Yeah, I'm unconvinced and I will confess that I'm not going to read a 42 page document about it. The Corby's have tried several different explanations as to why Schappelle got caught, and they chop and change each time the story falls short. Like when they argued that it was Australian baggage handlers trafficking weed from Brisbane to Sydney - as if you wouldn't just drive it down there.

I feel badly that she's got the sentence she has, and I feel badly that her True Believers go to such effort for a lost cause, but I don't think the evidence is compelling enough that she didn't do it.

I think the media has given the story enough scrutiny, and if there was a story in there the Aussie trash media would invest a fair bit in uncovering it. The good news for True Believers is that if they're right, the media will get onto it.

I doubt this will be the end result, however.

Dear God dd... really... I think I can safely say along with many others. 'Who cares?'

Really. There are plenty of things that I don't like that others do, and this isn't even a case whereby you can go 'I'm pissed off that a large, large portion of people are entertained by such utter, utter rubbish (read Brittany Spears or Pussycat Dolls, or Bill O'Reilly), this is a niche thing. Plenty of us enjoy it, if you don't... bloody hell, what's there to get shitty about.

I think you need a long session lying down on a couch talking about some childhood experience with hats or English people, or those living in Brisbane or something... really. Man, I can fully understand the 'man, I've kinda got sick of these now, I'll stop watching them'. But to decide to come on here and go on a little rant?

I think you do have something deep-rooted... and it's not a potato.

Sweet! Thanks for that!

Will be travelling with wife & kid, and our plan so far is to rent a little camper do cruise around with, so it looks like we might just need a parking spot outside your house

In reply to this comment by dag:
Awesome. If you need a place to crash up here in Brisbane - we should be able to accomodate as well.

In reply to this comment by maatc:
Thanks dag! And you sir,are the roof of sift!

Right now it looks like i´ll actually be around your area in the beginning of October (5th or so +/- a few days), so make sure to reserve a table at the Burleigh Brewery

(I can´t help but giggle at "pillar" every time you mention it, since "piller" is a kids slang word for penis in germany)

In reply to this comment by dag:
You sir, are a pillar of Sift. I hope you can get back down under soon for a Sift Up - don't make me come meet you in a German beer hall ... OK, make me.

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Awesome. If you need a place to crash up here in Brisbane - we should be able to accomodate as well.

In reply to this comment by maatc:
Thanks dag! And you sir,are the roof of sift!

Right now it looks like i´ll actually be around your area in the beginning of October (5th or so +/- a few days), so make sure to reserve a table at the Burleigh Brewery

(I can´t help but giggle at "pillar" every time you mention it, since "piller" is a kids slang word for penis in germany)

In reply to this comment by dag:
You sir, are a pillar of Sift. I hope you can get back down under soon for a Sift Up - don't make me come meet you in a German beer hall ... OK, make me.

>> ^Fjnbk:
This is really awesome. Odd that they didn't set it to a Beatles song, though.


That´s because this is the official video to "Garble Arch" by Blame Ringo from Brisbane, *downunder

1. My grandmother tried to convince my 17 year old mother to have me aborted, but failed.

2. I flew in a plane for the first time when I was two and remember the air steward taking my unfinished glass of juice, because it was almost time to land.

3. I have been in close contact with dozens of venomous snakes, but never been hurt.

4. I fell in love with Persephone and her story, listening to an audio cassette in my school library at the age of 9.

5. I wasn't satisfied with my parent's explanation for the word 'rape' when I heard it on the news at the age of 6. I could tell they were lying.

6. I was the cultural representative of my school in senior year.

7. I was the first in my family to go to University.

8. I was the first woman in my family to delay marrying until after the age of 17.

9. I climbed Uluru not long after Azaria Chamberlain was taken by a dingo.

10. I used to sail 12ft Thorpes on the Brisbane River. My crew was a beautiful transvestite called Alison.

11. I dreamed of being multi-lingual as a child.

12. I love foreign languages and wish I could have kept up my German and Spanish as well as I have my Japanese.

13. I was a hostess in a Yakuza bar in Osaka for one night only.

14. I love being pregnant, giving birth and being a mother.

15. I wish I had had a lesbian relationship at least once.

16. I let my art lecturer sleep with me once because I believed it was an honour to be in his bed.

17. I drove solo across Australia once, never getting a flat or hitting a roo.

18. I meditate and am learning Chi Gung.

19. I sometimes talk to the dead and they tell me helpful stuff only they and their relatives know.

20. I know that our limited perception of reality is the reason we experience fear, anger and hatred.

21. I keep dream journals for my children. I have recorded their dreams since they first learned to talk about them.

22. My daughter reads my mind and lets me know she can do it, by bringing up whatever subject I am silently thinking about at the time.

