My Gripes of Wrath

Jihad? What Jihad?

2012-02-01T08:38:00.001+11:00

This is a story about the three wise monkeys. Or at least what we have come to think of as the three "wise" monkeys.
I'd rather re-interpret the image to reflect the current condition of western secular state of mind that is anything but wise. Speak no evil (because it is politically incorrect) See no evil (because we have our heads in the sand) and Hear no evil ( because we're in self-denial).

How widespread is this mentality?
I can get a good idea by how few people have actually bothered to watch the video The Third Jihad posted here on my blog.
I can specifically mention Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Jewish and the 12th richest man in the U.S.A.) being critical of the movie Third Jihad.http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/americas/new-york-mayor-bloomberg-blasts-use-of-the-third-jihad-film-in-nypd-training

NEW YORK // Mayor Michael Bloomberg said New York police used "terrible judgment" in showing counterterrorism trainees a documentary-style film that says Muslim extremists are masquerading as moderates to destroy America from within.

(he hasn't seen the movie)

Maybe I should be more afraid of ignorance, stupidity and naivety of my peers than the threat of radical Muslims. At least radical Muslims tell us exactly what their agenda is all about if we only bother to pay attention.

The Third Jihad

2012-01-28T10:07:00.001+11:00

Australia Day

2012-01-27T09:22:00.000+11:00

Yesterday, 26th January, Australians celebrated Australia Day.

Celebrated annually on 26 January, the date commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of New Holland.

So if you are American or Canadian or Russian or whatever, you now know.

Here is a brief list of what some people think of Australia Day

1.An insult and ongoing festering sore for aboriginal (indigenous) people who would rather not call themselves Australians. (see pic above)

2. The former county court judge Peter Gebhardt says,

Australia Day is, of course, an artificial fabrication designed by governments, the corporate world, media, Australia Day Councils and smug Anglo-Saxons to ensure that we forget real history.

That Anglo-Saxon smugness is a resilient child of hypocrisy and racism. The mawkish jingoism, the noisy triumphalism and trumped-up nationalism lead to the xenophobia that treats our humanity as something special and beyond the humanity of others who are not of these shores or of those, the original owners, who live within our shores but have been relegated as relics of history, beyond imagination.

3.Professor Fozdar
"And an overwhelming 91 per cent of people with car flags agreed that people who move to Australia should adopt Australian values, compared with 76 per cent of non-flaggers," Professor Fozdar said.

The suggestion is that flying the Australian flag predisposes us to harboring racist beliefs.

So in a fit of rage I ask myself,

Q.What other country allows such scouring self criticism as illustrated above?
Q.What other country bends over backwards to accommodate every cultural and religious diverse group who emigrates there?

Q.What other countries' citizens continue to stew in their own collective guilt for events concerning indigenous peoples over which they had no control?

Q.What other country harbours such feelings of self loathing when it considers the failure in public policy to integrate stone age primitives into mainstream society?
Q.What other country constantly examines their own navel for signs of racism?

I always thought Australia Day was a day to be proud to be Australian. I'm proud to be Australian, I was born here.
My wife is proud to be Australian, being immigrant and political refugee from a communist country, she values the freedom to think and do what she likes without having the police state look over her shoulder constantly.
As Australians we value the freedom to express opinions no matter how naive, stupid, biased, ignorant, those opinions may be.
At least let's be proud of that.

Piracy Act or Pissing in the Wind?

2012-01-19T18:41:00.001+11:00

The new legislation being considered in the U.S.A. Congress is the topic of hot debate.
Look at it for yourself here http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr3261ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr3261ih.pdf

This is nothing less than an attempt to control the internet.
What is the internet?
A network that spans the entire world connecting every individual with access to a computer. The internet is a means to disperse and exchange information even if that information is intellectual property.

It's not for me to jump in and unravel the full implications of this legislation.
It is interesting that the U.S. government feels the need to put a lid on the Pandoras box that they have created. It was specifically for the needs of the U.S. military that the internet came into existence.
We all know by now what the internet is if we don't all know completely what the internet is capable of.

So an attempt to control the internet in the name of intellectual property and prevent the theft thereof and therein the above mentioned, by means specified and implied and understood to be the anti-piracy legislation.

Yada yada yada legalese this and legalese that. In other words put a lid back on the Pandora's box.

Is it possible to control the internet?

A government can certainly target individuals and prosecute them and create fear and terror in the attempt to protect intellectual property rights. That is in fact just what the recording industry has been doing since a college student created Napster.
The lesson that should have been learn't from that dismal and failed exercise is that you cannot go backwards, you cannot suppress new technology. Napster was defeated in the courts but torrent file sharing thrives today.
Maybe this new legislation will be able to break the back of torrent file sharing but then for how long before a new and even more ingenious technology is invented to circumvent the laws that will target specific web sites and individuals on the web?

I think the government would need to kill the web to achieve total success of their desired goal. Maybe killing the web would please the recording industry and probably the movie industry.
So much for progress.

Guest Speaker Mohameed Ali Zander

2012-01-10T20:16:00.000+11:00

Dear Ridders,

I haf bin invited on to dis blog to explain much misunderstandings about my religion Islam.
My name is Mohameed Ali Zander and by the will of Allah and his prophet Mohammed (PBUH) I will learn you that in the teachings of our most holy books, the Qu'ran, as revealed by the archangel Gabriel to our prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the will of Allah God (most gracious and most merciful)., the one and only God.

Those of you who have been unfortunate enough not to have been raised in the teachings and traditions of Islam, note that everybody on dis planet is born Muslim, it is only but unfortunate circumstance that you may end up as infidels, and I will elaborate on dis issue later on, you must be guided back into the fold of Islam, of which dis article is the means to an end, as is my purpose on this earth to fulfil the will of Allah (most gracious and most merciful).

The first thing to understand is dat all monkey western secular knowledge, all monkey science and technology, all monkey scholarly learning and filthy dog philosophy and rationality and logic are worthless piece of shit. It is only through the words of Allah (most gracious and most merciful)., spoken to the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) that true knowledge is revealed. Your dependence on rationality and logic is flawed, it is the wrong path, a path taken that will inevitably lead you and your civilization to self-destruction.
It is only with abandoning logic and shunning rationality, throwing away the illusion of clear thinking, then and only then is only by embracing Islam and it's teachings that you will be saved.

It is true that many of my brothers are so enthusiastic about saving you filthy dog infidels from self-destruction that we are prepared to blow you up in order to save you. Do not try to understand this line of thinking because your monkey tools of reason and logic are flawed.
Only through total submission to the will of Allah (most gracious and most merciful)., Islam being in fact the word for total submission, that you will be saved.
In another blog written by a filthy pig Jew, http://plancksconstant.org/ he is full of praise for the achievements of his brother filthy pigs and how many Nobel prizes they have attained. I say, Hahaha, dogshit, who cares? My brothers are proud that we have systematically destroyed all intellectual,scientific, philosophical, independent thinking since the 7th Century with the birth of Islam, and replace it with a culture based on a religion that stifles free thinking, that suppresses women.
Knowledge is evil, knowledge is Satan. Do not be influenced by all that is evil in this world, you have a choice to change course and totally submit to Allah (most gracious and most merciful). Then you will be saved.

P.S. Those born into Islam will be saved first and those who convert will be saved later. Last will be the niggers.

Humans versus Animals

2012-01-07T23:10:00.000+11:00

Hooray for science. I love science and it's sibling technology.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/animals/manmade-lab-monkeys-lift-hopes-for-medical-miracles-20120106-1pob1.html

Man made chimeras in the form of monkeys. Why not?

It's strange that the only taboo confronting scientists is that they cannot experiment on human beings.
Just imagine the wonderful strides in progress that scientists could make if they were allowed to experiment on humans.
Isn't it wonderful that us humans have the entire zoological population available to experiment on for the benefit of us humans? That's because us humans are so superior to all other species. That thought alone justifies any experiment on other animals.
And we needn't feel any guilt because only us humans have feelings like pain, happiness, sadness. Only us humans have enquiring minds and experience interest in novelty and experience boredom.
We know this because we have the ability to speak and express our emotions, thoughts, ideas, beliefs.
Certainly that makes us superior to animals.
And if that wasn't enough, we know we were made in God's image whilst all the other animals were made to serve us humans.
And of course we can't experiment on other humans because human life is sacred while all other species lives are dispensable, disposable, worthless.
That is unless somebody declares a certain species is in danger of extinction (usually a result of human behaviour) and then everybody goes gaga attempting to save that species from extinction.
That's important because each species that becomes extinct gives us human beings a guilt trip, after all we were responsible for causing that species to become extinct.
Humans have such mixed emotions about other animals...that must be because we are superior to them. After all other animals only care about themselves and where their next meal is coming from.
Systematically destroying all the worlds forests for hundreds of years, destroying habitats of other species has been the result of humans self-serving interests. Clearing forest is important because we need more and more grazing land for crops to feed an ever increasing population. Prioritizing for humans at the cost of all other species goes without saying. We are superior therefore we will prevail.
Humans have become so numerous on planet earth that our shit permeates every corner of the globe. Literally human shit, human garbage, human refuse, human waste is everywhere. The carbon problem that many believe is behind global warming is just another form of human shit. Nuclear fuel cannot safely be dumped in the oceans or anywhere else but nuclear waste is an essential by-product of human need for energy. The by product being toxic human shit.
People who go to the local beach at summer for a swim are in fact swimming in human shit because that's where the sewerage pipeline empties all our shit.
If you're worried about the toxicity of fish, assuming there are still fish to catch, it's because of toxic human shit being poured into the oceans. We treat the oceans as our toxic chemical sewer.
Of course the great thing about being human is that we can rationalize our dilemma and pass the buck because we personally aren't responsible. In fact, nobody is responsible for anything. Don't believe me, then try finding somebody who will accept responsibility for anything that's wrong with the world today.
Of course, left to themselves, animals would never let the world become what is has become today.
That's because unlike humans, animals don't keep reproducing when there's not enough food to go around.
Unlike humans, animals die as readily as they are born because they are all part of the food chain.
Humans have no predator to keep our numbers in check.
Yes there are diseases but we keep finding cures for them to stop us from dying.
That's why we need animals to experiment on, to find cures to help us stay alive.
Isn't it wonderful that human life is sacred?

New Year Resolution

2011-12-31T23:45:00.002+11:00

Looking forward to the new year?
Of course, we live in hope that things will only get better.
It's obvious we can't go backwards so it makes sense to look forwards.
Every mistake we've made so far will live with us and influence the rest of our lives.
We can't travel back in time and correct those past mistakes.
On the other hand we can re-visit the past and see what mistakes we'll be making in the future.
If there's one thing you can be absolutely sure about, it's that we never learn from the past. Who was it that said, history repeats itself ?

George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

George Bernard Shaw says it like this, If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.

Anyway, my New Year's resolution is to become a better person, to control my anger - especially when confronted with the predictable frustrations of life...are the unpredictable ones any better?
I hope to become a better person by learning from my past mistakes... but then I'm merely human and imperfect in so many ways. Can I overcome the limitations of my human-ness?
See you this time next year and I'll let you know.

The Animal in Us

2011-12-29T07:57:00.000+11:00

It's interesting to observe human behaviour from those amongst our species, especially those individuals we might consider to be role models of virtue and wisdom.
Those custodians of religion are at the forefront of my mind maybe because I'm an atheist and/or maybe because I just like to observe human behaviour.

For example, when the pope, the leader of the Catholic church proselytised against materialism. He does this on a regular basis more often than we realize. He is always dressed in his handmade robes, consisting of rich fabrics of the most expensive quality. He administers a church that is so wealthy, it is a state within a state.
In other words he might as well say "do as I say and not as I do".

But that's just one example. Here's another one. The clergy who regularly bicker and fight over territorial rights at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.

The fight erupted between Greek and Armenian clergy, with both sides accusing each other of encroaching on parts of the church to which they lay claim.
The monks were tidying up the church ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in early January, following celebrations by Western Christians on December 25.
The fight erupted between monks along the border of their respective areas. Some shouted and hurled brooms.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/clergymen-clash-at-birthplace-of-jesus/story-fn3dxity-1226232312910

The point is, no matter what we believe, no matter what we preach, no matter how spiritual our souls might be, we are still basically animals in the animal kingdom. Strange that it's the religious who hold the strongest opinions on how we human species differ from animals. They would even construe any commonality with the "lower" species as an outright insult. Tut tut tut.

Maybe animals aren't self-conscious like humans and maybe animals have no ability to contemplate the future and maybe animals have no concept of death or life after death....but at least I've never met an animal that lied to me or an animal that cheated me or an animal that was a hypocrite.
And if animals had the ability to speak and think rationally rather than merely instinctively, I doubt animals would be so quick to abandon logic and rationality in favour of irrational beliefs.

Christmas Bomb Attack

2011-12-27T07:48:00.001+11:00

There are many idioms which express an idea. For example, "flogging a dead horse". Or in my case, talking about Muslims. Events in Nigeria, if I care to discuss them would inevitably be described as flogging a dead horse. Well, that's how I would feel about the subject anyway.
Or how about "scratch liar and find a thief". Because of the events in Nigeria I might like to add a variation to that one which goes something like this, "scratch a Muslim and find a suicide bomber".
Now that might be one way but would I be avoiding flogging a dead horse?
Well, I suppose if I'm going to mention events in Nigeria, in for a penny then I'm in for a pound.
In fact, to those who have invited Muslims into their neighbourhoods, consider events in Nigeria... you've made your bed and you'll have to lie in it.
It would be very tempting to say, I told you so, but that would be cold comfort to the unfortunate Nigerians.
But I feel that my extended campaign over many years against the evil of Islam has not been strained, not by any stretch.
Unfortunately we cannot wind back what has already been done. You can than the politically correct mob for that mistake because we'll just have to learn to live with it.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/dozens-dead-in-nigeria-christmas-bomb-attacks-20111226-1p9vv.html

Happy Christmas

2011-12-22T21:18:00.000+11:00

Wishing everybody and especially those who keep returning to this site, a Happy Christmas or if you prefer a Happy Hannukah.

Kim Jong Il

2011-12-19T20:31:00.001+11:00

What now North Korea?
Your leader is dead and the western world waits with anticipation of what will happen next.

My prediction is that North Korea will continue to be the isolated and paranoid country it has always been. If things get a little unstable the Chinese will step in like a big brother and settle and soothe the situation.

For those who contemplate a collapse of the system that is North Korea there is the underlying wet dream that this collapse will be a collapse into democracy. Very much like the wet dream that followed the deposing of Saddam Hussein and the recent Arab Spring where journalists heralded a forthcoming and inevitable collapse into democracy.

I'm quit proud of coming up with this catchy little phrase because it encapsulates the misconception that democracy is somehow a natural state of affairs instead of the aberration it really is.

So let me repeat, there will not be and never has been such a thing as a collapse into democracy.
Democracy is created by a society that is enlightened where all individuals have equal rights. A democracy doesn't bestow equal rights as much as it is the product of equal rights existing within a society.

End of wet dream.

Jet Setting Refugees Part 2

2011-12-19T08:02:00.002+11:00

As I mentioned in my previous post title Jet Set Refugees,
http://gripes-of-wrath.blogspot.com/2011/12/jet-set-refugees.html rather than squirm and be appalled at the tragedy happening now, we need to focus on the reason for this chain of events which is clearly outlined in the news story below.

And this latest news story shows exactly what I've been drawing attention to. I bold print to make my point.MORE than 200 asylum seekers are feared to have died after their boat sank off Java, victims of increasingly brazen syndicates that are funnelling people through Jakarta airport before packing them onto unsafe boats bound for Australia.
Just over a year after a disaster off Christmas Island in which 50 people died, a boat carrying about 250 asylum seekers sank off Prigi beach in eastern Java on Saturday.
There were conflicting reports last night about how many people survived. Indonesian officials said there were only 34 - contradicting Australia's new Home Affairs Minister, Jason Clare, who said 87 asylum seekers had been rescued.Just over a year after a disaster off Christmas Island in which 50 people died, a boat carrying about 250 asylum seekers sank off Prigi beach in eastern Java on Saturday.There were conflicting reports last night about how many people survived. Indonesian officials said there were only 34 - contradicting Australia's new Home Affairs Minister, Jason Clare, who said 87 asylum seekers had been rescued.

