Rainbow flag inquiry called for parliament - FFS :s (video)

Update: The Australian Christian Lobby is interested in this, publishing the video on their YouTube channel.

What kind of fuckin lunacy is this latest bullshit out of Canberra? The public is paying these people for this crap.

Eric Abetz (staunch Abbott loyalist) has instigated an inquiry into a rainbow flag being put up in the foyer of the dept of finance. He claims it could be taken to represent a political campaign and therefore inapropriate in a gov building, going so far as to suggest if the rainbow flag can be put up, so can one of the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.

Wrong wrong wrong! This is what's wrong with what the Lieberals have done to the whole marriage equality debate. It's not about a political campaign, it's about human beings like David and I wanting the same human rights as the rest of the population. A human issue, not an issue to be politicised. 

Unfortunately it has been politicised, and this is why marriage equality has been so stalled in Australia for so long. Stop playing politics with our lives!

Bad news from doctor today - kidney problems again :(

Dialysis machine from my acute kidney failure 2010

Feeling pretty stunned at the moment. I thought that just maybe the kidney problems I've had were perhaps all behind me. But then again my condition is classed as "chronic kidney failure" so I guess it would be logical to assume that problems still remain with them.

I've not been well at all lately. The intense back pain was one thing, but I've been feeling weak and off colour, and a couple of times have fainted on to the floor after feeling really dizzy and weak. Nurse David has been a big help getting me lying on a lounge and breathing properly.He came with me to the doctors the other day just in case I dropped in the middle of the street or something really dramatic. Was good him being there as he was able to say what he observed when it happened that I don't remember. All I knew was that I felt dizzy as hell and all the strength going from my body, next thing I'm coming to on the floor.

So the doctor took blood and today told me the bad news. There's different indicators but the only one I understand is the creatinine levels; the amount of toxins in the blood. The normal level is around 90-100, my results were 165. Being as they've been near OK in very recent years a sudden elevation like that is a real worry with my history of acute kidney failure.

So he's taken more blood and I have to see him again Thursday, hopefully it hasn't gotten significantly worse. It may have had to do with me using Voltaren like mad on my back for the back pain (an anti-inflammatory albeit only a cream applied) or I may have been dehydrated because of the very hot weather we've had this summer.

I have to see a kidney specialist again. I chose to see one at the same medical centre rather than wait trying to get in to the kidney clinic again at the hospital. He bulk bills the likes of me on the DSP so it's free (actually all this has been free). Some professor guy there on Mondays. Probably best to keep my health care all under one roof so to speak.

David's quite worried. I want to get my will all finalised, just needs signing and witnessing. Not that I think I'm going to die, but as I nearly did a few years back from kidney failure I'd feel much better if it was done.

The good news is that my HIV remains undetectable and CD4 count over 800 :) 

The "Drunk Trump" video - hilarious (video)

Remember that first solo press conference of Trump's recently that left everyone going "WTF?" Well some genius has thought to slow the video down some, and suddenly it all makes sense. 

Trump is drunk on something that doesn't affect his speaking speed, but if you slow it down he becomes the drunk raving lunatic that nobody pays any attention to on a particularly pissy pub night.

You know, when a table of drunks gets together sometimes and attempts to solve the worlds problems there and then amongst themselves. Trump is the table's lead man. The tables around all ignore the blathering idiocy coming from said table, other than to note they're all pissed as farts. 

The way Trump rambles through everything fits perfectly with that scenario.  

NBN will be 2yrs late in our area

The National Broadband Network rollout will now give a date expected to be completed in your area. You just put your address in and a time frame comes up.

So, trying to contain my untold excitement at connecting to Turnbull's lemon, I put in our address to see when this marvelous lemon will arrive at our place. It's not until late next year in 2018, making it a full two years late of Turnbull's promise to have the whole thing completed by 2016.

There is a consolation prize though. They'll be using Hybrid Fibre Coaxial cable to connect between the node and the house, which will be somewhat better than just the copper that Turnbull is buying by the tonne. However nothing like fibre that Labor planned for the NBN capable of 1Gbps.

