Are we safe? Can I come out from under the bed yet?

“Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.” {National Aeronautics and Space Administration}

I’m getting in early to back NASA’s take on the Doomsday scenario being touted for 21 December 2012 – before those chain emails telling me my end is nigh according to the Bible or the Mayan Calendar begin to arrive in tiresome droves.

For those who would rather enjoy the thrill of the scare, here is a Wikipedia list of the joyful hand of the great bearded father in the sky mass extinction event possibilities awaiting us over the next twelve months, two years, decade, century or wad eva…..

·         A sudden change in the physical constants governing the universe, such as that created by a vacuum metastability event.^[2]

·         A close approach of a black hole to the solar system.^[3]

·         A gamma ray burst or other devastating blast of cosmic radiation.^[4] One especially deadly hypothesized source is a hypernova, produced when a hypergiant star explodes and then collapses, sending vast amounts of radiation sweeping across hundreds of lightyears. Hypernovas have never been observed; however, a hypernova may have been the cause of the Ordovician–Silurian extinction events. The nearest hypergiant is Eta Carinae, approximately 8,000 light-years distant.

·         A drastic and unusual decrease or increase in Sun's power output; a solar superstorm leading to partial or complete electrical or technological death of human civilization. (See solar flare.)

·         Abrupt geomagnetic reversal and/or drastic decrease of magnetic field of the planet Earth. Consequences can be the same as in the cases of cosmic radiation or solar radiation blasts.

·         The solar system passing through a cosmic dust cloud, leading to a severe global climate change.^[5]

·         An abrupt repositioning of Earth rotation axis.^[6] It could be caused by extremely powerful internal geological or/and external cosmic factors. If it happens abruptly (and not slowly within a very prolonged interval of time) it will generate enormous multiple earthquakes, multiple volcano eruptions, a hypercane or multiple megacyclones, giant tidal waves and megatsunamis all around the globe.

·         An impact event causing a collision (or extremely close passage) of a large meteorite, asteroid or comet. A common theory postulates that the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred approximately 65 million years ago as a result of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event when a large asteroid struck the earth, producing atmospheric dust which blocked solar energy and caused a significant lowering of temperatures worldwide ("nuclear winter"). Evidence for this theory includes a sedimentary layer of iridium in the geological record and a large crater in the area of Chicxulub, Mexico. The Tunguska event (1908) was on a much smaller scale. In the case of a close passage of an object (a large asteroid, comet or planet) with a significant gravitational impact on Earth, the consequences could be the same as in the case of an abrupt repositioning of Earth rotation axis. And such a repositioning of the axis would not necessarily have to take place for the earth to see the same global effects.

·         A geological event such as massive flood basalt, volcanism, or the eruption of a supervolcano^[7] leading to the so called Volcanic Winter (Similar to a Nuclear Winter). One such event, the Toba Eruption,^[8] occurred in Indonesia about 71,500 years ago. According to the Toba catastrophe theory,^[9] the event may have reduced human populations to only a few tens of thousands of individuals. Yellowstone Caldera is another such supervolcano, having undergone 142 or more caldera-forming eruptions in the past 17 million years.^[10] Massive volcano eruption(s) will produce extraordinary intake of volcanic dust, toxic and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere with serious effects on global climate (towards extreme global cooling (nuclear winter when in short term and ice age when in long term) or global warming (if greenhouse gases prevail)).

·         An exceptionally devastating hypercane^[11] probably combined with global dust storm, taking up to the atmosphere enormous quantities of dust.

·         A global pandemic (assuming that the causing agent of the pandemic would have a natural origin) with very high or even 100% mortality rate.^[12] ………..

·         A global pandemic with very high or even 100% mortality rate caused by a human-made infectious agent, which could be released among population on purpose. The source could be an individual, a laboratory workers group, a terrorist group, governmental or international organization.

·         A nuclear, chemical, or biological war. A "softer" and "stealthier" case of each of these three types of warfare could be nuclear, chemical, or biological terrorism. Again the source could be an individual, a laboratory workers group, a terrorist group, religious zealots, governmental or international organization.

·         A grey goo scenario, in which self-replicating machines (often imagined to be nanomachines) get out of control and indiscriminately consume all kinds of matter in the process of building more replicas of themselves, eventually making earth inhospitable for biological life altogether.  

A note of caution - none of the above will impress the boss as a good reason for not turning up to work this week.
I wouldn't try to convert your local priest, pastor or rebbe either as that might see them leading you into A&E for a quick scan of the ol' brain box.

Another Australian mining company fails to understand what community consultation really means - with tragic consequences* *WARNING: Graphic Images

It is not only Australian-registered corporations like Andrew Twiggy Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group or Chinese-owned Anchor Resources which make a mockery of the concept of community consultation.

