Fitz File Gems ... well said, Peter FitzSimons

PERFECT 10

TFF heard a nice yarn this week about a young girl, Pacha Luque-Light, dancing in front of a sign saying ''BUSKING FOR A BOARD'' at the Roxy Pro surfing event on the Gold Coast last Sunday. It was the day before her 10th birthday, and a surfboard was what she wanted … so she started dancing up a storm to the music coming from the portable CD player she had brought along for the occasion, while her proud mother watched on. People stopped, watched and started putting some coins in the old grey felt hat she had by the sign. The sun shone, the people smiled and Pacha danced. And then along came the 18-year-old North Narrabeen pro surfer Laura Enever, who not only stopped, but started dancing with her, as all the people smiled some more, before the pro surfer suddenly disappeared. She returned a short time later with one of her back-up surfboards, which she gave to the young girl. Using an indelible marker, she wrote these words on the board: "To Dear Pacha, You're the most amazing dancer EVER. Now have some fun in the surf. Laura Enever." In the words of her mother, "What a beautiful life lesson about kindness and generosity and spontaneity …" Precisely. Pacha has been on the board every day after school since, and if that isn't the best story in Australian sport this week, I don't know what is.

WHAT THEY SAID
Aaron Baddeley, after fire engulfed his parents' house, tweeted: "2 min to get out 2 rooms were untouched! fam photos and my golf room with memorabilia! Amazed by God's protection 22 years of memories there." Good old God. A pity he couldn't stop the Christchurch earthquake though, what while saving your photos?

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 5/3/2011

When political discourse goes bad an Australian MP 'dies' for almost two hours

If the Federal Independent Member for New England, Tony Windsor, has upset some voters by supporting Labor as a minority federal government after the August 2010 general election – then he has obviously also enraged others by being part of the committee which brought forth the carbon price mechanism proposal recently announced by the Gillard Government.

Below is but one example of the ire created by public political discourse to date.

At 1.24am on 4 March 2011 someone calling themselves Enidblyton11 edited a Wikipedia unauthorised biography page for the Independent Member for New England to read:

Antony Harold Curties "Tony" Windsor (2 September 1950 - 4 March 2011), an Australian politician, was the independent member of the House of Representatives since 2001, representing the Division of New England, New South Wales. Prior to his election to the federal parliament, Windsor was an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2001, representing the electoral district of Tamworth. He became the first federal political to be assasinated in Australian history.^[1][2]

A later edit at 1.47am added the assassination claim in the page sidebar.

At 1.50am the claim on Wikipedia was added to in this manner:

He became the first federal political to be assasinated in Australian history (Yes Ray Hadley It's a hack, Just so you know, Wikipedia's articles are open to editing by the user, and is the nature of Wikipedia itself) .^[1][2]

The last attempt to keep the political assassination claim alive on Wikipedia occurred around 2.33am and was finally removed by another around 3.02am.

Enidblyton11 had also added the claim to 2011 Australia where it survived until 3.10am.

At 4.41am Enidblyton11 stated that his account was hacked in order to perpetrate this startling and malicious hoax, however at least one other Wikipedia editor has disputed that assertion.

By 4pm Tony Windsor was being reported as stating that he is referring the matter to the Australian Federal Police.

A lesson from Communications 101

Sick of waiting in the far queue (repeat those last two words quickly a few times and you'll know what I mean)?

Have you contacted a company such as a telco and been put in a queue that's a mile and a half long, which tells you in no uncertain terms that your time isn't as important as theirs?

Well, here are a few words of advice about how to advance your cause and jump the queue.

If there's one thing companies hate to hear it's, "I'm going to close my account". So, next time you contact a company by phone and you're facing the prospect of waiting a month of Sundays before someone reckons you're worthy of their attention and you're heading for the place colloquially referred to as its far queue don't dilly-dally when the computerised voice starts asking questions about the reason for your call. Instead, utter "Close my account", "Billing", "Telecommunication Ombudsman", or something along those lines. You'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly your call jumps the queue and you've short-circuited their "waiting game".

