Category Archives: Current affairs

Bumper sticker: Is that the truth? Or was your News Limited?

Bumper sticker: Is that the truth? Or was your News Limited?

I spotted this bumper sticker on the back of a car yesterday: “Is that the truth? Or was your News Limited?” I thought this was an interesting statement on News Limited (News Corporation) publications, including The Courier-Mail which has a print media near monopoly in the Brisbane market place. Before the 2013 Federal Election, it was widely reported that News Limited publications were heavily biased towards the Coalition. Was your news being limited? … more »

Cleaning up after a flood — my experience

As a survivor of the 2011 floods in Brisbane, I want to share a few words of experience with people affected by the 2013 floods, particularly in Bundaberg. Prioritise personal safety. Buildings can be structurally unsafe after they have been flooded or even washed off their foundations – get them checked out by specialists if in doubt. Scratches and cuts can get infected – get them attended to. Prioritise relationships – look after the … more »

Make a protest vote, but make your vote count too

Like many people, I am already fed up with the Federal election. The two major parties seem to run negative campaigns against each other, but then promise to outspend each other to buy our votes. I am fed up with it, and I suspect many other people are too. While some people simply will not vote, other people still want to take up their democratic right to vote. Many people also believe that voting … more »

Pigs do fly! – the swine flew …

It seems that my family has finally succumbed to the swine flu. With one child in school and the other in child care, it was only a matter of time. While my various members of my family have been sick at different times during the last two weeks, we only pieced it all together this week. On Monday there was a notice on the child care centre door that one of the children had tested … more »

Australian internet censorship

Update: while the following should work to circumvent the blacklist of sites, packet filtering is another issue altogether. But the real point is that we, as Australian citizens, should not have to go to these lengths to get a clean internet feed. The issue of the Australian Federal Government filtering internet content has been brewing for some time. I have always thought that it would be relatively easy to write a Perl script to fetch … more »

Brisbane’s taxi situation out of control

The Queensland Government desperately needs to reform Brisbane’s taxi licensing system. There are only two taxi companies in the market: Black and White Cabs and Yellow Cabs. 4pm on any weekday, anywhere in Brisbane, you can not get a cab. Tourists take note if you are trying to get to the airport! My wife was waiting for a taxi in the city the other day around 4pm. She had been waiting 20 minutes … more »