Hiding cigarettes - Not working

In an attempt to be perceived as taking some sort of action, the state governments have thought of a hair brained idea of hiding cigarettes behind roller shutters in order to dissuade the people from buying the cigarettes.

It is well known within many health and political circles, that cigarettes contain additive substances that are put into cigarettes by the manufacturer's in order to hook the smoker.

In the papers put forward, for this implementation of law that cigarettes must be out of sight, there has been no indication of the figure of reduction that cigarettes will be sold by.

The government takes in approximately $5 billion dollars annually from taxes obtain from the sales of cigarettes.

It is of no benefit to the government to see any reduction in sales of cigarettes, irrespective of the perception that it will be of benefit to the general populous.

The government must be seen as if it is taking action for the benefit of the population.

Figures have recently been obtained from a major supermarket brand, newsagents across the state and milk bars indicate the there has been no reduction in sales after the mandatory hiding of cigarettes.

This clearly shows another failure, that is kept away from the public eye.

corpau.

Victoria's desal plant fraud

Victoria's controversial desalination plant is a haven for fraudulent transactions, price fixing, and a budget blowout due to money for mates deals.

The government has had on its agenda to produce a water 'money factory' at the expense of the general populous ever since the 'privitisation' of the water industry.

In order to make this a reality, no water storage areas have been built in the last generation, even though there has been a 30% increase in Melbourne's population.

The mass media has recently reported that there have been corrupt deals within the government with respect to fraud :

http://corpau.blogspot.com/2011/06/public-servants-in-toner-cartridges.html

but there has been no word at the corruption at the newly being built desalination plant in Victoria's east.

In money for mates deals 'contracted' cleaners are sitting on $130,000 standing around doing nothing.

There are kickbacks given to the business organisers with large sums of money exchanging hands, out of the view of the public eye.

The names of these business movers and shakers will not be mentioned as this will not only endanger the source of the information, but also there will be denial which will result in the whistle blower being put at risk their job, career and family.

Naturally any hint of an inquiry will be fruitless, as any evidence of corruption will not surface to court, as this is the norm with multi billion dollar deals.

corpau.

Victorian cop faces drug, firearm charges

A police officer in Victoria has been charged with drug and firearms offences after an internal investigation.

Following the Ethical Standards Department investigation, the leading senior constable from northern Victoria has been charged and suspended from duty without pay.

"As the matter is now before the courts it would not be appropriate to make any further comment," a statement from police said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman would not say at which police station the officer was based.

aap 29 Jul 2011

Another example of how the law will protect corrupt police.

When civilians are convicted of the same crimes, their names are published, but not when it comes to police.

Transparency is not for everyone.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as certain police are involved in the criminal activities of Melbourne's crime gangs, but then again this is NOT reported by the mass media, and is kept under tight wraps.

Paper 'blatantly misled' readers: Swan

Treasurer Wayne Swan says Sydney's Daily Telegraph has "blatantly misled" its readers over assertions that the government is considering a congestion tax.

The newspaper said on Friday the government was about to hit drivers with another wave of "Greens-induced" tax pain by exploring a road congestion tax in the nation's major cities at the October tax forum.

Mr Swan said the government has previously indicated that it would not be introducing congestion charges."

"(It) stated clearly yesterday to the Daily Telegraph that congestion charges were a matter for state governments and the federal government has no intention of implementing congestion charges," he said in a brief statement on Friday.

"Given the government's clearly stated position that it will not be introducing congestion charges, the Telegraph has blatantly misled its readers."

He also pointed out that the front page story states that drivers are still reeling from the announcement of a carbon tax, when again the government has clearly stated that fuel for motorists has been excluded from the carbon pricing policy.

29 Jul 2011

No so, claims the paper again with its reaffirmation that the 'Congestion Tax' is going to take place.

Irrespective of the whether the government got caught out, or the paper 'blatantly misled', there is a policy of misinformation to the masses, as in any event the paper is at the service of the government.

What the general populous may not realise it that the heads of politics and business all rub shoulders at various events.

Comedy star Blake sucks earwax from ear piece

Comedy star Hamish Blake has grossed out viewers by sucking earwax from his ear piece during a live cross.

Blake had TODAY host Karl Stefanovic in hysterics at the start of the interview when his hearing set started playing up.

To address the technical fault, he is seen on camera licking the device to clear it. "What is going on there?" Stefanovic asked.

"Hamish is sucking the wax from his ear piece," comedy partner Andy Lee said.

He then joked about Blake's expanding waistline with Stefanovic during the interview about the pair's new series, Hamish and Andy's Gap Year , which is being filmed in New York.

He blamed his weight gain on an over indulgence on US food.

