Why the Taylor Swift AI pictures should scare EVERYONE!

The Taylor Swift AI photos...lets not gloss over those deeply disturbing, fake images of Taylor in questionable positions, lets rip the bandaid off and talk about what is so hugely terrifying about the falsified images on a broader scale.

You see, the use of AI on one of the most powerful people in pop culture like Taylor Swift was done without Swift's consent or knowledge is something Taylor herself can put an end to , she has the power and money to sue and protect herself from future AI bullshit. Hell, she can probably demand get law changes 

However why these photos should send a chill down the spine of every single one of us is how these sort of doctored photos can be made fearuring children by predators on the internet without the knowledge or consent of parents. Yes, AI now means that your innocent photos of your kids playing or covered in feces (why anyone would post the latter though blows my mind...its gross) on social media can possibly be in line to be doctored by child predators online to be completely disgusting. 

Lets also keep in mind that in many parts of the world including the US, Australia etc have not got legislation in place that regulates the use of social media and protects the rights of children to privacy, yes, banning children under a certain age is a step but the other side of the problem is...the parents...Governments can ban kids from using Facebook, Instagram etc but there is nothing in law in most parts of the world stopping a momfluencer from posting a Youtube video of her teenage daughter having her first period or posting photo seven year old son in the bath to Instagram (momfluencers will post anything of their kids to fund their lifestyles and avoid actually having to go and get a damn job). 

A tech savvy child predator can screenshot the image of a child in the bath and store the teenage girl period video into his Youtube playlist of children and teens in various states of undress and good lord, I vomit at the very thought of what predators could do with those images and videos PLUS AI!. 

Government, social media companies and we as a global community need to step up and protect our children because if people can make disturbing AI images of one of the world's most powerful popstars without her permission, they can do the same to young children and unlike Taylor, there's not going to be a damn thing parents can do about it.

Crass Commercialism Corrupts Carols in the Domain

 Growing up, Carols in the Domain was something I looked forward to, it was fun but also brought joy and the true spirit of the festive season, they stuck to Christmas Carols and the performers all had charm and personality which made the night fun to watch plus the anchors did their job without trying to outshine those performing however its not gone unnoticed that especially in the past couple  years that Carols in the Domain's quality has sunk to the point where the best fun to be had is on social media or after drinking two bottles of alcohol and be half way through a third.

So having watched the 2022 Carols in the Domain sober, I can no longer be benevolent to an event I adored as a child as last night felt less like an uplifting sharing of joy at Christmas time but an exercise in crass commercialism that tipped toward making the carols a two hours and twenty minute infommercial with breaks for Christmas carols and random songs that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas but more to do with musical or Disney being advertised eg: the random cover of Katy Perry's "Firework" because it's like everybody sings "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?" over Christmas lunch.

I didn't go to bed feeling happy, uplifted or joyful for Christmas, I went to bed feeling sad, angry and...exhausted, my head was swimming with Woolworths, Disney and Energiser emblazoned in my head...I shouldn't feel like that after Christmas carols for crying out. The irrelevant songs associated with musicals or worse the terrible decision to have a troupe of people singing in a blatant advert for Disney cruises at what is supposed to be CAROLS IN THE DOMAIN!

Add the endless advertorials for whar an amazing, wholesome company Woolworths is despite earlier this year being caught underpaying their own employees...give me a spell, it s apparent that Carols in the Domain is less about Christmas and more for the capitalism which is pretty gross.

Oh and Lets not even go into the bizarre decision to advertise Destination Canada and have a confused looking Shania Twain deliver what had to be one of the most awkward video messages of all time and have songs about winter Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere! Why can't Channel Seven and the organisers accept and love Australia's summer Christmas? I guess they just love the money from the advertising.

The other reason I felt sad is due to some of the performances. I discovered that in some cases I couldn't sing along because of the performer doing vocal gymnastics eg: Paulini, Samantha Jade (unnecessary when the songs are Christmas classics) or changing the arrangement the song is near unidentifiable, see the ridiculous soap opera version of Wham's "Last Christmas" that left me laughing out of bewilderment and thinking a small town is being powered by George Michael spinning in his grave.

Thrown in the Home & Away cast trying to unsuccessfully impersonate Bruno Mars while forgetting harmonising might be nice and The Wiggles trying to bring out Santa with a school athletics carnival cheer only to end up spelling out Satan after covering "Baby Shark" and adding verses in a thinly veiled attempt to convince nobody that it's a Christmas song. 

"Happy Xmas (War is Over)" felt completely inappropriate at a time when the war in Ukraine is ongoing and an omnipresent thing in news cycles.

