Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Young Folks



Is this the greatest song out at the moment? I think so!

Artist: Peter Bjorn And John

Title: Young Folks


Album: Writer’s BlockYear: 2006Title: Young Folks
Young Folks Peter Bjorn lyric



If i told you things i did before
told you how i used to be
would you go along with someone like me
if you knew my story word for word
had all of my history
would you go along with someone like me

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Why We should Love America

Interesting article on news.com.au on why Australians should love America. Oh-Kay. Not sure about you, but when someone tries to give me reasons why i should love, let alone like someone i get suspicious. It's like your mum telling you that little Joey in primary school is so nice, why won't you play with him.
Not me, i choose to hate everyone equally, well every country that is. Don't have time to break them down into manageable country sized chunks. No Siree, whatever country you're from, I hate it about as much as i hate any other country, which is marginally less than i hate Australia, where I live, which i love. Don't that make you feel special.

Of course every now and then some despotic dictator will do something completely insane, after which i might feel inclined to give you a little more attention in the hate department. The country that is, not the people, since people are generally a lot more intelligent than your average mob, and most countries are just above average mobs.

So anyway, why exactly are we exhorted to love America? Well apparently there are block parties (nice), ethinic diversity (nice):

Hipsters and the homeless, crackheads and old Jewish eccentrics mingle on every corner.

Uhh, oklay, enough of the positives, what about the negatives.

Well the article doesn't really go into those, we are after all being exhorted to love thy American. Fair enough. As long as they are prevented from travelling in Mobs, that being more than 3 in any group, i like to keep the intelligence levels up.

P.S. I'm confused, were old Jewish eccentrics meant to be a positive or a negative, in my view hipsters are the scourge of mankind, crackheads are self explanatory, homeless are well victims of circumstance and definitely not a shining light representing a city. So what does that mean about old Jewish Eccentrics, since they apparently keep such esteemed company. Well we all know eccentric means money, so as far as i am concerned, they're Aight!

Useless tip of the Day: How to Make a Diaper Wreath

Nothing says I love you like a wreath made of diapers. And if you really love the person, you can make make an impression by using used diapers. Just so you get that eau de toddler effect. Well I sh*t you not, now you can make your very own, Thanks to Google/Wiki how tip of the day!

I only joined Google cause everyone else was, and i knew if i didn't people would think i was some idiot, with no virtual friends who could not afford the free google membership. When in actual fact, I am so rich in both virtual friends and money, that i could afford to waste my entire day on google. Bet not many of you can say that.

Anyway, collect your diapers people, once you've mastered the diaper wreath, advanced students can move onto the diaper cake. I can hardly contain myself people. What on earth did we do before the "World Wide World of Web"

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Israel fears masks may spook Syria

Type the following phrase into Google "Israel + pre-emptive" and you get a whole lot of reasons why you don't want the Israeli's to pre-emptively be doing anything. Historically, and with only one notable situation (that being the Yom Kippur/Ramadan/October War of 1973), whenever it's neighbours have undertaken provocative military manoeuvres, the Israeli's have pre-emptively put the foot down, and a few weeks later the Middle East was a different place.

So with the Syrians apparently overseeing the biggest military build up in decades, with the most sophisticated anti-tank/aircraft missiles the Russians can sell, the fact that Israel won't distribute gas masks, as a pre-emptive measure for fear of being too provocative is somewhat puzzling.

Syria has in the past year undertaken a significant build-up of its armed forces that for the first time in decades gives it a military potential Israel must take seriously, including numerous ground-to-ground missiles capable of striking anywhere in Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv newspaper Yediot Achronot reported that Syria, to offset Israel's air superiority, had the densest array of anti-aircraft missile batteries in the world, including the latest models coming off Russian production lines.
The Syrian army has been carrying out intensive manoeuvres and has built up its forces opposite the Golan Heights. It has also equipped itself with new Russian anti-tank missiles that can penetrate tank armour.

The World is an Amazing place.

