US judge orders Bush Administration to cough up those e-mails

Well, this has been a week and a half.

First a former Pentagon official in charge of those infamous military commissions finally admitted that torture occurred at GITMO.

Now we find out that a US Court has ordered the Office of the President to find those emails covering the period which included the invasion of Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.

Digital documents on memory sticks etc., are apparently just walking out the door or heading for the trash can of their own volition.

Yep, those pesky little blighters are even said to be jumping to their own deaths from fourth storey offices rather than reveal all they know about George, Dick, Donald, Colin, Alan, Roberto and whatshername.

The Order

Copy of order here.

Betting odds on Obama's inauguration - from godliness to weather - and afterwards

It appears that almost anything to do with US President-elect Barack Obama is worth betting on.

This time around its the January inauguration over at BetUS Sportscover:

How many past presidents will Obama reference in his inaugural speech?
Over 4½ -120
Under 4½ -120

How many times will Barack Obama refer to God in his inaugural address?
Over 2½ -140
Under 2½ Even

Will there be precipitation during Barack Obama's inaugural address?
None 3/2
Rain 2/1
Snow 5/4

Which former president will be mentioned first?
Abraham Lincoln 10/11
George Washington 3/1
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 3/2

How many times will Bill Clinton's name be mentioned?
Over 2 -120
Under 2 -120

But what is even more amusing is that the books are open for betting on the 2012 presidential election.

While over at Paddy Power they are betting on what will happen first under an Obama presidency:

The NSW Office of the Premier corresponds with a cat?

When North Coast Voices was set up a side blog was established for Clarencegirl's cat and, in a fit of absurdity, he was given a hotmail account.

Since then Boy the Wonder Cat has received almost every psihing email known to man or beast, become the recipient of begging letters from then presidential candidate Barack Obama, and now it appears he is on a 'reply to' list for an email he swears he never sent to the NSW Premier.

EA1382161 - new community housing rent policy‏

From:	thepremier (www.nsw.gov.au@mail.cabinet.nsw.gov.au)
Sent:	Friday, 9 January 2009 2:00:19 PM
To:	catlives9@hotmail.com

EA1382161 - CMU

To whom it may concern

The Premier has received your recent email concerning the new community housing rent policy.

As the matter you have raised primarily concerns the administration of the Minister for Housing, and Minister for Western Sydney, the Hon D L Borger, MP, the Premier has arranged to bring your approach to the Minister's attention.

You may be sure that your comments will receive close consideration.

Yours sincerely



Vanessa Karkousi
Office of the Premier

Now I'll apologise in advance in case a third party has used Boy's email address, but it does rather look as though someone at the Premier's office has seen a North Coast Voices post on the subject and is responding to that.

Mr. Rees, there is a comments button below those posts on the topic of your new community housing rental policy.
Might I suggest that you use it?

Congratulations, Claire Aman

Claire Aman, a Clarence valley resident and environmental planner, has just had a number of short stories published.

Her witty dissection of politics and society were always enjoyed when she wrote occasional articles for The Daily Examiner, so it is good to see that she is continuing to develop her craft.

Over the past few months the closet writer has been amazed as she got news that not just one, but several of her stories have been published alongside some top Australian authors including Emily Ballou and Frank Moorhouse.
"I've gone from having nothing published ever to being published in all of these books," Claire said.
In December her stories were included in The Best Australian Stories 2008 and Southerly's collection Little Disturbances.
Next month another of her stories will be included in New Australian Stories, published by Scribe.
"It's all just happened in such a short time," she said.
Claire taught herself to write when she penned her first novel, Why the Owl Gazes at the Moon, over a 10-year period.

Rivers Run Black: exhibition by Bundjalung artists, Yamba NSW 12 January to 7 February 2009

Brolga by Richard Torrens

Arthouse Australia at Yamba is currently hosting a group exhibition by Bundjalung artists Nancy Torrens, Troy Little, Richard Torrens and Elsie Randal.

The official opening of Rivers Run Black is at Arthouse Australia, Coldstream Street, Yamba on Friday 16 January between 6-8pm.

