Art cradled in Casino, NSW

Untitled
by
Ronald
Torrens



Bush
Tucker
by
Tania
Walker

Windows Error Message # 1984

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Still time to get your entry in for the 2010 Bureau of Meteorology calendar

The Bureau of Meteorology and the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society's Australian Weather Calendar photography competition for the 2010 calendar will close on 31 March 2009.

Still time for photographer's on the NSW North Coast to send off their favourite lucky weather photo to see if the Northern Rivers can be represented in the next calendar.

This is definitely a for the love of it competition, but lots of fun if you make the final cut.

Entries must have a meteorological theme, such as clouds, thunderstorms, lightning, rainbows or tornadoes.

Entries must be provided initially as photographic prints, at a minimum size of 15x10 cm. Digital pictures must be a minimum size of 5MB uncompressed (about 1700 x 1150 pixels), such as are produced by 2 megapixel cameras. No more than 10 entries per person are permitted.

Entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form that contains details of any and all digital alteration to images.
Photographers must be willing to provide the image in its original format (negative, transparency or digital file) if the picture is shortlisted.

Winning photographers are awarded three complimentary calendars. No prizemoney is offered. All rights associated with the images are retained by the photographer.

Entries must be sent to:

Weather Calendar Competition,
Public Affairs Group,
Bureau of Meteorology,
GPO Box 1289,
MELBOURNE VIC 3001

More information:Telephone (03) 9669 4668, fax: (03) 9669 4113, e-mail: librarypic@bom.gov.au

And you thought is 'twas only Muslims.........

I stumbled across a website yesterday called the Catholic League: for religious and civil rights.

Intriguingly it links to annual reports on anti-Catholicism (up to 2007) and other supposedly anti sentiment - Christmas Wars and The Jewish Community Should Rethink Its Attitude Towards Pius XII.

But what really fascinated me were the cartoons this report objected to in 2007, like the one above.

It seems that it isn't just the Islamic faith which is touchy over caricature and political comment.

And this mob keep a yearly tally!

Bambauer rains on Senator Conroy's parade - download full text of Internet censorship paper

FILTERING IN OZ:

AUSTRALIA'S FORAY INTO INTERNET CENSORSHIP

Derek E. Bambauer*

Abstract

Australia's decision to implement Internet censorship using technological meanscreates a natural experiment: the first Western democracy to mandate filtering legislatively, and to retrofit it to a decentralized network architecture.

But are the proposed restrictions legitimate?

The new restraints derive from the Labor Party'spro-filtering electoral campaign, though coalition government gives minority politicians considerable influence over policy.

The country has a well-defined statutory censorship system for on-line and off-line material that may, however, be undercut by relying on foreign and third-party lists of sites to be blocked.

While Australia is open about its filtering goals, the government's transparency about what content is to be blocked is poor.

Initial tests show that how effective censorship is at filtering prohibited content – and only that content – will vary based on what method the country's ISPs use.

Though Australia's decision makers are formally accountable to citizens, efforts to silence dissenters, outsourcing of blocking decisions, and filtering's inevitable transfer of power to technicians undercut accountability.

The paper argues Australia represents a shift by Western democracies towards legitimating Internet filtering and away from robust consideration of the alternatives available to combat undesirable information.

PDF of draft paper at SSRN

Image from The Sydney Morning Herald

Gaza '09: Reports from Israeli human rights groups

B'Tselem (Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in Occupied Territories) has this link to a blog reporting human rights violations in the Gaza Strip.

B'Tselem also documents the appalling mortality statistics between 29.9.2000-30.11.2008 which show 2,994 Palestinians (including 634 minors) in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli security forces/civilians compared with 136 Israeli dead (including 4 minors) in the same territory killed by Palestinians.

With totals across Gaza, West Bank and Israel for the same period showing 4,897 Palestinian dead (including 955 minors) and 1,062 Israeli dead (including 123 minors).

The current bombing and incursion into the Gaza Strip will of course swell these figures markedly in relation to the number of Palestinians killed or wounded.

When will enough be enough?

Philip Slater over at The Huffington Post expresses what must be a common sentiment:

I can understand that after centuries of persecution it's satisfying for a Jewish state to be the aggressor for a change, but there's a codicil that goes with that role. You don't get to act like a victim any more. "Poor little Israel" just sounds silly when you're the dominant power in the Middle East. When you've invaded several of your neighbors, bombed and defeated them in combat, occupied their land, and taken their homes away from them, it's time to stop acting oppressed. Yes, Arab states deny your right to exist, threaten to drive you into the sea, and all the rest of their futile, helpless rhetoric. The fact is, you have the upper hand and they don't. You have sophisticated arms and they don't. You have nuclear weapons and they don't. So stop pretending to be pathetic. It doesn't play well in Peoria.

B'Tselem 2009 testimony page.

A big round of applause for W.I.R.E.S wildlife rescue please

According to The Daily Examiner, last year WIRES Northern Rivers received 50,000 telephone calls from the public and made 25,000 rescues of injured animals.

