HIV SURVIVORS FACE BITTERSWEET OLD AGE

For many years, while being involved with ageing in the gay, lesbian, transgender, HIV (GLTH) communities, I have stressed that people with HIV are ignored in the general analyses of ageing, because in the 1980s and 1990s - until 1997 - there WERE no HIV ageing people - generally speaking!

Now, it seems, people around the world are realising that the treatments which became available after about 1997 have allowed people with HIV to survive in the same way as others in our communties have survived, and they are now living to the same old ages as the rest of us who are HIV negative.

The article below, from the Guardian Weekly of 3-9 August 2012, gives an analysis of the situation now confronting so many ageing members of the GLTH communities. It is a wake-up call for those in government to do something about the situation, because it will only get worse as time passes.

HIV survivors: alive, but facing poverty, loneliness and prejudice

Thousands heading into an old age they did not think they would see, having given up jobs expecting to die young


o Sarah Boseley in Washington
o guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 July 2012

Stephen Karpiak, of the Aids Community Research Initiative of America, and Carolyn Massey, who has HIV, at the international Aids conference in Washington DC. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

In the 1980s and 1990s they were told they were going to die young, so they gave up their jobs and cashed in the pensions they wouldn't need, buried their friends and tried to make the most of their last months on Earth.

Decades later, thousands of men and women with HIV in the UK, US and across the world are heading into an old age they never expected to see. In the US in 2001, 17% of people with HIV were over 50. Now that figure stands at 39% and by 2017 it will be half. In the UK, the Health Protection Agency says one in six people (16.8%) being seen for HIV care in 2008 were over 50 – and that will double in the next five years.

Many of those who were saved by the discovery of antiretroviral drugs in the early 1990s felt it was a miracle to be alive. But life for the survivors of HIV, as they age, is bittersweet. Many are poor and have long since been edged out of the workforce. Half a lifetime spent on powerful drugs has taken its toll. Aside from the physical health issues as a result of the virus, there are high rates of mental health problems too.

John Rock, from Sydney, Australia, was diagnosed with HIV 30 years ago. "My partner started getting sick in 1983 and died early in 1996," he said at an international AIDS conference in Washington DC. "Many of my colleagues and friends were pushed out of the workforce around the mid-90s because they were not well enough to work. Subsequently triple combinations [of antiretroviral drugs] came along and they are still alive, but at the peak of their earning capacity they were out of the workforce for 10 years. Now they are destined for a retirement they thought they never would have, but it's going to be in poverty."

Lisa Power from the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), who spoke at the conference about the ageing HIV-positive community in the UK, acknowledged the unfortunate consequences of advice from support groups to those who were thought to be dying. "In the 1980s and 90s we encouraged people to give up work and go on state benefits and not be economically productive," she said. "Now we have condemned people to live on an old-age state pension."

Money is not the only need. Many feel lonely and isolated. In a video made for a project called The Graying of HIV in the US, Bill Rydwels, 77, from Chicago, recalled a time of terror and sadness when AIDS was scything down his friends. It was nonetheless a time of warmth and support that he no longer has. "It's just so much better today and yet it is a lonelier time. Years ago it was a time that we all spent together. It was a terrible time and a wonderful time because you got to know everybody very, very well. They cried on your shoulder and laughed with you. You don't get that any more."

Recent research from THT in the UK reveals similar sadness. James, 61, a gay man living in the UK who did not want to give his full name, is suffering from serious health problems, including blindness resulting from the use of an experimental drug to treat another condition (not HIV). "My life is empty," he told researchers. "I have tried so hard over the last 10 years to fill the emptiness. Worked really hard at it. I am in a cul-de-sac. It would be nice just to have somebody to telephone.
"I am fed up with people at the top of HIV organisations saying because there is combination therapy everyone is fine. People with neuropathy, and in wheelchairs, we are the forgotten people."

Half the world away, in Africa, which now bears the brunt of the epidemic, the numbers of older people with HIV are also rising fast. Epidemiologists at the University of Sydney estimate that there are more than 3 million people over 50 with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and that the figure is rising rapidly.
Ruth Waryero, from Kenya, now 65, had an HIV test when she was 48. She went home and told her husband. "He listened to me and then he got up and said, it's up to you.

