This week's (Grand Prix) compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. It’s devoted to the Australian F1 Grand Prix tomorrow afternoon. The event’s financially, environmentially and socially irresponsible. And the people involved with it are, well, judge for yourself:

1. Journalist Alan Attwood sets the scene – regarding the finances; and some people, notably Australian GP boss Ron Walker and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone [1]. QED.

2. The event’s official blog can’t spell Ecclestone’s name correctly [2]. And in the nine days since that post went up, it’s remained uncorrected. Who said petrol doesn’t cause brain damage.

3. Walker calls Ecclestone’s fee ‘wretched’ [3]. Who negotiated it? Walker, of course. How big’s the fee? The public doesn’t know – because the contract’s secret.

4. Tourism Australia [TA] has quantified the tourism flowon from Oprah Winfrey’s recent Australian odyssey [4]. Despite Walker prattling on for the last 18 years about the GP showcasing Melbourne, has TA ever quantified its tourism flowon? You know the answer. And the reason for it.

5. The government’s commissioned Ernst & Young to report on this year’s event [5]. What will it conclude? Whatever the government wants it to.

6. In a bid to save costs, and the event, Walker’s talking about relocating it to a permanent purpose-built venue [6]. Given accumulated losses of $253M since 1996, why's it taken 15 year for the penny to drop for Walker? Because it’s the taxpayers’ penny – that’s why.

7. Meanwhile Ecclestone, presumably realising the pressure the event’s under, will be in New York – not Melbourne – tomorrow [7]. If that’s not a kick in the guts for Walker and his cronies, I don’t know what is.

8. But never fear, readers dear, the GP’s on the comeback trail [8a]. Who said so? Oh the GP Corporation's CEO Andrew Westacott – the same man who, when asked about the 10,000 free tickets given to the corporate sector, said he didn’t have ‘an exact number’ [8b]

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium – belated and short, as being in Victoria’s thrown my schedule out of whack. This week…

1. actor Charlie Sheen (whether he’s Jewish or not) [1a] and Christian Dior head designer John Galliano [1b] added themselves to my list of anti-Semitic racist bigots. They joined notable luminaries Mikis Theodorakis [1c] and Mel Gibson [1d]. And also 23% of Australians [1e].

2. Alan Krinsky explained why ‘Much-maligned Israel still the pick of the Middle East [2]. I suppose it never hurts to state the bleeding obvious.

3. Bernie Ecclestone suggested artificial rain to liven up Formula 1 ‘races’ [3]. Hard to tell if the little man said it with his little tongue in his little cheek. Or not.

4. Greg Baum (who I’ve previously lauded [4a], brilliantly sent up Ron Walker and the Australia F1 Grand Prix [4b]. Of course all satire contains truth.

5. Pope Benedict XVI declared that Jews bear no collective responsibility for Jesus’s death [5]. Great news. Now I’ll be able to sleep better at night.

6. in the MJA, high profile nutritionist Rosemary Stanton wrote [6a] that doctors need to exercise caution when recommending products bearing the Heart Foundation’s tick [6b]. As do consumers browsing supermarket shelves. Is the Foundation sacrificing ethics for commercial gain?

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

Lunacy? I rest my case

‘Luna’ is the Latin word for moon. And according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the adjective ‘lunatic’, which dates from the late 13th century, means ‘affected with periodic insanity, dependent on the changes of the moon’ [1]. Though the moon causation’s long been debunked, the words ‘lunatic’ (as an adjective and a noun) and ‘lunacy’ (as a noun) remain in the English lexicon. And because ‘neurons that fire together wire together’ [2], in my mind they’re inextricably linked to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix [AF1GP]. On 27 January I wrote that Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle questioned the AF1GP’s future on cost grounds, and after a meeting soon after with Premier Ted Baillieu, AF1GP chairman Ron Walker announced that the event’s costs would be cut [3]. Clearly a major component of its expenditure is Bernie Ecclestone’s licence fee. But Ecclestone’s avowed that the fee won’t be reduced [4]. Because Albert Park’s a temporary circuit (that masquerades as a public park for the rest of the year) another major cost is transporting, erecting and dismantling infrastructure (including grandstands, barriers, sound systems, video screens). Even Blind Freddy [5] could see that a permanent circuit would eliminate infrastructure costs. So what did Walker do? On 1 February he challenged the Geelong mayor to lobby for the event – on a temporary circuit along the regional city’s bayfront Esplanade [6, 7]. Lunacy? I rest my case.

