A reminder of why whaling in the Antarctic is not scientific research

Photograph of Migaloo from The Sydney Morning Herald

From the Humane Society International website in 2006:
The bulk of the evidence against Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha comes from the Japanese Government's own reports to the IWC on its scientific research program. The Japanese Government submits JARPA Cruise Reports and Research Plans to the International Whaling Commission for their information.
From these reports HSI has calculated that since 2000, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha has openly and illegally killed over 1300 minke whales within the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

It is possible that of the 505 Antarctic minke whales killed in Antarctic waters in 2006-07 by the Japanese whaling fleet, 262 of were pregnant females, while it is suspected that one of the three fin whales killed was also in calf. The New Scientist reported this week that; The three whaling nations [Japan, Norway and Iceland] now kill around 1600 whales a year.

An estimated 679 minke whales and 1 fin whale were killed by the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters in 2009, allegedly for scientific research but in fact purely for commercial sale.

Many of the whales harried and hunted by the Government of Japan and its whaling fleet are those whom we Australians have carefully shepherded out to sea when they have come too close into shallow water, have disentangled from netting, have reunited with a their pod, or simply looked happily on as they swam up and down our coastlines in many thousands of years old migration patterns.

Now with America's connivance and at the whaling nations' insistence, the International Whaling Commission looks as through it is going to endorse a ten-year suspension of the international ban on whaling to allow nations like Japan to continue rape and plunder the oceans at will with impunity. Migaloo the white humpback whale (who once again successfully completed his Australian east coast migration in 2009) and all his cetacean kind are in danger.

Chair's Report to the Small Working Group on the Future of the IWC

Song knowledge is thought to transfer from male whale to male whale evolving over time in a similar fashion to verbally transmitted tribal lore in the world's oldest continuing culture, indigenous Australians. A YouTube video recording of The Oceania Project whales and their songs.

Clarence Valley Review finally catches up with the rest of the world

Teh Clarence Valley Review finally catches up with the rest of the world and posts some of its recent editions online here. I'd been waiting so long that I'd stopped checking this local rag's website and twas sheer chance which saw me light there this week.

Burger Off! The Westlawn Group Shame File

Every big developer operating in Australia, particularly foreign multinationals, has an enabler.
Sometimes in is the federal or state government of the day, some times local government or a landowner, sometimes a paid lobbyist and, sometimes it is all five.

The McDonald's Australia Ltd move to establish a 24 hour drive-through and eat-in fast food outlet in the small coastal town of Yamba at the mouth of the Clarence River is probably being eased into being by three out of five of these categories.

Professional Public Relations Pty Ltd (PPR) continues to support the fast food giant's image and lobby government on its behalf.

Almost every Clarence Valley shire councillor who has bothered to make a statement in relation to the development application has opened the door wide enough for later weasel-worded retreats and a vote for this highly inappropriate proposal and, Clarence Property Corporation Ltd (part of the Westlawn Group) as owner/manager of the land to be developed is quite happily supporting McDonald's.

Now in this day and age it is hard to shield individuals having control of land behind a corporation blind. Indeed its the fashion these days for them to trumpet their identities.

So here are the men responsible for allowing McDonald's a foot in the door in a town in which many of the residents are opposed to this glorified hamburger joint's entry:

Peter Fahey Executive Managing Director

James Dougherty Non-Executive Chairman JimD@westlawn.com.au

Geoffrey Shepherd Non-Executive Director

Michael Dougherty Non-Executive Director MikeD@westlawn.com.au
Peter Burge Portfolio Services Director
Paul Rippon Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary

It is doubtful that McDonald's Australia would be proceeding this year if it were not for these individuals (who can justifiably be described as predominantly out-of-towners) placing the company's bottom line above the best interests of a coastal community.

Watching Kevin Rudd disembowel himself with a spoon......

Watching successful Kevin 07, who almost couldn't put a foot wrong during the Australian 2007 federal election campaign, decide to water down or abandon everything that led to his team winning government is like watching someone try to disembowel themselves with a blunt object.
Painful, ineffectual and very disconcerting for an audience who has to vote again this year.
Last week's abdominal scoop was refugees or asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and in the process the Rudd Labor Government invited unfortunate comparisons with the ardent 'furriner' hating Howard Government
Peter Martin posted this government document laying out the entire rationale for so major a door slam.
That this is purely a move to stem the flow of boat people (as opposed to all those Pommie and Kiwi illegal immigrants who originally came on tourist visas) rather than simply a re-assessment of the situation in Sri Lanka or Afghanistan is seen in threats to de-register remittance dealers if they allowed cash transfers to people smugglers and the creation of yet another intelligence agency:

"A tough new regulatory regime will provide powers to de-register remittance dealers that facilitate access to funds for people smuggling ventures and other unlawful activities, including money laundering.

These new powers will be administered by the CEO of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

Remittance dealers accept cash, cheques and other forms of payment in one location and arrange the payment of an equivalent amount of cash or value to someone in another location, usually overseas.

Remittance dealers range from global money transfer businesses and their franchisees and agents (e.g. Western Union, Australia Post), to smaller ethnic community-based

entities.

