Someone forgot to tell Australia it's rooned

Oft repeated sayings sometimes have a long life because they contain an element of truth and on Friday the 13th “There are degrees of falsehood - lies, damn lies and statistics” was taken out for a spin by Mike 'Mish' Shedlock in his Howe Street (U.S.) compilation “Economic Bust in Australia:Near-Record Corporate Bankruptcies, Employment Drops Unexpectedly; Rise in Bad Home Loans;Record Low Property Transactions”.
According to Mish (artistically depicted at right) Australia is in dire straits and everyone is shortly destined for financial hell down under - but no-one has told the Oz Government or most average Aussies who think that the economy is heading in the right direction.
When you look at the numbers used by this American Chicken Little they don’t justify that scaremongering headline.
With investment advisers like Mish, perhaps Sitka Pacific Capital clients should be wary of where their money is being sent.

Pic found at Google Images

What can one believe when reading online?

From Science News on 11 May 2011:

Dense networks, on the other hand, such as many social networks, were much easier to control: Influence roughly 20 percent of the nodes and the whole network responds.
“I found that very shocking,” says Magnus Egerstedt, director of the Georgia Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at Georgia Tech. “Social networks, which seem to be these random, ad hoc collections of people freely expressing information and sharing their thoughts — those were much easier to control than other networks.”

This finding probably explains why Facebook thought it worthwhile to hire a public relations firm to further its interests by selectively placing 'information' before individuals active on social networks.

In one instance it backfired and this email exchange was promptly posted at PasteBin on 3 May 2011, detailing an alleged Facebook smear campaign against Google:

*************************

From: Christopher Soghoian [mailto:chris@soghoian.net]

Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2011 10:11 AM

To: Mercurio, John

Subject: Re: Op-Ed Opportunity: Google Quietly Launches Sweeping Violation of User Privacy

Who is paying for this? (not paying me, but paying you)

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:08 AM, Mercurio, John <John.Mercurio@bm.com> wrote:

Mr. Soghoian,

I wanted to gauge your interest in authoring an op-ed this week for a top-tier media outlet on an important issue that I know you’re following closely.

The topic: Google’s sweeping violations of user privacy. Google, as you know, has a well-known history of infringing on the privacy rights of America’s Internet users. Not a year has gone by since the founding of the company where it has not been the focus of front-page news detailing its zealous approach to gathering information – in many cases private and identifiable information - about online users.

Despite an unprecedented rebuke from the Federal Trade Commission last month forcing Google into a government mandated two-decade privacy review program, Google is at it again – and this time they are not only violating the personal privacy rights of millions of Americans, they are also infringing on the privacy rules and rights of hundreds of companies ranging from Yelp to Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn in what appears to be a first in web history: Google is collecting, storing and mining millions of people’s personal information from a number of different online services and sharing it without the knowledge, consent or control of the people involved.

The Federal Trade Commission made it clear last month that Google had agreed to change its ways, and in so doing, the United States government gave Google an imprimatur of credibility and trust amongst the American people. As FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz stated not four weeks ago: “When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them…This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations.”

Unfortunately the ink was barely dry on the settlement before Google rolled out its latest tool designed to scrape private data and build deeply personal dossiers on millions of users – in a direct and flagrant violation of its agreement with the FTC.

In light of the recent agreement between the government and Google, Congress and the FTC must immediately investigate this latest violation of online privacy. The American people must be made aware of the now immediate intrusions into their deeply personal lives Google is cataloging and broadcasting every minute of every day– without their permission.

I’m happy to help place the op-ed and assist in the drafting, if needed. For media targets, I was thinking about the Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call or the Huffington Post.

Please let me know your thoughts. Also, I’m available to discuss this by phone, if you’re available.

Many thanks,

John

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AFTER FTC PRIVACY VIOLATION SETTLEMENT, GOOGLE QUIETLY LAUNCHES SWEEPING VIOLATION OF USER PRIVACY

About Google Social Circles

Recently, Google quietly introduced its latest attempt to enter the social space with a new feature called Google Social Circles. The idea behind the feature is to scrape and mine social sites from around the web to make connections between people that wouldn’t otherwise exists and share that information with people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. All of this happens without the knowledge, consent or control of the people whose information is being shared. Here is how Google Social Circles works:

1) Google’s robots scour the web for people’s social connections on different websites. These connections are then stored in a collection people’s connections on different websites. This collection is then mined, creating connections between people on different websites, that those people never intended and can’t control.

2) This information is then shared with anyone who has a Google account, whether it is Gmail, Chat or another Google service that includes a personal profile -- more than 146 million people have Gmail accounts alone, and some estimates say as many as 400 million people have at least one Google account.