This has to be the biggest infrastructure fuck up in Australia's history. It's going to cost $billions to fix in the future when they measure net speeds in how many Gigabits per second instead of Megabits. I mean imagine today talking about net speeds and using Kilobits per second (Kbps) like the old days. Such low speeds would make the connection unusable with today's information requirements on the web.

Difference isn't a big deal - marriage equality (video)

An add put out on the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras YouTube channel. It very cleverly uses a small issue equating it with marriage equality, saying that a little difference isn't a big deal. Very well done 😁

Famous Aussie author detained and harassed at US airport

Mem Fox

A famous Australian children's book author has told of her horrifying experience when visiting the US recently, despite being world famous and visiting the US previously on multiple occasions. 

Seventy year old Mem Fox was left traumatised by the experience, feeling that she had been violated, and now doubts that she will ever return.

Fox, who was questioned by Customs and Border Protection officers for two hours earlier this month as she was on her way to Milwaukee to address a conference, said she collapsed and sobbed at her hotel after she was released.

She said the border agents appeared to have been given "turbocharged power" by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to "humiliate and insult" a room full of people they detained to check visas.

That executive order was eventually halted by Federal Courts and it was expected a new order would be signed this week, designed to avoid the confusion caused by the original.

"I have never in my life been spoken to with such insolence, treated with such disdain, with so many insults and with so much gratuitous impoliteness," Fox said.

"The entire interview took place with me standing, with my back to a room full of people in total public hearing and view — it was disgraceful.

"I felt like I had been physically assaulted which is why, when I got to my hotel room, I completely collapsed and sobbed like a baby, and I'm 70 years old."


Fox, whose books include classics such as Possum Magic and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, said she was questioned about her visa status, even though she had travelled to the United States 116 times previously without incident. ABC

Bloody hell, if the US are treating Mem Fox like a criminal then I'm not risking it. See you in 4 years America 😮

— Briony W. (@ynoirb) February 25, 2017

Maybe Mem Fox was detained in the US for her subversive works 😒 pic.twitter.com/173y4n4pKH

— fiz (@fiztig) February 25, 2017

"We've got your back" - NRA head to Trump (video)

I know it's a 20 minute video, but rarely will you see such a display of Orwellian psychotic speaking. It's full of Doublespeak from Trump's Ministry of Truth. A stunning example of the fascist's takeover of the White House, the presidency, and the sheeple following it all. Honestly, I'm loath to use the Nazi thing, but this is Nazi-ism.

I spent the 22 minutes watching this in disbelief and almost shock. It was heavy with propaganda rhetoric, void of reality. It was almost preaching an ideology, using key words and phrases to demonise the left as enemies of the US. 

The most disturbing thing is that this man is a powerful member of the conservatives and holds much sway over the White House. I'm so glad I'm not an American right now, it would scare the fuck out of me.

Slovenia gets marriage equality, while Australia still waits

Whilst Australian LGBT continue to wait for the Lieberals and Turnbull to recognise our human rights, marriage equality is moving forward in other countries. Some to the great embarrassment of Australia which is still lagging behind the modern world. It's shocking that in 2017 David and I are still considered second class citizens under the marriage act, when Australia used to be such a forward socially progressive country.

The latest country to get marriage equality is Slovenia. I didn't even know where that was apart from eastern Europe and had to look it up. 

Yes folks, Slovenia has beaten Australia to marriage equality, whilst Australia is held captive to the far right bitter middle aged white christian back benchers of the federal gov.

Slovenia permitted same-sex marriages for the first time from Friday under a law giving gay couples largely the same rights as heterosexuals though barring them from jointly adopting children.

The head of the unit in charge of weddings in Slovenia's second largest city Maribor, Ksenija Klampfer, told Reuters the first lesbian wedding would take place there on Saturday.

"We are very happy and proud that we will perform the first same-sex wedding. We believe that such marriages are an important step towards formation of an inclusive society where people have equal rights," Klampfer said.
A number of other European Union states have legally recognised same-sex marriages, including Britain, France and Spain, but the issue remains contentious in many other EU countries. Reuters

Peter Dutton for PM? - Abbott WTF? files (video)

The Lieberals are at war folks, repeating the mistakes of the previous Gillard/Rudd gov. Abbott has gone to the press undermining prime minister Turnbull saying his gov is drifting to defeat at the next election. In doing so he's come up with insane plans to bring the gov back.