The Afghans and Iranians who survived five hours in the water included two boys aged about 10 and two women, while the rest were adult males.
An Afghan survivor, Esmat Adine, described the sinking as ''like the Titanic''. The boat capsized quickly from the rear, he told the Indonesian news site tribunnews.com. ''We tried to hold onto anything,'' he said.
Survivors said about 40 of the 250 people on board were children. The boat had a normal capacity of about 100, according to Kelik Enggar Purwanto, of the local search and rescue team. It was unlikely any more survivors would be found, he said.
A Jakarta refugee advocate told The Age he had been in contact with a survivor who lost his wife and two youngest children. ''They were packed onto a boat, most of them in cabins below deck. Some of those on deck survived but everyone below died when the boat capsized.''
Many of the asylum seekers had flown from Dubai to Jakarta, where Indonesian officials are said to have charged them $500 each to pass through the airport without visas. They were then taken in four buses to an unknown location on the south coast of Java.
The case highlights the increased confidence of people-smuggling networks and the huge demand for their services. In recent months, the regularity of vessels attempting to cross to Australia has increased, as has the size of their human cargo.
Australia's main political parties expressed horror at the latest disaster and condemned people smugglers, but avoided criticism of each other's policies. Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan said: ''Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who died or are missing following this terrible event. It's a tragic reminder of the dangers of attempting journeys like this.''
......................................................................................................................................
With ANDREW STEVENSON, RICHARD WILLINGHAM

The Spirit of Christmas

2011-12-16T08:02:00.002+11:00

I don't know if it's the full moon or the silly season or a combination of both but it's time for a bit of extravagant self indulgence justified by the idea that it's Christmas.
There's no greater joy than buying gifts for Christmas, especially if those gifts are for yourself. Hence the extravagant self indulgence.
I thought if I might ask Santa to leave this in my Christmas stocking...Miranda Kerr because I've been a very very good boy.

On the other hand the silly season does bring out the worst in people. How else can you describe this?

No, I'm not going to copy this idea, I think that would be a bit unfair to my loyal readers.

All the best to those who keep this blog going, special thanks to Jeannie, Mattexian and Damian. Goodbye to Patrick who seems to have given up his blog a few months back after many years.

Mea Culpa

2011-12-14T08:14:00.000+11:00

I must confess, I am guilty.
Guilty of crimes against my community, guilty of crimes against society, guilty of crimes against the economy, guilty of crimes against the environment and to put in bluntly I'm personally responsible for most of the ills of the world today.
I've only just realized this so I mustn't hesitate to confess my crimes.

Let's begin with the fact that I have an air conditioning unit in my home. This makes me guilty of putting a strain on the national electricity grid. In fact I'm personally responsible for the steep rise in electricity prices because my turning on my air conditioner at the hottest part of the day coincides with peak demand on electricity resources forcing the electricity company to build extra capacity to cope with the increased demand.

In fact, we could say that climate change is causing extremes in weather, resulting in a steep demand in electricity by people using air conditioners and we all know that I'm personally responsible for climate change. It's because of my selfish and inconsiderate use of my motor vehicle spewing out carbon monoxide exhaust into the fragile atmosphere.
Needless to say, me using the air conditioner is also causing the power stations to release more carbon into the atmosphere...adding to the problems of climate change.

Having retired early at 55 rather than opting to keep working into my mid seventies, I have personally put a strain on government resources which is collectively known as the 'rapid ageing population crisis". You must have heard that governments all around the world are facing disaster because their countries populations are ageing too fast resulting in insufficient young workers to pay the taxes government requires to finance spending.

And the Global Financial Crisis has been caused by me as well. My personal spending financed by easy credit provided by the banks has contributed the the sovereign debt problems. Banks are on the verge of meltdown because too many people like myself have defaulted on my mortgage.

The medical system is on the verge of collapse because of me. I've been putting a strain on the medical system because of declining health due to my age and because I've been exercising my right to access free medical care.

Oh, by the way, my disability pension has also put a strain on government finances because there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people claiming the disability pension.

No doubt, the government sorely misses the taxes I used to pay but no longer pay because I no longer am employed. Balancing the countries budget has never been more difficult since I quit my job.

And there has been a steep fall in property values because I've stopped buying real estate.

And there is an underlying risk of inflation because of me, the consumer, flush with easy credit, I've been spending money like there's no tomorrow.
What have I been buying? Cheap goods made in China. That means poor Chinese workers are being exploited and underpaid to satisfy my consumer needs.

And and and it's because I've been watering my garden and washing my car with precious "drinking water" that our dams have been depleted of precious water reserves. The drought is all my fault.

Mea Culpa

Did You Feel It?

2011-12-12T07:27:00.001+11:00

Did you feel it?
Maybe you don't know what I'm referring to....
Check the java applet on the right hand side of this blog page.
YES, we just had another full moon.
Ever wondered why I place the moon calendar on this blog? Ever wondered why the moon is so important to me?
Well, if you've worked with the public as I have for many years, you would notice a distinct pattern. You would notice a peak in irritability, intolerance, stupidity and other such behavior by other human beings we refer to as "the public". Many times I would ask myself "is it just me?" and my colleagues would reply (after I had pointed out the correlation between the full moon and human behavior) no it's not just you. Of course I'm not immune from the effects of the moon so maybe....
No doubt, if we looked hard enough, we might be able to detect a link between major gaffes committed by Presidents and Prime Ministers and CEO's and a full moon.
After all, the expression "lunatic" didn't just appear for no reason. Old wives tale maybe but maybe not.

Jet Set Refugees

2011-12-08T07:13:00.001+11:00

Boatloads of "refugees" arrive on Australia's coast at regular intervals and more frequently than ever before.
These "refugees" are from Iran,Iraq,Afghanistan,Syria.
In other words they are from the Middle East. So, they are more than likely to be Muslims.
I wonder why Muslim refugees find Indonesia so distasteful that they risk their lives to get to Australia? After all, Indonesia is a Muslim country.

I wonder how refugees from the Middle East Manage to get to Indonesia. Look at the map and you'll see they can't just walk there from the Middle East. They can't take a train or a bus. More that likely they flew there. In other words, jet setting refugees.
Now you can't just get on to a plane and fly to Indonesia because you would need a passport, otherwise the Indonesian customs wouldn't let you in to their country.
So what happens to their passports and/or documents of identity when these refugees set sail for Australia? Do they shred these documents?
Do they sell them?
Do they lose them at sea?

All we know is that they will arrive pleading for asylum without any credible form of ID. That's why it takes years to process their claims and legitimacy of refugee status. In fact, it's hard to ascertain their country of origin because they don't have passports or I.D.

Democracy in Egypt?

2011-12-05T06:27:00.001+11:00

The so called Arab Spring is fast upon us.

ISLAMIST parties captured more than 60 per cent of the vote in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, according to partial results released today.The Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, garnered 36.6 per cent of the 9,734,413 valid ballots cast for party lists. The Nour Party, a more hardline Islamist group, captured 24.4 per cent of the vote, according to figures provided by the High Election Commission.

Did somebody mention democracy?
Would someone care to accuse me of Islamophobia?
Hello................is anybody out there?

Sharia Law or Koranic Court?

2011-12-02T07:15:00.001+11:00

When we consider multi-culturalism, we think of many things but what comes to my mind is that this type of thinking gives precedence to culture(read religion) over civil law.
It is no surprise that a spokesman for a group of Somali muslims in Australia would call for Sharia law with the argument that it is necessary for their "culture". He knows that he's got the multi-culturalist advocates by the short and curlies and he's going for it.
In Australia we are more disadvantaged than the rest of the world's western societies because we(excluding me) have a collective guilt about our history with aborigines. Hence the desire to bend over backwards to accommodate them and hopefully live more at ease with our collective guilt.
I don't feel any part of this collective guilt because (a) I wasn't born at the time and (b) I had nothing to do with it.
And just so that those amongst us (including me) who are totally opposed to the introduction of Sharia Law in Australia, he refers to it as Koranic Law(see statement below by Attorney General). Is this cute or what?

BTW, here's an example of Koranic justice, rape victim guilty of adultery (because she was raped) now must marry attacker.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/rape-victim-may-have-to-marry-attacker/story-fn3dxity-1226211888058

A VICTORIAN Somali community leader has called for Koranic courts to hear cases involving Muslims in the same way Koori courts are offered as an alternative for Aboriginal offenders.Somali Community of Victoria president Abdurahman Osman said Koranic courts would maintain Islamic culture while also reducing legal costs borne by the state.
"Instead of applying sharia law in Australia, it is better to have a Koranic court (like) the court Australia has for the Aborigines," he said. "That could help all African communities, especially the Somali community.
"We need this kind of court, this is our culture."
Indigenous defendants who plead guilty to their charges and live in certain areas can elect to have their case heard in the more informal setting of the Koori court. Indigenous sentencing courts operate in all mainland states and territories, usually as a division of the magistrates court.
Offences involving family violence or sexual assault are not permitted to be heard in the Koori court, but Mr Osman told The Australian domestic issues would be appropriate for a Koranic court, where a jury of elders from the same background as the defendant would rule on the case. "Domestic violence and problems between two families, between husband and wife, and if the crime comes from children, if youth are fighting each other -- these kind of things we could solve in our cultural way," he said.
"We have elders who can deal with these kind of problems in a proper way inside the court, the same as with the Aborigines in Koori court. In our culture everything is solved by the elders."
Other Muslim leaders have previously called for sharia law to be considered in areas such as family law.
A submission from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils to a parliamentary inquiry on multiculturalism earlier this year called for Muslims to be offered "legal pluralism", prompting Attorney-General Robert McClelland to rule out any changes which would introduce aspects of sharia law.
Mr Osman also flagged the possibility of social unrest among African youth unless more action was taken to address unemployment levels in the community.
Mr Osman has asked Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt to push for African employment offices in Victoria and other centres where African migrants have congregated.
A spokesman for Mr Bandt said he had "qualified support" for the proposal and had already held initial discussions with the Gillard government.

Predictability,Finance,Mathematics

2011-11-30T06:21:00.001+11:00

Every morning I go for a brisk walk. In the quiet streets there is no cars to be seen anywhere except when I need to cross a road, inevitably a car will arrive at that very moment and want to turn.
This law of coincidence has puzzled me for a long time. The predictability of a random event. The convergence of two totally unrelated events in a particular moment in a particular place.
I think to myself, if such an event is so predictable, and this is only one example, why can't I wilfully make predictions that would benefit me financially?
Surprising that some of the best brains in finance have already ventured in this area, in fact Black and Scholes won the Nobel prize for their efforts. These guys even made huge profits when they applied their mathematical formula to finance and established a hedge fund called Long Term Capital Management.
I guess the predictability that these guys would eventually fail (as they did spectacularly) might be a lesson worth remembering.
Reference: The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson.

Abiding the Law

2011-11-26T10:54:00.001+11:00

While I was reading about the debate on whether our government should or should not legalize gay marriage, the thought crossed my mind,
"what is the purpose of law?"
I don't have any strong opinion about gay marriage one way or another.
Should I?
Does it matter?
What really concerns me is the constant and relentless passing of new laws, every day.
Are we, people, society, community so out of control in our behavior that we need a government to control us constantly and ceaselessly?
Makes you wonder about how civilized we are or tell ourselves we are civilized when we require more and more new laws to control our actions and behavior.
Do you keep up with all the new laws? Yesterday I was talking to a photographer and we were discussing if it was legal or not to take photographs in public spaces. Yes and no. In many instances you require a permit to be able to take photographs. Think about this for a minute...is everybody up to date with the laws governing this area of behavior. What if you're not up to date and as a photographer you unknowingly break the law. You incur a fine if caught and you are a criminal.
If you express an opinion you might be breaking some existing law regarding racial hate crime or worse, you might offend somebody and that offense is covered by the racism/hate crime act.
In some way, at some time, we are all criminals whether we realize it or not.

Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-19T11:10:00.001+11:00

I never could understand why people refer to police officers as "pigs". I have a lot of respect for police and on the odd occasion when a traffic cop has pulled me to the side of the road, I've always been deferential.

I've been following the stream of news reports from Occupy Wall Street and theme of police brutality comes up again and again. Do these cops have any thoughts on this matter?

Do these cops of NY have any conscious understanding that America is a democracy and the right to protest is a right that should be allowed?

Do these cops know how other countries, specifically dictatorships behave brutally towards street protesters?

Do these cops have a personal disagreement with what the OWS protesters represent?

Maybe these cops think the protesters are communists and therefore deserve to get the most brutal treatment that can be dished out to them.

Whatever goes through the minds of these cops who rough up the OWS protesters, maybe they should consider how well they deserve the title "pig".

Muslim Humor

2011-11-14T07:23:00.001+11:00

Police secretly taped Joud and Raad laughing while watching and discussing sickening jihadi video footage of Muslim extremists beheading hostages and killing US soldiers.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/terrorists-on-loose-in-melbourne/story-e6frfkvr-1226194087330#ixzz1dcR82BjL

If you've ever wondered about what makes a Muslim laugh, now you know.

The Hippies of Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-04T07:08:00.000+11:00

I remember the the sixties because I was too young to participate.
The spontaneous movement that arose without a leader and without any clear goals with the simple message of "Peace", "Make Love Not War", "Tune In Drop Out"
When I read about the Occupy Wall Street movement I can't help but think about the Hippies because the similarities of these two movements are hard to ignore.

The hippies wanted to change society and so do the OWS protesters.
The hippies wanted to abandon conventional standards and morality in favor of free love, drugs and communal living and today OWS want to put the blame on all our problems on Wall Street. Unemployment, GFC, Sub-Prime Crisis all point to the sins of Wall Street.
The catchphrase "We are the 99%" equates to the hippy catchphrase "Peace".
But the OWS movement has become an umbrella for all forms of discontent. There is no articulate and defined goal beyond and expression of discontent.

However justified may be the grievances of the OWS movement, it will inevitably fail and fade away because it is disorganized and unfocused. Just like the hippy movement.

Islamic Democracy

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000+11:00

No sooner have we celebrated the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya than the new leader proclaims the importance of Sharia Law.

Those who believe that democracy rises like a phoenix from the ashes are seriously delusional. Former U.S. president George W Bush is probably the biggest advocate of this delusion.

I suggest you don't get all excited about the "Arab Spring" movement.

The truth is "Islamic Democracy" is a OXYMORON.

Crisis, What Crisis?

2011-10-28T08:11:00.001+11:00

I follow the latest news on the world economy with avid interest. I suppose it's a bit ironic because I have nothing therefore I have nothing to lose.
So we can all breathe a sigh of relief as the European debt crisis has been bailed out. The stock markets around the world are in bullish mode again, full of optimism.

So what was all the worry about?
If a sovereign debt problem can be easily solved by merely sourcing more money (and where that money comes from is the really really interesting part) then what crisis?

The Euro crisis has been resolved and Greece can now breathe easy. Hooray.
Q.Who's carrying the losses?
A. The banks
Q. Who's going to pay for the banks losses?
A. Taxpayers...maybe. Wait and see.

Andrew Bolt and Racial Discrimination

2011-10-18T21:21:00.000+11:00

I stumbled on a voluminous newspaper celebrating the achievements of indigenous Australians aka Koori people. (See link to get explanation of what constitutes "indigenous") http://gripes-of-wrath.blogspot.com/search/label/Indigenous
The main story celebrates the court victory against journalist Andrew Bolt. He has been found guilty of offending a group of indigenous people by expressing an opinion.

Andrew Bolt's offending opinion is essentially that these people, see photograph, claim an identity as aboriginal people purely for motives of self interest. In other words, if there were no benefits, privileges, concessions, financial grants, positions of authority etc etc, these people wouldn't bother to claim identity as aboriginals.
Historically, there has been a social stigma attached to having a background of aboriginal inheritance.
Shame has been replaced with pride. But not just pride. There is an associated sense of entitlement, a sense of compensation owing for crimes committed 200 years ago up till the early 20th century.

While Austalians of European heritage must feel a collective guilt for crimes committed against aborigines by their forefathers, those who have some trace of aboriginal blood, no matter how small that connection take the opposite stance of grievance and entitlement to compensation.

To my simple mind, it seems that the anti-discrimination laws have achieved what they intended to remedy.
Driving a distinct wedge into society that creates an US and THEM mentality. You must either feel shame and guilt or if you consider yourself indigenous, anger and a sense of entitlement. Now we can add a sense of hurt and outrage for anyone who expresses an opinion that is considered offensive by indigenous people.

