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North Coast Voices
This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre information 30.09.09
ABC Radio reports that Samoa has been hit by a tsunami this morning after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Initial waves sightings are reported at 1.3 metres and higher.
From the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre:
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1856Z 29 SEP 2009
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / NIUE / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU /
COOK ISLANDS / TONGA / TUVALU / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / FIJI /
HOWLAND-BAKER / JARVIS IS. / NEW ZEALAND / FR. POLYNESIA /
PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / SOLOMON IS.
A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR
JOHNSTON IS. / NEW CALEDONIA / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /
HAWAII / POHNPEI / WAKE IS. / PITCAIRN / MIDWAY IS. / CHUUK /
FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.
Posted by clarencegirl at 06:20
Labels: natural disasters
Casino set for railway revolution
Moving freight by rail rather than road ... how sensible!
CASINO is on the cusp of a railway renaissance, with a development application to build a $10 million rail terminal about to be lodged with the Richmond Valley Council.
The terminal, which will be built on land next to the Casino Saleyards by the end of 2010, promises to reduce road freight by 150 trucks per day.
The Northern Star reports:
The terminal will connect to the main rail line and from there freight will travel to destinations and ports around Australia.
With the capacity to load two 750m long trains or a single 1550m train, it is expected one short train will depart for Brisbane daily and one long train will head southward to Sydney or Melbourne every two to three days.
Phillip Imrie, the Sydney-based engineer behind the proposal, said the terminal represented the future of freight in Australia.
An industrial estate will form part of the terminal. From there, businesses will be able to load goods directly onto waiting trains.
The Casino branch of the stockfeed company Riverina currently brings in more than 100,000 tonnes of grain and protein from Northern NSW and South-East Queensland every year by road.
"A facility such as this would give us access to southern grain markets which are currently cost prohibitive by road," branch manager Col Shelton said.
Stage one of the terminal will employ 10 to 20 people on a full-time basis, although more will be working during the construction phase.
Mr Imrie said the terminal was likely to attract new businesses to Casino and this would bring more jobs.
Richmond Valley Council general manager Brian Wilkinson said the council was very keen to see the proposal go ahead and supported the overall concept.
Source: The Northern Star
Posted by Clarrie Rivers at 04:43
Labels: development, freight, public transport
Calf confusion or why the little bull loves fence posts
A heifer died two days after giving birth to a large bull calf, so I ended up with a poddy to raise.
I am pleased to say that he is going well, if a little bit confused.
He is being bucket fed and to avoid mess at feeding time I have drilled a hole in a stable wall which the milk teat goes through.
This works really well, except he now has a wood fetish.
Fence posts are fully examined to make sure that there are no teats and since the teat is black rubber the car tyres are of great interest to him.
To give him a more balanced view of the world I have been taking him out into the paddock and introducing him to the aunties (cows), this is working beautifully.
Each morning Arnold Bully the calf and I wander into the herd where I do my best cow impersonation.
Over the last week I have managed to have him accepted into the herd kindergarten.
This is where cows leave their older calves in the care of others and go off and feed; the calves play, have naps and generally learn how to be cows.
This is brilliant. Arnold has learnt that grass is for eating and you can drink water as well as milk.
He has the whole day out with the herd and comes home to his stable at night.
The problem for me is it is now my turn to look after the kindergarten kids - help!
Posted by K. Roo at 03:30
Labels: rural affairs
Shame Rudd Shame: government gets a fail on pension increase
State government housing authorities and community housing are lining up to take a bite out of the Rudd Government $60 per fortnight base pension increase for single pensioners.
Those on low incomes in public housing normally pay 25 per cent of their total income in rent, however the NSW Government has already changed rent calculation rules for community housing so that single pensioners are often paying more than 25 per cent of their total income on rent each fortnight and, in many parts of NSW that steep late 2008 rent increase was implemented in one fell swoop despite the Federal Government being told that there would be a graduated increase over years.
That particular fiddle saw at least an extra $22 per fortnight immediately removed from the pockets of single pensioners living in community housing.
At present state governments are considering a twelve month delay of any rent increase based on the higher fortnightly pension payment, but there is no guarantee that incorporated community housing won't take a cut of the extra money before the end of the year.
When the Rudd Government first announced it was considering a pension increase it assured the electorate that the additional income would be exempt from consideration by nursing homes, aged care hostels, and supported accommodation when factoring accommodation costs. No ifs, buts or maybes.
One now wonders if even these pensioners will actually be getting the full benefit of the additional payment.
The Rudd Government had within its power the ability to make this pension increase an exempt fortnightly allowance or exempt pension supplement for other pensioners but it chose not to do so.
I suspect that this failure to quarantine the increase was a deliberate pandering to state interests and Rudd, Swan, Macklin et al hoped that pensioners would keep quiet as greedy state governments cut into their payments to subsidise fiscal mismanagement.
If Ms. Macklin has a red face as the Brisbane Times cartoonist infers - it's probably only due to media scrutiny and a caught-out Treasurer Wayne Swan needs to do more than threaten to take on the states over this issue - he needs to act this week.
Shame, Rudd & Co, shame - you have treated single old age, disability and other pensioners living independently in the community as though they are the undeserving poor.
What I think of the Rees Government is of course unrepeatable in polite company.
What I think of a virtually silent federal and state Coaltion Opposition defies description (I'm particularly looking at you Nationals MP for Clarence Steve Cansdell, who thought previous NSW rent increase tactics were fair).