Chris Lloyd, WIRES Executive Officer, said: " We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and it's heartbreaking to see how we are killing off our helpless animals. Many species are unique to this country and we must work together to provide these precious animals with a safe future."

In the Clarence Valley WIRES averaged 10 calls per day over 2008 for everything from injured eastern grey kangaroos, wedgetail eagles, parrots, and water birds, to various lizards and snakes.

WIRES volunteers are always prompt, polite and caring whenever they call to pick up injured or 'lost' wildlife from around the NSW North Coast and we are all lucky to have such an excellent service just a phone call away.

Thinking of donating?

Donate by Phone
Call 02 8977 3333 and have your credit card details on hand to donate over the phone.

Donate by Fax

Download printable donation form and fax to: 02 8977 3399 Donate by Mail

Download a printable donation form to send through the post to:
PO Box 260
FORESTVILLE NSW 2087

* Photograph of Tawny Frogmouths from WIRES Northern Rivers

It's official - the editor's an ars#h@le

The Daily Examiner at Grafton celebrates 150 years of news publication this year.
It's circulation covers the Clarence Valley, with a supposed readership of around 28,000 from Monday to Saturday.
A somewhat unnatural number given that there are only about 50,000 people living in the Valley.
Still, it is to be congratulated for hanging in there when so many in the print media are living on what appears to be borrowed time as teh teev and teh net make inroads into 'audience' share.
So it's a real pity that in a year of celebration this local paper should be lumbered with such a tactless, insensitive tabloid hack like its johhny-come-lately editor, Peter Chapman.

His latest effort on Tuesday was to berate Yamba small business owners for taking either Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day off to be with their own family and friends.
Apparently everyone in Yamba should have been open comme la Gold Coast for the benefit of the editor, his extended family and friends (because not for one moment did I believe in the unnamed dissatisfied 'tourists' he was supposedly championing).
As an afterthought he also included Maclean and Grafton shopkeepers in his gripe - presumably the boofhead remembered that he currently resides in Yamba and has to face his neighbours once the paper hits the streets.

Map from APN

You go (you godless) girl! Part Two

In October 2008 I wrote a post about Ariane Sherine's efforts to raise funds to run a counter-message to advertising by religious groups in Britain.

Ariane was so successful that now at last the godless have a voice!

According to The Telegraph last Tuesday:

Organisers originally hoped to put the message on just a handful of London buses, as an antidote to posters put up by religious groups which they claimed were "threatening eternal damnation" to non-believers.

But after the campaign received high-profile support from the prominent atheist Prof Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Association, the modest £5,500 target was met within minutes and more than £140,000 has now been donated since the launch in October.

Enough money has now been raised to place the message – "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" – on 200 bendy buses in the capital for a month, with the first ones taking to the streets .

A further 600 buses carrying the adverts will be seen by passengers and passers-by in cities across England, Wales and Scotland, from Aberdeen and Dundee to York, Coventry, Swansea and Bristol.

In addition, two large LCD screens bearing the atheist message have been placed in Oxford Street, central London, while 1,000 posters containing quotes from well-known non-believers will be placed on Underground trains for two weeks starting on Monday.

They feature lines doubting the existence of God, and celebrating the natural world, written by Albert Einstein, Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Adams and Emily Dickinson.

It is the first ever atheist advertising campaign to take place in Britain, and similar adverts are now also running on public transport in America and Spain.

Ariane Sherine, a writer who first thought of the atheist bus adverts, said: "You wait ages for an atheist bus, then 800 come along at once. I hope they will brighten people's days and make them smile on their way to work."

The Guardian also reported:

Atheists in Australia have fared badly with their campaign. Attempts to place slogans such as "Atheism – sleep in on Sunday mornings" on buses were rejected by Australia's biggest outdoor advertising company, APN Outdoor.

The Australian Federal Government's Yellow Pages of Evil

Adelaide Now has this opinion piece by Mark Newton:

The blacklist would need to be distributed to several hundred ISPs, and would be accessible to several thousand technical staff. The information security implications of this are obvious. Taking such a sensitive, secret resource and distributing it to thousands of people guarantees that the blacklist would eventually leak.

When it leaked, it would be published on the internet. If the list is even half as accurate as the minister claims it will be, the effect of that publication will be to make what has beeen dubbed "The Australian Federal Government's Yellow Pages of Evil" available to every child-exploiting abuser on the planet, directing criminals in all corners of the world to a smorgasbord of illegal content.

The Labor Government would need to explain why it thought that unknowable quantities of "collateral damage" all over the world was an acceptable price to pay for Australian internet censorship.

Of course, that somewhat alarming outcome is predicated on the trustworthiness of Senator Conroy's claim that only the most outrageously illegal material would be blocked. A diligent enquirer might wonder whether that is true.

In a Senate Estimates Committee hearing on 20 October, 2008, Senator Conroy confirmed that ACMA's existing prohibited online content list would form the basis of the mandatory "illegal material" censorship scheme. The problem is the ACMA-prohibited online content list doesn't actually restrict itself to illegal material.

