Australia giving terrorist sympathisers a gobbie over dead scumbag.

Interesting enough, Australia has signed up to track down the people that took out the PLO official/Hamas militant/kidnapper/weapon smuggler Mr Mahmoud al-Mahbhouh. Bizarrely enough they wouldn't help find terrorists like this in the first place but we get all butt hurt and start rattling sabres when he dies?.

Mr Rudd, WTF???.

What concern do you think Mr Mahmoud al-Mahbhouh had for the victims of the Bali bombings?. Barely registering a blip on the concerns scale me thinks but we're gonna find justice for him?.

What I find MOST interesting is we're also pandering to the UAE over it. As a side thought it will be interesting to see how these Saudi, UAE, and other oil nations stand politically if alternative energies become dominant. What sort of effect would that have on conflict world wide and international relations.

Really interesting article in the Wall St Journal regarding the killing from an ex-CIA operative.

The fit thing ... Moko style.

So gyms bore me. They have their place, especially when it comes to weights which I'm kinda of convinced I don't really need. The upkeep is a pain in the arse and I have a niggly little injury to my shoulder joint I got from lifting 25 kilo bags of stuff for 2 years at a job I had. I don't wish to make that worse for obvious reasons.

The way I see it is that I'm on a reasonably sized block of land where the boundaries aren't being used for anything other than attempting to keep animals in. So why not use em for getting fit on me mountain bike?. I have about four paddocks at my disposal at a total size of about ten acres without hindrance of gates needing to be opened and closed.

Slope = top to bottom @ about 1 meter per 10 meters. So not that bad.

So my question is, do I need jumps?.

Me and the Qld Police Service

Well, about this time last year I was beginning - FK time flies - my 200 hour course that's a requirement for joining the QPS. I hadn't ever really considered myself worthy of such a role until I started doing security and had contact with its members on a regular basis. I figured they weren't any smarter or able than me and I wasn't getting anywhere or even would HAVE the opportunity to progress onto anything long term beneficial in regards to career or stimulation doing security. Definitely not saying it's a shit job - well, it is in some respects - but it's a noble and tough career to exist in but the risk most definitely outweighs the benefits. I've been punched, had people try to stab me, had bottles chucked at me, continual abuse, watched people literally get the life beaten out of them, glassed, stabbed, endless fights, drugs, domestic violence, mental illness, suicides, what PTSD does to blokes, and just the worst mankind has to offer each other all for the sake of security of a building and the people in it. That shit keeps you awake at night for little or no mental payoff.

Fuck. That.

So I do this course which was diploma level study of 7 modules of Justice Administration. MAJORLY interesting topics from law to interrogation and everything in between. I smoked the course with distinction, credits, and passes, and loved it. In the process was the getting fit part which is FKN hard considering how much I had to lose but it was worth it. The support to get from people when talking about it helps you along. Amazing the level respect the PS has considering the reaming they get in the media ... anywhoo.

After the course I had the opportunity to meet and talk with people who are in and around the Service. Everyone from kids of coppers to recruits to long term members and the media gave me a resounding reality they echoed which was It. Just. Ain't. Worth. It.

Straight off the bat they're 12 hour shifts and if you're at a car stack near the end of shift you could be looking at 15 hour shift but still needing to turn up for the next shift. Next, is the wage. You make just under a grand a week. Considering the shit you go through the remuneration doesn't match up .. tho is alright, but comparatively.....?. Then is the mental aspects of wiping up dead kids and ones who've been brutalised. I talked with a active detective who can't sleep and is an alcoholic. I work with his daughter. Relationships take a battering, then there is personal quality of life.

I know from experience that some things just outweigh others in regards to quality of life. I know how tough 12 hour shifts are alone - security - let alone considering extra stresses. I know from experience I can earn the same wage as a cop with less hours work. Right now my current job earns me the same wage - as long as the hours are there - and the work hours are 8:30 to 4:00 excluding Thursdays cause of late night shopping. But then that's only till about 8pm.

