Here’s Trouble Is Still Alive
Hello Everyone,
Sorry for being incommunicando for the last few weeks. My mother was in the final stages of metastatic breast cancer and she finally passed away earlier this month. I plan to resume posts very shortly.
Here’s Trouble Brief Blogs for 2009-11-03
- CPRS (emissions trading) quack scheme cost expected to blow out by $1.2 Billion dollars: http://bit.ly/3Cin47
- Last few remaining Yemen Jews forced to leave following Muslim threats and attacks: http://bit.ly/W99Z5
- How to revive a mobile phone or electronic device if you’ve dropped it in water: http://bit.ly/4hkZJy
- KFC founder Colonel Sanders visits the UN: http://bit.ly/4f4CUd
- Israeli biotech firm BiondVax develops universal Influenza vaccine: http://bit.ly/FD6u2
- 52-year old washing machine sets operating record: http://bit.ly/2UgREt
- Church of Scientology’s latest victim – an Aussie soldier: http://bit.ly/19Lrq4
- Fantastic article from the Independent explaining the reality of ‘Palestinian refugees’: http://bit.ly/2CcMnF
- ASIC backstabs victims of corporate fraud and mismanagement by making class action lawsuits harder to initiate: http://bit.ly/tR1WL
- Idiots in public education: South Australian school bans hugging between boys and girls: http://bit.ly/2xky2h
- Israeli court sets precedent to avoid sexism and prejudice in domestic violence lawsuits: http://bit.ly/4kjvar
- ABC TV presenter Virginia Trioli’s finger twirling gesture directed at Barnaby Joyce exposes Left-wing bias of ABC: http://bit.ly/4lBWKF
Here’s Trouble Brief Blogs for 2009-10-19
- Former British army commander tells UN that Israel did more to safeguard civilians in Gaza than any army in history: http://bit.ly/4lDYVV #
- American couple trade children for cockatoo: http://bit.ly/3jdzfY #
- How to flu-proof your home: http://bit.ly/h2lF0 #
- Secular Republic of Turkey falls to the dogs: http://bit.ly/1sbxiY #
- American stupidity: travellers to USA to be charged $10 when entering USA, to "attract tourists": http://bit.ly/2sBEQl #
- Crappy workplace of the week: Medicare Parramatta: http://bit.ly/ZsXpa #
- Australia a "soft target for ATM skimming" says International Expert: http://bit.ly/RYkrF #
- BBC Climate Change correspondent does U-turn on alarmist predictions: http://bit.ly/25r3FE #
- The ETS scheme – is it just a tax increase by stealth? http://bit.ly/HNtX9 #
- Australians want nuclear power: http://bit.ly/374wb9 #
- Newest superconductor sets world record for working temperature of 254 Kelvins (19 deg C): http://bit.ly/326RCQ #
- How to scab Australian residency: a guide for illegal immigrants: http://bit.ly/2M1rlR #
Here’s Trouble Brief Blogs for Week Ending 2009-10-12
- Australian Mining company Lihir Gold reckons that gold could reach $1500/oz: http://bit.ly/4CV2jK #
- Broke British government starts selling off assets to pay for their past mismanagement: http://bit.ly/K71ZQ #
- British Government to scare children at bedtime with latest global warming alarmism propaganda ad: http://bit.ly/2mNzF4 #
- Saudi Arabian man sentenced to 5 years prison and 1000 lashes for boasting about his sex exploits on TV: http://bit.ly/cxtIu #
- The days of blackface performances are truly over: http://bit.ly/yJKqp #
- Getting married? Don’t hire this photographer for your special day: http://bit.ly/1KVxCz #
- Italian Scientists create fake Shroud of Turin using 14th century techniques, adding to evidence that it is a fake: http://bit.ly/paF2l #
- Nope, Iranian madman Ahmadinejad is not of Jewish descent: http://bit.ly/AcZv #
- Science: Another Ice Age? From Time Magazine June 1974 – http://bit.ly/oMnvF #
- $15 device that allows Arab Women to fake their virginity causes outrage in Egypt: http://bit.ly/NRfcF #
- Aspiring book burning Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni launches ‘war’ to avenge UNESCO election loss: http://bit.ly/15ZVqg #
- Blogger exposes falsehood of Goldstone report on Gaza: http://bit.ly/2rwTg0 #
- ANSTO and Australian National University join forces to develop clean nuclear power: http://bit.ly/h5V2J #
- Religious advisory panel opposes secular ethics classes for NSW primary school students: http://bit.ly/VOAs #
- Supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths agree to stop blocking competitors from leasing space in shopping centres: http://bit.ly/zhsJR #
