Is this bus travelling to the left or the right?

Can't make up your mind?

Look carefully at the picture again.

Still don't know?

Pre-schoolers all over Australia were shown this picture and asked the same question.

90% of the pre-schooler's gave this answer...


"The bus is travelling to the right."

The pre-schoolers were then asked, "Why do you think the bus is travelling to the right?"

They answered, "Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."


How do you feel now?

Source: Unknown

Are we rolling with the economic punches or just running scared?

While Federal Labor, Liberals and Nationals are all still arguing about what degree of gloominess is appropriate for discussing the Australian economy and the global financial crisis, it appears that average Australians may have made up their minds.

Although the Melbourne Institute announced that "The median expected inflation rate, reported in the Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations, fell to 2.3 per cent in February from 2.7 per cent in January", it also released news that the "The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 4.6% in February from 89.9 in January to 85.8 in February".

Seems no matter how much money the Rudd Government throws at the situation or how the Reserve Bank acts on interest rates, we're all determined to expect the worst for this year if not the next.

I suspect that many would feel a lot more cheerful if those with personal or corporate agendas didn't use a megaphone to label the current global financial crisis as the Great Recession, which is a self-fulfilling prophesy if ever I heard one.

Northern Rivers move to tackle climate change co-operatively

This month sixteen Northern Rivers organisations attempt to take the first steps in a regional response to climate change through the Northern Rivers Climate Change Collaboration (NR3C).

The aim of this group is to help create organisational and community leadership, mobilise resources to tackle this big regional issue, as well as accelerate innovation.

Draft Northern Rivers Climate Change Collaboration Agreement here.

One has to applaud an effort which will need real commitment to survive and grow, for it will often fly in the face of local business/land developer short-term interests (and in some cases local government indifference to implementing its goals on the ground).

G'arn! Saffin asks a Dorothy Dixer on importing bananas

The Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin rose to her feet last Tuesday for one of those discreditable parliamentary traditions - the Dorothy Dixer at Question Time .
"My question is directed to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Will the minister please update the House on the domestic and international response to the policy determination regarding the importation of bananas from the Philippines?"
This was wasted effort on the part of an MP who usually does her best for the Northern Rivers region.
Let's hope that in the future she will refrain from this nonsense and only rise to from her seat with legitimate questions.
As for me, despite Ms. Saffin's attempt to support her minister, I won't be buying imported bananas no matter how cheap or numerous they get.

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme 2009 bills before the Australian Parliament [transcripts]

Not since someone convinced the late Billy McMahon that trying to sound like a quavering, falsetto Winston Churchill was a good idea has a politician sounded as false as Kevin Rudd did when uttering his political sh#tstorm comment.

Or so I thought until I heard the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny Wong, on ABC TV Four Corners on Monday night trying to explain the government position on a national carbon emissions trading scheme or as government likes it to be known, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

With remarkable gravitas this politician is wrecking not only the Murray-Darling Basin with her lack of political steel, but is now condemning Australia to repeat the mistakes of others by giving away too many free carbon credits and setting emissions caps too low.

And for what? Why to ensure the comfortable profitability of the big national and multinational companies operating across Australia.

This is what a Senate estimates committee meeting was told on 23 February 2009:
Mr Comley -Senator Milne, the issue here is actually that the ET policy has explicitly two objectives, which is laid out in the policy position, and that is to reduce the likelihood of carbon leakage but also to provide transitional support to these industries. If you only had one of those objectives and it was purely a carbon leakage objective, then, other things being equal, you would have less generous assistance than is provided under the policy. But just to illustrate an example of why that last limb is there, you could have a situation of industry of someone who is undertaking quite a lot of capital investment, they then are faced with a carbon price which they may not have anticipated-some may have; some may not have had-and it may be that they do not change location at all. When you look at studies of carbon leakage all you observe is if that firm moves, but there could potentially be, with no assistance, a significant change in profitability. So the policy is a balance of the pure carbon leakage argument with a transitional argument, which is not uncommon to policies such as tariff reforms where you do not change them overnight. So it is the balance of those two that led into the ET policy.......

Mr Comley-I think the argument that industry is only raising the carbon leakage argument is not the experience I have had in consultations. It is both the carbon leakage and the question of the level of profitability for particular firms.

The Rudd Government through the Department of Climate Change has invited comment on its legislation. If you don't want to see the major polluters laughing all the way to the bank as they do the least emissions reduction possible while increasing price to the consumer at every opportunity, this may be your last chance.

• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (878 KB)
• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (1.28 MB)
• Commentary (1.62 MB)

• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009 (196 KB)
• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009 (640 KB)
• Commentary (552 KB)

• The draft Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority Bill 2009 (83.6 KB)
• The draft Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority Bill 2009 (283 KB)
• Commentary (213 KB)

• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – General) Bill 2009 (23.8 KB)
• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – General) Bill 2009 (118 KB)
• Commentary (73 KB)

• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – Excise) Bill 2009 (23.4 KB)
• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – Excise) Bill 2009 (118 KB)
• Commentary (72.5 KB)

• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – Customs) Bill 2009 (23.4 KB)
• The draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges – Customs) Bill 2009 (118 KB)
• Commentary (74.5 KB)

How to make a submission here.