Needless to say, in accordance with the Racial Discrimination Act, I have NO opinion on this matter.
I do have an opinion on the Racial Discrimination Act which is that stupid laws result in stupid outcomes, such as the trial against Andrew Bolt.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-28/bolt-found-guilty-of-breaching-discrimination-act/3025918

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-28/bolt-found-guilty-of-breaching-discrimination-act/3025918/?site=newcastle

Wall Street Protest

2011-10-16T07:48:00.002+11:00

It has become clear that the Occupy Wall St movement won't just fade away as it progressively picks up momentum and attention around the world. It has inspired similar protests in Australia and Europe.

It's not clear whether the protesters have a single agenda or a multitude of gripes that have found an outlet in this spontaneous mass movement. What is clear is the extent of anger and frustration expressed by the protesters.

There is no doubt in my mind that the GFC and the Sub-Prime crisis in America was the direct result of incompetence, greed by the elite who control billions of dollars on Wall St.
The fact that the was too big to be allowed to take it's natural course by the U.S. government, who bailed out those incompetent and greedy bankers of Wall St.

If you want to understand the GFC and Wall St, then you should read Michael Lewis', The Big Short, Inside the Doomsday Machine or watch this video to get a taste.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298082n&tag=api

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298082n&tag=api

What's in a name?

2011-10-11T19:42:00.001+11:00

Interesting isn't it?

I have a fascination with people's names.
Needless to say this one jumped out at me while my wife looked and said "what about it?"

I suppose the good doctor never considered that his birth name might be just a tad incongruous with his chosen profession. Maybe if he was a wrestler it would be a perfect name. But I don't want to make fun him. That would be cheap and nasty.

I wanted to make sure that this wasn't just a simple spelling mistake so I checked.
Look here if you want to be sure http://www.defencehealthfoundation.org.au/Aboutus/DrGraemeKillerAO/tabid/69/language/en-US/Default.aspx
The AO after his name is the title awarded to him as Officer of the Order of Australia.

Weird or what?

Lady Gaga I dream't of YOU

2011-10-10T11:30:00.001+11:00

I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga. So it's really strange that I had a dream last night that's just as vivid now in my waking hours. I dream't I was with Lady Gaga, where she revealed she was a man. It seemed that everybody knew this except me. He (Lady Gaga) talked to me and I confessed that I never liked him/her because I never got the joke, like all the fans did.Now I wan in on the joke and it all made sense.

Next I did a Google search and guess what I found?
http://ladygagaisaman.com/

Weird or what?

Steve Jobs RIP

2011-10-06T17:29:00.000+11:00

One of the greats of our time has passed away. Steve Jobs was a great mind, a great creative force and if not the embodiment of Apple then certainly the spirit and genius behind the companies initial success and subsequent comeback to the forefront of cutting edge technology. Let's not forget than when he was shafted, Apple struggled to survive and when he was welcomed back, the world was given the new iMac then the iPod, and the iPhone and finally the iPad. Steve Jobs was a visionary that could tap into the minds of the public and gauge what the public wanted before it ever existed. His ability to package existing technology into a product that had irresistible appeal was sheer genius. The fact that his products have changed the way we do things is testimony to that genius.
I've never owned any Apple products but that doesn't detract from the fact I've always admired Apple's ability to be innovative, a leader rather than a follower of the latest technology. I've always coveted Apple products but was never enamored enough to actually buy one.
At the moment I'm in love with my Android phone and amazed at what it can do but I must acknowledge that without the iPad and the iPhone and the iPad, there wouldn't be any Android phone.
And alas, without Steve Jobs, the world will now be a poorer place.

Islam is Islam

2011-09-28T17:20:00.000+10:00

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia would like the rest of the world to get the impression that his country is a modern and progressive one.
How about giving women the vote?
Good idea!
That should show the world how modern and progressive the Islamic state really is...but...
Saudi Arabia also forbids women to drive. In fact one woman was awarded ten lashes for misbehaving this week.
The fact is that smoke and mirrors can't hide the fact that an Islamic state means Islamic law, that is Sharia law and Sharia law supersedes all civil law, secular laws and democratic rights.
In other words even if women do get to vote in Saudi Arabia, they can't peal back the discriminatory aspects of Islam that specifically puts the value of women at less than that of men.
So even if Saudi women do get to vote, that doesn't mean they will be equal to Saudi men. No no no that's against Islamic principles clearly defined in the Koran.

Don't be fooled by pretensions of democracy. Islam is Islam.

What happens when the money runs out?

2011-09-18T16:15:00.001+10:00

What happens when the money supply runs out?

Money supply isn't infinite. You only have so much money and when you spend it all, then you run out.
If you borrow to finance your spending, then you have debt which at some point needs to be serviced by...real money.
Why is it imminent that the money supply will run out.
Two reasons,
1. Banks are over leveraged
2.Nations including the U.S.A as well as Greece, Spain, Italy have overspent and cannot service their sovereign debt.

First the U.S. government rescued the banks from the sub-prime crisis. Second the U.S. government raised its debt ceiling. These are signs that something is seriously wrong.

Here is the pivotal fact. The money supply isn't infinite. If a government prints more money, the value of the currency is diluted. That's a cause for inflation. Inflation gone out of control? Imagine people pushing a wheelbarrow full of money which is required to buy a loaf of bread. Germany in the 1930's. That's rampant inflation. Prices increasing faster than you can spend your money. The value of money deteriorating right before your eyes.

Now back to over leveraging by banks. Banks can be rescued by the government for the sake of the economy. A rescue is better than mass panic and total economic collapse.But there is a cost and that is inflation because the government has effectively increased the supply of money and devalued the currency in order to save the banks.
Similarly, when a government cannot service it's debt, it has to....yes, devalue the currency by printing more money.

The world is heading towards a crisis. Hints have been many with the U.S. economy increasing the debt ceiling from 14 trillion. Meanwhile, there is trouble brewing in Europe.

The sovereign debt default by Greece which is lurking in the background threatens to destabilize the entire EU. Why?
Just one country, poor little Greece and if it falls, the threat is that others will follow like dominoes...Italy, Spain...eventually the entire EU house of cards.The Greek public isn't happy about the prospect of austerity measures(reduced government spending and higher taxes). In fact, without a prosperous economy government revenue(tax) declines and sends the economy into a downward spiral. Not many options for Greece. The EU will prop up Greece for the same reasons that the U.S. government is bailing out the banks.
Stability versus chaos and depression. It's happened before but we're skating on thin ice and it will happen again.

Meanwhile China is strong. It's strength derives from it's ability to manufacture anything and everything and export to other countries including the EU, USA and Australia. If the economies of the western world collapse, then China will no longer be able to continue it's unbridled economic growth.. In fact US debit is largely financed from...China. That's interesting isn't it? Will it come to China bailing out the rest of the world? What conditions will China impose?

The US Sub-Prime lending crisis illustrated what happens when the money supply is stretched so far that the bubble finally bursts.. Leave it to the Federal government to clean up the mess.

The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages.
Approximately 82% of U.S. mortgages issued to subprime borrowers were adjustable-rate mortgages.^[1] After U.S. house sales prices peaked in mid-2006 and began their steep decline forthwith, refinancing became more difficult. As adjustable-rate mortgages began to reset at higher interest rates, mortgage delinquencies soared. Securities backed with mortgages, including subprime mortgages, widely held by financial firms, lost most of their value. Global investors also drastically reduced purchases of mortgage-backed debt and other securities as part of a decline in the capacity and willingness of the private financial system to support lending. Concerns about the soundness of U.S. credit and financial markets led to tightening credit around the world and slowing economic growth in the U.S. and Europe.

In the seventies, Milton Friedman taught us that the money supply wasn't infinite.
Now the US government is also overspending the total value of US money supply. The debt becomes so huge that government can no longer service the debt. What can they do? What do they do? Increase the debt ceiling. Problem solved at the stroke of a pen. Simple isn't it? Not quite.
So now the government owes even more money than before. What do they do? They can print more money to pay off the ever increasing debt. Remember that this is what causes inflation, when the value of the money supply is diluted.
Or, there are other alternatives 1. The government can reduce spending
2. The government can increase taxes

Either or both of these measures have an impact on the economy. They cause a decline in economic activity and profitability for corporations.Maynard Keyenes showed how a decline in government spending could plunge an economy into recession or an increase in government spending can pull the economy out of recession. This has a flow on effect known as the multiplier.A government that reduces spending means a slowing down of the economy and more unemployment,decline in economic growth. In other words a downward spiral.

So whichever way you want to look at it, things look grim..
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/unelected-unaccountable-unrepentant-the-federal-reserve-is-using-your-money-to-bail-out-european-commercial-banks-once-again

Carbon Credits

2011-09-16T17:59:00.000+10:00

I've just had a vision of the future which involves carbon credits. A business buys carbon credits,it continues doing what it's already doing, presumably polluting the atmosphere at a cost, the carbon credit price.
Carbon credits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_credit

A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit onetonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide.
In a quixotic attempt to change the climate, our government will create an artificial product which will have a value like any other product and be traded on the stock market like any other product. No doubt you will be able to buy futures in carbon credits, and trade in margins

But here is the best part. Over time, the government will increase the cost of carbon credits to punish those industries that fail to reduce carbon emissions. The government sees this as an "incentive".
I see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a financial bonanza.
You don't have to be a genius to figure out that investing in carbon credits early will guarantee you a handsome return on your investment in the long term.

So if you are a speculator or an investor, I recommend you buy carbon credits.

And the best part of all is that carbon credits will do absolutely nothing to affect climate change.

9/11 the Legacy

2011-09-10T09:01:00.000+10:00

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, thoughts turn to that eventful day.

I can say that I was there, not in New York but transfixed in front of my television watching the live broadcast from CNN.
Although we might think there are no words to describe how we (the western world) felt that day, there are many words at hand. Shock, dismay, disbelief, horror, grief, outrage, disgust, numbness, sadness...

I think that ten years later, the world still fails to absorb the significance of that day.
We, the western world lost. We have lived in fear of terrorism everyday for the last ten years and will continue to live in fear for many years to come. The terrorists have won their objective in destabilizing our society.

We have lost because we are afraid to acknowledge that we were attacked by the core beliefs of Islam. Politicians are afraid to say what is most obvious, Islam has declared war on the western world. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands has been put on trial for saying as much.

We have lost because we bend over backwards to accommodate Muslims in our midst, afraid to offend their sensibilities and willing to allow Sharia law to exist side by side with our own secular laws.

We have lost because we are afraid to associate "Muslim" with "terrorist" when profiling suspects.

We have lost because we have made laws that forbid us to criticize Islam, equating criticism with hate crime and racism.

We have lost because we refuse to accept that our western secular culture is superior and more civilized than Islamic culture which is inflexible in it's adherence to political religious system that Muslims consider not only superior but supersedes all other laws and values of every other country/religion/culture.

We have lost because instead of thinking of 9/11 as a wake up call, we have been overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and shame that has no basis in fact.

We have lost because we continue to belief the excuses of apologists for Islam rather than take a closer look at what Islam is all about and try to understand it. Instead we have persisted in looking at Islam through rose colored glasses, continuing to believe that Islam is merely just another religion like Buddhism ,Hinduism and Christianity.

eBooks on Android

2011-09-02T08:04:00.002+10:00

I've stumbled across the greatest technological innovation since sliced bread.
If you like to read and you're not aware of eBooks then you should be.
I'm not talking about the iPad and the Kindle gadgets, as great as they might be, rather I've installed eBooks in my Android phone.
This is absolutely fantastic way of carrying a large number of books around with you and they all fit in your top shirt pocket.
Waiting at the clinic to see the doctor? Pull out the Android and read.
Sick of those TV commercials? Hit the mute button on the remote and read.
If you like to read in bed, then holding a heavy book isn't ideal but holding an Android is perfect. You don't even need light, the settings in the phone make sure you can read without disturbing your partner if they're asleep.

So, if you like this idea here's how you go about it.
1. Download the free app here https://market.android.com/details?id=org.geometerplus.zlibrary.ui.android&feature=search_result
2. Google search for eBooks, there are thousands of books available. Try this site for example, where all eBooks are free http://www.manybooks.net
3. Plug your Android via USB to your PC and transfer the books to your Android.

Enjoy

Breast Implants

2011-08-26T07:34:00.000+10:00

News item #1 Paintball pops breast implant. http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/london-womans-breast-implant-popped-during-game-of-paintball/story-e6frflri-1226122086547

News item #2 Indonesian airlines check hostess applicants for breast implants.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029485/Indonesia-airline-check-air-hostess-applicants-breasts-implants-job-interview.html
Apparently there are issues with air pressure falls and breast implants.

Are we seeing the beginnings of a mass panic involving breast implants?
Could there be a need for strict safety guidelines regarding breast implants?
Imagine a safety warning for women with breast implants riding bicycles...

WARNING a fall could result in serious injury to breast implants! Metal bras should be worn.

WARNING all airline passengers with breast implants are advised to notify cabin crew of possible injury during flight.

WARNING MRI scans may cause explosion of breast implants.

What Awaits Gaddafi?

2011-08-23T13:01:00.001+10:00

Kill one person, and you go to jail, or get a life sentence that is long enough to make it feel like life.
In some places, you even get the death penalty.
Kill, one hundred to a thousand people and you get a really good trial, with all the trimmings.
Kill hundreds of thousands of people and what do you get?
(a) political asylum
(b) a really really big trial
(c)assassination
(d) execution

Whereas I applaud the demise of Saddam Hussein, I have doubts about the final outcome of a mass murderer such as M.Gaddaffi.For example, look at some examples in history.
Idi Amin lived comfortably in exile but Nicolae Ceaușescu wasn't so lucky, he managed to piss off enough people to get himself assassinated.

Joseph Stalin died a natural death. So did the Nazi sympathizer Juan Perón. So did Mao Tse Tung.

So did Slobodan Milošević, responsible for the Srbrenica massacre.François Duvalier aka Papa Doc died a natural death. So did the butcher of Cambodia Pol Pot, conveniently avoiding a trial for his crimes.

If we do the sums, the chances are that the more people you kill, the greater your chances are of evading justice.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Computergeek

2011-08-18T11:17:00.002+10:00

Turn on PC. Wait five minutes for boot sequence to run.
Go to Google search.
See email inbox has new message, check messages before Google search.
Delete spam messages.
Read new message...cannot read it there is an app missing. Click download app.
Go to download app site and click download app.
Wait 2 minutes for download to finish.
Install new app. It requires reboot.
Reboot PC, wait 5 minutes.
See new email notice.
Check new email. Anti-Virus screen pops up warning of potential Virus threat. Asks me what to do.
Decide to delete email to play it safe.
Run new app to see email content.
PC freezes, no response to mouse or keyboard.
Wait five minutes....nothing happens.
Reboot PC, wait another five minutes.
Check Facebook site, read comments and respond to messages.
New email arrives, click to read.
More spam.Delete delete delete.
Go to Google search, try to remember what it was that wanted to be researched.
Wait 1 minute for brain to engage RAM memory. Consider adding more memory to brain but not feasible solution. Resort to memo pad on PC.
Memo pad says update available.
Click to download update.
New email arrives, click to read.
Update finishes installing. Message pops up, "Upgrade to full version for only $$$$"
Decline offer.
Check memo pad. Read notes and see reminder to defrag PC. Explains why speed has been lagging.
Engage defrag and wait 10 minutes.
Open Adobe Acrobat Reader. Message popup says update available.
Click to download update.
Wait 7 minutes for download.
Install update. PC reboot required.
Wait another 5 minutes.

Enough is Enough.

2011-08-18T11:00:00.003+10:00

Pit bull dogs and children don't go together.

Neighbour's pitbull mauls girl, 4, to death

Ever wondered how often pit bulls attack children?

Check out this web site to see for yourself.
http://pit-bulls.christianfunfair.org/attacks.htm

According to this site, there were at least 160 pit bull attacks in 2007 in America.

Appalled, outraged or disgusted at this senseless loss of innocent lives?

Pit bulls have been bred for one single purpose. To Kill.

I think that pit bulls should be banned.