In addition to the illegal material Senator Conroy would like to ban for adults, the list also contains material the Office of Film and Literature Classification has refused to classify, but which may still be legal to possess (if not to sell, hire, exhibit, or import) in Australia, as well as material rated X18+, also R18+ material not protected by an adult verification service, and some MA15+ material. Material in these categories is mostly legal in Australia.

The ACMA-prohibited online content list also contains a class of material that hasn't been examined by the OFLC, but which, in the opinion of ACMA bureaucrats, "would be" classified into one of the categories of prohibited content.

But because the blacklist is secret, unaudited, and specifically exempted by legislation from the Freedom of Information application process, the OFLC would never get a chance to check the accuracy of these classifications - unless they downloaded the list once it was leaked. That brings us to the most pernicious of unintended consequences: nobody would know (at first) what had been banned.

Our society accepts that it is up to the courts to determine what is illegal. We do not then expect faceless public servants to be the real arbiters of an internet content blacklist. Yet Senator Conroy, who has established a remarkable track record of being wrong in this area, expects Australians simply to take his word for it when he says that "illegal material is illegal material".

IT is clear that a great many Australians disagree, despite Senator Conroy's hysterical accusations that to do so is to endorse child pornography. In a nation that has enjoyed uncensored access to online services (including those that predate the internet) for over three decades without ill effect, imposing a national censorship regime such as the one proposed by Senator Conroy is a radical act requiring radical justification.

We are over a year into this debate, and still none of these concerns has been addressed. It time for the Labor Government to abandon this policy. To the Government I ask: "Please, won't somebody think of the adults?"

Snapshot is of ISP filtering poll at mid-morning 6 January 2008, click image to enlarge.

NASA's James Hansen: the pot calling the kettle black?

According to News.com.au NASA's James Hansen has told Barack Obama that Australia is destroying much of life on earth.
Reporting which is accurate only in certain aspects.

A draft document by Hansen does make this claim:

(3) Other cases are described on my Columbia University web site, e.g., Switzerland finances construction of coal plants, Sweden builds them, and Australia exports coal and sets atmospheric carbon dioxide goals so large as to guarantee destruction of much of the life on the planet.

However, the final document does not mention Australia in this context and, more importantly, this letter has not yet been delivered to the President-Elect.

Either way, Hansen is drawing a very long bow when he initially blames one of the smaller total greenhouse gas emitters for much of the global destruction and News Ltd is guilty of misrepresenting Hansen's final position in the quoted letter.

Oh no, John - the 'honour' is all yours

Lil Johnnie Howard has been bleating into microphones since Tuesday that his mate George Dubbya's awarding him the US Presidential Medal of Freedom is a "compliment to Australia."
No, John.
It was you, not Australia, who decided that our nation would break international law and invade other nations willy nilly because Dubbya said so.
It was also you, not Australia, who ran a disinformation agenda at the behest of the Bush Administration.

And again, it was you not Australia who put the Obama Administration offside before it was even installed - first by linking an Obama presidency with a win for Al Queda and then planting your little round derrier in Blair House for freebie White House accommodation so that there was little hope that the Obama family could stay there pre-inauguration.

So that gaudy little bauble that you get to pin on your chest is rightfully yours - all yours.
As to whatever compliment such a bauble may be.
Well in past years Dubbya has given it to Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Rita Morena, Charlton Heston - all actors like yourself.

This is what Dubbya's press secretary told the media last Monday:

"President Bush will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and former Prime Ministers Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and John Howard of Australia, on Tuesday, January 13th, in an East Room ceremony. The President is honoring these leaders for their work to improve the lives of their citizens and for their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad. All three leaders have been staunch allies of the United States, particularly in combating terrorism. And their efforts to bring hope and freedom to people around the globe have made their nations, America and the world community a safer and more secure world. The Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civil award and was established by executive order in 1963. The President has previously awarded 78 medals during his tenure."

Yup, this award has nothing to do with reality and is clearly intended for those intimately acquainted with the nether regions of a US president who'll be leaving by the back door in about two weeks time.
So, as I know you and yours would've lobbied hard to get this bauble, please take all the credit, John.
Most Aussies don't want or need it I'm sure.

A look at The Age poll yesterday morning:

Gaza Strip 2009 - some voices across the Internet

(December 18 2008) -- US Central Intelligence Agency information about Gaza -- High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the second intifada in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, but continued Israeli-imposed crossings closures, which became more restrictive after Hamas violently took over the territory in June 2007, have resulted in widespread private sector layoffs and shortages of most goods.

(December 28) -- Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.

(January 2 2009) -- Amnesty International calls on Israeli forces to immediately halt the unlawful attacks carried out as part of the escalation of violence which has caused over 400 Palestinian deaths and 2000 injuries since Dec. 27. Amnesty International also condemns the rocket fire by armed Palestinian groups including Hamas which resulted in 4 Israeli deaths with several dozen injured. This is the highest level of Palestinian fatalities and casualties in four decades of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Scores of unarmed civilians, as well as police personnel who were not directly participating in the hostilities, are among the Palestinian victims of the Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip....