Am I as stimulated as I could be in the cops? .... no ... is the quality of live apparently better ... most definitely. I'm learning everything about running a cafe and there's a rumbling in the back of my head about running my own one day ... maybe.

No one should die at work, and no one should be left out to dry by their superiors. Life is just too short. Life, for me, is about what I've got at home, not about what I do when I'm not here.

RIP QPS for me.

Who the FK broke Twitter?

Its been down most the day for me.

OH THE HUMANITY.

It's not his fault...

Sections of the media are highlighting the TRAGEDY of the killing of the student at school yesterday by basically stating 'the role' of violent games and movies being partly, if not largely, responsible.

Why are 'kids' playing and watching rated games and movies?. Who is REALLY responsible for that?. My only opinion on that is where does a 14 and under child get $110 from for an M15+ rated game?. Who in their right mind lets their child watch R rated movies like Rambo?.

If violent content REALLY IS damaging - (which it can be for sure) - then maybe parents - (who are apparently dumb as fuck on the whole) - need to be a fraction more responsible in regards to neglect of welfare of their kids for letting them play these games. I've heard kids who sound 4 tops on Xbox Live playing M rated games.

Really these people who take advantage of these 'cause celebre' to run their agenda really should consider the facts surrounding the case before running their gobs off.

Seems to me with this tragedy that the offender premeditated it to some degree by taking a knife to school. You'd think at a private school the need for a 20cm (9 inch?) fish filleting knife for protection wouldn't be a priority so you might need to consider some sort of extended issue between the two. Just by the fact that it IS a 20cm knife that it might not be a long term weapon of choice for protection at a school. Logically a smaller one might be a more considered choice?. This would suggest that there's no real need to panic regarding weapons in school. Of course it happens, but let's not freak out here.

Either way, the fact is someone's baby died yesterday and possibly today might not be the day to air agenda on national TV till some of the facts arise and both families have had a chance to mourn.

Ruining Valentines Day FTW

At work yesterday I was out the front still learning how she all works while I jump back into the kitchen and occasionally cook up shit. Being V Day ya sorta half expected some people to rock up but not many due to "who the fuck would come here on V Day" but invariably my part of town in full to over flowing with cheap fuckers.

In the morn she was as quiet as a church so one chick who'd been on the piss the night before decided to take herself home - she's REAL Irish, so you know....MUNTED. Nice. Typically, 5 minutes later we got SMASHED by patrons.

So here's me - who's as useful as tits on a bull - and a young fella dealing with a FULL HOUSE and one chef out the back. YEEEHAAAR.

Surprised there wasn't a brawl. Oh, and at about 1:45pm, we run out of food.

We should've just started yelling Allahu Akbar!. At least they would've understood where we were coming from.

Hazaah, for cheap arse under staffing employers.

/bitch.

Insulation shit fight

When is the media going to go after the ACTUAL people responsible for the fires and deaths. The operators are ethically and legally responsible and the STATE government are responsible when it comes to building regs and the OH&S that surrounds them....

I'm no government fanboy, don't get me wrong, I don't care about any of them, but right now I'm less of a fanboy for the media who are wasting their resources while these shonky operators and state governments fade into the distance.

Installer terms and conditions (pdf)

Installer competencies (pdf)

As of the 10th of this month EVERYONE working with insulation needs to meet the competencies. Much of the competencies and terms and conditions land at the feet of state governments and relevant state work cover, also the employers need to be help responsible for leaving untrained employees to do the work.

Yeah, Garret fucked up, but he wasn't the only one.

The Astrology of Sociology

What's WITH people pigeon holing others based on beliefs?. Sometimes I'm extremely left wing, sometimes I say nuke the fuckers, but depending on which one is read then apparently that particular statement defines me.

Bizarro.

The Battle for Marjah

The REAL interesting thing about modern day media is the ability to watch things unfold real time.

