Onya Burkie!

One of the most sensible government backflips in years; "The Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has reversed a decision that came in just eight days ago allowing beef imports from countries which have had BSE, better known as mad cow disease. Instead there'll be two years of analysis."
Onya Burkie! Leave the creation of shonky biosecurity policies to the likes of former Howard Government ministers if they ever return to power - you just concentrate on keeping Australian primary production as clean, disease free and safe as possible.

Rats in the rooves

There's a lot of not so quiet muttering on the North Coast as retirees discuss the possibility that the subsidised roof insulation installed in their homes over the last year is unsafe.
All the media exposure about shoddy work and greedy spivs has masked another emerging problem - that of other types of roofing work contracted for by local affordable housing providers.
Seems at least one provider is canvassing its tenants to find out if one particular company has left a trail of leaking or unsafe roofs in its wake after sub-contracting work to non-tilers.
Whatever happened to company ethics or pride in a bloke's workmanship?

A word in your shell-like, Tones

Since he successfully knifed 'Truffles' Turnbull in the back and vaulted over the corpse into Liberal Party leadership, Tony 'Mad Monk' Abbott has been almost unrelentingly negative in what he says for public consumption in his unofficial 2010 federal election campaign.
Presumably he thinks that constant carping and attack will compensate for the tissue thin economic, social and environmental policies in which he wraps himself.
Even when he attempts a 'positive he fails. You've just gotta laugh at his latest contribution which will be welcomed like a dose of plague by the Coalition's traditional supporters in big business.
Tones, despite slight incremental growth in recent opinion polls, this negativity will eventually kill you if you persist.
Nobody likes a whinger.

Bring out your e-waste!

Bring out your dead e-waste! Bring out your e-waste!

Heard that call from your local council sometime in the last two years? Then you are one of the lucky ones.

Responsible people are running out of room in their garages and sheds to safely store this waste, while local government often only pays lip service to policies on garbage, recycling, safe disposal and landfill.

Clean Up Australia Day founder, Ian Kiernan, has stepped up calls for national laws to crack down on e-waste producers, as almost 600,000 Australians rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into the annual litter bust.

Which is fine sentiment, but also ignores the fact that ordinary people are storing mini-mountains of this waste, because many local councils are unwilling to take it off the homeowner's hands on dedicated kerbside collection days.

Will global warming be the death of the party balloon?

The passing years don't just mean that I am getting older, they also add to the number of times I've done mundane things like made beds, swept floors, cooked meals, hung washing and come home tired from work.

The years also mark the fact that I've done a heap of fun things including....... blowing up festive brightly-coloured balloons for birthdays, anniversaries, farewells and plain old Let's party! occasions.

This year I have inflated a slew of balloons for three separate events with party packs purchased from three different stores on the NSW North Coast which were not air-conditioned.

A large number of these balloons were obviously starting to show a degree of heat stress - some sticking together in the packet, others showing slight fading and a few slow leaks developing as they were inflated.

Which set me wondering - will such fragile things as party balloons retain a reasonable shelf life in the face of the record high temperatures Australia has been experiencing in recent years?

And what else might be found to last for relatively shorter periods in stock store rooms and on display shelves?

Balloon graphic from Google Images

2009 Annual Australian Climate Statement Map from BoM

Now it's K-K-Keneally the Art Critic

What is it with pollies? As soon as they get into positions of power or prominence the barely qualified little tossers decide that they are art critics come morals police.

Now we have NSW Premier Kristina K. Keneally telling us not to inhale as we pass one of the portraits entered into Archibald prize competition.

K-K-Keneally trills; "I don't think this was a painting we needed to see...."I certainly won't be going to view it."

Ms Keneally said she would be happy to view the rest of the paintings in the competition.

The NSW North Coast would be much better served if this premier turned her mind from moralising about art towards the very real parlous state of the Pacific Highway.

She still hasn't come north at the invitation of Northern Rivers mayors (or sent anyone in her stead) and as of last Friday, Ms Keneally had not officially replied to the invitation sent 28 days ago.

What a poor showing!

Lack of public facilities such as transport in rural and regional Oz

Last year the local community of ***** (name removed) buried young ****** (name removed).


***** hanged himself out of despair. Centrelink hounded him.

In order to pacify Centrelink ***** drove everywhere to find work, often in an unregistered vehicle as he had not the means to pay for registration.

Individuals like ***** end up driving, often without a licence, and more often in unregistered vehicles. The seeds of criminality begin this way, from despair.

Truth is, this is not an isolated incident.

Over to you Mr Rudd et al.

Source: Read this