RIP Heath Ledger

I wanna say goodbye to Heath Ledger. I didn't know him personally, but he seemed like a genuine nice guy, one of natures gentleman. It's a sad loss.

I also want to comment on two peripheral issues surrounding Heaths untimely death.

Drug Companies -
There'e some speculation that a particular type of sleeping drug contributed in some way. I won't comment on that as the jury is still out but the problem with drug companies is that they are run entirely on the profit motive. The humanitarian cause has gone out the window. I don't begrudge them (or any company) making profits but the commercialization of the health industry has had such consequences as the refusal to produce life saving drugs when they are considered 'not commercially viable' (as in when only a small number of people have that particular ailment). They are not above a little manipulation of the media and of even straight out denial if one of their drugs has been found to have severe side-effects. There is also the practice of pricing many drugs beyond the reach of many of those in thirld world countries (and those in the US without health insurance) who desperately need them. They often actively persecute smaller companies for making the same drugs available at lower cost. They claim they need to recoup their Research and Development costs but it is a fact that most research on new drugs is carried out in academic institutions, the US taxpayer is effectively funding the majority of drug research, and yet the multinationals claim as much profit as the market can bear. We are talking about peoples health and well being here and leaving medicine solely to the whim of market forces seems totally inhumane to me.

Papparazi -
The Papparazi hounded Heath in Australia and due to their actions Heath chose to leave Australia permanently. I won't forget the scene I saw where a few paparazzi squirted him with water pistols as a form a 'payback' for Heath allegedly spitting at them at some previous point in time. What a stupid, childish and ridiculous thing to do. Onya guys! The paperazzi can sometimes behave so badly it amounts to nothing less than harassment, chasing people around, sticking a camera in their face at every opportunity, is it any wonder some celebs get so pissed off ? Wouldn't you ? It's just a game to them of course, and they justify themselves by saying 'Well if people didn't buy the magazines we wouldn't do it...' Sorry guys that argument doesn't wash. That same argument's been used by everyone from drug traffickers to kiddie porn peddlers, there's a market for lots of things and although gossip mags aren't illegal, harrasment and invasion of privacy is. some of them do the right thing of course, but those that don't who are money hungry and will resort to the lowest of tactics to get the 'money shot' are worthy of nothing more than contempt.

Randoms 2

I hate it when you're walking on wet concrete at night and you accidentally stand on a snail and it squishes up between your toes.

Some people think I'm a 'space cadet'. I disagree, and so does my invisible friend, the one with the propellor cap.

I seem to be ignored a lot on forums, if not I'm being shot down. That can be depressing. I'm not into comment wars.

I go all shy sometimes.

I find myself standing on a hill waving a flag, it can get lonely up there by myself, but idealism, principles and stubborness keep me there - the fool on the hill.

My favourite poem -


Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish that man would go away


The shortest poem in the english language -

(concerning the ancient relationship between human beings and parasitic blood-sucking insects, specifically fleas)


Adam had'em


What the hell use are mosquitoes in the grand scheme of things anyway ?

That's all. I'm in a strange mood.

Merry Christmas.

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to bring out and dust off the tinsel and baubles and hang them up where appropriate. Here's a few I like to bring out avery year ...

Celebrities Lament (Away in a manger)
Away with that stranger
what's there in his head ?
I think that he likes me
just wants me in bed

I don't know his name
but I do know that face
I don't think I like this
I'll carry some mace!

Cats Lament (Silent night)
Holy light, holy sound.
What's that smell?
crackers around.
Watch those kids they'll stick one up your arse
and that big tall one can run really fast
It's hard being a cat on cracker ni-ight!
It's hard being a cat on cracker night.

Area 51 Lament (Hark! the herald angels)
Hark! the herald eggheads sing
"Bring that strange confounded thing!
We don't know what it was made for
strange with it's lights and a bell that rings!
Some say it was made by aliens
Falalah lalalah lah-lah-lah
We say it's made by Australians
Falalalalah lah-lah lah lah."