Climate Science

2011-08-13T16:23:00.002+10:00

This week I watched a TV documentary presented by the head of the Royal Society. He wanted to explore why people question the science of climate change/global warming. I felt guilty as he paraded scientific fact after scientific fact. How dare I question the facts of science? I cringed in my chair watching.
He interviewed scientists from NASA and other areas who specialize in climate science. I was impressed by their knowledge and ability.
In fact, if I had a religion, which I don't, it would surely be science. So, I find myself uneasy with my skeptical attitude towards the consensus of climate change. Specifically I can't reconcile the fact that climate science is incredibly complex, considering all the variables that interact together to create climate, with the simple no brainer solution which is to reduce carbon emissions...which people believe will solve the problem.

I'll say it again, if climate science is so complex then how can the solution to global warming be so unbelievably simple?

The Crusades and Islam

2011-08-12T08:58:00.001+10:00

There is much resistance to the message about the dangers of Islam either because of ignorance or a reluctance to accept that Islam is more than just another religion.
Sometimes, people will bring up the old hoary argument about the crusades, to point out that Islam isn't the only religion that advocates violence. This perception is clouded in ignorance.
In an excellent 5 part video, Robert Spencer will point out the facts about why Islam should be on everybody's mind and a major issue of concern and alarm.

Video #1 will link you to the other 4 videos that make up this lecture. It is well worth watching the whole series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ee4WzxV4c

London Riots Cause and Effect

2011-08-11T08:10:00.002+10:00

There is much discussion about the cause of the London riots, the proverbial finger pointing at poverty and unemployment as the root cause. I say bullshit.
Crowd psychology is a well researched subject.
There is an excellent book on this subject by Elias Canetti titled Crowds and Power.

It seems that the mayhem has been encouraged by a reluctance of police to enforce the law.
In the UK the police have their powers seriously restricted by political correctness that requires them to pussyfoot around when dealing with criminal behaviour.
The touchy feely approach required by police in order not to offend the sensibilities of the public, in other words not to raise the issue of racism, has seriously limited their ability to control anti-social behaviour.
The use of water cannons has never been implemented and now there is only veiled threats that this is what the police might actually do.

So political correctness has a price and that is the chaos in London at the moment.

Tottenham Riots

2011-08-08T07:56:00.001+10:00

I've been reading the news about the riots in Tottenham and didn't see any photos of people involved in the riots. I thought that was strange. You would think that these days with mobile phones everywhere somebody would capture some of the action. So, I can only guess that there is some kind of self-imposed censorship occurring by the news media.
Look at what I found of YouTube

2011-07-29T07:50:00.001+10:00

The current U.S. debt problem will have a lot of people talking a lot of opinions.

Here are the facts.

As of January 2011, foreigners owned $4.45 trillion of U.S. debt, or approximately 47% of the debt held by the public of $9.49 trillion and 32% of the total debt of $14.1 trillion.^[37] The largest holders were the central banks of China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Brazil.^[39] The share held by foreign governments has grown over time, rising from 25% of the public debt in 2007^[40] and 13% in 1988.^[41]

As of May 2011 the largest single holder of U.S. government debt was China, with 26 percent of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities.^[42] China's holdings of government debt, as a percentage of all foreign-held government debt, have decreased a bit over the last year, but are up significantly since 2000 (when China held just 6 percent of all foreign-held U.S. Treasury securities).^[43]

So, in the worst case scenario of a default on the debt, what would happen?

In the situation where personal debt balloons out to the point where interest payments cannot be made, the assets are seized by the debtor.

Consider the hypothetical situation where the U.S.A, the government decides to print more money. That's risky because that would create inflation, devalue the dollar and more than likely become a process that spins out of control. Not a viable option. Consider the case of Germany 1922-1923.

Another alternative would be for the government to increase taxes and cut spending. That is usually the medicine prescribed by Dr IMF to countries such as Greece who are at risk of defaulting on their loans.Raising taxes is as appealing to a government as cutting their own throats.

On the other hand, cutting spending might well be a policy option.

This is because expenditures related to entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are growing considerably faster than the economy overall, as the population grows older.
These agencies have indicated that under current law, sometime between 2030 and 2040, mandatory spending (primarily Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the national debt) will exceed tax revenue. In other words, all "discretionary" spending (e.g., defense, homeland security, law enforcement, education, etc.) will require borrowing and related deficit spending. These agencies have used such language as "unsustainable" and "trainwreck" to describe such a future.^[17^]

In the U.S. economy, spending on defense is a large portion of government spending which is a major contributor to the sustained economic growth of the U.S. economy. Opinions might vary on this but even if this is a false premise, political objectives and foreign policy demands mean that it is very unlikely that the government would opt to reduce spending on defense.

There is much more to consider on this subject but it is fascinating nevertheless.

Bomb Attack in Norway

2011-07-24T07:49:00.001+10:00

The latest tragedy that has occurred in Norway has fueled speculation among those of us who closely watch Muslim activities around the globe. Fellow blogger Bernie at Planck's Constant has already posted an opinion that might prove to be entirely inaccurate as to who is behind this outrage against humanity.
It might be a surprise to finally learn that such a crime is not due to Islamic activists. But what does that tell us?
That we have developed a perception and a prejudice against Islam that is entirely warranted.

And then we have an interview with beautiful young Muslim woman Samah Hadid, who tells us very comforting things about Islam. Who wouldn't want to believe her, after all she is so beautiful?
Unfortunately the world isn't what we would like it to be but something entirely different.

It is important to distinguish between crimes committed by insane individuals and crimes committed by an insane cult/religion. We cannot protect ourselves against individuals who go berserk because we cannot predict how any individual will behave but when we live in denial about the beliefs and aspirations of Islam, we only have ourselves to blame.

Dalai Lama

2011-07-18T16:59:00.002+10:00

Flabbergasted - Struck dumb with astonishment and surprise.
Surprised beyond all belief.

I was flabbergasted when I accidentally turned on the TV only to see the Dalai Lama on the top rating show Master Chef which I have never watched and refuse to watch.

I'm not sure what the Dalai Lama was thinking and what I'm supposed to think of him when he appears on a television game show where contestants try to win by cooking the best meal.

I don't watch shows such as Master Chef because I don't consider them entertainment. Each to his own.
But the religious leader of Buddhists putting himself on such a show trivializes whatever he is trying to sell.

I don't have much time for religion, any religion but I do respect other people's right to follow whichever religion they choose as long as that religion doesn't threaten to harm me. (Are you listening Muslims?)

Where does the Dalai Lama draw the line? Would he make a guest appearance on Big Brother?
Regardless of how he would answer such a question it seems indisputable that he has become a commodity.
Easily recognized by his dress code, strutting the world stage and performing as himself on radio and television, we are unable to escape his presence.
Why?
What's he selling?

Carbon Tax

2011-07-12T08:29:00.000+10:00

The Australian Prime Minister has taken the country by the throat, given it a good shake and told it this is not only for it's own good, but for the good of the planet, the good of future generations.
In other words she has introduced a carbon tax.

In practice, it is only a symbol, a nod to the rest of the world since Australia is only 0.3% of the total world population and our carbon emissions are less than 2% of the worlds total carbon emissions. Needless to say whatever we do will have no impact on climate change whatsoever. It is up to the big players, China, India and the USA to play along if anything is going to change.

Consider that if the whole world decides to follow Australia's example, the consequences of climate change will only be felt for 100,000 years.That's the good news but if the rest of the world does nothing, the consequences of climate change will linger for 500,000 years.

Of course the consequences of a carbon tax for the PM is that Australians can barely wait to get rid of her and her Labor Party, two years till the next election. Popularity for the government has sunk to 27%.

The expectations of the government are also pie in the sky stuff. They believe that the carbon tax will stimulate a $100 billion dollar investment in renewable energy. In other words windmills and solar panels. What else is there?
The only other viable alternative to coal powered electricity plants is nuclear. Still, the government is determined to shut down coal powered electricity plants.

Meanwhile the country is reeling in shock and horror as expectations of doom and gloom fill the air.
The cost of everything will go up, especially anything that requires electricity because the main target of the carbon tax is electricity production. Promises that we will all (except for the very rich) will be compensated by the government don't give much comfort. After all we don't know what the real flow on costs will actually be other than knowing that all industries hit with the carbon tax will surely pass on the cost of that tax to the consumer.

Meanwhile our PM basks in self-congratulatory glory thinking of herself as the one who is behind the Mouse that Roared.

Gay Marriage

2011-06-29T06:44:00.000+10:00

As hard as it might seem to believe, I have absolutely no opinion on gay marriage.
Maybe it's because I'm not gay and I can't relate to the gay lifestyle. I can't understand what it's like to be gay etc etc etc.
In fact I'm neither for or against gay marriage. I have no opinion at all. It leaves me cold.
I'd probably have a strong opinion for example if cats married dogs but that's not the issue here.
So, I'll open the floodgate here and ask, somebody... anybody please tell me why I should care and have an opinion on this.

John Galliano

2011-06-24T08:41:00.000+10:00

Every heard of John Galliano?

You know, the former designer at Dior who was dismissed because of his appalling public behavior, specifically being abusive and racist. That's him in all his peacock glory above.

Maybe he's a great designer, maybe his haute couture fashions have merit. Who am I to judge?

My gripe is that this man has committed crimes of such extreme obscenity and bad taste that he should be convicted for these crimes.

See pic below to see what I mean.

What do you think?

Indigenous People

2011-06-23T08:09:00.000+10:00

I sometimes blog about aborigines of Australia. These days it's not acceptable to refer to the natives of the Australian continent as "aborigines" but rather as indigenous people. I've often wondered about this and I guess when you look at the photo above you might grasp the significance of it all.

You see, when I write about aborigines, and I use the term deliberately it is because I'm referring to those peoples who are genetically 100% aborigine rather than refer to "indigenous" peoples which includes individuals like the guy in the above photo.
This fact would probably escape any reader who isn't an Australian citizen.
In fact, I confess the distinction has eluded me until this very moment.

The above photo is of an indigenous Australian, Kim Scott who has been awarded the prestigious literary award known as the Miles Franklin for his novel That Deadman Dance.
I have no doubt he is a very talented author and I congratulate him on the award.
I'd also like to personally thank him for clearing up what has been now a fog in my mind, so now I understand the difference between aborigine and indigenous.

Addicted to Porn?

2011-06-20T15:07:00.002+10:00

Have you ever wondered if you are addicted to porn? It seems that these days a disturbing number of males are.
You can check this website below for help.

Here's a help page http://newlifehabits.com/

Or you can try to understand the causes behind the addiction.
The following quotes are all from the book The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, chapter 4.

A number of these men ...
They reported increasing difficulty in being turned on by their actual sexual partners, spouses or girlfriends, though they still considered them objectively attractive.When I asked if this phenomenon had any relationship to viewing pornography, they answered that it initially helped them get more excited during sex but over time had the opposite effect.Now, instead of using their senses to enjoy being in bed, in the present, with their partners, lovemaking increasingly required them to fantasize that they were part of a porn script. Some gently tried to
persuade their lovers to act like porn stars, and they were increasingly interested in
“fucking” as opposed to “making love.” Their sexual fantasy lives were increasingly dominated by the scenarios that they had, so to speak, downloaded into their brains, and these new scripts were often more primitive and more violent than their previous sexual fantasies. I got the impression that any sexual creativity these men had was dying and that they were becoming addicted to Internet porn.

Pornographers promise healthy pleasure and relief from sexual tension, but what they often deliver is an addiction, tolerance, and an eventual decrease in pleasure.Paradoxically, the male patients I worked with often craved pornography but didn’t like it.The usual view is that an addict goes back for more of his fix because he likes the pleasure it gives and doesn’t like the pain of withdrawal. But addicts take drugs when there is no prospect of pleasure,when they know they have an insufficient dose to make them high, and will crave more even before they begin to withdraw. Wanting and liking are two different things.

Pornography is more exciting than satisfying because we have two separate pleasure systems in our brains, one that has to do with exciting pleasure and one with satisfying pleasure. The exciting system relates to the “appetitive” pleasure that we get imagining something we desire, such as sex or a good meal. Its neurochemistry is largely dopamine-related, and it raises our tension level.The second pleasure system has to do with the satisfaction, or consummatory pleasure, that attends actually having sex or having that meal, a calming, fulfilling pleasure. Its neurochemistry is based on the release of endorphins, which are related to opiates and give a
peaceful, euphoric bliss.

Pornography, by offering an endless harem of sexual objects,hy-peractivates the appetitive system. Porn viewers develop new maps in their brains, based on the photos and videos they see. Because it is a use-it-or-lose-it brain, when we develop a map area, we long to keep it
activated. Just as our muscles become impatient for exercise if we’ve been sitting all day, so too do our senses hunger to be stimulated.The men at their computers looking at porn were uncannily like the rats in the cages of the NIH, pressing the bar to get a shot of dopamine or
its equivalent. Though they didn’t know it, they had been seduced into pornographic training sessions that met all the conditions required for plastic change of brain maps. Since neurons that fire together wire together, these men got massive amounts of practice wiring these images
into the pleasure centers of the brain, with the rapt attention necessary for plastic change. They imagined these images when away from their computers, or while having sex with their girlfriends, reinforcing them. Each time they felt sexual excitement and had an orgasm when they masturbated, a “spritz of dopamine,” the reward neurotransmitter, consolidated the connections made in the brain during the sessions. Not only did the reward facilitate the behavior; it provoked none of the embarrassment they felt purchasing Playboy at a store. Here was a behavior with no “punishment,” only reward.

Does the net simply reveal quirks and kinks, or does it also help create them? I think it creates new fantasies out of aspects of sexuality that have been outside the surfer’s conscious awareness, bringing these elements together to form new networks.

Porn sites generate catalogs of common kinks and mix them together in images. Sooner or later the surfer finds a killer combination that presses a number of his sexual buttons at once. Then he reinforces the network by viewing the images repeatedly, masturbating, releasing dopamine and strengthening these networks. He has created a kind of “neosexuality,” a rebuilt libido that has strong roots in his buried sexual tendencies. Because he often develops tolerance, the pleasure of sexual discharge must be supplemented with the pleasure of an aggressive release, and sexual and aggressive images are increasingly mingled—hence the increase in sadomasochistic themes
in hardcore porn.

The book I'm quoting from covers a much larger theme, the plasticity of the brain, a concept which has been a recent discovery that has met much hostility and rejection from the established medical and scientific community.

I will discuss the rest of the book in another post.

Book Review - The Psychopath Test

2011-06-17T13:18:00.004+10:00

If you've seen the movie The Men Who Stare at Goats, you might or might not be aware that it is based on a book by Jon Ronson.His website is here http://www.jonronson.com/
I've just read Jon Ronson's book The Psychopath Test - A Journey Through the Madness Industry.

What is insanity?
Do you know how easy it is to convince psychiatrists you are insane?
Do you know how much harder it is to convince psychiatrists you aren't insane once you have been labeled insane?
Do you know what a psychopath is?
Are you a psychopath?
Do the test here and tell me if you are http://www.arkancide.com/psychopathy.htm

Jon Ronson's book is a fascinating exploration of all these themes and full of case histories, anecdotes and interviews of psychopaths who have brutally murdered. He gets into their minds by asking questions and the answers are disturbing.
Did you know that psychopaths gravitate towards positions of power such as CEO and politicians?
Read his interview with Al Dunlap, it's fascinating.

This is a brilliant book that opens doors to further inquiry.
A highly recommended book.

Aboriginals and Evolution

2011-06-13T08:21:00.000+10:00

I've been thinking for a very long time about the persistent failure of attempts to bring the Australian aborigines into the modern world. Disregarding the fact that there have been numerous instances of individuals who have reached high levels of education and career success. The reason I disregard this fact is that any aboriginal individual who would be put up as an example of this is without doubt someone who has part aboriginal blood and isn't 100% pure aboriginal. By this I mean they have aboriginal/western blood.

So I did a Google search to test a theory that claims aborigines are not as evolved as their European based cousins. I couldn't find any explicit expression of this concept but I did find many references to the idea that aborigines have evolved differently but are not less evolved. This thinking is so dangerously close to racist ideas that nobody wants to be associated with such.
And of course I'm not going to put myself up as a target by stating anything like that.
But....
consider this quote from a professor who has just been awarded an Queen's Birthday honor,

Professor Brand-Miller ...