Recently another mining corporation (described last year as Australia's 60th largest gold company by market capitalisation) went a step further in Indonesia......

This is what a publicly listed mining exploration company, Arc Exploration, formerly Austindo Resources Corporation N.L., told the Australian Stock Exchange on 4 October 2011 concerning the proposed open pit gold mine at Bima and its current plans to conduct further exploratory test drilling in the 250sq.km mining tenement project it 95% owns and manages:

Snapshot of excerpt from Quarterly Activities Report - September 2011 Quarter

Again on 29 November 2011:

Snapshot of opening paragraphs in Exploration Recommences at Bima

Not quite one month later on 24 December 2011 JATAM - the Mining Advocacy Network reported:

Residents reported to The National Human Rights Commission, which then conducted an investigation on April 2011. On November 2011, The National Human Rights Commission issued a recommendation No. 2.784/K/PMT/XI/2011 for The Regent of Bima, The West Nusa Tenggara Chief of Police, and The Director of PT. SMN. The National Human Rights Commission recommended The Regent of Bima to improve the information system and publicize mining activities; started from exploration to exploitation, and also to suspend the activities of PT. SMN while waiting for the conduciveness of society’s social life. The West Nusa Tenggara Chief of Police was asked to take coordinative and communicative steps with all elements of government and community leaders to prevent horizontal conflicts in Bima. The National Human Rights Commission urged the warranty for residents’ freedom of speech or aspiration (demonstration) in accordance with statutory provisions, and to avoid repressive measures by using weapons with live ammunition in securing rallies.

On 26 December 2011 ABC News reported in the article Indonesian police fire on gold mine protesters:

Video has emerged showing Indonesian police firing on protesters who were demonstrating against a planned Australian-owned gold mine.

Two people were killed and 10 others injured in the incident in the town of Bima on the island of Sumbawa, east of Bali.

The confrontation occurred on Saturday when nearly 1,000 villagers refused to end a week-long blockade of a local port.

Police were ordered to fire directly into the crowd.

Later they can be seen dragging and beating one of the injured protesters.

The group was trying to block the construction of a gold mine, owned by Indonesia's PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara and Australian company Arc Exploration….

Arc Exploration's Board of Directors; investment consultant and former banker Bruce James Watson (Non Exec. Chairman), UK & Indonesia-based mining geologist John Charles Carlile (Managing Director), Indonesian Rich List nominee and businessman George Santosa Tahija (Non Exec. Director), lawyer and mining industry advisor Robert Moyse Willcocks (Non Exec. Director), Indonesian businessman Cahyono Halim (CFO), lawyer Andrew John Cooke (Comp. Secretary) and its Top Twenty Shareholders, might like to explain the company’s extensive consultation process (in partnership with PT. Sumber Mineral Nusantara [SMN] which according to de.indymedia.org has as its Managing Director John Carlile and as its Company Secretary Andrew Cooke).

This extensive consultation resulted in a thousand-strong demonstration and at least three dead at the hands of the civil authority including Arief Rachman, 18, and Syaiful,17 (both allegedly pictured below).

Indonesian police are not admitting to these shootings, however investigations are ongoing.

According to The Australian on 28 December 2011; Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights is investigating the clash on Christmas Eve at the site of the Arc Exploration project at Bima near the port city of Sape.

The Jakarta Globe had previously noted the connection between another mining company associated with an Arc Exploration director and an alleged $14 million annual payment to Indonesian police for what might be assumed by a reasonable person as being some form of extraordinary 'protection'. In February last year the company involved denied there was any graft involved in these payments.

By 28 December 2011 the Chairman of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission was characterising Arc Exploration's assurances regarding local community support as ill-founded and, raising the possibility that Arc Exploration had paid local police to act as corporate enforcers.

At the same time Australian Greens Senator Chrisitne Milne was saying; Arc employed John Carlile as managing director because of his experience with Newcrest Mining operating in Indonesia.....Newcrest admitted in 2004 it had paid Indonesian security forces to manage its site in Indonesia. Newcrest was registered as an Australian corporation in 1980.
This business relationship with paramilitary police appears to have existed in 2003 and possibly earlier. Various online sources mention payments of $35,000 U.S. dollars a year to a 65-man strong contingent of the Mobile Brigade.
Using  Brimob police against protesters with lethal force was endorsed and possibly encouraged by then Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and the Howard Government according to various media reports at the time.

On 28 December 2011 Arc Exploration gave a brief statement to the Australian Stock Exchange concerning the recent violent events at Bima. However, like the past and present business interests of its board, this does not necessarily create confidence under closer scrutiny.

Snapshot of Further Anti-Mining Demonstrations at Bima

A further short clarification was issued later on the same day.

