"You keep driving. I've got a gun."
Funny Animal Photos
Banks Under Threat From the Internet
The Internet has disrupted the security of ordinary money. The economic system controlled by the banks for centuries is now under threat. Bitcoin is an example of new money. Its mere presence in feared by the banks. Money, or at least its value, depends on people having faith that it can easily be exchanged for different goods.
In Germany before WWII security in money was severely challenged. There was rampant inflation, so much so that people had to push barrow loads of cash to a shop to get a loaf of bread.
New money is everywhere: PayPal has taken the banking world by storm. These bank-like services are being offered by Google, Apple and eBay. To get Followers on Twitter, many sites are offering seeds. Though the websites deny trading for followers, this is exactly what it is.
Google's Wallet is really a bank service. Smartphones can be swiped in store terminals to buy goods. The problem is most money does not really exist it is just recorded in books as they used to say. Now it is data stored on computers. The money supply is no longer controlled by central banks.
The question is - Will banks go the same way as traditional shopping centers and newspapers? It is possible!
Conservation
Unfamiliar Species Are Endangered
Endangered species in Australia tend to be those that do not fair well in human affection. Plenty is spent on koalas because they are seen as cuddly. In reality though they are not. Indeed, if one attempts to pick up a wild koala it goes on an all out attack if it cannot get away.
Some endangered animals are not exactly ugly. The grey-headed flying fox, a bat, is quite cute as shown in the photo. It is just not in the mainline thinking of people. The average person knows very little about it.
Many cringe when the word "bat" is mentioned. They do carry some diseases, but cases where bats pass these on to humans are quite rare. The grey-headed bat is Australia's largest and is responsible for pollination of many plants, mostly trees.
There are more than 19,000 threatened species in Australia, 1,000 of them mammals. Some species that could be saved with a small amount of money are not helped, while others such as koalas get too much money. Koalas are being pampered to death if that is possible. Too much human intervention can do more harm than good.
Conservation
Reserves Are Not Working: Extinctions Continue
Australia's slaughter of wildlife continues despite warnings from CSIRO. Nearly half of Australian mammals will end their existence very soon. Zoologist Fred Ford said 11 extinctions have occurred in recent years in the south-eastern forests of Australia. The reserve system is not working. They are just for show. Plants are doing well because they are surviving outside and inside reserves. Nothing is being done to protect small native mammals.
Reserves are havens for introduced feral animals and invasive weeds. Rangers are not being trained to look after the endangered species. Money should be allocated more efficiently. With all the money put into reserves there must be more positive outcomes.
Reserves are havens for introduced feral animals and invasive weeds. Rangers are not being trained to look after the endangered species. Money should be allocated more efficiently. With all the money put into reserves there must be more positive outcomes.
Native animal need to be researched and the data must be analyzed. Records should be kept to formulate action. An astounding 65 per cent of reptiles in Australia have been discovered in the last 35 years. The public has not been adequately informed of this.
Conservation
New Laws to Restrict the Leniency of Judges
There is not much doubt that the majority of Australians believe judges to be too lenient in sentencing. Drivers have been convicted of dangerous driving and homicide and have been given suspended sentences. Premeditated murderers have had to serve only five years in jail.
It seems once judges get their positions they favor convicted criminals. No wonder state governments are looking at legislation to force courts into tougher sentencing. The South Australian government is planning new laws to limit the use of suspended sentencing. Chief justice Chris Kourakis claims this is interfering with the independence of the legal system vis-a-vis government and the executive. But if judges do not sentence and meet public expectations intervention is necessary.
Serial offenders are given a slap on the wrist and are released to continue their illegal behavior. Some even laugh their way out of court. Intervention is also needed to have the criminal history of suspected offenders known at trial. Why shouldn't past behavior be used against criminals?
Chief Justice Chris Kourakis says "In general, the greater the discretion that a judge has the more the judge can fit the penalty to the particular crime." However, most believe that judges are not doing this. He admits though that governments have always set the parameters used in the legal system.
Law
No-Car Future Is the Only Sustainable Option
The National Sustainability Council presented its long awaited report called the Sustainable Australia 2013: Conversations with the Future. This is the first of a series of biennial papers to advise the government about the state of the economy vis-a-vis the environment.