Her interest in the Glycaemic Index -- a nutrition concept devised by University of Toronto experts David Jenkins and Thomas Wolever -- goes back to 1981, when she was studying Aboriginal diets. She concluded that indigenous people so easily became obese and developed diabetes because, unlike Europeans, their bodies had not evolved the ability to manage the high levels of glucose, sugars that accompanied the development of agriculture.

And you might well miss the critical phrase which I have highlighted.

So it's ok to mention that aboriginal bodies are not (as) evolved as Europeans, is it too much of a stretch to say that maybe their brains are not similarly evolved as well?

Islam and Jesus?

2011-06-03T16:51:00.000+10:00

Looks like the Islamic propaganda machine has stepped up into high gear.
Where is the outrage from Christians? Maybe they're just turning the other cheek like good Christians should.

You know, there's only so much an atheist like myself can do. Strange that I would be the one leading a campaign in support of Jesus. In fact, I refuse to take on that role.
Where are you Christian Fundamentalists when we need you?
Maybe Christians should stop being obsessed with making money for their church and turn to real world issues. How about it guys?

War on Drugs

2011-06-03T08:30:00.000+10:00

Efforts by governments to fight illegal drug traffic around the world have not succeeded, but the effort has had "devastating consequences for individuals and societies," according to a new report by a panel that included several prominent figures from the United States.

According to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, annual use of narcotics is increasing. Between 1998 and 2008 opiate use went up 34 percent, cocaine use rose 27 percent and marijuana saw an 8.5 percent spike in consumption. The report urges governments to decriminalize drug use and focus on treatment. Commission members includedformer U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Everybody has an opinion on the War on Drugs.
Everybody knows that this war has failed.
You can sign the petition here http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/?rc=fb&pv=52
I won't because I think it's futile.
Not until we come up with some alternative strategy to dealing with drug use, will we be ready to de-criminalize drugs.

The reason the war on drugs has failed and will always fail is that people want to take drugs, no matter how dangerous they are and no matter how much they destroy lives!

Consider this
Let's consider the most contentious of all drugs, marijuana which has the most likely chance of being legalized.

In the Netherlands it has been legal for thirty years. Surprising that the government now considers the experiment to be somewhat a failure since they have decided to limit the sale to citizens. This is one of the most progressive and forward thinking societies in the world today. Now they recognize that there is an unsavory and undesirable element associated with marijuana tourism.

Consider this
The proliferation of ecstasy and similar drugs in the dance club environment is partially due to the high cost of alcohol. Young people want to get off their face and can't afford the high cost of alcohol but they can afford relatively cheap illegal drugs.

So legal drugs such as alcohol which we all know causes violent and irresponsible behavior including 30% of all road fatalities and alcoholism continues to be available. The onus on responsible use is on each and every individual. We know the failed policy to prohibit alcohol in America gave rise to organized crime much in the same way that recreational drugs are now the single most profitable enterprise for organized crime in the world today.

Consider this
The legal pharmaceutical industry is a source of prescribed morphine sold under the name of MS-Contin to treat severe pain. It is a concern to authorities that there has been an increase in deaths from overdosing on this medication.

We all know what the consequences of legalizing drugs would be, even more people would take drugs and possibly the illegal drug trade would end but it would be replaced by multi-national corporations much like the pharmaceutical industry exists today or maybe they might step in and take over manufacture and distribution.

So, the sentiments of the War on Drugs is really about how to end organized crime and the massive costs associated with sustaining the losing battle against organized drug trade.

And will society collapse if all drugs are allowed?
Consider the Opium Wars in China 1839 - 1860.
The Opium Wars broke China's isolation and allowed western penetration. The war was won by the drug merchants.

Myotherapy

2011-05-31T19:10:00.000+10:00

Up till now, this blog has been full of my personal opinions.
Now I want to reach out to my readers and ask them, do you have any experience with Myotherapy?

The reason is that my wife suffers from terrible chronic pain in her legs,knees and ankles but all the XRays, MRI's and nuclear scans show nil, nothing. She insists every time we visit the doctor that the pain is caused by her muscles. The GP suggested trying Myotherapy.

I know people in desperation turn to alternative therapies and in this instance, desperation is ruling her life and consequently affecting me as well.

Any information is welcome and appreciated.

Depression

2011-05-28T09:47:00.000+10:00

The recent budget has underlined the fact that mental ill-health is the major health issue facing Australians in the early part of the 21st century.

Responding to the reality that Australians now regard mental health among the top three national concerns, just behind the economy and climate change, all sides of politics now support substantial growth in investment in mental health care.

Let me tell you about depression.

It is an illness that lies hidden within a person and in my case, I wasn't aware of it and refused to acknowledge I had it until very late in my life.

The symptoms exhibit themselves as character flaws such as short temper and anger issues. It's strange to associate anger with depression but that is a fact. Uncontrolled anger is such a debilitating symptom that goes untreated most of the time.

Anxiety, panic attacks and palpitations is another symptom. You can try meditation and if that works for you then good. But if it doesn't you life can be seriously disrupted.

Put anxiety and anger together and you see behavior that is appalling but you don't immediately think, that person is suffering from depression.

That is the reason why depression can remain undiagnosed and untreated.

Sure there are periods of lethargy, lack of motivation and low spirits, the symptoms that identify depression but eventually that feeling goes away whereas the anxiety and the anger are always lying just beneath the surface, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

Depression can have dire consequences on the life of the sufferer, especially when called to cope with stress, and who doesn't have stress in their lives?

People with depression don't deal with stress very well because anxiety, panic and eventually anger take over their thinking processes.

For example, a person with depression who sits for an exam or attends a job interview, will be subjected to stress and this will trigger anxiety and palpitations and probably the mind at some critical point will just go blank.

Failure is no stranger to anyone who suffers depression and anger always follows stress, frustration, hurdles, setbacks and rejection.

If you think about how you've dealt with such situations and maybe your whole life seems to be governed by your inability to remain calm and rational, then chances are you're suffering from depression.

I know that my life would have been very different if I'd known that something was wrong with me rather than put my failings down to character flaws.

There is medicine available to treat depression but I've been told of cases where the medicine has caused suicidal behavior. I'm talking about SSRI drugs.

Although doctors tell you that once you start this medicine you shouldn't stop, I disagree.

Personally I think that SSRI drugs should be taken like analgesics, once the headache goes away, you stop taking the medicine.

But that's my personal opinion and only an opinion for what it's worth.

Native Title

2011-05-27T09:39:00.000+10:00

HUNDREDS of tour operators in the Kimberleys could be compelled for the first time to pay traditional owners for access to attractions such as Horizontal Falls, following a contentious native title determination on 29,000 square kilometres of land and sea in Western Australia's far north.

I've finally found a word that best describes those individuals who adhere to a mindset that sympathizes with and have empathy with anything to do with Australian aborigines. The word is ROMANTIC. There is a romantic association with the aborigines in the minds of people who consider everything to do with aboriginals as something to do with the Noble Savage. It's no surprise then that the aboriginal identity with land is treated with reverence. We have given and continue to legislate what is called Land Rights giving Native Title to aborigines for large areas of commonwealth land, as well as legislate the requirement to acknowledge aboriginal ownership of land at every public ceremony, speech or event. It is symbolic gesture that is based on romanticism.

Continuing with the romantic notion of the Noble Savage, the aborigines lived a life of subsistence from foraging and hunting. Their technology never advanced beyond spears and boomerangs while some tribes never even discovered fire. A society on the level of the stone age in fact.
The degree of contrast between civilized society and primitive aboriginal culture is seen as yardstick to measure the extent to which civilization has failed to remain noble to the idea of living only to survive, living only to satisfy our immediate needs of food, water and shelter. Civilization in contrast is ignoble because we have denuded native forests, polluted the atmosphere, created global warming.

The aboriginal identity that is so closely associated with land that the two are considered inseparable in the minds of aborigines is treated as a virtue, it is and ideal that we as westerners can only aspire to and make amends by discussing environmentalism and global warming with an overbearing sense of collective guilt.

Aborigines don't feel such guilt since they have never endorsed any human activity that involves exploiting the land or modifying the environment. That is until the granting of Native Title, the aborigines never had the option of negotiating mining leases.These days they can benefit financially from mining and tourism.

Only the future will tell if they begin to share our western sense of guilt as the destruction of the landscape from mining comes back to haunt them.

Number Blindness

2011-05-27T08:27:00.000+10:00

At an early stage of my schooling, I discovered that I was struggling with arithmetic. This limited my career options because most professions require a high level of competency with numbers. Science and physics were off my agenda as I focused on art,history,literature,music and consequently my career choices narrowed down to very few. To the despair of my mother who hoped I might study medicine, I plodded along, no, in fact I excelled at what is considered useless in the real world.
There is also a connection here with my utter dislike of sport because sport is all about numbers, statistics,breaking records,weights,measures,times,numbers,numbers,numbers....
Finally, an explanation to why I've always hated numbers.

STRUGGLING with simple arithmetic is frequently a symptom of "number blindness", the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia, a leading British psychologist said today.

One child in 20 is afflicted with dyscalculia, according to Brian Butterworth, of University College London, who is calling for the condition to be given an equivalent status to dyslexia.

"If you've always struggled at school with arithmetic and get a panicky feeling when you see or hear numbers, these are typical indicators," Professor Butterworth said.

Dyslexia is widely accepted as a condition that is unrelated to general intelligence, but those who struggled with numbers continue to be labeled as "bad at math", he said.

A paper published today in the journal Science suggests that although people with dyscalculia have trouble conceptualising the size and order of numbers, they often excel in other areas of maths, such as geometry.

A Modern Day Tragedy

2011-05-20T07:38:00.003+10:00

Being a successful man, and being in a high position, and being in the public light means that you must always keep your dick in your pants, right?

So what's the issue here?

We know that with great power comes great responsibility? That's an old proverb and a truism.

Seems like there's a common thread here, a modern day tragedy is all about how the high and mighty fall because they can't control their libido. It could also be said that the high and mighty have no sense of decorum, morality, ethics, family values, no sense of responsibility, no sense of accountability for their actions.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), days after he was charged with the alleged sexual assault and attempted rape of a maid at a New York hotel.

_______________

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had sex with a significant number of prostitutes, Milan prosecutors alleged Monday in documents seeking authorization to search some of his properties.

The prosecutors are leading a probe aimed at determining if the 74-year-old media mogul paid for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby who attended parties at one of his villas last year. Prostitution isn't a crime in Italy, but exploiting or aiding prostitution with minors is.

_________________

The mother of Schwarzenegger's lovechild was yesterday named by a U.S. website as Mildred 'Patty' Baena, 50, who became pregnant while working for the former California governor and his family.
Details of Schwarzenegger's relationship with Baena have been appearing in news reports overnight, with several outlets alleging that her threats to sell her story to a magazine prompting Schwarzenegger to go public.

______________________________________

Sheen reportedly ran up a $26,000 prostitute tab one weekend in early January -- good thing he makes $1.8 million per episode of 'Two and a Half Men.'

_______________________

The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to theimpeachment of President Clinton in 1998 by the U.S. House of Representatives and his subsequent acquittal on all impeachment charges ofperjury and obstruction of justice in a 21-day Senate trial

________________________

In fact it would make a good TV show right?

Pause for thought here...........

Oh of course it's already been done, you know that if you've ever watched The Good Wife.

Islam is Terrorism and Terrorism is Islam

2011-05-19T07:15:00.000+10:00

ASPI sponsored extensive, semi-structured interviews with more than 30 convicted terrorists in Indonesian jails. This is priceless research and Ungerer has written a sober, judicious but quite devastating report on the data obtained. The report is titled Jihadists in Jail, Radicalisation and the Indonesian Prison Experience.

Greg Sheridan has this to conclude from reading the report.

But let me digress for a second into motive. None of the terrorists interviewed nominates poverty or alienation or, even in the general Western sense, injustice as the springboard to violent jihad. Instead, all the terrorists, even those who have recanted violent jihad, see their choices in predominantly religious terms. When they do cite injustice, it is only in the sense that they see Muslims as persecuted. Some of the terrorists went to religious schools, some to more secular schools. Some had university educations, others didn't have much formal education. But every one of them saw violent jihad as a religious duty for Muslims. This ought to have some salutary effect on the Australian debate. There are some outstandingly fat-headed analysts here who deny or downplay the religious element in Islamist terror. There are even those who argue that when we talk of it we should not make any reference to Islam. It is certainly the case that the overwhelming majority of Muslims reject terrorism. It is also the case that all Islamist terrorists justify terrorism through religion. This may mix with other things, such as a sense of adventure, peer pressure, family connections or exposure to a charismatic leader. But Islamist terror and violent jihad are religious phenomena.

You can read the full article by clicking on the link.

Pakistan on my Mind

2011-05-07T09:05:00.000+10:00

Having time to reflect on the major news event of this week, my thoughts turn to Pakistan.
Either its government is one of the most incompetent in the world, naive to the location of OBL or it is one of the most duplicitous and therefore dangerous governments today. The threat of MAD is well dead and buried with the collapse of the Soviet Union, so the ogre that inspired so much fear in the west for so many years has left us becalmed and complacent to threats of nuclear attack.
Pakistan is a country that has nuclear weapons. Pakistan is also a country that harbors Islamic jihad sentiments and is home to many other wanna be Osama Bin Ladens.
To what extent and to what degree are these Islamic fanatics firmly entrenched in positions of influence and authority? We don't know. That is worrying and if you're not worried you should be.
Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan government are always teetering on the edge. In other words, the Pakistan government will cajole and co-operate with the U.S. as much as is necessary but only that much and no more. The Pakistan government must also placate the seething mass of it's Muslim citizens who no doubt have sentiments similar if not the same as Osama Bin Laden. How comforting is that?
At the moment Pakistan is stable but what if it turned into a quagmire that is Iraq?
We know that the U.S. would be hard pressed to contain such a situation if called upon because we've seen what a Sisyphus like challenge Iraq has been.
I'm not re-assured or complacent or satisfied that OBL is dead. Revenge may be sweet but Pakistan remains on my mind.

The Philosopher and the Wolf

2011-05-03T10:10:00.001+10:00

The Philosopher and the Wolf is a true story about a guy who happens to be a professor of Philosophy who takes on a wolf cub as a pet. It is a beautiful story in itself but also has much to say about how to live life.
Mark Rowlands, the author writes about what he learns about life from living with his wolf, Brenan.
Mark writes about the differences between humans and animals, in particular wolves. Humans are an animal that pursues pleasure more than any other animal. Humans are also inclined to miss enjoying the moment because we live in reference to the past and to the future. There are many lessons about life that Mark learns from the wolf and finally, coping with death is the final lesson. Unlike humans, to wolves, death just is. Nothing more nothing less, no remorse, no grief, no regrets. Maybe that is the most important lesson we might ever learn since death is the greatest fear we all must face for ourselves and our loved ones.

I loved this book and hope other readers will too.

If you read the book and find Mark's ideas interesting, you can follow him on his blog here http://rowlands.philospot.com/

The Death of Osama

2011-05-02T20:31:00.000+10:00

May people might celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden. That is merely a reflection of satisfying the need for revenge.
In many ways, this was something the U.S.A had to do, it needed a sense of closure on the horrendous events of 9/11. Many will think that this means the end of the need to worry about terrorism or more specifically Islamic terrorism. They couldn't be more wrong.
Think of Islamic jihad as Pandora's box.

When Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. With her, Pandora had a jar which she was not to open under any circumstance. Impelled by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the box-jar, and all evil contained escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the lid, but the whole contents of the jar had escaped, except for one thing that lay at the bottom, which was Hope. Pandora was deeply saddened by what she had done, and was afraid that she would have to face Zeus' wrath, since she had failed her duty. However, Zeus did not punish her, because he knew this would happen.

What OBL has unleashed is an evil ideology that cannot be dismissed by the event of his death. The evil and bloodthirsty Islamic jihad has been unleashed on the world and it will be a long time if ever at all before the evil can be returned the the Pandora's box.

What is the problem?

2011-04-11T08:21:00.000+10:00

Much is now being said about the issue of Islam. Today the Australian newspaper has a story about the burkah.
That such a trivial issue has become main news and subject for public debate indicates that we as a community are no longer ignorant of Islam. Or are we?
The subject of Muslims is raised on talk back radio, on television forums, in the newspapers, by politicians and by journalists.
The debate usually comes around to the question of "the majority of Muslims are peaceful, law abiding citizens" and this statement is accepted at face value. Obviously this is a fact that is difficult if not impossible to quantify.
Also, the acts of violence that are committed by Muslims in the name of Islam are always described as acts by extremists who are always considered to be a minority.
So, my question is this, how do we identify the extremists?
Is it the clothes they wear?
Is it the way they walk?
Is it the length of their beards?

