My rant is about the 12 week semester at UNSW.

Am I the only one who thinks that the new shorter semester SUCKS?

First, we get less education for our $$.

Second, we sre more stresed.

Third, the ppl who want to work hard are disadvantaged because now everyone is always catching up.

Fourth, now the summer break is way too long.

Fifth, the semester starts too late meaning that Easter is like 2 weeks into the semester when no one wants a holiday. Then there isn’t another real break until after exams.

This is stupid. What’s next an 8 week semester??

The sumer isw too long?? you suck

agree. 12 weeks semesters suck. They don’t even give us stuvac anymore - 2 days? What is this?! And evening and weekend exams??
I’m not complaining about the summer break though.

alcoholics be warned…

Folks who decide that the only time in which they can say what they really think, dance like nobody’s watching and kiss that girl of their dreams is when they’re plastered off six beers deserve to be skinned alive. Alcohol does not promote social interaction; it bastardises it to the extent that fools believe that is the only vehicle by which to have actual fun. Go and buy yourself a whore if you’re sexually frustrated. Join an Internet community if you’re too scared to voice your views to others in public. But don’t lurch around like Pete Doherty after a great hit and expect to be treated favourably. You look like an idiot, and you smell bad. Get the hell away from me.

Mr Liron, a fine website indeed. Will need to consider my response to several of the issues raised.

You have no idea of the kinds of people I encounter who are perfectly average during the day but become superheroes after a few vodka shots. Why can’t they be like me and be crazy all the time? I’m suing these bastards for false personality advertising…

I am sick of late night forum writing and observing my logic and composure steadily decline as the hour matures.

I’m also sick of first years… God I hope I wasn’t like that!

There is a bad ass global conspiracy, headed by the banking elite, like the rothschilds and rockefellers.

Check out http://www.infowars.org

This site is ridiculous.

All this does is it gives people that are ‘weak kneed’ to bitch about a stupid topic that they believe might have some worth. Well if it does hold merit, and your cause is worth following - then have the balls to do something about it; instead of from an insignificant website such as this.

Martin Luther King did say that, but - did he ever say that we should fight from behind our desk on our computers to hide from those who might disagree with us? No. That is why Martin Luther King was and still is such an influential person; because he believed in his cause that so many disagreed with but he fought it IN PUBLIC! Now what use is a website such as this going to do? If you really believe in what you are ‘ranting’ about then do something about it.

Of course my actions are slightly hypocritical in that I am not going to send an email to the administrators and tell them that their website is a stupid excuse to fight a ‘moral war’ or whatever ‘war’ they might be fighting for comfortably from behind their desks. But this is because I am not going to attempt to shut down something that the ’socially decaying’ western world thinks is a good idea, which is to have the youth and their voices heard. However - who will read these insignificant comments apart from fellow pathetic ranters behind their own desk - quivering at the thought of making an impact on the world without actually doing anything. If there are any active protestors/activists reading through this comment - stop now. You are wasting your time and should be out voicing in what you believe in. Wake up people.

Just know this. Those that suffered to fight for a cause are generally those that succeeded. How else can you get your voice heard?

Because some fool from facebook added me to a group that is linked to this site.. I was drawn in by the quote by Martin Luther King and wanted to check out a site that claims it is going to help change the world.

And the reason I am checking to see who would reply to me - is that I wanted to see the reaction from someone who is obviously devoted to this site such as yourself - and how you would defend it. But obviously unable to defend the website and backup its usefulness (if it has any), you direct the spotlight to me and query my motive for going on this website. Which reinforces my statement as to why it is useless until proven to me otherwise - which I would happily accept knowing that the world would be a better place if all people had to do was sit behind their desk.

I pity you for your waste of time. Me - I have nothing better to do other than procrastinate between now and the HSC.

Cliche tells me that you will tell me to get some study done, but, what influence will a keyboard tapper have on me?

It’s called solitarity so don’t tazer me dude.

