Planning laws prevent people power blocking fast-food outlets

COUNCILS and residents are powerless to oppose new fast-food outlets on health grounds, because the State Government has failed to act on its own report into planning laws. 

The Obesity Coalition - comprising health groups - wants the Napthine Government to introduce the recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry into environmental design and public health, which was tabled 14 months ago.

OPC executive manager Jane Martin said community protests in the Dandenong Ranges over a 24-hour McDonald's restaurant reinforced the need to make potential health implications part of planning laws.

Among the report's recommendations were: a mechanism that allowed councils to limit fast-food outlets, introduction of an objective to protect health under the Planning and Environment Act and more research on the health effect of fast-food outlets on communities.

Ms Martin said the dispute in Tecoma showed how little power communities had over protecting their health, which was concerning as 60 per cent of adults and a quarter of children were obese.

"Councils and communities should be allowed greater influence over the density and location of local fast-food outlets to try and encourage and support their communities to eat less unhealthy food," Ms Martin said. As the Government dragged its heels on the recommendation the issue was getting worse, she said.

Ms Martin said fast-food outlets were often more attractive options for cash-strapped families because of the low cost of food.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy's spokeswoman, Rochelle Jackson, did not respond to questions on whether the Government would implement three specific aspects of the planning law relating to health.

She said it was taking a whole-of-Government response to addressing the issues identified in the report.

Planned demolition did not go ahead at McDonald's Tecoma construction site yesterday, as rooftop protester continued to disrupt workers.

BR Demolition, contracted by McDonald's Australia, said it hoped to resume work today.

The company was yesterday scheduled to clear the site for the construction of the fast-food restaurant, but a protester who settled on a roof at midnight on Tuesday remained in the way.

A second protester who had been stationed on the roof since Sunday afternoon had climbed down.
Belgrave Senior-Sergeant Doug Berglund said police had no immediate plans to remove protesters, but they would have to eventually as the demonstrators were breaking the law.

Yesterday in Sydney, the protest group presented McDonald's Australia boss Catriona Noble with a 63,000-signature petition against the restaurant.

adelaidenow.com.au 31 July 2013

Laws are created for the sole benefit of corporations, and NOT the general populous at large.

Cancer houses like McDonald's are the bane of society.

Under Occupational Health and Safety, products that are produced by corporations that are detrimental to the consumer are 'banned', but not in this case?

Bribery is the key factor.

Former Labor MPs acted corruptly

BREAKING NEWS: TWO former high-profile Labor MPs, Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald, have been found by the NSW ICAC to have acted corruptly and referred for possible criminal charges. 
 
Following the largest corruption investigation in NSW history, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) today handed down three reports.

Commissioner David Ipp has recommended that Mr Obeid and Mr Macdonald be considered by the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for possible prosecution over their involvement in the Mount Penny coal mine.

Mr Obeids' son Moses, and businessmen Travers Duncan, John McGuigan, John Atkinson, John Kinghorn and Richard Poole were also found to have engaged in corrupt conduct.

Operation Jasper investigated reports that Mr Macdonald rigged a 2008 tender process to grant a coal licence over land at Mount Penny owned by the Obeid family.

It enabled the Obeids to make $30 million, with the prospect of earning at least $70 million more.
As part of the Indus investigation, ICAC found Mr Obeid's son, Moses, engaged in corrupt conduct over a $10,800 car for former Labor minister Eric Roozendaal.

The corruption watchdog investigated whether Mr Roozendaal received a new Honda CRV at $10,800 - less than its original value - in return for political favours for his colleague, Eddie Obeid.

The ICAC reports said that Moses Obeid "provided a benefit to Mr Roozendaal as an inducement for him to show favour to Obeid business interests in the exercise of his official functions".

Mr Roozendaal was not found to have acted corruptly. More to come.

Who me?? Asks Ian MacDonald

Earlier Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was "disgusted" by revelations that have been aired at the hearings of ICAC into members of the NSW Labor Party and anyone found guilty of illegal behaviour should face the full force of the law.

