Sony Film - Zero Dark Thirty - American politicians already shit scared

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/zero-dark-thirty-not-accurate-senators/story-e6frea7u-1226541018195

Have a look at the link above as to why I'm having a laugh about it.

In a nutshell, Sony produced a movie - Zero Dark Thirty - which details the capture and death of Osama bin Laden.

The members of the Senate Intelligence committee - Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and John McCain - insisted on Wednesday that Sony and its president and CEO, Michael Lynton, had an obligation to alter the movie and make clear that torture in the hunt for bin Laden was fiction and not based on fact.

Sony's film makers dispute this.

In their letter to Sony, the politicians said the "use of torture in the fight against terrorism did severe damage to America's values and standing that cannot be justified or expunged. It remains a stain on our national conscience. We cannot afford to go back to these dark times, and with the release of Zero Dark Thirty, the filmmakers and your production studio are perpetuating the myth that torture is effective. You have a social and moral obligation to get the facts right."

Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal said in a statement from Sony that they depicted "a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods that were used in the name of finding bin Laden".

Bigelow and Boal, who won Oscars for The Hurt Locker, said the new film showed that no single method was responsible in the successful manhunt for bin Laden, and no single scene in isolation captures the total effort the movie dramatises.

How can the American people ever trust what their politicians say?

Wikileaks exposed a lot about the American Government, and here we have politicians exclaiming how virtuous the government are. The government want to disown the use of torture, which we all know happened quite extensively. Why would they want to disown it? Because it makes them look bad? Well tough luck. If you didn't treat prisoners of war in such disgusting conditions as Guantanamo Bay and use torture, there would be nothing to worry about. Geneva Convention for the fair treatment of prisoners? haha, the Yanks have never heard of that (unless it's an American prisoner held somewhere, then it's a different matter).

Good on you Sony for having the balls to stick with it.

Get Real

ps: Sections marked in blue were taken from the AdelaideNow website

America's 2nd Amendment (The right to bear arms) .. time for a change in the constitution. No more Sandy Hook killings

I can't vouch for the above figures, but I wouldn't be surprised.

It's simple really.

If Obama has any balls he'll start the ball rolling to have this ridiculous 'right' struck from the constitution.

Pretty much, the world is sick of it. Time for Americans to say... "we've lost all control of firearms, and we're starting to look like a bunch of sicko's in the eyes of the world".

And when your love for firearms is more than your love for kids, something is very very wrong.

Yeah, I know people will whinge and carry on that it's PEOPLE that kill, not the gun (or knife), but at the very least, it's time for some serious soul searching and the instigation of proper background checks and/or hugely reducing the availability of high powered "war type" guns allowed to be owned.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for the 'average' person to have semi automatic or fully automatic weapons available to them. I see no reason for nothing more than a 9mm pistol to be available to protect oneself or ones home.

Have a huge buyback and if nothing else, get rid of millions of guns on the streets. I know lots of crims wont hand their guns back, but at least getting rid of a few million is a start.

But the yanks won't do it. They are all the same. Power hungry and driven by greed, stupidity and their damn RIGHTS.

Obama doesn't have the balls to take on the NRA, and what does he care, he'll be 'retired' in a little under four years.

And what's worse is the media play on this hysteria and sensationalise everything so much so, that the next psychotic criminal that goes on a killing spree has to compete with previous mass murderers and see if he can kill even more innocent people.

Meanwhile, the Americans will wring their hands, the NRA will be strangely silent, and we'll wait for the next killings, more anguish and promises that will amount to nothing, and then wait again. The vicious circle will continue.

Get Real

America, The Country Guilty of War Crimes in Iraq. Private Bradley Manning & Wikileaks simply showed the world how senseless and irresponsible the American government are

Once again, I view the footage of an American Apache helicopter pilot and his co-murderers gunning down innocent people in Iraq.

This WAR CRIME was exposed by Private Bradley Manning and Wikileaks back in 2007, and the devastation of that war crime carries on.

In essence, one or two of the group were carrying weapons... wouldn't you if you were being attacked?

The Apache helicopter lied to his commanding officers to seek permission to shoot. Naturally, he got that permission and shot innocent persons.

That pilot is still free today, yet potentially guilty of war crimes c/- the American war machine.

As far as I'm concerned (and many others around the world and America), Private Bradley Manning is innocent, as he was simply bringing to the worlds attention the fact that America are commiting war crimes.. and getting away with it. Why isn't America being held accountable for these war crimes?

Wikileaks simply acted as a conduit for that information to become public. The American government hate Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange because they have exposed the yankee government for what they really are!

I'm glad to see that America is slipping down the superpower ranks.. soon to be outdone by China, and other countries.

Just remember, what goes around comes around.

Get Real

Is Tea Tree Gully Council the worst in South Australia?

I give Tea Tree Gully Council the thumbs down.

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UPDATE: 13/12/2012

The Tea Tree Gully Council has whipper snipped / mown the area's in the photos. This happened approximately 4/12/2012. Apparently someone sent the council an email with a link to this blog, and lo and behold, the offending areas are cleaned up.

The workers did a pretty crap job and left the dried weeds pretty much on the verge after being whipper snipped and/or mown, but let's be thankful at least it's started to be cleared. The rubbish has been cleared up in front of the house on Wecoma Street at Holden Hill (although their front yard remains a pig sty). I don't know whether the council removed the rubbish or it was the householders from where the rubbish appeared to emanate from.

I'm going to keep an eye on the offending area's and report problems to the council as required. I urge you all to do the same - irrespective of what council area you're in.

If you want to report problem areas or disgusting verge maintenance, you can either phone or email your council directly, or leave a message on this blog with the relevant details and I'll contact the council for you. If possible, please include a picture or two and of course, your suburb or council area.

Get Real

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If you have a council you think is worse, tell me.

Why am I pissed off about councils and in particular The Tea Tree Gully Council?

OK, the TTGC, like most other councils in Adelaide, are offering less and less basic services and expect their ratepayers to put up with it.

I am speaking about councils responsibility to maintain the 'streetscape' - or rather their lack of maintaining  your streetscape. Streets are no longer cleaned as often, verges are no longer mown as often and rubbish can lie around for weeks (or longer).

What are we paying rates for? I understand that streetscapes are only part of a councils responsibilities, but it's a damn big part. What is the point of homeowners having lovely gardens and plants, only to have the verges full of weeds and litter. Of course, the council(s) would love you to mow and clean the verge as well outside your property, but there are homeowners/renters etc that believe it's not their responsibility. I maintain my verge because my council - Port Adelaide Enfield - don't do it often enough. I'd have grass and weeds 2 feet high (600mm) if I waited for them to mow the verge.

