Schools are places where great numbers of children congregate together - and share infections and create childhood epidemics. How strange that in the vast majority of cases school toilet blocks have no provision for soap to allow the kid's to maintain basic toilet hygiene ?
Education authorities claim that when facilities are provided they get vandalised - hence school hygiene is consigned to the " too hard basket ".
The transfer of infections in hospitals has been lowered by constant attention to hand washing by staff. Part of the hygiene programme preached by most parents to their offspring calls for hand washing after toilet use - but the system falls in a heap when it comes to the education system.
We seem to have double standards when it comes to kids. On the one hand we have rigid safety standards of child restraints in cars. Drivers must meet capsule standards for small infants and this progresses through age groups - but when those same kids ride in a school bus they are not even offered basic seat belts.
School toilets bereft of toilet paper would cause a huge outcry from parents - and yet we seem to accept the lack of soap with a shrug of the shoulders.
Time to drag school toilets into the twenty-first century !
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
A " Nanny " country !
The recent Federal election had one surprising result. Several independents won office and managed to achieve the balance of power - and dictate who runs this country.
One of them had a " wowser " attitude to poker machines, and is using his position of power to try and regulate who can play the machines - what amount of money they will be permitted to gamble - and to put a curb on the amount they can lose at each session.
To go from the sublime to the ridiculous, it is proposed that each and every citizen who might like to have a flutter on the pokies will need to register with a central agency to create an identity - and that the nation's poker machines will have to be adapted to include a fingerprint reader to identify each player - and limit play to that persons permitted monetary value.
Whatever happened to personal freedom to make one's own decisions ?
Sounds like something the Stasi in East Germany would have dreamed up - if they didn't have all their citizens finger prints on file already !
One of them had a " wowser " attitude to poker machines, and is using his position of power to try and regulate who can play the machines - what amount of money they will be permitted to gamble - and to put a curb on the amount they can lose at each session.
To go from the sublime to the ridiculous, it is proposed that each and every citizen who might like to have a flutter on the pokies will need to register with a central agency to create an identity - and that the nation's poker machines will have to be adapted to include a fingerprint reader to identify each player - and limit play to that persons permitted monetary value.
Whatever happened to personal freedom to make one's own decisions ?
Sounds like something the Stasi in East Germany would have dreamed up - if they didn't have all their citizens finger prints on file already !
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Taser gun lies !
When the Taser gun was first proposed as a police weapon both the police and the government promised that it's use would be subject to strict controls.
They promised that it would only be used as an alternative to the use of a firearm. In such situations, the Taser would be less deadly and the situation could be resolved without loss of life.
There was also the promise that each and every instance where a Taser was fired would be subject to the exact same investigation following the firing of a police firearm.
As critics claimed at that time, this was a pack of lies to deceive the public. The use of Taser's quickly degenerated to " general use " and in many cases police preferred to subdue an offender by Taser rather than engage in combat with a baton, thus putting themselves at risk of injury.
There are no intensive investigations on each use of the Taser - and in many cases the unfortunate offender is subjected to multiple firings.
The only time this subject gets any sort of attention - is when someone dies. Initially, a death outside St Georges Leagues club on Sunday night contained a report that the victim was Tasered. The police were quick to refute this - but did admit that a Taser was used on another offender at the same incident.
From all reports, this was another of those cases where use of a police pistol would not have been considered because there was no danger to police, merely a boisterous but intoxicated man who needed restraint.
Police are using the Taser as an item of convenience - and it is still a risky option - with the possibility of causing death !
They promised that it would only be used as an alternative to the use of a firearm. In such situations, the Taser would be less deadly and the situation could be resolved without loss of life.
There was also the promise that each and every instance where a Taser was fired would be subject to the exact same investigation following the firing of a police firearm.
As critics claimed at that time, this was a pack of lies to deceive the public. The use of Taser's quickly degenerated to " general use " and in many cases police preferred to subdue an offender by Taser rather than engage in combat with a baton, thus putting themselves at risk of injury.
There are no intensive investigations on each use of the Taser - and in many cases the unfortunate offender is subjected to multiple firings.
