North Coast Voices

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Melbourne and Monash university academics help Journal of Medical Ethics create the perfect storm

Ethics debates often go where angels fear to tread in order to define the range of moral dilemmas and this appears to be one sensitive example.

Abstract

Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus' health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.

Full article After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? at the Journal of Medical Ethics (JME) on February 23, 2012.

Responses to this JME article published online:

My opinion on controversial paper published about infanticide

Manuel Menes

J Med Ethics published online March 28, 2012

Response to After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Philip Dawson

J Med Ethics published online March 27, 2012

Singering from the same hymn sheet... [CORRECTED VERSION]

Matthew J Wilson

J Med Ethics published online March 27, 2012

Six propositions on end-of-life decisions in neonatology

Sofia Moratti

J Med Ethics published online March 26, 2012

After- birth abortion and infanticide: the controversy lingers on

Robert Kar Ngai Yuen

J Med Ethics published online March 26, 2012

Re:After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? An Answer

Elvira Parravicini,

Federica Fromm, Giuseppe Paterlini, Patrizia Vergani

J Med Ethics published online March 19, 2012

A human being's right to live is a moral axiom

Agata Mizerska

J Med Ethics published online March 16, 2012

Re:Awkward Truths Should Make People Re-evaluate Routine Practice

Coral D Carmichael

J Med Ethics published online March 16, 2012

After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? An Answer

Dina Nerozzi

J Med Ethics published online March 16, 2012

Re:A response to 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Maria Gabriella Gatti

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Consistency Required

Cadi S Palmer

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Slippery Slope Slipped Upon

Mel Beckman

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Accepting Infanticide

Ellen Simoni

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Defining a person is morally crucial

Andrew R Cress

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

After birth abortion

Fiona E Beavan

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Where there is no love...

Josephine M Treloar

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Newborns, really?

Christina C

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

The fetus and the newborn, what is the difference.

Sheena L Queen

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

What about the dad?

Nancy M Heitschmidt

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Re:Awkward Truths Should Make People Re-evaluate Routine Practice

Grzegorz Nowakowski

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Definition of terms

Randall L. Norstrem

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Can Moral Value Be Quantified?

J. O. Lay

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Adoption as a solution

Melanie M. Rudquist

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Competing interests and infanticide

Dirk C. Baltzly

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Re:Awkward Truths Should Make People Re-evaluate Routine Practice

maureen mckane

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Infanticide and termination - an inexorable progression of logic

charles soper

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

A Modest Proposal

Bruce M Anderson

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Can after-birth abortion do harm?

Joshua P. Cohen

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Re:A response to 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Ronald E. Ledek

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Re:A response to 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Tom Koch

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

A Modest Proposal

Alan W.H. Bates

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

Re:A response to 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Tracey M Upchurch

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

The fallacious argument of 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?'

Martin Rhonheimer

J Med Ethics published online March 14, 2012

A response to 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

David J Pohlmann

J Med Ethics published online March 5, 2012

Awkward Truths Should Make People Re-evaluate Routine Practice

Tim M Reynolds

J Med Ethics published online March 2, 2012

NSW Upper House Whip gets caught out telling political whoppers on Twitter

Apparently NSW LC Government Whip Dr. Peter Phelps likes to tweet from the floor of the Legislative Council and keeps his Blackberry fairly smoking.

Here he is on 2^nd April 2012:

Peter Phelps‏ @PeterPhelpsMLC

Just slammed Greens in NSW for crying crocodile tears for TWU, when their policy calls for major attacks on road transport industry #nswpol

Peter Phelps @PeterPhelpsMLC

Another Labor MP quotes verbatim Wikipedia for their contribution to LC debate, this time on 99 year leases #ffs #nswpol #thatsnotresearch

Intrigued, I opened Hansard up and took a good look at the CENTENNIAL PARK AND MOORE PARK TRUST AMENDMENT BILL 2012 second reading debate which began about 9.02pm. After sorting his interjection chaff from the record and discovering the rather meagre Phelps contribution to the business of the day, I began to think there was something rather odd about his "Wikipedia" tweet.