It's as if councils couldn't care less what their streets look like. A footpath overgrown with weeds and grass looks so bogan like and if you're in an up and coming area, you need all the help you can to bring your streetscape up to scratch. In addition, dead and rotting tall weeds are a haven for snakes and spiders. I wouldn't let my kids near them.

In the absence of council cleaning the verges, it would be fantastic if home dwellers kept their verges mown and clean, but, unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Councils can't (and should not) rely on home dwellers to do the councils job. Given that, the council should place more importance on providing those services on a more regular basis.

Take the following example:

A friend of mine at Woodville (Charles Sturt Council) contacted his council to advise of overgrown grass and weeds on footpaths. He was told by a council officer "Yes, we understand the situation, but because it's been such a wet winter, spring grass and weeds are growing out of control".

This is an ideal example of a council knowing a problem, but not be proactive and forward thinking. If we experience high winter rains, it is almost dead certain we'll get rapid growth in spring. My question is - Why don't the councils take this into account and organise to mow more often during early spring? Instead of once every 3 months, say once a month? If councils outsource mowing to contractors, surely it's not that difficult to put clauses into contracts to vary the mowing cycle.

I know ratepayers in the Tea Tree Gully Council area are currently being told by council that verges are not being mown because workers are doing fire breaks. Fine, we need fire breaks, and the council can be commended, but why do the fire breaks just before summer? Why not do the fire breaks late in winter when verges are experiencing slow growth rates and not as much mowing is needed? then those council workers would be free to do verges exactly when the grass and weeds start rapidly growing. To me it's common sense.

Do we have the wrong people in council that just seem to be not able to make the right decisions and plan AHEAD? Maybe we need less top heavy councils and more workers on the ground?

A proactive approach

The following is a link to The Local Government Association of South Australia. It has your councils details listed. If you rent and want to become proactive, but don't know what council area you're in, you can type an address, and the site will let you know the council. It will give you a generic email address, but if you send an email, it will forwarded to the right department.

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=210

My suggestion is that we start making councils more accountable, but before we do that, everybody has to start taking an active interest in what happens in their street and suburb (and even other people's suburbs). Many councils are quite obliging and usually have no problems with your request, but at times you need to let them know what needs to be done. It would be nice if they had 'inspectors' going around the streets and reporting on rubbish, overgrown verges, graffiti etc, but that ain't gonna happen!

• If you think your suburbs verges need mowing, phone or email the council and request the verges to be mown. See if the council can give you a date or even a week when it'll be done. This sets it a little more concretely. If council doesn't do it, call again with a request stating that they said it would be done on  ....
• If you see rubbish or dead tree branches lying around your streets, phone or email the council and let them know rubbish has been dumped, or tree branches are down, in a certain street. You'll usually find the rubbish or branch will be gone in a day or two.
• If you see graffiti in your street, stobie poles, walls or anywhere, again, call or email your council and you may be surprised to know they probably have a graffiti removal team - usually volunteers. But, they rely upon the public to report the matter to council.
• When people make continuous regular requests, you'll find council will put their area on a more regular schedule..... I've found this is whats happening to many areas I have continually requested maintenance in
• I believe having a better streetscape empowers people to want to look after their properties and front gardens better. Most home owners have enough pride to do this anyway, and if a homeowner see's their house is letting the 'street' down, they might feel they should do something about it. Complaints about water being too expensive are stupid and are excuses for laziness. There are many ways of planting up a front garden that uses little water and has low maintenance.

What has got on my goat and got me annoyed enough to make public my thoughts? Check out the following pictures taken around Holden Hill, Valley View area - Tea Tree Gully Council responsibility. How the surrounding homes can lets their streets get like this amazes me. The council needs a kick up the arse for such infrequest mowing and maintenance, and some home dwellers need to start making regular requests to council. To make matters worse, this is not the only time I've seen these verges in this condition. It happens quite regularly. I have even heard of the practice of TTG council workers coming out and mowing a section of verge - probably after a complaint or request - and then leaving the rest of the street unmown. Where's the logic in that?

Lets get proactive and start getting better neighbourhoods!

Check out more on Local Council dislike of spending money in their respective area's

http://adelaideviews-isthisfair.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/are-some-adelaide-suburbs-third-world.html

Get Real

Tea Tree Gully Councils Shame

The River Torrens Footbridge in Adelaide

Picture care of AdelaideNow

Only in little old Adelaide could a pissy footbridge across the River Torrens create so much attention. It really is no wonder the lovely people in the east of Australia think we're a backwater. The Adelaide City Council spent months arguing where to put a toilet in Victoria Square, and now it appears the same is going to happen with this footbridge. Should it be 8 metres wide?, 10 metres, 12 metres!! Geez, just decide on the bloody thing and start building. And $40 million to build it .. what is going on .. is it going to be gold plated? For gods sake, it's a footbridge. How can something like this cost $40 million? I suppose by the time the various consultants have been paid, the arguing back and forth, the wastage of money that goes on with these sorts of things, it's no wonder.

I mean, come on people, we let pissy little stupid things like this take centre page, when we should just be looking at the big picture.

I personally think the bridge going to the railway station and Festival Centre precinct is the best option - as has been planned.  But, we need to back up the area with other things to do after the crowds leave the football (and other events). We need cafe's, restaurants and entertainment for people then to go onto - although, somehow, I don't see a bunch of 4 blokes and 3 women yelling their heads off at the footy, and then heading off for a nice meal at a restaurant later.

Let's just quit the bitching and get the bloody thing built!

Have you also noted the artists impression in the picture above shows no lighting on the bridge .. in fairness, it could be hidden in the hand-rails - but if there's no lighting, or even if it is in the handrails, wouldn't it make it very dark on the bridge at night?

Can someone put this straight, or was the artist ordered to leave the light poles out so the bridge looked more attractive?

I wouldn't put it past them forgetting all about lighting and only later down the track, realise the mistake and 'bolt it on' at the last minute.

Do I sound cynical about SA being able to get this right the first time?

Get Real

Scott and Brett Saunders, Zachary Hunter - Kangaroo Killers

Here are pictures of 2 of the 3 Australian SCUMBAGS of the YEAR

Brett Saunders - SCUMBAG

Zachary Hunter - SCUMBAG

Unpictured is Scott Saunders - SCUMBAG

I suppose it's no surprise to know that these bogans took delight and joy in torturing repeatedly and finally killing a small defenceless baby kangaroo in cold blood. The stupid fools were dumb enough to take video of their cruel sadistic act. How dumb are they!!

To get off with pissy fines and good behaviour bonds in just ridiculous. Poor damn performance by our so called court system. I would have jailed these bogans for 2 or more years. Teach these scumbags a lesson. One can only hope the appeal will go through and their sentences increased... at least to jail.

