Beijing cops ask for shoe size, blood group

Living in Beijing? The government wants to know your shoe size, blood group, political affiliation and where you get your money from, according to police in at least one corner of the security-obsessed Olympic host city.

Questionnaires handed to a businessman in Beijing's east also demanded full technical details of the company computer network and a hand-drawn map of Internet connections.

Beijing has ramped up security ahead of the Games, with missile launchers guarding the main venues and a special 100,000-strong security force on the alert for terrorists.

Residents of the capital have got used to over-zealous police intruding into their lives. Visitors, even those who stay only one night, are expected to register at the local police station. Police sometimes call to ask why if they do not.

Compounds in the city centre have demanded even long-term residents carry special identity cards, while one restaurant owner said his staff had been warned by police not to speak to foreign customers about anything but their orders.

But the police forms seen by Reuters, which were aimed at Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japanese businessmen and foreign non-government workers, were unusually intrusive with detailed personal questions, some of which implied a criminal record.

Among some over 100 categories to be filled were "the last time of breaking the law", date of release from prison and source of funds. The document also asked about "cultural level" — or educational background — distinguishing features, and favourite hangouts.

They appeared to be internal police documents, said the businessman who asked not to be named because he feared retaliation for handing the forms to foreign journalists.

"It just seems like everyone is terrified ahead of the Olympics that something will happen on their patch so they are overreacting," the businessman asked to fill them in said.

"If I'd known the city was going to be like this I would have left for the Games," he told Reuters.

On Monday, religious extremists killed 16 police in the restive West in an attack the government said aimed to disrupt the Games, and which appeared to justify some of the concerns.

But critics say the security lockdown risks cloaking the host city in an oppressive atmosphere — with live music and outdoor parties banned at some venues, security checks to get on the subway and tens of thousand of migrant workers and others deemed undesirable pushed out of the city.

Reuters, 08/08/08

A glimpse into the future of Western Life

The us has already started to catalog everyone who comes in, under the excuse of an 'ism'.

Trucking company short-changes drivers

Eleven Sunshine Coast truck drivers will share a $34,000 windfall after the Workplace Ombudsman uncovered underpayments of overtime and penalty rates.

Eleven Sunshine Coast truck drivers will share a $34,000 windfall after the Workplace Ombudsman uncovered underpayments of overtime and penalty rates.

Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said the underpayments, by a company he refused to name, justified his organisation's targeting of the trucking industry.

He said investigations found the small company had underpaid 11 of its 14 drivers a total of $34,458.

"We have found that the company was not paying correct penalty rates or overtime," Mr Wilson said.

"We also discovered it had wrongly deducted mobile phone charges, which in some weeks, left drivers with little or no pay at all."

Mr Wilson said road transport was at "high risk" of breaching the Workplace Relations Act, given his office had received more than 2,500 claims about it over the past two years.

Workplace Ombudsman inspectors began auditing the company's books in February following a confidential complaint.

Mr Wilson said the company had cooperated fully and was voluntarily reimbursing employees amounts from $241 to $9,454.

The underpayments date back to March, 2006.

Mr Wilson said while legal action would not be taken against the company over its mistakes, he warned there would be no excuse for it failing to comply with workplace laws in future.

Letters have been sent to 9,500 businesses around the country advising that up to 700 would be randomly selected for audit.

In Queensland, inspectors will focus on checking short distance freight companies to ensure they are complying with minimum rates, minimum shifts, split shift provisions and allowances, pay slips and time sheets.

A spokesman for the Workplace Ombudsman said employers were only named if a matter went to court.

Transport Workers Union state secretary Hughie Williams said companies caught underpaying workers should be named regardless.

"If they're prepared to commit an offence by underpaying their workers, prospective workers should know who they are," he said.

"They could have been prosecuted, so they should be named."

aap 7 Jul 2008

Always this veil of secrecy, when it comes to corporations. When an individual 'steals' a $0.50 item from a department store, a criminal conviction IS recorded against their name.

