National Library of Australia: help us collect 2016 election history!

Wanted: your 2016 election ephemera We did it in 2013, and now we need your help to collect 2016 federal election ephemera for the National Library collection. From posters to how-to-vote cards, stickers, buttons and all original printed material, we want it all—even the occasional political pizza box or collection of pollie-themed teabags. By collecting, preserving and making this material available, we can ensure these stories live on in our nation's history. Read more and contribute

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Some little known facts...

From the people who inhabit I Can Has Cheezburger.

No I won't be Kindle-ing......

I've looked into the e-book phenomenon and I've decided that Kindle (or whoever else puts out a digital book reader in the future) won't be getting my custom.

In the first place, I know that a book in print on paper will not breakdown - as long as my eyes last out so will the book.

My eyes of course are important to me and I'm not sure that anymore peering at font on a bright background is good for these older orbs - or for younger ones for that matter.

If I drop a book when reaching for the loo roll it may curl its corners or even damage its spine, but that's nothing a little sticky tape won't cure - if I regularly drop a Kindle I might not have a workable screen for long. And if I drop it in the bath......

When I haven't got money for the latest bestseller, then my local library is sure to be getting a copy in for no cost to my good self. E-books aren't free.

Books don't need nasty parts like lithium thinga-me-jigs and can eventually return to the environment with less negative effect.

I have old discs and tapes which can't be used anymore because technology changed too fast - printed books can last hundreds of years. The family bible is now over 400 years old.

So Kindle away world - I'll continue to hobnob with real books.

Stephen Mayne out of the barrier and racing

More freedom for The Mayne Report from 9 March 2009.

"The 4-year non-compete agreement with Crikey expired on Monday so we're now able to write about politics and media, plus send emails to more than 500 people at a time and freelance material anywhere we like. However, the focus will still very much remain on delivering a strong weekly corporate governance newsletter and this latest edition has plenty of juicy material."

Go, Stevo!

Terminology matters when you are trying to pick a fight

I have seen a number of amusing comments of late attached to posts concerning the nature of 'blogging' or the content of specific blogs. Some of these observations have been marred by confusing word use.

As Meg Pickard created a nice definition table some time back, I though I would post it here for the edification of the totally confused.

Ogugu Obama email scam

Here's an email scam with a slight difference - a very famous surname.
The American Embassy in Ouagadougou is bound to get a call or two about this one, if the gullible latch onto the Obama name.

"Dear Friend,

I know that this message will come to you as a surprise.

I am the Auditing and Accounting section manager with African Development Bank, Ouagadougou Burkina faso.

I Hope that you will not expose or betray this trust and confident that I am about to repose on you for the mutual benefit of our both families.

I need your urgent assistance in transferring the sum of ($39.5)million to your account within 10 or 14 banking days.

This money has been dormant for years in our Bank without claim.

I want the bank to release the money to you as the nearest person to our deceased customer late Mr.George Small who died along with his supposed next of kin in an aircrash since October 31st 1999.

I don't want the money to go into government treasury as an abondom fund, So this is the reason why I am contacting you so that the bank can release the money to you as the next of kin to the deceased customer.

Please I would like you to keep this proposal as a top secret and delete it if you are not interested.

Upon receipt of your reply, I will give you full details on how the business will be executed and also note that you will have 30% of the above mentioned sum if you agree to handle this business with me.

I am expecting your urgent response as soon as you receive my message

Best Regard,

Mr.Ogugu Obama"

Liberal Party attempting covert takeover of Kwoff?

It seems the Liberal Party of Australia (or one of its ardent supporters) is attempting to flood social news website, Kwoff , with posts from its own official website.

According to its Kwoff profile, this political party has been lodging posts since 28 July 2008.

On one morning alone, the Liberal Party accounted for one quarter of all Just In entries. Defintely a case of political overkill.

Examples found last Wednesday include:

Coalition introduces Lower Lakes Assistance Fund Bill South Australian Senator Nick Minchin today gave notice in the Senate of a Bill to provide $50 million emergen...
by LiberalPartyofAustralia 5 minutes ago liberal.org.au
Treasurer disputes own department's figures Treasurer Wayne Swan today disputed figures released by his own department and confirmed by him the day after ...
by LiberalPartyofAustralia 7 minutes ago liberal.org.au

June quarter 2008 National Accounts Today's National Accounts shows the resilience of the Australian economy thanks to the extensive economic refo...
by LiberalPartyofAustralia 17 minutes ago liberal.org.au

Labor continues its assault on Aussie tourism Labor is refusing to listen to the Coalition’s concerns about the impact the increased luxury car tax will h...
by LiberalPartyofAustralia 55 minutes ago liberal.org.au

