So crime does pay.....

If Carl Williams family are successful in their bid to sue over his death, then everyone who has been affected by his criminal activities should then sue the father, and ex-wife, for raising, and aiding and abetting a criminal and living off the proceeds of drug dealing and other crimes.  For generations, parents have been telling their children to stay out of trouble, that crime doesn't pay. Yeah, right!!!

What has happened to free speech and democracy?

I think I know why there is so much childish behaviour in parliament!  It's because they are all treated like children.  They are only allowed to voice an opinion if it "tows the party line"  Heaven forbid if someone wants to voice his/her own opinions.  What is the point of having debates in parliament if the outcome has already been pre-determined.  So, forget free speech, forget thinking outside of the square, because there is no real democracy, only party policies.  We don't have to agree with anything our politicians say, but they should have the right to say what they think, just like the general public does.

Don't feed the trolls

As a generalisation, I agree with Andrew Bolt - don't feed the trolls!!  The would dislike being ignored.  There are occasions, however, when people must be made accountable for their actions and I refer to the "Dawson troll".  This person has been cleared by her employer of any wrong doing and has resumed work.  Her job is as a university mentor.  Now, my dictionary describes a mentor as a wise counsellor.  Please explain to me how some-one who tells a vulnerable person to "go hang themselves", can be either wise or a counsellor giving advice to young people???????

Jacqueline Freney & Matthew Cowdry - Superstars

None of the superlatives I can think of are enough to describe Australian swimmers Jacqueline Freney and Matthew Cowdrey.  Matt is the all-time greatest paralympian ever and Jacqueline won eight gold medals from eight events.  I can believe it because I saw it with my own eyes.  If these two were representing GB they would be knighted by now.  Sir Matthew Cowdry sounds rather good.......
Disappointingly, the Australian media, with the exception of the ABC, barely acknowledge, not only these two, but the rest of this amazing team.  Our abled bodied athletes could learn a lot from their humility and sheer joy they get from doing what they love (and I guess sometimes hate), and the fact that getting a PB was better than winning a medal.  What really left me in complete awe were the armless swimmers! How hard must that be?  At what age, I wonder, does some-one without limbs decide that they want to swim butterfly.  I can't even do it with two arms!!!! 
Thanks to the ABC for their great coverage and thanks to some of Australia's finest ambassadors.

Stop killing 99% of all germs!

My siblings and I grew up on a dairy farm.  We played in the mud and cow shit, but we never got sick.   I spent many years of my adult life in Central Australia with the flies and red dust, but I never got sick.  That's why I get so angry with these adverts that flog products that kill 99% of all germs.  Now even the most basic science course will teach us that we need germs.  If we don't build up an immunity to germs then we will get sick.  So, who will be the voice of common sense and tell all those gullible and guilt ridden people that their homes are not filthy and their children will not die a ghastly death if they do not buy cleaning products that will kill all germs, good bad and indifferent.
Doctors won't because they make money by prescribing antibiotics to all those people who have no immunity.  Scientist won't because most of them are employed by large pharmaceutical companies and politicians won't because they rely on donations from large manufacturers.  So, who is left stop this killing of "99% of all germs"?

Bernard Tomic, you are pathetic

I have been saying this for a while, and now, even John McEnroe agrees with me. Bernard Tomic is a dud. He is over-rated, untalented and immature. He attitude is bewildering and a disgrace to this country and to tennis in general. Sports people and spectators alike have had enough, calling him pathetic and undisciplined. He counter claims thats “who I am”!! Well, unless he has a mental impediment no-one knows about it, this is no excuse. Please go and find something else to do before you become a total embarrassment.

Those swimming "BOYS" are the biggest losers

The biggest losers in the Australian swimming teams “we were just being boys” scenario, (apart from the tax payers who fund them) are the boys themselves. Olympic games only happen every four years, so how many of these boys will qualify for Rio? Will their time have passed them by, will they have been overtaken by a younger group of swimmers? If so, they will probably look back with regret and wish they had done things differently. There are no second chances!

Conversely, the attitude of the paralympians has been an inspiration. They do not receive the funding that our able bodied sports people do, but they embrace the whole concept for what it is, and they acknowledge it is a privilege to be there, not their god given right, and as a bonus they are raking in the medals!!!

Put the Trolls back under the bridge

I always thought that trolls lived under bridges in fairy tales. It wasn’t until Charlotte Dawson’s

bad experience that I discovered that the name also applies to sad weirdos who get their kicks by spreading hate and vitriol to complete strangers. Personally this does not affect me, but, if remarks like “go hang yourself” harms just one person, then that is one too many. What really amazes me is that the woman responsible for these remarks works as a university MENTOR. My dictionary defines a mentor as a wise counsellor, so does that mean if a student comes to her asking for counsel she advises them to “go hang yourself”? How did this woman get her job?
The fact that she has been stood down on full pay is not good enough. She should be made to get some “wise counseling” and publically apologise to everyone she has harmed or upset with her behaviour.
To anyone who receives these hate messages, make public the senders name, if you know it, and complain to the site administrators and maybe some trolls will think twice about what they write.