"Take care of yourself – I'm off. Since that time I have not seen him again and yet he was the breadwinner in the family. He left me with the four children and two years later I had two grandchildren.

"In Kenya we have different problems [from those in Europe]. Older men try to get younger women for sex. They ignore you because as far as you are concerned, you are finished. You don't need sex and they can apply to the young girls.

"But when you are old you are likely to be raped by those who are positive because they believe if they rape you, as old as you are, they will turn negative."

Older women also face embarrassment at clinics when they go for tests or drugs, she said. They are asked who they are collecting the drugs for.

"You are not supposed to have sex at your age," she said. "As a woman they ask if you are a sugar mummy. I say this HIV came from an old man and the old man has run away from me."

The older HIV generation – in Africa and elsewhere – is not only made up of those diagnosed years ago. Some are people who have been diagnosed late, having lived for years without knowing they were infected. And many people are now becoming infected later in life.

Laura, who took part in the THT research, is a white, heterosexual, divorced mother of two. At the age of 52 she started a new relationship and then suddenly became ill. Because her symptoms were similar to those of a friend who had been diagnosed with HIV, she took a test. When she was told it was positive, she felt numbness and shock, she said. She cannot believe, as a well-educated person, that she stopped using condoms with her partner and allowed it to happen.

Mark Brennan-Ing, from the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, told the conference of the "fragile social networks among people living with HIV in the US and Europe". Families have abandoned them or do not give them enough help, meaning they end up relying on friends, who often have HIV themselves.

Men who have sex with men, he said, are much less likely to have partners, spouses or children to care for them in their old age. Many of those interviewed live in fear of encountering hostility and rejection in care homes. A 52-year-old gay man from London told the THT: "I am somewhat fearful of a lonely old age. In practical terms, if I become mentally or physically frail, the prospect of being the only gay man in an old people's home is very frightening indeed."

HOMOEROTIC? HOMOSEXUAL? HOMOPHOBIC?

Somehow my maths may be at fault, because according to my calculations, with 18 AFL teams now registered, it seems to me that there are probably about 700 to 800 players around Australia plus probably at least another 200 administrators, coaches and ancilliary staff.

So, according to this figure, there is not one homosexual involved with AFL in Australia?

This is impossible, because statistically, there must be at least one gay man in the whole organisation. And what about players? Out of approximately 800, not one is gay?

The following photo appeared in The Sunday Age on 12 August 2012:

In the 15 August 2012 edition of MCV, Melbourne Community Voice, Issue #606, an article by Michael Magnusson was published.

The article was headed "

Milne fined for homophobia"

. Here is the article as it appeared online with a different heading from the print edition:

Aug10
AFL star fined for gay slur

By Michael Magnusson

St. Kilda forward Stephen Milne has been fined $3000 by his club following
an AFL investigation which concluded he made homophobic comments on-field
earlier this month.

The Age newspaper reported that during the match on August 4 Milne was
heard by umpire Dean Margetts to call Collingwood player Harry O’Brien a
“f------ homo c---”.

Milne’s on field comment was not audible on television coverage but
microphones picked up Margetts saying: “OK, OK, enough of the language.”

Margetts awarded a 50m penalty to Collingwood, saying, “That language is
unacceptable”.

Margetts filed a complaint following the match and AFL integrity officer
Brett Clothier investigated the incident and found the Milne had breached
the players’ code of conduct and the AFL discrimination and vilification
policy.

St Kilda Football Club issued a statement saying Milne would be fined and
be “required to undertake an AFL education program to address the
inappropriate nature of his comments”.

The statement also said Milne apologised for his comments and any offence
caused.

AFL Operations Manager, Adrian Anderson, supported St. Kilda’s response to
the incident.

“It is simply not acceptable, even in the heat of battle, for AFL players
to use homophobic insults on the football field,” Anderson said.

“The St Kilda Football Club is to be commended for taking this action and
sending a strong message that homophobic comments are unacceptable.”

It is not the first time Milne has used homophobic language during a match.
In 2010 he was also fined $3000 for an anti-gay comment made to a
Collingwood assistant coach.

Now here is something else for you to look at and try:

Into a search engine put the words "Milne fined for homophobia" and dozens of entries are given, not one being a link to the gay paper from which the article above is copied.