"That's what I want to see happen," the Prime Minister said.

"I've been disgusted by what I have seen in ICAC hearings so far and my view is anyone who is responsible for corruption or illegal behaviour should face the full force of the law."

Mr Rudd said he hoped the federal intervention into the NSW branch of the Labor Party would help clean it up.

"I would say it was for no idle reason that I took a virtually unprecedented step of directing federal intervention in the NSW branch of the Labor party," Mr Rudd said.

"This set of reforms are anchored in one core principal - zero tolerance for corruption - and I expect that to be fully reflected in the intervention we have taken."

ICAC today presented three reports relating to the business dealings of Ian Macdonald, Eddie Obeid and Eric Roozendaal.

The findings of ICAC's Commissioner David Ipp were expected to be damning.

These are the three reports and five things you might need to know about each of them:

OPERATION JARILO: In which a massage didn't have a happy ending...

1. Sometimes referred to as the Tiffanie Report or the "neck massage" incident after the former NSW resources minister Ian Macdonald met a woman in a Sydney hotel room who, ICAC heard, stripped down to her underwear. Mr Macdonald testified he had gone there for a neck massage and fallen asleep.

2. In July, 2009, the then head of state power company Country Energy, Craig Murray, was invited by Mr Macdonald to a dinner at Tuscany, a restaurant in Sydney's inner-west Italian quarter of Leichhardt. Mr Murray went with a fellow executive for back-up, a worthwhile precaution.

3. Suddenly Mr Medich and another businessman sat down at a table which had been added to the one Mr Murray was sitting at, and made an uninvited pitch for business from Country Energy as Mr Macdonald looked on.

4. Mr Macdonald ordered four bottles of wine costing $130 each, but because Country Energy had strict rules barring gifts from business suitors, Mr Murray had to pick up the $850 dinner bill.

5. ICAC heard Mr Gattellari, an associate of Mr Medich and involved with him in a separate murder case, later paid $400 for a hotel room where Mr Macdonald later turned up (See Tiffany).

OPERATION JASPER: In which properties miraculously increased in value...
 

 

1. Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid has declared his income was his pay as a member of the NSW Upper House but his sons ran a wide range of businesses, from cafes to roadside poles, and also had interests in coal leases.

2. Eddie Obeid, who had remarkable influence even as a back bencher, helped the career of Mr Macdonald, a left-winger, through his faction.

3. In 2007-08 the Obeids and acquaintances bought property in a valley about 250km north of Sydney as rural retreats. This changed in 2008 when Mr Macdonald agreed to open a mining area in the Bylong Valley for coal exploration, which greatly increased the value of the Obeid holdings.

4. Some of Eddie Obeid's profits, estimated to be in the several millions, from the property dealings went to the lease of a $300,000 Mercedes.

5. Mr Macdonald was given the nickname Sir Lunchalot because of his fondness for dining out, including his 2008 lunch of pork and beef and a magnum of pinot noir.

OPERATION INDUS: In which a remarkably cheap car was procured...

1. In May 2007 Amanda Roozendaal, wife of Labor MP and former treasurer Eric Roozendaal wrote off the family Honda and the search for a replacement led to Eddie Obeid, who passed the matter to son Moses who was able to find a $44,800 Honda which would cost the Roozendaals just $34,000.

2. The Roozendaals didn't have the ownership papers at first and it was only Mrs Roozendaal's car accident - and her decision not to stop to pay for the damage - that revealed the trail of people who on paper owned the car but had never seen, raising suspicions in ICAC they were used to pretend the Honda was cheaper because it was second hand.

3. There is at least one good citizen in this saga. A professional musician who had business in Surry Hills saw the bingle-and-run incident and took down the Honda's licence number to give to the owner of the parked car which had been hit. The Roozendaals had been driving their new car for just two days.

4. Mr Roozendaal, a former ALP state secretary, was a supporter of the Obeid faction known as the Terrigals after the NSW coastal resort town. The Terrigals ran the state party and their support was needed to get ministerial jobs, and to become Premier.