"Looks like he's had a few hot dogs," Stefanovic said while Blake was off camera getting his ear piece fixed.

"You bet mate, you bet … he eats burgers a day, hot dogs a day, it's amazing," Lee said.

Hamish and Andy's new series premieres on the Nine Network tonight

28 Jul 2011

This is the pinnacle of Australian Comedy that was bought for $17 million.

Two imbeciles participating in stunts that can be potentially harmful, is what the Australian youth is taught that is considered as successful (by who?).

The mass media has a purpose to keep the Simpleston's amused, and as a result many a dollar is spent on such useless form of entertainment.

At the end of the day it it not the network's money, but money that comes from the advertisers, which ultimately come from the paying customer of the goods advertised by the company.

There are very little programs on the major networks that have any intellectual content, but rather the focus is on simple shows with moronic anti-social behaviour, coupled together with visual stunts that can result on bodily harm, and if practiced in the workplace would be considered unsafe under O.H & S laws .

In Australia morons sucking up earwax is NEWS.

15 Years in Prison For Taping the Cops?

How Eavesdropping Laws Are Taking Away Our Best Defense Against Police Brutality (in the United States - corpau)

More and more people use their smartphones to record police misconduct. But laws against wiretapping are being used to intimidate and stop them.

July 27, 2011 |

Over Memorial Day weekend this past May, residents of Miami Beach witnessed a horrific display of police brutality as 12 cops sprayed Raymond Herisse's car with 100 bullets, killing him. The shooting provoked outrage in the surrounding community, not only because of the murder, but because of what the police did afterward.

Officers on the scene confiscated and smashed witnesses' cell phones; later, when they were confronted by the media, the police denied trying to destroy videos of the incident.

But 35-year-old Narces Benoit removed his HTC EVO’s SIM card and hid it in his mouth. He later sold the video to CNN, placing the police in the awkward position of explaining why they lied about allegations of cell phone destruction. More importantly, the video showed at least two officers pointing guns at Benoit, demanding that he stop filming.

Police brutality takes many forms around the country on a regular basis, particularly in poor and minority neighborhoods. Sometimes, the only method of accountability is a victim’s word (if they are still alive) against that of an officer. Unsurprisingly, the police officer’s version of the story is often adequate for a judge to dismiss allegations of wrongdoing, unless there is hard evidence of misconduct, such as a video or audio recording, which can be useful to unravel conflicting versions of police-citizen encounters.

Due to advancements in technology, the average citizen carries a digital camera in his or her pocket or purse, creating a potential army of amateur videographers on every street corner. A quick YouTube search of "police brutality" lists endless videos, often cell phone footage, of what appear to be police acting with unnecessary and violent force. Some of those videos have served a crucial role in bringing charges against brutality that may have gone unaddressed had it not been for bystanders recording.

One would think the fear of videographers on every block would be a powerful deterrent to police misconduct. However, legislatures are not taking this newfound power against police abuse lightly. In at least three states, it is illegal to record any on-duty police officer, even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists. The legal justification is usually based on the warped interpretation of existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited.

Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland are among the 12 states where all parties must consent for a recording to be legal. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested and charged with a felony. Most all-party consent states (except Illinois and Massachusetts) include a "privacy provision" that says a violation occurs only when the offended party has a reasonable expectation that the conversation is private. This is meant to protect TV news crews and people who record public meetings — where it is obvious to all that recording is underway — from accidentally committing a felony.

Massachusetts and Illinois are the only states that do not recognize an expectation-to-privacy provision to their all-party consent laws. While courts in Massachusetts have generally held that secretly recording police is illegal, recording them openly is not. Illinois, on the other hand, is the only state where the legislature specifically amended the state's wiretapping law to make it illegal to record on-duty police officers without their consent, even in public.

Cases Keep Piling Up

Recording on-duty police officers has gained momentum in states around the country for some time now. But it's only in the last few years, after several high-profile incidents, that the topic has begun to generate nationwide headlines and debate.

Original Article:

http://www.alternet.org/story/151806/15_years_in_prison_for_taping_the_cops_how_eavesdropping_laws_are_taking_away_our_best_defense_against_police_brutality/

Anders Behring Breivik

In Australian mass media news, today marks the day when the first burials are taking place with regards to the tragic massacre in Norway.

The mass media took a picture of Brevik's bust (see illustration on left) which looked like a formal attire, of some sort, and showed it on national television along with many other photos of him that are available from the internet.

What the Australian mass media did not mention is that the attire is worn by Freemasons.

In the Australian mass media there is a moratorium on mention the word Freemason, or even suggesting that one is a member of a lodge.

Members of the lodge must swear to secrecy, and the list of members of the lodge is kept confidential.

