Greens slam great big new tax on tweeting

Laws requiring phone carriers to store data that could be sought under warrant as evidence will impose a "great big new tax" on every tweet, email and text message Australians send, the Senate has heard.

The Senate debated a draft bill on Tuesday evening, which will allow law enforcement agencies to request the preservation of communications that could be sought under warrant as evidence, including SMS messages and emails.

The bill also allows for increased internationalcooperation between Australian and overseas cyber crime investigators, and extends the scope of existing commonwealth computer offences, while bringing Australia into line with the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime.
Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam warned Australian policing authorities are seeking to outsource responsibility for data storage to the telco sector.
"That imposes costs on carriers which they have to pass on to customers," he said.
He borrowed the opposition's anti-carbon tax slogan, saying there would be "a great big new tax on telecommunications, on every tweet you send, email you receive, every Skype chat you have".
Senator Ludlam argued there was a need for laws to catch up on technological developments so authorities could net tech savvy cyber criminals, however privacy protection should not be completely sacrificed.
The Greens are also concerned that data stored could be given to foreign countries for use in criminal cases where people are facing the death penalty.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis warned many telecommunications companies were "anxious" about the implementation of the bill.
He said the coalition would support the bill with the government amendments, which were largely drawn from recommendations by a joint parliamentary committee on cybersafety.
Debate on the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 was adjourned.

ninemsn.com.au 20 Au 2012

What an absolute joke the new laws are. 

The excuse is always given as 'Cybercrime' or 'terrorism' or 'pedophilia', but the real agenda is not to stamp out any of the above mentioned criminal activities, but rather to monitor the masses.

Motorists to be hit with more petrol pain

Petrol prices have climbed to their highest level in more than two months, with further price rises expected in the coming weeks.

The latest weekly Australian Institute of Petroleum fuel price report shows the national average for unleaded petrol rose by 2.6 cents per litre in the past week to 142.9 cents.
The metropolitan average price rose by two cents per litre to 141.9 cents, while the regional average rose by 3.4 cents to 144.7 cents.
CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian says unleaded prices are now at a ten-week high and there are few signs that the bad news will ease.
"Rather, the latest round of data seems to suggest that further substantial price gains are on the horizon," he said in a statement on Monday.
"The bottom line is that the average Australian pump price for petrol should continue to edge higher."
To avoid being slugged with high petrol prices motorists should time when they fill their tanks, Mr Sebastian said.
"Not only is the discounting cycle continuing to change within capital cities but price trends are far from uniform across cities."

20 Aug 2012

Nothing more nothing less than Corporate Fraud at which the ACCC is turning a blind eye to.

Since consumers / motorists / general public are paying for this fraud, there will never be any kind of action against the global petrochemical giants.

UFO believers abuzz over Mars rover images

NASA camera images from Mars of a strange white light dancing across the horizon have UFO enthusiasts buzzing that alien ships are watching our progress. 

The images were transmitted back to Earth from NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on the red planet on August 5.
The images reveal a white light in the horizon as well as four blobs hovering in the sky.
Stephen Hannard, of Alien Disclosure Group UK, posted the clip online after putting the images through a series of filters.

NASA has not commented on any of the sightings yet but video experts say they are just blemishes.

Video analyst Marc Dantonio, who has studied UFO videos before, told the Huffington Post the images were one-pixel sized image anomalies.
"All CCD [cameras] have them and in a bland atmosphere like that at Mars, they would be very obvious as opposed to an active atmosphere like Earth, where they could end up hidden for a long time before anyone noticed them," he said.
The Curiosity rover is yet to make its first test drive of the Martian landscape.

22 Aug 2012

No room for Sharia in Australia: Brennan

A former High Court chief justice has used an address in Sydney to argue against incorporating parts of Islamic law into the Australian judicial system.

Sir Gerard Brennan, who served on the High Court from 1981 to 1998, and as chief justice from 1995 to 1998, told an audience at The University of New South Wales that there was no room for Sharia law in the Australian legal system.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard last year ruled out the prospect of Sharia law becoming part of the nation's justice system, saying the only law in the country was Australian law.
In the annual Hal Wootten lecture on Thursday night, Sir Gerard said there had been suggestions there was room for a "system in which at least some parts of Islamic Sharia law might operate as part of Australian law".
He said: "That suggestion seems to me to be misconceived."
Muslims were free to adhere to the "beliefs, customs and practices prescribed by Sharia law", the former chief justice said, but only as long as they did not conflict with Australian law.
"That freedom must be respected and protected but that does not mean that Islamic Sharia should have the force of law."
All Australian citizens, irrespective of their religion, had common values that formed the basis of Australian law, he said.
"Our citizens, including the Islamic community, share the basic Australian values of tolerance, egalitarianism, and individual freedom in thought and action," he said.

