Cowboys Dudded Again

The unbelievable decision, a symptom of a deeper problem?

How can six officials, assisted by the best technology available, miss a tackle count. It is unbelievable, it is indefensible, and an apology is simply not good enough.
I know the NSW officials and supporters of the Sydney based clubs will snicker and label what I'm about to say, a Queensland conspiracy theory rant, but seriously something must be done before the NSW-centric officials and media, destroy the game and send potential new supporters (and some old ones) into the arms of the other codes.
I believe that what happened last night, is symptomatic of a Sydney entitlement culture that is nurtured and kept strong by, not so much the administers of the game, but the people of influence who control them. They are so entrenched in the past glory of the Sydney based clubs, that they won't allow the game to move forward or consider the continued arguments from teams and fans from outside the Sydney area. For them the Sydney clubs are paramount and must be protected and remain relevant at all costs.

But lets deal with last night's Cowboys - Cronulla debacle first. On field referees Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara unbelievably allowed play to continue after the sixth tackle had been completed. As the Cowboys defended grimly on their line, the referees dismissed calls from Cowboys players, who obviously can count, that the sixth tackle should have been called, allowing Beau Ryan to cross for a try on the seventh tackle.
That six senior officials, both on the field and those manning the technology, could all make such a crucial mistake, is beyond belief. It is unlikely that they were all being paid to allow the howler, so are they all just blithering idiots? Or could it be that they were so subconsciously willing Cronulla over the line, that they let play continue until the desired result transpired? For the life of me, I can't think of another explanation for the error outside those three possibilities, can you?
Whatever the reason, it has wiped the same team from the finals race for the second year in a row. Last year they were denied justice by another howler, allowing Manly to score from a blatant knock-on.

It is important to realise when trying to decide what course of action should be taken now, that the main play-makers for both sides, especially Cronulla, having ball in hand, would have been acutely aware of what number tackle it was. The count determines what type of play will be made next. Therefore by continuing on and claiming the try, Cronulla contributed to the farce and the dishonesty of the try as much as the officials did. In the interest of fair play and honesty, the try should be taken away from Cronulla and the game awarded to the Cowboy's. In law if you are the recipient of ill-gotten gains and know about it you are guilty of a crime. Why should the Cowboys be punished for something they did not participate in. Why should the perpetrators be rewarded. Officialdom didn't hesitate to strip players of points and grand finals when the salary cap was breached by the Bulldogs and Storm clubs. (Both Super League clubs just quietly, and therefore anti Sydney establishment) Why not now?
People may say they are two different matters, but I believe they both amount to cheating in the game and if left unpunished can lead to exploitation and potential game fixing.
Which leads me to the point that a culture is perpetrated in the NRL, which is both stifling the progress of the code, and feeding the very elements in and around the game that the officials pay lip service to stamping out, particularly player behaviour (On and off field).
Players are continually rewarded in the NRL for cheating, and players and coaches in some teams, play do dupe the gullible referees. Cheating is not only condoned but rewarded. How often do you see players stepping to the side of markers, holding the tackler down by the jersey to con a referee, or a player hitting at ball in a tackle to elicit a knock-on. And a relatively new trick of staying down after a tackle if you think you can get a penalty for a head-high tackle. A good remedy for this little trick would be to enforce a head bin of 5 or 10 minutes for a player who believes he is sufficiently injured to stay down, to ensure he doesn't have concussion. How often have you heard commentator Gus Gould congratulating players for drawing a penalty "Good work. He just gained a penalty for his side." He was a head coach and still has major influence on the game today.
I believe that this culture of cheating and winning at all cost, which is encouraged in this game, seeps into the psyche of the player and can carry through into life, creating the problems with drugs, gambling, assault and other problems we see with some of these young men.    

