60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Tomorrow

Earlier in the year I introduced you to the Elders, and the Every Human Has Rights campaign. Tomorrow is the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Every Human Has Rights website allows you to personally show your support by signing the Declaration yourself, and provides lots of material for you to find out more and get informed. As of today 43,477 people have signed. Yes it can be anonymous. This turnout for such an important and fundamental campaign is appalling. Where the hell is everybody? Why are people not passing on the word?

This is an opportunity to join with some of the world's most respected people and make a stand against human rights violations worldwide! What can be more important than the basic rights of a human being? None of us would allow anyone to take these rights away from us without a fight, and yet we seem to be utterly indifferent when it comes to the violation of the same rights of someone else. How ludicrous! I can think of no reason why someone would not wish to type their name, select their country and simply click a button to show their support. It takes about 30 seconds.

So there is one explanation, the word is simply not getting out. It has been a year, and knowing the internet as I do, the word should have spread by now. I implore anyone reading this to get outraged at the indifference shown towards this cause, and email everyone you know, asking them to sign and do the same. Let's try to make an effort and redeem our race in the last 24 hrs.

I choose to sign this declaration because:
I wish to take responsibility for upholding the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my daily life and in my community. I will do my best to speak out to protect the freedom and rights of others in my community.

I affirm the following principle: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
I believe Every Human Has Rights.

For those of you wondering "what the hell is a Universal Declaration of Human Rights?", I have reproduced the ENTIRE DECLARATION below.

Please join us tomorrow in sending the following message to whomever you can, however you can:
“Today is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th anniversary.
I believe that Every Human Has Rights! www.everyhumanhasrights.org”

THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.


Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.EVERYHUMANHASRIGHTS.ORG TO SIGN THE DECLARATION

Pod racing becoming a reality?

Imagine for a moment, that you are looking out from the cockpit of a state of the art rocket-powered aircraft. The flag has yet to go down, and you are waiting with intense anticipation. All around you a vast crowd is yelling team slogans and various professions of support for you. Suddenly you see the countdown begin, and you brace yourself. 3...2...1 *Whoooooooosh* you engage the twin thrusters of your vehicle, and are pressed back in your seat as you accelerate to a top speed of around 400 kph (350 mph). You hold your line, aware of the nine other racers above, below...all around you, like you, following the 3d paths sent to their individual HUD's inside their helmets. 4 laps later, your adrenaline ebbing, you eke out the final burst of power from your engines and scream over the finish line. You have won, you are a hero.

Anyone who thought the pod-racing was the coolest thing (apart from darth-maul's lightsaber) in Star Wars Ep1 listen up!

Enter the Rocket Racing League: an up and coming sports and entertainment league that will provide a platform for high-powered LOx (liquid oxygen)and kerosene ran rocket-planes who will clash ailerons with each other around a fast-paced 3d aerial racing circuit.

Granted, there will be few if any pod-racer style courses with close calls through canyons and the like, but I can see this kind of thing being added along the way as the competition evolves.

Founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team owner Granger Whitelaw and aerospace pioneer and X PRIZE Foundation founder Dr. Peter Diamandis, the league promises a virtual nascar of the air. See the video below for a sneaky peak at this exciting future competition.



As a fan of both rocketry and aviation, this video gets me giggling like a three year old girl. Imagine the mid-air collision mayhem!

I believe the league is set to have its first season in 2010, with hour and a half long races, with 6-10 races throughout the season, each race involving up to 10 rocket-planes!

Until then...

Meh...

In a great day for "The Simpsons" fans and anyone under 30 worldwide, the word "meh" has today been awarded a permanent place in the Collins English Dictionary.

"The origins of "meh" are murky, but the term grew in popularity after being used in a 2001 episode of The Simpsons in which Homer suggests a day trip to his children Bart and Lisa.

"They both just reply 'meh' and keep watching TV," said Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins Dictionaries."

The dictionary defines "meh" as an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring.

Full story here.

Can anybody think of any more words that have become used in everyday speech, yet aren't in the dictionary yet?

hmm...

(Actually it seems that "hmm" is another one)

No more bank fees!

So a little while ago, I decided I was sick and tired of being charged through the nose for loaning banks my money for a miserly interest rate, and then charged some more every time I withdrew from an atm without their label on it. What to do?

About a year ago, a transaction account with no fees sounded a bit like an urban myth. One that a friend of a friend had read about in a tabloid. Not long after that, something changed, and a few banks began to offer fully online bank accounts.

My first experience with a fee free account was with an HSBC Online Savings Account. The only problem I had here was, living in a regional area there were no local HSBC branches. As such, the account creation process was a protracted and frustratingly error-prone affair. In the end the account was set up, I had a visa debit card, and an interesting little security device that generated random access codes for further online security.
This was all great, but I found that the online interface of HSBC's online banking began to get me down, and there were a few unexplained issues with some of my scheduled transactions which worried me. So I decided to shop around for another.

