Monday, 5 December 2011

A few barefaced political untruths in November-December 2011



He pledged to save small business $1 billion a year by cutting red tape.  Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott in Crikey, 2 December 2011







From Obama to McWho? Where punters are putting their money in the lead up to the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election


It only takes a casual glance at the U.S. media to know that, aside from the incumbent president, guesses as to who else will contest next year's race for the White House are somewhat unrealistic and all over the place.
Here's where the average punter is laying win-only money (market depth) at Betfair according to OddsChecker:

2012 Presidential Election - Next President

Barack Obama

1.89

$36

1.9

$1359

1.91

$106

Mitt Romney

4.3

$223

4.4

$19

4.5

$4

Newt Gingrich

5.6

$30

5.7

$79

5.8

$3

Ron Paul

28

$4

30

$95

32

$18

Rick Perry

60

$3

65

$9

95

$5

Herman Cain

60

$12

100

$27

130

$18

Hillary Clinton

34

$5

40

$5

60

$9

Jon Huntsman

3.75

$15

24

$6

38

$13

Michele Bachmann

25

$3

38

$12

50

$20

Rick Santorum

250

$3

300

$4

320

$6

Gary Johnson

380

$3

390

$4

400

$3

Rudolph Giuliani

100

$66

200

$7

1000

$32

Joseph Biden

380

$3

490

$3

500

$5

Sarah Palin

400

$10

410

$4

500

$5

Michael Bloomberg

420

$3

520

$10

550

$11

Donald Trump

300

$6

360

$7

430

$3

Chris Christie

840

$3

990

$3

1000

$14

Mitch Daniels

590

$3

650

$3

770

$3

Tim Pawlenty

250

$3

500

$3

1000

$58

David Petraeus

130

$3

250

$3

1000

$41

Mike Huckabee

920

$3

980

$3

1000

$18

Jeb Bush

27

$13

500

$3

1000

$22

John Thune

60

$7

500

$3

1000

$44

Haley Barbour

30

$3

34

$7

1000

$96

Marco Rubio

25

$3

500

$3

1000

$45

Bobby Jindal

90

$15

500

$3

1000

$82

Condoleezza Rice

500

$3

730

$3

1000

$56

Lindsey Graham

130

$3

500

$3

1000

$80

Mark Sanford

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

$92

Charlie Crist

60

$7

500

$3

1000

$86

Chuck Baldwin

500

$3

640

$4

1000

$84

John McCain

500

$3

610

$8

1000

$94

Bill Owens

30

$12

500

$3

1000

$89

Fred Thompson

60

$14

500

$3

1000

$92

Evan Bayh

40

$15

500

$3

1000

$93

Tom Ridge

75

$9

500

$3

1000

$78

Al Gore

90

$7

410

$3

520

$3

George Allen

300

$4

500

$3

1000

$93

George Pataki

34

$9

500

$3

1000

$90

Bill Frist

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

$88

Janet Napolitano

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

$92

Sam Brownback

480

$3

500

$3

1000

$90

Eric Cantor

40

$7

500

$3

1000

$82

Jim DeMint

44

$7

50

$7

1000

$66

Mike Pence

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

$82

Kay Bailey Hutchison

100

$10

500

$3

1000

$88

Rob Portman

90

$6

500

$3

1000

$86

Dirk Kempthorne

100

$11

500

$3

1000

$88

Scott Brown

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

$76

Paul Ryan

470

$13

500

$3

1000

$52

Mark Warner

90

$6

500

$3

1000

$84

Tim Kaine

100

$10

500

$3

1000

$87

Rand Paul

3.5

$3

75

$7

1000

$55

Fred Karger

90

$6

500

$3

1000

$88

Alan Grayson

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Alvin Greene

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

John Boehner

70

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Chuck Hagel

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Duncan Hunter

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Norm Coleman

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Jim Webb

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Kathleen Sebelius

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Caroline Kennedy

120

$7

500

$3

1000

$85

Thaddeus McCotter

3.5

$3

500

$3

1000

Sunday, 4 December 2011

The Port Paper: a NSW North Coast National Party saga continues



Screen snapshot 2 December 2011

The Port Paper was until the end of August 2011 allegedly one of the NSW Nationals political propaganda and campaign broadsheets masquerading as a print and online community newspaper.

