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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>When I was growing up in OZ one of the ultimate
insults that could be tossed over</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>at your schoolchum was that doing such-and-so was
like "giving arms to the Arabs". </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Because I suppose, at that time, the Arabs were
regarded in the popular media </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>as </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>not needing any
addition arming </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>in the interests (presumably of
those who</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>were making the comments). As </FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>kids we perhaps were guilty of sometimes</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>passing on propaganda that we heard without really
even recognizing that it </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>was propaganda directed at some group in the
interests of another group that</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>we were mouthing in our attempts to sound wiser
than our years or apprehension. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>After all, why the heck shouldn't arms be given to
Arabs as a general proposition?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Are they not as capable, man for man and woman
for woman of handling them </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>responsibly </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>after
all. And after all didn't the second amendment to the US enshrine</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>the right to bear arms precisely so that
individuals could, in the last resort, throw</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>of tyranny. And h</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>eck
the US practically created Bin Laden "the terrorist"</FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyway the above blurbage merely goes up here as
preamble. Because I feel</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>that there are some extropes of high intellect but
little emotion maturity (how </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>are you RB?) that might </FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>just might be better off for the world if they weren't</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>encouraged along certain lines </FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>of thinking in advance of their readiness for it.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That said, what the hell. Gotta give some of the
good smart guys (cheers </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>HF) a chance to </FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>learn too. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Preamble hereby concluded. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-----</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is the state of the battle in Oz over ideas
futures.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/17/oz_betfair/">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/17/oz_betfair/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>" I punt in the land Down Under</DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Australians have a reputation as an easy going lot not overly concerned with
the moral ambiguities of gambling. State regulated Totalizator Agency Boards
(TAB) have offered off site wagering for forty years in every state in
Australia, providing state guaranteed accuracy of the results posted. Casinos
are legal, and online gambling giants like Sportingbet PLC are fully licensed.
So what’s the big deal about Betfair?</P>
<P>The Australian horse racing industry, much like its American counterpart, had
a fit at the idea of its cozy state monopolies being challenged by outsiders
like Betfair. The argument before the High Court has some awkward similarities
to the ones that have the US Government squirming in front of the WTO in its <A
href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/08/betonsports_antigua/">fight</A>
with Antigua. "</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>---</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brett Paatsch</FONT></P>
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