Apparently, they have received death threats.. sucked in.. damn shame if anything happened to them!

I think I would speak for most Australians when I say they can rot in hell.

You can see the full story of these scumbags here:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/graphic-video-shows-savage-attack-on-baby-kangaroo/story-fndo1svg-1226513272923

Get Real

Addendum 09/11/2012

A clarification for those people who say "it's only a 'roo, let's not get too worried about it".

It's more about the fact that the animal was totally defenceless and suffered terrible pain and shock until it's death. How would you feel if 3 decent sized blokes attacked and tortured your family pet, dog, cat whatever? and then found out they just did it for 'fun' ?

This is where we need some Sharia law (No, I'm not Muslim), an eye for an eye. That might teach them a lesson about the infliction of pain on other creatures, whether human or not.

Get Real

The Anne Redmond Murder - The case for capital punishment

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/im-not-going-to-knock-her-out-im-going-to-kill-her-horrific-new-details-of-anne-redman-murder-revealed/story-e6frea83-1226510823321


If there ever has been a case for capital punishment in Australia, this case surely must be a catalyst.

Two young bogan thugs, so called 'B' and 'J' in the youth court, viciously attacked and killed 87 year old pensioner - Anne Redmond - some time ago.

In the usual cowardly fashion, they blame each other for the actual killing of poor Ms Redmond. As far as I'm concerned, even if you're an accessory to murder, you are just as guilty as the person who does the physical kill.

Because our judges are so wussy in South Australia, you watch these pair get off with some pissy sentence like 15 years "because of their young age" ...

These two young thugs and murderers, should be put to death. Why should the public waste money keeping them in prison only to have them come out in years to come, maladjusted to society, and probably head straight back into criminal activity.

Time to get tough on serious crime. Re-introduce the death penalty. There's never been a better case than this for tougher penalties.

Get Real

To Pirate or Not To Pirate - The Pirate Bay - Is Pirating Movies Really Killing The Industry?

I came across the above picture on the internet somewhere and it got me wondering about movie and cd piracy and whether it really is having as devastating effect on the movie making industry as the industry claims.

And yes, I have watched movies where the above description in the picture is so true. You stick the dvd in and it just takes ages and ages to finally get to the actual movie after you are forced to watch message after boring message, but I don't think that is what makes people pirate movies.

I saw a study published some time ago which found that a typical movie 'pirate' would most likely not buy the movie that they had just downloaded. Based simply on that premise, the act of downloading appears to be one of opportunity - the opportunity is there to download something for 'free' and so "lets do it".

Taking only this into consideration, it would seem to suggest that the movie making companies wouldn't lose much money because the pirate is unlikey to purchase the movie anyway. But I'm sure it would certainly get on their goat that someone had obtained one (or more) of their movies for free.

However, the movie companies may lose money if the downloader makes copies of said movie and distributes it to one or two friends. It's possible that those friends may be avid purchasers of movies and so giving them a copy for free, or minimal cost, will probably deprive the movie companies of some revenue. The dollar value of that lost revenue would be anyones guess. You could estimate it, but in reality, no-one would have any real idea.

The movie companies will of course, give the worst possible scenario and tell you that losses run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, but I'm not so sure. And at the end of the day, have the movie makers made their own beds and now have to sleep in it. I mean to say, is any actor worth $10 or $20 million per movie? No way. The cost to produce movies has blown out of all proportion, and maybe if the movie dives, they blame it on piracy... "So that's why we made a loss".

I think Hollywoods Movie Makers and Actors need to have a real big reality check, but of course, it's America, and as usual, if everything is not over the top and blown out of proportion, it's not worth doing. Start paying actors $1 million per movie, and then maybe the actor can spend $2 million on a house instead of $25 million. Start reigning in with a bit of common sense. The movie industry has created this monster "bigger than life" movies and pay packets and production costs and we, the general public are expected to fund it all.

What does this have to do with pirates who download and copy movies... everything. As far as the pirate is concerned, they know an actor(s) has been paid millions, and the movie companies often expouse how expensive the movie was to make, and then of course, the press report that the movie has taken $150 million in its first week after release. Plus, don't forget down the track, there's DVD rentals and sales to be made. It really is no wonder that the pirate thinks the industry is overflowing with money.

Like I said before, the industry created this "monster", now it has to deal with the backlash when people start to say "enough is enough" and seek cheaper ways to see a movie.

With everything going digital, and high end large screen home entertainment systems becoming the norm, will people start demanding to have new releases piped to their homes via the internet? Invite 15 friends around and pay the $10 for a new movie release. Now that will hit the pockets of movie producers more than piracy.

It's only a matter of time till the movie industry starts to change. The movie industry will still want cinema releases all over the world because this is where they make all the money, but I see this as dying out in favour of home entertainment. Will the movie industry resist change just as the music industry did for years? Digital download of songs are just about the norm these days, so eventually the CD makers and retailers of music will see their industry shrinking.

Eventually DVD rental shops will disappear as well as (legal) downloading and watching of movies becomes the norm. I can see a time in the future when you download an encrypted new release movie from Foxtel or maybe on Warner Bros website and it never gets released in a cinema any more.

You'll never stop the pirating of movies. As soon as some new Blu Ray encryption is introduced, it doesn't take long for a hacker to decrypt it. The movie industry I think will eventually go the way the music industry has gone. The music industry resisted introducing digital downloads whereby people could 'design' their own albums and only download the songs they wanted - why ? because people got sick of paying top dollar for CD's to find 4 or 5 really good tracks on the album and the rest were crap.

If you can "rent" an encrypted new release movie for $10 on-line and let as many of your friends watch it as you want, that must surely help to put a dent in piracy, but of course, that would mean Hollywood would have to totally re-address production costs and what actors are really worth so that movies can be made with a $30 million budget instead of $250 million.

Ahhh, but then, what will happen to the extravagant life all these movie producers and stars lead? Maybe it might be better to keep the extravagant life, keep the cost of movies high, charge heaps for cinema tickets and maybe the pirates aren't having such a big dent after all....

Get Real

The Jimmy Savile, Gary Glitter etc etc Scandal

This story is still unfolding in the UK.

Call me cynical, but why has it taken for Jimmy Savile to pass away before people start coming forward to make complaints to police?

It seems it has become popular to "come forward" and join the throng of complainants - especially after they find out there is a reasonable deceased estate fortune they might get a part of as compensation.

Out of the 300 or so people that have come forward, I find it hard to believe only a few scant complaints were put forward, to BBC management, as I understand it (an informal complaint as against a formal complaint to police).

