The environment is becoming less of a priority for Australians, according to the AustraliaSCAN 2009 survey. Graphic: Eric Auld
Australian interest in environment issues wanes as Facebook group urges Earth Hour power on | Environment | News.com.au
Monday, May 04, 2009
The environment is becoming less of a priority for Australians, according to the AustraliaSCAN 2009 survey
The environment is becoming less of a priority for Australians, according to the AustraliaSCAN 2009 survey. Graphic: Eric Auld
Australian interest in environment issues wanes as Facebook group urges Earth Hour power on | Environment | News.com.au
HAPPY BIRTHDAY INTERNET! Today it's 40th annivesary of the Internet...
THE history of the internet is a story of military precision, academic vision and the occasional screw-up.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the technologies that led to the creation of the internet and revolutionised the way we work, talk and play.
While computer modems could connect machines as early as the 1960s, they were limited to one-to-one communication.
Eminent scientist J.C.R. Licklider first outlined his vision for an "intergalactic computer network", that predicted many of the ways we use the internet today, in 1962.
Six years later, the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency – or DARPA – put the call out for computer scientists to build a network based on Licklider's ideas.
Information chief Robert Taylor knew there must be a better system than what he had in his office.
His three computers were connected to other machines, but he still had to get up and change seats every time he wanted to look at different data.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the technologies that led to the creation of the internet and revolutionised the way we work, talk and play.
While computer modems could connect machines as early as the 1960s, they were limited to one-to-one communication.
Eminent scientist J.C.R. Licklider first outlined his vision for an "intergalactic computer network", that predicted many of the ways we use the internet today, in 1962.
Six years later, the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency – or DARPA – put the call out for computer scientists to build a network based on Licklider's ideas.
Information chief Robert Taylor knew there must be a better system than what he had in his office.
His three computers were connected to other machines, but he still had to get up and change seats every time he wanted to look at different data.
Melukai binatang bisa dipenjara!
Melukai binatang bisa dipenjara!
May 04, 2009 05:33pm
Storm Oxburgh
Dog basher ... Storm Oxburgh, 31, appealed the severity of his sentence immediately after being jailed for 14 months / AAP
* Man jailed for bashing dog
* Attack so bad it had to be put down
* Dog belonged to ex and her deaf son
A MAN who sought revenge on his de facto partner by violently bashing her Staffordshire terrier so badly it had to be put down, has been jailed for more than a year.
Storm Oxburgh, 31, pleaded guilty in the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court to aggravated cruelty causing death to an animal and failing to provide veterinary or other treatment.
The court heard Oxburgh went to the home of his partner Vanessa Hansen on September 9, 2007 and took the black-and-white dog belonging to her and her deaf, 10-year-old son Bailey.
Oxburgh returned to his home in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir with the dog and at about 11pm he took it outside and beat it repeatedly over the head with a baseball bat.
Police called to the scene found the dog with severe head injuries and barely breathing and made the decision to euthanase it.
In the summary read to the court, police prosecutor Senior Constable Steve Wood said Oxburgh's explanation for beating the dog was that he wanted to get back at his de facto and her son.
Snr Const Wood said that on the same day Oxburgh made 82 calls to Ms Hansen which she failed to answer.
Oxburgh also left a text message on Ms Hansen's phone in which he threatened to kill the dog unless she returned his calls.
Magistrate Jenny Grubissa said Oxburgh's crime was abhorrent.
She jailed Oxburgh for 14 months with a non-parole period of eight months.
But Oxburgh immediately lodged an appeal against the severity of the sentence and was granted bail until his next hearing on August 18.
Outside court Ms Hansen said her son still asks about his dead dog Rocco.
"Bailey will never get over Rocco, never," Ms Hansen said.
Illegal immigrants who overstay visas will no longer be put in detention camps
ILLEGAL immigrants will no longer be locked up and deported when caught by authorities, in a major softening of immigration procedures.
Instead, people who overstay their visas will be invited into an immigration office and could even get temporary bridging visas.
Immigration officers have been instructed not to detain visa violators unless they are known to be violent criminals or have previously been instructed to leave.
Until last week, illegal foreigners were immediately detained at detention centres and put on planes home within weeks.
The new approach is in line with a general softening of immigration policy by the Rudd Government.
Under the policy, officers are required to issue illegal foreigners with bridging visas and work with them to get them home.
"We basically have to invite them into the office for a coffee," an insider within the department said.
"They can get a couple of weeks or six months, whatever it takes to get them home without detaining them."
Mandatory detention was axed last year, but until now only asylum seekers have been allowed to live in the community.
The new directive from Immigration Minister Chris Evans' office was issued to immigration officers verbally last week.
There are almost 50,000 visa overstayers living illegally in Australia.
More than one in 10 is from China.
Entrants from the US, Malaysia and Britain are also big overstayers.
Most come in on tourist visas, but about 3600 are foreign students who disappear into the community when their course is over.
The Government has also closed down offshore processing facilities on Nauru and Manus Island.
Senator Evans' directive has divided opinion within department ranks, with some fearing the softer approach could send a dangerous message.
"I guess it says people can pretty much do whatever they want now," the insider said.
"They've been caught, but they can stay and go home when they want."
The move could open the floodgates for unwelcome visitors.
"It certainly could be open for exploitation," the insider said. "Prisons are not nice places to be in. Many of these people are not criminals, but I guess it doesn't convey a strong message."
Senator Evans said detention would only be used as a last resort.
"The presumption will be that persons will remain in the community while their immigration status is resolved," he said.
"If a person is complying with immigration processes and is not a risk to the community, then detention in a detention centre cannot be justified.
"The department will have to justify a decision to detain - not presume detention."
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