Punch on: Open thread 26/10/2011

Ghost says:

06:09am | 26/10/11

I question the validity of the opinion polls.

acotrel says:

06:12am | 26/10/11

@ Erick
The same thing happens in America - What’s new ? It’s all part of the cult of the individual. If you fell over having a fit in the streets of Melbourne, the passers-by would step over your body !

neo says:

11:39am | 26/10/11

You can thank PC for this kind of thing, people are paranoid to interact with each other nowadays. I don’t really care what others will think of me, when I saw an elderly lady fall over last week, I helped her up and walked her to a bench and made sure she is alright. Maybe someone thought I was robbing her, I dunno, don’t really care either. If you put honour above everything else (including your insecurities), you should do alright at life.

dancan says:

04:02pm | 26/10/11

@neo – It’s not what others think that has people concerned it’s repercussion from the family.  If for example the old lady suffered a blood clot from the fall which led to her death, being a good Samaritan you wouldn’t be charged, but the children of the old lady then sued you for damages because you didn’t call an ambulance, perform surgery, act on your obvious powers of clairvoyance.  While the legal action may have no chance of winning you still have to go through all the scrutiny of court and suffer the costs involved. 

If you’re being paid a low income would you be able to cover these costs? Going to court could put you and your family into a really dire financial situation, what if you couldn’t make several mortgage payments because of legal fees and the bank took your house.  While the legal case would be thrown out in the end, the damage inflicted to you and your family could be irreversible.

To clarify I don’t condone their actions, and personally I’d never be able to look myself in the mirror again if I walked past, but not everyone has that same conviction

neo says:

05:57pm | 26/10/11

Yep, dancan, spot on, this paranoia and over thinking of things, together with legal and other repercussions is what made some of the modern society a bit weird and isolated. And as I said, I really wouldn’t let it all stop me from helping someone out if I can, and you know what, not all is lost. When I helped out the lady a few other girls were around and they came up trying to help as well straight away. I guess the lady is a bad example, how can you not help the proverbial old lady hehe, but even at train stations, you see people help mothers carry their prams up etc, chivalry does live on in some people

LC says:

03:50pm | 11/11/11

Actually Dancan, if a civil court case gets thrown out like that in this country, the plaintiff must pay all the legal costs of the defendant.

And if you were in the position you are talking about (low income, both parents working to make mortgage repayments) legal proceedings wouldn’t go ahead because you would not have sufficient assets to make it worthwhile.

Mark G says:

09:00am | 26/10/11

Ibast,

uummm I think you mean Giant Policewoman

ibast says:

07:21am | 27/10/11

Talking about the cop in the background

fml says:

12:47pm | 26/10/11

I thought in a socialist society everybody was equal? how did you come up with worthless?

Trevor says:

01:10pm | 26/10/11

@fml

Sony has drunk the Kool-Aid mate.

@Sony

“In a collectivist society the individual is worthless.”

In a capitalist society, the collective good is worthless.

fml says:

02:20pm | 26/10/11

@Trevor,

In a capitalist society, the collective good changes at the whim of the rich and lobbyists. That may have something to do with the current protests?

TimB says:

08:34am | 26/10/11

I’d say they’re keeping it quiet. It was an unpopular policy to begin with. They’ve got enough issues with unpoularity at the moment.

But I wouldn’t be suprised if it’s quietly included as a mandatory ‘feature’ of the NBN.

Shenanigans says:

08:47am | 26/10/11

TimB, it IS being introduced with the NBN.
and because of its need to filter everything, we’ll have fiber optics with ADSL speeds -.- why has everything technological in this country have to be shat on?

Trevor says:

08:57am | 26/10/11

Because the Libs support it too it hasn’t been subject to the rhetorical wars that brings such subjects to the front pages of our newspapers.

I personally think it is a major attack on our freedom of speech

Mark G says:

09:02am | 26/10/11

I would talk about the policy but I think that I will get censor…...

TimB says:

09:41am | 26/10/11

“Because the Libs support it too….” blah blah blah.

Incorrect Trevor.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/coalition-to-dump-flawed-internet-filter-20100805-11kmv.html

Trevor says:

10:27am | 26/10/11

I stand corrected.

acotrel says:

10:33am | 26/10/11

Politicians cannot pander to the Australian Christian Lobby all the time.  The Libs need to learn that when they plan an intervention immediately before an election and accuse aborigines of being into pornography, !

TimB says:

11:24am | 26/10/11

@ Acotrel, WTF?

Seriously. Go away.

neo says:

11:44am | 26/10/11

This comment has been censored by the NBN.

fairsfair says:

11:58am | 26/10/11

Acotrel that is a deeply offensive comment. And not toward the LNP or the Christians either. It is just f*kd up.

I have honestly always enjoyed your randomness and the way you get others riled up - but I am seriously concerned for your mental health in these past few weeks.

LC says:

02:10pm | 26/10/11

It’s still on the agenda. Labor isn’t pushing it this term because they don’t know if they’ll be able to get it through parliament. All the independents are against it, (with one going as far as to hand out brochures on the matter at polling booths in his electorate) as are the Greens and the LNP, and without Fielding holding the balance of power in the senate, they’re not getting it through there.

