kgwilson

Great idea. This should rule out all politicians, car salesmen and lawyers. Eventually this would result in a much more egalitarian society. There are a few others I could add to the mix as well.

Didn't the Irish sort of invent it & call it Gaelic Football, the Aussies, well Victorians anyway fiddled about with it & changed most of the rules, the ball and the field. It is also referred to as aerial ping pong which is probably more accurate. I am not sure why they call it football when there are a lot of hands involved and it is virtually impossible to work out which way the teams are playing as there is no off side so therefore no territory as in Football, Rugby Union and Thugby League. You can be anywhere on the field apparently. It can be interesting to watch for a while but I fail to be able to relate to the total obsession shown by Victorians. Crowds can be massive so they must be doing something that the public there likes. Conversely it hasn't caught on anywhere else in the world to any great degree.

Hold the phone. Now Barnaby's a Kiwi. Funny how the 2 Greens had to resign & everyone else is going to the high court. Total BS. Nearly half the country was born elsewhere & probably most of them have no idea if they are citizens elsewhere. Its time to fix this antiquated rule.

If they go ahead with this postal vote, the $122 million should be charged to all the right wingers in the LNP who voted for it. If they knew it would cost them 2 or 3 million each, They would be in with a free vote in parliament like a rat up a drainpipe.

The whole thing is pathetic. $122 million to placate the hard line right wing of the LNP & we have to front up with the taxes to pay for it when that entire cost is simply avoided. If labor had a decent charismatic leader the Libs would be gone. Malcolm doesn't seem strong enough to deal with the dorks in his own mob. Australia is the laughing stock of the western world when it comes to marriage equality. The only country that has an elected government that won't make a decision to have a free vote in parliament on such a simple issue. Even the super conservative deeply devout catholic Ireland, along with 22 other countries allow same sex marriage. Crikey this is not 1817 or 1917. I really hope that the high court challenge to this postal vote legality is successful & eventually a parliamentary decision is made. After all this is what the system is there for.

If we had a bill of rights they'd complain that we need a bill of lefts as well

Well we have 3 levels of government and there are unacceptably high levels of corruption in all of them. We currently sit at no 13 on the Corruption Perceptions Index that measures corruption, behind the UK & a number of other European countries plus Canada & Singapore. The USA is down at No 18. No surprises there. NZ has 2 levels of government and is 1st equal with Denmark as the least corrupt nations on the planet. What does that say about the checks and balances of a 3 tier government?

NZ doesn't have an upper house. Neither does Queensland & it should given the history of its politics & general level of past corruption. The concept of the upper house to provide the checks and balances is excellent. The reality of having a bunch of unelected lords who are asleep half the time or those who get there on a pathetic system of preferences when they only got 50 people to vote for them is what is flawed. Anyway if the upper house wasn't there and there was some poorly conceived legislation that got through, it is less than 3 years till the next election & they can be kicked out. What happens now is the upper & lower houses play ping pong with the legislation until the next election & so it goes & f*#! all gets done.

QE2, well she's OK & the system works OK. Whats wrong is having half a dozen states & a territory making different laws on everything when there are only 24 million of us. The tyrany of time and distance disappeared umpteen years ago but we persist with the stupid state & federal system. Get rid of the states & get rid of a useless upper house where you can get elected on only 50 direct votes & have the ability to hold the country to ransom. How smart is that? One national government and local authorities would make management of the country far more effective & things might even get done. The upper house is a complete waste of time given the lack of competence of half of its occupants. It achieves nothing by stifling most of the progressive laws. Queenie can stay & her rep who is appointed by the government anyway won't change anything but provides a level of stability that may easily disappear once some populist Pres get the nod & starts the power grab over time.

