St. Kevin faces the barbarians

Sometimes NSW North Coast cartoonist Jules Faber really hits the funny bone -

this is one of those times............

The Daily Examiner 16 June 2010

Indigenous whale dreaming in Australia - then and now.....*ATSIC readers please note that this post may contain images of persons who are deceased

This month the International Whaling Commission meets to decide if the global moratorium on commercial whaling remains in effect.
In the past the Commission has often considered the 'right' to hunt whales, but appears to pay little attention to the spiritual and cultural position of the whale in many societies such as the coastal/saltwater peoples of Australia.

Amongst all the creatures of creation was Gyian the whale, Baiyami's favourite .......The new world was born then Baiyami said to Gyian, "This will be your Dreaming place. You shall reign over these lands and waters, my friend. Your kin will forever live in these sacred realms on Earth. Go and give what I have given to you, the kinship of life. Gyian went into the lands taking with him the spirit of Baiyami.
Baiyami ascended back to the Mirrabooka. During the dreamtime period Gyian intermingled with other creatures , passing on the Laws of Baiyami. He later changed form from a bird of the land to live as he does today in the ocean as a whale. This was the birth of Gyian on Earth.

Riji: pearl shell ornament depicting Min-nimb, the whale circa 1930s
























Pearl shells, known as riji or jakuli in the Bardi language, are associated with water, spiritual powers and healing due to the luminous shimmering quality of their surfaces.

Kondili, the whale Kondili the whale song MP3
The Ramindjeri story of Kondili the whale was first published in Manners and customs of the Aborigines of the Encounter Bay tribe: South Australia in 1846 by Pastor H. Meyer who recorded the story from the Ramindjeri people at Encounter Bay with whom he worked. The story of Kondili is set before Ramindjeri people had fire. Meyer wrote that two to three hundred people would meet (probably from near and far) for dances during the time he worked with at Encounter Bay. A fire would be lit at sunset for light. Women sat apart with animal skins rolled up and held between the knees upon which they beat time. Young men wore emu feathers in their hair and red ochre paint or used chalk to make circles round the eyes, along the nose and dots on the forehead and cheeks and more designs on the body. These designs should not be copied without permission.

Whale Dreaming Elder -Elko Island



























Baby whale given indigenous burial in 2009
A baby humpback whale that washed up on a Gold Coast beach will be given a traditional burial by Aboriginal elders.
Wildlife authorities had planned to dump the animal at the council tip after it was found at Runaway Bay about 7am, until the traditional owners of the area, the Kombumberri people, were consulted about its disposal.
Instead, the eight-metre mammal was towed to South Stradbroke Island, where it has been buried ahead of a traditional ceremony later this week.

Excerpt from a November 2007 letter to the Honourable Emporor of Japan from the Woppaburra People

It is with the greatest respect and honour that we send this open letter, and that this great respect and honour can be reciprocated and afforded in our special request, we also send this open letter with our commitment to international peace and good will.

We respectfully request

'TO CEASE THE SLAUGHTER OF OUR SACRED SPIRITUAL TOTEM'
HUMPBACK WHALES - 'Mugga Mugga'

