Smokers get royal treatment in Maclean

The Lower Clarence Services Club in Maclean  has gone to great lengths and spared no expense to ensure its patrons who want to have a durrie or two can do so in very comfortable surrounds.

Here are a couple of pics of the new palatial smokers' room which is housed in a new extension the club added to its premises.

Maclean locals are reported to have said they have no idea how much the new building must have cost the club, but they reckon the architect's fees alone were probably a six-figure sum.

Club members and visitors who use the room are reported to be tickled pink and really appreciative of the club's management for making what they describe as "a very bold move".

Patrons who are partial to the dreaded weed said they are sick and tired of having to put up with the terrible antics of club patrons who are on the premises simply for tippling purposes, feeding one-armed bandits or having punts on the TAB and Keno.

"It's about time we were looked after", one patron told NCV. "We've had a gutful of having to hide in toilets and similar locations in the club. Drinkers and gamblers wouldn't put up with the conditions we've had to endure."

Not a good look for the unpopular K-K-Keneally

The Daily Tele does graphs on 28 October 2010
Click on images to enlarge

Kristina just can't win. First an opinion poll which had her publicly eating crow with only a small side dish of spin:
"[It] confirms to me what I already knew - I have a tough job,'' the Premier said in response to a poll which found her government is now the most unpopular Labor administration in polling history, with a primary vote of just 23 per cent."
Then getting caught taking advantage of a solar scheme she would soon effectively wreck for we lesser mortals:
"NSW Premier Kristina Keneally purchased a $3000 solar system for her home five days after her government flagged moves to slash the tariff.
Documents obtained by The Weekend Australian yesterday show Ms Keneally ordered a solar system for her Sydney home on August 29 despite serious concern among bureaucrats and industry experts that public funds were being drained at an alarming rate by the Solar Bonus Scheme.
On August 24, after a series of internal warnings that the scheme -- one of the world's most generous -- was unsustainable because of its burden on the public purse, NSW Energy Minister Paul Lynch announced a review.
The review led to Ms Keneally and Mr Lynch announcing on Wednesday that the scheme's generous provisions would end with the cutting of the bonus for owners of solar systems from 60 cents to 20c per kilowatt hour.
Ms Keneally described the changes as necessary to slow down the scheme and "stop any further impact on electricity prices", while Mr Lynch said the changes were "specifically designed to avoid the bust".
Ms Keneally's decision to sign up for the solar system in late August, eight months after it started, placed her in line to receive the higher taxpayer-funded rate."
So why might this NSW premier drop from an likeability rating of 73% and preferred premier figure at 42% to a preferred premier rating of 35% less than twelve months later?
Is it just those tired, unimaginative policies and the woeful calibre of her ministry or is it perhaps the fact that a cold-blooded arrogance surfaces at all the wrong moments?

Die a wrongful death in Oz and you're worth something, die in Afghanistan and.....

The Herald-Sun yesterday:
"THE going rate for a life in Afghanistan's war is about $US1200 ($1230).
That's the figure the Defence Department and Federal Government are secretly paying to civilian casualties of war.
Australian soldiers paid $US10,200 to compensate for the lives of six civilians, five of them children, accidentally killed in a night raid just north of the Tarin Kowt base on February 12 last year."
While here in Australia:
"A Woolworths employee who injured his lower back while lifting a tub of meat has won a compensation payout of more than $82,000."
and
"CHRIS Hurley - the policeman acquitted of manslaughter over a Palm Island death in custody, only to face a civil claim from the victim's family - received a confidential $100,000 payment from the Queensland Government after the incident."
and again
"In August 2005, Mr Yousefi lodged a claim in the Supreme Court of NSW for compensation due to permanent psychiatric damage suffered as a result of his experiences in detention. He was awarded $800,000 compensation for wages, and lifelong medical care. As a result of his ordeal in detention, Mr Yousefi could never work again and would require medical care for the rest of his life."
and again
"The widow and four children of Mr Ward, whose first name cannot be published for cultural reasons, will receive a total $3.2 million as an ex-gratia payment from the state government for his death.
It includes an earlier $200,000 interim payment.
Mr Ward, 46, of Warburton, died in January 2008 while being transported 360 kilometres from Laverton to Kalgoorlie to face a drink-driving charge."
and yet again
"Andrew Mallard has been offered a $3.25 million compensation payment by the WA Government after being wrongfully jailed for 12 years over the 1994 murder of Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence.
The ex-gratia figure includes an earlier payment of $200,000 that Mr Mallard received in December 2006."
What's wrong with this word picture?
Well it seems that compensation for death, injury or loss suffered at the hands of Australian governments or corporations is worth more if it actually occurs within national boundaries. Heck, even a person allegedly responsible for a death gets the moola.
On the other hand - if a life is wrongfully taken in Afghanistan then it's only chump change which will be handed out by the Federal Government.