If that doesn't tell you something about search engines and homophobic reporting, nothing else will!!

SBS - PLEASE SIGN PETITION TO SBS MANAGEMENT RE ADVERT BREAKS IN PROGRAMMES

I was so infuriated by the decision of the new management of SBS in 2006 to introduce advert breaks into major programmes such as news and current affairs, that the following email exchanges took place between me and SBS. If it wasn't such a serious matter, what occurred is actually hilariously funny!

CORRESPONDENCE WITH SBS CONCERNING ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEWS AND OTHER PROGRAMMES

December 2006

josken_at_zipworld_com_au 12/20/06
Mannie De Saxe
PO Box 1675
Preston South
Vic 3072
Phone:(03)94714878
email:josken_at_zipworld_com_au

Well, SBS finally lost me tonight (Tuesday 19 December 2006).
Adverts during the news and Cutting Edge!
No thanks!

Mannie De Saxe

------------------------------------------------

On 20 Dec 2006 at 15:51, Sally Begbie wrote:
G
Send the speil.
S
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: Self :josken_at_zipworld_com_au
To: Sally Begbie sally.begbie@sbs.com.au
Subject: Re: adverts in news and cutting edge
Date sent: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 01:06:29 +1100

S
I await the spiel with great interest!
M

--------------------------------------------

21 DECEMBER 2006
Dear Mannie De Saxe

Clearly the festive season is upon us and our best wishes to you. But to more serious matters...

Thank you for your email concerning the introduction of advertising within SBS Television programs. The Managing Director has asked that I respond to your complaint.

SBS has taken this course of action following a great deal of consideration and investigation. It was not an easy decision to make, but the alternative was far less palatable. SBS could continue with its current format, but its ability to commission quality Australian productions and to purchase the world's best films, television programs and sporting fixtures would become more and more restricted due to limited Government funding and the prospect of diminished advertising revenue as a result of competition from Pay TV, the Internet and other media.

SBS obtains about 80% of its funds from Government. But in the May budget SBS suffered a $3m shortfall in its appropriation for this current year (excluding digital transmission and distribution costs) and received no extra funds at all for program making.

The remainder of SBS funding comes from advertising revenue. Even though that amount is relatively small it is vitally important revenue that goes exclusively to the purchase, commissioning and production of programs.

Under its Act, SBS is obligated to operate in an efficient and cost-effective manner and, importantly, it is required to actively pursue funding opportunities independent of Government funding.

Since 1991, SBS Television has broadcast a maximum of five minutes of ads per hour between programs and in natural breaks. This is far less than the average 13-15 minutes of advertising permitted on the commercial television networks.

Until now, SBS has broadcast up to five minutes of ads as well as several minutes of program promotions in a single block between programs, meaning 6-10 minutes would elapse before the next program began. During this time, we consistently lost more than 50% of our viewers. They would simply change channels or switch off.

With smaller audiences, SBS's advertising rates (already well below the commercial networks) had to be reduced still further. The result has been a curtailment of our program-making capabilities because less money from ads means less money for the commissioning and the production of original programs.

Under the new format the maximum of five minutes of ads per hour still applies, but the ads will be spread across the hour in three separate breaks, each containing 90 seconds of commercials. In half-hour programs, there will be two 60-second commercial breaks.

This will restore true commercial value to SBS's ad breaks. By placing short ads within programs, when SBS reaches its peak audiences, our advertising rates can be increased. We estimate that this will raise at least $10m in the first 12 months of operation. All of this additional revenue will go into program making and the commissioning of programs from independent Australian producers.

With this extra revenue we will launch a one hour news program in January that will expand our coverage of international and national news. The bulk of the additional funds will go to the commissioning of quality Australian drama, documentaries and other programs.

By dramatically reducing the time between programs, we believe SBS audiences will be encouraged to stay, especially because the in-program breaks will include program promotions about forthcoming programs. It is important that information about other programs on SBS reaches the largest possible audience. Currently these messages, in the form of promos, are lost in the middle of lengthy and cluttered breaks between programs. Too often our audience tells us they would have watched a particular program "if only I had known it was on". The placement of promos in a more accessible place helps overcome that communication failure.