- Idiots in public education – Queensland public school gives bullied autistic boy a ‘stop’ sign to ward off bullies: http://bit.ly/Wchl2 #
- Communications Minister Stephen Conroy announces plan to split Telstra: http://bit.ly/jWOu8 #
- Leading Lebanese Muslim cleric issues fatwa forbidding normal relations with Israel, even with a peace treaty: http://bit.ly/cZSNi #
- 12-year old Yemeni child bride dies giving birth: http://bit.ly/3u2W7N #
- In South Africa, a carrier pigeon provided faster connectivity than ADSL Broadband Internet: http://bit.ly/147rQa #
- Australian Idol accused of exploiting mentally ill people for entertainment: http://bit.ly/H7291 #
- Stupid Liberal MP Scott Morrison says porn should be treated like guns: http://bit.ly/dmR0n #
- Canada grants white South African asylum: http://bit.ly/AvqdN #
- No principles, no morals: UK prostitutes itself to Libyan Dictatorship: http://bit.ly/1YtTgU #
- Great Britain surely is the best place to commit a bank robbery: http://bit.ly/2PMUEz #
- Irresponsible, Lying French TV Journalist Charles Enderlin, who promoted Al-Dura hoax, awarded France’s highest honour: http://bit.ly/YoFdc #
- NSW Premier Nathan Rees the Super Hero: http://bit.ly/W2Igk #
- India and China have “complete convergence” on climate issues: http://bit.ly/n1Xld #
- Very scary – Israeli scientists discover how to fake DNA evidence without physical contact with the target: http://bit.ly/4nhrIS #
- He’s a really lucky prick: Crashed pilot rescued from Irish sea by rowing team attempting world record: http://bit.ly/1JwMSt #
- No more shots! Israeli researchers develop new tablet treatment for diabetes: http://bit.ly/Sriys #
- He had it coming: Rapper C-Murder convicted of murder: http://tinyurl.com/ouk5kq #
- Canadian Catholic Church pays $15 million in compensation for sexual abuse of children: http://tinyurl.com/lrdgnp #
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu learns from predecessors’ mistakes: http://tinyurl.com/mb8roy #
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reckons that Australian home prices are overvalued by 20%: http://tinyurl.com/lxnwa7 #
Copper Doorhandles & Fittings Might Keep You Healthy
Infectious diseases are an increasing problem in big cities with high population densities. Indeed, fears of a swine flu (H1N1) pandemic have dominated media headlines this year. Diseases are frequently spread when people with dirty hands touch shared surfaces. For example, if a sick person covers their mouch when coughing, and then uses that same hand to open a door, the door handle may harbour their germs. Other people who touch that door handle may be infected.
Copper doorhandles may help prevent the spread of germs. The antimicrobial effects of copper have been known for thousands of years, but recent studies have shown that the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA (Golden Staph) that is commonly found in hospitals, cannot survive on copper surfaces for more than 90 minutes:
- Could a copper door handle help to beat MRSA?
- Copper alloy hardware is naturally antibacterial:
- Putting copper into action: copper-impregnated products with potent biocidal activities
In contrast, the more common stainless steel surfaces allow germs to survive for days, and can only be effectively cleaned using antiseptics, which need to be frequently reapplied and can cause allergic reactions in some people.
This means that reducing the spread of germs around our homes and offices may be as simple as installing copper doorhandles, and copper versions of other fittings with frequent human contact like taps, faucets, push plates and elevator buttons. The copper-containing alloys brass and bronze are also effective, but take longer to kill germs.
Barack Obama Did Not Deserve A Nobel Prize
Nobel Prizes have traditionally been awarded for ACHIEVEMENT in a certain field, not INTENTION or ENCOURAGEMENT.
Barack Obama might have grand plans for his own vision of peace, but he has not made any sort of measurable achievement that deserves this kind of recognition.
In my opinion, the Nobel Prize for Peace completely lost all credibility long ago, judging from the long list of recent questionable [undeserving] recipients: Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Yasser Arafat, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger & Le Duc Tho.
My advice to the Nobel Committee: stick to prizes for solid science.
