Bot gead ye

Not dead yet.
Oh, oops forgot my specs ... one of these days will learn to 'touch type'.

,, And a Merry and Cheery to all  ...
in these uncertain times.

Sheesh, was trying to have a chat with a 'millennial' female ..
Erk; have you heard of the Korean war?
Mf; O, kim whatsis.
Me; No; the one before today.
Mf; O, Kim Kardashian!
Me; May your gods preserve you in your ignorance.
Mf; Fuck off, silly old pervert.

Ah, made that up .. So, what else is new ... or "newsworthy"?
Um, last year was 'charged' with the 'criminal offense' of 'misusing' a motor vehicle.
Um, think i, rang legal aid for options, explained the situation.
They told me to contact the Police Prosecution Unit for the "apprehension report".
plead 'guilty' ?? Why? Was never 'apprehended'.
If you plead 'not guilty' it will be transferred to a higher court - and you do not have enough witnesses on your side.
Um; ok.
???? think i ... was never "apprehended". Two very aggro policemen turned up on my doorstep at 6.30 pm  - two weeks after the so-called 'offence' and handed me a document 'banning' me from the pub for three days- dated two weeks ago ???

The next i know about this 'so-called' criminal offense is three weeks later - when i was  halfway to somewhere else. message on my phone .. Am at your place - your vehicle has been clamped (under setion [garbled] of the South Australian criminal code [section... garble garbl]... for 28 days.

(in the interest of facts here ... will have to say that the local plod knows me and sort of managed to clamp the wheels of one of my 'inoperable' vehicles).

Neverthe less .. still had to turn up in a magistrates Court (170klm round trip?) some months later.

First time in my life. Never made any claim on insurance. Never ... er, well ; for the past 45 years put so much as a dent in anyone elses motor vehicle  .. and here's me accused of the 'criminal offence' - aka "misuse of a motor vehicle" ... erk.

Um.  And here's me - a sort o scuffy knockabout .. thinks ..
Weeel ... i do have a white shirt parked away ... somewhere from a past life ... so; where is my 'sports coat - circa 1970'!   Oh, look; hidden in the pocket of that coat are two ties - both silk Givenchy.
Um; do i remember the 'windsor knot'?

Apparently yes. After sittting that Court for three hours or so waiting for my 'case' .. watching the 'mandatory' six month loss of licence for a mere 0 .001 over the whatever the mandatory Statute is about blood alcohol - at this point of time ... began to worry.

However ... after listening to the police prosecution persons half hearted reading of the typed version of whatever the local plods thought - based on the witness statement of the local barperson ..

The magistrate sort of .. OK : no criminal conviction: no loss of licence: - $200.00 fine - plus $160.00 Victims of crime levy.

Which i thought fair enough ...
But have never attended the Public Bar of any local Pub - since then.

cognitive dissonance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

Am not really sure why am posting this here, as am sure that the three or four regular (?) readers of this blog are as astonished/amazed/horrified at the peculiar mindset of the American president as i am.

Am not even really sure that what i read on the interwebs and "news" reports about him are true or not -

however, i do read the 'reproductions' of some of his 'tweets' and have decided that the bloke is mentally unbalanced. Wasn't even sure what to call it - but cognitive dissonance came to mind.

 Frankly, i don't really care how much of a twit the twat is; doesn't affect ME very much - however, it does seem to be affecting the Australian political leadership(?) a fair bit. Mr. Harbourside Mansion (Prime Minister) seems to have taken some sort of cue, and is ramping up our own draconian "internal security". (as well as ramping up his 'furious' attacks on South Australia for "mindlessly" pursuing the policy of increasing wind and solar electricity generation. While yep, South Au does have the highest consumer price for electricity - that price is mainly set and driven by "interstate" suppliers (mostly coal generated - which makes me wonder that IF coal generation is "cheaper" - how come they charge MORE for it ??)

 Oh, back to one of President Twit's tweets. Can't find the exact tweet* just now, but relates to the so-called "deal" Between the Aussie gummint and Barack Obama - about the re-location of 1250 unfortunate refugees that we've parked, indefinitely, on some tropical hellhole of an island.