Santas Lament (Jingle bells)
Jingle bells, Santa smells
kids have come all day
Oh what fun a shopping mall
ten days 'till christmas day eh?

What was that? Barbie bratz?
What the hell are those?
what's that odour rising up?
And leave the beard alone!

Peace and goodwill to all.

It was time...

Congratulations and Thank You to the people of Australia for rejecting the coalition and voting in the Rudd/Labor government!

No rabbits out of hats this time for Mr Howard and people seem to have rejected workchoices, ignored the 'Unionist' boogeyman fear campaign, and no, Australia is not going to suffer an economic collapse either. the sky did fall in though, right on the heads of the coalition!

In a way I do feel sorry for them, they seem to be completely shell-shocked. Well it might not have come as such a surprise if they weren't blinded by Mr Howards idealogically driven agenda. Some weren't I suspect, but their acquiescence made them complicit so they have no-one to blame but themselves.

A lot of right wing commentators labelled anyone who criticized the coalition as being 'Howard Haters', well I can assure anyone that there of plenty of those who hate Labor! I listened to the right-wing radio station 2GB for a few days after the election (just to hear what was being said) and the amount of vitriol and fury expressed by a lot of callers toward Labor left any 'Howard-Hating' commentary I read or heard in the dust! And this wasn't backed up by anything rational either, just full-on hate verging on noise pollution. it was disgraceful and hypocritical. I don't mind sensible debate but if they're just gonna rant and rave about nothing then they're not going to influence anybody. But if that's the outlet for their rage then so be it. Get it out, get over it, and let's start making this country the best that it can be. But as for me, I don't think I'll be tuning to 2GB again anytime soon.

Forgiveness

Sorry if I come across a bit preachy here, but I do believe it's a valid and worthwhile thing to consider ...


Lets say you're in a loving relationship and the sun is shining and the birds are singing and everything is indeed hunky dory. Then something happens, your lover transgresses in some way, some unforgiveable way. what they did was so bad, it is unforgiveable. What happens then ? The love you had for them quickly diminishes, and can easily turn to hate. The more you think about it, the more angry and hurt you become. It can literally eat you up inside.

It is generally agreed the forgiveness in this situation is the best thing you can do. but you might ask yourself why? why should I ? They are in the wrong, why do I have to be noble about it ?

Now before I answer that question, I'm not saying you should forgive and forget. If the transgression was so bad for you that it has ruined the relationship, then so be it. I am not in any way saying you should pretend like that thing never happened. That is NOT forgiveness. That is denial. A denial of a very real and valid interpretation. It may be the transgression was only slight. Not enough to destroy the relationship, but certainly damage it, and it remains there, in the back of your mind.

So why forgive ? because the pain and hurt and hatred can LITERALLY eat you up. you can LITERALLY damage your own health. Harbouring a festering load of negative emotion can make you physically sick. and you certainly won't be as happy as you could be in your life by carrying all that baggage around. Remember, forgiveness is not forgive and forget. You can forgive someone for stealing money from you, but that doesn't mean you not going to be careful with your money around them. I you're current partner betrays your trust, that doesn't mean you can't end the relationship !

Forgiveness is not some grand act of self sacrifice in the name of some noble cause, that is not forgiveness, that is indulgence. The act of forgiveness simply allows you to free yourself of all the negativity people tend to collect. Forgiveness has direct and very real benefits for yourself. When you can truly forgive people their transgressions you will be happier, healthier, life and love will flow joyously, don't we all want that ?

Now if the transgression was only slight, enough to upset you but not enough to end the relationship, make clear to them how it affected you, without being judgemental, and ask them to commit to you that they will not do that thing again, and then forgive them. If they agree but still do it again, well I guess you might realize it's time to move on, and forgive them for breaking their commitment. It's just the person they are. And we are all different.

And this not only applies to failed romantic relationships, but to ALL relationships, including the relationship you have with yourself. If you've done something wrong, make the commitment never to do that thing again, and give yourself the freedom that forgiveness can provide.

