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

Now there could be a number explanations for this:

It could be that the nerdy-head-banging-slightly-scared-of women over-grown boys make up a clear voting majority of Triple J's audience, it could also simply be that the music world was once male dominated and for whatever reason it has never caught up with the advances of wider society, or maybe it has been the sexy stereotypes that women have to fall into to succeed- stereotypes that just don't fit with stinging social critcism or a pioneering spirit. Or maybe it was just blatant sexism.

The response to this embarresment (as MusicMax viewers would be aware) was from Hummingbird, a women's beer company who organised a countdown of the 100 Hottest Female Songs of all Time.

Now I know what you're thinking, no this wasn't a marketing exercise; this was purely about enfranchising the disenfranchised and putting the lost voices of amazing women into the Pantheon of great artists where they've always belonged.

So if I was picking the under-listened, well off the top of my head you'd probably expect PJ Harvey with the stunning Good Fortune to be near the top.

I mean she was Nick Cave's muse and she ended up making Stories by the City, Stories by Sea- a break-up album that well outshined his depressing effort- The Boatman's Call.

You'd also probably expect to see Billie Holiday. A woman that was unbelievably beautiful, haunting and inspiring- especially when she sang the spine tingling Strange Fruit.

Now the purists out there might be angry because she didn't write it, but who cares?

Her cool, down-played voice and her bubbling bitterness turned a poem you'd be touched by, into a song that painted you an unforgettable picture of Southern lynchings.

Then for me you'd put up It's, Oh, So Quiet by Björk, the Icelandic Queen of Quirky. An amazing woman who has constantly experimented, constantly pushed the bounds of weird and wonderful and constantly given us a sound that is as rich as the Icelandic fishing industry used to be.

Then before I burst a blood vessel in anger with the news I have to tell you; I would also throw Joni Mitchell in, with California. I challenge anyone to find a voice more angellic than Joni's; she's absolutely stunning, has had a lot to say and always looks like she's enjoying herself when she 's playing.

So would you like me, be very disappointed to find out that not one of these amazing artists made it into Top 10 or even the Top 100 Hottest Female Songs of all Time?

Instead we got:

Just Dance and Poker Face both by Lady Gaga and both in the top 20, Katy Perry with I Kissed a Girl came in at 12th, ABBA with Dancing Queen at 4th.

I could continue but I wont.

So two quick questions to be controversial:

Should we be as worried by the absolute ignorance of these great pioneering women and their amazing art as we were at Triple J's 'gender bias'?

And when do we begin the re-education of the voters of this strange and bitter crop?

Sorry. If you were wondering, I'm not going to give you the link to the web-site. It is ridiculous and should be viewed by no-one

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Well according to the data apparently not, for a highly motorized and developed country we have a relatively low ranking by comparison, 81 per million population, less than most other countries.

So why do we portray ourselves in such a poor light?

Is it a strive to always better ourselves?

Or is this a morbid way to justify government road revenue? . . read more

'I wouldn't call myself a feminist...'

...and ends with an arguement that inevitably pushes for women's rights and is upset by their oppression.

So why are so many women scared of associating with a word that simply means to believe in gender equality and its protection under law?

It's time the misguided amongst us reclaimed the word and wore it again as a badge of pride and progression.  . . read more

In rugby league teams, in prisons, in the navy and even in big boys nights out; there's a strange phenemonon that seems to occur when men are the majority.

A disgusting and distorted attitude toward women emerges.

It can be as 'harmless' as calling a girl a slut in front of mates or as graphic as a Matthew Johns group sex romp. The point is though, that there is a sinister aspect of mateship which encourages the animalian and brutal nature of men to prosper.

A case in point has been the story of a young female soldier in the Australian army who was broadcasted having sex on Skype to the Cassanova's mates.

It seems clear that when bonding, masculinity and misogyny are seen as synonyms that women should be scared.

Do you agree with this opinion? Is there a link between male dominated groups and terrible treatment of women? Tell us and remember....Disqus! . . read more

Atkinson, who has the right to veto the lifting of a national ban on video games rated too violent and extreme for consumption said he has received threatening notes from gamers.

"I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me."

Currently Australia has a ban on adult or R rated games, where interestingly movies with the same themes of violence, language, nudity and drug use are allowed.  And is the only country in the Western democracy that doesn't have an adult rating system in place.

Perhaps he feels introducing an adult R+ rating would increase the sort of anti-social behaviour we see in these games, because isn't it true that all gamers including myself are 2D assassins just looking for a good excuse to blow people to smithereens?  . . read more

As we are constantly told in international relations, security is the central concern of all governments. Without it, society can't function.

So in turn, governments, especially American governments, throw billions into blackhole budgets in an attempt to keep us safe, or feeling safe.

And just to make it all the sweeter, secrecy is essential- meaning transparency is of course impossible.

So just like the story that British Ministers have been getting greedy with their entitlements, the only person to blame for this is yourself.

Because, as long as we're happy blindly throwing power, money and guns to shady people we shouldn't be surprised that they use them for their own benefits.

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But there are worse things than disproportion. We believe in freedom from oppression, yet women are still – scandalously – the victims of appalling violence... Beyond our borders, the circumstances of women globally are desperate: 70% of the world’s poor are women; 80% of the world’s refugees are women and children; 2/3 of the world’s illiterate are women; worldwide violence against women accounts for more deaths than cancer, malaria, traffic injuries, and war combined...

Closer to home, our indigenous women, though themselves so victimised, have been the loyal guardians and warm nurturers of fragile lives. When Australia said ‘sorry’, many stories were told of the mothers, aunties and grandmothers, the women who’ve held communities and families together amid destruction. Quiet and unassuming, they have been harbours of dignity, humanity and hope for the lost generations... We need to listen – respectfully and truthfully – to their stories, and be inspired by their momentum, their resistance to the denigration of humanity.

In our own communities we need to re-engage and collaborate, to think harder about our obligations and connections, as women shaping our own futures. Above all, we need to require more of ourselves. Women are often accused of 'wanting it all.’ I think we should want more. [More]

Quentin Bryce AC has been announced as Australia's first female Governor-General . . read more