A fishing mate of mine wryly reckons you know you're a political tragic when you rush home (as he did), break out the gourmet crackers and antipasto, pour yourself a monster claret and switch on the radio for the last House of Reps Question Time this year (while keeping one eye cocked on the Senate strutting across the tube at 2pm yesterday).
Crikey gave us a glimpse of the inner working of NSW Labor when it published Andrew Crook's article which contained a link to this email (accusing the NSW ALP of being one of the last surviving Stalinist regimes) which apparently was doing the rounds in the lead-up the state conference which saw Premier Nathan Rees finally take control of his government - even if this may only be a temporary victory on the rocky path to next polling day.The email also contained this pop quiz and one gets the general impression that the original author has Graham Richardson in his or her sights:
Who said that?
1 "I had learned the true value of forgiveness in politics: nil."
2 "Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs."
3 "Any time spent worrying about the cruelty of executing such a nice fellow is time wasted."
4 "To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, and then go to bed. There is nothing sweeter in the world."
5 "Power had been pursued and captured: it would not be given up without a fight."
6 "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
7 "Never refuse to do the little things, from the little things are built the big."
8 "Knowing your place, even if it is not the top rung on the ladder, is not being humble or putting yourself down. It's just being smart."
9 "A ruling party inevitably attracts careerists."
Answers
1 Graham Richardson, General Secretary, NSW ALP
2 Joseph Stalin, General Secretary, CPSU
3
4 Stalin
5
6 Stalin
7 Stalin
8
9 Lenin
Cartoonist Bill Leak's study of Graham Richardson from Google Images
Update:
On the SCAMwatch radar this month:
Overcharged bank fees scam
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning consumers about hoax offers of assistance to reclaim overcharged bank fees.
Bogus anti-virus alerts
November 2009: Scamwatch is warning consumers to be wary of bogus security software or 'scareware'.
Travelling to the USA?
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning all prospective travellers to the United State of America to be wary of unauthorised third party websites.
Comcover non-refundable loan email
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning about an email from Comcover that offers a non-refundable loan
Steer clear of sports investment schemes
November 2009: SCAMwatch is warning you to be very careful if you think you can improve your odds with the aid of sports ‘investment’ opportunities.
This is what that arch-nanny Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin had to say today:
Joint Media Release with Warren Snowdon MP, Member for Lingiar
As part of major reforms to the welfare system, the Australian Government will introduce a new income management scheme to protect children and families and help disengaged individuals.
The Government is committed to progressively reforming the welfare and family payment system to foster responsibility and to provide a platform for people to move up and out of welfare dependence.
The reforms will help fight passive welfare and mean that more money goes to food, clothes, rent and less money goes to buying alcohol and gambling.
These reforms deliver on the Government's commitment to a welfare system based on the principles of engagement, participation and responsibility.
Income management is a key tool in the Government's broader welfare reforms to promote responsibility and strengthen families by ensuring that welfare is spent where it is intended - on the essentials of life and in the interests of children.
Income management is delivering key benefits. People are spending more on food, including fresh fruit and vegetables.
From 1 July 2010, a new income management scheme will begin to be rolled out in vulnerable regions, targeted at individuals at risk.
The new scheme will commence across the Northern Territory - in urban, regional and remote areas - as a first step in a national roll out of income management in disadvantaged regions. The Northern Territory has the highest proportion of severely disadvantaged locations in Australia.
The changes are part of a range of welfare conditionality reforms that the Government has already implemented, including the Cape York Welfare Reform trial, child protection income management in Western Australia, 'Learn or Earn'- Youth Participation Requirements, and the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Participants of the new income management scheme will include:
* people aged 15 to 24 who have been in receipt of specified welfare payments for more than three of the last 6 months;
* people aged 25 and above on specified welfare payments such as Newstart Allowance and Parenting Payment for more than one year in the last two years;
* people referred for income management by child protection authorities; and
* people assessed by Centrelink social workers as requiring income management due to vulnerability to financial crisis, domestic violence or economic abuse.
