Ladybird, ladybird............

One of the delights of childhood used to be the wonder of the existence of Ladybirds, which turned up in the garden dressed in a variety of colours and designs - black, yellow, red, orange, blue, big dots, small dots, no dots, matt-finish or highly glossy.

There are supposedly about 500 kinds of Ladybird in Australia.

When was the last time you saw a one?
Like cicadas they appear to have largely gone missing from our urban life.

Courtesy of the Australian Botanic Gardens some ladybird facts can be found here.

Also here is a CSIRO webpage if you want to find out more about these little winged gems.

Please explain, Mr. Crawford

It has long been rumoured that North Coast Area Health Service CEO Chris Crawford has his damage control down pat and the outcome of the service's complaints process heavily favours a positive outcome for the regional hospitals involved.

So it came as no surprise that a 2003 complaint appears by default to have gone in favour of the named doctor and Lismore Base Hospital.

Nor does it surprise that last June Crawford wrote to the patient involved and apologised for the mishandling of her complaint.

Seeing the light and genuinely sorry? Hardly.

Chris was sprung by unfolding events, because the doctor's registration was suspended in February 2008.

What many of us would like to know is why it took a former patient to jog NCAHS memories about Hasil and why it took Crawford four months after the doctor's suspension to write to this patient?

Also why it was that NCAHS did not react to local media reports on this doctor in February other than to supply the misleading information that "Dr Hasil was never formally accused of malpractice during his time at Lismore Base Hospital" and why senior hospital medical staff virtually ignored the doctor's alleged behaviour between 2003 and 2005.

Not good enough, Chris, not bl**dy good enough!

Current list of deregisterd doctors in NSW

Current list of suspended doctors in NSW

What happens to the Internet Harpies if Obama wins the White House?

Both the Republicans and Democrats are naturally trying to control media spin in the 2008 US presidential election.

Cease and desist letters are flying back and forth between candidates and lobby groups (such as the National Rifle Association), as well as between media outlets and the Obama and McCain campaign machines.
Legal action is apparently being regularly threatened over a broad area.

After a failed attempt to allegedly buy internet censorship, Obama has relied on a number of websites in his attempt to control this spin.
His Fight the Smears site asks for help in spreading the 'truth' about political rumours and falsehoods.

However, his supporters appear to be going a little overboard and are apparently attempting to censor what goes up on the Internet.

As a Wikipedia discussion points out in relation to the Obama-Ayers matter (raised again by Palin on the weekend):

It's clear this is a hot potato, but something has to be done about Obama/Ayers wording. Look over the last few days and you'll see sections and sentences about Obama appear and disappear. Some of the wordings are clear vandalism, or, at best, provocations, but even short, sober mentions of a controversy has been removed.
The topic is not without interest or published material to work with. Today the NYT published a front page article on the Obama/Ayers relationship—the overall thrust of which cannot cheer Obama's detractors, but which spends some column inches investigating the relationship. And Sarah Palin made it a campaign issue. Yet the Bill Ayers page has no mention of the principle reason most people will be visiting it in the weeks to come.

Image from TinyPic

Which raises an obvious question - if Obama wins the White House will the harpies he has unleashed still try to censor what is said about him out in hyperspace and is that what he really intends/condones?

Will the NSW North Coast lose its valuable fishing industry?

The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday:

CLIMATE change is likely to hit supplies of many of Australia's favourite eating fish, including barramundi, salmon, rock lobster and prawns, the most extensive study on the subject yet undertaken by the Federal Government has warned.
The CSIRO study, commissioned by the Department of Climate Change and to be released today, reports the overall impact of global change "will pose some very significant risks to the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in Australia".
Projected changes in temperature, ocean currents, rainfall and extreme weather events due to climate change are all likely to significantly influence fish stocks and marine ecosystems in the $2.1 billion Australia fishery and aquaculture industry, the report finds.

The NSW North Coast has a regional economy whichs depends significantly on commercial and recreational fishers.
In the Clarence Valley alone commercial fishing (including prawning) supports at least 370 jobs and is worth around $27 million annually.
Tourism across the region also depends on vistors whose focus is ocean or river fishing.

Everyone it seems is beginning to notice the absence of big fish numbers along the coast and locals are complaining that it is becoming harder to catch a feed.
This latest CSIRO report points to the possibility that these complaints are not just an excuse for an empty creel.

CSIRO report here.