5. ICAC has investigated whether the provision of a cheap vehicle played a role in any consultation by the Obeids with Mr Roozendaal when he became State Treasurer.

Cleaning up NSW Labor is seen as crucial to Mr Rudd's chances at the upcoming federal poll. The government needs to hold on to a host of western Sydney seats to retain power.

Opinion: Kevin Rudd insulated from corruption fallout
 
On July 4, Mr Rudd gave NSW ALP secretary Sam Dastyari 30 days to report on cleaning up the branch, and sought changes including the expulsion of any member found to be corrupt or engaging in improper conduct.

But Liberal MP Jamie Briggs said the Rudd "intervention" was all for show, as many of the key powerbrokers pulling the strings within the ALP were still in senior positions.

He said many of those who helped Mr Rudd return to the Labor leadership had strong ties with the ALP secretariat and had since been promoted by the prime minister.

news.com.au 31 July 2013

More corruption in government without ANY repercussions from the law.

Australia's corrupt government should be ousted.

The corruption commissions are a farce.

The legal system in Australia is set up to support corrupt politicians AND the criminal element.

State Government tries to stop families of those slain by parolees having their say at an inquest

 

THE State Government has tried to stop families of people slain by parolees having their say at an inquest. 

Its lawyers are also seeking to keep reports into reoffending by parolees secret, arguing publication would be "prejudicial to the state interest".

State Coroner Ian Gray is investigating the death of Margaret Burton at the hands of her ex-partner while he was on parole in 2009.

Four families of people slain by parolees - including the mother of Sarah Cafferkey, who is taking legal action over her daughter's death - wanted to appear as interested parties.

But lawyers for the Department of Justice raised concerns about "broadening the scope" of the inquest, saying it shouldn't be turned into a public campaign.

Sarah Cafferkey didn't stand a chance

Car parking dispute kills Evan Rudd

However, Judge Gray allowed three families to appear, though not Noelle Dickson, assuring her he would conduct a separate inquest for Sarah.

Ms Dickson was appreciative of Judge Gray's sensitivity, saying outside court: "I wasn't expecting it, but it was what we needed to hear.

"I feel a little bit vindicated. It appears finally someone's listening."

The three families are those of Joanne Wicking, killed by a violent parolee allowed to board with her and her two daughters; Evan Rudd, stabbed to death in a parking dispute with a parolee; and Robyn Weitering, whose father was killed just a few weeks before Ms Burton.

Former prison psychologist Ms Burton, 40, was killed at home by former partner Jayson Hawkins, who took his own life in jail.

He was meant to be living with her as a condition of his parole, but had moved out in the days before he cut her throat with a meat cleaver.

Rachel Barber's killer may get early release

How 000 failed Joanne Wicking

He was paroled in 2005, failed drug tests and went back to jail, but was again released in 2008.

He had been an involuntary patient at Werribee Mercy mental health service in the lead-up to the June 2009 murder, but had been released and was staying with a friend, Rodney Appleby, who told the inquest he knew nothing of Hawkins's parole conditions or mental or drug problems.

He said to his knowledge, no risk assessment was done of him or his home.

His only contact with parole authorities was a call, possibly from a parole officer, asking if he agreed Mr Hawkins could stay for a few days, the court heard.

Adrian Bayley on parole when he killed Jill Meagher

Accused murderer a rapist on parole

The day after Ms Burton's murder a parole officer called for Hawkins.

Mr Appleby said he had to inform her of what had taken place. "She was shocked."
The inquest continues.

heraldsun.com.au 30 July 2013

As part of the global policy to gag the canon fodder, the Australian government is fast on track to implement the policies.

Unbeknown to the majority of the general population, the Australian court system functions as independant corporations, with the primary objective to function for profit.

Sentences ar acarried out by so called 'judges' or employees of the corporation to let out criminals so they can reoffend, and so the general populous can feed the 'system' by taking the acused to the 'courts' (read business), so they can be fined again.