The new scheme will apply to any individual who meets one of these criteria. It is expected that the roll out across the NT will take around six months.
A person will have 50 per cent of their regular payments, and 100 per cent of lump sum payments, income managed. These funds will be able to be spent on priority items by using the BasicsCard, Centrepay or similar arrangements through Centrelink.
Around 20,000 individuals are expected to be covered by income management in the Northern Territory when it is fully implemented.
The scheme will promote personal responsibility and positive social norms by providing for evidence-based special exemptions.
Requests for exemptions will be assessed on the individual's demonstrated record of responsible parenting, or participation in employment or study, including for example:
* A young person - if they are in full time study or training, or engaging in paid work;
* A parent - who demonstrates responsibility as shown by their children attending school regularly and are up to date with immunisation; or
* A long term Newstart recipient - who has a history of engaging in work, even if this is not permanent.
Individuals will also be able to voluntarily participate in income management, and will be eligible for an incentive of $250 every six months that they remain on voluntary income management.
New matched savings incentives will also be introduced for those on compulsory income management to help them budget and save.
An individual on compulsory income management, who completes an approved money management course and has a pattern of savings over at least 13 weeks, will receive a matched saving contribution from the Government of up to $500 and no more than 50% of the costs of household items, such as whitegoods.
This new scheme of income management will be supported with financial counselling and money management services, totalling $53 million over four years.
Existing provisions for income management in prescribed Northern Territory Indigenous communities will be repealed.
The operation of the new scheme of income management will be carefully evaluated. The first evaluation progress report is expected in 2011/12.
The other income management trials currently underway in Western Australia and Queensland will also continue to be evaluated.
Future roll out elsewhere in Australia will be informed by the evidence gained from this evaluation activity.
Future implementation will also be informed by other criteria including evidence of disadvantage in Australia and consideration of where income management could benefit individuals and families.
The new scheme of income management in the Northern Territory will cost $350 million over four years.
Trigger payments - individuals need to be receiving one of these payments to be subject to income management
Disengaged youth ('under 25s')
* Youth Allowance
* Newstart Allowance
* Special Benefit
* Parenting Payment (Single)
* Parenting Payment (Partnered)
Long-term welfare payment recipient ('over 25s')
* Youth Allowance
* Newstart Allowance
* Special Benefit
* Parenting Payment (Single)
* Parenting Payment (Partnered)
Child Protection and social worker referral
* Youth Allowance
* Newstart Allowance
* Parenting Payment (Partnered)
* Parenting Payment (Single)
* Sickness Allowance
* Special Benefit
* Partner Allowance
* Austudy Payment
* Mature age Allowance
* Parenting Allowance
* Widow Allowance
* Widow B Pension
* ABSTUDY that includes an amount identified as Living Allowance
* Age Pension
* Disability Support Pension
* Wife pension
* Carer Payment
* Bereavement Allowance
* Special Needs Pension
* DVA Service Pension or Income Support Supplement
Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA)
Payments to be income managed - once a person is subject to income management, the following payments will be subject to income management:
* All trigger payments listed above
* Family Tax Benefit
* Baby Bonus
* Maternity Immunisation Allowance
* Carer Allowance
* Child Disability Allowance
* Mobility Allowance
* Pensioner Education Supplement
* Double Orphan Pension
* Social Security Telephone Allowance
* Telephone Allowance
* Utilities Allowance
* a payment under the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme relating to Homelands Learning Centre students
* ABSTUDY that includes an amount identified as Pensioner Education Supplement
* Bereavement Payment
* NT CDEP transition Payment
* Advance payments of most social security benefits, pensions and allowances, and some DVA service or income support payments and supplements.
Click on letter to enlarge
I'm utterly speechless after Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull showed me that I'm totally powerless and about to be 'penniless' in my unwilling support of the big greenhouse gas polluters.