And until A. Labor drops the filter B. Conroy is removed from the Labor party and C. Labor enshrines free speech, communication and expression into our constitution, Labor will not again receive my vote, and I will take constant care to not slip to them it through preferences. A free and open internet is the best friend democracy has ever had, I will not vote for anyone who seeks to take that away.

I may not like the Greens in general, but their stance against the net filter should be applauded across the board.

TimB says:

03:01pm | 26/10/11

“I may not like the Greens in general, but their stance against the net filter should be applauded across the board. “

I gotta say I have to agree with this.

Knemon will be stoked .

Adam Diver says:

07:40pm | 26/10/11

Hmmm, so its not a matter or principal but a matter of competency.

Oh well

@ LC, great comment, I concur

LC says:

12:26pm | 27/12/11

Oh and Shenanigans, it’s not being introduced with the NBN. All the NBN is is the infrastructure to be used by currently existing ISPs. If you use it, you won’t be filtered.

And if it was, it would have been announced during the reading of the NBN bills in parliament, it would have caused an uproar, and would not have passed due to opposition from the Coalition and the Greens.

Trevor says:

08:53am | 26/10/11

Can I rephrase that without the hyperbole and passive-aggressiveness please?

“Don’t believe the mountain of evidence that pot isn’t dangerous. We’ve spent billions and ruined the lives of thousands demonstrating that it is.”

Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo says:

08:02am | 26/10/11

Probably explains why no one knows who the hell Gerard Oosterman is…

And still don’t.

TimB says:

08:12am | 26/10/11

You know Adam, If I didn’t know better I could have sworn Acotrel wrote that comment.

Not enough exclamation marks though.

atomou says:

04:13pm | 29/10/11

Joe-joe, it rather explains more about you than about Gerard -whose writing I’ve been reading religiously on the ABC, as well as on http://pigsarms.com.au/  for many years now.

Commercial TV and radio as well as much of the print media is a putrid swamp of very unclassy (though class biased) programs whose aims are to delude, dumb down and rip off Australians.
Gerard is absolutely right in comparing what’s on offer in those media with the world Goebbels had created for the Germans and the rest of the world.

acotrel says:

10:28am | 26/10/11

@Mahrat
You obviously haven’t heard of the murder of Carl Williams, and who was involved?  It’s a big internal problem, and the goodies might not win !

Kirsty says:

10:46am | 26/10/11

I like the “Haters Gonna Hate” comment.  really appeals to the youngun’s.

Trevor says:

01:13pm | 26/10/11

If you can’t tell who is on drugs at first sight, then why does anyone give a shit?

malohi says:

08:27am | 26/10/11

Op1 at high school, joined cops at 20, studied full time while working full time, 2 degrees, pay tax, no criminal history, army reservist, wife and kid, seen more and done more for shit pay than most. Served my state as best I could, not a blemish on my record.
Got spat on, belittled and ridiculed by a vindictive media and apathetic public. A bit of glass, almost like sand rises to the surface yearly from the scar on my face I copped in the line of duty.

Apparently I am less than a man, I am corrupt, lower than a dog according to chuck.

NicoleG says:

09:04am | 26/10/11

IMO, it’s only those who commit crimes, that have this feeling towards police. And it’s wind bags like chuck, who are the first to run to them when some other crim commits a crime against them. Idiot!

Trevor says:

09:17am | 26/10/11

Malohi.

I don’t think it is the actual officers generally who generate this perception, but the idiotic and archaic laws they need to uphold and the targeted way in which some officers uphold them.

S.L says:

09:48am | 26/10/11

@malohi Last year I was witness to a road rage incident. I didn’t know it at the time but a knife was produced and a stabbing occured. A workmate travelling down the same road an hour later saw one car with police tape around it. He knew I’d been down the road before so he rang me to ask if I’d seen anything. He also told me the police via the local radio station were appealing for any witnesses to come forward as the attacker had scuppered.
Thinking I was doing the right thing I called into the local cop shop. The constable on the counter gave me the “what the f#*k do you want?” look and I felt like just turning around and walking out. The hassle for a detective to take my statement has made up my mind I will NEVER give evidence to you guys again. That I was soooo rude as to drag them away from their coffee and donuts I should have ben arrested on the spot!
You guys bring bad public opinion onto yourselves…...........

Peter says:

10:25am | 26/10/11

S.L.

What does a “what the f#*k do you want?” look”, look like?  Newsflash, they eat doughnuts in the movies, not in real life.  They haven’t got time nor the salary to afford such luxuries, but I won’t let it ruin the little fantasy you have going on there.

malohi says:

10:27am | 26/10/11

You were a witness to a road rage incident? and it was a hassle to have your statement taken? Given a bad look by a constable were you?

For all you know Johnny mc constable just went to the actual road rage incident, gave cpr to the victim, got bloody saliva in their mouth from atempted ressucitation, couldnt revive old mate, went and did the death message to the grieving widow and young children, got into a violent scuffle with a potential offender in the incident and then got repremanded for not not putting his hat on quick enough at the incident scene; hence being sent to the counter.

