Sunday 12 October 2008
NSW North Coast artist
One October far, far away................
WALL STREET COLLAPSE. FRENZIED TRADING. RECORD FALL IN VALUES. Banks Try to Check Decline. Heavy Loss on Leading Stock. NEW YORK. Oct. 28. The Argus Wednesday 30 October 1929, page 7. News 829 words... Loss on Leading Stock. NEW YORK. Oct. 28. The New York stock market crashed again on Monday under an ... overboard" as the stock market plunged downward, headed by- the earlier leading stock of the United States ... Surprises Officials. The stock market suffered a loss 1,000,000,000 dollars (£200,000,000), the sales... [full text not yet accessible]
Toll of Market Collapse
WASHINGTON, Sunday.
Despite the stock market, crash 581
persons in the United States had in-
comes of more than 1,000,000 dollars
in 1929, according to the Bureau of In-
ternational Revenue.
There was a diminution of seven
from 1928. No less than 38,1150 per-
sons had incomes exceeding 50,000 dol-
lars, aggregating 5,952,000,000 dollars.
The money lost on the stock market
totalled 661,000,000 dollars of which per-
sons with incomes of less than 5,000
dollars showed 43,000,000 dollar losses
in speculative activities, indicating the
intense nature of speculation of all at
the time of the crash.
The Canberra Times Tuesday 17 March 1931, page 1. News 106 words
Saturday 11 October 2008
The True Blue Honour Roll of Academic Freedom
The Sydney Morning Herald published an article yesterday which had the Young Liberals demonstrating the depth of rigorous research that lies behind their finger-pointing before the 2008 Senate Inquiry into Academic Freedom and their listing of a number of 'bad' academics, when national president Noel McCoy pointed out that evidence for alleged teaching bias was basically found by Googling these same academics.
Because of that I was going to call this post; One man's Google or 4633 kilobytes that certain uni students will very likely be ashamed of when they reach retirement.
One hundred and five PDF pages of the most malicious drivel I have read in quite some space of time.
Suddenly it wasn't so amusing anymore. This little witch hunt even named an entire university department in what boils down to charges of thought crimes against white, Anglo-Saxon males.
[Australian Education Union, Curriculum Policy 2007]
Those academics named in the Make Education Fairer submission deserve to be recognised and supported against such nonsense:
Wendy Bacon
Eva Cox
Peter Singer
Catharine Lumby
Sarah Maddison
Carol Johnson
Tom Bramble
Jamie Doughney
Carole Ferrier
Martin Hirst
Damon Riggs
Anna Szorenyi
This week's political blog giggle
Many political scholars have referred to the "baby kiss effect" as the penultimate test of the capabilities of a nominee. If a politician doesn't kill the baby with his partisan lips, the country knows he's capable of taking that 3am call.
Barack Obama, in his majestic campaigning, has kissed many tots, held many youngsters, and charmed many mummies. Photographers snap pictures of these moments, because the images have the power to charm more than just mummies. They have the power to bring joy to the most cold-hearted of politicians, the most unfertile of citizens, and the most cynical of young voters.
Here, on this webspace, I bring you those uterus-rousing portraits, those testis-rejuvenating daguerreotypes, those happiness-inducing tableaus.
Surfin' the Coldstream Festival, Yamba 24-27 October 2008
It features a mix of free street performance and music.
Strong lady, sword swallower, human pinwheel firecracker, acrobats, jugglers, comedian, flamenco dancers, singer and muliple bands.
Tickets to the 7pm Saturday Tent of Marvels Show in the Kitchen to Table BigTop can be purchased from ArtHouse Australia or bookings can be made by phoning (02) 6646.1999.
Friday 10 October 2008
Clarence Valley Council: Williamson's World
Williamson's world
When the Clarence Valley local government election results were published, it was obvious that residents and ratepayers would have a predominately inexperienced set of shire councillors.
Now under Mayor Richie Williamson it is also obvious that this council intends to throw what is left of local government access and equity out the window, in favour of a closed shop for the convenience of the mayor and certain councillors' private working hours.
By changing the time of day at which ordinary monthly meetings start from 9am to 4pm [Clarence Valley Council,telephone advice,03.10.08], Mayor Williamson has locked out electors - who have to rely on bus transport to travel to Maclean or Grafton and return - from staying for the full length of those monthly meetings.
Bus timetables for the Grafton-Maclean-Iluka-Yamba run do not allow for any weekday travel after 5.26pm and 5.32pm to 6.07 pm from Grafton and Maclean respectively. [Busways timetable].
Allowing time to walk to the nearest bus stop, Lower Clarence residents and ratepayers without private transport will only be able to stay at a Grafton monthly meeting for an hour and at a Maclean monthly meeting for and hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and three-quarters if they are lucky.
Grafton residents and ratepayers without private transport will have to leave the 4p.m. Maclean meetings before the bus back to Grafton at 5.32pm.
Iluka people relying on bus travel just won't have any access to any ordinary monthly meetings, as in practice there will be no timely Maclean transfers available.
With an aging population in many areas of the Clarence Valley and a dwindling pool of friends and neighbours capable of driving long distances as the light is changing or in the dark, many people will not be able to attend monthly meetings when issues that concern them come before council for consideration and vote.
It is my understanding that there was no real debate of this issue, that councillors "just voted".
If this is Mayor Williamson's brave new world, it is a tawdry comparison to that which went before.
JUDITH M. MELVILLE
Yamba
International award for Ballina woman
The International Fund for Animal Welfare Action Award is also dedicated to Ms Bonner's partner, the late Lance Ferris, known as 'the pelican man'.
The presentation will be made to Ms Bonner at the group's headquarters in Ballina.
Erica Martin from the fund says the group has made remarkable inroads into animal protection and raising awareness of environmental issues.
"ASR efforts have been going in Ballina since the early '90s," she said.
"The extraordinary work that they've managed to do in rescuing over 1,500 pelicans, 60 different species of seabirds and hundreds of marine turtles is an extraordinary accumulation of work.
We really felt that it was time that these remarkable people get recognised."
Congratulations to Marny and all at Australian Seabird Rescue.