So all round, Carols in the Domain achieved crass commercialism not befitting of the Christmas season and left me realising my bra is uplifting me more than a night of Kochie in a bad Christmas  suit, badly arranged Christmas carols or songs that aren't related to Christmas and corporate greed...way to kill the so called spirit of Christmas,  I guess

Satire: COVID Crisis Claims Another Victim: Mad Monday Atrocity Scoops

 The coronavirus crisis has claimed yet another victim this week with the usual customary front page headlines of NRL players drunkenly running around the streets of Sydney naked, pissing in pot plants or dressing up as US President Donald Trump as is the norm on the end of season “Mad Monday” however with the NRL banning Mad Monday this year, journos and photographers have been left confronted with the realisation that their usual front page headlines of players behaving badly won’t be a thing due to coronavirus and ARL Commission chairman Peter V’Landys and they may have to spend their time writing about the NRL Finals which start this weekend

One journalist was reported to have complained to his bosses about writer’s block as he trawled Twitter looking for any potential stories as he was unable to access Microsoft Office 365 due to an outage today.

An unnamed source said “The journos are doing it tough right now, there’s just nothing in the way of player misbehaviour that would garner front page headlines and generate clicks on the website. There’s some realisation that we may need to write about the actual rugby league that’s coming up on the weekend”

Another source claimed that journalists would have to resort to juicy Brisbane Broncos coaching innuendo and opinions just to garner any attention away from the finals. “We’re just going to have use our favourite rugby league punching bags right now…Broncos, Bulldogs and Tigers to draw readers attention away from NRL finals somehow. I guess we have got a few referees or bunker in crisis stories somewhere ready to go but that stuff doesn’t get front pages like players pissing in pot plants does”

The NRL finals begin on Friday night with Penrith Panthers v Sydney Roosters.

To all the "Karens" and "Kevins" out there...

You seem to come from a background that hasn’t gone through the pain of having a loved one in hospital or losing a loved one to coronavirus…nor have I…we’re the lucky ones…We haven’t had to go through all he trauma so many other families have had to go through because of this wretched virus and those loved ones who contracted the virus but survived have to deal with months of painful therapy, loss of vision and other issues associated with this abomination of a disease.

Imagine this: You are preparing for a long hard day at work or likely in some cases preparing fucked up conspiracy theories to post on social media when a phone call comes in from the state health department, your mother is in a hospital intensive care unit on a ventilator with coronavirus but you can’t go and visit her or sit by her bedside to support her in her battle against the virus and what’s more the health department have identified that you were in close contact with with your mother and have ordered you to isolate from the rest of your family for fourteen days which you have no choice but to do and complete testing for the virus. Days later, your mother dies from coronavirus alone, you are left distraught by the news and spend the rest of the day telling relatives via the phone from designated place of isolation

Then you realize that because you and other members of your immediate family are still in isolation, you will be unable to attend the funeral of your dear mother but you help organise the funeral and figure out which ten family members can go to the funeral keeping in line with the restrictions around funeral attendance, you are emotionally spent and heartbroken as you remember leaning on your mother for advice…she’s not there to give that advice anymore, the children won’t be able to hear the stories that Grandma can tell, no more going to your childhood home to chat with over a cup of coffee and homemade pumpkin scones.

It transpires your mother contracted coronavirus because your mother was in contact with somebody who contracted the virus but was asymptomatic but didn’t self isolate like they should have or wear a mask to prevent spread.

Sounds horrible doesn’t it? You don’t want to be one of those people ending other people’s lives because you think your rights and freedoms are being encroached upon like the person who gave somebody’s loved one coronavirus, in reality your push for freedom is only going to end in restrictions/lockdown for wider Australia due to a second wave of the virus…you don’t want to be responsible for that.

Please stop the irresponsible nonsense and be apart of the wider effort to stop the spread of the virus, if you go out, please wear a mask if its required by law that you have to and adhere to social distancing guidelines, if a store or police officer tells you to wear a mask…for goodness sake…DO IT. If you don’t want to wear a mask than please just stay at home, it’s not that hard.

Yes, you have rights but they also come with responsibilities. We need to adhere to our responsibilities as much as our rights, we all have the responsibility to everyone in our Australian community.

 

Controversy Corner is just a cacophony of noise linked to rugby league

So in recent months I have binge watching a lot of rugby league footage from the 80s and 90s via Youtube and I come across an excerpt of a show from 1979 called "Controversy Corner" which was hosted by Rex Mossop and I couldn't get past how intelligent the insight was into rugby league where they talked about a semi final between Canterbury and Cronulla where everybody on the panel gave their thoughts on the game concisely and as a viewer you could understand what was being said, there was a reason why so many rugby league fans loved it back in its time on Channel Seven. Point is I learnt from what Steve Rogers said.