AUSTRAC estimates that there are around 6,500 remittance dealers operating

in Australia.

Australian law enforcement authorities are aware that international cash transfer services provided by remittance dealers can be used to pay the organisers of smuggling ventures........

"The Government will provide $14.5 million over four years to establish a new Criminal Intelligence Fusion Centre to provide new capabilities to detect and prevent organised crime, including people smuggling and related activities"

The beginnings of life show how much we have in common with the rest of the natural world

From This Blog Rules: These amazing embryonic animal photographs of dolphins, sharks, dogs, penguins, cats and elephants are from a new National Geographic Documentary called “Extraordinary Animals in the Womb”. The show’s producer, Peter Chinn, used a combination of three-dimensional ultrasound scans, computer graphics and tiny cameras to capture the process from conception to birth. They are the most detailed embryonic animal pictures ever seen.

Hat tip to Rod3000 (Managing Editor of newmatilda.com plus two kids, cats and chooks) for tweeting about this.

Tell this VP that McDonald's is not wanted in Yamba

This is Kristene Mullen, a McDonald's Australia vice president and director of communications.
She's under the impression that Macca's is the best thing to happen to Oz since sliced bread.
Yamba residents and visitors on holiday can tell her differently at kristene.mullen@au.mcd.com or they can write to Peter Bush, McDonald's Australia CEO at Head Office 21-29 Central Ave THORNLEIGH NSW 2120.

NO TO McDONALDS IN YAMBA!

McDonald's employees out lobbying against Yamba community?

Does McDonald's at Grafton have its employees out lobbying against community opposition to the multinational's push for a 24 hour drive-through and eat-in fast food outlet in Yamba?

One has to wonder when the creator of the YES to McDonalds in YAMBA Facebook page (less than one thousand fans last time I looked) claims to hail from Maclean and not Yamba. While a brief Google search throws up a profile which appears to match this 'Brendan' and shows that a Maclean sports club to which he belongs is seeking business/corporate sponsorship and that he is touting for new business on his advertising website with its mimic URL which ironically seeks to feed off Yamba's established brand. More than a few of his Facebook page 'fans' obviously live in Grafton which just happens to be home to an existing McDonalds outlet.

At least one McDonald's employee is to be found on both the Yes site and the Facebook page NO to McDonalds in YAMBA (over 3,300 fans last time I looked) - talking up the 'benefits' of this multinational and verbally spitting at others.

Elsewhere on Facebook she describes herself as an "Area Assistant" with McDonald's in Grafton now on maternity leave.

This is how the Clarence Valley 'face' of McDonald's is presenting itself:

Bringing a McDonalds to Yamba is going to create great job opportunities for everyone but especially the younger generation. The younger generation that everyone complains about not working. Their options are either to travel or work in the local shops at Yamba. The small businesses will employ family or friends before... taking anyone in. A lot of them expecting to only pay people cash in hand. When business gets a bit tough, bring in the family to take over and cya later job. Some people seem to be carrying on about youth in Yamba not caring about working....Well i bet all the positions will get filled and a majority of the people will work hard.

Also, if people do end up overweight its their own bloody fault!!!!
What....People cant have self control over what they eat now, they have to blame that on someone else too???
I dont see anyone having a crack at all the unhealthy things sold in your Supermarkets or your oh so healthy fish and chip shops.......
McDonalds does have a healthy range as well..
I dont think that that is a fair arguement thats being put up...

Hmmm well doesnt this Nick Stone person think he is SO great. The reality is, he has to pick at peoples spelling mistakes, or if IPhones have spell check because he cant come up with any good reasons for a McDonalds not to be in Yamba!!
Ask him something, he wont be able to answer it.....He will only change the subject ...totally to try and put you down because he has nothing real to say....
Its great....Oh and then watch out for his friend Sharon Beel who will come to his side as she has nothing decent to say either...
Then when theyve had enough and realise they are losing, they will say its all a joke..But its not!
Haha......They are the JOKE!!!!

Haha.... You have got be kidding!! You are the middle age woman who is the joke!!!!!!Your theories make no sense, i think you may have a screw loose!!!
Thats the thing though, i dont run a small business...I havent said that i wanted too so why should i have to justify that to you?McDonalds will be making plenty of employment. Mst probably more that what a small business can make. A clever business person who owns/buys/ or builds a small business in a growing are should realise that bigger franchisees are likely to happen. I would think about that and what effect it would have on my business before i put myself in that position.

Late on 7 April 2010 this Grafton McDonald's employee also stated an intention to make a formal submission to Clarence Valley Council:
I wasnt quite sure what to write either. I just typed what i thought was good and sent a draft of it to yes2mcdonalds@gmail.com They will help :)

I strongly suspect that she may not think to declare the fact that she lives and works in the Grafton area or make her employment background clear in that letter/email to Clarence Valley Council.

Perhaps it's time that McDonald's Australia CEO Peter Bush had a word with his NSW North Coast licensees about their store managers and employees' extra curricular activities.

But perhaps not - after all this is the same McDonald's Australia which described its favoured licensee for the proposed Yamba outlet as coming from "the region" in an effort to convey a false impression that he is actually a permanent resident in the Clarence Valley.

Graphic from Google Images

Making Stevo's day......

