Adventure Ausrama Blog

Being politically correct is the right things to do always - wrong! When it forces people to scrap their plans and conform to another's point of view it is absurd. Women have got more rights than men today. Men are kicked from pillar to post. Those in control of all types of organizations believe that women should be pandered to all the time. This is getting ridiculous. The University of Sydney Union was planning to stop a society that meets the needs of men from operating. The body's aim is to help men with mental issues cope with life. Obviously, these males do not want women around. Females have no place in such a body. Women get their university child care and "womanly" things like that. Why shouldn't men have the same rights. The rights of males is denied. What place do women have in a "Men's shed"?  The society advised that it copied the concept of a place for men from a similar body set up in 2007. Oddly, many members of the boar

Scientists put all the facts together about a subject then reach a decision on what is truth. This decision is agreed upon by the majority of specialists in the area and becomes fact that is put forward in books and education. Unfortunately, time sometimes proves these "facts" to be wrong. Australian researchers using the latest findings have changed their view on the age of Egyptian mummies. The artifacts are now believed to be 1,500 years older than was put forward in the scientific literature. Mummification began as far back as 3,500BC. The original claim of 2,200BC was wrong. Even in prehistoric tribal times Egyptians embalmed their dead. Evidence from objects on show in Bolton Museum, England, proved the thesis. They were analysed and the shock discovery was made. Chemicals from an old embalming process were identified. This preservation of mainly the hands and heads of deceased people with high status began before written language was developed.

There was a joke going around in Adelaide in the 1960s when I lived there - all these Wogs will probably go home and live off of the Australian pension. Wog was a common term then. It referred to southern Mediterraneans, Greeks and Italians for example. English people were called Poms when immigrants were flooding in. How a joke can become truth. People who have moved to Australia and indeed spent most of their lives here are going back to their home countries because of favorable exchange rates. Not so much the English. They seem to be staying here. Between 2007 and 2012 the number of Australians living overseas and drawing the Aussie pension increased by 30 per cent. In the same period the overall number of Australian pensioners went up only 17 per cent. Recent changes in the budget will not affect those currently on the pension. Most will not be here when the pension age goes up to 70 years in 2035. Most expatriates by far return to Italy and Greece in thei

We hear from many sources that the cashless society will be here "next week". Apart from Singapore which is very close to its taxation office getting everything legislation permits, other countries are a long way from it. Australians still have cash in their pockets purely because shops are not investing in appropriate technology. A test was done with "equipment" provided by Westpac. The bank app had Mastercard debit and Visa credit cards linked to it. At the first coffee shop the fast pay worked via the Mastercard. The second payment using the linked Visa showed only $1 for a $24.95 bill. Linked Mastercard solved the problem. Another payment made at the next shop worked with Visa. Shop owners and assistants for the most part had not experienced immediate payment yet and certainly did not have the new technology. Westpac will go ahead and launch its payment app whether shops are ready or not. Terminals will be set up across the country. It does

If Germany expected immigrants to become German by living there it is no wonder people are disappointed. The best one can hope for is that the children of immigrants born in the new country will be fully integrated. If a model of "multiculturalism" was needed Australia could be the example. In the 50s, 60s and 70s the term "wog" was prevalent. Though Australians should have more correctly called people from the Mediterranean region "waps", these Greek and Italian "new Australians" quickly moved into enclaves of major cities. They not only imported themselves, but corner store businesses sprang up selling goods that no native born Australian would buy. The stores did quite well from the local expatriate clientele. It was common to hear people on buses and in queues speaking the language of their mother country. Australians were not offended by this because the new people were hard working and they didn't try to change Australian culture per

Whether we like it or not, many people do not carry cash. While the older generation draws money from ATMs and banks to go shopping, young people prefer to carry just a credit card. Most debit cards are held by the aged who do not like to go into credit card debt. In Australia 86 per cent of transactions are made with a card. This puts Australia 6th in the world in the cashless country list. Developing nations still use cash for about half of all payments. Using cards for payments is safer than cash. If felons know a person is carrying cash they could be theft targets. There is another side to a fully cashless society: the taxman will be able to trace all transactions, business and private, if suitable laws are passed to gain access to bank data. At present only the police can view data on a person's financial affairs if they are investigating a crime. This will probably be extended over coming decades to social security and the tax department to make sure people

In the modern world many types of behavior are tolerated. Angry people are allowed to run the streets chanting their violent slogans. Individuals are entitled to live the life of a hermit, barely communicating with anyone else. Saying that things have changed is too simplistic. The more things change the more they stay the same. Some have said that Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is too familiar with all those around him, calling fellow members of cabinet by their nicknames. It has been said that this is new for Australia. This is nonsense. Australians quickly find the names of strangers and from the "get go" call them by their first names. I remember watching a talk on television some years ago and the American was really upset by the Australian, who was also being interviewed, for not addressing him as Mr "Smith". Australia is an unusual country. It has a culture of bringing everyone to the same level. Honorifics have little place in such

Childhood memories are figments of your imagination. If you believe that, you'll believe anything. Children in the UK were asked to recall memories of things their parents said didn't happen. But how do we know if children were trying to please their parents? Most children live in a dream land anyway. So asking them to recall seeing Santa Claus is just "baiting". And asking them about flying through the air is "hypnotising" for dream recall. If you broke your leg as child you would certainly remember that, and whether the sun was out when it happened. The pain makes it stay in your mind. One thing that really remains is the care one receives from others. You remember things done with grandma because she was always kind and forgiving. Furthermore, really horrible events like being involved in a road accident and then being taken to hospital remain as clear as the day they occurred. We wouldn't have an identity without memories. We are the sum of our e