The only time this subject gets any sort of attention - is when someone dies. Initially, a death outside St Georges Leagues club on Sunday night contained a report that the victim was Tasered. The police were quick to refute this - but did admit that a Taser was used on another offender at the same incident.
From all reports, this was another of those cases where use of a police pistol would not have been considered because there was no danger to police, merely a boisterous but intoxicated man who needed restraint.
Police are using the Taser as an item of convenience - and it is still a risky option - with the possibility of causing death !
Monday, 4 October 2010
Looks great - but don't eat the fish !
The state government has been crowing about the water quality in Sydney harbour. This national jewel is so clean that sharks and whales have returned and water clarity rivals the open ocean.
Unfortunately it is not a good idea to catch and eat the fish that live in Sydney harbour.
According to the science people the fish that live west of the harbour bridge are so polluted with dioxin that they should not even be fed to the family cat, let alone to the rest of the family. Fish east of the bridge are also a bit dodgy - but are approved for eating - provided that is done in small quantities - and not too often !
This warning does not apply to lake Illawarra. There are plenty of fish - and prawns - in the lake and eating them is health warning free - for now.
Pity about that plan by the water authorities to dump raw sewage into the late at times of heavy rain. Of course they claim that this would not happen often - but then isn't there a plan to create a huge new land release with thousands of home sites adjacent to the problem area ?
And the climate change people predict that we will get more periods of drought - but that when it does rain there will be a tendency for deluges that cause floods.
Better get in for a feed of fish while you can. If that new estate gets the final nod and the water people use the el-cheapo method of getting rid of sewage - then it will not be long before we see warning signs around our lake prohibiting fishing.
Unfortunately it is not a good idea to catch and eat the fish that live in Sydney harbour.
According to the science people the fish that live west of the harbour bridge are so polluted with dioxin that they should not even be fed to the family cat, let alone to the rest of the family. Fish east of the bridge are also a bit dodgy - but are approved for eating - provided that is done in small quantities - and not too often !
This warning does not apply to lake Illawarra. There are plenty of fish - and prawns - in the lake and eating them is health warning free - for now.
Pity about that plan by the water authorities to dump raw sewage into the late at times of heavy rain. Of course they claim that this would not happen often - but then isn't there a plan to create a huge new land release with thousands of home sites adjacent to the problem area ?
And the climate change people predict that we will get more periods of drought - but that when it does rain there will be a tendency for deluges that cause floods.
Better get in for a feed of fish while you can. If that new estate gets the final nod and the water people use the el-cheapo method of getting rid of sewage - then it will not be long before we see warning signs around our lake prohibiting fishing.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
The wars of religion.
Tonight a lot of people will sit in front of television and watch the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth games in Delhi. There is a chance - but hopefully a small chance - that they will witness a terrorist attack that may kill or injure athletes and spectators.
This raises the question of why a bunch of religious fanatics would want to visit mayhem on people playing sport for the amusement of a world audience ?
India is not involved in Iraq or Afghanistan. There seems only two areas of contention that involve religion on the sub continent. One is the state of Kashmir which has a Muslim majority - but is part of India, and the other is the site of either a mosque or a temple - and claimed by both religions.
Unfortunately the religious divide goes back much further. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were once the same country, but when the British went home the two main religions decided that they could not co-exist on the same land, and hence that land was divided into two countries.
There seems to be only one glaring inconsistency in this example of religious warfare.Extremists in Pakistan consistently send terrorists to kill and create havoc in Indian cities, but we do not see or hear of Indian bombs blowing up people in the land next door.
It always seems to be Islam that has all the grievances and refuses to take a moderate line on land disputes - and perhaps one day the rest of the world will tire of this needless carnage.
And that tonight the games in Delhi will start - and will end without incident !
This raises the question of why a bunch of religious fanatics would want to visit mayhem on people playing sport for the amusement of a world audience ?
India is not involved in Iraq or Afghanistan. There seems only two areas of contention that involve religion on the sub continent. One is the state of Kashmir which has a Muslim majority - but is part of India, and the other is the site of either a mosque or a temple - and claimed by both religions.
Unfortunately the religious divide goes back much further. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were once the same country, but when the British went home the two main religions decided that they could not co-exist on the same land, and hence that land was divided into two countries.