Obviously we have no real way of gauging who are and who aren't extremists. We might take comfort in the thought that those Muslims who are perpetrating acts of violence are merely a few, a minority, the exception to the rule.

I guess that in Australia we are lucky because we have a different type of Muslim to those in the rest of the world. Unlike those in Afghanistan who are constantly blowing themselves up, or in Iraq as well, or those who form ghettos in France and Sweden and Germany where those ghettos are considered "no go zones" because they aren't safe, those in Indonesia who burn down Christian churches, in Australia we only have law abiding peaceful Muslims.
Oh, I forgot about the Cronulla riots, but that was blamed on Australian racists not those peace loving Muslims were merely provoked.

So we are a lucky country aren't we?

Multiculturalism from Greg Sheridan's point of view

2011-04-06T12:33:00.001+10:00

In my last post I lamented that those who speak what I consider to be truth are labeled radicals and sometimes racists.
Here is an article by one of Australia's most respected journalists about how he's lost faith in multiculturalism.
Read the full article here http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/how-i-lost-faith-in-multiculturalism/story-fn59niix-1226031793805
Within this article you will find opinions that have been expressed by other people, notably Geert Wilders who has been put on trial for hate speech.

The Australian Muslim population is still relatively small, perhaps 400,000 or just under 2 per cent of the population.
The US-based Pew Research Centre has recently completed a big study on Muslim demographics and migration trends. It predicts that for Australia the Muslim population will grow by 80 per cent between now and 2030, to about 715,000, growing about four times as fast as the rest of the population, and reaching about 3 per cent of all Australians.
Such forecasts are always rough estimates, but this is based on fertility, migration and mortality trends, and it's highly plausible.
It may be that by 2030 we will start to have a much more European-style, polarised society as a result.

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Replicating the European experience that the second generation had more trouble than the first, it was the sons of some of these immigrants who figured heavily in anti-social activities.
I was shocked to discover the growth of jihadi culture in Lakemba. We used to go to its main street for shopping and for food.
One day, waiting for a pizza order, I wandered into the Muslim bookshop. I was astounded to see titles such as The International Jew or The Truth about the Pope, amid a welter of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian and pro-extremist literature.
The revenge attacks on white Australians after the Cronulla riots originated out of Punchbowl. A number of media crews were attacked when they went to local mosques. A large number of those charged with terrorism offences in Australia stayed in or had associations with the area.

Due to the brilliant and fearless reporting of this paper's Richard Kerbaj, who spoke perfect Arabic, we found that at a number of the mosques in the area outright hatred was being preached: anti-Semitic, misogynist, conspiratorial. Most of the time, these sermons didn't advocate violence. The speakers were what Britain's David Cameron has called "non-violent extremists".

.................................................................................................

Does Islam itself have a role in these problems? The answer is complex and nuanced but it must be a qualified, and deeply reluctant, yes.

But there is a deeper reason as well. As the great scholar of Islam, Bernard Lewis, has written: "The community of Islam was church and state in one, with the two indistinguishably interwoven."
This isn't just a theoretical observation. It means that imams at mosques tend to be preaching about politics, and doing so from a cosmology deeply influenced by paranoia and conspiracy.
Many Australian Islamic institutions receive funding from Saudi Arabia, but I know from my work in Southeast Asia and Europe that the Saudis almost always fund an extremist interpretation of Islam.

....................................................................................................

To have concerns about these matters is not racism or xenophobia. It is reasonable.

....................................................................................................

The inflow of illegal immigrants by boat in the north, almost all Muslim, mostly unskilled, should be stopped.

.....................................................................................................

Meanwhile, dhimmis are actively putting together laws that will forbid children in Australian kindergartens from participating in decorating of Christmas trees. That is so that we won't offend anybody's cultural sensitivities. No doubt bending over backwards to accommodate those tolerant and peace loving Muslims.

Truth too terrible to be spoken

2011-04-03T12:07:00.001+10:00

Pastor Terry Jones in the U.S. is claiming that Islam must be held accountable.

“Muslim dominated countries can no longer be allowed to spread their hate against Christians and minorities,” he said. “They must alter the laws that govern their countries to allow for individual freedoms and rights, such as the right to worship, free speech, and to move freely without fear of being attacked or killed.”

Other than suggesting a Koran burning day on which he reneged, I don't know why Terry Jones can be justifiably labelled "radical".

Geert Wilders is telling us that multiculturism is dangerous.
And for expressing opinions like the quote below, he is taken to court and accused of racism.

Islam is a totalitarian ideology. Islamic Shariah law supervises every detail of life. Islam is not compatible with our Western way of life. Islam is a threat to our values. Respect for people who think otherwise, the equality of men and women, the equality of homosexuals and heterosexuals, respect for Christians, Jews, unbelievers and apostates, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech, they are all under pressure because of Islamization.

I agree with these quotes, does that make me a radical and a racist?
Has the world gone completely insane?
Am I that much out of step with conventional wisdom?

Woe is me.

Cost Benefit analysis of Nuclear Power

2011-03-26T11:07:00.000+11:00

I've been reading the many articles about the accident at the nuclear power plant in Japan.
The idea came to me suddenly that not only is nuclear power inevitable (electricity from coal is an industry based on finite and dwindling fossil fuel resources) but that we need to find arguments to justify our ever increasing reliance on nuclear power.
Arguments about safety might be at the forefront of discussions but this is a moot point. We accept that air travel has risks and we accept the road toll as an inevitable part of modern life.
Risk is just something we accept.
So how do we measure acceptable risk?

The best attempt at assessing the death toll from the accident has been a report published by the Chernobyl Forum -- a group including the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organisation -- in 2006, at the time of the incident's 20th anniversary. Chernobyl's Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts suggests about 1000 workers received high doses of radiation in the immediate aftermath. Of these, 134 were diagnosed with acute radiation sickness and 28 died during 1986 as a result.

In the nuclear debate the answer is human lives.
Look at it this way, the benefit of having nuclear power far outweighs the cost of a few hundred lives as in the Chernobyl accident and now Fukushima.
I don't know what amount of human lives it would take to make us question the wisdom of accepting nuclear power. Would it be thousands? Or tens of thousands? Or hundreds of thousands?
I think the debate will go on for a short while and eventually fade away as we learn to accept costs of the benefits of nuclear power.
After all, we don't ban motor vehicles just because a few people get killed every day and even more get injured and/or permanently disabled.
It's a sad fact that we accept these facts as a necessary cost.
Full article here http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/chernobyl-when-truth-went-into-meltdown/story-e6frg6z6-1226027914874

Another Great Google Product

2011-03-24T10:18:00.000+11:00

From Google we have a new product. Tour the great art galleries of the world at googleartproject.com
Above is a sample of the detail from Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son at The State Hermitage Museum.
Having the luxury of examining great art from the comfort of my home, and in such incredible detail is awesome.
How do you define a great painting? That's tricky business. Too many words, probably enough to fill volumes are necessary and still there might be differences of opinion.
I wish I was one of those people who can explain why a painting is great to an audience. On the other hand if you look at the brushwork of Rembrandt you don't need any further explanation. His way with paint is just awesome. Sad to think that he died in poverty after an illustrious career.

How Safe is Nuclear Power?

2011-03-17T10:27:00.000+11:00

The consequence of trying to turn back the effects of climate change is that alternative sources of energy must be explored. This is the ultimate goal of the carbon tax and the emissions trading scheme.

I guess we're pretty lucky in Australia because we still have the option of considering whether we want nuclear power or not. The latest news poll shows that we are still evenly divided on the issue. Unlike Australia, many countries* already have nuclear power and the news of the tragic disaster in Japan brings to the forefront of discussion, the safety of nuclear power.
How safe is it? What's the alternative?
So the cost of saving the planet from climate change is the increased risk of nuclear disaster. That's the trade-off.. Not very appetizing is it?

*Argentina,Armenia,Belgium,Brazil,Bulgaria,Canada,China,Czech,Republic,Finland,France,Germany,Hungary,India,South Korea,Mexico,Netherlands,Pakistan,Romania,Russia,Slovakia,Slovenia,South Africa,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Taiwan,Ukraine,United Kingdom,United States.

Afro Celt Sound System

2011-03-11T15:14:00.000+11:00

How often do you think to yourself, modern music is crap? I know I do most of the time. Yet all hope is not lost.
The Afro Celt Sound System is a group that is creating music from a symbiosis of styles that just comes together seamlessly and beautifully.

Technology to Save the World

2011-02-28T07:54:00.000+11:00

Interesting story about a genetically engineered organism that produces diesel fuel.

A US biotechnology company says it can produce the fuel that runs cars and jet engines using the same ingredients that make grass grow.Joule Unlimited has invented a genetically-engineered organism that it says simply secretes diesel fuel or ethanol wherever it finds sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company says it can manipulate the organism to produce the renewable fuels on demand at unprecedented rates, and can do it in facilities large and small at costs comparable to the cheapest fossil fuels.
What can it mean? No less than "energy independence", Joule's website tells the world, even if the world's not quite convinced.

The fact is that I won't be holding my breath.
I know that modern science and technology can perform miracles and in fact have been asking myself why the oil crisis that is inevitable as oil reserves run dry, isn't being addressed by science.
What I should be asking is where do all good inventions that give us an alternative to oil go to die?

Whose interests are most affected by this discovery?
Why of course the oil companies and those Sheiks who sit on the world's oil reserves.
So who do you think is going to buy out this technology and bury it?
Answer, the oil companies or the Sheiks who sit on the world's oil reserves.
These oil companies and sheiks who own most of the world's wealth and influence foreign policy of the U.S.A and other countries.

Tax

2011-02-27T07:36:00.000+11:00

What a wonderful world it is when our government thinks up a new tax.
There is constant debate about the pro and cons of each new policy -(ie tax) - and how effective the policy will be.
For example, the natural disaster that has befallen Queensland was quickly followed by the Prime Minister announcing a new levy (aka Tax) to fund reconstruction of Brisbane.
Australians will lead the world in saving the planet by having a carbon tax imposed on us. This is supposed to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere but from a government's point of view, it means lots and lots of money pouring into their coffers.
While we're at it how about a new tax on petrol, all in the name of saving the planet of course.
And here's how it goes, petrol is already taxed so that the price we pay as consumers at the pump is on parity with world prices. Then a GST (tax) is added on to that price before the final retail price is set.
But don't fret because it's all for a good cause (no not increasing government revenue silly) but saving the planet.
And as for the carbon tax to be imposed on those evil power companies who spew carbon into our atmosphere, it will supposedly force them to reduce their carbon emissions.
I think power companies will prefer to increase the price of electricity sold to consumers and continue on their merry way not giving a rat's arse about reducing carbon emissions. Let's face it power companies have a captive market so they can't lose no matter how expensive the electricity.
Of course we all know that motor vehicles are the major cause of carbon monoxide in our atmosphere so inevitably there will be a ....TAX.... on vehicle emissions.
This will raise the cost of food production which requires motor vehicles for transport and distribution. The same goes for all other products. Increases in prices caused by the emissions tax will have further flow on effect for the government with an increase in GST (goods and services tax) which at 10% added on top of the retail price, means even more money for government.
By the way, don't forget that oil supplies have reached a plateau and inevitably there will be increases in the cost of oil as demand continues to escalate.
This would probably result in a new tax on oil to encourage industry to find alternatives to a finite and dwindling resource.
Conflict in the Middle East, especially in Libya means the price per barrel of oil has increased because Libya is a major source of the world's oil.
Yes, how about another tax on oil to compensate for the Libya crisis?
And if that's not bad enough, the population is aging which means that a large percentage of our workforce which is now paying taxes will soon reach retirement age with the resulting dramatic reduction in tax revenue for the government. Maybe it's not enough to increase the official age of retirement from 65 to 67 to encourage people to stay in the workforce and keep paying taxes.

Bureaucracy

2011-02-20T20:06:00.000+11:00

Here is a parable on the perils of bureaucracy.
There's a man who collects a toll at a bridge. There was a need for somebody to handle his wages, so a paymaster was employed. The paymaster needed a secretary. Now there were three employees and this meant that a supervisor was required. The supervisor was accountable to a manager of operations. The manager of operations created an Occupational and Health Care officer to oversee safety of all employees. In these modern times, inevitably there would be a need for environmental impact monitoring so another department with environmental officers was established. Such an operation required an accountant to control revenue and expenditure. The accountant advised that the operation was running over budget so they sacked the toll collector to cut costs.

THE navy is facing a critical shortage of engineers to maintain and run its fleet, raising grave doubts about its ability to operate more than $50 billion worth of new ships and submarines due to be delivered over the next decade.

The report's revelations come in the wake of current Defence Minister Stephen Smith's angry rebuke to the navy this week for the mismanagement of its amphibious fleet, which meant none of its three largest ships was seaworthy to help in the aftermath of Queensland's Cyclone Yasi.

So, there's a problem in the Australian navy.
Should we employ consultants to look into the problem and at the cost of $millions of dollars give us a report on the bleeding obvious?

No.

Here's Lexcen's simple and elegant solution.
Get rid of the bureaucracy and put the money where it's needed.

In fact, while we're getting a dose of common sense, why not also fix the ailing healthcare system?
I know the government has plans for reforms that will make the system more efficient and reduce waiting times in emergency wards in public hospitals or so they claim.

Here's Lexcen's simple and elegant solution.
Get rid of the bureaucracy and put the money into doctors and nurses instead of administration.

Solutions to world problems

2011-02-19T11:45:00.000+11:00

In the last couple of days, the failure of multiculturalism and more specifically the failure of Muslims to integrate into our society has become a fierce subject for public debate.
I'd like to think that my efforts on this blog have been partially responsible for this but I don't think so.
This means I can focus my attention and energy on other matters. Maybe I can contribute to solutions to many problems that plague us? For example, let's get rid of traffic lights at all intersections and replace them with roundabouts. Instantly traffic will flow more efficiently and there won't be any more fatal accidents between cars running red lights and cars making right hand turns.No need for red light cameras...yes the government won't be happy with the loss of revenue... but its worth it.
I have lots more solutions, stay tuned.

Etcetera etcetera etcetera...

2011-02-10T07:17:00.001+11:00

It's always tempting to go berserk on this blog with articles about Muslim violence.
I restrain myself most of the time to writing informative articles rather than harping on a theme.
Yet, I can't ignore this news item because to me it's a sign of things to come, not just in Indonesia but the rest of the world.

Indonesia's image as a "moderate" bastion of inter-faith harmony has taken a severe battering in recent months at the hands of violent Islamic extremists and vigilante groups. The wave of hate crimes targeting Christians and other minorities climaxed on Sunday when hundreds of enraged Muslims brutally murdered three followers of a heterodox Islamic sect in front of police, who did little to intervene. The country was still reeling at the disturbing video of that lynch mob attack when another Muslim mob rampaged through the streets of Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday. This time, the police responded with tear gas and warning shots but again they failed to stop the mob, which set fire to two churches and vandalised a Catholic school as they demanded death for a Christian man who had been sentenced to jail for blaspheming Islam.

I apologize if I'm repeating myself on this blog but it's easier than tapping a stranger on the shoulder and saying "do you know what the Muslims are up to?"

But here's the icing on the cake, so to speak. Australia is giving Indonesia $448 million so they will like us.
Is that funny or not?

Multiculturalism failure in U.K.

2011-02-07T07:23:00.000+11:00

Not long after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared multi-culturalism a failure, the British Prime Minister David Cameron now makes the same declaration.

Anybody surprised by this trend?
You shouldn't be surprised. I'm not.

Of course when such statements are made by the British PM, you know there is a dramatic wind of change blowing. After all, the UK has been extremely tolerant of Muslims and has adopted a policy of multi-culturalism that is draconian in it's intolerance of any perceived racism. Under the guise of multi-culturalism, the UK has even enshrined the rights of gypsies in common law.
I can't say what motivated the British PM to make such a radical statement and herald a dramatic turnaround in political policy. There is definitely a change in public mood in the UK because no politician would make such comments without strong public backing.

