In an all too often turn of events the blond haired reporter gets sent down to the dawn service and talks about the military failure that was the invasion of Gallipoli, then they slip up at the ‘Commemoration’ bit and say ‘Celebration’ of the battle…This shouldn’t happen, people dying on a beach is not a celebration, it requires a sombre and measured response to prevent such an incident ever occurring again, it requires educating the masses as to what happened, the gallant efforts of the ANZAC diggers and the mention other battles that occurred nearby.

So when you watch the TV coverage of ANZAC day, make sure to take note of what news reporters are saying, are they celebrating death, with a BBQ and a Beer at their place after the live cross or are they commemorating the efforts of the ANZACs, with the dawn service and the Parade down George st?

If you do see a news report with the word ‘Celebrate’ substituted in, make sure that to tweet about it using the #CelebrationWatch tag.

Here is the direct link to my new blog: http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/how-one-greens-supporter-sees-labors-recent-performance/

Dad and I have wanted to revisit Cabramatta after a short trip we made in 2008 for the Cabramatta by-election. When we went there last time we were unable to leave our command post at a local high school, so we got lumbered with a packed lunch and had to miss out on the scrumptious melting pot that is John Street Cabramatta…

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So what happened this year, Do you remember who died? Who got married? What happened in politics? What happened around the world? So here goes…This year in words.

JANUARY

After Sarah Palin placed a graphic cross hair over an image of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Jared Lee Loughner decided to embrace America’s gun culture and shoot her and four others.

The flooding began in Towoomba, but then charged through a third of Queensland like an inland Tsunami. Many perished and millions of dollars of property loss was incurred.

The Tassie premier David Bartlett used Facebook to announce his resignation (another great example of the social media future).

An Islamic Separatist detonated a suicide bomb at Russia’s main airport, shouting “I will kill you all” before the blast that killed 35 people (The Kremlin still haven’t listened to the pleas of the minorities).

Social unrest began to build in Egypt, after a fruit seller set himself on fire in a Tunisian market place on December 17, 2010

FEBRUARY

Queensland’s year of terror was not over after the torrents of water, they got wind too, in the form of the biggest cyclone in Australia’s history, Cyclone Yasi.

Western Australia also suffered its worst bushfire in years, with more than 70 houses claimed by a blaze sparked by an angle-grinder wielded by an off duty police officer on the outskirts of Perth.

Ian Thorpe announced that he would return to the pool to compete at the 2012 London Olympics.

Protesters seeking democracy in Egypt took over the city’s Tahrir Square to demand the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak. And he heeded their request on February 12.

And at the end of the month a devastating earthquake ripped through the heart of Christchurch and sadly killed hundreds of people in the town on that fateful day.

MARCH

Japan was hit with a magnitude 8.9 earthquake and a large tsunami surged across the nation’s east coast. As the toll surged into the thousands, the focus shifted to the Fukushima nuclear plant as the deadly wave created several reactor meltdowns and forced thousands out of their homes.

Two days later, Kristina Keneally’s NSW Labor party finally lost an election (after 16 years in power) to the Liberal’s Barry O’Farrell. Labor lost 32 lower house seats…And their leadership hopes for the next decade.

APRIL

The Australian Defence Force Academy was drawn into a scandal after a male cadet filmed himself having sex with a female colleague, broadcasting the footage to others watching in a separate room. The scandal prompted much debate about the attitudes towards women in the armed forces.

Some women married some guy in an English cathedral and by doing that was set for life. And the Chaser were banned from mocking this ridiculous situation.

MAY

American troops (Seal Team Six) slaughtered Osama bin Laden and his family in Pakistan… Without telling or receiving permission from Pakistan. The first civilian to find out about this operation was a computer programmer that tweeted the goings on in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Julia Gillard and Chris Bowen announced the ‘Malaysia Solution’, to further persecute needy people.

Then International Monetary Fund boss and possible French presidential candidate – Dominique Strauss-Khan was arrested (and later released) for an alleged rape.

JUNE

Disturbing footage filmed inside Indonesian cattle slaughtering houses was broadcast by ABC’s 4 Corners and in turn led to a national ban on cattle exports.

An ash cloud from a Chilean volcano grounded hundreds of aircraft and affected tens of thousands of passengers were delayed as the plume lapped the planet twice before dissipating.