Because I feel like making Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy happy as a pig in shi...shirt tails, here's a little profanity on one of those Internet sites which good ol' Stevo says he won't be placing behind the Great Firewall of Australia - preferring instead to flirt with blocking sites which may have a political message or are otherwise legal content at the newsagents.
Yer, that's right. Leave the bad language and some rather questionable videos for the kids to titter at, but kill a political message that might be a tad uncomfortable.
Glad the Rudd Government has its priorities straight - after all YouTube comes in handy during an election campaign doesn't it?

On YouTube "The Seven Words" video:
"George Carlin doing what he does best!
WARNING! BAD! BAD! LANGUAGE!
Remove children from the room...unless your a cool parent!
1,521,258 views"

Waltzing around the Web looking at.....

...this and that.

Wikileaks gets dissected by US Army counter intelligence

In March 2010 Wikileaks amusingly blew the whistle on a 2008 assessment of its own organisational structure and aims by US counter intelligence .

Haystack creates 'hidden' Internet access for Iran citizens

Haystack is a new program designed to provide unfiltered internet access to the people of Iran. The software package is compatible with Windows, Mac and Unix systems, and specifically targets the Iranian government's web filtering mechanisms.

First Care Physicians puts the bite on patients for almost unlimted distribution of personal medical information








Perth woman wins award for whistleblowing

Denise Brailey exposed a fraudulent investment scheme which saw thousands of people - including many seniors - lose tens of millions of dollars. Her work has prompted other official investigations in the finance and real estate sectors including an ongoing WA Police Major Fraud Squad probe into a mortgage broker. The Rona Oakley award was presented to her at a lunch at Fraser's Restaurant in Kings Park today.

US Dept. of Defense looks at its big boy's toys in a document published in March 2010

This is GAO's eighth annual assessment of selected Department of Defense (DOD) weapon programs. The report examines how well DOD is planning and executing its weapon acquisition programs, an area that has been on GAO's high-risk list since 1990.

Statement of Gregory C. Wilshusen Director, Information Security Issues to US House of Reps sub-committee released in March 2010

An underlying cause for information security weaknesses identified at federal agencies is that they have not yet fully or effectively implemented key elements of an agencywide information security program, as required by FISMA. As a result, they may be at increased risk of unauthorized disclosure, modification, and destruction of information or disruption of mission critical operations. Such risks are illustrated, in part, by the increasing number of security incidents experienced by federal agencies.

Securency International (Australia) speaks out about folding money rip-off

Following the departure from the company of former Managing Director Myles Curtis and former Director of Commercial Services John Ellery, Securency International Pty Ltd has initiated a global search for a new chief executive.

The reasons why:

Assistance with enquiries into matters dealing with agents in overseas territories 29 March 2010

Counterfeit medicines rife
An estimated 10% of the global medicine supply chain is counterfeit, according to the World Health Organization. More than 25% of the medicines consumed in developing countries are thought to be counterfeit, and in some countries, the figure is as high as 50%.

Go O'bama! Kick those Aussie pollies some more

Teh Oz reported on Wednesday:

"Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is believed to have been summoned to a meeting with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week after media reports revealed the US was concerned that this ran contrary to its policy of encouraging an open internet to promote economic growth and global security. One senior cabinet minister is said to have responded to the US reaction by telling Conroy: "With internet censorship you won't need a national broadband network."

So that's what it finally took to get Rudders interested in what Conroy is doing as he builds the Great Australian Firewall - a stern word from Obama & Co.

Selective deafness? Won't hear us but will hear the Yanks. ;-)

Is McDonald's Australia trying to hoodwink Clarence Valley Council?

Historical image of Treelands Drive and environs circa 2005
Click on image to enlarge

Eight (8) school buses use Treelands Drive, Yamba in the morning and three (3) school buses use Treelands Drive in the afternoon on school days.
Twelve (12) ordinary buses on the Yamba to Grafton and Return route move along Treelands Drive each weekday starting at around 7.15 am and ending at approximately 6.20pm.
On weekends and most public holidays these ordinary buses travel up and down Treelands Drive eight (8) times in total.
[Figures based on published timetable and telephone conversation with Busways,6 April 2010]

So there is a grand total of twenty-three (23) bus movements in Treelands Drive each Monday through to Friday in any normal week.

Evidently this road is generally thought to be the slowest section of the Yamba township bus route.

Why am I bothering to tell Clarence Valley residents something they all know or could find out with a single phone call to the Busways Yamba office?

Because apparently this simple piece of information was beyond the capabilities of McDonald's Australia when it presented a "Traffic Impact Assessment" to Clarence Valley Council, as part of its development application for a 24 hour eat-in and drive through fast food outlet in Treelands Drive.

This is what McDonald's asserts: "There is a bus shelter across Treelands Drive from the site with a posted timetable indicating Hail and Ride services, although it is unclear how the bus routes through the vicinity from Yamba Road." [McDonalds Australia Pty Ltd,Report for Proposed McDonalds Restaurant at 7 Treelands Drive Yamba, Traffic Impact Assessment, March 2010,p.11]

One would have thought that a timetable giving times for buses picking up and putting down "opp Bi-Lo" would have given McDonald's some hint - just as a sensible person would have expected that this large multinational would have thought to add school bus movements into the traffic mix.

