Sunday 5 November 2017
Park Watch group forms as a fight back against the Berejiklian Coalition Government's ongoing cutbacks to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Thursday 24 August 2017
Sunday 12 February 2017
The American Resistance has many faces - this is one of them (2)
Thursday 15 December 2016
In 2011 Australia had a Labor government and in 2016 it has a Liberal-Nationals Coalition government - see the difference
'close the camps ' during Question Time on 30 November 2016.
Tuesday 12 January 2016
Liverpool Plains community getting the "Wrong Mine, Wrong Place" message out to China
The LPP community have spent $750,000 fighting this madness so far! There are more battles to come before we can save our water and precious Ag land – for more information on how you can add your support, visit: http://www.friendsoftheliverpoolplain... and help us win this fight.
Music by Luke Vassella
Shot/directed/edited by David Lowe and Eve Jeffery
Produced by Cloudcatcher Media
Help us make more cool stuff by chucking something in our tip jar! http://www.cloudcatchermedia.com/tip-...
Thursday 2 October 2014
The battle for citizens to retain the right to 'protest in order to protect' continues in Abbott's Australia
Wednesday 11 June 2014
Protecting The Leard Forest: one of the many reasons why Environmental Defenders Office NSW is a vital asset in relation to good governance & safeguarding both community interest and the natural environment
Legal Action Launched to Stop Clearing in Leard Forest
Saturday 3 May 2014
Quote of the Week
Tuesday 11 February 2014
Coal Seam Gas: Leave It In The Ground
http://www.lukevassella.com/
1 The Mighty Dollar Luke Vassella
2 Ankle Deep Dani Karis
3 The Gold Luke Vassella
4 Wattarka Aubrey Beggs
5 Eleven Long Years Eden Parris
6 Rose Matilda Matt Zarb
7 River Luke Vassella
8 Speargrass Loren Steenkamp
9 Casino Luke Vassella
10 If I Were A Swagman Matt Zarb
Monday 23 April 2012
Friday 27 January 2012
Abbott fleeing from one of his many his blunders
Just in case you missed the edifying sight of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in full flight on Australia Day 2012.............
Friday 8 April 2011
Yindjibarndi people protest against Twiggy Forrest and "the lie FMG want to fly"
FMG's Great Native Title Swindle from Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corp. on Vimeo.
Legend:
Caught red handed – this is a record of a supposed 'native title' meeting staged by the iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG). It shows how FMG, its agents, a lawyer and an opportunist splinter faction tried to destroy the unity of the Yindjibarndi people and give open slather to FMG for its Solomon Hub project. The video demonstrates the unscrupulous actions of a miner trying to bully traditional owners into a land use 'Agreement' that will see massive disturbance of country and will swindle several generations of Yindjibarndi people. The fight continues. See yindjibarndi.org.au/
* The mining company has reportedly sent a legal letter to Vimeo demanding this video be taken down. Vimeo has complied. It may now be viewed on North Coast Voices in the post In defence of free speech and First Peoples.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Caution. Drive slowly. Anarchists ahead
"US Arms Manufacturer Lockheed Martin has the contract for the 2011 UK Census in March this year.
The arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin US makes Trident nuclear missiles, cluster bombs and fighter jets and is involved in data processing for the CIA and FBI. It has provided private contract interrogators for the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Lockheed Martin has the UK Government contract to collect the process the data for the 2011 census in March. (Observer, 20 February 2011)
If you do not complete the census form and answer all the questions (except “religion”), (or return this information on line) you could get fined £1000 and a get criminal record. The Green Party has, after some real soul searching, decided not to promote a boycott of the 2011 census after all because that could lead to further funding problems for local authorities. The census data are used to determine the financial needs of councils on the basis of the population data for their area.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Lockheed Martin is in it for the money. A principled stance by you to boycott the census will not hurt them, could provide the British Government with £1000 of your money and will make life harder for local authorities. The rational approach would be to take part in the census but make processing your return as expensive to process as possible for Lockheed Martin. Make sure that processing your return costs Lockheed Martin more that they allowed for in their tender. Don’t let them make a profit from your census return but do help to provide the data your council needs for its Government grants.