One has to wonder why anyone would invest in this mining company.

It will come as no surprise to concerned residents and community groups on the NSW North Coast - opposing the proposed antimony mine in the Clarence River catchment area - to find that Anchor Resources Managing Director, Ian Price, was listed in 2003 by Austock Research as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Arc Exploration when it traded as Austindo Resources Corporation N.L. He apparently held this position from 18 November 2002   to 31 July 2006, serving alongside Messrs. Watson, Tahija and Carlile and Cooke.

Nor will communities in Northern NSW battling the high-handed methods of the coal seam gas industry be astonished to learn that until 7 June 2011 Bruce Watson and Robert Willcocks were respectively Non-executive Director and Non-executive Chairman of Orion Petroleum Pty Ltd which currently holds an interest along with Santos-owned Eastern Star Gas in exploration licenses in the Goondiwindi, Kurrabooma, &  Maules Creek areas and, in its own right in the Whalan Creek, Willaroo, Moree and Gwydir districts.

That the Australian mining industry contains complex business relationships is obvious; that this country may be used as a corporate flag of convenience so that foreign nationals can take advantage of tax law favourable to their overseas mining interests is suspected; that certain superannuation schemes may be growing on the back of corporate bullying of small farming communities is a distinct possibility; nevertheless the idea that mining business culture has become so debased as to ignore human rights and civilised behaviour comes as something of a shock.

With communities in rural and regional New South Wales under so much pressure from mining interests and their political supporters, it may be wise to remember the absence of ethics which appears to be festering within both multinational and national corporations these days.

Photographs from no2mininginpalawan.com
Video from YouTube

UPDATE

The Jakarta Post report on 1 January 2012:

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said on Friday he had requested West Nusa Tenggara administration to scrap the mining permit of PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara (SMN) after two people died last week during an anti-mining protest. Jero said the province’s governor would order Bima regent, Ferry Zulkarnain, to revoke the permit, which was first issued in 2008 to explore gold in the regency......

Herald-Sun on 28 January 2012:

INDONESIA on Saturday revoked a gold mining exploration permit granted to an Australian miner after a series of violent protests against the project left two people dead last month, reports said.
The decision came after thousands of people on Thursday demonstrated in the city of Bima on Sumbawa Island, east of Bali, with government buildings set ablaze.
''We decided to revoke permanently the permit for the sake of security stability here,'' Bima district head Ferry Zulkarnain told local television station MetroTV.....

New peril ahead for Gillard and Abbott in 2012?

A bloke called Chris McCracken from Parkes in New South Wales has registered JULIAR.ORG until 25^th February 2012, but mightn’t renew his right to this domain name since he hasn’t posted a thing on the home webpage after what seems to have been his Day One on 3^rd March last year and it looks pretty well unsellable.

Do a Google search and you still bring up over a quarter of a million mentions of the term juLIAR a rather juvenile attempt to insult the Aussie Prime Minister. Of course that number’s complicated by the fact that Juliar is a legitimate surname for quite a few people with an internet presence.

But if Julia Gillard thought 2012 might begin to see that pejorative term quietly disappear she may have to think again, because once the .xxx adult content domains went on sale in December 2011 the existence of an as yet unregistered Juliar.xxx  came to light.
As well as the fact that JuliaGillard.xxx has been purchased by an unknown individual.

Then again, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott may have snapped up .com and .com.au, but tonyabbott.xxx is still for sale. So the bottom feeders can really go for it and we may see both senior pollies become reluctant p0rn 'hosts' before Federal Parliament begins the new year.

Happy New Year 2012 from North Coast Voices

To all our friends and readers

including those who stumbled upon

North Coast Voices

for the first time in 2011

Graphic from Google Images

*****Happy Festive Season To All In 2011*****

North Coast Voices

wishes everyone

a happy festive season

Keep safe and well during the holidays

We will be back from our annual break

on 1 January 2012

Is the Japanese whaling fleet overfishing the Antarctic?

From IWC Report of the Scientific Committee 2011

On July 25, 2007 a The Sydney Morning Herald article stated :

Japan's whaling research body, the Institute of Cetacean Research, today said 91.6 per cent - or 262 of the 286 mature female minkes taken during the last hunt - were pregnant.

In June 2011 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) REPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 2011 addressed the issue of declining Minke Whale stocks in the Antarctic:

WHALE STOCKS……..

Two different methods for estimating Antarctic minke whale abundance from these data have been developed in recent years (see below) and although they gave different estimates of abundance, both were consistent in showing an appreciable decline in estimated circumpolar abundance between CPII and CPIII……..

