Most SUV's people purchase aren't capable of doing this.

A great many of them are just overweight hatchbacks that have been jacked up. FWD 2L engines with big bodies. Because of this, SUV's are actually quite deceptive size wise. They look big on the outside but have limited cargo capacity on the inside. Most SUV's lack a locking diff or low range gearbox which means they don't have the off road capability to tackle a damp, grassy hillside (also they lack underside protection, which only matters if you care about your car).

For passengers, a minivan is better, provides more room and comfort as well as better access to the third row (because they usually have larger doors). For cargo vans or station wagons (AKA Estate cars) are better as they will have more cargo space for the same sized car as well as handling much better (by having a lower centre of gravity).

I've gone offroading in the Australian outback, anything less than a Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Patrol will be killed out there. F-series utes (trucks) will have failed long before they get to where the Land Cruisers start. I call SUV's "soft roaders" because their off road capabilities end at mounting the curb.

I was thinking more along the lines of a Goa'uld voice.

Toyota are not really at the fore front of technology, with the exception of their hybrid engines (even BWM is using Toyota's hybrid tech) but Toyota are known for being rock solid and unbreakable which is what makes them really, really popular (imagine, a car that you don't have to replace in 5 years when everything starts failing... looking at you Ford and GM). A side effect of this is that Toyota cars are a bit behind the bleeding edge, the Corolla's 1.8L 2ZR engine hasn't changed much in 5 years because it's still reliable and efficient and hasn't had any need to.

Toyota's reputation is well deserved.

But Toyota's current line up is boring, they have been since they killed the Supra and MR2 back in 2002. Even the new 86 was a bit of a let down, it looked good and handled good but lacked a turbo.

What do you mean by "beginning"?

And how much source code does Apple give you to audit.

There are levels of trust we accept because not everyone has the time or skills to audit source code. However many actions (like simply making source code available) make others more trustworthy than their competitors.

I know Google collects info from my Nexus 5 and 7 but Google are at least honest about what they collect, give me options on what gets sent and have demonstrated how it's annonymised.

Apple collects the same, if not more info from Iphone/Ipad users but they don't openly admit to it, they hid it deep in the fine print of the T&C's (something about sharing data with "partners") nor do they demonstrate that the data is anonymised at all.

Unless you're a complete idiot, it's easy to see who's the more trustworthy.

I use the electronic "smart gates" in Australia all the time, I've never had an issue with them. They get used a lot but there's never a long like at them because they're faster than a manned counter.

My biggest fear is another overzealous customs officer in another country doesn't do what one Malaysian one did and stamp the centre page that has the chip in it and the words "Do Not Stamp This Page" in bold lettering on it. Getting another passport is a bitch.

Ultimately this.

A lot of the stress at the airport is self inflicted because people don't want to pay for things. They don't want to pay baggage so they lug an oversized case everywhere. In the US it has been a race to the bottom and it's been so bad that you don't have any airlines left that an Australian, Asian or European would consider to be "full service".

Let me be clear that I certainly don't blame individuals for the TSA cluster fuck, but beyond that it's down to cheap people being too cheap for their own good.

I just flew Singapore Airlines from Perth to Manila transiting through Singapore. Singapore is a great airline to fly on, 30 KG baggage in cattle class, 19" seats on their Airbuses, the cabin crew bring around hot towels before take off, a choice of meal in economy, decent tea and a good in-flight entertainment system. Beyond this, Changi International Airport in Singapore is a very easy place to get around. Free wifi that works, lots of signs, trains that run between the terminals every 4 minutes airside, plenty of free activities and lots of sitting areas.

The cost of this was A$200 above flying a budget airline like deathstar (JetStar) and for them I'd have to transit though Darwin (which meant collecting and re-checking my bags at Darwin). When you're in the air for 18 hours all up, its a small price to pay for a little extra comfort.

Let me help; the government that you're so disappointed with campaigned on and was democratically elected on exactly this platform. They left not one shred of doubt about what they would do with the carbon tax when elected.

LoL,

You are either a crusty old Liberal with their head so far up their arse that lump in your throat is your nose or have no idea how elections are run in Australia.

The Liberal government got in on the narrowest of margins due entirely to a series of dodgy preference deals.

Above that, they didn't advertise their polices, their entire campaign was based on "hate Labor". The Libs didn't even release a fiscal policy until after the election. Thats how bad they were. Their entire campaign was based on flinging shit at Rudd... Nothing more.

Since their election, they've become more unpopular than Labor ever was, it's so bad not even Newscorp can spin it into positive news. Just 9 months into his term and Opposition leader Bill Shorten is preferred prime minister by 10% (Abbot 34%, Shorten 44%) and if Tony Abbott were to call a double dissolution now (as many Australians wish he would) it would be a white wash for the LNP (Liberal-National Party).

Australians feel deceived by the Liberal government for good reasons, mainly because they've continued with several extremely unpopular policies that were either not spelled out before the election or are a complete reversal of what they promised before the election (which wasn't much). The media gagging over asylum seekers, Abbott's constant attacks on the ABC because they told the truth about Operation Sovereign Borders... Why is it any supprise to you that Australians are thinking of Tony Abbot as Australias worst ever prime minister.

The people of Australia

As a "person of Australia" (BTW, in Australia we just refer to ourselves as "Australians" not "the people of Australia", keep that in mind the next time you want to impersonate one) I want a sustainable energy policy, the Labor government had several good ideas including the Clean Energy Finance Corporation which was actually making money that Abbott is determined to axe for no reason other than it was Labors idea.

Please stop pretending you know anything about the current government in Australia, Australians or anything about Australia in General.

BTW, your "statism" quip shows just how out of touch with reality you are considering that is the best attack you could come up with.

I'd ask if the headphones are plugged into line out or the headphone port first.

A judge should be free to question a law, yes.

Judges in Australia have come out of court saying the law was wrong. I believe Judges in the US are allowed to do the same if it contravenes your constitution (same here, we have a constitution too you know).

A judiciary that blindly follows the letter of the law is pointless as they just become to tools of politicians who often write bad and lopsided laws (hence making an independent judiciary pointedness). Nice try to poison the well with that "activist judge" quip, but it didn't work.

Parts of the UAE, the Emirate of Dubai specifically are already out of oil.

Hence the fact they're trying to diversify like mad, they're trying to become the financial centre of the region in the same way as New York or London.

What do you mean "waiting to be". For most of the Indian and Filipino "guest workers" it already is.

The ultimate argument for the PC gaming master race is that you get a lot of console to PC ports but hardly a sniff in the other direction.

You can port up but you can't port down.

What do you mean by start... This has been happening for years.

Now the guy was arrested in Guam, a US territory not the Maldives but I cant help but think this was also a ploy to get leverage on Russia. Maybe setting the scene for a good old prisoner swap... Seeing as the guy is the son of a member of the State Duma (house of parliament) so he's the son of someone important, The US will give him a nice trial, sentence him to prison an then ring Putin and offer him a friendly deal, Seleznev will "serve" the rest of his sentence in Russia and in exchange, the Russians give the US Snowden. This may not be the intent of arresting Seleznev, but it seems to be a very convenient opportunity.