Practice forgiveness - It's like a muscle, it gets easier the more you exercise it, and it can be as easy as saying "You're an asshole, but I forgive you" any negativity you have will dissapate. They can still be assholes, the world is full of them, but to paraphrase a very wise person " forgive the assholes, for they not what they do ... "

Or to put it another way, holding a grudge is like poisoning yourself and hoping the other person gets sick.

..and here endeth the lesson...

Little lost alien

A woman in the states has reported a close encounter with an alien grey. She reported that it appeared in a manhole, with the manhole cover balanced on it's head. Now I keep an open mind about such things, but really, someone's taking the piss. What i want to know is,

Why was it in the sewers ? Maybe it had lost it's anal probe, and was hoping to find it down there somewhere. Or perhaps the teleportation equipment was in need of calibration, and so depositing it in the sewer instead of the street.

What's with the manhole cover ? Those things are heavy! and the alien greys are all reportedly pretty scrawny. Pretty good trick. Perhaps it wasn't actually a manhole cover, for all I know flat metallic hats might be the height of alien fashion this summer.

Poor little bugger! maybe it was on it's way to the alien equivalent of the melbourne cup, resplendant in new metallic flat-hat, but due to a transportation error found itself in a mid-western US sewer instead, oh dear.

Windfarms, computers and conservatism

Meh, I'm over all that stuff below now, life's too short to hold a grudge, and it may be I got the wrong end of the sticj anyway ...

I read in the paper the federal government has knocked on the head a windfarm project for victoria, the reason ? It posed a threat to and endangered parrot that has never been seen in the area. So the Tamar river pulp mill gets the go ahead despite significant ecological damage but the windfarm is rejected because of a parrot ? It's rubbish of course, the nuclear / clean coal alternative is the governments agenda, windfarms don't seem to fit in with that. What a shame.

Melbourne University once made the most efficient solar cells available in the world, but now apparently Germany has the lead in the technology. there was just no government support for solar technology research, again, what a shame.

They must think solar and wind are 'airy fairy' or something, not worthwhile of serious consideration. well it is, 'cos it's the future. The trouble with conservatives, they can't look forward beyond the next budget, or if they do, can only consider what exists now, they seem incapable of any imagination at all.

Case in point - in the 1940's, the chief of IBM infamously declared ".. the world wide market for computers will only be a handfull .." (or words to that effect). We laugh now because computers are everywhere, billions of them exist today. but I dare say he was a conservative!

Myspace thought police ??

I link to this site from my myspace profile. The next day after posting the 'God of the Gaps' post below, the link to here from myspace has been blocked !!

I tried emailing Tom to find out what's going on - but he's away, so no possibility to clear things up there. I'm wondering though, why has it been blocked ?

It may be an error, but I somehow doubt it. More likely, someone objected,
and so it was blocked, pretty damn quick too. maybe the site I referenced below, maybe someone else, who knows ?

How weak and pitiful that there was no communication to me, no attempt to dispute or discuss my opinion, This is typical of the mindset of the fundamentalist, any dissenting view is simply ignored at best, censored at worst. What a disgrace.

Whoever it was, if they're reading this, I will only say there are none so blind as those that won't see, none so deaf as those who won't hear. And none that are so weak that they are not willing to defend their beliefs, but merely seek to silence those who have different viewpoints.

How disgusting.

God of the Gaps

I found this website trying to prove the existance of God using scientific methods, I sent this email to them, and yeah I'm probably asking for trouble haha.

here's the link -
www.annointed-one.net/atheism.html

Here we go, the 'God of the Gaps' argument again. When current scientific theory fails to explain something, God is invoked to fill the gap. What a petty and narrow minded view of God. As scientific knowledge increases, God gets squeezed out and pushed into a corner, no wonder those who hold this view seem to think science is somehow 'Anti-God'.

My argument is this - God wants us to have faith, and if you have proof, you don't need faith. ergo, this 'god of the gaps' idea is contrary to Gods desire !

In reality, science is simply a methodology by which we can predict the outcomes of physical processes, incomplete as it is. Hoewever it has nothing whatsoever to say about the existance of God. By making it do so you are merely highlighting your own doubt and lack of faith !

