Colourful Byron - from the paddocks to the sea

Main Beach,
Byron Bay
Simon Harriott
Byron Creek I

Well what did you expect? Turnbull's leadership style grates

Lyrics by Turnbull quoted in Annabel Crabb's essay Stop at Nothing: the life and times of Malcolm Turnbull

To all intents and purposes Malcolm Turnbull's leadership style is decimating the Liberal Party of Australia. Well, what did you expect?

He took a wrecking ball to the Australian Republican Movement in 1998 and 1999 and it is still trying to recover almost ten years on.

After a disastrous national referendum result in 1999, Turnbull waited nine months and then resigned as chair of that organisation, with the rather amusing line in hindsight: Well I doubt whether I'll be remembered in the history books at all.

Oh, I think you will be remembered Mr. Turnbull - your name will probably be written in blood on the pages of future party histories.
Because the reputedly distant to vicious, alternatively overbearing or dictatorial "Bad Malcolm" always seems to win out over the "Good Malcolm".

You know you're a politcal tragic when.....

A fishing mate of mine wryly reckons you know you're a political tragic when you rush home (as he did), break out the gourmet crackers and antipasto, pour yourself a monster claret and switch on the radio for the last House of Reps Question Time this year (while keeping one eye cocked on the Senate strutting across the tube at 2pm yesterday).

Just goes to show that today's pollies are showmen not statesmen and we're beginning to treat them as entertainment.

Pic from Google Images

Ozcar affair wet-fish slaps Turnbull in the face yet again

The Australian Senate Privileges Committee's recently published 139 page report Matters arising from the Economics Legislation Committee Hearing on 19 June 2009 only highlights again that the less than transparent performances of Liberal pollies Senator Eric Abetz and Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull were politically dishonest and manipulative.
"Truffles" was lucky that the Senate's convention on inquiries prohibits calling House of Reps MPs to give evidence on anything except policy and administration and barred commenting on his conduct in relation to the Ozcar affair.

Rudd and Macklin's food stamp mentality to cost Australian taxpayers over $95m annually

The desire of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin to act as moral policemen walking the social security beat means that the new measures introduced into federal parliament yesterday will cost taxpayers an estimated $95.7M annually by the time income management is fully rolled out across Australia.

This Über Labor food stamp mentality (beloved by those in the Liberal Party-Nationals coalition as well) is likely to cause untold hardship for those who fall under the provisions outlined in SOCIAL SECURITY AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (WELFARE REFORM AND REINSTATEMENT OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT) BILL 2009 and Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (2009 Measures) Bill 2009 when these begin to come into effect after 1 July 2010.

Although these government bills target low-income families, youth and the long-term unemployed, they also apply to all categories of pensions (including aged, disability and veterans) and apply to individual pensioners if a Centrelink social worker or Dept of Veterans' Affairs decides that a person meets the criteria for income management.

The Greens appear to be the only voice in Federal Parliament which is going to speak out against these bills, Senator Rachel Siewert calling income management measure discriminatory and paternalistic.

PDF downloads:

Minister's Explanatory Memorandum

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009

Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (2009 Measures) Bill 2009

Crikey's publication of pop quiz on NSW Labor raises a smile

Crikey gave us a glimpse of the inner working of NSW Labor when it published Andrew Crook's article which contained a link to this email (accusing the NSW ALP of being one of the last surviving Stalinist regimes) which apparently was doing the rounds in the lead-up the state conference which saw Premier Nathan Rees finally take control of his government - even if this may only be a temporary victory on the rocky path to next polling day.

The email also contained this pop quiz and one gets the general impression that the original author has Graham Richardson in his or her sights:

Who said that?

1 "I had learned the true value of forgiveness in politics: nil."

2 "Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs."

3 "Any time spent worrying about the cruelty of executing such a nice fellow is time wasted."

4 "To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, and then go to bed. There is nothing sweeter in the world."

5 "Power had been pursued and captured: it would not be given up without a fight."

6 "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."

7 "Never refuse to do the little things, from the little things are built the big."

8 "Knowing your place, even if it is not the top rung on the ladder, is not being humble or putting yourself down. It's just being smart."

9 "A ruling party inevitably attracts careerists."

