another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Actually, Pleasant Valley would considerably more pleasanter if there were slightly fewer leaves in it. Or if the leaves were stuck to the trees, particularly the trees in the immediate vicinity - say 200 kilometres or thereabouts - of the pool. Anyway, in between collecting and disposing of said leaves, I've had a little time to spend on the internets, which yielded these:

1. The parallel one can draw with Australia is uncanny - when actually, it shouldn't be. Governments in power for too long with too much autonomy (a.k.a. the 'mandate') and a particularly strong leader. Blair's been on the nose for a while in the UK while the stainless steel rodent goes from strength to strength. But eventually even those who will not see have to acknowledge what's being done 'in their name'.
2. and while this one is hilarious, just count how many of the stories have to do with exaggerated concepts of individual rights and utter lack of recognition that fellow citizens might have any rights at all.