(January 5) -- Code Pink Women for Peace In similar situations around the world, civilians caught in the midst of conflict would have the option of seeking safety in neighboring countries as refugees. Gazans have no such option, as both Israel and Egypt restrict access for Palestinians to their territory. They are trapped.... Some 300 babies are born every day in Gaza, but pregnant women are being forced to deliver outside hospitals as all available beds are reserved for war injuries and other emergency cases....

(January 5) -- The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross has said that wounded people are dying while waiting for ambulances in the Gaza Strip.The Swiss-run ICRC, guardian of the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian law, said late on Monday that as the number of casualties continued to rise, it was focusing on arranging safe passage for Palestine Red Crescent ambulances, which collect the wounded and transport them to hospitals.

(January 6) -- Save the Children strongly protests the continued violence in Gaza that has now claimed the lives of more than 100 children. "Recent attacks on two United Nations shelters set up for families forced from their homes in Gaza have killed additional innocent children and family members", said Annie Foster, who heads Save the Children's emergency response in the region. "This crisis continues to have an enormously devastating impact on children and families, many of whom have left their homes and have no safe place to go. We are calling on the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire, if only for the sake of the children. The international community also needs to urgently accelerate its efforts to bring about an end to hostilities."

(January 6) -- AUSTRALIA'S largest telecommunications provider says it won't charge for phone calls to the Gaza Strip, but the offer could be in vain as the region's telecommunication services teeter on the verge of collapse in the face of the military assault by Israeli forces. Israel began its attack on Gaza on December 27 after Hamas had declared an end to a shaky six-month truce between the two sides. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed during the campaign.
Telstra says it will offer free phone calls for more than a week to the affected area. The offer applies to calls with the 0011 970 8 area code and is valid from January 7-15.

(January 6) -- Queen Rania of Jordan, Israel's immediate neighbour, says the deaths of Gaza's children are unacceptable. "The children of Gaza, the dead and the barely living, their mothers, their fathers, are not acceptable collateral damage," she said. "Their lives do matter. Their loss does count. They are not divisible from our universal humanity. No child is. No civilian is." UNICEF says the children of Gaza are being denied fundamental human rights, like protection from violence and access to education and healthcare.

(January 7) YNet News -- Following the international criticism following the Israel Defense Forces strike near a United Nations school in Jabalya, which left dozens of people killed, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday night announced the opening of a "humanitarian corridor" for the Gaza Strip. According to the announcement, areas in the Strip would be opened for limited periods of time to allow the Palestinian population to equip itself and receive aid.

Photo found at SwissInfo

We haven't forgotten you, Mr. Monsanto

It has been a while since North Coast Voices ran a post on Monsanto, the US-based biotech giant which dominates around 95 per cent of the global genetically modified seed market.

Here are some recent items:

Gene-altered crop studies grow

Labs move beyond corn and soybeans into rice, wheat

Worst Companies in the World: US, Monsanto, Peabody and Barrick

The United States was voted the Worst Company in the World, followed by Monsanto, Peabody Energy Corp. and Barrick Gold

Monsanto acts quickly to resolve harvest mistake
Monsanto Co. has claimed responsibility and pledged "to take appropriate actions," to prevent experimental cotton and cottonseed from entering the marketplace as either fiber, livestock feed or oil products.

Anger over first large-scale GM canola trial

OPPONENTS of a commercial trial of genetically modified canola in WA say there is no guarantee the 1000 hectare operation can be contained.

The State Government announced yesterday that 20 farmers would be involved next year in WA's first large-scale trial of GM canola.

It will be carried out by global seed and pesticide giant Monsanto, the Department of Agriculture and Food in WA and private grain carrier Co-operative Bulk Handling (CBH).

MADGE Mothers Are Demystifying Genetic Engineering

MADGE is a network of individuals interested in how our food is grown and the effects it has on our health. We are concerned about the lack of adequate labelling and testing of GM foods.
We advocate on behalf of consumers for the right to know what is in our food. We promote information on natural foods and healthy farming practices.
Click here to receive our weekly newsletter.

Historical photograph found at Google Images.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

Gans and Quiggin on climate change and emissions trading

Before the last federal election Joshua Gans and John Quiggin made a submission to the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading.

Put simply, when there is uncertainty, action should be taken if the risks outweigh the costs. Scientific uncertainty has been diminished. The critical feature of this is not that the extreme risks have been revised but that the probability that no significant change will occur has been revised downwards; arguably to zero. That means that the possible upside associated with doing nothing has been eliminated only making the case stronger for action. Those who focus purely on the most extreme risks and their likelihood miss the point. The case for action is compelled by the fact that it is now clear that change is occurring.

This submission has an excellent section giving a brief history of climate change theory, science and disinformation campaigns.

PDF copy of submission here.

That tinnie Malcolm Turnbull!

