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30.11.06

The Greek machine and more.



It seems the ancient Greeks had a device it did all kinds of things looking at it you have to remember that after revised dating by researchers it was reckoned to have been in use around a 100 years BC phenomenal it looks cruddy but cruddy it wasn’t.
It correctly predicted certain astronomical events indeed it could chart irregularities of the moon and all mechanical gosh no Silicon Valley influence here for the ancients no micro chips holy moley a forerunner of the Bill gates technology perhaps lol.


Brazilian Stonehenge

It seems 127 granite monoliths up to three metres high has been discovered in the Amazon near French Guiana which could be 2000 years old In December; the path of the sun allows rays to pass through a hole in one of the blocks, possibly to calculate agricultural activity and religious rituals.
Archaeologists reckon the find holds mysteries similar to Stonehenge, in Salisbury, England, another monument of huge stones, whose purpose is also unclear.
I have been to Stonehenge indeed there are articles about it in my archives a truly amazing place.




Coin collectors take note

Go shower as coins according to this do not smell but we do well I know that we smell but coins takes a bit of believing I know.
According to this report the smell emanating from the coins is all an illusion it is in fact you when you touch them do you believe that? What a crock of **** Lol I have now relegated my depleted coin collection to a chest in the cellar.



I just read the silliest thing on live science HOW DID THE EARTH GET IT’S NAME answer was well we really don’t know I am now wondering why it was reported indeed why I even blogged it.

Some creatures can really take the heat up to 55 degrees Celsius which is 131Fahrenheit approximately wow not this creature that’s for sure 96 F will do me fine.
It actually is a worm gotta be tough skinned I reckon.
We can take that temperature in the air but this is in sea vents and it seems the human body can only stand about 105 degrees after that it becomes unbearable, ok go try it in your hot tub I shan’t ok I know I haven’t got a hot tub lol







Sources BBC and Live Science

Thanks to blogger this is the second try at posting this I realise the service is free I realise the job it must be to maintain all of the blogs on here but good grief it seems to be an everyday event for me the picture here is one I see all too frequently.
One wonders if Google have taken too much on in their bid to out rival Microsoft





  
















29.11.06

Please sir can we have time to pay




The dirty Dozen 

LOS ANGELES - A potential US$1 billion-plus class action lawsuit by American farmers against the AWB will likely be filed in the US in coming weeks, the US lawyer leading the case said today.
The thing is our esteemed Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Downer knew all about the shortcomings of the Australian Wheat Board [AWB] and denied it at first and then admitted it at the Cole enquiry and yet John Howard PM MP says he has a list of at least 12 to take the rap which could mean incarceration for them and the way in which this report from the New Zealand Herald was printed was obviously not well researched as at the Cole enquiry Downer admitted it in the end so why is he not one of the twelve men in this report.








This report calls it the dirty dozen I respectfully submit it should be re-phrased to the dirty baker’s dozen.
What cause has Howard to feel so relaxed over the admission that the AWB shelled out grease money to the tune of A$351 Million that money was the tax payers money no good him sitting smugly back the BUCK stops with him.
The sooner he and that chubby opposition leader leave politics the better.
Kim Beazley is just not a good enough Labor leader in my opinion; we only really have had one good one in recent times and he was an excellent treasurer and Prime Minister.
I personally loathed him but voted for him as he was very good at his job.
His name for folk not in the know was Paul Keating
Mind you even he was a sneaky bastard but then look at the little runt we have now.
Sadly if the Australian Labor Party doesn’t get their house in order he will get in once more.
I am sure somewhere that Blair and possibly Bush had some sweet deal with Iraqi officials as well.

Source



Did you know.





Think twice. Keeping warm in the winter is a heated issue now that electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) from electric blankets may be linked to health hazards. Unplug your electric blanket and switch to a cosy eco-blanket instead.

Well I didn’t but I don’t really know if it is linked to health hazards but I do know it is not advisable for young children to use them.

Courtesy of the Bite
EMF

Another tip is this awesome USB Link Cable for you today that makes swapping files between computers absolutely painless! Just plug one end of the USB cord into each computer and a little window opens up. Click the icon in that window and an explorer-like program runs. From there, it's just a matter of dragging and dropping files from one computer to the other! It couldn't be any easier! Well to be truthful I haven’t seen one but here is a picture of one. Not expensive either for residents of the USA I must look around here they have to be on sale in Ozz surely!