Hanson to oppose Islamic immigration

It's election time again, and once again, we have Hanson to provide the comic relief. I can't wait, apparently she plans to run on a similar platform to the last few elections, except this time "Islamic People" are the devil.

The former One Nation leader has also applied to the Australian Electoral Commission to register Pauline's United Australia Party. If successful, the party's abbreviated name, Pauline, will appear above the line on the Senate ballot paper, making it easier for people to vote for Ms Hanson

The other benefit is that those who don't want to vote for here will know exactly which party she represents and which politician's are brave enough to be associated with her.

Anyway, wonder if she will re-hash any of her old policies, I especially liked the one about printing more money. I can always use more money. And whilst printing money to get a nation out if it's financial woes was derided the last time it was on her policy agenda, this time she is in good company, the "Right Honourable Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe"

Mugabe said his government would print money to help it ride over its economic problems - including food, fuel and foreign currency shortages and the world's highest inflation rate, which he blames on Western sanctions and intermittent droughts.

The only issue is whether she is willing to be in the esteemed political company of a brown person, and take a few of his other policies, like accusing the British of trying to re-colonise Australia.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Cult of Personality; Kevin07

Stop me when any of this starts to sound familiar.

Cult of personality or personality cult is a term for what is perceived to be excessive adulation of a single living leader. The term was coined by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev soon after the death of Joseph Stalin, but the phenomenon as such is much older. The lifetime cult of Julius Caesar was deeply resented by patrician republicans; it paved the way for the imperial family cult of the Roman Empire.

So, what happened to the rest of the labor party, don't worry at least three of them got mentioned at Kevin07, one of them being Kama Sutra Julia. Anyway, lets hope he has not bitten off more than he can chew.

The Following posted at Kevin07! weblog:

Health written by John, August 07, 2007 Hi Kev, i know that you are going to restore our faith in the government by .....

Well, we all need to have our faith restored every now and then, but it's posts like this one below at Kevin07, that get me worried

Kevin and Church written by Liz, August 07, 2007 wrote ".....Keep the God factor Kevin and it will keep you true. What else would you have our society based on."

Well, were i Kevin, "Simple Logic would suffice", but since I'm not, i guess i will have to admit that a god of some description is gonna feature in this whole political debate. Hang on, why not make Kevin a god. I'm sure it's been done before, we can deify him, in fact, lets get a little apotheosis going on here:

Apotheosis is most commonly used to refer to the Roman pagan process whereby an Emperor, empress, hero or leader was recognized to be divine by decree of the Senate or popular consent.

Can't argue with that, it's a Consensus, even Matt Damon supports my case, for in the character of Bartelme, did he not quote Jesus as saying, "Whatever you hold true on earth, I will hold true in Heaven." Simple, it's Dogmatic Law. Lets skip past this whole cult of personality thing, and simply deify him.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19

But I digress, exactly how long do you think it will be before Howard "Releases the Hounds". Cult of personality is fine when all is going well, but if the personality is vulnerable to attack, the whole crew goes down with the ship, and the yonder kapitain leads the way. I am guessing that is why Mr Consensus Builder Gore won't announce his candidacy until the last minute. I am predicting two things, the election will be called for 08, probably meaning that i have use my Christmas Holidays to vote, and secondly, shortly after the election is called "The Hounds Will Be Released"

So, anyone prepared to give me odds on "Howard08"

P.S. The latest date by which a combined House of Representatives and half Senate election must be held is 19 January 2008.

All The Way With JFK, I Mean Kev 07

You, are gonna love this, whereas I on other hand am wearing my devil's advocate hat.

http://www.kevin07.com.au/

On his webpage where he talks about Global Warming/Climate Change, which are interchangeable, according to Kevvie, he has this to say

Climate change is the most pressing challenge we face in the new century. The effects of global warming are already hurting Australia, adding to the current drought. Yet we face even hotter and drier summers, the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, the loss of our snow fields, increasing droughts, less water for our cities and an increase in the number of devastating bushfires.

