Why does Cliff Richard have to be put in the position of fighting for his innocence by a potential lie? Did victims lie in the Rolf Harris case? Are men always "The Bad Guys"?

I can't keep quiet about this!!

You've probably already seen the reports of Sir Cliff Richard having his home raided after an accusation by a man in his 40's claiming to be sexually abused in 1985 when he was a regarded as a child by the law in the UK.

I have read of the term being bandied around of "copycat victims" and whilst I'm not accusing this man of being such, we have to consider this. The past year or two have seen many high profile names, with money, being accused of wrong doings many years ago. I'm sure some of the accusations are real, but I can't help feel that some aren't.

What concerns me more is the length of time that has passed since the alleged abuse and when an official complaint is made. I understand that some of the victims may be distressed, but that shouldn't stop them from making a complaint as soon as possible. It seems that the more historical the claim is, the more creedence given to it. If a man or woman is truly guilty of some sort of sexual abuse in the past, they must face some sort of punishment for that abuse. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is how long it takes to make an official complaint, what is alleged, and the potential of exaggeration of the claim to "further dig the knife in". Lets say a man touches up the breasts of an underage girl. OK, it's sexual abuse, but it's not exactly life altering. 30 years later the girl decides that it's time to make a complaint to police. Is it fair to simply present the facts to the police or should it be spiced up a bit to "dig the knife in"? She could easily claim she was digitally and/or orally raped, degraded, forced to perform fellatio, and the list goes on. What hope in hell does the guy have against a claim like this? If he's guilty of touching her breasts, he should face that accusation and the punishment for it. No more, no less. I know some of you will not agree with this relatively plain outcome, and will cry out "dig the knife in", but is "digging the knife in" fair? No, of course not, but I'm sure it happens. How do we know that the knife wasn't being "dug in" with Rolf Harris? If he was guilty of sexual abuse at the 'lighter' end of the scale, fine, charge him with that and let him suffer punishment for that, but he shouldn't be suffering punishment for something he actually didn't do.

It's not fair for victims to exaggerate claims, and it's also not fair for victims to seek media attention to further "their cause". Juries read news papers and so its possible for jury members to be influenced by what they read of a victims story.

When I was at school a long time ago, I was touched up by an older girl in a more senior year. I was probably about 15 years old I reckon. We were walking through a fairly deserted building as it was having renovations, but it was the shortest route to where we were going. She stopped me and started fondling my penis through my pants and then pulled my fly down and kept fondling me. I certainly didn't ask for it, and being the naive kid I was, just went with it. If we didn't hear voices at a nearby doorway, I don't know what else, if anything, would have happened. Anyway, she stopped and we went on our way. Now I've just been sexually abused and for all intents and purposes, violated. Is it fair now for me to go to the police and lay a complaint some 35 years later? I don't remember her name but I should be able to look it up in some old school photo. I didn't feel then that I had been violated, and, I don't FEEL now like I've been violated, I don't FEEL like it's been life altering for me, but I've still been wronged so why shouldn't I complain, and while I'm there maybe I should spice it up a bit and let the story become more juicy, why not, "dig the knife in a bit", after all, I've been sexually abused albeit it, well in the past. I'll bet there's lot of guys with similar circumstances to mine. (Please note. This actually happened and I've decided to air it to help emphasise what this post is about).

We've even had popular football personalities suffer accusations of rape and/or sexual abuse. It seems these young, and often drunk, girls love the idea of going home with a footballer and having sex, but wake up the next day thinking "what have I done"? .. "I know, I'll claim I was bought drinks and then raped back at his apartment"... "That way, I won't look like a slut in front of my friends". I know this paragraph will probably draw the ire from some women, but you can't tell me that this doesn't happen at times? Guys aren't always "the bad guys".

I started this post about Cliff Richard and the surfacing of a sexual complaint, and the idea was to draw peoples attention to other points around a sexual allegation, and to not necessarily believe everything that's put in front of you. It's up to a court of law to decide the 'probability' of an event happening back 30 years ago (for example), but how can they do that properly if the victim taints their claim with exaggerations to make it seem more real or believable?

Speaking broadly, I know with us guys is that we're not always the 'good guys', but sometimes we're not always the bad guys either.

Get Real

Big Warehouse Spares - WARNING - Be careful dealing with this mob

http://spares.bigwarehouse.com.au/                  https://www.coffeepartswarehouse.com.au/

PLEASE DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE "POSITIVE REVIEWS" ON THE BIG WAREHOUSE SPARES WEBSITE. IF A COMPANY GIVES DECENT AND PROPER SERVICE, THERE IS NO NEED FOR ALL THESE "REVIEWS". IF THE REVIEWS ARE REAL, MY BET IS THEY'VE BEEN SELECTIVE IN ONLY PUBLISHING THE GREAT ONES. I CAN'T WARN ANYONE ENOUGH ABOUT THIS BUNCH. READ ON AND CHECK OUT READERS COMMENTS.