We are an Australian Aboriginal Tribal Group, the Woppaburra People, of the Keppel Islands, Great Barrier Reef, of Central Queensland, Australia. The Keppel Islands are the ancestral homelands of our ancestors/forefathers, who were the original aboriginal inhabitants (custodians) of the Keppel Islands. Today's descendants carry on the ancient customary laws, traditional practices, protocols of our ancestors/forefathers. Our 'living' culture is based on respect and honour for all living things, in the circle of life.
As an Aboriginal tribal group of Australia and as Australian citizen's, we have made a 'choice' to be proactive and champion the protection and conservation of our Sacred Spiritual Totem, the Humpback Whale - 'Mugga Mugga', we wish to join countries around the world in their humanitarian conservation cause to protect, not only the Humpback, but all whale species, all marine species and their natural habitats. Every living thing is here for a purpose, all elements, mankind, flora, fauna, we are dependant on each other's existence, Aboriginal people of Australia, have known this since our ancestors/forefathers times.
The Woppaburra language name for the humpback whale is 'Mugga Mugga', which is our 'Sacred Spiritual Totem', our sacred emblem, it is our life-long responsibility (from the days of our ancestors/forefathers) to protect them and the environment in which they live, we are spiritually connected with Mugga Mugga, they are as much a part of us, our family, as we are of them, their family, we are joined spiritually - forever. We can no longer sit in silence and tolerate their slaughter, as our ancestors/forefathers witnessed in long times gone by. We are becoming increasingly upset and stressed in regard to Japan and their pending 'take' of 50 of our sacred emblem - spiritual totem, Mugga Mugga, for the purpose of scientific research.
The Woppaburra descendants of today, like our ancestors/forefathers in long times gone by, cry tears of sorrow and anguish in silence, in seeing this ongoing slaughter of our emblem - sacred spiritual totem. The beautiful songs and singing of our whale populations is the way they communicate, and we have always strongly believed, just like our ancestors/forefathers, that they also sing songs of sorrow, sorrow for mankind, in the near destruction of their species, and songs of sorrow, for the way mankind destroys all things that are beautiful in our world. The emotional, spiritual health and well-being of the Woppaburra People, past and present and future generations, will continue to suffer, as we witness and are helpless in stopping the slaughter of our Sacred Spiritual Totem - Mugga Mugga.
Each year, on the commencement of their migration journey from the Antartic to the Great Barrier Reef to breed, the Woppaburra People of the Keppel Islands, rejoice and wait in anticipation and celebrate (in private) in knowing that their sacred spiritual totem, Mugga Mugga, will soon be home for a short while for another year and hope and pray (in private and silence) that their Sacred Spiritual Totem, Mugga Mugga will continue to have safe passage as they travel their annual migratory journey. It is a 'good omen' for us, that everything in the world is as it should be, all elements of our mother earth is continuing, there is 'balance' in the life cycles of all living things, just as we all enjoy the full seasons of Mother Earth, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter - and when there is 'disturbance' in our world, brought about by mankind, we will always feel the 'full fury' of our Mother Earth, as a global family - it is her warning, to stop and think, before its to late.........
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Image from Spikebot at Flickr

Page's Saffin nails Cowper's Hartsuyker in the perennial Labor versus Nats battle

"Luke has lost the plot because he was proven incompetent in getting a solution to a problem in his electorate," she said.

"They are desperate actions of a desperate man.

"I'd be embarrassed if I had to get another MP to work out a solution in my electorate."

She said his petition was designed purely to seek political support for himself when a solution was already there."

Right on, Janelle! That poor excuse for a bill and the much-touted petition were always an embarrassment.

Everyone knew from past experience that the flying foxes would move on long before these would be considered - that working towards long term goals was the way to go if their seasonal return was to be made less of a problem for Maclean High School and nearby houses.

Hartsuyker didn't even bother tabling the petition until after the House of Reps adjourned at 7.30pm on 16th June 2010.

While his private member's bill very predictably sank without a trace after its

introduction on 15th March.

For those who just can't keep away from politics on a Saturday night: NSW Penrith by-election links

Antony Green

On Saturday night {tonight} I will be providing full analysis of the Penrith by-election results. Tune in after 6pm on Saturday night at http://www.abc.net.au/elections/nsw/2010/penrith/ for analysis of the results, including detailed booth by booth analysis.

I will also be twittering results using the #penrith tag from @AntonyGreenABC, probably being repeated by @ABCNews and @ABCElections.

The Liberal Party needs a swing of 9.2% to win Penrith, larger than the swing it needs to win next March's state election. Will we see a repeat of the Cabramatta and Ryde by-elections in 2008 when there were swings of more than 20%? If we do, it will confirm the deep antipathy by the electorate towards the current state government.

Larvatus Prodeo

The first by-election since Kristina Keneally became NSW Premier will be held {today}, for the seat of Penrith, vacated by Karyn Paluzzano after she admitted lying to ICAC over irregular payments of staff allowances.....

This is an open thread for predictions, links, reports and analysis.

William Bowe has some further interesting background at The Poll Bludger.

Young Nats take their bat 'n' ball and go home but Young Libs battle on....