This new policy is being implemented so that the canon fodder cannot publish information regarding the unlawful acts of the so called government bodies (nee corporations).

Currently the government also filters out information that shows how the general populous is winning against the system.

Examples of this will be published in a later post.

IT giants are 'price gouging' in Australia

INTERNATIONAL IT firms Microsoft, Adobe and others were adding huge mark-ups to hardware and software sold to Australian consumers without justification, a report into alleged price gouging has found. 
 
The long-awaited report by a federal parliamentary committee into much steeper cost of hardware and software in Australia, compared with the US, found a 50 to 100 per cent difference in the prices Australians pay compared to their US counterparts.

The instances include online game platform Steam charging 200 to 300 per cent more in Australia than in the US.

"The evidence is that Australians pay higher prices and when we looked at the reasons behind that, we didn't find them to be compelling, so we've made recommendations for a more competitive and dynamic market place," committee chairman, Labor MP Nick Champion said.

To remedy the situation, the report recommends ways to make the local IT market more competitive. They revolve around relaxing restrictions on parallel imports of goods, so that hardware and software can be imported more cheaply and sold for less in competition to a manufacturer's "official" Australian price.

Importers already sell items such as phones and computers more cheaply than manufacturers do directly, but by lifting copyright restrictions, Australia could sanction the importing of cheaper sources of not only phones and computers, but also software, games and even movies in competition to local rights' owners.

The report also recommends the government investigate options for educating consumers and businesses about how to circumvent "geo-blocking": computer technology that shuts Australians out of bargains being offered by online stores to overseas consumers.

A ban on geo-blocking is recommended as a last resort.

It means giving consumers a green light to use virtual network services that, for a few dollars a month, fool overseas online stores into thinking they are in the US. Many consumers already use them, but the difference here is that they are encouraged to do so.

theaustralian.com.au 30 July 2013

Australia is literally one of the best places to get ripped off by the corporate giants.

The standard excuse is that it is the shipping costs.

Internet trading via online stores, can ship items world wide for free or single unit dollars.

Another farce supported by the giants.

Crime wave crawls dark streets of Ballarat

On a Friday night in March, a wine and cheese night was in full swing at the popular Ballarat nightclub Haida. It was a few hours past midnight, but acting students Raymond Martini and Paul Morris had no desire to leave the club's party atmosphere for the dark and cold that waited outside. They both knew the dangers of walking the streets of Ballarat late at night.

''We were downstairs having a great time,'' Morris recalls. ''And then we saw this guy who was really not enjoying us.''

This menacing observer, described as ''big, well-built and pissed-off'', continued to stare at the increasingly uncomfortable students until Morris decided to make a peaceful approach. Due to the club's loud music, he had to get close to speak to the unknown man.

''I probably shouldn't have, but I went up and asked him if there was anything we had done to offend him,'' he said.

''That was when he smashed me in the face.''

As Morris recoiled, Martini quickly came to his aid. ''When he hit me the first time, I didn't really know what happened. I turned around and he got me a second time. I think by then he'd already hit Raymond. He got Raymond in the eye.''

The two students' experience is not uncommon in Ballarat. Victoria Police crime statistics report more than 774 instances of assault in the past 12 months. This figure does not include the 540 reports of family violence.

In the past six months alone, an Indian restaurant owner has been seriously injured in a racially motivated bashing, a young mother was violently killed in her home and two Ballarat men have been charged with the murder of a 14-year-old boy who was bludgeoned to death after coming to the aid of two teenage girls.

Victoria Police's crime statistics also indicate an increase in rape of over 40 per cent, to 52 rapes, in the 12 months to July 2012. These crime reports do not include other sex crimes such as indecent assault, indecent acts in the presence of a child and sexual abuse. These miscellaneous sex crimes have also increased by a staggering 64 per cent, with 208 instances reported last year.

