Did you hear the one about the chamber of commerce?

Something you don't hear all that often.

A certain Clarence Valley chamber of commerce has got itself in such a fix that it has apparently allowed its incorporation to lapse, doesn't remember exactly how many financial members it has and, is in the rather strange position of being financially viable but otherwise up the creek without a paddle when it comes to effectively representing local business in the town.

Australia Day 2008 celebrations on the NSW North Coast

"Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future." http://www.australiaday.com.au/

In the Clarence Valley:

Whoever you are, wherever you live, you are invited to CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA DAY IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD by hosting a BBQ in your backyard, street, cul de sac or park and Council will pick up the bill.

This Australia Day, we are taking the party to your door - you just need to stick your hand up with a "I'll have one of those mate".

I'm in - how do I get the snags?

To apply for a BBQ package, call Council's Events Coordinator on 6645 0229, email edu@clarence.nsw.gov.au or download an application form from clarence.nsw.gov.au before 7 January 2009. BE QUICK, limited number of packages available. Individuals, households and community groups based in the Clarence Valley are all welcome to apply.

So have some fun in the sun with your neighbourhood on Australia Day, while the snags sizzle, the hamburgers fry and the backyard cricket shouts howzat!..........

A casual yet sophisticated and joyous celebration, honouring all the 45 amazing nominees for the Australia Day Awards.
Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Grafton Community Centre and celebrate with our worthy citizens and their family and friends between 12 noon and 3pm on Monday 26 Janaury 2008 at the Grafton Community Centre, Duke Street, Grafton.

At Ballina:

It's a double celebration…. Australia Day and the Ballina Bowling Club Centenary Celebrations!
Join us on Monday 26 January in Hampton Park (Moon & Bentinck Sts) between 9am and 5pm and help us celebrate all things Oz.
The day kick starts at 9am with a special breakfast... so get here early! At 10am the official award and citizenship ceremonies will get underway.
After the official ceremony, grab the kids and don't miss the fun of the jumping castle, merry-go-around and ferris wheel. If they love animals and reptiles then head over to Old McDonald's Farm and Reptile Park and delight in their squeals of delight as they get to know the animals and reptiles a little better.
Relax and sit back and tap your toes to the live entertainment from Fossil Rock and enjoy aboriginal dancers, rock 'n' roll dancers and individual buskers and performers vying for your attention.
A number of food vans including the Lions Club BBQ and a licensed drink tent will be available on the day to satisfy your Aussie thirst and hunger pains.

At Tweed Heads:

Held at Uki Sports Club House, Kyogle Road, Uki this Australia Day Celebrations begins at 10.30am with Musical Entertainment by Ian Holston & Ayesha Gough followed by an Official Program with speeches by the Australia Day Ambassador and Federal and State Members, and the presentation of the Australia Day Awards.
Councillor Joan van lieshout, Mayor of Tweed will then conduct the Citizenship Ceremony. Finishing around 12.30pm with the singing of the National Anthem and a light lunch.

In the Richmond Valley:

A community celebrations with attractions to surprise any age.
Enjoy good food, music, markets and activities for the whole family between 10am and 3pm on Monday 26 January.
Staged in and around the New Italy Museum on the Pacific Highway just south of Woodburn.

At Coffs Harbour:

The official Coffs Harbour celebrations this Australia Day started with a Flag-raising Ceremony at the cenotaph in Vernon Street at 8.30am, followed by a Citizenship Ceremony inside the Coffs Ex-Services Club, after which the 2008 Australia Day Awards were presented to the winners by Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Keith Rhoades.
At the Citizenship Ceremony, 59 residents of Coffs Harbour coming from 18 different countries became Australian citizens by pledging allegiance to Australia. Each was presented with their certificate of Australian citizenship and a gift. Read more about citizenship ceremonies here.

Obama and Biden promise but others deliver

Obama and Biden are promising that they "will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty and hunger around the world in half by 2015, and they will double our foreign assistance to achieve that goal. This will help the world's weakest states build healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth."
So what will that mean?
An increase in foreign aid as a percentage of US Gross National Product from around 22% of one per cent to 44% of one per cent?
With most of it targeted to flow into Iraq or Afghanistan and out again in the pockets of American corporations?
Well whoopee.......the US might just retain its position as second last within DAC for this statistic.

Think we Aussies with a population of only about 21 million do a bit better than that in percentage terms.
According to the OECD:
"Australia has made substantial, positive changes to its aid programme since 2004, reinforcing its focus on reducing poverty, on promoting the MDGs, and completely untying its aid programme. Its aid volume was USD 2.67 billion in 2007, representing 0.32% of its gross national income (GNI). Australia has committed to contributing 0.5% of its GNI to official development assistance (ODA) by 2015/16."

Of course the sheer size of the American economy up to 2007 has meant that the US was at, or near, the top of the table for total of actual dollars contributed when you include its debt forgiveness to countries it unlawfully invaded, politically destabilised etc., and its low-interest loans.

Aid at a Glance charts for all donor countries are found here.

Vatican says, Pill pollutes. Scientists say, Rubbish!

Vatican says: the pill is polluting the environment & is responsible for male infertility. Scientists say: Rubbish!

Holy hectors! Reports are pouring out of the Vatican that the contraceptive pill is polluting the environment and is in part responsible for male infertility.

CathNews reports that the Vatican newspaperL'Osservatore Romano is carrying an article that says:

The pill has "had devastating effects on the environment by releasing tonnes of hormones into nature," Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, says.

"We have sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill," Mr Castellvi said in a L'Osservatore Romano article.

"We are faced with a clear anti-environmental effect which demands more explanation on the part of the manufacturers," Mr Castellvi said.

But the article was promptly dismissed by several organisations.

"Once metabolised, the hormones contained in oral contraceptives no longer have any of the characteristic effects of feminine hormones," said Gianbenedetto Melis, vice-president of a contraceptive research association, quoted by the ANSA news agency.

The hormones contained in the pill such as oestrogen "are present everywhere... in plastic, in disinfectants, in meat that we eat," said Flavia Franconi, of the Society of Italian Pharmacology.

The Gaza fight enters cyberspace

Click to enlarge

I suppose it had to happen - Palestinian supporters are hacking in protest at the situation in Gaza.
Arabia Mirror tracks some of these hacks.

This North Coast Voices post will probably not be possible if the Rudd-Conroy plan to impose national mandatory ISP-level filtering on the Australian Internet is implemented.

Way to go, mums!

According to GlobeLife on 31 December 2008:

They called it a "virtual nurse-in."

Earlier this week, 11,000 mothers who use Facebook changed their profile pictures to photos of themselves breastfeeding children to protest against the social networking site's decency standards.

It's the latest blow in a continuing battle between Facebook and some of its users since it began removing photos that show breastfeeding.

The single-day protest, known as the Mothers International Lactation Campaign, was organized by Stephanie Muir, an Ottawa woman and mother of five who is one of more than 87,000 members of the group "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"

The group is pushing Facebook to change its policies regarding breastfeeding pictures and its regulations surrounding how much of a woman's breast can appear in photos posted on the site.

"This societal attitude that women's breasts are lewd, sexually explicit or pornographic in their very nature serves only as a detriment to breastfeeding," Ms. Muir said.

Make 2009 the year of the green purchase

We all know how to recycle household paper, aluminium and glass, and to avoid purchasing goods with triple wrapping, but what about those other things we buy?

The Green Pages is a great online place to start looking for things in its BeGreen range such as nifty pens made from recycled material, ethically manufactured underwear and beer that swears it is green.

Every little bit counts in a country whose government is still playing catch-up on climate change mitigation measures.