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Seems to be a trend. Parks Victoria is attempting to charge photographers for taking photos of state parks. I wonder if you could counter with a fraud charge?

That would be extremely dangerous, as under Australian law cartoon or fictional characters could get you convicted of Child Porn if they appear underage. See the Simpsons ruling: http://www.theage.com.au/national/simpsons-cartoon-ripoff-is-child-porn-judge-20081208-6tmk.html

Sorry Mr Cynical, read about this this morning (Australia time) on the front page of a 'popular news' site...
The Age
But please don't let me get in the way of a good anti-establishment rant...

No really, so what? It's not like politicians do any real work anyway. Frankly at least this guy is doing something with his time, unlike Peter Slipper who fell asleep during question time in parliament.

What about that guy recently who was buying things on ebay during a session, forgot his name, but it's the same guy who racked up $600000 in taxpayer funded expenses on interstate and overseas "work" trips.

I have been to federal parliament during a reading of what was to become legislation, the room was frigging empty. The tour guide assured us that the politicians were paying attention to this as it was broadcast to their offices. ... Sure.. I mean this guy here isn't even a Federal politician, he's just a lowly state member. Who could blame him for getting bored and viewing some porn. I'm surprised he wasn't having a wank.

Good because the NBN is going ahead (Liberals broadband plan was a joke).

Bad because Senator Conroy is still in a position to put in the internet filter.

Labor didn't quite win the election: Greens and some independents are still in control. One can only hope they'll stick to their position of opposing the filter; if this happens and Conroy persists in his madness, guess who would will win? (anyone sees "drop Conroy or face other election" as really a dilemma?)

Greens/Liberals/Independants hold the balance of power and are all dead set against the filter. It's a dead scheme stop mentioning it. There will be no mandatory net filter in Australia. The ETS and mining tax are probably also going to get blocked. They don't have the numbers to pass that sort of legislation anymore.

Looks like Senator Conroy didn't get the memo, then: Doh!

Well it seems like Australia actually has some of the most draconian laws in the "western" world concerning things like the internet, anonymity, porn, censorship and so on. And yes, I know Australia isn't in the west.

We have our moments

First I read a few months ago that Australia impounds cars for speeding (even if it's someone else's car) and cars are impounded permanently and auctioned-off (proceeds going to govt of course) making lots of money:
"Car confiscation is big business in Australia. The state of Victoria seized 3437 cars generating $1 million in net revenue between July 2006 and December 2007."

And now they're going after iPhone apps?

What gives Australia? Why do you hate your citizens?

I am very happy, there are now two parties that are talking sense in OZ, and the leader of Labour is not to bad either, I can but hope we move forward at the next election... in the meantime, it is fun and commendable to join the cheefrul political bashing of Abbot: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/bible-bashing-the-homeless-abbott-style-20100215-o2tj.html http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matters/no-more-dole-tony-abbott-warns-the-under-30s/story-e6frfmd9-1225856181945 http://www.samesame.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=14437 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSPc5UTcwHQ What an embarrasing tool!

Lets put this in its propper context..

From the second linked artical
"It's very hard to take seriously a government which suddenly pulls yet another technological rabbit out of a hat just because it's under enormous pressure in the closing stages of an election campaign," the Liberal leader told reporters in western Sydney.

"This idea that 'hey presto' we are suddenly going to get 10 times the speed from something that isn't even built yet I find utterly implausible."

Hey... you know, I could have said that about Tony Abbott.

This idea that "hey presto" we are suddenly going to get an improved economy, less waste and an excellent immigration policy from someone we haven't elected yet I find utterly implausible.

heya,

Hmm, well, yes, we don't really have open gang warfare on the streets in Australia, that's true. I haven't around much in the US, so I can't comment there. I suppose some people will point to their easy access to firearms, but I don't know if it's related.

Your second point, I strongly contest. Look, sure you'll get the occasional idiot who watches say, UFC on television and says, I can do that. But then you always have a few idiots. On the whole, I'm really doubt there's a strong causal relationship between the two.