Artificial insemination is common these days particularly to produce better animals for meat in the market. Cattle, sheep and even horse insemination could be said to a be the norm. Higher quality animals is the goal. Should artificial insemination be used to improve animals kept as a hobby? Breeding show budgies is taken very seriously by many people, so much so that widespread "cheating" takes place. Clipping of cheek patches is not allowed but it is still sneakily done. High quality show winners are usually produced by putting fertile eggs from good birds under "sitters", common budgies with a better breeding instinct. Michael Pace went to extremes to breed his prizewinner in the opaline class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championships. He practiced artificial insemination in his own way. A capillary tube was used to extract sperm from the male which was then inserted into the female within six hours. A lot of hit-and-miss took place. It took

Coca-Cola announces that it will fight obesity. This is ironic considering chemicals are put into soft drink to make it possible for more sugar to remain in solution. Despite offering sugar free coke, consumers still favor coke with sugar. In the US this is high-fructose corn syrup. Basically, it is still concentrated sugar. Decades ago major sugar companies paid for research to determine benefits from consuming sugar that could be used in commercials. Unfortunately, findings showed there were no benefits whatsoever. Mankind is addicted to sugar. China, for example, has a sugar reserve to prevent social disorder if international trade is disrupted in any way. People can get there sugar requirements by consuming vegetables. Production of sugar is purely to satisfy an addictive demand. You cannot blame the community from being cynical about the announcement by Coca-Cola to push low-calorie additives, exercise and no advertising to children. The only real solution is to pass l

When was the last time you saw a female magician perform? You will say "never". This is a phenomenon little understood. For some reason women hardly ever choose to become magicians. All magical societies may as well declare themselves men-only organizations. Some blame the history of witch burning for this outcome. However, witch burning hasn't been done for centuries. A female in an act is commonly perceived to be the magician's assistant. This idea is entrenched and is more likely to be the cause. When most organizations were initially founded it was in the time of male dominated secret societies. This could be a factor. Another theory is that conjuring is somehow akin to maths. Boys prefer maths much more than females. Indeed, it has been found that members of school maths and science clubs will also be members of magic clubs. The suit commonly worn by magicians is also a turn-off for females. Perhaps they feel that an audience will not accept a skir

Donkeys and mules are not forgotten. There are people out there who care a lot for these animals. They have established the Donkey All Breeds Society of Australia National Donkey and Mule Show. They deserve a medal for creating such a long title for the celebratory weekend. Entrants were brought in from all over Australia. The tiny Mediterean Miniature donkey was the cutest in the show. Very large animals were represented like the 16 hands high American Mammoth donkey. Many animals performed for the spectators. It is a myth about the independent, angry mule. Indeed, they like to be trained. Donkeys really put on show in the trail, driven, sulky, halter and snigging classes. Trainers were as young as five years old. Some donkey entrants were elderly, in their mid-twenties. The show was such a success that it will continue. It is affectionately called the long ears show. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--au

Andrew Forrest chairman of Fortescue Metals Group has been a critic of the mining tax. This appears to be for mainly selfish reasons though he does claim that the tax will reduce investment in the mining sector. He does not come across as a caring person and worrying about the future economic welfare of other Australians seems to be far from his thoughts. It is odd that when people criticize others the name calling seems to apply more appropriately to the caller than the target. When he calls environmentalists "spoilt children" a good look at him shows he is the spoilt one. As well as mining he is a farmer, so he often faces harassment from greenies. Being a free society Mr Forrest has a right to say this, or say anything else that intends to bring all environmentalists down. However, a cursory glance at Andrew Forrest makes one feel that there isn't much in his almost empty head apart from a dollar sign. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.ty

The medical community has just noticed a fact that many have known for years - Waiting a long time for an operation can lead to opioid addiction. It is easy to get opiates from GPs just by telling them that you are in excruciating pain and an operation is a long way off. Shane Jackson president of the Tasmanian Pharmaceutical Society says money should be spent on more pain management specialist. This is a waste considering they only tell patients to take paracetamol that does not stop strong pain. Setting up a data base will only lead to patients being denied opiates so they experience more pain and suffering. Blame the patients has always been easy to do. A data base will stop people getting morphine derivatives from all GPs. This creates an added problem. The solution is more medical staff and facilities to do more operations. Reducing the risk of opiate addiction can be solved by denying patients access to such drugs, Though they may turn up in the hospital emergency departme

Hopes rise for the right to die as the world population ages. Opponents, generally based on a fixed belief system about the afterlife, fight on to stop it. Despite greater tolerance in Western countries toward religious belief, strongly religious people continue to force their views on others. Everyone is entitled to follow some form of religion, established or otherwise. The right to choose when and how to die, as well as abortion will always be areas of contention. As the proportion of elderly people in the world population increases, a point will be reached where there will not be sufficient resources to look after them. Euthanasia will then be seen as a potential option. In the bible it is said: "Though shalt not kill" . Nowhere does it say: "Though shalt not take one's own life" . The problem should not be fought on religious grounds. The new French President has said he supports euthanasia "under strict conditions". Politicians in other