I understand your concerns regarding in-program breaks, but these changes will enable us to continue to provide our viewers with the highest quality and most diverse programming available on free-to-air television in Australia.

Yours sincerely
Georgie McClean
Policy and Research Manager
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following article in The Age newspaper's Green Guide, together with a later article about the same topic, has prompted me to initiate a petition to inform SBS that viewers continue to be unhappy about the adverts during programmes and we request SBS' new management to consider their options and remove the mid-programme advertisements.

The petition web address is below the article.

SBS article in the Green Guide 8 March 2012 by Debi Enker

One of the dumbest decisions made by SBS in recent years was the introduction in late 2006 of advertising within its programs.

The desperate, short-sighted move by the cash-strapped network infuriated viewers, who were unanimous in their disapproval, and severely damaged the broadcaster’s standing, undermining its unique place in the media landscape.

Before 2006, ads on SBS appeared between programs, or during natural breaks in sporting events. The change in policy eroded precious goodwill and alienated viewers at a time when the free-to-air TV market was becoming increasingly competitive due to the proliferation of digital channels.

The intrusion of ads within programs made the multicultural broadcaster look like a cut-price commercial network.

Unsurprisingly, the initiative failed to provide the projected boost in revenue while also allowing governments that were not keenly committed to funding the broadcaster with a handy excuse to reduce their support.

Last week, a bill to phase out the disruptive breaks was introduced in the Senate by the Greens communications spokesman, Scott Ludlum.

This would be a good time to contact your local member of parliament, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy or shadow minister Malcolm Turnbull, urging them to fund the multicultural broadcaster properly, support moves to end a spectacularly unsuccessful initiative and bring to a close a bleak period that has succeeded only in driving SBS viewers to change channels.

PETITION

SBS TELEVISION AND ADVERTISMENTS PETITION

FACEBOOK AND MARK ZUCKERBERG GETTING SOME COME-UPPANCE AT LAST!!

Some years ago, in 2008 and 2009, when we were working on a political campaign in Australia,and we placed much of what we were doing on our web pages, we were contacted by someone from an organisation in Los Angeles doing similar work in the US of A. This person suggested that if we join Facebook, then the social media network would be able to see more about our campaign and rally round to help.

This didn't happen and we received no assistance from anybody in the United States, so the Facebook exercise was a waste of time and effort.

What did happen was that my profile and details were then recorded on Facebook and many people made contact, some of whom I knew, some of whom I didn't and some appeared there with whom I didn't wish to have contact.

Now when one subscribes to Facebook, one is given to understand that one can unsubscribe whenever one wants to. Oh yeah?? Just try and unsubscribe and see what happens - or doesn't happen!

After several attempts to unsubscribe and after attempts to contact Facebook and get some feedback and response, without success, I decided to write to Mark Zuckerberg himself - after all Facebook was his brainchild and he should therefore have some solution to the unsubscribe problem.

So I write in December 2011, and now, on 14 August 2012 I am still waiting for feedback. Will I get any? Don't hold your breath!

IN the mean time, below my letter which is here, I have posted articles about Facebook and some of its problems. I hope they get worse and worse until Facebook fails altogether as it deserves to do. The arrogance of Mark Zuckerberg and organisations like his know no limits and they deserve to be brought to their knees!

To: Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook
1601 S. California Avenue
Palo Alto
CA 94304
USA

From:
Mannie De Saxe
PO Box 1675
Preston South
VIC.
Australia 3072
2 December 2011

It is impossible to contact facebook by normal means and I am frustrated by my inability to make a complaint in some normal manner by email.
I believed that by unsubscribing from facebook I would be removed altogether without my name appearing anywhere on any page.
However, under the name De Saxe as a facebook page, my name appears twice, together with other people who have the same surname.
The following item appears on one of your sites but does nothing to help make a formal complaint:

Reporting Abuse
If you see something on Facebook that you believe violates our terms, you can report it to us. Please keep in mind that reporting a person, organization, or piece of content doesn't guarantee its removal from the site.
Because of the diversity of our community, it's possible that something could be disagreeable or disturbing to you without meeting the criteria for being removed or blocked. For this reason, we also offer personal controls over what you see, such as the ability to hide or quietly cut ties with people, Pages, or applications that offend you.
Content that does violate our terms may be removed from our site and (in some cases) subject to legal or other action.