Beleive it or not, policing is a stressful, draining, dangerous job and not everyone is at all times enthused speaking to such self righteous halfwits as yourself who likely only saw a fleeting glimps of any incident (driving right?). You have no idea what a general duties shift entails. Nor do you understand the complexities of a detectives investigation.

Your overindulged evidence would likely carry no weight in the mind of the court anyway, if anything your tantrum like over reacting would make you easy pickings for any cross examining barrister worth his salt. Best you stick to exaggerating your heroic tales at the pub, chief.

S.L says:

12:08pm | 26/10/11

@malohi it’s not just police that cop crap from the public. I’ve worked in the public transport industry for over 20 years and we cop as much as you. If we give attitude after copping abuse off the public we’re unemployed. I went in there with no attitude but of course you are defending one of your own.
Granted I don’t deal with dead bodies or have to make the dreaded door knock but saturday night drunks happen to me every week and waiting for you guys to attend an incident is an exercise in futility.
But if a policeman is assaulted I can guarantee 20 police cars to the location in 3 minutes…........

malohi says:

12:40pm | 26/10/11

S.L it makes me sick the amount of scorn dumped not only on police, but on nurses, ambos, teachers, train and bus drivers, bouncers, firies etc. In this country Any one who is given any position of power under any legislation is breated and criticized, grubs cannot stand authority.
All the careers I mentioned, however do not cop the public distain as do the police.
BTW I left the job for legal career, hopefully I get into medicine in the near future.

I think the immediate backup of other cops comes from the fact that it is a lonely job. You SL are surrounded by violence, but as a cop you are sent into it, to death, to abuse, you really see some wack shit in a small amount of time.
It is hard to explain and you cannot even explain it to your family and friends, unless you have done a similar job you would not understand the isolation. When Damian Leeding got shot it broke my heart, not just for him but for the fact it could have been any of my mates.
I am not talking about hardened old men with magnum PI moustaches etc. i am talking about the real cops that attend first response; the 20 -25 year old kids, who would likely be driving around in the cop car talking smack about MW3 of BF3 like the posters below.
You see the big scary tattood men in jail? those are the kids who put them there, who went to the house where they knew they had guns and stuff. I could go on and on…. Sorry if I took away from your post S.L.

Ghost says:

12:44pm | 26/10/11

S.L.

Do you think the police choose their numbers?  If they don’t get there fast enough, do you think that’s an issue of too much crime and not enough staff?  Your bitch is with the government, not making scapegoats of people who have no control over what happens.

Police protect each other because no one else does and they don’t get paid anywhere near what they deserve, to die.

S.L says:

01:33pm | 26/10/11

The one thing I find funny but predictable malohi is you assumed I walked into the police station with an attitude. Why for any reason would I go in there in that frame of mind when I wanted to help the poor bloke that got assaulted?
Like any job there is more to your former profession than what meets the eye to an outsider but treating people like human beings isn’t too much to ask is it?
Many people “known to police” are my customers so I have more of an idea of the Einstiens you dealt with than most….......

Knemon says:

02:25pm | 26/10/11

@ malohi (01:40pm). Winning +1…Well said.

My baby brother was a policeman for 7 years (21-27), he resigned in part because he couldn’t take any more abuse from the general public, it wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the abuse; he just couldn’t deal with it in a way that he thought was justified.

Young petty criminal bogans that he had arrested would come up to him while on foot patrol and laugh in his face - because the magistrate had given them a slap on the wrist, the poor darlings had rough upbringings, so it was better to be lenient and forgive them for their misdemeanours…my brother said he wanted to grab the scum there and then and smash their pimply scrawny faces into to the ground, but of course he couldn’t do that!

His morale was lowered by the judiciary, who in his opinion, were too soft in sentencing.

malohi says:

04:35pm | 26/10/11

@Knemon,
I got off the road for the same reasons. Cops are so understaffed, you drive from job to job. Death message to dead body to violent DV all night. Then you speak to some kid on a bike to put hit helmet over his rats tail and they spit at you and call you pig c**ts etc. You finally end the shift at 6am and read the paper and it is full of inane commentaries like “spot the dog” below. People hate the cops, there is no respect.
Why would I stay on the road with that shit. I would like to think I left for some higher reasoning, my work here is done etc.
But in reality it was for no other reason than your brother’s; I felt like breaking wise ass moron’s faces for their disrespect. I hated the gratuitous hate cops received and it ate me alive. It makes me so mad to this day what I have been through and the shit i copped for it.
I did all I could to be as fair and easy going as possible, I think I gave 2 traffic tickets in 5 years. I always gave 100 chances to pull ones head in before charging. But noone cares all they see is a piece of shit in blue.

read the comments above and below if you need more proof

John Smythe says:

04:00pm | 26/10/11

refining it a tad….

Pup in Boots, notorious burglar arrested….news at 11

TimB says:

08:47am | 26/10/11

Queenslanders- Behind the times.

Now to find a picture to go with that caption….

Perhaps we can persuade Fairs pose for a phote in some sort of oldtimey colonial dress.

Tim says:

09:00am | 26/10/11

Pfft nossy,
you would be waking up at 5am with the sun blaring through your window like all you silly Queenslanders.