It is clear from Table 5 that while circumpolar Antarctic minke whale abundance estimates have declined during the period from CPII to CPIII, there are substantial differences in relative changes between Areas, with only relatively moderate increases or declines in some Areas, but appreciable declines in others (Table 6). No significant decline is seen in Areas III, IV and VI, whilst estimated abundance is substantially lower in CPIII for Areas I, II and V. Areas II and V encompass the Weddell and Ross Seas

As noted above, large declines in estimates of Antarctic minke whale abundance occurred in Areas I, II and V (there were no statistically significant changes in the other three Areas). The Committee agrees that these declines do indeed reflect genuine changes in abundance in the open-water areas surveyed that need to be explained. Such changes may be due to changes in distribution or reflect a true decline (or some combination of both)……

There are two classes of explanation for possible true declines in abundance. The first, quantitative approach involves the population dynamics statistical catch-at-age analyses (SCAA) from Area III East to VI West, which can potentially account for the changes in overall abundance in terms of variations over time in mortality and recruitment (note that this may explain how but not why changes occurred). The second, less quantitative approach involves attempts to identify mechanisms whereby mortality and recruitment may have changed (e.g. ecosystem effects, interspecies competition, climate changes, etc.).

It may be time to reflect on the fact that one of the management areas identified in the IWC report as experiencing an agreed marked decline in minke whale numbers is also one of those areas in which Japan’s whale fleet has actively hunted these whales, for at least twelve austral summer seasons during its approximately twenty-three year history of Antarctic commercial whaling conducted under the guise of scientific research.

During that time Japanese research documents show that the fleet has consistently taken both lactating and pregnant minke females.

From Polar Biology, Vol 31, Number 12

Click on image to enlarge

The Government of Japan’s whaling fleet is heading towards its Southern Ocean killing grounds as I write.

During the 2011/12 season the inappropriately named Institute of Cetacean Research will sponsor so-called ‘lethal research’ on as many as 930 minke whales and possibly a handful of fin whales and even humpbacks according to Japan Times Online on 11 December 2011. The IWC's own documents clearly indicate that the whaling fleet again intends to operate in one of the management areas showing significant minke whale decline.

It's Christmas Eve and for a little while longer the world is a wonderful place

 

Let's try to keep in that way....

http://youtu.be/B8WHKRzkCOY

A recap of the Hon. Anthony John Abbott's year that was....

No no  no NO! no never no nay No nooooo  won’t no NO-NO-NO no not no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no nada no no no no no no no no no no no no Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! no no no no no no no-go no no no no no no no no no no no no no nei no no no no no no no non no no no no no no  no no no no no nein no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no No no no no no-no no no no no not no no no no no nyet no no no no no no no no no neva eva eva eva eva eva NO.......................................................... quoth Tony

"Tony Abbott’s approval rating has fallen again over the last month. 32% (down 4%) approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 53% (up 1%) disapprove – a change in net rating from -16 to -21 over the last 4 weeks. This is the lowest rating recorded for Tony Abbott since he became opposition leader.
65% (down 8%) of Coalition voters approve and 22% (up 3%) disapprove.
By gender – men 36% approve/52% disapprove, women 29% approve/55% disapprove."
{Essential Research survey on 12th December 2011}

Why all the fuss about an eBay scam? Ask Australia's DoD what a real scam looks like

Is that a gun in your pocket?

The Sydney Morning Herald of 20 December 2011 made me quietly smile when Asher Moses breathlessly told readers that it was an Unhappy Christmas: $1120 for an empty box through eBay with Australian eBay customers lured by ultra-bargain priced TV sets and other electronics have shelled out thousands of dollars only to receive empty boxes in the mail.

Asher may be too young to remember that during the Viet Nam War Australian Defence Force personnel (were confidently rumoured at the time) to have opened carefully packaged boxes, which were supposed to contain an advanced weaponry component - only to find that each and every box merely contained a photocopied schematic of the very expensive item.

The Commonwealth Dept. of Defence, as procurer of these mythical components, was so embarrassed that its gullibility was hidden by creative internal accounting and never saw the light of day.

Now that was a $$$$$$$ scam!

One of the other perils of rock fishing - FEAR

A gaping Wobby at Julian Rocks, NSW

Many a keen fisherman will sympathise with The Daily Examiner’s editor over this salty experience he shared with the world last Tuesday:

“FISHING is supposed to be a relaxing activity, one where you can forget about the stresses of life, simply absorb the surroundings and be taken to another place.

It normally is for me, but not so on Sunday.

A friend and I headed to Woody Head to do a spot of bream fishing off the rocks. With not much happening on the fishing front, I decided to try another spot, but in the process managed to slip and put a small cut on the back of my leg on some oysters. There was a steady trickle of blood for the rest of the morning as the salty water stopped the wound from drying out.

