Vatican says, Pill pollutes. Scientists say, Rubbish!

Vatican says: the pill is polluting the environment & is responsible for male infertility. Scientists say: Rubbish!

Holy hectors! Reports are pouring out of the Vatican that the contraceptive pill is polluting the environment and is in part responsible for male infertility.

CathNews reports that the Vatican newspaperL'Osservatore Romano is carrying an article that says:

The pill has "had devastating effects on the environment by releasing tonnes of hormones into nature," Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, says.

"We have sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill," Mr Castellvi said in a L'Osservatore Romano article.

"We are faced with a clear anti-environmental effect which demands more explanation on the part of the manufacturers," Mr Castellvi said.

But the article was promptly dismissed by several organisations.

"Once metabolised, the hormones contained in oral contraceptives no longer have any of the characteristic effects of feminine hormones," said Gianbenedetto Melis, vice-president of a contraceptive research association, quoted by the ANSA news agency.

The hormones contained in the pill such as oestrogen "are present everywhere... in plastic, in disinfectants, in meat that we eat," said Flavia Franconi, of the Society of Italian Pharmacology.

The Gaza fight enters cyberspace

Click to enlarge

I suppose it had to happen - Palestinian supporters are hacking in protest at the situation in Gaza.
Arabia Mirror tracks some of these hacks.

This North Coast Voices post will probably not be possible if the Rudd-Conroy plan to impose national mandatory ISP-level filtering on the Australian Internet is implemented.

Way to go, mums!

According to GlobeLife on 31 December 2008:

They called it a "virtual nurse-in."

Earlier this week, 11,000 mothers who use Facebook changed their profile pictures to photos of themselves breastfeeding children to protest against the social networking site's decency standards.

It's the latest blow in a continuing battle between Facebook and some of its users since it began removing photos that show breastfeeding.

The single-day protest, known as the Mothers International Lactation Campaign, was organized by Stephanie Muir, an Ottawa woman and mother of five who is one of more than 87,000 members of the group "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!"

The group is pushing Facebook to change its policies regarding breastfeeding pictures and its regulations surrounding how much of a woman's breast can appear in photos posted on the site.

"This societal attitude that women's breasts are lewd, sexually explicit or pornographic in their very nature serves only as a detriment to breastfeeding," Ms. Muir said.

Make 2009 the year of the green purchase

We all know how to recycle household paper, aluminium and glass, and to avoid purchasing goods with triple wrapping, but what about those other things we buy?

The Green Pages is a great online place to start looking for things in its BeGreen range such as nifty pens made from recycled material, ethically manufactured underwear and beer that swears it is green.

Every little bit counts in a country whose government is still playing catch-up on climate change mitigation measures.

It's the start of the first full working week of 2009

I could say just be thankful that you have a job - but I know that wouldn't help the situation right now as everyone gears up for another 12 months of working for that dollar.

2009 on the NSW North Coast: time to brace ourselves for price hikes

Well the festive season is virtually over and there is only Australia Day left to mark the end of most people's December holiday break.

So what have we to look forward to on the NSW North Coast?

The cost of prescription medication under the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme went up this month by $1.60 to $32.90.
Pensioners will have to pay $5.30, up from $5, and will also have to pay for 62 scripts before they qualify for the safety net provision.
Of course, as it was getting harder to find prescribed medication being dispensed for $5 this will come as no surprise to many pensioners.
There is also no indication that Centrelink's pharmaceutical allowance will be increased to cover more than the current one script per fortnight.

The New South Wales retail price of electricity supplied to residential customers is likely to be fully deregulated sometime this year, coupled with the latest decision by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to allow a 26 per cent increase in electricity prices within the next two years.
The first price change is likely to be on 1 June this year.

Residential and business water charges will go up again this year, by around a 7.6 per cent annual increase if the North Coast Water timeline is any indication.

The Rees Government appears to be endorsing the IPART recommended 8.5 per cent increase of the maximum cap on regional bus fares.
As Sydney metropolitan and outer-metropolitan rail and bus fare increases have already been announced, expect to see local bus companies increase fares soon after any government announcement.
Further fare rises can also be expected over the next four years., but for the first time all-day pensioner excursion tickets will be available on the North Coast.

Home grown art from the Northern Rivers

Untitled beach painting Michael John Taylor

Clarence River Catch Carmen French


Coming Ready or Not Melinda Gibbs

Favourite local media snap over the holidays

Photo by Adam Hourigan, The Daily Examiner

A feisty bull tells Chris Williamson 'bollocks' at the 27th annual Maclean Twilight Rodeo on 27 December 2008.

Further delays for the Big Billabong

Tourists waiting to flock to the Clarence Valley's newest tourist attraction have been told to be patient.

The word around the traps was that Angourie's Big Billabong, which was estimated to be costing its proprietor about $10million to construct, would open for day trippers' viewing early in 2009.

However, the latest goss is that the owner Gordon Merchant won't be moving into his Angourie premises anytime soon. Furthermore, the cost of the project is now said to be close to the $16million mark.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that plans for the massive beach shack were lodged with the Clarence Valley Council in 2002 and when The Bulletin first visited the building site in October, 2007, it had already been under construction for three years.

At that time a builder on the site said the house would be finished in three to six months.

Well, those deadlines have come and gone and as our latest pictures show, there is still plenty of work to be done.

A member of the nearby Yamba Rugby Club, who wished to remain anonymous, said there were rumours the cost had blown out from $10 million or $12 million to $16 million.

"It's taken a long time generally because if he (Mr Merchant) is not happy with something he just gets it changed as it goes along," he said.

"It's taken a while, so everyone is looking forward to being invited to the opening party."

Mr Merchant can afford to be picky.

The man who founded the international clothing and accessories company Billabong on the Gold Coast in 1973 is worth an estimated $805 million.

He has long been a fan of Angourie, 5km south of Yamba in northern NSW, which boasts some of the best waves in Australia.

Another Angourie local said Mr Merchant was often seen about town.

"I was surfing the other day prior to Christmas and he was in this perfect Billabong wetsuit," he said.

"Their family is often seen around town. The house is taking a long time because he includes nothing but the best.

"The local tradies aren't complaining."

The mansion has totem poles sitting in gardens, five garages and a pool that spills over as a fountain between the garage doors.

It is built on four house-blocks and will be one of the biggest homes in Australia.

The mansion has a copper roof, which already has a tinge of green due to exposure to the elements, and is built from sandstone.

Besides the mansion at Angourie, Mr Merchant is believed to be investing heavily in and around Yamba.

His helicopter is often heard flying the divorced father of four into the town.

Mr Merchant recently won approval to build a helipad at the house to transport his young son interstate for medical treatment.

He also offered to make the helipad available to the Yamba community for emergency services. It has landing lights that can be activated by telephone.

That sort of community spirit has helped to win over Angourie locals.

"There are those with a little envy, but despite his obvious wealth and helicopter there is no real showiness about him," said a resident.