From an article :

Quote:

The alleged offender is a member of the John lodge St. Olaus TD Three pillars of the Norwegian Masonic Order. He has 3 degree status, where the peak is ten degrees. – We have no way to express an opinion on individuals or incidents related to any members, said spokesman of the Norwegian Freemasons order Helge Qvigstad told Dagbladet. On a Facebook profile appears to be 32-year-old Christian and politically conservative. As favorite books provide the man behind the profile including George Orwell’s “1984″ and Kafka’s “process”.

Content that was available on his facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002651290254&sk=wall

is no longer available.

NRMA welcomes speed camera removal in NSW

The NRMA has welcomed the removal of more than a quarter of NSW's fixed speed cameras.

Roads Minister Duncan Gay ordered 38 of the state's 141 speed cameras be shut down on Wednesday morning following an Auditor-General's report that found they had no significant road safety benefit.

Mr Gay said the report was vindication of community concern that some speed cameras were being used as revenue generators.

"The auditor's report actually picks up on a number of things the NRMA has been calling for, for a long time," NRMA motoring and services president Wendy Machin told reporters in Sydney.

"We believe the government has to act in good faith.

"They said that any cameras that weren't contributing to safety should not be used.

"They're going to do that and I think that's the right thing to do and I think the public would agree with that."

Premier Barry O'Farrell ordered the audit in April, to address motorists' concerns some cameras were used as cash cows under the previous government.

While he found that 38 of the cameras were ineffective, he also said none had been located purely for revenue raising.

Mr Gay ordered the RTA to switch the cameras off on Wednesday morning and said they would be torn down in coming weeks.

He left the door open to them being placed elsewhere but insisted there would be a net reduction of speed cameras.

Ms Machin agreed with a suggestion in Mr Achterstraat's report that there could now be an annual review of speed cameras.

27 Jul 2011

This move indicates that the government is aware that the introduction of speed cameras, has failed to reduce road deaths, but rather introduction of the speed cameras was used purely for financial gain, rather the road death reduction.

Motoring organisations like the NRMA, and RACV have been highly critical of the effectiveness of the the speed cameras with respect to the road toll.

In Victoria, a large bank has bought the traffic fine camera operations, as it sees them as a huge money spinner, and not a road death reducer.

Returns : Australian super funds 'worst performing'

AUSTRALIA'S superannuation funds were among the worst performing among developed countries over the past three years, falling casualty to their love affair with shares.

They logged average returns of -2.8 per cent from 2008 to last year, with only the pension funds of recession-hit Estonia (-3.7 per cent) and Portugal (-3.1 per cent) faring worse among OECD countries, The Australian reports.

And the industry's assets, as a share of the economy, are still to return to 2008 levels despite a solid bounce in its investment returns last year, the latest OECD analysis of pension markets reveals.

Geoff Kingston from Macquarie University's economics department said yesterday the aggressive investment strategies of most Australian super funds was to blame for the slide.

"Roughly half of your superannuation assets in growth assets suits most people, but the typical Australian fund, even for older people, is for 60 to 70 per cent (allocation) in growth assets,'' he said.

money.ninemsn.com.au 27 Jul 2011

Another scam at the expense of the general populous.

The so called 'poor performing' superannuation funds are poor performing for the people and NOT the companies that invest your money.

The short term money markets can make 3% per day for the company.

The general interest rate offered to customers is approximately 5% per annum, a figure well down on the mass profit made from your funds.

One of the least beneficial financial decisions is to 'lock' your money into a corporation's super fund.

Current Australian television commercials are pushing the public to invest in super funds.

Financial institutions know that they have one of the poorest performing interest rates to the customer, in their super funds.

Inflation rate 3.6% due to bananas

On Australian national television (Channel 7) it was announced that the official rate of inflation has gone up to 3.6% "party due to the rise in cost of bananas."

According to the news outlet (ninemsn.com.au), bananas have hit a rock bottom $1 per kilogram (21 Jul 2011) :

Price of bananas slipping to $1 per kilo after big crops

then it was reported that the price has jumped 138%.

The majority of goods and have gone up in percentages between 10-70%, depending on the source.

The overall household budget has leap from either the previous financial or calendar year.

The government with the support of the mass media has gone out on a campaign of misinformation, as to the real cost of living.

The currently reported figure of 3.6% inflation rate is false.

These figures are deliberately fraudulent, in order for the banking community to hike the interest rates up.

The business community together with the media bosses work aggressively in providing false information, in order to suit their agenda.

Not one single member of the general community has embarked on a legal campaign to rectify the false figures produced by the government.

Recently documentation has been made available to implicate the government for issuing fraudulent statistics regarding the crime figures in Victoria, which led to the resignation of disgraced police chief Simon Overland.

corpau.