Poor old Brendan

This is the wonderful dilemma of sport. How far do you excuse poor behaviour because of brilliant sportsmanship?

Brendan Fevola's drunken night out at the BrownNose Medals is becoming an increasing debacle. Why should we be surprised? Now we are told what was a drunken binge was also an occasion of sexual assault. I ask again...Why should we be surprised?

We will wait with baited breath...but imagine we will be disappointed if we think that desperate sports clubs will sacrifice their never assuaged appetite for success on the altar of decency. Or am I just an old prude...or prune...or both?

Ooops ...let me print a retraction!

In Saturday's Australian a retraction published of a story some what earlier. It reads that costing the Olympics the original article said "therefore each gold medal cost the taxpayer $30 million" that should have read '$13 million'.

Can't help but think it was a little tongue-in-cheek!

Bread and circi

In the end sport is a game, it is not welfare, education or health.
Its attraction is that it figures prominently in the public imagination.
That fact alone should tell us that it has more capacity to raise its own funding than any other sector of the economy.
The dilemma for politicians is to resist the temptation to feed the circus side of the 'bread and circuses' equation in order to appease the seemingly insatiable public desire for sporting prowess
So, in the wake of the Olympics, it is good to see the pursing of lips and biting of tongues on both ends of the politcial spectrum when the possibility of increased funding for sport is raised.

Carrying the torch

It is, I suggest, a vain hope that the Olympic will be free of political interference or issue. Even the Sydney Olympics had the question of who would open them, our Head of State or our benevolent dictator!
That question is mild by comparison with the complex of issues that surrounds the Chinese dragon, not the least of which is Tibet.
Although we have Olympic representatives like Monsieur Rogge wanting us to believe that there should be no protests, and that some how they should be kept free of politics, this is rather laughable. There will be protests (here), because the Olympics are political.
China, in wanting to stage sthe Olympics, is acting politically (when has it not). But it is nto alone in doing that. The IOC uses its not considerable influence to curry favour and influence in the whole process of country selection, it (if you like) plays the politcial situation off against itself.
The idea that 'sport' is some how pure and above the mortal plain is clearly laughable in these days of doping, sponsorship the billion dollar industries it spawns.
We should get real.
I think Rudd is right in not getting too alarmed by the possibility of protest. By saying that in Australia it is OK, and indeed we expect the right, to protest we are doing more for democracy than whisking the torch into some warehouse so that it is not some how 'defiled'.
China likes to do wrong in the world's eyes, and to use its might to forbid discussion.
That doesn't sound to me like new found freedom or emergent democracy, it looks rather like bullying and tyranny!

Working from home

While there have been a number of debates around recently about education, no aspect is more interesting than whether or not kids should be doing homework.
We have already had at least one bout of tears and the "I don't feel well enough to go to school" routine once this year (3rd week of school).
The naked facts are that our school age daughter is at school by 8 a.m. on 3 or 4 mornings a week. She doesn't get off the bus until 4.15. She plays the piano, and the cello....wants to do softball and netball .... and needs time just to chill.
Why is it reasonable to assume that with 8 hours spent at school something will be achieved by having 1-2 hours more. I fail to be convinced.
At some point I just want her to play, to ring her friends and feel that she has some areas of her life that her under her control.
Others argue that it is a lesson in what the real world is like. It may indeed be like that for some folk. But most ordinary people I know don't come home from work to be told they have to do two hours more...some do, but is that desirable. I don't think so.
Too many families suffer because too many people go to work and then crowd their together time out.

And after all, does a 13 year old need two hours a night extra work.
I am not convinced that this does anything more than encourage children to detest self-driven education.