With the new building about to open with A1 tenants such as The Coffee Club, Telstra cannot supply telephone lines to the complex in the main street of Goodna.
The owner Manos Saridakis is extremely disappointed at Telstra's un-business-like approach to the community.
Full details later.
The Property Council of Australia continues its political campaign against the Bligh Government in Queensland with another full page advertisement in today's Courier-Mail.
The Property Council under Executive Director Steve Greenwood wants to retain the status quo with property valuations set to drop overnight by up to 35%, as a result of a recent court decision.
The corresponding shortfall in rates would have to be made up by ordinary householders, forced to subsidise big business, if Steve Greenwood had his way.
This guy is really a class act - having worked with the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) and now in his new role with the Property Council attempting to smash local government financially.
If fairness and equity were the test on this issue, Steve Greenwood would fail badly.
Today's Courier-Mail also features a full page advertisement from the Queensland Government which puts this whole issue in perspective:
NO CHANGE for family home valuations
NO CHANGE for mums' and dads' investment properties
NO CHANGE for superannuation funds
NO CHANGE for tourism owners and operators
NO CHANGE for local shopping centres
NO CHANGE for farmers
NO CHANGE for renters
NO CHANGE for retail tenants
NO CHANGE for tradies.
LGAQ President Paul Bell is quoted in the State Government advertisement rightly supporting the proposed legislation.
Paul Bell must be acutely embarrassed that a former LGAQ staffer would spearhead such an anti-local government campaign to stop this legislation.
The ONLY CHANGE really needed is for the Property Council to dump Steve Greenwood for wasting its funds on this ill-conceived political campaign which is doomed to fail abysmally.
.........................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on
this website. If "Home" does not appear,
all posts are currently displayed.
.........................................................
How a major company could display such insensitivity in honour of the almighty dollar on this important national day beggars belief.
Maybe a major donation by Kmart to help needy diggers and their families would be a better gesture than their half-hearted, belated act of contrition to the people of Australia.
.........................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on
this website. If "Home" does not appear,
all posts are currently displayed.
.........................................................
Why are so many people ready to poke fun at Apple's latest creation, the iPad?
Misek said Apple's Taiwan-based supplier Hon Hai Precision could be facing a production bottleneck or a shortage of components.
"An unspecified production problem at the iPad's manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision, will likely limit the launch region to the U.S. and the number of units available to roughly 300,000 in the month of March, far lower than the company's initial estimate of 1 million units. The delay in production ramp will likely impact Apple's April unit estimate of 800,000 as well," Misek wrote.
Apple has not publicly stated an official release date or how many models it is expecting to put on sale. It has said that Wi-Fi models will ship in "late March," while 3G models will ship in April in the U.S. and selected countries, including Australia.
Canaccord still expects Apple to sell 550,000 iPads in the third quarter ending in June, and 1.2 million iPads in the 2010 fiscal year.
"The only material impact from the iPad delay could come in the form of frustrated consumers and some modest loss of luster for the company's product launch," Misek said.
Messages left for Apple were not immediately returned.
Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading
The Honourable Peter Lawlor
02/03/2010
You've got mail...and a scam
JOINT RELEASE
High-tech fraudsters are disguising themselves online and targeting inboxes with a new wave of 'e-scams', say Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor and Police Minister Neil Roberts.
Mr Lawlor said the Office of Fair Trading warned people about an increasing number of scams being received electronically via email and text message.
"The National Consumer Fraud Week (1-7 March) awareness campaign is underway and this is a good reminder to people to get up to date on different types of cyber threats," he said.
"While many of us understand that spam involves unwanted emails being sent out to a multitude of email addresses, some of the newer scams such as phishing and smishing may not be understood."
The warning follows an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report released yesterday showing that Australians lost almost $70 million through scams in 2009.
Mr Roberts said the impact of fraud on the community was often underestimated.
"Advances in technology have provided more opportunities for offenders to prey on the most vulnerable members of our community," Mr Roberts said.
"While the Internet is a powerful communication tool, offenders have adapted to it quickly and are now using it en masse to target victims via text message and email.
"We see victims suffer not only embarrassment and humiliation but too many are losing their home and life savings.
"The Queensland Police Service's expert Fraud and Corporate Crime Group has a number of initiatives aimed at preventing this crime and educating the public on how to avoid becoming a cyber crime victim."
Mr Lawlor said phishing referred to emails that tricked people into giving out their personal and banking information.
"The term smishing is used when people are targeted by text messages to their mobile phones," he said.
"These messages appear to come from legitimate business, often banks or telecommunication companies, and have an authentic feel about them.
"Emails will often link to websites that look identical to a real company's page, with similar logos and headings; the key is to look carefully at the web address.
"If a real bank's webpage was www.realbank.com, a fake address might be www.realbank.com.log107.biz
"The scammers are trying to obtain personal information allowing them to withdraw money from bank accounts.
"Even clicking onto a fake website can allow scammers to load spy ware onto your computer which gives them access to any information you have saved.
"It's a good idea to rest your mouse icon over the top of any link your unfamiliar with before clicking through, as this reveals the full web address at the bottom left of your screen.