Once found out it ceased publication and has idled online ever since under a new address; http://portpaper.publishpath.com/.

Its parent company Australian News & Media Pty Ltd is under external administration, although an associated entity Australian Corporate & Marketing Services Pty Ltd appears to be operating.

What is interesting about the new registrant Whois Privacy Protection Service Inc (which now hosts a skeleton presence of The Port Paper on the Internet) is its history of being found to be a party to acts in bad faith.


Whois Privacy Protection Service Inc. is also listed as owning a male m@sturbation website.

It would appear that The Port Paper and the North Coast Nationals have finally found their natural home.

A Click in Time - Celebrating the Centenary of Australian Surfing Photography 1911 - 2011


Russell Ord 2003

Blood and Guts, Shipsterns, Spooky’s and Pipeline are names that conjure up titles of horror movies rather than four spectacular Australian surf breaks that will be featured at the opening of the ‘Centenary of Australian Surfing Photography Exhibition’ at Yamba.

After 18 months planning and research for the exhibition, 100 professional and amateur surfing photographs from every state and decade from 1911 showcases a diverse range of skill, content and creativity while at all times showing some technical merit.

The 100 photographs exemplify the legacy of Osric Notley, the first person accredited with taking Australia’s first surfing photograph back in the summer season of 1911/12 at Main Beach Yamba in Northern NSW.

Priceless gems at the exhibition include the cover photos from two 1962 surfing bibles of the day, the first Surfing World and Surf About Magazines.

Female surfer Isabel Letham and friends with the Duke swim at Freshwater in Sydney in 1915 is an absolute rare find as to are Ma and Pa Bendall from the Sunshine Coast.

A number of the masters of the lens in their era have contributed their favourite masterpieces including John Witzig’s ‘Headless McTavish’, Alby Falzon’s Bobby Brown at Angourie, Jack McCoy at Gnaraloo Station and Christo Reid at Wanna Beach, South Australia.

Some surf photographers look like they simply have a death wish when they paddle out at Cyclops in SA and Shipsterns in Tasmania with two massive waves caught on camera in 2006 and 2003 and submitted by Russell Ord and Sean Davey.

South coast photographer Dave Milnes has generously contributed a previously unpublished photo of surfing legend Bobby Brown taken at Port Kembla.

Angourie veterans Albert Fox and John Batcheldor relieve their 1963 road trip to Bryon Bay from Warilla captured on a box Brownie while surfing at Blood and Guts (Belongil).

Like the turn of the century in 1900 there was a massive shift in photographic equipment enabling photography to be picked up by the masses, not unlike today.  An example of this new technology comes in the form of 11 year old, Pheonix Short who submitted an image he took of himself with his ‘Go Pro’.

Some of the international surf names Andy Irons, Layne Beachley and Kelly Slater are also immortalized in the exhibition.

We may have also inadvertently found Australia’s first female surf photographer? A Yamba woman Sharmian Maxwell, instead of lying on the beach in her polka dot bikini was out and about with her father’s camera snapping Angourie in 1964.

A vintage display of retro camera gear will also be feature of the exhibition.

The exhibition goes for two months at the Yamba Museum 3rd December to 3rd February 2012.

Entry fee is $5 (Children Fee)
, funds raised go to the disability surfers and Yamba Museum who will be gifted the collection at the end of the exhibition.

No photographs are for sale as the exhibition as it becomes a permanent collection for the community of Yamba, the birthplace of Australian Surfing Photography.

Unknown 1917


Media Contact: Debrah Novak Mobile: 0419272621

Saturday, 3 December 2011

Today is UN International Day Of People with Disability



“Together
for a better world for all:
Including persons with disabilities in development”.

“Too often we focus on the negatives,
when there are so many amazing stories
and so many organisations and individuals doing great work.”
Federal MP for Page Janelle Saffin

Don’t DIS my ABILITY
Join the conversation on