Or maybe you have extra faded curtains?

nihonin says:

09:08am | 26/10/11

nossy, for Queensland that would be 1 hour and about 30 or so years behind.

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

09:28am | 26/10/11

Nossy, It’s your choice to live in a backwards state. The rest of us should not have to suffer another minority group flogging their own cause.

Perhaps you could take to waking up 1 hour earlier and join the rest of ciivilization at the appropriate time.

fairsfair says:

09:43am | 26/10/11

I don’t do petticoats TimB, they look pretty silly with my skirt safari suit.

Too right Nossy lol@ Mickey Mouse time

Tim - when the sun rises prior 5:00am as it is - the time would have to be wound back more than an hour to make a difference. Its just a massive f* around for no benefit. I honestly don’t understand its purpose. Maybe you have to live down south to get it.

TimB says:

10:22am | 26/10/11

You disappoint me Fairs. Now my caption is without a photo. :(

Tim says:

12:36pm | 26/10/11

FF,
the benefit is that for the vast majority of people who work normal 9-5 hours, we would prefer to have some daylight at the end of the day to do stuff and not be woken at 5:00am when we don’t/can’t be at work for another 4 hours.
I much prefer sunset at 7:30pm than 6:30pm. Going home in the dark sucks.

Emma says:

12:57pm | 26/10/11

I’m a Queenslander and I’d prefer daylight saving - it just makes so much more sense! In the height of summer it gets dark at 7pm. It would be good to have an extra hour of sunlight
Someone explained to me why this affects the cows and it seemed sound at the time, but I can’t remember what that explanation was now….

fairsfair says:

01:07pm | 26/10/11

I don’t know the feeling. Not even in the depths of “winter” does the sun set at 6:00pm here.

Without DLS the sun goes down at 7:30/8pm up here. It would really mess with your body, particularly if it is hot. As you would find the besser brick wall behind your bedhead is still radiating afternoon heat at 9:30pm, right when you want to go to sleep.

I’m happy with it as it is. I am just over Brisbane pushing for it.

Tim says:

02:46pm | 26/10/11

FF,
sunset in Cairns is 5:50pm in winter, 6:20pm at the moment.
The latest it sets is 6:56pm.

The sun sets later down south (without DS) anyway and can be just as hot.

fairsfair says:

03:06pm | 26/10/11

Tim, I got home from my run last night at 6:40pm and the sun was still just above the great dividing range, because I watered the garden without having to turn on my outside lights. The days only get longer from here. I am thoroughly confused.

Regardless, I don’t like it, nor does anyone north of Noosa, so I am not sure what the big push for it in QLD is all about. I am happy for southern states to have it - I am just annoyed by all the southerners who have moved to Brisbane and are now calling for another referrendum. They knew the deal when the moved here and now the want to change it.

Tim says:

03:18pm | 26/10/11

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=927

FF,
yep I’ll admit to wanting it in QLD for selfish reasons.
Every time I visit QLD in Summer it’s just ridiculous.
Get woken up by blinding sun at 5:30am, and then the sun sets at 6:30pm. I can’t stand it.
Seriously, who wants to wake up at 5:00-5:30am if you don’t have to?

fairsfair says:

09:09am | 26/10/11

Looks like there is beer coming from the chimney…

Fran Smith says:

09:17am | 26/10/11

Chief Wiggum once said “I’d rather let a thousand guilty men run free than chase after them”.

TimB says:

09:37am | 26/10/11

“I am proceeding on foot.  Call in a Code 8.”
” We need pretzels.  Repeat, pretzels.”

Trevor says:

10:41am | 26/10/11

The suspect is….hatless.

Fran Smith says:

10:54am | 26/10/11

I am under the earth’s sun…..........now.

Elphaba says:

11:13am | 26/10/11

“I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong number, this is 91…2.”

TimB says:

09:07am | 26/10/11

The enemy revealed…

fairsfair says:

09:14am | 26/10/11

Oh no - they are expanding!

Chardonnay mum? WTF? More like Bacardi Breezer mum…

Tim says:

09:41am | 26/10/11

Where’s:
Teenage single mum
or Winnie Blues Bloke
or Latte mum with optional Nanny.

Mark G says:

09:53am | 26/10/11

‘The stickers are now exported to Japan and Britain and their creators, Gold Coast couple Monica Liebenow and Phil Barham, are in talks with six more countries including Argentina and Russia.’

I love the reporting here. Apparently they are in talks with Russia and Argentina??? I would suggest that a more appropriate way of putting this is ‘they have talked to people in Russia and Argentina’. They are bumper sticks. This is not a major trade negotiation.

Elphaba says:

09:55am | 26/10/11

@Fairs, I think it was unfair they did not mention Schwartzeneggering.  Hate groups on FB are easy.  A movement is entirely different!

@Tim, I think those stickers are located with at Creepy Uncle.

John Smythe says:

10:19am | 26/10/11

#Mark G   Time to short the AUD then….the forex markets will definitely be impacted by such a large deal!

iansand says:

11:09am | 26/10/11

I saw one in Canberra a while ago.  Left to right - one woman, 2 cats.  So far pretty sad.  And then there were 3 frogs, which redeemed it a little.