It will be interesting to see how the police will wade through the sheer volume of complaints and try to work out who is legitimate against those who are out to get a slice of compensation through deceit. The time difference between the alleged offence occuring and official complaint are surely going to make things difficult for police.

"He groped me sometime in the mid 70's when I went to a BBC broadcast of Top Of The Pops". This unintentional vagueness could be the difference between an offence towards a child or an offence toward an adult. And let's face it, there is huge potential that alleged criminal conduct by Savil could be blown out of proportion, or embellished, to make a more sound case.

I'd like to know what sort of offences we are talking about ? a grope of a bum ? sure it's maybe not nice, but hardly newsworthy or even worth a police complaint. Are we talking outright rape of girls and boys? OK, this is far more serious, but again, if it suddenly is important now, why wasn't it important when the offence occurred many years ago?

It's like me reporting a home invasion and physical assault twenty years after if happens. The police would say to me "If this was so serious and important to you, why didn't you report it twenty years ago? Why do it now"?

I think it's wrong that allegations are made against a person (Jimmy Savile in this case) who is unable to defend himself (because he's dead!). If the 'sexually abused' person can't come out and make an allegation against a person while that person is alive and can defend themselves, they should forgo any right to do so. In my books, to come out and 'join the throng' of complaints, a 'victim' could potentially say just about anything and no-one can dispute whether it really happened or not. Sure, a girl may have been in Savil's dressing room, and he may have pinched her bum or kissed her inappropriately, but that could turn into full rape if there's potential for a civil claim against his amassed fortune. I'm not saying we should dismiss all claims against Savil, but there has to be a reasonable degree of responsibility by the victim. In my book it's plain and simple, laws should be enacted that you can't lay allegations of criminal conduct against a deceased person, as that person is not there to defend themselves. How can a balanced investigation ever be carried out when you can't investigate both sides? The police should be saying, "We understand your wanting to report an offence from 20 years ago, but we are no longer able to do a balanced investigation. It's a pity you didn't come forward when the offence occurred". I understand a victims reluctance to report an offence. But maybe if the victim knew they had a 1 year window to report an offence such as this, then Jimmy Savil may have been arrested years ago and be paying for his crimes?

Get Real

Addendum:
30/10/2012

I note the trashy on-line media is pulling out all the old clips of Savile and Glitter from the early days. All I've seen is a pervy Savile having a bit of a grope and holding onto a girl a little longer and closer than what he should. Big deal. It's hardly deadly perverted stuff. Get over it!

Get Real

Poor old Gerry Harvey gnaws like a dog with a GST bone

I see Gerry Harvey is bitching again about GST not being paid on items valued under $1000 and purchased overseas from various websites.

Get over it Gerry.

What you are saying is that you want the Australian government to implement GST collection on everything purchased, irrespective of value.

You're obviously a smart businessman, and you would well know that it would cost the government more to implement this collection than what it would make in the collection of GST. But deep down what do you care? You're only interested in your empire and your profits. You might disguise that as "speaking for all retailers", but I'm not so sure.

 

"Oh, that GST pain is getting worse"

 

Whether you like it or not, the face of retailing is changing. Some shoppers are getting savvy and are moving away from traditional sources to make purchases. Not everyone mind you - I'd never buy clothes over the internet. It's not worth the hassle if they don't fit etc etc. There are some things you have to put your hands on before spending your hard earned money.

 

Retailers like Harvey Norman make good profits, and profits are still being made, but lets face it - Harvey Norman retailers aren't exactly the cheapest in the market, so do you blame shoppers becoming more savvy and shopping around?

 

Take this example: I went to buy a new computer monitor a few years ago. I checked out a nice LG 17" at Harvey Normans and it was valued at $799 (yes, a few years ago!!). I didn't buy immediately and decided to hum and ha about it for a while. By pure chance I dropped in to a small computer shop just around the corner a day or so later and picked up a pricelist on their counter. Damn it, but there was exactly the same monitor for $550. I double checked the model to make sure it wasn't a lesser 17", but no, it was the same. I went back to Harvey Norman with said pricelist in hand and asked if they could match or better it. No, he couldn't. I think the best he could do was $599. Needless to say, I ended up back at the small computer store. OK, they had to get the monitor in, but next day, I picked it up and parted with $550.

 

Maybe the business model of Harvey Norman is starting to date. Gerry has had it good for a while, but franchise arrangements may not be the way of the future. The store has to make a profit for itself, and they have to give some of that profit to Gerry, so overall, their competitiveness is not as good. That's not the consumers fault, that is just the way Gerry's business model works. Why should the consumer have to pay more to support Gerry and his empire? Where Gerry does do it well is with all the promotions they have "24 months interest free, no repayments till blah blah". Even I have taken advantage of this system, and given I'll have 24 months to pay something off, don't mind paying extra for it.

 

Take another example of how things are changing. I have to buy a new set of cutters and foils for my Remington razor. I checked with a few retailers of shavers in Adelaide; my replacement would be around $45 irrespective of retailer.

 

A quick check on eBay revealed the following (copied and pasted at end of email):

 

If I purchase through eBay, It'll cost me around AU$24.50, that's 50% less than what I can buy locally. It also includes postage, and even if I had to pay GST, would only push up the cost to around $27, still much less than what I can buy it for locally. Good ol' Gerry seems to think people are only saving 10% or so buying from overseas or on-line.

 

What do I do? Fork out my hard earned money and pay the $20 extra and support local business, or buy wisely, wait for 10 days and get my item off eBay and save $20?

 

In time, I think the whole retail industry will be forced to look hard at how they do things. Maybe one day, the importer will sell direct to the retailer and cut out the wholesaler? I don't know how it will pan out. And, even if GST were charged, I still don't think it would make a lot of difference.

 

CD and DVD retailers are in the same boat. Many consumers are starting to watch movies streamed from various internet sources and slowly sales and movie rentals will die off. It's sad, but that's the way it's heading. Adapt and make changes or slowly see your sales ebb away.

 

Get Real

 

Remington RS4400 Foil & Cutter Combi Pack SP69 - REMSP6...

Location: United Kingdom

Store: PentagonGPS

Seller User ID: burrowsgps

Feedback: 60,174 | 99.5%

Watch this item

 

AU $17.95

+AU $6.50





SA Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi - Is this the most stupidest comment a politican has made?

I cannot believe the comments made by one of our politicians - SA Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi.

He pathetically includes same sex marriage, bestiality and polygamy in the same paragraph.

In other words, if society accepts same sex marriage, it's just about a given fact that in time, we will soon accept sex with animals and multiple partner bedroom romps. Can you believe that? And this bloke is a Minister in our government for gods sake.