If you don’t send in your form, Lockheed Martin will still get its money and just make a higher profit for less work.
This year, for the first time, you can make your census return on line. Do not do this, for an on-line return is the cheapest and easiest option for Lockheed Martin to process.
The value of Lockheed Martin’s 2011 census contract seems to be about £150 million. See the ONS (Office for National Statistics) press release on web page:
https://2011mc.census.gov.uk/index.php?module=documents&action=view&id=14
The census form consists of 32 pages. The contract includes the processing of about 39 million census forms. This is approximately £4 per census return. This figure includes all overheads and Lockheed Martin’s profit margin, so that the company will have priced the direct processing cost per form at a lower figure. To make money out of such a contract, the handling and processing of the forms will have to be a high speed and highly automated operation. Every minute longer spent on a form than Lockheed Martin has budgeted for, will reduce their profit on the contract. It is realistic to assume that this extra cost to Lockheed Martin would be in the region of £1 per minute of extra time spent on your form if all the overheads are taken into account.
Let’s assume that they plan, using their high speed computerised scanning and data capture technology, to process a form in, say, 5 minutes from receipt at their processing centre up to finished data capture. If your form is going to take, say, at least 15 minutes because it is a little awkward to deal with (possibly longer if supervisory level staff has to resolve queries and problems), then you will have reduced Lockheed Martin’s profit by approximately £10, if not more. You can make it extremely time consuming by very simple means.
THE CENSUS PROCEDURE
Some time in March you will receive a census form in the post – probably addressed to “the householder” or “the occupier”, which someone in your household is obliged to complete. (Remember: Don’t do it on line). This must be done after the census day of 27 March. The “census day” is meant to be a snapshot of the entire population on that particular day. The form must be returned by post as “soon as possible” after 27 March. The Government website says “If you have not returned your questionnaire by 6 April, a census collector may call after that time (possibly around the end of April) to offer you any help”. There is no particular deadline line for returning the form.
Do not provide convenient contact details when filling in your census form or on any other piece of paper relating to the census. After all, nobody can force you to possess a telephone or email. Paper correspondence is much more expensive. Alternatively, accidentally change a digit of your telephone number and ditto for an email address. Everybody makes minor clerical errors, that’s just human nature........"
Friday 25 March 2011
Earth Hour 2011 - a hard choice for many in New South Wales
Earth Hour falls on 26th March 2011 - tomorrow.
It falls slap in the middle of radio and television coverage of the NSW general election which is expected to give government to the Liberal-Nationals Coalition for the first time since March 1995.
Bet a few extra Nue Sou Welshie homes won't be switching off at 8.30pm - unless it's in disgust at the polling figures.
Because we're all set to get a state government which has thrown in its lot with that arch-on-again-off-again climate change sceptic, Federal Coalition Leader Tony 'I've never met a right-wing extremist I didn't like' Abbott.
Somehow I don't think dousing the lights is going to help us.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
A word or two to those No CarbonTax ragers. Yer? I really believe ya (not)
Take a look at these pics from today's No Carbon Tax Rally in Canberra, organised by Jacques Laxale of the Consumers & Taxpayers Association.
Definitely not a crowd whom on a good day I might suppose had actually considered the the pros and cons of placing a national price on carbon before introducing a market-driven emissions trading scheme.
I've a feeling that it was pure ignorance on show - a redneck extravaganza with Sophie, Bronnie, Pauline, Eric[a] and Angry in tow.