The people of influence, which I talk about controlling the NRL, in my view, are channel 9 and some of their commentators (not all, but you know who they are) and their little group of not-so-prominent comrades. The bias for Sydney based clubs, although they scoff at the suggestion, is apparent from the first whistle and is evident in every phase of the commentary. A prime example in last night's Cowboys - Cronulla game, was when Gus Gould could not stop talking about the minor glitch to the time clock at the end of the match, yet brushed off the seventh tackle try as if it were a minor event. He even continued to carry on about the time keeper glitch into the next match while seemingly putting the try, which cost a team a continuation in the finals series, behind him.
I truly believe that the referees should be very closely scrutinised and the interpretation of the rules taken out of their hands as much as possible, so that there is no room for error. With the rules as they are, and the closeness of the teams today, how hard do you think it would be for a corrupt referee to manipulate the outcome of a game. I am certain that it happens today.. If not because of corruption, because of subconscious bias toward one of the teams. I've seen too often one team penalised for minor infringements while the other team is let go for the same offence, creating try scoring opportunity in the right area of the field or allowing a team to get relief from their end of the field.
I know it sounds "Out there" but look whats happened in cricket.    

The ABC Jumps On The "Poor Kevin" Band Wagon.

ABC  Declares Its Colours For Labour.

One after the other last night ABC programs came out to highlight and ridicule News Limited newspapers for giving Kevin Rudd and the Labour Party bad press. They all seemed to be in sync with Rudd's new campaign direction. (I.E. when you can't get anything right, let's blame everyone else)

Two programs in particular were shameless in their support of Rudd. 

Paul Barry on Media Watch produced a rant that was hard to believe. Totally dedicated to saving Rudd from any criticism, and trashing the reputation of the makeup artist who dared to suggest that Rudd was rude to her. More or less suggesting that she made the whole thing up. Who's watching Media Watch? (The Stag, that's who).

And Q & A was devoted entirely to bashing the Murdoch press, with host Tony Jones virtually giving Rudd minister, and serial leader assassin, Bill Shorten the run of the panel. While trying to cut short any comment from the dissenters. Jones is usually quick to jump on guests who stray from the topic of the question being asked, however last night he allowed Shorten, on many occasions, to drift off into election mode.

Lets just forget the ABC's and Labour's hysterics for a moment and consider the comments that are being made in the press. We are all capable of intelligent thought. When you have the reputation Rudd has for being difficult, if not impossible to work with (Half of the front bench didn't leave 5 minutes before an election for fun), and when a government has two terms to get at least one policy right and fails to successfully implement any, (The latest being the New Guinea Solution.) Don't you think that they are entitled to just a little bad press?

      

When our cricket team performs badly, the news headlines are likely to be something like "Middle order batting collapse. Again Australia fails with the bat." or perhaps "Reports of friction between Clarke and Watson" or "Clarke says Watson like a cancer in the team"

All this and we love our cricket team. You don't see headlines like "Although our cricket team is the best in the world they seem to be a little down on their luck", or "Australia just practicing before they start winning in 2018-19" or perhaps "Australia really going well, it's just that the press are over critical" and neither you should. Journalist are paid to report it like it is.

However, the Labour Party is now on a new election platform, berating the News Limited papers for giving them negative headlines and pointing out their leaders short comings in their tabloids. Perhaps they would be happier with "Kevin is trying to change, give him a chance" or "Give Labour another go, they promise not to have so many stuff-ups this time" or perhaps "Don't worry about Labour's 300 billion dollar debt, I'm sure they'll get it right eventually"

It is very hard to report positively about a party or a leader with few successes to crow about. Rudd talks in his ad campaign about wanting to create more jobs, grow the economy, give us better education etc. etc. All big motherhood statements without substance. In short he insults our intelligence and hopes to get positive media coverage for it. What's new Kevy, whats different from the last 6 years? Why can you do better now? What's changed besides half the team leaving because they can't work with you.

Pulleeasse! The sooner this bloke and his government are in the rear vision mirror the better.

 

Please .. Not Rudd Again.

Morons flood back to Rudd.

