Heretic

Good point indeed . Curious how they stop the relatively benign things like naughty plants effectively , but meanwhile the place is flooded with ice , smack , and other nasties ....

Greetings ... I am deeply apologetic for raising such a distasteful subject , but this is the only forum of which I am a member that might permit such discussion . Nevertheless , mods please remove it should it be beyond the scope of Corroboree . Australia is quickly getting a reputation for being a dangerous place - especially so for women and children ; victims of rapists and paedophiles who murder them afterwards to [ hopefully ] prevent later identification . Possibly the actual statistics for such crime might suggest that Australia is no worse than other countries , but even if this is so , any such crime at all is unacceptable . Furthermore , many of these appalling heinous crimes are committed by repeat offenders on parole or released from prison , having served sentences for similar attacks on vulnerable people . [ as I understand , Daniel Morcombe , Jill Meagre , and others might still be alive if the creeps involved had served their full sentences , originally imposed for their earlier crimes . If this is indeed so , surely the State must be accountable ? ] It seems that the current penalties being imposed for such crimes are of no deterrent value at all , for they continue to occur with monotonous regularity . And if / when these monsters are caught and convicted they are housed in protective custody , isolated from the general prison populations . This , of course , is no deterrent whatsoever because they know they will be protected from other prisoners , well fed , and enjoy the use of computers , TV , gymnasium , etc , while they comfortably serve out their sentences - and probably be released early if of good behaviour . Perhaps if these creeps are treated the same as any other mainstream prisoner , their sentences may have more deterrent value ? Both myself and my brother are very lucky to be alive today , having been grabbed as children by a notorious local paedophile and dragged into nearby secluded swampy bushland . His mistake , and our good fortune is because he had 2 freaking-out kids on his hands , and was unable to control both of us at once . We bolted in different directions at the first opportunity , despite a savage beating and threats of much worse . I have no doubt that had there only been one of us , we would have been murdered to prevent identifying the creep . This was long ago [ 1965 ] , and the Victorian police did not pursue prosecution because of lack of evidence [ multiple facial bruising ?? ] and " unreliable witnesses " [ kids ] ; and we suspect , influential relative ... However , surprise-surprise , he was later convicted and jailed more than once for the same things ... [ which no doubt should have not occurred , had he been previously prosecuted ]. These appalling disgusting crimes should not be occurring in any society , esp in an advanced culture such as Australia . That many of these crimes are repeat offences is an indictment on the State for negligence , and failure to protect the most vulnerable of citizens - women and children . Personally , I believe that for such offences the punishments ought reflect the gravity of these crimes . In my opinion such creeps have forfeited the right to be members of a civilized society ; and where there is the slightest chance of sex-offender committing a similar type crime the State has a responsibility to protect citizens and prevent re-offending . Maybe , upon completion of their sentences , such prisoners could be made to live in isolated communities away from society . After all , who wants a convicted sex-offender or killer living nearby ?? I certainly do not ... Finally , where the murder of a victim in such or similar cases has occurred , the courts ought to be imposing sentences that adequately reflect the gravity of such crimes ... or is someone's life really only worth 12-15 or so years , as is suggested by current " life " prison terms ?

I like to use washed [ "coarse sharp " ] sand , with a little [ 10% or so ] topsoil or potting mix for a bit of humus . I add about a teaspoon of dolomite lime for calcium / mg , and a pinch of mineral mix every couple of years . They do well ... I think that a mix that retains water for longish periods is not so good . They seem to like wet-dry conditions .

I think it is occurring more tan is realized ,with much going unreported . I guess there is no easy answer . Even though my brother and I were " fortunate " , every news report drags up memories , even almost 50 years later . At the time of posting a 3 yo girl had vanished from her bedroom in a nearby town , and I felt terrible for her and the family - so pleased she was found unharmed ; was not expecting that . I wonder if it occurs in tribal societies , or is more prevalent in industrial societies ? I went to a church-run school for many years . There were several mysterious incidents and sackings , and the school had to sell off land to pay compensation claims , according to my Ma who worked there . She says " damage control " rather than reporting to police was a school policy of the time ...

I don't believe people should be locked away for life UNLESS they are re-offenders , or likely to do so . Ferguson was hounded out of one town after another - clearly an unworkable situation . Nobody wants sex offenders in their community if there is the slightest chance they will do it again . The states of Qld , Vic , and the NT were negligent and failed in their duty of care to protect Daniel Morcombe , Jill Meagre , and many others . Any risk of re-offending is unacceptable , imo . But once their sentences are served , these people have to live somewhere and in a degree of strictly controlled freedom . But where ? This is a problem - who wants them nearby ? Perhaps long -term strict supervision in isolated areas , until they can be trusted again ? Simply letting them out after time served is not only irresponsible , but is clearly not working .

I would prefer a serious sensible discussion that reflects not only opinions , but suggests ways our society might better deal with very real problem - whereby it might be practical use to those in a position to do something positive . eg , lawyers , MPs , etc . At present the State are failing miserably to protect the most vulnerable among us ... I personally believe that some of these people have forfeited the right to live among us . Perhaps , after release from prison they could be housed in a specific village of their own kind , strictly monitored , recieve treatment , etc , but most importantly - live in such a manner where they are unable to do it again . Putting them back into society is a threat to their neighbours as well as themselves , as was demonstrated when Dennis Ferguson was no longer legally able to be incarcerated . [ he went on to doing some very sus charity work , if memory serves ...]

have a great trip !!