Mr Garrett must rule out scrapping the $8,000 solar panel rebate Peter Garrett must confirm that he won’t scrap the $8,000 solar panel rebate in the wake of news today that ...
by LiberalPartyofAustralia 1 hour 7 minutes ago liberal.org.au

Greens / Labor deal - cut BMW tax, increase Aussie cars tax The Greens need to explain to the drivers of Mayo who tow a caravan, a boat or a horsefloat why they should by... LiberalPartyofAustralia 5 hours ago liberal.org.au

Telstra's Solomon 'Sol' Trujillo upset over Wikipedia biography

It appears that Telstra's Sol Trujillo was irked enough by editing of a Wikipedia biographical entry (to include opinion on conduct of the company and his own employment history) that he threatened defamation according to Chilling Effects.
Since the letter below was sent, the Wikipedia entry is back to bare basics.
However, Mr. Trujillo forgets that the Internet does not, so the allegedly objectionable entries can still be found.
The delicious irony in all this is that the editing Mr. Trujillo is objecting to was done using a 3G mobile phone.

March 7, 2008

Sender Information: [Individual] Sent by: [Private] Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP New York, NY, 10281, USA

Recipient Information:
General Counsel and Legal Coordinator
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
San Francisco, CA, 94107, USA

Sent via: email, fax, and express mail
Re: Defamation of Solomon Trujillo

Dear Mr. Godwin:

We represent [individual] and are writing to demand that defamatory statements that appear on Wikipedia immediately and permanently be removed from the following URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Trujillo.

Specifically, an anonymous user (IP 119.11.111.17) (the "anonymous user") has since at least March 1, 2008 repeatedly inserted the following false and defamatory language in the referenced article:

[redacted]

This false and defamatory assertion has been repeatedly removed, but the anonymous user keeps replacing the false and defamatory language.

We demand that Wikipedia and Wikimedia permanently remove the above language from the article, including all of its history pages, and to permanently block the anonymous user from editing the page by 7 o'clock eastern time today. If Wikipedia and Wikimedia do not remove the improper language by that time, and take the steps necessary to block its being reinserted, Mr. [individual] intends to commence litigation against Wikipedia and Wikimedia on Monday, March 10, 2008.

Very truly yours,

[Signed]

There's a moggy in there

With all the back arching, hissing, scratching and spraying that's gone on around Canberra these last few weeks, I'm beginning to think that Bill Hall's catty look at politicians may be close to the truth of the matter.

In short, a cat can look half its size when attacking and twice its size when bluffing. Hence a cat looks four times as large on defense as on offense.

The same is true of politicians. The more trouble they are in, the louder they yowl and the larger and more terrifying they try to appear.

US Mormans swallow Howard's line, hook and sinker

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on John Howard's chase of the almighty dollar last Tuesday.

 

This time his paid speaking trail led him to the Zions Bank International Trade and Business Conference at the Downtown Marriott in Salt Lake City, where he continued to tell America just what it wanted to hear.

 

A former Australian prime minister and a senior Bush administration trade official on Tuesday pressed their cases for open-trade policies at a time of sudden global food shortages and criticism that free trade has led to job losses in the United States.
    "I think the world cries aloud in 2008 for a reaffirmation of the view that protection is something of the past," said John Howard, who led Australia for over a decade until he was turned out of office by voters in November.
    "Because if the world goes back into protection we will aggravate some of the difficulties that are now being faced and I think that will present very significant challenges and very significant difficulties for all of us," Howard said.....

Howard spoke repeatedly about his faith in global trade as a vehicle for lifting undeveloped countries from poverty. He said the rapid rise of food prices during the last year is causing enormous social and political consequences in poor countries worldwide that call into question the basis for subsidies and tariffs.
    "This is really a time for scaling down rather than scaling up or maintaining agricultural subsidies," Howard said.
    "If you have a relatively heavy demand for a commodity, it doesn't make sense to maintain subsidies that were designed to protect producers at a time when people didn't want to buy their product," he said.
    Howard called for developed countries to engage China and not fear its rising economic clout. With a population of 1.3 billion, it is helping to lead a profound adjustment of buying power from North America and Europe that by 2030 will have produced a middle class in Asia that numbers in the hundreds of millions.
    "The center of gravity of the world's middle class is shifting from the Atlantic to Asia. This is, in a way, one of the most significant developments since the industrial revolution," Howard said.

 

It is beginning to look as though Howard will be able to mine gullible Americans for pin money for some time to come if this Utah Pulse blurb is any indication.

 

John Winston Howard, who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, will be the keynote speaker at the half-day conference, which will run from 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m...