3) Google Social Circles automatically enables people to trace their contacts' connections and profile information by crawling and scraping the sites you and your contacts use, like Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Yelp, Yahoo and many others, likely in direct violation of the Terms of Service for those sites, unless those sites have partnered with Google on this “service,” something else users ought to be aware of.

4) Even if you are not a Google account holder, your information is still mined, stored and shared as long as you have some connection on any site Google scrapes to someone who has a Google account. You don’t even have to have a direct connection to the person with a Google account. If someone you are connected to is connected with someone with a Google account, your information will be shared.

5) To find out if your own Social Circles direct and secondary connections that Google has indexed to your account, visit: http://www.google.com/s2/u/0/search/social#socialcircle, and https://profiles.google.com/u/0/connectedaccounts

Privacy Violations

The ability to abuse this information and violate the privacy rights of millions of Americans is clear:

No notice: Google does not notify people that their information is being used in a way that the person would not expect—to connect different groups of people within an Internet-wide database Google created.

No consent: Google Social Circles does not ask “permission” from individuals who will have their profiles, connections and other personal data shared in the new network. Google will simply “scrape” their information from dozens of sources and compile the data into one massive dossier aligned directly with user’s personally identifiable information.

No control: On all of the sites Google scrapes, you can change your mind. You can delete your account. You can make or break connections to other people. How do you remove this information from the database that Google is sharing with hundreds of millions of people? You can’t.

Serious real world risks: Google is taking different parts of people’s lives—parts they deliberately separated onto different sites—and presenting the collage Google created to other people. Reminiscent of Google Buzz, Google’s latest plan totally disregards the intimate and potentially damaging details that could be revealed, including sexual orientation, political affiliation, personal connections, etc…

Steals from other sites: Dozens of private companies will have their own privacy rules and regulations violated by the Google information fishing intrusion.

Disregards FTC agreement: Despite the clear direction from the FTC to the contrary, Google has again created a program without a clear path for users to “opt out”.

References

· FTC Statement on Google Settlement

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/03/google.shtm

· Google Shows Off How Well It Knows Your Social Circle

Switched.com (HuffingtonPost Tech)

http://www.switched.com/2010/08/09/google-shows-off-how-well-it-knows-your-social-circle/

· “Do you feel like big brother is watching you now?”

About.com

http://marketing.about.com/b/2011/03/31/google-wants-you-to-1.htm

· Google’s Social Circle & Social Search May Not Violate Any Privacy Laws But It Gives Me The Creeps

LibrarianByDay.com

http://librarianbyday.net/2010/03/30/googles-social-circle-social-search-may-not-violate-any-privacy-laws-but-it-gives-me-the-creeps/

*************************

Mercurio, John <John.Mercurio@bm.com>

to Christopher Soghoian <chris@soghoian.net>

date Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:38 AM

subject RE: Op-Ed Opportunity: Google Quietly Launches Sweeping Violation of User Privacy

mailed-by bm.com

Thanks for the prompt reply. I’m afraid I can’t disclose my client yet. But all the information included in this email is publicly available. Any interest in pursuing this?

*************************

Memo to all Clarence Valley Shire Councillors: Effin' Bloody Fools!

According to The Northern Rivers Echo on 14th May 2011:
"there appear to be large reserves of conventional or natural as well as CSG (both composed largely of methane) in the Clarence Moreton Basin, which runs from south of Grafton up to the border and joins the Surat Basin in Queensland. There are currently three companies operating on the North Coast". (see map showing gas exploration in the Clarence Basin, a mid-Triassic to early Cretaceous basin)

On Friday 13th May 2011 The Daily Examiner ran an article which reported that:
“CLARENCE Valley Council is taking a “wait and see approach” to joining the chorus of Northern Rivers councils calling for a moratorium on coal seam gas mining.
Mayor Richie Williamson said coal seam gas mining was primarily a State Government issue.
“The state policies would come into consideration if and when there was an application for coal seam gas mining in the Clarence council local government area,” he said.
“I am aware that other councils are calling on the State Government for a moratorium, but it really is a State Government decision.
“The council hasn’t considered joining those other councils in calling for a moratorium as yet.”
Cr Williamson said the idea of fracking was a new issue for council.”

