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The Down Under Lounge

Isn't it wonderful that young Luke Shambrook has been found alive after 4 days and 4 nights lost in the bush.
 
Ugh.. I do not recommend Optus as a 'net provider. I moved three weeks ago and got my first bill today. I'm supposed to pay for 'net since the 23/03... and only got online tonight? They have got to be kidding me...

Sorry to hear about the theft Botany Bay. Glad to hear it hear it was only your account though and not something bigger. If they've got your personal info they could have done a lot more damage. Doesn't surprise me about the bank. I even understand why they're doing what they're doing but it's still frustrating as all hell.
 
Sorry to hear about the theft Botany Bay. Glad to hear it hear it was only your account though and not something bigger. If they've got your personal info they could have done a lot more damage. Doesn't surprise me about the bank. I even understand why they're doing what they're doing but it's still frustrating as all hell.

Cheers. Very unsettling experience and also a depressing one -- you realise how easy it is to become a victim, even when you take all the precautions. Its been about a month, I might start chasing the cops up next week to try and find out more.

Change those passwords!
 
Well things seem to be going from bad to worse.

The fraudster is into me and various companies to the tune of about $30,000 at this stage, and counting.

The lowlife has taken out credit cards, home electronics systems and half a dozen IPhones all on credit in my name on top of the cash that was stolen.

To add insult to injury, the police still haven't even assigned the case to anyone. It's just sickening. Now I have to take the rest of the week off to sort this out. Mountains of statutory declarations and visits to JP's ahead.

And , worst of all, good money is now going after bad. I will be getting the lawyers involved. I just feel gutted about my treatment by the banks and police. I feel ill. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
 
Well things seem to be going from bad to worse.

The fraudster is into me and various companies to the tune of about $30,000 at this stage, and counting.

The lowlife has taken out credit cards, home electronics systems and half a dozen IPhones all on credit in my name on top of the cash that was stolen.

To add insult to injury, the police still haven't even assigned the case to anyone. It's just sickening. Now I have to take the rest of the week off to sort this out. Mountains of statutory declarations and visits to JP's ahead.

And , worst of all, good money is now going after bad. I will be getting the lawyers involved. I just feel gutted about my treatment by the banks and police. I feel ill. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Definately time to take it to the media. The Cops don't seem interested, the bank is only interested in covering it's arse.

Time to name and shame the fuckers.

and perhaps let the stores that have been ripped off know what you're doing they - I'm sure they'd love to have their say becasue the bank's fuckup is costing them as well.
 
Marc it's so tempting to get this in the press. I don't rule it out. This has to stop, it's just such a collossal waste of everybody's time. If this is "everywhere", as several people have asserted, then the police need to divert further resources to stamping it out, or the politicians need to make sure they get extra help in this area. All the paperwork, wasted time on the phone, JP's, the cost of having to have credit reports done on yourself...it's just endless.

I don't want to knock the police -- they have the toughest gig in the world -- but my impression is that they think this kind of "soft" crime isn't a priority because they find banks, credit providers etc un-cooperative and they don't give a shit if they lose money. I can't comment too much further about the performance of the cops...I just don't know enough yet. But, as a layman, I find it distressing that it still hasn't been assigned at this late stage, and this failure to act is causing further crimes to be committed. At what threshold do they act? Who knows? I sure don't.

Miss Chicken I'm still trying to understand it myself, but it appears I've been the victim of my own good credit rating. I can only assume that employment/proof of income is only a secondary step if you have a dubious credit history, because, in every case all that was required was a license and a credit check. Some companies have told me more than others, but at every place, "my" employer was different each time.
 
And , worst of all, good money is now going after bad. I will be getting the lawyers involved.

If you have home insurance check your policy. Some companies provide coverage for legal costs in cases of identity theft.

It's not a lot, but it's something.
 
I am so pissed off after reading this from the Climate Council

The Government just announced a $4 million dollar contribution for Danish climate contrarian Bjorn Lomborg to establish a new “consensus centre” at UWA.
The Climate Commission, which was composed of Australia’s best climate scientists, economists and energy experts, was abolished on the basis of a lack of funding and yet here we are three years later and the money has become available to import a politically-motivated think tank to work in the same space.

I am so pissed off. Is government becomes a bigger joke every day, but the joke is a pathetic one.

I am off to make another donation to the Climate Council. Average Australians like me fund the Climate Council and they do a wonderful job keeping Australians informed.
 
And , worst of all, good money is now going after bad. I will be getting the lawyers involved.

If you have home insurance check your policy. Some companies provide coverage for legal costs in cases of identity theft.

It's not a lot, but it's something.

Great tip - had no idea. Thanks. There won't be a legal bill at this stage. I'm lucky I suppose to have a no bullshit solicitor. His advice was "don't get me involved...there's nothing I could do that wouldn't cost you thousands, and the chances of me being able to resolve it any quicker are not great". Honesty is something I suppose.

Miss Chicken I lack googling time at the moment, but I assume Lomborg is some kind of science denier?

I have never understood conservatives' resistance to action on climate change. Unless you are of the lunar right and reject science, your duty as a conservative is to preserve the best elements of our society for future generations. Global warming will severely hurt our GDP in the future, and thereby reduce our standard of living. Isn't that worth fighting for?

Anyway, there is only one man in Australia who I believe could bring the country along on climate change, and that is Malcolm Turnbull. Those wanting climate change action (and that's me) would be hoping for a scenario like this :

Turnbull takes over as leader, somehow negotiating a budget that at least puts us on a path of deficit reducion, appeasing the economic dries who would be out to cut him down from day 1. He trounces Shorten at the 2016 election.

In 2017 he decides his majority is solid enough to have a double dissolution election to sweep the loonie senators out.