But wait, there's more! McDonald's Australia thinks it is perfectly acceptable to expect that traffic flow (along Treelands Drive onto Yamba Road or Gumnut Road, up and down Osprey Drive, or along Gumnut through to The Halyard and down Shores Drive to Yamba Road) will go swimmingly, even with its own averaged prediction of anywhere between 180-230 extra vehicles per hour with an average maximum of 340 extra vehicles per hour in each direction along Treelands Drive. [ibid p.17]

How do we know all will be well? Why because McDonald's is using a 'guesstimate' (apparently based on one site visit) for how well the intersections at each end of Treelands Drive function at the present time; "Due to the absence of vehicle turning movement data for the intersection of Yamba Road/Treelands Drive and Treelands Drive/Gumnut Road, the intersections could not be assessed for existing operational performance." As well as relying on its own interpretation of a decade old Yamba Traffic Study to tick off on the proposed increase in traffic along Yamba Road generally in the vicinity of the shopping precinct. [ibid,p.10-11]

Now I haven't even begun to look at every aspect of the McDonald's/Clarence Property/Westlawn application because, with Council charging over a dollar per page for photocopying, I haven't had the luxury of bringing a copy of the entire Environmental Impact Statement etc. back home with me and so must return to read further.

However, if the aforementioned issues are an example of how McDonald's has approached the matter I am concerned that both the Yamba community and shire councillors are being fed a tissue of wishful thinking and possibly deliberate obfuscation.

This is one of those times that all current shire councillors should do more than open their business papers the night before or on the day of the monthly meeting and, seriously look at what McDonald's is asserting in the actual documents it has lodged.

The amenity of a significant section of Yamba and residents' ability to move easily/safely by car, bus or on foot, are two of the many things at stake because of this particular inappropriate development application.

Tip toeing through the politcal cow pats

Softer Tony Abbott proves a winner on ABC's Q&A‎ sez The Oz this week.
Is that why I picked up a book and read instead of closely following this pollie's smug tip-toe through the political cow pats on a blather of softsoap?
The only time my ears pricked was to hear him firmly come down on the side of the compulsory national censorship of the Australian Internet, but even that he had done before in almost exactly the same words.
Seems I'm not on my pat malone in wondering what The Oz was on about:

alain_of_melb No, really @australian which #qanda were you watching? Abbott won no one over except the Young Liberal plants.

alain_of_melb What #qanda were The Australian watching? Nevermind the general boos & laughter in the audience, or comments on Twitter. Horrible journalism

Another mosquito borne disease getting closer to the NSW North Coast

2009 map of historical QLD Dengue Fever distribution. Dengue has historically been reported in the Northern Territory, New South Wales and north Queensland but it is currently limited by the distribution of its vector, the dengue mosquito to north Queensland.

Ross River Fever (and to a slightly lesser extent Barmah Forest Virus) have long been established on the NSW North Coast.

According to a NSW Dept. of Health media release Mosquito Warning Across NSW issued at the beginning of the month: Ross River Virus is the most widespread arboviral disease in the NSW North Coast region, accounting for about 60% of notifications over the past 20 years and 48.5% over the past 10 years. Notifications of Ross River virus infection from the North Coast accounted for about 33% of all NSW Ross River notifications over the past 10 years and The North Coast has the highest levels of Barmah Forest virus infection incidence in NSW. Notifications of Barmah Forest virus infection from the North Coast accounted for about 55% of all NSW notifications of this infection over the past 10 years.

Now the deadlier Dengue Fever is once more beginning to edge down the Australian east coast towards south-east Queensland from where it will be a short hop across the NSW border.

From The Observer in Gladstone Queensland on 2 April 2010:

QUEENSLAND Health has mounted a "search and destroy mission" against the Dengue Fever carrying mosquito in Gladstone after a positive case in the city.
A local resident, who recently returned from an overseas holiday, has tested positive for an as yet unknown type of dengue......
Paul Florian, director of environmental health services for Central Queensland Public Health Unit, is in Gladstone today working with Gladstone Regional Council staff, conducting door to door inspections and working in "hotspots" to try and reduce numbers of the carrier mosquito.
"Dengue mosquitoes only breed around homes and in urban areas, and not in swamps or creeks," said Mr Florian said.
"They breed in containers that hold water such as buckets, old tyres, tarpaulins and black plastic, pot plant bases, vases, boats, tin cans and plastic containers, roof guttering, rainwater tanks with damaged or missing screens, bird baths, striking containers for plant cuttings, drain sumps, fallen palm fronds and coconut shells."
Mr Florian said the dengue fever carrying mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, was found in some parts of Gladstone, although not in the abundance in Northern Queensland.

NSW North Coast eco vandals fined by court

Credit: The Northern Star on Saturday 3 April 2010

The 2007 removal of threatened and rare trees as well as destruction of koala habitat saw the principals of Mullumbimby company Kohinoor Pty Ltd and Uki business Hardings Earth Moving in court this week, where total fines and costs awarded against them exceeded $227,000.
Unfortunately the clock cannot be turned back and once again corporate eco-vandals have had their way on the NSW North Coast with minimum personal cost.