It's time to stow your throne, Bernie.

My cyberfriend Chrows25 has been writing of her long-term tendency to transpose letters or syllables [1]. I think, but aren’t sure, they’re spoonerisms [2] and not malapropisms [3]. Anyway they brought to mind the conversion of the saying ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’ [4] into ‘People who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones’[5]. And thus in turn F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone [6]. Last 8 November in Brazil British F1 driver Jenson Button was confronted by a gang of machine-gun toting would-be thieves or kidnappers. Ecclestone commented sagely ‘I think they look for victims who are not too bright’ [7]. Then, ironically, in early December in London 80-year-old Ecclestone and his 31-year-old Brazilian girlfriend were mugged by four men who stole jewellery worth over A$300,000 after repeatedly punching and kicking him [8, 9]. Button sagely remained silent. Me? First, I reckon that self-evidently an 80-year-old man with a 31-year-old girlfriend can’t be too bright. Second, I hope the assault knocked some sense into him – because he definitely needs more of it. Third, if he wants to live in a glass house he shouldn’t throw stones. And fourth, if he wants to throw stones he shouldn’t live in a glass house. In other words, he should stop making foolish comments aimed at seeking publicity. And if that means retiring from public life, then so be it. The F1 king should stow his throne.

farmdoc's blog post number 559

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…
1. Bernie Ecclestone’s resumed bleating about how the Australian F1 Grand Prix should be a night race. As the Herald-Sun editorial says: ‘Butt out, Bernie’ [1].
2. the Lebanese President accused Israel of firing a Katyusha rocket from South Lebanon into Israel [2]. Hopefully his minders won’t forget again to give him his medication.
3. research results reveal that during CPR, focusing on uninterrupted chest compressions nearly doubled the odds of survival [3]. Current best practice in Australia is two breaths after every 30 chest compressions.
4. the Nutrition Diva wrote that the tannins in (green and black) tea inhibit the absorption of iron [4]. To maximize iron absorption, don’t drink tea with or soon after meals.
5. a consumer survey found that to US car buyers, fuel economy is now more important than the number of cup holders [5]. It’s sad it was ever otherwise. In the previous survey, four years ago, it was the other way around.
6. I learnt that in the 56 Islamic nations there’s no university in the top 500 world universities; Israel has six. The Islamic nations spend under 0.02% of GDP on scientific research; Israel spends 2.53%. There are 1.3 billion Muslims and 14 million Jews, i.e. 100 times more. In the last 100 years Jews have won 180 Nobel Prizes; Muslims have won nine. [6] No comment’s needed.
7. Prime Minister Rudd’s wife, Therese Rein, co-led a rally supporting Burma’s detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi [7]. Ms Rein hasn’t been elected to public office. It’s fine for her to do things in the public arena as a private citizen. But she has no right to do so in her role as the Prime Minister’s wife.
8. Sweetheart Vivienne did brilliantly in her radio interviews [8]. I’m biased, so don’t take my word for it. Rather, take heed of the avalanche of congratulations emails and SMSs she’s received.
Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

farmdoc's blog post number 445

Today I ask two questions:

What part of the human body is situated an inch in front of the tip of the tailbone; is a longitudinal slit-like aperture unless it is being used for its intended purpose at which time it becomes oval; has thick muscle layers of which some are under voluntary control and some not; is richly supplied by sensory nerves and blood vessels so that disease of or injury to this body part is very painful and usually causes bleeding; and has hair-follicles, sweat glands, and sebaceous glands at its opening to the outside world?

