Mental Health: tell us something we don't know already

Stone the crows! The Australian Government had to fund a study to find this?
“A latest study shows that a job that provides low control, high demands, complexity and the perception of unfair pay may lead to worse mental health than being unemployed. The study appeared in the journal Occupational Environmental Medicine.”
Well that’s earth shattering old news for working sods across Oz. Now add living in overcrowded dwellings or poorly maintained and high rent housing, being denied adequate public health care or a decent education and we’re getting close to the basic causes of most of life’s enduring ills in the Lucky Country.
It goes without saying that being female, elderly or a child living in poverty frequently compounds those situations.

50 million 12 year-old girls live in poverty world-wide right now.
See a great little video on The Girl Effect
http://www.girleffect.org/video

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A that's a fact musing: Hey Boy, I was at a mate's place the other day and I saw a notice, which I memorised and am repeating for you below, posted very low on their fridge door. Later, I saw the notice that's on their front door on the way out. I didn't see it when I arrived because I went in via the back door, just as I always do at home. Do you have a similar signs at your place? Rex

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however.

Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible.

I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.

(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

(1) eat less,

(2) don't ask for money all the time,

(3) are easier to train,

(4) normally come when called,

(5) never ask to drive the car,

(6) don't smoke or drink,

(7) don't want to wear your clothes,

(8) don't have to buy the latest fashions,

(9) don't need a gazillion dollars for university and

(10) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children .....

A How to Train Your Human musing: One little kitten has it down pat right from the start...Typical. The only wet food Chloë will eat is raw prawns and fresh snapper. Keep up the good work, Chloë!

A journalist with great taste and a big heart musing: @latikambourke tweets about the love of her life shown here in cute Chloe kitteh glory.

A cat in the doghouse musing: I tried to tell everyone that Basement Cat took over the keyboard when I added my voice to the end of this post. But my muvva didn't believe me and I now heartily apologize to any hens or dogs I may have offended or frightened.

Boy

Anonymous graffitti begins to appear in Clarence electorate

Nationals Steve Cansdell looks all set to romp home in this month's NSW state election, but it seems not everyone sees this as a positive if the graffiti on the wall of Macelan's "middle pub" is anything to go by.

The night sky as art courtesy of NASA and Australian photographers

South-east Queensland

Victoria

Andrew Bolt feels the love......

Tweeters serve The Bolta up a slice of lurve as he becomes well-deserved collateral damage of the recent Pacific earthquake-tsunami:

SalimPickens RT @SydWalker: Why doesn't Andrew Bolt join the 50 heroes who remain at #Fukushima? He could make tea.. #auspol #murdoch #crikey
NYT: 50 workers bravely stay at troubled Japan reactors - World ...‎

DrewWiddowson RT @geeksrulz: BREAKING: Andrew Bolt to report from inside Fukushima Plant Nr2 to prove how safe it is. Putting his arse on the line for humanity #auspol

SydWalker Be happy! ... Murdoch hack Andrew Bolt puts the world straight re nuclear safety #journchat #auspol #newscorp
More people die of fear of nuclear power than of the power itself ...‎

ArcingUp More people die reading #AndrewBolt articles than from #nuclear accidents. #japan #LOLBolt

SydWalker @mrumens Will Bolt's arrogant, obviously deceptive reporting on this expose him as a charaltan to dweebs who hang on his every word? #auspol

wildriverstweet: Pro-nuclear proponents have gone intro a media spin frenzy, reaching its zennith with rabid musings of Andrew Bolt #fukushima

rtennantwood: RT @ABCEnvironment: Who would you have on your side? Andrew Bolt or the CSIRO + 1000 other scientists? (watch) http://bit.ly/e4YUj3

bekfast: @Andy_Bull I'm yet to see Andrew Bolt display anything but poor judgment.

termx: So Andrew Bolt agrees with biologist Barry Brook @BraveNewClimate on safety of nuclear power but not on climate change?

firstdogonmoon Hey Andrew Bolt, tell me this isn't Climate Change!!! RT @TheDailyBunny: Baby bunny naps in palm of hand: http://arseh.at/4zq

james00000001: RT @marie__ryan: Anyone else hear expert say on ABC that 6000 children got thyroid cancer as result of Chernobyl-yet Andrew Bolt claims only 50 died #tosser

Parsify: @security4all_jp I agree with your main point. Watch out for Andrew Bolt, though, he's a well known troublemaker.