How he forgot to add "the disappearance of a random number of my black socks, some cheese going mouldy in my fridge and the fact that I have not had a date in over six month to the plethora of things attributable to Global Warming/Climate change is beyond me. But I suppose we are allowed to have differing priorities.


Did you know John Howard has had secret plans for 25 Nuclear Power stations from 1968, it's on the map therefore it must be true. Anyway, not entirely happy with those selected locations, so i have come up with a few alternates that require further investigation, the beauty of course of my selections is that there aren't any in Melbourne (I still call Melbourne, I still call Melbourne home), and there aren't any in Adelaide where i currently live:


1. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, NSW POSTCODE: 2250
2. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, NSW POSTCODE: 2630
3. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, VIC POSTCODE: 3434
4. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, VIC POSTCODE: 3531
5. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, QLD POSTCODE: 4300
6. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD LAKES, QLD POSTCODE: 4300
7. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, QLD POSTCODE: 4871
8. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, SA POSTCODE: 5062
9. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, WA POSTCODE: 6525
10. LOCATION: SOUTH SPRINGFIELD, TAS POSTCODE
11. LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, TAS POSTCODE: 7260


Springfield, the ultimate Nuclear Power plant waste dump site. And since i don't live anywhere near Spring field it officially becomes "Somebody Else's Problem", which of course is the best kind. Anyway, I have up until the election to start myself a little family. Might even invest in one of those instant family things, just add money (Like Madonna is doing in Malawi), although i am not sure you can adopt a wife. Once i have a family I will be well placed to take advantage of the:

$10,000 to help up to 200,000 families invest in solar and practical water and energy savings devices.

rebates of up to $500 for around 500,000 households across Australia to install rainwater tanks or grey water pipes.

They'll also receive a free "Green Renovations" pack which includes a water-efficient shower head and energy-efficient light globes.

I personally can't wait, if you add up $10,000 for green initiatives, $500 rebates for my household, the baby bonus for my instant family, first home buyers grant and energy efficient light bulbs, I am gonna be a multi-millionaire. This time next year i will definitely know what Truffles are, and how to spell "Fwois Grass" The light bulbs will definitely be a hit, I am sure Bunnings did it once, and they certainly know how to suck people in. By the way, did not all those grants i just mentioned get dreamed up during an election period. If we had more elections i could be a rich man.


There is just one thing that puzzles me, does this classify as an election stunt as part of the Stunt Election of 2007. Gonna have to watch the news this week, it ain't an election stunt until some politician/reporter calls it one.


Aussies in the News.

Checked the "Times of India" the other day, you know, so i could find out what's happening in the world's newest Nuclear power. The Aussies are big in the news, apart from the whole Haneef thing, and us agreeing to see Uranium to India whilst refusing to sell any to Pakistan, we are apparently a nation of insanely obese corpses.

More than two-third of Australians living outside major cities are overweight or obese, and extremely obese corpses are creating a safety hazard at mortuaries, according to two studies released on Sunday.

Apparently:

In the past year, there have also been requests for larger crematorium furnaces, bigger grave plots as well as super-sized ambulances, wheelchairs and hospital beds.

I blame the Liberal Government for not legislating good eating habits and thus super sizing us all!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Australia Post

In Australia it's illegal to post

  • Registered philatelic articles with fictitious addresses;
  • Goods bearing the name "Anzac";
  • Used bedding;
What the .... is a philatelic article with a fictitious address? Is that a letter you send with a fake address, so the receipient may or may not receive it?

Used Bedding. Never realised we needed such tight controls on the posting of used bedding, but i feel so much better that whatever regulator is responsible for making that decision is on the case.