Labels: Australian society, Commonwealth-State relations, social policy, welfare payments
Tingle, Smith and Borsak think a name change will make the Australian Shooters Party more palatable to the electorate?
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that The Australian Shooters Party now has a new name - Shooters and Fishers Party or just plain Shooters and Fishers for short.
If I remember correctly, at the 2007 federal election this party received less than one per cent of votes cast and it has certainly been on the nose recently due to the conduct of Robert Borsak in New South Wales.
When it comes to hunting, elephants would have to up there with the whales as iconic untouchables for many Australian voters and the overseas hunting trips taken by Borsak almost guarantees a poor voter turnout if he stands at the next federal election.
I suspect that this has something to do with the name change and attempt to widen its base - but I don't think Tingle, Smith or Borsak remember the old adage of a leopard and its spots.
Labels: AEC, politics
Cybersquatting on photographs: one form of identity theft on the Internet
One hears a lot about identity theft these days and the need to protect personal online information, but what one doesn't hear about that much is the use of photographs of real people to represent other people who are using the Internet to promote or sell either themselves or saleable items (sometimes through use of a fictitious online persona).
This type of photo squatting is not as simple and straightforward as commandeering the image of a famous person from the past or a current politician/celebrity as an avatar accompanying online comments made using a pen name; this is more a stated claim involving the downloading and re-naming of an existing jpg file and then uploading it again to the Internet to represent a second person/fictitious persona without the knowledge or permission of the first person in the original photograph.
These 'fake' photographs often turn up on auction and dating sites. Sometimes the fakes appear to involve activity bordering on the unlawful, sometimes they appear to simply be misrepresentation of the second person's actual physical appearance - a type of wishful thinking.
What is obvious is that the people who have had their photographs hijacked in this way rarely have any idea that their faces are out there in cyberspace often inserted in biographies which give them street addresses, phone numbers, emails, jobs, partners and/or families that bear no relationship to their own lives.
Do you know where those happy snaps you may have posted on your website or social networking page have migrated to?
Graphic from Silhouette Clip Art
Labels: Internet, safety, scam, telecommunications
Australian Goanna Pulling Championships, Wooli 4 October 2009
It's almost October, when it will be time for the Goanna Pulling Championships.
Venue: Wooli Sports Ground, Wooli
Contact: (02) 6649 7740 for details.
Past contestants
battling it out
in Wooli on the
NSW North Coast.
Pic from Google Images
Posted by Petering Time at 00:05
Labels: entertainment, Northern Rivers
A pre-Copenhagen 2009 climate change question for governments of the day
It is widely accepted that (i) there is an increase in global warming due to anthropomorphic activity (principally though greenhouse gas emissions), (ii) this increase in warming is/will result in climate change with a significant deleterious effect on natural environment, infrastructure and society, (iii) there is limited extant legislation and/or binding treaty which seeks to adapt human activities in order to reduce these emissions at the national or international level, and (iv) the continent and territorial waters of the Commonwealth of Australia are/will experience the negative effects of climate change earlier or to a greater degree than some other nations.
What is also beginning to emerge is the possibility that few, if any, national governments are willing to create legitimate policy or enact legislation which seeks to either curb actual greenhouse gas emissions or limit exposure to climate change impacts. To date political rhetoric on climate change has been profuse and relatively worthless.
It is also becoming apparent that with a few exceptions change of government is unlikely to lead to real policy change in relation to how a country deals with global warming and, in Australia, any change of government is just as likely to result in a weakening of structural response.
So when will Australians start to band together and sue one or all of the three tiers of government (under existing common, statute law and/or international treaty) in order to effect climate change mitigation?
An critique: CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION IN THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND OTHER COURTS,The Hon. Justice Brian J Preston Chief Judge Land and Environment Court of NSW,August 2009
Labels: Australian society, climate change, federal government, local government, state government
A little dust storm? Don't worry be happy!
Dust plume passing over the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef
From Universe Today
If you thought that anti-science 'what anthropomorphic climate change?' blogs couldn't get any worse, then Watts Up With That just proved you wrong.
WUWT thinks that the recent massive loss of top soil across three states due to the big dust storm (larger picture) which hit the Australian east coast on 23 September 2009 is a real bonus:
That dust headed to sea has an unappreciated benefit – it will fertilize the ocean with its mineral rich dust. There may be some interesting blooms of sea life in the weeks to come.
Unfortunately, some of these interesting blooms may occur on the Great Barrier Reef which is already negatively impacted by silt and nutrient rich run-off from adjacent coastal lands.
Some readers' comments shown on the blog also posit that a dry Lake Eyre might be to blame for all that dust. Confusing the much larger Lake Eyre Basin with the actual lake.
Image from The Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement Click to enlarge
NASA which had a space-eye view of the storm's progress pointed out that dust was rising from multiple sources including agricultural land not just from the salt lakes.
The second dust storm which formed on 25 September also crossed three states and reached the coast.
On a continent with some of the oldest and most depleted soils on Earth, dust storms and the potential for erosion they represent, don't actually have an upside.
On the NSW North Coast four days of dust-laden air followed in some areas by a day of bushfire smoke on Sunday were not ideal living conditions for the very young, frail aged and those with respiratory problems.
Smoke from mulitple fires mingling with dust
Southern Queensland to Northern NSW
From MODIS
Labels: climate change, environment, weather
iSnack2.0: the 'new' Vegemite being panned?
Every time I visited my local supermarket these last few months it seemed that its display of the 'new' Vegemite and cream cheese spread didn't move very many jars from the shelves into shopping trolleys.