I have had enough of trying to get my name removed from facebook altogether, and unless your organization makes some concerted effort to ensure that my name never again appears on facebook, I will have to consider my further options.


It is strange how facebook keeps its own privacy sacrosanct but destroys everybody else’s privacy once they connect to facebook.

Try finding contact details for Mark Zuckerberg and see how far you get!

Mannie De Saxe

Facebook is left wondering - what's not to like?

August 4, 2012

• Julian Lee, Media writer

Since its headline-grabbing stockmarket float, the social media behemoth has tested the patience of investors, writes Julian Lee.
Find out the 10 main uses for social media monitoring in Oz.

Clock is ticking ... Facebook's share price is heading south. Photo: AP
At Facebook's California headquarters they must be wondering what went wrong. In a little more than two months the social networking site has gone from the darling of the media and Silicon Valley to the whipping boy of Wall Street.

The hype that surrounded its stock market debut in May when its valuation hit $US104 billion ($99.3 billion) has given way to disbelief and derision. Has the bubble burst or is it simply a coming of age for the business which, until recently, was the plaything of founder Mark Zuckerberg and a coterie of savvy investors.

''The early investors could see the long-term plan for something like Facebook,'' says analyst David Cowling of Social Media News. ''Now it's the public and they want to see their shares grow, they want to make a quick buck. And they aren't getting it and now they are asking why not.''

Shares are almost half the $US38 they were on the first day of trading and while Facebook brings in new ways of advertising and explores how to get people to stay on the site longer, the clock is ticking as the patience of investors wears thin.

Yet as the share price heads south, it's business as usual for the rest of us. Every day Facebook's global user base inches closer to the 1 billion mark. An extra 50 million people joined in the past three months, pushing the worldwide user base to 955 million.

Australians continue to be the biggest users of Facebook - a mantle we have kept since 2009 - with 11 million users spending on average 21 minutes and 40 seconds a visit.

''Users couldn't give a stuff," says social media expert Tiphereth Gloria of the advertising agency VML. "Everyone [in finance] is getting their knickers in a knot but people are using it just as much as they were before.''

Growth comes at a cost, however. Investor demand for more ad revenue presents Zuckerberg with a dilemma. His mission, to preserve Facebook's ''user experience'', is an uncompromising one. ''We don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services,'' he is quoted as saying.

The constant criticism is taking the shine off the Facebook brand. "There's clearly some brand damage and if there's not much sign of a change in the longer term then it could get worse," says California-based Brian Blau, research director at analysts Gartner. "But I don't think we're there yet."

To get more revenue Facebook is pushing sponsored stories or posts - ads that appear in a user's new feed whenever a friend indicates they like an advertiser - as a solution to advertisers. It is also slowly overcoming the problem of how to make money from ads served up on mobile phones, constrained as it is by the limited real estate of the device screen.

But, says Blau, advertising is not the only solution. "The real question is how they are going to keep people interested in their site. How are they going to keep people engaged," he says. And that is unlikely to be by ads.

As Facebook has changed the way we communicate, Blau believes it will also transform other aspects of our lives such as how we shop, work and play. He points to Google and Amazon, both of which have branched out beyond their core offering of search and books into other services. Gaming apps, for example, where people can buy credits for games such as FarmVille, have proved profitable for Facebook, although it is an area that is flatlining.

"What we are seeing is an experiment in real time and they [Facebook] are experimenting with their [investors'] money," Blau says.

Watchdog clamps down on Facebook

By Julian Lee
Aug. 6, 2012, 7:40

Promotional ... the Advertising Standards Board has ruled that company Facebook pages are advertising and must comply with codes and laws.

A LANDMARK ruling that Facebook is an advertising medium - and not just a way to communicate - will force companies to vet comments posted by the public to ensure they are not sexist, racist or factually inaccurate.

In a move that could change the nature of the social networking site forever, companies could be fined or publicly shamed for the comments that appear on their Facebook ''brand'' pages.

Last month the advertising industry watchdog issued a judgment in which it said comments made by ''fans'' of a vodka brand's Facebook page were ads and must therefore comply with industry self-regulatory codes and therefore consumer protection laws.