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Israel developing 'bionic hornet' weapon


Capable of flying into otherwise unreachable areas, the
Nanotech-based robot could photograph its targets. Or kill them.
I thought the US Military had such things I know I saw one doing a reconnaissance mission in the Iraqi cock up oh well what with training Dolphins and other animals to do our dirty work for us we now seem to have these Nanotech doovers as well.
Source
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Thanksgiving in space
 


Space turkey with all the trimmings: The only American in space this Thanksgiving was Michael Lopez-Alegria and it seems he had the traditional turkey meal when he sat um floated down to dinner, accompanied by candied yams and cornbread dressing. Lopez-Alegria even enjoyed some cranberry sauce, thanks to a choice of single-serving condiments on-board. The thermo stabilised smoked turkey may be similar to that eaten by the Apollo 11 moonwalkers as their first meal on the surface, but the variety of side dishes has expanded by giant leaps since then.
It's going to get better what with the Mars mission in mind I mean it has to but from what I read they are working on it Celebrity Chefs was what I read gee I could eat that right now.
A far cry from the old days from mere drinks like Tang then food in a tube to this as depicted here.
Sourced from space news








27.11.06

What a day

I just can’t seem to do anything right today I had my usual game of Dominoes with my friend in WA and we chatted a few Hmmms were typed lol but I have been having big problems trying to post anything even the last one and this one was done on the Opera browser a bit different but I quite like it; it’s fast much easier to customise than FireFox I don’t know about IE7 I have never tried I try not to use it.
The TV gadget is acting up heaven knows why but I am sick of it so I am going to have a really early night and watch TV

Cricket Australia versus the Brits for the ashes battle



A change of habits for me.



A few months ago on one of my shopping expeditions I popped into my favourite shop or store which most of us here call the disc man in fact it’s really the disc shop.

A little gadget caught my eye watching your TV on your computer whilst working well I have to admit I never did much work at first.




















I promptly forgot about it for a very long time and then I thought well my favourite game is being screened against the old enemy cricket of course.

I am still dinking with this and have managed to capture a few pics but it seems that it is possible to capture portions of it in mpeg format; I will fathom this for sure in the end.

This device is actually very small as can be seen here just click on all images they will be fairly big I hope!!

At the moment it keeps closing after a few minutes very annoying maybe I should get another I will check.



This feller here has all sorts of stuff but please remember the prices are in Australian dollars so if you are American it is a waste of time comparing prices to your dollars as our cost of living is higher hence we get paid more to compensate.





A hundred bucks here is very small feed here.

I notice it has gone wrong again but I will just re install it when I feel like it no when I have the time.

Enjoy the images especially the English fans lol.


















So I was fed up last night with this dam computer so I actually installed my TV in my bedroom (my son has my portable one will I ever get it back Hmm)and watched a 4 hour long movie first time in well over a year I have done that.
Matter of fact I am having one hell of a job to post this according to one computer Google is not working so I tried on another one which at least let me save it.
I am now wondering if it is the new FireFox browser as it seems to be ok on Opera ah well I will soon find out I guess, still after a good 2 hours I dam well hope so.
Big straightening up here now a DIY which I loathe but am in the middle of doing at the moment in between writing this

I am hating it but it looks good so many wires I had no idea and boy are my books heavy oh well it has to be done I guess.


 

24.11.06

I meant to do this yesterday but I got a bit tied up

Well I went out to the library had my hair cut what little is left of it got my beard trimmed. Got home pretty late and thought I would see if a lady I write to in WA was awake as I know she likes playing online games; yep she was soooooo we got playing and we chat as well and every now and again she will type Hmmm; lately she has been doing it a lot and one night I recall asking her what she meant by it she just dead panned and said it’s a brain fart, course this got us both laughing a bit; I won’t mention all the conversation but I more or less threatened I was going to blog it and she so cutely typed noooooooooooooo so I thought why not just as a tease She’s been a bit tired lately [ what an understatement that is she is always tired ] course we both laugh. Mind you she has some very good traits she bakes and sends cookies and other tucker to the troops in Iraq; Afghanistan as well I think. Helps folk out a lot runs a scout troop I think. Very community spirited is my friend and opponent, and there is not many of them left in this world now. I am now wondering if I have lost another true friend by blogging it but I hope not Hmmm oh gosh she’s got me doing it now LOL