Furthermore UFC isn't that new - if you've ever watched boxing matches, or heck, muay thai rounds, they've often just as barbaric/bloody, if not more so. It's just we're not mixing it up, with groundworking, and other styles, like BJJ.

And I'm glad the people at your gym are friendly.

Look, my experience is the sorts of idiots who cause trouble aren't usually martial arts practitioners. They're silly, ignorant teenage bullies, often (I hate to admit) from low socio-economic backgrounds, who take their strength in numbers, as opposed to any say, martial arts skill.

E.g. see the story I posted above:

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ninja-students-foil-aussie-mugging-20100520-vq3m.html

Hmm, yeah, fighting while drunk usually not a good idea. But then Australia has a pretty bad booze culture, and people being stupid when drunk is nothing new. And I doubt it's because of things like UFC or martial arts. I'm sure that in the 1600's, you had lower-class idiots in taverns breaking chairs on each other, fighting, and glassing each other just as much.

And it's sad to hear that America has such violence problems. As I said, I haven't travelled there, so I can't speak on that topic. Hmm, we do have isolated incidents e.g. those Indian students beating each other recently.

Or just this morning, I read about a man bashed in Melbourne's CBD this morning:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/i-just-hope-they-get-caught-bash-victim-left-shattered-after-cbd-attack-20100805-11jcc.html?autostart=1

In terms of people taking martial arts classes to defend themselves...hmm, I guess. I don't know. You get the occasional person who wants to take it up - or they take up something like Krav Maga, or Jeet Kune Do. Or girls who do it to defend against s*xual assaults, I guess. But a lot of them tend to drop it after a while.

I mean, it takes years to hone your instincts to a point where it's actually useful. Often you'll just panic, and it's completely useless. And I think the old adage runs true - it's usually better to run than fight, or if they want your wallet/phone, just hand it over. I suppose in a barfight, it's a bit different, but then you do have to put yourselves in those situations.

Cheers,
Victor

heya,

Hmm, well, yes, we don't really have open gang warfare on the streets in Australia, that's true. I haven't around much in the US, so I can't comment there. I suppose some people will point to their easy access to firearms, but I don't know if it's related.

Your second point, I strongly contest. Look, sure you'll get the occasional idiot who watches say, UFC on television and says, I can do that. But then you always have a few idiots. On the whole, I'm really doubt there's a strong causal relationship between the two.

Furthermore UFC isn't that new - if you've ever watched boxing matches, or heck, muay thai rounds, they've often just as barbaric/bloody, if not more so. It's just we're not mixing it up, with groundworking, and other styles, like BJJ.

And I'm glad the people at your gym are friendly.

Look, my experience is the sorts of idiots who cause trouble aren't usually martial arts practitioners. They're silly, ignorant teenage bullies, often (I hate to admit) from low socio-economic backgrounds, who take their strength in numbers, as opposed to any say, martial arts skill.

E.g. see the story I posted above:

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ninja-students-foil-aussie-mugging-20100520-vq3m.html

Hmm, yeah, fighting while drunk usually not a good idea. But then Australia has a pretty bad booze culture, and people being stupid when drunk is nothing new. And I doubt it's because of things like UFC or martial arts. I'm sure that in the 1600's, you had lower-class idiots in taverns breaking chairs on each other, fighting, and glassing each other just as much.

And it's sad to hear that America has such violence problems. As I said, I haven't travelled there, so I can't speak on that topic. Hmm, we do have isolated incidents e.g. those Indian students beating each other recently.

Or just this morning, I read about a man bashed in Melbourne's CBD this morning:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/i-just-hope-they-get-caught-bash-victim-left-shattered-after-cbd-attack-20100805-11jcc.html?autostart=1

In terms of people taking martial arts classes to defend themselves...hmm, I guess. I don't know. You get the occasional person who wants to take it up - or they take up something like Krav Maga, or Jeet Kune Do. Or girls who do it to defend against s*xual assaults, I guess. But a lot of them tend to drop it after a while.

I mean, it takes years to hone your instincts to a point where it's actually useful. Often you'll just panic, and it's completely useless. And I think the old adage runs true - it's usually better to run than fight, or if they want your wallet/phone, just hand it over. I suppose in a barfight, it's a bit different, but then you do have to put yourselves in those situations.