The Daily Examiner,24 November 2009
In the face of Clarence Valley Council's silence on the Rudd Government's recent report Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coasts, The Daily Examiner's Erin Brady lays the facts before Clarence Valley communities in Sea level rise threatens our homes:
IF sea levels rise 1.1 metres by 2100, large parts of the Clarence Valley could be under water and towns may have to be relocated.
It sounds like a doomsday prediction, but according to a report released this month by the Department of Climate Change titled Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast, this warning is based on credible science and is a scenario we should all be preparing for.
The report’s worst case scenario for the Clarence Valley is that up to 900 homes will be at risk of inundation from sea level rise by the end of the century.
At best, about 400 homes will be at risk and that is not including homes to be built in the future.
The report lays the cause of rising sea levels squarely on climate change.
It suggests extreme weather events will also be likely to become more intense, with larger and more damaging storm surges and the possible extension of cyclones further south.
“The current 1-in-100 year event could occur several times a year,” the national report said.
According to computerised modelling based on a 1.1 metre sea level rise, homes near the coast and in low-lying parts of the Valley could be under water or prone to inundation.
This includes large areas of west Yamba, islands in the Clarence River, west of Lawrence, Shark Creek, Lower Coldstream, Tucabia through to Sandy Crossing, Southgate, Ulmarra, Great Marlow and Alumy Creek.
Populated villages along the Clarence Coast would also be prone to inundation, including Iluka, Yamba, Brooms Head, Sandon and Wooli.......
Previous posts on North Coast Voices:
Craigslist expands outside San Francisco (2000)
In 2000, the free classifieds site broadened its reach outside of San Francisco into nine additional U.S. cities, sending chills down the spines of newspaper publishers everywhere. Today Craigslist serves free listings in more than 500 cities in 50 countries, serving as a model for no-frills business and community success and the catalyst for countless jobs, apartments, and just about anything else you can think of.
Google AdWords launches (2000)
With the launch of AdWords in October 2000, Google turned advertising on its head. The self-service ad program opened up the marketplace to any business, no matter how big or small, and allowed advertisers to target their customers with laser-sharp precision.
Wikipedia launches (2001)
Containing 20,000 articles in 18 languages by the end of its first year online, Wikipedia today boasts more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages. The free open-source encyclopedia epitomizes the Internet's power to bring strangers from around the world together to collaborate on projects both big and small.
Napster Shut Down (2001)
Although Napster was shut down in 2001, it opened the file-sharing floodgates. Its demise sparked a wave of innovations that forever changed how we obtain and experience music and video - from Hulu to iTunes to Radiohead famously dropping its label and self-distributing their "In Rainbows" CD online for free.
Google IPO (2004)
Google's IPO, one of the largest in history, put the six year old search engine on the path to becoming the most dominant and influential company of the decade. From gmail and YouTube to Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Android, the Internet giant and constant innovator is the engine that powers countless aspects of our everyday lives.
Online video revolution (2006)
In 2006, a perfect storm of faster bandwidth, cheaper camcorders, and the groundbreaking use of Adobe's Flash 9 video player by YouTube combined to launch the online video revolution. The trifecta led to a boom in homemade and professional content - the Diet Coke and Mentos guys, lonelygirl15, SNL's Lazy Sunday, and Senator George Allen's "macacagate" - that has reshaped everything from pop culture to politics.
Facebook opens to non-college students and Twitter takes off (2006)
In September 2006, a social networking site for college students changed its user qualifications to include anyone 13 and older with a valid e-mail address. Facebook struck an immediate chord -- and almost overnight, social media went mainstream. Less than a month later, the creators of Twitter acquired the company and its assets from its investors, paving the way for the service to take off in 2007. Both companies took social media mainstream, radically changing the way we connect, collaborate, and communicate with everyone from friends to colleagues to customers.
The iPhone debuts (2007)
The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. By the end of the weekend, half a million had been sold, and smartphones had gone from a luxury item to a necessity. The iPhone inspired the development of operating systems like Google Android, as well as an app for just about every aspect of modern life. Over the next decade, it's estimated that a billion new users will come to the Internet for the first time through mobile devices.