Never a truer word.......

MightyChewbacca @Salvor_Hardin_ Halloween is just bloody fair dinkum Un-Australian! via Mobile Web

Political barometer predicts church attendances

IF, and that's a mighty BIG IF, new research from Northwestern University and Duke University holds water, then the State of NSW should have already seen a mass conversion of its good citizens to some form of faith if they were not already believers.

Professors Aaron Kay and Adam Galinsky and their colleagues examined whether changing political climates can drive religious belief, especially faith in a controlling or interventionist deity. They found that beliefs toward God and the government can help satiate the same psychological need for structure and order and are interchangeable with one another.

The study suggests that when a government weakens, people’s faith in a higher power becomes stronger.

According to Kay, an associate professor at Duke University, “Although there are undoubtedly multiple causes of religious belief, one cause may be that when people perceive their government as unstable, they turn to God or other religious deities to fulfill a need for order and control in their lives.”

The research would have it that before the next NSW State Election in 2011 with government instability perceived to be high then people should be more likely to believe in a controlling God. That should contrast with events immediately after the election when a sense of government stability has been restored and the citizens consider they don't need to put their faith in an intervening God.

Given the parlous condition of the current NSW Government, due in no small amount to the significantly less-than-ordinary performances by its tribal leaders, the research would have it that there should be huge numbers of new believers flocking to Sunday school and similar religious activities.


Read more about this earth-shattering research here.

Caveat emptor: pay new prices at Target but take home pre-loved goods!

Recently I went into the local Target store and came out the 'proud' owner of a new digital camera.
Or did I?
This short video filmed by an unknown person was found in the camera's memory and, its very existence probably voids any warranty.
Nice one, Target!

Hockey one, hockey two, hockey three.....

Poor Uncle Joe. It felt so right when he practiced his indignation in front of the bathroom mirror, but then it all started to unravel after the Australian Industry Group’s national forum wound down.
First his fearless leader publicly failed to support him – not once but thrice.”
“Back home on the political front today, the spotlight was on the Opposition after Coalition Leader Tony Abbott declined three times to back his Shadow Treasurer's nine-point plan for a more competitive banking system before finally rectifying the matter.”
Then the banks began to bite back at his 9 Point Banking Plan. With “populism” being the kindest term used for his wish list.
Finally Joe fronts the cameras and tells the world that the Federal Treasurer agreed with him in Parliament, but neglected to point out that it was Graham Samuels with whom Swan was agreeing.
Joe obviously forgets that both Hansard and Open Australia have the exchange word for word
And I was actually beginning to feel for the bloke – until that pork pie on national television.

Personal political perspectives debating the Afghanistan War

Statements made by Federal MPs with electorates on the NSW North Coast, during the Afghanistan War debate in the Australian House of Representatives.

Janelle Saffin, Member for Page [Hansard, 26 October 2010]

I also have had a conversation with a constituent who is the mother of a serving soldier in Afghanistan, and she feels quite passionate about it. She talked to me about when we will be able to leave and things like that, but at the same time she wants us there and wants the job well done. There is a conflict around it. Like a lot of members, I have been contacted by a whole range of groups from around the country, particularly social justice groups. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, ACFID, the Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, Pax Christi, Jason Thomas, who is a commentator, and all sorts of people and organisations have contacted us.

My local newspapers have been talking about the issue. There was an editorial in the Daily Examiner by David Bancroft, the editor, with the headline 'Keeping the Peace'. I would like to put on record the last two sentences from an article that Chris Masters wrote:

There is no question that our soldiers should leave Afghanistan, and leave sooner rather than later. But only once the job is done.