Answers

1 Graham Richardson, General Secretary, NSW ALP

2 Joseph Stalin, General Secretary, CPSU

3 Richardson

4 Stalin

5 Richardson

6 Stalin

7 Stalin

8 Richardson

9 Lenin

Cartoonist Bill Leak's study of Graham Richardson from Google Images

Be prepared for the Twelve Scams of Christmas

Bluddy 'ell it's almost December.
What do those scouts say? Be prepared......
With the festive season starting to gear up and thoughts of present buying beginning to creep into idle moments, it was probably timely that someone passed these emails on to me as examples of what may come down Teh Netz and land on your PC to snatch up your hard-earned readies, raid your credit card or wreck your home computer:

Xmas Promotion‏
From: Microsoft Award (cleohfn@bellnet.ca)
Sent: Friday, 20 November 2009 10:22:20 PM
To:
£750,000.00 has been award to you,send us your Names/Tel/Country to slyvester_howard@gala.net. Tel: +44-70-24-030-541

read and reply now‏
From:united state postal inspection service (uspostal@noreply.com)
Sent:Sunday, 22 November 2009 10:43:51 PM
To:
1 attachment delivery.doc (26.0 KB)

Here's a reminder from McAfee by way of CNet News:

1. Charitable phishing scams: Marcus warns consumers to be wary of e-mails that appear to be from legitimate charities. Not only will they take your money and deprive charities of needed funds, but they will also steal your credit card information and identity.
2. 
   Fake invoices from delivery services: During this period, scammers will send out fake invoices and delivery notifications appearing to come from Federal Express, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service or even the U.S. Customs Service saying that they were unable to deliver a package to your address. They ask you to confirm your address and give them credit card information to pay for delivery.
3. 
   Social networking friend requests: Bad guys take advantage of this social time of year by sending out authentic looking friend requests via e-mail. Marcus recommends that you not click on those links but sign into Facebook and other services and look for friend requests from the site itself. Clicking on a link could install malware on your computer or trick you into revealing your password.
4. 
   Holiday e-cards: Be careful before clicking on a holiday e-card, especially if it's from a site you haven't heard of. This is a way to deliver malware, pop-ups, and other forms of unwanted advertising. Some fake e-cards will look like they come from Hallmark or other legitimate companies, so pay close attention and make sure it's from someone you know. If you're going to send an e-card, be sure you're dealing with a reputable service lest you risk infecting yourself and your friends.
5. 
   Fake "luxury" jewelry: If you see an offer for luxury gifts from companies like Cartier, Gucci, and Tag Heuer at a price that's too good to be true, it probably isn't true. These links could lead you to malware and take your money or merchandise that will probably never arrive (or be fake if it does). Some of these sites, according to McAfee, even display the logos of the Better Business Bureau.
6. 
   Practice safe holiday shopping. Make sure your wireless network is secure and be sure you're shopping on sites that are secure. Though it isn't an iron clad guarantee, you should look for the lock icon in the lower right corner of your browser and make sure the Web page starts with https. The "s" stands for "secure."
7. 
   Christmas carol lyrics can be dangerous: Bad guys know that people are searching for holiday related sites for music, holiday graphics, and other festive media. During this time, they create fraudulent holiday related sites.
8. 
   Job search related scams: With the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, there are plenty of job seekers looking for work. Beware of online offers for high paying jobs or at-home money making schemes. Some of these sites ask for money up front, which is a good way for criminals not only to steal your "set up fee" but misuse your credit card too. Marcus said that some "get rich quick" sites are all about money laundering, asking you to accept an inbound financial transfer and pay them.
9. 
   Auction site fraud: McAfee has observed a rise in fake auction sites during the holidays. Make sure you're actually going to eBay or whatever site you plan to deal with.
10. 
    Password stealing scams: Criminals use low-cost tools to uncover passwords, in some cases planting key logger software to record keystrokes. Once they get your passwords, they gain access to bank accounts and credit card accounts and send spam from your e-mail accounts.
11. 
    E-mail banking scams: A common type of phishing scam is sending out official looking e-mails that appear to come from your bank. Don't click on any links but type in your bank's Web address manually if you need to access your account.
12. 
    Files for ransom: Hackers use malware to gain control of your computer and lock your data files. To access your own data you have to pay them ransom.

Update:

On the SCAMwatch radar this month:
Overcharged bank fees scam
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning consumers about hoax offers of assistance to reclaim overcharged bank fees.
Bogus anti-virus alerts
November 2009: Scamwatch is warning consumers to be wary of bogus security software or 'scareware'.
Travelling to the USA?
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning all prospective travellers to the United State of America to be wary of unauthorised third party websites.
Comcover non-refundable loan email
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning about an email from Comcover that offers a non-refundable loan
Steer clear of sports investment schemes
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning you to be very careful if you think you can improve your odds with the aid of sports ‘investment’ opportunities.