For a start, Donny Boy - there are not "thousands", and they're not "criminals" and it was never a "dumb deal" as America was given every chance to "choose" which one's to accept.

The other 'half cocked' Presidential decree is about the banning of citizens from countries which, by all accounts, have never supplied a 'terrorist' attack on American soil.

IN CONTRAST .....

have been looking up the statistics on American "home grown" mass murders.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/08/trump-muslim-terrorists-gun-violence-america-deaths
(well worth a read).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence
(really worth a look, this one - pictorial graphic).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States

 http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

This, of course, doesn't include the hundreds of thousands (millions) of civilians murdered by America in someone elses country  since 2009.... but am guessing "State sponsored " Terrorism doesn't really  really compute in some peoples 'world view'.



*https://thewest.com.au/news/world/trump-tweets-on-australian-refugee-dumb-deal-ng-b88374394z


 

update for no real reason

Yep, have been to see local Docs. They have everything they need to know about my innards.

Um, my physical innards.
Who can guess what is contained within my genetic and 'psychological' innards?

Curious conundrum.

Brief update - recent personal news

Today i purchased a Yamaha XT250 trail bike.

Why? there are many places in the forests and National  Parks  around here where i cannot take my (albeit relatively ancient 4WD motor vehicle).
Have also recently become interested in the 'wombat' survey currently being conducted by somebody within the University of Western Sydney.

http://www.womsat.org.au/womsat/default.aspx


Sort of fascinates me. Have to have a "project" to latch onto. Have, of course, noticed, seen, quite a few Wombats in this area. Mostly dead by the roadside .....
but they are alive, hidden in the National Parks.

My problem at this point is - if i find 'live' burrows and 'live' wombats in this area (believe me, they remain - "in the wild") ..... should i make their location "public"?

The magic of invisible punctuation

AHA! All is explained. When Tony Abbott says "No new taxes" ... "No cuts to ABC or SBS". "No surprises"  etc. -

What us stupid Aussies failed to see was the invisible comma ,  that bit .... heh.

What he REALLY  meant was ...

 "No, new taxes". "No, cuts to ABC and SBS". "No, changes to pensions". "No, surprises".

Bit like Tony Abbott's invisible god, i guess.
god, and Tony Abbott, apparently work in mysterious ways - just (another three word slogan) 'Trust and Believe'.


ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY INVISIBLE COMMA

WHO CARES

monitoring internet traffic

Yep, have 'feejit' and another, 'statcounter'[ - oddly enough, long before Gurgle inserted their algorithms into this blog.

Who knows, At this point am guessing that anyone with "nothing to hide" in 'internet' concepts has, basically, nothing to hide.

One (me) wonders why the "gummint" spends billions of dollars trying to find out if am a 'terrorist'.

i might be, but the last thing that i might put "online" is the the details of how i might achieve it.

meh.

And, whether anyone likes it or not - the Billions of dollars creating and supporting the NSA (National Security Authority)  in the experimental patch of territory between Mexico and Canada - has serious questions to ask of itself.

So far, there is a list of "security breaches" that the "Untied States of America" - failed to notice.

Nothing new here. Fuck orf.

Am Disgusted

OK, have had enough. Am annoyed. Don’t really care whether the next sentences label me as racist, bigoted or fundamentalist.

Muslims are not doing themselves any favours.

Have just been reading/watching some of the recent news from London. Those two black ‘Muslims’ are not ‘terrorists’ - just brutal, common, callous murderers.

O, yes, am aware that ‘christians’ can be accused of the same. However - perhaps it’s just the 'bias’ of the local ‘news’ meeja - BUT - how come there is so much ‘factional’ killing and murder in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt ... etc.  Is it just a “Muslim” thing - in which case methinks 'the powers that be’ in the more 'civilised’ nations should just 'butt out’ -  if Muslims want, demand, are impelled; to kill each other - let them. Just insist that those people don’t ‘export’ that sort of murderous attitude.

