North Coast Voices looking for enthusiastic blogger interested in arts & entertainment

North Coast Voices is looking for a person living on the NSW North Coast who is interested in arts & entertainment and, who would enjoy blogging about our local artists/musicians/events etc., with an eye to a little gentle promotion of the Northern Rivers region.

This offer is open to those living in the following shires:
Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Clarence Valley, Richmond, Tweed and Kyogle.

There is no wage, expenses or compensation attached to this offer - it would be done just for the love of blogging.

All our current contributors are enthusiastic amateurs so inexperience is not a bar to acceptance.

Contact NCV Admin at northcoastvoices at gmail dot com to apply to join the team.
Please use a legitimate return email address so that you can be reached easily to discuss details.

Cultural dimension to glimpsing infinity

Looking unnervingly like Dr. Who's crack in the universe, this composite picture of nearly 14 billion year-old remnant light from that big bang thought to have created us all. Produced by the Planck telescope.

Click on image to enlarge

The space telescope was launched in May last year on a mission to survey the "cosmic microwave background" – ancient light left over from the big bang.
The bright streak across the middle of the picture is our own galaxy, the Milky Way, viewed edge-on. The intense light comes not from stars but from the radiation released by the dust and gas clouds that stretch between them. [The Guardian U.K. 4 July 2010 text and photograph]

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy The Wonder Cat]

A thumbnail dipped in tar musing: Dear Boy, I found this in today's SMH. Woof, Rex the German Shepherd SHE IS intelligent, friendly and one of Kevin Rudd's closest confidants, but would rather chase tennis balls than talk politics. Rudd's golden retriever Abby - featured in today's Dog's Life magazine (unfortunately tagged ''Celebrity Dogs - Therese Rein'') - is probably also the only one of his team ever genuinely happy to see him. ''Ten minutes before the phone rings to signal he's on his way, she will go and wait at the door for him,'' Rein tells the magazine. ''She is gentle, undemanding and great company.'' More driven is the family cat Jasper, evidently an even bigger control freak than Rudd - beating him to his ultimate ambition. "Jasper disciplines us," says Rein. "He's the boss of the whole world.'' Listening to Rein, it is nice to imagine Parliament as a place where our leaders don't fight like cats and dogs, with Jasper as his master and Abby the Opposition Leader. ''They touch noses all the time,'' Rein says. ''They also, when they think no one else is listening, take turns chasing each other from one end of the house to the other.'' The Rudds are patrons of a charity that finds homes for abandoned golden retrievers, the mag reveals. Shame the PM isn't as dedicated to abandoned policies, some of which have proved to be dogs, too.

A Killer musing: I've received a deff threat!

A liddle birdie tol' me musing: Rumour sez that the creator of the Facebook page YES to McDonalds in YAMBA complained in his submission to Clarence Valley Council that a local newspaper was biased and refused to publish his material. The paper is rather puzzled by this so the story goes, because it never received any additional stuff from him.

A strange but true musing: Commencing in May 2010 dogs in Danvers, Massachusetts, can now pray to Ceiling Cat during Sunday services at Calvary Episcopal Church.

Just Married musing: Cecilia, a 15 year-old German cat just got married to her owner. The happy couple dressed up for the occasion - Mitzscherlich in a wedding suit and top hat and 15-year-old Cecilia, who loudly meowed her way through the exchanging of vows, in a white dress. Wonder where they're honeymooning?

A that's some cat musing: Oscar the Siamese lives in Noosa Waters and every morning he hops on his Dad's paddleboard and goes for a ride down the canals if you please.

A She's in luurve! musing: My little canine friend Veronica Lake is going around with stars in her eyes. The object of her affection is a dashing white and tan fellow living on a corner of her street. One Milo by name. She is wrapt in the fact that he is "such a gentleman".

A cherished member of the family musing: More than 50 per cent of pet owners are willing to put their life on the line for their four-legged friends, a new study has found. The New Zealand-based poll found that 58 per cent of people would return to a danger zone rather than allow their pets to perish, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Add your opinion to the poll here. Furry kidz rule!

