Around 1:30AM this morning, an 18 year old man was stabbed numerous times by a group of young men in front of a karaoke club in Sydney’s Chinatown. Police report two groups of males started fighting outside the karaoke club on Factory lane when the 18 year old man intervened whilst coming outside for a smoke.

Inspector Brenton Lee reports from City Central Police saying the 18 year old man tried to break-up the fight:

“An 18-year-old male left the club to have a cigarette outside the premises and there he came across six young males fighting. He then went in to stop the fight occurring and some of those young men produced a knife.”

Friends of the victim managed to hail down a taxi and take him to Macquarie Street, before calling an ambulance. He was then taken to St Vincent’s Hospital and is currently in a critical condition.

Police spoke to a number of witnesses at the scene, but say the motive for the attack is still unclear.

The identity of these men are unknown however, anyone who witnessed this attack or might have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Vicious events like these shouldn’t occur in today’s society and it’s everyone to blame. If you see something unlawful, call the Police or Crime Stoppers, doesn’t matter how small you may think it is, every bit counts.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/07/2412797.htm

Is this how we are being brought up? Learn how to drive in your parents car, get your license, find the car of your dreams and get a car loan, then spend the next 10 years paying it off. I’m not one to judge, however I do find it intriguing how much we as a nation have changed over the years. Back in the industrial age you would either get your pops truck or work hard and save your money, and then purchase a car in full, most likely it being a used one for your first car. Now it’s sign on the dotted line, get now and pay later with interest, not to mention their hands just inches away from crushing your throat if you refuse or “forget” to pay. Should this be the way, should we teach our kids to have now, before earning it and understanding appreciation?

Personally, I don’t drive as yet however, I see logic in saving up a few thousand to buy your first car out in full. From my readings and understanding, chances are most young adults will “accidentally” forget to pay on time and will get slapped with a hefty bit of interest. Don’t get me wrong, credit in this world is not only needed but it’s important to wealth. I just feel we as consumers rely on credit cards and personal loans too much because we have this mindset of “want now” and as you can see, this has clearly caused trouble.

A car loan would be beneficial if claimed under a business as it would eventually pay itself off. From my point of view, you should only consider applying for a car loan when you have the following Why, What, When and How worked out:

1. Why do you need a car loan? - This is a serious question, think outside the square for a moment.
2. What car loan suits you best? - Many to choose from, find which one works for you.
3. When will it be paid off? - Knowing a rough estimate on when it will gives you a goal.
4. How much interest will you be paying? - 5 years might be easier for you but harder on your pocket in the long run. Think this through.

Most people will act on their emotions – i.e. want now – and not consider their current circumstances. By analysing your situation, how much you can afford and how quick you can pay it off, your removing your natural emotion and starting to think like the rich.

UPDATE: Interest Rates have officially been cut by 0.75 percent, leaving the current interest rate at: 5.25%

Where money is being splashed around, being lost and being gained, the Reserve Bank of Australia will be meeting with the focus on cutting interests rates by another 0.5 percent. This of course isn’t certain, only theory by economists not to mention ANZ, CommSec, AMP and Austock’s Michael Heffernan predicting the cut. However, Mark Dutton spoke for most experts suggesting the slow economy would push the RBA into cutting rates between 0.5 to 075 where as Robert Camilleri of Aviva Investments was more optimistic, saying he believed the banks would cut rates by 1 per cent.

An interest rate cut is of course vital in our economy though it’s uncertain how much improvement this can do to the economy, asking questions like how much would rates fall. According to News.com.au, a rate cut of 0.5 percent would would lower payments on a 25-year mortgage of $250,000 by about $85 a month, meaning more money for necessities like groceries.

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Information: News.com.au

The taste of summer is near, with the beautiful women lazing about on the golden beaches, relaxing music by day and hard music by night. Where parties don’t stop for days and sleeping is absent. I’m getting excited just by talking about it. Chris Hamilton & I are launching a brand new website, SummerMusic.com.au which will host a variety of different things to cater for this years summer including; Summer sports, summer fashion and trends and of course, summer parties! Events will also be posted in relation to their state. For example, there will be a static page for Byron Bay with all events listed.

We’re aiming for Summer Music to be successful so we can keep it recurring and engage into next years summer, the year after that and so on. There will also be a community forum so you can signup and discuss whatever needs to be discussed, meet new people and live the summer life!