SimonFromLakemba says:

09:33am | 26/10/11

haha! Office of State Revenue now doing foot patrol.

John Smythe says:

09:40am | 26/10/11

Nice one Simon!

Trevor says:

12:11pm | 26/10/11

That would be funny if it wasn’t happening regularly in the US in their ‘war on drugs’.

A 12 yo girl shot in the face by a squad of haevily armed raiding officers- the father’s crime? Possessing a tiny amount of marijuana for medicinal purposes. There are many examples of this.

SOP for police in the US upon a raid to a house with a dog?: shoot it if it shows any signs of aggression or barking. Which as you can imagine would be often with 10-20 black clad, armed strangers barging their way into the house.

We should heed these examples if we want to continue the war on drugs here in Australia.

RyaN says:

02:35pm | 26/10/11

@Trevor: The case I refer to was actually on burglary, I can’t imagine what would have happened had they been called out for drugs.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/teen-shot-in-stomach-talks-to-police/story-e6frfku0-1226148068097

To date the police officer who plugged the kid with lead has not been charged, how unsurprising.

SimonFromLakemba says:

10:37am | 26/10/11

Shes ugly, but in all fairness, has a good rack..lol

So playboy would suit her I think

Trevor says:

11:48am | 26/10/11

I would like to see it because I like naked women…

Shenanigans says:

12:05pm | 26/10/11

that biznich is wack yo

TimB says:

09:50am | 26/10/11

“What is wrong with me??”*

Easy. You’re a Queenslander

(Yes I know you didn’t want an answer. But what is life without risk? )

In the meantime if you’re going to drive any car through their loungeroom, I suggest you hotwire *their* car .

Shenanigans says:

10:04am | 26/10/11

not happy Jan!

fairs i reckon you should hijack a semi trailer and then drive it into their house, all the while cackling like a crazed woman, then casually wander off as the truck lies in the crumpled ruins of their house putting on your best ‘wasn’t me’ face

Anubis says:

10:26am | 26/10/11

Here’s one for you fairs
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=kicking+a+clown+pictures&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=822&tbm=isch&tbnid=9hxeaxpdA96w9M:&imgrefurl=http://marketplace.veer.com/stock-illustration/clown-kicking-another-clown-on-the-backside-dvi0775046&docid=5snE0T8uTElQfM&imgurl=http://images.veer.com/PILL/DVI0775046_P_Clown-Kicking-Another-Clown-on.jpg&w=400&h=286&ei=HFOnTqWPGYr2mAWyg7DDDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=185&vpy=160&dur=920&hovh=190&hovw=266&tx=176&ty=85&sig=115996664983156693772&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=199&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Kirsty says:

10:58am | 26/10/11

I support Shenanigans plan, it might become bigger news than the time the lady astronaut drove across the US in a nappy so she didn’t have to stop for toilet breaks.

Dash says:

11:40am | 26/10/11

@Fairs - Get even. A few ideas:

Wake them up in the middle of the night with loud noies of long sexual experiences that seem to last forever and make them feel jealous and/or inadequate.

Hold a dance party with loud and annoying music that just seems to be the same song over and over and over - doof doof doof doof doof etc.  Get your friend to vomit in their direction and tell the cops they sold the ekkys.

Order them pizza at 3.30am.

Turn a leaf blower into the on position and set a timer switch for it to go off at 3am.

Or, perhaps just invest in some ear plugs.

TimB says:

01:09pm | 26/10/11

I endorse Dash’s first idea.

fairsfair says:

02:09pm | 26/10/11

Why am I not surprised TimB?

Perhaps Dash, if that option was available to me, the neighbours wouldn’t be annoying me

Seriously though, they are clearly night people. I have been tempted to just hold my horn down at 7:30am when I head off for work - because they are usually asleep at that stage. I did mow the lawn the week before last at 7:30am and blew up my whipper snipper tyring to cause undue noise - so even that came back and bit me on the arse.

I can’t win.

Ben C says:

02:47pm | 26/10/11

@ fairsfair

You got an alarm installed at home or in the car? If so, set them off when you know they’re asleep.

Dash says:

03:18pm | 26/10/11

@Fairs - Hold your horn down at 7.30am? - lol

There are a few of us guys that have the same issue! I feel your pain

Whats the Story Morning Glory.

fairsfair says:

03:39pm | 26/10/11

lol Dash. Thats up there with my ball bashing faux pas from last week :(

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

09:38am | 26/10/11

Shen have you bf3 yet? Cmon bro hit us up

James1 says:

09:55am | 26/10/11

Further to your point, every time the police accidentally shoot someone or handle a situation badly, it is all over the papers and tv.  Everyone hates on the police, and acts like they only do bad.  On the other hand, every time the police catch a burglar, or arrest a drunk driver, or do some other social good that makes up 99.5% of the things they do, no one cares and it never gets reported.  As a result, we have people smearing the police based on errors and bad apples, rather than recognising all the great work they do in keeping our society safe.