There's a site called Website Outlook which will quote a dollar value on websites indexed by the large search engines.
I've just run the Federal Leader of the Opposition's own www.malcolmturnbull.com.au through the mix and Truffles' little blog is worth around US$5635.6 in today's values.
His sidekick, Deputy-Leader Julie Bishop's www.julie-bishop.com is priced at an estimated US$2000.2 and Nationals Federal MP for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker's website is worth about US$1679.
By contrast the Labor Federal MP for Page Janelle Saffin's site www.janellesaffin.com.au is only worth around US$146.
The Nationals State MP for Clarence doesn't get a look in as he has opted for what appears to be a hosted page and is therefore worth nothing on the market it seems.
However, the major Aussie blogs beat the pollies hands down with Club Troppo coming in at US$5978.7, and Larvatus Prodeo at a whopping US$14381 to name two examples.

Did you hear the one about the chamber of commerce?

Something you don't hear all that often.

A certain Clarence Valley chamber of commerce has got itself in such a fix that it has apparently allowed its incorporation to lapse, doesn't remember exactly how many financial members it has and, is in the rather strange position of being financially viable but otherwise up the creek without a paddle when it comes to effectively representing local business in the town.

Australia Day 2008 celebrations on the NSW North Coast

"Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future." http://www.australiaday.com.au/

In the Clarence Valley:

Whoever you are, wherever you live, you are invited to CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA DAY IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD by hosting a BBQ in your backyard, street, cul de sac or park and Council will pick up the bill.

This Australia Day, we are taking the party to your door - you just need to stick your hand up with a "I'll have one of those mate".

I'm in - how do I get the snags?

To apply for a BBQ package, call Council's Events Coordinator on 6645 0229, email edu@clarence.nsw.gov.au or download an application form from clarence.nsw.gov.au before 7 January 2009. BE QUICK, limited number of packages available. Individuals, households and community groups based in the Clarence Valley are all welcome to apply.

So have some fun in the sun with your neighbourhood on Australia Day, while the snags sizzle, the hamburgers fry and the backyard cricket shouts howzat!..........

A casual yet sophisticated and joyous celebration, honouring all the 45 amazing nominees for the Australia Day Awards.
Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Grafton Community Centre and celebrate with our worthy citizens and their family and friends between 12 noon and 3pm on Monday 26 Janaury 2008 at the Grafton Community Centre, Duke Street, Grafton.

At Ballina:

It's a double celebration…. Australia Day and the Ballina Bowling Club Centenary Celebrations!
Join us on Monday 26 January in Hampton Park (Moon & Bentinck Sts) between 9am and 5pm and help us celebrate all things Oz.
The day kick starts at 9am with a special breakfast... so get here early! At 10am the official award and citizenship ceremonies will get underway.
After the official ceremony, grab the kids and don't miss the fun of the jumping castle, merry-go-around and ferris wheel. If they love animals and reptiles then head over to Old McDonald's Farm and Reptile Park and delight in their squeals of delight as they get to know the animals and reptiles a little better.
Relax and sit back and tap your toes to the live entertainment from Fossil Rock and enjoy aboriginal dancers, rock 'n' roll dancers and individual buskers and performers vying for your attention.
A number of food vans including the Lions Club BBQ and a licensed drink tent will be available on the day to satisfy your Aussie thirst and hunger pains.

At Tweed Heads:

Held at Uki Sports Club House, Kyogle Road, Uki this Australia Day Celebrations begins at 10.30am with Musical Entertainment by Ian Holston & Ayesha Gough followed by an Official Program with speeches by the Australia Day Ambassador and Federal and State Members, and the presentation of the Australia Day Awards.
Councillor Joan van lieshout, Mayor of Tweed will then conduct the Citizenship Ceremony. Finishing around 12.30pm with the singing of the National Anthem and a light lunch.

In the Richmond Valley:

A community celebrations with attractions to surprise any age.
Enjoy good food, music, markets and activities for the whole family between 10am and 3pm on Monday 26 January.
Staged in and around the New Italy Museum on the Pacific Highway just south of Woodburn.

At Coffs Harbour:

The official Coffs Harbour celebrations this Australia Day started with a Flag-raising Ceremony at the cenotaph in Vernon Street at 8.30am, followed by a Citizenship Ceremony inside the Coffs Ex-Services Club, after which the 2008 Australia Day Awards were presented to the winners by Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Keith Rhoades.
At the Citizenship Ceremony, 59 residents of Coffs Harbour coming from 18 different countries became Australian citizens by pledging allegiance to Australia. Each was presented with their certificate of Australian citizenship and a gift. Read more about citizenship ceremonies here.

Obama and Biden promise but others deliver

Obama and Biden are promising that they "will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty and hunger around the world in half by 2015, and they will double our foreign assistance to achieve that goal. This will help the world's weakest states build healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth."
So what will that mean?
An increase in foreign aid as a percentage of US Gross National Product from around 22% of one per cent to 44% of one per cent?
With most of it targeted to flow into Iraq or Afghanistan and out again in the pockets of American corporations?
Well whoopee.......the US might just retain its position as second last within DAC for this statistic.

