Twice I have tried to post a reasoned and reasonable response to an ongoing debate http://bromo.nook.com.au/2007/06/08/what-discrimination-2/ at my Nook site and each time it has failed to appear.
Twice I have asked admin to explain. And not a word has been received in reply.
Censorship is alive and well at Nooksville.
The owners of the short-lived Romanian restaurant in Bridge Road, Richmond, are making an interesting accusation about the reasons for their eatery’s closure. It is a matter of “reverse discrimination” alleges gypsy Yvonne Slee in a romany newspaper published in the UK. Ms Slee had intended to use the restaurant to promote the romany heritage and culture.
In recent days, flyers have appeared on the deserted cafe’s window announcing the advent of Sintezza’s - another romany-themed restuarant - and promoting two lurid romance novels written by Ms Slee. It seems she has recovered from the alleged discrimination and is about to take another crack at tempting locals’ tastebuds.
If you ever think if using that emergency after-hours phone number posted on the door of the Yarra Health Centre in Church Street, forget it. What you’ll get if you ring is a testy female asking why you’ve phoned that number and did you call a 1300 number. Emergency help? No way. She wasn’t interested in our problem - our need for medical attention.
We tried explaining it was an after-hours number, but she wasn’t having any of that - and, anyway, the doctors weren’t starting work until 11am and this was NOT the number to ring. OK, so why is it there on the door of the health service? We were ill, we needed medical help, but what we got was a bureaucrat.
Yarra Council has done it again: got workers to sneak in at dead of night and hung another of its annoying banners over the facade of the Richmond Town Hall. Ratepayers bear the cost of the making and installing (with very expensive cherry-picker hire) of these blots on the landscape. We don’t get asked if we support or share the political views expressed, which generally are national rather than local. How about using the money to remove the garbage in the streets or fill in the potholes, or even getting officers to clear the footpaths of boozed bar patrons?
Isn’t there something not quite in sync with the students and teachers at the Australian Fitness Institute in Church Street, Richmond, taking their breaks outside - and SMOKING! How fit is that? A good example to carry with them when they begin teaching.
There was a time when libraries were places of QUIET study, reading and reflection. No more - at least not at the Richmond Library in Church Street. It’s more like a creche or kindergarten with yelling kids allowed to run all over the place. Study? No way. It would be quieter out on the street, but the librarians don’t seem to care.
This useless Bracks Government must have more money than sense (witness the buy-back of its old trains) if it can spend $500,000 on a Responsible Pet Ownership Program. Such a scheme is (according to the Age) in next week’s State Budget. Forget responsible pets; how about encouraging responsible pet owners? It is time we put an end to dog owners leaving their animals to bark, yap, howl and generally make a nuisance of themselves all day long while their uncaring owners disappear to work. Perhaps this is an issue Yarra Council should include in its proposed local law to limit noise nuisance.
Good news for all long-distance runners. The Melbourne Marathon will be based around the MCG - starting in Yarra Park and finishing inside the ground. This means an out-and-back course, which is always far better logistically than a point-to-point run such as the ghastly trek from Frankston to Melbourne. Rumour is the course will lap Albert Park and go along Beach Road as far as Sandringham before returning to the ‘G.
So where were all those international swimmers at the ho-hum swimming championships who were so allegedly desperate for somewhere to train that the Richmond pool had to be completely handed over to their needs?
This was the (very empty) pool during one of the main closed-off periods. Remember, taxpayers and ratepayers, Yarra Council was not only holding on to members’ monies for this closed period but also receiving money from the Government/FINA (i.e. taxpayers’ money) as hiring fees. Nice bit of double-dipping.
Not bad, Yarra Council. It only took until 4 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon to turn the Richmond Town Hall’s timepiece back in line with the end of daylight saving, which occurred at 3am on Sunday. It just goes to show how slowly the wheels of bureaucracy turn.