I have never heard so much bullshit. It's like me saying that having male clergy in the churches will lead to pedophilia.

I'll bet you anything Cory Bernardi is some sort of religious nut who tries to masquerade his religious undertones with his version of reasoning.

I think that Cory Bernardi has to realise that the very institution of marriage is changing. This is not being led by the gay community, but by the heterosexual community. People are realising these days that there is no need to get married to enjoy a happy and fulfilled life. I personally know of many couples that live and exist together and are unmarried. They feel no need to have a piece of paper that supposedly binds them. Some people may need that piece of paper, some not. It's their choice.

Picture courtesy of The Advertiser

And to think this bloke is in our government!

Shame Bernardi, Shame

 

SACK CORI BERNARDI

 

Get Real

 

UPDATE 19/09/2012

 

CORI BERNARDI HAS QUIT HIS ROLE AS PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO TONY ABBOTT ... YAY.. PEOPLE POWER CAN SOMETIMES WIN........... GOOD RIDDANCE!!

 

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Rape accused Joey De Mesa life destroyed in NSW police stuff up



Picture c/o The Telegraph

As a result of a botched police investigation, a wrongful arrest and charge was made against Joey De Mesa which resulted in destroying this young mans life.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/rape-accused-my-life-is-in-ruins/story-e6freuy9-1226474720728

Check out the above story at the Daily Telegraph website to see the level of incompetence shown by the police.

This bloke should have the right to sue the NSW Police Force for big bucks after the stuff up. But of course, the government always protects itself from potential litigation when it stuffs up things. What do the police care if they have the right person or not? Arrest poor Joey, throw him in some hell hole cell for two days, say "Oops, wrong person", "Off you go". Now it's been splashed over all the newspapers in the land, and Joey's stuffed.

Someone, give this bloke a chance and give him a job.

And like I've pointed out previously in this blog, laws should be changed to protect the names of people accused of certain offences until the charges are proved and they are convicted in a court of law. Police are all too willing just to jump in and arrest people willy nilly and don't give a hoot either way whose life they destroy. Laws should be changed to allow the police force to be held accountable for arrests where there is no evidence and the accused ends up being released. You see this all the time in reports where police suddenly drop charges against an accused because there is not enough evidence (or alternatively, it gets thrown out of court). It happens more often than you think.

Police have this tendency to arrest first, then try and find evidence to fit. A bit of a dangerous thing don't you think?

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Anti Islamic Film Protest in Sydney ends in violence - Child photographed promoting Islamic violence. Is this what Australia wants?

The Islamic population of Australia should be disgusted with this photograph.

What sort of parents would let their child hold up a sign such as this?

Is the person(s) who made this sign, the type of person(s) we want living in Australia?

Is this what Islam is all about - the slightest bit of provocation about the Prophet and we'll kill you? (after all, it happens overseas).

The Christian God is belittled and condemned every day, but you don't see Christians going around threatening to kill people.

Does any person, irrespective of religious background, think this sign promotes peace and wellbeing for all Australian citizens?

Using children to promote violence is not on. It might be OK in Islamic countries, but it's not OK in Australia. If you don't like Australian laws, there is nothing stopping you from going back to where you became from. The only problem is if you protested where you came from you'd probably be shot. Don't turn Australia into a deadly religious playground. Islamic people have no more or no less rights than any other person in Australia.

The above photo was snapped at a protest rally held in Sydney which (surprise surprise) turned violent. Toughen up a bit. Islamic people can't keep on protesting every time someone says a bad word about Islam and the Prophet. If every other religion in the world reacted the same as Islamic people, the world would be thrown into a religious world war. Is that what you want?

The western world is told over and over that Islam represents peace, tranquility and being good to each other, but all I see reported is violence, bloodshed and tears.

If the Islamic nation is going to get on with other people in the world, you have to toughen up AND you have to respect the fact that other people will disagree with you. If they do disagree, you have to let it go. You don't have to respond with violence every time someone says something nasty about Islam or the Prophet.

Everybody has the right to live their life they way they want. If I'm a Christian, it has no affect on my Islamic neighbours. They can practise any religion they want and it doesn't affect me. Everyone has to learn to live in peace with each other.

Like I said earlier, if ANY religious or non religious person comes to live in Australia is not happy with our system of fairness, understanding and laws, then they always have the option to hop on a plane and go back to their homeland.

All I want is Australians of all religions and origins to live in peace with each other, but I slowly see us being sucked into violence caused by religious intolerance.

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Update 18/9/12

The Mother in the photograph has handed herself into police.

(The following grab was taken from AdelaideNow)

A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed this morning the mother of the boy who was photographed with a sign reading "behead those who insult the Prophet" approached police overnight to hand herself in.

The spokeswoman confirmed the woman would not be charged.

Community Services workers visited the woman's home and conducted welfare checks on her children.

A spokesman for Community Services Minister Pru Goward said the mother was not known to authorities or the subject of any reports to the helpline or agency - and the children were not found to be any immediate danger.

"Her understanding is that she didn't think the protest was going to get violent," the spokesman said.

He said no futher action will be taken against the mother.

"But when people make reports now they are always on our radar and in our system in case anything like this happens again," the spokesman said.

I actually take offence to the reported fact that "The mother concerned didn't think the protest was going to turn violent". Ahhh.. that explains it then. Because she didn't know the protest was going to turn violent makes it OK to print and make a sign such as this and let a small boy hold it up to be photographed.

I would be asking the questions:

• What sort of  "Australian" values is the family teaching this young boy? 
• I think multi-cultural societies are great, but really, is this the sort of people we want living in Australia?
• Should this family be given a warning and if there is a further offence, the family is deported?

Is Australia's commitment to multi-culturalism holding back the integration of immigrants into Australian society? Take the following example:

If I travelled to an Islamic country and wanted to set up a Christian school, would they let me? I'm pretty sure the answer would be NO. Given that, we let Muslim schools pop up left, right and centre in Australia.

Would Australian authorities be better to enforce the following:

"Sure, we'd love you to come and settle into Australian society, but you actually have to make an effort to integrate, so whilst you'll be allowed to build your Mosques for religious purposes, your children must be taught in Australian public or private schools".

Surely the integration of all school children (irrespective of religious background) is true multi-culturalism?

Or is true multi-culturalism letting people in who set up their own schools, their own supermarkets, their own places of prayer, their own suburbs and don't want to teach Australian values and tolerance?

Maybe my views of multi-culturalism are outdated, old fashioned and no longer "in vogue". Maybe true multiculturalism is letting people settle in Australia and if they want to integrate, great, but if they don't, great. Who cares? - at least we're multicultural.

