Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has a reputation of creating ripples with his irreverent words and deeds. Now a storm has broken out over Rudd’s use of four-letter words while arguing with some Members of Parliament. Interestingly, Rudd defended his outburst.
The PM said in the presence of three female MPs: “I don’t care what you f***ers think,” News Limited has reported, says AAP report. Rudd later told another senator: “You can get f***ed.”
Later, Rudd was unapologetic: “”It’s fair to say, consistent with the traditions of the Australia Labor Party, we’re given to robust conversations. I made my point of view absolutely clear.”
The incident happened when a number of MPs visited the prime minister’s parliament house office to object to plans to cut politicians’ annual printing allowances by 25 per cent to $75,000.
“These entitlements needed to be cut back,” Rudd maintains. In a random survey of printing allowance use, the auditor-general found that in 74 per cent of instances the entitlement was at risk of being misused.
During the 2007/08 financial year – which covered the 2007 election – the auditor-general found some MPs were using the printing allowance primarily for re-election purposes. More here…
The Telegraph once published an irreverent profile of Rudd: “Nibbling one’s ear wax and spending a boozy night in a strip joint could be expected, in normal circumstances, to spell disaster for a politician….”… For more irreverent Kevin Rudd snippets, please see my earlier post here…
And for my post “Australians Are A Different Pedigree”, please click here…
(Photo above shows Kevin Rudd with the book that details his criminal lineage.)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.