24 Aug 2012

Many countries do not acknowledge the rights or 'freedoms' of  the individuals native country or nationality that they may have had in their own country which they wish to bring across to the host country.

As a general global rule, the people must abide the laws of the host country.

This should also hold true for Australia.

In the current climate of globalisation, together with the setting up and execution of a new order of the world, the authoritie's agenda includes civil unrest, the diss-assembly of nationalism (under the now so popular catch phrase of 'racism'), the elimination of patriotism, and the break up of the family unit via various different methods.

There is no escape from this in today's day and age, which will be supported by the actions of the law makers and politicians to the detriment of society as a whole.

Man filmed crashing motorbike during pursuit

A man who was caught on a police dash-cam crashing his motorbike during a high speed chase in western Sydney has escaped a jail sentence. 

Matthew Robert Nesbitt, 36, appeared in Campbelltown Local Court today to face charges after leading police on a pursuit through Ruse in January.

He was filmed swerving through suburban streets at almost double the speed limit before his motorbike skidded across the road.

Nesbitt then got to his feet and ran into the bonnet of the police car as he tried to escape on foot.
He was given a $2000 fine, had his license suspended for two years and was handed an 18-month good behaviour bond.

"It's a very challenging situation and this court outcome is really an issue for the rider involved and hopefully the rider has learned a valuable lesson," Inspector Phil Brooks told Nine News.

Nesbitt, who was supported by his pregnant wife at court today, has previously been convicted of driving without a license and dangerous and negligent driving.

ninemsn.com.au 21 Aug 2012

Another example of how the politics of government lets criminals re-offend through lax laws.

A total disregard for the safety of the community, under the watchful jurisdictional eye of the judge.

Judges who let criminals of this calibre walk free, should be held personally responsible if the re-offender, re-offends.

Lady Gaga flashes boobs in home video

Lady Gaga reckons her bare-breasted home video is "sweet".

It's not how most people would describe the clip, in which Gaga flashes her boobs for the camera but hey, this is Lady Gaga.
The 26-year-old uploaded the video to her YouTube page, revealing it was shot by her sister Natali in the family home during Christmas last year.
Presumably all the singer's YouTube subscribers have now been exposed to her bare chest, whether they were willing participants or not!
Gaga has a little giggle as she introduces the clip but that's the only warning she gives of the naughtiness to follow.
Fans will recognise the track in the background as the singer's song 'Scheibe'.

Do you think it was appropriate that Gaga uploaded her half nude dancing to YouTube? What will mamma monster's little fans (and their parents!) think of this? Have a vote below.

 ninemsn.com.au 23 Aug 2012

The Hollywood trash entertainment industry, is about shock news that self promotes the talentless puppets of the Hollywood financiers.

Another no talent 'ass clown' on a string.

Court rules "fun" dad should have access cut

A FATHER accused of having all the fun with his daughter while his former partner dealt with the "drudgery and hard work" has lost half his contact visits. 
 
The dad was also accused of failing to acknowledge the six-year-old girl was suffering from separation anxiety after spending every weekend of the school year with him.

The custody deal was described as "unusual in the extreme" and was pared back yesterday after the mother lodged an appeal in the Federal Magistrate Court in Brisbane.

Federal Magistrate John Coker granted a variation to the custody orders, allowing the girl from the "fairly brief" relationship to spend every second weekend with her mother, who is her primary carer.
He said the money spent on the four-year litigation was a tragedy, as the father owed $200,000 to his legal team and the mother's family was helping to pay her legal expenses.

The mother sought the extra time, claiming the father was having all of the fun with their daughter, taking her to Movie World, Dreamworld, Sea World, Alma Park Zoo and on camping trips.
She argued she was missing out on the opportunity to enjoy "down time" with her daughter because of her day-to-day responsibilities with homework, uniforms, school lunches and getting her to bed.
The mother told the court her daughter was showing "various behaviour reflected by the fact she was not spending any weekend time" with her.
The court was told the girl had told her mother "I hate you" and "I don't love you", but the father had not "experienced any problems with his daughter".
A family report writer told the court the girl's behaviour was a clear sign of separation anxiety, in which a child holds themselves together and then "decompensates".
The report writer told the court the father would not experience the same difficulties because the girl would not want to upset him while deep down wanting to spend weekend time with her mum.
"The mother says she has all the drudgery and hard work and the father has all the good times," Mr Coker said.
In granting the changes, Mr Coker told the couple he had "hoped the hurt and feelings of rejection" from the relationship breakdown would ease.
But he said "unfortunately it has not changed and the retracted stance of both sides has become more entrenched".

heraldsun.com.au 12 Jul 2012

Aussie researchers rewrite Big Bang theory

Melbourne researchers believe they may be on the brink of rewriting the history of the universe.