Abu Bakar Bashir (the head of Jemaah Islamiah) was found guilty of inciting and financing terrorism.

JULY

Tiger Airways was grounded by the air safety regulator. Apparently your supposed to be safe when your in a tin box in the sky.

The world found out about some of the grubby phone-hacking tactics employed by London’s tabloid newspapers (The ones that think Peter Andre in news). Because of the massive public outcry News Corporation closes the News Of The World.

The world watched in horror and the media blamed a Muslim for Norway’s worst ever shooting massacre. Everyone soon found out that it was committed by an un-remorseful far right vigilante Anders Behring Breivik.

Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home.

AUGUST

The city of London was turned into a war zone as a police shooting death triggered a wave of rioting and looting.

ABC reporter Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean were killed in a helicopter crash while filming a story about Lake Eyre.

Labor MP Craig Thomson found out that buying prostitutes on a union credit card was not the right thing to do.

The High Court (Full of people that don’t need to win elections or keep factions happy) overturned the of the Malaysian Solution.

SEPTEMBER

The O’Farrell government decided to axe 5000 public service jobs and cap wages to help rein in expenditure. That caused teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public sector workers to stage a dramatic strike and march on Parliament House.

September 11 was remembered, ten years on.

OCTOBER

Manly won something and Geelong took out the AFL grand final.

American Amanda Knox was let out of an Italian gaol early after the murder of her British housemate Meredith Kirtcher.

Apple announced the lackluster iPhone 4s to the world. And the day after they announced that the company’s founder Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

Some teenage idiot from Morrisset was was arrested in Bali for buying marijuana.

The Federal parliament successfully legislated Carbon Pricing.

Rebels in Libya slaughtered Muammar Gaddafi in an extra-judicial killing.

New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup.

Some old English woman and leaders from across the world descended on Perth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Nothing was really decided.

Alan Joyce had a brain snap and decided to ground the entire Qantas fleet. He was enraged over strikes that were called off, red ties and the need for people to be paid adequately. Meanwhile he received a 71% pay increase.

NOVEMBER

A horse that sounds like Dunedin beat other horses around a track.

Some sleaze bag from News Corporation (Lets call him Rupert Murdoch) announced the resignation of another sleaze bag (lets call him John Hartigan).

Respected writer Peter Roebuck ‘fell’ out of a hotel window in South Africa.

Barack Obama visited our shores and pissed off China.

Kyle Sandilands launched a tirade of abuse towards a News Ltd journalist for daring to report the facts about his crap new TV show.

On the year’s final sitting day of Parliament Labor’s Harry Jenkins resigned as Speaker, only to be replaced by Liberal defector Peter Slipper. The move confuzzled Tony Abbott and gifted the government a two-vote buffer.

DECEMBER

Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Russia as tens of thousands of people attend the largest anti-government protests that post-Soviet Russia has ever seen to criticize electoral fraud and demand an end to Vladimir Putin’s reign.

The Iraq War ends after nearly nine years of war, the loss of more than 100,000 lives and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, the U.S. military mission in Iraq has formally ended.

Update: North Korea was rid of a Hennessy drinking, Giant Rabbit consuming, Golf world record holding, lonely tyrannous dictator

That old casually racist guy that is always near the lady on the stamps had heart surgery

Christmas, Presents are given and food is eaten.

After the horrific attacks on American soil in September of 2001 our then Prime Minister, John Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty and with that stated that the invocation of the treaty “demonstrates Australia’s steadfast commitment to work with the United States.” And then in October of that year, he committed Australian military personnel to fight the Taliban (government) in Afghanistan.

Originally Afghanistan was invaded in some kind of forward defence to prevent “Islamic Extremists” from conducting terrorist training camps in the Nation and to liberate women from the strangleholds of masculine oppression, so the “Coalition Forces” decided that Afghanistan’s Taliban government (The evil people that banned kites and prevented women from driving) had to go.

But when America and the other coalition forces invaded they must not have looked at their history books because through the years Afghanistan has faced many wars. They beat the Russians remember, they won against the Communists, a feat that America couldn’t even do (the Space Race and the Vietnam War). So because of the decades of war, fighting and political upheaval the Afghani people have become accustom to civil unrest and have become very skilled fighters, fighters that have so far dwarfed any American efforts thus far.