FakeCaro Real Caro looking for excuses. Her tweets will send twitter into meltdown. She is AFL's version of Andrew Bolt

Djourno: Andrew Bolt says the nuclear emergency in Japan isn't as bad as we're all thought to believe....what a moron

kazonis: RT MichaelByrnes: If Andrew Bolt confuses 800 with 8000 on #insiders, and gets a blogger's family history wrong, how can he be trusted on nuclear energy risk?

karamoon: @security4all You're going to loose friends very fast if you link to clowns like "journalist" Andrew Bolt.

To Tor or not to Tor? That is a question for all Netizens after Lamo entered the equation

What is Tor? Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis….. Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.

Sounds good doesn’t it? So who is likely to allow their computer network to be used as a vehicle to protect the electronic communications of whistleblowers and dissidents?

http://www.setecastronomy.org/ This is a Tor Exit Node It is distinctly likely that you are reading this because you had some issue with the traffic coming from this IP address. This machine is part of the Tor Anonymity Network, which is dedicated to providing privacy to people who need it most:- ordinary computer users - i.e. people like you......Email address: adrian@setecastronomy.org

Who Is Domain Tools for IP 74.82.57.190

Domain ID:D156926562-LROR

Domain Name:SETECASTRONOMY.ORG

Created On:21-Aug-2009 14:30:14 UTC

Last Updated On:18-Nov-2010 21:14:19 UTC

Expiration Date:21-Aug-2011 14:30:14 UTC

Sponsoring Registrar:Gandi SAS (R42-LROR)

Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED

Registrant ID:0-1658357-GANDI

Registrant Name:Adrian Lamo

Registrant Organization:Reality Planning LLC

Registrant Street1:108 WEST 13TH STREET.......

Registrant City:Wilmington

Registrant State/Province:Delaware

Registrant Postal Code:19801-1145

Registrant Country:US

Registrant Phone:+1.2023707750.......

Registrant Email:adrian@2600.com

Admin ID:AL4741-GANDI

Admin Name:Adrian Lamo

Admin Organization:SETEC ASTRONOMY, a RPL company

Admin Street1:PO Box 339.......

Admin City:Carmichael.....

Admin Postal Code:95609-0339

Admin Country:US

Admin Phone:+1.8889201981.....

Admin FAX:+1.7172831658.......

Adrian Lamo? Really? Isn’t he the onetime hacker who informed on 'whistleblower' Bradley Manning (U.S. serviceman who sent copies of U.S. diplomatic cables to Wikileaks) and, isn’t Manning now confined to military prison and allegedly subject to torture?

Oh, Tor – not exactly the best testament. But then what can one expect from an anonymity network apparently originally sponsored by the US Naval Research Laboratory and probably intended by intelligence agencies to act as a sometime honey trap at their convenience?

Adrian Lamo in his own words:

Coastal Law and Climate Change Workshop, 10am Saturday 19 March in Coffs Harbour

This workshop will explain the main environmental and planning laws that affect coastal communities, with a focus on recent changes to the Coastal Protection Act relating to sea level rise and erosion works.

This workshop is for anyone interested in learning more about how the various environmental and planning laws interact, how they apply to coastal communities, and how governments and coastal communities are responding to the challenges of climate change. This is an interactive workshop with discussion of current development proposals and planning processes in the Coffs Harbour area.

All participants will receive a free copy of the new EDO publication, Caring for the Coast: A guide to environmental law for coastal communities in NSW . This booklet can be downloaded to read before the workshop from http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/publications.php#coast. This publication has been funded by the Australian Government though its Caring for Our Country initiative.

When: Saturday 19 March 2011 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Where: Room 4, Coffs Harbour Neighbourhood Centre, 22 Earl St

Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. Attendance is free, but prior registration is essential. Please RSVP to mailto:shakola@bigpond.com. Enquiries can be made to Ashley Love on 02 6651 9620 or Mark Byrne on 02 6621 1113.