That is the overwhelming feeling that comes from the community. That is the commitment of the government and the opposition and the message of most of the comments that have been made in this place.

There is currently talk about whether or not we should talk with the Taliban. My information and experience leads me to the view that we always have to talk to those that we seek to make peace with in some way, whether that be through military or other means. But it should always be done strategically, for some sort of strategic advantage. The Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan was toppled in 2002, but the Taliban are certainly a part of life in Afghanistan. There has been quite a lot of commentary about that recently. I always remember very well what the wonderful President Nelson Mandela said: ‘We don’t make peace with our friends.’ We make it, obviously, with our enemies.

Rob Oakeshott, Member for Lyne [Hansard 21 October 2010]

We have now found ourselves in one hell of a bind. If we leave, like when the 120,000 Russian troops left in 1989, there will be a void. There will be civil unrest and there will be blood. The bad elements of the Taliban would push back and potentially again gain control. The implications for being a 'base for terrorist groups' would potentially re-emerge. On the upside if we leave, however, our 1,550 Australian troops are safe, our tight budget has less strain and our ability to engage on both domestic and regional defence matters arguably increases. Importantly, we must also recognise that article 4 of the ANZUS treaty would be tested if we left.

Compare this with our military staying; there would be more Australian deaths and wounded. The 'base for terrorism' would continue to move to alternative locations such as Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, several Asian hot spots and even into locations such as London. We would continue to work on peace and reconstruction, with gun in hand—'shoot and talk' as General Petraeus recently put it—and we would continue the work of clear, hold and build for at least another 10 years.

Importantly, however, if we are operating in Australia's sovereign interests, we have to leave sometime and we cannot delay the inevitable void that will follow—not now nor in 10 years time. It is this issue—the one called Australia's sovereign interests—that should be central to this debate. We will leave sometime so that we do not spend another $6.1 billion on questionable return. We will leave sometime so we do not continue to lose Australian soldiers for a corrupt regime. We will have to at some point accept a lesser democracy than ours and we will have to at some time recalibrate to focus on our international obligations to our region, to the many challenges that religious extremism and terrorism pose and to what we can and should be doing to develop peace and development in our own region.

Luke Hartsuyker, Member for Cowper

Has not yet risen to his feet in the Afghanistan War debate in the House of Representatives, according to Open Australia records.

Justine Elliott, Member for Richmond

Has not yet risen to her feet in the Afghanistan War debate in the House of Representatives, according to Open Australia records.

Regional Women Wanted!

Media Release on 26 October 2010:

Page MP Janelle Saffin says there need to be more women in the boardrooms of Australia.

Ms Saffin is calling on suitably experienced local women to apply for a new scholarship program aimed at increasing the number of women on boards.

Applications opened today for the Board Diversity Scholarship Program, a $400,000 election commitment from the Australian Government which is jointly funded with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

The scholarships will assist women to attend the AICD’s Company Directors course or Mastering the Boardroom course and participating women will receive a one-year membership of the AICD.

Ms Saffin said the program is designed to prepare talented women to join the boards of companies, community groups and Government organisations.

An Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace census found that only 8.4 per cent of board directorships in the ASX 200 are held by women.

The Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis, said Australian women are continuing to be shut out of our most senior corporate boardrooms.

“The board scholarship program is aimed at getting more Australian women- who already have the skills, abilities and experience to be strong contributors-onto our corporate boards.” Ms Ellis said.

Janelle Saffin said applications for the Scholarship Program are being sought from suitably qualified women from various backgrounds from around Australia, including rural and regional areas, and she encouraged women from the Page electorate to apply.

Suitable background for the course includes experience as a board member; an executive or advisor reporting to a board; a senior executive reporting to a CEO; a senior government or public official; or senior academic.

The scholarship recipients will be selected by representatives of the AICD and the Australian Government’s Office for Women.

This initiative complements the Australian Government’s commitment to increased representation of women on Government Boards.

Applications close on 12 November, 2010 and more information is available at www.companydirectors.com.au/diversityscholarship

Photograph from The Northern Star