Think we Aussies with a population of only about 21 million do a bit better than that in percentage terms.
According to the OECD:
"Australia has made substantial, positive changes to its aid programme since 2004, reinforcing its focus on reducing poverty, on promoting the MDGs, and completely untying its aid programme. Its aid volume was USD 2.67 billion in 2007, representing 0.32% of its gross national income (GNI). Australia has committed to contributing 0.5% of its GNI to official development assistance (ODA) by 2015/16."

Of course the sheer size of the American economy up to 2007 has meant that the US was at, or near, the top of the table for total of actual dollars contributed when you include its debt forgiveness to countries it unlawfully invaded, politically destabilised etc., and its low-interest loans.

Aid at a Glance charts for all donor countries are found here.

Vatican says, Pill pollutes. Scientists say, Rubbish!

Vatican says: the pill is polluting the environment & is responsible for male infertility. Scientists say: Rubbish!

Holy hectors! Reports are pouring out of the Vatican that the contraceptive pill is polluting the environment and is in part responsible for male infertility.

CathNews reports that the Vatican newspaperL'Osservatore Romano is carrying an article that says:

The pill has "had devastating effects on the environment by releasing tonnes of hormones into nature," Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, says.

"We have sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill," Mr Castellvi said in a L'Osservatore Romano article.

"We are faced with a clear anti-environmental effect which demands more explanation on the part of the manufacturers," Mr Castellvi said.

But the article was promptly dismissed by several organisations.

"Once metabolised, the hormones contained in oral contraceptives no longer have any of the characteristic effects of feminine hormones," said Gianbenedetto Melis, vice-president of a contraceptive research association, quoted by the ANSA news agency.

The hormones contained in the pill such as oestrogen "are present everywhere... in plastic, in disinfectants, in meat that we eat," said Flavia Franconi, of the Society of Italian Pharmacology.

The Gaza fight enters cyberspace

Click to enlarge

I suppose it had to happen - Palestinian supporters are hacking in protest at the situation in Gaza.
Arabia Mirror tracks some of these hacks.

This North Coast Voices post will probably not be possible if the Rudd-Conroy plan to impose national mandatory ISP-level filtering on the Australian Internet is implemented.

Way to go, mums!

According to GlobeLife on 31 December 2008:

They called it a "virtual nurse-in."

Earlier this week, 11,000 mothers who use Facebook changed their profile pictures to photos of themselves breastfeeding children to protest against the social networking site's decency standards.

It's the latest blow in a continuing battle between Facebook and some of its users since it began removing photos that show breastfeeding.

The single-day protest, known as the Mothers International Lactation Campaign, was organized by Stephanie Muir, an Ottawa woman and mother of five who is one of more than 87,000 members of the group "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"

The group is pushing Facebook to change its policies regarding breastfeeding pictures and its regulations surrounding how much of a woman's breast can appear in photos posted on the site.

"This societal attitude that women's breasts are lewd, sexually explicit or pornographic in their very nature serves only as a detriment to breastfeeding," Ms. Muir said.

Make 2009 the year of the green purchase

We all know how to recycle household paper, aluminium and glass, and to avoid purchasing goods with triple wrapping, but what about those other things we buy?

The Green Pages is a great online place to start looking for things in its BeGreen range such as nifty pens made from recycled material, ethically manufactured underwear and beer that swears it is green.

Every little bit counts in a country whose government is still playing catch-up on climate change mitigation measures.

It's the start of the first full working week of 2009

I could say just be thankful that you have a job - but I know that wouldn't help the situation right now as everyone gears up for another 12 months of working for that dollar.

2009 on the NSW North Coast: time to brace ourselves for price hikes

Well the festive season is virtually over and there is only Australia Day left to mark the end of most people's December holiday break.

So what have we to look forward to on the NSW North Coast?

The cost of prescription medication under the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme went up this month by $1.60 to $32.90.
Pensioners will have to pay $5.30, up from $5, and will also have to pay for 62 scripts before they qualify for the safety net provision.
Of course, as it was getting harder to find prescribed medication being dispensed for $5 this will come as no surprise to many pensioners.
There is also no indication that Centrelink's pharmaceutical allowance will be increased to cover more than the current one script per fortnight.

The New South Wales retail price of electricity supplied to residential customers is likely to be fully deregulated sometime this year, coupled with the latest decision by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to allow a 26 per cent increase in electricity prices within the next two years.
The first price change is likely to be on 1 June this year.

Residential and business water charges will go up again this year, by around a 7.6 per cent annual increase if the North Coast Water timeline is any indication.

The Rees Government appears to be endorsing the IPART recommended 8.5 per cent increase of the maximum cap on regional bus fares.
As Sydney metropolitan and outer-metropolitan rail and bus fare increases have already been announced, expect to see local bus companies increase fares soon after any government announcement.
Further fare rises can also be expected over the next four years., but for the first time all-day pensioner excursion tickets will be available on the North Coast.

Home grown art from the Northern Rivers

Untitled beach painting Michael John Taylor

Clarence River Catch Carmen French


Coming Ready or Not Melinda Gibbs

Favourite local media snap over the holidays

Photo by Adam Hourigan, The Daily Examiner

A feisty bull tells Chris Williamson 'bollocks' at the 27th annual Maclean Twilight Rodeo on 27 December 2008.