Ph: (02) 6646.1999 or email melinda@arthouseaustralia.com for details.

NSW North Coast harbours Nazis!

If you tour the NSW North Coast it doesn't take long before you realise that a large number of locals are passionate about protecting their little bit of the Australian environment.

Why the Northern Rivers almost rose as one in 2007 and sent governments and vested interests packing when the Howard Government wanted to dam and divert water from coastal rivers.

Thirty years ago the people of the North Coast went toe to toe with government, police and bulldozers for over a month in order to protect the Terania Creek rainforest.

North Coast residents (including a contingent from Nimbin) also took part in the Timbarra River blockade to stop a new gold mine being established which would destroy forest and pollute the Clarence River catchment.

The Big Scrub still exists because locals were determined that the last plots of that once mighty swath of trees would not be lost to future generations and some toil away to this day.

On the Northern Rivers people even turn out to protect a single lonely native fig tree in their neighbourhood and there is much more than a passing concern about the effects of climate change.

So when Senator Barnaby Joyce came out with the following I knew he had very little hope of a switching to a Federal House of Representatives seat via a northern New South Wales electorate:

The outspoken senator warned of the rise of "eco-totalitarianism'' and said he would not be "goosestepping'' along with environmentalists.

"One has to fall into lockstep, goosestep and parade around the office ranting and raving that we are all as one?"

Senator Joyce rejected a suggestion he was a climate change denier and drew a parallel with the Holocaust, the murder of millions of Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II.

"Climate change denier, like Holocaust denier, this is the sort of emotive language that has become stitched up in this (emissions trading) issue," he said.

It is surprising that Senator Joyce may actually be considering giving up his place in the Senate and going after the New England seat.

Now he has trodden on the toes of a legion of 'goosesteppers' he has ensured that, if in 2010 he contests the seat held by Tony Windsor, there will be quite a few voters out stuffing letter boxes with leaflets pointing out his considerable political and environmental deficiencies.

If for no other reason than many on the North Coast realise that the water raiders over the ranges are desperate for another front man to run with their plan to rob us of our fresh water and environmental river flows.

A Northern Rivers voice of sanity concerning the NSW public dental health scheme

From The Northern Star:

LISMORE dentist Dr Brendan White has slammed the Federal Government's Teen Dental Plan as a 'huge waste' of $490 million.

Dr White, who is also president of the North Coast division of the Australian Dental Association NSW, said the $150 vouchers for teenagers would not solve dental health problems.

"It would be better if the money went to treatment for the most needy people," he said.

"It's such a shame. It's a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The Government could have refunded the school dental program, boosted the public dental system, or started some preventative education programs.

"I hope the Health Minister realises how bad the Teen Dental Plan is and spends the money on something else."

But the Government is set to continue with the five-year program, and this week urged parents to get involved.

Richmond MP and Aging Minister Justine Elliot, said the program would help more than a million teenagers.

"With tooth decay ranking as Australia's most prevalent health problem, and gum disease ranking fifth, untreated dental decay is a major problem for our teenagers," she said.

The problems were worse for local youth. Dr White said we had the worst dental health for 12-year-olds in NSW, and the second worst for five-year-olds.

"The ADA had no input into the Teen Dental Plan," he said.

"But at least the Government is trying to help those who can't afford any dental care."

Another Lismore-dental practice manager, who did not want to be named, said the plan frustrated dentists.

"We've had people who have never been to a dentist before," she said. "When we tell them what needs to be done, parents walk out in tears. They can't afford it."

She said the practice had about 150 teenagers come in for the free consultation. Only three or four have returned for treatment.

"It's been a waste of money and the Government is just not listening," she said.

Vouchers for 2009 will be sent to eligible families from mid-January.

"Better to treat the needy"

It is a thing of wonder to observe both the MP for Page, Janelle Saffin, and the MP for Richmond, Justine Elliot, continue to defend this scheme which offers so little aid to their electorates and the rest of the NSW North Coast.

It is a scandal that the NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, does nothing of any substance on this issue given that the broader public dental scheme is delivered on the ground by the state.