Internment camp is simply another name for a concentration camp. A concentration camp is anywhere political prisoners are held in large numbers without trial. Gitmo fits the definition since it was specifically NOT designated a POW camp so as to avoid the Geneva convention. Having said that, I agree that US "internment camps" do not rise to anything like the level of inhumanity found in Nazi concentration camps.
"Of course it is the improvement in vehicle safety items, such as brakes airbags and mandatory seatbelt wearing that produced that improvement, not ads or speed traps."
Sure those things have contributed but so have speed traps, booze buses, education, etc.
"But keep on drinking the kool-aid by all means."
Whatever, your attitude will change when you grow up.
"It's not about safety. It's about money. Speed traps are designed to trick people into a spot where revenue generation occurs."
Maybe where you live but the OP is correct, police in Victoria engourage the publication of speed trap and red light camera locations because their aim is to cut the road toll. Reducing the road toll in our state from 1500+/yr in the late 60's, early 70's, down to the current 3-400 has saved far more revenue than the state could ever make from traffic tickets** (not to mention death, disability and heartache). Note that in the same period the number of cars in the state has increased ten fold, meaning by 1970 standards we should have a road toll of around 15,000.
Also the "shock value" TAC ads were pioneered in Victoria and have been going for 20yrs now. They have been credited with halving the road toll in that time and the campaign has been copied by many other nations who are serious about reducing the carnage on their own roads.
** In the first 2yrs of the campaign the reduction in injuries saved the TAC $2 BILLION dollars in medical claims.
Biochar is a great idea and it can also produce energy from sewrage. Trees are god but we coud cover the whole planet with trees and it would only make a minor dent in our emmissions. Unless we're willing to turn over most of the world's arable land to producing and burrying fast growing species such as bamboo, there simply is not enough land for the solution in TFA.
The simple soultion is to fix the root cause of the problem, ie: stop burning coal.
Your linked graph does not show a decrease, it shows a flattening of the curve between 1940 and 1970. This was caused by soot and sulphate areosols (also known as pea-soupers), it is the half truth behind the bullshit claim that "in the 70's we were told an ice age is coming". Dispite the large numbers of deaths attributed to pea soupers, the coal industry fought tooth and nail for almost a century against clean air regulations, they are now doing the same thing with CO2.
Good grief man, check your sources! Moner is a crank who believes in woo woo physics and was awarded "deciver of the year" by the Swedish skeptics society for organising university courses on dowsing.
The modern world in wich you live was brought to you by science, if the method did not work then you would not have the tools to broadcast your hubris to the world.
Yep, you, me and a couple of thousand others may watch QandA, nightline, etc, but if TV ratings are anything to go by then the vast majority of voters watch A Current Affair, etc. Those people will never hear Malcom Fraser rip into Abbot and the liberals, they will never hear Fielding admit to being a creationist and they will only be vaugely aware that Conroy exists.
Yes that's what was eventually passed into law under the Howard government. However the libs originally pushed for a mandatory filter and conducted Conroy style trials of the software, labor and the greens would not let the mandatory clause pass the senate. The libs then dropped the mandatory clause and all parties agreed to the current situation where it is mandatory for ISP's to offer the free opt-in filter. About 5% of Aussie internet connections currently use the free filter, not sure if that figure counts government computers where it's compulsory to use it (ie: schools, libraries, etc)
AFAIK Australia has had one politician assasinated and that was over some petty personal dispute. Our politicans are not affraid to walk the streets or go for a morning jog on their own and that's exactly how most Aussies want to keep it. When a democratically elected politcian needs a small army to go out in public and do their job then as far as I'm concerned that country has serious problems.
"His policy of deliberate insanity *almost* lost his party THE ENTIRE ELECTION"
No, this issue wasn't even on the radar of mainstream voters. Those people who know anything about the politics behind it know that it has been going on for over a decade now and will never be passed into law. It's rhetoric just like every US president since Nixon has called for "independence from foriegn oil" but has done jack shit about it, every Aussie PM since Keating has called for "cleaning up the net" but has done jack shit about it. If there was any political will behind the rhetoric then we would have had a mandatory filter back in the 90's when the libs first proposed it.
"This kind of rampant lunacy only succeeds in countries where only the criminals (and fed gov police enforcement) have guns."
Yeah right, guns have definitely prevented rampant lunacy from taking over US politics./sarcasm
"Before the recent elections the party he belongs to, Labor (a middle left party), could have passed it on their numbers alone"
No, before the election the libs + greens had the numbers and the inclination to block it in the senate, that situation has not changed. When the libs were in power they were the ones pushing for a mandatory filter and labor + greens were blocking it in the senate. It's never really been a serious proposal, it's a political distraction aimed at certain independent senators, an endless "Yes Minister" style inquiry that has been going on now for a decade with the libs and labor occasionally changing roles from good cop to bad cop.
There is no chance in hell the inquires will ever come to a conclusion since that would mean both major parties would have to give up the carrot/stick they use to placate the christian right and their nutjob senator(s).
I'm actually looking forward to Downer's answer, he's more than a match for Conroy.
Slashdot Mirror
Darwin award contender
Internment camp is simply another name for a concentration camp. A concentration camp is anywhere political prisoners are held in large numbers without trial. Gitmo fits the definition since it was specifically NOT designated a POW camp so as to avoid the Geneva convention. Having said that, I agree that US "internment camps" do not rise to anything like the level of inhumanity found in Nazi concentration camps.
"You've traded freedom for (the perception of) security as is your right"
Funny thing is, that's the same thing I think about a society where people feel they need to own a gun for self defense against each other.
I hate flying, it's scares the shit out of me unless I can look out the window. I think a transparent plane would actually calm me down.