Further delays for the Big Billabong

Tourists waiting to flock to the Clarence Valley's newest tourist attraction have been told to be patient.

The word around the traps was that Angourie's Big Billabong, which was estimated to be costing its proprietor about $10million to construct, would open for day trippers' viewing early in 2009.

However, the latest goss is that the owner Gordon Merchant won't be moving into his Angourie premises anytime soon. Furthermore, the cost of the project is now said to be close to the $16million mark.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that plans for the massive beach shack were lodged with the Clarence Valley Council in 2002 and when The Bulletin first visited the building site in October, 2007, it had already been under construction for three years.

At that time a builder on the site said the house would be finished in three to six months.

Well, those deadlines have come and gone and as our latest pictures show, there is still plenty of work to be done.

A member of the nearby Yamba Rugby Club, who wished to remain anonymous, said there were rumours the cost had blown out from $10 million or $12 million to $16 million.

"It's taken a long time generally because if he (Mr Merchant) is not happy with something he just gets it changed as it goes along," he said.

"It's taken a while, so everyone is looking forward to being invited to the opening party."

Mr Merchant can afford to be picky.

The man who founded the international clothing and accessories company Billabong on the Gold Coast in 1973 is worth an estimated $805 million.

He has long been a fan of Angourie, 5km south of Yamba in northern NSW, which boasts some of the best waves in Australia.

Another Angourie local said Mr Merchant was often seen about town.

"I was surfing the other day prior to Christmas and he was in this perfect Billabong wetsuit," he said.

"Their family is often seen around town. The house is taking a long time because he includes nothing but the best.

"The local tradies aren't complaining."

The mansion has totem poles sitting in gardens, five garages and a pool that spills over as a fountain between the garage doors.

It is built on four house-blocks and will be one of the biggest homes in Australia.

The mansion has a copper roof, which already has a tinge of green due to exposure to the elements, and is built from sandstone.

Besides the mansion at Angourie, Mr Merchant is believed to be investing heavily in and around Yamba.

His helicopter is often heard flying the divorced father of four into the town.

Mr Merchant recently won approval to build a helipad at the house to transport his young son interstate for medical treatment.

He also offered to make the helipad available to the Yamba community for emergency services. It has landing lights that can be activated by telephone.

That sort of community spirit has helped to win over Angourie locals.

"There are those with a little envy, but despite his obvious wealth and helicopter there is no real showiness about him," said a resident.

Snail-paced travel reform in NSW

At long last pensioners living in the Clarence Valley and other parts of rural and regional NSW are about to receive some sort of equity with their counterparts who reside in Sydney and its hinterland.

The Daily Examiner (3/1/2008) reports:

North Coast Busways customers will be able to buy $2.50 Regional Excursion Daily (RED) tickets from tomorrow.

RED tickets will provide pensioners with unlimited travel within the local route bus network. They will be sold by bus drivers.

People with a valid Australian Government Pensioner Concession Card, NSW Seniors card or a War Widowers card are eligible for the tickets.

Contact South Grafton Busways depot on 6642 2954 for more details.


Why, one must ask, has it taken the NSW Government so long to extend to the pensioners of rural and regional NSW bus travel concessions that have been available for what seems like donkey's years in the Sydney metropolitan area and more recently in the area that stretches from the Hunter, via the Blue Mountains, to the Illawarra?

A new year on the digital highway throws up an old friend; Daniel Minton

While browsing the Internet for references to Tai Chi, I stumbled across a rather familiar face from long, long ago.

Hello from Australia to Daniel Charles Minton - glad to see life is treating you well!

When making your New Year's resolutions please remember..............

Click to enlarge

Here's Figure SPM-4 from the IPCC's Fourth Assessment report. The blue bands show temperatures if you just include natural forcings and natural variability. The red bands include the effects of human activities. The black lines shows actual temperature averages.

Deltoid posted an easy to understand graph which I intend to keep in mind as I draw up my To Do list for 2009.

What about you?

Quick, Kev, do something! The media cycle is slipping through your spin

Click to enlarge

Google Trends shows that Team Kev didn't quite manage to hold the attention of the national electorate over the last 30 days.
Despite Rudders Christmas 'bonus' to so many households, Santa Claus trounced the PM everywhere it mattered for most of December 2008.
It's obviously time for another media release.
Announcing funding in 2009 to save Aussies from athlete's foot perhaps?

Ah, the memories: Fraser Government cabinet papers

Image from Wired.com

How well I remember those salad days when a rumour went around that disgraced former US president Richard Milhous Nixon was likely to make a formal visit to Australia.

Long before the Internet and instantaneous communication, on a rural exchange where you could still 'phone in your telegrams, I fired off a stern word or two to then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser telling him that in my opinion Nixon should not be allowed into the country in any capacity.

I eventually received a letter in reply (marred by the fact that the Prime Minister assumed that he was writing to one of the men in the family) which was carefully diplomatic about the possibility that Nixon might visit and, if memory serves me correctly, pointed out that his government was not in the business of barring people from visiting Australia.