Here's the blast from the past:





Now contrast the above video with Fox League's version of Controversy Corner which originally had Bulldogs legend and former rugby league commentator Graeme Heughes as host but this season replaced by commentator Andrew Voss with Tigers legend and co commentator Steve Roach, former Sea Eagles player and coach Geoff Toovey and Daily Telegraph sports editor at large Phil Rothfield. It returned tonight with the NRL facing a range of issues ahead of round one including the fall out from the new ad campaign, dealing with any potential coronavirus outbreak, attempts by some within the game to remove CEO Todd Greenberg and the announcement of round 1 teams tomorrow afternoon.

So unlike the original version and taking turns to speak and listening calmly while another puts their point across, the 2020Controversy Corner often devolves into incoherent yelling that makes it difficult for viewers to understand the points being put across, granted it's the same sort of thing that went on last season but it feels like the point of the debate gets lost in all the incoherent yelling that I wonder what I actually got out of all of it anyway. I get they all want their voices to be heard but how about shutting up and letting one person speak at a time, it makes for more interesting TV.

Although even when there is no yelling, some of the opinions stated are incredibly irresponsible or not well thought out take Phil Rothfield's suggestion that the NRL Integrity should release information about cases still awaiting court outcomes to the public for example, if the NRL Integrity Unit did what Mr Rothfield suggests than that would be seriously prejudicing the court case. Think before you open your mouth for goodness sake.

Look, if you enjoy four men yelling at the sky like Abe Simpson from The Simpsons than Controversy Corner is the show for you but it you want rugby league discussion that is thought provoking and well reasoned, I'd just be organising petition for the return of League Life or perhaps the ladies could replace the men for a week so Controversy Corner might see a miracle of some well reasoned, rational and calm discussion about rugby league while apologising to Rex Mossop for turning what he created all those years ago into a cacophonous half hour of noise.

A lengthy letter to PETA: I will never donate to an organisation that kills and robs the future.

Dear PETA,

It is with great interest I note that you continue to tap dance on the grave of the widely respected animal and environmental conservationist Steve Irwin and point out everything he did wrong so in this letter I am going to be brutally honest and point out why I don’t respect People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and why your behaviour on social media only serves to piss off those you need to come on board and give you money.

Oh yeah, that’s right…money….the money people think is going to go toward helping animals that need attention, love and care so I was very surprised to find out when I looked it up that only 1% of the money you receive is spent on actually acting on behalf of animals and working to save their lives. The rest of the money appears to go on fundraisers and campaigns including a boycotting a pet store that actively does more for animals than you do on a smaller budget? How the hell does that work.

Just to let you know, I will be actively ensuring that there are alternatives to you that use their money for actual animal care.

We also must confront that there’s the innocent healthy, adoptable dogs and cats than you take to your “shelter” in Norfolk, Virginia to kill and eventually dispose of the bodies in dumpsters or in the nearest supermarket bin and hope to god that nobody sees you do it and don’t deny it with your pap from your website, Nathan J Winograd, a man you guys tried to sue, has all the gory evidence of PETA’s killing spree of new born kittens, puppies, dogs and cats over the years, I sat there crying for those dogs and cats that you murdered – is buying the chemicals to kill these perfectly healthy animals apart of your budget? Why not spend some of that donor’s money on fostering programs that allow dogs and cats to be cared for until a furever home can be found for each dog and cat in PETA’s care rather than being put down 24 hours after PETA receives them, okay?

But then again, why am I not surprised the kill rates are so high when you believe no human should be allowed to have a pet/animal companion and that you eventually want to ensure that dogs and cats are spayed/neutered to the point where dogs and cats are a thing of the past. I want my children to experience the love, joy and affection dogs and cats bring to people so I really don’t understand why you want to take that away from me and future generations.

Then there’s the issues with your rantings and ravings on social media that actively talk down to your audience and I’m going beyond the whole Steve Irwin grave tap dancing here, there’s the politically correct bullshit like changing well known famous sayings that wouldn’t offend ANY animal to demanding Australian rock band Hunters and Collectors change their name because the name of a band that has been around since the early 80s is apparently offensive to ducks, honestly it was probably at that point I should have realized PETA had lost the plot. Also people lovingly refer to their animals as their pets not the rubbish you spouted on Twitter...yet again a waste of valuable time and money that could be spent finding homes for cats and kittens or stopping the Queensland Government's crocodile egg farming.

As for some of the nonsense on your website, a simple Google search can debunk most of the stuff you claim eg: sheep shearing is cruel etc. I mean please if you are going to write an article claiming something is wrong/cruel actually put facts not emotional touchy feely crap which ensures people are so horrified they think they are helping these animals by giving you money but they aren’t. Half the time I roll my eyes and call you Chicken Little

As for this whole vegan crusade you are on, you are not going to convince people to go vegan with scaring people like you did on Australia Day by roasting a fake dog in Sydney making children cry and revolting people who may have supported you before. Nor are you going to convince people to go vegan by making up bullshit like linking milk to autism or to white supremacy or using a man in an adult diaper that just looks like you are ridiculing people with incontinence issues. It’s laughable, you can’t force people to go with your ideologies that need more research from reputable organisations especially considering the alleged “vegan frappucinos” that Starbucks are going to be selling have been found to not actually be vegan and that Starbucks has also been caught out not doing enough to ensure the health and welfare of chickens.

