Journalist discovers that Tony Abbott is a living example of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

I once read a very simple explanation of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle applied to quantum mechanics which went something like this - you can make predictions about how x will behave over the long run but you can never say how x will behave over the short run.

It looks as though Jacob Saulwick from The Sydney Morning Herald is discovering that about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

I split my sides over "Pole-asked: Why Abbott gets in a muddle about middle Australia":

"Abbott, therefore, spokesman for John Howard and now Leader of the Opposition, tells us that if you are a certain type of person, he will not be informing you that you are in the wrong. You could be up a pole, starving yourself, on an argument of dubious merit. You could be convinced that rising carbon dioxide emissions are good for the environment. But if you broadly identify as ''Middle Australia'', you'll mostly hear what you want to hear.

A corollary in much of what Abbott says is that if you are that certain type of person, you will not be imposed upon. You will not be hit with taxes or restrictions on living the life that you want. No, if the government does intrude into your life, it will be to entice you with incentives and encouragement.

This argument sets the Coalition up to harangue any suggestions for tax reform that come out of the Henry review in the coming months. It also begs the question of how it will pay for its incentives and encouragements.

And the third, and related, idea is that if this pitch to middle Australia throws up internal contradictions, then let's not spend time worrying about them........

But don't you want to plant more trees to soak up carbon dioxide? Isn't that going to be part of your climate change policy? Never mind."

Yep, there's no doubt about it - teh Mad Monk is set to say and do anything (go in four different directions at once if necessary) to get himself into Australia's driving seat. But in the long run he's bound to revert to all those regressive 1950's values and discredited political strategies he shares with John Howard and the country will be stuft.

Pic from 2009 astrology reading for Tony Abbott

Australia Day celebrations on the NSW North Coast 24-26 January 2010

Clarence Valley Australia Day 2010 Awards Ceremony
Event Begins at: 10:00 AM
Event Ends at: 12:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Nip Welsh Park, Minnie Water
Event Type: Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Family Fun Day, Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Matured, Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: Minnie Water
Getting there: Parking located close by
Event Web Site: http://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/

Coffs Harbour - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
The day commences at 8.30 am with a Flag Raising Ceremony at the Cenotaph in Vernon Street. Morning tea is being held from 9.00 am in the Blue Room at the Coffs Harbour Ex-Services Club in Vernon Street. New citizens registration takes place during this time. The Citizenship and Award Ceremonies commence at 10.00 am in the Grand Auditorium of the Coffs Ex-Services Club.
Event Begins at: 8:30 AM
Event Ends at: 12:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Event Web Site: http://www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/

Richmond Valley - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Event Begins at: 9:45 AM
Event Ends at: 4:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Ellengowan
Event Type: Art & Exhibitions, Awards & Presentation, Competitions, Family Fun Day, Flag Raising , Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Children (10-13), Adults, Matured, Family
Best Vantage Point is: Paddocks around hall
Event Web Site: http://www.visitrichmondvalley.com.au/

Tweed Shire - Australia Day 2010
Main Event Begins at: 10:30 AM
Event Ends at: 1:30 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Burringbar Primary School Event Type: Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Tots (<5), Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Young Adults (19-30), Children (10-13), Adults, Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: next to Burringbar Sports Grounds
Getting there: past the Burringbar Village
Event Web Site: http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/

2010 Tweed Village Celebrations
Event Begins at: 7:00 AM
Event Ends at: 8:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Villages across the Tweed Shire
Event Type: Family Fun Day
This Event is Suitable for: Tots (<5), Kids (6-9), Teenagers (14-18), Young Adults (19-30), Children (10-13), Adults, Family, Disabled Access
Event Web Site: http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/

Bellingen - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Event Begins at: 7:30 AM
Event Ends at: 3:00 PM
The Event is on: Tuesday, 26 January 2010
The Event will be Held at: Dorrigo
Event Type: Art & Exhibitions, Awards & Presentation, Citizenship Ceremony, Family Fun Day, Flag Raising , Food & BBQ's, Music & Entertainment, Novelty Events, Official Ceremonies
This Event is Suitable for: Family, Disabled Access
Best Vantage Point is: Hickory Street
Getting there: Free Bus from Urunga, Mylestom, Bellingen
Event Web Site: http://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/

Lismore - Australia Day 2010
Citizenship Ceremony
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 8.30am
Goonellabah Sports and Aquatic Centre, 50 OLIVER AVENUE
Beginning with a Welcome to Country by local Aboriginal elders.
Other activities include Flag Raising, Address by Australia Day Ambassador Craig Foster, presentation of Australia Day Awards and musical entertainment.
The celebrations will be followed by Morning Tea when you will have an opportunity to meet Craig Foster.
For further information contact Council on 1300 87 83 87

Kyogle - Australia Day 2010 Celebrations
Kyogle & Woodenbong Celebrations will be held at Woodenbong Hall on 26 January 2010.
Formal proceedings commence from 9.15 am, presentation of awards together with a showcase of local students performing.
Free lunch available including spit roast rolls, sandwiches, cakes, tea coffee & cool drinks.
Weather permitting, a fun afternoon of Cricket at the Woodenbong Recreation Ground—all welcome.
Contact Chris 66305900.
West of the Range Celebrations will be held in Tabulam at the Racecourse commencing 10.00 am.
Lots of fun for the family with jumping castles, street stalls, sumo wrestling,
BBQ and award ceremony
Ph: Neville O’Malley 0427 285 144 for more information.