On Thursday 14th April 2011 a Duke University study (using analyzed groundwater from 68 private water wells) was approved for publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 9th May:
“Directional drilling and hydraulic-fracturing technologies are dramatically increasing natural-gas extraction. In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shalegas extraction. In active gas-extraction areas (one or more gas wells within 1 km), average and maximum methane concentrations in drinking-water wells increased with proximity to the nearest gas well and were 19.2 and 64 mg CH4 L-1 (n 1/4 26), a potential explosion hazard; in contrast, dissolved methane samples in neighboring nonextraction sites (no gas wells within 1 km) within similar geologic formations and hydrogeologic regimes averaged only 1.1 mg L-1 (P < 0.05; n 1/4 34)…….
Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking-water systems in at least three areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks accompanying shale-gas exploration worldwide.”

This isn’t the first science-based warning about fracking and many other councils on the NSW North Coast (Ballina, Lismore, Kyogle and Tweed) have taken note of the problems created by this type of mining - along with a growing number of areas worldwide in which fracking is banned. But the arrogant nongs currently infesting local government in the Clarence Valley are an ignorant breed apart.

Of course Clarence Valley councillors are not alone in their folly as this email from the equally foolish NSW Nationals MP for Clarence (who obviously considers himself a lobbyist for Metgasco, Santos, Petronas, Total, Shell, PetroChina & Kogas) shows:
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:55:57+1000
From: ElectorateOffice.Clarence@parliament.nsw.gov.au
To: mikemizzi@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: gas in the Clarence
Dear Michael,
Thank you for your email indicating your concerns regarding coal seam gas mining in all regions of Australia.
I support coal seam gas exploration being undertaken in our area. I think the industry can deliver a lot of benefits to our community in terms of employment and economic opportunities. At the same time it is important for the industry to operate in an environmentally responsible manner and to respect the interests of landowners. As you may know we released a Strategic Land Use Policy before the election which aims to strike a balance between the interests of the different groups. A copy of the policy is attached for your interest.
Exploration licenses have been held on the Mid North Coast for decades and extensive gas exploration has been undertaken in that time with little concern from the community. Community issues seem to have only come up since the movie Gaslands has been shown in the area. You should be aware that this movie is about the Shale Gas industry in the US and has little relevance to Australian gas industry practice. The movie is not a realistic portrayal of the gas industry in Australia as both the operational activities and regulatory environments are quite different. I have attached an information factsheet about the Gaslands movie that addresses some of the inaccuracies.
The coal seam gas industry is regulated by the Department of Industry and Investment in the exploration stage of operations when notices are placed in local papers notifying the intention to grant an exploration licence. Prior to any development being undertaken an environmental assessment is undertaken and must be approved by the Department of Planning, who co-ordinates the input from all relevant NSW Government agencies, including environmental agencies. At this stage there is an extensive community consultation process. Government agencies review an extensive list of environmental factors and specifically address any impact on underground aquifers and existing or future land uses. An example of these studies can be found at: http://www.glng.com.au/Content.aspx?p=90.
The coal seam gas industry is regulated by NSW State regulation. The National Industrial Chemicals Notifications and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) is a Commonwealth authority and therefore is not a relevant agency for the purposes of regulating the industry. Several independent studies have examined the potential for water contamination due to hydraulic fracturing practices and found that the practice does not pose a threat to underground sources of drinking water. You can download the study at: http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/
class/hydraulicfracturing/wells_coalbedmethanestudy.cfm.
Coal seam gas currently supplies over 90% of Queensland’s gas supply and is likely to become an increasingly important source of energy in NSW as well. I do believe that the industry can be developed in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Regards
Steve
Steve Cansdell, MP
Member for Clarence

"Emails between department staff (Department of Industry and Investment) and Metgasco show that testing for coal seam gas using fracking can go ahead without approval being sought or required from the Environment Department.
The practice of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals underground to force gas to the surface."

UPDATE: I noticed that Steve Cansdell’s email contained a reference to an U.S. study rather than an Australian one. I suspected that Steve chose to ignore studies closer to home because they were not as favourable to his support of fracking on the NSW North Coast.
An investigation into the anticipated impacts of mining proposed in the Clarence-Moreton Basin communities: The Felton Project Report from the University of Queensland stable shows Valley locals may not be quite as enthusiastic as the Clarence MP expects:

Major anticipated environmental impacts which are negative are:
 contaminated groundwater and damaged aquifers
 capacity to successfully rehabilitate soil
 reduced air quality
o Significant anticipated environmental concerns are also negative: the potential for ecosystem damage and the cumulative impact and perceived limited capacity for environmental regulation.
o Major anticipated social impacts are negative:
 community tensions between mine and non-mine populations
 the social dislocation of farming families
 loss of visual amenity
 infrastructure, particularly roads

And Steve along with Clarence Valley Council ignores the fact that the large amount of waste water produced by fracking has to go somewhere and the cheapest option available to mining companies is to have the untreated contaminated water injected into natural underground aquifers or spread across the environemnt in other ways. It’s a sure bet the NSW O’Farrell Government would allow this without so much as a solitary moment of hesitation.