Last week the store was forced to offer the spread at almost half price in the hope of finally getting rid of all those yet unnamed jars ahead of Sunday's announcement that it was to be called iSnack2.0.
Here are some of the responses to The Daily Telegraph story on the naming competition:
1.0 of bondi Posted at 3:44 PM Today
That's the best they could come up with??
origimite Posted at 3:46 PM Today
what the hell kind of name is that? I will admit, it's a crap product - it tastes like bum, but giving it a name like that is just stupid. If I were Apple, I'd be getting my lawyers ready
Stephen of Quakers Hill Posted at 3:47 PM Today
WTF ???????? That is the stupidest name....Ever ! No argument.
JOHN STRONGER of BRISBANE Posted at 3:48 PM Today
MORE LIKE CRAPMITE!!!!!
Timothy Dub Posted at 3:53 PM Today
iSnack2.0 sucks. Worst. Name. Ever. What about vegelite. Anything would be better than that generic name. Why does everything have to have a 2.0 at the end of it these days. So passe. I won't be buying iSnack2.0 it doesn't sound very appetising, well maybe to a Dell Laptop it may.
Medusa Knows of Banana Republic Posted at 4:03 PM Today
You're kidding!?
N of Bondi Posted at 4:04 PM Today
That has got to be the stupidest name ever
It was always going to be chancy, fooling around with an Aussie icon. At this rate it's odds on there'll be a name change and then removal from the Australian market sometime in the next two years.
Kraft Foods Inc. calling out 'uncle' - after less than a week it has announced it is considering a name change for its new spread.
Matters are moving so fast that it might be gone from the supermarket shelves by New Year. ;-)
Labels: Australian society, food
Happy 11th Birthday Google!
Google's 11 th birthday logo on 27 September 2009
Google Inc was created way back in 1998 off the back of the founders' earlier foray into search engines, BackRub, and the fledgling company set up in a Santa Monica garage in September of that year.
You may be getting older, suffer from the occasional hiccup and have a few aches and pains around the Gmail area, but you are still the world's favourite first stop for information searches.
So happy birthday, Google and may you have many more.
Labels: anniversary, Internet
Casino and Grafton winners in house price growth according to ANZ September 2009 rural & regional quarterly report
Snapshot from ANZ Rural and Regional Quarterly 23 September 2009
According to the ANZ Rural and Regional Quarterly 23 September 2009 non-residential and residential building approvals are weak across the NSW North Coast and are falling back towards 2001 levels. Existing dwelling slae prices have also fallen in Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay.
However, the median house price in Casino and Grafton has risen by 5-6% in the last twelve months. In part due to the fact there appears to be more housing stock on the market under $350,000 potentially attracting buyers eligible for the First Home Buyers Grant.
Labels: coastal development, economy, housing, Northern Rivers
State of Play 2009: Indigenous Land Corporation
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies has published a 2009 discussion paper on Policy Change and the Indigenous Land Corporation.
According to National Native Title Tribunal Library Services:
Policy change and the Indigenous Land Corporation / Patrick Sullivan
The Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) was established in 1995 by the Keating Government as one element of its three-part response to the Mabo judgment. The first part was the Native Title Act (1993), which validated past grants of land to settlers and set up a process for claiming and registering surviving rights of native title. The second part was the creation of an Indigenous Land Fund, established by successive appropriations over ten years, after which it was to be self-sustaining.The ILC was set up at the same time to receive part of the allocation each year to buy alienated land for Indigenous groups. The third part of the Keating response, a Social Justice Package, was never implemented.
This discussion paper investigates changes in ILC policy from its inaugural period, when land was bought and divested to Indigenous groups rapidly, to the present day, when the ILC controls application procedures more tightly, divests under strict conditions, and augments its income from its own operations and investments. The paper suggests the ILC has shifted its focus from the direct benefit of land ownership towards joint programs with other government agencies for training, education and employment. The paper suggests this policy change has occurred without widespread consultation and communication, which has resulted in the dissatisfaction of Indigenous groups. The paper also discusses ILC finances, finding that it has faced considerable challenges since 2004 when it began funding itself entirely from the earnings of the Land Fund and its own investments.
Full research paper PDF here.
Labels: Australian society, indigenous affairs
Anyone else just a mite suspicious of the G20's motives?
The G20 has been around since 1999. It's a group of finance ministers and central bank governors. Many of the same ministers and bankers who sat complacently by while the global financial crisis grew into a tsunami which threatens to widen the gap between the developed and developing world, between rich and poor, between those countries with enough resources to buffer against climate change and those that will simply sink into the ocean or blow away on the wind.
One or two of its members countries have also been on record in the past as wanting to sideline the United Nations as an international forum and decision making body.
I think that the dynamic duo, Kev and Wayne from Nambour, need to be careful here because in this group of twenty they will still be mice in bed with at least two elephants - the USA and the European Union.
Even though Australia is now considered a developed country by those heavies participating in setting G20 policy, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; it's still privately rated as something of a wannabee.
When I look at how things went down at Pittsburgh this month I can't help feeling that what I'm really seeing is the international banking and business world shoring up the status quo and trying to kick the UN off the field.
Pic from Financial Axis
Mungo MacCallum writing over at Crikey believes that the G20 Pittburgh Summit is a true change in the world economic order:
"It is almost impossible to overstate the significance of the events last week in Pittsburgh.