Similarly, when contacting a section of the media and you want nothing less than very prompt attention, simply say these two words, "M*d*a W*t*h". (Note, to be fair to the ABC's Jonathan Holmes, the even-numbered letters have been deleted.)

Bloggers now covered by shield laws in Australia?

From Senator Scott Ludlam on 3 March 2011:

The Australian Greens welcomed the passage of new shield laws for journalists and whistleblowers through the Senate today.

The Greens shadow spokesperson for Communications, Senator Scott Ludlam, successfully secured amendments to the bill to afford the protection of the shield laws to citizen-journalists, bloggers and independent media organisations as well as news professionals from the mainstream media.

"Effective shield laws for journalists and public service whistle-blowers act as an encouragement to vigilance and integrity," said Senator Ludlam. "If journalists cannot protect their sources, we will not have people coming forward to expose wrong-doing and abuses of power."

The amendments to the EVIDENCE AMENDMENT (JOURNALISTS' PRIVILEGE) BILL 2010 of which the senator speaks are as follows:

(2) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (lines 13 and 14), omit “in
the normal course of that person’s work”, substitute “is
engaged and active in the publication of news”.
(3) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (line 17), omit “a medium”,
substitute “any medium”.

One has to wonder if Scott Ludlum is being a trifle optimistic with regard to how the courts may view these clauses and just how far they may protect bloggers.

Quote of the day on scientific whaling

The Institute for Cetacean Research in Japan, despite its unflagging efforts, has never told us a thing about the whale apart from that it tastes good with a dab of wasabi. Undaunted, that venerable institute's research continues.
(Anson Cameron at ABC The Drum)

Who knew the water raiders had a chapter so close to home?

Regional Development Australia (Mid North Coast) is according to its own website; an Australian Government initiative that brings together all levels of government to enhance the growth and development of regional Australia. To find out more please download the PDF here. The Mid North Coast covers the local government areas of Greater Taree, Port Macquarie Hastings, Kempsey, Nambucca, Bellingen and Coffs Harbour……
With our high, regular rainfall on the Mid North Coast, conditions suit many irrigated agricultural crops currently grown in the Murray-Darling Basin, including fruit and nuts, (grapes, citrus, stone fruits, tomatoes), vegetables (peas, green beans, cabbages, cauliflowers, pumpkins, onions, asparagus and potatoes), cut flowers, cultivated turf and hay production. Opportunities also exist for relocation of dairy and beef cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, goats, deer, bees, ostriches, alpacas and horses…
Much work has already been done in initiatives to improve water quality and capacity here…..

Presumably RDA Mid North Coast is a not for profit community-based organisation auspiced by the Federal Government.

What is fascinating about this entity is that it made a submission to the House Standing Committee for Regional Australia INQUIRY INTO THE PROPOSED MURRAY‐DARLING BASIN PLAN endorsing intensive farming practices which also stated; We believe members of the Murray-Darling Basin communities who are unable to sustain high irrigation farming practices in their locality may benefit from relocating to the Mid North Coast and being able to continue their farming practices, and provide skills and an increased agricultural base in the Mid North Coast.

Small problem with this generous offer though – irrigation farming requires water and under the NSW Water Management Act 2000 there are existing extraction limits set for most water sources in coastal regions.

Additionally, one local government area covered by RDA Mid North Coast relies heavily on interbasin water transfer to survive and, this water comes from the Clarence River catchment.

It seems the more the Clarence Valley attempts to honour an historical link with Coffs Harbour, the more that area is likely to demand as a 'right'.

What part of the Not A Drop campaign to stop water raids on the Clarence River and its tributaries doesn't this merry band of board members understand?

Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher embarasses both herself and The Rocky Horror Show

Watching the Liberal Party of Australia unravel under the inept leadership of the Hon. Tony Abbott has an awful fascination.
Nevermore so than in this excruciating video of 2 March 2011 - that "tits on a bull" comment combined with a "pelvic thrust" for the camera exposed Mary Jo Fisher in a way she must later regret.
Didn't her staff manage to medicate her that morning?