News.com.au – How Darn Stupid Do You Think We Are
News.com.au, seriously, I know that you are owned by Rupert Murdoch but he either thinks we are all complete idiots or the people based in the Australian office do.
This story is an absolute insult:
I have screenshots of the original story in case News.com.au undertake their usual trick of changing the text once they receive bad feedback.
However the point remains:
At what point do you think that breaking a story telling us that a reality television show is being made to lead us into following a group of individuals purely for the benefit of the television station or network to gain an advantage?
Really?
Is that breaking news?
Do you somehow think that the collective IQ of the nation has dropped since Julia Gillard became PM or did Aliens land and I wasn’t told.
It is the FINAL STRAW for me.
If you read this blog enough you will find that my passionate hatred exists for McDonalds and about no one else.
Well, we have a new contestant.
News.com.au can join McDonalds.com.au on my list of places I wouldn’t piss on if they were on fire.
You have dished out your latest bowl of crap on my plate News.com.au – you can go and get stuffed forever as far as I am concerned.
And, as a sidenote, please let Mr Rupert Murdoch know that if he thinks there is any chance in God’s known Universe that people are actually going to pay for this crap, well then he is living on another Planet and I would love it if he could share the drugs he is taking with everyone else!
You people at news.com.au are seriously the dumbest group of journalists I have ever come across in my life and I shall no longer read your crap.
Be Gone You Stupid Idiots!
McDonalds Kawana’s World Cup Promotion Shame
McDonalds Australia is currently running a promotion during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa where they are giving away soft drink glasses with the purchase of a Large Value Meal (although a contradiction in itself) at McDonalds stores, I assume, While-Stocks-Last!
Now this is all well and good by itself and I was going to let this event from a couple of weeks ago just pass me by however today’s development just made me log in and write this post.
Click Here if you just want to get to the good bit and don’t want to listen to my rant!
A couple of weekends ago just after the World Cup had kicked off I was passing the recently opened McDonalds store on the Nicklin Way in Kawana on the Sunshine Coast and decided to stop in and check out the new digs and see if they were an improvement on the Mooloolaba McDonalds which, as I have written previously, has pretty low standards.
True to what seems to be McDonalds S.O.P these days, after ordering my meal the first seat I went to had mess all over the table and seat, the second choice table a bit further away was also a mess however third time lucky after navigating most of the store I found a clean table on which to eat my lunch.
Unfotunately while the 3-blind-mice in the McDonalds kitchen were able to give me tomato sauce and mustard instead of the Mac Sauce they had obtained their revenge by including enough onions for about 5 burgers and to top it all off I was able to find around 10 edible chips in the burnt offering they call Fries.
I have given up asking for refunds for bad McDonalds food but every now and then I take the time to share my thoughts with Management as I did today (in an especially nice way for me too) however after turning to leave and walk out I heard a large thud behind me and just kept on walking.
As I got to the door I encountered another customer who had seen my encounter and made a comment that the Manager ‘wasn’t very happy today’ and then went on to explain that after I walked away she thew my tray of returned food in the bin and slammed the tray onto the front counter.
My conversation with the other customer and her friends contined for a while as she shared her experience with the Management at Kawana McDonalds.
And here is where it gets good….
The lady I was speaking to happened to be at McDonalds Kawana with a number of other parents and around 10 kids from a local Sunshine Coast soccer team who had just finished playing their junior soccer game for the weekend and obviously excided about the Soccer World Cup.
After the kids had all ordered and eaten their McDonalds Happy Meals and the parents had all ordered and eaten a variety of different meals one of the kids asked if they could have one of the McDonalds World Cup promotional drink glasses.
As the lady explained to me, she knew they had not purchased the correct Large Value Meal however the kids all had McDonalds Happy Meals and the 5 or 6 parents that were there all had meals and also coffee as well after while the kids played.
She figured that the Local Soccer Team would surely be the kicker to get her just 10 McDonalds World Cup Drink Glasses for the kids so off she went to ask the manager what she could do.