As of the 10th of November 2011, 1832 American troops and 32 Australians have been killed, why the large number you ask? Because of Alan Joyce or a flat iPhone battery? No because of Improvised Explosive Devices, years of experience and a dislike of reading the history books.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been fighting this war for just over ten years. But where are the gains, ok kites aren’t banned anymore and girls go to school, but countries aren’t invaded to create a better education system otherwise Canada would have invaded America long ago. The gains I’m talking about are tangible and practical gains? And so far, the only gain I can see is that we have a framework for withdrawal, but even that isn’t a gain because it is so far away it isn’t even worth talking about.

Every week ISAF continues its mission in Afghanistan people die, people die because in war people die. So unless you want to continue to see Stephen Smith and David Hurley get up and say that there has been another “Aussie Troop Killed in Afghanistan”, we should speak up, protest, lobby or petition to get troops withdrawn from the waste of time, waste of money and waste of life that is the War in Afghanistan.

So on this Remembrance day I urge you to remember what has happened to our troops in the past, the suffering and death. And I also urge you to remember what has happened in Afghanistan throughout the years, that the experienced fighters there have made the land an un-winnable and sun drenched battleground.

What would I know? I’m just a 15 year old Australian teenager, I’ve never paid income tax, I’ve never had a full time job…

You may now be questioning why I have started talking to myself, I am not mad, the psychiatrist has given me a fit bill of health. I have asked myself this question because you, the person currently reading this, probably thinks I have no clue about economics or fiscal policy.

So why have I written a large intro to this blog post? I don’t know, maybe because it takes time for me to say “I don’t believe that the #Occupy movement will bring any positive change to the people that engage in its protests”. Now how can rich young people affect positive political, social and economic change? Well the only way that they can make a difference is by getting out there and helping their relevant cause.

So how will a group of people with no clear aim or goal apart from the disruption of business, traffic and people’s everyday lives be able to do something positive? These people whinge and whine about being the bottom 99% of the world, so how is being able to eat food while using expensive technology in your house a great disadvantage?

We have a world where people trek for days to get to a refugee camp because their home is now filled with bullet holes and they haven’t been able to feed themselves or their young child for weeks. So why don’t these annoying Gen Ys go and donate time and money to help the famine in East Africa? How come they prefer to camp out on a street and get free stuff? Because it is the easy way out or because they care about themselves more than people with actual needs?

Everyone that is participating in the #Occupy movement has a different reason for doing so, some want reform in the three sectors I mentioned earlier and some want reform for reforms sake and then there are the few people that want to recruit members for their organization (Socialist Alternative or Socialist Alliance).

It is understandable why people are #Occupying Wall Street, they are the worlds economic hub and New York is a popular city for the Democrats and disillusioned political idealists, I concede that America has a shocking political system, they have only two parties and to be a candidate in those parties you must be very economically advantaged. So I understand why Wall Street is being Occupied, but why are the other American cities?

And why the other nations? Why bother wasting your time with #OccupySyd or #OccupyMelb? Australia is of fine economic standing, we are the only OECD nation that survived the GFC with out entering into a recession, heck our Treasurer even got an award for his awesomeness (The Euro Money Magazine award for being a fiscal and monetary super genius).

So the Australian protests can’t be for economic reasons, so what are they for? The sake of it, political recruiting or because people want a new laptop or some food? (If it is the last reason I may consider getting on the bandwagon, only if it is a Mac computer and lentil soup.

The post 9/11 world has brought us many things, many of those aren’t recognized in this nation, you have to travel north to find the real impacts of the hijackings, The heavily flack-jacketed and Kalishnakov armed security guards that I saw everyday in the shopping center in Yogjakarta, or the constant check points that I witnessed around Indonesia.

We do have the immense hassle of taking our belts or shoes off when we attempt to fly anywhere, or even having the lucky pleasure of an explosive swab test on your laptop or a nice cute beagle judging your every move. We also have the razor wire and CCTV surrounding every plot of crown land.