A super pooch musing: Bravo to the male bull terrier cross who was plucked from rough seas on Saturday afternoon by two men who were on a day trip to High Island, about 6km off the coast of Fishery Falls, south of Cairns, according to Cairns Local News. The brave fella's name must be Digger!



Boy

And this is the multinational corporation Crs. Comben, McKenna, Dinham, Simmons & Howe say will benefit Yamba

The West Australian on 5 July 2010 reports on McDonald's Australia in 2010 - the same multinational championed by a majority of Clarence Valley shire councillors in the face of significant opposition from residents in the small NSW North Coast town of Yamba:

A major union wants maternity leave for migrant workers, labelling allegations that a McDonald's assistant manager was sacked after refusing an abortion a "disgusting abuse of human rights".

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association said 457 visa workers should get the same entitlements as local residents, which included the right to up to 12 months' unpaid maternity leave.

National secretary Joe de Bruyn said migrants should be allowed to remain in Australia during the leave, with the guaranteed right to return to their jobs.

He also called for migrant workers to get 18 weeks paid maternity leave under the Federal Government scheme when it was implemented next year. Mr de Bruyn rejected claims the move would undermine the spirit of the work visa, which was to fill skilled job vacancies where there are no locals available.

"Every worker should get the same entitlements, otherwise it is discrimination," Mr de Bruyn said.

It follows claims that Rechilda Moll-Sequitin, a Filipina who was brought to WA on a 457 visa to work at the McDonald's Mindarie restaurant, was forced to have an abortion before being eventually sacked because she refused to abort a second pregnancy.

Court documents show the woman alleges that she was told she would lose her job and be sent back to the Philippines if she did not have an abortion, so she terminated the pregnancy in September 2008.

"If these allegations are true, it is an absolutely disgusting abuse of human rights," Mr de Bruyn said.

ISA Group migration agency has recruited up to 60 workers for McDonald's restaurants in WA and about 150 nationally.

A minister of religion outranks a politician who outranks a used car salesman in 2010

Roy Morgan Research has its annual Image of Professions Survey out for 2010.
Here is a basic ranking given professions by 672 Aussies over 14 years of age showing who we might be likely to consider to be on the side of angels:

1 Nurses
2 Pharmacists
3 Doctors
4 School teachers
5 Engineers
6 Dentists
7 State Supreme Court Judges
8 High Court Judges
9 Police
10 University lecturers
11 Accountants
12 Ministers of Religion
13 Bank managers
14 Lawyers
15 Public servants
****halfway mark****
16 Public opinion pollsters
17 Financial planners
18 Talk-back radio announcers
19 Directors of public companies
20 TV reporters
21 Business executives
22 State MPs
23 Federal MPs
24 Union leaders
25 Insurance brokers
26 Stock brokers
27 Newspaper journalists
28 Estate agents
29 Advertising people
30 Car salesmen

South Australia still leading the way on greenhouse gas emission reductions

According to The Climate Group's weekly assessment of greenhouse gas emission levels in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, the latter state is still streets ahead in its response to the need to reduce these emissions.

In comparison over seven days (25 June to 1 July): Queensland's Indicator is 95% above the average equivalent 1990 weekly emissions and 26% above the equivalent 2000 weekly average; NSW's Indicator is 29% above the average equivalent 1990 weekly emissions and 10% above the equivalent 2000 weekly average; and Victoria's Indicator is 41% above the average equivalent 1990 weekly emissions and 9.5% above the equivalent 2000 weekly average.
While South Australia's Indicator is 11% below the average equivalent 1990 weekly emissions and 16% below the equivalent 2000 weekly average.

South Australia

Stuffin' letterboxes

Maud Up The Street is hopping mad - this week she found her letter box stuffed with advertising even though a "No Junk Mail" sign was clearly displayed.
What makes her even more annoyed is that of the 5 separate bits of bumpf lobbed at her by Woolworths, Aldi, The Reject Shop, Crazy Clarks and Cellarbrations - only one of these stores is in her local area. The rest are over 50 klms away.