Thursday, August 02, 2007

New Sydney Uni Site

The Sydney University Chess Club has a new president, Mark Longhurst, and a new website. Quite impressive. I like the clean design, very usable and accessible. They're actually adhering to web standards!

But what might be more interesting reading is the background to Jason Chan's departure as the club's president. He penned an open letter that is available for reading here. Tragic. But it sounds so bad I just wonder how these USU guys can get away with it! Seems almost like daylight robbery to me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speaking of voluntary unionism ... what's the most elite closed shop union in Australia with compulsory membership? ... I think it's the Australian Medical Association of which Brendan Nelson, one of the architects of this new industrial relations regime, was a former president.

The legal profession is a closed shop too, isn't it? How many parliamentarians happen to be former lawyers?

It's clear that the federal government introduced this VSU concept to break the backbone of radicals within the student union movement.

However what I think will happen in the end if it hasn't happened already is that rather than become extinct dinosaurs such unions will be quick to develop marketing savvy and beat the government at their own game.

Do you ever notice how those who whinge about having to join a union and refuse to join are the first to put out their hand for any pay rises, benefits or facilites which that union happens to win?

If we wish to carry the concept of volunteerism further then how about we go off to the ATO and plead with its commissioner that we'd all like voluntary taxation?

Hmm, maybe that could be an election issue?

Hold on one moment, I think the high end of town already have defacto voluntary taxation anyway.

Anonymous said...

Revolution! Spread awareness of the problem and we can do something about it. This kind of bureaucratic nonsense happens a lot in America as well and it's sickening. It's obvious that everything is just about making money any more.