For a while previously I had maintained a high interest, fee free online savings account with BankWest, the Telenet Saver. This is a terrific account with easy access online and an above average interest rate. You simply link it to your existing transaction account from any institution, and are then free to transfer back and forth. Brilliant to set up a regular savings plan. Then I had a look at other BankWest offerings. This is what I ended up with:

A Bankwest Zero transaction account (you need to credit at least $2K per month) with a Mastercard debit card, with which you can access funds from any atm in the country for free! There are no account keeping fees, and if you like online banking, then this is the one for you. If you link the Telenet saver account I mentioned previously to this one, you get instant transfers between both a high interest and a transaction account, all with no account keeping fees!

This is the best deal I have found so far, and remote account creation was a cinch (for those who don't have a branch nearby).

Currently, the BankWest Telenet Saver is offering a 6.35% p.a. intro interest rate for the first 12 months. This is exceptional in the current economic climate.

If anyone finds out about a better or equally good deal, let me know!

Until next time.

Paid Surveys: Are They Any Good, Or Just Scams?

Seeing how this post on making money online has featured high in the keywords referring to my blog, I thought I would expand on one of the elements mentioned: paid surveys.

Are they any good?

Well, after trying out a fair few myself for more than a year, I can decisively say...maybe. Now don't all jump down my throat at once, I am not avoiding the issue at all. The fact is that a few sites that offer paid surveys are reasonable, and most are either useless, outright scams, or simply a waste of time.

Straight off the bat, try to avoid sites that offer to give you a list of sites offering paid surveys. You don't need them, and they are not offering from the goodness in their e-hearts. These sites either want you to pay, or receive commission from the sites they endorse. There are a few sites out there that do link you to the actual companies conducting the market research without trying to rip you off in some way; these are obviously different from the ones mentioned above in that they do not promise you untold riches and 10 virgins if you tick a few boxes now and then.

This brings me to my next point. You will almost certainly not make enough cash from paid surveys to feed yourself, let alone make any serious dint in your mortgage. Surveys come intermittently, and pay only a few dollars if you're lucky, and if you qualify for them, and if you have reached the necessary amount to get a cash payment. In my experience, I have only completed surveys from one site that has ever sent me anything in return. Valued Opinions pays fairly well in comparison to most survey sites, and from them I have received and used two $20 Coles gift vouchers. Not a fortune to be sure, but it paid for a few meals.

If I were to receive nonstop surveys from Valued Opinions, qualified for them all, and had the time to do them, I could make around 12 dollars an hr. This is just not feasible considering I receive a good survey once every few days, not 3 or 4 times an hr.

A few of you have asked questions about http://www.surveyadvise.com. I have been a member there for a long while, and granted, they introduced me to valued opinions. However, I never completed their $10 offer challenge, as some of their suggestions requested too much personal information. As a member, they send you emails regarding some site or other that is offering paid surveys or some other money making opportunity. I must say that 99.9% of their suggestions are filled with the sort of hype I warned you about in the post I linked to at the top. In effect they are rather useless, though not really a scam as far as I can tell. I believe they get commission from the sites they link you to should you sign up.

So to finish up, some are almost certainly scams, most are useless, and a few provide a genuine tiny bit of extra cash.

Have fun and be careful kids.

Hey! Long Time No See!

Well, I have to apologise. I have been on hiatus for far too long. No real excuse, but since I see people have been visiting the site in my absence, I think it's high time I started giving you some more info to boggle your minds with. There have certainly been some interesting events in the world recently.
Here's to a bright new future guys and gals :D

On a lighter note....

Here is something I just received via email^^

HUMOR FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS)

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care where a 3-yr-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.

The butcher backed up into the meat grinder & got a little behind in his work.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.

The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium
at large.

A thief who stole a calendar got 12 months.

A thief fell & broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

A dentist & a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

A will is a dead giveaway.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

A guy fell into an upholstery machine. He's fully recovered.

A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulting in Linoleum Blownapart.

You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

A calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Enjoy your day :)

Are you a nerd?

On a lighter note, I just took an online test to check my nerdiness rating.
This is my score for space stuff.



Click on it to take it yourself, and you can also find the link to the actual nerd test. I refuse to reveal what I got on that one, because my family and girlfriend may disown me :)

I think of myself more as a geek, simply because I don't behave or look like a nerd...most of the time.

Desmond Tutu Calls for Release of Aung San Suu Kyi

I will reproduce here a recent announcement by Elder Desmond Tutu, concerning the illegal imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and rightful leader of the Burmese people:

May 25, 2008

(Cape Town, South Africa) Statement by Desmond Tutu, Chair of the Elders:

"On behalf of the Elders and people of conscience everywhere, I call for the immediate release of Burmese human rights advocate and fellow Elder Aung San Suu Kyi. This brave and beautiful woman is the world's only imprisoned Nobel Laureate. According to Burmese law, her detention should expire today, allowing her the freedom that she has sought for so many others. The people of Burma chose her as their national leader seventeen years ago. Yet their vote goes ignored and their voices unheard. The country's leadership has an opportunity to begin to right that wrong, to respond to the people's will and to abide by their country's laws."