So controlling of your right to make a submission is the Prime Minister and Ms. Wong that they have supplied a 2-page template to be used in making a submission.

International Monetary Fund rains on the Coaltion's parade and other Turnbull woes

Peter Martin said it first and said it best in his post Stop laughing:

This is serious
So says the IMF, consigning the Australian Opposition's proposed recovery program to the dustbin of "neat idea, but..."
Australia's Treasury isn't keen on some of the Opposition's claims either

The International Monetary Fund has given the Australian Government the green light to spend even more to fight recession, taking a swipe at the alternative of tax cuts proposed by the Opposition, declaring its effects "not so dramatic".

In a detailed analysis released in Washington overnight IMF staff find that direct government investment of the kind included in the Rudd government's stimulus packages can boost the economy by as much as $3 for every $1 spent.

By contrast income tax cuts of the kind proposed by the Opposition would boost the economy by just 30 cents for each $1 spent.

Which didn't say much for Malcolm Turnbull's chances of having the Australian electorate take his economic policies seriously either.

Then Crikey's Bernard Keene came forth with a dissection of Turnbull's interview style which exposed a little more political Archilles heel:

Turnbull does a lot of nuance. His economic message on the stimulus packages -- support for the first package then criticising its impact, opposition to the second package but support for a smaller package of tax cuts and infrastructure investment in the event the Senate blocked it -- has more nuance than, well, Nuanced Jack McNuance, winner of this year's Mr Nuance competition.

Malcolm Turnbull and his alternative government hardly fared any better in the mainstream media, with his latest essay in The Weekend Australian pointing to the Prime Minister's so-called hypocrisy and snidely congratulating Rudd and Rein on their wealth (while conveniently ignoring his own wealth generated from the same economic free-for-all climate) thudding dully onto the ground without an iota of critical acclaim and little impact in the latest Newspoll which sees him trailing Kevin Rudd by a massive 40 points as preferred prime minister.

To make matters worse for the Member for Wentworth, former federal treasurer Peter Costello is also reported to have a two to one advantage over him when it comes to who Australians might prefer as prime minister and:

On the question of who would make the better Liberal leader, Mr Costello heads Mr Turnbull by 45 to 38 per cent, according to the latest Newspoll survey conducted exclusively for The Australian last weekend.

The Piping Shrike points to another facet of the Rudd-Turnbull contest for hearts and minds:

The main problem with Turnbull’s response is that while it is largely correct on the past, it has nothing to say about what needs to be done now.

But this still doesn't fully explain why is he faring so badly when his principal opponent is a prime minister (with all the charisma of a box of Wheet Bix) saddled with the global financial crisis and half-baked climate change policy?

Is it only the fact that the coalition Turnbull fronts is still in disarray after its morale shaking electoral defeat in 2007?
Or is it the fact that Malcolm always comes across as a man who plots his policy positions as the after dinner port is past around and is only playing at being a politician while he waits for the next 'great opportunity' to come along?

Monsanto hits the digit at 33,333

Last Wednesday Monsanto Inc out of St. Louis became the 33,333rd visitor to the North Coast Voices blog.

To celebrate here is the list of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) being trialled across Australia by the major biotech companies or the CSIRO:

Canola
Indian mustard
Grapevines
Cotton
Maize
Papaya
Pineapple
Wheat
Barley
Sugarcane
Perennial Ryegrass
Tall Fescue
White Clover
Torenia.

The list is getting longer, isn't it?
You can do a local government area search here to see if GMOs have reached your backyard yet.

Northern Rivers artist made 2009 Archibald Prize finals

Angus McDonald, Beyond, portrait of Zoe MacDonnell, 2009

Lennox Head artist Angus McDonald made the short-list for the Archibald Prize this year, which was eventually won by Guy Maestri for his portrait of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Angus has had a busy year so far as he was also short-listed for the 2009 Monalto Sculpture Prize.

The Libs 2009: not sleeping - dreaming

Federal Coalition shadow minister for indigenous affairs Tony Mad Monk Abbott denies that he fell asleep and missed five parliamentary divisions because he had drunk too much at dinner on 12 February 2009.
I believe him. I'm sure he was just daydreaming of the return of 'King' Howard.
But just in case, here's a small reminder of a few things which didn't shake the world during that unofficial nap time:
Fighting in south Dafur was reported to have displaced 30,000
The ICC announced that no arrest warrant had been issued yet for President Al Bashir of Sudan
The International Criminal Court in The Hague was reported to be examining a demand by the Palestinian Authority to investigate possible war crimes during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip
Shoulder pads made a fashion comeback in the U.K. and
The UK Tele ran a photo of Michelle Obama kissing Abraham Lincoln.
Oh, and of course, the Australian Parliament went about the important business of that day which Abbott was elected to participate in.

Pic from www.nma.gov.au

NSW Attorney-General Hatzistergos blunders into a political farce

While everyone is supposedly thundering for the convicted individual's blood, the NSW Attorney-General is managing to make himself a small target over his announcement of the suppression order that wasn't.