The acceptance by all the major players of the role of the G20 as a rule maker for the conduct of the financial systems of member nations quite literally ushers in a new world economic order.
And this is not some kind of Orwellian nightmare in which a conspiracy of plutocrats (or Jews, or Masons, or Martians) use their might to enslave the wretched of the earth, but a genuine democratisation that directly includes two thirds of the world's population and indirectly gives a voice to the rest.
The London meeting of the G20 in April proved that the new organisation could actually work; that the diverse array of interests could co-operate in reforms to a system in desperate need of them. Now the process has been formalised and we have a long-overdue representative body with the power and the will to lead the world out of the global economic crisis and towards a better and fairer model of interdependence for the future.
Unsurprisingly, the Australian media have made much of the fact that Australia, as an active member of the club, now has a seat at the top table and this is indeed a cause for rejoicing. But far more important is the part Australia played in its construction, which is a matter for genuine and bipartisan pride."
Labels: banks and bankers, economics, Finance, politics
Leaders Statement from the 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit signals new directions or business as usual?
This morning The Pittsburgh Summit released a lengthy Leaders' Statement, the full transcript of which can be found here.
Only a handful of its 50 clauses plus annex dealt with climate change.
In this the G20 (like the G8 before it) fails to live up to the UN's record on climate change, on the day the Australian media reported that it had become the new premier forum for global governance and economic management.
In part the Leaders' Statement reads:
12. Today we agreed:
13. To launch a framework that lays out the policies and the way we act together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced global growth. We need a durable recovery that creates the good jobs our people need.
14. We need to shift from public to private sources of demand, establish a pattern of growth across countries that is more sustainable and balanced, and reduce development imbalances. We pledge to avoid destabilizing booms and busts in asset and credit prices and adopt macroeconomic policies, consistent with price stability, that promote adequate and balanced global demand. We will also make decisive progress on structural reforms that foster private demand and strengthen long-run growth potential.
15. Our Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth is a compact that commits us to work together to assess how our policies fit together, to evaluate whether they are collectively consistent with more sustainable and balanced growth, and to act as necessary to meet our common objectives.
16. To make sure our regulatory system for banks and other financial firms reins in the excesses that led to the crisis. Where reckless behavior and a lack of responsibility led to crisis, we will not allow a return to banking as usual.
17. We committed to act together to raise capital standards, to implement strong international compensation standards aimed at ending practices that lead to excessive risk-taking, to improve the over-the-counter derivatives market and to create more powerful tools to hold large global firms to account for the risks they take. Standards for large global financial firms should be commensurate with the cost of their failure. For all these reforms, we have set for ourselves strict and precise timetables.
18. To reform the global architecture to meet the needs of the 21st century. After this crisis, critical players need to be at the table and fully vested in our institutions to allow us to cooperate to lay the foundation for strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
19. We designated the G-20 to be the premier forum for our international economic cooperation. We established the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to include major emerging economies and welcome its efforts to coordinate and monitor progress in strengthening financial regulation.
20. We are committed to a shift in International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota share to dynamic emerging markets and developing countries of at least 5% from over-represented countries to under-represented countries using the current quota formula as the basis to work from. Today we have delivered on our promise to contribute over $500 billion to a renewed and expanded IMF New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB).
21. We stressed the importance of adopting a dynamic formula at the World Bank which primarily reflects countries' evolving economic weight and the World Bank's development mission, and that generates an increase of at least 3% of voting power for developing and transition countries, to the benefit of under-represented countries. While recognizing that over-represented countries will make a contribution, it will be important to protect the voting power of the smallest poor countries. We called on the World Bank to play a leading role in responding to problems whose nature requires globally coordinated action, such as climate change and food security, and agreed that the World Bank and the regional development banks should have sufficient resources to address these challenges and fulfill their mandates.
22. To take new steps to increase access to food, fuel and finance among the world's poorest while clamping down on illicit outflows. Steps to reduce the development gap can be a potent driver of global growth.
23. Over four billion people remain undereducated, ill-equipped with capital and technology, and insufficiently integrated into the global economy. We need to work together to make the policy and institutional changes needed to accelerate the convergence of living standards and productivity in developing and emerging economies to the levels of the advanced economies. To start, we call on the World Bank to develop a new trust fund to support the new Food Security Initiative for low-income countries announced last summer. We will increase, on a voluntary basis, funding for programs to bring clean affordable energy to the poorest, such as the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program.
24. To phase out and rationalize over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies while providing targeted support for the poorest. Inefficient fossil fuel subsidies encourage wasteful consumption, reduce our energy security, impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to deal with the threat of climate change.
25. We call on our Energy and Finance Ministers to report to us their implementation strategies and timeline for acting to meet this critical commitment at our next meeting.
26. We will promote energy market transparency and market stability as part of our broader effort to avoid excessive volatility.
27. To maintain our openness and move toward greener, more sustainable growth.
28. We will fight protectionism. We are committed to bringing the Doha Round to a successful conclusion in 2010.
29. We will spare no effort to reach agreement in Copenhagen through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations.
30. We warmly welcome the report by the Chair of the London Summit commissioned at our last meeting and published today.
31. Finally, we agreed to meet in Canada in June 2010 and in Korea in November 2010. We expect to meet annually thereafter and will meet in France in 2011.
1. We assessed the progress we have made together in addressing the global crisis and agreed to maintain our steps to support economic activity until recovery is assured. We further committed to additional steps to ensure strong, sustainable, and balanced growth, to build a stronger international financial system, to reduce development imbalances, and to modernize our architecture for international economic cooperation.
