Episode 58 is now available, and it's free no matter where you get it from. You can listen to it or download it through the player at the bottom of the post here, or subscribe for free through iTunes here (you must have the free iTunes player installed). You can also listen to it for free through the player on my MySpace page.
I have a lot of work to do right now, so this is just a short catch-up episode.
Differences are emerging following the Australian election. Australia plans on withdrawing combat troops from Iraq by the middle of next year (New Zealand has never had combat troops in Iraq). The new government also plans to formally apologise to Aborgines for the Stolen Generation, something that defeated Prime Minister John Howard steadfastly refused to do.
In talking about the Aussie elections, I compared Australia with New Zealand and I said that it was more likely that New Zealand's Labour Party would be better positioned to form government than the National Party because Labour has more potential coalition partners. The next day, the New Zealand Herald published a front page story claiming that a new poll had found that if the election were held then, the National Party would win enough seats to govern alone—but does it really mean that? A week and a half earlier, a poll from rival Fairfax Media showed Labour up and National down.
All opinion polls are mere snapshots of one fleeting moment, but some are more worthy than others. For example, in the US the mainstream news media made a big deal out of a Zogby poll that claimed to show that Hillary Clinton would lose to any Republican. However, the poll was a worthless online poll and a Gallup poll released about the same time showed the opposite—that either Clinton or Obama could beat the Republicans. The Gallup poll was a real poll and had credibility, but the mainstream news media ignored it.
Since I'm an expat, it makes sense I should talk about that, so on Fridays I'm going to give you the Expat Briefing, telling you one thing about being an expat that I haven't really talked about before. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, too.
Mentioned in this episode: Ramble Redhead
Leave a comment or send an email to me at amerinz{at)yahoo.com. You can also ring my US listener line on 206-339-8413.
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3 comments:
When you were describing how you drive a car it reminded me of when I got my first stick shift car and had to learn how to do the clutch and the stick at the same time. I learned quickly. I can't imagine doing it on the left side.
Ramble is a nice guy. I think the ribbing began as a joke and then got a little vicious from time to time. Clearly, Ramble rolls very well with them, which certainly makes him the better person, don't you think?
Archerr: In Driver Ed, we had VW beetle (!) to drive around the carpark for one period (and hour or so, I think). It was years later before I learned to drive manual--and I STILL think I couldn't drive manual here!
Eric: I completely agree. Actually, I'm not sure I would have been as gracious sometimes as he's been. I admire the way he handles it all--and the gift he has for promotion, because it's something I'm not very good at.
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