Yep, you guessed it – no "verbatim" quoting of Teh Wiki by a Labor MP.

So, not only is Phelps an arrogant self-proclaimed troll on Twitter – he tells whoppers as well.

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Correction: Gulaptis DID speak in the debate, but ...

This corrrespondent has a confession to make. Just after 5.20pm yesterday the phone rang at my place and my attention was diverted away from the parliamentary webcast of proceedings in the NSW Legislative Chamber where the Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Offender Nomination) Bill was up for debate.

Consequently, the contributions made to the debate by two north coast National Party MPs, Geoff Provest (Tweed) and Chris Gulaptis (Clarence), were broadcast to an empty room at my place.

Hansard shows Provest spoke at 5.24pm followed by Gulaptis at 5.34pm and then Tony Issa (Liberal MP for Granville) at 5.42pm.

What was interesting about the contributions Provest and Gulaptis made to the debate wasn't their support for the bill (that was a given) but a couple of other things.

Provest:
I mentioned that Sextons Hill is a number one black spot. Yesterday the new southbound lanes were opened. There has been argument about this issue but I will set the record straight. That project is about to be finished, at a total cost of $359 million. The Federal Government contributed $349 million and the New South Wales Government contributed $10 million. That verifies previous arrangements.

Gulaptis:
If companies do the right thing and nominate the offending driver, they will avoid facing additional penalties. These legislative measures are directed at companies that do not do the right thing, and we know who they are.

While Provest came clean in relation to funding for the Sextons Hill project, Gulaptis left a void that could easily have been filled. Why didn't the Member for Clarence name and shame the companies he knows that are not doing the right thing?

Will Clarence MP speak up?

Yesterday in the NSW Legislative Assembly the Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Offender Nomination) Bill had another airing. The Bill is designed primarily to get companies to reveal the identity of persons driving their vehicles when they are guilty of road camera offences.

Proceedings in the chamber made for interesting viewing via the parliamentary webcast.

However, this viewer was disappointed one local MP, Chris Gulaptis, Member for Clarence didn't push himself forward and remind the house that his very presence in that place was due to a parallel act of skulduggery committed by his predecessor, the disgraced former Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell.

Government members queued to speak and support the bill, but Mark Coure, the Liberal Member for Oatley, said it all by remarking that companies had to stop implementing the deliberate ploy of shielding their offending drivers by not nominating them and having them take responsibility for the offences.

Perhaps, if he had the chance to do it all over again, Cansdell could have obtained an ABN and used a company car whenever he risked going within lens reach of those !@#! road cameras.

Coal Seam Gas in Australia: Is the CSIRO helping the mining industry 'manage' the debate?

If it the issue wasn’t so serious for the NSW North Coast it would have been amusing to see this in The Daily Examiner state on 28 March 2012:

We asked the Australian Science Media Centre if it could provide us with information not coloured by vested interests and it provided us with a briefing by Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance director Dr Peter Stone, University of Newcastle coal geologist and sedimentary petrologist Dr Judy Bailey and CSIRO petroleum and geothermal portfolio director Dr Edson Nakagawa.

Not coloured by vested interests is a big claim to make considering that the CSIRO is no longer the dependable, disinterested source it used to be given the number of commercial relationships it has developed over the years.

The CSIRO itself is very open about its wealth creation aims:

So let us start with the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance.

This is ABC Rural on 13 July 2011:

A commonwealth scientific body and a coal seam gas company have today announced a $14 million dollar joint research venture.

The Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance or GISERA is between the CSIRO and Australia Pacific LNG.

CSIRO's deputy chief of Ecosystem Sciences Dr Peter Stone says it'll draw scientific contributions from all across the country.

He says he hopes more of the industry's companies will come on board.

Australia Pacific LNG is a coal seam gas producer and GISERA appears to act as a R&D agent for the oil and gas industry, which may eventually lead to a widespread public perception that it is riddled with conflicts of interest.

Where does Dr Peter Stone fit into this scenario?

Dr. Stone has a background in crop and food research and an interest in land management. One has to hope that he has no vested interest in relation to mining. However, at best he appears ambivilant.

