Australia 2009 20 (rank out of 134 countries) 0.7282 (score) 20 (2009 rank among 2008 countries)
Australia 2008 21 (rank out of 130 countries) 0.7241 (score)
Australia 2007 17 (rank out of 128 countries) 0.7204 (score)
Australia 2006 15 (rank out of 115 countries) 0.7163 (score)
(The Global Gender Gap Index 2009 rankings: Comparisons with 2008, 2007 and 2006)
The Index reports that two-thirds of the 115 countries covered since 2006 have improved markers used to measure gender inequality, but Australia is clearly lagging according to these figures. Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Ireland, Philippines, Lesotho, Netherlands, Germany,Switzerland, Latvia, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Spain, France, Trinidad and Tobago all have a better record in 2009 than Australia.
"Flacco: Now, it has come to my attention that Archbishop George Pell has threatened to excommunicate Catholic MPs if they support therapeutic cloning, and this has made me wonder how the church stands on the subject of cloned foods, for it is no secret that no matter what your faith (or lack of it), you've been eating cloned fruit all your life. Bananas, oranges, even Eve's apple was a clone, not to mention giant strawberries. You see, these foods have been modified over 6,000-odd years of agriculture.
So would this mean that Catholic vegetarians could be excommunicated for eating therapeutically cloned fruit? Basically I think that George Pell is a therapeutically cloned fruit. And perhaps there is more behind this anti-cloning crusade, for it is only hunters and gatherers who eat anything close to food in its original form, and without foods being genetically modified, well, the planet could only support a few odd million human inhabitants.
So perhaps it is George's plan to rid the planet of all non-Catholics and a few excommunicated upstarts, therefore leaving the Earth cleared for Pell and his cronies as opposed to us clonies. So to counter this and prevent further bad puns like that I suggest the unreligious must stand up for the clones, we must build an ark to house all our cloned flora and fauna and then lead them one by one onto this ark to be flung to a new planet to self-replicate in peace.
And it occurs to me that perhaps God himself is the original therapeutic clone; he lives alone, no need for a relationship, made us all in his image. We are all clones of God! How about that, George! If you yourself are a therapeutic clone of God, then perhaps you will have to excommunicate yourself. Not such a bad thing really, for if the Catholic Church would stop all this excommunicating it could then feel free to indulge in its opposite. And the opposite of 'excommunicate' is to communicate. Amen.
Robyn Williams: And it starts this week of course. Monsignor Flacco being typically inconvenient and annoying."
** This post counts as my contribution to North Coast Voices efforts to keep Monsanto & Co.'s blog monitor in full-time employment. Yup, I'm laffing at you Mista Missie Mons!
It has been a long fight against the proposed Traveston Dam for Mary River catchment communities in Queensland, and they now have what is hopefully a long respite from any talk of new dams with Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett's announcement rejecting the dam on solid environmental grounds.After an eerie few moments of silence as more than 100 protesters and supporters put down their glasses and held their breath to watch federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett deliver his verdict on the Kandanga Hotel's bar television, complete pandemonium erupted as soon as he said the word "no".
Nobody heard any more of his speech. The cheers almost lifted the roof off the pub as farmers, business folk, mums, dads and kids were swept up in the moment of joy after 3½ years of fighting the proposed $1.8 billion Traveston Crossing Dam.
The overwhelming feeling was one of relief – and disbelief.
Hard-core protesters who had spent the morning grimly putting more "no dam" information into mail-outs and arranging protest signs for tourists passing by on the Mary Valley Rattler steam train had to pinch themselves.....
Most had expected the dam would get the green light, with even more conditions added to the 1200 already imposed by the Queensland Co-ordinator General. Secretly they had prayed for the best but expected the worst.
This is the Training version of the NSW eTendering system.
The records found on this website are not real.
Please visit https://tenders.nsw.gov.au/ for current tender opportunities and contract records.