Friday, August 3, 2007

2007 Year of the Federal Stunt Election

The election hasn't even been called yet, and already I am getting sick of it all. Why is it that every policy decision or change in policy direction made in an election year is an election stunt. The other day I had this brainwave that I would try and count the number of times the phrase "election stunt" was used in the media by either politicians or the news media. My friend Mr Google threw up so many responses from the last three months that I could not cope, and gave up. Even Tampa was invoked as a pre-election stunt, with reference to the coming election. Tampa was like 500 years ago dammit.

This morning with reference to the Federal Government taking over the Mercy hospital in Tasmania, which as pre-election stunts go was pretty spectacular I might add, Julia Gillard actually invoked the Karma Sutra when describing Tony Abbott's latest pre-election stunt. The Karma Sutra, I tell you. Now let it be known that I have no problem with Julia Gillard discussing the Karma Sutra, in fact this line of discussion should be openly encouraged, but why she had to spoil it by mentioning Tony Abbott is beyond me. In fact from now on, I reckon every response Julia Gillard makes to interview questions should be Karma Sutra, or should include the phrase Karma Sutra. For one thing my interest would be peaked, take the following example of a Door Stop interview between Julia Gillard and an un-named journalist:

Julia GillardDoorstop Interview Transcript - Parliament House, Canberra - 17th August 2005 E & OE

JOURNALIST: On another issue there is a group of Coalition MPs who are agitating for changes to the Broadcast Act to give the Communications Minister the power to pull off inappropriate material on free to air television, do you think it is appropriate for a politician to be arbiter of things like that?

JULIA GILLARD: This is a matter at the end of the day, to be dealt with by our Karma Sutra spokesperson but as I understand it we have expert advisory groups on Karma Sutra issues for good reason.

JOURNALIST: What do you estimate that black hole to be, that you are talking about, to be at?

JULIA GILLARD: Well certainly there has been a Karma Sutra hole punched of $237 million as a result of the back flip on one medication, Lipitor. If Minister Abbott makes any further exemptions the Karma Sutra hole will just get bigger and what we fear is Treasurer Costello, when he stops yawning during Minister Abbott's speeches, will tell him to fill that Karma Sutra hole by further cuts in health.

JOURNALIST: Are the Coalition MPs who are pushing for changes to the Broadcast Act, are they prudes in your view?

JULIA GILLARD: I wouldn't want to comment Karma Sutra's not my area of policy directly but I am sure Senator Conroy will only be too pleased to tell you all about it.

JOURNALIST: Have you seen it, the program they are talking about, what are your personal thoughts?

JULIA GILLARD: And they are talking about…?

JOURNALIST: Big Brother.

JULIA GILLARD: I am not a Karma Sutra aficionado. I am more a watcher of The Karma Sutra actually and I would have to say I think it is a tragedy it has been taken off Saturday nights and we have only one episode of The Karma Sutra per week. I have seen little bits of Karma Sutra and Karma Sutra Uncut but I really haven't got a view to put today about censorship matters, they are really matters for Senator Conroy.

Anyway, I am predicting that the whole mercy hospital thing will become John Howard's Tasmanian Forest Issue of this election. Recall that at the last election, Tasmanian Forests effectively killed Mark Latham's Leadership chances, where he pissed off both the lumberjacks and greens. After Latham's visit to old growth forests in Tasmania, he was filmed standing next to Bob Brown who had this to say about how Latham related to the forest:

"It was as if a veil had come down over his face," Brown says. "A reporter would ask, 'What do you think of this one, Mr Latham?' And he'd shrug and say, 'It's a big tree.' When we got to the cave tree, he just said, 'It's a big tree with a hole in it.'

"It was a studied, desultory response. He was not responding to me. It was as if he was saying, 'I am not going to be shown to relate' - not just to me, but to the forests."


John Howard on the other hand actually had the lumberjacks dancing and singing his praises:

I cut down trees. I skip and jump.
I like to press wild flowers.
I put on women's clothing
And hang around in bars.


