I watched ‘The Sentinel’ over the weekend. Its a pretty good movie.

It’s about a secret service agent who is framed as the mole in an assassination attempt on the president. He must clear his name and foil another assassination attempt while on the run from a relentless FBI agent.

Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland & Eva Longoria are all in it! A great cast & a pretty good story line. Plenty of action & it also has plenty of good supporting actors.

A twist on an important issue, what do you think?

“Decriminalization of illicit drugs would lead to the following:

— Virtually overnight, the price of formerly controlled substances would plummet. All street crime, money laundering, gang violence, (etc.), and the corresponding corruption in law enforcement that involves drugs, would disappear. The power of organized crime and drug cartels would decline drastically, with beneficial ripple effects throughout our society. The greatest improvement will be seen in impoverished communities. Street dealers will be gone. So will be maximum minimum sentences, that have led to lengthy and costly (to the taxpayers) incarceration of non-violent offenders, that has exacerbated the breakdown of families and communities.

— Based upon past experience (prohibition of alcohol), we can expect a slight and temporary rise in drug abuse, which would eventually decline and level off, partly because of more robust and better-funded prevention programs (from the billions of dollars saved from drug enforcement that’s no longer needed), and also because studies indicate there’s a percentage of “addictive personalities” who will seek out drugs whether they’re legal or illegal. Most of us, for example, will not use recreational drugs once they’re decriminalized.

— People addicted to drugs would be registered with the government and encouraged to detoxify. In the meantime, the substances that we provide addicts will be less potent and free of harmful contaminants. Pharmaceutical companies would make safer substances to wean abusers off of the most addictive and psychoactive substances. Again, the billions formerly spent on drug enforcement could fund all this. (Over $20 annually at the federal level alone.)

The only way societies have been able to control the transactions of items in great demand was by controlling its legal commerce, and never through total prohibition. Prohibition forces the commerce underground and makes it invisible. It never stops it. Supply inevitably meets demand. Always.”

What do you think? Have your say right here!

It remains one of the great unexplored zones of our planet.

The deep ocean makes up 80 per cent of the Earth’s habitable environment, but only a fraction of its plant and animal species have been observed by man.

But now an extraordinary project will see a permanent ocean observatory established on the sea floor off the United States, allowing scientists to monitor the ocean’s depths around the clock.

Powered by a cable stretching over 50km from the mainland, the Monterey Accelerated Research System laboratory will be located nearly one kilometre beneath the surface and could identify whole new branches of life.

The news has excited Australian marine experts working on cataloguing our own deep ocean life and who hope a similar project may one day be possible here.

Richer and lonelier. And less invested in tradition. That’s how Australia in this election year compares with Australia when John Howard came to power.

The census results released today show that the average household is earning $200 more a week than in 1996. It has two cars and a broadband internet connection. But it is less likely to contain two parents with kids and more likely to contain one person or a single parent with dependent children.

It’s amazing what has changed in the last 10 years. Kids are not playing outside as much, people are getting more obese, soon very few will know how to really cook because of fast food & we all seem to be rushing more & more. We are all trying to get the most out of life & want it now! It’s no longer a holiday or mortgage, it’s both.

Have your say. Have things really changed?

Read more here

A cool new concept has been launched called ‘madeit’, an online directory for independent Australian designers. The idea was born from a number of unsuccessful and frustrating web searches to find the unique and the new. This got us thinking, why not have a single website with all the designers in a one stop comprehensive directory. Then ‘madeit’ was born.

See more here

Sooner or later, someone was bound to give it a name. Its official description is “irrelevant web browsing”, but it really is “wilfing” – and people are wasting two days a month at work doing it.

At least that’s the word from a new poll by YouGov, a British polling firm. After extrapolating results of a survey of more than 2400 adults, it determined that two-thirds of the country’s 33.7 million internet users waste time surfing online at work and at home. And a quarter of those time-wasters spend as much as 33 per cent of their time doing it – just as Australians do.

Those aged 25 and under were three times as likely to wilf away the hours as those over 55. Wilf stands for “What was I looking for?”

Read more here

NGV Artbeat is the dynamic new division of NGV Members.

Created specifically for young people interested in exploring Melbourne’s visual arts scene, it offers members special access to The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square & NGV International on St Kilda Road, while at the same time providing the opportunity to meet new people with a shared interest in the visual arts.

See art in a different light every Wednesday from 4 Jul to 3 Oct, when the NGV comes alive with a variety of talks, live performances, music, fine food and wine.

See more here

The era of a radio megastar is coming to an end in Australia and future shock jocks can expect more modest salaries compared to the large pay packet earned by radio legend John Laws, his boss says.

The man known as the “Golden Tonsils” announced on Monday he would pull the plug on a 55-year broadcasting career when he leaves Sydney-based radio station 2UE in November.

That means 2UE owner Southern Cross Broadcasting Ltd will escape contractual obligations believed to be between $4 million and $4.5 million per year out to 2010. 

Will you miss Lawsie? Let us know. Have your say right here…

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Perth Convention Exhibition Centre — JULY 6, 7, 8 2007

The annual WA Wine & Food Festival stages a colourful showcase of the finest wine and culinary fare Western Australia has to offer and has grown to be the most renowned celebration of wine and food in the state. Its success is built on the three fundamental elements of enjoyment – wine, food and entertainment – a formula which has been proven over time.

To tantalise your tastebuds even further, visitors can take in the activity from the many demonstration stages throughout the venue where celebrity chefs will be showing off their latest culinary delights matched by WA’s best wine.

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The Craft & Quilt Fairs are Australia’s premier craft event. The Fair tours 10 locations across Australia and New Zealand making it a must see event for any craft enthusiast. The Fairs are a dynamic combination of inspirational displays, education, and access to buy the latest products, tools, kits and accessories for every craft imaginable.

When and Where

Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair
June 27 – July 1, 2007

Sydney Exhibition Centre
Halls 1, 2 and 3
Darling Drive
Darling Harbour, Pyrmont NSW

Wednesday – Sunday
9am – 5pm Daily

Craft Classes commence Monday 25th June.

Read more here