He wants to get rid of the Australian Human Rights Commission (in keeping with his christianity there) and also the "theology" of climate change (in other words he still thinks "climate change is crap"). He actually believes that this is what Australians want, and that the Lieberals are drifting too far left and becoming "Labor Lite". Such is the delusion world in which he lives.

Of course this has caused an eruption in the media against Abbott by fellow members of the federal gov. Most notably finance minister Cormann, once a staunch ally of Abbotts, ripping in to Abbott in an interview which he called Abbott's media stirring "sad", the word picked up and used by Turnbull as well against Abbott.

But if that wasn't enough proof of Abbott's psychotic state, rumours are that Abbott is pushing for Peter Dutton to become prime minister, giving him gushing praise. Watch him describe Dutton as some kind of saint or something. What fuckin planet is Abbott on?  

  

NRA says it will defend Trump - armed Trump-etes attend town hall meetings (video)

Only in America....

In news from behind the wall, the NRA has released a propaganda video claiming that those who protest against Trump are simply in to making trouble and anarchy. The solution? The NRA says they are.

Recipe for disaster: @NRA declares war on Trump opposition and armed Trump supporters start showing up at town halls https://t.co/Bxc6HJcHeY pic.twitter.com/z3yETpjCLU

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 23, 2017

Caitlyn Jenner calls Republican Trump bullies "sick" - video

Team Trump has decided to get rid of the Obama law that protects transgender students in schools saying they can use the toilet of their choice.

In response to this Jenner, also a Republican (yes being LGBT goes across politics) calls the bullies weak and sick, and points out that Trump promised to protect the LGBT. She ends with telling Trump "Call me".

Well @realDonaldTrump, from one Republican to another, this is a disaster. You made a promise to protect the LGBTQ community. Call me. pic.twitter.com/XwYe0LNUOq

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) February 24, 2017

An honest story of using Ice (video)

This video isn't about me but somebody else that's used it. They tell their story in the most honest of ways.

That said, I've been there. I worked full time and used it. And no I didn't fall to bits at work, but I did have issues on the Tuesday after a weekend with no sleep. At times I would go from Friday after work to Sunday night without sleep. The dealer was fucking me so most of it was free. Enough said.

I always look back on those times as an escape from reality. I just couldn't deal with life at the time. I've wondered on occasion if I'd still be alive today if I'd not had that escape then? Who knows? I hate to say it but the ice I had along with the sex got my mind off everything for three days at a time, and perhaps it did help me to not top myself.

However I've always been a strong person as far as drugs go, and whenever I wanted to stop I simply did. I've known druggies that couldn't, and I never understood that. I stopped Ice on my own, no help. I just decided I'd had enough.

Today I don't want to go near Ice. Enough was enough. 

Discrimination issue with bouncer update - further snowball

I'm supposed to keep all this confidential, but fuck that. This isn't a big blog and I'm quite happy to update the situation on my little corner of the internet. I will however not mention the name of the pub in this here post; those who've been reading for a while will know which one I'm talking about on Oxford St.

So things have been moving along in the past 3 or so months with the anti-discrimination board. 

To recap, because David was barred over more venues after the homophobic thug bouncer discriminated against me (saying to David "You can come in but I'm not letting that fag in" referring to me) and David was involved in a shouting argument with said bouncer post that, the bouncer then got him barred at other venues at the top of the Oxford St "gay mile". The anti-discrimination board has deemed that as victimisation, and made it a second complaint along with the first incident.

They contacted the pub where the first incident happened which replied, the letter of reply being forwarded to us in snail mail. It was mostly rhetoric about how wonderful the pub was, as well as the wonderful bouncer who the management couldn't imagine such behaviour from such a saintly person. It included lies that David had been at the pub earlier that day and was too pissed to be admitted (he wasn't, which we produced the Opal bus record of when we both got to Oxford St that day) and he was allowed to come in anyway. It was me refused entry not him. 

There was nothing addressing the pelting down the road at David making us think he was going to hit him, with the other bouncer stopping him.

