
Issue No 92		20 April 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Letters to the Editor

Tom Collins Goes Off

Dear Sir,

This statement by Prince Charles must surely simplify, clarify and dispel the erroneous myths about the enigmatic and esoteric nature of his personality This personality, complex, and in stark contrast to the shallow but pragmatic, abrasive but inadequate and simpleminded nature of his father, Prince Phillip.

It displays a sensitive individual, who through birth was singled out for greatness, unfortunately this greatness was not to be King.

Prince Charles, is not a mere figurehead with a plastic smile for his subjects, he through his chosen kindred spirits displays humility at times beyond normal comprehension, this being misconstrued by the mediocre as warped and wacky. But then are we not the weirdest of the species inhabiting this planet.

In the case of Prince Charles and his professed role models in the Goons, I believe Albert Einstein summed it up when he said, "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds"

I too feel a sense of loss with the departure of Harry but consoled by the fact that he, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine authenticated not only Gods omnipotence but also great sense of Humor at what we perceive as misfortune.

An appropriate Panegyric for Harry and solace for Charles would be Shakespeare's as you like it, II, vii, 139:

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and

their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. At first

the infant, mewling and puking in the nurses arms.And then the whining school boy, with his satchel

and shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

sighing like furnace, with a woeful balad made to his mistrisses; eyebrow. Then a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, seaking the bubble reputation, even in the cannons mouth. And then the justice, in fair round belly with good capon lined, with eyes severe and beard of

formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances, and so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts into the mean and slipper'd pantaloon, with spectacles on nose and pouch on side, his usefull hose well saved, a world to wide for his

shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, turning again toward childish treble, pipes and wistles in his sound. Last scene of all, that ends this strange, eventful history, is second childish and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Tom Collins

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Issue 92 contents

Interview: Beyond the Accord
Simon Crean cut his teeth in the trade union movement, now he's gearing up to run the economy.

Politics: In Defence of Della�s List
The proposition that trade unions should ask members of the ALP for a commitment that they uphold Party policy should hardly be controversial.

Corporate: The Real Rorters
The unspoken sore of the WorkCover Scheme is non-compliance by employers. None more so that in the construction industry, as this CFMEU paper details.

Legal: In the Real World
Lawyer Ross Goodridge exposes the defficincies in the new medical assessment guidelines for workers compensation by looking at real case studies.

International: The Docklands and Global Labour
Ma Wei Pin and Jasper Goss recount how the struggle of a group of Indonesian hotel workers effected a lucrative Melbourne contract.

History: Sweatshops in America
Since the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, many generations of Americans have toiled in sweatshops.

Unions: Losers Never Start
At the end of her six week vigil, Grenadier delegate Michelle Booth gave her heartfelt thanks to the trade union movement.

Review: Working Classes: Global Realities
The Socialist Register 2001 looks at class realities and the lives of workers in the new century.

Satire: Democrats Change Leader
The Democrats have a new leader after belatedly discovering that Meg Lees had become the second Democrats leader in a row to defect to another party.

» Costa To Join Della�s List

» Compo Campaign Gathers Steam

» Della�s List: Dissident MPs Targeted

» Day of Mourning to be Compo Focus

» Small Steps in Negotiations � But Hard Yards Still to Come

» Important First Step for E-Mail Privacy

» Outraged Cleaners Continue AXA Axings Protests

» Grenadier Picket Ends � But Legacy Lives On

» Entitlement Dramas in Health and Printing

» Nurses Still Waiting on Olympics Bonus

» IRC Delays Hit Eight Month Barrier

» Claims of Dirty Tricks Conspiracy at Mobil

» Sydney Water Workers On Strike

» MUA Rides Anti-pollution Wave

» Governments Urged On Child Slavery

» Time To Act on Pay Discrimination

» Construction Union Supports Folk Festival

» Activists Notebook