The Clarence Valley north-south divide shows another side

It’s not only the matter of land rating in the hinterland and land rates on the coast that divide the Clarence Valley along an Antipodean version of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The Daily Examiner on 15th March 2011:
“WHEN it comes to putting the right things in recycling bins, people in lower Clarence communities are doing a far better job than their Grafton counterparts, according to Jamie Kenneally, manager of the Grafton Recycling Centre.”
Score Card - Grafton 0 Lower Clarence 1

Up the Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day
to one and all
from
North Coast Voices

In the 2006 Australian National Census
1,803,736 people stated that
they had Irish ancestry
and a further 50,256 stated
they were born in Poblacht na hÉireann

Photograph from pix.fr

Japanese Earthquake-Tsunami Appeal March 2011

* Tohoku – Pacific Ocean Earthquake Appeal
The Australian and Japanese Red Cross Societies are accepting donations for the earthquake relief. The Embassy is now also accepting donations. All donations received in the account below will be forwarded to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Account Name:
Embassy of Japan in Australia, Donations for Japan Earthquake/Tsunami
Name of Bank : ANZ
Name of Branch : Canberra City
BSB : 012950
Account No. : 2514 59908

Should you require a receipt of your donation, please send your name, address (not mandatory), date of donation, amount donated to the following email address.
Mail-address: admin@cb.mofa.go.jp

Australian Red Cross Society
http://www.redcross.org.au/japan2011.htm

Japanese Red Cross Society
http://www.redcross.org.au/japan2011.htm

Photographs from Google Images

Gocompare.com goes off road

‘*********, your car insurance is due for renewal in 30 days’ according to an email received today.
Surely not! We don’t have a car – never had a car. Bicycles R Us!
Tut tut. Cheap trick to drive traffic to website. What on earth was www.gocompare.com thinking?

Anony-mice
Yamba

Notice that despite all that frothing at the mouth Abbott is merely running on the spot when it comes to personal approval ratings?

{TheGhostWhoVotes with survey results 10-12th March 2011}

Men favour Julia Gillard over Tony Abbott 42%/37% and women 46%/29%.
{ Essential Report of 14^th March 2011}

Bourke sprung touting Clarence River water raid

A Clarence Valley Protest blog post on Monday 14 March 2011:

From the Hansard transcript of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia’s Inquiry into the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on regional Australia - Bourke hearing on Tuesday, 15 February 2011:

Cr. John Holmes, Bourke Shire Council

There are other ways to rectify this river system than to starve out your little towns, which is going to happen. There has been mention of diverting water from the Clarence. Not only would you get water to shore up some of these rivers; you would also get another 28 meg of power.

Wayne O’Malley, former mayor of Bourke Shire Council

When talking about some sort of solution for the future, we need a fundamentally different approach. We need the conservation of more water to deal with the boom and bust nature of our climate. I put on the table again the diversion of the Clarence needs to be reconsidered, or at least some other major water infrastructure project not only for this part of the state but also for Australia. As a nation we have to be more mindful of our ever-increasing population, and we have to do more planning to provide water for them for the future.

Bourke Council was not alone in putting the case of the water raiders from over the Great Divide. During the hearing held at Gunnedah, the Citizen’s Electoral Council took this line with the Committee - rather strangely asserting that NSW flooding was confined to Grafton in 2010 and more oddly admitting that Bradfield was "not very bright":

Mr Witten

There are things such as the Clarence River scheme, which was mooted some 70 or 80 years ago by some idiot called Bradfield—and of course you know he was not very bright or did not have much ability. Nevertheless, he dreamt up a massive scheme to develop this nation…… The use of the Clarence River scheme, we believe, would inject around a thousand gigalitres into the system, plus provide electricity for our dying power supply.

Mr Stringer

We desperately need some of the eastern fall water up and down the New South Wales coast—and the Clarence is but one of these rivers; you have the rivers heading down towards Macleay. That water could come across to the Namoi, no problem. It is all going to waste. How many floods have we had in Grafton in 2009? How many floods in 2010? They are all in Grafton, and all the water goes to the sea, wasted.