As the tide rose we moved again, this time well away from the surf zone but where there was a collection of serious rocks and hazards. I lost a good deal of bait as I made my way out. I placed myself on a rock that had about half a square metre of surface above the water line and cast out. Small waves gently rose above the rock and up my calf muscles, keeping the wound wet and a drop or two of blood entering the water.

After about five minutes on the rock I looked down to see a wobbegong shark more than a metre long swimming beneath my feet, within a minute there was another, then another, then another.

I'm not sure I saw them all, but there were at least four, probably five, sharks milling around my feet.

They were so keen on what I was doing, they kept putting their heads onto the rock from which I was fishing.

This was disturbing.

I thought that in time they would pass. They didn't.

My only passage back to the mainland was by wading through the rock-filled water that was sometimes chest deep.

It wasn't a pleasant thought.

I know they are protected, but I stomped on the heads of a couple as they came onto the rocks and hit another couple with the butt of my rod. They would swim away for a few metres, then return.

I eventually decided to try to scare as many away as possible and take my chances through the rocks. I did and grabbed a few more bumps and grazes on the rocks on the way back, but thankfully the sharks left me alone.

I've seen what they can do to people when they latch onto someone.

My daughter told me last week one of the things on her bucket list was to swim with sharks. I'm going to cross that one off mine.”

'Steve' Gulaptis MP, fifth columnist?

Surfing the web I came across this little pearl from the mouth of the then Maclean Shire Mayor, now the NSW North Coast’s very own MP for Page, ‘Steve’ Gulaptis – which leads me to wonder if he joined the O’Farrell Coalition Government just so that he could help eradicate it?

ABC North Coast Radio live interview on 11th May 2002

Coal seam gas miners won't be putting any presents under the Chrissie tree

Royalties paid by coal seam gas miners in NSW are next to nothing so, as Janet Cavanaugh writes in today's Daily Examiner, don't hold your breath waiting for funds from those sources to amount to anything worth talking about.

Don't expect it any time soon
For those expecting Metgasco's royalties to fund the Pacific Highway upgrade, the second Grafton bridge or a 24-hour police station in Casino (DEX, December 17 "CSG could co-exist: Metgasco") - don't expect it any time soon.
The NSW Government's assistance to encourage the industry includes a five-year holiday on paying royalties for each and every well, and then discounted royalties for a further five years. In contrast, coal seam gas royalties in Queensland are a flat 10% each year.
Peak production of wells often occurs in the first few years of a well's life, with production dropping off significantly after that. In 2010, the total paid to the NSW Government in coal seam gas royalties was only $462,000.
Does Metgasco seriously think this can fund anything more than a fraction of the bureaucracy which is meant to regulate the industry?
Janet Cavanaugh, Whiporie

Source: Letters, The Daily Examiner, 22/12/11

Don't laugh, this is a true story

A 10-years-old sheep on a farm on the Isle of Wight has been fitted with false teeth. The plastic teeth were fitted last week and in seven days the sheep put on 20lb.

That gem appeared in today's Daily Examiner but it wasn't a recent news item. It happened 50 years ago. Regular Examiner readers appreciate the work of Chris Nield who compiles "Backward Glances: Extracts from The Daily Examiner 50 years ago today".

In other 'old' news reported in the Examiner today:

* Sir Earle Christmas Page, former Australian Prime Minister died in Sydney to-day. Lady Page and close relatives were at his bedside constantly as he fought for his life. [Well, truth be known, Sir Earle died on 20 December.]

Footnote: The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that Sir Earle's first wife, Ethel, predeceased him. Ethel died in 1958 and on 20 July 1959 Sir Earle married his secretary Jean Thomas at St Paul's Cathedral. Sir Earle fought his last election in December 1961. Suffering from cancer, he hardly appeared in the electorate and died in Sydney on 20 December, not knowing that he had lost his seat after forty-two year.

Before you get too comfortable.......

From Monash University’s Indigenous Human Rights and History Vol 1(1) [Occasional Papers Series Editors: Lynette Russell, Melissa Castan] comes Genocide in Australia: By Accident or Design? by Colin Tatz – giving us all something to think about as 2011 ends:

There was no pendulum before the 1970s. That there was no desire, let alone a need, to look was partly because Australians regard themselves as quintessential democrats and decent colonists, ‘genuinely benevolent’ as Hancock would say, convinced that Australian-ness [by birth or even by naturalisation] is a natural immunity to bad or homicidal, let alone genocidal, behaviour. When Australia reluctantly ratified the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (hereafter, Genocide Convention or GC)3 in June 1949, a bipartisan parliament was aghast that Australia should be associated with a Genocide Convention Bill. Liberal MP Archie Cameron declared that ‘no one in his right senses believes that the Commonwealth of Australia will be called before the bar of public opinion, if there is such a thing, and asked to answer for any of the things which are enumerated in this convention.’ Labor MP Leslie Haylen was adamant that ‘the horrible crime of genocide is unthinkable in Australia … that we detest all forms of genocide and desire to remove them arises from the fact that we are a moral people. The fact that we have a clean record allows us to take such an attitude...’ (Hansard 1949: 1871–6).