The letter, as well as trying to smooth over the incident, attempted to demonise David by saying he'd been trouble there before (WTF?) and that David in the yelling argument was just the sort of behaviour that they didn't want him to do. Again, David wasn't refused entry, I was. David has been going there for 20yrs and has never been refused entry or barred from another drink.

Needless to say my reply to the letter was particularly factual and cutting, after the initial hysterical laughter just about picking myself up from the floor. I ended the letter with the words that a friendly pub (let alone a gay friendly pub) would listen to it's long term clients and try to resolve the matter to their satisfaction, not double down against them siding with a thug bouncer.

And finally, the pub has been forced to inform the anti-discrimination board of the company that the security guard was from, along with the names of those on duty that night. Hence there are now two more complaints along with the discrimination and victimisation associated with the pub. The two more complaints are to the security company that the bouncer is employed at. 

The board has now contacted said security company after this guy, wanting a written statement of his version of that night. Being the thug he is I'd guess that might be quite a challenge, as I think his knuckles are dragging on the ground.

He's going to bloody shit himself. No sympathy here. I hope he loses his job over it. He's got no right to be working as a security guard IMO.  

Brain injured, amputee, denied Disability Support Pension - Australia (video)

You can only assume this gov is about killing people. We've already had a suicide of a robodept victim, now we have further examples of the gov putting people on the unsurvivable Newstart when they're demonstrably unable to work.

In this case a person with brain damage and and amputee. What effect being denied the DSP by a person with brain damage on their mental health isn't known but I'd say extremely predictable; severe depression and all that goes with that. The man has worked all his life.

Perhaps he could now reapply with depression being a factor in his disability as well? 

Whatever the case, I can't help coming back to the politicians and how easy it is for them to get their entitlements. Why can't they go though Centrelink like the rest of us? Why can't they be under the same stringent bullshit as us pawns?

“While I accept that your right, dominant hand is non-functional as a result of the amputation, there is no objective medical evidence to indicate that there is a severe functional impact on activities like turning the pages of a book, using a pen or pencil or using a keyboard or carrying most objects with your functional arm,’’ the officer said.

The department believed he could work at least 15 hours a week in a sedentary role and put him on Newstart.

His wife Sue said there was no way her husband could go to work with his disabilities.

She said she very much doubted an employer would take him on at his age with his medical conditions.

Another setback was he could not drive.

“It’s ridiculous and we suspect it is all to do with the Disability Pension being more than unemployment benefits. DSP is around $725 per fortnight and Newstart is $488 per fortnight.

“He has worked and paid taxes all his life and this is how the government treats him. He now feels disenfranchised. Courier Mail

The Milo problem.....Ugh!

I'm so disgusted with this man I don't know where to start. I only post the video of him to show what he said (there are others BTW).

His latest bla is that he's trying to gloss over and apologise for using his free American speech to endorse paedophilia, but to me that's unacceptable. The guy needs to humble up and get some serious psychological help.

One of the most galling things that he said was that paedophilia among gay men and 13 year old boys was going on more than anywhere else in society. That may have been his experience in his personal life, but it's not the experience in the gay world. Did the priest identify as straight?.....

For him to say, in his media position across the globe, that paedophilia is more common in the gay world than others is false and treasonous to the LGBT. How dare he! It perpetuates the lie that gays are paedophiles, the lie that has seen us demonised for untold times in history. It's not true, as the video below shows (which I will post yet again for the benefit of those who may not have seen it before). Saying gay are paedophiles is one of the lowest insults I've ever come across, after bringing up my daughter. Vile on so many levels.



He has made his popularity out of being a troll and using "free speech" to offend people for his own entertainment and clicks. He has thrived on demonising others (like transgenders who he recently said were suffering a psychological condition). He's taken great celebration in doing so. Are we now supposed to accept an apology from this sicko asshole trying to save his career?

The LGBT will be the last to feel any sort of sympathy for him. He's used his far right politics to have a go at us; if you have a go at one section of us you have a go at all of us. That's how the LGBT works. Queers stick together no matter what our queerness. Across the world. 

This guy is some kind of mentally twisted fuckwit who's used the modern media to make his own insulting fame. He's a fleck on the skirt of the LGBT. He's not one of us. He's mentally ill needing treatment, and not at all worthy of the position he's managed to get.