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As an Addendum. I came across this photograph and thought it was very apt to this post:

 

Poor baby Ebony - Allegedly killed by her parents in Adelaide flat

The short life of poor baby Ebony is tragic one. This poor soul lost her life under the care of her teenage parents.

She was battered and had fractures to most of her body.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/teen-mum-released-despite-baby-ebonys-horrific-injuries/story-fndo471r-1226471809926

"The teenager is charged alongside the baby's father over alleged neglect that took place in their Brooklyn Park home between November 6 and 16 last year. They were initially charged with murder but charges for the mother and father were downgraded to criminal neglect."


"The sheer volume of injuries to this small child make this a very, very serious matter and of course no doubt led to the eventual death of the child."

Ebony's cause of death was blunt force head trauma.

Prosecutor, Ms Amos said she expected the teenager would claim she could do nothing to stop the injuries.
Bronwen Waldron, for the teenager, who cannot be named because she was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, confirmed that the accused would be making that claim.

"Clearly she will be saying she never caused any harm to her daughter and she herself was physically and mentally powerless to protect her in the situation she found herself," said Bronwen Waldron. 

I find it hard to believe that any mother could do absolutely NOTHING whilst her poor defenceless 4 month old baby is being bashed to death.

What bullshit.

You mean to tell me she couldn't go out screaming into the street during the bashing?

She couldn't run to a neighbours for help?

She couldn't call the police?

Since the mother will be claiming (in her defence in court) that she never caused any harm to her daughter, and no-one else apart from the father has been charged, the only conclusion is that the mother will be blaming the father for Ebony's death. A child doesn't get those sort of injuries just sleeping in a cot. They are caused by a person.

How the charges can be downgraded to criminal neglect for both of them is beyond me. Surely one would have to be charged with at least, manslaughter, and the other with criminal neglect. However, I'm not a legal person so I presume the prosecution will know what it's doing.

I hate hearing of stories involving kids being bashed and killed by their ill-prepared too young parents. I'm amazed in this day and age that unplanned pregnancies still happen so often. Does it take THAT MUCH to stick on a condom or get on the pill?

I don't know whether this poor baby was planned or accidental. But there has to be something we can do to stop ill prepared and immature people having a baby (babies). In this case, forced adoption would have been a much better case - even though the civil libertarians would have a field day with this.

I hope whoever bashed and killed this poor soul suffers the same treatment in jail. No loss to society - just gets rid of one more scumbag.

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UPDATE 24/9/2012

The father of the above baby has pleaded guilty to criminal neglect in relation to his daughters death. Let's hope this prick gets what he deserves in jail. It's times like this that we really Sharia Law - An eye for an eye and a death for a death!

UPDATE 17/11/2013

The father of the baby has now confessed to the crime, and changed his plea to guilty. If I were the presiding judge, I would add another 3 years onto his sentence for this outright lie. If he did the 'right thing' back two years ago, and manned up to his guilt, it would have been easier on all concerned (and cost the taxpayer a lot less money). If he gets bashed in prison and dies, it's no loss to society. We don't need scumbags like this being released in 15 or 20 years.

UPDATE 21/11/2013

The mother of poor 4 months old baby Ebony gives evidence in court as to how the father enjoyed hitting the child prior to the baby's death. Naturally, the mother tries not to implicate herself too much saying her boyfriend would have killed her if she told the authorities.

I just can't believe the violence inflicted on this poor little defenceless and innocent baby, particularly by the father. And what pisses me really off is the mother COULD HAVE GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE AND TO POLICE and possibly save the life of poor Ebony, but she did NOTHING. Her pathetic excuses don't ring of any truth with me.

These two are prime candidates for capital punishment in Australia. They will both need to be kept in strict protective custody in prison, as the other prisoners will be out to kill them. I have no problem with that.

UPDATE 20/12/2013

As this case runs it's course and is nearly finished, the couple should re-appear in court sometime in January to find out their sentences. What still bugs me is the scumbag father has been found guilty of criminal neglect which has a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail!. How can bashing the life out of a poor defenseless baby be neglectful? I can understand criminal neglect happens when a person doesn't feed a baby properly or doesn't take care of it as it should, but deliberately bashing a poor baby to death is, to me, a little more serious than criminal neglect. I would have thought that a murder would be more a appropriate. I'm sure it wouldn't have been pre-meditated, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that bashing a few month old baby is going to do harm to it. And still too, this scumbag remains hidden in anonymity because of our pathetic laws regarding minors. And since the mother was under 18 at the time of the offence, the father can't be named. Nor can she. Damned disgusting. The scumbag father will go to jail for 15 years I'm sure, where he'll be put into protective custody, which'll be a damn shame as I'm sure he would've received a good bashing himself in prison. Which I don't think any decent member of the public would be too worried about.

Once again, a poor baby or child suffers at the hands of parents who are hopelessly young and ill prepared to handle the responsibilities of parenthood. To this end, I don't think the baby bonus has been helpful at all. I realise there must be other young parents out there that, through accident, find themselves pregnant, and champion on to be great parents. But come on guys. With  birth control and other information being so easily available, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever, to get 'accidentally' pregnant. I would rather see the State take a baby from ill prepared parents and adopt it out rather than the poor mite suffer as poor baby Ebony did. Tough ? yes, but I'd rather have seen baby Ebony in a loving home rather than the one she was in!

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Those nasty little Christians are at it again - Outlaw Jim Wallace and his pathetic cause

In a surprising move, The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has cancelled a planned speech at the Australian Christian Lobby conference next month.

Ms Gillard took offence by the groups managing director Jim Wallace over offensive comments where he compared gay marriage to the health risks of smoking.

Well Jim, your church doesn't exactly have a strikingly good record of looking after it's flock do they? Just look at all the clergy in jail for pedophilia and assaults around the world.

Jim Wallace, you are offensive to the Australian public and should be dismissed. Typically, the views you hold are held usually by under-educated bogans.

I'm glad the successive younger generations woke up to the fact that there is no god, or higher spirit. As the older generation die out, eventually more churches will close and the nasty likes of Jim Wallace will be gone.

Just get on with your life and enjoy it, you don't need some supposed higher force to tell you what to do.

 Jim Wallace, the homophobe.

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The Australian government now want more of an ability to SPY on it's people

ATTORNEY-General Nicola Roxon has reversed her position on online spy laws today, backing plans for internet service providers to store user data for up to two years.

Well folks, like I said would happen some time ago, the Australian Government is up to no good again. Nicola Roxon has reversed her thoughts on data retention by ISP's allowing a green light for authorities to pretty much spy on everything you do on-line. Do you get the feeling we're being treated more and more like suspects?