11 workers $34,000 total, therefore approx $3,100 per worker average.

Telstra is responsible for a fraud that is worth approx $6.5 million per annum.

Telstra defrauded its workers approx $6,600 each on average.

Lets see if the Workplace Ombudsman will give a similar victory to those workers.

The answer will be NO.

Stay tuned here for further results.

Update : 13 AUG 2008 - Letter has been sent to the Workplace Ombudsman.

Best coffee value

If one is a frequent coffee connoisseur, then acquiring a discount card is a sensible idea.

For the purpose of this exercise 3 establishments have been surveyed.
Muffin Break, Donut King and Michel's.

All offer a free coffee every x bought ones, but just which one has the best value?

Muffin Break give you a free one every fifth coffee,

Donut King give you a freebee at the 7th one and at
Michel's you have to wait for the eighth one to be free.

Considering that the average price is approx. $3, and converting the figures, the percentage savings are as follows:

1). Muffin Break - 20%
2). Donut King - 14%
3). Michel's - 12%.

Cancer causing chips; chemicals in foods a danger to health?

French fries and potato chips have never been the most healthy snack choice and never will be. Not only are they detrimental to the body in terms of high fat content, they also contain a potentially cancer-causing chemical known as acrylamide.

The chemical forms naturally when starchy foods are baked or fried and became of international concern in 2002 when unexpectedly high amounts were discovered in produce. Over 200 research projects around the world have taken place since to determine the true threat to consumers.

The majority of findings, according to the UK’s Food Standards Agency, have found that the levels we actually eat are at least 1000 times lower than the dose found to cause cancer in lab rates.

As the precise danger posed to humans consuming foods containing acrylamide is unknown, the agency’s advice is that people eat a balanced healthy diet and limit the amount of fried foods such as crisps and chips to an occasional treat.

However, in a small win for health this week, four major food manufacturers in the States have agreed to reduce levels of the chemical.

Food giants J.J. Heinz Co., Firto-Lay, Kettle foods inc. and Lance Inc have agreed to pay a combined $3 million (US) in fines for not including warning labels about the high levels of the chemical and will also reduce the amount in future products.

The new move, ordered by Attorney General Jerry Brown in the US, has been referred to as a victory for public health and a lead that other manufacturers should follow.

ninemsn 4 Aug 2008

Aussie's accused killer begs forgiveness

The man accused of the stabbing murder of a Sydney woman in Bali has begged for forgiveness in an Indonesian court.

Ahmad Fahrul Rosi, 23, told Denpasar District Court he only intended to steal ( so that makes it ok??? !!! ) , not kill, when he broke into Heidi Murphy's Bali villa on February 10 this year.

Murphy was allegedly stabbed 37 times (so where did the knife come from? or was it a butter knife and he was planning to cake her do death and it went horribly wrong ??? !!! ) after she woke and found Rosi robbing her house.

"I would like to apologise to both the parents and family of Heidi Murphy for what I have done which caused her death," Rosi told the court.

"My intention was only to steal because I was pushed by economic needs and the result of that burglary was meant to buy a ring and to fund my marriage.

"I did that because both of my parents could not afford to give me (this) and I didn't expect at all that the incident would be something like this.

"By God's name, I didn't have any intention to do this."

Prosecutors have requested Rosi be found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But Rosi's lawyer I Nyoman Karsana on Monday urged the court to free his client of the charges.

"In this criminal case, the defendant ... clearly had no intention and purpose to kill so that sentence demanded by the prosecutor ... is unacceptable," he said.

Karsana said Rosi panicked after hearing a computer alarm and Murphy screaming.

Rosi allegedly stole two mobile phones, a laptop computer and cash, which he used to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend in East Java. (someone's LIFE is worth an engagement ring from a piece of TRASH)

He was arrested after he used the stolen mobile phone to make calls. (NOT very smart either, probably with the IQ of the average temperature in ALSAKA )

Rosi also apologised (thank goodness for that, now he has a clear conscious) to the judges and prosecutors.