Are people just stupid or living in a reality TV show? All of a sudden 49% of people are going to vote

Labor. Really?

Lets have a little recap of the last few years.

• When Rudd was Prime Minister just before he was knifed by Shorten & Gillard, labour was polling at  
  
  37%, so voters could see that he was pretty ordinary then.
• Then Gillard, who carried on with Rudds agenda, which failed at every turn, steadily whittled down the Labor vote even further to 29%. So Shorten and Rudd knifed Gillard.
• Shorten is now known as a serial killer of elected Prime Ministers and is waiting in the wings until Rudd fails again so that he can re-knife him and take over himself with those other "forever changing sides" survivors, Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong
• The other rats have already jumped ship, either resigning or going to the back bench. Unable to work
  
  with the alleged nasty little, incompetent Rudd. 

So the infighting ain't over yet trend setters. They are waiting around like vultures until after Kevie saves their seats, as a result of the "stupids" voting for him. If the election ever comes round.

So all of you Kevie lovers with short memories. Who do you think put all of the failed policies on the table?

Increased people smuggler activity, The Mining Tax, Pink Bats, School Halls, Plasma TV handouts, Carbon Tax etc. etc. All failed policies were introduced by Kevvy and Julia when they were friends. Remember?

I don't point out any successful policies because there are none. When Labor wants to talk about the NBN

and the NDS etc. being successes, you should realise that these things haven't happened yet and won't kick in for years, so how do we know they won't fail as Labor's record suggests they will? Already the NBN is reported to blow out from $43 billion to at least $90 billion by the time we see any speed difference.

So, after all of the stuff-ups, you're willing to forget and forgive and give Kevie another go? That's like saying to an investment banker who just lost all of your money, "That's OK mate, he's some more. hopefully you might have learned from your mistakes, after all there were plenty of them."

And can I point out all of the scandal and corruption that has emerged under Labor. Craig Thompson, Michael Williamson, Eddie Obied, Ian McDonald etc., etc. Even Julia had her day in the sun with Union Fund corruption allegations. Smoke, Fire?

Labor inherited a great economy from Howard and Costello. It was well in the black, we had a future fund of  $73 billion and everyone who wanted a job was working. Now we are $200 billion in the red and the future fund is all gone. Labor point to the GFC, however we have been riding the wave of a mining boom like no one has seen before, that is what has kept us afloat, and Labor still managed to waste all the money.

The mining boom is declining with the slowdown of the Chinese economy, so if Kevie get's back in, what do you think he will do? Spend his way out like last time? Unfortunately he can't because the Liberals weren't

around to leave him a Future Fund. The Bin is empty. 

Now Julia is attempting to write her own version of history. That is, that she was ousted because she was a woman and all of her problems stem from that. Puulleese, it sounds like Anna Bligh, Queensland's ex Premier all over again. There are numerous women leaders both in politics and business who have succeeded over many years. Julia and Anna failed because of their own incompetence and that of their party, just like males have done.

Just think, if all of the people in his party hate him (which is why he was so easily ousted in the first place) because they can't work with him and they think he is incompetent, do you think he might be bunging on the smile and the light banter and the populous speeches just for you? Can't you see through his lies and spin? 

Don't forget all of you "We want Kevie" devotees out there. It's the same government, they are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.    

Gallen's Cheap Shot

There hasn't been a cheaper shot since Les Boyd on Darryl Brohman.

If Paul Gallen thinks that history will remember his cowardly, non-effective cheap shot on Nate Myles as the act of an Origin hero, he is as deluded as the desperate New South Wales officials, commentators and supporters who think that the act was acceptable in their forlorn bid to win a State Of Origin series.

He waited until Myles was pinned in a tackle by two of his team mates to swing a stiff arm into his face. When this had little effect on the Queensland tough man, Gall (Or is that Girl) decided to king hit him when he came up for air. His actions were nothing like other mutually contested Origin fights, they were those of an opportunist with no honour. Surely most observers would have seen this incident as out of kilter with the usual Origin battles, this was not a part of the battle. This was one opportunistic "sneak thief" throwing cheap shots. 