Now on to the questions I asked myself earlier (I know that is the second sign of madness), What is terrorism? Well I have thrown out the dictionary and decided to formulate my own definition, I believe terrorism is “The creation of terror to sell, campaign or push a message.” This definition fits all terrorist attacks to a tee, it also fits acts of international provocation and state sanctioned killing.

And what is an act of terrorism? An act of terrorism is “one single action or multiple actions in quick succession to bring fear into those affected” we have seen plenty of those, we have seen many acts that bring fear into others over in Afghanistan…and only a handful in America.

And finally, who wins? Some say ‘If you cry the terrorist wins’ well I dissagree with that, I propose ‘If you remember…the terrorist wins’. They win the fight and win the war. Controversial I know, but think about it; those conjure up terror, they want that terror to continue for as long as it can. And so it does, that terror continues, In Afghanistan. In Indonesia. In New York. In Pennsylvania. In Virginia. And in your Lounge Room.

To turn our backs to terrorism, to win the wars, we must forgive those we have fought against and forget the terrible events in the past, let’s build a better future…Not a better past.

Today’s society is littered with alcohol abusers, not the old men who dwell in the local pubs, they aren’t the problem. The drunks are those who “party” most nights, those young boys and girls who have chosen to destroy their liver before they are thirty.

Binge drinking is the term applied to the heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time, as you would expect it has no positives associated with  it, as it; dehydrates the body, increases body fat, dulls your senses and reaction time and impares your judgment and memory.

Chronic binge drinking has created a rift in society. It has drawn a line between the drug culture of the Baby boomers and created the new “In thing”, Alcohol has become the thing to drink just to pass time.

In 2008, the Rudd Labor government attempted to quash the liver-damaging youths reckless behavior by increasing the tax charged on pre-mixed “Alcopops”. These pre-mixed drinks have become more expensive and so the teens have shifted away from drinking them. Teens have shifted over to the cheaper option, by mixing their own drinks with anything they can get their hands on. The policy has failed Australian teens.

I do not have all of the answers when it comes to stemming the flow of alcohol abuse, but I do think the ease of access and advertising should be cut. Having easy access to one of the worst drugs in this nation can’t be a good thing to continue, or encourage.

Alcohol advertising is just plain stupid, it disgusts me, we have ads forcing us to guzzle down alcohol everwhere; on bus shelters, the jerseys of sports teams, on the field and sidelines of stadiums, on billboards atop major roads and on prime-time television. The list of shame is as long as my arm. We should apply the same regulations, restrictions and requirements on alcohol production and manufacturing companies that we do to tobacco and cigarette manufacturers.

You may be wondering why I am writing about alcohol and binge drinking. It’s because I feel passionatly about the generation I am part of, yes I know it is the generation that seems to think that taste buds and liver cells are the evil parts of the body and that hangovers and vomiting are social norms. They seem to think that squandering their money away on alcohol is a brilliant use of their paycheck.

Recently Anders Brevik slaughtered 76 innocent people. Most of them were my age and, like me, were interested in politics and the future of their nation.

Brevik claims he did this because he is a member of the Knights Templar, a secret organization that was once sanctioned to kill by the Catholic church during the crusades. (Interesting fact: The Knights Templar’s first headquarters are where the Al-Aqsa Mosque now sits.)

Religious fundamentalism has been around since the very first belief systems. There are Hindu gurus that haven’t used their hand for seven years, Buddhists that shave their head and sell their possessions, the Klu Klux Klan that burns crosses, Orthodox Jews that stringently follow the Torah, and Muslims that martyr themselves for the promise of 72 virgins.

So back to the question: who is more evil? A man who hijacks a plane and flies it into an office building? Or a man who systematically plans for nine years to kill children in a summer camp? In what holy book does it compel you to blow up an office building? In what holy book does it encourage the murder of 76 innocent people?

Religious fundamentalism has caused many wars, conflicts and fights. So what good is religion if it encourages believers, even a minority of believers, to hate one another enough to commit atrocities like this? I’m pretty sure that every holy book says something similar to the Christian commandments “Thou shall not kill” and “Love thy neighbor”. Yet we regularly see these integral life lessons tragically broken by fundamentalists.

Religion itself is often “hijacked” by some believers to suit their own skewed interpretations of their relevant holy book. Religion has been tarnished so much by fundamentalists that many now question its relevance to human beings in our complex modern world.