If people want to go vegan, its up to them as individuals, you can’t use shock tactics and publicity stunts to make people think going vegan is a good idea.

I guess what I am saying is PETA needs to fundamentally change, it needs to be a organisation that works for the welfare of the animals, stop it with the shock tactics and the lame stunts that are borderline embarrassing and use donors money to set up programs that do help animals.

Right now, when I look at organisations that call themselves “animal lovers”, PETA will not get a cent from me, I know that out there are organisations like the RSPCA and Wildlife Warriors who ensure any money donated actually goes toward helping keep animals alive and have a philosophy that isn’t extreme political correctness gone mad or robbing the future generations of having a dog or cat sleep in their lap. 

Have a good day.

Julie Keast

A frustrated fan's letter to Cricket Australia

To Kim McConnie and Cricket Australia,

Hello, you wouldn’t know me from a bar of soap but I am your ordinary Australian cricket fan, I sit down and watch a lot of cricket over the summer be it the test matches, the ODIs and even a lot of domestic cricket with one dayers, Sheffield Shield and the Big Bash League. I grew up watching cricket every summer and looked forward to the domestic one dayers being on tv when the rugby league season was done.

However I regret to say that I have problems with Australian cricket and the scheduling of it, the problem being with the Big Bash League now becoming the predominant feature of the Australian summer with matches every single night of the week barring the first two ODIs v India from just before Christmas and it has become concerning that the length of Big Bash League is causing additional problems.

1,  Players in the Australian ODI squad will pretty much have to be on the plane to India right after the Big Bash League final on February 17 so therefore guys like Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell will be relying on white ball form to push for Ashes selection rather than having a chance to show they have what it takes in test cricket by playing in the Sheffield Shield when it eventually resumes, they won’t get a chance to play Shield cricket either because Australia tour both India and the UAE (series v Pakistan) right up until April and with Sheffield Shield ending with the final in late March, there’s no chance Stoinis and others will get that opportunity unless selectors choose a weakened team for the tour of India but I don’t see that happening.

2. The Big Bash League has stopped being fun…in between the repetitive P.A. noise used as crowd participation that hasn’t changed since the first Big Bash of the city format to the same god damn fireworks and now to add to it, the matches this Big Bash have kind of sucked be it because of the pitches a lack of quality players because most of the good players have decided to play a T20 league that is shorter with more money in Bangladesh over the Big Bash League, some of the basics of cricket are done rather poorly eg: the basic ground fielding and catching from the Brisbane Heat was atrocious and some pretty strange umpiring to say the least.

3. 59 matches is just too many for a league that has been of a really poor standard this season even if Cricket Australia are loving the crowds, the TV figures and the money and no amount of sticking your head in the sand while insisting the Big Bash League will remain the same length is going to fix it. No, it’s not like AFL and NRL, Ms McConnie, the AFL and NRL do not have matches every single day of the week, AFL and NRL fans get a rest Monday through Wednesday and the occasional Thursday, they are actually able to take a deep breath and build excitement to the next fixtures unlike the BBL.

4. The scheduling isn’t helping the selectors at all. Am surprised none of them have quit yet.

I have a solution though:

What I propose is this: Going back to what worked with the 4^th and 5^th seasons of the BBL and making it a 38 game competition starting traditionally on 20^th December. The finals would consist of three matches. Semi final between 3^rd and 4^th, a prelim final between 2^nd and the winner of semi final, 1^st would then take on the winner of prelim final in the Grand Final to be played on Australia Day. To make it fair, home and away could be done over two years eg: if Sydney Sixers play Perth Scorchers at the SCG in BBL9 then in BBL 10, Sixers would travel to Perth.

Think about it, a shorter BBL would see international players find the BBL appealing and maybe stay for the whole tournament, would open up the opportunity to schedule the T20Is after the BBL so that Australian players not involved in the test team can also play BBL for the whole season and teams like the Melbourne Stars aren’t so badly affected in January and also February would be opened up to an early resumption of Sheffield Shield so players aren’t having to use ODIs to push test selection claims

Also the BBL could have more double header weekends which could open the way for breaks during the week just to allow people to look forward to the next game. Hell it’s not going to kill anyone if there’s no Big Bash League game on for a day or two. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

We need a better-balanced summer, Cricket Australia, right now it’s all weighted toward the Big Bash League and that is wrong. Please consider making changes for the sake of Australian cricket’s long-term future across all formats of the game in this country. Please put aside money and take steps to help the selectors, the players and even fans who are tiring of the overly long BBL.

From a frustrated Australian cricket fan.