Byron Bay - Australia Day Paddle 2010
The Australia Day Paddle January 26 2010
Wategos Beach at 10am Two courses – the original 2.2km course as well as a 6.5km course for the more serious paddler.
Seven divisions for men and women:
Nipper paddle boards
Surfboards up to 7'
Surfboards 7'1" to 9'
Surfboards 9'1" to 10'
Open divisions:
Stand-up paddle boards
Racing skis

Ballina - Australia Day Celebrations 2010
Fawcett Park, Ballina at 9am January 26
Ballina Shire Concert Band performing and East Ballina Lions Club serving a barbecue breakfast.
Official proceedings will begin at 10am with the flag-raising ceremony, followed by the Citizenship ceremony and the Australia Day award ceremony.

Bangalow - Flickerfest 2010
19th International Short Film Festival
22rd - 24th January 2010 - A&i Hall, Bangalow
Screening: International 1 on Friday night
International 2 on Saturday night
Best Of Australian Shorts on Sunday night
Doors: 7.30pm each night - Films start: 8.30pm Tickets(available @door):
Friday: $20/15conc includes Opening Night Party with Jameson whiskey, Coopers beer, Rosnay organic wine & Phoenix drinks.
Sat or Sun: $15/10ea
Festival Pass: $35/30con
www.flickerfest.com.au

Say again - you did what??

A friend sent me a link to Just Answer Law (Ask an Australia Law Question, Get an Answer ASAP!) which had me wondering where on earth some people park their common sense as they grab the keys and decide to take a little ride on the NSW North Coast.

I was riding my un-registered, unregisterable mottorbike with no bike lisence. I was pulled up by a police officer on yamba rd and he let me off with a warning. One month later I received 3 fines in the mail, all adding up to over $1500. All fines stated that I was done riding on "Angourie rd". All i know is that I was pulled over by an officer on yamba rd and given a warning, I get fines saying I was riding on "angourie rd", when i was never pulled over by an officer, let alone ever riding on that angourie rd. I have sent the fines back so the matter can be resolved in court. Please let me know what you think.

Who's driving drunk on our roads?

When the subject of driving while on the turps comes up at my local watering hole quite a few fellow greybeards immediately start pointing a finger at young drivers.

Now if there's one thing northern NSW is known for it's the imbalance between age groups in the local population - with the number of older people steadily growing over the years and those in the late teens to twenties thin on the ground in towns and villages because many are moving away to get steady work .

So who exactly is responsible for the high number of drink-drivers on our North Coast roads?

Well a clue or two can be found in The Daily Examiner piece on 17th September 2009 when it reported that the Coffs-Clarence Area Command district had twice the state average of recorded driving under the influence nabs by police.

That works out as about 1 in every 75 drivers pulled over clearly testing positive for over-the-limit alcohol consumption.

But are they mostly youngies?

Nup and they're not tourists either.

Of the 49 drink-drivers mentioned in that newspaper since the very end of August 2009 up to last Monday, a whopping 33 of these drivers were between 30 and 68 years of age (half of these were middle aged and older).

They clearly trounced the young when it came to being caught with a skinful and accounted for all the high range PCAs highlighted.

Only 8 of the 49 drivers could be definitely tagged as tourists.

So the next time a mate at the bar starts mouthing off about the trouble with the young generation - tell him to pull his head in and watch how much he's knocking back himself.

Pic from Google Images

Like a bad smell on the bottom of your shoe some editors continue to reek long after

When Peter Chapman resigned as editor of The Daily Examiner at Grafton on the NSW North Coast to move to a similar position with the Frazer Coast Chronicle in Queensland, the Clarence Valley almost seemed to echo with a collective sigh of relief.

Still, when one leaves a job after less than fifteen months, with more than a few locals giving you a here's-your-hat-what's-your-hurry send-off, it would appear that there is an intermittent urge to revisit - like an itch you just can't satisfactorily scratch.

Therefore every so often, rather like that sudden bad smell on the bottom of your shoe, the former editor unexpectedly turns up on a page in The Daily Examiner.