There seems to be only one glaring inconsistency in this example of religious warfare.Extremists in Pakistan consistently send terrorists to kill and create havoc in Indian cities, but we do not see or hear of Indian bombs blowing up people in the land next door.
It always seems to be Islam that has all the grievances and refuses to take a moderate line on land disputes - and perhaps one day the rest of the world will tire of this needless carnage.
And that tonight the games in Delhi will start - and will end without incident !
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Children - and safety !
Society is paranoid that our children must have all aspects of safety. They must be appropriately restrained during car travel and all the people concerned with their schooling must be squeaky clean.
What a surprise to learn that the Australian Human Rights Commission sued the Education department, claiming discrimination because they refused to employ a teacher because he had a criminal past. The department was forced to pay $ 38,000 compensation to this man.
It seems that the applicant was involved in criminal activity from 1983 to 1992 and served an eight month stretch in prison. He then refrained from further criminal activity and gained teaching qualifications and the Human Rights Commission contended that to hold his past against him was unlawful.
What a slap in the face for those tasked with making teacher appointments - and just what would the public have to say had a person with criminal convictions been employed - and later offended against children ?
The safety of children is supposed to be paramount and to most people that means that those in the education system should have an absolutely clean record - but that is not the way the Human Rights commission sees it.
Obviously, having a fine imposed will see a lowering of standards in education employment - to the detriment of the ideals of child safety.
What a surprise to learn that the Australian Human Rights Commission sued the Education department, claiming discrimination because they refused to employ a teacher because he had a criminal past. The department was forced to pay $ 38,000 compensation to this man.
It seems that the applicant was involved in criminal activity from 1983 to 1992 and served an eight month stretch in prison. He then refrained from further criminal activity and gained teaching qualifications and the Human Rights Commission contended that to hold his past against him was unlawful.
What a slap in the face for those tasked with making teacher appointments - and just what would the public have to say had a person with criminal convictions been employed - and later offended against children ?
The safety of children is supposed to be paramount and to most people that means that those in the education system should have an absolutely clean record - but that is not the way the Human Rights commission sees it.
Obviously, having a fine imposed will see a lowering of standards in education employment - to the detriment of the ideals of child safety.
Friday, 1 October 2010
Need for speed !
The discovery of planet Gilese 581g opens up some interesting statistics. It is twenty light years from earth - meaning that if we ever manage to attain the speed of light it would take us twenty years to get there. By contrast - it would take us just eight and a half minutes to get from earth to the sun if we travelled at that speed.
So - what are the prospects of earth people achieving the speed of light in their travel ?
Over two centuries ago the fastest any human had travelled was on the back of a galloping horse. Then the invention of the steam engine ushered in rail transport - and after that the internal combustion engine ushered in the automobile.
Early last century the Wright brothers took to the air - and just after the second world war rocket power enabled us to leave this planet for the first time. We now regularly reach incredible speeds to visit our orbiting space station.
None of this comes anywhere near travel at the speed of light - but judging by the progress we have made over recent centuries - there is hope for the future.
But - a word of warning. Think long and hard if approached by a real estate salesperson touting the opportunity to buy a site for a weekender on Gilese 581g.
Even at the speed of light it is a long commute - and compared to earth's year long orbit that planet's year lasts just thirty seven days.
Not exactly a " long weekend " !
So - what are the prospects of earth people achieving the speed of light in their travel ?
Over two centuries ago the fastest any human had travelled was on the back of a galloping horse. Then the invention of the steam engine ushered in rail transport - and after that the internal combustion engine ushered in the automobile.
Early last century the Wright brothers took to the air - and just after the second world war rocket power enabled us to leave this planet for the first time. We now regularly reach incredible speeds to visit our orbiting space station.
None of this comes anywhere near travel at the speed of light - but judging by the progress we have made over recent centuries - there is hope for the future.
But - a word of warning. Think long and hard if approached by a real estate salesperson touting the opportunity to buy a site for a weekender on Gilese 581g.
Even at the speed of light it is a long commute - and compared to earth's year long orbit that planet's year lasts just thirty seven days.
Not exactly a " long weekend " !
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