Stu Murphy behind the lens

 

Stu Murphy is from South Grafton on the NSW North Coast and has posted his work at Red Bubble. He has a fine eye and I hope we see more of his work.

Budget Reply 2011: exposing the hollow men

The Coalition Budget Reply - old, tired and inaccurate..........

ABC TV Lateline program on 12^th May 2011:

TOM IGGULDEN, REPORTER:

In the lead-up to tonight's speech, the Opposition was letting it be known Tony Abbott would be detailing new policies for small business and welfare.
He must have lost them on the walk to the chamber; there were no new initiatives, even a copy of the speech distributed to the media was a year out of date.

TONY JONES:

Well we didn't get a lot of response to the actual budget tonight in Tony Abbott's speech. So, he did talk about "forgotten families", and the Coalition's been very critical about changes to family benefits in the Swan budget. There are 1.9 million families who receive Family Tax Benefit A. Do you know how many of them Treasury estimates will lose their benefit after the changes?

ANDREW ROBB: Well as I understand it with Tamily Tax A, that almost all of those families will be affected by the decision of the Government to freeze the indexation.

TONY JONES: Well, according to Treasury, only 31,000 families will be affected by the changes.......

TONY JONES: Well in that case, do you know how many are affected by the changes, according to Treasury, in Family Tax Benefit B?

ANDREW ROBB: Well as I understand, some 44,000 families will be affected.

TONY JONES: No, it's 9,000. Apparently out of 1.6 million, 9,000 are going to be affected by the changes to family tax benefit B. Yes, 31,000 are going to be affected by changes to the other tax benefit A, and if you add them together, you get the figure you just mentioned.

Hansard transcript of Budget Reply - see Page 81.

Apology to all our readers

Due to the fact that Blogger.com had been experiencing difficulties, went offline to fix same, temporarily removed current versions of its hosted homepages and did not replace all the missing posts as promised; in the last twenty-four hours North Coast Voices has not been able to display all its posts.
To replace one of these missing posts accurately North Coast Voices Administration had to rely on its Blogotariat feed. Hat tip to the folks over at that blog aggregate site.
Hopefully, all is now well.
North Coast Voices apologizes for any confusion this may caused our readers.

Centrelink will be helping Page pensioners switch to digital TV in 2012

Below is a 4 May 2011 media release from Federal MP for Page, Janelle Saffin, explaining eligibility for help converting the signal received by analogue televisions into high definition digital images and also what pitfalls to avoid while waiting for this assistance to become available on the NSW North Coast next year.

PENSIONERS in Page needing Federal Government help with making the switch to digital television in the second half of next year, should wait until Centrelink writes to them early next year.

Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin said eligible households will receive a letter from Centrelink about six months before Northern New South Wales is due to switch over, inviting them to participate in the Household Assistance Scheme (HAS).

Ms Saffin confirmed that this week’s Federal Budget would provide $308.8 million for the HAS to install, free of charge, high definition digital set-top boxes in New South Wales and other states until December 2013.

“Households are eligible where at least one resident is receiving a maximum rate of the Aged Pension; Disability Support Pension; Carer payment; Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) service pension; or the DVA income support supplement payment,” she said.

“Under the HAS, the Government has already provided assistance to more than 38,000 households in regional South Australia and Victoria.”

Ms Saffin said suitably qualified contractors would supply and install these set top boxes, and demonstrate how they will meet specific needs of the elderly and people with disabilities.

“People should not go out and purchase any equipment from retail outlets, expecting a reimbursement under the scheme,” she said.

“And they should not accept any approach from door-to-door salespeople or other advertised schemes. Centrelink will make the initial contact and organise everything from there.”

More information on the timetable for digital switchover is available from the Digital Ready Information Line on 1800 20 10 13 or from http://www.digitalready.gov.au/

Country Arts Support funding for the Northern Rivers in 2011

Country Arts Support Program 2011- Northern Rivers

· $2,550.00 to Ocean Shores Public School P & C for Ocean Shores Community Arts Project. A series of arts and craft workshops, performances by local musicians and a public art project to be held as part of the Ocean Shores Public Arts and Craft Festival in August 2011.

· $2,197.00 to Byron Bay Community Association Inc. (Byron Community Centre) for Arts Classic Artist in Residence. Mosaic artists Turiya Bruce and Pyari Cau will be engaged as artists-in-residence at the Byron Community Centre over five days during the 2011 Byron Arts Classic in January 2012. After a period of public consultation with members of the Byron community, the artists will conduct daily three-hour public participation workshops to create a mosaic artwork at the Centre.

