NSW North Coast gets a big tick from Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has just released its latest guidebook, East Coast Australia Travel Guide, and the NSW North Coast gets what could be termed a rave review:

Nowhere on the East Coast conjures up the beach-cum-nature-cum-good times quite like Byron Bay. Its unique mix of leisure and energy is infectious and those who visit seldom go home complaining – if they go home at all.

But if Byron is the heartbeat, the surrounding hinterland (with its green hills and national parks) and north coast (stretching north to Tweed Heads and south almost to Port Macquarie) are the blood that keeps it pumping. Byron might bring them here, but it’s the breathtaking vistas, endless white sands and blue-hued breaks that tempt travellers further afield to little coastal towns like Yamba and Crescent Head. And when the sand between your toes starts getting up your nose, national parks are scattered amid the rich deltas of mighty rivers; and villages like Bangalow and Bellingen, with sublime food and organic produce, tempt both alternative-lifestylers and city slickers. This really is the good life.

Those of us who live here know how lucky we are. Still, it is pleasing to see our own views reflected back in word pictures such as these:

Filling your days and nights in exciting Byron Bay….Enjoying the artful village charms of Bellingen…. Losing yourself on the untrodden beaches near Wooli….Exploring hinterland villages, including the Channon….Finding treasures in markets like the one at Nimbin….Taking in the fauna and flora of ancient Gondwana rainforests in the far north hinterland….Surfing with dolphins at Pippi’s beach in Yamba….Dining in one of a huddle of fabulous restaurants in tiny Bangalow….Eating fresh shucked oysters on the beach in Crescent Head….Getting your fill of the beautiful Clarence River in a beer garden in Ulmarra.

Twitter in 2011 - so how much is genuine?

Leaving aside those Twitter accounts obviously set up to satirize pollies of all hues, the rich and infamous or big business; it seems that a more sinister type of fakery is rearing its ugly noggin………

“The office of a former Nebraska Senator working for the American Petroleum Institute appears to have set up more than a dozen fake Twitter accounts to promote the KeystoneXL tar sands pipeline.”

While over at FederalBizOpps the U.S. Government is advertising for someone to develop suitable software, then teach it how to detect upcoming issues on Twitter or other social media and show it how to employ semi or fully automated "counter messaging" techniques.

DOE V RUMSFELD 2011: a sweet smell of karma is in the air

According to a Government Accountability Project media release on 3 August 2011:

Yesterday, a federal court in Washington, DC upheld the validity of a constitutional rights claim against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for his role in the torturing and illegal imprisonment of a U.S. citizen who was working as a translator in Iraq.

At LongIslandPress on 4 August:

Lawyers for the man, who is in his 50s, say he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the U.S. military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.

Court papers filed on his behalf say he was repeatedly abused, then suddenly released without explanation in August 2006. Two years later, he filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington arguing that Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights.

Excerpts from a U.S District Court (District of Columbia) Order and Opinion dated 2 August 2011 in the matter of John Doe v Donald Rumsfeld et al:

In this challenge to the conditions of and procedures used in detaining an American citizen at a United States military compound in Iraq, Plaintiff John Doe sues former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, other high-ranking United States government officials, and several unidentified United States officials and agents. He alleges multiple constitutional violations in his seizure and detention…..

Doe also sues Defendants Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Robert S. Mueller III, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Alan Bersin, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, and John Morton, Assistant Secretary of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in their official capacities, to secure the return of the property seized upon his detention and for alleged violations of his right to travel.

Finally, Doe brings claims against unidentified officers or agents of the United States, alleging:

(1) false arrest,

(2) unlawful detention and conditions of confinement,

(3) torturous and unlawful interrogation,

(4) denial of the right to counsel and the right to confront adverse witnesses,

(5) denial of the right to present witnesses and to have exculpatory evidence disclosed,

(6) denial of access to courts and to petition,

(7) blacklisting, and
(8) conspiracy……

The Court finds, however, that Doe had a constitutional right to be free from conduct and conditions of confinement that shock the conscience, that such right was clearly established at the time of Rumsfeld's conduct, and that Doe has pleaded factual allegations sufficient to support a claim that Rumsfeld's conduct violated this clearly-established right. Accordingly, Rumsfeld’s qualified immunity defense to Doe’s substantive due process claim fails…..

The Court thus finds, under the circumstances alleged, that a reasonable federal official would have understood conscience-shocking physical and psychological mistreatment—including temperature, sleep, food, and light manipulation—of a United States citizen detainee to violate the detainee’s constitutional right to substantive due process. Accordingly, Rumsfeld is not entitled to qualified immunity from Doe’s substantive due process claim…..

..the Court DENIES Rumsfeld’s motion to dismiss Doe’s substantive due process claim. The Court GRANTS Defendant Rumsfeld’s motion to dismiss Doe’s procedural due process and access to courts claims.

The Court further GRANTS the government’s motion to dismiss Doe’s return of seized property claim; the Court permits Doe leave to amend his complaint if he can plead, in good faith, factual allegations supporting a reasonable inference that the government’s refusal to return his property was a “final agency action.”

Finally, the Court DENIES the government’s motion for a more definite statement of Doe’s right to travel claim.

Free EDO seminar on gas exploration and production, 6-8pm 11 August 2011 at Casino RSM Club

FREE EDO Northern Rivers Seminar: Gas exploration and production

Three companies are currently exploring for coal seam and conventional gas in the Clarence Moreton Basin , which covers much of the Northern Rivers. Metgasco Limited already has approval for a gas-fired power station near Casino and is currently seeking planning approval for a gas pipeline from Casino over the Border Ranges to Ipswich . Red Sky Energy also recently announced coal seam and conventional gas discoveries between Casino and Grafton, and is intending to seek approval for a small power station in the area.
Various environmental and legal concerns have been raised about gas exploration and production by affected communities. EDO Northern Rivers is holding a public seminar to provide information about what is happening in the region; discuss the potential environmental impacts; explain the approval processes involved; and inform the community about their legal rights. Speakers will be from the EDO , Metgasco and the National Toxics Network.
Where : Casino RSM Club, 162 Canterbury St
When : 6-8 pm Thursday 11 August 2011
No need to book .
For more information, please contact Mark Byrne, EDO Northern Rivers Education Officer, (02) 6621 1113 or email.

Beer prices SLASHED in Yamba

How do they do it?

A Yamba hotel advertised that it was having a cheap grog night last night, Friday night, between 8.30pm and 10.00pm. Beer was going to be extra cheap because drinkers wouldn't have to pay GST on their beverages. However, that's only part of the story because drinkers at the hotel last night also didn't have to pay the carbon tax, the mining tax or the luxury tax.

North Coast Voices contacted the hotel yesterday and sought details about the "special offer". The hotel said that a schooner of beer which usually goes for about $4.50 would be discounted by 40%, resulting in a price of $2.50 ... (we won't discuss their mathematical skills here, that might be a subject for another day).
Hmmmm, wonder which authority will investigate operations at the hotel? Do we start with federal government authorities, state government authorities on local government authorities?

Pub art in Maclean NSW

The Maclean Hotel circa 1903 is situated in the centre of "The Scottish Town" and on the main thoroughfare, River Street.
This mural is on a wall in the beer garden.

Further along Maclean's main street is the second of the town's three pubs. The Argyll Hotel circa 1894 features an Art Space in its dining area.