A rally chocka with the type of people who would never think that Opposition Leader Abbott was probably mentally laughing at them when he opened his rally speech with these words:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to say congratulations to all of you for coming out today and letting the Government of Australia know that the people of Australia can never be taken for granted. As I look out on this crowd of fine Australians I want to say that I do not see scientific heretics. I do not see environmental vandals. I see people who want honest government."
As MrDenmore remarked: "A group from the #noCTrally stayed behind for a party. See picture here."And when someone tries to inflate the Canberra rally numbers remember this panorma pic ....
Pics from Twitpics and News Ltd courtesy of Google Images
Friday 18 March 2011
To Tor or not to Tor? That is a question for all Netizens after Lamo entered the equation
What is Tor? Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis….. Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.
Sounds good doesn’t it? So who is likely to allow their computer network to be used as a vehicle to protect the electronic communications of whistleblowers and dissidents?
http://www.setecastronomy.org/ This is a Tor Exit Node It is distinctly likely that you are reading this because you had some issue with the traffic coming from this IP address. This machine is part of the Tor Anonymity Network, which is dedicated to providing privacy to people who need it most:- ordinary computer users - i.e. people like you......Email address: adrian@setecastronomy.org
Who Is Domain Tools for IP 74.82.57.190
Domain ID:D156926562-LROR
Domain Name:SETECASTRONOMY.ORG
Created On:21-Aug-2009 14:30:14 UTC
Last Updated On:18-Nov-2010 21:14:19 UTC
Expiration Date:21-Aug-2011 14:30:14 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Gandi SAS (R42-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:0-1658357-GANDI
Registrant Name:Adrian Lamo
Registrant Organization:Reality Planning LLC
Registrant Street1:108 WEST 13TH STREET.......
Registrant City:Wilmington
Registrant State/Province:Delaware
Registrant Postal Code:19801-1145
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.2023707750.......
Registrant Email:adrian@2600.com
Admin ID:AL4741-GANDI
Admin Name:Adrian Lamo
Admin Organization:SETEC ASTRONOMY, a RPL company
Admin Street1:PO Box 339.......
Admin City:Carmichael.....
Admin Postal Code:95609-0339
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.8889201981.....
Admin FAX:+1.7172831658.......
Adrian Lamo? Really? Isn’t he the onetime hacker who informed on 'whistleblower' Bradley Manning (U.S. serviceman who sent copies of U.S. diplomatic cables to Wikileaks) and, isn’t Manning now confined to military prison and allegedly subject to torture?
Oh, Tor – not exactly the best testament. But then what can one expect from an anonymity network apparently originally sponsored by the US Naval Research Laboratory and probably intended by intelligence agencies to act as a sometime honey trap at their convenience?
Adrian Lamo in his own words:
Sunday 30 January 2011
"Torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread": US Ambassador Margaret Scobey in 2009
C O N F I D E N T I A LCAIRO 000079 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA, INL AND INR/NESA NSC FOR PASCUAL AND KUTCHA-HELBLINGE.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2029TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG........
Ă‚¶1. (C) Summary and comment: Police brutality in Egypt against common criminals is routine and pervasive. Contacts describe the police using force to extract confessions from criminals as a daily event, resulting from poor training and understaffing. Brutality against Islamist detainees has reportedly decreased overall, but security forces still resort to torturing Muslim Brotherhood activists who are deemed to pose a political threat. Over the past five years, the government has stopped denying that torture exists, and since late 2007 courts have sentenced approximately 15 police officers to prison terms for torture and killings.
Independent NGOs have criticized GOE-led efforts to provide human rights training for the police as ineffective and lacking political will. The GOE has not yet made a serious effort to transform the police from an instrument of regime power into a public service institution. We want to continue a USG-funded police training program (ref F), and to look for other ways to help the GOE address police brutality. End summary and comment.........