In his first visit to the United States since his term in office ended last November, John Howard will discuss his uniquely global approach to leading the most prominent Western stronghold in the Asian-Pacific Rim. He will candidly share his vision for the international economic future, with special focus on the roles that China, India and the Pacific Rim will play.

As Australia's second-longest serving prime minister, Howard pursued broad pro-market economic policies. During his period in office Australia experienced economic growth averaging 3.6 percent per year. What's more, in the face of criticism from many, Howard initiated unprecedented efforts to broker a free-trade agreement with China, paving the way for China's willingness to participate in a free market. Because of his work in developing ties with China, the country is now Australia's largest export market.

 

Although it must be added that he was only considered to be a crowd drawer if the keynote address ticket cost was kept under $40 per person.

A blog the Liberals don't want the world to read - opps, way too late for that!

It seems the Victorian Liberal Party is objecting to a website highly critical of Ted Baillieu, which allegedly happens to be the brainchild of certain headquarters staff.
The site Ted Baillieu Must Go: because he stands for nothing...falls for everything can now only be viewed by invitation.

Below is a copy of an 11 February 2008 post, from a front page which is still retrievable here courtesy of Alpine Opinion.
The bane of all would-be censors, Google cached posts are here, here,and here.
The blog authors have contact listed as byebyeredted@gmail.com.
Why not congratulate them for once again showing the nation just how united the Liberal Party of Australia actually is.

They’re coming to get you Ted:

There is a simple rule in conservative politics; if it’s in the Age it’s probably bullshit. Nowhere is this rule more relevant than when it applies to the internal machinations of the Liberal Party. Most liberals and conservatives understand this and give the contemptible, socialist rag a wide berth; that is, except for Ted Baillieu, Petro Georgiou and that epitome of treachery John Malcolm Fraser. If fact, you only have to pick up a copy of the Age to see the latest Liberal Party communiqué from Ted Baillieu’s office usually under his pseudonym, Paul Austin.

What Ted doesn’t understand is that the Age is not on his side. It is what we in business would call strategic objective misalignment. They simply want a different outcome to that of the Liberal Party – specifically the retention of the Labor state government. For the Age the battle grounds are drawn internally within the ALP. How do they, the leftist editors of the Age, exert influence over the dominant conservative Labor Unity faction within the party? How do they bring about their socialist utopia while undermining both a conservative state government and nullify the threat of an effective Liberal Party?

For the answer, again just pick up the Age.

Paul Austin’s latest contribution Baillieu scores a much-needed coup is a prime example of the Age strengthening the enemy of its enemy. By propping up an inept and gullible leader like Ted the Age can minimize the threat of someone electable taking the reins.

We here at hewhostandsfornothing know that the only coup needed is a coup d'état.

The coalition agreement is a positive step, we acknowledge that, but it is the minimum expected of a man who would be Premier of Victoria. Far from strengthening his position the coalition arrangement will damage Baillieu. By placing him and Ryan in the spotlight together the high performing National leader will by contrast highlight Baillieu’s inadequacy for office. The conservative forces of the old country party will not long stay silent, nor will they let anything get in the way of their primary goal - government.

The take away message for you Teddy is that the Nationals joined up with the Liberal Party not Ted Baillieu. Remember the nuance in Ryan’s statement ‘we are two independent parties coming together to defeat Labor and govern in Coalition’, it is telling.

But don’t worry I am sure they will give you 100% support, until the moment you are replaced.

Posted by Liberal Insider at 7:30 PM 2 comments Links to this post

Window on a Gillard/McClelland/Conroy IT daydream?

One possible scenario envisioned by Labor ministers supporting corporate spying on email content.
Cartoon found at http://xkcd.com/208/

Laurie Oakes and Clarencegirl have a little something in common

In The Daily Telegraph last Thursday.

"Laurie Oakes (1942- ) is a broadcast and print journalist known for achieving political scoops," his on-screen profile reads.

"She started at the Sydney Daily Mirror and then moved to the Melbourne Sun's Canberra bureau before moving to television."

Oakes told Sydney Confidential it was a common mistake made by Americans.

"In fact, I once received an email from a strange web company congratulating me on my inclusion in an American encyclopedia of prominent women," he said, laughing.

"I guess it just goes to show I'm in touch with my feminine side. Still it's a wonderful honour."

 

Laurie Oakes obviously experiences some benign gender mistakes because of the spelling of his first name.

I may live in obscurity when compared with Mr. Oakes, but there should be no confusion as to my gender with a blogger name like clarencegirl.

