Will someone buy that senator a ticket - pleeeze!

I couldn't believe my ears. Reading between the lines it looks like Steve Fielding wants to go Afghanistan - just think of the headlines he could generate and the multiple spellings he could try out for the name of the country and monikers of leading war lords.
"The chamber would not know this, but I have been speaking to Minister Faulkner and the previous minister for defence about some sort of delegation going to Afghanistan. I am deadset serious about this because this is a good opportunity." is the exact quote according to Hansard on 7/8/09.
Can someone buy this unrepresentative, attention seeking, political simpleton a one-way ticket before the next election?
Maybe we can get his citizenship revoked while he's gone.

Upriver Bill
Northern Rivers

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segme allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents.
Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Anti-Obama hysterics in Red, White & Blue Land

Google Trends actually has recordable data using the terms; obama is evil, obama is a socialist, obama wants to kill, obama wants to increase tax.
These terms began to get traction in late 2008 after Barack Obama's inauguration.
Google Trends also has enough data for President Obama's death and possible assassin to get a mention.
Can the U.S. anti-Obama hysteria get anymore frantic?

Small investors' rights are better protected in countries such as Botswana, Romania, Ghana and Georgia than they are in Australia.

A World Bank study has ranked Australian laws and regulations on investor protection at 57th in the world. So low is Australia's ranking, it lags behind Botswana, Romania, Ghana and Georgia.

The top three nations are New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Sydney Morning Herald points out the Australian legal system is weak at holding directors liable for related-party transactions.

The report gave high marks to Australia's disclosure regime and shareholders' ability to sue a company, but it found laws on director liability were unusually weak. Overall, the Doing Business 2010 report ranked Australia the ninth-best place to conduct business of 183 economies, based on an assessment of 11 aspects of running a business here.

The report comes after several collapses have thrown the spotlight on related-party transactions. The failed finance company Octaviar (formerly MFS Limited) faces a potential litigation claim from IMF Australia, which has alleged MFS failed to disclose related-party transactions associated with its Premium Income Fund.

Administrators of the collapsed Allco Finance Group have also queried several related-party dealings, including a $50 million loan made to an investment vehicle owned by Allco directors and senior management.

Who won't be the 2009 Australian employer of the year? Senate witness allegedly threatened

In the Australian Senate Hansard for 9th September 2009:

PRESIDENT

(9.31 am)—The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee has raised a matter of privilege under standing order 81. The matter is set out in a report by the committee to the Senate, which recommends that the matter be referred to the Privileges Committee.

The issue relates to the treatment of a witness before the committee in the course of its inquiry into access to justice. After she gave her evidence, the witness received a written warning of disciplinary action from her employer. The committee pointed out to the employer that threatening a witness with action as a result of the witness's evidence constitutes interference with a witness and a possible contempt of the Senate. The employer subsequently withdrew the warning, but in correspondence with the committee appeared to reserve the right to discipline its employees in respect of evidence given to a Senate committee. The witness resigned from her employment and there is the possibility that she suffered loss of employment as a result of her evidence to the committee.

The Senate's privilege resolution No. 6, in paragraphs (10) and (11), declares that any interference with a witness, and any imposition of a penalty on a witness, in consequence of the witness's evidence, and any threat or attempt of such actions against a witness, may constitute a contempt of the Senate. Such treatment of a witness may also be a criminal offence under section 12 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987.

The Senate Privileges Committee has declared in its past reports that interference with and penalisation of witnesses are the most serious of all contempts, and the committee and the Senate have always regarded such actions as requiring rigorous investigation and firm remedial action. The committee has pointed out that actions which are otherwise lawful, such as the dismissal of an employee, may constitute contempts when taken against a witness in consequence of the witness's evidence.

The matter raised by the committee clearly meets the criteria I am required to consider. I therefore give precedence to a motion to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee. I table the letter from the committee. Other relevant documents are included in the committee's report.

A notice of motion may now be given.

NSW Royal National Park celebrates 130 years and still going strong in 2009

The heritage-listed coastal Royal National Park in Sutherland Shire, NSW celebrates its 130th birthday this year. It was established in 1879 and is the second oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone National Park in America which was created in 1872.
There are approximately 180 national parks in New South Wales and many of these are on the North Coast. Why don't you visit one this weekend?

List of all NSW National parks and links

Images from Creative Spirits and Wikimedia Commons

Honest as the day is long....

Are you having trouble deciding what is 'honest' and 'dishonest' behaviour?
Take the Honesty Lab online test!

11-year-old girl tells Sydney Morning Herald tipsters Phil Gould, Roy Masters and Greg Prichard to eat their hearts out

11-year-old Chloe Lawrence has won the Illawarra Mercury's Footy Tipping Comp this a year.

Chloe's tipping, which netted her 141 points for the season, was so convincing she would have easily beaten The Sydney Morning Herald tipsters Phil Gould, Roy Masters and Greg Prichard.

Last year Chloe's seven-year-old brother, Daniel Moro, was the paper's top tipster.

The Mercury reports that Chloe and Daniel, who both won $3000, left thousands of experienced adult tipsters and bona fide footy experts in their wake. Their success has stumped their mother, Amy Taylor. But, according to Chloe there is method to her choices.

She avoids the Roosters and the Sharks and otherwise opts for teams based largely on home ground advantage and sidelined stars.

"I say, 'Who's out? Who's not playing? Who's at home?"' Chloe said.

"I don't like the Roosters. If Manly or Storm are at home I'll pick them because I like them."

Chloe plans to spend some of her winnings on her first mobile phone and will also donate a portion of the money to the Cancer Council in memory of her grandfather, who succumbed to cancer in recent years.

The remainder will be placed in a savings account.

For the record, Chloe predicts a Sea Eagles versus Dragons grand final, with the latter to win by about six points.

pic from The Illawarra Mercury