A resident on the NSW North Coast was found guilty of sexual assault on a minor and, was give a two-year suspended sentence with a two-year good behaviour bond.
In line with the judge's directions any details which would identify the victim were suppressed and could not be reported in the media.

Then the Attorney-General John Hatzistergos inserted himself into the debate about this sentencing.
On 4 March 2009 he stated in a radio interview with ABC North Coast Mornings (the politically convenient line) that the entire judgment was suppressed and so he couldn't discuss the judge's reasons for the sentence.
At least one member of his staff contacted a local Northern Rivers newspaper saying that any mention of the defendant in the court case was suppressed and it was in breach of an order.

Both the Attorney-General and his staffer were of course wrong.

So what was the outcome of the Attorney-General's attempt to distance himself from the somewhat heated debate over Judge Chris Geraghty's swan song?

Why on 6 March The Sydney Morning Herald's Richard Ackland, in a sincere effort to explain the sentence, released details of the assault which were otherwise unpublished in the area in which the victim lives.
The same day Andrew Bolt in his The Daily Telegraph blog allowed himself another free kick for his boring colour bias.
Then on 7 March The Daily Examiner gave the most left-handed compliment to the defendant's barrister, David Imlah, by implying that possibly guilty people would be lining up for his services.

Well done, Mr. Hatzistergos - you turned a tragic set of circumstances into political farce and probably made the situation worse for one little child.

Just for the record.........NO CLEAN FEED!

************

McGauchie's definitely not in the brass razoo stakes

"Telstra's multi-millionaire chairman has hit back at the "hysterical" public outrage over executive pay, defending corporate Australia against the growing "bosses are bastards" mentality.

Donald McGauchie - who approved a multi-million dollar golden handshake for Telstra's soon-to-depart chief executive Sol Trujillo - said the outcry of "us versus them" in response to job cuts is helping no one, as companies do all that they can to protect their employees and shareholders.

McGauchie, who was paid $602,500 last year for his role as chairman, owns nearly $500,000 worth of Telstra shares. Last year he attended nine board meetings - earning $66,000 per meeting.

Including his fees for board roles at James Hardie Industries and Nufarm, he earned a total of nearly $900,000 last year as a non-executive director."

Well that's nice work if you can get it.

I specially like the fact that Donald G. McGauchie AO (former National Farmers Federation president) was on the board of James Hardie Industries Ltd where his director compensation for 2008 was a lordly $189,192.00.

Was that before or after James Hardie tried to bilk asbestos victims? Oh, it went way back to during!

And is he the same McGauchie that SourceWatch claims tried to break the maritime unions, was once lauded by Li'l Johnnie Howard as an heroic figure for that same union busting and is still on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. [Sing Amen]

Why just last week McGauchie warned of tough economic times ahead - just not for him.

**Donald McGauchie's board affiliations according to Business Week.

I'm rather surprised to find Kevin Bacon missing from this list........

Maud up the Street reckons the well-connected Donald's probably a member of The Australian Club in The Big Smoke, but I'm betting on The Melbourne Club further south myself.

Queensland election: will the LNP re-introduce duck and quail shooting?

Brisbane's Westender reports: Rumours abound that Queensland's pro-hunting lobby has persuaded the LNP to re-introduce duck and quail shooting if it wins government after March 21.

The LNP has not been forthcoming to organisations like Birds Queensland about its intentions and the Greens are concerned that the LNP will attempt to sneak into government without releasing policies like its approach to hunting native animals.

Greens MP Ronan Lee, who led the original move to ban duck and quail hunting, said the LNP should immediately dispel these rumours by stating publicly the laws against duck and quail hunting will not be altered.

"There is a widespread feeling in the community that these practices are cruel and inappropriate and Mr Springborg should be prepared to clarify his policy," Mr Lee said.

pic Westender

Harmony Day in Grafton, 27 March 2009

GRAFTON MIGRANT WOMENS GROUP

HARMONY DAY 2009

12PM - 1.30PM FRIDAY 27 MARCH

MARKET SQUARE, GRAFTON

PERFORMANCES
LOCAL SERVICE INFORMATION STALLS
$2.00 LUNCH - Satays + plain rice or Noodle dish or Fruit salad.

Clarence Valley Council will provide 2 small marquees, tables and chairs to be shared by local service providers. Other information stands are welcome. Please RSVP by 20 March 2009. Community Development Officer Tim Shearman Ph:66450232 or tim.shearman@clarence.nsw.gov.au

A Special Kind Of Vision: contemporary indigenous art on the NSW North Coast

On 5 March Arts Northern Rivers and the Retrospect Galleries hosted the launch of a full-colour book showcasing contemporary indigenous art titled A Special Kind Of Vision.

An exhibition of the same name is running at the gallery featuring the work of:
Albert Digby Moran / Alison Williams / Bevan Skinner / Brenda Webb / Frances Belle Parker / Garth Lena / Gilbert Laurie / Graeme Walker / Jacqui Williams / Joanne Lapic / Karla Dickens / Kim Healey / Lelarnie O’Sullivan / Les Evans / Lewis Walker / Lexie Donovan / Mark Deamon Noter-Browning / Michael Philp / Noel (Charlie) Caldwell / Oral Roberts / Penny Evans / Peter Robinson / Priscilla Sutor Anderson / Robert Appo / Timothy Ives.

