NSW Local Government Elections 2008: Live result update links on the night

For the first time NSW local government electors will be able to follow the vote count online after polls close at 6pm on Saturday 13 September 2008.

Electoral Commission NSW live update information:

Election results

View election results and result information
View the LGCC Counting schedule

ABC Elections website/Antony Green here

* However, it should be noted that due to the NSW Government's Sydney-centric view of all things rural and regional, counting for some electorates on the Northern Rivers may not show a result before Wednesday or Thursday of next week as Returning Officers are being asked to multitask at an unsustainable level and physical counting of ballots is often occurring away from the electorates involved.

Gloss comes off Democrat presidential candidate Obama - except among single women

Barack Obama might eventually try to pretend arms length from the Democratic Party September 2008 website The Next Cheney, however his Alaska Mythbusters group gives the game away.

Things are really getting down and dirty in the US presidential race as Gallup polling of registered voters place McCain five percentage points ahead of Obama and neither campaign camp is covering itself with glory.

FactCheck.org has been keeping track of the truthfulness or otherwise of some of the claims against the main players in the 2008 campaign:

Sliming Sarah Palin

Fact Checking Obama

Sliming Obama

Maverick Misleads

Hit the Brakes

Bikini-wearing, gun-toting Palin viral photo fake

The Obama for America team has a Fighting the Smears webpage which selectively lists smears for his campaigners to then knock down.

It has an interesting piece of editing posted:

Which sort of begs the question as to whether this team is actually trying to foster some of these wayout theories in order give him underdog status and the sympathy vote.

Because it seems that the only demographic that Obama consistently dominates is single American female registered voters where his personal support runs between 54-60% over the last three months.

Palin graphic found at The Next Cheney

Snakes Alive! In pictures

Photograph displayed at The Northern Rivers Echo

The National Parks and Wildlife Service tells us these brown snakes are wrestling for spring-time mating rights on Tallows Beach near Byron Bay.

With climate change beginning to cause warmer temperatures and lower rainfall, snakes will perhaps become more prevalent in our gardens from now on.

Please remember that all native snakes are protected species and that the brown snake is probably responsible for most of the reported deaths from snake-bite in New South Wales.

If you see a snake leave it well alone.

If you find one in your house, note where it is situated and immediately call WIRES on 6628 1898 or the Northern Rivers Wildlife Carers on 0407 965 092 or alternatively phone the local police to assist with finding someone to remove the snake to a safe area.

How Google Ads see the Clarence Valley

I was having a bit of a browse at The Daily Examiner online when I noticed something strange about Google's targeted site advertising there.

So many of the pages contained ads for fat reduction or flat stomachs and one page contained a single issue overkill:

Search Criminal Records

Instant Criminal records lookup. Criminal records online database.

Criminal.GovtRegistry.com

Online Criminal Records

Search anyone's criminal records. Unlimited Access to GOV. Databases.

Criminal.australian-records.com
Criminal Records
Search anyone's criminal records Online criminal record resources.

Criminal-Records.Gov-Reports.net

With another page plugging an ad combination:
Criminal Background Check
Detailed & Unlimited Criminal Check Never Pay Per Report. Search Now!
Australian-Records.com
1 Rule of a flat stomach:
Cut down 9 lbs of stomach fat every 11 days by obeying this 1 tiny rule
FatLoss4Idiots.com
Background Checks
Instant Australia background checks Online background record resources.
Background-Check.Gov-Reports.net

It looks suspiciously as though Google thinks that the Clarence Valley abounds with obese, low IQ lawbreakers.
Perhaps it's all those screaming headlines DEX editor Chapman now favours.

North Coast Area Health Service problems continue

With the Lower Clarence Valley fighting to stave off sale and rezoning of North Coast Area Health Service land adjoining Maclean District Hospital, word on the street is that the Service's financial problems under CEO Chris Crawford are now intractable.
Apparently its media people are sounding increasingly nervous when fielding queries and, many local residents are beginning to fear that a large-scale downgrading or even elimination of smaller district hospitals may be on the Rees-Della Bosca agenda down in Macquarie Street.
Once again the Northern Rivers may be seen as expendable due to another NSW Dept. of Health budget blow-out.

Quote of the week on Obama v McCain

From Hermene Hartman of The Huffington Post last Tuesday, in her article The Elephant in the Room.

On one of the late night news programs, there was a North Carolina redneck type. He was a Southerncrat and in good ol' boy mode, he analyzed the race. He gave one of the most honest assessments, from his viewpoint, I have heard. The question was would Barack beat McCain. He said: Barack, the intelligent man would beat McCain. He said Barack, the charismatic man would beat McCain. He even said Barack, the man, would beat McCain the war hero. But then he said, Barack the Black man would not beat McCain. He said it just wouldn't happen. He spoke with authority and confidence.

On anthropomorphic change.....

Click image to enlarge

Luke Watson cartoon found at New Matilda