23. I know that people I encounter are really me in another form.

24. I don't read/listen to the news/t.v. any more.

25. I will walk across Australia next time.

I took a peek at a Brisbane webcam and it looked like the weather was fine down there.

Merry Christmas.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

1) Season - Autumn
2) Place in the world - Shinsaibashi/Namba Osaka
3) Children's book - A Wrinkle in Time
4) TV Series Mad Men / 6 Feet under
5) Word - Defenestration
6) Film - BladeRunner
7) Curse - Holy smokes
Creature - Big cat


Which one?

11) Dog or cat - Cat
12) Sweet or savoury - Sweet
13) Cereal or Toast - Cereal
14) Tan or pale - pale
15) Shoes or barefoot - barefoot
16) Desktop or laptop - laptop
17) Drive or walk - walk
18) Drama or comedy - comedy
19) Sex or food - food
20) Futurama or Simpsons - Simpsons

The Sift


24) Favourite user name - BurdTurgler
25) Your most used channel - Politics
26) Personal dumbass moment - here.
29) Do people offline know of your sift problem - Yes - ask Persephone

About you

31) Where do you live - Brisbane, Australia
32) Smoker/non-smoker - non
33) Left or right handed - right
34) Hair colour - brown
35) Relationship status - married
36) How tall 180 CM
37) Children 2
38) Ever had an operation - no
39) Best feature - washboard abs. (ha)
40) Use four words to describe yourself mellow, idealistic, nerdy, optimist

If you could...what, who, when etc

50) Achieve one thing - I think VideoSift deserves a Webby.

As I see it, free market economics epitomize efficiency but need to occasionally be adjusted and regulated to create the right incentives in cases of market failure. I'm doing economics at the moment in Brisbane, and I have to say elements of collusion, negative externalities and monopoly power under provision and extra normal profit extraction get tossed into virtually every unit we do.

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Brisbane is a nice city - but not without its problems - failing infrastructure and overcrowding are at the top of my list. I actually live on the Gold Coast which is about an hour South - and has nice beaches - which Brisbane does not.

>> ^thebug44:
I've always wondered this...why the hell is his name Yahtzee!?


I'd guess it was from his first series of adventure games starring his signature character Arthur Yahtzee.

Here's his profile from his Fully Ramblomatic site:

REAL NAME: Ben Croshaw
POSITION: Editor/Webmaster/Staff writer
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil
SHOE SIZE: 12 and a half

Yahtzee was born in Warwickshire, England, on the day of the great storm of 1983. Twenty years later, when England had become too small to accommodate the five hundred kilometre-wide tumour growing out of the back of his neck, he moved to Brisbane, Australia, where a chance encounter with an enraged surfer caused the tumour to become detached. It has now gone on to star in a number of Japanese fetish videos, while Yahtzee occupies a treehouse on the edge of the city, struggling to learn how to live with corks around his hat. The enraged surfer tries to keep in touch, but Yahtzee never answers his phone.

Brisbane's 4ZZZ radio station had this on high rotation back in the late eighties. I haven't forgotten you, Motormouth.

Saw the Oils in Brisbane in 1984-fantastic. This was my favourite album for a long time.

Beautiful location, I flew over it in a small Cessna 180 going from Sidney to Brisbane. Wish I could have checked it out. But I had to take the longest ship ride ever through the Philippines and up into Sri Lanka.

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That sounds good. Might see if he's up Brisbane/Gold Coast way- I don't get down to Sydney as much as I used to. Thanks for the tip.

In reply to this comment by maatc:
If you like Gillian Welch you should really check out Tim Ireland!

He´s playing at the Sandringham Hotel in Sydney on Nov. 9 with Brian Campeau

The first time I saw him play he did a version of Gillians "Everything is free now" that still sends chills down my back everytime I think of it...



In reply to this comment by dag:
Lovely promote - really like this one.