Labels: climate change, economics, Finance, international affairs
The blogosphere is growing?
According to the pundits the amount of Internet time spent on social networking and blogging sites is growing and the amount of time in front of the teev is falling away (except for those over 40 years old).
However we're all still spending more time watching television than cruising cyberspace.
Labels: Australian society, media, telecommunications
Australia's draconian sedition laws and the Australian Press Council
Last Tuesday the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs held a hearing as part its Inquiry into the Anti-Terrorism Laws Reform Bill 2009.
This private members bill seeks to undo some of the harm done to freedom of speech by Howard Government anti-terrorism legislation, which was subsequently supported by a Rudd Government which has failed to address concerns since it came to office and virtually ignored the Australian Law Reform Commission report and recommendations to date.
Here is an extract from the Australian Press Council's submission to the inquiry:
Consistent with its long held position that sedition laws are an impediment to freedom of expression and have the potential to have a 'chilling effect', the Australian Press Council support the removal of sedition offences in s80.2 of the Criminal Code Act in their entirety.
In view of the lack of precision in the definition of a "thing" in s101.4 of the Criminal Code Act, the Council is concerned that journalists could be exposed to being charged with a serious offence should they inadvertently come into possession of material in the course undertaking their role. The current provision is unsafe and the Council supports that proposal in the Bill that the section be repealed.
Where it is practical to do so, the Council supports the proposed amendments to Division 102 of the Criminal Code Act that would bring the processes for proscribing a terrorist organisation in line with the requirements of administrative law. By ensuring publicity, public consultation,consideration of submissions by an independent advisory committee, notice and a right of appeal the proposed amendments increase transparency, public and media scrutiny and enhance the public right to know.
The Council supports proposed amendments to s102.7 of the Criminal Code Act to ensure that providing support to a terrorist organisation cannot be construed to apply merely to the publication of view favourable to a proscribed organisation.
Consistent with its earlier submissions, the Council express its concerns that this Division 3 Part III of the ASIO Act poses a threat to freedom of speech and has the potential to obstruct the ability of the media to ensure that government agencies are held to public account and that the questioning and detention practices of ASIO do not go beyond what is necessary to facilitate the investigation and prevention of terrorism.
Consistent with its earlier submissions, the Council holds the view that the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act is a threat to freedom of the press and it potentially oppressive. The Council supports repeal of this legislation as proposed in the Bill.
Full PDF copy of Australian Press Council submission
List of submissions to the inquiry
Labels: anti-terrorism, human rights, media, politics
Doris O'Grady's art from the Seelands district
Cows at Tristania
Discovering Doris O'Grady 1902 - 1994 exhibition at Grafton Regional Gallery
Main gallery until 25 October 2009
Pavonia Hastata growing on bank of the Clarence 1927
Posted by WaterDragon at 00:10
Labels: arts
Maclean man pleads guilty to Internet intimidation & other charges - gets 12 month good behaviour bonds
The Daily Examiner, 24 September 2009, page 4
Yesterday, Grafton Local Court convicted Berlin, also known as John Paul Breslin, of charges of intimidation with intention to cause physical/mental harm, possessing a police uniform when not a policeman, selling police insignia and using police insignia when not a police officer.
In court Berlin changed his plea to guilty on all charges after the defence and prosecution agreed to combine several of the charges.
Berlin came under police notice when he sent abusive and threatening emails to a man living in the United States who distributed police insignia under licence from the NSW Police Department between June and September last year.
Labels: Australian society, Internet, Northern Rivers, telecommunications
Last Monday was World Alzheimer's Day, but I forgot.......
.........which is not as funny as it sounds given the age group I am entering.
The day after that the Northern Rivers Tweed Daily News reported:
TWEED Heads has the highest rate of dementia cases in the state and it's predicted this number will more than triple in coming decades, according to new figures out today.
THE report, commissioned by Alzheimer's Australia NSW, found the Tweed area had the highest incidence of dementia in NSW with 1608 cases this year, increasing to a projected 7451 in 41 years.
In 2009 Alzheimers Australia and Access Economics estimated that 36,000 people diagnosed with dementia live outside of Sydney in rural and regional New South Wales, and Of those people with new cases of dementia in New South Wales in 2009, approximately 14,000 live in Sydney, while approximately 10,000 reside in the balance of New South Wales. Projections suggest that the incidence of dementia in Sydney will increase 4.9-fold to approximately 67,600 (63,600-71,400) people, while new cases of dementia in thebalance of NSW will increase 4.8-fold to 48,700 (45,800-51,400) people by 2050.
Labels: Australian society, health, Northern Rivers
The Big Dry, The Big Red, the big dust choke on the NSW North Coast - but Lismore still played on at the 2009 Festival of Cricket
Photo from ABC North Coast News
The Northern Star this morning:
"THE DUST storm that enveloped the North Coast yesterday at one point stretched to Mount Isa and caused humidity at Ballina to plummet to an almost unheard of minus 2 per cent.
Every drop of water was sucked from the air by the dry continental air mass, prompting the Rural Fire Service to declare a total fire ban.
Like a giant snowball it grew as it travelled, blowing close to 16,000 tonnes of dust across the coast every hour."
However, the boys in white were determined to play on in Lismore at Oaks Oval in the 2009 Festival of Cricket!
More pics from The Northern Star, The Daily Examiner, and Nellibell.