Cheers,
Victor

heya,

Oh, and a bit of a laugh, and to anybody wondering whether violence is called by martial arts practicioners or just stupid, idle teenage bullies, who rely on strength of numbers, as opposed to any actual skill, see here...

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ninja-students-foil-aussie-mugging-20100520-vq3m.html

It's pretty ignorant that people seem to naturally assume that anybody who does any sort of martial arts, whether it's karate, tae kwon doe, or the "new" kid on the block, MMA is somehow inherently violent.

Cheers,
Victor

If you steal my loot in a raid I'll know your real name, and with a bit more googling everything there is to know about you:

Many of the vast unwashed masses on the net as spectacularly naive about their privacy. Take Gabrielle Romney, ex-lover of a right-wing political party figure in Australia. She wrote a letter to "The Age" bawling that they published her photo: "I am dismayed by the prominent publication of my photograph accompanying the article. To be targeted by a stalker is invasive, intimidating, and terrifying. As a private individual, one of the most debilitating aspects is the constant and unwelcome intrusion into one's life. Publishing my photograph has been a further violation of my privacy and dignity."

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/man-sent-more-than-100-sometimes-offensive-messages-to-exlover-20100726-10slv.html

Fair enough, but type her name into "Google" and you'll find yourself staring at her mug in facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gabrielle-Romney/528810959

Let me repeat what she said: "As a private individual, one of the most debilitating aspects is the constant and unwelcome intrusion into one's life."

If you're on Facebook, you're not a private individual.

look to your own corruptocracies, and not the US corruptocracy, as the guilty parties in this matter.

Well, sure it's a partnership but the US is involved. Countries influence each other, countries with large economies and military have more influence. This will always be the case and I'd much rather have more US influence than Chinese. Corruption is not the issue I'm trying to address here.

The US does not have the power to dictate legislation to foreign lands.

Did you realise that Australia copied concepts from the US constitution into our constitution at Federation, such as freedom of religion and a government of states with a limited federal government? American influence on Australian law is profound, goes back to the founding of our country and doesn't depend on a direct legislative power of the US government.

Corruption is pretty much a constant of human affairs. Apathy is the problem. Your media corporations aren't apathetic which is why we have the DMCA. I ask for Americans to contact your federal reps regarding a bill of rights for us and what do you do? Post to slashdot that it isn't your problem. Thanks for providing the example, buddy. That's what I'm talking about. America has a lot of influence in the world right now and a lot in Australia for over a century, before you became the predominant world power. I'm not out to argue about whether the US actually has that influence or whether you should. You do have it. I don't expect you to overturn the DMCA since you haven't been able to do that in your own country.

How can I explain to you? We have laws to severely restrict people's freedom of association even if they've never been convicted of a crime. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/antibikie-laws-watchdog-powerless-20100629-zfoz.html We have laws that can compel you to incriminate yourself under penalty of prison time for silence. http://www.independentweekly.com.au/news/local/news/general/tribe-told-of-abcc-request/1862417.aspx We have laws to punish you for saying things that others find offensive. http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/religious-vilification-law-undermines-multiculturalism/2006/04/30/1146335604488.html All the abuses of power in your country? We have them too. The bill of rights which is so often used as the basis of your legal protection? We've got virtually nothing. We have courts that tend to make pretty good decisions but without a bill of rights they have to enforce whatever parliament legislates.

I can and do work towards it from here. You can help. I'm not asking you to risk your life. I didn't think it was too much to ask your friends for help.

But

In the meantime, major ISPs - including Optus, Telstra and iPrimus - have pledged to block child-abuse websites voluntarily. This narrower, voluntary approach has long been advocated by internet experts and brings Australia into line with other countries such as Britain.

Quite correct. We had the same thing happen in NZ. In 2005...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking/NZ-hacker-targets-voicemail/2005/05/13/1115843355125.html

MAYBE you should read the frigging NEWS before accusing somebody of not knowing their stuff, eh?