Getting pensions from other countries has nothing to do with citizenship. I am not an Australian citizen but applied for a pension because Australia, UK & NZ have a reciprocal agreement. I get a NZ pension (called National Superannuation over there) but to get it I had to apply for an Australian Pension as I live here. Once the process began & I had to divulge every country I'd ever lived in & when. I suddenly found that I was eligible for a UK pension as I worked there for a year in 1973/74 & had a National Insurance number. All this was to make sure Australia had to pay me the least. I now get a NZ pension, & a (small) UK pension as these are not means tested & get nothing from Australia as my assets and income (income includes foreign pensions) are above the threshold. My wife is an Australian Citizen & gets a NZ pension & nothing from Australia. The reciprocal agreement seems to work well for Australia at the expense of the other partners.

I think the main problem with nuclear fission energy is the safe storage of the waste. It really isn't safe anywhere as seismic activity can cause leakage to the atmosphere and some of the more dangerous isotopes have half lives in the thousands of years. Nuclear fusion is the real answer but until we work out how to harness it for more than a few seconds it is pie in the sky. The main detractor to Nuclear power is the publicity from the accidents. There was 1 in the UK, 1 in France several in the US including the big one, 3 mile island plus of course Chernobyl & Fukushima. Chernobyl of course caused a lot of deaths and major health problems in Ukraine, Russia & Scandinavia. Storage technologies are advancing at a massive rate so any argument to continue with fossil fuel energy is extremely short sighted. Not only that but I hear Germany, Holland, Norway France & the UK are to ban petrol & diesel vehicles from 2040. The end of the non renewable energy industry is underway.

I married an Australian. I assume she is a citizen given that she was born here & has an Australian passport. When we lived in NZ she was automatically granted NZ citizenship when she married a NZ citizen. All done for free. I guess she can't become a Pollie unless she renounces her NZ citizenship & I have no idea how you do this. We always owned a property here so when I retired we moved into it. I thought I should apply for citizenship & that's when the bureaucracy hit. First I had to become a permanant resident even though NZrs have some odd status of being able to live & stay here indefinitely. Just don't become a criminal or you get deported which is pretty fair. There is a 58 page "Residency" booklet & 30 page form and the cost was about $5000.00. I think it is more now. Plus I had to get all sorts of information that was also going to cost $xxxx. Once that was all done after a period of time, I think another year I could apply for citizenship. This was cheap at only another $600.00. I had a check & took the on line citizen test. Passed it 100% without looking at anything. I read somewhere that when a lot of Australians were asked to complete the test they actually failed it. I had a good think & asked myself what benefits did I get from being a citizen. I had no intention of becoming a criminal so deportation was not a concern. I had a medicare card, a tax file number, owned real estate, had bank accounts, paid rates, stamp duty and income tax etc & came to the conclusion that the only thing I could not do was VOTE. If I was a citizen not only could I vote but I would be compelled to vote. Personally I think forcing you to vote is undemocratic, but with the preferential system my vote could end up going to someone I didn't want in. The result was/is that I did nothing. So I can't become a Pollie. I don't have dual citizenship. I don't have Australian citizenship & I can't vote. Not such a problem & it saved me heaps in time, effort, stress & money.

I wouldn't have a landline either if the mobile reception was good enough. The secret is not to give your number to any organisation as they often on sell details & once others have it you will be targetted. I generally hang straight up. This morning the chinese voice got to the word windows as I was hanging up. I don't get any calls on my mobile but then I don't give anyone that number. I have a mygov account & they insisted I give them my mobile number so they could text me a code when I log in. I refused as I wouldn't get the message anyway so I now have to answer a secret question when I log on. The do not call register is a waste of time as it doesn't apply to calls from anywhere other than Australia & doesn't apply for charities. The problem is that many charities employ call centres to make the calls for them so even if you give them money some goes to the call centre, some to their executive and administration and generally only a smidgen gets to those the charity is for.

Having lived in a few other places around the world I reckon Australian bureaucracy is at the top of the pack. That and political correctness & getting crazier by the day.

At 7.5 billion and rising by 200,000 per day, humans are definitely not a threatened species either. We try culling ourselves in territorial disputes but even the loss of 50 million in the big dispute in the middle of last century hardly put a dent in the relentless growth. We now inhabit everywhere so have invaded every space originally populated with thousands of species, many of which are now extinct. What is the answer? I don't know but I am glad I won't be around to witness the apocalypse.