This time in a letter to the editor on 16 January 2010, bemoaning the fact that his favourite small time developers did not have costs awarded to them in the NSW Land & Environment Court and using his letter to lobby against the re-election of five Clarence Valley shire councillors.

Chapman's huge ego knows no bounds.

Perhaps he should return to complaining about local government in the new home town, his weight, past hangovers, the price of a good steak, or upsetting the locals as he has been doing in the Fraser Coast Chronicle since at least 12 September 2009 and cease taking defensive pot shots elsewhere because he can't make a editorial sow's ear into a silk purse no matter how hard he might try.

When Japan hunts adult whales in the Southern Ocean this is what can be left to die

Photograph taken by Kate Westaway & found in The Sun

This is a very young Humpback Whale still reliant on its mother.
The Government of Japan is yet to give an unequivocal assurance that its whaling fleet operating in the Antarctic does not leave calves like this to die when it takes their mothers for meat.

• Background article The Japan Times: Whaling — for nationalism or science?

Australia's 2009 greenhouse gas emissions report card shows good intentions are never enough to drive meaningful change

Although government and the media are inclined to place a very positive spin on these figures from The Climate Group's Greenhouse Indicator Annual Report 2009:Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia and Australian Petroleum Use and Emissions Annual Report 2009, one has to wonder what Australia's total greenhouse gas emission levels are given that two states and one territory are missing from the electricity calculations (the Australian Capital Territory appears to be included with NSW).

What the national petroleum and electricity production and consumption profile suggests is that Australia spent 2009 merely marking time in relation to her total national greenhouse gas emissions, given that this year's figures come off the back of a national estimated increase of 553 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 1.1 per cent, in 2008 and an energy sector increase of 42 per cent from 1990 to 2007, and by another 1.5 per cent in 2008 according to the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Water in June 2009 and the east coast's total 2008 greenhouse gas emissions were 19 per cent higher than in 2000.

Excerpts from the aforementioned The Climate Group documents:

2009 Results

Across Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia annual emissions were 5.3 million tonnes lower in 2009 than in 2008.

This is a fall of 1.8 per cent for the year.

The decrease was not uniform across all states.

Annual emissions in Victoria and Queensland registered the smallest relative reduction, with falls of 0.5 per cent (543,500 tonnes) and 1.1 per cent (852,210 tonnes) respectively.

Emissions in NSW and South Australia declined more substantially, down by 3.1 per cent (3,201,360 tonnes) and 4.2 per cent (730,210 tonnes) respectively.....

Electricity

Across the four states the total electricity generated during 2009 was 1.9 per cent lower than 2008. Coal was responsible for 87.8 per cent of all scheduled electricity generation, down from 88.9 per cent the previous year.

The share of gas‐fired generation rose from 8.4 to 9.3 per cent and the share of renewable generation increased slightly from 2.7 to 2.8 per cent.

The overall greenhouse intensity of scheduled electricity generation remained virtually identical to 2008.

In 2009, greenhouse intensity of electricity generation was 0.9267 tonnes CO2e per MWh. In 2008, it was 0.9282 tonnes CO2e per MWh.

In Victoria, electricity demand fell by 2.0 per cent in 2009 compared with the previous year.

Generation from brown coal‐fired generators increased by 1.1 per cent, while 27 per cent less electricity was produced from gas.

A fall in demand combined with a smaller decline in generation meant that Victoria's net export of electricity to other States was 73 per cent higher in 2009 than in 2008.

About 4.6 per cent of electricity produced in Victoria was exported in 2009 compared with 2.6 per cent in 2008.

In NSW, electricity demand fell by 1.2 per cent in 2009.

Generation from black coal‐fired generators in NSW fell by 6.1 per cent with gas‐fired generation achieving a 191 per cent growth due to new power stations being commissioned.

However, this was coming off a very low base of 0.6 per cent of total generation in 2008, rising to 1.7 per cent of generation in 2009.

Net imports from other states grew by 61 per cent compared with 2008 levels representing 5.6 per cent of overall electricity demand in 2009, up from 3.4 per cent in 2008.

In Queensland, electricity demand grew by 1.5 per cent this year compared with 2008.

Generation from black coal‐fired generators fell by 3.0 per cent while gas‐fired generation increased by 16 per cent.

The net export of electricity to other states from Queensland was 24 per cent less than the amount exported in 2008. In 2009, Queensland exported 8.1 per cent of the electricity it generated, down from 10.5 per cent in 2008.

In South Australia, electricity demand increased by 0.1 per cent in 2009.

Generation from coal‐fired generators fell by 2.8 per cent while electricity produced from gas‐fired generation was 11.5 per cent lower, meaning that total generation fell by 4.3 per cent in 2009.

Subsequently, South Australia went from being a marginal net exporter of electricity in 2008 to a net importer in 2009.....

Petroleum

Total emissions from petroleum‐based fuels were 95.630 million tonnes across all four states.