"I admit to all my mistakes ( ??? !!! mistake eg. run someone over accidentally, NOT STAB them 37 TIMES !!) and I realise that my action has violated law which the consequence is jail for me," he said.

"I surrender Mr Judge, even though it feels so heavy the punishment that I must bear because I'm aware that this is definitely not as sad as has been felt by both parents and the family of Heidi Murphy for losing the person they loved.

"I'm also aware that my action has tainted and slandered Bali's image as tourist destination."

He said he had been unable to find a job in Bali to help support his ageing parents, who are farmers.

"Please, honorary judges, consider being ... a little bit more lenient with me so that I can have the chance to improve my life and so that I can do good deeds to others for now and for the future," Rosi said.

"I also beg and ask for the greatest forgiveness from the parents and family of Heidi Murphy who have lost their most loving daughter.

"I also offer an apology to my own parents for causing this very deep pain."

In a separate hearing, Rosi's alleged accomplice in the murder - 28-year-old Indonesian construction worker Nuryanto Bin Sudar - said he was surprised and confused about the murder.

"I didn't know anything about the murder ... I only knew about the burglary," said Nuryanto, who could face up to 10 years imprisonment.

Judges are expected to hand down their verdict in the next few weeks.

aap 4 Aug 2008

No surprise there as to the verdict, because the victim is not a national of the country.
He SHOULD be sentenced to the death penalty BUT that will NEVER happen.

Telstra accused of super swindle

TELSTRA has been accused by unions of "swindling" up to 20,000 staff on individual employment contracts by cutting their take-home pay and using the money to cover a shortfall in superannuation contributions. Unions claim Telstra has been caught red-handed trying to disadvantage staff, after changes to superannuation laws that require employers to calculate superannuation based on a person's earnings, not base salary.

In a circular to staff, Telstra admits many on Australian Workplace Agreements and other types of individual contracts may suffer a reduction in "disposable take-home pay" following superannuation changes.

It confirms that these staff -- potentially up to two-thirds of Telstra's 32,000 workforce -- have previously had their superannuation calculated on "base salary" and not total earnings that include performance pay.

In this month's pay packets, Telstra will subtract 1 to 2 per cent of the employees' take-home pay and put the money into their super funds.

The company is complying with new federal government laws that require income such as performance pay to be included in calculating an employer's compulsory 9 per cent superannuation contributions.

ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said Telstra's decision to dip into workers' take-home pay was not illegal, but he questioned its ethics. He said Telstra's behaviour was a clear example of how its workers on individual contracts could be worse off compared with those on union-negotiated collective agreements.

Telstra admits workers on the union agreement will experience "little or no change going forward" because they are paid a standard salary almost identical to the new "Ordinary Time Earnings" definition used for calculating superannuation.

Mr Lawrence described Telstra's decision to deduct money from wages in the August pay period, backdated to July 1, as a "super swindle".

He said Telstra would argue that total remuneration remained unchanged. But unions believed workers would be disadvantaged when staff on base salaries of $40,000 and performance payments of $8000 incurred a $720-a-year wage cut.

"Literally weeks after management mounted a blitz to sign 15,000 employees on to AWAs, many of these Telstra workers will now receive a nasty surprise," Mr Lawrence said.

The Rudd Government abolished AWAs earlier this year but some companies such as Telstra beat the deadline by rushing to sign-up employees to five-year agreements.

The ACTU is in a protracted dispute with Telstra over negotiations for about 10,000 employees who remain on union agreements.

The Government yesterday dodged responsibility for any wage cuts for workers, and declined to comment on cuts in take-home pay for Telstra staff.

A spokeswoman for Superannuation Minister Nick Sherry said the changes related to laws introduced by the previous government in 2004. She said most employers had made the transition long before the July 1 cut-off, and meeting the requirement was a matter for negotiation between employers and workers.

Telstra spokesman Martin Barr said the company was affected like many others and must comply with the law.

He said employees were notified in advance, and the take-home pay of a majority of Telstra staff would be unaffected.