I'm sure there would be many other Milo type people in therapy. They just haven't had the drive, tenacity, and pure luck to end up where Milo did. I hope none of them ever do.

Taiwan's push for marriage equality (video)

Taiwan may well become the first country in Asia to get marriage equality. Here's an add from there supporting it :)

Love and acceptance; simple.....

A world of back pain

It started 3 days ago, this being the third. Felt some discomfort in my middle back to one side and by the next day I was pretty much crippled with pain. Hard to say but I think it got worse yesterday, or at least it was a worst day. Felt like I'd been stabbed or something. Hurt to breath and a cough was agony with sharp intense pain shooting. Lying down seemed to make it hurt more, with a couple of nights back me getting only a half hours sleep from it. Moving about the house was also very hard as just the slightest movement the wrong way and I'd be shouting out in pain.

This morning I'd managed to sleep most of the night thankfully, and the pain seems slightly duller than before. I'm hoping I'm through the worst of it. 

Seeing my doctor tomorrow (I have to as I need a few prescriptions) and that will definitely be a thing in the visit. There was a while back too this happened, I put it down to some kind of severe muscle spasms. They can be extremely painful, but this pain is bloody out there.

Pain is very isolating I noticed yesterday. Suddenly my whole world was about this crippling pain and I retreated into myself, human interaction became outside of the pain bubble I was in. Must of been the expression on my face, David kept asking "are you OK?" Didn't want to worry him but being a nurse he was quite aware of what I was experiencing.

Robodept: "Just contact Centrelink" - Brandis :s

What an astonishing display of ineptitude and being hopelessly out of touch with average Australians, by George Brandis last night on the ABC's Question and Answer. After all the public furor about robodept and people being unable to get through to Centrelink over it, often waiting hours on hold, and after a 20yr old man suicided over it, Brandis says if you want to question the debt "Just contact Centrelink".

There was immediate laughter from the audience, but Brandis seemed unaware of why and kept going, digging himself in further and further. He goes on to say a bit later "Or you can visit your local Centrelink office"!

Far out. Is he on drugs? Does he not realise that Centrelink will send you home telling you you have to ring up or do it on line? Does he honestly think that you can casually call Centrelink and get through within minutes?

I think politicians should have to go through Centrelink to get their entitlements. Why not? It's public money. Let them suffer under the microscope like the rest of us plebs. 

Integrity need to be fine tuned, says Piers Akerman. @JulianBurnside says we should be generous. @MicheleLevine_ consider the people #QandA pic.twitter.com/jjwK2qG6aX

— ABC Q&A (@QandA) February 20, 2017

ANZ Bank says for gays to hold hands in public :)

As it's near Mardi Gras time for the year the ANZ Bank has put out an add for gay people to hold each other's hands in public. Interesting.

One thing about Oxford St's "gay mile" if you're sitting in one of the pubs and can see outside, you've never seen so many straight couples holding hands. It's as if they're trying to make some sort of statement. You just don't see such a display in other areas of Sydney.

F-35 can't fly near lightning storms - lemon files

Far out, what a bloody lemon. You could throw a rock and it'd fly better than this monstrosity.

So the new wiz bang F-35 lemons can't fly within 40km of a lightning storm. That number again, 40km. If they do they may have their fuel tanks ignite. Lovely. So all an enemy plane would have to do to get away I guess is to fly near a storm? *sheesh*

There's also the previously reported problems that it can't turn fast enough etc. 

Thankfully the gov here appears to strangely cautious, very unlike the gung ho Abbott. Still, I dunno why they just don't cancel the whole deal. What a dead set waste of money. And they're going after poverty stricken welfare recipients for money FFS. 

US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, who heads the US military's $16 billion JSF program, admits the F-35 Lightning II jet can't fly within 40km of a lightning storm because its fuel tanks could ignite.

"Will this problem occur in the future? No, because we have the known fixes for it and we will fix it," Lt-Gen told ABC TV.

The Lockheed Martin JSF is a fifth-generation combat aircraft featuring stealth capability - low visibility to radar - and advanced sensors to detect enemy aircraft.