Trump seems to be trying to run the country like a family business, appointing all his family to positions that he and they have no idea how to run. All his efforts to get the things he wants done have ended up being stopped by the legal system or congress/senate. Now he's alienated himself from the rest of the world on climate change & failed miserably at the G20, now the G19. Now Junior has bared all in the "Russia thing" to quote the dork. He just lurches from 1 crisis to another. If we had a President I wouldn't be too keen on having one like that. Mind you we do have Tony. He'd have a go.

They even have a Space Agency & put their first rocket into space on 25th of May. The rocket was partly made from carbon fibre & the engines were made with a 3D printer.

The bit I heard on a news snippet sounded hilarious. Trump won't be amused. He has no sense of humour. Has anyone ever seen him smile other than those forced when getting off planes or helicopters. Only lots of round mouth grimaces and little hand finger gestures.

And those who walk their dogs at night past my place, let them poo on my front lawn & refuse to pick it up & dispose of it. Not only my front lawn but on the footpath, parks and on the beach. Grrr.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Company Memo FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director TO: All Employees DATE: November 1, 2015 RE: Gala Christmas Party I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM. Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees! Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time! Merry Christmas to you and your family, Patty Company Memo FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director TO: All Employees DATE: November 2, 2015 RE: Gala Holiday Party In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on, we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols will be sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment. Happy now? Happy Holidays to you and your family, Patty Company Memo FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director TO: All Employees DATE: November 3, 2015 RE: Holiday Party Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn't sign your name... I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody? And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and the executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy. REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED. Patty Company Memo FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director To: All Employees DATE: November 4, 2015 RE: Generic Holiday Party What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work? Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms. Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table. To the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry. We will have booster seats for short people. Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet. I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food . The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first. There will be fresh "low sugar" fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply "no sugar" desserts. Sorry! Did I miss anything?!?!? Patty Company Memo FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director TO: All F*%^ing Employees DATE: November 5, 2015 RE: The F*%^ing Holiday Party I've had it with you vegetarian pricks!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "grill of death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW! The rest of you f*%^ing wierdos can kiss my *ss. I hope you all have a rotten holiday! Drive drunk and die, The B*tch from H*ll!!! Company Memo FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director DATE: November 6, 2015 RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery from her recent nervous breakdown and I'll continue to forward your cards to her at the asylum. In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay. Happy Whatever! Joan

Wasn't is Albert Einstein who responded to the question, "How will WW3 be fought" with "I don't know but WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones". That's why if the nukes start flying the only thing to do is put your head between your knees and kiss your arce goodbye.

I have been thinking of this for some time now, at least 10 seconds and can't think of anything.

Yes what took 4.2 billion years to accumulate we have managed to use most of since the industrial revolution and at the current rate of consumption all the oil will be gone by 2052, gas by 2060 & coal by 2088. All gone in just 300 years & there are still those who believe all this fossil fuel consumption is not having any effect on the planet. Luckily the majority see and understand the problem, the damage done and the use of renewables is increasing exponentially. Have we reached the point of no return? Perhaps but I won't be around to witness the failure. IMHO the probability of the human race going down the same track as the myriad of extinct species is increasing year on year. What comes after is anyones guess as the sun still has another 5 billion years or so to go before it dies.

How Roy Spencer got his "evidence". Roy Spencer And someone here actually takes him seriously?

Personally I don't give a rats. When I'm dead I won't know. The whole funeral thing is for the living & there are thousands of different ceremonies depending on what culture you are part of. Neither burn or burial are that great ecologically and the cost can be prohibitive with funeral directors, embalming, caskets, hearses, crematoriums, chapels, plots, walls etc etc. As soon as you die your carbon footprint increases dramatically until its all over. The only thing I like about funerals is the p!ssup afterwards when you get to have a yarn with people you may not have seen since the last funeral or wedding & won't see till the next one.