Where: Retrospect Galleries, 52 Jonson Street, Byron Bay

When: Opening 6pm Friday March 6, exhibition runs till Thursday March 26

Time: Open 7 days, 10am to 6pm

More info: (02) 6680 8825 or www.retrospectgalleries.com

Painting is Alison Williams' Belonging from Arts Northern Rivers e-news

Copies of the book are available at Arts Northern Rivers and Retrospect Galleries for RRP $38.50

The Prim Minister and Senator Conjob go sensoring

With their national broadband plans languishing (will there or won't there be an announcement on Friday 13th) and the Great Firewall of Australia still not legitimately live trialled, I was amazed to see the Prime Minster's monkey Senator Conroy announce his burning desire not to produce "dumb projects":
THE federal Government is considering mandating that all major new infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads and railways have smart sensors built into them to monitor maintenance and help prevent disasters like the Minnesota bridge collapse.
Minnesota bridge collapse?
Yeah that's a big bridge. In America.
But most of our bridges are smaller ones dotted over the country and maintained by local government on shoestring budgets.
Will the Rudd Government's grand smart sensor implant hype plan actually come with increased funding for local councils so that they can boost the rate of upgrading and why isn't any of this proposed smart technology going into aging infrastructure like the 7,000-odd wooden bridges in NSW many of which are on the North Coast?
Surely the most vulnerable of bridges deserve the highest level of monitoring.

Water, water, everywhere....

Sitting here on the NSW North Coast congratulating myself on the blessed good fortune which meant that the weather has not dealt our region a really bad hand so far this year, it is hard to imagine the extremes experienced elsewhere.

This is the Burdekin Dam, northern Queensland in February 2009.

Thanks to Andrew, Monica, Samantha and Connor for the pics.

Best blog legend found this week

From Monbiot:

"Tell people something they know already and they will thank you for it.
Tell them something new and they will hate you for it."

Best blog comment found this month

From Deltoid:

The Washington Post would decide that George Will is entitled to s*domise puppies live on national TV if they thought they could make money off of it.
Posted by: Dunc February 27, 2009 11:34 AM

Queensland election: LNP candidate a ''serial carpark squatter''

Brisbane's Courier Mail reports that Michael Palmer, Lawrence Springborg's representative for Nudgee, knows a thing or two about bludging.

Palmer, described by the Mail as a "billionaire spawn", has been branded "an arrogant little sod" and a "serial carpark squattter" by a South Brisbane oral surgeon.

The 18-year-old aspiring pollie, and son of the state's richest man Clive Palmer, yesterday plonked dad's golden Mercedes outside the Hope St specialist - where he had no appointment - and wandered off for several hours.

The LNP Nudgee candidate has done this repeatedly in his campaign car, copping a written warning each time, Dr Matthew Voltz told Confidential.

"I thought enough is enough," he said.

When Palmer finally returned, the surgeon approached the Merc to discuss the issue.

But the young man in a hurry "reversed his vehicle away from me, almost driving over me in the rush to escape", Dr Voltz said.

"He saw me coming ... he gave me a wave and I thought, 'You arrogant little sod'.

"I pointed to the sign and said, 'Next time you'll get towed'."

When Confidential contacted Palmer, he said the specialist was "just taking things all a bit too dramatic (sic)".

"It's true that he did knock on the window there but I wasn't really sure what it was about," he said.

"I received the notice there and then I just drove away."

Asked if he'd return to the car space, Palmer spun us a yarn about making an appointment for the specialist next week since he had not been to a dentist in six months.

"I've had a few friends call me and, you know, word of mouth is that they're a pretty good outfit," Palmer said.

Yeah, right, Michael.

They're an oral surgery, not a dental clinic, so you can't make an appointment - you need a referral.

Grocery Choice staggers on

During the entire time the Rudd Government's Grocery Choice has been operating it has only received 68 comments and some of these were from the good folks at Choice who are taking over this website.

If you want to have your say on what information the new look Grocery Choice should contain you can post a comment here.

The latest grocery price breakdown for north-east NSW.
Click to image enlarge.

Teh Ecunomy: Are we scared yet?

Stephen Mayne of The Mayne Report gives us a "chronological version of the losses revealed by ASX-listed companies on Friday, February 27, the very last day of the worst profit reporting season in history" and says that "There's never been a flood of red ink quite like this before."
(Though none of that red appears to be flowing from Pacific Brands which is sacking Aussie and Kiwi workers left, right and centre while sending its famous clothing lines offshore. So come on Cashie give up those Bonds undies!)

Still, despite waking up yesterday morning to a murder of crows yelling RECESSION! on the radio and Malcolm Turnbull acting all coy, I rather think that most of us are as laid back about the economy as Crikey's First Dog On The Moon.

We know it will happen but it doesn't seem that much of a bogey man - yet.

Cancer treatment a scandal on the NSW North Coast

Over the years I have almost become inured to the fact that when one looks at epidemiology data it sometimes appears that there is a causal relationship between where you live and mortality rates.

