Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
Joined August 31st 2006
Recent PostsSupport CharitiesApril 3rd 2007 05:21
For those of you who want to support an initiative which will help charities raise money over the web visit Really Long Link and vote for my "Donate your change” idea in the ideawarz competition at Cambrian House.
This idea will allow anyone buying something online to donate their change automatically. cheers
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 We've gone too farFebruary 14th 2007 05:08
Is it any surprise that radical Muslims are going from strength to strength and that the West is seen as ineffectual, weak and pandering when we read stories such as this one? A Muslim convicted of child sex offences has been awarded $2000 compensation because he was not provided with Halal meat while serving his time in a Queensland jail.
To me that just seems plain wriong. How would the parents of the childen he molested feel? The guy is a convicted child sex offender which on the scale of offence is the lowest of the low. I reckon part of your punishment should be to forfeit any claim to special dietary requirements (except possibly in extreme medical cases) while you serve your term. He wasn't forced to eat any foods he objected to, he just didn't get the foods he wanted. I'm sorry, but we've gone too far in pandering to prisoners' sensitivities when it comes to this.
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Combating Pester PowerFebruary 10th 2007 12:25
There's been much talk about childhood obesity and the role fast food advertising plays in selling poor quality food to youngsters. MacDonalds regularly wins the Parents' Jury Pester Power award. To me, much of this is yet another case of people refusing to take personal responsibility for their lives and blaming big something, whether it be big government, big media or big corporations for their problems.
I have a one year old girl and a three year old boy. Here is how my wife and I ensure they eat well: 1) We have no TV. (End of TV advertising problem) 2) We don't read the labels and choose health foods; we buy foods which have no labels. 3) My wife cooks the children's meals and we try to all eat together – often we all eat the same food. (luckily my 3 year old has rather exotic tastes including olives, anchovies, pesto and prawns so it’s not too taxing to find something we all like.) 4) If the children don’t like what they’re given they don't get something else – they go without. We're not going to waste good food. They soon learn to eat the meals their mum prepares. 5) My wife and I don’t like takeaways so we're not inclined to buy them for the children. I'm sure as they get older the children will ask for junk food and we'll have to meet that when it come up but the early years are a great time to establish a taste for good healthy food in children so they actually prefer that type of good, honest home made food – real food.
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Funding - not BriberyFebruary 6th 2007 00:10
The Sydney Morning Herald has recently published what I consider to be one of the most outrageous pieces of left wing diatribe masquerading as news I have ever seen.
The headline is "Bribes offered to scientists" . From that headline and from the definition of 'bribe' vis "Money, property, or a favor given, offered, or promised to a person or accepted by a person in a position of trust as an inducement to dishonest behavior" we would be forgiven for believing that someone has done something illegal here
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The case of Stefan NystromJanuary 8th 2007 02:17
The case of Stefan Nystrom and his deportation from Australia raises the issue of who is responsible for criminal behavior. One line of argument being put forward by various lawyers opposing his deportation is that since he's lived all but a few days of his life in Australia and has been "criminalized" there, Australia is somehow responsible for his behavior and should therefore grant to him all the privileges of Australian citizenship.
What ever to personal responsibility? Surely Nystrom is responsible for his criminal behavior and the Australian government is obliged to do everything it can to protect Australian citizens from criminals. Nystrom's crimes including the aggravated rape of a 10-year old boy were very serious and the government is right to minimize criminal activity in the country. I agree that Sweden is unfortunate to be burdened with a character such as Vystrom but ones nationality is initially defined by one's country of birth and there's not getting around that.