In contrast to the previous year, 2009 has seen a decrease in sales of petroleum‐based fuels across all states, except in SA.

Victoria was the state that had the greatest fall in emissions from petroleum, with emissions falling by 2.1 per cent or 540,000 tonnes.

NSW and Queensland only recorded slight reductions of 0.2 and 0.3 per cent respectively.

South Australia was the only state to register and increase – a marginal rise of 3000 tonnes or 0.3 per cent.

These reductions in petroleum sales come despite positive population growth in each of the states, and growth in Gross State Product in each state.

Across the different types of petroleum‐based fuels, results were mixed. Diesel sales were up across all states except for in Victoria were they fell.

Petrol sales fell in Victoria and Queensland, remained the same in NSW and increased in South Australia.....

National Overview of Petroleum

During the 12 months from October 2008 to September 2009, the use of petroleum‐based fuels across Australia produced 120.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

This represents around 20 per cent of the Australia's total emissions.

This was a reduction of 1.6 million tonnes or 1.3 per cent on the previous 12 months and went some way to reversing a 2.9 per cent rise in emissions from petroleum based fuels between 2007 ‐ 08.

This decline in petroleum emissions occurred despite a rise in population of 2.1 per cent across the country.

The use of and resulting emissions from LPG, petrol, diesel and other fuels all fell this past year with the exception of aviation fuel, emissions from which saw a small growth of 0.1 per cent to 16.1 million tonnes .

It is likely that the fall in overall petroleum use and emissions is largely due to the global financial crisis, which has curtailed business and industrial growth, especially in heavy industry and resources sectors.

The GFC also affected consumer confidence....

New South Wales emissions for the week ending 14 Jan 2010*:
1.972 million tonnes CO2e
This year to date: 3.808 million tonnes CO2
Last year to date: 3.699 million tonnes CO2

* NSW’s emissions from energy grew by 13% or 136,000 tonnes due mainly to an increase in emissions from coal-fired generation. Emissions from coal-fired electricity, which accounted for 85% of electricity generation in NSW this week, grew by 11% or 118,000 tonnes with a number of generation units coming online to meet the higher demand. Electricity demand grew by 14%. NSW imported 6% of its electricity demand from other states, compared to 11% last week. Emissions from gas grew by 25% or 24,000 tonnes. Emissions from petroleum products fell by 0.8% or 5,000 tonnes. This week’s Indicator is 3.8% higher than the same week in 2009 and total emissions to this stage of 2010 are 3.0% higher than the similar stage last year. This week’s Indicator is 29% above the average equivalent 1990 weekly emissions and 11% above the equivalent 2000 weekly average.

Cycling for a brighter sustainable future on the NSW North Coast?

Over the years I have heard many Yamba residents, who happen to enjoy cycling, express concerns over the fact that the only road between their town and Maclean is nigh on impassable for two-wheeled traffic and, that Yamba might as well be an island when it comes to bicycle travel.

People who enjoy a long brisk walk rarely proceed even as far as Yamba bridge due to the uncomfortable proximity of vehicular traffic.

If for no other reason than a collective lower carbon footprint, NSW North Coast local government should be actively pursuing linking its small towns via designated cycle lanes, when these same towns are within easy reach of the recreational cyclist.

The immediate spin-offs would possibly be first expressed as an increased exchange of disposable income between towns and higher tourists traffic (something Northern Rivers towns tirelessly work towards achieving).

Cycle track

IT'S time that a cycle track and walking path were constructed between Yamba and Maclean.

The Maclean to Yamba road is always busy throughout the year for work, school and other traffic - and especially at peak tourist times. Walkers and recreational cyclists in Yamba take their lives in their hands if they venture past the Oyster Channel bridge.

Increasing numbers of people cycle for recreation and fitness. We are urged to look after our health and fitness by walking.

Let's see Clarence Valley Council get on and provide this much needed infrastructure.

S SCHMOLKE, Yamba.

[The Daily Examiner, letter to the editor, 29 December 2009]

Cycling

FULL praise to Sue Schmolke for raising the issue of cycle paths in Yamba and Maclean.

Not that long ago I had to leave my car at Maclean for repairs, and because I had been a cyclist over many years I decided to take my bike with me and ride home to Yamba.

The trip back was a delight, but I am afraid to say there were parts of the road where I couldn't get off and I heard cars being slowed down as they inched their way past me.

Suffice to say, I won't be doing this again, but it seems such a shame in these days when most of us should be exercising more.

I am sure we have all seen small family groups arriving in Yamba with vans or trailers. More often than not there are bikes somewhere on the load.

This alone must give some credence to what Sue Schmolke is saying.

This comment is not intended as criticism of our council. In many ways their outlook has been marvellous with quite a few cycleways already in existence.

