Indigneous and non-european descent soldiers remembered.
On remembrance day, SBS shows the documentary of Victor Lepp, whose chinese family came to Australia during the goldmines period in Ballarat. It was a challenge for these volunteers as they often suffer knockbacks before being considered eligible to serve as a soldier during those times.

Early Xmas present - A breakdown of US presidential results
  140 million Americans - a staggering 65% of the registered electorate - cast their votes to make Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States of America. Here is how the results break down...

Black Americans

95% of black voters went to the ballot for Obama and only 4% for McCain.

Whites

55% of white votes went to McCain including the notoriously hard-to-win white working class vote, but Obama stunned many by taking an impressive 43% of total white votes, cutting the Republican lead compared with 2004.

Hispanics

66% of Hispanic voters turned out for Obama - the best ever result for a Democrat.

Women

56% of the female vote went to Obama, exceeding the usual Democrat advantage.

**It should be noted that while Obama won the female vote overall, he lost the battle over white women by 7 points

Men

41% of white males voted for Obama.

Under- 30's

66% of under-30's showed their support for Obama - far higher than in any previous election - compared to 31% for McCain.

A staggering 54% of young white voters also went for Obama.

Catholics

54 per cent of them voted for pro-abortion Obama as opposed to 46 per cent for McCain.

Observers say the economy became the key issue for many Catholic Americans, which, along with issues such as the Iraq War and health care, eclipsed abortion.

Jews

78% of the Jewish vote went to Obama.

Asians

63% of Asian voters went to the ballot for Obama

53% of voters who earned $200,000 or more in 2007 voted for Obama.

McCain - who was expected to triumph amongst the wealthy, succeeded in polling only 45% of these voters.

73% of white evangelicals backed McCain and 25% backed Obama.

[source: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083335/Breakdown-demographics-reveals-black-voters-swept-Obama-White-House.html] For an indepth analysis of the states votes breakdown by delegates, click here.

Is there a racial and demographic divide in US ? Is the election of a non-white president now the result of a handover because the country is facing a global economic challenge and beridden with war-torn struggles from previous administrations ?

Over in Aussie, Indigenous leader and Aboriginal rights advocate Patrick Dodson winner of 2008 Sydney Peace prize lecture has called for Australia to mirror the US President-elect Barack Obama's policies in seeking for compensation for Aboriginal people and for the ownership of Indigenous land to be recognised in the constitution. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5125687

Microsoft new patch to fix or to condemn unlicensed software ?
Microsoft is claiming that the latest urgent patch http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-067.mspx recently released is to address a global worm attack crisis that was going to erupt http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/152688/microsoft_says_windows_flaw_could_bring_worm_attack.html In china, people are claiming a new kind of attack on their systems: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/pirates-broadsided-by-microsofts-dark-stealthy-tactics/2008/10/24/1224351545386.html

The fraternity

What if it were true that all of us were part of a fraternity and the deaths or accidents that have occured were orders passed down by the fraternity ? This is part of an imaginary tale depicted by the movie "wanted 2008" but it does make one sit up and think and contrast it with that word called "fate".

Virtual strip search scanners in Aussie airports

European Union MPs have joined US civil liberty campaigners in criticising a new scanner technology which allows airport security staff to see through passengers' clothes.

Calling it a virtual strip search, they say it should be used only as a last resort.

"Many travellers will consider these scanners an enormous intrusion" on their personal privacy, Philip Bradbourn, a British Conservative member of the EU assembly, said on Monday.

The new system, being tested in Australia and which the EU plans to authorise at the bloc's airports, allows guards to see an outline of passengers' bodies beneath their clothes, making it easier to detect any concealed objects.

Trials of the scanners are being conducted at Melbourne , Adelaide and Sydney airports this month, although at this stage travellers will have a choice on whether they want to be screened by the new scanners.

The scanners are already being introduced in several US airports and have been tested in other countries around the world, including EU nations such as Britain and the Netherlands.

However, EU officials said it could face a ban if the 27-nation bloc does not include it in a new regulation listing acceptable airport security equipment.

Bradbourn said the technology should not be used routinely on passengers, but could be introduced when suspicions are raised.

"There may be some benefit in having body scanners in our airports, but they should be a last resort and a substitution for a strip search, not a random sample of innocent holidaymakers," he said.

The plans have provoked concern from across the political spectrum, and many EU lawmakers issued statements ahead of Monday night's debate about the matter in the European parliament, which is based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.

"The body, or nude, scanners create a three-dimensional picture which shows the passenger without clothes, including their genitals," said German Social Democrat Wolfgang Kreissl-Doerfler.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission , says the legislation under consideration would respect safety and privacy rules, adding that passengers who objected could be offered an alternative form of security check.

Members of the European parliament are demanding the right to vote on the scanners, which could be included in the list of authorised security equipment as a technical measure that would not require the assembly's approval.

If the full-body scanners are included in the list, each of the 27 EU nations would be free to decide if they wanted to use them.

The American Civil Liberties Union has long campaigned against use of the scanners for routine checking at US airports, saying they should only be used in place of an intrusive search when there is probable cause.

After the machines were introduced at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport last year, officials there said they had few complaints from passengers, saying most approved because lines moved faster.    source: link