"At the same time the Burmese junta should open their country to the aid that has been offered in the wake of a terrible cyclone that has claimed over 100,000 lives. This has been a time of tragedy for so many Burmese families. Let it be a time to celebrate the newfound freedom of this visionary leader who stands up for peace, justice and human dignity - and stands up for the Burmese people who have suffered for too long."

This is a powerful statement, by an increasingly influential group.


Happier times, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

I would also call your attention to the summit on the abolition of cluster bombs currently taking place in Ireland. Apparently the Australian delegation is making trouble. See www.avaaaz.org to send an email to Kevin Rudd, and show your support for the destruction of these indiscriminate explosives. They look like toys to kids, who are regularly killed and maimed when they pick them up.

Ooh! Toys!


Look away...I dare you!

Your's
Jetsam

Update on the Hmong Refugees

In a new show of "Samak Logic", on the 24th May the cerebrally challenged Thai PM Samak Sundaravej authorised troop action on the Hmong refugees at the Ban Huay Nam Khao camp in Thailand. What do you do when you have a community of genuine refugees who would rather die than be returned to the country from which they fled? According to Samak, you fire tear gas and pepper spray at them to force them onto the buses.

"In reaction to the Thai troops now deployed to the Hmong refugee camp, the Hmong refugees have laid down on the road and are refusing to move, waiting instead for the buses or trucks to run them over so they can die in Thailand instead of returning to Laos," stated Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Southeast Asia Scholar. http://www.tragicmountains.org

On May 16, eight members of the U.S. Senate wrote a letter appealing to Prime Minister Samak and U.S. Secretary of State Rice to grant asylum to some 8,000 Hmong refugees and not force them back to Laos. What good this will do, I have no idea. In light of recent history, I would be inclined to say there is very little that could convince Samak that human-rights are worth fighting for when the issues are staring him in the face. Not only is he breaking bread with famed human rights violators such as Than Shwe (Burma's top piggy), he is cooking a scrumptious meal for them. If he wears an apron for much longer, I fear Samak will become yet another example of Thailand's disposable democracy.


"Hooooo! Is that bacon I smell?"

If you are interested in the plight of the Hmong, which really, everyone should be, then take a look at the following two videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvTjs3-Ytc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mi68GYu64k&watch_response

Wenchuan Earthquake

What an absolute catastrophe...allow me to express my most heartfelt sympathies for the victims and their families on this day of mourning. Comfort each other, and join together to pay homage to those lives that, though only a few out of many, were just as important as any other.
Do not contemplate why the quake happened, but focus instead on how to rebuild what has been lost, both in your communities and in your hearts.

Just some information others may not know, this was the worst natural disaster China had experienced since the Tangshan quake of 1976 which killed an estimated 242,000 people.


Tangshan, after the quake

Pad Thai

It is my birthday today, and for dinner I will be going to a local Thai restaurant. With this in mind I would like to start sharing a passion of mine, cooking. I will be posting good recipes I find, techniques, food profiles, and whatever I can think of about cooking.

So today, I would like to introduce you to an interesting recipe for Pad Thai. Now there are a few ways to do this, and everyone seems to have their own style, but this is a rather posh recipe compared to your average Pad Thai. ENJOY! If you make it, let me know how you go. [disclaimer: this is not my recipe and I do not claim any ownership over it at all, it appeared on Food Safari (SBS television)]

INGREDIENTS

Sauce
100g tamarind in block form
300ml warm water
200g palm sugar
50g caster sugar
150ml Thai seasoning sauce

Other ingredients
Large green prawns, heads and shells removed (allow 2-3 per person)
10g dried shrimp
¼ red onion, sliced
40g hard tofu, sliced
40g preserved turnip
2 eggs
200g rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
Garlic chives
Bean sprouts
Fried shallots
Roasted peanuts, chopped
Dried chilli
Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak the tamarind in warm water, kneading with your fingers to separate the pulp from the seeds. Squeeze out liquid, strain and pour into a frying pan or wok. Add palm sugar, caster sugar and seasoning sauce. Bring to the boil and boil until it has reduced and is syrupy.



2. Fry prawns until they curl and change colour. Add dried shrimp, red onion, tofu and preserved turnip. Push contents of pan to one side and add egg, breaking up just a little as it cooks.

3. Add drained noodles, 2 tablespoon of water, the tamarind sauce, garlic chives and a few bean sprouts, fried shallots, chopped peanuts and chilli.



4. Pile into a serving bowl and garnish with more fried shallots, bean sprouts, a wedge of lime, garlic chives and crushed peanuts.

