Sunday, 26 October 2014
Yet another telephone scam
A caller rang yesterday and told me that someone at my address had been in a motor vehicle accident in the last three years and ever so kindly said he would do his utmost to assist me in so many ways.
I asked the caller to tell me the name of the organisation that was going out of its way to assist me and the caller said he was from Accident Help Services in Fairfield.
Sadly (for the caller, who was by then my very next best friend), I had to tell him that he was barking up the wrong tree because no one at my address had been in a motor vehicle accident. I didn't mince words when I told him what I though about him and his scam.
The caller must have been very disappointed that he couldn't 'help' me because he very rudely terminated the call.
Cabbage Tree Island and other massacres on the NSW North Coast
ABC North Coast NSW 23 October 2014:
Lois Cook takes on a history detective mission to track down people and documents to find out if her family's oral history is supported by other accounts from the 19th century. With the help of the staff of Ballina Library she discovers commentary by settlers and historians who were compelled to record the brutality against the local Indigenous people.
This video was created by Lois Cook and her family in collaboration with ABC Open in a series of video production workshops.
It is a special project for ABC North Coast's initiative UNTOLD, culminating in a live broadcast from Cabbage Tree Island on October 28 2014.
Babe in the reeds: a story of massacres and resilience from ABC Open North Coast NSW on Vimeo.
A jaw drop or laugh out loud post
Sometimes the Internet demonstrates just how weirdly incorrect some posts can be.
This post flows effortlessly from the pen of a U.K. contributor to the online version of World Coal magazine.
He obviously doesn’t realise that Metgasco Limited’s drill site at Bentley is a tight gas not an oil sands site and, Queensland’s parliament is not home to the federal government:
The actual letter sent to the Member for Nicklin by the Queensland Parliamentary Service, dated 2 October 2014, can be found at
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lockthegate/pages/1490/attachments/original/1412722100/LTG_event_banned_from_State_Parliament.pdf?1412722100
For their sins this is what some Lock The Gate supporters did:
http://vimeo.com/103762184
HD .MP4 file (1280x720 / 57MB)
For their sins this is what some Lock The Gate supporters did:
http://vimeo.com/103762184
HD .MP4 file (1280x720 / 57MB)
Saturday, 25 October 2014
Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]
A one-eyed musing:
One regular North Coast Voices reader is so crooked at The Daily Examiner that he sent me a message on 7.10.14; Check out its self centered article in today’s rag. "Projects to help AREA rebound'. Apparently Grafton is the only community in the Clarence Valley that needs to rebound. How on earth can our "Grafton Mayor" show leadership, positive perception in the community and most of all entrepreneurship when this rag which claims to be "The Voice of the Clarence Valley" speaks only of Grafton and of Cllrs only representing Grafton?
A stop laughing this is serious musing:
I Boy the Wonder Cat, being a respectable Northern Rivers moggy, do hereby make it known that I take no responsibility for any resident, ratepayer or visitor fatally choking on their breakfast cereal after reading one of my musings.
A weed by any other name musing:
Batman & Robin, Superman & Wonder Woman, Green Lantern & The Flash,Tarzan & Cheetah, Tick & Arthur, The Fat Controller & Psycho. Guess which pair are in Northern Rivers local government and not between the pages of comic book?
A seriously wondering musing:
The big news in the Clarence Valley on 30 September 2014 was that it was the only local government area left out of NSW Labor's promise to implement a total ban on CSG exploration and mining in the Northern Rivers.
Besides the fact that ERM Power, Metgasco Limited's largest shareholder, has made political donations in the past to all three major parties - what else could explain this odd state of affairs?
This little moggie wants to know what part Clarence Valley Council's executive might have played in this decision.
After all it's well-known that the mayor is a National Party member and that NSW Nationals support coal seam/tight gas exploration and mining - one only has to look at how NSW Nationals Leader & Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner bent over backwards for the controversial Santos Narabri project and the government in which he holds the second highest position endorsed fracking at AGL's Gloucester site.
So, was one or more of the people comprising the Clarence Valley Council executive approached by Labor and did they react coolly to any question of inclusion in Labor's 'CSG Free' Northern Rivers promise?
