeccable timing, not) Recently I've was thinking about putting the US on my list of desirable holiday destinations. I thought I'd bite the bullet, swallow my pride at the finger printing and biometric measuring and think about when to visit my blogging pals. Truth be told, it was a pipe dream, but suddenly it's even pipe dreamier... If I can travel anywhere else in the world without being felt up patted down (which at present it seems I can) then I would prefer to travel anywhere else in the world. It's a little theoretical, for despite a daily strengthening of my hankering for foreign climes, we don't have any major plans to jump on a long haul flight... time, carbon footprint and moolah all play their part in our thinking. But such invasive screening puts me off. It turns us all into criminals. The majority of people are peaceful, law abiding citizens, and we are being disadvantaged due to the madness of a few. I know the mad few can do a lot of harm, but their last effort was with postal packages, not explosive belts or squidgy shoes. I'm not a huge conspiracist (I think I may have just made that word up) but what a perfect way to control the masses! For me it's a step too far, and I can avoid it, so I will. Sorry Sandy and Cherie and Deanna and Mike... I dreamed, but my dreams have turned to dust.

I'm debating whether I should tack a disclaimer to this post: "PMT inflamed cantankerousness contributed to this discussion." It might be pertinent. Or maybe I have some valid points here... hmmm. I'll leave you to decide on that one!