A media lawyer is warning that the Advertising Standards Board's ruling on Smirnoff's Facebook page will put the onus back on companies to be more vigilant about the nature of the comments people are posting to their company pages.

Large advertisers such as Qantas, Telstra and Coles are increasingly reliant on their Facebook pages to get consumers to ''like'' them and get free referrals to their network of friends.

John Swinson, a partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons, said the board's ruling "turned people's opinions into statements of facts".

Mr Swinson said that if, for example, a member of the public posted a comment on Smirnoff's site that claimed it was the purest Russian vodka and would lead to success with the opposite sex and Smirnoff failed to remove it, the company could be liable on a number of counts.

"Smirnoff is Australian not Russian. So that is false. It may not be the purest so that could also be misleading.

''And to imply that you would have greater success with girls would contravene the advertising codes," said Mr Swinson.

In a note to clients, Mr Swinson warned that the standards that govern regular TV, radio or billboard advertising might now apply to third-party posts on Facebook pages.

And because the competition watchdog is cracking down on claims made by companies in social media - principally by people who are paid to do so - Mr Swinson warns that advertisers could end up in court.

Misleading and deceptive advertising is covered by Australian consumer law and each month the ad regulator publicly censures errant advertisers.

Although the Advertising Standards Board dismissed the original complaint about Smirnoff, which centred on sexism, under-age drinking and obscene language, it ruled industry codes applied not only to what a company was posting on its Facebook page but to the user-generated comments that followed.

The board's determination also cited a recent case of a health company, Allergy Pathway, which was fined for allowing misleading and deceptive "testimonials" to remain on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

The board's comments threatened to have "far-reaching ramifications" for social media, which thrived on people's ability to share information quickly, said a consultant, Thomas Tudehope.


FACEBOOK PRO:

Doing business Facebook to Facebook
Date
August 13, 2012
•
Max Mason

Social media is proving a communication boon for small businesses. Photo: Reuters
Small businesses are increasingly using social media to interact and create a rapport with their customers, according to a new survey.
The Sensis e-Business report showed that 27 per cent of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that used the internet also used social media, an increase of 17 per cent since 2010.
Of the 1808 businesses surveyed, 92 per cent of SMEs were connected to the internet.
''We've been seeing consistent growth in the use of social media used in business,'' said report author Christena Singh.
The predominant form of social media used by SMEs was Facebook.
Businesses using Facebook reported more interaction with customers, good customer feedback, increased networking opportunities and increased sales.
''Any business where they are trying to build a strong customer rapport, create brand loyalty and customer dialogue, tend to be the businesses that find social media particular useful,'' said Ms Singh.
Sam Korotkov, event director at The Wall, a weekly event at The World Bar in Sydney's Kings Cross, said Facebook was a vital part of their marketing strategy.
''With Facebook is there a way to involve people without spamming them?'' he asked.
''The content that we provide is all about keeping them interested. We talk about current affairs, we use new music, we keep them involved and turn our page into a small service, almost like a source of news and entertainment, rather than blatantly pushing products.''
Mr Korotkov said using social media required minimal effort, with the rewards far outweighing the small amount of time taken to use it.
''Facebook is like an espresso shot of marketing. It's the information there as you want it, it's obviously not in depth but you're able to draw out a lot of things. There isn't a lot of preparation involved, preparing posts and sourcing content; once you have it, you can link it.''
For Sam Gabrielian, owner of Dose Espresso, social media were not part of his strategy when he opened his cafe in November last year. ''We decided to start a Facebook page because our customers requested a page with some photos and some of our products,'' he said.
Taking things a step further, Gabrielian decided to offer customers a 10 per cent discount if they liked Dose's Facebook page.
''We did that for two weeks. We found the likes built up very quickly; it was a kind gesture to the customers,'' he said.
Facebook has become a key component for letting customers know what's happening at the cafe, which constantly changes its menu.
''Our customers actually wanted to be notified when we had certain coffees,'' said Gabrielian.
''For instance, we were running a kopi luwak for a short time, and people would come in and ask for it and they would just miss out.''
Ms Singh said she expected to see continued growth in the use of social media by small businesses.
''We're seeing 62 per cent of the Australia population [on Facebook], so there certainly is an opportunity,'' she said.
''Social media peak at the 18-19 age bracket, 95 per cent; as that population becomes older we will see it become a much more important part of the marketplace.''