Science works, unfortunately this doesn't sit well with the God of the gaps philosophy. So we have creationism, intelligent design, and other faith related matters masked with pseudo-science and obfuscation, in an attempt to redress this mis-interpreted imbalance.

There is no conflict, if I want my car fixed, I take it to a mechanic. If I want to know about physical processes in the universe, I will turn to science. If I want to know about spiritual matters, I will consult a holy man. Different domains, different aspects of life.

Using science in an attempt to prove/disprove the existance of God went out with the 'Counting the angels on the head of a pin' and similar ideas. Get real. Stop using the chevrolet workshop manual to try to explain why someone has a headache. What you are promoting makes about as much sense.

Meaning of Life Part 1

hmmm.. been a while.
Existentialist crisis? mid-life crisis? who knows?
Nah, not really.

I was given a catholic school education. My motto in my youth may as well have been 'question authority'

Catholic school taught me about God and Jesus and so-on and so-forth. When I was old to enough to understand such things I had on the one hand church religion and the great philosophers on the other, philosophy telling me of the great mystery of existance and the church with the far too glib and simplistic answers to life's mysteries. Not only that but other religions with different but similarly glib answers, each confident in their own 'Truth' being the 'only truth'. Well I was not so confident.

It slowly dawned on me most established religions used myth and poorly interpreted historical events to establish a religious dogma, the primary purpose of which is societal control. Historically straddling the transition between monarchistic fiefdoms and the modern representational democratic method of societal control and regulation during the middle ages. The 'religions' I thought that came closest to quantifying the nature of existance were the eastern religions, particularly buddhism.

So religion was largely a disappointment for me as far as answering the fundamental questions of existance, and the 'truth' (if such a thing exists) of it may be unknowable within existance - In Douglas Adams' book "hithhikers guide to the galaxy" the ultimate answer to the ultimate question was not the enigmatic '42' as first declared but rather that-

"...if the ultimate question and the ultimate answer were to exist in the same universe at the same time, they will cancel each other out and that universe will then cease to exist... "

Who to turn to then other than the greatest philosophical minds of a generation? Monty Python! In the movie "The meaning of life" their answer was

"..Not much, just have fun and try to be good to each other..."

What I'm left with though is that there is something within us, within all people, and as far as I know all creation, that searches for such things, a search perhaps for what has been lost, motivating the founders of religion, of those who seek the answers, like the philosphers who speculate on existance, and for me as I try to follow and make sense of all, there is some larger dimension to us, something bigger than we know. There is something .. 'extra' involved in all this, the root and basis of all religious and spriritual thought.

As in Jethro Tull's album 'Aqualung'

" ...and in the beginning man created God, but the spirit that caused men to create his God lived on in all men, even within Aqualung, but he saw it not. But for christ's sake he'd better start looking. "

Paris Hilton

Haha poor Paris Hilton! oh man, some were saying she was really a clever person in disguise and going to jail had re-arranged her priorities and so on - but I didn't see any of that on the Larry King interview -

LK - And you did read the bible when you where in jail ?
PH - (solemnly) Yes I did.
LK - Which passage did you like ?
PH - umm .. well .. it was all pretty good ...

I'm sorry Paris just be the bubbleheaded heiress we all know you to be, It's been working for you so far, the serious Paris just doesn't cut it I'm afraid. Hahaha I Laugh My Head Off.

But a big but, If Paris IS genuine and does want to straighten up and make a positive contribution, and it's not some publicists idea of a good angle to play for spin, Then I'm all for it and say Hooray for Paris! And keep it up! Listen to your heart, every human being has one. Oh and it wouldn't hurt to use that brain occassionally either ...

Complacency is not an option.

Shirley Maclean, a very interesting lady with very unorthodox beliefs. Fascinating in many ways. I remember she was being interviewed one time about re-incarnation, and why so many 'spirits' are walking around on the earth as human beings at this particular time in history - to which she replied 'These are very interesting times, we all want to see and experience what's going to happen' what exactly she was referring to she didn't elaborate on, but from various things I've read and heard about the year 2015 is going to be very interesting ....