Their indignation and belief in an unblemished record notwithstanding, Australia’s behaviour is now before the bar of public opinion and inevitably on the international conference table; it is increasingly illustrated in museums and film documentaries; it is taught in a small but growing number of university courses and in most high school syllabuses; and published in newspapers, books, annotated bibliographies, genocide studies journals and websites abroad and at home. The Australian case now appears in anthologies like Century of Genocide: Eyewitness Accounts and Critical Views.4 Genocide in Australia is now thinkable and thought about — here and abroad.

That the Aboriginal experience doesn’t look like, sound like or feel like Auschwitz is a quite proper conclusion — but genocide is not restricted to that heinous chapter of the twentieth century. Despite the many differences between the Australian and other cases, the evidence on the destruction of Aboriginal societies is strong enough to fall clearly within the scope of the crime defined in international law……..

Jaysus Wept! Are we never to have a break from the Nomadic Noman?

Apparently Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott cannot stand the thought of ordinary Aussies having a Tony-free media over the Christmas break.
Read this and weep:
"Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is still in the office. He will stop for Christmas Day in Sydney with his family, but keep working in the week leading up to New Year's Eve."
What on earth is he going to tour, open or opine over for heaven's sake - some poor sod's assessment of presents given or received?
The man's clearly unbalanced, if the only time he'll give his family is one lousy day of the most important holidays of the year just so that he can keep his bluidy name in print.

North Coast Nats trying to create a false impression they had a hand in getting federal funding?

If one undertook a vox pop on the streets of Coffs Harbour next week it would be likely that Luke Hartsuyker’s name rather than Rob Oakeshott’s name would be associated with $35 million in Gillard Government funding, after this North Coast Nationals shameless attempt to hijack the announcement.

Excerpt from Independent MP for Lyne Rob Oakeshott media release on 19 December 2011:

FOR the second time in a month, Independent Lyne MP Robert Oakeshott has announced a multi-million windfall for education on the Mid-North Coast.
The Commonwealth will invest $20 million in a health and medical education campus in Port Macquarie – the first of its kind in regional Australia.
Just two weeks ago, the MP announced $15 million towards a Port Macquarie campus for Charles Sturt University.
Today’s announcement involves a multi-partner medical education campus involving the University of New South Wales, the University of Newcastle and the North Coast Institute of TAFE.
“This has been a fantastic fortnight for higher education on the Mid-North Coast, with a record investment of $35 million in tertiary education infrastructure involving three leading universities and the North Coast Institute of TAFE,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“Even more significant than the dollars, is that this campus will be the first regional medical school in Australia where students can complete the entire six-year course, a remarkable outcome for our local students and the university and clinical specialists involved.
“I am absolutely serious about reversing the brain-drain from the Mid-North Coast, and making our region an education hub for the nation,” Mr Oakeshott said.
“The University of NSW will deliver a full six-year medical degree in Port Macquarie from 2014, which is a first for regional Australia, and an important game-changer in the way medical degrees are delivered nationally.

How The Coffs Coast Advocate reported these facts in an online article with photograph which was primarily National Party ‘spin’ on 20 December 2011:

LOCAL Federal member Luke Hartsuyker has welcomed the announcement that his parliamentary colleague Rob Oakeshott has helped to secure $20 million in funding to go toward a multi-partner medical campus in Port Macquarie.

Mr Hartsuyker said that the boost for Port Macquarie's economy should be seen as a pat on the back for all regional town centres not just the Hastings area.

"Everyone welcomes more medical facilities and more medical training in regional areas," Mr Hartsuyker said.

In the past fortnight Mr Oakeshott has announced $33 million in federal money going towards his constituents in the seat of Lyne after recently announcing $13 million that the independant MP helped to get granted to Charles Sturt University to help pay for a Regional University Centre at Port Macquarie.

The local member said that money had already been allocated to the Coffs Coast region when it became a trailblazer in rural medical training.

Overall Australians are going into the 2011 festive season still confident that the economy and home finances are faring well

From the last Essential Report for 2011:

Click on graphs to enlarge

Overall, respondents were optimistic that 2012 would be a good year for themselves overall (52%) and their workplace (45%). They tended to be less optimistic about their financial situation (33% good/27% bad) and somewhat pessimistic about the Australian economy (29%/35%).
Compared to expectations 12 months ago, respondents were much less optimistic about the Australian economy (48% good last year compared to 29% good this year) and also rather less optimistic about their own financial situation (39%/20% last year compared to 33%/27% this year).
When compared with last week’s questions on perceptions of 2011, these figures suggest that respondents expect 2012 to be better than 2011 for themselves and their family (net +36% for next year compared to net +24% for this year), a little better for their workplace (+25% next year, +20% last year) and their own financial situation (+6% next year, -2% this year). The Australian economy is expected to be a little worse in 2012 (-6% next year compared to +2% last year).