It's interesting to note that the British Nationalist Party, which has been campaigning against Muslim immigration for many years, and has carried the stigma of harboring Nazi ideology, might be given a boost by the comments of PM David Cameron.

The Conservative Prime Minister triggered a bitter row yesterday in which he was accused of backing the far-right English Defence League - since a large EDL rally was held in the multicultural city of Luton on the same day as his speech.

Personally, I abhor violence but think it is inevitable because of the "too little too late" approach of politicians. There is a very real danger that the UK will be torn apart as right wing groups as well as Muslim outrage surfaces into open hostilities and street violence.

What's in a name?

2011-02-04T07:46:00.000+11:00

There is growing trend, and I'm not quite sure if this is new or not of giving names (or phrases) to ideas that stifles any rational thought.
As an example, everybody is aware of the contentious issue known as "climate change". We can blame any anomaly in the weather on "climate change" from the current snowbound U.S. to the flooding and previous drought in Australia. Possibly the devastating cyclones we've just experienced in Queensland will also be attributed to climate change. And, if there is any uncertainty about cause and effect, then the prophet of climate change Ross Garnaut will tell us that that is also due to climate change.
But before carried away with this single issue, it's just an example of what I want to rant about and this is the new phrase bandied about, "drinking water".
This is such a new phrase that when a friend first used it, my ears pricked up and started burning. I was incredulous and irritated by the use of such a misnomer in our discussion.
Apparently our dams are now full or empty or whatever of DRINKING WATER!. What used to be just plain water that we would use to wash ourselves, shower,bath,laundry,car wash,industrial processes and farming irrigation was is entirely drinking water. I don't know if all those trendy people going around with bottled water are aware of this or not...maybe like innocent children who think that milk comes from a bottle, they think that all drinking water only comes from a bottle. Maybe that's where the phrase originated, in a need to educate the ignorant. But that's only my theory.
Now what really really really riles me is that the recent flood devastation in Queensland might well have been avoided if those who were/are in control of the dam, didn't think of the dam, that had reached over 140% capacity, as drinking water.
Subject to a pending inquiry, we might eventually learn that if it wasn't for this mental block, this notion that millions and millions of litres of water is drinking water, those in control wouldn't have been so reluctant to release water from the dam earlier than they did and have prevented the terrible disaster that occurred.
I think it is much easier to regulate a dam if the water that is drained off into the river system is just plain water and not drinking water. Don't you?

Déjà vu

2011-02-01T07:02:00.001+11:00

On Wednesday morning, 23 July 1952, a military coup occurred in Egypt, carried out by The "Free Officers" and led by General Naguib, but the real power behind the military coup was Gamal Abdel Nasser. Aided by intelligence provided by the two super-powers and their own network, the Free Officers Movement targeted command, control, and communications posts of the Army and Internal Ministry. Several police sections that had been successfully penetrated aided in rounding up key personnel of the royal government.

At 7:30 a.m., the Egyptian populace heard a broadcast station issue the first communiqué of the revolution in the name of Gen. Naguib to the Egyptian people that stated the justification for the revolution or the Blessed Movement. The voice everyone heard reading the message belonged to Free Officer and future president of Egypt, Anwar El Sadat:^[1]

Egypt has passed through a critical period in her recent history characterized by bribery, mischief, and the absence of governmental stability. All of these were factors that had a large influence on the army. Those who accepted bribes and were thus influenced caused our defeat in the Palestine War [1948]. As for the period following the war, the mischief-making elements have been assisting one another, and traitors have been commanding the army. They appointed a commander who is either ignorant or corrupt. Egypt has reached the point, therefore, of having no army to defend it. Accordingly, we have undertaken to clean ourselves up and have appointed to command us men from within the army whom we trust in their ability, their character, and their patriotism. It is certain that all Egypt will meet this news with enthusiasm and will welcome it. As for those whose arrest we saw fit from among men formerly associated with the army, we will not deal harshly with them, but will release them at the appropriate time. I assure the Egyptian people that the entire army today has become capable of operating in the national interest and under the rule of the constitution apart from any interests of its own. I take this opportunity to request that the people never permit any traitors to take refuge in deeds of destruction or violence because these are not in the interest of Egypt. Should anyone behave in such ways, he will be dealt with forcefully in a manner such as has not been seen before and his deeds will meet immediately the reward for treason. The army will take charge with the assistance of the police. I assure our foreign brothers that their interests, their personal safety [lit. "their souls"], and their property are safe, and that the army considers itself responsible for them. May God grant us success [lit. "God is the guardian of success"].

My parents were born in Egypt, grew up in Egypt and were educated in Egypt. They were of European background (and part of a large European community) and therefore felt their lives and safety were threatened by the violence that erupted on the streets.
In 1953 they emigrated to Australia and in 1954 I was born.

CAIR - Who Cares? I Do!

2011-01-30T08:04:00.000+11:00

Muslims,politics and Islam

2011-01-20T07:20:00.000+11:00

Sometimes I wonder if all the thousands of words I have written about Muslims and Islam make any difference to public opinion.
Maybe, it would just be better to give more media attention to people like Ibrahim Siddiq-Conlon
So here is the news report in its entirety.

ISLAMIC preacher Ibrahim Siddiq-Conlon points heavenwards to emphasise his message for the governments of Australia -- there is no God but Allah and only his laws should be obeyed.

"My attack is on the Prime Minister of Australia," he said yesterday. "I hate the parliament in Canberra. I want to go straight for the jugular vein and advise the parliament that they have no right to legislate. They should immediately step down and let the Muslims take over."

An Australian-born convert to Islam, Siddiq-Conlon is the self-anointed leader of a group called Sharia4Australia, which is pushing for the introduction of sharia courts as a first step towards achieving Islamic law.

"One day Australia will live under sharia; it's inevitable," he said. "If they (Australians) don't accept it, that's not our problem. We hope, and our objective is to have a peaceful transition, but when you look at history that has never been the case. There's always been a fight. It is inevitable that one day there will be a struggle for Islam in Australia."

A masters graduate in architecture from the University of Technology Sydney, Siddiq-Conlon formed Sharia4Australia last year. He said he had three objectives. The first is to persuade Muslims they must hate "taghoot", the worship of any God other than Allah, which includes democracy.

"They must hate it, speak out against it. And, if that doesn't work, take action against it."

His other objectives are to advise elected governments they have no authority to rule, and to educate non-Muslims on the benefits of sharia, including punishments such as stoning adulterers and severing the hands of thieves.

"If chopping off the hands is the punishment given by the sharia court then we say glad tidings, because chopping off the hands -- when you understand what is sharia -- is a mercy to that person.

"Why is it a mercy getting your hands chopped off? Because it can be expiation for your sins. It is better to get punished in this life than to go underground into the grave or into the hellfire for eternity."

Siddiq-Conlon will join a debate tonight at the Parramatta Town Hall in Sydney on the merits of sharia versus democracy. The event was organised by self-styled debate promoter Zaky Mallah, who was acquitted of terrorism charges in 2005 but pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a commonwealth officer after his passport was cancelled.

The pro-democracy case will be argued by an Australian army veteran, self-described "concerned Aussie" and senior member of the pro-gun Firearms Forum, Jack Zedee. "The issue with Mr Conlon and Sharia4Australia is they are preaching hatred. His views horrify me," Mr Zedee told The Australian.

Police and private security are expected at the debate, after both sides claimed to have received death threats. Mallah said he had tried to cancel the event but the debaters insisted on proceeding.

Siddiq-Conlon shrugs off concerns his campaign will damage the moderate Muslim community. "If it causes a backlash against the Muslims, I can't help that. This is a necessary debate."

Setting the cultural agenda.

2011-01-19T06:43:00.001+11:00

This is interesting. How much freedom of expression do we have? What is the cost of exercising that freedom?

A SYDNEY artist whose anti-burka mural has infuriated left-wing and Islamic activists is vowing that the provocative artwork will stay in place despite death threats, abuse, a string of vandalism attacks, a violent weekend protest and a police request to remove it.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/sculptor-sergio-redegalli/story-e6frfkvr-1225990694187#ixzz1BPwKmWXV

Note that the artist isn't insulting Islam. He isn't criticizing Islam. He is merely expressing an opinion about a cultural aspect that is associated with Islam. There is no specific mention in the Koran for women to wear a burkah.

This brings me to the expression "setting the cultural agenda". Use this phrase in the sentence, Islam is setting the cultural agenda. Has a nice tone to it doesn't it? Get used to it because as the percentage of Muslims rapidly increases in populations, they will set the cultural agenda.

Flood

2011-01-12T18:09:00.001+11:00

Queensland, the northern state of Australia is at the moment experiencing a huge disaster as floodwaters drown city after city, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Ipswich and Brisbane.
It is an Australian characteristic to be stoic in the face of tragedy (see photos)
. My sympathy goes out to those who are suffering. Their spirit is indefatigable.

Unthinkable

2011-01-12T08:18:00.001+11:00

I watched this movie and then decided to see what others thought of it on IMDb. Surprisingly, few reviewers that I read were able to appreciate the point of the movie.
Synopsis: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914863/synopsis
A terrorist reveals by video he has planted 3 nuclear bombs somewhere in the U.S. He allows himself to be captured and is tortured to reveal the locations of these nuclear bombs. He expects to be tortured and is prepared for it. As Helen Brody of the FBI says to him, "you have won, by making us torture you, you have proved that we are no better than terrorists".
I've always held the opinion that torture is justifiable when the lives of many are more important than the life of one individual. This movie has made me review my beliefs.
Unlike Jack Bauer of 24, extreme physical torture doesn't yield instant results. The point is made in the movie that a person tortured will confess to anything but will they reveal critical information?
Most movies exist as entertainment but how many also create philosophical dilemmas? As entertainment, "Unthinkable" keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat, it is horrifying in it's portrayal of torture, but in no way does it condemn the U.S. Any reviewer who feels that way has his head up his arse. There are week links in the plot but then if you analyse any movie you will find such weak links which in themselves don't detract from what the movie is about.
There are two questions that permeate the movie:
1. is torture justifiable?
2. can torture yield accurate strategic information?
H argues that torture has been used for thousands of years so it must be effective. This movie makes you question that line of argument.

The characters present for and against arguments for torture as the story progresses. By the end of the movie, even the most morally upright character Helen Brody, loses her high ground and gives in to her fear and frustration with the suspect and succumbs to the urge to hurt him. So, we may ponder, is torture an expression of our human instinct, based upon fear, do we forget our moral high ground?

And by the very end of the movie, the title becomes clear and apparent, would we ever consider the unthinkable if brought to our knees by a terrorist? Again the issue is this, fear for the lives of millions against the human rights of one person. At what point do we and can we justify inhumanity? Do we still remain moral beings if we contemplate the unthinkable?
Reminds me of this philosophical/ethical question "does the end justify the means?"
Discuss it amongst yourselves.

Facebook Earth

2011-01-10T08:32:00.000+11:00

During a casual conversation with my wife, she asked me, how was it possible for Facebook to be worth 50billion? To me the answer seemed obvious. If everybody on the face of the planet gives their personal details to Facebook (probably 70% of US citizens at the moment) then it's more than just advertising potential that is on offer, it's the demographic statistics that can be sold that makes it such a valuable commodity.

Facebook Demographics & User Statistics

View more presentations from Daniel Riveong.

It's a paradox that people are paranoid about their privacy and fret over airport security scanners and other government intrusions into their privacy yet are quite happy to post personal details, photos and other information on Facebook.
If you're wondering, yes I'm on Facebook and no, not my phone number/bank account details/address/credit card number thank you but no thanks Facebook.

Accidental Hero?

2011-01-09T13:06:00.000+11:00

In my previous post regarding the Pakistani politician Salman Taseer who was killed by his own bodyguard, a comment made by fellow blogger Baconeater seemed to resonate with relevance. To paraphrase, he said we shouldn't judge all Muslims by the actions of a few.
Further developments have only managed to reinforce my opinion about Muslims. This is because, allowing for the fact that it is very hard to gauge public opinion, it nevertheless is becoming clear that what is considered the actions of a few is in fact supported by many.

Islamabad, Jan 05: Hundreds of Facebook users welcomed the killing of liberal Pakistani politician Salman Taseer as a strike against reformers of the country's tight blasphemy laws. The Punjab governor was shot on Tuesday by one of his guards, 26-year-old Mumtaz Qadri, who confessed to the murder because of Taseer's vocal opposition to the law that was recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death.

So whilst it might be wise to be cautious when talking about Muslims, in the face of such news items I must uphold my original premise that Islam is founded on bloodlust.

Nearly 2,000 Facebook users joined one group on the social networking site praising Qadri, and dozens of "fans" joined other pages set up in Qadri's honour in the hours after the shooting.

All the pages had been removed by Wednesday. Facebook was not immediately reachable for comment. But other private account holders used their Facebook status updates to make comments such as: "We salute you Mumtaz Qadri," "thank God he (Taseer) is not alive (any) more" and praise for the attacker as "a soldier of Islam".

Now I know there are Muslims who are appalled and disgusted by the killing of Salman Taseer, I've seen their comments on the web. I wouldn't go so far as to assume they would be in the majority.
It is interesting to note that there is a division of thought amongst Muslims as to whether their interests are best served by violence or a passive approach. And there certainly are Muslims who are western educated and who present a rational, logical, non-emotional and non-threatening approach to arguing for the cause of Islam.
My belief is that these kind of Muslims don't have much of a following and are only prominent because their persona and words are comforting to western observers as opposed to the threats of violence as seen in the jihadist movement.
Islam once established by Mohammed, spread itself by violence of war and conquest. Maybe it is a kind of nostalgia for the glory days of conquest that contemporary Muslims cling to when they think of their terrorist actions as war in the name of Islam.
Let's remember that Islam did not spread by having intellectuals stand on podiums giving lectures (See post on Tariq Modood) so convincing and overwhelming that people would fall over themselves to convert.
Islam has a history of violence and this violence is glamorized, idealized and looked upon with fond memories by those who crave for a return to the glory days of the Caliphate.

Bloodlust and Islam

2011-01-05T08:52:00.000+11:00

I think it is interesting to observe certain characteristics of Islam which are relatively ignored by most observers.
As this story shows, it isn't uncommon for a Muslim to put himself in the position of judge/jury/executioner where matters of Islamic faith are concerned.

THE governor of Pakistan's powerful Punjab province was shot dead in the capital by one of his guards, who told interrogators afterward that he was angry about the politician's stance against the country's blasphemy law.

Pakistan's blasphemy law has come under greater scrutiny in recent days after a Christian woman was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad. The law effectively orders death for anyone convicted of insulting Islam.

The governor was killed by his own bodyguard because the bodyguard considered his boss to have insulted Islam.

Apparently when an Islamic law is passed by the government, it's citizens consider that each and every one of them is in the position of judge/jury/executioner, especially when the offence is a perceived insult to Islam.

Recently I read that the rationale for honor killings outside Islamic countries, the Muslim individual takes on the role and responsibility of judge/jury/executioner because Islamic law isn't enforced in that country.
The question remains, what about honor killings that are rife within Islamic countries?
I think my observation answers that question.

The fact that there are a wide range of offences under Islamic law that call for nothing less than the death penalty, including adultery, apostasy from Islam, mocking Allah, disrespecting Allah, mocking Islam (Salman Rushdie knows about that one) might be enough to warn the observer that this isn't a religion that is tolerant, compassionate or forgiving.
The fact that a wide range of offenses either perceived or not can justify murder is really disturbing.
This paints a picture of a religion that harbors although not necessarily condones bloodlust, it is there if you just scratch the surface.

2011-01-01T17:50:00.000+11:00

I'll start off the new year with a link to a very interesting article by Abraham Rabinovich. What is fascinating about this article is that there is such a thing as reforming voices in the Middle East. In other words, outspoken Muslims who are not fundamentalist jihadists.

"Why do the Arabs boast of their courage when in fact we are the most cowardly people on earth?" Iraqi researcher Mohammed al-Khodari said last month on al-Jazeera TV, the leading news channel in the Middle East. "Of all peoples, Arabs are most likely to resign themselves to injustice, oppression and persecution."

From MEMRI, comes this gem of an interview, captured from Al Jazeera TV.
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2716.htm

I admire Mohammed al-Khodari for his opinions. I wonder how long he has to live?

From Lebanese journalist Ziyad Noujeim

"Our entire culture is based on two things and two things alone: lies and denial. We blame everything on Israel. If one day Israel is eliminated, what would we do?"