McDonald's 24 hour fast food: Do you want a drunk with that?

Don't you just love when you drunk, and McDonald's is like the best idea in the world!!!! Facebook page Drunk McDonalds quote and photograph

"Stumbling home drunk from the pub, everyone always wants a feed, but nothings open unless u wanna wait for the bakery, everyone should be saying yes to maccas in good old Yamba!!" one younger adult male wrote on a Facebook page after the news came out that McDonald's Australia had lodged a development application for a 24 hour drive-through fast food outlet in Treelands Drive.

He was not alone in marrying the idea of McDonald's and a feed after hotels and clubs close.
Indeed, there is one website catering "For people who got drunk and then ended up at McDonalds" and another called "There would be less drunk driving in the world if McDonalds delivered" which has over 217,000 registered fans.

Now charitable souls might think that statements like these probably wouldn't translate into action if Clarence Valley shire councillors voted to allow McDonald's Australia to go ahead and establish a 24 hour drive-through fast food outlet in Treelands Dive, Yamba.

However McDonald's does appear to attract the intoxicated and just plain irresponsible.

In 2010 the media has reported:
a) "A woman caught five times over the limit had been driving because she was hungry, Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday............pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving after she was caught on February 2 with a blood alcohol reading of .240.
The court was told that the Centrelink employee attended a ball in Woden on February 6 and consumed two bottles of champagne.The Chisholm resident, who recently purchased a property in Queanbeyan, caught a taxi home from the ball and then watched television for two hours before becoming hungry.
Intoxicated......drove two kilometres to McDonalds to purchase some food and was pulled over for a random breath test on her way home, the court was told.
It was said that her decision to drive was irrational and irresponsible and she regretted her actions.
The court was told she had no prior criminal record and only one infringement in 2001." [ The Canberra Times, 1 March 2010]
b) "No licence because he accumulated demerit points for various driving offences.......was pulled over by police on his way to McDonalds for a feed. "Which part of you doesn't get it?" Magistrate Maxine Baldwin asked him. "You lost six points for (a high-speed offence) and continued to speed until you lost your licence." [The Gympie Times,20 February 2010]

McDonald's Australia is well aware that it attracts alcohol and drug intoxicated people and The Daily Telegraph reported in December last year that; "Family restaurant McDonald's is hiring security guards, installing CCTV and vowing to not serve drunks to placate community anger over its plans to stay open all night."

One reader's comment attached to that particular article stated; "Just go to McDonalds Stanmore and see the result that 24 hr trading brings to the local community. Hoodlums, rubbish strewn all over the road and [what] seems like an endless stream of drunks after their binge drinking nights out."

Elsewhere another online reader lamenting a change in the McDonald's menu admitted; "My standard meal when drunk is a triple cheese meal, 6 nuggets with sweet chilli sauce. What to do now?"

While last year Cessnock residents went public with their concerns about a McDonald's already operating there; "She said residents already put up with drunks fighting, smashing bottles, damaging gardens and vomiting.
"These issues will worsen if there is an extension of the trading hours," Mrs Carter said. "We are already subject to unacceptable antisocial behaviour with people congregating in the McDonald's car park, bus shelters and nearby streets." [The Herald,8 October 2009]

At Twitter searching for "drunk at McDonalds" bring up pages of recent tweets such as these:

* 2.11 a.m. jenyie showed up at my door with half a litre of vodka and a twited katie. bout to get drunk then head to mcdonalds :D

* ahaha i did that at mcdonalds when i was drunk haha!

* 90 percent of ppl at this mcdonalds are drunk or high

* ordering at mcdonalds drunk is too fucking funny. i'm peeing this is too good.

Some background

• David and Goliath. Yamba versus McDonald's


• Gawd 'elp us! Maccas wants to invade Yamba

Bahnisch & Warhurst on Abbott and Abbott on Abbott.....

"Abbott's Catholicism hearkens back to a much older tradition in Australian political culture, born of sectarian antagonisms, and an overweening ambition to impose a particular social and moral economy on the unwelcoming terrain of Anglo-Australian Protestant soil." said Mark Bahnisch over at The Drum on 1st April.

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

"Other current politicians have connections through their parents and through its residue in party and union politics. But no one else has ties as deep as Abbott, who stresses the closeness of his association with Santamaria, his personal inspiration and mentor from school days onwards." John Warhurst quoted in Bahnisch's "Can Tony Abbott separate faith and politics?"