This week The Far North Coaster brought this possibility home:

Many people in the Far North Coast are missing out on life-saving radiotherapy treatment, so the Cancer Council NSW is asking the public to share their radiotherapy experiences in a one-month call-in to the Cancer Council's Helpline.

In NSW, less than 40 per cent of cancer patients received radiotherapy in 2008, which falls significantly below the internationally accepted benchmark of 52 per cent, the council said.

The Cancer Council estimates that approximately 5000 cancer patients each year do not receive the treatment they require.

It said NSW lacks the capital equipment and radiotherapy workforce needed to meet current or future needs, placing strain on the existing system.

This means some cancer patients are not able to start radiotherapy treatment within the clinically recommended standard of 21 days.

"In many areas, geographical distance creates additional problems for people living in areas without radiotherapy treatment centres," Dr Andrew Penman, CEO at Cancer Council NSW, said.

"The burden of travel, accommodation away from home and out-of-pocket expenses can cause a great deal of stress during an already difficult time."

In some parts of the State, there are only private radiotherapy centres.

Patients without private health insurance either face personal costs of thousands of dollars, or have to travel further from home for treatment that typically ranges from three to six weeks.

Currently there are no radiotherapy services available on the Far North Coast and residents have to travel to Brisbane or Coffs Harbour for radiotherapy treatment in a public hospital.

Consequently, many patients are choosing not to undergo treatment due to transport difficulties.

During the Radiotherapy Call-in, experienced health professionals trained in oncology who staff the Cancer Council NSW's Helpline will answer calls throughout March as part of an initiative to better understand the radiotherapy experiences of cancer patients and their families.

Cancer Council's Radiotherapy Call-in launches on 3 March 2009 and is open weekdays throughout the month, from 9am – 5pm. Callers can contact the Call-in by ringing Cancer Council's Helpline on 13 11 20.

WHAT: Radiotherapy Call-in to Cancer Council's Helpline
WHO: Cancer specialists and health professionals
WHEN: Tuesday 3 March 2009 – Tuesday 31 March 2009, 9am-5pm
WHERE: Across New South Wales. Cancer Council's Radiotherapy Call-in can be accessed from anywhere across the state for the cost of a local call on
13 11 20.

An den iz sed - cats out number p@rn on the Internet?

Salon and Sarah Hepola via a link from Larvatus Prodeo:

For what it's worth, I didn't mean to be a cat person. I grew up with a healthy, sneering disdain for the painfully middlebrow antics of "America's Funniest Home Videos," for the "Hang in there!" posters of kittens clinging precociously to a tree limb. But there was this orange tabby, and blah blah blah, and suddenly my clothes are covered in stubborn fur. Thing is, to be a cat person is something of a private affair. We don't meet at the park and throw sticks. We don't parade our animals down the block or stand around, chatting awkwardly while our pets sniff each others' rear ends. Whatever your cat does -- the way he curls up like a croissant and snores, the way he pads frantically about the bed at 4:30 a.m., paw to your face -- is largely between you and the torn furniture. Which is another reason I think cat culture erupted online, the same reason people get pets in the first place: It's nice to know you're not alone. Other people's cats do this stuff, too.........

In fact, I would submit that cats and kittens might outnumber porn at this point.

"You're probably right about that," says Scott Lamb, a senior editor at the trend-spotting site Buzzfeed. "That might be for the very prosaic reason that producing anything involving kittens is just so much easier than producing porn." After all, we're a nation of shutterbug narcissists, and cats are the closet thing at hand. "Panda ownership is not so common," he says, "but perhaps if it were, panda videos would be even more popular."

Hear that Senator Conroy? We're all probably more interested in kittehs than ti - well you get the picture.

WTF - you can defame a religion now?

The United Nations is a body I have a lot of time for and I'm sorta proud that we Aussies did a lot to get it off the ground and running, and until John Howard came along we continued to fully support its existence and authority.
But.........

This presumably non-binding resolution 62/154 Combating defamation of religions is just a tad too much.
I will happily accept that I would be breaking the law if I defamed a person or incited religious hatred or violence against a person or group; that I cannot do, say or write stuff that racially vilifies or discriminates.
But I'll be b*ggered if I will agree that any religion, philosophy or idea should be treated as a legal person with human rights and that I should mind my Ps and Qs when strongly criticizing the political activities of religious institutions.
If the UN had its way even Good News Week would have to bite its collective tongue on the basis that religious ideology can be defamed in the context of humour.
Half the local pubic bar would have to button lips too because a little blasphemy might get a bloke into trouble - no more Jaysus f**king Christ!

The resolution started life as; "A draft resolution on Combating defamation of religions (document A/C.3/62/L.35) would have the Assembly express deep concern about the negative stereotyping of religions and manifestations of intolerance and discrimination in matters of religion or belief, still in evidence in some regions of the world. The Assembly would further note, with deep concern, the intensification of the campaign to defame religions and the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities in the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September 2001. It would also emphasize that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which should be exercised with responsibility and may therefore be subject to limitations according to law and necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others; protection of national security or of public order, public health or morals; and respect for religions and beliefs."
The UN member countries vote went 95 in favour to 52 against, with 30 abstentions.
Thankfully Australia did not vote for this resolution, but under the Rudd Government is happily shaping up to support it in another form of wording while the UN considers how to implement this daft resolution.