But the program has experienced technical problems, rising costs and delays.

Australia is looking to acquire up to 100 JSFs to form the backbone of the RAAF air combat fleet.

So far, the federal government has firmly committed to just two.

But in last year's budget the government deferred signing a deal for the next 12 aircraft for two years.

A JSF critic, US defence analyst Pierre Sprey, told the ABC the JSF was inferior to the widely used F-16 - an aircraft dating from the early 1970s which remains in production.

"We have an airplane that can't turn to escape fighters, can't turn to escape missiles, sluggish in acceleration because it's so big and fat and draggy and doesn't have enough motor for the weight," he said.

"My prediction is the airplane will become such an embarrassment that it will be cancelled before 500 airplanes are built." news.com.au

Midnight Oil have reformed for a world tour! *faints* - video

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

Midnight Oil, compete with Peter Garrett and his maniac moves, have reformed for a world tour, complete with all new songs singing about what there's a lot to sing about presently! *faints*

Peter Garrett way for a time my local member in the Kingsford Smith Electorate, but he joined Labor to do that and was a totally hopeless sellout back then. I could tell so as most of what I pulled him up about near the end where just form letters without I heart in it. He resigned after Rudd took over from Gillard as he said Rudd was some kind of megalomaniac or some shit and he just couldn't work with him again. Rudd lost the election BTW to Abbott....

But now he's gone back to his roots, making protest through the Midnight Oil band and all that involves. I'm so looking forward to this!



This is one of my favourites from times past:

Midnight Oil - US Forces by jpdc11

Trans is a "psychiatric disorder" - gay homocon Milo on Bill Mayer show

Being Transgender is no more a "psychiatric disorder" than being gay was in the 1950's. I personally know people who are transgender and they aren't at all like the fuckiwit Milo purports. They are kind loving people who've gone through so many struggles they're lucky to have not suicided in the face of the society they live (especially the US). 

Those I know have monogamous relationships if they have a partner, and they in no way are predators of any kind. The notion that they are is akin to the notion that all gays are paedophiles. We are not; 99% of us are not. The predominant paedophiles identify as straight.

Would you like a straight paedophile pissing next to your young son at the trough?

The same demonisation that happened to gays over a century, the US Republicans have now moved it on to target the transgender people of their country. Despicable. Here in Australia we just can't understand how they could do that. WTF is wrong with these politicists? It's outrageous in 2017.

So here we have this Milo bloke Who evidently Bill Mayer saw fit to have on his show to freely preach his shit.

I've long unsubcribed Mayer from my YouTube feed after he had that dick head Charlie Sheen get on there and give Mayer a full interview about some herbal remedy that was supposed to cure HIV, Mayer in this case also agreed with Milo about transgender people being a danger in toilets. 

No evidence, opinion.

Trump's WTF? press conference (video)

Well all you retards over there that voted for this moronic mentally ill pussy grabbing wannabe, you have to wear this. This is all your fault. Look at the puppet show we have as the "leader" of the free world.

I've watched a few of these Trump presser WTF? videos from over there, but this one was the funniest :)

.@JoeNBC on Trump’s press conference: One of the most chaotic, rambling press conferences anybody has ever seen https://t.co/k32N2yzdzV

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) February 17, 2017

Centrelink robodebt victim suicides

Are you happy now Tudge and Porter, in that rarefied atmosphere inside your parliament bubble?

Sadly, a popular young man has suicided, his family and loved ones claiming it was an $18,000 Centrelink robodebt that pushed him over the edge. Like many of us he suffered mental illness; severe depression and panic attacks. He wasn't good with money because of this and completely unable to deal with the supposed debt. He bore the brunt of the robodebt system, getting harassed with continual letters and the outsourced merciless debt collectors that Centrelink let take over the debt, despite the fact that Centrelink records showed his vulnerable condition. 

I'd say it was only a matter of time before somebody suicided over this. Perhaps it's not even the first one, but it's the first one I've seen reported.