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

"I was initially quite hesitant about accepting The Weekend Australian Magazine's invitation to write about the Pope's visit to Australia for World Youth Day. For one thing, a "Captain Catholic" reputation is supposed to be bad for my political prospects. For another, as revealed by a well-publicised youthful romance, I'm more than capable of breaking the church's rules. But on reflection, this papal visit seemed a rare chance to have Australians focus on the things that really count.
Many Catholics are understandably ambivalent about their church. The gospels are uplifting; the sacraments are a wonderful source of inner peace; attending mass should be a time of solace amid the daily rush; and many priests are wise and kind. On the other hand, sermons are often trite or dull; some religious services are tacky; and the official church too often resembles the caricature drawn by her enemies. For every inspirational pastor, there are plodders who make the "whiskey priest" of Graham Greene's novel seem like the saint that, deep down, he probably was. Most of us intuit God's existence but he remains elusive.
It's just over 20 years since I stopped training for the Catholic priesthood. It wasn't a "loss of faith". Rather, I'd reluctantly concluded that I wasn't cut out to be a parish priest; was unlikely to stay celibate for the rest of my life; and didn't quite have the sense of closeness to God that a priest would need in order to inspire faith in others. To this day, though, bringing people closer to God strikes me as the finest thing anyone can do. Next to my dad, Father Emmet Costello, a Jesuit mentor from school days, has been the most important male influence on my life. I've never had a better friend than Paul Mankowski, the American Jesuit who inveigled me into the boxing team at Oxford University." from My life as a Catholic by Tony Abbott sometime in 2008.

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The 2010 Easter Message

A breakdown of the Easter message coming from major Christian religions this weekend:

Atheists are neo-Nazi spawns of Satan and devotees of a new religion which is trying to destroy Christianity and the world.

Anyone who criticises the paedophile-ridden organisational structure of the Catholic Church is a bigoted and racist spawn of Satan trying to systematically persecute members of the one true religion.

Obviously religious leaders will continue to wonder why their congregations are so small and the Easter Bunny's following so large.

Poster from Google Images

How the Easter Bunny gets those eggs.......

How else?
Pic found in Google Images

Prawn farms fined and managers gaoled

The NSW North Coast is sometimes called the Northern Rivers or Many Rivers region with good reason. Most of its local government areas contain major river systems and those on the coast also feature estuaries. The largest of these estuaries is on the Clarence River with the small towns of Yamba and Iluka on its banks .

Local economies depend on these coastal estuaries which support both professional and recreational fishers and contribute to tourism, so it is particularly chilling to read a media release such as this from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry:

DAFF10/001D31 March 2010
Three prawn farm operators from Australia’s east coast have been sentenced to up to four years in jail after being found guilty of illegally importing feed products.
The two prawn aquaculture companies involved have also been fined a total of $80,000 by the Brisbane District Court over the illegal importation.
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) officers from the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) uncovered the breach during an investigation in 2006 called ‘Operation Penaeus’.
Deputy Secretary, Biosecurity Services Group Rona Mellor said prawn feed which is imported without proper quarantine checks could pose a biosecurity risk to Australian seafood industries, through the introduction of exotic prawn diseases or pests.
“The sentences handed down by the Brisbane District Court send a strong message to anyone considering illegally importing products into Australia,” Ms Mellor said.
The Mission Beach farm manager and company director of Fortune Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd, Fang Che Yang, and the Yamba farm manager of Fortune Enterprises Australia Pty Ltd, Chung Yan Lee, both pleaded guilty to aiding in the commission of an aggravated illegal importation offence contrary to section 67 (3) of the Quarantine Act 1908.
Mr Yang and Mr Lee were each sentenced to three years jail and could be released after a period of six months on entering into $1000 good behaviour bond for a further period of two years.
The Proserpine farm manager of Hamilton Prawn Farm Pty Ltd and company director Hsien Chin Tsai pleaded guilty to aiding in the illegal importation and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Mr Tsai was sentenced to three years jail on the illegal importation charge and a further year on the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Mr Tsai may be released after a period of nine months on entering into $1000 good behaviour bond for a further period of two years.
The companies, Fortune Enterprises Australia and Hamilton Prawn Farm Pty Ltd both entered guilty pleas to aggravated illegal importation charges and were fined $40,000 each.

Woolgoolga Curryfest: a celebration of community, culture & cuisine. Saturday 17 April 2010

Woolgoolga Curryfest is a celebration of Community, Culture and Cuisine.
A wonderful day of food, music and dance in one of NSW's best beachside villages.

Woolgoolga has the largest regional Sikh/Punjabi population in Australia and it is the site of the first Sikh temple built in this country. Our Festival will celebrate the cohesiveness and harmony between the Sikh culture and the wider community.
The curry theme links our major ethnic group, the Sikh Indians as well as representations from many other groups from Germany, Thailand, Holland, England, and Scotland.
Finals for the FutureStar Competition held on the day.

Saturday the 17th April 2010 is the date for this year's festival.
Entry Fee: $2
Curryfest events and festivities will be held at the scenic Woolgoolga Beach Reserve which adjoins Woolgoolga main beach and has un-interrupted views of the local coastline and Solitary Islands group. The area is fully grassed and some shaded areas are available.

Further details PH:02 6642 9700 or go to http://www.curryfest.com.au/

And these are some of the bureaucrats that the Australian Health Minister expects to have access to a national personal health infomation data base

Fifty-two per cent of the agencies

we assessed using capability models had not established

effective controls to manage IT risks, information security

and business continuity. Thirty-one per cent of agencies had

not established effective change controls and 33 per cent

had not established effective controls for management of

physical security [Information Systems Audit Report, March 2010]

On 26 March 2010 Computer World reported on Part Two of a West Australia Government Information Systems Audit Report covering 56 government agencies including the WA Health Department:

Ineffective security measures in Western Australian government agencies are failing to protect sensitive staff and taxpayer information, according to an official security audit....