What is needed, however, are more ways of keeping cyclists of all ages, particularly children, out of harm's way.

More or better cycleways, plus attention to the verges on existing roads, can only add to the success that is Yamba and Maclean.

ALLAN TOWNSEND, Yamba.

[The Daily Examiner, letter to the editor,16 January 2010]

How much notice is the blogosphere taking of Rudd and Abbott at the start of 2010?

There was probably some method in the Mad Monk's verbal incontenience during the last few weeks - without it he may not have come close to keping pace with a prime minister who was being talked about even when he was going low profile during the parliamentary break.
This curve compares the popularity of queries tony abbott and kevin rudd in the blogosphere. Two terms closely related during some time period have similar looking popularity curves in that time interval, and hence these curves can be used to analyze relation between two topics. *


* BlogScope is an analysis and visualization tool for blogosphere which is being developed as part of a research project at the University of Toronto. It is currently tracking over 40.99 million blogs with 1116.38 million posts. BlogScope can assist the user in discovering interesting information from these millions of blogs via a set of numerous unique features including popularity curves, identification of information bursts, related terms, and geographical search

Just how seriously should we take those conspiracy theorists and should government be concerned?

Conspiracy theories have probably been around since humankind began to congregate in large numbers, but there is little doubt that the Internet has allowed the genre to flourish and endure as never before.
So much so that academic papers are now written on the subject.

Many millions of people hold conspiracy theories; they believe that powerful people have worked together in order to withhold the truth about some important practice or some terrible event. A recent example is the belief, widespread in some parts of the world, that the attacks of 9/11 were carried out not by Al Qaeda, but by Israel or the United States. Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories may create serious risks, including risks of violence, and the existence of such theories raises significant challenges for policy and law. The first challenge is to understand the mechanisms by which conspiracy theories prosper; the second challenge is to understand how such theories might be undermined. Such theories typically spread as a result of identifiable cognitive blunders, operating in conjunction with informational and reputational influences. A distinctive feature of conspiracy theories is their self-sealing quality. Conspiracy theorists are not likely to be persuaded by an attempt to dispel their theories; they may even characterize that very attempt as further proof of the conspiracy. Because those who hold conspiracy theories typically suffer from a crippled epistemology, in accordance with which it is rational to hold such theories, the best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups. Various policy dilemmas, such as the question whether it is better for government to rebut conspiracy theories or to ignore them, are explored in this light. [Sunstein, Cass R. and Vermeule, Adrian, Conspiracy Theories (January 15, 2008), Harvard Public Law Working Papers,SSRN abstract] Download full paper here.

What the authors are politely implying is that conspiracy theorists are often credulous and ignorant. What they appear to be advocating is intervention on extremist websites and fora, by salting these venues with government-approved alternative explanations either openly or anonymously.

But should government be encouraged to act in a surreptitious manner?
Will anonymous debate by government agencies only confuse the legitimacy/strength of any response to a social or political issue, no matter how far out that response may become?
Aren't the crooked debating techniques which government already frequently employs (along with the PR firms it sometimes hires to assist) enough of a burden in any public debate?
Are conspiracy theories generally so destructive that they warrant government action by way of blogosphere black-ops?

Some false conspiracies manifest as rather vaguely held beliefs like this one found at Agmates Community Site:
Communists now control the executive branch of the US government. They completely control the Secretariat of the UN. They tried to deal with Lord Monckton at Copenhagen.
They control many bureaucracies in Australia including CSIRO. This is not a good situation. It is time for action! It is time for the silent majority to stand up.

While others are more elaborate constructions such as the enduring threat of Illuminati world domination by 'lizard' people. This classic example was found at Educate-Yourself:
There is a worldwide conspiracy being orchestrated by an extremely powerful and influential group of genetically-related individuals (at least at the highest echelons) which include many of the world's wealthiest people, top political leaders, and corporate elite, as well as members of the so-called Black Nobility of Europe (dominated by the British Crown) whose goal is to create a One World (fascist) Government, stripped of nationalistic and regional boundaries, that is obedient to their agenda. Their intention is to effect complete and total control over every human being on the planet and to dramatically reduce the world's population by 5.5 Billion people. While the name New World Order is a term frequently used today when referring to this group, it's more useful to identify the principal organizations, institutions, and individuals who make up this vast interlocking spiderweb of elite conspirators.....

Some potential conspiracies register on the news cycle and then fade away:
Is information warfare to blame for the damage to underwater internet cables that has interrupted internet service to millions of people in India and Egypt, or is it just a series of accidents?