This article High risk demands stronger regulation of mining projects in The Australian on 26 November 2011 does not reassure as it begins:

WHEN CSIRO scientist Peter Stone briefed federal MPs and staff on coal-seam gas earlier this month, those in the room with some understanding of the likely effects were taken aback by his low-risk characterisation of the mammoth CSG projects that involved 40,000 production wells in southeast Queensland.

What about Dr Judy Bailey?

Well, her University of Newcastle profile shows minimum involvement with mining companies – except for the Orica Australia "Mineral sequestration in the Great Serpentine Belt, NSW" 2008 $6,500 funding grant – so it is easier to see her as an independent voice.

As for Dr Edson Nakagawa?

Dr. Edson is apparently a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and prior to joining the CSIRO apparently spent twenty years working for Petrobas in Brazil, starting in 1980. Petrobas has shown an interest in Australia and, also appears to use CSIRO technology in its operations overseas.

His current role is focussed on the development and deployment of tools, technology and knowledge to advanced petroleum exploration, conventional and unconventional gas production, alternative transport fuels and the demonstration of geothermal energy in Australia according to the introduction to December 2011 Australian Science Media Centre briefing.
A profile which does not inspire confidence in his objectivity.

The Daily Examiner attempted a balanced article. It was unfortunate that it wasn't alert to problems with its less than discriminating referral source, the Australian Science Media Centre. At least the newspaper ended the article with links (originally inert):

For a full transcript of the briefing, go to aussmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/coal-seam-gas-briefing-1-transcript.pdf or to hear the presentation, go to aussmc.org/2011/12/background-briefing-getting-your-head-around-coal-seam-gas.

So you can judge the views of these individuals for yourselves and, whether you think they are likely to say one thing to regional journalists and another to government decision makers.
Whether any GISERA formal report will have a predestined pro-mining conclusion irrespective of what the science is actually saying.

Oopps! Another banana skin for the unwary Australian politician

All around the world pollies past and present are looking investor embarrassment in the face, including U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney who has mountain of moolah earning interest over at Goldman Sachs in its many manifestations.

But none more so than Malcolm Bligh Turnbull, Australia’s Federal Opposition Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband.

He of course was Chairman and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Australia from 1997 to 2001 and a Partner in Goldman Sachs and Co from 1998 to 2001. In 2012 he still has money invested with Goldman Sachs private equity funds, probably including GS Capital Partners V1.

Which means he was well and truly in the frame when Goldman Sachs (through its private equity fund GS Capital Partners III) purchased a 16% share in Backpage.com in 2000.

Village Voice Media Holdings now owns Backpage and Goldman Sachs is selling its share because this website has just been outed as a forum abetting the sex-trafficking of underage girls.

Goldman Sachs has all but admitted that it knew in 2010 what the website was being used for – long before the New York Times report on 31^st March this year.

This letter lists a number of U.S. sex trafficking and child prostitution court cases in which Backpage features and mention of cases involving adults or children going back to 2009-10 can be found on the Internet – including this video.

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Chris Gulaptis votes against IR fairness

It has long been known in the Clarence electorate that its new NSW Nationals MP ‘Steve’ Gulaptis was an ardent supporter of Work Choices.

In fact, when he was a Clarence Valley Shire councillor he wanted to introduce some of its worst features into local government conditions of employment. As a member of the O’Farrell Government he maintains his desire to make life difficult for ordinary workers.

On 2 April 2012 he voted for the Retail Trading Amendment Bill 2012 which in practice will allow a wider numbers of employers in New South Wales to pressure full-time, part-time and/or casual staff to work on a restricted trading day, Boxing Day, and in certain circumstances possibly have to work on Christmas Day when the business is not open to customers.

Brickbats to this out of touch MP who once declared "Northern Rivers residents moved to the region accepting they would be paid lower wages as part of the trade-off for living in one of the most desirable parts of Australia".

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Moggy Musings

Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.

A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourism business development services.

A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!

An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements. The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.

A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.

A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?

A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.

An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?

A fun fact musing: An estimated 24,000 whales migrated along the NSW coastline in 2016 according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the migration period is getting longer.

A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.

A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.

A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?

An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.

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