I’m guessing you forget that the internet is the only free forum of expression, James? Although of course, even that is changing…

Those of us who have been out in the real world, and fought the battles with parliamentarians and with the public on such issues such as global poverty, we realise that our loud mouths, our action and our passions fall on empty ears. Those who have the capacity to really change the world lick their fingers and stick them up in the air to see which way the wind is going. We have come back to the communication tool of our generation to stir up a wind, a mighty hurricane that will create a wave of change. There is nothing more formidable than our generation standing up for what we believe…and yes all from our keyboards.

Ah - I’m finally getting some worthy responses, apart Shaz’s (Sorry)
Now.. What would happen if you protesters - instead of just protesting about something in front of weak politicians - do something clever that will get media attention and grab the hearts and minds of the individuals that the politicians themselves depend on.

No Rafi, we are free to express what we like - but - within boundaries. Think about it. The only times that someone would get pulled up for protesting about something in Australia is if you were a) physical, b) trespassing or c) just doing something stupid. Instead, why not do something clever and get your point across without being pulled up, but instead, admired by many who would join your cause. You, Rafi, forget that Australia is one of the most ‘free’ countries (couldn’t think of a better word).

Now Mike, fighting an issue like global poverty through “Battles” (May I ask - when and where cause I would love to see if it made any impact or even made the media) outside of idiotic parliamentarian’s windows is just stupid. Yes, welcome to the real world Mike. Even I can work out that those sort of actions will result in no change. Global poverty is not something that can be fixed because of “battles” with parliamentarians. It is a global movement that needs to begin, but as to how it begins is completely another thing. Let me guess, did you run up to some poor MP and yell “FIX GLOBAL POVERT; YOU’RE USELESS!” Or something along those lines. Wow. You’re bold. You have balls. Think of this. Which do you believe most in; Saving the earth which could save millions upon millions of lives (supposedly through lower carbon emissions) or fixing Global Poverty. Now, there is an opportunity cost here, Where if we decide to allow humanity to live for a few hundred more years on earth, or, we can divert billions of dollars of funds to stop poverty. But, know this (At the risk of sounding like a monster). If we stop global poverty - Millions will live that would have otherwise died. The food sources needed to keep the earth’s population alive would not be sustainable, and as a result a massive global famine would spread killing more than it would have if things were left the way they were.

Firstly to bring an end to this attack on my integrity. One way that i have been involved in standing up for poverty was being apart of a 200 person road trip to Canberra, where we met with 100 senators and MP’s. IN THEIR OFFICES. No we didn’t run up to them when they were getting into their cars… When i met Peter Garrett was very supportive, he will push for us to reach 0.7% GDP in Foreign AID by 2015.
If you want another example, follow this link to a youtube video of sydneys part of a worldwide advocacy event, Im holding the O, i got up on stage later, but i didn’t make the cut for youtube. That day we were on sunrise and the evening news. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4sD7KJgLf8

I do agree with you, there is a limit to the action that politicians can have. All they can really do is open up the world markets, bring down trade barriers, allow corporations to invest in developing countries, empower the hungry to farm, give billions in micro financing, stop subsidising agriculture, bring education to remote parts of the world…really they are useless…
No they are not, the British government banned slave labour, the US congress granted racial equality. All they need to do is sign a few sheets of paper, yes it will take them another two decades to sign those sheets of paper but that is what we need…time. THE GOVERNMENT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE.

You seem to have critised every avenue for change, the government, online networking, foreign aid, lobbying and feeding hungry people…What are your solutions sir? It is very easy to sit on the sidelines and mud sling. But i encourage you to get your toes dirty. What is your solution. How do we go about change?

At the end of your post you indeed made a “monstrous” comment, if you wrote this late at night when perhaps your head wasn’t on straight, i could forgive you, but if that is what you truly believe i can’t believe we are the same species. You argued that feeding the hungry, will starve us. That is the essence of your argument, yes? If we feed the hungry, we will starve ourselves. You argue that you can’t grow obese on mcdonalds if give a developing community a handful of seeds. Foodfirst.org tells us that at the moment, the world produces enough grain to feed every one 3500 calories a day - and that’s just grain, not rice, not anything else…If you are happy to say that they don’t deserve to eat because they were born in Africa, that’s sad. If you think you deserve anything you have now, you are arrogant. If you think that the current food price crisis will last the through the next decades, you are deluded and must finish that economics course you started… there’s more to it than opportunity cost.