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/big-brother-wants-all-your-bits-and-bytes-20100611-y3p3.html

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/blogs/the-geek/internet-freedom-in-2010-looks-like-1984/20100618-ykr9.html

http://www.zdnet.com.au/govt-wants-isps-to-record-browsing-history-339303785.htm?omnRef=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webspy.com.au%2Fblogs%2Findex.php%2Fgovernment-sanctioned-isp-filtering-and-monitoring%2F

http://www.webspy.com.au/blogs/index.php/government-sanctioned-isp-filtering-and-monitoring/

http://www.itwire.com/it-policy-news/government-tech-policy/39742-australian-government-to-monitor-all-internet-usage

http://www.smh.com.au/national/government-plans-to-monitor-without-court-authorisation-20100611-y3lq.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1276537/Government-web-monitoring-slammed

WHO said it had anything to do specifically with the NBN? You still end up with a trade... unless you can bash some sense into your representatives. Who, from the recent evidence, seem to have an even lower IQ than the idiots in the U.S. Congress.

MAYBE you should read the frigging NEWS before accusing somebody of not knowing their stuff, eh?

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/big-brother-wants-all-your-bits-and-bytes-20100611-y3p3.html

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/blogs/the-geek/internet-freedom-in-2010-looks-like-1984/20100618-ykr9.html

http://www.zdnet.com.au/govt-wants-isps-to-record-browsing-history-339303785.htm?omnRef=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webspy.com.au%2Fblogs%2Findex.php%2Fgovernment-sanctioned-isp-filtering-and-monitoring%2F

http://www.webspy.com.au/blogs/index.php/government-sanctioned-isp-filtering-and-monitoring/

http://www.itwire.com/it-policy-news/government-tech-policy/39742-australian-government-to-monitor-all-internet-usage

http://www.smh.com.au/national/government-plans-to-monitor-without-court-authorisation-20100611-y3lq.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1276537/Government-web-monitoring-slammed

WHO said it had anything to do specifically with the NBN? You still end up with a trade... unless you can bash some sense into your representatives. Who, from the recent evidence, seem to have an even lower IQ than the idiots in the U.S. Congress.

The pseudo-scientists, news reporters, and pundits purport to offer truth when they offer interpretation. And after a while, the average person doesn't know what to believe any more.

Man, I could not agree with you more - a couple of weeks back some data was published regarding a study of mobile phones and cancer. Over the course of the same day, The Age news web site released three stories from two authors analyzing the study - the headlines of which were:
Mobile phones linked to brain cancer risk,
Study unable to rule out link between mobile phones and brain cancer risk,
and:
Cancer study finds no clear link to mobile phone use.

That's right, one news site published stories stating strong correlation, weak correlation, and no correlation when examining the same data over one 24 hour period.
The newspaper which the website is sister to has the largest daily circulation of all papers in the state of Victoria, Australia, yet it is as consistent as some hormonally-charged teenager's blog.

No wonder the general public is confused.

The pseudo-scientists, news reporters, and pundits purport to offer truth when they offer interpretation. And after a while, the average person doesn't know what to believe any more.

Man, I could not agree with you more - a couple of weeks back some data was published regarding a study of mobile phones and cancer. Over the course of the same day, The Age news web site released three stories from two authors analyzing the study - the headlines of which were:
Mobile phones linked to brain cancer risk,
Study unable to rule out link between mobile phones and brain cancer risk,
and:
Cancer study finds no clear link to mobile phone use.

That's right, one news site published stories stating strong correlation, weak correlation, and no correlation when examining the same data over one 24 hour period.
The newspaper which the website is sister to has the largest daily circulation of all papers in the state of Victoria, Australia, yet it is as consistent as some hormonally-charged teenager's blog.

No wonder the general public is confused.

The pseudo-scientists, news reporters, and pundits purport to offer truth when they offer interpretation. And after a while, the average person doesn't know what to believe any more.

Man, I could not agree with you more - a couple of weeks back some data was published regarding a study of mobile phones and cancer. Over the course of the same day, The Age news web site released three stories from two authors analyzing the study - the headlines of which were:
Mobile phones linked to brain cancer risk,
Study unable to rule out link between mobile phones and brain cancer risk,
and:
Cancer study finds no clear link to mobile phone use.

