Is Obamas about to bomb?

It's a minute to midnight before the final rundown to the 2009 inauguration of a new U.S. president and the floorboards are creaking as a real scandal creeps towards Barack Obama.

He tried to deflect the question with an internal investigation, but rumours about the FBI tapes continue:

"FBI wiretaps recorded the president-elect's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, discussing the seat with the Blagojevich administration in 21 different conversations undermined Obama's earlier assertions that his team would not get involved in selecting his replacement."

Obama is even trying a little 'bullying' of one journalist by warning him not to waste his question.

Unfortunately for the President-Elect, this will not stop speculation about what other contact his team may have had with the disgraced Illinois governor or what may surface during any impeachment process.
Chicago politics is notorious for its pay to play mentality.
Does anyone seriously consider that Obama got to where he is without participating at some stage?

Amendments to the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws - General Law Reform) Bill 2008

On 15 December 2008 the Australian Attorney-General circulated amendments to the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws - General Law Reform) Bill 2008.

Amendments cover many aspects of legal discrimination against same-sex couples and addresses some rights and obligations, including those of children of the relationship.

Explanatory Statement at ComLaw here.

Carbon Emissions Reduction 2008: Kevin explains his climate change scenario to the rest of Australia

Those U.S. Army-Navy jocks take their football seriously!

This has to come under the subtitle Only In America:

West Point airdrops Army propaganda on Naval Academy
Psychological operation rattles midshipmen before big game
Recordonline.com, December 06, 2008

WEST POINT — Army cadets and aviators from West Point waged an aerial ambush over hapless midshipmen and sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis this week.

At 12:05 p.m. Thursday, as the midshipmen gathered for lunch formation, a green and white Bell UH-1 series Iroquois, better known as a "Huey," pounded into view. From its side door, soldiers launched an exploding box of propaganda, including hundreds of dollar-bill-sized "Trash Navy" leaflets and inflatable plastic swords.

"They were all looking up at us and shaking their fists," said Senior cadet Gary Haning, 22, of Maryland. He helped with the airdrop from the Superintendent's bird. The "psychological operation" was designed to rattle the Navy before Saturday's annual football grudge match in Philadelphia.......

Follow the link to see the video of the leaflet drop:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081206/NEWS/81206008

Iz waitin' Santa (a message for those who will be alone on Christmas Day)

The stores are garlanded with tinseled baubles and Santa is tucked away in a corner of the shopping centre having his photo taken with the littlies - even the piped Muzac has turned festive.

For many though Christmas rarely lives up to the idealised image of loving family and friends around a Yuletide fireplace.

So for those who are to spend Christmas Day alone or working hard to keep the wolf from the door, I say "Chin up!"

Go for a walk, watch a decent DVD, read a good book or listen to your favourite happy tunes, above all give yourself a little treat; and if all else fails, curse that little fat man in the tatty red suit and look forward to next year.

There will be a free Christmas lunch at the Christian Life Centre in Treelands Drive, Yamba on 25 December 2008. All are welcome according to the sign above the door.

Need to chin wag to keep the blues at bay over Christmas?

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Help Line 1800 55 1800

Conroy cleans up without a universal Internet censor

Excerpt from Stephen Conroy's 11 December 2008 media release:

Today the AFP announced the identification of 22 Australian men following a 12-month investigation into an online child abuse image and video-sharing network. The AFP's Child Protection Operations Teams seized more than 15,000 videos and 500,000 images of child abuse.

I'm willing to hazard a guess that this sting would be more effective than the Minister's plan to impose mandatory national ISP-level filtering to censor the Australian Internet and, probably didn't cost as much as any proposed implementation phase of Conroy's mad scheme.

With his national 'live' trial now in tatters, as Australian ISPs realise just how many problems he is wishing on their commercial business, Senator Conroy appears ready to conduct another 'closed' trial (this time without any ISP customers involved) in order to save face an push forward with the Great Firewall of Australia.

Has the Prime Minister considered that perhaps the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is becoming tired and emotional?

Just in time for Christmas?

I can see vaguely peeved men all over the world making a mental date to write to Santa before 2015 if Information Week is correct:
"A Toronto-based researcher has built what he claims is the world's first fully functional female robot -- a lifelike android named Aiko that is capable of recognizing faces, identifying medication, and even buttering toast.
33-year-old researcher Le Trung, a graduate of York University, built Aiko with silicon and computer parts. Programming her internal software took over a year. To date, Trung has spent $24,000 building his robo-girl. Aiko sports delicate, Geisha-like features and is armed with sensors that allow her to respond to touch and voice commands. A camera in her neck provides her with visual input. All told, the robot weighs in at about 70 pounds. With a vocabulary of more than 13,000 words, Aiko can, among other things, tell you what the weather is outside. Despite her lifelike appearance and 32-23-33, anatomically correct measurements, Trung insists Aiko is not a s*x doll. "I'm attached to it, but do I sleep with it? No," said Aiko, in an interview published Thursday in Toronto's Globe & Mail newspaper."

Aussie farmers will remain faithful to the real flesh-and-blood version though - a robot couldn't do as much farm work at Teh Wife, carry heavy loads like The Ute or be as faithful as The Heeler.
And they would know it would be London to a brick that Aiko would break down more times than the bore pump!