Grafton Bridge
Copmanhurst backyard
Lismore airport on 23rd September 2009
Even more pics of Tabulam and Ballina at The Far North Coaster.
Labels: Northern Rivers, weather
Have your say on Australia's anti-terrorism laws before 25th September 2009
Australian Greens MPs have written to Attorney-General Robert McClelland about the Rudd Government's intention to expand Australia's anti-terrorism laws:
Dear Attorney-General,
I welcome the opportunity to comment on proposed changes to Australia's anti-terrorism legislation in a public consultation process.
I am concerned, that detailed changes to our laws are being proposed before the government has provided the promised White Paper on terrorism, or before the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Laws has begun their work.
I am particularly concerned about the proposal that the Australian Federal Police be permitted to enter premises without a warrant under emergency circumstances that are not clearly defined.
While Dr. Haneef Aside would have benefited from a 7 day cap on being held without a charge, I am concerned that there has been no demonstrated need for the proposed 7 day preventative detention period, and that setting such a maximum could be a licence to use it.
I am not convinced that the proposed redefinition of the act of terrorism is an improvement,, rather the proposal significantly widens the offence. You have departed significantly from the proposals put forward by the Sheller Committee. Your changes will make the legislation more complex, and simultaneously uncertain. Some legal practitioners have suggested that it will be unworkable.
I do not support the strengthening of the National Security Information Act, which allows for closed court proceedings, effectively locking lawyers out of the room, and for some evidence to be closed to the accused and their legal representatives. It also requires security clearances for lawyers which threatens the right to a fair trial and limits the pool of lawyers permitted to act in cases. Your proposed changes would contravene the separation of powers established by chapter three of the Constitution.
As Australia played an active role in establishing the terms of the so-called war on terror, Australia has a role in reformulating what a legitimate response to terrorism should look like. This import role cannot be undermined by unconsidered, ineffective reform.
The Greens also have an online petition which can be signed before 25 September 2009:
The Greens have been calling for review of our anti-terrorism laws since well before the Rudd government was elected. Rammed through our Parliament in 2005, the Howard-Ruddock anti-terrorism laws demand urgent review and overhaul rather than strengthening, because of how seriously they undermine our human and civil rights.
If you would like to sign this petition go here.
Labels: anti-terrorism, federal government, people power, politics
Obama still being pursued through US court over his birth certificate and right to hold office
The hostility towards US President Barack Obama continues in the far right section of the blogosphere, in some mainstream media reporting and through action in the courts. American lawyers must having a field day.
Elizabeth Ann Pascal is defending her president in a case currently before a US district court, Kerchner et al v Obama et al.
The plaintiffs in this case assert in part that Barack Hussien Obama II was not solely born a US citizen and cannot hold office as President of the United States of America.
Here is Elizabeth's July 2009 motion to dismiss and the plaintiff's August 2009 response. The matter apparently remains on the court docket at the time of writing this post.
This civil action was not the only one of its kind and, at least one other appears to be still extant as Barnett el al v Obama et al, which has a scheduling conference on 5 October 2009.
The strangest of all these cases (although one brought when Obama was still a senator and based on race not citizenship) has to have been the sealed and dismissed The Church of Jesus Christ Christian/Aryan Nations of Missouri et al v. Obama et al which originated with this filed statement of claim.
Obamaconspiracy has a complete rundown here on how these court actions are playing out.
Labels: Obamarama, USA
Youth Decide: they may not all have the vote yet but politicians ignore at their peril
Click on snapshot to enlarge
Youth Decide wasn't just a vote. It's a movement. And the next step is to deliver these results to all Federal politicians.
Over thirty-four thousand young Australians taking part in a recent survey opted for a national and global response to climate change which actually reduced greenhouse gas levels beyond the green wash currently being proposed by most politicians.
Labels: climate change, people power, politics
Twitterverse is tittering at PETA
There's been a lot of re-tweeting out there on Twitter since someone discovered the phonetic resonance of the name given by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to its blog - The PETA Files.
If nothing else it should give Aussie graziers and woolgrowers a bit of a laugh - as well as possibly falling foul of one or two overly sensitive filtering software programs.
Perhaps I should send a memo to the Minister for Censorship and Rememberance of Children, ol' Stevo Conroy.......
Labels: just for fun, rural affairs
Penny Wong talks to Asia Society about Copenhagen and beyond - 11pm [AEST] Wednesday 23 September 2009 webcast, listener questions
The Asia Society wants to let you know about an upcoming webcast, Copenhagen and Beyond – The Post-2012 Agreement.
Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change and Water will be speaking with Asia Society's own Orville Schell, the director of the Center on US-China Relations, tomorrow at Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from 8:30-9:30 a.m., ET (New York).
We hope that you will join us online by visiting our website www.AsiaSociety.org, and following the directions there.
The webcast will be available 30 minutes before the program begins.
Listeners will also have opportunities to send their questions in to moderator@asiasociety.org, where they will be addressed during the program.
Policy Programs,
Asia Society
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.
Posted by Guest Speak at 16:04
Labels: climate change, environment, international affairs
How did your pet get its name?
Contributors to The Sydney Morning Herald's Column 8 provide insights on naming family pets.