His girlfriend had begun screening his mail. The letters were too much. They were inducing panic. Rhys Cauzzo was 28 years old, a musician and florist living in Melbourne. Cauzzo suffered severe depression, for which he was medicated. It was a condition he shared with his mother. Late last year, he began receiving aggressive letters from a debt collection agency called Dun and Bradstreet. They represented the Department of Human Services, which demanded the “immediate” repayment of almost $18,000 paid to him by Centrelink. The letters made clear that failure to do so might trigger legal action, or the “garnishing” of his wages.

He was sick and incredulous. In a private notebook, he doodled a man with a gun in his mouth – behind the figure, instead of blood, was a spray of dollar signs. His girlfriend, Brit, tried to help, ensuring letters weren’t overlooked in Cauzzo’s increasing unwillingness to inspect them. Meanwhile, Cauzzo called his mother, Jenny Miller, who lived on the Sunshine Coast. The two were close, and during what she called his “dark times” she had often flown down to see him. “He rang me distressed,” she told me. “I told him he needed to go in and talk to them. And he did that. In the meantime, Dun and Bradstreet were making demands for money within seven days. People with severe depression don’t handle financial pressure. And these numbers didn’t make sense. He was always anal about keeping financial records.”

The anxiety wasn’t just with the amount owed, or the aggression with which it was demanded – it was the fact that the amount requested seemed fantastical. “It made absolutely no sense to him,” Brit says.

In January, in letters of demand seen by The Saturday Paper, the debt collection agency had revised its figure to $10,283.81. Neither Brit nor Jenny is sure why Centrelink had suddenly made a significant reduction to the alleged debt. Such revision has been frequent in the department’s so-called robo-debt system.

The debt collection agency visited Cauzzo’s home on January 3. They received no answer, and left a calling card in the letterbox: “Need to speak to you about an urgent matter.”

On January 26, Cauzzo went out with Brit and friends to see some bands. Brit says he was a “little distant” but otherwise fine. When they returned home, Brit and some housemates left to get dinner. Cauzzo stayed home. They were only gone an hour. When they returned, they found Cauzzo’s body. “He didn’t leave a note,” Brit tells me. “It wasn’t planned. It was a flip.” The Saturday Paper

Teens blackmailed men on gay dating apps caught - one man suicided, Canberra

*Update: Attacks were driven by a "perverted sense of morality":

The boy allegedly told friends he was "targeting paedos" as his father "may have experienced something similar when he was younger", the court heard.

First Constable Luxmoore said the boys' father was highly intoxicated when a police officer contacted him over those claims this month and twice told police his sons "had done nothing wrong" and implied "they were almost doing police's job".

"They were finding the 'paedos' for us and it was almost like they were doing a civic duty," First Constable Luxmoore said. Canberra Times

Thanks to the friend on Twitter for the tip.

I don't have a smart phone myself, neither does David. Even if I did I'd be very wary of these gay hook up apps where you meet up with a perfect stranger. You just don't know what you might be getting into. I'm sorry I'm just old fashioned, I prefer going to the pub and getting pissed to meet someone :)  At least it's face to face. That's how I met David, wasn't planned or anything, we just hit it off straight away.

Some gays seem very casual about the apps however, like it's another part of their lives and no big deal. Those sorts of people are open about their use of the apps and wouldn't be open to blackmail. Everyone knows about it anyway.

However others, for whatever reason, want it all to be discreet. It's these sorts of people that were targeted by 4 teenagers in Canberra. Hook ups arranged but after they met the men they saw were threatened with friends and family being told unless they coughed up money. Likely I guess in unsafe situation with violence threatened along with it? The cops usually don't tell the media everything, especially with an ongoing court case.

Sadly, one man has suicided over it. They might as well have used a bullet IMO.

All the teenagers have been denied bail.

One of the most outrageous things about it all is that the youths claimed they were "targeting paedophiles". FFS, 99% of paedophiles identify as straight.

The amounts demanded ranged from $150 to $1,000.

A 15-year-old, two 16-year-olds and an 18-year-old appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court today, where each was denied bail.

Police told the court one of the alleged victims in New South Wales had taken his own life.

The court heard other victims had been identified by material found on social media and other accounts belonging to the group, as well as stolen mobile phones.

But police told the court most were reluctant to complain, because of embarrassment.

The court heard one of the boys told police the people they were targeting were paedophiles.