"Many investigations require law enforcement to build a picture of criminal activity over a period of time," Ms Roxon told the Security Government conference in Canberra.
"Without data retention, this capability will be lost.
"The intention behind the proposed reform is to allow law enforcement agencies to continue investigating crime in light of new technologies.
"The loss of this capability would be a major blow to our law enforcement agencies and to Australia's national security."

Our government already does clandestine things behind our backs and lies to the Australian public so why should we trust the government on this issue?

What will be the requirement to have a warrant issued by the courts? Maybe the government might decide a blog such as this which at times is critical of this very same government, may need more scrutiny. Fine, be my guest.

I'm not being a drama queen and making a mountain out of a molehill, but again, it seems, just like the yanks, Australians are losing more and more privacy to the government. They want to poke their noses into everything. They want to have more and more say in what the people do. Soon, the Australian government will tell you if you can smack your child or not. It started the ball rolling to censor internet sites (and failed). People have to stand up to this bullshit and say NO!

Of course to do this, you would be seen as being pro criminal and making it harder for law enforcement to catch the bad guys.

I'm all for catching these baddies, but I'm just sick to death of our rights and privacy going down the drain.

Ridding society from graffiti vandals - A new approach to stopping graffiti

I have a new proposal to help stop graffiti! Great I hear you say... tell us more.

OK, let me tell you straight out, I actually don't mind the original graffiti, real graffiti. The stuff we used to get years ago from people that were intelligent and were real artists:

Both of the above examples I think are great. They show real artistry and cleverness.

What gets on my goat are useless tags just by themselves. To me, tagging without adding any real content is plain straight out vandalism. I remember one morning a couple of years ago seeing a couple of guys creating graffiti artwork over a few mornings on a wall in a park. It looked fantastic. I only wish now I'd taken a snap of it back then whilst it was still on the wall.

A week or so after it was completed, I saw the same couple of lads one morning standing in front of their work and it was pretty much destroyed by tags. I can only imagine the thoughts going through their heads. Why would a tagger destroy the work of a fellow graffiti artist? Jealousy? Who knows...

Either way, our current laws are definitely not a deterrent to graffiti vandals. The Australian government has no balls so wouldn't enact any of my proposals anyway - but it's food for thought.

My proposal is to have those graffiti vandals who are caught and found guilty to have a finger surgically removed every time they are caught. The finger to be removed depends on whether it is public or private property which is defaced. If it's public property and a first offence, the finger removed would be the little pinky on the non main hand. It would be scaled accordingly every time they are caught and convicted. A different finger for offence seriousness.

I think however, unless the vandal was totally stupid, that it would only ever get to the one finger stage when most of the vandals would decide to give up there hobby (for fear of losing another finger).

Am I being too tough ? I don't think so. What gives graffiti vandals the right to damage public and private property? We all have to live in our city. Why do we have to put up with a few vandals that think it's OK to deface everything? Do you think the answer would be to create graffiti parks - like skateboard parks - whereby they can tag and draw away as much as they like?

OK, if you think my suggestion of having a finger removed is too "over the top" - what about this? When a graffiti vandal is caught and convicted. The punishment is to have the vandals front of the family home covered in graffiti (This assumes the vandal is living at home with the parents). The effect of this punishment creates embarrasment for the family, who then (under normal circumstances) would come down heavily on the vandal and they'd set the vandal the task of repainting and/or cleaning the front of the house.

If the vandal was over 18 and/or not living at home, they could be fined say, $4,000 to be paid within six months else personal possessions would be seized instead eg, Laptop, iPod, TV, Skateboards, Computer etc.

For those who say my thoughts on punishment are so way over the top they are ridiculous, look at the following grab of a reported news item from Singapore:

SINGAPORE –  SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore sentenced a Swiss man to three strokes of a cane and five months in prison Friday for spray-painting graffiti on a subway car, reinforcing the city-state's reputation for severely punishing minor crimes. Vandalism in Singapore carries a mandatory three to eight strokes of a cane and a fine of up to SG$2,000 Singapore dollars ($1,437) or up to three years in jail.

OK, they don't cut off fingers, BUT, they have one of the cleanest cities in the world and with one of the highest living standards in the world. Why? Because they are tough on vandals, none of this pussy-footing around like we do in Australia. The would be vandals are pretty much too damn scared of doing anything in case the get caught. Great!! Bring this type of punishment to Australia.

I also noted in the story that Singapore has government sanctioned area's for graffiti artists to display their work. Walls were specifically built in certain area's for graffiting - great idea.

If any graffiti artists and/or vandals are reading this story, I'd be interested in hearing your side of the matter. Serious answers with some thought in them would be great instead of "yeah man, coz its kool".

• Do you graffiti public only or private only area's, or you don't care?
• Do you think about what would happen to you if you're caught?
• Do you care if you're caught?
• If caught, do you think "I'm under 18, stuff all will happen"?
• Do you think about your family and what they will think of you if you're caught?
• If you rented a house with mates and someone graffiti'd your front fence, would you care?
• If the owner or agent of the rented house said it's your responsibility to clean the graffiti on the front fence, what would you think?
• If you just took out a loan to buy a nice Holden/Ford Ute or other car of your dreams, is it OK for other people to graffiti your car?
• Do you think it's OK to graffiti other peoples property? Do you consider the dollar cost to them to re-paint or have the area cleaned?
• Do you consider your graffiti to be "artwork" or if it's just a tag, why is it important for you to put your tag on something?
• In 12 years time, when you're (maybe) out of the graffiti phase and you've just bought a house, have a great partner, good job, and some 14 year old tags your fence, is that OK?
• Would you leave the tag(s) on the fence and be proud that you used to do the same thing?
• Are there places you wouldn't tag or graffiti?

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Bill Shorten - His stupid condescending comment and apparently a bad money handler

I am disgusted with Bill Shortens comments during an interview where he blatantly says even he (I presume his family) have trouble "making ends meet". This would have to be one of the most condescending comment made by a politician in recent times. Truly disgusting.

This bloke is on $330,000.00 a year and he dares to make comments about "making ends meet"? Come on Bill ... If this comment even had a hint of truth behind it, the Shorten family must be one of the worst money managers you could find.

And why Bill Shorten laps up the luxuries on his meagre $330,000.00, poor Newstart people have to try and survive on $35 a week (compared to Bills $6,346.00 a week).


Sure, I know that there are Newstart / Dole bludgers out there that have no intention of working, but there are a hell of a lot of people still left who have been retrenched, or the companies gone broke and they're trying to pay rent, buy food and pay bills, bring up kids etc, and you make crap comments like this.

Bill Shorten, you should be ashamed.

I used to like you Bill Shorten, but like many other politicians, you are nothing more than a condescending prick that has no idea as to what happens in the real world.