Ă‚¶2. (C) Torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders. One human rights lawyer told us there is evidence of torture in Egypt dating back to the times of the Pharaohs. NGO contacts estimate there are literally hundreds of torture incidents every day in Cairo police stations alone. Egyptians are bombarded with consistent news reports of police brutality, ranging from high profile incidents such as accidental but lethal police shootings in Salamut and Aswan this past fall (refs B and C) that sparked riots, to reports of police officers shooting civilians following disputes over traffic tickets. In November 2008 alone, there were two incidents of off-duty police officers shooting and killing civilians over petty disputes. The cases against both officers are currently making their way through the judicial system.
Ă‚¶3. (C) NGO and academic contacts from across the political spectrum report witnessing police brutality as part of their daily lives. One academic at XXXXXXXXXXXX told us XXXXXXXXXXXX the police proceeded to beat a female suspect into confessing about others involved in the theft and the whereabouts of the stolen valuables. A contact from an international NGO described witnessing police beat the doorman of an upscale Cairo apartment building into disclosing the apartment number of a suspect. Another contact at a human rights NGO told us that her friends do not report thefts from their apartments because they do not want to subject â€Ĺ“all the doormen†in the vicinity to police beatings. She told us that the police’s use of force has pervaded Egyptian culture to the extent that one popular television soap opera recently featured a police detective hero who beats up suspects to collect evidence.
Ă‚¶4. (C) Contacts attribute police brutality to poor training, understaffing and official sanction. Human rights lawyer XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX speculated that officers routinely resort to brutality because of pressure from their superiors to solve crimes. He asserted that most officers think solving crimes justifies brutal interrogation methods, and that some policemen believe that Islamic law sanctions torture. XXXXXXXXXXXX commented that a culture of judicial impunity for police officers enables continued brutality. According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, â€Ĺ“Police officers feel they are above the law and protected by the public prosecutor.†Human rights lawyer XXXXXXXXXXXX attributed police brutality against common criminals, including the use of electric shocks, to the problem of demoralized officers facing long hours and their own economic problems. He asserted that the police will even beat lawyers who enter police stations to defend their clients.......
Ă‚¶5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX explained that since the GOE opened a dialogue with formerly violent Islamists, such as the Islamic Group, following the 1997 Luxor terrorist attacks, torture of Islamists has decreased. XXXXXXXXXXXX claimed that the GOE now treats Islamists better than common criminals. Some Islamist detainees are â€Ĺ“spoiled,†he asserted, with regular access to visits from friends and family, decent food and education. Before the Luxor attacks, XXXXXXXXXXXX commented, the government would torture Islamist detainees on a daily basis.
Ă‚¶6. (C) Attorney XXXXXXXXXXXXXX commented that the GOE is more reluctant to torture Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members, because of their persistence in making public political statements, and their contacts with international NGOs that could embarrass the regime. XXXXXXXXXXXX speculated that the exception to this rule is when MB members mobilize people against the government in a way the regime deems threatening, such as the April 6 Facebook strike (ref D). According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, the MB-affiliated blogger and â€Ĺ“April 6 Movement†member XXXXXXXXXXXX whom police arrested XXXXXXXXXXXX (ref A) falls into this category, and the GOE is probably torturing him to scare other â€Ĺ“April 6†members into abandoning their political activities. XXXXXXXXXXXX’s assessment tracks with â€Ĺ“April 6†member XXXXXXXXXXXX’s accounts of his own torture and the alleged police sexual molestation of a female â€Ĺ“April 6†activist this past November (ref A). Bloggers close to XXXXXXXXXXXX told us that following his arrest he was tortured severely with electric shocks and needed to be hospitalized, but that security forces stopped the torture when he began cooperating.......
Ă‚¶7. (C) Contacts agree that in the past five years, the government has stopped denying that torture exists and has taken some steps to address the problem. However, contacts believe that the Interior Ministry lacks the political will to take substantive action to change the culture of police brutality. XXXXXXXXXXXX asserted that following alleged standing orders from the Interior Ministry between 2000 and 2006 for the police to shoot, beat and humiliate judges in order to undermine judicial independence, the GOE made a political decision in 2007 to allow the courts to sentence police officers to short prison terms. XXXXXXXXXXXX described the 2007 Imad El-Kebir case as a turning point in influencing the government to permit the sentencing of police officers.