The audit report found that Royal Perth Hospital and the Department of Commerce do not keep accurate records of laptops. It claimed that Perth hospital "could not provide any assurance on the number of its laptops, where they are or who had them" and possessed two conflicting record lists with a disparity of 277 devices....

"All seven agencies lacked comprehensive management, technical and physical controls over their laptops and portable storage devices to minimise the risk of them being lost or stolen and of sensitive information being accessed," the report states.

Six of the seven agencies failed auditor expectations by not enforcing access controls for laptops or portable devices that would help prevent sensitive data leaving the organisation. The WA Police received praise for encrypting all outgoing sensitive information.

The auditor found critical software vulnerablilities across each of the seven agencies due to a lack of patching. WorkCover was the only agency to enable laptop firewalls to protect computers from introducing potential infections from insecure networks into the corporate environment.

The second part of the report, tabled by acting auditor general Glen Clarke, blasted the agencies for poor application and general computer controls.

Out of the 52 agencies investigated, two had stored unsecured credit card data — one via a network "accessible by any user" and the other within an application — in direct violation of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard.

Auditors were able to access sensitive information through "highly privileged" accounts that were accessed by simple password guessing. One agency allowed users to access accounts with a single character password that did not expire.

Thousands of sensitive records were cracked with the same basic password guessing in "several agencies".

Auditors were able to manipulate staff and contractor paychecks stored on freely accessible folders before they were processed.

Another unnamed agency sent out names and addresses of clients to external contractors, and many were found to lack basic account access controls that stop users from accessing inappropriate sensitive data, or even creating administration accounts without approval.

Boot passwords were scarcely employed by the agencies, leaving laptop hard disks vulnerable to hacking. Contractor service level agreements were found to be not enforced by another agency.

Weak access controls were found in 41 per cent of agencies, followed by poor network security in 23 per cent, polices and procedures, password control, and physical security.

Support our local products: Federal's Green Cauldron Coffee

From the Green Cauldron Coffee website:

Green Cauldron Coffee started with one big idea—to produce the world's finest specialty coffee. Our journey began in 2007 with the purchase of Federal Estate in the rolling hinterland of Byron Bay. Having recognised the inherent quality of our regional bean we set about reviving the plantation by removing noxious weeds, improving soil health as well as installing onsite infrastructure such as a new processing facility and state of the art recycling systems. After a meticulous restoration we were able to harvest and process our 2008 crop onsite making Green Cauldron Coffee's Federal Estate one of the largest and most technologically advanced producers in New South Wales.....

Coffee from our region benefits from conditions similar to those of traditional growing regions however unlike our equatorial counter parts Australia has a distinct natural advantage of being free from any of the major coffee pestilence or disease. Also in contrast with these traditional producers is Australia's strict industrial regulation which provides fair rates of pay and ensures workplace health and safety. The dual effect is a greener, more sustainable and fairer approach to farming.

This coffee may be purchased online here.

Federal NSW originally named Jasper is in the Byron hinterland.

Abbott's 2020 predictions......

In Chapter 7 of his 2009 book Battlelines Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott predicts that by 2020:

A) Australia will still have one of the world's strongest economies....

B) our partnership with America will still be the foundation of our security....

C) We will still be a 'crowned republic'.....

D) We will be more cosmopolitan than ever but perhaps less multicultural....

E) Some progress will have been made towards 'closing the gap' between Aboriginal and other Australians' standards of living.....

F) Families won't break up anymore often....

G) there will have been bigger fires, more extensive floods, more ferocious storms because records are always being broken....

H) sea levels will be much the same, desert boundaries will not have changed much, and technology, rather than economic self-denial, will be starting to cut down atmospheric pollution.

Thankfully, Abbott doesn't predict that he'll be leading a Coalition government in Canberra at the start of that decade.

Obama resigns overnight!

from White Rabbit Cult

David and Goliath. Yamba versus McDonald's

On Tuesday 30 March 2010 a community meeting was called at Yamba to discuss opposition to multinational McDonald's move to establish a 24 hour drive-through food franchise in that coastal town.

The meeting was well attended and the crowd spilled out of the space and onto the street.

Yamba Chamber of Commerce, Valley Watch and Coast Care all spoke out against the McDonald's development application, as did local residents and some small business owners.

A number of Clarence Valley shire councillors attended the meeting and it was obvious that they had already started to receive emails lobbying against the fast food giant's plans.

The meeting convenor invited anyone who supported having a McDonald's in Yamba to the microphone to put forward their views. No-one came forward.

Some background:

The NSW Food Authority keeps what is popularly known as a name and shame file.

In 2009 no Yamba restaurant, cafe or small take-away food business was listed on this file.
However the multinational fast food company McDonald's was mentioned six times.Three times under management by franchise operators and another three times under its own Australian management.

Penalties were issued for Mcdonald's at Armidale, Lithgow, Penrith, Randwick (twice) and Ultimo.