State of Origin is proudly built on Honour, and Gallen and the team officials sorely dented that honour last week.

When you are challenged and disrespected by one of the games legendary tough men, Gordon Tallis, to your face on live television, you then know that what you did was seen by your peers as dishonourable.

Tallis questioned Gallen on "The Footy Show" asking, "If you didn't like the way that he (Myles) tackled your in previous tackles, why then didn't you stand up to him then, Instead of waiting until his hands were pinned to attack him?"  

I've been disgusted by predominately NSW commentators, ex-players and officials who have dismissed Gallen's actions as an Origin incident, and slapped him on the back as a hero. Smiling and laughing about it on every football show I've seen. As they bask in the glory of one game win and driven by their desperate need to win a series, are they prepared to go to any length?

What about the reputation of the game and the message it sends to younger players. While governments and authorities are begging the population to stop endless cowardly "King-Hit" violence on the streets, NRL

officials seem to think it is OK for the NSW captain to make a cowardly attack on another player on national television and then condone it. Then, in another fine example as a senior player, Gallen comes out in the media and is not in any way remorseful, but "filthy" that he got one weeks suspension for it. If this had occurred in AFL he would have spent 6 to 8 weeks on the sidelines.  

What happens in the next state of origin match if others decide to take the cheap way out? Do we condone it and pat them on the back as well? Thankfully, I am confident that that won't happen, as I believe that most players at that level have more honour than Paul Gallen.      

Islam .. The Nazis of our time?

We must learn from history.. We forget at our peril. 

A subject which keeps recurring on "Stang's View", is that of the dangers of giving the Muslim religion the benefit of the doubt, and believing that most practitioners are benign or moderate. It was evident by the actions of the so called "Moderates" during the Sydney riots last year, that there is a cancer in their religion that compels them to believe that they can trample the rights of anyone who is not of their faith, and that the rest of us must yield or face their wrath. Their is a real and present danger in the world from this religion, and I couldn't explain it any better than the author of this article that was emailed to me recently. Tell me what you think.

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous. Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people..

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

Now Islamic prayers have been introduced into Toronto and other public schools in Ontario, and, yes, in Ottawa too while the Lord's Prayer was removed (due to being so offensive?) The Islamic way may be peaceful for the time being in our country until the fanatics move in.

In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the world, many of the most commonly consumed food items have the halal emblem on them. Just look at the back of some of the most popular chocolate bars, and at other food items in your local supermarket. Food on aircraft have the halal emblem, just to appease the privileged minority who are now rapidly expanding within the nation’s shores.

In the U.K, the Muslim communities refuse to integrate and there are now dozens of “no-go” zones within major cities across the country that the police force dare not intrude upon. Sharia law prevails there, because the Muslim community in those areas refuse to acknowledge British law.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts -- the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Gay Marriage Debate

How do we discern what is main stream and what is deviant behaviour?

Over the centuries man's natural instincts and desires have been governed and tempered by our moral compass, a compass which has largely been set by what "civilised" society has deemed proper; overriding, in many cases, the natural instincts of man.

It wasn't long ago, a hundred years or so actually, that it was acceptable for young girls to be married off to older men when they were 12 years old and a few centuries ago in some eastern cultures even younger.

If this happened today in Australia, the man would be jailed for statutory rape and seen as a pariah in society. Although, in nature, the female would be deemed to be sexually productive and the male to be following his natural reproductive instinct. However, through the same processes that banned slavery, gave people equal rites, gave women the vote etc., our society has changed and "decency" has given us a new set of values. Among those values is the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman and bringing up children in that sacred environment so that the natural order is preserved.