22.11.06

Interested in the universe

The final frontier Then this is the site for you I have really been very fascinated by all this site has to offer it has all sorts on it even science. I actually get their newsletter into my e-mail box everyday if you are interested in aliens from another world to meteors and all space news this is a must. There is also lots of wall paper here for your screensaver not that you need a screensaver these days but it is great to look at if you have an unexpected visitor. All manner of space shots abound here and it makes a pleasant change to switch your desktop on or laptop and see Saturn or any number of planets. Some folk get fads and change their’s everyday I will leave mine on a good month before changing it. News of the international space station oh I could go on and on about the stuff on here. I particularly liked the space walkers so they get top billing on my computer. There are even pictures of Neil Armstrong on the Moon in 1969, Buzz Aldrin driving around even one of them saluting the Stars and stripes. Below is all of what can be seen here. Site Map | News | SpaceFlight | Science | Technology | Entertainment | SpaceViews | NightSky | Ad Astra | SETI Hot Topics | Sun | Mercury | Venus | Earth | Moon | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto | Meteors | Supernovas Planets | Solar System | Milky Way | Comets | Asteroids | Eclipse | Auroras | Black Holes | Stars | Universe | Galaxies | Nebulas | UFO Hubble | Astronomy | Telescope | NASA | Astronaut | Space Shuttle | ISS | Columbia | Alien Life | SETI | Satellites Space Tourism | Solar Flares Image Galleries | Videos | Reader Favorites | Image of the Day | Amazing Images | Wallpapers | Games | Community about us | FREE Email Newsletter | message boards | register at SPACE.com I Image is clickable all images for those that are not in the know are always clickable Space

All this is quite beyond me honestly

But it does seem Microsoft is as greedy as ever.

All this suing is all beyond me I just don’t understand all this but it seems to be getting worse at Microsoft since Gates departed HE HAS LEFT I PRESUME.

A greedy man if ever there was one although we have had our share of them in Australia one bloke whizzed off to Spain in a big hurry but after what most Australians thought were deliberate delaying tactics by the Spanish died before we could arrest him.

Back to Microsoft I have noticed they were not adverse in putting a Microsoft FireFox browser on the market with Gates big ugly mug on it you notice.

One has to purchase it of course and if you decide to buy it [DON’T] you will lose all your bookmarks or favourites.

I am now wondering why FireFox don’t sue them, I can recall when Java sun did and won the case.

Perhaps if and when the Military is recalled from Iraq [no chance sadly of that yet] they could go bomb the crap out of the former Gates empire like do a 9/11 on them or something.

Oh did I say former empire well yeah I did but he must have mucho shares in the place he’s not that much of a fool surely nah never thought so.

Look out Redmond WA the Green Beret’s are on their way. Lol.

I have often wondered about using a different operating system on my computer’s but number one I am not sure, two my son puts me off thirdly I don’t know how yet

I must look into this in a serious manner I reckon and see what the go is.

The thing is sadly I like office 2003 [I shan’t bother with the 2007 edition] power point and excel.

There is a free office I know but I just don’t like their format what’s a bloke to do who knows.

I tell you what I did notice one time and that was a lot of viruses were coming from the Redmond area food for thought.

I’m off to check all this out now I think while its still fresh in this aged mind of mine

New Zealand Herald

21.11.06

WWII veteran returns to Okinawa after 61 years

A USMC HERO

Staff Sergeant Jesse Harper popped into the fourth Marine Regimental Corps ball recently much more peacefully than he did the first time in the battle for Okinawa which was 61 years ago time surely flies.

Jesse said it was really great to be invited as the guest of honour.

He enjoyed telling them all how proud he was to have gone to Okinawa and did what was his duty.

I for one am very glad he and the many thousands of Americans did this in WW11 more so when I think back and recall they helped save our lives in wartime Britain.

I was just a schoolboy then and had been bombed out of home twice.

I notice he joined the USMC in June 1944 when our streets were overrun with convoys awaiting D Day.

It’s my belief that serving in the Pacific theatre was much worse than in Europe.

My own Father was in that theatre of war.

Jesse was born in Oklahoma and his war record is very impressive first up was the Solomon Islands where he trained on Rocket launchers

He actually used one of these during the battle for Okinawa his platoon fired many of these rockets in a support operation which included the Sugarloaf Hill battle; in fact over 70,000 were fired phew so many when you think how a battle is fought today.

He reckons that when he stood there recently he hardly recognised the place

I don’t doubt it for one moment considering his platoon bombarded the hell out of it for 14 days.

Jesse did ok after wars end as well it seems not only did he join the USMC Reserves he also graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education [University of Houston]

He was recalled to active duty for the Korean War landing in Inchon using 60 MM mortars.

He had only been married for just 2 days and reckoned they were the happiest 2 days of his life

After being wounded and patched up he then participated in battles at Wonson, Hamhung, and the Chosin Reservoir.

Jesse joined the Chosin Few in 1990, an organisation of survivors from Chosin Reservoir. He still participates in community projects such as educating Texas A&M students, Texas high school students, and Texas Reserve Officers' Training Corps units about the Korean War; He still seems to have that Military streak in him

He lives in Houston with his wife Billie Jean.

All info from Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Todd, MCB Camp Butler Okinawa Japan with thanks.