Just gotta attack James a little - I cannot resist.

“If we stop global poverty - Millions will live that would have otherwise died” No, you don’t sound like a monster, you’re just uneducated. (which is a useful function of this forum)

In most developing countries, people cannot afford food and shelter to look after themselves, so they have children to get out and work for them. The relatively huge birth rate is due to poor resources - children are a lifeplan investment. It has been shown, and you only have to look at Australia, that the richer countries are, the less children they have. Just to add to that, think of all the resources, material and emotional, that go to waste in making many babies in the hope that some will live and be able to provide for the family.

alleviating/stopping poverty is a great economical move for the globe, increases the efficiency and utility of food resources, and makes significant differences in family planning (so less people are born and less people die). The overpopulation argument against poverty alleviation is unfounded.

James,

I appreciate and respect that you have the courage to voice the views you have on the very site you wish to criticize.

I thought i would take the opportunity to make mention of how this site seeks to contribute in a meaningful way to Martin Luther King’s legacy.

This site was born to create a culture in this generation (Gen Y and increasingly also it’s younger counterparts) to encourage discussion on issues that matter. At the moment, our lives and conversations are filled with vacuous babble about who will win ‘dancing with the stars’. Therefore, this site aims to cultivate a shift in the conversations of young people, to encourage opinion and debate on significant matters. And in the short life of the site it is doing these things…

The number of views and contributions (so our data tells us) have been overwhelming. In addition, several global companies (including the world’s largest consumer branding company Proctor and Gamble) have committed funds and resources to further develop this initiative, both locally and with the vision for around the world. So for a start, those with influence and understanding of social and global trends do not agree with your views on the usefulness of this project. However, you are entitled to your view nonetheless.

The chief end of this site is not specifically to organise the trips to Canberra to get in front of politicians, or the mission trips to the Northern Territory (although EMPOWER, another initiative of Talent Generation may well do this in the near future). It’s chief end is to take the first, and probably most significant step, in mobilising our generation to be thoughtful, considered and to care about important issues. It seeks to do this by creating a community of people who are in discussion about these ideas - and to do this in the most portable, inclusive and convenient way.

Therefore, your claims that this site is useless because it does not manifest action and suffering as Martin Luther King’s quote would intend i think are essentially wrong, and i think King would agree with me. This is the first, and notably the lacking element, among our peers - they are ill informed, and don’t care, and even if they do care, they don’t have a platform to share their views and engage with others. This device is designed to combat that first hurdle, and with increased concern, there is an increased capacity for activism.

There are countless (amazing) organisations performing the role of managing and deploying activities to bring about specific good ends in the world today, and many of us on team are part of several of these. However, when faced with a largely uninformed and careless city, how better to combat this deficiency than with an accessible, high quality forum that brings people to a central place to discuss the issues of importance - to grow informed opinion, and to grow concern.

At the moment, the development team are currently undertaking to provide personalised and individual space on the site for the activist organisations, other societies and clubs that have vested concerns about some discussions in the forum. And once more, their willingness to partner with us is further proof that these activists themselves do not share your views on the usefulness of the ENGAGE vision.

So James, as Director of Talent Generation, I want to thank you for your honest criticism, but suggest that your very heartfelt concern (that we would take action for change) is at the heart of this project. And though you appear to disagree that this is an effective way of bringing about that end, I hope the above is a helpful explanation of how we see the vision of ENGAGE contributing to the mission that King left us.

I personally encourage you to embrace this venture, and to share the vision with others - be part of creating a culture shift among your peers to be considered, informed and active in the way you want to see the world change. And continue to use this as a place to share your views, positive or negative, as to the warrant of our endeavours.

Eddie Gandevia,
Talent Generation.