Now according to the Australian Electoral Commission:
"On 10 June 2010, the delegate of the AEC determined that the application by the Young National Party of Australia for voluntary de-registration be accepted and that the party be removed from the Federal Register of Political Parties."
Which left me wondering how their companions the Young Liberals were doing, so using the search term "young liberals aec" I sought further information and I came across these:

http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source=hp&q=%22young+liberals%22+aec&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=%22young+liberals%22+aec&gs_rfai=&fp=1

http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=9176

Is something afoot in that political camp or has VexNews just gone too far?

Senator Fielding proves once more that he is barking mad

Senator Steve Fielding, that born-again political nong from Victoria, appears to think that pregnant women on welfare payments would be eligible for paid parental leave from a full-time job that they don't actually have; similarly that drug addicts would deliberately get pregnant to get paid parental leave for which most would be ineligible anyway; women locked away at the pleasure of Her Maj are in full-time employment; that sex-workers are not entitled to benefits paid to other workers because of their job description; and that all late term abortions are obviously some form of fiscal fiddle.
Stevo's a good example for the argument that political candidates should prove mental competency before their names go on a ballot paper.
Mrs. Fielding - how about doing us all a favour and lock your boy in the back shed whenever Parliament is sitting.
Here's OpenAustralia record of the Senate second reading debate on 16th June 2010:
Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Hansard source
I believe we should be increasing the assistance we give to families with children, because having children is expensive and families need all the help they can get. But the Rudd government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme goes about doing this in the wrong way. The scheme is a long, long way from perfect. Instead of having a policy that benefits all families, such as the baby bonus, the government has come up with a scheme that discriminates against parents, depending on how they choose to raise their children. It is a scheme that places higher value on mothers who leave their children in child care, to quickly return to the workforce within a few months after having a baby, and devalues mothers who want to spend more time at home looking after their children. It is a policy that gives money to prisoners and prostitutes but ignores stay-at-home mums and the important unpaid work that they do. Mums who stay at home and look after their kids will be about $2,000 worse off because of the decision than those mums who rush back to the workforce.........
Another huge flaw in the bill is the fact that people who have late-term abortions would still be eligible to receive paid parental leave payments. That is right. Under this bill drug addicts and welfare cheats can rort the system and get paid parental leave money for nothing. Drug addicts and welfare cheats can get pregnant, then after 20 weeks have an abortion and still pocket the government’s cash. It is absolutely ridiculous and it makes you wonder whether the government is making policy on the run again.

Danger! Dogs do doo

 

A friend of mine has a holiday house in another town and she told me of her experience with her neighbours, or more precisely her neighbours' dogs.

The house has no front fence so the property is delineated by a white pebble boarder which the neighbours' dogs have been using as toilet facilities.

 

Since she doesn't visit that often there is a build up of dog dumps which she has to deal with when she arrives.

Because one dog is quite large and the other is small there is no trouble identifying which present came from which dog.

 

She was busy sorting the sh*t and piling the offending articles into neat heaps in the corner of the neighbours' yards so they could depose of the material when she was confronted by one of the neighbours who started to protest about the boomeranging doggy doo doo.

I think they must have seen the murderous look in her steely eyes and decided that she did have a good point and it would be the right thing to assist her in removing the evidence of months of night time dog visits.

 

This was not the thing that fascinated me - that happened when she told me about the light attached to one of the dogs collar so when it did its night time visit it could see where it was going.

Obviously the owner did not want the dog to be confused and do its business in its own yard, after all why go to the trouble of opening the gate if Fido never made it out.

 

This started me thinking of other aids that could be used so the owner could tell if the mission was accomplished.

I thought of a small device that could be attached to a dog's hips, so that when the dog squatted to do the deed it would sound a warning. The beeping noise you hear when dump truck's reverse I think would be appropriate.

 

Then I thought of a aid for a caring neighbour to warn the unwary of their dogs dropping. It came straight out of an old sci-fi TV show, Lost in Space. There was a robot in the show that at the sign of trouble use to shout "danger Will Roberson danger".

Wouldn't it be great if a small vibration sensitive disk could be dropped from the dogs collar after it finished it nightly visit. So the next morning when you walked out to pick up the morning paper if you stepped to close the pile the warning would sound; " Danger {insert neighbours name} danger".

I am sure someone could convert the little speakers you find in birthday cards.