A paper being published in a US physics journal suggests it may be possible to view "cracks" in the universe that would support the theory of Quantum Graphity - considered to be the holy grail of physics.

The team of researchers from the University of Melbourne and RMIT say instead of thinking of the start of the universe as being a big bang, we should imagine it as a cooling of water into ice.

"Think of the early universe as being like a liquid," Melbourne University theoretical physics researcher James Quach said.

"Then as the universe cools, it 'crystallises'.
"The reason we use the water analogy is water is without form.
"In the beginning there wasn't even space, space did not exist because there was no form."

Their research rests on a school of thought that has emerged recently to suggest space is made of indivisible building blocks, like atoms, that can be thought of as similar to pixels that make up images on a computer screen.

Mr Quach says the standing model for the origins of the universe, the big bang, needs to be rewritten.
He hopes experimentalists will be able to find evidence to support the theory put forward by the Melbourne team of researchers, that would replace it.

"The biggest problem with the big bang model is the bang itself," Mr Quach says.
"At the bang, physics breaks down.

"The model cannot make any predictions at what occurs at the big bang. You can't use any of the mathematics (or) any of the theories."

Mr Quach and his fellow researchers theorise that if Quantum Graphity "cracks" do exist, they will bend or reflect light, which, if observed through a telescope would support their predictions.

"If they prove my predictions that's really good evidence for the condensed matter model of quantum graphity in which case you can throw out all the other attempts."

ninemsn.com.au 21 Aug 2012

$700 million in public servant wages could have been saved

About $700 million in public servant wages could have been saved by keeping pay rises to same level as private, CCIQ claims 

ABOUT $700 million in public servant wages could have been saved if pay rises had been kept to the same level as private enterprise, a major employer group said.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland also claimed that its own survey showed that the public servant job cuts were having little or no effect on business.
CCIQ president David Goodwin said the current budget savings and job cuts would not have a negative impact upon the state economy.
He said the 20,000 job losses represented only 0.85 per cent of the State's entire workforce.
The CCIQ survey said only 1.3 per cent of businesses stated that public sector expenditure cuts were hurting their business.

Mr Goodwin said Queensland businesses should not be concerned about the changes being made in the public sector.
"Like any business, Queensland's State Government cannot go on living beyond its means and expecting tax payers and business to fund an ever increasing deficit,'' he said.
He said since the GFC wages growth for the private sector in Queensland has grown by 15.7 per cent yet public sector wages in Queensland has grown by 19.4 per cent.
"This difference would account for approximately $707 million in budget savings in 2011-12,'' he said.
Applying private sector wage outcomes to the public sector would have wiped a quarter of the budget deficit off the books.

couriermail.com.au 20 Aug 2012

At the same time the government is whingeing about 105 Victorians being on unemployment benefits for 'too long', worth allegedly $26 million over 20 years i.e. $1.3 million per year, a government supported money for mates scam cheats tax payers to the tune of $707 million in one year.

 

The unemployment benefit isn't meant for life

THE unemployment benefit is a great and necessary safety net to help those who are out of work get back on their own two feet.

It should be there just to tide people over, not fund a lifestyle of not working.
But figures obtained by the Herald Sun reveal all too many bludgers are using the dole as a "job" for life.
The figures show that jobless Victorians who have remained on the dole for over 20 years have sucked the equivalent of more than $26 million from the pockets of hard-working taxpayers.
They reveal more than 48,000 Victorians have been unemployed for two years or more.
And it should be remembered that those on the Newstart allowance also qualify for a host of other payments, such as rent assistance and telephone allowance.
As a nation, we must find better ways of getting the unemployed - both long and short term - back into work.
That means governments, federal, state and local, doing more to help the unemployed help themselves.
The startling figures being revealed today certainly warrant an urgent review of social security laws and welfare in general.
They yesterday prompted Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to slam the long-term unemployed problem and vow to crack down on dole bludgers.
"Any day a person spends on the dole is a wasted opportunity for the nation, but to allow someone to be unemployed for 10 to 20 years or more is a national embarrassment," he said.
"We have to do more to lift people off welfare and back into work."
It is a disgrace that 105 Victorians have been unemployed for 20 years or more, with a further 8700 being unable to find work for between five and 10 years.
People should not be allowed to be paid the dole indefinitely to do nothing.
It should just go to those unemployed who genuinely want to get back into the workforce and who are prepared to re-train, re-locate and work hard at finding work.
It shouldn't go to prop up the lazy lifestyles of those who have no intention of ever working again, yet continue to see getting the dole as their right.

heraldsun.com.au 20 Aug 2012

Another propaganda article by the government's lap dog the corporate media.

Figures are manipulated that support an agenda in order to bring in new laws.

As a result there will be new policies put in place that ultimately enslave the masses.

A common payment of less than $240 per week is given to a jobseeker. 

Hardly a figure to live from yet alone provide the necessities for life.