What would you call Bernie Ecclestone who last weekend publicly said that he admires Adolph Hitler as a leader who though he could ‘get things done’ was not a dictator; that Hitler ‘got lost’ toward the end of his rule and ‘was persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not’ and which led to his demise; that totalitarian governments are more effective than democracies so ‘We did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein…(because)…He was the only one who could control that country’; and that his friend Max Mosley (who’s the son of the wartime fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley and who last year participated in a concentration camp themed orgy with prostitutes) [1], would make a good UK prime minister?

As it happens, both questions have the same answer.

farmdoc's blog post number 428

I’ve previously written of Corporate Darwinism vis-a-vis the Global Financial Crisis [GFC]. Well, folks, it looks like the GFC’s arrived in F1 land. Last Friday eight F1 teams, including Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota and BMW Sauber, via their Formula One Teams Association [FOTA], announced their intention to leave F1 and start their own breakaway series, after they’d failed to resolve their dispute with F1’s governing body, the FIA. The dispute was due to the FIA imposing a US$60M (A$75M) budget cap for each team. FOTA says the new series will have transparent governance, encourage more entrants, and listen to the wishes of the fans including offering lower prices for spectators. Good stuff. The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with F1 will all feature in this new series. Whoopee. The Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s contracted to hold the F1 Grand Prix in Albert Park until 2015. Whilst the Corporation and the Victorian Government are sounding brave and optimistic, they know that without the major teams and drivers, F1’s dead. It remains to be seen if FOTA’s move is brinkmanship or fair dinkum. Bernie Ecclestone won’t send his cash cow to the abattoir. All will become clear in the next few months. The days of the winning drivers spraying Moet may be over. Perhaps the GFC will achieve what Save Albert Park couldn’t. Oh what fun.

farmdoc's blog post number 329

Leonards Hill, 10km south of Daylesford in Victoria, is named after timber splitter W P Leonard who took up 143 acres there in the 1860s. Though a small town, Leonards Hill has a Country Fire Authority brigade. The brigade captain, Sue Waters (great surname for a firefighter), led her team fighting the ‘Musk Vale-Hogans Road’ bushfire. On 26 February, with the fire still raging, Victorian Premier John Brumby visited Leonards Hill, met with Ms Waters, and praised thousands of CFA volunteers, including her. She asked the Premier for funding to provide her brigade with a four-wheel-drive slip-on truck, adding “The slip-on we have at the moment, which was bought with funds raised by the brigade, is only two-wheel drive…(and)…it’s not really enough for the terrain we have around here”. I’ll wager she’s had no reply yet. It’s disgraceful Victorian brigades aren’t fully funded. All brigades in tiny Tasmania are. Fancy having to raise funds to buy a fire truck. Premier Brumby has no qualms paying Bernie Ecclestone $47M a year for a blighted car race, yet the fire brigades in his State lack essential equipment; and need to fundraise for the equipment they do have. It’s time to get your spending priorities right, Premier. $47M would buy a lot of appliances and equipment which would benefit Victorians infinitely more than a Grand Prix. So, sir, get real – before the voters wake up to your insensitivity, duplicity and stupidity.

farmdoc's blog post number 15

On a recent Australian rules football TV programme, a 62-year-old ex-footballer and current media personality fondled a mannequin with a picture of a Melbourne newspaper’s chief football writer – who is a woman - stapled to its head. Well as a man who adores my wife, four daughters and three granddaughters, I consider this man a misogynist and his behaviour obscene. My dictionary defines obscene as repulsive, repugnant, detestable and abhorrent. This man’s stunt is all of these, and so is the lack of public censure by the TV station. Within the rubric of obscenity I also include the Westpac Bank’s A$1.84 billion profit in the last six months – a 10% rise despite the doubling of loan losses and provisions – because Westpac arguably couldn’t and didn’t give a damn about the effect on its customers of its business decisions. I also read recently that Kylie Minogue’s personal fortune is A$84.5 million – which to me is not obscene because though sub-talented, our Kylie has ostensibly hurt no-one when amassing her monetary riches. Contrast Bernie Ecclestone whose financial worth in the last 12 months increased by A$340 million of which almost 10% was donated to him by the Victorian government in return for not much. Which brings me full circle, because Ecclestone’s Formula One circus is as misogynistic as the 62-year-old TV buffoon.