· $1,000.00 to Coraki Rural Transaction Centre Inc (Coraki Art Prize) for Painting and Printmaking Workshops. A series of printmaking and painting workshops for young Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists in Coraki, focusing on expression of identity and personal storytelling through art.

· $1,588.00 to Clarence Valley Council for Kami Shibai. Performer Kyoko Miyauchi will conduct a series of traditional Japanese storytelling theatre performances and origami workshops for school students at outer regional primary schools in Baryulgil, Coutts Crossing and Herani during term 2, 2011.

· $1,560.00 to Platypus Gallery (Richmond Valley Council) for MINDLE. For the month of September the gallery will host an exhibition exploring the local Indigenous language of Junbung, during which time two local Indigenous artists will be in residence at the Gallery. The artists will interact with the public and demonstrate their working process and techniques, giving insights into both artistic practice and indigenous culture.

· $1,392.00 to Caringa Enterprises Ltd for Colour Theory Wall Mural. An artist in residence program with local artist Pamela Denise, during which severely disabled participants (with support workers) will create a 50m square mural at the Day Program Centre in Grafton between April and July.

· $1,480.00 to The Creative Peoples Collective Inc for Standing Now - Finding our Feet. Free workshops over July-August 2011 for young people at Coraki Youth Hall, in which the aim is to create a contemporary dance piece. Participants will then have the opportunity to perform alongside professional artists in the production 'Standing Now'.

· $2,000.00 to Tropical Fruits Inc. for Illumination 2011. An artist in residence program with local artist Martin Pedder, in which he will work with members of the local GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) community to create illuminated installations, props and backdrops for the Tropical Fruits 2011 Festival.

· $2,255.00 to On-Focus Inc for Dhinawan Dreaming at LINCS. Workshops and performance presented by local indigenous artist Mick Baker of Dhinawan Dreaming, run as part of the Casino Day Program for Indigenous people throughout 2011. The sessions will cover storytelling, dance and visual arts.

· $2,110.00 to The Unity Festival for The Unity Festival, a multicultural dance, music, food, art and craft event. Dancers representing the cultural traditions of the Phillipines, India, Torres Strait and Aboriginal Australia will be engaged for public performance. Held in Murwillumbah in October 2011, the festival aims to create opportunities for greater social interaction amongst community groups, and encouraging tolerance.

Yeah, that's the answer Uncle Joe! Put more people out of work.

Uncle Joe and The Rabbit in The Canberra Times on 11^th May 2011

Now I’ve heard everything! Joe Hockey’s answer to the Australian Government’s 2011 Budget is to say tax concessions shouldn’t be taken from those rich enough to be into income splitting, family trusts and the like and other concessions and income support shouldn’t be frozen for the next four years for those singles or families earning $150,000 or more a year – instead he insists that 12,000 people should be sacked from the public service and be directed towards the dole line.
Onya, Uncle Joe. You’re the tosser giving us all a perfect example of the very class war you’re accusing the Treasurer of conducting. At least Swanee isn’t into mass layoffs to bring the federal budget into surplus.

In his call to support those earning a comfortable living, Joe ignores the fact that in August 2010 there were 9.8 million employees in this country and a good 50% of these earned less than $46,020 a year. Even if these people lived in households where their partners worked for similar wages, they would still come nowhere near having the combined incomes of Abbott & Co's newly discovered middleclass battlers. Who, incidentally, have also for many years been growing their disposable incomes at a higher rate than the less well off.
Here on the NSW North Coast it would be a safe bet to say that half of all households would have annual incomes which fall below $46,020 and a great many of these would be old age pensioners, so Hockey's plea to save the middleclass from the wicked Gillard Government falls on deaf ears in many a local home.

Here's a profile of Abbott and Hockey's 'battlers' (who appear to make up around a mere 15% of all households according to the Herald-Sun) courtesy of The Tele on 11th May and The Australian of the same day:
Family No.1 A young couple (with one small child and a high maintenance dog) whose combined incomes are more than $150,000 per year, both have successful, high-paying professional careers, own a modern McMansion in a popular suburb, with two cars in the garage as well as flashy plasma in the lounge, and yet still they loudly complain that their family income is not enough to support their preferred lifestyle.
Family No.2 A young couple (with two young children), he's in the building industry and she's an associate director in a recruitment firm, they have a combined income of around $200,000 per year, pay 18% tax, live in a decent house in an established suburb and had considered employing a nanny if the Gillard Government froze middleclass welfare rather than raising it to meet the family's expectations.
Anyone seen where I put the smallest violin in the world? I feel a sad, sad sonata coming on....