(Note: Per ref E, a court sentenced two police officers to three years in prison in November 2007 for assaulting and sodomizing bus driver Imad El-Kebir. The case gained notoriety after a cell phone video recording of the torture was posted on YouTube. End note.)
Ă‚¶8. (C) An estimated 13 cases of officers accused of brutality are currently working their way through the courts, and judges have handed down moderate sentences, usually the minimum three-year prison term, against policemen over the past few months, often for heinous crimes. For example, in October 2008, a court sentenced a policeman to three years in prison for beating and drowning a fisherman. In November 2008, a court sentenced two policemen to three years in prison for hooking a man to their car and dragging him to his death. XXXXXXXXXXXXX characterized the sentences as â€Ĺ“light,†in proportion to the crimes, but commented that any prison sentences are an important development toward holding the police responsible for crimes. XXXXXXXXXXXX commented that the prison sentences demonstrate that the GOE is providing political space for judges to operate somewhat independently, in response to criticism from foreign governments and international NGOs. XXXXXXXXXXXXX described the sentences as important in drawing public attention to brutal police crimes, and strengthening the hand of advocates who call for reforming systemic problems within the police force......
Ă‚¶11. (C) Former senior Interior Ministry official Ihab Youssef, Director of the NGO â€Ĺ“The Police and the People for Egypt†told us in late 2008 that his NGO did not receive many proposals from the public in response to its solicitation for ideas on developing projects to build trust between the police and citizens. Youssef said that the NGO’s Facebook site, which provides a forum for the public to complain about the police, has generated more interest. In September 2008, Youssef publicly announced the formation of his NGO, which counts establishment figures such as former FM Ahmed Maher among its board members (ref C). Youssef does not receive GOE funding for the NGO, and has turned to private Egyptian businesses to raise money. XXXXXXXXXXXX.....
Ă‚¶12. The GOE has not begun serious work on trying to transform the police and security services from instruments of power that serve and protect the regime into institutions operating in the public interest, despite official slogans to the contrary. It seems that the government would have the strongest interest in preventing future accidental shootings of innocents, such as the Salamut and Aswan incidents that resulted in riots. We imagine that halting the torture of common criminals, who are usually poor and voiceless, is lower on the GOE’s agenda. We want to continue USG-funded police training, and we will look for ways to help XXXXXXXXXXXX’s NGO launch productive work. SCOBEY
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Daily Examiner photoshops Telstra CEO with predictable results
Never say there will be no lingering bitterness over Telstra's decision to axe around 180 jobs in the Clarence Valley and strip about $6 million in wages from the local economy.
In today's Daily Examiner David Thodey's image has obviously been photoshopped as an invitation for a bit of anatomical comparison.
I'm happy to oblige...........
BEFORE
AFTER
Friday 24 September 2010
Telstra says it's time to move on......
In good ol' Granny Herald last Wednesday:
"TELSTRA boss David Thodey says the telecommunications company is becoming impatient with delays in finalising its deal with the national broadband network.
Mr Thodey said 18 months after the NBN project was unveiled, it was important for the country, and for Telstra, to finish the regulatory work and pass implementing legislation.
''We need to move on,'' he told reporters in Hobart yesterday."
Well young Dave knows quite a bit about moving on - just ask the 180 people in the Clarence Valley who will be losing their jobs when he closes down Telstra's call centre in Grafton.
I've stuck with Telstra through thick and thin - through numerous name changes, decreased services, increased billing charges, partial privatization and Teh Three Amigos.
But taking away that many jobs in one hit in one NSW North Coast town? It'll be Telstra which will be moving on from my house.
Any one got the Optus number handy?