Note: The amount of sauce added to the Pad Thai can be adjusted according to how strong a flavour you like. Usually this quantity of sauce is fine for 4 people. Any unused sauce can be kept in a clean jar in the refrigerator.

Make sure you squeeze the lime over it at the end to your taste, it makes all the difference guys...delicious!

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights: Be aware and stand together!

With the help of Blog Catalog and Amnesty International, bloggers worldwide are uniting today, may 15th 2008, to raise awareness of human rights issues.

Human rights are recognised under law as any basic right or freedom that all human beings are entitled to. They are set out clearly in the universal declaration of human rights.

For my part, I would like to bring your attention to an ethnic minority rarely featured in world media, or in active human rights campaigns. The Hmong of Laos. Their recent history has been one of brutal persecution and betrayal. Forgotten by the western powers they once fought for, they are in the devastating circumstance of not being welcome anywhere. For those former anti-communist groups still in Laos, there is no mercy. Men, women, children and the elderly, all are being gradually exterminated. For those in refugee camps in neighbouring nations, repatriation to a country that despises them is their fate. I implore you all to inform yourselves about these human rights violations that occur out of sight. If you are not already aware that this kind of persecution still exists in this part of the world, I guarantee that you will be shocked.

Be aware that although life is extremely difficult for the average person in countries like Burma, some ethnic minorities' daily lives are worse than your most frightening nightmares. To most of us, horrors like the Jewish Holocaust in WWII are in the past, yet for some they remain a daily reality. Both are extremely important, yet it is vital we do not focus only upon what is in the media at the time, or what is "fashionable".

There are various ways to take action against human-rights violations that you know of, including simply spreading the word, writing letters, donating to well-researched organisations as well as supporting the initiatives of these organisations by signing petitions or writing emails. I urge you to review my past human rights articles, especially concerning the elders and the human rights anniversary campaign (please consider signing the pledge if you have not already).

Do some research, discuss issues in your social circle, and make a difference TODAY!

Take care,

Jetsam.

Dude, where's my co-contribution?

Federal Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan

Those on the know would have recognised a thinly-veiled flaw in last night's federal budget. This being that the government's co-contribution scheme (where the government matches some of the cash you put into super voluntarily), from 01 July 08, treats salary sacrifice contributions as assessable income.

Why is this a problem? It will significantly affect the ability to bridge the retirement savings gap for many Australians and flies in the face of Labor’s supposed calls for an increase in the Superannuation Guarantee for exactly the opposite reason. SS will also be treated as income for many other government payments such as child-support and family assistance payments.

What does the government say? It claims that this change resolves an inconsistency in the treatment of ‘non-wage’ remuneration in the income tax and transfer system that allows individuals and families to access more government support payments than would be possible if their salary sacrificed contributions were paid as salary or wage income.

However, using salary sacrifice contributions to increase the ability to access the Government Co-Contribution greatly assists those in the accumulation phase earning less than the Government Co-contribution upper threshold of $58,980 to bridge their retirement savings gap by using both non-concessional and concessional contributions (salary sacrifice) to enhance net contributions to super. Thus this policy is a net loss for the so-called "battlers" that the budget is supposed to benefit.

This isn't to say that there are no positive points to this year's federal budget, but what would be the point in promoting those? The problem lies in the details.

Over and out.

Why the US slow period will not derail Chinese growth

Sorry America, the play isn't directed solely by you anymore.

I hope you have all been celebrating Beltane, and that you all honoured your mothers on Sunday. Tradition cops a lot of flack, but I think it's important and can have a good influence upon a person.

Anyway, back to today's post. In recent times whenever anything happened to the North American economy, the entire world held its breath. As the Earth's largest economy, this was a pretty understandable reaction. The recent NINJA loan crisis (No Income No Job or Assets) in the US, and the subsequent harsh slowing down of the economy, has had the same effect. People are scrambling everywhere like headless chooks looking under park benches for the end of the world.

I agree...it does, in my opinion, signal the end of the world..........as we know it. A world where the US economy could cause a worldwide recession with big hits to consumer confidence like those seen recently. A world where everyone else cowers in fear until it recovers.

You see, in the past, the USA was the largest consumer of goods in the world. Many countries largely relied on income from exports to this monster. These days though, the dynamic has changed slightly. How? Read on.

China has emerged as a gigantic consumer in its own right, as we have seen in their thirst for Australian resources (and those of other nations). In fact, China now accounts for 25-30% of world demand. In ten years, this figure doubled. It isn't gathering all these resources for simple production followed by export though, it is building vast, vast amounts of infrastructure to deal with domestic urbanisation. If a tier 1 city is Beijing, and a teir 3 Brisbane, China is tipped to go from 45 teir 1-3 cities in 2006, to 86 in 2010, and a massive projected 147 teir 1-3 cities in 2020. In population terms, we are talking urban populations increasing from 532 million in 2006, to 970 million in 2020. These are enormous numbers, and the consumption figures would be absolutely astronomical.

