That's it! Kraft's off the menu on Australia Day

At first I thought April Fool’s Day had come early this year, then I remembered that we’re talking about Kraft here.

The company that wants to celebrate Australia Day by defacing an Aussie icon in the lead up to 26^th January 2012.

“VEGEMITE is taking its national iconic status to a whole new level - it's changing its name to "Australia".

Why stop there? How about giving the Eureka Flag a design makeover, rechristening Ned Kelly, banning Sunday barbies and dyeing tap beer pink for the rest of the month?

Drongos!

Internet security on the home computer in 2012

With The Daily Examiner newspaper’s website triggering so many PC threat alerts for a couple of days this week and with a growing number of people on the NSW North Coast now reading much of their daily news online – perhaps it’s time to refresh our memories concerning Internet security:

McAffee 2012 Threat Predictions

Cisco 2011 Annual Security Report

Sophos Security Threat Report 2011  

Classic Aussie Blackboard Advertising

Courtesy of Aunty ABC

Google Maps: Going to Whoop Whoop via Wollongong anyone?

Alerted on 3rd January by @R_Chirgwin Google Maps has to be taking the piss this time: http://t.co/yEZKWRqz, it became obvious that Goggle Maps was having a bit of a 2012 breakdown.

By 6th January the Pacific Highway had virtually disappeared as a desired route to anyway along the NSW east coast:

According to ABC North Coast News:

Drivers travelling between Sydney and the Queensland border are being steered inland.

A Google Maps request for directions between Sydney and Byron Bay recommends an inland route through Armidale and Tenterfield, rather than the more direct Pacific Highway trip.

Transport Management Centre spokesman David Wright says he is aware of the problem.

"The issue we're experiencing is due to a third-party map provider which does have some routing issues at the moment," he says.

The welfare status of live cattle exported to Indonesia

After the May 2011 revelations that all was not well in relation to the export of Australian live cattle to Indonesia and the discovery that instances of animal cruelty were occurring at certain abattoirs, the Federal Government sought to develop a new supply chain assurance framework.

This involved the requirement for ESCAS independent Audits of Indonesian feedlots and abattoirs which held/fattened/ processed Australian cattle.

One has to commend the Gillard Government for this action and note that it was more than the former Howard Government.

However, the usefulness of the framework may be limited due to the lack of transparency within these independent audits (which includes extensive black pen censorship) and, the fact that one of the more common sentences contained in these audits to date is a comfortably fuzzy observation which tells Australian citizens and their parliamentary representatives absolutely nothing about the current welfare status of these live cattle:

Click on image to enlarge

SAI Global Limited and its wholly-owned Indonesian subsidiary PT SAI Global Indonesia which conduct these audits may have to be re-educated as to the dictionary meaning of the words transparent, open and honest.

Perhaps this is something for Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Joe Ludwig and his department head can look into before the situation deteriorates.

View from the far side of American politics

2012 U.S. Presidential Election – Republican Pre-selection Race - Iowa Caucus frontrunners in as few words as possible......

Rick Santorum
Conservative, Catholic, Creationist, Climate Change denier, Included in CREW Most Corrupt Members of Congress list in 2006, Former U.S. Congressman and two-term U.S. Senator sacked by voters in 2006,  Lawyer, Energy industry consultant and former FOX NEWS contracted contributor, Endorsed by Rupert Murdoch, Described Wikileaks as being led by a terrorist, Annual income estimated at around $1 million, 53 years old, IQ debatable.

Mitt Romney

Conservative, Mormon, Pro-Lifer, Climate Change sceptic, More policy positions than the Karma Sutra, One-term Massachusetts Governor 2003-2007 then retired, Former private equity dealer, Biotech multinational Monsanto & Co a former client, Endorsed by John McCain, Refuses to publicly release his tax returns & allegations of tax evasion, Personal wealth estimated at $250 million, 64 years old, IQ debatable.