Apparently this request was met flat-out NO and advice that these cups were only for people who purchased the proper meal and that there was no way she could have 10 cups for these kids.
So we had some common ground for discussion about this manager for a while and in the end I just figured that was the way it was and it wasn’t worth worrying about something that didn’t really concern me.
But I felt sorry for the kids.
I also felt sorry for the cranky Manager at Kawana McDonalds who couldn’t find 10 cups for the kids in the local soccer team who would have probably gone to that store after games for the rest of the season….I hope they don’t now.
I told you that was the bit where it got GOOD!
This is the bit where it gets BETTER!
I happen to live near someone who works at a local McDonalds restaurant on the Sunshine Coast.
As I was sitting around today I heard this person come home and start talking with another neighbour about how he had just been to work to pick up a few boxes of complete sets of McDonalds World Cup Soft Drink Glasses that they were ‘trying to get rid of’ so he figured he might as well grab a few to keep around the house.
Now I would have done the same thing. I am not knocking him for grabbing a few freebies from a big Multi-National Corporation like McDonalds.
It is just a pity that the local soccer team wasn’t around at this store while they were trying to clear out their storeroom.
It is also a pity that the manager at Kawana McDonalds didn’t have the foresite to consider the long-term value of giving 10 kids a $1 glass versus the short term cost to a profitable multi-national corporation like McDonalds.
I told you it got better.
I just wish it was a better story.
I also wish McDonalds would clean up its act in so many ways.
As a customer, I go there for convenience only. If my food is some-what edible and close to what I ordered then I am happy however if I have any other choice then I can guarantee that McDonalds is at the bottom of my list these days.
Is News.com.au Set To Be Blocked By Australian Internet Filters For Claudia Karvan Nipple Slip Picture?
Leading web portal news.com.au is set to be added to the Government’s internet filtering blacklist in a statement released today after the display of an inappropriate and unauthorised image of Claudia Karvan at the 2010 TV Week Logie Awards.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy who is responsible for the implementation of the controversial internet filtering program said in his statement that the images posted on the website clearly fell within the restricted content guidelines and that the Government had no choice but to add the site to the list.
This move is sure to anger news mogul Rupert Murdoch who recently announced that he is considering charging for access to his newspapers online however there is no money to be made from a blocked website and this announcement set to potentially cost his company millions.
In further comments from his statement Minister Conroy went on to say:
Pictures printed on the news.com.au website in the early morning of 3 May 2010 displayed an unauthorised pornographic images featuring Claudia Karvan’s exposed nipple at the 2010 TV Week Logie Awards. This picture was taken without her knowledge and has also been distributed without here consent.
As a result of this statement it appears that the news.com.au web portal will be blocked by the Australian Government as soon as the controversial internet filters are implemented.
The image of Karvan’s nipple slip at the Logies was edited during the day to blur out the offensive content and has since been removed from the website altogether.
In related news, all reports that Brendan Fevola was involved with the picture have been thoroughly dismissed by his management however Max Markson has apparently been trying to reach Karvan since the picture was released and he has been seen camped out in front of her home since the earlier hours of this morning.
It is up to you to work out which bits of the story above are true, which ones are possible and which ones are far fetched and will never happen in our lifetime.
(If you read the whole piece above without thinking to yourself “wow, that’s a bit hard to believe” then give yourself a gold star).
The reality is that none of it is too hard to believe (except maybe that Claudia Karvan slipped up like that!!!)
What we do know about the above story however is:
Fact 1: We did see Claudia Karvan’s nipple at the logies. It was broadcast on live TV, thousands have it on their hard drives or DVD recorders, others on VCR and possibly even someone on Betamax.
Fact 2: News.com.au did publish this picture on their website, un-editied and in all it’s glory for a period of time. I am sure their web stats can tell us how long the image was on their front page and how many innocent people were exposed to the horror.