*** FURTHER UPDATE 18/02/2021 ***

BIG WAREHOUSE SPARES IS NOW ALSO TRADING AS "COFFEE PARTS WAREHOUSE" C/- BIG WAREHOUSE SPARES, UNIT C, 8 RUDDOCK STREET, CORRIMAL, NSW, 2518.

Naturally, no phone number listed, and different website address to reflect the change of name, no doubt due to the bad reputation that Big Warehouse Spares has achieved for itself.

NOTE: There is a website very similar to Coffee Parts Warehouse, called "Coffee Machine Parts", as far as I know, Coffee Machine Parts has nothing to do with Coffee Parts Warehouse and are quite legitimate.

Phone: 02 8213 2448
Email: admin@bigwarehousespares.com.au
Contact: Angela (may no longer be valid)

The above website link will direct you to the website of Big Warehouse Spares. A company located um, somewhere, in New South Wales. Conveniently (for them), their website has no address or phone number listed. You can only contact them by email or fax.This for a start should set some alarm bells ringing.

They do state on their website, that they prefer to deal via email due to the high number of inquiries they process. OK, this sounds fair, but surely, it takes just as much time to read an email, find the information out, then physically write the return email? I seriously doubt they would process inquiries any faster by email, than by telephone. My bet is they simply don't want to advertise their phone number.

In addition, their website shows 30,000 'positive' reviews and a sample listing of some of those reviews, we all know reviews can be faked to give people a false sense of security, but lets take them as bona fide reviews for the time being.

My bet is that most people who plan to purchase a spare part for their electrical item have already researched the item on Big Warehouse Spares comprehensive spare parts listing and know exactly what item they want. This is what I did, and in my case, it was a replacement motor for my air conditioner.

To order was easy, click the "Buy It" button and enter those good old credit card details and I jumped up and down knowing I was going to receive my motor in a few days.....    .....     ......    well, that didn't happen. Silence from Big Warehouse Spares until I sent an email asking what the delay was. Their return email - which was quite fast, to their credit - advised the motor would be dispatched that afternoon. The next day I received an email from them saying the motor wasn't available any longer as a spare part, but I could purchase the motor complete with fan assembly instead, naturally at a greater price. I wasn't surprised at this as the manufacturer of my air conditioner went broke some years ago. But why advise me it was being dispatched that afternoon, when it was plain they had no stock?

I hummed and ha'd for a while over this and was a bit annoyed that they had taken my money real fast and the item wasn't actually in stock or even available. Surely they could implement a system whereby they only debit your credit card when the item is physically dispatched? I decided to cancel my order, by email!!, and asked them for a refund. A few days later the refund hadn't arrived, and I sent another email and was advised by an Angela is that she would look into it, still nothing happened and I started to do some internet searches for Big Warehouse Spares and found I wasn't alone in my treatment. The below links contain mostly bad stories of treatment by Big Warehouse Spares. There are a few scattered good reviews, but mostly it's "don't deal with them". I was lucky enough to stumble upon a person who'd posted their phone number and an actual email address. That number is 02 8213 2448 and the email is admin@bigwarehousespares.com.au. In the end, I phoned them and demanded they process my refund straight away. I gave them my "order number" and bang, it was done. Angela advised me that clerk who normally processes credits only does them on Mondays?? and she was away sick last Monday, hence the delay. I'm curious as to why only one person processes credits? and only on one day of the week? Not good enough in my book for customer service, especially when the company has no advertised address and no contact phone number. It makes you feel a little uneasy.

Check out the links below:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1697836

http://www.productreview.com.au/p/big-warehouse-spares.html

http://www.productreview.com.au/r/big-warehouse-spares/203059.html

http://estorereview.com.au/s/4014/Big-Warehouse-Spares

Actual review headers on some of the above websites:

----------------------------------------------------

SCAMMERS*****WRONG PART****OVERPRICED

Worst customer service ever. Don't waste your time!

Bad customer service - would not recommend!

So far my reveiw is a big fat 0

----------------------------------------------------

My strong suggestion to anyone planning to purchase from Big Warehouse Spares is to email them first as to whether they have the spare part PHYSICALLY in stock. In some of the reviews I've read, the poster states the Big Warehouse Spares website advises the part is easily available from the manufacturer and they constant purchase from that manufacturer, but then they end up waiting 4 or 6 weeks for the part - which they've already paid for!

My bet is that Big Warehouse Spares physically stock the most popular items from the most popular manufacturers, and the other 70% of spare parts are ordered in. BWS are not going to order in one light globe to suit a certain microwave from Sharp (for example), so I would expect the light globe would be added to a purchase order, and when they have enough of an order to place with Sharp, then it's placed. Of course, the BWS website doesn't tell you this, and what the resultant delay may be.

Anyway, you've been warned. Buyer beware!

Get Real

Tony Abbott and those MH-370 pings... Abbotts Delusions of Grandeur

We all knew it was not possible, but in the back of our minds, we hoped.