Transcript: UN resolution 62/154 Combating defamation of religions
Still on the subject: The Becket Fund For Religious Liberty.

Update:
The 2009 UN World Conference Against Racism (Durban II) will be held April 20-25.
The draft document to be considered by this conference still includes clauses concerning the defamation of religions and goes even further by including the concept that holy books, scriptures and symbols can also be defamed.

The floods up north are not all bad news

Now that's a big

Isa Barra or two!!

Thanks to the unknown

Mt. Isa ambo for the

pics from Lake

Moondarra.

One of the reasons why Crikey blogs can now be considered mainstream media

I have to say that I don't regularly read Crikey's blogs and therefore have no real idea what went on in the Pure Poison comments section which apparently made News Limited rather irate.

However, even a small blog like North Coast Voices has had a very slight brush with Tim Blair's ever faithful winged monkeys (moron, bonehead, swampy and run for the hills girly man were my personal favourites in reply to Water Dragon's original NCV post mentioning Blair and Bolt), so I wonder if perhaps the News Ltd bloggers didn't get a dose of the general nastiness they have so obviously tolerated/encouraged in their own readership.

It's a sad day indeed when a new blog so quickly falls victim to its mainstream media host's capitulation to Murdoch's bullies:

Things we shouldn't have said about Andrew Bolt

While Crikey (as part of the mainstream media) could be considered obliged to ensure that comments associated with blog posts are neither defamatory nor incite racial/religious hatred or violence of any sort, there was no need for it to give such prominence to its own grovel to a media group which itself often offends in its own slipshod comments moderation.

For the most part I have found the blogosphere to be relatively polite, fair and honest in what it posts online.

Pauline Hanson: I'm baaack!

Pauline Hansen has announced that she is standing for the Queensland Parliament in the 21st March 2009 election.

The flamboyant redhead has updated http://www.paulinehansen.com.au/ and is now seeking donations and selling t-shirts.
Her bio is a bit of a hoot because it currently stops before her last attempt at federal election in 2007.

Pauline is a bit peeved at all the publicity about her last failed bid:

"Once again the question of electoral funding has reared it ugly head, WHY? My running in this election has nothing to do with electoral funding as many would have you believe.I am fed up with the lies, innuendoes, misreporting and blatant attempts to discredit my name and reasons for standing in the election.Independent and political party candidates for the purpose of election funding is eligible to claim reimbursement of election campaign expenses for votes polled if the candidate reached the qualifying threshold (more than 4%) of formal first preference votes in the electorate contested.A Queensland electorate has approx 32,000 voters. Every formal first preference vote receives approx $1.50 per vote from the electoral commission if the candidate reaches over 4%.Any campaign expenses exceeding the electoral funding are not reimbursed. Receipts must be produced for funding reimbursement."

What is missing from her website is any updated policy or promises.

Did she ever really have any?

Beaudesert beware!

Pauline Hanson's TV meltdown video.

"It's been more than a decade since Ms Hanson last won an electoral contest.
That win, in 1996, made her the federal Member for Oxley and marked the start of her political rise that ultimately saw her One Nation Party hold 11 seats in Queensland parliament at its peak.
But since then she's only tasted defeat: in 1998 in the federal seat of Blair, in 2003 as she sought a NSW Upper House seat, and in 2001, 2004 and 2007 vying for a Queensland Senate seat."

The other Mr Billabong falls on tough times

Brisbane's Courier Mail reports:


Former chief executive of Billabong, Matthew Perrin, who made hundreds of millions of dollars from the Aussie surfwear group, is broke.

Perrin today filed a debtor’s petition with the Insolvency Trustee Service of Australia and placed all his corporate entities under external administration.

Mr Graham Starkey of PA Lucas & Co has been appointed as Mr Perrin’s trustee in bankruptcy.

Once a Gold Coast lawyer, Perrin rode the crest of the Billabong wave, selling his shares and making several hundred of millions as a result.

His slide into bankruptcy was caused by his investments in a property and supermarket group located in Xian and Hunan provinces in China.

International Women's Day events in the Clarence Valley, 6-13 March 2009

There is a range of activities during the week before and after 8th March, the official International Women’s Day. Clarence Valley Council and the NSW Office for Women’s Policy are supporting the following events.

Friday 6 March
Breakfast organized by Clarence Valley Women Inc with guest speaker, UrsulaWilkinson.
Grafton Community & Function Centre, 59 Duke Street, Grafton.
7.30 am – 9 am $15 per person or $8 for pensioners/students
RSVP by Tuesday 3 March to Vicki on 0409 035 433 or cvw16@bigpond.com

Saturday 7 March
Breakfast organized by Lower Clarence Women’s Group.
Sassafras Restaurant, 16 Coldstream Street, Yamba.
Guest speaker Pauline Plant - Clarence Valley Citizen of the Year.
Contact: susan.howland@clarence.nsw.gov.au
8 am – 9.30 am - $15 per person or $8 for pensioners/students
Purchase tickets by Friday 6 March at Sassafras on 6646 1011

Sunday 8 March
Iluka women are gathering at the Picnic Area at Iluka Beach with guests Pat Jenkins – ‘Magic of Carbon in our Soils’ & Rivka Forest - ‘The Art of Healing’
10 am -12 noon. Bring your own drinks, folding chair, sun protection. Morning munchies provided.
Contact: Kerrie Howland 0432 665 305 for information.

