My Own Private Australia

I found these funny things here
Hilarious stuff to find both Alien and Predator are just a couple of goons living in NYC, and are ardent New York Yankee fans.
Also, Jesus' face is painted over Jeter's in one of the episodes. That's funny too.

I'm Living In The Nile
Stuff in my life is going really skewiff and I don't know how I'm going to put meals on my table in December. I have some small jobs lined up but my big translation gig of September-October just looks like it's going to join my July 2004 as my "Big Unpaid Works" list. I don't want to write too much about it as it put enormous pressure on my Producer friend (and it's not his fault) and one day I will write about how it all came to pass, right here.In the mean time, suffice to say, I haven't a clue how I'm going to go forwards.

The July 2004 job is a separate big bill that is likely not going to get paid soon, though that would really help. At this moment I'm leery about doing more translations in the near future. Writers complain they get short-shrift in the development process; let me tell you, translators get even shorter shrift.

All donations accepted. Just go click on my music page, find the first song you like (or hate) and 'donate' some cash to my paypal account. Thanks. You can find the donate button underneath the song play bar under the cover art somewhere. :)

UPDATE The 'donation' button isn't working at iCompositions. I'll try to find a paypal link some other way. :)

Now He Notices
Kim beazley says Sedition laws are unnecessary.

Mr Beazley said the change had arrived out of left-field and it was not foreshadowed during Prime Minister John Howard's discussion with state and territory leaders in September.

"It's not necessary. It's got nothing to do with dealing with terrorists, frankly, so why put it in?" he told Southern Cross radio in Melbourne.

"Look, this is an unnecessary addition to what has been now well-debated and well-discussed laws for control orders for detention.

"We do have archaic sedition laws which do need to be upgraded, but there needs to be a reasonable discussion on that.

"I'm for putting in jail people who are criminals, people who are terrorists.

"I'm not for putting cartoonists and talk-back radio hosts in jail when they satirise politicians.

"The point about them is their vagueness.

"You can see a point or two in them that might assist you if somebody's out there talking up a bit of a riot, but on the other hand, you know, you can also see there's a bit of a threat to the artistic community, a threat to those who are engaged in political discussion."

Mr Bracks today said while he has supported the Federal Government's counter-terrorism laws, he did not accept the definition of sedition as making it illegal to "promote ill will and hostility between different groups".

"The sedition proposals were not part of the (Council of Australian Governments) agreement signed up to by Victoria," he told Fairfax newspapers.

It's such a shame he's so lame and so behind the game. We would've been better as a population had he swung into action a couple of weeks ago and went to town on this stupid legislation.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is another who is pointing out the bleeding obvious if belatedly:

"I'm just a little concerned that they will impose restrictions on free speech which aren't intended," he said on ABC radio.

"I don't think that the sedition provisions are central, frankly, to achieving the anti-terrorism position and I've had that view from the beginning.

"The thrust of what we agreed to at COAG is in the law, the sedition provisions, as far as I'm concerned, are ancillary and unnecessary.

"The spirit of COAG and the agreement we reached can be done without the sedition provisions."

But Mr Beattie admitted that the sedition laws were entirely a matter for the Federal Government and did not require the states to pass complementary laws.

His comments follow criticism of the reforms by Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and Law Council of Australia president John North.

And naturally Attorney General Philip Ruddock says it's all okay.

Mr Bracks wants the sedition part of the bill removed so it can be dealt with separately.

"I think that can be done better in a more considered way without effecting if you like the rights of people to publicly speak out and to have that restricted as part of these laws," he said.

But Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has dismissed the concerns raised by Mr Bracks.

"I would counsel him to get clear advice on how the measures are intended to operate and to speak of them in an informed way, rather than picking up on some of the ill-informed debate that is occurring right now," he said.

Yeah, right.
As If.