Anyone who can make a policy to cut down trees sound both green and economically sound, and then prove it wasn't a fluke by getting doctors, nurses and patients dancing and singing about his "Election Stunt" to take over a decrepit, run down hospital, is a master in my books. In one fell swoop, he made himself look strong, and the state labour government look incompetent. It remains to be seen whether the public will see this as the example of "Stunt Electioneering" that it is, or will actually get sucked in!

All hail John Winston Howard, Election Stunt Master Extra-ordinaire.

In closing, "I wonder if they use stunt doubles in all their election stunts?"

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Essay: The Arctic, The Final Frontier

This week marked the silent passing of a momentous milestone in the field of exploration. Two Russian mini-submarines have reached the seabed below the North Pole on a mission aimed at boosting Moscow's claims to the Arctic, reports say.
--
The west largely ignored it, whilst the Russians lauded it as an event equal to putting a man on the moon. Same event, different reactions, I wonder why that is!
--
The missions are more about securing natural resources, than the more traditional lofty goals of climbing Mt Everest simply because it's there, or overcoming the embarrassment of not being the first to send a man into space. Every ten or so years, we hear dire predictions about "Peak Oil" and how our reliance on fossil fuels is ultimately unsustainable. Peak oil refers to modelling and prediction of when the peak of the world's petroleum production rate will be reached, meaning that the end is in sight for fossil fuels. The models have traditionally had limited accuracy as they have not been able to accurately predict the discovery of new oil fields or efficiency gains in the extraction, processing and use of petroleum. Accuracy of modelling/predicting aside we have to acknowledge that at some point in the future we will run out of fossil fuels.
--
Well the Russians have taken the first step to ensuring that at least in their case, that date is as far into the future as possible. The Arctic, together with the Antarctic is believed to hold vast reserves of fossil fuels, the control of which will grant the owner much power, influence and wealth. If we ever have to live through "Peak Oil's" dire predictions, without viable alternate sources of power, the Polar zones will be a major feather in our caps. Make no mistake, if economies start to fail due to scarcity of petroleum, if the west is forced to reduce it's standard of living to a level not seen for generations, or the Russians and Chinese (who only now are beginning to enjoy the prosperity the west has known for decades) are forced to halt their economic advances, "the shit will hit the fan." If we fail to achieve a sustainable way to maintain our standard of living, or improve the lot of ountries in need, all of our eyes will turn to the north and south.
--
Melting polar ice in the Arctic has led to competing claims over who owns vast areas of the Arctic. Ownership, and thus control of this region is set to become an important issue, more important than in the past where everyone could afford to regard the polar ice caps as wilderness areas best left alone. Consulting a map of the region, bbc.net has one here and another here, reveals how complex the issue is. Not gonna bore you with any more of my rambling ruminations, but I will say this the world is about to become a much more interesting place, because unlike conquering space which has no real economic benefits in the near future, the Polar zones promise tangible benefits that the bean counters have already counted. This is an issue countries will not only beat their chests and rattle their sabres over, alliances will be borne and broken, carrier groups will maneuver and if the wrong answer is returned diplomacy will fail and cruise missiles will be fired. After all when it comes down to it, in today's world almost nothing is more important than defending the right of each countries citizens to continue to lead, or aspire to lead comfortable yet unsustainable lives. The world might only have one true superpower, but there are at least half a dozen emerging powers who with a little imagination could make our lives much more interesting if their interests were threatened.
--
Predictions:
  • The event will get about ten seconds air play in the west and will continue to be lauded as a major achievement in the east.
  • Whatever inches it receives in western print media will discuss it as a waste or time, an irrational, unconscionable and avaricious desire to control one of the world's last true wildernesses. If the Russians find evidence that their continental shelf extends under the Arctic, thus increasing their claim for a greater area, this too will be ignored.
  • The politicians and green groups will castigate the Russians, whilst slowly and surely all interested countries will draw their plans for the area.
  • Quietly, the diplomats of all interested parties will meet and work furiously to reach a negotiated settlement, because where it was once okay to view the polar areas as a resource to be saved for the future, once the first move has been made to formalise control, the game must be joined by all players.
  • The rest of us won't even be aware of what's going on, or how important it is which i suppose is for the best.