Yet others are elaborate constructions, such as alternative explanations for the collapse of the World Trade Towers in New York found within the broad church which is the 9/11 Truth Movement:
In this paper, I call for a serious investigation of the hypothesis that WTC 7 and the Twin Towers were brought down, not just by impact damage and fires, but through the use of pre-positioned cutter-charges. I consider the official FEMA, NIST, and 9-11 Commission reports that fires plus impact damage alone caused complete collapses of all three buildings. And I present evidence for the controlled-demolition hypothesis, which is suggested by the available data, and can be tested scientifically, and yet has not been analyzed in any of the reports funded by the US government. [Jones, SE (2006) "Why indeed did the WTC Buildings Completely Collapse?",Journal of 9/11 Studies]

A few can be said to have had widespread mainstream media dissemination, such as the al Fayed assertion that his son and Princess Diana were murdered. A belief which saw cause of death open to debate for a number of years until a much-delayed formal inquest.

More than one conspiracy theory appears to have had a strong political impact.
The 9/11 theories and the "there is no man-made global warming' view would have to fall into this category. The former because so many individuals in Muslim countries appear to believe that Islamic extremists were not involved in the attack and the latter because it has given conservative politicians and polluting industries an excuse to either ignore or sideline the issue of catastrophic climate change.

This is an early example of The Myth of Global Warming:
The SwindleThe Great Global Warming Swindle
Sea Levels Not Rising Except In The Lies of the IPCC
Solar Cycles, Not CO2 Determine Climate Global Climate Explained (If you Want To Worry)
Suspend Disaster The Myth Of Global Warming
A Load Of Hot Air Climate Change Hysteria is Costing Us
The Ice Age Cometh The Real Danger Of An Ice Age
Global Warming Messy Models, Decent Data, and Pointless Policy
Hot Politics Doctoring Of Reports By UN Experts
Cool Climate The Absurdity Of Trying To Control Climate
A Pagan Fantasy The Effect Of Accepting Popular Paranoia As Truth

With what is possibly the largest modern anti-science set of beliefs, the Global Warming Conspiracy, developing a loose but increasingly sophisticated organizational structure, its claims becoming even more brazen and its media coverage almost guaranteed, I suspect that the real question politicians are privately asking each other is "Will this false {insert name} conspiracy theory change voter intention and will this be to my advantage?"

I expect that during the Australian federal and state election campaigns in 2010 voters will have to keep a wary eye on the origins of all forms of information, because I cannot see any political party resisting the urge to secretly insert its own brand of misinformation into the online political debate through a multitude of "Stan of Wagga Wagga", "Cheryl at Toongabbie", Marge from Moonee Ponds" and "Bruce via Brisbane" false persona or the mainstream media forego the urge to foster its own political pets with a plethora of unsupported "unnamed sources".

Abbott won't rule out putting a nuclear power station on a headland near you

Now that headline's a bit rich I know {slaps own hand}.
It may have been the meaning of the words the Federal Leader of the Opposition strung together in a radio interview aired on ABC News Radio early last Friday morning, but it was obviously not what Tony Abbott wanted to convey to the Australian electorate as he began his pursuit of the 'green vote'.
The fact that I posted the headline is a good indication of the level of faith I place in Abbott's sudden discovery that he is a "practical environmentalist" committed to a green country and economy.
His vision for Australia is a frightening mixture of naivity and old, limited solutions based on an idea that the environmental problems can be somehow kept seperate from the issue of climate change and an historical failure to assign a direct economic cost to pollution by industry.
It was hard to keep a straight face when I realised that his Murray-Darling solution would require the country to mark time for the entire first term he was in office and already vested interest have signalled opposition to his plan - as happened when the Coalition last mooted a similar plan.
As for his saying that he wouldn't vigorously pursue nuclear energy production if he became prime minister - I won't even pretend that I don't consider this a whopping political lie by a deliberately deceitful pollie.
The man changes his public policy positions more times than he changes his shirt, but I suspect that his private goals haven't altered much over the years because his support for nuclear options surfaces fairly regularly in media releases.
There are only moral barbarians found on that racetrack to The Lodge these days.
Possum has a handle on the size of the Coalition's credibility problem.



















One of Possum's graphs over at his post "Abbott's Green Army" which tell the story.

Rolling Stone magazine calls Rupert Murdoch a climate killer

This month Rolling Stone magazine takes a sharp American pen to the growing band of climate change disinformation peddlers in an article titled The Climate Killers: Meet the 17 polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb global warming.

The Disinformer
Rupert Murdoch
CEO, News Corporation

In 2007, when the world's most powerful media baron announced his newfound conviction that global warming "poses clear, catastrophic threats," it seemed as though the truth about climate change might finally get the attention it deserves. Murdoch promised that not only would News Corp. itself become carbon-neutral by 2010, but that his media outlets would explain the urgent need for a cap on carbon emissions. Climate change, he pledged, would be addressed as a sober reality across the News Corp. empire, whether as a plot element on 24 or in a story on Fox News. "I don't think there's any question of my conviction on this issue," Murdoch declared. "I've come to feel it very strongly."

