"Just playing with my yo yo."
Funny Animal Photos
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
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