Watching the watchers

The week began with Kevin Rudd being reported as lobbying for an Australian sainthood (such a mind numbingly stupid misstep that it deserves no further comment) and a media beat-up on the new head of Britain's MI5 being outed by his wife on Facebook (conveniently ignoring the fact that Sir John Sawers image opposite is all over the world wide web due to his previous high profile government positions).

Which had me musing on what other smiling spooks might be found out there in hyperspace. A quick search revealed the following.

Leon E. Panetta, CIA Director 2009 [Google Images]

David Irvine, Director-General of ASIO 2009 [Google Images]

In the private sphere watchers such as the Global Edge Group Pty Ltd / National Open Source Intelligence Centre, which was outed by The Age sometime back as one of the contractors used by various Australian government departments and agencies to gather information on activist groups, websites and blogs, are a little more circumspect.

No hard information on the current doings of the Global Edge Group is out there apart from the fact that some NOSIC staff spent time attending an SMX Presentation held by Synergy Limited in Sydney and, participated in strategic discussions with regards to penetration of high-security markets in Australia and overseas.

Wildlife SOS: Helium balloons - when the party's over

The use of helium balloons has become common at festive occasions and promotional events. The balloons are colourful, fun and carry messages. Unfortunately, these balloons that rise so gracefully into the sky come back down as litter. What is very scary is where these balloons come down, and the problems they pose for wildlife.

Large numbers of balloons are being found on our local beaches on a regular basis. The balloons in this photo were collected from one beach, in just one hour. Some balloons printed with advertising logos have been found to have originated several hundred kilometres away.

Some people think that the balloons burst into tiny pieces when they rise high into the atmosphere. This is not the case. These balloons that are washing up on our beaches are not tiny pieces – some are still partially inflated. Most have their ribbons still attached. Helium balloons drift long distances with the prevailing wind. When they fall into the sea they travel on the current.

Marine wildlife feed on items that float in the sea. Sadly that can include plastic rubbish that cannot be digested. Dead turtles, shorebirds and dolphins have been found with plastic in their gut.

We need to be more aware of the rubbish that is ending up in the ocean, and take steps to prevent it. It is so very easy to prevent helium balloons littering the ocean and washing up on our beaches.

• Use balloons filled with air, not helium. Air filled balloons do not escape so readily.
• If you must use helium balloons make sure they are anchored very securely so they don't fly away.
• After you have finished with the balloons throw them in the rubbish bin.

Think of other ways to display your message.

Helium balloons may carry a death sentence for some of our native animals – and that is not a good message.

Imelda Jennings, Wildlife SOS

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Another alternative 'scientific' explanation for Senator Fielding to believe in

Image: I can haz cheezburger

Fielding unconvinced after climate change lesson

Fatal flaw in Turnbull's climate compromise

NSW Register of Lobbyists and media as lobbyists

If you are in the mood to look at a list, here is the NSW Register of Lobbyists and the accompanying NSW Government Lobbyist Code of Conduct.

If you are in the mood to have your jaw drop at how the mainstream media is beginning to morph, have a peek at this; Washington Post cancels lobbyist event amid uproar.

And then he drove me mad

There is no excuse for domestic violence and even though we all know this such violence often goes unaddressed by families and communities alike.

So it was interesting to come across the website He Drove Me Mad: our traumatic experiences shared.

This is a safe place that we hope will make you feel that you are not alone, where we can share our experience of "madness" in the aftermath of domestic violence and can heal from our experiences. A portal through which we can support one other as we navigate through the effects of trauma with shared stories, personal experience and information.

This site offers you a way to

• affirm your experiences
• involve you in conversation with people who have similar experiences
• provide a forum where you can feel listened to
• enable you to share your experience in order to help and support others
• get information and have your questions answered
• help you find support, encouragement and ideas to help you heal

The sites contains a number of forum and information sharing pages for people who have experienced domestic violence and, although a New Zealand-based site is available to Australian women.

If it's July it must be time to mention Monsanto again....

Another month has passed and the big biotech companies continue their push to dominate the basic mechanism of food production - seeds, fertiliser and chemical weed eradication/suppression.

Each month that passes highlights Monsanto & Co's abysmal safety record.

From the Idaho Business Review, June 29 2009:

Federal regulators say an Idaho mine that Monsanto uses to make Roundup weed killer has violated federal and state water quality laws almost since it opened, sending selenium and other heavy metals into the region's streams. The Environmental Protection Agency says problems at the St. Louis-based company's mine near the Idaho-Wyoming border were documented starting in April 2002, 15 months after it won Bureau of Land Management approval.
The mine recently has failed to halt metals-laden water seeping from a waste dump.
Eva DeMaria, an EPA enforcement official in Seattle, says, "The measures they have implemented aren't working.''
The disclosure comes as Monsanto Co. wants federal officials to approve a new mine in the region.
Monsanto lobbyist Trent Clark says his company has remedied some EPA concerns and continues to work to fix violations at the waste dump.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.