And you thought the GM news was bad before.......

The GMO seed/food industry has been noticeable for the scarcity of testing of the end product.
Now a 2008 study out of Austria, Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice Forschungsberichte, suggests a possibility exists that mice with longterm exposure to GMO feed may experience negative impacts on metabolic parameters and reproduction levels.

The 1st litters in the RACB displayed no differences between the GM and ISOfeeding groups.
Comparing the 2nd litters a very slight tendency towards smaller litter size and accordingly lower average litter weight in the GM group could be observed.
In the 3rd and 4th litters the aforementioned traits became significant(p<0.05).
Apart from a decline of deliveries, in the 3rd and 4th litters significantly fewer pups were born and in the 4th litter also significantly fewer pups were weaned in the GM group.
The average litter weights were in favour of the ISO group with significant results in the 3rd litters at birth and weaning as well as in the 4th litters at birth.
But in contrast to the MGS the loss of pups was higher in the ISO group. These results substantiate the assumption that long term feeding studies with more generations are useful in studying chronic diet related effects. According to our data the RACB design was better suited than the MGS, since the differences between the feeding groups were at significant levels.
The biological phenomenon observed in the RACB trial cannot be explained by different nutrient intakes, because both diets were covering the energy and nutrient requirements and fulfilled the prerequisite of nutritional equivalence.
Lower reproduction performance can be considered as indicator for a dietary effect.
It can be speculated, that this effect was caused by a factor beyond nutrient supply.
Whether this can be related to one of the two genetic modifications in thetransgenic material or whether this is an unintended effect in the strict sense related to the stacked events has to be further evaluated......
The genomic work that was performed in the gut tissue of the mice of both groups is not indicative.
However, the high number of deregulated genes that has been identified as difference between both groups could indicate a complex nutrition-host-interaction.
This has to be further evaluated and gene expression profiles need to be considered in other organs and especially in the reproductive system.
To date, trials have not been performed on that issue in feeding studies with genetically modified corn to our best knowledge.

Which leads to the inevitable bottom line - now that Australian governments are embracing Monsanto and Co's philosophy I won't be purchasing domestic product that contains cotton seed oil, soya, canola and any other ingredient that might be sourced from a genetically modifed crop grown in this country or overseas.

It's a bonza place the Clarence Coast

The NSW North Coast did well in the Keep Australia Beauitiful Clean Beach Challenge regional awards again this year.

Yamba on the Clarence Coast in particular should say a big thankyou to one of its favourite sons, Neil McInnes, for nominating Main Beach.

Yamba's Main Beach was declared the friendliest beach in the region, beating five other beaches to claim the prize at the Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge in Coffs Harbour.

Main Beach pipped two other Valley beaches Wooli and Brooms Head as well as Sawtell south beach, Shelly Beach in Ballina and Jetty Beach in Coffs Harbour. While the title is arguably true in a literal sense, the award was based on user friendliness.

Clean Beach Challenge assessor Brian Birkefeld said there was plenty to like about Yamba's Main Beach.

"The public facilities are well sited and well maintained, as is the signage and walkways. There is ample parking behind the beach, good traffic control and an excellent park above the beach, with free barbecues and children's play equipment," he said......

Meanwhile, residents at Wooli and Brooms Head were also recognised for the work they had done on their beaches.

Wooli Public School students were rewarded for their work, with the Keep Australia Beautiful team awarding the school the Young Legends title.

The award recognised the work the school had done in placing beach protection into the school curriculum and increasing environmental education.

Brooms Head residents and Clarence Valley Council were also commended for their work in improving Brooms Head Beach through a weed replacement scheme.
[The Daily Examiner, 14 November 2008]

A complete list of all NSW winners can be found here.

Pic of Main Beach found at The Daily Examiner

Can't work out what's going on in the financial world?

Here are the terms you need to know ...

CEO --- Chief Embezzlement Officer

CFO -- Corporate Fraud Officer

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no pocket money, the nanny gets the sack, and the skis stay in the cupboard.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-partner and accountant split your assets equally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW -- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use. (It was difficult to find in my Thesaurus ...)

Acknowledgement: It's hats off to my mate Robbo for sourcing this information.

Kevin takes himself too seriously [Part One]

AS Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has taken on a big task.