Since then, however, Murdoch and his media operations have become the nation's leading source of disinformation about climate change. In October, Fox Business ran an extended segment on "The Carbon Myth," inviting a hack scientist to "make the case" that more carbon pollution is actually "good for the environment." The Wall Street Journal has continued to lie not only about the reality of global warming but about Obama's efforts to prevent it, denouncing climate legislation as "likely to be the biggest tax in American history." The New York Post insisted that the Copenhagen climate negotiations were little more than a meet-up for "shamsters, scam artists and assorted 'global warming' opportunists" who planned to "transfer a trillion bucks from the economies of the world's developed nations to Third World kleptocrats — with God-only-knows how much cash sticking to the fingers of well-connected U.N. bureaucrats." And on Fox News, right-wing attack dog Sean Hannity misinformed his viewers that 2009 — the fifth-hottest year in the past 130 — was "one of the coldest years on record." Hannity then summed up the deranged denial that permeates Murdoch's media empire: "I don't believe climate change is real," he said. "I think this is global-warming hysteria and alarmism."

Among others included in this list are:
The Profiteer
Warren Buffett
CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
The Fake Protestor
Jack Gerard
President, American Petroleum
Burning Man
Rex Tillerson
CEO, ExxonMobil
The Drudge of Denial
Marc Morano
Founder, Climate Depot
God's Denier
Sen. James Inhofe
Republican, Oklahoma
The Hack Scientist
Fred Singer
Retired physicist, University of Virginia
The Tea Partiers
Charles and David Koch
CEO and Executive Vice President, Koch Industries

In the same January 2010 issue Rolling Stone also ran with As the World Burns: How Big Oil and Big Coal mounted one of the most aggressive lobbying campaigns in history to block progress on global warming which included this observation:

Over the past year, the corporations and special interests most responsible for climate change waged an all-out war to prevent Congress from cracking down on carbon pollution in time for Copenhagen. The oil and coal industries deployed an unprecedented army of lobbyists, spent millions on misleading studies and engaged in outright deception to derail climate legislation. "It was the most aggressive and corrupt lobbying campaign I've ever seen," says Paul Begala, a veteran Democratic consultant.

The sheer futility of Internet censorship - mind numbingly stupid racist webpage still exists

At the end of last week Granny Herald mentioned that Google had taken down a website at the request of an Australian citizen:
"Google has agreed to take down links to a website that promotes racist views of indigenous Australians.
Aboriginal man Steve Hodder-Watt recently discovered the US-based site by searching "Aboriginal and Encyclopedia" in the search engine.
He tried to modify the entry on Encyclopedia Dramatica, a satirical and extremely racist version of Wikipedia, but was blocked from doing so.
Mr Hodder-Watt then undertook legal action, that resulted in Google acknowledging its legal responsibility to remove the offensive site.
His lawyer, George Newhouse, said the site was "one of the most offensive sorts of racial vilification you could possibly find".
"It portrays indigenous Australians in the most unsavoury light possible, and you wouldn't want a child stumbling across it," he told ABC Radio.
Mr Newhouse said Google agreed to take the link down after he filed an official complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission."
I imagine that this news report gave Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy a warm fuzzy feeling in the middle of his little tum tum. The good ship HMAS Censorship was afloat.
Except that the Google search engine index still contains links to the website, as well as at least one direct link to the offending webpage along with cache {and no, I won't link to it because it's too bluidy ripe} and the entire page can be easily viewed again as it's internally linked from the website's homepage.
Not only that, but now this supposedly censored page contains a very offensive cartoon of the man who complained to Google Inc.
According to the relevant Google search results; "In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 4 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org" and "we have removed 1 result(s) from this page" appear.
Chilling Effects displays a letter which states; "Google received a complaint about a website that allegedly violates the Australian Anti Discrimination Act. Accordingly, Google removed the website from Google.com.au".
However, three days later and I'm able to view the updated nasty, spiteful webpage with ease on Google.com.au.
By the end of this week I expect that there will be other links to this alleged satire growing out there in cyberspace, as it is already starting off with well over 3,000 sites (including Twitter) linking in from Uzbekistan through to China, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
If Google can't effectively censor the dynamic World Wide Web, what hope do you think you have, Stevo?

The arts are a growth industry on the NSW North Coast

Family Connections by Michael Philp, Men's Business Exhibition
at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery, Ballina

The Arts Northern Rivers team is an enthusiastic and capable promoter of arts on the NSW North Coast.

It has produced a two-page advocacy brochure which outlines a dynamic local scene:

The Northern Rivers region of NSW is a vibrant growth centre for arts and creative industries in Australia.

The region has the highest creative industry employment growth in NSW - more than double the growth rate of Sydney, and the highest "density" of creative workers per capita in the state outside Sydney (NSW Creative Industry: Economic Fundamentals, February 2009).