Dihyaa al-Musawi, in an interview posted on YouTube.

"We have a gallows culture in which we try to hang a thinker, a poet, every day. We are against creativity and civilisation. We have not developed to the point of admitting defeat, cultural defeat. In the past we had a civilisation but we are regressing. We export violence. We terrorise whole countries. Our pulpits have become booby traps for the public by generating hatred towards 'the other'."

What is interesting is that if I or any other westerner voice such opinions, we are in liable to be labeled racist and accused of hate crimes, and convicted of such under existing legislation.

Let's Help North Korea

2010-12-30T22:10:00.000+11:00

SEOUL — Shops selling human excrement began operating in North Korea this year, as acute shortages of fertilizer in the sanctions-wracked country put a price on feces, an analyst said Tuesday.

Read more: http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/12/29/fertilizer-shortage-forces-north-korea-to-sell-human-feces/#ixzz19akpMVTT

No doubt, here is a wonderful opportunity for the western world to show our bi-lateral support of the Communist regime in North Korea by organizing a humanitarian effort of massive proportions that will benefit everybody.

I think that shiploads of human shit sent to North Korea would be much appreciated in a time of shortage of such - aka fertilizer.
The cost would be minimal to every compassionate citizen who would be asked to take a bucket of shit to a local collection center where packaging and transport logistics would be set up to facilitate transport of fertilizer aka human shit.
What a better way to encourage North Korea than to offer this gesture of support and goodwill, maybe a slogan such as EAT MY SHIT would be appropriate accompaniment to the goodwill gesture.

Scientific Research

2010-12-30T07:32:00.000+11:00

I love my daily dose of scientific research. It never fails to amuse me when I read that scientists have scientifically discovered the bleeding obvious. Don't get me wrong, I have much respect for science and truly believe that rational thought coupled with science is the only path to true knowledge.
Nevertheless, when it comes to scientific research, I often wonder how these guys in white coats ever manage to coax funds to conduct their research.
For example, the latest research to emerge is that left wing brains are different from right wing brains.
The fact that is never discussed is that correlation statistics (Statistics 101) will tell you that just because there is a correlation between two sets of data, doesn't prove anything. For further information see this link http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/LieStat/

On further examination of this subject, I found that there is Journal of Spurious Correlations, targeting social sciences, I wonder if there is also the equivalent to this for hard science?

Finally consider this list of ridiculous scientific research

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Definitely not worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that’s more like it ! isn’t it Ahmadinajad ? )

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!)

A pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes. (In my next life, I definitely want to be a pig! 30 whole minutes? wow!)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy!!! I’m still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour… (Don’t try this at home…. maybe at work !)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male’s head off. (Honey, I’m home. What the…?!) ouch!!! assuming it was the same way for humans, I bet all men will die as virgins.

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It’s like a human jumping the length of a football field. (30 whole minutes!..lucky pig! Can you imagine?…)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What could be so tasty at the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day. (I still want to be a pig in my next life…quality over quantity !) but imagine what u can do with the combined abilities of a pig and lion!! hmmmm…

Butterflies taste with their feet. (…something I always wanted to know ?)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Hmmmmmm…. thought it was something else…)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people. (If you’re ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. (Okay….so that would be a good thing ryt?)

A cat’s urine glows under a black light. (I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. ( I know some people like that! yup)

Starfish have no brains (I know some people like that too.) oh yes!!!, i know lots of them

Polar bears are left-handed (If they switch, they’ll live a lot longer. i think?)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure. (What about that pig??????)

Article Source: http://planetprose.com/2010/12/06/art-ent/18-most-ridiculous-verified-scientific-research-findings/

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2010-12-26T08:08:00.000+11:00

For those of you who are old enough to remember, I would like to remind you of the times when there was talk and fear of the Greenhouse Effect. That was when the planet earth would be enveloped in so much carbon dioxide,nitrous oxide and methane emissions that the planet would literally turn into a giant greenhouse.
This soon became known as Global Warming. At some point in time, this new expression was dropped and it became what is currently the term Climate Change. This new term is best because it can mean anything we want it to mean without making any specific reference to any observable criteria. You would have noticed this fact by observing that any phenomenon that is reported in the news these days is usually attributed to Climate Change, for example, the declining number of polar bears on the planet

the geographical distribution of malaria
the prolonged drought in Australia
the melting glaciers around the world and the shrinking of the polar caps
the whole in the ozone layer

No doubt the increase in the number of homosexuals leading to social pressure to allow for homosexual marriages to be legalized is also due to climate change, we just need another expert to explain the causal links in this process to us simpletons... but I digress.

While many of us sit around celebrating Christmas in Australia, asking ourselves what has happened to the beautiful hot summers we used to know, in Europe snow storms are causing chaos at Heathrow and Paris airports. Temperatures of minus 18c are reported in the news today. Britain is experiencing it's coldest winter in 120 years.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3317935/Christmas-is-one-of-coldest-ever.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News

I'm sure it won't be long before some scientist appears explaining to us simple folk how the record snowfall and drop in temperature is all directly linked to Climate Change and reassure us that we have not been deceived in our belief that the planet earth is warming up.

Opinion, truth and journalists

2010-12-18T07:40:00.007+11:00

I was dismayed to read an article about President Sarkozy today which outlined the reasons for his unpopularity.
Apparently, according to this journalist, it is his racist policies that have alienated him from his constituency.
Sarkozyhttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/accommodating-sarkozy-allows-national-front-to-set-frances-agenda/story-e6frg6ux-1225972454808
Google search revealed this article dated March 2008,

In France, local elections often turn into referenda on the government's performance. As the French are voting to elect their "maires", 24 per cent of them declared they were going to express their opposition to Nicolas Sarkozy and his team.

After only 10 months at the head of the country, the French president is getting less and less popular as weeks go by. Recent opinion polls show that only 37 per cent of the French approve of his actions, which is the lowest result ever for a president since the 1950s.

President Sarkozy is accused of showing off while the people's mood is gloomy. They blame him for caring more about his private life than about public affairs.

His love story with pop singer and former top model Carla Bruni, as well as their quick marriage which made the tabloid headlines all over the world, made him appear as someone unstable -- perhaps someone without the sang froid thought to be necessary to run a country as large as France.

At the same time, French people are disillusioned about government efficiency. Their purchasing power, which was one of the main themes of candidate Sarkozy's campaign last year, is far from improving.

According to the opposition, Sarkozy does not respect his role of president. This refers to the incident that occurred two weeks ago at the Salon de l'Agriculture held in Paris, where the president violently insulted a visitor who did not want to shake his hand. His behaviour even shocked his followers who failed to understand his lack of self-control.

As a result, local elections are about to get really tough for the president's liberal party UMP.

While the current socialist mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe will probably get another mandate, many big cities like Bordeaux or Toulouse could tip from the right to the left. Local UMP candidates, fearing they might suffer from Sarkozy's unpopularity, have done their best to bring the election back to a local size.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/unpopular-sarkozy-left-facing-backlash-at-polls-1311712.html

So it seems to me that Sarkozy's policies may or may not be the current cause of civil unrest and protest against him.

It's easy to a journalist, you just make up a story and publish it. Journalists these days don't just report events, they interpret social trends. They are the amateur sociologists who have our eyes and ears, who attempt to influence public opinion because whether you like the idea or not, journalists in the media are respected by the public. Respect in the sense that what we read is interpreted as truth. In contrast, a poll recently indicated that blogs were highly suspect and lacked credibility in the mind of the public.

Or maybe this was just another concocted poll to tell us that we should continue to read and believe what journalists tell us...a conspiracy? Maybe in the wake of information leaked on a blog called Wikileaks...who had heard of it before last week?

Of course there is a vested interest in the printed media to continue to squeeze us for a dollar or two for providing us with information about what is happening in the world.

The print media and the electronic media, usually owned by the same small group of people-Rupert (Murdoch? et al) do have a financial interest in maintaining their position as primary source of information but also they have an incredibly powerful sway over public opinion.

In other words there is massive political clout in the hands of media and its moguls, and of course the journalists who practice amateur sociology on their audience.

I don't know how much trust people place in what they read or hear and see on television but I'm sure it's unhealthy. I would advocate a greater degree of cynicism, healthy cynicism rather then a bitter and despondent cynicism.

The best example would be to raise the bullshit antenna whenever a journalist claims to be reporting the latest trend or development.

Finally, I think blogs are a good thing, they open up the world of opinion that goes beyond what a newspaper editor thinks is appropriate to be published or not in the opinions page.

And when the newspapers and television media use blogs as their primary source of information, as in the case of Wikipedia, we know that the world has changed forever and will never again return to what used to be like, when information was controlled and edited and managed and opinion was manipulated by a few.

Muslim Refugees, naked breasts, immigration.

2010-12-17T06:05:00.000+11:00

For those of you who may not be aware, it is summer in Australia at the moment.

Summer means Christmas and topless ladies on the beach.

Imagine my surprise when I read this morning the Danish politician who advocates pictures like the one above of Bondi beach as a strategy to distract Muslim immigration into Denmark.

You would think that the thought of Christmas celebrations would be enough to discourage Muslims from wanting to come to Australia but maybe we should also consider promoting our evil ways, our corrupt and degenerate like of music for example..

But no, Iraqis and Iran refugees are literally throwing themselves on the rocks to get to Australia.

You would think that the dangerous waters of Christmas Island would discourage boatloads of refugees from sailing there from Indonesia but no...not even the incredible coincidence that boat engines fail or blow up as soon as boats reach the coast of Australian waters is enough to discourage refugees.

Who knows, maybe naked breasts will be the ultimate deterrent?

What's in a name?

2010-12-13T19:39:00.000+11:00

I stumbled across this story about the worst taxi driver ever.

In 12 years on the road for four major cab companies, he has been accused of slapping, abusing and swearing at customers, refusing short fares and deliberately taking the longest possible route.

He once took a passenger from the airport to Annandale via Oxford St - during Mardi Gras. Last year, he was accused of exposing his genitals after a lewd suggestion to a dissatisfied customer.

Mr Tohme says he's just misunderstood, adding "I've got maybe bad people skills."

Now I didn't read his name because I was only reading the news headlines....then the thought crossed my mind...
I bet he's...well you know what I was thinking.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I read his name! Click link to see what I mean.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/is-mohamad-tohme-the-worst-cab-driver-in-sydney/story-e6frfkvr-1225969945727#ixzz17yizhNJM

The Nixon Tapes

2010-12-13T07:15:00.001+11:00

A new supply of Nixon tapes.
How refreshing to hear to hear how the world talked and thought in that period of time. 1969 -1974.
Many would be mistaken in making the assumption that President Richard Nixon was alone in his racist thoughts.
This latest revelation is a gem not because it is a celebration of racism but because it is a time capsule of how the world was forty years ago.
I don't doubt that many people still hold racist views such as those voiced by Nixon.
But, today anyone who is brave or stupid enough to voice such views would instantly make themselves a social pariah.
It's not the racist views that interest me but how much society has moved on, how much our thinking has been conditioned by modern, enlightened thinking.
We might as well consider ourselves living in the New Enlightenment.
The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment) is the era in Western philosophy, intellectual, scientific and cultural life, centered upon the 18th century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority.
In 2010, western society is driven by reason and logic and let's not forget compassion, humanitarianism, ecological awareness (we feel responsible and guilty for global warming and the mass extinction of many species) .We take a global view rather than a parochial view of the world.
Western people are hard wired into the internet and we take pride in the fact that whatever may happen in the world, no matter how remote or removed from us be that location, we know about it instantly.
I watched the events of 9/11 during the morning on T.V. and felt that it was happening to me personally.
So, what I find shocking today isn't the fact that Richard Nixon has racist thoughts in 1969.
It's the fact that there still exists an extreme and virulent form of racism today and the fact that the western world is so ignorant of this fact. Amazing!
The racism I'm referring to is the core belief of Islam that Jews are inferior and must be forced into submission by whatever means possible. This racism is enshrined in the Koran, it is taught to every Muslim child as a matter of course.
In our modern age of new enlightenment, we in the west are so hoodwinked by our ideals that we cannot see or refuse to see what is blatantly obvious.

Julian Assange

2010-12-11T19:34:00.000+11:00

The papers today are full of stories based on information they derived from the Wikileaks web site.
But the news editors are not in jail.
Journalists pontificate on whether Julian Assange is a criminal or not and whether his narcissism is good enough reason to condemn him for his actions and whether his megalomania is enough to pass judgement on him.
Furthermore, journalists discuss the significance of the information sourced from Wikileaks but they are not in jail.
Only Julian Assange is in jail.
Even more intriguing is the thought that, even if the public knows information that has been kept from us, does it make any difference now that we know?
Public opinion has never been canvassed when it comes to making foreign policy so why should it matter now?
We would be ignorant to assume that governments never lied to the public so why should that matter now?

The only thing that really matters is that any government would actively pervert the course of justice in an attempt to castigate an individual for daring to reveal information the government would prefer remained confidential.
The only thing that really matters is that a government, any government would cook up false charges to imprison an individual with the goal of silencing him. Such actions have been common in dictatorships, usually of a communist variety.
Surely we don't expect or condone any democratic government to behave in such a manner whatever the reason, do we?
Trumped up charges of rape to coincide with mass exposition of confidential correspondence....
Does any government really believe that the public is so stupid as not to see what is happening here?

Seems to me it's a case of shoot the messenger.

Listening to Experts

2010-12-09T06:26:00.000+11:00

December 9th 2010
Flood Crisis spreads to four states.

Catalyst September 18th 2003
Climatologists are desperately trying to explain the mystery of where southern Australia’s winter rainfall is going. They’ve known the rain is being pulled south by an unexplained force. Now they’ve devised a revolutionary new theory to explain why. It appears that the circulation of the entire Southern Hemisphere is changing to suck our rain away. The reason is the Antarctic Vortex - a natural tornado of 30km high, super-cold, super-fast winds spiralling around Antarctica. The vortex is not new; it’s one of the engines that drive climate in the Southern Hemisphere. But now it appears the vortex is shifting gear, and is spinning faster and faster, and getting tighter. As it does it’s pulling the climate bands further south dragging rain away from the continent out into the southern ocean. Most disturbing of all we might be responsible for shifting the speed of the vortex. Scientists at the US Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research believe the speeding up of the vortex is caused by the combined effect of global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer over Antarctica. If their theory is true it will have devastating consequences for our southern cities - the drought may not go away. It takes just a slight shift in rainfall patterns for our capital cities to start running out of water – and the reservoirs in Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne are all dangerously low right now.

"Global warming"?

"Depletion of ozone layer"?

"the drought may not go away"?

It's no secret that Australia has a variable climate of extremes, always has been since settlement by Europeans and probably has been since the beginning of time.
Only the experts fail to grasp this fact.

Mr Assange and Wikileaks

2010-12-08T06:33:00.000+11:00

Have you smelt the air lately?
I'm sure I can smell conspiracy. Or it must be the fact that I've read one book too many on conspiracies, the latest being The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Haven't read it yet? Shame on you...

So Mr Assange has finally being arrested but because nobody is sure what or if any crime has been committed other than outrage that he would reveal correspondence that governments would prefer remained confidential, a charge of rape has been lodged against him.
If this isn't a conspiracy then it sure as hell smells like one, even to a simpleton like myself.

Wikileaks has been operating for a long time and I guess you can only go so far in embarrassing governments (hello Mr Rudd, let's bomb China into co-operation) before they say, enough is enough.

Gemma Lindfield, representing the Swedish prosecution service, told the court that although the notoriously secretive internet activist had surrendered to a London police station earlier in the day and had his passport confiscated, Mr Assange had not cooperated properly because he had refused to give DNA samples or fingerprints.

No doubt Mr Assange had also refused a body cavity search and this will be listed as a failure to co-operate.
Remember he is being wanted by numerous governments for leaking information to the public (I hesitate to describe them as secrets vital for national security) on his web site Wikileaks.

In the most details yet released about the allegations, Ms Lindfield said that in the cases of both women the allegations related to him refusing to wear a condom during sex. He was also accused of having sex with one of the women by exploiting the fact that she was asleep, and another count said that he had held a woman's arms and forced open her legs so he could have sex with her.

Reading the details of the rape allegations, I find myself sniffing the air again and inhaling definite aroma of conspiracy.