Intelligent Design lobby motto: If at first you don't succeed - try, try again

The teaching of some scientific subjects, including, but not limited to, biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning, can cause controversy;
{From the bill AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 6, Part 10, relative to teaching scientific
subjects in elementary schools.}

Given how swiftly the Australian far-right of both religion and politics follow each new quirk in America’s regressive march back towards the primeval ooze; if this bill (sponsored by very Catholic, pro-life, anti-gay marriage, intelligent design supporter Republican State Representative Bill Dunn) gets recommended by a Tennessee General Assembly sub-committee vote today around 3pm US Central Time, it will probably create a media opportunity for the anti-science brigade here:

*HB0368 by *Dunn, *White. (SB0893 by *Watson.)
Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As introduced, protects a teacher from discipline for teaching scientific subjects in an objective manner. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 10.
Summary for *HB0368

“Bill Summary

This bill prohibits the state board of education and any public elementary or secondary school governing authority, director of schools, school system administrator, or principal or administrator from prohibiting any teacher in a public school system of this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught, such as evolution and global warning.”

Representative Dunn also has another bill before the House which says it part:

“Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no public elementary or middle school shall provide any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.”

Biological evolution controversial, homosexuality unmentionable? Music to the tin ears of Abbott & Co in Australia and bound to turn up on the nightly news sometime soon.

Enough with the carbon already!

I’m sick and tired of that stupid tax scare campaign - it’s time that the Gillard Government ploughed ahead and rammed the damn carbon price through parliament.

Jen

Byron

* GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration.

I can't believe it's a serious survey

 

Still laughing at this extrapolation of online answers given to "Teach Hunch About You" questions by Hunch blog readers, which News Ltd morphed into articles such as Ladies, your email address is a clue to your weight.

SNAPSHOT OF HUNCH ‘SURVEY’ FINDINGS

• AOL users are most likely to be overweight women ages 35-64 who have a high school diploma and are spiritual, but not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, in a relationship of 10+ years, and have children. AOL users live in the suburbs and haven’t traveled outside their own country. Family is their first priority. AOL users mostly read magazines, have a desktop computer, listen to the radio, and watch TV on 1-3 DVRs in their home. At home, they lounge around in sweats. AOL users are optimistic extroverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team.
• Gmail users are most likely to be thin young men ages 18-34 who are college-educated and not religious. Like other young Hunch users, they tend to be politically liberal, single (and ready to mingle), and childless. Gmail users live in cities and have traveled to five or more countries. They’re career-focused and plugged in — they mostly read blogs, have an iPhone and laptop, and listen to music via MP3s and computers (but they don’t have a DVR). At home, they lounge around in a t-shirt and jeans. Gmail users prefer salty snacks and are introverted and entrepreneurial. They are optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the situation.
• Hotmail users are most likely to be young women of average build ages 18-34 (and younger) who have a high school diploma and are not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, single, and childless. Hotmail users live in the suburbs, perhaps still with their parents, and have traveled to up to five countries. They mostly read magazines and contemporary fiction, have a laptop, and listen to music via MP3s and computers (but they don’t have a DVR). At home, Hotmail users lounge around in a t-shirt and jeans. They’re introverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team. They consider themselves more pessimistic, but sometimes it depends on the situation.
• Yahoo! users are most likely to be overweight women ages 18-49 who have a high school diploma and are spiritual, but not religious. They tend to be politically middle of the road, in a relationship of 1-5 years, and have children. Yahoo! users live in the suburbs or in rural areas and haven’t traveled outside their own country. Family is their first priority. They mostly read magazines, are almost equally likely to have a laptop or desktop computer, listen to the radio and cds, and watch TV on 1-2 DVRs in their home. At home, Yahoo! users lounge around in pajamas. They’re extroverts who prefer sweet snacks and like working on a team. Yahoo! users are optimistic or pessimistic, depending on the situation.