Don’t believe me, well check out this picture of Claudia Karvan’s nipple at the TV Week Logies from news.com.au to see for yourself:
This image was taken at 3.52am on 3 May 2010 from the website:
The original timestamp on the article at the time of writing is
- The Daily Telegraph – May 03, 2010 1:55AM
I was going to post the picture with the blurred out boobie that was shown later in the morning however by the time I decided to write this article, it was gone forever and now has a video in its place…and Claudia Karvan’s nipple pic is no where to be seen.
Fortunately we still have the original however I am sure that posting it here (along with the use of the word “boobie” in the sentance above will ensure this website also is added to Minister Conroy’s filtering list.
I was tempted to censor it myself but I figured if they come after me they have to go after news.com.au as well, they are responsible for a lot wider distribution than me. I can just roll-over to the authorities and give up the big dog in the distribution network.
It can be the bust they always wanted…
UnderBelly 6.0 – The Internet Filtering Fiasco
Strapped down by an authoritarian government and 1984-esq censorship and monitoring, the AFP is charged with enforcing the law! A black market has emerged distributing unauthorised pornographic nipple images on the internet and some of the biggest heads in publishing are going to roll and they are taking every man and his dog with a pc or mobile phone capable of receiving this vile trash, with them! Everyone is going down this time! (Also, due to legal requirements an edited version will be released in some states as UnderBelly 6.0 – The Restricted Content Cache)
That would win Channel 9 the ratings for sure….but there would be blurred out boobies on tv by then once the Conroy Filtering Machine gets moving. Good wholesome fun for all the family though!
We can’t however overlook that by displaying this type of content, the very popular Australian arm of the Murdoch news empire may be putting itself firmly in the sites of Minister Conroy’s website killing machine.
This was a mistake made by an employee of the company that should be responsible and should know better.
It is clearly an unauthorised photo (see Bingle, Lara) however the fact is that tons of people have it already.
Are we asking everyone to kindly remove it from their hard drive?
Please remove the file from your hard drive. Do it slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them…..
Are we setting up a raid on the journalist’s home like the poor guy from Gizmodo with the lost Apple iPhone 4G?
How do we know this camerman doesn’t have a stash of these type of photos? Is he in on it too? Are we checking him our as well? There could be all sorts of celebrity nipple shots hiding there!
How far are we going to take this though? Is this just the start?
Under the Australian Internet Filtering Guidelines would this major news portal be blocked immediately?
Would someone have to complain, perhaps there would be an investigation? Or does the Internet Filtering panel just get drunk, watch all the content and spin a chocolate wheel to decide if it is in or out?
It is the unauthorised nature of the picture here as much as the fact that it is a picture of a nipple that we need to look at here.
Now while I am sure that this was just a small oversight by this large conglomorate, do they get treated by a different set of rules? (Note to Brendan Fevola: I am not even sure if there was a nipple in your picture and it certainly wasn’t in HD Quality so you should be sweet after this).
But is that what is in our future?
Is it that far fetched?
Once the filtering system is in place it is pretty easy to just expand the range of content that is blocked.
Even with the initial set of rules what happens to the company who get their website hacked and have restricted content uploaded without their knowledge?
How about the company that is running a website that falls into the grey area of the restricted content policy?
As a side-note, why does one man and his team of loyal followers get to determine what is black, white and grey for a whole Country?
Is there going to be a penalty at some point for those people who go around the system to either host restricted content outside Australia or to access this content within Australia by circumventing the filters?
There is no real use in having a system that blocks nasty content that we are not allowed to see and forces the ISP’s to run these filters and protect everyone without any penalty if you don’t comply.
I am sure any ISP’s who refused to participate would be penalised but what about the people that are smart enough to find a way around the system?
Eventually this will just create a black market for a magic box or a mod chip that allows you to circumvent the internet filters with no technical knowledge at all. Everyone that wants one will have one and those that want to protect their families can be safe in the knowledge that Minister Conroy is standing guard for you all…at least while the Rudd Government is still in power.
A system that blocks content and doesn’t punish you if you find a way to access it is flawed from the start.
Not that I want to give the Government any ideas and even if you did have to go to court….