If Gays wish to have a legally binding civil partnership, then call it that. Call it a Gay Relationship like a De-facto Relationship. Give it all the legal trimmings and leave it at that. Most people don't object to the relationship being recognised, but they object to it being deemed "Normal" by the word "Marriage". Shit, some people are just getting over the "De-facto" thing and that's actually a natural relationship between a man and a woman.

Now to the gay thing in general, which leads to the resistance to gay "marriage".

If you held a vote today most would vote to let gay marriage go ahead. However this would be an empathy vote. most would say "Yeah, let them do what they want, just not around me".

Let's be clear, let's not confuse love with sex. Men and women love brothers, sisters, friends, of the same sex but they don't want to marry them or have sex with them. Marriage is about sex and having children, however in the case of Gays, one is not natural and the other is not possible.

I don't care what sexual urges people have as long as they keep them between themselves. It's confronting enough if you are surprised by two heteros carousing in public, let alone two gay guys going at it in the street.

Lets face it, homosexuality is not natural no matter how you want to wrap it. Neither are some sexually deviant acts between heterosexual partners, but then again these practitioners are not trying to mainstream it.

 What's Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras about? Gay rights? Advertising a diviant lifestyle? or raising tourist dollars? I think it started out as a gay rights thing, but now sadly it is about the latter two goals.

The jury is still out as to whether homosexuality is genetic or environmental but it is increasingly thought to have elements of both (report) . So if some homosexuality is environmental, should we be in a hurry to pass laws which condone and encourage the gay lifestyle?

To my mind this throws much doubt over rushing through laws which allow Gay Marriage, Gay adoption/parenting and other legislations gay lobbyists are trying to push through.

According to studies done by La Trobe university the gay population in Australia is 1.6% for men and .6% for women. And yet they seem to have a very loud voice. Let's not get caught up in their hysteria.

Be gay on your own time, your own dollar and in your own space. Don't push it into mine.

Let's recognise a Gay "Union" but not a Gay "Marriage".

Rumours Suggest Sharks Only The Beginning.

Anthony Watmough

The NRL's Season to get much worse if you believe the rumours. 

Unsubstantiated rumours are flying in rugby league circles currently, suggesting that Manly, Newcastle and Canterbury will be the next to feel the wrath of ASADA.

I recently received a text message outlining the recent rumours engulfing the NRL and creating a pall over our much loved winter sport. Some extracts are as below.

Steve (Beaver) Menzies

Rumour has it that retired Manly star Steve (Beaver) Menzies is cooperating with the authorities and is giving them a lot of information about doping involvement from his time at Manly and that they could be stripped of their 2008 and 2011 premierships.

It is also rumoured that there are phone tapped tapes of Anthony Watmough and Paul Gallen discussing how they could beat the system, and that Des Hasler is implicated in so far as he had known about the administering of performance enhancing drugs in his time at both Manly and Canterbury. The rumours say that there could be as many as 17 current and past Manly players involved.

Jeremy Smith

It is also rumoured that there are 7 players at Newcastle to face the music and that Jeremy Smith is in the gun as the guy who first introduced Steven Danks, the sports scientist who is allegedly behind the whole doping scandal, to the Sharks, StGeorge and Newcastle and in doing so involving the squeeky clean Wayne Bennett as his coach at two of those clubs. 

Now of course this is all rumour and innuendo at this stage. However, naturally rumours will fly maliciously around the world until the facts are out there. This is entirely down to the to Labour Government ministers Lundy and Clare, the Australian Crime Commission's John Lawler and ASADA, for coming out too early, beating there chests and the bushes to see if they could flush out anyone stupid enough to put their hand up.

If they don't put up or shut up, the rumours will get more plentiful and elaborate until people's reputations and the game of rugby league are seriously damaged. What an absolute fiasco, presided over people who get paid enough money to know better.. or you would think.

NRL Doping Joke

Put up or shut up.. You idiots.

Crime in sport report

Here we go again, Cronulla and rugby league fans in general wake this morning to find that the Sharks future in season 2013 may be in jeopardy, with threats of 14 players being stood down unless someone confesses to performance enhancing drugs use.