Cabinet papers released this week show that behind the scenes, the Fraser Cabinet was working hard on 22 August 1978 to make sure Tricky Dicky did not publicly express a desire to visit down under and that he stayed well away from our shores.

See digital copy of the cabinet minute here.

Marohasy and Co. raising funds to fight Rudd's carbon pollution reduction scheme

While criticising GetUp! at every opportunity, Jennifer Marohasy (Chair, Australian Environment Foundation) is requesting donations to oppose the Rudd Government's emmissions trading scheme:

At our recent conference and AGM in Canberra, members decided that the best thing we could do as an organisation for the environment over the next year would be to oppose the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)...........
There is a temporary holding page for our new campaigning website www.ListenToUs.org.au .You can subscribe at the site to the campaign newsletter as well as make a foundation investment in the campaign through PayPal. We have so far raised $17,000. Our target for the campaign against the Emission's Trading Scheme is $30,000.

According to AEF media releases, Jennifer Marohasy can be contacted on Mobile 0418 873 222.

The mind boggles at such a naked attempt to wreck any chance Australia and the NSW North Coast might have of minimising the longterm impacts of climate change.

All I want is.......a new front tooth

Some of the many wishes which turn up on the Internet:

All I want is world peace...
...and a pony.
Grafitti from the syndicated Ginger Meggs comic strip

All I want is an honest press.
Post title at Crooks and Liars blog

All I want is my face on TV,
But they're always rolling text over me
From The Credits Song on The Chaser's War on Everything

All I want is to be left in peace to get on with earning a living, with as little interference from government as is possible.
A British musician commenting on a UK Telegraph article Coping class is the new working class

All I want is to be able to make a call and get what is now a basic home service (the internet) to my home. No delays, no explanations just a service.
Is that too much to ask?
Blogger David Says on the perils of setting up an Internet connection in Australia

All I want is everything
Ambit claim made by a book title aimed at teenagers and found at Amazon.com

All I want is the government to give me a good reason why I must vote or must attend the polling booth.
Phanto sounding off at The Forum

All I want is a smoke!
Plaintive cry on ehealthforum

All I want is a normal life
Title given to a blog

All I want ... is to live in peace with my family
A child's wish from Gaza in 2006 which still hasn't been fulfilled by the international community

A voice in the Koori Mail

A letter to the Editor of the Koori Mail raises some interesting points:

 

Where is our Obama?

Where is our Aboriginal Obama? This question has been asked many times since that magic day on 4 November 2008 when Democrat Barack Obama became the first black American to be elected President of the United States of America. A number of Australians are now asking who will be the first Aboriginal man or woman in Australia to rise to such a high position in politics. While many of us are left wondering, perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on a few things. Firstly, it should be pointed out that the original people of the United States are Native Americans. Barack Obama is African-American. While not belittling this historic and inspiring occasion, or the oratory powers of Obama, perhaps a better question to ask would be 'who will be the first Native American President?' Comparing the first African-American President with a future Aboriginal Prime Minister is worthwhile, but it is a little off the mark. A far more accurate comparison would be between Aboriginal leaders and Native American leaders, of whom very few have risen to political heights. In Australia, two Aboriginal men have been prominent politicians (Neville Bonner and Aden Ridgeway). Several other Aboriginal men and women have held, or currently hold, ministerial positions in State and Territory governments. In comparison, in the United States to date, Charles Curtis, from the Kaw Reservation, has been the highest placed Native American in Federal Government. He was the 31st Vice-President of the United States of America in 1930s under President Herbert Hoover. This political achievement is a very important milestone in world history that is rarely taught. Its significance should never be underestimated. Why African-Americans have achieved more politically than Native Americans or Aboriginal Australians is an interesting question. Is it because of the oratory powers of people like Martin Luther King who drove the civil rights movement, or is it due to the militant efforts of people such as Malcolm X? Some people may say that militant African- Americans were prepared to fight and die for their recognition and equality, while other minority groups around the world have not been ready to fight or die. Perhaps in Australia, some of us have been too divided to achieve solidarity or have been too focused on being the 'victim' to inspire and empower our people to greatness. Perhaps the reason that so many African-Americans and Native Americans have risen to political prominence is because they took up the opportunities that they were given and made the most of these opportunities. Maybe it was because the civil rights movement in American saw the establishment of a 'knowledge nation' of university-educated black people that led to employment in prominent positions in society where they could influence change. Regardless of the barriers in Australia, we can overcome them. In Australia we have some catching up to do before our country has an Aboriginal Obama. But can we achieve this milestone? By supporting other Aboriginal people who have political aspirations to better the whole of Australia – YES WE CAN! NEIL WILLMETT* Brisbane, Qld *Neil Willmett is an Aboriginal businessman and a regular facilitator in the Commonwealth Government Indigenous Men's Leadership Program. He will be attending Barack Obama's Inauguration Day celebrations in Washington on 20 January 2009 to watch Obama become the 44th President of the United States.

New Year's Day 2009

New Year's Eve 2008

From everyone at North Coast Voices