"This will give you a strong indication of whether the website is legitimate or not."
Mr Lawlor said the key message to consumers was to be aware that there are scams out there and to carefully guard their personal information.
"Personal details and financial and banking information should be closely protected and not passed on without careful consideration."
Tips to beat the scammers:
- When surfing the web, check the address of any links you're unfamiliar with by holding your mouse icon over the link.
The address will show up on the bottom left on your page;
- Use different passwords for your online banking, email, social networking and shopping accounts;
- Regularly scan your computer for viruses and spy ware;
- Don't open emails or attachments from unknown sources - the best thing to do is to delete them;
- Never provide your credit card and personal details to an unsecured website. A secure website can be identified by a padlock at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.
For more information on protecting yourself from scams, visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or www.scamwatch.gov.au
.........................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on
this website. If "Home" does not appear,
all posts are currently displayed.
.........................................................
Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading
The Honourable Peter Lawlor
01/03/2010
Fraud Week warning on scams
JOINT RELEASE
Minister for Fair Trading Peter Lawlor and Police Minister Neil Roberts have urged Queenslanders to take care when disclosing their personal and financial details for the launch of National Consumer Fraud Week which starts today.
Fraud Week, which will run from 1 - 7 March, aims to raise awareness about the serious threat to personal identity and financial security caused by scams and the increase of attacks being carried out online.
Mr Lawlor said thousands of Australians fell victim to scams each year.
"The Office of Fair Trading received 2173 complaints relating to scams in 2009," Mr Lawlor said.
"This is an increase of more than 800 compared to 2008.
"1 in 20 Australians will be scammed this year, with consumers set to lose more than $1 billion."
Mr Roberts said the impact of fraud on the community was often underestimated.
"Advances in technology have provided more opportunities for offenders to prey on the most vulnerable members of our community," Mr Roberts said.
"While the Internet is a powerful communication tool, offenders have adapted to it quickly and are now using it en masse to target victims via text message and email.
"We see victims suffer not only embarrassment and humiliation but too many are losing their home and life savings.
"The Queensland Police Service's expert Fraud and Corporate Crime Group has a number of initiatives aimed at preventing this crime and educating the public on how to avoid becoming a cyber crime victim."
Mr Lawlor said scams could target anyone and were increasingly reaching people's homes from multiple sources - including through the post, email, door-to-door and over the phone.
"Unfortunately many scam victims don't report their experience because they feel humiliated when they realise they have been duped, and they'd rather bear the amount of money they have lost out of fear of embarrassment.
"I encourage all Queenslanders to be wary of offers they receive that are in the 'too good to be true category'.
"Victims come from all walks of life and a range of ages. Younger people aren't immune to being tricked.
"The best thing people can do with something they think might be a scam is to throw it in the bin.
"Scammers are manipulative and make a living from lying to consumers by promising easy money, great prizes and offering a way out of financial hardship.
"They promote professional looking websites, letters, brochures, emails and leaflets to dupe consumers into providing their personal details like their credit card number or password.
"The best way to protect yourself from scams is to know the warning signs and be able to identify when a product or offer doesn't seem quite right.
"Always be wary of high pressure sales tactics, unsolicited offers, and promises that seem too good to be true."
Mr Lawlor said the Fraud Week campaign was an important national initiative.
"The Office of Fair Trading, as a member of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce, is committed to bringing about a greater knowledge and understanding of scams among consumers."
For more information on protecting yourself from scams, visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au or www.scamwatch.gov.au
The Property Council has been running full page newspaper advertisements condemning new laws which reinstated decades of land valuation methodology in Queensland.
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game.
Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans.
Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.
They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house.
The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house.
It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it.
Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
MOBILE PHONES
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen.
Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet etc was stolen.
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.
'When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn.
The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number.
Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson:
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list.
Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad,Mom, etc....
And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them.
If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
*PLEASE PASS THIS ON*
I never thought about the above!
As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell phone.
.........................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on
this website. If "Home" does not appear,
all posts are currently displayed.
.........................................................
Surely their marketing brains trust knows the difference between "affected" and "effected".
Bloody hopeless!
.........................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on
this website. If "Home" does not appear,
all posts are currently displayed.
.........................................................
If this is what the police are doing BEFORE the anti-bikie laws become law in Queensland, perhaps we really do need a Federal Bill of Rights.
.....................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on this website.
If "Home" does not appear, all posts are currently displayed.
Just when the buffoons running the National Rugby League are trying to get over another terrible year, they hatch a devious plot to resurrect John Howard as the boss of the NRL.
Little Johnny may have some skills, but running the major football code in Australia doesn't seem to be one of them.
David Gallop should give the game away if this is the best he can do to revitalise this national icon.
Prime Minister Howard was booed off every football oval he attended in Australia and you don't have to be Einstein to figure out the same would happen if he became the NRL boss.
......................................................
PAUL TULLY: PaulGTully@gmail.com
Click "Home" below to see all posts on this website.
If "Home" does not appear, all posts are currently displayed.