When compared with other regional cities, Ballarat's crime rate does not fare well. Victoria Police's most recent statistics show that despite having a slightly higher population, Greater Bendigo had 190 fewer reports of non-domestic assault than Ballarat. Southern areas of Melbourne with similar populations have an even lower number of offences; in the same year, Ballarat had 349 more assaults reported than the City of Glen Eira.

City of Ballarat councillor John Phillips is confident that the latest police statistics are a natural reflection of the city's population growth. ''These figures may reflect Ballarat being the fastest growing regional city in Victoria … which can skew the figures somewhat. [The city receives] around 2000 people annually.''

University of Ballarat student representative Aubrey Flood argues that Ballarat students are the most vulnerable targets for violent crime due to long class hours and a lack of university parking. ''A lot of our classes end at night-time; sometimes we have 12-hour days finishing at 10 or 11pm. At this time it is too dangerous for students to walk home or to even walk a small distance to a free parking spot at the top of Coles or Safeway,'' she said. ''We've had instances every year when students have been beaten up or bashed on their way home … it's quite dangerous.''

Morris is one of many students forced to risk the walk home every week. ''I do often walk home at maybe 10.30 at night. If see a group of people up ahead, I'll always cross the road. Even if I see one guy, I'll usually cross the road. I suppose that's a little bit paranoid but that's just the way it is … I don't particularly feel safe.

''If I were a woman, I probably wouldn't walk at all.''

''I've only been living here for a year, but I've heard a whole bunch of things,'' Martini says.

''There's a tunnel near Peel Street North - it's now called the 'Rape Tunnel' … it's pretty horrible.''

The City of Ballarat acknowledges on its website that Ballarat has had a high unemployment rate for many years, has a lower-than-average percentage of students who have passed year 12 and the population is ''less educated than the state average in most areas''. ''While [the unemployment rate] has recently fallen sharply to 6 per cent, it is still higher than other regional cities in Victoria and higher than the national rate,'' the council's website says.

theage.com.au 28 July 2013

All this crime is happening while Victoria Police do what???

SPEEDING FINES, because as we know, according to government advertisements (nee propaganda)," Speed Kills".

Another lie perpetuated by the authorities.

The police is NOT there to protect anyone but rather to issue FINES.

'Land of Smiles'? Not for tourists exposed to Phuket's dark side

From jet ski scams to robbery, assault and even police extortion, for the millions of tourists who flock to Thailand each year the kingdom does not always live up to its reputation as the "Land of Smiles".

Now following a flurry of complaints, governments are urging the country to do more to protect the safety of the record numbers of foreigners visiting Thailand.

Its sun-drenched beaches, tranquil temples and libidinous nightlife have long been a magnet for tourists from around the world, but for some it is far from paradise.

Drink spiking in bars can be a problem and sometimes people wake up to find they have been robbed.

"There are a lot of people who get drugged here," said Wal Brown, an Australia volunteer with the Thai police who patrols the thronging streets of Patong on the island of Phuket, where crowds of tourists mingle with touts offering entrance to "ladyboy cabarets" or photo ops with endangered animals.

"A couple of years ago we had two Italians walk out of the bush. They couldn't remember anything for three days. All their money and clothes were stolen. They only had their jocks (underwear) on," he added.

Visitors are warned to beware of strip clubs offering "ping-pong shows" where two beers can sometimes cost $100.

"Last year we had one guy hit with a hammer. He wouldn't pay," Brown said. "The tout got very aggressive and attacked him."

Road traffic accidents and drownings are relatively common causes of injury among tourists in Thailand, where safety standards are generally poor.

Bag snatching and robberies are also a regular occurrence on Phuket with tourists on motorbikes sometimes targeted on dimly-lit roads.

"One French girl hid in the bushes for three hours. Another Swedish girl stayed there until daybreak. They were on motorbikes and stopped by people with hatchets and screwdrivers and makeshift weapons," said Brown, who recommends people read their government's travel advice before visiting.

Sometimes it ends in tragedy.

A 59-year-old Australian woman was killed in June 2012 in an attempted bag snatch on Phuket. Two Thai men were later sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder.