The moral is that China will start to exert more of an effect upon world economies, and external fluctuations in demand will affect the Chinese economy less. The parallel rise of India will also snip a few more puppet strings from the US economy.

As a rather interesting side note, the Middle-East currently has more infrastructure projects planned than both China and India...COMBINED. Surprised much? What has been the biggest criticism you have heard ad nauseum concerning Middle-Eastern economies?

"they're so dependent on oil, if the price drops, they're doomed."

Actually, not really. The Middle-East is not just one market. It is 13 markets spread out over a space that takes eight hours to fly over. And not all these places are driven by oil. In reality oil only accounts for 3% of Dubai's GDP. And it's going to be completely oil dry in the next two decades.

So the message is, don't stress, the US isn't the great global indicator for market performance that it once was, and will become less so in the years to come.

Dubai skyline at the moment...and the construction below. This kind of growth can also be seen in China and India currently.

Latha Buidhe Bealtuinn is here!

Latha Buidhe Bealtuinn ('the yellow day of Bealtain') is today, the first of May. This term Lá(th) Buidhe Bealtaine is also used in Irish and is translated as "Bright May Day".

Bealtaine (beltain <- Anglicised) is the Celtic name for the month of may, and commonly refers to the festival Lá Bealtaine (in Scotland) which was usually celebrated on the 15th of May while in Ireland Sean Bhealtain / "Old May" began about the night of the 11th of May. The lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine ("the eve of Bealtaine") on mountains and hills of ritual and political significance was one of the main activities of the festival. These apparently signified purification and transition.

The festival signifes the beginning of Summer, which means it feels a little odd celebrating it here in the Southern Hemisphere as it is moving into Winter...Nevermind, I am a purist, so I will surely be lighting a candle.

Take ye a care on Bealtane though, as the Otherworld be closer than any day other than Samhain (Halloween). Should ye feel a shiver down yer spine, take no heed for 'tis just ye lost kinsmen playin' the games of th' shade.

On the 29th of April, the Beltane Fire Festival is celebrated in Edinburgh, Scotland, where various acts of fire, fun, and mystical significance are performed. I would like to go one day; it seems like one of those experiences that would be great to be a part of, especially if you have Celtic ancestry.

Just for your info, this is celebrated as Walpurgis night in germanic tradition, and under many other names and through many different kinds of festivals and associated revelry throughout Europe. Beltane itself is purely a Gaelic Celt tradition.

So drink, dance, light a big fire and be merry. As Goldberry said in Lord of the Rings, "Heed no nightly noises! For nothing passes door and window here save moonlight and starlight and the wind off the hill-top. Good night!"

and good day!

To the people of China

Please stop all these anti-western, pro-nationalist demonstrations. You are only making things worse and are doing more damage to your country's image than pro-Tibetan protesters ever could. Understand that by demonstrating like this in our country, you are coming across as rude bullies and uninformed ones at that, and reinforcing racist stereotypes. Though some may lead you to believe otherwise, the "anti-Chinese" protests are not against you, or your country, but specifically the CCP. If you can't make the distinction, take a long, hard look at yourself.

If you harass foreign-owned businesses in China, are you any better than the Tibetans who did the same to Han Chinese-owned business in Tibet?

Food for thought.

What me worry?

It occurred to me a while ago that I don't like to worry. I doubt anyone does, but everybody does it. Worry shortens our life, makes us unhappy and generally no fun to be around. Considering it also occurred to me that worry of some kind is innevitable, I decided that I would try to minimise things that I worry about. My thoughts weren't revolutionary, but they made sense, and still do.

Don't worry about things you can do nothing about.

If you can do something, then stop procrastinating and do it. Most people create their own worry. The more you see you are making progress, the less stress you will have.

I'm not saying that not worrying is as simple as snapping your fingers, I know from experience that it is not. The difference is that every time I begin to worry about something, I ask myself "can I do anything to effect what I'm worried about?". If the answer is no, then I tell myself "well bloody well stop worrying, you are only making yourself unhappy!"

It may take a bit of practice, and a fair slice of logical thinking from you, but it does help. There are good elements to almost every bad situation, so try to think of those.

As an example: Last week I drove an hour up the coast with glee as I was on my way to catch a flight to my girlfriend's place for the weekend after another lengthy period apart. Understand that I invest a lot emotionally in these trips, as anyone in a long distance relationship would know. Now, I found out after a lengthy evening wait that my flight had been cancelled and I had to see the staff to make other arrangements, I was understandably stressed to hell, and quite frustrated. I do my absolute best to extract every possible hour out of these trips, so to find out that I may not make it as planned was awful. ANZAC day was also the very next day, and I loathe missing the dawn service (which I had planned to observe at the national War Memorial).