U.S. Presidential Campaign (2008)
The Internet altered presidential politicking in 2008 much as television had forty years earlier during the Kennedy/Nixon race. From videos like "Obama Girl" and the Reverend Wright clip shaping the debate, to social media mobilizing voters, to record-breaking online fundraising from small donors, every facet of the way campaigns are run was permanently transformed.
Iranian election protests (2009)
When Iran's 2009 presidential election produced fishy results, the opposition took to the tweets -- and the "Twitter Revolution" was born. In fact, it was so vital to organizing demonstrations that the U.S. State Department asked the company to delay planned maintenance.. The protests also highlighted Twitter's key asset as a protest tool: Since most users don't access it through a central website, it's nearly impossible to censor.
Before and after a 1 metre sea level rise in one of the streets with building consents granted by NSW North Coast Clarence Valley Council in the thirty years since climate change has been an issue. Latest official 'worst case' predictions are for a 1.1 metre sea level rise in NSW coastal zones.
Many aspects of observed human decision-making differ from the 'rational' behaviour assumed in economic models. For example:
For all but the simplest of decisions, people generally do not attempt to find the optimal solution, but rather apply simple decision-making strategies:
The more complex the decision, the less well equipped people are to deal with it. As a result, people often make decisions which do not appear to be in their best interests:
These issues tend to be particularly prevalent among the least well-off.
Full August 2009 CSIRO report here.
Last Monday Crooks and Liars posted the transcipt of a tongue-in-check speech given at a Tea Party Against Amnesty And Illegal Immigration rally before an initially cheering crowd of American wingnuts - the best punk'd I've read this year:
Hi, my name is Robert Erickson and I'm really excited to be here. Its people like all of you, and events like this that make our country great! Give yourselves a round of applause!
I just want to talk about a couple themes this afternoon because I love this country and I want to see America be the best place it can be.
Mr. Gutierrez is getting ready to propose an immigration bill in just a few short days, and we have to make sure he knows that we want a bill that's tough on immigration. Now is the time for us to stand up and make our voices heard!
In Minneapolis, where I'm from, we have a huge immigrant population that's been causing a number of problems. With the economy in recession, and so many people getting laid off, and unable to find work, immigrants should not be competing for the few jobs that are out there. It's just not fair to the folks who have a claim to this land and the right to be here. All across America, they are contributing to the flooding of our job markets making it hard for Americans to find jobs. Well, I'm fed up, and it's time to let our politicians know that enough is enough, and we're not gonna take it any more!
We need to secure our borders to protect our country. We need to restore order and put an end to the anarchy that's sweeping the nation. We need tougher immigration laws to make sure that we send these people back where they came from. We need to protect the sovereignty of the real Americans. We need to hold our politicians accountable.
It's no secret that with an invasion of immigrants comes waves of crime. We see them involved in massive theft, in murder, and bringing diseases like smallpox, which is responsible for the death of millions of Americans. These aren't new problems, though -- they have been going on for hundreds of years, and continue to this day.
I say it's time for us to say enough is enough! Are you with me? Are you with me? Let's send these European immigrants back where they came from! I don't care if they are Polish, Irish, English, Italian, or Norwegian! European immigrants are responsible for the most violent and heinous crimes in the history of the world, including genocide and slavery! It's time to restore the sovereignty of people native to this land!
I want more workplace raids, starting with the big banks downtown. There are thousands of illegals working in those buildings, hiding in their offices, and taking Dakota jobs. Let's round them up and ship them out. Then we need to hit them at home where they sleep. I don't care if we separate families, they should have known better when they came here illegally!
If we aren't able to stand up to these European immigrants, who can we stand up to? We need to send every one of them back home, right now.
Thank you very much, and we'll see you in the streets!
Columbus Go Home! Columbus Go Home! Columbus Go Home!