That's right, one news site published stories stating strong correlation, weak correlation, and no correlation when examining the same data over one 24 hour period.
The newspaper which the website is sister to has the largest daily circulation of all papers in the state of Victoria, Australia, yet it is as consistent as some hormonally-charged teenager's blog.

No wonder the general public is confused.

While it was returned 15 minutes later

Man, they are brutal down in Melbourne. And from the original article linked at TG Daily:

The Age has been told that Assange's passport is classified "normal" on the immigration database, meaning the Wikileaks director can travel freely on it.

They really know how to shake people up and intimidate you. Sounds almost as bad as my trip through United States customs coming back from vacation. They abducted me for three hours as I was forced to stand in line awaiting inspection and approval. They called it standard processing but I tell you what--it was more of a death march.

Australia would have to be insane to do something like that to Assange. He would trot that out in front of the media for weeks if that was what happened. What a claim to legitimacy. And for that reason I'm guessing this is likely a natural passport process turned into a PR stunt.

Assange mentioned it in an SBS Dateline interview.

So basically Australia said, "We need to renew your overly used passport and the authorities are looking into how you got a hold of a blacklist from our government." <sarcasm>The poor man! When will the persecution stop?! The only way you can only mitigate his suffering by making a tiny donation to Wikileaks.org.</sarcasm>

Maybe this girl thought posting that she wanted to work with animals was innocuous...

> I wonder if this decision was related to the protest that had been organised?

After all that has been said and done and been ignored I would find that extraordinarily unlikely.

What is far more likely is that intervention by the US government has made a difference:

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/us-ambassador-critical-of-conroys-internet-filters-20100413-s5fs.html

This is the only really new occurrence that can have made a difference in the last month that I can think of. That and that Rudd is clearing the deck of any annoying issues as he is about to call an early election.

I disagree. Abbott already has a proven record of forcing it down people's throats.

• as Health Minister, he vetoed RU486 'morning after pill' despite advice it should be allowed
• also when in government, he announced government funding of $300000 for anti-abortion pregnancy counselling services.
  (see http://www.theage.com.au/news/sushi-das/mr-abbott-minister-for-meddling/2005/11/23/1132703249708.html)

Unfortunately Abbott is not on his own in this regard, I believe this may be something that Abbott and Rudd actually have in common.

For example, the ridiculous taxpayer-funded school chaplaincy program introduced under Howard, has been continued with additional funding under Rudd.
http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NationalSchoolChaplaincyProgram/Pages/home.aspx

I don't see how my taxes should be paying for someone to evangelise at what is meant to be a secular school. If they wanted a school counselling program with actual psychologists, I'd be all for that. And don't get me started on 'religious education' at secular schools...

Also while we're talking lobbies, I'll point out an alternative: http://australiansecularlobby.com/

Oh, don't worry. We're far behind in many other aspects. In fact, I think internet access prices is one of the very few examples where we're better than average Western countries.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/world-business/fitch-cuts-portugals-credit-rating-as-debt-crisis-heightens-20100325-qx3e.html

Not likely.

That's what your knees are for.

Yep. A few months ago I saw a guy driving while tootling away on a trumpet with his knees on the wheel. But I guess at least he wasn't attending to his bikini line.

There were no AK-47s or RPGs being carried by the people you can see in this video.

The military report, which had access to stuff on the ground determined this. I'm sure that if there were any weapons present that this would have been highlighted but that was not the case.

Innocent people were shot and killed.

And what about the guy (clearly not carrying anything) that walks in front of the building that scores a hellfire or two?

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/wikileaks-video-shows-devastating-us-chopper-attack-that-killed-journalists-20100406-rnmq.html

This is not a war. The Congress of the United States did not declare war on Iraq so therefore it is not war. It is an *invasion* of Iraq by the USA.

The military investigation into this incident found that the people that were shot by the helicopter crew were *NOT* carrying AK-47s or RPGs, but long lens cameras.