20.11.06

Stuff

Monday 20th of November 2006

I have taken to dating my own blogs as blogger always seem to mess up the date and time, I suppose they will get it right now to make me eat my words Looks like the global joy over China’s easing of restrictions to the free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, could come to a stop as reports indicate Chinese Internet users are blocked once more. Its my opinion the Chinese want utter control over their inhabitants and this is proving just a tad too much for them they seem to be in a catch 22 situation on off etc. I am not keen on the Red Chinese Government and I don’t think I ever will be their ordinary people well yes I do wonder why they are putting up with this Autocratic Government of theirs but they are certainly in an unenviable situation. itwire

Worlds longest Golf drive

So after years of debate on how to dispose of rubbish from the international space station, NASA has come up with the answer - open the back door and fling it out.

Tiger Woods where are you oh and my countryman in self imposed exile Greg Norman.

I think I blogged about space debris before but it surely is becoming a habit to just bin it into space no policing of it in space as yet.

Worlds longest Golf drive yeah right .

During a spacewalk set for Wednesday, cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin plans to use a 6-iron to knock a lightweight golf ball off a tee placed on the top of the Russian docking port at the International Space Station.

The thing is will he get a hole in one nah I don’t think so but the ball could cause considerable damage in my opinion to other space trotters.

It has all been teed up with NASA excuse the pun, but according to what I read here it has been done before by Allen Sheppard on the moon; does that count I wonder.

In 1971 as well he reckoned it went for miles.

A publicity stunt conceived by Toronto golf club maker Element 21 Golf Co. -- to provide a Russian cosmonaut with the equipment he'll need to hit a record-breaking drive in outer space -- will go ahead next week.

Now Australia’s main whinge if you use the internet

ADSL2 fast internet broadband for some American readers who were not aware of it.

There are many of us now who use this medium for business and pleasure.

But we are being thwarted by Telstra AGAIN greedy lot.

I received this in my mail box this morning and went to their site here as sent to me with the info it really told me jack zip to be honest but I do know some companies using it already like prawn net au, my mob is due to get it as well and there are others; one big problem when it comes in it will only be available in cities and suburbs.

One problem is that Telstra own all phone lines here regardless of whether you use another phone provider.

At the moment all broadband connections here are at the cruddy speed of 1.5 Megabytes per second whereas in Europe and the USA it is much faster, this info published below may or may not explain it.

Are youse ready to read ok here we go and please read it to the end I have put some comments of my own in this.

QUOTED from an e-mail sent to me today.

Telstra has shelved plans to roll out an alternative high-speed broadband network unless it can win guarantees from the competition regulator about its terms of operation.

Most market watchers were expecting Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo to detail plans for a high-speed broadband network at a key strategy briefing tomorrow but AFR has learned that Telstra has no intention of switching on a new and much faster broadband service that is available over the carrier's existing copper network.

Instead, the Telco will hold off until it can get a guarantee from ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel that no competitors will be granted wholesale access to the service, known as ADSL2+, except on what it considers to be commercial terms.

It means that Mr Trujillo's focus tomorrow will be on the new wireless 3G strategy as the key to growth for the business and for its broadband strategy. This is despite problems in acquiring mobile handsets, meaning the choice will be extremely limited — at least initially.

Telstra's refusal to contemplate the rollout of the ADSL2+ network at the moment will heighten tensions with the government, which is already under fire from Labor for presiding over a system that has made Australia a "broadband backwater."

Telstra has capped the speed on its existing fixed-line broadband service, ADSL, at 1.5 megabits per second. Earlier this year, Telstra ditched plans to spend $4 billion building an even faster fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network, citing lack of regulatory certainty; It followed the failure to reach an acceptable deal with Mr Samuel on FTTN after months of negotiation.

The refusal to proceed with even a more modest version of an upgraded fixed network will mean broadband speeds on fixed lines for most Australian homes will remain at levels now considered unacceptable in most other developed countries.

Telstra is instead promising that it will deliver much faster wireless broadband speeds to 98 per cent of the country on its so-called Next G Network, a $1.1 billion third-generation mobile phone network on the 850 MHz band that is central to Mr Trujillo's turnaround strategy.

I've used 1xEVDO CDMA which is 1mb/s.. and honestly if you have crappy weather the signal will be stuffed...they will have to do a lot more .. like increase tx pwr or something before I sign up for wireless.. it was awfully expensive.. they'd have to offer unlimited plans....before I sign up for wireless.. wireless is a novel idea if the atmos is in sync......and a tx is nearby ...

QUOTE

It says this will deliver speeds of up to 3.6 megabits per second on this service this year and up to 14.4 megabits per second by the first quarter of next year. The Telstra CEO is expected to argue that congestion will not be an issue most of the time for most users.