FACEBOOK CON:

Storm over Target's 'trampy' fashion sense
Date
August 14, 2012
'Target, we want our children portrayed as children'
Mum of a six-year-old, Gretta Hawkhead, has inadvertantly become part of a social media campaign against Target's "grungy" girls 7+ clothing.
AN OUTRAGED Port Macquarie mother has created a social media nightmare for discount department store Target after she used its Facebook page to call on the retail giant to sell girls' clothing that doesn't make them look like ''tramps''.
In an open post on the retailer's Facebook page over the weekend, primary school teacher Ana Amini wrote: ''Dear Target, Could you possibly make a range of clothing for girls 7-14 years that doesn't make them look like tramps … You have lost me as a customer when buying apparel for my daughter as I don't want her thinking shorts up her backside are the norm or fashionable.''

Gretta Hawkhead, mother to Mia, 6, has joined the outrage on Facebook that Target's clothes for young people are 'not appropriate'. Photo: Angela Wylie
When The Age went to print last night the post had attracted more than 44,000 ''likes'' and 2300 comments - most of them from parents criticising the retailer for selling ''hooker-style'' clothes to young girls.
Mrs Amini, who has an eight-year-old daughter, told The Age yesterday she was ''overwhelmed'' by the response but hoped Target would listen to its customers and stock more ''age-appropriate'' clothing.
''I wasn't expecting this kind of response, but I do hope they listen to the feedback and do something about it. I'm obviously not the only one who thinks their clothing is inappropriate for little girls.''

Short shrift ... An example of girls' wear listed on Target's online store. Photo: Target Online Shop
Patterson Lakes mother Gretta Hawkhead took to Facebook to support Mrs Amini's call for clothing that did not sexualise young girls.
Mrs Hawkhead complained that much of Target's 7-year-plus range was made up of short shorts and dresses, low-cut necklines, sheer lace, or ''grungy'' clothing.
''It's very provocative and not appropriate for young girls at all,'' said the mother of six-year-old Mia. ''They're still children and you want to keep that innocence for as long as you can. But Target seems to think that once they turn seven, they're young adults.''
Last night, Target posted a response on Facebook, inviting customers to email them with their concerns about ''specific products''.
Target Australia's general manager corporate affairs, Lynn Semjaniv, told The Age it had recently introduced a process for customers to assess products before they go into stores.
''We know there is a huge diversity of opinion when it comes to children's clothing and that everyone has a different perception, which is why we believe in taking great care to ensure that our range is both age-appropriate and something that our customers' children will love … We are taking the feedback we have received from our customers on Facebook very seriously … for current and future product decisions.''

MAGID - MULTI-MILLIONAIRE - OWNS AUSTRALIAN JEWISH NEWS aka ISRAELI ZIONIST TIMES - RIGHT-WING REACTIONARY RACIST HOMOPHOBIC BIGOT!

Robert Magid - who is he? - (the owner of the Australian Jewish News) - is reported in The Age newspaper on 8 August 2012 by Barney Zwartz 0n holocaust and compassion.

This is what Zwartz wrote:

Jewish call to curb compassion

August 8, 2012
Barney Zwartz

THE Jewish community should not be misled by compassion from the Holocaust into supporting Muslim boat people, the owner of The Australian Jewish News has argued in an article condemned by some as hate speech.

In the latest edition, under the headline ''Curb the compassion'', Robert Magid said Jews tended to want to appear more compassionate than others because of their history of suffering oppression and persecution, but ''the Jews who fled the Holocaust fled certain death. I doubt there is a single boat person in that situation.''

Mr Magid said ''unscrupulous'' illegal immigrants pushed genuine asylum seekers down the queue and that immigration in other countries had led to ghettos and calls for sharia. He suggested hiding among Muslim boat people who had destroyed their documents would be an ideal way for al-Qaeda to smuggle a terrorist network into Australia.

The backlash has hit. An open letter on Facebook from the Australian Jewish Democratic Society had attracted nearly 400 signatures last night, as liberal and conservative religious leaders united against Mr Magid.

A leading Orthodox rabbi, Ralph Genende, wrote that although he was scared of Islamic extremism, there were no limits to compassion, and most fears about Muslim immigration were unfounded.