UPDATE:

Moody’s Investor Service Global Credit Research - 21 Dec 2011

New York, December 21, 2011 -- Moody's maintains the following ratings on Australia, Government of:

Long Term Issuer (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of Aaa

Senior Unsecured (domestic and foreign currency) ratings of Aaa

Senior Unsecured Shelf (foreign currency) rating of (P)Aaa

RATINGS RATIONALE

Australia's Aaa ratings are based on the country's very high economic resiliency, very high government financial strength, and very low susceptibility to event risk. Economic resiliency is demonstrated by the country's very high per capita income, large size, and economic diversity. As one of the world's most advanced economies, the country has not only a significant natural resource sector--including minerals,hydrocarbons, and agriculture--but also well developed manufacturing and service sectors. It also demonstrates strong governance indicators. In particular, the framework for fiscal policy is transparent and has, until now, consistently kept government debt at low levels.

The government's debt rating of Aaa takes into account the aim of maintaining a balanced budget, on average, over the business cycle. It is supported by the very low level of public debt and the country's strong financial system. In comparison to most other Aaa-rated countries, Australia's government financial strength is very high, with very low gross debt that is easily affordable and provides a high degree of fiscal flexibility...... [my bolding]

Hatip to Latika Bourke for tweeting this information.

I'm shocked, Aunty ABC!

Yes, I’m well and truly shocked Aunty. Two of your radio interviewers have been found guilty of blatant bias a lack of impartiality.

What so flabbergasts me is that it doesn’t happen more often given the number of closet wing-nuts and bat-crazy evangelists that appear to be lurking in those darker regional corners of your media empire.

Kyogle Council directs CSG miners to far queue

Kyogle Council has followed Lismore Council and imposed a ban on any seismic testing, exploration drilling or other road reserve disturbance by the CSG Industry on Council owned infrastructure or infrastructure under Kyogle Council control.

Council's meeting on Monday night further resolved to inform the CSG industry and the NSW State Government that the moratorium will remain in place until its previous recommendations have been satisfactorily addressed.

On 18 April 2011 Council resolved:

That Council write to the State government to call for a moratorium on CSG drilling until such times as the impact of CSG on water supplies, the environment and personal property and amenity is understood through independent research, funded by government, is carried out.

On 12 September 2011 Council resolved:

That Council addresses the Parliamentary Inquiry taking the positions outlined below:
1. That Council re-confirms its request to the State Government for a moratorium on CSG drilling (not just the issue of licences) until such time as the impact of CSG on water supplies, the environment and personal property and amenity is understood through independent research, funded by government, is carried out.
2. That Council advises the Parliamentary Inquiry that it supports the many genuine concerns of a large proportion of its community with regards to the Coal Seam gas Industry and the proposed pipeline along the Lions Road and their potential impacts on our Council area. In particular we note the potential for adverse impact on the headwaters of the Richmond River from which a majority of our community depends upon for human use, irrigation and stock use.
3. That Council advises the Parliamentary Inquiry that the Coal Seam Gas Industry should be subject to the same process as any other development; that is via a comprehensive EIS which addresses all the issues, provides for Community input and places the onus on the industry to provide scientific proof of the safety aspects. Not the reverse as recently suggested by the Minister.
4. That Council provides a further written submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry which outlines in more detail the community concerns as expressed in resolution no. 2.

That Council write to Tony Windsor MP expressing concerns with Coal Seam Gas explorations, and advise that Council supports him in presenting his private members bill to the Federal Parliament.

On 28 November 2011 Council resolved:

That Council approaches NSW State Government in relation to the Environmental Impact Statement from Metgasco on the proposed pipeline over the Lions Road, seeking assurance that Council will be involved in the process and be allowed to have input.

Christmas brings out those water raiding crazies

Crazy can be the only way to describe those misguided individuals who, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, still maintain that damming and diverting the Clarence River will save the Murray Darling Basin from continued unsustainable water extraction, environmental degradation and, subsequent commercial agricultural decline.

Here is the latest person to raise the subject, the former West Australia Water Minister and self-proclaimed founder of the Watering Australia Foundation (WAF), Ernie Bridge who apparently wants to take all the major East Coast rivers and turn them inland.

Here is Ernie in 2004 speaking on the subject with George Negus.

