Purity Control

I had intended to write about my adventures with my brother in New Zealand, but university work has gotten in the way. I will write about that trip, pictures included, at some future point, hopefully starting this week. This last week has had some newsworthy events, included the discommendation of a particularly powerful sports team. It remains to be seen how far the repercussions will reach.

I returned to Canberra from New Zealand on the 17th and almost immediately I had to retool my thinking for university. The 2-week break was a welcome respite but it didn't take too long to get back into the rhythm of scholastic activity. This is now the 2nd half of the semester and all are anxious about the upcoming exams; I know I am.

I received an interesting letter from the Australian Electoral Commission the other day stating that I was not enrolled to vote at my current address. Under Australian law, both registration and voting are compulsory under penalty of monetary fine. While that is all well and good, it overlooks the fact that I am not an Australian citizen and, therefore, not entitled to vote at all. Luckily, the form had a box which I could tick informing the agency that I am not an Australian citizen and that should be the end of the matter. Many decades ago, it wouldn't have mattered. A former professor of mine, Dr. Martin Rudner, stated that during the Gough Whitlam Affair in the 1970s, while he was travelling through Australia, he, as a Canadian citizen, was also obliged to vote. What an odd country this is that takes voting so seriously that even non-citizens had a duty.

2 nights ago, I was invited to a Turkish dinner at a restaurant called Harem in the suburb of Kingston. After some misdirection, where we ended up in the neighbouring suburb of Griffith, myself and 3 companions found ourselves at the appropriate establishment. We ordered a small dinner banquet that was delicious, although slow in coming. A particular centrepiece was a belly dancer who performed a short number for the patrons. I'm not a great fan of Turkish cuisine but this dinner was pretty good. I won't frequent a Turkish restaurant for some time, but I'll keep them in mind from now on.

The big news in sports is the terrible dishonour visited upon the Melbourne Storm rugby league team. It has been brought to light that the club has deliberately violated the salary cap imposed by the league as revealed in secret account books found in a search of the club headquarters. As punishment, the team has been stripped of all competition points acquired to date, it cannot acquire anymore points for the remainder of the season (guaranteeing a last place finish) and, a bit bizarrely, has been stripped of its 2 championship titles in 2007 and 2009. Curiously, the opposing teams will not be granted the championships meaning that, technically, no one won the championship in 2007 and 2009. I'm not sure that I would have imposed that last penalty. It's not like the team bribed an official or fielded otherwise ineligible players, they won only by playing better than the other teams. It's also a bit of an absurd penalty if you think about it. Anyway, the NRL is contemplating further civil suits while it will be left up to the Victorian or NSW police to lay criminal charges. Needless to say, this has shocked the rugby community especially as the NRL was trying to expand its profile in Melbourne, traditionally the home of aussie rules. The Super 14 Rugby Union league is also expanding into Melbourne and it remains to be seen how this scandal will affect those plans.

Today was also one of the most important days on the Australian calendar, ANZAC Day. It's sort of like Remembrance Day for Australians. It commemorates the disastrous Gallipoli landings in World War One of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. It has since expanded to commemorate all Australian soldiers lost in war; New Zealand also celebrates this day. As the holiday falls on a Sunday, tomorrow is a holiday which will give me more time to do my school work. There is no rest for the weary.