American multinational tries to lock the gate to is website? Happy little Vegemites around the globe must be laughing

I have to admit that I haven't tried the new Vegemite with added cream cheese. My traditional tummy churns at the mere thought of this almost blasphemous concoction.
However recent Core Economics and Boing Boing posts aroused my curiosity as to why U.S. multinational Kraft Foods doesn't want anyone to link to its official Vegemite website.
Kraft's site states:
Terms of Use, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
This website (http://www.vegemite.com.au) (the "Site") is owned and operated by Kraft Foods Limited (ACN 004 125 071). Access to and use of this Site is subject to the following terms and conditions and all applicable laws. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you must not access or otherwise use this Site.
In this Notice, "KRAFT Australia", "we" and "us" means Kraft Foods Limited.
The Site is designed to be useful, informative and fun. We welcome any comments and inquiries in relation to the site.
Er...... I had to access the site to read this notice.
So who's going to knock me off the Internet instantanément?
Does Kraft have a 24/7 cyber bully out there with its finger on a get-outta-here button?
Is its 'competition' to name the new pseudo Vegemite throwing up some abuse from happy little traditionalists or have there been more than a few critics out in the blogosphere over the years causing this attempt to restrict access?
Is Kraft going to send a cease and desist notice to the Wikipedia for multiple linkings, The Vegemite Wife ex-pat for posting images of that spread jar, Australian Flavour for linking to its jingle audio or Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd Weekly Times for linking to the website in para 2 of its 28th August 2009 article?
Want to ask Kraft what this guff is all about - email australia@kraftasia.com. G'arn!

The hills of Coorabell

Coorabell by Rodney Black

Return to Coorabell by Marc Rambeau

Only in America would an argument be mounted that receiving money from the government is bad for your health

A good-on-ya to Peter Martin for unearthing this little bewdy: The Short-Term Mortality Consequences of Income Receipt.
This is an argument for the basic proposition that people on low incomes are likely to die shortly after they receive welfare payments, one-off stimulus payments or tax rebate cheques, because being 'flush' with money they consume more or become more active.
Yeah, and starving people often died immediately after being fed by liberating troops in the Second World War too.
I particularly liked the last para which tends to stick in the craw; "Finally, we noted in the introduction that some health researchers have suggested that a way to reduce inequality in health outcomes across socioeconomic groups is to simply increase income transfers to low income groups. The results in this paper indicate that the benefits of such a policy regime shift are far from certain. There is little evidence to date that cash transfers increase health. In contrast, the results in this paper show that, in the short run, there is a pronounced negative consequence to cash infusions for a wide variety of groups."

This truly earth-shattering research comes from a couple of economists working out of Notre Dame and Maryland universities in America. Figures.

"Moggy Musings" [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A grassy knoll musing: My little canine friend, Veronica Lake, says that humans she meets are starting to wonder about the number of Google searches coming out of Canberra which have the term "therese rein" plus "company", "ethics", "asic" or "problems".
Ronnie is wondering if Malcolm Turnbull's dogs are trying to dig up another mole for their master because his last one ran away. :-D

A bookish musing: Ashby cattle dogs Rolly, Trudy and Rose are about to join Clarence Valley local Steve Otton's old mate Tiny as the subject of a children's book due out in 2011, called RT and Rose: Three Dogs and a Beach Adventure.

Tiny: a little dog on a big adventure is in online bookstores now.

Humans aren't the top of the evolutionary tree musing:

Now as a bona fide Aussie moggy I think that cats are top of the tree, but I do realise that almost every species has the potential to equal humans when in comes to affection, loyalty and mateship.

Mickey the chocolate-coloured Kelpie pup from Nymboida who stayed for five days besides his injured companion dog Buddy. Bringing him wild-caught food and helping to chew through the fallen branch which had impaled him and, then when the older dog was freed leading this sick mate home to a worried owner and the splendid care of South Grafton Veterinary Clinic - well that is a dog who is the equal of humankind! Story here.

I was lost and now I'm found musing: Just like Lassie the adventurous collie dog, a scruffy pet named Muffy will finally return home after a nine-year, 2000km (1250 mile) odyssey down the east coast of Australia. The terrier-cross .... was last seen by her owners on the Gold Coast in Queensland in 2000 ago when she took off from a friend's house one day and never came back. This week the little white dog is reunited with her family.

An all creatures great & small musing:

Monday 27 August 2009 is Cupcake Day for the RSPCA.

It's time to bake up a storm and raise money to help Australian animals who are experiencing hard times or abuse.

Go to this RSPCA link for details. Patty cake, patty cake....I know you all can!

And they're off! 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cycling Classic underway tomorrow, 12 September 2009

The 49th edition of the Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic will be held tomorrow, 12 September 2009 starting from Market Square, Pound Street, Grafton at 8am through to 8.30am.

Billed as the toughest one day race in Australia, the category one event will have a record 272 cyclists in three grades contesting the nine hour long 228km course.

There prize pool contains a total $27,000 in cash plus prizes and random draws.

The race can be listened to online at www.2nz.com.au

According to Cycling News:

Some of the elite men's teams already committed for the 228km event include Fly V Australia, Dixon Homes, Praties, Team Budget Forklifts, HYPE, Mace-McDonagh Blake and Shortis Cycle & Tri.
Cameron Jennings, Peter Herzig and Peter Ladd (all Team Budget Fork lifts) and Tour de Geelong winner Darren Rolfetheir and Bernard Sulzberger, Ben King, Jonathon Cantwell (Fly V) are among those registered. The race also sometimes draws talented off-road racers. World 24-hour solo mountain bike champion Jason English will try his luck on the road this year after cross country star Chris Jongewaard finished second last year.Whilst the focus may be on the pointy end of the race in the elite division, organisers were thrilled to receive 142 entries in the master categories. The Under 23s will also have strong representation with riders from as far away as New Zealand, Launceston, Hobart, Fremantle and Rockhampton.
As for women's competition, the numbers are also up in the second running of the Celtic Country Classic de Femme with 36 women from across the country competing in this year's 95km event.

For more information http://www.graftontoinverellcycleclassic.com.au/

Who won't be the 2009 Australian employer of the year? (Part Two)

Well this is a bit of a surprise! The employer referred to a Federal Parliament privileges committee by the Senate for allegedly threatening a witness to an inquiry according to A possible contempt in relation to a witness to the Committee's inquiry into Access to Justice: Report to the Senate:
1.25 The committee recommends that a possible contempt by the Aboriginal Legal Service Western Australia in relation to a witness who submitted evidence to the inquiry into Access to Justice be referred to the Standing Committee of Privileges.

The short submission from a Yawuru/Bard woman which started all the fuss.
Another version of the matter mentioned in the first submission.

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.