Ignorance is Bliss.

237 Reasons Why We Have Sex

The mirror newspaper in the UK just published the reasons why we have sex, in the "Science Section", under "Top Stories" no less. Tis news to me, but apparently there are 237 of them. Although, not that i would doubt the epic 5 year effort that went into compiling, and no doubt researching this list, I suspect a certain amount of money was wasted. Looking at the top ten for men

You want to ask for a pay rise and what pops into your head? Sex.
Perhaps you're feeling a bit vengeful, in which case you'll be considering nookie just to give someone a nasty disease.
Or maybe you just want to get closer to God - the only answer is a bit of the other to make you feel much more spiritual.

Looking at the top reasons for men:

1 ATTRACTED to person
2 IT feels good
3 WANTED physical pleasure
4 IT'S fun
5 WANTED to show affection
6 SEXUALLY aroused
7 I was "horny."
8 WANTED to express my love
9 WANTED to have climax
10 WANTED to please partner.

I can't help but think that numbers 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, all amount to the same thing i.e. "I was horny" A similar thing can be found with the top ten reasons for women. Can you believe that there are people who have sex to "get closer to god" , to "punish themselves" or "to end a relationship".

The world is an amazing place!

Peter Hitchens: Assault With Intent to Punctuate!

To think Peter Hitchens actually gets paid for writing his column, obviously full stops and commas were on sale the day this article was written.
--
I am unlikely to get the chance myself, (Comma) but the next time this happens, (Comma) could those journalists present stop being overawed by uniform, (Comma)remember that these characters head the most ineffectual and useless police forces in British history, (Comma) and please ask them, (Comma) in detail, (Comma) exactly how this logic works?
--
I don't see it myself. (Full Stop) It doesn't appear to me to follow. (Full Stop) We arrest people on suspicion of wrongdoing. (Full Stop) If they have done something wrong, (Comma) it won't take 90 days to produce enough evidence to lay a charge. (Full Stop)
--
It doesn't matter how interesting the remainder of the article is, after overdosing on commas and full stops in the first 3 paragraphs, it's physically impossible for me to read the rest, for fear of being assaulted by wayward punctuation.

Global Warming: You have all been Terror-graphed

Torres Strait islands at Risk from Global Warming
--
You have all been terror-graphed, which is my way of saying "someone is about to pull the wool over your eyes" In the mad rush to attribute everything to "Global Warming" the Daily Telegraph, in the same story mind you manages to say that the "Sinking" of the "Torres Strait Islands" is due to Global Warming.
--
Idiots.
--
Global Warming is supposed to cause the sea levels to rise, not the land to sink. The mistake the Telegraph made here is in not consulting Tim Flannery, who has somehow managed to morph from a mammologist and palaeontologist to Australia's foremost expert on Climate. That's okay, I can take a joke. If Flanners can be Australia's foremost Palaeontologist on Global Warming, then I am Australia's foremost Aeronautical Engineer on Feminine Hygiene. Someone got terror-graphed there too.
--
In other Global Warming related news, i recently discovered that "Global Warming" is responsible for me having an uneven number of black socks in my sock draw and has been drinking milk directly out of the the 2 litre milk carton in the fridge. Hey, since i am the only one living in my house, that represents a consensus, and as such "Case Closed" You won't see that in the "Daily Telegraph" oh no! No women, children or cute furry animals were involved.
--

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Haneef told to flee in webchat

A week ago I stated that I smelled a rat in this whole Haneef Visa Cancellation thing. Well this week, I can tell you that I think there may have been a miscarriage of justice. If the information in the papers is true, then Haneef should have been detained and should still be imprisoned. It appears that he may have been released, purely based on public outrage, which in turn was based on an absence of facts rather than the merits of the case.

"Importantly, there was ... a chat room conversation with Dr Haneef's brother in India on the afternoon before his attempted hasty departure from Australia," Mr Andrews said, citing a record of the second police interview with Dr Haneef.