"Of course it is the improvement in vehicle safety items, such as brakes airbags and mandatory seatbelt wearing that produced that improvement, not ads or speed traps."
Sure those things have contributed but so have speed traps, booze buses, education, etc.
"But keep on drinking the kool-aid by all means."
Whatever, your attitude will change when you grow up.
"broadbandchoice.com.au shows several providers offering 150gb for $90 a month."
I've been with Optus for 10yrs, my current plan is 170GB for $70/mth (fibre, not copper).
"It's not about safety. It's about money. Speed traps are designed to trick people into a spot where revenue generation occurs."
Maybe where you live but the OP is correct, police in Victoria engourage the publication of speed trap and red light camera locations because their aim is to cut the road toll. Reducing the road toll in our state from 1500+/yr in the late 60's, early 70's, down to the current 3-400 has saved far more revenue than the state could ever make from traffic tickets** (not to mention death, disability and heartache). Note that in the same period the number of cars in the state has increased ten fold, meaning by 1970 standards we should have a road toll of around 15,000.
Also the "shock value" TAC ads were pioneered in Victoria and have been going for 20yrs now. They have been credited with halving the road toll in that time and the campaign has been copied by many other nations who are serious about reducing the carnage on their own roads.
** In the first 2yrs of the campaign the reduction in injuries saved the TAC $2 BILLION dollars in medical claims.
You can plow the charcoal into the ground, it's a great "fertliser".
Biochar is a great idea and it can also produce energy from sewrage. Trees are god but we coud cover the whole planet with trees and it would only make a minor dent in our emmissions. Unless we're willing to turn over most of the world's arable land to producing and burrying fast growing species such as bamboo, there simply is not enough land for the solution in TFA.
The simple soultion is to fix the root cause of the problem, ie: stop burning coal.
Your linked graph does not show a decrease, it shows a flattening of the curve between 1940 and 1970. This was caused by soot and sulphate areosols (also known as pea-soupers), it is the half truth behind the bullshit claim that "in the 70's we were told an ice age is coming". Dispite the large numbers of deaths attributed to pea soupers, the coal industry fought tooth and nail for almost a century against clean air regulations, they are now doing the same thing with CO2.
Good grief man, check your sources! Moner is a crank who believes in woo woo physics and was awarded "deciver of the year" by the Swedish skeptics society for organising university courses on dowsing.
The modern world in wich you live was brought to you by science, if the method did not work then you would not have the tools to broadcast your hubris to the world.
"Any islands that have disappeared in the last 100 years or so did so due to erosion"
Rising sea levels cause erosion, just ask the seaside residents on the east coast of the UK.
Yep, you, me and a couple of thousand others may watch QandA, nightline, etc, but if TV ratings are anything to go by then the vast majority of voters watch A Current Affair, etc. Those people will never hear Malcom Fraser rip into Abbot and the liberals, they will never hear Fielding admit to being a creationist and they will only be vaugely aware that Conroy exists.
Yes that's what was eventually passed into law under the Howard government. However the libs originally pushed for a mandatory filter and conducted Conroy style trials of the software, labor and the greens would not let the mandatory clause pass the senate. The libs then dropped the mandatory clause and all parties agreed to the current situation where it is mandatory for ISP's to offer the free opt-in filter. About 5% of Aussie internet connections currently use the free filter, not sure if that figure counts government computers where it's compulsory to use it (ie: schools, libraries, etc)
AFAIK Australia has had one politician assasinated and that was over some petty personal dispute. Our politicans are not affraid to walk the streets or go for a morning jog on their own and that's exactly how most Aussies want to keep it. When a democratically elected politcian needs a small army to go out in public and do their job then as far as I'm concerned that country has serious problems.
"His policy of deliberate insanity *almost* lost his party THE ENTIRE ELECTION"
/sarcasm
No, this issue wasn't even on the radar of mainstream voters. Those people who know anything about the politics behind it know that it has been going on for over a decade now and will never be passed into law. It's rhetoric just like every US president since Nixon has called for "independence from foriegn oil" but has done jack shit about it, every Aussie PM since Keating has called for "cleaning up the net" but has done jack shit about it. If there was any political will behind the rhetoric then we would have had a mandatory filter back in the 90's when the libs first proposed it.
"This kind of rampant lunacy only succeeds in countries where only the criminals (and fed gov police enforcement) have guns."
Yeah right, guns have definitely prevented rampant lunacy from taking over US politics.
Opps, I meant Turnbull, not that idiot Downer.
"Before the recent elections the party he belongs to, Labor (a middle left party), could have passed it on their numbers alone"
No, before the election the libs + greens had the numbers and the inclination to block it in the senate, that situation has not changed. When the libs were in power they were the ones pushing for a mandatory filter and labor + greens were blocking it in the senate. It's never really been a serious proposal, it's a political distraction aimed at certain independent senators, an endless "Yes Minister" style inquiry that has been going on now for a decade with the libs and labor occasionally changing roles from good cop to bad cop.
There is no chance in hell the inquires will ever come to a conclusion since that would mean both major parties would have to give up the carrot/stick they use to placate the christian right and their nutjob senator(s).
I'm actually looking forward to Downer's answer, he's more than a match for Conroy.
According to the label in front of me, Aussie coke uses cane sugar.
"EVERYONE in Britain is rude"
You must be an American. :)
"That said, there is no point memorizing/caching useless information"
So why is it that the human brain seems to be designed to rember the words to the Flinstones tune but forget when the rent is due?
He has a point, who amoung us has not played buzzword bingo with the sesquipedalian emails sent out by our corporate overlords?
"There was a group or person that was using twitter, to find targets"
Rob me now
Anecdotes are useless. The diseases you mention are all killers, over half a million kids die every year from measles alone. Your infectious spawn should be kept out of public schools.