It bothers me that, in Australia, we - (as far as I am aware) - don’t accept that sort of crap; and IF that is what people want - or are impelled - to emigrate here .. “for a better life  ..?” DO NOT COME HERE!

There is no reason to bring - or try to impose - ANY sort of tribal feuds that involve murder.

Nor, i presume - into England, or any other country which allows “refugee” status.



There is, of course, the excuse that ‘the West’ makes them do it. Crap. They've had 1500 years to build safe, stable, civilised communities ... WHY DID THEY NOT.

Murder is murder. Perhaps Muslims have a different notion of what “murder” or - more specifically "homicide" is.

"I don't want to kill ....

mm, was listening to a  segment on the radio this morning about "cage fighting". The full sentence uttered by the young female 'contestant' was "I don't want to kill my opponent, just win".

Oh, really? I presume the gentle readers will have heard about the latest "big dollar" promotional opportunity "spectator sport" imported into Australia from ... well, you know where (can't think of enough disparaging epithets at the moment) apparently "gaining popularity", and if you've never heard of it, am sure you'll find details via any search engine.

Given that the "sport" the young, female, um, person, was referring to allows kicking, punching, choking ... well, apparently "no holds barred" (and  with very little 'protective' clothing) - the logic of her attitude escapes me.

Sounds a bit like a platoon of soldiers carrying grenades, and high power weapons walking into a situation - each and every one of them  with the thought "I don't want to kill ... just win".

Well, they probably do, but Hey - the odds are very high that somebody is going to end up prematurely dead (think about it).

Also, given the situation, one of the other sentences uttered by the young 'contestant' was "it also keeps me fit".

Mmmm, well; dunno about you lot, but can think of quite a few "single person", one on one, challenging sports that qualify for the "I don't want to kill ..." bit. Tennis, for one.

It's a "spectator sport"; keeps one fit, allows the opportunity to "win" large amounts of money - and there's a very low probability that your 'opponent' will end up dead, or seriously damaged.

Must be getting old, I guess.



http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-28/the-rise-and-risks-of-mixed-martial-arts/3977084
.

What is the definition of "offend"

OK, will attempt to answer my own question,

According to my dictionary -

[Latin; offendere, offensum. - against; to strike.]

Seem simple? Nah.  The "meaning", or "comprehension" - or even 'application' of words change over time; and become extremely 'rubbery'. It all seems to depend on 'context'.

So,  will post a series of images. Will, at this point, ask the readers which one they see as "an offense".

(and yes, there is a 'second part' - and ulterior motive - to this post)

bet ya

just a quick random thought.

Andrew Wilkie wants to ban poker machines. mm, ok, perhaps they are a 'family' problem, lose a few thousand, here or there.

"stockmarkets" "shareholders" and gummints bet (gamble) billions, trillions .. of, and against, what?


Curious.

OK Smartiepants

Who changed my profile pic?
Own up ( email me)

(be nice to know "how"; but if you tell me who, or indeed "why" - I might put the image 'upfront', if that makes sense).

blasted heath

um, no .. not referring to an expired actor ..

this ..

.. though had better give some sort of background. One of the things that i find fascinating about photography, is that i can 'choose the frame'.  There is a "State forest" nearby, pinus plantations which are 'farmed', so i guess that there is some sort of 'economic necessity' for them. In the background is an 'electricity generation' factory. Have no idea whether the 'plumes' are smoke, or steam .. but once again - economic necessity.

Not, in my opinion, a 'pretty picture'.

Much prefer to see, experience; something like these ..

.. which have no 'economic' value .. unless these, also, are turned into a 'blasted heath'.

.. isms

Had been pondering  "..isms" for a while .. racism, capitalism, terrorism, socialism, feminism  .. birthism  etc.(contributionism?) - but hadn't really clarified it into some sort of shortish comment. Still haven't, but this shortish video sums up a few things .. and is a foundation for further thought.

capitalism;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Fzm1hEiDQ&feature=player_embedded
which sort of looks at 'terrorism'.