James, I think you have an incredibly low view of the possibility of change with regards to global poverty. And I think this view is essentially uninformed, and before you slander the work of thousands of people saving lives and freeing people from utter squalor and misery, you do the leg work and research to have a sensible view to contribute.

While you mock the ends of this site, hopefully it can perform a helpful function for you - go and reform your simple views with some data.

Where’d james go??

Mr Liron, have sent you several ideas for future topics as debate appears to have stagnated. Understand that university commitments are probably hindering your replys, but would like to hear back soon.
Dr Phil

I really hope this website encourages James (and other ignorant people of the sort, sorry James) to reconsider before unloading a lot of unadulterated garbage.

Those who hope this website will provoke change amongst Gen Y should hope it’s the type of change Obama is promoting, not McSame’s idea of change.

Hopefully someone will find this,

Can someone fix up the page so it looks better on firefox. Please the look of the page is horrible.

can i just rant about the internet censorship laws, stop whinging ppl, suck it up, ur all totally missing the point. China is bad cos it stops human rights sites, and info on Tianamen and stuff, but Rudd has no plan to do that, its just stopping innappropriate sites that could be damaging to ppl, i mean who wants their 8yr old kid having access to porn or the like, lets face it, some of the stuff on the internet is just plain wrong, and young people are easily influenced and are being influenced, even to the point where they believe porn is a good thing because it creats jobs! and the argument that it is gonna set a precedent to bigger things, seriously, the government has no aim to restrict ur personal ‘freedom’, if u can call becoming addicted to porn and the like ‘free’, they are just trying to prevent young kids from accessing innapropriate material, u wouldnt hand a young kid a porn mag, or give him a film, so y not apply the same thinking to the net, as they have practically free reign, we will no doubt be seeing the effects of free reign on the internet in the next 10 yrs as the affected generations grow older. and u will all be amazed at how much ur experiences and actions when u are young affect u when ur older. this is from a purely ‘rational’ or ‘reasonal’ view, so dont say, oh, u just think it is immoral, and ur wrong, if ur gonna write back use a proper argument.

sometimes it is the role of the government to act as a father figure, that is what they need to do here.

Dear Jonno Siedler,
Perhaps you should understand that Alcohol has been widely consumed since Ancient times by people around the world for other reasons other than getting “plastered”, for hygienic or medical reasons, for its relaxant and euphoric effects, for recreational purposes, for artistic inspiration, as aphrodisiacs, and for other reasons. I think its simple ignorance and even arrogance to assume that everyone is simply compensating for their inability to communicate in order to “pick up that dream girl”. As for your statement of “go buy yourself a whore if your are sexually frustrated”, I would say that this is illegal, but this is not exactly unchartered territory for you is it? To my knowledge having a 16 year old Girlfriend at age 22+ is illegal and can carry the charge of statutory rape.
Further more, the reason as to why not everyone within the community cannot be “crazy like you”, is because not all of us can afford to habitually buy and use Cocaine as yourself.

Yours sincerely,
Daniel Orlievsky

Okay,

Firstly,you are still getting equal amount of education for the money you are paying for because that’s why you’re so stressed.

Secondly, they’re compressing everything so that you can come back to next semester refreshed and ready for another 12 or so weeks. Its good to have it all spread out but imagine if you’re carrying on subjects and have a 2 week stuvac, you’ll be too relaxed to want to go back to uni… not too mention too much like high school. They still give you a week like most universities so i don’t really get the big deal? At the end of the day we get 1 more week of vacation than UTS and 2 weeks from UNSW?

Thirdly, Yeah theres heaps of work. ITS UNI everyone is in the same boat no matter what course or where

as for your last points they’re ludicrous and plain stupid. you know whats more stupid, by breaking up the holidays because they’re “too long” you can have your 8 week semester.

go back to high school. It seems like thats where you want to be

I am Looking for a reliable webshop for seks artikelen in the amsterdam area.

Thanks!

Hendrik

This is a great article, thanks for sharing. Alcohol addiction is not a problem that’s going away at any time in the near future.

Hi! I absolutely love reading your shares. thank you for the great posts.