Right now, in Southern Afghanistan, the Battle for Marjah is about to begin. There has already been "minor" skirmishes where forward companies are preparing the area for the main force. There are negotiations going on with local tribal elders and the Taliban are making threats about "how" they'll take on the allies and are actively trying to get the prep forces into a fight before the main force is ready.

When the news wires all go quiet you know she's on. Click this for the latest - at time of writing.

The Death of Knowledge

At the moment the local paper is selling dvd's of various things from the Discovery Channel for 2 bucks for 22 days. Interesting as hell. Everything on how lightening works - which, interestingly enough, they really have no FKN idea - to the Roman Empire.

Just finished watching the one on the Romans. The thing that struck me is the loss of basic knowledge by the majority of people in such a short period of time.

At one point most people pretty much knew how to do almost everything. For sure, there were specialists in various things - usually construction - but all in all your average punter could feed, house, and provide for themselves with nothing really but a few tools and a wealth of knowledge passed on through the ages. Now, within less than 100 years your average punter couldn't effectively hunt, build long term shelter, make fire, bread, or even store things without the assistance of technology.

Bizarre, and sad.

Geert Wilders

You'd think Freedom of Speech would indicate that you're actually free to speak, and as we've seen here in a concerted, and ACTUAL effort to quash freedom of verbalization of one's thoughts through an apparent fear by none other that Herr Atkinson of S.A.

She's all getting a bit silly in the Government Department of Political Correctness as well. Crimes against anyone here is abhorrent, crimes against anyone based on racism and/or prejudice is even more so, but when the media of another nation points fingers and falsely DECLARES an entire state fundamentally and overtly racist you would think your government would come in to bat and metaphorically tell them to "Go fuck yourselves you hypocritical carhnts". It's interesting they don't. India is significantly more overtly racist as a society than we could even dream to be, but fear of disapproval - which is a fundamental nation trait here - seems to more influential in the government's psyche than pride and confidence in the fundamental fabric that makes up a fair and equal democracy.

I mean, "what the fuck" in setting up "Minister for Respect"?. What's next, Ministry of Silly Walks?. Seriously, this was set up in response to the outcry's of "racism" from India due "to the racial attacks" on Indian nationals. Which, in fact, the fella that was burnt in the car was an insurance job, and three Indian nationals have been arrested for the murder of the poor bugger in Griffith.

Geert Wilders is a politician in the Netherlands that is outspoken against Islam - as opposed to "Muslim". This bloke SEEMS a fraction nationalistic to me - without actually having all the vibe surrounding him - but Freedom of Speech shouldn't have caveats to exclude topics that cause discomfort. For a parallel here you would consider the OVERALL reaction from the government over the "Women are meat" via the offensive ramblings of Sheik Hilali and then them 'actually' prosecuting someone for pointing out that this is a fundamental belief in Islam. Fucken bizarre, and goes against EVERYTHING democracy means....oh, and hypocritical. Unfortunately for people like Mr Wilders the PC brigade have got their heads so far up their own arses that the oxygen and light that's needed for clarity of thought is non-existent.

This really is a scary glimpse of the future.

Check out his summons here (pdf), for details. It's interesting to note that the "court" removed much of his ability to defend himself.

Part 1 of "Fitna". This movie is why he's on trial. Ironic as fuck. Don't bother with 3 and 4. Just some randoness post the person that post them.

Part 1:

Part 2:

30 Days Through Afghanistan

Accidentally discovered a series coming out on the weekend online - I believe - about two dudes in the yank military telling the stories of service men and women in Afghanistan. It appears to ebing done in blogging and vlogging style.

Its obviously been sanctioned by the military but the same service - DVIDS - are the guys that release footage of insurgents being blown apart - so there's potential.

Trailer:

And Website where it's all happening.

30 Days Through Afghanistan.

If you're interested, sign up too. There's some cool extra stuff there.