Sunday 8 March
Lower Clarence Aboriginal Women’s Group invite women to join them for morning tea at the CWA rooms, River Street, Maclean. Contact: Susan on 0427 975 131 or susan.howland@clarence.nsw.gov.au

Friday 13 March
Yamba Evening View Club - Morning tea, two guest speakers, a fashion parade by Clovelly’s of Maclean & Yamba, a light lunch, raffle, lucky door prizes and entertainment.
Treelands Drive Community Centre, Treelands Drive, Yamba
9.30 am – 2 pm. $10 p/person payable at the door
RSVP Anne Dinham on 66462644 or better still email to dinhams@aapt.net.au by Tuesday, 10th March

Some trees are more equal than others or Malcolm Turnbull exposed once more

Not for the first time the suspect nature of the Federal Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbulls' commitment to a sustainable environment comes to light.
First his revelation that planting trees across Australia will save all in the face of climate change and then the media rediscovery of the fact that Turnbull actively support forest logging in the Pacific:
JUST as Malcolm Turnbull tries to outsmart Labor on environmental issues, a file of documents has emerged linking the Leader of the Opposition to a mass logging operation in the Solomon Islands.
The tiny island of Vangunu is a speck on the world map; a dot in the Pacific and home to just over 2000 people. It forms part of the collection of thousands of land masses that make up the Solomon Islands.
Once covered in pristine rainforest, the island and the surrounding Marovo Lagoon were the subject of lobbying by the New Zealand government and environmentalists to have it World Heritage-listed in the late 1980s.
Almost two decades later, the island is again being talked about - only this time for different reasons.
The emergence of a carefully-documented file detailing mass logging operations and the ongoing impacts in the region has Vangunu back in the spotlight.
More specifically, the file - obtained by The Sunday Telegraph - records the involvement of Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull over that time.
Mr Turnbull was the chairman of a company called Axiom Holdings after he and fellow investors purchased a 16.21 per cent stake in the company in 1991.
The company was one of several companies with logging activities in the Solomons.
It was also one of the largest.

One wonders just how long the Coalition king makers are going to tolerate this man, whose diverse financial dealings make him vulnerable to criticism (and sometimes legal action) on so many fronts.

Photograph of Vangunu from Picassa Web Albums

How Internet filters work 101

livefeet2 27/02/09 5:34PM

I was recently denied access to the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) on the grounds that it contained illegal content.

From New Matilda, 25 February 2009

Letter to Guest Speak on corruption and p@edophilia

Last week a letter was submitted to Guest Speak for publication.
This letter contained a number of untrue or defamatory statements so cannot be included here.
However, as the general subject matters were alleged police corruption and p*edophilia and because ramifications from various government inquiries are still flowing, North Coast Voices has included the following historical links for readers interested in these issues.

Inquiry into allegations of misconduct in the investigation of p#edophilia in Queensland: Kimmins report

This report of the Kimmins Inquiry addresses the first four terms of reference related to the possibility of systemic wrongdoing in the Queensland Police Service in the handling of suspected p#edophilia cases. The report on the final term of reference (which looked at isolated complaints against individual police officers) was published separately in February 1999.

Inquiry into allegations of misconduct in the investigation of p#edophilia in Queensland: Kimmins report: term of reference no. 5

This report examines the fifth and final term of reference addressed by the Kimmins Inquiry. The fifth term of reference related to 56 separate complaints that were made of isolated incidents related to police mishandling of cases involving suspected p#edophilia rather than of systemic wrongdoing.

Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct also known as the Fitzgerald Inquiry.

Courier Mail: Shadow Land reporting by Michael Ware.

Royal Commission Into Whether There Has Been Corrupt Or Criminal Conduct By Any Western Australian Police Officer also known as the Kennedy report

Exposing corruption within senior levels of Victoria Police, Office of Police Integrity

Exposing Victoria's underbelly, February 2009

Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service Final Report also known as the Wood Royal Commission.

VOLUME1.pdf (1,733kb)

VOLUME2.pdf (2,140kb)

VOLUME3.pdf (5,944kb)

VOLUME4.pdf (6,732kb)

VOLUME5.pdf (2,483kb)

VOLUME6.pdf (12,098kb)

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Google Trends a bit dodgy right now?