Boltas of the Month

Clever clogs pseudo-journalist Andrew Bolt baldly said on ABC TV’s “Insiders” program last Sunday that there were between 400-500 people at the anti-carbon tax rally and 800 at the pro-carbon price rally held last Saturday.
On his own blog post on Saturday night he seems to agree with the higher pro-price rally figure of more than 8,000 reported in the MSM and in Sunday update apologizes for his so-called misremembering on the aired program.
Not good enough Bolta! Even you had seen the 12^th March pics by the time you settled your backside into that studio chair early the next day and it's hard to avoid the tag great big fib to get the last word in an argument.

Teh Four Hundred going its hapless 'half a league onwards'

Teh Eight Thousand filling the wide lens and then some

Wait. There's more.......
On the very same day Bolt was playing fast and loose with rally numbers he also had a go at Grog's Gamut in his Daily Tele post "Exit, laughing".
To which Grog replied:
"But here’s the thing, while I can understand Bolt wanting to label me as a public servant, and also a third generation one, and also a third generation Canberran one (laziest of the lot they are!) there’s just one slight problem:
It is not true.
You see the statement that I am a third-generation Canberra public servant is an untruth, a falsehood, a fiction, a furphy. In short, a lie."
So within a space of hours Teh Bolta is on record as fibbing about rallies, Chenobyl and a public servant.
Here's laughing at you, Andrew.

Citizen's Electoral Council tells HoR Regional Australia Committee that it's OK to take Clarence water

Members of the the arch-conspiracy theorizing fringe political party the Citizen’s Electoral Council give formal evidence at the House Standing Committee Inquiry into the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on regional Australia at its Gunnedah hearing on 14 Feb 2011 (the highlighting is mine):

Mr Witten—I am also an irrigator and a patriotic Australian. We have some key issues here. Australia’s climate has, as Dorothea Mackellar wrote, ‘droughts and flooding rains’. I do not care how many dams you have, especially the current amount of dams, as an old bloke once said to me, ‘If the head of the Condamine is not running, how do you expect to have water at Echuca?’ It is a pretty fair comment. That is just a common-sense approach. I do not believe in the Darwin theory. I believe that man was born in the image of God and the difference between man and an animal is the fact that a man has the power to create change. He can change for good or he can change for bad. In this particular instance he has the option of either shutting down the Murray-Darling Basin, which is the agenda set by the Ramsar convention—which was not even an Australian founded argument—or he can put more water into the system. I believe that all politicians and all governments should do what is right for the nation and I believe that the growing of a nation is very important. Anyone in the farming game knows that if you are not going forward you are going back. We have this power to create a situation where instead of destroying the Murray Darling system, and the people along it, we can actually make it flourish. There are things such as the Clarence River scheme, which was mooted some 70 or 80 years ago by some idiot called Bradfield—and of course you know he was not very bright or did not have much ability. Nevertheless, he dreamt up a massive scheme to develop this nation. It seems to me that as we have gone along signing all these damned agreements, going along with all these international agreements, we are actually driving this nation backwards. To me, that is not the moral standard that any government that loves its nation and believes in the sovereignty of the nation should play with. It is as immoral as trying to mine the Liverpool Plains. These sorts of things cannot be tolerated. If they are, then I am very sorry but the government of the day are not patriotic Australians. The use of the Clarence River scheme, we believe, would inject around a thousand gigalitres into the system, plus provide electricity for our dying power supply. We used to have a ministry for decentralisation once. Everyone is leaving the bush because of these damned erratic agreements that we signed with people that have no intention of ever seeing a nation grow. If we do not grow we die. It is as simple as that. Therefore, I think the government has a moral duty to revisit the 2007 Water Act. I believe it is totally unworkable and not in the interests of the nation.