A Jewish author and commentator, Arnold Zable, said: ''Refugees and asylum seekers are only doing what we would do in their shoes, what Jews did in the immediate post-war era as they sought a way to a better life, and what Jews have done for centuries - including the massive emigration in the wake of the 1880s pogroms in Russia.''

The Union for Progressive Judaism released a statement saying it was ''sad and inaccurate'' to lump together refugees and terrorists and label them all as deceitful and criminal.

Last night, Mr Magid said he stood by every word of his article. ''I think the majority of people agree with me but they are not willing to come out and say what I am prepared to say. It is a very cogent statement.''

This letter was in The Age on 9 August 2012:

Insensitive at best
THE article "Curb the compassion" published in The Australian Jewish News by owner Robert Magid (''Jewish 'hate speech' article sparks outrage'', The Age, 8/8 ) is surprising for its lack of sensitivity and bigoted racism. Did Magid have a ''Larry David'' moment or was his ill-considered outburst a political strategy, aimed at garnering support from right-wing elements in Israel?
Jeffrey Kelson, Prahran

These letters were in the Sydney Morning Herald on 9 August 2012:

Even if everyone agreed with Magid, he'd still be wrong

Maybe Robert Magid needs re-educating (''Jewish call to curb compassion'', August 8).

I recommend that he watch the upcoming episodes on SBS of Go Back to Where You Come From because, really, no one in Australia should be pedalling ''the swirling myths that people who arrive by boat are handed a goodie bag of entitlements as they step ashore'', so eloquently pointed out by Laura Tingle's article in Quarterly Essay issue 46, 2012.

Indeed, he has only to check the website Bridge For Asylum Seekers to realise what is really going on here and overseas.

The organisation's honorary chairperson, Virginia Walker, has said refugees who queue up can expect to wait many years before being formally processed.
And just because he says a majority of people agree with him (even if that were true, which I doubt) this does not mean he is right.

Rebecca Nash Balmain

The vast majority of Jews disagree with Robert Magid but, even if every single Jew in Australia, 120,000 of them, agreed with his sentiments they would account for less than one per cent of all Australians, whatever their religion, who hold similar views.

George Fishman Vaucluse

Robert Magid must have had a terrible childhood to have grown up with such hatred in his soul - if indeed he has a soul.

Compassion is obviously something about which he knows very little, and indeed, he seems not to have any understanding of such emotions.

Jews have been persecuted around the world at least since the advent of christianity some 2000 odd years ago. They have fled from one country to another, to another, to another, in the hope of finding sanctuary and security in another country where they will not be subject to the savageries we have seen in this period of time against a particular sect or group of people.

Of course we know that people like Magid have no understanding of the notions of persecution, hatred, oppression and apartheid, because he is part of that group of 20th century dinosaurs called zionists whose sole aim is to steal land belonging to another persecuted people and make it their own, when they have no rights to it.

Magid has no regrets about what he has said and he stands by every word he has uttered. Is it his millionaire status that bestows such arrogance upon him, or is it some other inborn mental state which allows no argument and brooks no responses
from people who are unable to understand how one human being can respond to other human beings who have undergone such tragic circumstances that they have to find somewhere liveable and which literally saves their lives?

In any case, he is totally wrong in what he says about asylum seekers and the "Tony Abbott" line about queue jumpers. I really don't think Al Qieda would use asylum seeker methods to gain entry into Australia. They would probably come by plane and not be spotted by customs and ASIO as they would enter by some quasi-legitimate means.

Maybe Magid needs to go back to school and learn a few basics about the facts of life as they are lived in Australia in 2012!!

BRADLEY MANNING PETITION AND LATEST TRIAL UPDATES - 10 AUGUST 2012

CLICK ON LINK TO ACCESS THE WEB PAGE WITH DETAILS OF THE BRADLEY MANNING TRIAL UPDATE AS AT 10 AUGUST 2012

http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/update-8312-petition-for-bradley-800-days-in-jail-pretrial-abuse-and-foia-requests

MONSANTO SONG - OLD MAN SANTO

Thanks to Organic Consumers Organisation (August 2012) for this fantastic picture of what is in store for us all - Thanks to Monsanto and others.