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Unstable Bench

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25 Years of Storage

The Real Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Australia

As David Koch points out, here's the real benefits for Refugees in Australia (leaving aside the "benefit" of being left in a concentration camp for years...):

• First of all, refugees are not illegal immigrants. It has never been illegal in Australia to arrive on shore without a visa seeking asylum. In fact it’s one of the rights within the UN’s declarations on refugees which Australia helped to write.

• When an asylum seeker arrives in Australia, they do not get any Centrelink benefits. While their status is being processed, and if they meet certain criteria, they can be eligible for financial support from the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme, administered through the Red Cross. This amount is 89% of the basic Centrelink allowance. This means approximately $405.84 per fortnight – over $260 less than a pensioner.

• Once an asylum seeker is recognised as a genuine refugee, after a long and highly scrutinized process, they are given permanent residency and are then entitled to the same Centrelink, schooling and health benefits as anyone else. No more, no less.

• The normal Centrelink welfare payment is $456 per fortnight, for a refugee with permanent residency and an Australian-born person. A pensioner in Australia receives $671.90. Over $200 more each fortnight. Even with family/parenting benefits, a refugee’s benefits would still be less than a pensioner’s income.

• For an asylum seeker to qualify for any payment under the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme, they must have lodged an application for a visa 6 months before, not be in detention, and not get any other payment or benefit.

• To get a permanent residence as a refugee, the person has to prove they are a genuine refugee fleeing persecution, go through character, security and medical tests, and sign an Australian Values Statement.

• ‘Boat people’ are asylum seekers. Refugees are asylum seekers who have been approved and given a visa. None of them are ‘illegal immigrants’.

The Real Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Australia

How to fold a shirt

Wally Remix's Everybodies "Somebodies"

An oldie but a goodie: Wally De Backer decided to do his own cover of every cover of his song "Somebody That I Used to Know" on Youtube.  Worked out nicely...

Watch "Gotye - Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra" on YouTube

Super secret North Korean missile footage

New Comet Discovered—May Become "One of Brightest in History

According to National Geographic, a new comet has been discovered which may become "One of Brightest in History".  If astronomers' early predictions hold true, next year may hold a glowing gift for stargazers: a super bright comet (named: 2012 S1) just discovered streaking near Saturn. 

It's still unclear where the comet came from but its orbit suggests the comet may be a runaway from the Oort cloud, where billions of comets orbit about a hundred thousand times farther from the sun than Earth is.  Because 2012 S1 appears to be fairly large—possibly approaching two miles (three kilometers) wide—and will fly very close to the sun, astronomers have calculated that the comet may shine brighter, though not bigger, than the full moon in the evening sky.

A rare challenge to Abbott's free pass

Something unusual is happening.  Tony Abbott is finally being challenged in the mainstream media about his positions refugees and the Carbon Tax.  Could this be the prelude to a(nother) Liberal leadership challenge?   It's certainly true that Malcolm Turnbull's profile in the media is a lot higher in recent weeks than it has been.

A rare challenge to Abbott's free pass - The Drum - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)