I can't understand the nay-sayers attitude to global warming, sure the predicitons may be wrong, but if there is even the smallest chance they could be right then there MUST be some action taken, to argue about economics when confronted by global climate change sounds a little too much like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to me.

And despite reassurances I believe global oil production has peaked, and yes science may find a viable alternative but if not, consider there is practically no aspect of modern society that doesn't rely on it. Not just petrol or diesel, but plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, industrial chemicals, and many other things are derived directly or indirectly from crude oil. It's interesting to note that like the bronze age and the Iron age, and the steam age immediatly preceeding this, we are now in what can only be called the 'Oil Age' and one day it will run out, not if, but when. Then what?

Sorry if this sounds a bit bleak, and I admit I'm playing devil's advocate, but we gotta start thinking about these things. We can overcome the problems, if we recognize and plan for them. Complacency is not an option!

Randoms

Ahhh .. Random Stuff -

PS3 .. to buy or not to buy ?? Love the idea of linux - like playing games - but so much money! Tossed a coin to decide - came up 'no' 5 times in a row hehe - the universe is telling me no.
I'll wait a little longer, they'll get cheaper, linux distros will become more stable .. cheaper games ...

hmm... Myspace messaging... 'repost this or so-and-so will come around in the middle of the night and kill you .. Well I say, 'Bring it on!!' It's like the internet equivalent of 'The Ring'

Oh Yeah, 'The Nation' now that had it's moments and God I hope it continues for Nikki's sake if nothing else. Funny but why does Molloy come across so apathetic? Does he really care or is he just going through the motions? C'mon guy .. And you know as far as Nikki goes it's great she's moving into primetime and even if the nation falls over I'm sure she'll be picked up somewhere else but QM was a really great forum for her star to shine with all the ad-libbing and what-not .. I'm afraid to say Nikki will never be on TV in a similar role again (I hope I'm wrong) and for that reason my myspace profile pic shall wear the sad-cat-hat for a little longer (yeah I know it's actually a dog but sad-dog-hat doesn't have the same ring to it)

Finally - a political blog. Someone from labour (I think) wanted a UN agancy to investigate the human rights implications of the 'Work Choices' legislation - Saw Joe Hockey on TV say 'Disgraceful! they're belittling Australias reputation in the global community!' What a really dumb thing to say because

• Australia's treatment of Aboriginals has already been condemned by the UN human Rights Watchdog, and
  
• If Workchoices were the fair and equitable regime the Libs claim than they should welcome any enquiry to validate their claims! The fact they object to it is almost an admission that there are negative implications to the legislation!
  

Why oh Why do people keep re-electing the Libs ??? Riding on the back of a commodities boom with ever expanding resource exports to china and asia even a drover's dog could claim to be 'great economic managers' Never mind the fact the Hawke-Keating government set in place the fiscal reforms that enhanced the nations prosperity oh man it just makes me sick with frustration. How many lies ?? How many broken promises does it take ?? and don't get me started on freedom of speech, terrorist paranoia, Iraq, Tampa, the so-called 'Pacific solution' the racism, meddling with the ABC and CSIRO boards, education, health, the list goes on and on and on and on !!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE !! YOU ARE BEING DECEIVED !!!

anyway enough from me for now.

First post

This is the first ever post I put on this blog, or rather an earlier blog I deleted, cos it got just, well a bit too revealing about me ...
I dedicate this to all the male Nikki fans .. a message from the 'Hunky Dory man' ...

Hi, this is my first blog.

Love is a great feeling when reciprocated, otherwise it just hurts. Someone said being in love is a little like being insane, it can drive you to do crazy things if you let yourself become a victim! I guess a lesson to be learned when you find yourself with unrequited love is to become the master of your emotions rather than be the victim of them.