A second meeja musing:
Anyone regularly reading print and online mainstream media would be well aware that much of what passes as journalistic effort these days is an uncritical reworking of unsolicited media releases. What many readers might not notice is that the media companies, which sometimes create or assist with these media releases, may already have a relationship with newspaper groups. Take coal seam gas-tight gas minerMetgasco Limited - it employs the services of Citadel: Specialists in Corporate Communications. Co-incidentally, so does APN News & Media which owns mastheads on the NSW North Coast such as The Northern Star and The Daily Examiner which from time to time report on coal seam gas exploration and well drilling in the Northern Rivers.
A meeja musing:
Richmond NSW-based Deputy Editor of The Land newspaper and former editor of The Daily Examiner, Jenna Cairney, is obviously pining for sunny northern climes. She is moving across the Rio Tweed in six weeks' time to take up a new position at APN’s Sunshine Coast Daily in Maroochydore QLD, as its first female editor. Regular SCD readers, from Kin Kin down to Caloundra, should expect a fresh voice willing to break new ground on issues important to them.
A someone made a complaint musing:
According to Lexie the friendly ginger feline I sometimes talk to on my travels, a complaint has gone down to the NSW Ombudsman concerning alleged misconduct by one member of a council executive. No, there is no prize for guessing which NSW North Coast council. Way too easy!
An ooh aah musing:
Feathers are becoming ruffled in the local government doocot it seems. Not content with implying that a local resident is a liar concerning a previous water complaint, Clarence Valley Council management has now zeroed in on The Daily Examiner – declaring its reporting of dirty drinking water in Yamba on 6 September 2014 “spurious”. Bet that impressed the newspaper’s sports editor who had this to say of the day: “The Yamba triathlon festival gives competitors a real taste of what the place has to offer, even a dose of the infamous water supply thrown into the mix…….Bill North reporting in Yamba for The Daily Examiner.”
A selective backgrounding musing:
Word is that at least one Northern Rivers newspaper has been informed that local government reforms will mean that councillors will no longer be able to bid for or hold council contracts. Far as I can tell this means at least three Clarence Valley councillors will have, to some degree, to choose between being breadwinners for their families or elected representatives for their communities after September 2016. However, it is far from clear as to whether council has informed them of the fact that the proposed rewriting of the NSW Government Act is likely to affect them directly.
Post script: On 19 September 2014 the NSW Office of Local Government stated that there were as yet no details of provisions to be included in the planned new Local Government Act. Therefore a new rule concerning councillors and council contracts could neither be ruled in nor out of the mix.
A rumour grows musing:
If rumour is correct it seems that NSW North Coast Nationals were desperate to keep their man, Richie Williamson, in the Clarence Valley Council mayoral seat. It's now being alleged that retired Nationals federal MP and former House of Representatives deputy-speaker, Ian Causley, had also attempted to sway at least one councillor’s vote in the 16 September 2014 mayoral election. Telling all my furry friends to stick close to their owners and report back as these behind-the-scenes machinations are becoming interesting. Will the North Coast Nats call in their marker and make use of the mayor's casting vote when they want Clarence Valley local government to back their mining or dam policies?
A beat, beat, beat of the drums musing:
There is a strong rumour doing the rounds concerning the Clarence Valley Council mayoral election of 16 September 2014. It is being alleged that Federal Nationals MP for Cowper, Deputy Leader in the House of Representatives and Assistant Employment Minister, Luke Hartsuyker, has been meddling where he shouldn't by attempting to dissuade at least one councillor from running against the incumbent mayor, former Nationals pre-selection candidate Richie Williamson.
A you heard what? musing:
It doesn't take a genius to guess which Northern Rivers council management is alleged to have forwarded sensitive correspondence, (between one local resident & council) on to numerous third parties within the local government area. Tsk, tsk, tsk.....
An 'eaven 'elp us musing:
Word around the traps is that Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson will act as NSW Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis' campaign manager in the lead up to the 2015 state election.
Cartoonists' view of politics in 2014
Some of the political cartoons which were picked up by social media.......
Click on images to enlarge
Quote of the Week
"Before I take my pension out I check to see if it's still in there because I'm scared that Tony Abbott has stopped it."
[Participant in a discussion group quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 2013]
Friday, 24 October 2014
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