When asked, he would not confirm how many would be affected.

AustralianIT 1 Aug 2008

Telstra is also responsible for an estimated $16.5 MILLION (PER ANNUM) fraud against its contractors, a matter that was declined to be taken by SLATER & GORDON, because they were TOO BUSY and it was NOT in their financial interest to pursue.

Danish royals' fate 'rests with Mary'

The fate of Europe's oldest monarchy is resting in the hands of former Tasmanian commoner Princess Mary, the author of a controversial book on the Danish royals has claimed.

Veteran Danish royal reporter Trine Villemann says that unless Mary can make a king out of her reluctant husband Crown Prince Frederik, the Danish royal family will not reign beyond this generation.

Speaking to Nine's A Current Affair in an interview timed to coincide with the release of the English version of her book — 1015 Copenhagen K — Villemann offers a harsh critique of Mary's performance so far.

The fairytale princess had failed to instill tranquility in Frederik's life, Villemann said, adding that the prince was still "extremely nervous and uncomfortable" about becoming king.

"Being a crown princess means you have to make a king out of your husband and that will be Mary's primary function…if she cannot pick up the shattered pieces of her husband and make him a king, her son will never be king of Denmark," Villemann told A Current Affair.

She said Mary was not only doing a bad job of guiding her husband but she has also failed to win the respect of the Danish public.

"What has happened is that Mary is working so hard to become the perfect princess that she can't touch people, she doesn't communicate with us Danes ... Mary dares not or will not leave her comfort zone,” Villemann said.

"Today's monarchy is not just about showing up and looking good, today monarchy is about earning the respect of the people you represent."

Grueling palace life had caused Mary to lose her old Aussie spark, something Villemann said she desperately needs in order to succeed in her role.

"All it takes is for Mary to remember that she was once an Aussie girl, find back to her true self — Mary Donaldson — and not be afraid to use it,” she said.

"All of us Danes, we are desperate for her to succeed — we do want her to do good and do well, because we understand that the monarchy is at stake here."

ninemsn 29 Jul 2008

The statement former Tasmanian commoner is actually false. She is from the "free settlers" and has a royal background. This background was checked before her marriage to the Prince.

The fairy tale story that you can meet a Prince in a pub, has been conjured up by the mainstream media.

It is a deliberate concealment of the truth from the public.

Girl, 12, 'left to die without food'

A 12-year-old girl was left without food or water to die in the backyard of her foster home, delirious with pain and unable to move, a court has heard.

Crown Prosecutor Richard Coates said doctors at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) uncovered a "massive 1.5 litres of pus" in the child's leg, caused by a fracture to her left thigh.

Sisters Toni Melville, 43, and Denise Reynolds, 42, have been charged with the manslaughter of the girl, who first started to limp following a school sports day.

Three weeks later, on July 12 last year, she died from a blood and bone infection.

Mr Coates said osteomyelitis was a condition common in children that doctors would have had "no difficulty diagnosing".

"With medical treatment she could have made a full recovery," he said on the first day of a Northern Territory Supreme Court trial in Darwin.

"Even if medical treatment had been sought on the last day ... when her heart stopped beating, she would have still had a fighting chance of survival."

Mr Coates said Reynolds was a "stubborn" woman who insisted the child had sustained a sports injury which would improve with exercise.

When the girl refused, Reynolds would "smack her leg with a stick".

"(The child) was unable to stand unassisted and when she was forced to she would just fall to the ground," Mr Coates said during opening submissions.

"When assistance was not forthcoming to help her to the toilet she would urinate and defecate in her clothes where she lay."

Mr Coates said social workers who visited the three-bedroom Palmerston home - which housed 17 people - the day before the death found the child lying on the kitchen floor crying. (The child was found in a CRITICAL situation, but the government failed to act.)

When she was told to have a shower she struggled to walk and had to use the walls for support.

Mr Coates said the jury would also hear evidence that, hours before her death, the girl was "punished" for soiling her clothes and taken out to the backyard.