I'd say we all have certain ideals and expectations about a potential partner, both unconcious and concious. So if we come across someone who goes a long way to meeting those ideals - we may find ourselves gettin a crush on them - sort of like the unconcious motivation to go and meet them. But for whatever reason, shyness, etc., or by virtue of circumstance, if we don't approach them the aspiration is frustrated, which makes the crush stronger, a feedback loop occurs that can literally drive you mad ! So the lesson there is - don't sit on it, declare your love and hang the consequences !

So let's say you've declared your love and your potential partner has accepted the possibility of you as a potential partner, and everything's hunky dory - as the relationship develops It may be that the ideals and expectations you had are'nt matched by the reality and what happens ? bonk-bonnngg - disappointment. The crush wears off and you start looking elsewhere, how sad.

The lesson from that could be - give up expectations ! They only lead to disappointment. The secret of 'true' love is in my opinion unconditional acceptance - accepting the other for all their perceived faults as well as their virtues.

I like the idea, somewhere from the eastern philosophies I believe, that you can
only truly achieve happiness when you accept other people unconditionally - warts and all, for in truth they aren't warts at all, merely interpretations and judgements you have decreed as 'this is how it is' and these judgements are highly personal and have in reality nothing to do with the person who is being judged.

But sometimes, for whatever reason, it just doesn't work. and that can be sad and heartbreaking, but that which does not kill you makes you stronger. Take heart in the fact, that as shakespeare said "It is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all "

Or maybe I just need to get out more ...

---

Easter Festival

Happy Easter to all!

So Easter is supposed to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, right? And the tradition is - 'Here comes the big magical bunny rabbit hiding chocolate eggs! Go find 'em kids!' - When you think about it it's a bit bizarre ... I don't see the connection. It comes about because most religous festivals are in fact hijacked festivals from earlier days - Easter is actually the spring equinox where the earlier celebration concerned the renewal of life, hence the eggs, the rabbits come from them being the symbol of fecundity, well they are 'at it' most of the time ...

Speaking of rabbits - In Germany a rabbit breeder managed to breed huge rabbits, and he struck a deal with North Korea to breed the animals there for food production - so a whole bunch of these rabbits was sent over, along with the largest prize winning rabbit, to begin a breeding program - but what happened to them? They ended up on Kim Il Jong's dinner plate at a state banquet! Sounds comical until you realize this is the mentality of the current leadership - 'Geez those rabbits look good! Stuff the people, I wanna eat'em now!' - I should qualify this by saying the North Korean spokesman has denied that this happened, But the question remains, where are the rabbits??

Emo kid

Ranting and raving about apparent injustice in the world is no great stretch for me, what is a stretch is sharing honest stuff about myself, so here goes.

I hated school, I left as soon as I had the school certificate (leaving certificate). I loved science, was average at maths (I told myself I couldn't do it, I found out later that I could), Commerce was like just so much BS, an elective I did was music - I enjoyed that. the reason I left was not because of academic ability but because being a quiet sensitive boy I was the target of every psychological abuse my classmates could think of, I don't believe in violence but could defend myself physically, so physical bullying wasn't a problem ... being an emo kid being ostracized was a continual nightmare - The teachers said 'Just ignore them and they'll get bored' - tried that and it didn't work! I wasn't able to hide the hurt I felt ... wanting so much to be popular but not being so .. Anyway although I was scarred I'm largely over it - although to this day I'm very reserved and cautious about making new friends - you know it's a behaviour pattern that gets learned and it's hard to unlearn it.

So anyway I left school and fell into a job in a place that made yoghurt, rose up through the ranks and did a food technology degree, ended up being head of quality control at Kellogs before resigning to do electronics. So I did that and worked for a few different companies before going out on my own as a sub-contractor which I've been doing for about 10 years now...

I can't help but think though that although I'm much older and wiser than that school boy I still have within that emo kid who cries at the fact that no-one seems to like him or talk to him .. even though I have a few very good friends ..

I'm not really trying to make a point here I'm just sharing stuff about myself, no real reason other than .. maybe someone might get something from it, and for myself, I've said many times this is an experiment in my self expression .. putting stuff out here even though in all probability no-one is listening.