These incompetent morons at ASADA running this investigation into doping in rugby league, are fishing around for players to come forward on their own, or else. Or else what? If they have the evidence, charge them now and have done with it.

Sharks

They come out with their bullshit on the eve of the season start, casting a pall over the whole season. As well as clouding the joy of the fans at having league back in their lives at last. They keep throwing innuendo about like fishermen casting a bait net to see what they can find, without making a charge.

Do they think of the fans in all of this while they are playing their games? What about the millions of fans doing their tips today or finalising their Fantasy League sides? How many fans would have Paul Gallen in their Fantasy side as captain, only to be thrown into doubt at the last minute.

Dank

How long have these incompetent fools had to sort out an incident that had it's roots back in 2010-2011. Sports Scientist Steven Dank was employed by the club back then, and allegedly administered a form of peptide to the players as a part of their training program. It is said that, at the time, these peptides were completely legal but later banned by ASADA.

My guess is that they believe that some players have continued to use these peptides, however they can't test for it so they need someone to confess so as to have a case.

Stop playing games you idiots, put your evidence up or piss off and leave our sport alone.

If you have some evidence, charge someone and get on with it. Don't drag the whole game in to disrepute and destroy the season at the same time.

Australian Sports Doping .. Scandal or Political Beatup

Yet another stuff-up by the Australian Labor Government.

 Here we go again, everything this government touches becomes a farce.

It would seem that Federal Sports Minister Kate Lundy and Federal Justice Minister Jason Clare have presided over, either one of the most appallingly constructed investigations of all time, or the most baffling "witch hunt" that has ever been perpetrated on the Australian public and the world. 

It's been almost two weeks now, since John Lawler, CEO of the Australian Crime Commission, released their report on sports corruption with great fan fare and accusation. Aided and abetted with great indignation and chest thumping by Ministers Lundy and Clare. 

Yet now it founders, with the federal police, by their own admission, with little or no evidence to investigate, and sports administrators, players and more importantly fans, in a state of bewilderment with Australian sportsmen and women being branded around the world, as possible sports cheats with links to match fixing.

Still no charges are laid or even evidence produced, Yet this political grandstanding is overshadowing the launch of our summer football codes and casting a pall over our cricketer's tours to India and England, the most important and exciting tours for many years. 

I'll tell you how it looks from where we fans and punters sit. It looks as though the politicians have once again  decided that, for the sake of a headline and a photo op, they would treat their constituents as gullible mugs who'll believe anything, and then they duped some incompetent public servants into jumping without a parachute, in the hope that they could flush out a criminal or two in an election year, with the Government on the ropes.

It would seem that the Crime Commission has come up with some unproven, hearsay evidence connecting organised crime and a very small minority of sportsmen, and have decide to go on a fishing expedition by encouraging sportsman from all codes to confess to ambiguous accusations, instead of doing the hard yards and collecting proof and evidence, and the politicians have encouraged them to their own political ends, in the process sullying the good name of Australian sport both in Australia and across the world. 

All this without consideration of the consequences to a sports proud nation in having our pride in Australia's good name in world sport diminished, before any evidence is produced or anyone is convicted.

The media too have jumped on the band waggon when they smelt blood, but quickly changed sides when it started to show all of the hallmarks of a farce. In the last two days they have gone quiet on the issue. I would hope that they would stalk Lundy, Clare and Lawler aggressively, until they have come up with proof and charges or until they resign.   

Youth Violence On The Increase .. Why?

Is it just convenient for authorities to blame alcohol?

While there is no doubt that alcohol has a role to play in the youth violence we see splashed across our TV screens each night. Is the abuse of alcohol the real cause or is it just a symptom of deeper issues? 

Governments and authorities find it easy to blame alcohol because it always goes hand in hand with the violence. The fact that they can use this excuse to impose high taxes on it to rake in millions of dollars has it's attractions as well.