John Barselaar, of Coffs Harbour, ''My local vet is a man of fine humour and a pundit like myself, but I have to take my hat off to his recent repartee in the surgery. A woman came in with two dogs feeling poorly. When asked the dogs' names she replied Beethoven and Bach. Immediately he saw the problem, and advised her they were feeling Lisztless!'' (Monday 21/9)
''Naming family pets after famous composers is not all that unusual,'' writes Steve Zervos of Abbotsford (Column 8, yesterday). ''We named our kitten Beethoven because just after we picked him up and brought him home, he made his first movement on the piano.'' (Tuesday 22/9)
''Beethoven the cat,'' writes Michael Morton-Evans (Column 8, Monday), ''puts me in mind of Tyson the dog. A friend many years ago bought a dachshund and named him Tyson, after the Lancashire-born fast bowler Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson. When asked why, he explained: 'Because he has four short legs and his balls swing both ways.'' (Wednesday 23/9)
Labels: Column 8, just for fun
'Losing to win' a pandora's box for bowls
Here's Iluka resident Jim Brigginshaw's take on allegations that Kiwi lawn bowlers folded in a game against lowly-ranked Thailand in last month's Asia-Pacific championships in Malaysia to ensure rivals Canada would be eliminated.
Brigginshaw, who has a regular column in The Northern Star, wrote:
IF, as Bowls Australia chief executive Dalrymple is reported as saying, there's nothing in the rules of bowls to stop a team deliberately losing a game, it's time there was.
Assuming he's been quoted correctly, his wishy-washy response to allegations against the New Zealand national team is less than reassuring that this blot has no place in our sport.
Attributed to him are comments such as 'hard to find fault', 'people willing to push the limits', and the top clanger of all, 'there's a question of whether it's in the spirit of the game'.
A question? There's no question - if bowls has degenerated to the stage where we have to think whether to ask questions about the legality, or even propriety, of what clearly is a breach of sporting integrity, heaven help us.
The difficulty, of course, is deciding when a team is not performing to its ability. But if there is obvious evidence of it, the culprits should have the book thrown at them.
The New Zealand team says it was a legitimate loss. The official inquiry will have difficulty proving otherwise.
These allegations gave Bowls Australia an opportunity to take a strong stance against deliberately losing a game. Instead, we got a weak-kneed response.
Images from abc.net.au and bowlsnz.co.nz
Labels: Bowls Australia, lawn bowls, New Zealand
A phone, a phone. My kingdom for a phone! [or the dubious joy of living in a regional blackspot]
The children have grown and moved to cities across Australia, however they were all back for a family gathering recently.
We had a great time; the only thing that caused problems was the mobile phone reception or more correctly the chronic lack of phone coverage.
Though since they all had different carriers I thought for sure someone should get a signal.
The first symptoms of phonitis appeared within 4 to 6 hours of arriving. "I'll just pick up any messages from work", friends etc; then the cold sweat, and the realisation of no reception.
It was like a snowball affect, as soon as one discovered they could not use their phone you could see the panic in the eyes of the others. They all stampeded to their phone lifelines.
The youngest daughter discovered that if she squeezed herself under my desk and held the phone at a 45 degree angle pointing north she could get one bar of coverage. Just enough to receive SMS. The look of relief on her face was classic. So much so I could not resist and took a photo to record the event.
The others headed outside, showing great faith in their various phone companies. Then looks of horror on their faces when none received a signal.
One headed for higher ground where he eventually found reception over 1 km away at the left front gate post. If he stood on the post he could talk on his phone. Mind you it did drop out quite a bit.
The younger son who is not much on exercise decided that he would go up to the third floor of the house. This was not enough, so by trial and error he discovered that if he hung out of the east facing window on the third floor and held the phone in one hand and the TV aerial cable in the other he was intermittently in contact with the outside world.
The eldest girl showed great calm and headed for my computer. The facade of calm was shattered when she realised that it was dial-up and only marginally faster than snail mail.
When the neighbour's hazard reduction burn accidentally set fire to the telephone junction box and the landline went out, then smoke from the fires interfered with what little signal they had, it all became too much. They all headed into town for Maccas and 'real' phone coverage.
Graphic: Google Images
Labels: Australian society, rural affairs, telecommunications
There's no getting away from it - high political office changes the family
Not long after his inauguration US President Barack Obama flew a chef from St Louis to Washington so that he could have pizza with the boys.
Then his kids were seen jetting off for an upmarket overseas holiday with Dad and Mum via Air Force One.
But none of that really pointed to the unreality of life in The White House until Michelle Obama went shopping for food in September 2009 while many ordinary Americans were still reeling from the global financail crisis.
Yes, this recent Washington Post article shows the wrong side of Chicago is now truly a lifetime away.
"The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce stand was only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped into her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of sirens.
Then, and only then, could Obama purchase her leafy greens. "Now it's time to buy some food," she told several hundred people who came to watch. "Let's shop!"
Cowbells were rung. Somebody put a lei of marigolds around Obama's neck. The first lady picked up a straw basket and headed for the "Farm at Sunnyside" tent, where she loaded up with organic Asian pears, cherry tomatoes, multicolored potatoes, free-range eggs and, yes, two bunches of Tuscan kale. She left the produce with an aide, who paid the cashier as Obama made her way back to the limousine.........
Obama, in her brief speech to the vendors and patrons, handled the affordability issue by pointing out that people who pay with food stamps would get double the coupon value at the market. Even then, though, it's hard to imagine somebody using food stamps to buy what the market offered: $19 bison steak from Gunpowder Bison, organic dandelion greens for $12 per pound from Blueberry Hill Vegetables, the Piedmont Reserve cheese from Everson Dairy at $29 a pound. Rounding out the potential shopping cart: $4 for a piece of "walnut dacquoise" from the Praline Bakery, $9 for a jumbo crab cake at Chris's Marketplace, $8 for a loaf of cranberry-walnut bread and $32 for a bolt of yarn."