Four Ways You Can Save Money On Books
Not many people would dispute that Australian consumers get ripped off when buying books.
I first noticed this in the year 2000, when the GST was introduced by the Howard government. I was a university student, and the cost of a single textbook had broken the $100 barrier. It seemed that book prices had virtually doubled overnight. When I asked the manager, I was told that the introduction of the 10% GST and the new accounting procedures added a lot of overhead.
I think that’s only a small part of the explanation:
In Australia, four chain bookstores dominate retail book sales: Dymocks, Angus & Robertson, Borders & the Co-op Bookshop. They are traditional walk-in bookshops with large displays, elaborate decorations and many staff. Online book retailing in Australia has not yet reached the mainstream as it is in the USA and Europe.
Also, Australia has controversial laws preventing parallel importation – stores are not allowed to legally sell a cheaply imported book published overseas if the same book has also been published locally. There have been calls to change these laws to allow parallel importation, but I doubt it will reduce prices significantly.
Despite this, there are still many things you can do to avoid overspending on books. Here is a list:
Aspiring Egyptian Book Burner Loses Bid To Head UNESCO
Filed under: International News, International Politics, Middle-East Affairs
Long-serving Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny has lost his bid to become the new Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation – UNESCO. The position was instead won by former Bulgarian Minister Irina Bokova, who received a majority of the final vote 31-27, amongst the 58 delegates.
Farouk Hosni’s campaign was hampered by a threat he made in the Egyptian parliament last year to personally burn any Israeli book he found in Egypt’s famous Library of Alexandria.
According to the linked article, “Critics also said that Mr Hosni was unfit to be UN guardian of culture because he censored books and films and stifled media freedom to support the authoritarian Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak”.
In true Arab Muslim style, he blamed his election loss on a “Jewish Conspiracy, cooked up in New York”.
The Final Word on 2Day FM Shock Jock Kyle Sandilands
Kyle Sandilands is in the news again, this time for his jibe that Australian TV comedienne Magna Szubanski could lose more weight if she were placed in a concentration camp. He has been suspended from duties at 2Day FM.
I agree that this is offensive for a number of reasons, but should this be another scandal? I say no.
Kyle Sandilands is a SHOCK JOCK – not a diplomat, politician, church leader or anyone with an important public role of responsibility. His job is to say offensive things on radio. Some radio listeners are entertained by his frequently crude and offensive remarks, and that is why he is there.
Whilst I am here, I also commend Magda Szubanski for her achievement of losing 36kg, lowering her weight from 121kg to 85kg – She is a great role model for other obese individuals who want to lose weight.
Young Couple from Queensland to Face Trial For Using Abortion Medicines
Filed under: Australian News, Australian Politics
Australia is truly regressing backwards. Earlier this week, we had the stupid Liberal MP Scott Morrison tell parliament that pornography is as dangerous as firearms. Now we have this:
A young couple in Queensland, aged 19 and 21 respectively, have been commited to trial for using abortion drugs to ‘procure a miscarriage’. The story goes that the police, whilst searching their home for another undisclosed reason, came across the used packaging for the abortion drugs RU486 (Mifepristone) – commonly called the ‘Abortion Pill’, and Misoprostol. Due to meddling by religious conservatives in parliament, RU486 is not easy to obtain in Australia, even though it is widely available in other countries, including our neighbour New Zealand and most European nations.
Here are some newspaper links that tell the story in depth:
- Couple Face Trial for Procuring Miscarriage
- Doctors threaten Queensland Abortion Test Case
- Queensland Abortion Law to Spark Vexed Debate
One can infer from the above that the Queensland police did not find what they were really looking for during the search, and just so that would not leave empty handed, they came up with another petty reason to charge the couple. Apparently, this is the first prosecution for this offence in 50 years! If convicted, the woman may face up to 7 years prison and her partner may face up to 3 years.
What beefs me even more is that if the couple had gone to a public hospital or private clinic for a surgical abortion, that would have been perfectly legal, but because they took the drugs of their own initiative – obviously because it was faster, cheaper and less traumatic than surgery – they now face prosection.
In my opinion, there is no greatly cruelty than to give birth to an unwanted child who does not have parents with the will or means to look after them. This young couple had mutually agreed to abort their pregnancy and they knew they were not ready. Furthermore, they had the support of both their parents.
In what way does society gain from prosecuting this young couple?