Same for the health system - every time a lady miscarraiges in a toilet in a north shore hospital, it’s front page news.  However, the thousand babies and miscarriages that are handled excellently every single day don’t even rate a mention.

Our intelligence people get it worst of all.  If they stuff up, it is a huge issue, people lose jobs and everyone is aware of it, and smears our intelligence people as a result.  When they succeed, no one even knows.

So there it is people.  Thank a policeman, nurse or doctor next time they help you.  And if you can find one, thank an intelligence gatherer/analyst while you’re at it.

fairsfair says:

09:57am | 26/10/11

I think the lack of respect comes from the failure of the judicial system to appropriately back up the work of the police. People know they don’t have to listen to police. They base their entire opinion of the police force on the traffic branch and history tells us that you can do a running headbutt on a police officer - rendering him permanently brain damaged, and you won’t even go to jail.

Society does not respect many forms of authority, so I guess why would the police be excluded? And I know that there are some crooked cops and some really unpleasant ones, but most of them are in a badly paying job and being treated like shit becuase they want to make a difference. As naff as that probably sounds.

My other beef is that in Queensland, they are a Service, not a Force. They have no force what so ever. I am friends with a policeman in a small town. He attended a fire once where some young kids had sparked a recently restored 100 year old building. One of them had a green cast on his wrist and when he yelled at them, they started crying and sat still, he didn’t have to touch them to even put them in the paddy wagon. The kid’s mother later made a complaint stating that he had broken her child’s arm. He was taken off general duties and put on the desk for six weeks while it was investigated. After six weeks someone finally looked at the kids medical records and noted that the visit to emergency and cast were applied seven days prior to the fire.

He was also in the police academy in Brisbane when a local girl was murdered years and years ago. He was called to a DV one night and arrested a woman for assaulting her husband and spitting on him. She later made a complaint stating that she could prove that he had murdered this girl. Again, off general duties for three months this time, while this woman’s claims were investigated.

In the first instance - what kind of parent would not be too preoccupied with worrying about their arsonist pre-teen to even think of making a false complaint against a police officer? Why wasn’t she immediately dismissed when her claims were clearly bogus? The service faciliated her ability to mess with an officers life for six full weeks. She knew she would eventually be found out lying with no repercussions, why wouldn’t you do it? And the second woman - seriously. I am at a loss to even work out how someone can make serious wild accusations and it to take three months for it to be sorted, when someone was over 2000km away at the time of the crime?

What a waste of taxpayer money even entertaining these ideas.

Shenanigans says:

09:59am | 26/10/11

bf3 isnt out in aus yet, filthy yanks get it 2 days before the rest of the world -.- it comes out tomorrow here. so ‘cited :p

nihonin says:

10:20am | 26/10/11

BF3 lol MW3 is the way to go.

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

10:27am | 26/10/11

Ni,
take your MW3 and play it on a console buddy
Spammers and console kids play MW since inception
serious blokes play BF since 1942

Shenanigans says:

10:40am | 26/10/11

further to my point again, i know quiet a few policemen and woman, and talking to them I constantly hear how they are worried about their job when they have to arrest someone, because that someone is a princess and complains that the police arrested them too forcefully, or the handcuffs were to tight.
Police are NOT there to be gentle, police are NOT there to be nice while you spew your hate on them, they are there to uphold the law, but its our legal system that causes all sorts of problems, as fairs said.

Hell I’ve been arrested before (something I’m not proud of) for being drunk and disorderly* I tell you i was handcuffed so hard i nearly had my wrist dislocated, did i complain, no. because the policeman was doing his job, I was being a nuisance and so i was cuffed and thrown in lock up for the night.

*drunk and disorderly being i was hammered to the point i couldn’t speak or walk properly and trying to flirt with a female officer and i got a little too close, put my hand out to stop myself from falling over and inadvertently smacked her in the face, her male partner reacted as he saw fit. it was all by accident they understood that, but I was still punished for being a drunk idiot. I’ve learned since that whilst a female officer may be incredibly good looking, she’s on duty and no matter how drunk i am i shouldn’t go anywhere near them.

p.s I’ve since given up on drinking and trying to flirt with female officers on duty

Kirsty says:

11:01am | 26/10/11

Umm Shenanigans.  Best. Story. Ever!

nihonin says:

11:40am | 26/10/11

SCC ‘Ni,
take your MW3 and play it on a console buddy
Spammers and console kids play MW since inception
serious blokes play BF since 1942’

Bit hard when you can’t use a keyboard to play games on, besides what about BF on console, or doesn’t that count to you?

MarkS says:

12:11pm | 26/10/11

@Shenanigans
Drunken fools have made unwanted passes at women I know lots of times. Because I do not wear a uniform I am not allowed to cuff them, injure them & throw them into the back of a van.

If I did I would be charged. The biggest armed gang in town, one rule for them & lots against the rest of us.

Rob Johnson says:

12:21pm | 26/10/11

Shenanigans
In West Australia, you would have gotten a mandatory one year jail sentence.

Ghost says:

12:47pm | 26/10/11

@Rob Johnson

One year’s jail for drunk and disorderly?

I knew I was born in the wrong State.

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

12:55pm | 26/10/11

Ni,

I dont rate any fps games on console.