He may not be Australia's head of state or even the head of state's representative, he may not be the commander-in-chief of the defence forces and his job description may be missing from the Australian Constitution.

Nevertheless his is an important position.

However it is not so important that people on the NSW North Coast stifled their laughter when Kevin Rudd admitted quite proudly that "followers' registering on his newly-created Twitter site crashed it with their activity very late on Wednesday night.

He said the crash meant that he had lost all those 600-odd newcomers, but failed to mention that his site had become a focus for protest over the Rudd-Conroy plan to install the Great Firewall of Australia.

Or didn't his staff inform him of the digital 'no clean feed' revolt that was under way?

North Coast communities baulk at Optus tower proposals

Optus is making rather heavy weather of its plans to erect mobile phone towers across the Clarence Valley.

First they found themselves being seen-off by Iluka residents in a skirmish over there, with the local doctor threatening to close his practice and leave if the tower went ahead.
Currently they have their Iluka development application on hold while they scout for another suitable site.

Then The Daily Examiner reported on Thursday that Junction Hill and Glenreagh communities are up in arms over plans for towers there and are actively lobbying Clarence Valley Council.

Councillor Ian Tiley led Tuesday's push against the applications for the two towers, arguing they were contrary to council's sustainability initiative, the major strategic document guiding council decision-making, and would negatively affect the surrounding area.

Cr Tiley was supported by Crs Pat Comben and Craig Howe on blocking the Glenreagh tower, with Cr Sue Hughes supporting these councillors in recommending the Junction Hill tower be refused.

One would have thought that by now the major telecommunication companies would have realised that they need to take note of community concerns ahead of any application to council.
Instead of hoping that their corporate weight will bend local government at will.

Senator Conroy's *@#**@* dodgy digital Xmas present

The Register reports that the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy will start live trials of the Rudd-Conroy Great Firewall of Australia on Xmas Eve.

Just in time to b*gger the festive season for the blogosphere.

It's so on the nose that iiNet Australia said to The Sydney Morning Herald:

"They're not listening to the experts, they're not listening to the industry, they're not listening to consumers, so perhaps some hard numbers will actually help," he said.

"Every time a kid manages to get through this filter, we'll be publicising it and every time it blocks legitimate content, we'll be publicising it."

Malone concluded: "This is the worst Communications Minister we've had in the 15 years since the [internet] industry has existed."

While the whole world can see Stevo's dismal attempt to defend his censorship trial at YouTube:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OUohfIhFET8

What's that Skip? Ya Mum sez?

If you thought that the Sydney Morning Herald offered serious journalism - think again

Last Saturday I happened to read an article in The Sydney Morning Herald which claimed that global warming wasn't really happening and For most of the past seven years, those temperatures have actually been on a plateau. For the past year, there's been a sharp cooling. These are facts, not opinion: the major sources of these figures, such as the Hadley Centre in Britain, agree on what has happened, and you can check for yourself by going to their websites. Sure, interpretations of the significance of this halt in global warming vary greatly, but the facts are clear.

Well, the facts may be clear to Michael Duffy of the Herald; but his interpretation is not supported by the U.K. Met Office Hadley Centre he cites as supporting his position and, this research body clearly states on its website:

Climate change goes on
There is clear evidence that global temperatures are rising despite counter claims from climate sceptics.

The Centre goes on to observe:

The evidence is clear – the long-term trend is that global temperatures are rising, and humans are largely responsible for this rise. Global warming does not mean that each year will be warmer than the last. Natural phenomena will mean that some years will be much warmer and others cooler.

You only need to look at 1998 to see a record-breaking warm year caused by a very strong El Niño. In the last couple of years, the underlying warming is partially masked caused by a strongLa Niña. Despite this, 11 of the last13 years were the warmest ever recorded.

Average global temperatures are now some 0.75 °C warmer than they were 100 years ago. Since the mid-1970s, the increase in temperature has averaged more than 0.15 °C per decade.

This rate of change is very unusual in the context of past changes and much more rapid than the warming at the end of the last ice age.

Sea-surface temperatures have warmed slightly less than the global average while temperatures over land have warmed at a faster rate of almost 0.3 °C per decade.

and

Anyone who thinks global warming has stopped has their head in the sand.

So exactly why did The Sydney Morning Herald decide to devote inches to Michael Duffy's reworked nonsense and hold itself up to ridicule? I'm still wondering.