However, just in case they haven't noticed. Although they keep on heaping taxes on alcohol, the problem has not improved, in fact it continues to get worse.

While they are fooling around at the edges, they are ignoring the major causes of youth violence and wasting precious time while these causes become entrenched in our society.

Let's examine a few facts. Let's ask why this violence is increasing today and why it didn't start going viral until about 20 years ago.

For a start, the youth of each generation have been drinking alcohol for centuries, and I know in my generation the only kids that were out of control violently, were the kids who had questionable upbringing. Kids who never saw real discipline or love as they were growing up, those without a stable family environment. They were off the rails before they ever started on alcohol. Wagging school, out at all hours. You remember the type, we envied them there freedom.

However, what we didn't understand, was that our parent's discipline was guided by love and concern, and instilled into us a sense of good and bad and moral values. For example, as a male I learnt that if I happened to get into a fight, it must be one on one and that kicking someone when they were down was an act of cowardice. These values and those of respect and community spirit, were also drummed into me at school. I notice these cowardly acts are rampant today, probably because it is taboo to even talk about fighting in schools these days. Fighting is ingrained into male DNA and just has to be managed.

Then around the 1980s the do-good brigade got the upper hand, and convinced politicians that things like smacking kids and caning them at school was taboo. They started telling children (and still do), before their brains are properly developed, that they had the right to stand up to their parents, teachers and police if they felt that they were being mistreated. Which meant to them, that this was every time they did something wrong. Exactly the information their immature brains will treat as priority. I know, because my son was delighted to come home and tell me this. He didn't want to talk about English or Maths but he was cock-a-hoop about his new "freedoms". 

We now have a generation or two of youth and young adults, who don't believe they have a duty to their fellow citizens, and who have no respect for authority, the property of others or for each other.

I'm not saying that all youth are like this or it is even a majority, but there is a far greater percentage of the population that didn't have that discipline at home, and definitely don't get it at school, than was being produced in the 70s or before.

The people who made the mistakes and continue to make them, will continue to blame alcohol, drugs, violent video games and violent movies. However violent entertainment has been around for centuries along with alcohol and drugs, yet it didn't encourage groups of violent youth to create mayhem until comparatively recently. Because the concept of right, wrong and respect was drummed into previous generations at home, at school and in the community. This is being eroded and a major cause of out-of-control youth.

In my opinion ... what do you think? 

Anthony Mundine - Freak Show

Is there any bigger racist in Australia than Anthony Mundine?

Every time he opens his racist mouth and utters his hate filled, unfiltered statements, he not only sounds like an lunatic, he also damages the plight of the Australian indigenous races and the progress of the reconciliation process.

Mundine's racial rant about Daniel Geale (quote below) is a little much, even for him.

"I don’t see (Geale) as representing us black people, or coloured people. I don’t see him out in the communities doing what I do with people … he got a white woman, white kids."

Not that it matters, but for the sake of the argument, I would be willing to wager that there is plenty of European ancestry in Mundine's genealogy.

Mundine saying that he represents Aboriginal People is a bit like Colonel Sanders saying he's there for the chickens. He is a user and an abuser of his heritage. It is all about him not the Aboriginals. He's shut himself of from the majority of European Australian support with his Muslim antics and by playing the race card, and now with this latest statement about Geale, a lot of indigenous support would have disappeared as well.

As Aboriginal activist and lawyer Michael Mansell says in reference to the rant on Geale.
"He's talking about 80 percent of the (Aboriginal) population of Australia, including himself. It's hypocritical and it's stupid."

 Now he is going to turn his back on the national anthem and the flag. Perhaps he should move to a Muslim country and spew his racial hatred there.

When he has gone from the news and sports headlines with his buffoonery, instead of being remembered as a champion sportsman, as his father is, he will be remembered primarily as a racist fool, disliked by most and a rugby league footballer and boxer who never quite realised his potential as a Champion Australian Sports Hero.