While waiting in the trip reassignment line with a lot of other distressed people for hours, I found myself hopping from one foot to the other in irritation. I stopped. I said to myself (not aloud as that would make me crazy) "I know this is not an ideal situation, but is there actually anything I can do about it? No? Then I'm going to force myself to calm down and just relax." And so I did, I actually smiled a few times and struck up some light-hearted conversations with fellow would-be passengers.

In the end, my flight was rearranged for early the next morning from another airport (which they bussed me to), had my money refunded, and the airline put me up at a nice hotel for the night. All in all I missed the dawn service, but at least I got there the next morning, and didn't lose that much time. I saved myself a few gray hairs by making the best of a bad situation, and letting things I could not affect play out as the gods wished.

Now that I think of it, all time spent worrying is a waste of time. It gets you nowhere and makes you incredibly unhappy. It's not simple to stop worrying, and it happens to everybody, but you can reduce the effect it has upon you. Don't ignore what you're worrying about, but work through it, or accept things the way they are.

We all like to be in control, though sometimes we must accept that we are not in control of anything but ourselves.

Aim high!

Take The Guesswork Out Of Investing

Have you ever dithered around for hours on a regular basis trying to decide what this unpredictable little devil called the stock market will do next? "Oh no! What if I invest now, and it goes down, or what if I don't and it goes up and I miss out?"

If you have done any investing in the past, of course you have. I'm about to give you an investing tip which will help you to make the right decision at the right time, every time. What's more, it takes next to no work from you to achieve, and you can spend all that wasted time relaxing or looking for other opportunities.

It is a fairly well known and accepted technique called "Dollar-Cost Averaging".

How does it work? Well the basic idea is that you invest a certain regular amount of money into a particular investment. That's it. Seriously.

It goes like this. Say I invested $100 a month in a product of my choice that I thought would do ok. The first month, the price was $1 per share, so I bought 100 shares. The second month, SHOCK HORROR (!!), the value of the product has fallen by 25%, and the units are now worth $0.75 each! Your first reaction would be one closely resembling a heart attack. Justifiably so, as the value of your investment is now $75. Instead of cutting and running though, you stick to your guns, and purchase another $100 worth of shares, being around 133 shares. You continue like this for a few months, and gradually the price of your product begins to rise again. Eventually, YAY, the value has reached $1.25 per unit. As this is the highest you have ever seen this share rise to, you usually would not buy, right? Well let's just say that you once again stick to your guns, and buy another $100 worth of shares, equating to 80 shares.

Can you see where this is heading? You have effectively bought more units when they were cheap, and less when they were relatively expensive. Congratulations, you have successfully predicted the moves of the market, and invested accordingly.

The fact is that it is very difficult for even investment professionals to predict what a particular fund is going to do, as there are so many variables. Those that do know will often keep this information close to their breast with a greedy little glint in their eye. The best most of us can do is to simply be lucky. If you don't want to leave it down to luck, then Dollar-Cost Averaging is the way to go.

Here is a table showing the benefits of this technique:

Thus, if you had invested a lump sum of $1200 initially at $20 dollars per share, that's exactly what it would be worth 12 months down the track. However, with dollar-cost averaging at work,

you would have made 399 dollars profit even though the share never got above the initial purchase price again. Nice huh?

The down side:

If you invested a lump sum of $1200 initially, and the share price just went straight up from there without dropping below your initial purchase price, you would never make the same profit through dollar-cost averaging (DCA). Sound risky though? It is. How often have you predicted movements like this? At least if your investment went down in value, you would have invested less money in the high period with DCA.

The logical side:

If you are investing any reasonable amount of money, you would catch on to something. How often do you have a large lump-sum just laying around doing nothing? Not very often indeed. Often DCA is the best solution simply because it enables you to begin investing sooner. It will certainly benefit you if you cant afford to make an initial outlay equal to the amount you could have invested through DCA.

The requirements of DCA? A regular income from which you can reliably make that same investment per period, and a lot of discipline. Also, it would be beneficial if you found a product with low/no fees for additional investment.

One last thought, as you can see from the above, DCA will work best for volatile products: those that are especially unpredictable and often violent in their movements.

In my mind, making use of DCA would take a lot of the stress out of investing, which means that you would live longer to enjoy the proceeds!

Take it easy.

In the news today

"Teen inflates 213 balloons with his nose"

No...I couldn't do it, but to quote a popular JJJ radio presenter, "THAT'S NOT NEWS!"

"Japan's whaling fleet returned to port as authorities prepared to launch an investigation into forceful harassment by activists in Antarctic waters."

Ok, but what about the fleet's "forceful harassment" of the whales?

"Nelson confident of leadership"

As if he'd say "well no, I'm not that confident really...", but come on, the man has a 9% approval rating, how confident can we expect him to be? John Howard has offered to help him out a bit, but considering the condition in which he left office, I don't see how much help he is going to be.

