The Australians finally beat us...

Their cricket team may be slipping down the ICC rankings, the Socceroos continue to disappoint and even their schools are losing momentum - but hang on, there is one area in which the good folks of Australia continue to lead the way .... consumption of alcohol!

This is according to a report published by the Menzies School of Health Research. Clearly there is a problem here which needs serious intervention.

We cannot however become complacent - teen drinking in South Africa is endemic and we are going to have to work hard to change this pattern of behaviour before we overtake Australia not only in alcohol consumption but in alcohol-related deaths.

Another reason not to emigrate to Australia

I was amazed to read the following on a post entitled "Top 10 Countries Censoring The Web":

Bonus: Australia

The rundown :
Discovering that countries like Iran or Yemen are censoring the web is not a big surprise. Most forms of independent media are already restricted there, and their levels of human rights are among the lowest in the world.
But what if we told you that Australia, one of the richest countries in the world, is also trying to censor websites inside its borders? Now that is scary!

How does the censorship work?
In 2007 a bill passed giving the federal police the power to block the access to any website. They already had a filtering system is place, but it was very limited in scope.
Many privacy groups and critics from the around the world claimed that this decision will directly threaten the freedom of speech on the Australian web.

What kind of content is blocked?
The government claimed that the police will be blocking mainly phishing and terrorism related websites. The problem is that the law brings a much broader definition for the potential targets: basically they can block any content that encourages, incites or facilitates criminal activity.

I always knew that Australia was a nanny-state but this seems to be taking things a little too far in a country where freedom-of-speech is espoused.

You may also want to take a look at the No Clean Feed site from Australia.