He then implements an emissions trading scheme (NOT a flat tax, which will not solve the problem), capping the amount of pollution at a very modest target, of say 2018 levels, with all the permit revenue to go towards diplomatic lobbying of the USA, China and India -- because let's be honest, if these three don't move in unison, anything the rest of us do is an act of futility. Any permit revenue would need to be quarrantined from green/left social engineering projects or budget repair. The permit money is for lobbying the rest of the world to act.

Anyway, probably fanciful. But I can't see anyone else in the parliament getting it done for various reasons.
 
Miss Chicken I lack googling time at the moment, but I assume Lomborg is some kind of science denier?

Got it in one. And often when you have these climate change denialists they get paid directly to spout their garbage (look up a guy named Willie Soon for a good example). The denialist side will point out about all the money that goes toward the climate change side. What they will ignore is the money is in the form of grants that goes to places like universities that take out their chunk, pay the scientists, pay the researchers etc.

I have never understood conservatives' resistance to action on climate change. Unless you are of the lunar right and reject science, your duty as a conservative is to preserve the best elements of our society for future generations. Global warming will severely hurt our GDP in the future, and thereby reduce our standard of living. Isn't that worth fighting for?

If you look closely at the denialist side, many of them are also Christians who believe in the existance of God absolutely despite no physical evidence yet all the evidence in the world won't convince them on climate change.

Anyway, there is only one man in Australia who I believe could bring the country along on climate change, and that is Malcolm Turnbull. Those wanting climate change action (and that's me) would be hoping for a scenario like this :

Anyway, probably fanciful. But I can't see anyone else in the parliament getting it done for various reasons.

[/quote]

Turnbull has had his chance. His lack of integrity in taking a hatchet to Labor's NBN plans which he supported and persued Abbott's bastardised plans to protect the interests of murdoch and foxtel.

Turnbull doesn't have a chance for other reasons - too many vested interested. Murdoch and IPA have a P.M who's a puppet on string and implements what they want. With Turnbull that wouldn't get that.

Within the party the last thing the conservatives want is to have the moderates ascend to the top. The current cabinet has a large % of howard era hardliners and they'd find themselves on the back bench.
 
Arggggghhhhhhhh - hitting my head against the wall. My friend just went on an anti-vax rant. She says she that she has to oppose everything the Liberal Party ever puts forward even if it is something good.

I asked her if she believed every Liberal politican was bad or not. She said yes, they are all bad. So I asked her to name all the Tasmanian Liberal politicans in the Australian government. She was only able to name one (Senator Eric Abetz). The only federal Labor member she could name was our Local Rep Julie Collins. She was able to name Senator Christine Milne of the Greens, and Independent Members Andrew Wilkie. And Jacqui Lambie.

I then asked her she would say if this government had a complete turnaround and decided to release all the refugees. she said she would oppose it because she only wants a Labor Government to free them. I asked her 'what if this government decided to give unemployed workers over 50 a 10% rise in the dole', she said she would refuse to take it.

Anyway I said that this vaccination plan that is being put forward mean the government is like a broken clock - it can be right once in a while though the clock has the advantage of being right twice a day, and this is the first time this government has been right since their election.
 
Botany Bay - Lomborg does not deny climate change, he even agrees that it is man-made. he just doesn't seem to think it is important enough environmental issue to do much to stop it. He seems to be against subsidising renewable energy, and thinks we should continue burning fossil fuels.
 
I then asked her she would say if this government had a complete turnaround and decided to release all the refugees. she said she would oppose it because she only wants a Labor Government to free them. I asked her 'what if this government decided to give unemployed workers over 50 a 10% rise in the dole', she said she would refuse to take it.

Is this.. that friend?
 
Yes....it is that friend. I don't't see her much any more but she stills phones me about three times a week.
 
Turnbull doesn't have a chance for other reasons - too many vested interested. Murdoch and IPA have a P.M who's a puppet on string and implements what they want. With Turnbull that wouldn't get that.

Within the party the last thing the conservatives want is to have the moderates ascend to the top. The current cabinet has a large % of howard era hardliners and they'd find themselves on the back bench.

Exactly. Which makes their next move a fascinating one. This week's Fairfax poll wasn't encoraging for the Coalition, reversing some of their recent gains. If Hockey and Abbott blow this budget I'd say the pressure to act will be enormous.

For what its worth, many in the business community expect them to go over the cliff with Abbott rather than embrace Turnbull, and expect a Shorten government next year. Because they have no clue what such a government would be like you are seeing a hiring freeze at the moment.

I've given up making predictions -- it's just too volatile, but it's fair to say the budget in a couple of weeks, and the response to it, will make or break a number of careers.
 
Turnbull doesn't have a chance for other reasons - too many vested interested. Murdoch and IPA have a P.M who's a puppet on string and implements what they want. With Turnbull that wouldn't get that.

Within the party the last thing the conservatives want is to have the moderates ascend to the top. The current cabinet has a large % of howard era hardliners and they'd find themselves on the back bench.

Exactly. Which makes their next move a fascinating one. This week's Fairfax poll wasn't encoraging for the Coalition, reversing some of their recent gains. If Hockey and Abbott blow this budget I'd say the pressure to act will be enormous.

For what its worth, many in the business community expect them to go over the cliff with Abbott rather than embrace Turnbull, and expect a Shorten government next year. Because they have no clue what such a government would be like you are seeing a hiring freeze at the moment.

I've given up making predictions -- it's just too volatile, but it's fair to say the budget in a couple of weeks, and the response to it, will make or break a number of careers.


The libs are trying to avoid getting what they threw at Labor over changing leaders coming back at them in spades (they already pay ostrich when it's pointed out about the replacing of Gorton by McMahon in the early 70s).
 
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