And just this month in Bangkok, an American man was slashed to death by a taxi driver after an apparent argument over the fare.

A record 22 million foreigners visited Thailand last year and although most did not encounter any serious problems, diplomats say tougher action is needed to ensure their protection.

"There have been quite a lot of problems in Phuket," said David Lipman, head of the EU delegation to Thailand and one of more than a dozen European ambassadors who recently visited the island to air their concerns.
"I don't think that the situation is getting better at all and that's why we really wanted to pursue this matter," he said.

The Phuket police say they recognise the problem but insist they are doing the best they can with their stretched resources.

"We have set up the Patong Safety Zone scheme to protect tourists. The public can help take care of the tourists as although there are more than 100 police officers in Patong it is not enough," said Lieutenant Colonel Nikorn Chootong.

One common scam on Thai beaches is to charge large sums of money for pre-existing damage to jet skis, using threats of violence against people reluctant to pay.

"It's a racket," said Lipman. "The same with motorbikes as well. People rent out motorbikes. In the middle of the night they're stolen by the people who rented them out in the first place and the next day they say 'let's have our motorbike'.

Fines handed out by the local police for "parking in the wrong place" are another issue.

"We expect proper standards of behaviour from public officials," Lipman said.

"Let's face it, there is a bit of corruption going on and we hope that will be avoided."

One person who has no plan to return anytime soon is Elodie Triche.

The French tourist and her family took a wrong turn in Phuket airport along with other new arrivals in May and mistakenly left without having their passports stamped by immigration.

When they returned of their own accord to resolve the problem, they were detained, asked to sign inaccurate confessions and held by police for 12 hours with their 21-month-old daughter, Triche said.

The next day, after a further seven hour wait in a court basement, they were sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term and a fine of 2000 baht ($70) each, with no legal representation.

"Such treatment is unacceptable," Triche said from France.

Thailand had the highest number of deaths of Australians overseas in 2012, with 111 fatalities. More than 700 Australians required consular assistance out of the nearly one million who visited.

Britain says Thailand is the country where its citizens are second most likely to require consular assistance if they visit, behind the Philippines. There were 389 deaths of British nationals in Thailand in the year to March 2013 -- about one for every 2400 British visitors or residents -- although that figure includes natural causes.

Deaths and cases of hospitalisation of British citizens rose by about 30 per cent from the previous year.

China has voiced concern at a recent spate of deaths of its nationals on snorkeling trips, while European diplomats intend to keep up the pressure on the government.

"I very much hope that the situation will improve," Lipman said.

"Many people who go to Phuket have a wonderful time and don't encounter problems," he said. "But there are a lot of problems that people do encounter."

theage.com.au 22 July 2013

Thailand, and its certain towns have been know to harvest criminal elements, where robbery, extortion and murder have prevailed for decades.

BOTH Australian and Thai governments have hidden these facts from tourists, all in the name of the the tourist dollar.

The tourist industry generates millions of dollars annually, and the (illegal) sex trade, also of underage boys, by some of Australia's most prominent figures, is supported by the governments.

The true figure of extortion and murder of tourists is hidden by the corporate media.

Famed hacker Barnaby Jack dies

BARNABY JACK, 1977-2013

Barnaby Jack, who has died aged 35, was a "white hat" hacker and computer security expert who sought to preserve the integrity of information systems. In 2010 he came to widespread notice when he demonstrated live on a conference stage how he could drain an ATM (automated teller machine) of its entire reservoir of cash.

In 2008 Jack bought two ATMs, of the kind seen in bars and shops, over the internet for $US2000 each, and had them delivered to his apartment in San Jose, California. The New Zealand-born computer engineer later recalled: "So the guy, he wheels in this ATM, and he's like, 'Why on earth do you need an ATM in your house?' And I'm like, 'Oh, I just don't like the transaction fees, mate.'"
For the next two years he analysed their software codes, believing that there were inherent weaknesses that would allow the machines to be controlled through the internet.