Police argued against bail, citing concerns there could be a risk of interference with evidence or witnesses.


Magistrate Margaret Hunter agreed, rejecting arguments from the lawyer for the 18-year-old that he was only charged over one of the incidents and had nothing to do with the alleged victim who had died.

"This appears to be a gang scamming this unfortunate individual," Magistrate Hunter said. ABC

One Nation candidate attacked gays, Muslims, blacks, Indonesians on Twitter

Another One Nation wack job in the coming Western Australia election. Where on earth are they finding all these fringe dwellers? Remember, the Lieberals are giving One Nation candidates their preferences for this election.

Richard Eldridge used to have a Twitter account under the name of "Ned Kelly" which is now deactivated. Not before he had some rather controversial things to say however.

"The Adani Files" - GetUp (video)

GetUp has put together a comprehensive and detailed report into Adani's history of serious environmental disaster and tax dodging.

It's madness to give this company $1 billion of taxpayers money and let them loose on the Great Barrier Reef. The gov doesn't even know which Adani tax dodging subsidiary the $1 billion would go to.

The Adani Files are here.

You can also share The Adani Files with your local MP here.

"Alliance Defending Freedom" listed as anti gay hate group - Abbott made speech there 2016

At this point cast your mind back to Jan 2016, and the furor here in Australia at Tony Abbott attending a meeting at the US based Alliance Defending Freedom to make an anti-gay speech in New York. It was well documented in the news here thus:

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has told a conservative Christian group in the United States that allowing same-sex couples to wed will contribute to "the erosion of family", a stance that drew a swift rebuke from his openly gay sister Christine Forster.

Fairfax Media revealed this week that Mr Abbott would travel to New York to speak on "the importance of family" to the far right Alliance Defending Freedom group.

In the speech Mr Abbott declared that "we need less ideology and more common sense" but reaffirmed his strong opposition to same-sex marriage. He urged policy makers to pass on the institution of marriage "undamaged" to future generations and said most children would prefer to be raised by a mother and father. Sydney Morning Herald

Well now the US Southern Poverty Law Center has added the Alliance Defending freedom to it's list of anti-LGBT hate groups.

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Wednesday announced it has designated an anti-LGBT legal organization as a hate group.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is based in Montgomery, Ala., describes the Alliance Defending Freedom as “a legal advocacy and training group that specializes in supporting the recriminalization of homosexuality abroad, ending same-sex marriage and generally making life as difficult as possible for LGBT communities in the U.S. and internationally.” The Southern Poverty Law Center on Wednesday also released a series of anti-LGBT statements that current and former Alliance Defending Freedom staffers and their supporters have made. Washington Blade

So there it is. Our prime minister of two years spoke at a hate group. What a disgusting vile party it is that we now find governing us. And they fuckin call themselves christians FFS. 

Gov threatens tax hikes if $4billion welfare cuts are blocked (video)

Well here we go. Us on welfare who dare to pay rent and eat, will be further demonised by this gov as the cause of tax increases.

The gov has chucked a hissy fit about it's $4billion cuts to welfare getting shot down in flames in the senate, and threatened Australians with tax increases unless the senate changes it's mind and passes it's cuts. Such is their so called negotiating skill :s

No word however on the $50billion it want to give to corporations, or that the gov is spending like 10 Labor drunken sailors. No word on their fiscal incompetence. Nothing about getting rid of the carbon tax and mining tax. Nope, they want to gouge us welfare dependents to bail them out of the mess they've gotten themselves into.

"Obviously, in the final analysis, if the Parliament were not to pass spending reductions, if the Parliament were not to legislate savings, then we need to ensure that we bring the budget back to balance and that we pay for government spending then, of course, tax increases become the only option."

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was a "penetrating glimpse of the obvious" that "those who oppose savings measures are by definition supporting tax increases, if you assume that they want to bring the budget back into balance".

The government argues that the NDIS was an "empty promise" not fully funded by the former Labor government.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen accused Mr Morrison of having a "massive tantrum" in response to its Senate difficulties.

The pathetic irony of the government threatening tax rises when they are also promising a $50 billion tax cut for big business seems to escape this government," he said. The Age