Project Black is a close community which discusses several topics including, Applications, Games, Movies, TV Shows and more. I stumbled across Project Black early 2006, signed up and became apart of the ever growing community. Project Black is structured around “warez” however, it doesn’t host any files on its server, simply posting links to external hosts, making it perfectly legal.

Late 2007 Project Black had over 1,500 members and was expanding rapidly, though they seem to have a few licensing troubles and had to shut their website down. I wasn’t able to access the community in months until they finally released their new look recently, hence my writing about it.

Project Black has always been a safe and clean website, never any malicious software trying to get into your computer. Being an experienced webmaster, I’ve seen thousands of websites that use various tactics to gain access to one’s computer but very few warez sites like Project Black have I seen posses such a clean record.

Knowing the administrator personally, I’ve spoken with him on numerous occasions and have since partnered with Project Black. I believe Project Black is an interest to everyone who resides on the Internet, especially on a regular basis like myself. If you have a similar website (i.e. Warez Forum) you can request to partner with Project Black by heading to their Warez Resources page and following the details.

If you have any questions about Project Black, what to do or anything else related, you can contact me or email Project Black: contact AT projectblack DOT org

The link for Project Black will always be visible under my “Sites of Interest” column on the right hand side. Visit Project Black to find out more.

Kevin Rudd announced yesterday he will be reviewing credit cards as he has seen interest rates between 8 percent to 28 percent, an astronomical range. Rudd told Fairfax Radio he will be looking at the current regulations to find out why such a wide range exists.

“I am concerned about the effective regulation of the credit card industry in the past,” he said. “We will have more to say about that in the future.”

Rudd also noting that in his short time in Government, he’s very concerned on how interest rates have increased rapidly on Australian credit cards. I will be keeping a close eye on this matter and will keep everyone informed as more develops.

I would like to hear your thoughts on credit cards, interest rates and how big credit card companies get away with some many things. As we all know, it’s pharmacutical and credit card companies which have a majority over the economy, not to mention banks taking a nice slice.

I have read many personal finance blogs, most discussing about being frugal and saving money, but is this the option? Should we all take every cent and stash it under our bed until it becomes noticeable? I don’t think so. There is a difference between spending money and spending money wisely. We’ve been brought up in a consumer world, buying our flat screen televisions, luxurious cars and beautiful homes and receiving a letter in the mail informing us have we forgotten about the bank. Many haven’t realised how much debt we as a world have accumulated and in some sense, this whole credit crunch and lack of funds have made people understand and appreciate money even more. I’ve been taught to only buy what you can afford and save the rest. There is no need for luxurious items when your young and free or old and wise for that matter. However, life pressures get to us and it gets harder and harder as we go along and that piece of plastic saves the day to buy that nicety to live comfortably, or so you think…

So ask yourself, what do the rich do? They use credit cards but why aren’t they are debt? Well, they may be in debt to a certain degree, but this is referred to as ‘good debt’ and is managed properly. Credit cards are simple tools used by the rich whereas the poor use them as instant money and this is where we, as a nation go wrong. We have developed this mindset of using someone else’s money to stroke our own greed and not using our own. More or less, to have now and pay later. Sure, credit cards are great — in fact, they are one of the best tools you can use, however many aren’t taught this and get swooped into spending what’s not theirs.

Technically, money is worthless but what it represents, makes our world go round and until you inhabit the fact that money means nothing, you will always be emotionally attached, therefore money controlling you and your life. So what do I suggest:

• Spend what you can afford – never overbuy
• Don’t skimp on important necessities like fresh fruit & vegetables.
• Think abundance, believe everything is within your grasp but don’t be greedy
• Put money aside when you can but don’t be a scrooge.
• Relax and enjoy money. It can bring happiness, but that’s up to you.

The worst thing you can do now is pull all your money out of the bank. Our Australian banking industry & economy is strong by all regulations that have been put in play over many decades. If everyone pulled out their money, how would the economy survive, on bread and water?

At the end of the day, you will do what you want though I would recommend just thinking about your current situation. Sit down outside, enjoy the sun and fresh air and think of what to do next. Thinking on emotion is the worst possible way, it will always lead to mistakes…