Eventually Jack succeeded in bypassing the demands for passwords and serial numbers, and was able to access his ATMs remotely. He could then withdraw all their cash - a process that became known as "Jackpotting". He could also access information about bank accounts from the magnetic strips on bank and credit cards, and steal ATM users' passwords.

At the Black Hat computer security conference in Las Vegas in July 2010, Jack demonstrated all this live on stage, showing how he could connect to an ATM via a telephone modem and, without using a password, withdraw all the machine's cash.

As director of security testing at the Seattle-based computer security consultants IOActive, Jack's purpose was to alert the manufacturers to potential failures in their systems. In an interview with CNN after the conference he said: "We were really careful when we gave this demonstration to make sure that the vendors had mitigation remediation in place before we went up and did it. I mean, the goal at Black Hat was certainly not to give a cookbook recipe for everyone out there to be able to go and loot ATMs. So we made sure the vendors had fixes in place.

"I demonstrated two different attacks. One was a walk-up attack, where I would literally walk up to an ATM, [and] within about two minutes it would just start spitting out its entire dispenser. Of course you had to be at the ATM for that one to work. The other attack was completely remote, so I could do it from a laptop in a hotel room or your bedroom... But I also had it harvesting people's credit cards and PIN numbers, which I could then retrieve remotely as well. It was 100 per cent anonymous, and bypassing all authentication."

Jack was concerned that, when it came to ATMs, too much emphasis was placed on the "physical" defences, such as whether the machine was bolted down, or whether there was CCTV. "This is the first time anyone had actually looked at the underlying software," he claimed. "And once I sort of dug in, ripped the software apart, I was really surprised at the amount of flaws that are hiding underneath there." He added: "I am not naive enough to think I am the only one who can do it."

Barnaby Michael Douglas Jack was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 22 1977, the son of Michael and Sammi Jack, and was fascinated by computers from boyhood.

Jack made his career in the United States, and from the age of 21 worked as a research engineer in the computer security software business, at Network Associates, Foundstone and eEye Digital Security. In 2006 he moved to Juniper Networks, and in June 2010 joined IOActive as director of research. At the time of his death he was director of embedded device security.

He died only a week before he was due to demonstrate at a conference how an assassin might kill his victim by disabling an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator from 30 feet away - an idea used in the television series Homeland, starring Damian Lewis and Claire Danes.

In June this year Jack said: "Malware will often slow down a computer, and when you slow down a medical device it no longer gives the integrity needed to perform as it should." He considered the Homeland scenario "fairly realistic" - although "they required a serial number, my demonstration does not".

At a recent conference in Melbourne, Jack had delivered an 830-volt jolt to a pacemaker by logging into it remotely. Many medical devices use wireless technology, and authorisation that requires only a user name and password that can be remotely extracted from them. Jack said these were designed to be easy to crack by a doctor needing to give treatment in an emergency.

Jack even suggested that it would be possible to write a "worm" for a particular brand of pacemaker or defibrillator, then spread it to other devices within range, from one person to another.

Barnaby Jack was found dead at his apartment in San Francisco; the cause of death is unknown.

He is survived by his mother, his sister, Amberleigh, and by his girlfriend, Layne Cross.

smh.com.au 29 July 2013

When you mess with the 'authorities' a so called heart attack / cancer, or whatever else can be easily fabricated.

Let the conspiracy begin.

ACCC worried about supermarket petrol discounts

COLES and Woolworths may be damaging competition in the petrol market by offering shoppers discounts of up to 45 cents per litre, the competition watchdog says. 
 
The shopper docket discounts could eliminate other petrol retailers and cause petrol prices to rise, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims warned.

While the watchdog can't ban shopper dockets, it can take legal action to stop anti-competitive market activity, he says.

“We're about protecting competitive processes,” Mr Sims told reporters after addressing an Australian Institute of Company Directors lunch.