Mr Stringer—Thank you, Mr Chairman. I am a farmer from Rocky Glen near Coonabarabran. I am a member of the Citizens Electoral Council and have been for many years. I have been a candidate for the Parkes electorate. In this time I have got a clearer understanding of what is needed to make a society and a community not only function but prosper. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan itself is flawed because the act that it was spawned from, the 2007 Water Act, is also immoral and flawed because it came from the Ramsar agreement, the Ramsar agreement came from the founders of this process, and that was the World Wildlife Fund. The founding members of that fund were Prince Philip, the Queen’s consort, the Queen’s cousin, and Prince Bernhard. This was the founding of these environmental movements that have come up across the planet. Their agenda was the continuation of eugenics, and eugenics was the management and control of population. It is where Nazism was spawned. So you can see this whole thing is an agenda of shutting down Australia’s productivity, its ability to feed itself and numerous millions of others across the world. To shut this basin down, reduce its capacity to produce food, is nothing else other than genocide. You may not see the person you are not feeding, but they are on the other side of the planet. The capability of this nation to produce food and to support a much larger population is there, and it will take a strong willed government to actually make this happen. Unfortunately today we have too many people that are more interested in self-interest and are complying with intense, I must admit, pressure from overseas interests. These overseas interests come out of the banking and money power of the world, mainly London and Wall Street. Their agenda is to control the cartels in the food chain and also resources. Reducing food production only makes them stronger; it only makes them more powerful because there is less food in the system and the price can be forced up very rapidly. We are seeing that happen right now. Right now you are seeing across the world inflation running with food because food is becoming short. It is vital that the Murray-Darling Basin be preserved and developed, and to do this development we need further technology on water usage. We desperately need some of the eastern fall water up and down the New South Wales coast—and the Clarence is but one of these rivers; you have the rivers heading down towards Macleay. That water could come across to the Namoi, no problem. It is all going to waste. How many floods have we had in Grafton in 2009? How many floods in 2010? They are all in Grafton, and all the water goes to the sea, wasted. I hope these areas can be addressed and that the committee can see its way clear to being morally responsible in looking at them.

Wake me when the election is over

The March 2011 New South Wales state election seems to have been greeted with a massive yawn from voters on the North Coast and even the candidates are going through the motions absent of any real political verve.
One candidate for the seat of Clarence took ennui to its outer limit by nominating and then promptly disappearing from sight so successfully that even the local meeja can’t winkled her out – take a bow Family First’s Kristen Bromell.
In Ballina it was the Labor candidate who didn’t front a meet-the-candidates event according to The Northern Star on 9^th March – take your bow Toby Warnes.
Meanwhile in Coffs Harbour a general lack of enthusiasm on the part of The Greens produced a no-show at the ballot draw – face the audience bend forward at the waist Rodney Degens.
Even letter writing voters can’t raise much ire against particular candidates and online comments don’t sparkle – although this one raised a grin because The Daily Examiner online moderator let an accusation stand which invites readers to suspect one Independent candidate of improper conduct:

Click image to enlarge

In an election campaign conspicuously devoid of humour the most amusing incident so far was to read of one Nationals candidate for re-election likening himself to an alien character in a Hollywood movie, John Smith from the planet Lorien - come down to earth Steve Cansdell!
With the penalty for not voting in a state election standing at a measly $55, I think that the number of no-shows amongst voters could fast outstrip totals in past elections.

Australian Opposition all set to do the Gish Gallop*?

Having set the scene by treating the proposed carbon price mechanism guideline as a settled direct tax on Australian citizens (rather than a cost paid by polluting industries) the Australian Coalition Opposition, led by the Hon. Tony Abbott, now appears ready to reprise its attack on climate science underpinning the need for setting such a price:

I think there are increasing doubts about the proposition that anthropogenic emissions of C02 are causing global warming…….

Quoting a blog from an atmospheric scientist from the University of Alabama - who he did not name - Senator Minchin said: "It's clear that the models, and we're dealing with models, have grossly overestimated the sensitivity of temperature to increases in CO2.

"I think what's occurred is that there was a warming period from about '75 to the year 2000. It was part of a natural cycle of warming that comes in 25, 30-year cycles. The world has basically stabilised in terms of temperature since about 2000.

"There are many, many scientists who actually think we could be entering a cooling phase, and I for one think that is more than likely.

"We have stabilised in terms of world temperatures. There is a very powerful natural cycle at work, and if anything we're more likely to see a tendency down in global temperatures, rather than up."

Now the only atmospheric scientist I am familiar with at Alabama University is Professor John Christy and, as far as I can tell this academic (often characterized as a climate change sceptic) in his most recent evidence before a US House of Representatives sub-committee on 8 March 2011 does not actually say that the earth has entered a cooling period. Rather he holds that warming is occurring at a much lower rate than previously predicted and recent disastrous weather events cannot be attributed directly to global warming.

