It snowed last night along the banks of the Styx, a fairly unusual event, considering.. Nothing else would do but for Gobbles and
Minnie Bannister to drag the
Troika out, dust it off and fetch up the horses. Off we went at a furious clip (Minnie driving), wondering all the while at the sight of snowflakes in Hell. As it's a weekend, seeing how much fun the troops and horses were having; I put aside the minutes of the last BRB sit down, entertaining though they are. Monday will arrive soon enough.
Maybe it was all the white stuff on the grim landscape, or the shade of wodger, the white, wily, weport wabbit, but it started me thinking. White was a 'hand picked' storm trooper, uploaded into a new position, Manager AILU and an expert on the MOU and the TSI, before the Miller report slithered out of it's hole and the infamous MOU was hammered out, discussed and signed.
Now then the Beaker Boys, White and probably some of CASA significant others were up to their collective ears in this unholy alliance; all cognisant, briefed and aware. So why was the 'expert' White rolled during the final degradation of the ATSB report by the Grim spinner? Passing strange is that, the paper trail is fairly confused but a chronology exposes some pretty big holes in the bucket.
The best laugh of all at the last hearing was when "he whodoo voodoo" leapt in to cover the 'he who must not be named' arse and patiently, quietly explained to the gullible Senators that the naughty ATSB were not passing on information, so robust measures were needed. He doesn't usually tell jokes at Senate affairs, but that was a corker.
Dr Aleck: I was very closely involved in the development of the MOU and the situation that preceded it. If I could just say something that might put some context for both Senator Fawcett's question and Mr McCormick's answer, it might help a bit. Firstly, the rationale for the new MOU was to create an environment in which, if I may put it this way, as much information as appropriate could be exchanged between the agencies. The motivating factor at the time had far less to do with any concerns on the part of the ATSB with information CASA was not providing to them but rather information that the ATSB in the past had not provided to CASA.
The fact that the provisions read the way they do reflect a very appropriate form of reciprocity, in which the ATSB under its new leadership said, 'Yes, we will provide you with more information, and we expect you to provide us with the same.' In the spirit of that arrangement, and I agree it probably should be read largely, the question should that a default position should be: 'We'll give you as much as you possibly can and then you decide when we've given you too much
Second best also cracked me up; when Senators Fawcett and Xenophon (welcome home) tried to prise a response from dear old "Merry Terry", on anything. The CASA boys jumped in and answered for him. Did you notice the sweat poring out when he did eventually get to do a gig. Robbie Burns had the right of it "O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us".
Well, Gobbles and Minnie are having a snowball fight, better go and sort it out before that too turns ugly.