Since the days of Alexander the Great, binge drinking has been a very popular past time - leading to him apparently killing a friend and burning down Persepolis while drunk.

Those are some Great shoes to fill.

Yet, governments, schools and the media have repeatedly tried to teach us of binge drinking's dangers. 

Dartmouth University has taken the lead, instigating a new nationwide policy to curb heavy drinking by their students.

Pour me another glass.

Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men — or four or more drinks in a row by women — at least once in the previous 2 weeks. Heavy binge drinking includes three or more such episodes in 2 weeks."

Seems I don't know anyone who isn't a heavy binge drinker.

Do you think this definition should be changed or should we change people's attitudes? Or should you follow HPD's no fools guide to drinking a lot but not dying?  . . read more

In October 2007 the company Easy Being Green went bankrupt after exploiting a loophole in government legislation that allowed them to hand out energy efficient light bulbs and in turn claim carbon credits on their usage. In 2006 alone, EBG had generated and sold over 3 million NSW Greenhouse Abatement Certificates (proof of carbon credits) at an average price of $14.50 each. When it was revealed most of the light bulbs they were handing out were not being installed the company’s business plan imploded and all staff were made redundant. With companies exploiting environmental concerns to make profit the public is losing faith in the government, and even in itself to bring about change.

Today we look at the 60’s and remember it as a time that nurtured the values and ideals of free thinking, radicalism and activism in reaction to unpopular government agendas. I only hope that in 2050 we don’t look back in regret. . . read more

 Two men stuck in a squalid swamp
Arguing, which way to jump
Their legs like lead, their feet too deep
Escape is simple but needs belief
Which way to go? Which way to go?
They just don't know
It's easier to stand and sink than think . . read more

I don't keep the opinion, mind you. I just exercise what it would be like to believe that Sarah Palin was actually qualified to be Vice President, that the Republican party gives a shit about poor working class people, that Obama was a secret Muslim, that somehow being a Muslim disqualifies you from being a human, or even a President, that white American people are superior to everyone else on the planet, and that those fucking Mexicans want my job.

And then I realize that it's time wasted; that there are probably not enough people truly of that persuasion who would be capable or willing to do that kind of introspection.

They could never entertain the idea that maybe they're wrong, or even experimentally believing that possibly they've been terribly lied to. That they're horribly scared and unable to express it for fear of seeming weak in the world's eyes. That maybe, just maybe, Obama would simply do a better job if they gave him a chance. That Mexicans have rights too, that English is spoken better in other countries and by non-native speakers, that speaking English doesn't make one superior. That we've been awfully gluttonous and irresponsible as a society for far too long.  . . read more

There is nothing more regressive and unordinary than the flood of non-conformists.

'We wish to avoid a label' has now, irony not withheld, become a cliche.

It is fantastic how each sub-culture presumes themselves to be the deepest most thought through identity. 

Until today I was blisfully unaware of 'The Hipster'. Not anymore, apparently the label 'alternative' or 'urban' is no longer acceptable to the urban, alternative scene.

According to those well versed in the subject matter, the emphasis is an aversion to labels and maintaining a unique individuality. This turns out to be a difficult task requiring the borrowing from multiple past and present sub-cultures. It turns out they don't make an effort at all, they just steal the aesthetic of other cultures and wring the significance and meaning out of it. 

Bravo, well fucking done. How about people stop being so concerned with their staple aesthetically driven spot in society and try to truly be themselves, whether that conforms or not? 

What subculture are you a part of? Or do you conform to non-conforming?  . . read more

Nevertheless I say this; you may feel a touch hard done by when you look around at the putrid conditions that your own ignorant way of life has created. You may just want to, instead of looking at your own stupidity, just blame the rest of the world, which has chosen to embrace all that is good and just. But it won't change the fact that you're still living in the world's sewer, the perfect little filthy rats you are, holding desperately onto the hope that your futile struggle against the free world will one day be successful.

Your strength only resides in those who have been so unfortunate to be born into the hopeless squalor that you have created for them.

Your war against the free world will do nothing more then bring light to your cesspool of a home, it will shine light on the injustice of your societal chains and it will inevitably bring all that is good, just and beautiful about our free world, raining down on you in the form of 500 pound bombs. Once the dust settles we will build a great big shopping mall for young teens to flaunt their new found sexuality in an innocent, yet quirky way.

And in the end the free will prevail; to one day create a world of peace, love and unity between all cultures, traditions and religions.

You won't break us, you can't break us and I will never live in fear

Peace and love to the free,

Khedra Cloud

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On Australia's public broadcaster the ABC, Australia's former Prime-Minster John Howard had a shoe thrown at him "for Iraqi dead". The most disappointing aspect of the protest was that the thrower was miles off and that we didn't get to see some Bush-esque dodging and weaving from some ferocious footwear. 

The other disappointing aspect was that while Howard will be forever remembered as the PM that committed Australia to two unwinnable wars, his vicious vision continues to live on in a pathetic party we once had faith in.

Reminds me of when Margaret Thatcher was asked what her greatest achievement was in government and she answered "Tony Blair". It was her ability to completely change government so that her successors would have to follow her that she prized most highly.

So for Gillard whose pledged to keep our troops in Afghanistan, take a look at Howard- those are some big shoes to fill but you seem to be measuring up nicely. 

Wonder when you'll be weaving some rubber-soled missiles.  . . read more

With Berlusconi before the courts and with Libya's war pornography helping the world get off, it's easy to forget that there's a 23 year old kid sitting in solitary confinement facing life imprisonment.

Bradley Manning, the U.S private accused of leaking 720,000 documents to WikiLeaks has been forgotten; he's not getting Assange like fame or reverence, or an Assange like house arrest.

Instead he's been shackled, alone in a cell and very often disrobed so he doesn't harm himself.  

Whether you agree with what he did or not, we have to remember that he's a U.S citizen, we have to remember what rights he has, and we have to remember what terrible long years he faces alone. 

We have to remember him.   . . read more

Watching the semi-final of India vs Pakistan was, as is usual with high profile Indian games, a laughable affair. Every man and his dog wants to be seen “caring”.

What should have been a decent game of Cricket became all about the politics. The Pakistani PM and Indian PM went about the useless “I look at you for 2 seconds” handshaking.

At the end, Sonia Gandhi was sitting in the drinks cart, anxious to be seen in an Indian victory. It reminded me of when India won the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup – they returned to every single politician grabbing them, wanting to be seen in the limelight, so much that you could barely see the cricketers (they sat behind the Pols at the ceremony).

Full credit to the Cricketers, who despite the entire climate created in the last week, stuck to their Cricket and played out a good competitive match. Although they won’t listen, I hope Politicians understand that we watch sport to escape politics and return to some humanity.

How about you enjoy it with us, and get your opportunistic hands off it. . . read more

Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Leonardo Dicaprio have a lot more in common than you would think. All three have invaded my hopes, dreams and aspirations, then carefully and systematically destroyed them.

Dream number 1. No more references to tomato sauce by politicians ever again. Failed. 

Aspiration number 2. Environmentally conscious and proactive politicians that utilise creative solutions to harrowing problems. Destroyed

Hope number 3. A government that reflects the voice of the people, constructively exhibiting how the democratic process can work. Slowly spiralling into the pile of discarded desires. 

As is evident by this charade of an election, neither party shall accurately carry the voice of the Australian people. What we need to do now is look forward forgetting the joke of a government that shall exist for the next four years or so.

We must look towards the young and aspiring politicians of Australia. What Australian politics needs now is depth, character and intelligence, so I ask of our schools, universities and workplaces, will the real Australian government please stand up?   . . read more