"The children were told they were not allowed to help her get food or drink," he said.

"You will hear evidence from children who were out playing in the yard that later in the day (the girl) began to talk about fairies and witches and she said a limousine was coming to pick her up ...

"(The girl) said yeh, I can see the light now, and she just stopped breathing."

Melville told police she called Triple 0 but Mr Coates said records showed the first call she made was to her sister.

The child was pronounced dead at RDH later that evening.

Mr Coates said the jury might find both women were "genuinely distressed" by the death, but the standard of care they offered her had "grievously fallen short" of what would be expected of a reasonable person.

The trial before Justice Trevor Riley continues.

aap 28 Jul 2008

One of the largest problems that society faces, is that some people are just not fit to have children, irrespective of whether it is your right as a human to breed.

Not one government can genuinely state that it has YOUR children's BEST interest. This can be clearly supported by the laws that it provides.

The most tragic part of this story is that the government inspected the circumstances, and FAILED to act, resulting in a death of a child.

At the end of the day NO ONE cares about YOUR children.

The following court case will be nothing more than a charade, taking away ANY responsibility from the supervising authorities.

The government creates laws that support the break up of the family unit, as a result many sectors reaping the rewards.

Virgin BroadBand at Home

Keeping up with technology can be a full time job in itself.

Companies are rushing to push their products out the door in oder to be first, sometimes at the expense of quality. This can or is usually fixed with a patch / upgrade from the manufacturer.

Whilst it seems acceptable enough in the IT industry, if the Motor Vehicle industry operated like this, then most of us would be in accidents caused by the vehicle, or if the vehicle stopped, then we would all be expected to get out, and start the driving procedure from scratch.

After making an inquiry in the product pictured, I stumbled upon a user feedback forum, on the Australian version of PCUSER. A very interesting read, mostly NEGATIVE.
Ref: Ever tried Virgin Mobile BroadBand? -

Hall's 'other woman' speaks out

The third member of AFL star Barry Hall's alleged love triangle has spoken exclusively to A Current Affair about their time together.

Model and university student Talia Greenwood, 22, has told how she got intimate with the Sydney Swans talisman after what she understood to be the break-up of his long-term relationship with Kylie Stray.

"He was now available and interested in developing a relationship with me and as far as I was concerned, it was exclusively with me," she said.

But Ms Stray later reclaimed her man, telling the media that Ms Greenwood was "embarrassing" and trying to "get her 15 minutes of fame".

It is believed an argument with Ms Stray sparked Hall's infamously brutal decking of the West Coast's Brent Staker in April.

The strike resulted in a seven-match ban for Hall, who expressed regret over the incident and admitted he was struggling with personal issues.

Staker took no further part in the game and Hall later broke his wrist by striking a hard metal bar behind a soft advertising board.

The infamous assault is in stark contrast to the man Ms Greenwood describes in the interview, claiming she never had to deal with his temper and that their meeting and dating was without drama.

"I didn't know him personally but it was, like 'hi'," she said.

"We went to dinner often … he's a romantic." (No!!!! he has to eat, and you're just a tag along piece of meat (read - desert))

Ms Greenwood also denied their romance fizzled because of tension with Ms Stray.

"How can there be tension when you don't interact?" she said.

"(The break-up) was predominantly due to the long distance nature of the relationship and the pressures that come with dating a high-profile AFL footballer (but) I don't look back with regret."

But would she do it again?

"No, I hope not!" she said.

ninemsn 21 Jul 2008

This is the kind of drivel that hit the front page of the newspapers. Who really gives a damn about some ROCK APE who looks like he has a FRONTAL LOBOTOMY is in a relationship and it broke up. There are approx 50% of people in this situation.

One of the largest problems is that the media label these creatures as STARS. A fact FAR from reality on an international or even global scale, both in terms of the famous and monetary stakes.

VFL (Victorian Football League, now the AFL), was created in the working class areas of Melbourne, to keep the worker busy with something to do, to keep their mind occupied with sport, and not the real issues.