“If these shopper dockets continue at these levels, it's going to be very hard for other players to compete, and we may end up with two companies in the country selling petrol, which is not going to be in your (the consumers') interest.”

If the retail giants wanted to offer large discounts, they should do so on groceries and food, he said.
The ACCC has been investigating shopper docket offers by the major supermarket chains since mid-2012, and expects to finalise its probe in the next few months.

Mr Sims said he became concerned when fuel discounts hit eight cents per litre, but of late the discounts have reached as much as 45 cents per litre.

The 45 cents per litre discount was not universal, and required a very large amount of groceries to be bought, or purchases of specific items, Mr Sims said.

theaustralian.com.au 29 July 2013

The so called consumer watchdog, the ACCC, being spineless, has literally done NOTHING with respect to the Australian supermarket and petrol duopoly to help the consumers.

The consumers may believe that the watchdog is 'for' the consumer, where in reality it works for the benefit of the corporations.

There has been nothing done by the ACCC with respect to price fixing and collusion

The ACCC is supposed to be an 'authority' with 'powers', what a pathetic JOKE!

Brimbank speed cameras take $1.5m in three months

MOTORISTS speeding through Brimbankt have clocked up more than $1.5 million in fines in three months. 

 
Department of Justice figures released last week revealed 6519 motorists were nabbed speeding, running red lights and driving unregistered vehicles at four cameras on the Western Ring Road, Sunshine West between January and March this year.

They were slapped with $1,366,292 in fines.

Three of the four cameras, pointed at southbound lanes on the busy road, are among the state's top 50 revenue-raising cameras.

The cameras to bring in the most fines were also on the Western Ring Rd but in neighbouring Keilor East, raking in $5,106,533 in the same period.

A camera in Taylors Lakes at the corner of Kings Rd and the Melton highway also clocked 1094 speeding motorists, totalling $235,576 in fines.

Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells said it was disappointing there were areas where people were still speeding.

"The message is clear, drivers need to take more responsibility for their safety and the safety of those around them," Mr Wells said. "Everyone has a responsibility to keep our roads safe."

From July 1, a speeding fine for less than 10km/h over limit increased by $4.40 to $180.40.

Full statistics and camera locations at camerassavelives.vic.gov.au

 heraldsun.com.au 25 July 2013

Speed cameras have also netted the government $300,000 in 90 minutes in certain places in Meblourne.

The whole speed camera exercise is about REVENUE raising and NOT public safety.

When the government advertises that speed cameras save live, this so called 'advertisement' is nothing more than government propaganda.

Freeways in Melbourne's west (working class) are literred with speed cameras along the major freeways, whereas in Melbourne's east (policy makers residences), there are literally none.

What the majority of the general population are NOT aware of is that speed canera fines are factually unlawful, and mobile speed canera fines can be easily won in the court room.

Buzz Aldrin says the moon is desolate, not beautiful as described by Neil Armstrong

HIS footprint on the surface of the moon is one of the most enduring images in history. 
But Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, confesses he thought the moon was "desolate'' not ''beautiful'' as described by Neil Armstrong who walked the moon first, the Daily Mail UK reports.

In an interview that aired in the UK on Friday night, Aldrin said: "Neil had an optimistic way of using the word 'beautiful'. But when I looked out, it wasn't beautiful. It was desolate - totally lifeless.''

Aldrin was also quizzed about whether Armstrong had prepared his infamous "one step for man'' line, saying Armstrong had time to think about it while they prepared for the moon landing.

The brave astronaut also responded to criticism of current spending to colonise Mars, saying it's necessary for the survival of the human race.

And he said it can be achieved because of the power of technology.

"What did we have in the sixties and seventies? Undisputed leadership in the world in technology, as exhibited by the Apollo Programme,'' he said.

"Look at what Silicon Valley has done - the advance of computers. We lead the world....and in these hard economic times, we need to inspire people.''

news.com.au 27 July 2013

The quote " ...  current spending to colonise Mars, saying it's necessary for the survival of the human race." indicates something 'they' know that 'we' do not.

What could that be?