President Giuliani 2008

I think I'm gonna be sick.

Wanna learn more bout Copywright Law?

Have a look at this great disney parody on Copyright Law.

Shapez

Schapelle Corby having a laugh with the Indonesian Justice Minister and a jail guard. Looks like they've been enjoying the contents of her boogie-board bag.

Argentina commuters riot over train delays

From the SMH 16/5/07

May 16, 2007 - 12:35PM

Commuters enraged by delays in evening train services in Argentina have set fire to parts of a railway station, looted nearby shops and clashed with riot police.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as rioters pelted them with rocks. The fighting at Buenos Aires' Constitucion station spilled into a nearby street as demonstrators shattered windows, set fire to a ticket sales area, looted shops and ripped pay phones from walls.

Hundreds of passengers fled the fighting inside the train station, one of the largest in South America with an estimated 300,000 users daily.

Twelve police officers were injured by flying rocks, mostly with cuts and bruises to the head and chest, and nine people were also treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, said Alberto Crescenti, a spokesman for emergency medical workers.

Police Commissioner Ricardo Falana reported 16 arrests, including two minors.

He said about 100 police were needed to quell the rioters, who he said threw a "hail of rocks" at officers.

During the disturbances, a motorcycle was set ablaze and angry youths used metal poles to try to break down tall wooden doors to a security office in the station.

Firefighters quickly put out small fires in garbage cans and the ticket area. Shattered glass, bricks and sticks littered the hall afterward.

The fighting threw the evening rush hour into chaos, forcing the cancellation of all train services.

Fernando Jantus, a spokesman for the Metropolitano train service, said disruptions occurred during the evening rush hour today after a train broke down on a key track just outside the station, blocking other trains from leaving the station.

"The problem happened at the worst moment," he said, noting the rioting began in the peak evening rush around 6.30pm.

Passengers have long complained about poor commuter rail service on lines leading from Constitucion station in downtown Buenos Aires to poor southern suburbs of the Argentine capital.

Today's riot was the second major outbreak of violence at the station since passengers angry over cancellation of train service one day last September set three train cars ablaze and police made seven arrests.

Buenos Aires area commuter rail lines were privatised in the 1990s under then-president Carlos Menem but passengers for years have complained about the failure of new operators to provide timely service on often crowded routes.

AP

Connex and the Victorian Government are lucky that we don't deal with unhappiness with riots in Melbourne.

Blackout on the Trains

As the tram slowly chugged along Swanston St from Melbourne Uni this afternoon at 4:30pm I had a difficult decision to make. Would I stay on this tram and ride it home or take the train from Melbourne Central? The tram is easier, I'm already sitting on it, and I can read the paper, but it will take at least 40 minutes to travel home, however I won't have to walk once I get there. The train on the other hand will be faster, about 15 mins, but I will have to stand and then walk when I get home, adding another 15 mins. I tell myself I need the exercise so I jump off the tram and head down to the pit that is Melbourne Central Station.

As I step off the escalator deep inside the underworld of the neglected Melbourne Central Station I see the train sitting there and I think, "Yes! Good decision." However as I walk closer to the train I realise the people inside look pissed and there are no lights on in nearly any of the carriages. Its just darkness and many crammed-in uncomfortable people. I decide that this train is here, who knows when the next one will be, so I squeeze my way in. But things don't improve. The lights stay off and we head through the loop in pitch black darknesses. Only seeing each other's faces in a flicker of light from inside the tunnel, in a "Willy Wonka - side of face flashing" kind of way. You know, a "There's no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going / There's no knowing where we're rowing / Or which way the river's flowing / Is it raining? / Is it snowing? / Is a hurricane a-blowing? / Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing / Are the fires of hell a-glowing? / Is the grisly reaper mowing? / Yes, the danger must be growing / 'Cause the rowers keep on rowing / And they're certainly not showing / Any signs that they are slowing" kinda way.

WARNING: Its boring and loud ( I think people talk louder when its dark because it makes them feel safer).

Then the train stops at Parliament. It is already packed. But there are obviously more people waiting here, compounded because this train is late. So people cram in. Then the train just sits there. Lights off. Doors open. After about five minutes the driver announces the train is going to be delayed for another five minutes. So we wait. This guy that was standing near me was obsessed with getting a good grip on the nearby pole. He kept trying to reach around this guy who was leaning against it. He's move his hand to the left of the guy's head, but his arm didn't bend that way. Then he'd try the right. Then he tried reaching around the guy's waist. Nothing was working for him. When he finally did get around he placed his hand exactly on mine. Why don't the trains have handles of bars for people to hold when they are standing in no-man's land? Of all the trains I have been in Europe and the States, Melbourne's are the worst for giving people a place to hold on to when standing. And these trains need it the most because they all have faulty breaks.