 

I have long been accustomed to the northern NSW attitude that females are always supposed to be seen but not heard, however last week I was amused to see a humorous idea floated in the wider Australian blogosphere that clarencegirl might possibly be a middle-aged man in drag.

Shift along the bench Laurie, I'll join you in bemusement - but I'm d*amned if I'll get in touch with my 'masculine' side!

Dr. 'I'm listening' Nelson fails to rate a blip on Google Trends this month

Poor Brendan Nelson didn't even raise a blip on this Google Trends graph covering worldwide searches for his name compared to that of Kevin Rudd, starting 30 March and ending 6 April 2008.
It seems his listening tour is not inspiring anyone to find out more about him.

* "kevin rudd" * "brendan nelson"

A Cecil B. de Mille memory

I have to ask. At the end did they find anything in Charlton Heston's "cold dead hands"?

ASIC 2008 "Pie In The Sky" awards for best scams

This one is for all who have ever had their Inbox cluttered with spam and scams, especially on April Fool's Day.

 

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission today announced its 2008 winners of the Pie In The Sky awards.

This trophy will be awarded each year for the most outrageous financial scheme that's too good to be true.

 

Winner

This year the award goes to a disturbing 'advanced fee fraud' scam. This email scam pleaded with people to help a Togo barrister access US$17 million from the estate of a man who along with his family was killed in the Boxing Day tsunami three years ago. This outrageous offer was just too good to be true.

Runners up

The second-place getter is Instep Super.
Instep Super was advertising on television, radio and online offering returns on investment of superannuation funds between eight and 20 per cent.
The advertisements also claimed Instep Super was 'the best performing superannuation fund in Australia'.

The third-place getter is the Electroharvest.
This device supposedly recycled 'ambient electromagnetic radiation back into usable household energy' promising to cut ordinary Australians' power bills by 37 per cent.

 

How to nominate a scam for the 2009 Award
Win $100 prize money for an entry that wins an award.

When blogs begin to breed like rabbits in the night

Being a novice blogger who views the world-wide web as something akin to 'magik' (don't ask - it's a generational thing), it didn't take long before I was overwhelmed by the number of Australian blogs out there in hyperspace.

It almost seemed that, whenever I turned my PC off for the day, blogs of all varieties began to multiply inside the idle monitor while I slept.

I tried keeping a list of sites I liked, but was often diverted by the strange and obscure and lost my way in an evergrowing blog maze.

So it was some relief to find these two compilation sites. Kwoff which posts what interests readers with an immediacy I like, and Club Troppo's The Missing Link Daily which has a fine eye for the interesting or quirky comment and can deliver an email version.

Think I'll ditch that printed list from now on and check these sites first.

Otherwise I'll have to lay a couple of steel-jawed traps on my desk each night to keep those blog bunnies under control.

A smile for the start of the working week

Cartoon found at Club Troppo.

Blogs that Australia preserves for posterity. Are you there?

Pandora , Australia's official web archive, lists 157 Oz blogs. The full list can be found here.

Below is a brief selection.

A Fugitive Phenomenon

After grog blog

Ampersand Duck

Anonymous Lefty

Bent lenses

Blinding sunlight

Cheeseburger gothic

Club Troppo

Cooky La Moo

Daily Flute

Dikkii's Diatribe

Dreadnought

Eclectic Garden

Esoteric Rabbit

Flop eared mule

Frog garden

GalFromDownUnder

Grab your fork

Hecho en Mexico

Intergalactic hussy

Jellyfish online

Larvatus Prodeo

Legless in perpetuum

Lisa's losin' it

New Mandala

Polemica

Possums Pollytics

Wino Sapien

Wog blog

Aussie blogosphere typing and talking in 2008

NEILSEN/NETRATINGS

	Australia: Average Web Usage Month of January 2008 Home Panel   Sessions/Visits Per Person 38 Domains Visited Per Person 66 PC Time Per Person 35:55:25 Duration of a Web Page Viewed 00:00:52 Active Digital Media Universe 11,147,323 Current Digital Media Universe Estimate 14,787,181

 

Goggle Trends result for 2008 using search terms "kevin rudd" and "rudd government"

 

At least 11 million Australians are regular internet users and it seems that, in comparison to the global internet, local users spend slightly more time online per month on average than the rest of the world, visit fewer domains but visit more often, and spend longer on each web page.

Some reports indicate that Australians have created around 2 million blog sites.
Many of us are also likely to look up Kevin Rudd on Google.

On the NSW North Coast there are conservatively at least 80,000 people who can access the internet each day at home, work or by a public access site. 

All of which will make it interesting to monitor the progress of that new wiki Oz Ideas  (set up as an alternative forum to the Rudd Government's Australia 2020 Summit).