QM vs Sport

Current score, Sport = 2, QM = 0. Sorry to say that like the situation that if God ever appeared on a quiz show it would be God the winner and all other contestants with a score of zero. What I'm saying is that sport will always bump off QM on TV where they conflict. Although many of us will suffer Nikki/Amy withdrawels, look at it in the sense that we can get some more sleep when it does happen, and the hosts and crew get a bit of a break as well. I would imagine they're mostly on contracts so it shouldn't result in less pay, I hope so anyway. But ah I do so much enjoy seeing Nikki and Amy doing their thing, and I rue the day when they move on, but I don't think about that too much cause while it's in the here and now I shall watch and enjoy - to paraphrase Shakespeare it is is better to have watched and enjoyed than never to have watched at all.
I'll stop now, I'm tired and waffling and probably not making much sense.

What else is new?

I dunno about Nuclear energy, what about solar ? If every home in Australia had a solar cell setup on the roof each house could be totally self-sufficient ... As it is now for $20,000 or so you can equip your house with enough solar cells that you can pump energy back into the grid, ie the meter runs backwards, and the energy authorities pay you for the energy you provide !!

How ridiculous is it that in an arid country like Australia we waste our precious water supplies growing cotton and rice - Cotton uses the majority of pesticides in agriculture and requires huge amounts of water - there is a better alternative, non-THC hemp requires no chemicals, very little water, has no psycho-active content (no THC, tetrahydrocannibinol) and produces a better fabric than cotton, and can be used to make paper and ethanol, CHEAPLY, why the pollies can seperate this from the drug issue I do not understand.

I read in the paper John Howards latest response to the greenhouse gas emissions debate, ask South-East-Asia to stop chopping down rainforests! What a pathetic response haha. What about all the ILLEGAL landclearing in Australia ? What about all the old-growth forest in Tasmania ? Typical petty-minded beaurocratic response from seomeone who can't see beyond the balance sheet - throw money at the problem and hope it goes away. Oh dear. I don't think he gets it.

Big Brother

No, not the TV show. Big Brother comes from George Orwells book '1984', about one mans struggle and eventual surrender to a repressive regime.

Political dissent is being squashed in this country. Several Sydney University students were arrested recently - their crime ? They were planning a protest at the upcoming G8 meeting to be held in Sydney later this year. Planning to protest is now apparently a crime - how disgusting.

The federal government has long accused the ABC of bias. What rot. Their 'crime' was to broadcast unfavourable reports about the incumbent government. Having largely achieved their goal of suppressing unfavourable reporting the ABC, the Federal government is now going after SBS, accusing it too of 'Left Wing Bias'

Any criticism of current policies are largely branded as 'Un-Australian'.

It should be remembered that during this time of right wing domination of politics that the Nazi Fascists were also right wing - and it seems many of the tactics used by the Nazis are being resurrected not only here but in the US as well. It should also be remembered that John Howards father was a member of the 'New Order' right wing group who threatened Jack Lang, the NSW premier during the depression, with kidnap and god knows what else.

The great hero of the Liberal party, Robert Menzies, declared that 'Every Australian should rather starve to death than for australia to renig on debts owed to Mother England' Yeah right Bob, you'd be on the first boat home wouldn't you ? Jack Lang rightly said 'Fuck you brother' and emptied the NSW government bank accounts before the federal authorities arrived to confiscate the cash to send to england.

The right is concerned with selfishness, sink or swim, no handouts, etc, etc, etc. The left is concerned with the group, sharing, support, etc,etc,etc. Who you gonna vote for ?

Peniz Pills

Goddam Spam Peniz Pills BS is popping up all over the place ! Does anybody actually believe those things work ? What a load of crap. The only way it can be done is by a special suction tube thing - Any part of the body that is stretched for a long period of time will eventually adapt.
I read in the paper, a judge in the states was using one of those suction things while presiding over his court cases, totally inappropriate - the reporter claimed the pump was very audible. He was eventually dismissed as a judge -The reason given for his dismissal was 'Public Indecency - Masturbating in Court'. Well, no he wasn't, but I guess 'using a penis enlargement pump in Court' is not technically an offence!