“I’m sorry Your Honor, I only wanted to look at those blocked websites on assisted suicide long enough to find out how to kill myself”…said the old lady to the Magistrate.
You would more likely find it as a skit on a comedy series.
Now while that comment certainly doesn’t give the issue the level of respect it deserves for those concerned, that it is a whole different conversation.
However it does highlight what the possibilities are and if I am ever in that situation then that will certainly be my defence!
But in all seriousness, it requires a lot of thought.
My apologies to Claudia Karvan for having to post the image to illustrate this point but hopefully you are willing to take one for the team and stand up for the cause. If not then please talk to Mr Murdoch first about his people.
Obviously a Government that wants to implement any type of censorship isn’t going to ask the public if it is ok. We don’t have a say on video games or films, nor on the panel of people who rate them and we won’t have a say on the issue of internet censorship in Australia, it is as simple as that.
Your only solution is to hope that the Government is as useless as previously demonstrated and that it takes them up until the next election to implement anything. So the election can be a forum on this for anyone that is interested.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, but if the Government controls the filters on all non-Government internet traffic coming into the country through the major ISP’s via its restricted content list;
Plus builds its own infrastructure (see: National Broadband Network) to control and filter internet traffic and access to the rest of the community…
Then it looks like it has most of the bases covered when it comes to controlling the flow of information into the community.
But I will let you draw your own conclusions on that.
Leave a comment below and let us know your opinion.
The Rambler
Crying Celebrities! Britney and Miley : Key of Awesome #4!
It’s so fun to watch celebrities suffer! The fourth video in the Key of Awesome series. written by Mark Douglas Watch our other songs in the Key of Awesome! 1. METALLICATS www.youtube.com 2. TRICK OR TREAT OR DIE www.youtube.com 3. TWILIGHT SUCKS! The Emo Vampire Song www.youtube.com 4. DO THE CRYBABY www.youtube.com 5. THE HOT VOICEMAIL LADY www.youtube.com 6. LADY GAGA AND LORD GAGA (BAD ROMANCE PARODY) www.youtube.com 7. SARAH PALIN: MIKE RELM REMIX www.youtube.com 8. BATMAN PARODY: THE DARK KNIGHT IS CONFUSED www.youtube.com 9. CHAD VADER AND OBAMA GIRL GET FREAKAY www.youtube.com 10. SLEEP ON YOU: THE JUSTIN BIEBER PARODY www.youtube.com 11. JERSEY SHORE PARODY SONG www.youtube.com 12. MAN-CRUSH ON JACK BAUER www.youtube.com 13. GLITTER PUKE: THE KE$HA TIK TOK PARODY www.youtube.com — MORE BARELY: Subscribe! www.youtube.com Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com www.twitter.com Visit our arcade! www.youtube.com Check out our websites www.barelypolitical.com http Friend us on Facebook & Myspace www.facebook.com www.facebook.com www.myspace.com Leave us a voicemail 1-(646)-827-2202 — LYRICS Hey yall theres a brand new dance sweeping the nation. This dance aint for everybody. Just the self absorbed people its called the Cry Baby. When you got a crappy show and your ratings are low do the cry baby do the cry baby When your face looks like a ham And you get punched by William Do the cry baby Do the cry baby When you say youre on a trail But youre really getting tail Do …
Clutch – “Burning Beard” DRT Entertainment
Like this video? Come see hundreds more at kranktv.com! – the Net’s biggest home for metal, death, grind, thrash, rapcore, heavy and hard rock music videos! If you like the hard stuff, come get hooked on kranktv.com! Director: Jeremy Hunt
Celebrity Twitter Overkill: supernews!
Twitter’s blowing up, in this sequel to Twouble with Twitters, when celebrities take over the twittersphere. Starring Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Perez Hilton, and P. Diddy as themselves. Watch more supernews! on Current TV, Thursdays 11/10c www.current.com www.facebook.com twitter.com VIEW more supernews! clips & SUBSCRIBE to the youtube Playlist here… www.youtube.com
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