Are you going to contradict the military report which had access to the physical bodies, etc, on the ground?

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/wikileaks-video-shows-devastating-us-chopper-attack-that-killed-journalists-20100406-rnmq.html

Anecdotally, I live in a small town (approx' 20K people) in Arizona. More than half the population here has a handgun (I have 2), closer to 75% if you add rifles and shotguns. In the last 2 years there has been 2 murders, only one with a gun, and that involved a gang that chased someone and happened to catch up with them in our town.

Anecdotally, I live in a large country (approx' 20M people) in the Southern Hemisphere. In the 10 year period from 1991-2001, 5083 were killed by guns (3930 suicides). So that's 0.0025% of people per year killed with guns (or 0.00057% excluding suicide). From the latest statistics we see 260 murders in 2008, 12% of which were committed with firearms - 31 murders with a gun. Out of 21 million people (population reached 21 million in 2008). That is 0.00014%.

Now in your example you have 1 murder out of 20k, i.e. 0.005%. That makes your "safe" example 33 times more dangerous!

"We" as in Australia? The same Australia whose government negotiated a Clayton's 5% target for a climate change solution only to be sidelined by party politics?

Somehow I don't think Australian democracy is going to 'solve' climate change any time soon.

This is a much better commentary:

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/government-goes-to-war-with-google-over-net-censorship-20100330-r9bp.html ... the difference between online reporting and newspaper backed journalism.

Today in The Age: Government goes to war with Google over net censorship

Senator Conroy has conceded that greater transparency is needed in terms of how content ends up on the blacklist, but last night he again refused to make the blacklist itself public, saying it would provide people instant access to the banned material.

Okay Stephen here is how it works: every time an Australian hits the black list they post the URL on a wiki somewhere so if anybody needs some porn or the libaral party website or whatever they just follow the link from there and access it through a russian VPN? Simple? Okay.

Now, go into someone's living room and watch people actually playing the Wii. Aside from the very rare exception (seriously, you could count the games on one hand), you see people sitting on their couch using the Wii remote and nunchuck just like any other regular controller, and occasionally shaking the remote in a completely arbitrary fashion until the game recognizes that the remote is moving.

No, I don't. I see, well, a bunch of people moving around wildly as if their movements are translating to movements of characters on the screen. Of course, their movements may not be as exaggerated as they are in the commercials, but then again, I don't look like this while I'm playing my 360, either. If you can count the number of "exceptions" to your fake rule on one hand, then you must have an abnormal number of fingers.

The headline states "Chavez to limit internet freedom" as if he has just instituted a Great Firewall of Venezuela. He has done nothing of the sort. All he has done is make a public call for more regulation of the internet to prevent false and defamatory information. Clueless politicians across the globe make similar calls all the time, even in the land of the free. Much more worrying is the planned Australian censorship of the internet.

When Murdoch says shit, politicians jump on the shovel. Here is a recent example of how this arsehole does bussiness.

The meat from the (non-Murdoch) link...

"Last week Mr Smith [shadow communications minister] gave qualified support to the hand-out, saying the opposition acknowledged financial support for the networks was warranted during the transition to digital television. But on Tuesday, after the meeting with Mr Murdoch, Mr Abbott [opposition leader] blasted the hand-out as ''dodgy'' and an election-year bribe to free-to-air networks."

Between my OP above and this post I watched the Larry Flint doco The right to be left alone on ABC. This is the second time in the last few years I have seen the doco on state sponsred TV, it's an excellent doco that no commercial station here would play because of the way Flynt highlights their bullshit. To quote Flynt - "I watch the mainstream news to see what they leave out....The problem with the MSM is it's corporate...The models they put in front of the camera have to tow the corporate line".