[ADSL2+ offer speeds up to 24 megabits per second]

That means at launch, the new network will be at least three to five times as fast as the current network. Telstra will simultaneously launch a "black spots" campaign to ensure any problems in coverage are fixed as quickly as possible through adjustment of towers.

Many of Telstra's competitors have installed their own equipment, known as DSLASMs, into Telstra exchanges and are delivering the [ADSL2+] now — but in modest numbers.

Telstra is arguing to the ACCC that the relatively low cost to its rivals of putting in this equipment is another reason there is no need for the service to be "declared" by the competition regulator — which makes it subject to determinations by the regulator about pricing and access for rivals.

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**WARNING: those offended by speculation, estimation, open discussion and the posting of Telstra pricing may be offended **

A few things I have noticed over the past few weeks, and a conclusion I wish to propose.

- Telstra sticking with ADSL1 for the foreseeable future.

- Telstra not using ADSL2 throttled back to ADSL1 speeds to reach more customers.

- Telstra refusing to fix many non ADSL CMUX/RIM's even though they have a captive ROI.

- Telstra marketing 3G as a "broadband option" with pricing on par with Bigpond DSL for low-end users (if line rental is subtracted).

- Telstra not being price competitive with HFC on high end plans.

The outcome I see from all this is:

- Telstra will stick with ADSL1 for a long time to come.

- Telstra will tout HFC and 3G as an alternative to ADSL.

- Because of this, Telstra will be less likely to deploy ADSL in unserviced areas.

- Telstra will use the "everyone wins" line of thinking..... everyone now has access to broadband at good prices (of course, as long as you are a typical Bigpond user).

- Telstra will keep fighting issues that enable the provision of cheap ADSL2.

- Telstra will, by not releasing ADSL2, concentrate on low-end users who are more likely to buy content from Telstra business units and not use things such as VoIP.

- Telstra has accepted that ADSL2 users are of little value to them and will happily let them go to other ISP's.

I actually think many members have got it a bit wrong (!!!) - Telstra actually is not interested in providing fast broadband - it has HFC Extreme and 1500/256 but only really attractive to small section of the market.

It simply wants to concentrate efforts on the masses - the low end users - who will quite happily chug away on low end speeds. They maybe low value but more likely to fall for content ploys and other "portal" like services.

Telstra has simply accepted - and I think this occurred in early September, that fast broadband at competitive prices is simply not for them. Therefore - it simply will not provide it.

Prediction: When will Telstra release ADSL2? When they manage to somehow make the ADSL2 we have today more expensive......... that is what we need to be vigilant about.

Telstra is not in the business of providing cheap and fast broadband (broadband as a cheap commodity = falling Telstra revenue) - and I think after T3 - we are going to see some nasty things emerge

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This highlights Telstra's need for HFC to complement 3G and no doubt without it Telstra would be under significant pressure to roll-out ADSL2+

IMO Telstra will probably hold off as long as possible with ADSL2+ unless it gets some sort of regulatory concession (probably unlikely). I think that it will depend on how successful Optus' ADSL2+ roll-out is. If Telstra starts to lose a significant number of retail customers that it cant cover with HFC and/or wholesale customers that migrate to Optus then Telstra may be forced into the ADSL2+ market whether it likes it or not.

{ I may be one of them as well }

With the "average" BigPond customer on an "equivalent" 512/128 400MB plan its clear that the majority of their own customers don't need ADSL2+ so the pace of change may be quite slow. That may change, however, if Optus aggressively promote ADSL2+ when their roll-out is complete. Optus' DSL Direct pricing is very competitive, particularly at the entry level and if it decides to do a mass media campaign on ADSL2+ then consumer awareness of ADSL2+ may increase and people may start to question why they are paying BigPond $29.95 for 256/64 200MB when they could have 20,000/820 300MB+600MB Shaped for the same price.

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I agree with many of the posters that ADSL2 is not on the agenda for Telstra. As one poster mentioned, Telstra view the next gen as the solution to provide broadband to the masses. Telstra invested 1billion on the HSPD and therefore they will focus on this network to be the prime delivery service for broadband. With that level of invested they have no alternative but to flog this service to customers. Telstra has placed all its eggs in one basket and may pay the price in the future.

Wireless broadband is not in anyway an adequate substitute for fixed line broadband. Wireless is not as stable as fixed line and is more expensive for customers.

IN EFFECT STUFF YOU PAL.

Boy am I glad I ditched them a long time ago, but folk don’t just want piddley 300 Megabytes now even my plan is 10 Gigabytes up and down sadly its only at 1.5 Megs download at 256 KBPS not 64 as written in this report.

19.11.06

A few snippets.

Bullimore is safe

British yachtsman Tony Bullimore has finally made contact from his catamaran, more than 12 days after he lost all communication.