Hang about, this post will be edited and sort of refined(?) - or not. Felt the need to post it now (thanks for link, Link)

legal depression

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lawreport/stories/2011/3181665.htm

O, ho ho. Am not a 'lawer', but could make some laughs out of it. (love the bloke from Dallaz, Texaz)

However, one of the things that keeps me alive is that have yet to figure out a "neat" way of disappearing without leaving a mess ..

apropos nothing

mm, whatever, might just ramble. No real reason .. bits 'n' pieces (why does "i" have to come before "e" before "c" .. ? Or is it 'peaces' after 'see'?

anyway, local feuds .. whateverever. One of these days will begin to understand.

By any other name ..

Um, was intending to try to write a poem about "weeds" ..seeds and needs .. but looks like this bloke beat me to it ..

Perhaps the greatest defense of weeds is contained in the last stanza of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem Inversnaid:

"What would the world be, once bereft,

of wet and wildness? Let them be left.

O let them be left; wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet."

which comes from an interesting article on Wikipedia. A 'weed' is only vegetation in an 'inappropriate place' buuuut .. who decides?

so, will just post some pics, and make it a game called  "Spot the weeds" ...

..but really have to do something about these  ..

yep, had to put a fence around this lot to keep 'em in .. heh

At what point does the seed of a weed become a need?

(the acacia decurrens by the post is going well)

Boat people

There is a discussion - yet again - about people who arrive in Australia by boat. The terminology is fuzzy. "Illegal immigrants? "Asylum seekers"? "Queue jumpers" "Potential terrorists"?

Firstly, let me just confess that my mother's grandfather can be accurately categorised as a real confirmed/unconfirmed "illegal immigrant"*

Oh?, ask you. Yup, we don't know where he came from, nor his birth name.  All that the 'family' (or me, by asking around the family 'folklore') can find out is that he was a teenage cabin boy on a sailing ship.  Apparently came from somewhere in Skandinavia (Sweden? Finland?). Hopped off the boat somewhere in South Australia; Whyalla? Port Pirie?. Exact year unknown.

Disappeared into the bush, became a shepherd, changed his name to Williams, married - and sprogged quite a few children.


Yes, it is possible to "track back", do some deeper research, try to find out how many cabin boys "jumped ship" in South Australia circa 1850-1870; but don't really have that sort of time nor finance (yes, it would require travel to,  poring over paper records stored in many countries around this planet (there is a hint of "Austria" somewhere in my investigations).  Only mention this as I have a great deal of admiration, and sympathy, for the clerical officers in the immigration sectors who really DO try to establish "bona fides".  One of the reasons people without "papers" - or easily verifiable 'identities' - are held in 'detention' for so long).

So. Far be it from me to express umbrage about ANYONE who tries, attempts, succeeds in arriving on these shores. "Legally" or not.

This post was prompted by the discussion on Neil's blog, and quite a lot of "real" information is there, and from the further links.

Am, at this point going to drift off.

One of the things that gives me intense annoyance is the attitude of Tony;Howard [deliberate]. "Stop the boats" is a puerile mantra; an unachievable, emotive appeal to the lowest common denominator.

If elected to some sort of 'power' - how would he achieve that? Give the RAN orders to "shoot and sink"? That, obviously, would "send a message"; but who to?
[an aside; methinks the Australian aborigines might have agreed with that notion .. heh]

Much anguish  has been made of the wreckage of one of the asylum seeker boats recently. Prompted me to remember the SIEV X* (do explore that site).

A far greater loss of life, and part of the "Howard" administration policy to "stop the boats" -  and within it you'll see that once the boats ARE in waters patrolled by the Australian Navy, they ARE determined to stay there.


Which leaves me to wonder which "policy" is the more valid. Shoot to kill? Eliminate the 'outsiders'? Or try to find some way to cheerfully accept those resourceful enough, desperate enough, brave enough, determined enough.

As a relatively "new" Aussie, and always remembering the origins of this "modern" society which has developed a unique system of "parliamentary" democracy, and "fair go" legal system - have to ask the question. Once health checks and basic vetting has been done - who would you prefer to accept as tough, resourceful, determined, Australian citizens.