"Lonely Planet Guide "Made Up"

So what else is new?

"No results two weeks after Zimbabwe poll"

I don't think anyone's really surprised by this one.

Until next time...

What I'm Listening To: Frou Frou "Details" (2002)

So I was checking out some music on my girlfriend's computer a while ago when I heard something that was oddly enigmatic. The chocolaty sub-rhythms and melodic highs caught me up and thrust me into my own imagination. A smooth, gender ambiguous voice thrummed through my eardrums:

"So, let go

Jump in

Oh well, what you waiting for?

It's all right

'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown

So, let go

Just get in

Oh, it's so amazing here

It's all right

'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown"

And hell yeah, for that moment, I did let go.

I forgot about it for a while then, until I watched the movie "The Holiday" (quite enjoyable). When the song came on rather unexpectedly, I blurted "hey I know this, it's cool!." I had forgotten the name of the band, but gradually everything came back to me as I talked to my girlfriend later. I got the album the next day.

The song above is "Let go" off the 2002 Album "Details" by a rather obscure duo with an odd name: Frou Frou. Pronounced "Froo Froo", it is apparently French onomatopoeia (words that stand for sounds, like "bang" and "swish") for the sound made by the skirts of dancing women...cooool.

I would describe it as electronic music, but I'm not too comfortable with this label, as for many people it implies thumping bass-lines and zippity highs that belong in a dance club. Not this album no no. This music is for chilling around the home Cafe Del Mar style, or to freshen up the blood first thing in the morning. The lyrics often have a real conversational quality about them that pulls you along with the song. It's a real experience, and I am hard pressed to think of another band I've heard recently which has such a depth and complexity of sound with the impressive production quality and lyrics of this album.

For your information, the song "Let Go" also featured in the Hollywood film "Garden State", for which it is most famous.

Anyway, listen to it yourself for a bit here, just press the play button. It's awfully groovy.

Enjoy!

Just in case you didn't know.

I added a feed for SBS World News to the right sidebar of my blog, so you can read quality headlines while reading Adrift! Also note the Google search facility there as well, which you can use to search Google just like from Google.com, or there's the option to search Adrift instead. All for your convenience. The Google ads, despite being ads, also provide links to other interesting information not necessarily about buying things. Have a look for yourself!

Be aware!

Jetsam

How to subscribe to my blog.

Ok, there is an option at the very bottom of the last post on this page, which reads "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)". On other websites, you may often see a little icon like this, which is essentially the same thing:

What is this you ask? Well the link above is called an Atom feed, and the icon is an RSS feed. Need more info? This is from Wikipedia:

"RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts. An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" or "channel") contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays."

So essentially, you download a program through which you can "subscribe" to as many feeds as you want, and each time any of those sites are updated, it is sent straight to that program. This removes the need for constant checking of websites, and allows you to receive the latest news from various sources instantly and all in one place.

I am currently subscribed to the Bangkok Post, SBS World News, The Barefoot Investor's articles, and The Elders RSS feeds.

So how to subscribe? You first need to download a program to syndicate the feeds. I use Sharpreader, and I'm pretty happy with it. It runs in the background and anytime something new comes in, it flashes up a little unobtrusive alert so you know. To install it, go here to download the "installer" (see top of page). Once you have installed it and opened it, it will look like this without any of the feeds you can see there:

Now, to subscribe to a feed, you must first right-click on the RSS icon, or the Atom link as they are shown above, and choose "copy shortcut" or "copy link location" (whichever your browser throws at you).

Then, in Sharpreader, click File, and choose the top option "Open RSS Feeds". Then it will ask you to "type the internet address" of the feed into a box. You right click into the box, and paste the link you copied earlier. Ensure that the "subscribe to feed" box is ticked, then press ok.

Voila! You are now subscribed! You can do the same thing with my Atom link at the bottom of the page, or by copying the links to any of the feeds I mentioned I subscribed to earlier, or in fact any RSS or Atom link you see anywhere on the web! How cool!

You don't have to use sharpreader, I just demonstrated with it because it works for me and is easy to use. Most programs will be much the same.

To check your feeds when you start your computer, just open Sharpreader like any other program, and it will then be open in your taskbar just next to where you see the time on your desktop. Double click this icon to open it again if it tells you there are new feeds, it will stay running and checking in the background! You get the latest headlines and what not delivered straight to you.

One thing about sharpreader, if you just click on the new feeds as they are shown in the image above, it will give you a summary of the content in the window below. To open the actual webpage in Sharpreader, just double click the feed. This way you can see the new info in context.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me.

Enjoy the wealth of new information at your beck and call!

Jetsam

PS: If you have a suggestion for a computer tips article, just let me know and I will see what I can do ;)

To boycott, or not to boycott?

Regarding the various people proposing a boycott of the Beijing Olympics; my view is that any kind of boycott would be counter-productive. There is no point in punishing the athletes who have made the games their life's ambition and put everything they had in getting there. Allow them their moment in the sun.

