David Penberthy stands reality on its head in an effort to avoid a rap over the knuckles from the Press Council

This was David Penberthy on 1 April 2011 in Penberthy: Waking up from the Green dream:

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To the enduring disgust of the Labor Party, the Greens chose to direct preferences to the One Nation founder ahead of the ALP, and she may now creep into the Upper House courtesy of their support.

This is David Penberthy on 4 April 2011 in Sorry Greens, we’re not apologising:

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The Greens are taking The Punch to the Press Council over my column of last Friday accusing them of pushing Pauline Hanson ahead of the ALP by refusing a preference swap with Labor at last weekend’s NSW election.

The story has definitely changed - from preference being officially identified by The Greens to no preferences being identified. This journalist obviously thinks that readers are fools with little short-term and no long-term memory.

The Punch should be ashamed of allowing this cowardly wriggle to be published online. Definitely not Australia’s best conversation by any definition of that term.

Exit Hatzistergos trailing smoke

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/topics-for-the-post-mortem-on-the-poll-20110401-1crv2.html

* I'm told Gemunu Kumarasinhe is an impeccable dresser, a flamboyant and sometimes theatrical courtroom performer, as well as a barrister who enjoys a reputation for fighting hard on behalf of his clients in matters before Local and District Courts on the NSW North Coast.

A snippet of Tony Abbott's family history

Just discovered in the bowels of the Vatican Secret Archives - the genuine ancient Abbott family crest.

40,000 defendants escape reverse class action suits brought by adult film companies

One doesn't know whether to cheer on civil liberties or worry that so many access p0rn0graphy on the Internet............

From an Electronic Frontier Foundation press release on 16 March 2011:

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked an Illinois judge to quash subpoenas issued in a "reverse class action" lawsuit accusing thousands of people of illegally downloading pornography, and urged the court to dismiss the case. In a friend of the court brief filed Tuesday, EFF argued that the plaintiff's "class action" strategy is an improper attempt to sidestep the rights of the defendants.

EFF has been involved in a number of copyright troll cases where content owners and lawyers team up to try to obtain the identities of thousands of anonymous alleged file sharers at once in order to extract settlements from them. In response, judges across the country have been cracking down on such abusive strategies. Thousands of unnamed "John Does" targeted in lawsuits filed in California, Washington D.C., Texas, and West Virginia have been severed, effectively dismissing over 40,000 defendants. These rulings may have a significant impact on this misguided business model, which relies on being able to sue thousands of Does at once with a minimum of administrative expense.

In this case, OpenMind Solutions v. Does, the plaintiff has taken a new approach: calling its complaint a "class action" lawsuit against the alleged infringers. Normally a class action is used by a group of plaintiffs with similar complaints of a single defendant -- not a single plaintiff targeting thousand of defendants with no attorney in place to defend the rights of the accused. OpenMind then asked the court for permission to issue subpoenas seeking identifying information for the Does, which was granted without the opportunity for anyone to speak on the unknown defendants' behalf.......

For the full amicus brief: https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/openmind_v_does/openmind-amicus-filed... For more on copyright trolls: https://www.eff.org/issues/copyright-trolls

Arts Northern Rivers gets creative with young artists

Arts Northern Rivers is excited to announce a new Young Creatives Mentoring Project. The first of its kind in the country, the Project will match local young creatives aged 16 to 24 with mentors recruited exclusively from the Northern Rivers' own creative communities.

Successful applicants will receive six months' direction and support from a specially selected Creative Mentor, and be eligible for up to $500 towards the cost of achieving a creative project or idea.

Plus they'll have access to specially programmed professional development workshops to assist in their overall learning, and the chance to present their work at an end of year showcase event.

The mentorship program will run for six months from June to November 2011.

Applications are now open for this exciting initiative, with a call to young people who have a passionate interest in the arts or a creative practice, to put their hand up to be included.

We're also seeking Expressions of Interest from established Northern Rivers' artists/creative industries practitioners, to fill the roles of our Creative Mentors.

Applications close Friday May 6.

This project is in an initiative of Arts Northern Rivers, supported by the Department of Education and Training NSW, through their ArtStart program.

(www.artsnorthernrivers.com.au)

I know I've got a suspicious mind, but.......

Online report from the BBC on 1st April 2011:

Dads launch class action against Mumsnet “Another leading human rights lawyer commented: “This case raises fundamental issues about privacy in the internet age. One of the fathers' complaints is that Mumsnetters are sharing information about every aspect of their private lives, from hygiene habits to genital size. They say they feel that women everywhere are ‘rofling’ at them. Some have become phobic about going online and no longer enjoy exchanging facts about mobile phone specifications. Many now feel so intimidated they can’t even post opinions about Kerry Katona’s breasts on the Daily Mail website. It’s a serious problem.” Mumsnet Founder Justine Roberts said: "Fathers have always been welcome on Mumsnet, I even keep one in my own house. I find it very useful for the spiders."

And from Ryanair this media release on the same day:

Child free flights from October 2011 “When it comes to children we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people’s little monsters when travelling. While half our passengers would like us to divide our cabins up into ‘adult’ and ‘family’ areas it is not operationally possible due to our free seating policy, with optional priority boarding. However, with clear demand for ‘child free’ flights Ryanair will introduce child free flights on high frequency routes from the start of our winter schedule in October.”

Shoomery ran with this on the 1st April:

Ban April Fool's Day

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Finally, a tongue in cheek via Twitter on 2^nd April 2011:

@riverknight Shawn Smith The problem with April Fools Day is that for this one day each year you aren't able to believe everything you read on the internet.