Those who get here in leaky boats?

Or the far, far greater number who sneak in softly, comfortably, and safely by aeroplane?


(* and can proudly report that none, not one; of his descendants has ever had to front up to a court of criminal law).
(*suspected illegal entry vessel 10)

Other links -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_smuggling
http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/border-security/illegal-entry/combat.htm
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/1999-2000/2000cib13.htm#air
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/sp/AsylumFacts.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus

In the defense of Julian Assange.

(Updated 15 Dec 2010 - found some links .. heh. Will "post to other" when have a bit more info)


[still under edit:was written "offline"; still trying to find the reference links; might be me who's getting confused, but did 'save' a whole heap of   "reference links". Gruogle "Krum" don't make it easy. Might revisit Firefox.  ]

For a start; am not a lawyer, nor involved with any “law enforcement” agencies, official or otherwise. Am just an ordinary citizen of Australia (Rtr'd).

All this 'internet' furoré has me fascinated, so was wondering if there was some factual basis. All of the following is opinion.

I see where some politicians are calling for the “arrest” of Julian Assange (fair enough – means 'to bring to a standstill' or 'stop' (from the Old French; arester or Latin; restãre – to stand still). Can quite understand their embarrassment. Being caught with yer pants down does tend to invoke some anger generated by surprise. However, Julian has been very careful to distance himself and the organisation known as “WikiLeaks” from any link, collusion with, or knowledge of who actually happened to “break the law” (according to their own, individual, conscience or motive). “assassination” is quite a different concept, mostly confined to “primitive”, “uneducated” Nations.

There are, actually, quite a few “laws” in many countries around this planet relating to 'confidentiality', 'loyalty' and 'submission'. Most of the 'enlightened' systems of governance rely on individuals 'signing a contract'. Won't go into detail, but the “Spycatcher” case some time ago illustrates the general principal of what am alluding to.

Will also remind readers to read the detail of any TOS - “terms of service” that internet host providers supply. You'd be surprised at how vague some of the clauses are.

As far as I can gather; Julian Assange – by publishing information given to him - has broken no specific law. He is, yes, “Editor in Chief” of WikiLeaks. If, in fact, he IS guilty of “publishing information” given to him in secret - then I would suggest that EVERY “Editor in Chief” of EVERY print, radio, video transmission, media on this planet is, essentially, guilty.

The list, and details, of these sort of practices is far too long for me to summarise here; but am sure you will know what I mean. (Remember “Deep Throat”; Woodward and Bernstein)

As a side-track; Am very disappointed by Julia Gillard and our own Attorney General. Ask Assange to “cease and desist”, perhaps; call for his “arrest”, perhaps. But shouting to the rooftops that what he has done is “illegal” - letting him know that you are just acutely embarrassed, uninformed; is not the mature stance, or response, that I would expect of an Australian National Leadership.

So, let me look at the “legalities” of what happened in Sweden in August, and subsequent.

Timeline1

So, who knows. Am very suspicious about the “timing” -

And it IS tempting to “invent” some dialogues. [Disclaimer – not fact, “rape” is objectively difficult to define. This is a short summary based on 50 years of interaction between me and various human European origin females; and what have been able to discover from the internet.]

Female 1:(very happy, wanting to share) “'alloo, S here, you know Julian?'

Female 2:“Ya”

Female 1:“We have beautiful night”

2: “Oh?”'

1: “ya, he is so beautiful”

2: “you have sex with him?”

1: “Ya, he very strong”.

Long pause …....

Yes, can imagine the sort of thing that happens next. Information sharing. 'Me also. What, no condom?” “No”. “Have you?”, “No”, “Oh shit, has he ....?” “No idea”. Ring the bastard! Ask him````````````````````````````. No contact, where is he?, report to police, find him, ask him.

The whole Swedish situation seems to have gone a bit pearshaped from there.

focussing attention

Ah,the media stoush as to who presents the message. Who wins the advertising campaign?

As Marshall Mcluan said many, many years ago (not going to make it easy, look'im up) the Media is the Message.