According to this report he had no radio installed what a clown he must be

I recall the last time this happened in the Southern Ocean in 1997 when he was rescued by the Royal Australian Navy after being spotted by a Royal Australian Air force aircraft; the Navy found him underneath his capsized boat after being in it for quite a few days.

These dare devils I wonder does he actually realise just how much money his stunts cost our poor old taxpayer; probably not he is still at it; one wonders what he might come up with next. **********************************************************************************************************

Sudanese foreign minister Lam Akol

I wonder Lam Akol have you thought that this is not some childish game you are playing here LIVES are at stake what kind of Minister are you? You strike me as being an imbecile personally.

Your people are starving to death and goodness knows what else and you have the temerity to state this you sir are an idiot.

Whether you think the west is after your oil or not is beside the point what’s more you know dam well that some African countries are in the UN still this joker won’t help you Egyptian parliamentarian El-Gendi Mostafa said and I quote

"I will not let anyone come into my house and solve my problems. I'm a man and I will solve my problems myself," Sourced from It never stopped the Israeli's did it they shut him up in the six day war I noticed. ********************************************************************

Another nasty in Iraq

Five security contractors - four Americans and an Austrian were abducted at a fake checkpoint it seems it was the boldest abductions in 2 years we have been there too long for sure.

It seems it was in a considered safe area policed by Brit troops 2 were left behind later discovered by US troops strange in a British area.

This must cease forthwith in my opinion still I have been saying this for well over a year now.

Time to decide America, Great Britain and Australia with the rest of the opposition.

CALL IT A DAY AND GET OUT they don’t want us there can’t you see that by now.

Not so many lives will be lost if you pull out chip in with our money (why not you give it away) let them rebuild it themselves; let the Iraqi’s guarantee any contractors safety not our blokes they and their families have had enough.

FIP

Universal Music sues MySpace.com for copyright infringement

I am now wondering about Google/YouTube LOS ANGELES - Universal Music Group on Friday sued MySpace.com, claiming the online social-networking hub illegally encourages its users to share music and music videos on the site without permission. The complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court, Universal Music contends MySpace, a unit of News Corp is attempting to shield itself from liability by requiring users agree to grant the Web site a license to publish the content they upload to the site. Users, however, have no such authority over works they don't own. This may be so I guess but all the same it is mainly music videos and there was discussion in the UK of ignoring piracy and this could well fit into that category, in response to the lawsuit, MySpace issued a statement saying it is in full compliance with copyright laws and is confident it will prevail in court. Let’s face it Universal is a huge concern far bigger than MySpace, not that I’m batting for MySpace far from it, however if what I read on here seems likely I must upload some of my enemies in double quick time lol. I also much to my astonishment received this in my mail box today nothing new really as all kinds of bugs are on lots of sites. {My Space Attacks Now, I already know that many of you think of MySpace as only a joke, I think several of you use it to keep in touch with your friends and families. Whichever group you fall into, this tip is good to know. Recently, My Space has been getting hit with a lot of virus and malware material. Basically, they have been hacked into. The viruses have been in circulation for quite awhile now and they can do anything from changing settings to deleting files to harming computers. Basically, the computer experts think that the hackers have hidden dangerous software within the site and users can be attacked without even knowing it, just by viewing other peoples' pages. With My Space, you can add different images and texts to your profile without even knowing that they could contain a piece of malware that could damage your computer. If you see any odd activity going on within your profile, the best thing to do is change your password. If you keep changing that, it will be harder for the hackers to find you. Also, it is said that the My Space developers are working hard to combat anything from spreading further, so that is a relief as well. This all may sound scary, but I'm by no means telling you to stop using My Space. These types of things happen in all sorts of programs and on all kinds of Web sites. It's just a thing of the present day times and there's not really anything you can do about it. Of course, only add people to your friends list if you know them and delete anything that may look out of the ordinary. Being cautious is the best thing you can do and that rings true for any online site. Have fun, but stay safe!} The worst ones are spy cookies which can allow a virus in through the back door as it’s called, but this is not a problem today as there are many sites that can get rid of them. Windows has one but I find this one good. Ad aware and its free.

18.11.06

This made me smile

Or video mobs in the news AGAIN.

What a sick and sorry joke this is from MySpace who deny uploading clips which have a copyright.

Of course they have they would not be getting sued otherwise.

I don’t know how MySpace is run in the United States to be honest but MySpace Australia is not run as well as it took them a good month or more to reply to a complaint I had one time.

In the meantime I had deleted my account on it as it was in my mind for a generation much younger than mine.

I still received a reply with words stating hey give us a break here.

What a mob of loonies.

I was discussing video uploading with my youngest son and he dropped the words MySpace my reply was {been there done that} he never mentioned it again but I do know he would never be a member of any of these video sites; he makes his own for his business.