Full of optimism, the newly founded council said the future looked bright if we changed to building sustainable communities. However, the type of community needed is far more radical than envisaged by the council. Despite Australia having many of the most livable cities in the world we need to start planning immediately for the kind of balanced society of the future.
Oil will not be around forever and coal is too polluting to be used at such high rates. This means individuals driving around in five seater cars will not be possible. Electricity use is skyrocketing with Internet cloud servers and hungry mobiles gobbling up tonnes of coal and oil in power stations. Future cities will have to be designed with houses laid out in a manner that allows public transport to easily be used to get to work. Little is said about this now, but it will be in the future.
Somehow workers will have to be able to get from side roads to main roads where buses or vehicles on rails can travel. This will involve many more stops than at present and it will take longer to get to places of employment. We could see the return of bicycles or low-powered slow speed electric vehicles.
A place without car ownership will be an odd place to people of the current era. Nonetheless, it will have to happen eventually. Modern cities are car dependent. If an economic crisis stops the flow of oil these cities will die.
History
High Wage Rate a Problem for Australia
The overseas economic crisis is changing the perception of wage rates in Australia. Over recent months the Aussie dollar has fallen in value. It helps exporters. The retail sector has also been calling for the dollar to be intentionally weakened. This is odd considering Australian consumers are heavily "addicted' to imports, so prices will probably rise in the shops.
There will be an election in September. Any color of government will have to cut back on spending. This will mean higher unemployment. Therefore, despite inflation steadily rising there will be downward pressure on wages. There is already a glut of people seeking employment in the vegetable and fruit picking industry.
When you go shopping a distinct feel of recession is in the air. With many buying online, the shops are almost devoid of shoppers. The lowest income earners have just been given a 2.6 per cent pay rise. This was done to redistribute income. Higher unemployment will prevent future artificial tinkering with the economy.
Australian wages are already too high when compared internationally. We have the highest rates of any developed country. The minimum wage is more than twice that of the US. Within Australia things have been much worse. The minimum wage today is 44 per cent of average full-time earnings. This compares to 50 per cent a decade ago. However, it is still very high.
It has been claimed that letting wages fall and redistributing wealth via welfare payments is a better idea. This of course depends on whether government can collect enough in taxes to have the money to do this. Even this though has been "damned" by some saying welfare reduces the drive to find work.
History
The US No Longer Diagnoses Narcism
The decision by the American Psychological Association to strike narcissism out as a mental disease is a mistake. Physicians in others countries continue to see it has a disorder many people suffer from. Even the lay person can identify those in society with the malady. The most blatant characteristic is an exaggerated love of self, particularly the continual preening of one's body and dress.
Just why the association has made such a drastic decision is not clear. Perhaps those in authority in the psychological body have been offended because they have been identified with the complaint. This would be a logical conclusion.
Some see those who moved West to new lives with new ways as having been unfairly marked as being narcissistic. This interpretation is quite without foundation. Rockefeller, Jefferson, Edison and even Bill Clinton have had narcissistic claims made against them. A little thought will give the reason why, but it is drawing a very long bow to say all migrants are and were narcissistic.
This unusual identification with early US settlers is odd. It does show, however, show that Victorian people did believe it to be present in society. Underneath the self love the narcissist believes he/she is in some way unacceptable to others and must fight back. This can result in intolerance toward others to outright verbal attack.
The most common trait is a lack of empathy with others. There is a connection with autism here. Many dictators are seen as narcissistic. They rule with an iron glove and live off the fat of the land while those they rule are treated badly and starve.
The entertainment industry is rife with people who really love themselves. Pop stars have to be pulled from the stage as they return to be applauded again and again. Furthermore, there is not much doubt many movie stars are narcissistic as they bathe in public admiration.
Just why the association has made such a drastic decision is not clear. Perhaps those in authority in the psychological body have been offended because they have been identified with the complaint. This would be a logical conclusion.
Some see those who moved West to new lives with new ways as having been unfairly marked as being narcissistic. This interpretation is quite without foundation. Rockefeller, Jefferson, Edison and even Bill Clinton have had narcissistic claims made against them. A little thought will give the reason why, but it is drawing a very long bow to say all migrants are and were narcissistic.
This unusual identification with early US settlers is odd. It does show, however, show that Victorian people did believe it to be present in society. Underneath the self love the narcissist believes he/she is in some way unacceptable to others and must fight back. This can result in intolerance toward others to outright verbal attack.