"The review process had utterly failed; important questions have not been asked ... the methodological basis for such a conclusion (that the 20th century is probably not the warmest nor a uniquely extreme climate period of the last millennium) was simply not given."

before resigning. The publisher (Inter-Research) wrote the following editorial afterwards. Funnily enough they also publish a journal titled "Ethics in Science" :-) I hate to be in their shoes.
That quote comes from here ("Global warming: a load of hot air?") which has a nice summary of the politics (in 2004).
Lemme see if I can find the stolen CRU e-mails themselves..
Ah here, on the quite climate-skeptical looking website the Air Vent blog.
Can't find anything specific about the Soon and Baliunas article though.
The people at realclimate.org have done their utmost best to clarify and debunk the e-mails here.
To quote: "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants". In my personal opinion, the RealClimate debunking was believable, although it definitely showed us all that the CRU scientists were biased against the climate sceptics. They look a bit paler and more faded under the shock of sunlight they received on their e-mails :-).
Still, if the CRU climate scientists are petty and biased and spiteful but their scientific argumentation is solid (as I believe it still is--but I'm not a climate scientist), then I think we should look forward to reducing our CO2 production to the levels of 1990 and then even lower. On a worldwide level this becomes a problem for sociology or politics.
<incoherent_rant_mode>
I strongly suggest to read the last chapter of Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, he mentions how a societal (in this case, even global) problem can be recognized, even on time, but still the governing elite can be unwilling or powerless to do what is necessary to mitigate it due to social or cultural constraints (i.e. as if the Greenland Norse refused to live in igloos because it was "un-european" and "un-civilized"). Maybe I should even try to read Joseph Tainter whom Diamond refers to.
I was alive and conscious in the '90's, and I can tell the young ones, that to live at a level of industrial production similar to in the '90's (Kyoto protocol proposal, a reduction of 5%, which the USA refused to sign) doesn't mean abject poverty while being enslaved to the CO2-measuring communist overlords, as some climate sceptics try to paint it. But then again I was born in Europe, not in one of the Asian Tigers for example, so that colours my perspective strongly.
</incoherent_rant_mode>

Interestingly, I saw a video that was posted this morning to the front page of the Melbourne Age (the permanent link is this one). In that video - the testimony by one of the participants in the hearings being held in the US - the lady giving her testimony explicitly states that she tried all her gears, including neutral, and that it wasn't enough.

What's bloody scary for me is that I was considering the Yaris as my next car. Looks like I'll be going with the Honda Jazz (Fit in America) instead.

Interestingly, I saw a video that was posted this morning to the front page of the Melbourne Age (the permanent link is this one). In that video - the testimony by one of the participants in the hearings being held in the US - the lady giving her testimony explicitly states that she tried all her gears, including neutral, and that it wasn't enough.

What's bloody scary for me is that I was considering the Yaris as my next car. Looks like I'll be going with the Honda Jazz (Fit in America) instead.

TV networks pay so much for the rights that they have to maximize return, even is this results in catering to the masses who want to see only those things. Case in point is the channel 9 coverage in Australia which is really just trolling for viewers, and the more offensive they make it the better.

Time to flood the idiots with forms filled in with wonderful organization names. Time to register the TeddyBear's Picnic again: http://www.theage.com.au/national/police-spying-on-activists-revealed-20081015-51k0.html

This is crazy. How is this guy supposed to come up with $1.5M? That's more money than he's likely to earn in his lifetime.

Here's a picture of "Rose Lappin" of Nintendo Australia who sued him and rubbed his nose in it: http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/RoseLappin1.jpg

I suggest he offer to do the deed with her for $1.5M. He's got nothing to lose, and it's better than declaring bankruptcy.

Well. Maybe...

Uhhh! Must I do everything...

http://www.theage.com.au/business/global-email-campaign-to-save-dave-20100204-ng72.html

Australia.

In Victoria, where I live, there is an "Office of Police Integrity", which is led by a former judge: OPI. Police behaviour in Australia isn't perfect, but it seems to be a lot better than in other places.

Also in the news today was an incident where the federal police were warned by a judge that they could face charges for drawing guns when arresting a man alleged to be donating money to terrorist causes - see the Age's article. I can't imagine that happening in the US, or even the UK for that matter.

You seem to have fallen into the trap of thinking that because cops are a law unto themselves where you live, that's what the police are like everywhere.

Old News from 2008

Here you go.

So you'd agree with Cadel Evans that Australian cities aren't any good then.