Also, regarding the current protests around the torch relay, come on people... Look, protest all you like, but please don't get aggressive and try to extinguish the torch or disrupt its passage. Please also refrain from booing and what not as it goes past. Imagine how the athletes who you so revere feel carrying the torch that you are directing all your hatred towards. These are people you love, who view this as one of the great honours of their lives. Don't take that away from them. Sure it makes the news, but for all the wrong reasons.

Chant slogans for sure and wave your banners proudly, as I would do the same if I hadn't already booked my flight to Canberra for the day AFTER the relay *palm to head smack*. I understand the feeling that has built around this. But...for the majority of the people showing up to protest, where have you been for the last 50 or so years? These issues are not new, nor should your reaction to them be. Will your passion fade away with the media attention, like what has happened to the whole Burma campaign?

The picture: so many white faces...who are they, and will they be seen again?

It can be argued that peaceful protest has been tried all along, and it hasn't worked. The great thing about this though, is that it has been peaceful. Someone who had a way with words said once "fighting for peace is like f***ing for celibacy", and they're right. As an example, the Karen in Burma are a minority that have been fighting the Junta for years, and as a result, things have actually become worse for their people, and their cause fractured from within. Am I belittling their attempt? No, just saying that it may not be the best way to proceed.

It is very difficult for anyone in the western world to have any legitimacy in attacking China over her treatment of ethnic minorities, they have all been guilty of similar abuse in the last century.

Am I making excuses for China? No, definitely not. Don't just jump on the bandwagon now though, and jump off when the games are over.

There is only so much of an effect a boycott can have. If people boycott the games, then the athletes are punished. If heads of state boycott the opening ceremony and games (like England's Brown and Prince Charlie), then China will shrug, and say "so what?" It seems like a PR stunt for these leaders, as they will continue kissing China's arse politically and economically.

My hat goes off to good ol' Kevin Rudd, Australian PM, who has ruled out a boycott, and has actually gone to China and spoken in front of University students and Chinese dignitaries about the Tibet issue among others...in Mandarin! This shows guts and a true commitment to putting Australia and her values first, despite his friendship and affinity with China. It is this kind of thing that will make the real difference. He is going about this the right way, at least at the present, unlike any other heads of state. Good on ya Kev!

About the fools criticising him for his casual salute to Bush, watch the video yourself! How can you be an Ozzie and criticise that? Nutters...

On a side note, I agree with focusing a little less on our relations with Western nations, and a lot more on relations with Asian nations WHICH IS WHERE WE LIVE! We are a part of this area, and we need to act more like it, and less like a little outpost of Britain or America. Kev, I salute you. (^_^)\

New Leadership? Hell yeah! Loving it!

That's it!

Un-muzzle the dragon.

So we all know about China's abysmal human rights record, but is everyone aware of just how censored the average Chinese citizen's access to information is?

A new campaign has been launched by Amnesty International recently to actively combat these issues in a public forum. It works to inform about human rights and censorship issues occurring in China right now. This is especially important in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, as China must be on their best behaviour, and present its best face. If we help to bring these issues to light, they will have much less of a chance of being ignored now rather than after the games when this leverage will disappear.

The campaign is called Uncensor. This is from the web page:

About the Uncensor China campaign

"There are many abuses taking place in China today. Our campaign focuses on these four key areas:
- Unwarranted Internet and media censorship
- The death penalty
- Repression of human rights defenders, and
- Torture and detention without trial"

The website has a cool function where you can enter in censored search terms like "SARS" and "Tienanmen" in Chinese, in Chinese Google and Yahoo search engines to see what comes up in comparison with entering the same in English over here. I further tested this censorship by copying and pasting the Chinese characters into the outside-China engines to see what the differences in results were. Try it out yourself, it's interesting (find this function on the right hand sidebar of the Uncensor homepage).

When it is back online (it is currently undergoing maintenance), http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/ is another great site which tests websites that are blocked through Chinese servers.

What can you do? Inform yourself first, then spread the word however you can, and sign the pledge on Uncensor. Help to flood the Chinese servers with censored search terms.

Personally I have great hopes for China's future in the world, so I am doing my bit to encourage the land of the dragon to discard the chains that hold it back in the eyes of the developed world. Am I being ethnocentric? I don't think so, being Chinese has nothing to do with being restricted in the information you can access. This is a relatively modern phenomenon in a culture that has been around for thousands of years. China was once arguably the most knowledgeable and well-informed culture on Earth; I would like to see it be so again.

The Chinese government loves its people, and sees this censorship as protecting them from destructive elements. This isolation will not work forever though, as it is like a bamboo cage that flexes. The people can glimpse through the bars at the world as it really is, and as they become aware, the less confident they will be that their government's love is protecting them instead of limiting them.

Yours with hope,

Jetsam