The most common trait is a lack of empathy with others. There is a connection with autism here. Many dictators are seen as narcissistic. They rule with an iron glove and live off the fat of the land while those they rule are treated badly and starve.
The entertainment industry is rife with people who really love themselves. Pop stars have to be pulled from the stage as they return to be applauded again and again. Furthermore, there is not much doubt many movie stars are narcissistic as they bathe in public admiration.
Health
Massive Flood Due in Tokyo
Japan knows a massive flood is imminent. It is building defenses against it. However, Major floods in Australia have shown that even the most strategically placed levies can be "ignored" by rushing water.
Tokyo is encircled by rivers, with one running right through the middle of the city. The cost of such a disaster will be in the trillions. Despite calls for more spending by Toru Sueoka president of the Japanese Geotechnical Society there is a limit to how much can be spent to prevent destruction.
With enough water the rivers will rise to flood just about everything. Building the banks higher will do no good. Though other types of disasters are frequent, flooding causes more damage in the world than any other calamity, noting that flooding is a side effect of typhoons.
Society
Molecular Cancer Treatment Now Possible
New cancer "curing" medications are announced to the public all the time. Unfortunately, what you are not told is when they will be available. It isn't much use if you have to wait ten years - if you have cancer you could be dead before then.
It is not so much chemicals that attack dangerous "bugs" that are coming to the fore: modified molecules are increasingly being tested. In prostate cancer testosterone attaches to androgen receptors. Activation in this manner allows cancer growth to take place. A helix-mimicking molecule attaches to the particular docking point thus preventing the ideal cancer condition occurring.
In animal and human tests protein supporting cancer growth was not produced when the molecules attached. Moreover, it was not found to be toxic to the body. This research opens up a completely new area of treatment. The future looks bright in the fight against cancer - it we can afford to pay for it.
Health
Couriers Do Not Deliver
The quality of customer service is getting worse. Being left on the phone while the answering device takes a break is common. Being told they will fix it later when you inform the bank that the ATM is not working is also the usual way of things. Having no one on checkout duty at a supermarket is another complaint.
Another "con" doing the rounds is couriers not delivering parcels. On many occasions they don't even leave a contact number on your phone. They just leave you waiting. You eventually find a contact number and they tell you they couldn't find the address, when normal mail deliveries continue with no problems. They are lying - they haven't been out. Think of the money they are pocketing by not sending someone out.
It is easy for them to tell you to pick it up at the office, but what about the inconvenience and cost of taking a day off work to pick up a parcel? Putting it bluntly - they are stealing! They have already been paid to provide a service, usually by you when you pay for post and packaging.
As long as people accept this and do nothing this con will continue and get worse. Complain through your consumer affairs or fair trading body.
Another "con" doing the rounds is couriers not delivering parcels. On many occasions they don't even leave a contact number on your phone. They just leave you waiting. You eventually find a contact number and they tell you they couldn't find the address, when normal mail deliveries continue with no problems. They are lying - they haven't been out. Think of the money they are pocketing by not sending someone out.
It is easy for them to tell you to pick it up at the office, but what about the inconvenience and cost of taking a day off work to pick up a parcel? Putting it bluntly - they are stealing! They have already been paid to provide a service, usually by you when you pay for post and packaging.
As long as people accept this and do nothing this con will continue and get worse. Complain through your consumer affairs or fair trading body.
History
Cull of Brumby Horses Necessary
Horses are not native to Australia. Over the centuries domesticated horses have run wild across the land. The wild "breed" of horses are called Brumbies. Like the introduced camels they reach pest proportions.
Environmentalists usually kick up a fuss when it is decided to carry out a cull. However, this is necessary as they do not have natural predators here. Horses, donkeys and camels are dying of starvation as the land will not support the numbers. It is more humane to shoot them.
farmers establish water points for cattle and sheep. The wild animals hang around water holes and eventually destroy them. Consequently, native species are dying from lack of water.
Culling is being done from helicopters. The shooters are very accurate and there is no suffering. Unfortunately, it is necessary to leave the animals where they die because it is too expensive to take them to an abattoir to use as pet food. It is a pity really. Ancestors of the horses were used by the Australian Light Horse in WWI.
History
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