I must say I like YouTube but I do get complaints at times that they cannot view the link I sent them from the tube odd as most other folk can.

BBC

17.11.06

No House of Lords for us Aussies

All states and territories in Australia do have upper houses of course as does our Federal Government EXCEPT good old Queensland who abolished their’s years ago and just has the Legislative assembly as it's Parliament. In New South Wales: • The Legislature consists of the Parliament of New South Wales, made up of two Houses (the Upper House or Legislative Council, and the Lower House or Legislative Assembly) together with the Governor of New South Wales. • The Executive is made up of the Premier and Cabinet or Ministers (currently 19 but there can be up to 21). Each minister is responsible for one or more government departments or agencies. They are appointed from amongst the majority party in Parliament and remain members of Parliament. • The Judiciary is made up of independent judges appointed to a hierarchical system of courts, the highest being the NSW Supreme Court. There are also a series of federal courts with jurisdiction in New South Wales. Above them all, the Commonwealth High Court has been established as the highest court for the whole of Australia. In Tasmania the Lower House is known as the House of Assembly whilst the Upper house is called the legislative council. In South Australia the lower House is known as the House of Assembly, whilst the upper House is the Legislative Council State & Territory Government All State parliaments except Queensland, which abolished its Upper House in 1922, are bicameral, with two Houses of Parliament. The Lower House in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia is known as the Legislative Assembly; in South Australia and Tasmania it is called the House of Assembly. Each of the five State Upper Houses is known as the Legislative Council. Under the Federal Constitution, State Governments are responsible for the residue of powers not administered by the Federal Government. These include education, transport, law enforcement, health services, and agriculture. The Federal or Commonwealth Government also has its own police called the Australian Federal Police. At December 1994, all State governments, except for Queensland which was Labor, were Liberal. The Northern Territory had a Country Liberal Government and the Australian Capital Territory a Labor Government. As at November 2006 all state and territory Governments are now Labor and the Federal Government is a Liberal Coalition with the National Party Arch Conservatives both of them. Heads of the State Governments are known as Premiers; in the NT and the ACT heads of governments are called chief ministers. Voting in Most Australian Elections are compulsory a heavy fine results if one does not attend thus ensuring well over a 90% turn out at the polls on election day. The only thing with our system I myself do not like is the voting ballot system. Called the preferential voting system it to me is very difficult to understand at times a sample of it lies below. Political Information. An explanation of the Australian preferential voting system. (Or of why a candidate that polls less votes than the other candidates still wins the election being contested) Simply put, for an example; say there are a 100 voters. Candidate A receives 45 votes, B receives 40, and C receives 15, all in all 100 votes. C cannot win, so he is allowed to pass on his votes, he passes them to B because he and his political party would prefer B to A, B now has 55 votes which mean’s a majority of voters prefer B to A. Therefore, Preferential voting is fairer than first past the post, wherein A would have won with a minority of voters supporting him. To me this does not seem fair, first past the post is fairer in my book but that to has its drawbacks. Preferential voting was introduced in Australia in 1918 by the Conservative Government with the emergence of the Country Party. Conservatives did not want to split and waste their votes.

16.11.06

Snowvember in Queensland!

The Bureau of Meteorology described the strange November conditions as being a one-in-50 year’s weather event.

The wild weather, which yesterday dumped snow in Victoria and saw Brisbane hit by wild storms, crossed the Queensland border this morning, dusting parts of the Granite Belt with light snow.

I can honestly say I have never heard of this ever happening before and I have been looking through all the records.

Queensland it seems does see snow in a small area of the south east of the state. This area is geographically a continuation of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. The town of Stanthorpe centres on the region.

Thank goodness it’s a long way from me I don’t think I could hack it now.

One reference book I have read talks of a “freak “fall recorded at Mackay. I can only think that the story was geographically inaccurate or plain false. Snow may have fallen on nearby mountains; Mt William about 60 kms west of Mackay has an altitude of 1259m (4000ft), however even here I am inclined to doubt the story. As for falls at Mackay itself, a town on the coast, at sea level and at latitude of 21'S, no I'm not convinced, especially considering snow has not fallen at sea level even as far south as 37'S this century.

ALTHOUGH I can recall it being said that it snowed on Mount Mackay in tropical Queensland however it seems it may have been Mount William; I won’t split hairs over it,

According to the unwritten records of our indigenous people it was the first time in living memory.

Their records are always handed down orally and have been for well over 40.000 years so I guess there could well be a few errors.

Brisbane Courier Mail

The turncoat makes sense.

I have along with a lot of Australians thought of Rupert Murdoch as a traitor to his country; I recall the time when to become a US Citizen which he had to do in those days to buy up Fox and lots of the media; meant that he had to surrender his Australian citizenship.