It pays to be careful these days when surfing the Net because nothing is sacred to spammers, scammers and other worldwide nasties.
According to Computer World on 27 February:
"Cyber crooks are using one of Google's own tools to poison search results with links that spread fake security software, a researcher said Thursday.
"Malware distributors have abused Google Trends before," said Craig Schmugar, a senior threat researcher with McAfee. "But I've never seen them use it as aggressively as they are now."
Google Trends, a tool the search giant rolled out last June, highlights the most popular searches of the past hour. At mid-day Thursday, for instance, the No. 1 search phrase, according to Trends, was "Obama budget."
Scammers and malware makers are closely monitoring Google Trends to guide them in selecting search phrases and legitimate news content, which they then integrate into their own fly-by-night sites, said Schmugar. The idea is to "game" Google into ranking their malware-hosting sites near the top on scores of high-profile, current events-related search results.
"I'm not talking about just a few sites," Schmugar said. "I've collected a lot of them, with poisoned links [in Google search results] that are pretty high up, almost always in the top 10."

And Google Flu Trends is raising privacy concerns itself, with "The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking US federal officials to disclose how much user search data the company has recently transmitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, as part of its Google Flu Trends effort."
However, Google Inc deserves a pat on the back for its "This site may harm your computer" function even if it has a few glitches.

On the money.........

It seems there is no end to greed in the ranks of the rich in Oz.

Example One:
"ALMOST 400,000 millionaires are receiving the age pension and 51,200 people in the nation's top income bracket also are getting the welfare payment.
As the Government prepares to lift the pension rate for the poorest single age pensioners, it has emerged tens of thousands of people receiving the payment are very well off.
And a key welfare group is calling for a crackdown on the rich receiving the pension, which would include homes worth more than $1 million in the age pension means test.
Research carried out for the Brotherhood of St Laurence has found the age pension system is helping the rich because the means test exempts the family home.
Other very wealthy retirees are able to fiddle their income so they can receive a part-pension.
The research by NATSEM shows 14 per cent of the nation's 2.8 million pensioners have an average net worth of more than $1.6 million when the value of their home is taken into account.
But even if the value of the home is disregarded, 51,200 age pensioners have incomes that place them in the highest income bracket."

Example Two:

"Unions say large pay increases for the top executives at Pacific Brands are obscene in the light of the company's job cuts this week.

A total of 1,850 jobs will be axed after the company, which owns brands including Bonds and Berlei, posted a first-half loss of almost $150 million and said it was moving manufacturing off shore.

Last year the firm's 13 top executives were awarded pay rises, with chief executive Sue Morphett's pay going up from around $680,000 to more than $1.8 million."

"The Bill, which was approved last June, includes a rise in CEO Sue Morphet's package from $685,775 to $1,860,649, including a staggering seven-fold increase in her "incentive payments" - blood money for slashing nearly 1850 jobs.

Her bonus was approved despite her overseeing a 45 per cent fall in the share price in the six months leading up to the pay deals."

Example Three:

"OUTGOING Telstra boss Sol Trujillo will head home to the US with a payout estimated at more than $20 million.

The man who boasted about personally axing 10,000 Telstra jobs will quit as CEO in June.

Telstra's share price has slumped from just over $5 when Mr Trujillo took over the company in 2005 to yesterday's price of $3.68 - a decline of more than 25 per cent.

Mum and dad shareholders who bought T2 shares for $7.40 are way below the price they were enticed to buy the shares and barely breaking even on the $3.60 T3 float.

Officially, Telstra says the 57-year-old chief executive is entitled to just one year's annual base salary, worth $3 million.

But Mr Trujillo received an annual pay packet of $13.4 million, $25,800 a week, based on performance bonuses.

The value of Mr Trujillo's golden parachute will depend on bonuses he receives for the current financial year and the start of next financial year. His total departure package will not be calculated and made public until August, according to Telstra."

In the deep blue on the NSW North Coast

Images from Cook Island, Tweed Heads and Julian Rock, Byron Bay.

More photographs can be found at Underwater Australasia.

Herdict - a way to dob in Conroy's filter?

From The Future of the Internet and how to stop it a new feature was launched last week:

Jonathan Zittrain’s brainchild Herdict was officially released today. (Watch the project’s mascot — a sheep — demonstrate “the verdict of the herd” in a short video… does its voice sound familiar?)
Herdict is a tool that employs the distributed power of the Internet community to provide insight into what users around the world are experiencing in terms of web accessibility.
People can participate by reporting websites that they cannot access, testing sites that others have reported, or downloading the browser add-on for reporting sites on the fly.
Herdict is a portmanteau of ‘herd’ and ‘verdict.’ Using Herdict Web, anyone anywhere can report websites as accessible or inaccessible. Herdict Web aggregates reports in real time, permitting participants to see if inaccessibility is a shared problem, giving them a better sense of potential reasons for why a site is inaccessible. Trends can be viewed over time, by site and by country.
Herdict Web builds out from the OpenNet Initiative’s research on global Internet filtering.
The OpenNet Initiative tests Internet filtering through an academic methodology. Herdict Web takes a different approach, crowdsourcing reports to learn about and display a real-time picture of user experiences around the globe.
Watch Prof. Z discussing Herdict Web at a recent Berkman luncheon, or listen to a podcast of Herdict on Radio Berkman.

Try Herdict Web courtesy of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society (Harvard University).

Report that Senator Xenophon may be changing his support for the national Internet censorship plan.