Unreservedly, Tony Abbott said those pings the AUSTRALIAN ship found were those of MH-370, the missing Malaysian Airlines flight.

We know that is bullshit. Now.

Abbott really had no idea what was going on, but in the back of his mind, he wanted Australia to be in the forefront of finding the doomed flight. He wanted Australia to find that aircraft and show it to the world.

Well, it failed, miserably and in his face - with egg.

As much as it's terrible to say, but we'll probably never know the fate of MH-370.

Conspiracy theories will abound, but in the end, we'll never really know unless the aircraft if found, and even then, it may never reveal it's secrets.

It could be mad Islamic terrorists, possibly Christian terrorists, but we probably will never know.

It's hard to ask the families to go back to their normal lives with a person missing in that life, but that's how we learn and grow and become stronger.

And as to Abbott and his phony pings, keep going mate... one day, the Australian public may like you. Not.

Get Real

Aaron Goods, self confessed revhead and alleged "safety camera" vandaliser. The cost to repair damaged camera's!! Is it excessive ?

Aaron Goods, the 23 year old alleged vandaliser (is there such a word?) of speed camera's in various area's is appearing in court on charges of causing public property damage to said camera's.

Whilst I don't condone any damage to public (or private) property at any time, one must ask the question why is the damage bill so high? so far, it is reported Police have estimated they lost $250,000 in lost revenue from the out of action camera's, and the cost of each camera repair was $30,000! If I was Aaron Goods lawyer, I'd be asking for proof of the camera repairs, and why it is so damn expensive. You could buy a decent brand new car for the cost of one of these lens repairs. You can't tell me there isn't some fiddling going on with figures!

A damaged camera (picture care of News Limited)

Someone is making one hell of a lot of profit on those lenses used in the camera's! I would expect the real lens is actually inside the camera housing, and the front rectangular "lens" is the toughened protector glass. How can toughened protector glass cost so much to supply and install? It begs the question that if it cost so much to repair these things, why are we spending the money in the first place if the supposed toughened lens is really no better than toughened window glass? Surely the manufacturers would have known these camera's would come under attack and would make spare parts affordable? But then again, it is often known that's where manufacturers make their money from - spare parts. Once you have a camera like this in position and in use, you're stuck using those spare parts even though you pay a mint for them. Maybe they could buy cheap Chinese protector lens somewhere at a fraction of the cost and just as good?

It's sad too that police had to bring up how much revenue they lost because of the out of action camera's. You'd think the first thing on their minds is the safety aspect to drivers, but apparently not. Damn, they won't hit their budget this month with the government! But of course, as a token afterthought, the police will bring up the safety issue of having camera's in place. They also don't bother to mention those people with an inclination to speed will always slow down when approaching intersections with speed camera's and then speed up again when they are through. I see it all the time on an intersection with a camera close to me, so one has to argue whether the camera's really do slow down drivers. I'm not a speeder so don't have to worry about it. But I AM a realist, and if camera's are not the answer and something else is, I'm all for looking at other options. Maybe options that don't generate revenue for the government? First offense: Loss of car for two weeks. Second offense: Loss of car for two months. Third offense: Loss of car for two years.
Fourth offense: car crushed?

My scenario doesn't generate money for the government but punishes the driver by losing the car for a set period. And lets face it, it you haven't learnt by the 4th time, you never will! If you're a family man and lose the family car because of your lead foot, you only have yourself to blame and if that causes hardship for the family, then it's sad, but tough luck. If the end result is that family men (or women) show more responsibility, and not speed, isn't that a good thing?

The thing that pisses the public off and makes it look like the government is using camera's to raise revenue, is that very fact.. they use camera's to raise revenue. My idea to simply take the car from the speeder makes the government coffers irrelevant and so they can't be accused of revenue raising. The car gets impounded no matter whose car it is, so if you have a friend who has an inclination to speed, don't lend them your car! You have a hire car? Better get ready to pay for that car whilst it's impounded!

At the end of the day, we need speed camera's. Some people simply cannot be trusted to "do the right thing" in society, as evidenced by all the speeding fines issued.It will always be a point of contention as to whether excessive speed plays a part in accidents. I have seen Main North Road, Prospect at 3am with virtually no cars around. I'm sure given this circumstance, it would be quite safe to do 80 or 90kmh on this road. But we have rules and as the rules stand, they have to be obeyed, or you suffer the consequence if caught.

Get Real

Update 24/5/2014:

On May 23rd, prosecutors amended court documents to say that the cost to repair the camera's was less than $30,000, whilst not giving an actual figure. It makes you wonder if they actually know the figure or they've just pulled a cost out of the air? I ask the question as to why they can't give an accurate figure? Maybe it cost $26,540 or $3,200 per camera, who's to know?. This is a damn court case and the prosecution should have the right information in the first place. This is how people get let off on "technicalities" because the prosecutors throw together a slap dash case and don't get their facts right. The overall cost of camera repair could make the difference as to whether Aaron Goods receives jail time or a significant fine.