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The Census and Australian Bureau of Statistics websites have crashed on their most important day of the year [Census day for Australians], leaving Australians frustrated and unable to complete their form online. Many trying to log on to the Census and ABS sites were met with an error message on Tuesday evening saying the site could not be reached.
In a first, the census requires a full name to be filled in, though many including politicians are concerned about privacy issues. Crossbench senators including Nick Xenophon, Scott Ludlam and Sarah Hanson-Young are pledging not to comply with rules for the census will be treated like any other citizen and risk fines of $180 per day, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
Some took to Twitter to slam the ABS, with one user sarcastically saying they were "definitely technically competent enough to keep our most private data safe."
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 09 2016, @08:50PM
Somalia. I wonder why you confuse Somalia with anything that resembles a "country" or a "nation". Is it your belief that Somalia was once a nation, or maybe even a "great nation"?
Somalia, a land of wandering tribesmen. Their great claim to fame is that they could fight the English to standstill. (Some will argue that isn't much of an accomplishment. A Scotsman, maybe?) Much like the Apache in America, Somalians were superb fighters. A dozen Somali warriors could tie up an entire British regiment, causing 100 casualties for every one they took.
But, Somalia has no claim to fame aside from that. They had a few villages, some fishing, goats and camels, and a great nomadic life.
Following in the footsteps of the rest of the world, Somalia was introduced to the benefits of modern medicine. Oh, wow - population explosion!! Who could have anticipated that? So, suddenly, a land that supported tens of thousands of nomads is expected to support MILLIONS of sedentary city dwellers?
Yeah, Somalia is pretty fucked up, but let's not pretend that it has anything to do with government. The British may be guilty of destroying a culture in Somalia, but there never was a "government", a "nation", or even a "country" to destroy.
Probably the best thing for Somalia, would be for the west to just go away, take away all their medicine, food donations, military and economic "aid", and let the Somalis support themselves. They'll quickly go back to their tribal lives, the nomads will take over again, and the land will be relatively peaceful again. That land will never support the millions who live there now. Let the Somalis decide how the great die off plays out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 10 2016, @03:16AM
You could say the same about any place.
How long do you think New York would last without trade or a functioning government?
Let's just cut off all support and let the New-Yorkers themselves see how the great die off plays out.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 10 2016, @01:56PM
NYC would be pretty fucked without trade - but Somalia has no trade to speak of. What do they export, besides hungry children? They don't even have tourism, because they are so mean and hateful.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 11 2016, @01:49AM
So you agree that they are both unable to be self sufficient. But only Somalia should die because of it?
What about the functioning government part? How long without a government do you think NYC would last?
If Somalia did have a functioning government, they could have trade and tourism and all the other nice things.
Good luck getting one though...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday August 11 2016, @02:01AM
Reading comprehension, much? Who said that Somalia should die? I merely suggested that Somalia should be returned to it's once pristine condition of arid desert, ruled by nomadic warlords. It's "natural state", if you will. Let the barbarians be barbarians. Somalia need not die - just the excess population.
As for the larger cities of the world "dying" - the surviviors would be better off. We have many competing interests, and increasing the human population of the world shouldn't be a main priority. Let's get off the planet, find someplace for some of those excess billions to live, before we worry about maintaining our huge population.
Just in case you still don't "get it", I am mocking mankind's assumption that we live in the best of all possible worlds, thanks to modern medicine and modern science.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 12 2016, @02:14AM
Oh Somalia shouldn't die, just all the people who live there, gotcha.
You're still hand-waving over the whole government thing. Which was kinda your whole point at the start.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 12 2016, @07:50PM
Let nature take it's course. That's all I'm saying. If Somalians can support millions of people in the desert without outside charity, then let them do it. If they have to depend on world welfare organizations, then it's time to downsize.
What's so hard to understand about that? It is not your responsibility, nor mine, to ensure that all those millions are fed, sheltered, and clothed. If the desert won't support them, then they should move somewhere else, and try a different kind of life. Or, just die off.
But don't worry - it won't be just Somalia. I really believe the earth is going puke on all of us sooner or later. We continue to destroy habitat, in our quest for some imagined wealth. Diamonds, gold, uranium - strip mine entire regions of the world to get at them. Don't worry about how much of the environment is destroyed.
The newest thing? Mining the ocean floor. Don't worry how many animals live there, don't worry how many of them might become extinct even before science identifies them.