Examples of official findings regarding these outlets:

• Fail to take all practicable measures to eradicate and prevent the harbourage of pests - live cockroaches observed on the premises
  
• Fail to maintain the food premises to the required standard of cleanliness
  
• Fail to take all practicable measures to eradicate and prevent the harbourage of pests - live cockroaches observed in the food preparation area
  
• Fail to take all practicable measures to eradicate and prevent the harbourage of pests - Customer complaint of fly found in burger. Several flies found in food preparation area

While elsewhere in Australia in April 2009 at 3am; McFilthy - you want gastro with that?

Graphic from NO to McDonalds in YAMBA at Facebook

Third world medicine on the NSW North Coast?

Premier Keneally needs to shift her focus from early electioneering and seriously address funding and service delivery failures in NSW North Coast public hospitals.

This report in The Northern Star last week is yet another pitiful example of how this region is being short-changed by the Keneally Government's management of NSW Health:

AN ELDERLY man suffering from asbestosis had to call Triple-0 from his hospital bed in Lismore Base to get help from a nurse.
Eighty-seven-year old World War II veteran Kevin Park called the emergency number after night shift failed to hear the brass bell he was given as a replacement to the electronic call system at the hospital, which is still not operational.
Yesterday a still angry Mr Park said after ringing the bell for 45 minutes, 'desperate times demanded desperate action'.
"This is like the Third World. We are being treated like dogs."
Patients in Lismore Base's surgical ward were issued with brass bells four weeks ago after both the emergency and nurse call systems failed.
North Coast Area Health last night offered the air force veteran from Iluka an apology 'for any distress that may have been caused to Mr Park and his family'.

The Hamburgler fights back against Yamba?

Yamba went public in the media last week about its opposition to the McDonald's Restaurants move to establish one of its fast food outlets in Treelands Drive.

A Facebook page was also created called NO to McDonalds in Yamba.

Shortly thereafter another Facebook page sprang up, YES to McDonalds in Yamba (snapshot above). This page looks suspiciously like it was created by the multinational food franchise, its publicists or a company employee or two - perhaps even their family members.

It has all the hallmarks; links to the official company website and multiple promos for McDonald's goods and activities.

However, like the Hamburgler, the page hides behind a mask and doesn't openly declare its creator's identity.

Update:

Just after the above post was published the YES to McDonalds in Yamba page posted this:

Noticed something so fun today, some people think this site (page) has been setup by McDonald's Australia......

I am a local who has lived in Townsend, Yamba and Maclean for plenty of years. I have family up and down the Clarence Valley and my Parents have been local residents for 13+ years.

So NO this isn't a corporate site. It's a personal FAN site which is pointing out all the POSITIVES!

The jury's still out on this claim.

Whaling: Japan doesn't have an exclusive right to claim cultural connection in southern waters

The Government of Japan and Japanese whalers have repeatedly made extravagant claims that they have the right to kill whales for their meat based on what is called a cultural tradition of eating whale meat.

Here in Australia a vital part of our society, tribal groups and traditional land owners on the coast, arguably have older and probably stronger cultural ties to whales.

Whale Dreaming © Y. Bundle 2007 This work arose from a dream Yaraan received. It is about the Whale Dreaming songline connected to Keerray Woorroong Country along the coast near Warrnambool. In her dream the Old People told Yaraan the story of the Southern Right Whale and their journey to our waters to give birth to their young. They told her the secret of the whales and the knowledge they bring. This work tells their story.

On gurrawul, the whale, according to the Yuin people of south eastern Australia:

MAX DULUMUNMUN HARRISON: We have our three markings which are so important - spiritual, physical and mental. That they must have the markings to participate in this particular kind of whale dreaming ceremony. The whales were elders once that walked the land and the whales then got permission to go out into gadu, the ocean, to look after the food and the medicines that are all out there in the ocean, because they're the fellas then, that we must respect. And, of course, every time that a whales beaches itself, to come in, it's regurgitating the law. And that is so important. If the law is not regurgitated, then our mob will roam this country aimlessly without culture. And for the eastern seaboard people, that's something I am trying to keep alive so that they can stand up and talk about culture. So that they can participate in a simple ceremony of respecting the whale that's out there in gadu, the ocean.

Federal Election 2010: so you like the idea of local hospital boards?

The Federal Coalition and their leader, Tony Abbott, may not have revealed much in the way of a national health policy for Australia to date, but the mantra they are all chanting as they move about electorates is local hospital boards.

So how does Opposition Leader Abbott see these boards functioning in a health system he describes (in his latest book Battlelines) as not needing "fundamental restructuring or gargantuan amounts of additional funding"?

Well, he sees these "hospital boards with clout" - apparently run by medical professionals, probably unqualified but prominent local business people and some community representatives - having an ability to vary public hospital staff wages in a two-tiered system if necessary (with newer staff being paid less as a budget-saving measure) and an ability "to contract out hospital management to a private operator" as another budget measure.

Possibilities which would more than likely horrify communities on the North Coast and in other NSW rural and regional areas.

Elsewhere Abbott claims; Boards would appoint hospital CEOs and, with the CEO, manage hospital budgets. Government would appoint boards and set hospitals’ funding levels but wouldn’t be able to cut funding when hospitals raise money from private patients or fundraising.

All in all, this sounds like a recipe for health service delivery disaster in the public sector.