Shenanigans says:

12:56pm | 26/10/11

But the thing is I’m not in WA, nor would i ever go over there, tis a strange place apparently

nihonin says:

01:24pm | 26/10/11

SCC, I dont rate any fps games on console.

Fair call mate, I’d prefer the keyboard myself, but the old fingers just can’t fly over it fast enough for games anymore.

fairsfair says:

02:24pm | 26/10/11

Marks - it comes back to the respect bit though. You shouldn’t touch police - it is as simple as that.

I was at the Caxton Street Food Festival once, talking to a policeman and my sister’s stupid ex boyfriend was p*ssed and kept reaching for his gun behind him. I could tell he knew what he was doing and was harmless, but I wished he had’ve popped that clown and dragged him off to the lockup. FFS - those people are at work and the last thing they need is some drunken fool all up in their grill. At least Shenanigans is man enough to admit he made an error and can see the motivations for the male officers actions.

What if Shenanigans had HepC and when he fell forward he cut her face with the jagged fingernail he recently crushed while working on his ute, simultaneously bursting the blood blister that had been caused and somehow transferred disease? I know it is unlikely, but this is the kind of crap police deal with each shift - when you have people spitting blood in your face, you can’t blame them for treating eveyone with the same level of caution.

My police officer friend caught an impeccably dressed woman deficating in the post office garden and she threw it at him for disturbing her. There was a public toilet over the road. Thankfully she missed - but seriously, they are supposed to deal with that and then treat eveyone with the best intentions? Imagine going to post your christmas cards and being confronted by that…. I can appreciate why they are sometimes wary of people.  I know it is a gross example, but each and every one of us has the potential to be a poo throwing garden crapper. Think about it.

gobsmack says:

03:29pm | 26/10/11

On both occasions that I have been arrested I was treated with the utmost courtesy and respect.
They were Darwin police.  I don’t know if the same would apply to the police here in Victoria.

John Smythe says:

10:34am | 26/10/11

BattleFront 3

though I own a PS3 I never use it….maybe I should “give it to the 99%”

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

10:38am | 26/10/11

soon to be the bane of women all over :D

TimB says:

10:48am | 26/10/11

@ Fran, that would be Battlefield 3.

On the gaming topic (and I don’t want to dilute the police discussion up there so I’ll post it here…):

Shen, have you got the Exterminatus DLC on your PC verison of Space Merine yet? The whole thing was held up for nearly 3 weeks for review by those idiots at Sony, despite it all being ready to go on PC/360.

Yet the PS3 crowd apparently got it a day early whilst as of 6.30 this morning the 360 has yet to recieve it.

I am throroughly pissed. It better be there when I get home or I’m on the first flight to Seattle….

Shenanigans says:

10:50am | 26/10/11

Battlefield 3, tis a computer game

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

10:54am | 26/10/11

John,  battle field

John Smythe says:

11:11am | 26/10/11

/stands correct…that’s BattleFIELD not front…..

Lost my hulk in 0.6….I was being lazy and got spanked…so went and got my drake and almost owned the guy, but it was the drake without the ward destabiliser thingy…so the little fecker got away…hurt, very hurt.

Shenanigans says:

11:16am | 26/10/11

TimB that’s the first I’ve heard of any speece mahreen DLC. what is it?

Fran Smith says:

11:18am | 26/10/11

Off topic, but why is it that sometimes when I reply to a post, my comment is not published as a response to that post but actually used as a new comment (like my original ‘what’s bf3 comment). I clicked on the reply button to Shenanigans comment at 10.29, yet my comment was not published as a reply to that comment but was instead removed and used as a new thread?

John Smythe says:

11:29am | 26/10/11

Not sure Fran, I think they are using some state of the art blog system.
/sarcasm off.

Erick made a comment last week I think about his experiences and thoughts on the very topic.

TimB says:

11:54am | 26/10/11

You really haven’t heard Shen? Damn I’ve been waiting for this for a *month* .

Exterminatus= The long promised co-op multi (basically Horde mode). Was supposed to drop yesterday.

Waves of Orks. A squad of Astartes. One ever-growing pile of xenos filth.

It’s going to be sweet.

Shenanigans says:

12:35pm | 26/10/11

HORDE MODE!!!!

FEAR THE POWER OF MY STORM BOLTER XENO ORK SCUM!

should be waves of nids not orks. waves and waves of nids would be awesome to shoot

Ghost says:

01:28pm | 26/10/11

Fran all the good software went to the Mobile Phone Hacking Department.

LJ Dots says:

12:43pm | 26/10/11

Daniel, I would like to formally withdraw my earlier caption to throw my full support behind this effort.

Not that it matters I s’pose, nossy may still claim the credit. 

jay-ded says:

11:32am | 26/10/11

I’m sure our carbon tax credits will go to China too…..

Dash says:

12:01pm | 26/10/11

That’s right. The wealth we have will go to buy carbon credits for some shonky tree planter in China!

Tim says:

12:43pm | 26/10/11

Dash,
does China actually consume those things or do they make products with them for export to us?
Although I agree that a Carbon tax without China is a joke

Blind Freddy says:

12:59pm | 26/10/11

Because the Chinese do most of the manufacturing for the rest of the world they are emitting on our behalf.