The train stopped a few more times and went express and I managed to get home about 15 minutes later than the tram would have taken me. That is, as long as the tram didn't break down.

Tristan's 2006-07 Euromerican Invasion

I realised the archive of my blog for my trip wasn't working so I quickly fixed it up and made it easier to navigate. So if you like nostalgia and want to read about my thoughts and experiences from my overseas trip of 2006 you can now view my old site here. After exams it is my aim to reorganise all my photos and get a proper journal of my trip together, but this will do for now.

University and Sport

Its been a busy week for me this week and I think next week will be very similar. I'm playing a little catchup at study after I realised this week that exams are in a month and I feel far from prepared. I'm also doing quite a bit of work with AIESEC at uni, including major preparations for the Global Village we are having at the University on the 8th of July. Don't miss it. I'll let you know more soon. JULY 8.

With regards to sport, all that I have done in the past few days is watch the following video. Enjoy.

The Great Melbourne Public Transport Debacle

This is my final rant on the subject. Today my train was delayed by 10 minutes and I am not content to just accept that its fine. Even though people say that bad public transport is a fact of life, I don't think it should be, especially if its privately owned and run. Its acceptable that the government can screw it up, but when they sell off the system, they don't have such luxuries. Of the last 10 trains I've taken in to or out of the city, two have been on time, one delayed by 5 minutes, six by about 8-10 minutes, one stopped at the a station and everyone had to get off, and one was cancelled and never actually arrived. If I had that kind of timing and organisation at my job I would have been fired a long time ago, as would anyone in any job. But to make up for a month of delays I get a single daily ticket. Well enough is enough. The responsibility rests with the government and Connex to get it together and act and stop making excuses.

This is just the month of April:

11 April, 2007 - Victoria's Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, sends email to parliamentary colleagues telling them that she doesn't want to be bothered with commuters' complaints.

12 April, 2007 - Trains get disrupted on Hurstbridge line and replacement emergency buses never arrive, or are already full and don't stop for stranded commuters.

14 April, 2007 - Connex is forced to compensate ticket holders with a daily Metcard as the number of late and cancelled trains continues to rise. 10 per cent of all trains were late and 460 services were cancelled in March. The third month in a row that Connex has had to pay compensation for poor service.

17 April, 2007 – The Age reveals that the number of trains running late on Melbourne's suburban rail system in February was the highest in eight years.

23 April, 2007 - Victoria's Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, admits that the government bought back second-hand trains (at 700 per cent of what they $old them) after selling them off to a collector. These trains were first introduced in 1972.

27 April, 2007 – Trains delayed for hours on all lines after an elderly man was fatally struck by a train after ducking under lowered boom gates. Its tragic that this man died, but it affected the whole system for the whole day. This kind of terrible thing happens and they should be prepared for this.

Yesterday - Commuters were forced to walk to the next train after a derailed tram blocked trains on the Frankston line early yesterday.

Other Articles:
The Age - Customers left standing on platforms
- Scrap-heap trains an 'embarrassment'

Other Disappointed Travellers:
Connex Whinger

Connex, we’ve had enough!

VLine Whinger

Coalition for People’s Transport

Lynne Kosky

Victoria's Transport Minister

Appointed to the job against her wishes five months ago, Ms Kosky earns $226,790 a year in salary and allowances, has a full-time driver and ministerial car available to her, as well as a taxpayer-funded vehicle that can be used by the minister, her staff and her family.

Website: http://www.lynnekosky.com

Email: lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au

Ministerial Address: Level 26, 80 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000

Ministerial Ph. (03) 9655 3300 Fax: (03) 9655 3313

Electorate Postal Address: PO Box 1047, Altona Meadows VIC 3028

Electorate Ph. (03) 9360 7500 Fax. (03) 9360 7654

Peter Batchelor

Victoria’s Infrustructure Minister

Post: PO Box 219, Thomastown 3074.

Email him using this form from Envict.com.au

It seems that Steve Bracks was on to something when the slogan our number plates changed from ‘Victoria – On The Move’ to ‘Victoria – The Place to Be’.

LATEST NEWS - Victorian commuters will reap the benefits of an $872 million injection into public transport, Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said today. So by the beginning of 2010 we should get a reasonable train service. Well done Ministers!!! We'll just make do with 30 year old trains, no air-conditioning, and waiting for trains that may not show up for the next three years.