Just For Laughs!

Seems like the traffic chaos in Sydney at the moment is caused mostly by George W Bush’s entourage. It is 1000-strong and includes 50 White House political aides, 150 national security advisers and 200 specialists from other government departments. In addition, Bush’s Secret Service agents have brought their own sniffer dogs, their own guns and their own bullets. He also brought 3 Jumbo Jets (including Airforce One), two aircraft that carry aircraft; a back-up for Airforce One, and a back-up for the back-up of Airforce One. Say what ??@@@##

Foolhardy as it appears in hindsight, I found myself on the Harbour Bridge heading north this morning about half an hour after the US President’s motorcade had headed south. A 10-minute trip took 90 minutes. I was peeved, thinking : Why are all these people bothering to catch a glimpse of President Bush ? until I realised that they weren’t, they were heading the other way – suitcases on the back seat, surfboards on roofs, singing along to the radio. Tomorrow is a public holiday and my fellow Sydneysiders are taking advantage of the long weekend and leaving the city in droves. We Aussies, we like a good political stoush, but not as much as a three-day weekend! Make mine a margarita!!!

Looks like the APEC security crackdown is not quite as effective as the powers that be had hoped. Those naughty boys from ABC TV’s The Chaser’s War On Everything were up to their old tricks again, forming their own motorcade, complete with Canadian flag and comedian, Chas Licciardello, in the back seat dressed as Osama Bin Laden. They got through the first part of the secured zone until security forces cottoned-on and detained them. The Chaser guys are cutting-edge satirists who are often accused of taking things too far. Whether or not they will be charged with something remains to be seen but one thing’s for sure, they gave many of us suffering from APEC overload a much needed dose of comic relief!