"In it, the brother of Haneef, Shoaib, says 'nothing has been found out about you' and asked when Dr Haneef would be getting out, to which Haneef replied 'today'.

'Do not tell them anything else'
"The brother asked whether he had permission to take leave and what he told the hospital.

"Dr Haneef said he told them his baby was born in an emergency caesarean. "The brother told him to 'tell them that you have to leave as you have a daughter born, do not tell them anything else'.

"The brother then said not to delay his departure and not to let anyone else use his number in Australia, nor to give it to anyone.

"The brother added that 'auntie' told him that brother Kafeel used it in some sort of project over there," Mr Andrews said, in a reference to UK bombing accused Kafeel Ahmed.

Mr Andrews said Dr Haneef had not applied for leave until after receiving two phone calls, including one from India in which he was told there was an issue with the SIM card he had lent to his cousin Sabeel Ahmed, arrested in connection with the plot to bomb Park Lane in London and Glasgow airport.

"The whole circumstances surrounding Haneef's attempted hasty departure from Australia, including chatroom conversations, when viewed against his clear prior association with the Ahmed brothers, led me to form a reasonable suspicion as required by the migration legislation," Mr Andrews said.

Now, to my mind, the information above is not enough to confirm guilt or innocence, but is definitely enough to detain someone whilst investigations continue. I can only hope it turns out that he was innocent, and that we don't have some preventable incident occurring because he was released. and don't give me some twaddle about innocent until proven guilty, we murderers, thieves, rapists whilst we assess their guilt, the fact that someone is imprisoned does not mean the presumption of innocence has been forfeited.
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RISE OF THE MACHINES - Stanley the Ultimate Power Tool

Flee for your lives people, the age of autonomous Robot is now upon us, and they are getting paid. Obviously raising money as part of a nefarious plot (the only worthwhile type of plot in my view) to take over the world.

"Stanley" Pictured on the left may look like just a humble 4WD (SUV to our American Brethren), but this little sucker is actually the first a robotic vehicle ever to complete the DARPA grand challenge, a challenge where inventors create an autonomous ground vehicle that will save American lives on the battlefield. To be honest saving American Lives is a noble, yet secondary goal for me, more importantly i want to know when i get Stanley to drive me home from the Pub on a Sunday morning. Is he available for wedding, parties, anything.
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Stanley, the Ultimate Power Tool.
Oh, and how the heck does "Red Bull" manage to get their logo on all the winningest things.
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US 'plans stealth shark spies'

Via news.bbc.net
Sharks with implants are planned to be released off Florida Pentagon scientists are planning to turn sharks into "stealth spies" capable of tracking vessels undetected, a British magazine has reported. They want to remotely control the sharks by implanting electrodes in their brains, The New Scientist says.
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This puts me in mind of a radical plan I had to use "Armoured Wombats". Rather than electrodes, i envisaged psychotropic drugs to drive them mental, airdropping them amongst the enemy and having them run amok smashing enemy armour. Anyone who has ever hit a wombat on a freeway will know they cause serious damage. Alas the Aussie defence department vetoed my idea, stating "If Aussies won't eat Roos, they won't abide "Suicidal Wombats". I beg to differ!!
Sometimes i despair at the lack of foresight of our military and political leaders. I blame John Howard, clearly by rejecting my plan he has indicated he is not willing to make the hard decisions as they relate to national security.
At this point we should recall the US Navy's other animal success stories
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The US Navy's mine-clearing dolphins have been the surprise media stars of the Iraq war, but they have not exactly won over Australian divers working alongside them.The polite way to express their scepticism about the mine-clearing skills of the dolphins is to question their reliability and cost efficiency, but there is another way to put it."Flipper's fucked, mate," was how one diver saw things yesterday."The dolphins have had all this amazing publicity, but as soon as they put one in the water it shot through. There's a war going on and Flipper goes AWOL.”