there has been much discussion about celebration etc but somehow our usually
pedantic list members have missed the most contentious part of patrick's
comments.

so today i will be the pedant.

here is the offending line:

> (about 45% of the 270,000 population were
> from first or second generation immigrant families from around 80
        countries of origin in all five continents)

"all five continents"??  how many continents?  there are either six or seven
(depending whether antarctica gets a mention).  so, which continent has
patrick willfully omitted? asian and european festivals are mentioned so
it's not them.  surely no-one would forget north america.  colonialism has
reared its ugly head!! obviously australia or south america or africa has
been neglected.

i demand that patrick own up and admit his prejudices!!  which continent
have you rejected as unworthy or irrelevant?  speak up and be flamed!

maria berry
museum victoria
australia