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What do you tell your children about Santa?December 22nd 2006 02:05
I'm in a bind. My son is three years old and most of his friends “believe” in Santa. That is to say their parents have told them that on Christmas eve a somewhat portly fellow in a red suit will come down the chimney and deposit some much anticipated presents for them on the hearth. Now most children believe what their parents tell them and no one would want to undermine that trust between parent and child, however, I won't tell my son that this is what happens on Christmas eve because … well, it's just not true. So if I simply tell my son “There's no such thing as Santa” I anticipate that before long some of his friend's parents will be coming to me and accusing me of running their children's Christmas. To avoid this rift, here's what I plan to do. I'll not say anything unless my son asks. Children have a remarkable way of working things out for themselves and so he might just find out about the Santa myth and not have a problem with the fact that the big fella doesn't visit our house. After all, there'll be no shortage of presents on Christmas day which I believe is the most important thing from a child's point of view.
If my son does ask about Santa I'll say that there is a popular story in Western culture about a mythical figure called Santa Clause who represents the spirit of generosity. I'll explain that many parents tell their children that Santa will visit their home because they think it makes Christmas more enjoyable for their children
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What do you tell your children about Santa?December 22nd 2006 02:04
I'm in a bind. My son is three years old and most of his friends “believe” in Santa. That is to say their parents have told them that on Christmas eve a somewhat portly fellow in a red suit will come down the chimney and deposit some much anticipated presents for them on the hearth. Now most children believe what their parents tell them and no one would want to undermine that trust between parent and child, however, I won't tell my son that this is what happens on Christmas eve because … well, it's just not true. So if I simply tell my son “There's no such thing as Santa” I anticipate that before long some of his friend's parents will be coming to me and accusing me of running their children's Christmas. To avoid this rift, here's what I plan to do. I'll not say anything unless my son asks. Children have a remarkable way of working things out for themselves and so he might just find out about the Santa myth and not have a problem with the fact that the big fella doesn't visit our house. After all, there'll be no shortage of presents on Christmas day which I believe is the most important thing from a child's point of view.
If my son does ask about Santa I'll say that there is a popular story in Western culture about a mythical figure called Santa Clause who represents the spirit of generosity. I'll explain that many parents tell their children that Santa will visit their home because they think it makes Christmas more enjoyable for their children
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What do you tell your children about Santa?December 22nd 2006 02:03
I'm in a bind. My son is three years old and most of his friends “believe” in Santa. That is to say their parents have told them that on Christmas eve a somewhat portly fellow in a red suit will come down the chimney and deposit some much anticipated presents for them on the hearth. Now most children believe what their parents tell them and no one would want to undermine that trust between parent and child, however, I won't tell my son that this is what happens on Christmas eve because … well, it's just not true. So if I simply tell my son “There's no such thing as Santa” I anticipate that before long some of his friend's parents will be coming to me and accusing me of running their children's Christmas. To avoid this rift, here's what I plan to do. I'll not say anything unless my son asks. Children have a remarkable way of working things out for themselves and so he might just find out about the Santa myth and not have a problem with the fact that the big fella doesn't visit our house. After all, there'll be no shortage of presents on Christmas day which I believe is the most important thing from a child's point of view.
If my son does ask about Santa I'll say that there is a popular story in Western culture about a mythical figure called Santa Clause who represents the spirit of generosity. I'll explain that many parents tell their children that Santa will visit their home because they think it makes Christmas more enjoyable for their children
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My reflections on Don QuixoteDecember 20th 2006 04:00
Alonso Quixana having read too many stories of romance and chivalry sets off on a journey to establish his reputation as Don Quixote, knight-errant extraordinaire. The central irony and source of amusement in the book so far is the sight of a man supposing himself to be other than he is.
The book raises the question of idealism. One reading is that Don Quixote embodies all that is good, noble and chivalrous and that the modern world is so corrupt that he appears to be a madman, similar in a way to the image given by Socrates of the man who, having reached the sunlit world and having looked and the sun, then returns stumbling and ineffective to the shadowy world of the cave
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Don Quixote - master or fool?December 18th 2006 02:05
A friend and I are reading our way throught some of the Classics of the Western tradition. We're using Invitation to the Classics as a reading guide and I've just finished Cervantes' Don Quixote.
I must admit it was a hard read and at times I struggled to work out why it's such a classic
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Comment by Ross
on Neck Ties to be Abolished?