Located on the far north coast of NSW, the region is internationally renowned for its creative communities such as Byron Bay, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Nimbin and Yamba, it has become a centre for increasing numbers of sophisticated export oriented creative businesses.

The estimated economic impact of Creative Industries earnings in 2006 was $187.6 million. (Imagining the Future, Cathy Henkel 2006).

Employment in the arts and creative industries in the region is growing at 25% faster than the rest of the regional economy, and the Northern Rivers now has the highest concentration of visual artists outside the capital cities, and the largest cluster of screen industry workers outside Sydney and Melbourne.

Strongest Sectors

• visual arts and design eg. furniture exporter Zaishu, jewellery by Riley Burnett, eco-textiles and homewares by Bird and renowned visual artists James Guppy and Angus McDonald, and Indigenous visual artists Karla Dickens and Garth Lena
• writing and publishing eg celebrated writers such as Robert Drewe, Di Morrissey, Marele Day, and emerging children’s writer Tristan Bancks
• screen and digital content eg. the animated children’s series DirtGirlWorld; drama series East of Everything, and the feature film Lou, and many broadcast documentaries
• music and performing arts eg Grinspoon, Troy Cassar-Daley, Vitamin Records, Studio 301, Rocking Horse Studios, local comedians Mandy Nolan and Arj Barker
• cultural festivals East Coast Blues Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay Writers Festival, Wintersun Festival, Lismore Lantern Parade
• arts education sector Southern Cross University, North Coast TAFE, SAE Colleges

Unfortunately the region has recently lost Splendor in the Grass to a Queensland venue. One of the very few backward steps taken in the last decade of cultural enrichment, which has seen as many as 76 exhibitions spaces/galleries/museums feature local artists and travelling exhibitions with the number of entertainment venues featuring local performers or touring shows ranging from pubs and clubs through to larger outdoor settings.

Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 1)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 2)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy 2008 - 2012 (Part 3)
Northern Rivers Arts & Creative Industries Strategy, Mapping Report, 2008 - 2012

Come in spinner! Time to lay bets on who'll win the 2010 Race to The Lodge

Antony Green has narrowed the dates for the 2010 federal election in Australia down to a Saturday between 3rd July and 18th September and online betting has the current odds posted.

Sporting Bet:
Australian Federal Election 31 Dec 2010
Scheduled for 2010/2011. Pay Out on Party That Provides the Prime Minister
Straight
Labor 1.20
Coalition 4.25

LuxBet:
Australian Federal Election Fri 31st Dec 20:00
Event Notice: Thu 30th Jul 12:52
Outright Winner
Australian Labor Party 1.12
Coalition 6.00

Centrebet:
AUST FED ELECTION (Sch: 2010/11)
LABOR $1.14 (in from $1.16)
COALITION $5.15 (out from $4.75)

Betfair:
Next Federal Election
Labor 1.2
Coalition 4.9

Paddy Power:
Is offering odds on NT, SA, Vic & Tas and what looks like the next federal election.
Monday 31st May 2010, 22:00
Winning Party
Australian Labour Party 1/5
Liberal National Coalition 3/1
Australian Greens 100/1
Family First Party 250/1

China's cyberdoor kicked down by Google

Snapshot of the Chinese version of Google on 15th January 2010

Sometime in the last three days Google flung China's door to the global Internet wide open.

This is the YouTube link on www.google.com.cn to videos showing the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Amnesty International commentary on the student protests is also able to be viewed, including this photo:

A China Daily article on Google's stand against China's Internet policy and recent hacking attempts is also intermittently available, although there have been reports that Baidu (dominant search engine backed by Chinese Government) is blocking access to Google's official blog post but not to links mentioning it.

How green is the Internet?

How green is the Internet? Not green at all would have to be the answer to that question.

Information and communication technology is said to directly contribute a whopping 2% of global carbon emissions according to Bell Labs research and the average network user consumes an estimated 25 watts of energy.

This means that worldwide the use of landlines, mobile phones, blackberries, personal computers etc. result in more greenhouse gas emissions in a year than total annual emission levels from entire countries like Australia and, the industry's carbon levels are expected to more than double over the next decade if communication technology is allowed to continue as usual.

In an effort to reduce this dismal state of affairs a consortium (which includes the University of Melbourne's Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society) has formed under the banner Green Touch to work towards an energy efficiency level, via changes in coding techniques which might eventually see the world's communications networks run for three years on the energy it currently takes to collectively power these networks for a day.

ITNews reports that the Australian Government already spent $1.411 million over three consecutive financial years on investigations used to create the nucleus of the URL blacklist it intends to use to censor the Internet from mid-2011, but what will the cost be in carbon terms once ISPs operating in this country have to run a mandatory filtering program against the online activity of every Australian user?