This appears to represent a small step back from his earlier evidence in 2000 based on dubious research co-authored with climate change contrarian and intelligent design believer Roy Spenser also from Alabama University. Nevertheless, Christy is still very much in the contrarian camp.

Interestingly, it is the more notorious Spencer who appears to have an identifiable blog.

*Gish Gallop

Oopps! Australian Government just about to declare Wattle illegal

A chuckle over the cornflakes this morning…..

Wikipedia says: “Acacia maidenii, also known as Maiden's Wattle, is a tree native to Australia (New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria). Fitzgerald and Siournis reported in the Australian Journal of Chemistry (1965, volume 18, pp. 433-4) that a sample of the bark contained 0.36% of the hallucinogen DMT as well as 0.24% of N-methyltryptamine. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the concentration of DMT and other tryptamines in A. maidenii is very variable and may be zero in many strains. When smoked, the bark gives a mild hallucinogenic effect. It is also a common admixture ingredient to Australian Ayahuasca brews.”

The Australian Government says: “Proposed Controlled Plant …….any plant containing DMT”

It almost goes without saying that Maiden's Wattle is one of those tall shrubs recommended for planting in NSW gardens by none other than Botanic Gardens Trust in Sydney.
Er, who’s going to tell Auntie that those lovely wattles she planted at the bottom of the garden might make her a criminal if she sells their potted seedlings at the local CWA fundraiser next year?

Though when it comes to political red faces, this week the Republican-dominated US House of Reps Appropriations Committee takes the cake based on the teensy weensy fact that the very same day a rather big Pacific Ocean tsunami barrelled towards so many shorelines this committee sent out a media release which trumpeted budgetary cuts to the very agency which runs the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre on which so many rely for information:
-$99 million – NOAA – Operations, Research, and Facilities
-$18 million – NOAA – Procurement Acquisition and Construction

Pic from http://herbarium.0-700.pl/
Map from http://ptwc.weather.gov

Tony Blair is coming to Australia and he wants to hold an audience.....

In July 2011 former British prime Minister and alleged war criminal Tony Blair is coming to Australia to do a little revenue raising in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.

Wonder who will actually admit to paying these prices to meet him or which Australian corporations (besides Visy) might actually believe that being associated with this man will enhance business reputations?
Will someone try to claim Monbiot's bounty by performing a peaceful citizen's arrest?

An Audience With Tony Blair: Lessons in Leadership, Negotiation and Innovation

TICKET PRICES

$1,000 per person
Ticket includes a full sit down banquet meal and attendance at the pre-event cocktail party

$10,000 per Table of Ten
Tables of ten include a full sit down banquet meal and attendance at the pre-event cocktail party

$1,500 VIP Ticket
Includes a seat at one of "the best tables in the house", one ticket to private pre-event "meet and greet" cocktail party and individual photograph with Tony Blair

$15,000 VIP Table of Ten
Includes "the best seats in the house" table of ten, ten tickets to private
pre-event "meet and greet" cocktail party and individual one photograph
with Tony Blair, full page advertisement in the program, logo recognition in the program and on the screens at the event

World Day Against Cyber-Censorship today 12 March 2011

Launched by Reporters Without Borders in 2008, World Day Against Cyber-Censorship (on 12 March 2011) is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet without restrictions and accessible to all. The fight for online freedom of expression is more essential than ever. By creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for freedom. In countries where the traditional media are controlled by the government, the only independent news and information are to be found on the Internet, which has become a forum for discussion and a refuge for those who want to express their views freely.

RWB’s list of ENEMIES OF THE INTERNET

Never a truer word spoken on the Mad Monk

Abbott is behaving like a vandal. While saying he is concerned about energy prices he is wrecking any chance of them stabilising. By saying he will rescind any new carbon price approved by parliament (if, as is likely, he wins the next election) he is forcing would-be investors in the power industry to extend their capital strike.

Read the rest of Peter Martin’s “Memo to Julia: You don't have a carbon consensus” here.