Here is Ernie in December 2011 speaking with Farm Weekly:

"The Clarence River in northern NSW has more than enough water to spare for the job (to flush the Murray).

Water from the Clarence could be diverted into the Darling River and then it would flow into the Murray”

The Grim Reaper's preferred walking speed while on the job is 3 km per hour. So walk faster this Christmas if you want to see New Year!

Aussie researchers with a typically morbid sense of humour produced this just in time for The British Medical Journal’s Christmas 2011 issue:“How fast does the Grim Reaper walk? Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis in healthy men aged 70 and over.”

Introduction
“The Grim Reaper, the personification of death, is a well known mythological and literary figure. Reported characteristics include a black cloak with cowl, a scythe, and cachexia. High quality scientific research linking the Grim Reaper to mortality has been scarce, despite extensive anecdotes
Walking speed is a commonly used objective measure of physical capability in older people, predicting survival in several cohort studies. A recent meta-analysis found that being in the lowest fourth of walking speed compared with the highest was associated with a threefold increased risk of mortality. Moreover, the association between slow walking speed and mortality seems consistent across several ethnic groups and shows a dose-response relation. Although the association between walking speed and mortality has been well documented, the plausible biological relation between the two remains unclear.
We assessed whether the relation between slow walking speed and mortality results from the increased likelihood of being caught by Death. By assessing this relation using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, we hypothesised we would be able to determine the walking speed of the Grim Reaper—information of importance to public health.”

Discussion
“Based on receiver operating characteristics analysis and estimation of the Youden index, a walking speed of 0.82 m/s (2 miles (about 3 km) per hour) was most predictive of mortality. Therefore, we predict that this is the likely speed at which the Grim Reaper prefers to ambulate under working conditions. Older men who walked at speeds greater than 0.82 m/s were 1.23 times less likely to encounter Death. In addition, no men walking at speeds of 1.36 m/s (3 miles (about 5 km) per hour) or above were caught by Death (n=22, 1.4%). This supports our hypothesis that faster speeds are protective against mortality because fast walkers can maintain a safe distance from the Grim Reaper. Interestingly, the predicted walking speed of Death estimated in the present study is virtually identical to the gait speed (0.80 m/s) associated with median life expectancy at most ages and for both sexes in a recent meta-analysis of gait speed and mortality using data from diverse populations. This indicates that the preferred walking speed of the Grim Reaper while collecting souls is relatively constant irrespective of people’s geographical location, sex, or ethnic background.”

Conclusion
“The Grim Reaper’s preferred walking speed is (2 miles (about 3 km) per hour) 0.82 m/s under working conditions. As none of the men in the study with walking speeds of 1.36 m/s (3 miles (about 5 km) per hour) or greater had contact with Death, this seems to be the Grim Reaper’s most likely maximum speed; for those wishing to avoid their allotted fate, this would be the advised walking speed.”


The bad news oozing out from this study is that the infamous lycra-clad fitness freak, Opposition Leader Tony Look at my Box Abbott, is bound to make it through to polling day in 2013.

Lismore Council blocks CSG testing and calls on other north coast councils to do the same

Today's Northern Star reports:

Lismore City Council has received unprecedented community support for its popular, though legally uncertain, moratorium on coal-seam gas activities on all council-controlled land.

Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell said she had been flooded with emails and phone calls from a wide range of community members who were "one-hundred per cent supportive" of the council's controversial decision.

At its final meeting for 2011 last week, the council rejected initial legal advice and voted six to five to reject a seismic testing application by Metgasco along up to 14 kilometres of council road reserves at Rock Valley, before imposing a full moratorium (nine to two) pending further legal, community and industry consultation.

"It is now up to Metgasco to decide if they want to override council's refusal of this application, and our decision to impose a moratorium on further applications," Cr Dowell said.

"If they choose to go to a higher authority, they do so in the knowledge that not only is council against their activities, but so is the community at large."

Metgasco chief Peter Henderson was fiercely critical of the council arguing it had no authority to block the company and the action threatened to deprive the Northern Rivers of "a significant and environmentally attractive source of gas (and) infrastructure needs".

"In opposing our activities and incurring additional legal costs in challenging its own staff's advice, Lismore Council might wish to question if it is spending rate-payers' money in a responsible manner," he said.

"We aim to be a long-term participant in the Northern Rivers region and would still prefer to have the support of council for our activities. As such, Metgasco is reviewing its position in regard to the proposed seismic activity in Lismore Council areas."

Lismore City Council's decision follows a similar moratorium at Moree Plains Shire Council and preceded another at Gloucester Shire Council last Thursday.

Cr Dowell said the pressure was now on other councils to act, particularly those on the Northern Rivers, in order to send a strong message to Macquarie Street.

Read the full report here.

Source: The Northern Star, 19/12/11