James Darby says:

01:21pm | 26/10/11

Hi Dash, I would appreicate you Posting your above Post on the below link. Regards James Darby :  http://www.facebook.com/?sk=question&id=10150334255578171&post_id=10150334397468171&qa_ref=nqc&notif_t=question_answer_comment_reply

AdamC says:

12:07pm | 26/10/11

Thankfully, the article states that legislation is to be passed to resolve the issue. It is unbelievable, but perhaps it was the fault of the parliament for not originally having an appropriate offense provision?

jay-ded says:

12:39pm | 26/10/11

The ATO has a policy that goes against every other law…

“Guilty until you can prove yourself innocent.”

neo says:

11:47am | 26/10/11

It won’t kill CoD, they are different games. CoD is a pure FPS, run and gun, arcade fun, the successor to Counter Strike if I may. B3 is more strategically orientated, it’s a full scale war simulator. I can’t wait to play both, but definitely looking forward to B3 more. Also, bring on SW Battlefront 3!

Elphaba says:

11:53am | 26/10/11

The promos for all of them look the same…

jay-ded says:

12:43pm | 26/10/11

My son wants me to buy it for his friend’s birthday.  WTF?  Like I’m gonna fork out $90 for someone else’s kid !  *bad mummy*

Shenanigans says:

01:13pm | 26/10/11

Jay, your son should learn that no friends buys their friends new games for brithdays, or at all. Money is always acceptable or once they hit 18, booze is also an acceptable gift

neo says:

01:16pm | 26/10/11

Elphaba, the main difference is that you can control land/air/naval vehicles in Battlefield, which ads that much fun to the game. It’s a lot more strategic, it’s a lot more about team work. If you run off on your own, you and your team will get pwnt (you can still have plenty of fun this way though). CoD, you can join a team deathmatch and just run around by yourself, getting kills and enjoying being Rambo

Jay, I bought my copy of B3 on ebay (brand new, limited edition), $40 for PC. English version from India. I’ve never bought a single game for PS3/PC in Australia, just because I can get them for less than half price grey import. Only catch is you have to wait for delivery, but my copy of Fifa 12 arrived yesterday, so I am set for entertainment until B3 arrives :D

Also, as far as PS3 games go, only get Region 2 games from the UK, as they are PAL and the DLCs will work on your Australian PSN account They are usually only $5 or so more than the Honk Kong versions, but the convenience of using your primary PSN account is worth it.

TimB says:

12:16pm | 26/10/11

Shameless Nossy. Utterly shameless.

How do you sleep at night?

nossy says:

01:10pm | 26/10/11

@TimB hahahah very soundly Tim - in the words of Graham Richardson “Whatever it takes”!

James Darby says:

01:24pm | 26/10/11

I am OK about Gillard not doing a curtsy for the Queen. That way I can still say that Gillard is wrong in every respect.

jay-ded says:

01:32pm | 26/10/11

You should publish those thought bubbles in the form of car stickers. 

Can’t be any worse than the 1 Dad, 1 Mum, 4 kids, 2 dogs sticker thingies…..

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

01:59pm | 26/10/11

Nossy,

Brilliant, the visual that invokes whilst causing one to recoil in horror, does lend itself to hilarity after a few moments.

Tim says:

03:08pm | 26/10/11

His main reasoning seems to be that it doesn’t work because dumb people can’t understand different time zones *cough* QLDers *cough* and because parts of certain countries *cough* QLD *cough* don’t observe it.
Get with the times Nossy, DS is the best.

nossy says:

01:14pm | 26/10/11

@Aitch B shameful Aitch. There you go lads - write the name “Maria Topp” in your little black books with the notation in capitals “NEVER DATE!”

James1 says:

01:21pm | 26/10/11

For that story news.com carries the headline: “That Bites! Jailtime for ripping off testicles”.

One can’t help but wonder, would news.com have gone with a headline that attempts humour were the story about a man biting off his girlfriend’s vagina?  More and more I see Erick’s point about the lop-sided nature of discourse surrounding gender issues.

fairsfair says:

02:04pm | 26/10/11

Fair point James. It would be a serious case of genital mutilation if that was the shoe was on the other foot.

I don’t know what it is about nuts, but everyone treats them as a joke. Especially funny home videos. The nut strike montage usually has me in stitches

nossy says:

04:54pm | 26/10/11

@palone good effort palone but TimB and myself have it wrapped up - thanks for coming fella hahhaha

TimB says:

03:24pm | 26/10/11

Yeah you gotta love Bazza. I think him and his team have accomplished more in 7 months then the ALP did in the last 7 years.

Seriously it’s like the ALP have basically coasted since the Olympics were done and dusted.

Too bad the Libs didn’t get their act together sooner. Could have saved us all a lot of strife.

simonfromLakemba says:

06:49pm | 26/10/11

Yep

Labor got greedy and thought they couldn’t be voted, Barry was like the Kim Beazley of the Liberal party, but in the end too many stuff ups cost them.

Could see him there for another 2 terms without struggle I think.