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South Australian Police (SAPOL) trying to rip off the public again!

I read with interest that SA Police are now "urging" people to come forward if they think they've been fined unfairly for "speeding".

It turns out that SAPOL's super duper speed camera's aren't as good as what SAPOL will lead you to believe - AND - in addition, internal clerical errors are also to blame. I'd hate to think of how many internal errors are made with defendants DNA samples?

Apparently, officers are supposed to keep records of "dubious" camera snapping that may result in errors, but it has been exposed before that officers have been found sleeping, texting on their mobile phones, and just plain bored and payuing no attention. The simple fact that officers have to record "dubious" snaps indicate that the camera's are not always correct.

This whole fiasco started when a Torrens Transit bus was photographed "speeding" whilst it was actually stationery at a bus stop picking up passengers. How can these so called "state of the art" speed camera's stuff it up so badly? and how many unwitting people over the years have just paid a fine and grumbled and in reality, they're innocent?

We are a society that increasingly relies upon electronics and technology to work for us. There are times when we rely so heavily upon that technology, that most of us don't tend to question it ... then the technology gets caught out. Which is what has happened in this case. What pisses me off is the police will have you believe that the technology and gear they use is just about infallible. Why not just come out with the truth and state that at times, speed camera's and clerical staff DO make MISTAKES?

OK OK, I see you saying to yourself "Well, if the police come out and state that our camera's do make mistakes, we'll have the courts full of people defending their cases" whether they be in the wrong or  in the right.

My annoyance is the police/government will basically try and dupe you if they can. If they persuade you so much into believing that you are in the wrong, you are less likely to take up your cause with the courts. If you let the matter go to court and stand up for yourself, and you argue you weren't speeding, and are still found guilty, the court usually punishes you even more with costs etc. So you get a double whammy just for sticking up for your beliefs.

How many magistrates and/or judges are also "blinded" by this police arrogance that they are so in the right?

We should all have the right to defend outselves and not be punished (through additional costs) if the court doesn't find in our favour.

I would hate to think this police/government arrogance also extends to other area's of policing. What if blood or skin samples are found at a crime scene and through a "clerical error" by some lab technician, the evidence points to you. And it would also be a shame if you happened to live next door and were having a neighbourly row over a gum tree. You bet the police would be pointing the finger at you and saying "our technology is infallible - you are guilty as far as the police are concerned", and people are led along the garden path just as they are with speed camera's.

It's about time the government and it's agencies started to be upfront and honest with the public. It seems it's only when an agency or department gets caught out that we become aware that sometimes we are having the wool pulled over our eyes. The less the public knows, the better, type of attitude.

Get Real.

Senate votes down paedophile legislation .. Nick Xenophon - Minors should be made responsible as well

South Australian Senators have been criticised for voting against introduction of legislation making it illegal for adults to lie to minors in online chatrooms about their real age.

Good work Nick on trying to introduce the legislation, but I'm a little irked about the one sidedness of it.

Why would you not also introduce legislation to make it illegal for minors to lie about their age to adults as well? This is so one sided and totally unfair.

I think of the many girls who regularly go out on weekends - girls who are minors - but with the aid of make-up, look 19 or 20.

It annoys the hell out of me when we have teenage (minor) girls deliberately dressing to look older (to get into clubs and possibly meet with a guy) and somehow it's always the guy who gets lumbered with the blame if the girl decides to make a complaint after they have a night of passionate sex.

I know people will argue that the guy, if he's over 18, should ask for identification prior to any sexual contact happening, but let's face it - this is unlikely to happen at 3am with a few drinks and both of you all horny as hell.

Minors who lie and falsely lead should be made accountable as well.

I have never seen it reported in court proceedings where the girl was asked the question "Were you aware the fellow you had sex with was an adult"? Did you ask him for identification?

It stinks and is bullshit. Guys get blamed for all myriad of things because of scheming girls who are minors. If you make it illegal for both parties to lie about their ages, surely this would go towards making things more fair and equitable?

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Julian Assange - Finally, America is losing it's dominance

These pictures say it all.

I would be highly ashamed if I was an American at the moment.

The last line in the second photo is especially true. "My freedom is dying behind closed doors". The American government is slowly eroding away the rights of it's people, and the people let it happen through straight out apathy. I'm obviously not American, but it's so plain as day it's ridiculous. The Amercian government claims it has no interest in Assange at all. It's only interest is seeing that justice is done in Sweden on the trumped up sex charges. What bullshit. Try telling me the Yanks wouldn't apply for extradition after the legal process in Sweden is finished?

Go Julian Assange and as far as Australia is concerned, most of us want nothing to do with the Yanks. Stay in your own crime and drug ridden country. Don't stuff ours up as well.

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South Australian politicians stink - Both parties suck

I have just read a great column in AdelaideNow written by Lainie Anderson about South Australian poilitics... you can see it here:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/a-black-leather-skirt-the-issue-of-the-day-its-just-not-politics/story-e6freah3-1226448212497

Lainie has hit it right on the head. Pretty much, South Australia has suffered under bad leadership for 10 years under the king of spin (and bullshit) - Mike Rann and poor Jay Weatherill has to pick up the pieces. But, I don't think Jay has it in him either. The sad part is that the opposition are just as bad. When we hit the next election, we're stuffed. Both our parties are plain crap and stink. Who do you choose out of two losers? The one who is going to cause least damage I suppose?

I remember a long time ago, we had politicians who really had balls and had the states interest at heart. We had Premiers everyone looked up to and who had the balls to get stuff done. It appears now all our politicians are interested in doing is feathering their own nests and seeing what they can get out of the system before they're booted out.

Take Rann for instance. I remember one of the first things he did (after becoming Premier) was stop the government contribution of $35m towards the Adelaide Oval upgrade. At the time, he stated we had more urgent things to look at .. like directing that money towards hospitals. The hospital system was never fixed, and Rann basically led us into putting up $500m towards an Adelaide Oval development upon his leaving.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this whole Adelaide Oval development is going to be a white elephant. Sure, it will get used for footy and the like, but I just don't see these people spilling into restaurants and cafe's that will (apparently) line the new Torrens River development. After a game finishes, there will be a huge outflux of people onto public transport (which of course won't be able to cope) and then the city will go back to being slow again. A few people will hopefully linger to enjoy the sights and tastes.

I will be accused of being cynical. I just see it as being more realistic.

Melbourne is a fine example. People leave Etihad Stadium after a game, but very few of them actually head over to Southbank to patronise a cafe or restaurant. A few pubs may fill up for a while.

Lets hope our footy going crowds are more cafe/bistro/restaurant goers.

I digress... read the article anyway. It's very good.

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