I hope, as I believe most Australians do, that Daniel Geale smashes Mundine tonight.

Happy Australia Day

Happy Australia Day.

Australia Day is the national day of Australia and is celebrated every year on the 26th of January to commemorate  the landing of the first fleet at Sydney Cove, New South Wales in 1788.

It was previously known by other names such as Anniversary Day, Foundation Day and ANA day.

Some Aboriginal activists would have it named as Invasion Day, however thankfully they are in a minority.

As the original races who made their way into Australia over many tens of thousands of years, fought each other for their bit of Australia, winner take all; so did Europeans.

Our mode of grabbing a foothold on the shores of this great country are similar. Therefore how can European races be called invaders and the various "Aboriginal" tribes not? 

Their ancestors arrived a different times over 40 to 60 thousand years ago from different countries to the north of Australia and as they followed each other in over the land bridges from Africa, Asia the northern islands, they took the land they wanted from whoever was on it, if they could. So what is the difference; it is how all Peoples got to their lands down through the ages.

Rather than bicker about who came first (As nobody knows) lets let Australia Day signify the coming together of all Australians willing to commit to our heritage and way of life.

Let the criteria for being Australian be a commitment to our way of life, our culture, and a continuing contribution to the greatness of our magnificent country. Don't attempt to pull it down with your jealousies and your bitterness and laziness. Stand on your own and contribute or shut up. We'll look after you if you can't contribute; but at least have a go mate.

Perhaps in deference to all sensitivities we could change the commemoration date to a happier day for all, or perhaps we could have no specific date, just the last weekend in January and always a long week-end. It should be a favorite holiday for all Australians. Cutting through religion, race and politics. Who knows it may eventually generate good will between all Australians as Christmas is supposed to with Christians.

Happy Australia Day! I'm off to have a beer with my Wog, Abbo mate. 

ACB Player Rotation Will Harm Aussie Cricket.

Without Spectators and Viewers there is no Cricket.

If we can't watch the best players and our established heroes play each week, the fans will drift away.
We understand injury, poor form and retirement, however we don't understand this academic theory of rotating players, particularly when there is no proof that it works. How many injured players do we have currently despite the policy?

Any sportsman will tell you that the best fitness is match fitness and that you lose your edge if you are out of the battle even for a short time.

To date the results from this rotation policy show that there is little or nothing to be gained and a great deal to lose. I give some examples of negatives below.

Two of the best players in the country in all forms of the game were rotated out of the first of the ODI matches this week. Dave Warner it seems was the victim of the rotation policy, and Mike Hussey seems to have upset someone because he retired from test cricket. The selectors say that they are selecting the side with World Cup 2015 in mind. Are you serious? That's two years away. The best available team should always be selected, or don't Sri Lanka or the West Indies deserve our best?

Cricket is a team sport; the best players do their very best to cement their place in that team. Then to be sidelined when they are in their best form, by a group of wankers for a two year experiment, is Bull Shit. This can only disrupt a tight team and put doubt and insecurity into the minds of the players.

When our best players have won their way into the hearts and minds of the fans and then are sidelined when in best form, the fans feel cheated and start to tune out. Particularly when the players are excitement machines like Warner and Hussey. You would think that the ACB would owe Huss some gratitude for the player he has been for Australia. After all he is still one of the best players in the world in any form of the game.

Do the cricketing public have to watch second stringers (No matter how well they went) until 2015 or do we wait until we start losing games after selectors have destroyed player confidence and team moral. Perhaps we should rotate the selectors.
 
The fans hate it, the players hate it, the sponsors hate it and therefore Channel 9 and their affiliates hate it.

Why can't we simply replace players as they are injured, showing prolonged poor form or they are retiring, like any other sensible national team?

Is there any truth to the rumour that the Australian Cricket Selectors are the same guys that select the NSW State of Origin side?

Keep the core team together you drongos, just ask players from our great teams of the past and the fans that followed them.

See Brett Lee's comments.