Requiem for a Rat

The time will soon come when Izzie will have to send our Scabbers userpic into retirement and resurrect a new one for the soon to be Prime Minister Kevin07
In the last week, he has been called a heartless snake but we somehow think that tag will not stick.

Yesterday Bernie Banton died. He was only 61. He died of asbestosis and associated ailments contracted during the years he worked for James Hardie. He, like many others at the time did not realise what a ruthless immoral bunch of ratbags these bastards were. Even as late as 2004 were still trying to worm their way out of their legal and moral responsibility for deaths caused by their products

In spite of severe illness, he took the company on and it was the much maligned trade unions who stood by him in his struggle.
He can rest in peace knowing that he played a significant part in the sacking of the Rat. He lived just long enough to see that

It took a long time but he has finally got the recognition he deserved and will receive a state funeral

The Rat, on the other hand has slinked into the darkness of political oblivion. And under his wonderful Work Choices laws - he can no longer claim for unfair dismissal. After all - it was for operational reasons
And as his Mad Monk Minion Minister said only last week, there's plenty of jobs out there

And Ross Gittens (Sydney Morning Herald economics commentator) has written a rather interesting epitaph or maybe it's more like a post mortem