The Dice Man [ Luke Rhinehart ? ] Undecided ? What to do ? etc List some options and roll a dice , and let the dice decide .... [ loved that book ]

I found Adam Gottlieb's " Peyote and other Psychoactive Cacti " to be very useful for growing cacti - easy to follow , informative , and only about $ 20 if you shop around ...

These poppies are also the source of Australian poppy seeds - sold by sackful to bakeries , etc ... Probably they are now also unsafe to to use for poppy seed teas . Be safe folks - find some other source of alkaloid ...

Try to boil or otherwise sterilize your drinking water , esp if cattle are in the area . Giardia , etc , is no joke ; an no river water in Australia is really safe to drink straight from source .... Have a great adventure !

Definitely not as good as it once was - their cacti expert left several years ago and has gone into biz on his own . He has a website and a shop at Vic markets . Sorry , can't remember his name but he would be the chap to contact .... Anybody know him ???

I have read in books by Stamets and others speculating that Azures are a recently evolved species that showed up in the late 1980s in the coastal hinterland regions of the USA Pacific NW , just behind the beach dunes , etc ... Which got me to wonder about the species known to me since the early 1970s that is found in the coastal dune forests of Victoria , just behind the beaches ... It is easy to imagine the Victorian coastal species finding its way to the U.S Pacific NW , for example , by spores unwittingly carried by back by visiting American surfers , or any number of other methods . Azures are reported to be exceptionally potent - as are the Vic coastal shrooms that I recall ... As soon as I read about Azures and their habitat I was reminded of the Vic coastal species - I know of areas where they grow in the dune scrub bordering beaches , almost on the beaches . I suspect that the American Azures may in fact be the Victorian coastal species , [ which I also suspect are closely related to subs ] . I am wondering if any mycologists out there can confirm or refute my hypothesis ???

I had the misfortune to be sent to a church - controlled school ; and it was a truly miserable experience .... " Educated " by sadists and paedophiles wearing collars and black [ fortunately I was one of the ' luckier ' students , and was only caned a few times - maybe because my Ma worked at that miserable place ] Mondays was " scripture " day , and Tuesdays was for Army cadets .... one day the New Testament shoved down our throats , and the next marching around with an old .303 , and practicing military skills ; and two weeks out of the holidays each year freezing while camping at Puckapunyal ... As for the New Testament - I reckon there is a lot more truths in the Old book ....

Lots of 25 I / C nboh fake blotters in Oz nowadays ..- seen photos of blotters on Bluelight of " best trip ever " , etc , of known to be 25 I / C blotters ... Be very cautious of any " Mexican Skulls " and " Alex Greys " going around lately...

It is like the Newman govt is trying to bring back the Joh days ... After the bikers they will persecute other minority groups , probably in order to distract the public attention from their official corruption and shady rorts and scams . Seen it all before , by the same political party ...

www.theherald.com.au/story/1848433/the-ocean-is-broken/ saw this on another site ... Warning - it is very depressing .

Whatever ... IMHO , religions are runaway legends ....

ZPG - interesting post ; I agree that Azures are unlikely to be a recent spontaneous evolutionary species [ as suggested by Stamets ] . More likely , I suspect , is that shrooms have an ability to travel and colonize new localities The Victorian coastal species grows on the litter of the coastal scrub , and appears from Autumn - Spring when the weather becomes cold and wet . Seems to be a case of the colder and wetter , the better for this species . My literature is quite dated - the Baltic grass notion was unknown to me , but makes sense . This mushroom is well known to the locals in the areas where it occurs . But I have no idea of it's true identity ... Would be interesting to learn more . [ it can be dynamite , esp the pins ... but also subjectively variable at times . ]

Several posts above referring to police corruption ... A couple of examples come to mind immediately [ and there are many , many more ....] ; and why prohibition is an exercise in futility .... [ 1 ] Barry Moyse - once head of the SA drug squad , and the creator of the Operation NOAH farce : convicted of recycling drugs seized in raids , inc heroin , amphetamines , cocaine , and cannabis ...[ bastard got off lightly with 8 years , if my memory serves ] [ 2 ] Mark Standen - Assistant Director of NSW Crime Commission , quite recently convicted of a huge importation of amphetamine precursor - as I recall , he received a long sentence , 22 years or so ... THESE GUYS WERE THE HEAD MEN OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DRUG UNITS !!! They were motivated by personal greed , and in no way were corrupted by OMCGs - [ who imo are in no way desirable , but the OMCGs are presently copping a huge amount of publicity for what is in reality only small fraction of the drug trafficking in Australia ; while elsewhere it is business as usual ...] As for cops of lesser rank that have been convicted of serious corruption , the list is huge .... Clearly prohibition is not only an exercise in futility , it also demonstrates that our most trusted law enforcement officials can an do succumb to temptation of greed , because of the vast sums of money generated by prohibiting what are otherwise virtually worthless commodities ...

I used to live in rural NT on a 20 acre property , and on one side had hard - core patch wearing bikers living next door . They used to party hard at times , but otherwise caused me no hassles whatsoever ; unlike the thieving scum children of my other very wealthy neighbors who eventually caused me to sell up and move away because of the constant and relentless thieving , to get something to hock for money to score ...but I was an easy target , and they knew when I was'nt at home - I worked for their Daddy ..... As far as I am concerned , I would prefer OMCG bikers to rich folks for neighbors any day ....

Something similar occurred in Australia when the Libs blocked supply and got rid of Whitlam ....

It is the variety - get some seeds from your local baker ....

Seems like another country is seeing sense at last ... Prohibition is insanity that creates the unwanted organized crime .