I do believe the case is different today, however this quote of his below is in fact the truth and he is quite right to bring it to our attention being as he has the ear of our Prime Minister.

AUSTRALIA'S internet infrastructure is a "disgrace" which the Federal Government must fix, News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch said yesterday.

The thing is how much is he going to reap out of it ah yes he did not say it for the mere fact of bolstering our hopes.

No sir he is only interested in how much he can make out of it he is in communications after all, oh yeah and I still think he’s a traitor and a greedy one at that. Brisbane Courier Mail

15.11.06

War Crimes Lawsuit Filed Against Rumsfeld in Germany

Will he be brought to justice?

Personally I don’t think so as I see it the President of the USA carries the can.

He should of course it's his job as Head of State

I also cannot see the Republican Party allowing this to happen or the Democratic Party for that matter.

It does not look good for America and on the whole none of us want any American ridiculed in such a way; he bloody well deserves it of course, I for one would never turn my back on him.

I don’t want a knife thrust in it is why.

Big purges at the White House not only Rummy either hopefully for the better but who knows with the corruption that has gone on under the Bush Regime

Of course there is a lot more to this than meets the eye such as Rumsfeld’s successor one Robert Gates a meek looking individual if ever I saw one.

Be warned he in fact is directly responsible for the terror groups Al Queda and the Taliban.

He was in fact appointed as Director of the CIA by Big Daddy H W Bush who thankfully only managed one term at the White House; sadly for America and the world his son is still on his second and last term as the POTUS but not legally in my opinion democratic elections should never be decided on a court of law.

It will be interesting I think to see if this charge against the former US Secretary of Defense holds water.

He was warned about all these shenanigans.

The name Boykin crops up a real lot in all info I have read on this.

General Boykin is whom I am referring to who often spouted forth on various world leaders and even went so far as to announce that God had appointed President Bush he even went so far as to say he was not elected by a majority of the American voters.

He sure got that bit right as the whole world knows sadly.

This was brought to my attention by an e-mail friend of mine in my country.

I did read a little about it on here.

At the same time mind you the Army has committed terrible tortures on the so Called enemy who as yet have to face a trial do you think it fair I don’t.

Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez under oath denied all this but a document the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) obtained from the Pentagon flat out contradicts Sanchez’s testimony.

On March 30, the ACLU wrote a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

The problem is, Gonzales may himself have committed perjury in his Congressional testimony.

All of these events can be traced back to the White house.

Bush had to have known about this surely Rumsfeld did.

All we need now to square things a little is for Americans to ensure they vote in a Democrat in 2008 as the next POTUS and get back their self esteem, I think I speak for most of the world here.

Sadly here in Australia if we get a change of Government our relationship with both Governments will not be good in fact it is hanging in the balance now.

I am talking governments here and not ordinary people.

For all that though the Democrats must have one of their own as the next POTUS

13.11.06

One sure lives and learns

What it is possible to do in blogging on Blogger

I know only of this happening on Blogger at the time of writing; it seems that if you wish to delete a comment on your Blog prior to doing so, if you consider the comment has merit or for whatever reason all one does is open up comments and copy and paste said comment to notepad or whatever delete the comment as is your right as the blog owner and then just copy and paste that comment in the exact format onto an anonymous comment lodged by yourself to me unethical but I have noticed this.

What a cruddy world we live in to do such a thing, why not just delete it a smutty comment would merit that treatment naturally but to blatantly copy the same comment in Bold or Italics and then delete it and post the same one under anonymous; words fail me.

Still it has certainly opened my eyes somewhat.

11.11.06

What is two minutes

Not long really to remember our fallen. A lot of these Fallen I might add were volunteers and not sent to battle indeed some were from nations that volunteered as an act of patriotism. They came from all walks of life and it is only fair and just we honour them in some way. After all as the video portrays 2 minutes is a mere pittance for what they did. This is an American clip but it applies to all military of every nation that allied itself to fight the enemy. Please remember them on the eleventh hour and eleventh day of the eleventh month in every year.

November is poppy month, the time of the year when by the wearing of a simple emblem, a red poppy, we salute the memory of those who sacrificed their health, their strength, even their lives, that we might live in a free country.

Long known as the corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) because it flourishes as a weed in grain fields, the Flanders poppy as it is now usually called, grew profusely in the trenches and craters of the war zone. Artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the earth and exposed the seeds to the light they needed to germinate.

Today the poppy is worn on Remembrance Day, the 11th of November. At 11 o’clock on that day, everyone is asked to be silent for just two minutes. The silence is a chance to remember all those who have died in wars and to be glad that we are not at war today.

LEST WE FORGET
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