Time to get real, M'chelle!
Photographs from Google Images
Labels: society, USA
Senator Fielding accidentally produces a little light relief in the international climate change policy debate
I opened my browser yesterday morning to find the Herald-Sun giving a few online centimetres to this:
A CROSSBENCH senator who doubts the science of climate change says he may back an Australian Government plan to let developing countries propose their own cuts to carbon emissions.
Mirth immediately took over for several minutes.
What on earth is Steve Fielding talking about? Any idiot can tell that a matter of government foreign affairs policy which will not require legislation to implement does not need endorsement from the only Family First party member to make it into federal parliament.
The man and his constant need to be in the political limelight is a national embarrassment.
The only consolation is that published print versions of his opinions will quickly disappear into the recycler's maw or landfill, while digital versions on the Internet will eventually lead to data mining results like this from Personas which actually appear to reflect his lack of credibility:
TECHNORATI SEARCH: STEVE FIELDING IS A CREDULOUS DOPE STEVE FIELDING IS A VEXING SUBJECT
STEVE FIELDING IS JUST A MEDIA TORTE
STEVE FIELDING IS RENOWNED FOR HIS PUBLICITY STUNTS
WHETHER HE CAN SPELL OR NOT, STEVE FIELDING IS AN IDIOT
Labels: climate change, Family First Party, politics
River deltas sinking across the globe except in Australia and Antarctica?
A study was published in Nature Geoscience this month on the vulnerability of river deltas and finally there was some guarded good news for Australia in relation to flooding and rising sea levels.
Many of the world's largest deltas are densely populated and heavily farmed. Yet many of their inhabitants are becoming increasingly vulnerable to flooding and conversions of their land to open ocean. The vulnerability is a result of sediment compaction from the removal of oil, gas and water from the delta's underlying sediments, the trapping of sediment in reservoirs upstream and floodplain engineering in combination with rising global sea level. Here we present an assessment of 33 deltas chosen to represent the world's deltas. We find that in the past decade, 85% of the deltas experienced severe flooding, resulting in the temporary submergence of 260,000 km2. We conservatively estimate that the delta surface area vulnerable to flooding could increase by 50% under the current projected values for sea-level rise in the twenty-first century. This figure could increase if the capture of sediment upstream persists and continues to prevent the growth and buffering of the deltas.
Worst hit will be Asia, but heavily populated and farmed deltas on every continent except Australia and Antarctica are in peril, it says according to SBS World News.
Labels: climate change, coastal development, environment, water
Revenge of the wrinklies!
Sometimes cyberspace produces an antidote to life's little irritations.
This time it threw up a bit of sweet payback for all those bluidy undisciplined televised Federal Parliament Question Times since November 2007.
These pics are from a campaign by industry body Aged & Community Services Australia which can be found at Kevin 87. There are lines and wrinkles here enough for all those insults offered to voter intelligence and failure to grasp the national health care nettle. Pity there's no pics of Pyne and Abbott.
Growing old is manda-
tory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis
Labels: Australian society, Federal Parliament, politics
Are national economic concerns winning out over global environmental crises?
World leaders are gathering in Pittsburgh USA for a G20 summit, which officially commences on 24 September 2009 with an aim to review the progress made since the Washington and London Summits and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis.
Two days have been set aside to cover this topic and calls to commit to further government intervention in international banking and commerce.
If recent media coverage cited on www.g20pittsburghsummit.org is any indication, then the minds of world leaders are firmly fixed on their national economic woes.
It is easy to suspect that global warming will continue take a backseat to the global financial crisis, despite the fact that a UN meeting on climate change is taking place tomorrow ahead of the G20 summit.
It is a real possibility that very little progress will be made this week towards the Copenhagen agenda on climate change, despite the Rudd Government's reported behind-the-scenes work on the legal framework for a new climate change treaty, and ways to finance poorer countries' efforts to adapt to a low-carbon world, could become a crucial contribution in breaking the impasse on a greenhouse treaty.
Immediate national economic imperatives appear to be winning the hearts and mind battle at the expense of addressing very real environmental crises.
Yesterday The Guardian reported:
UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and negotiators say that unless they can convert world leaders into committed advocates of radical action, it will be very hard to reach a credible and enforceable agreement to avoid the most devastating consequences of climate change.
The Australian has an online poll underway which asks the question:
Do you expect any concrete progress to be made at the November climate change summit in Copenhagen?
Most of those who have taken part in this poll so far (pictured) are not optimistic about the possibility of concrete progress.
Indeed many people are becoming very cynical about global and government response to climate change. On the NSW North Coast this has manifested itself in a number of ways, including this black humour view of Yamba's problems at the mouth of the Clarence River:
* When asked what strategies were in place to provide support in the event of a major flood of West Yamba, one SES worker is reported as to have said "We'll stand on the edge of Yamba Hill and toss life jackets to people as they float by". [Climate Change Australia,Clarence Division, Submission on Draft Sea Level Rise Policy Statement by the NSW Government,March 2009]
Labels: climate change, economics, environment
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This button has been deactivated because it has become clear that Facebook Inc. is not now and has never been a corporation genuinely committed to principles of digital privacy and security of Internet users' personal information and other associated data.
Unfortunately, because Blogger installs this button as part of a set, Gmail, Blog This!, Twitter, Pin Interest and Google + have also been deactivated and, we apologise to readers who may use these features.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. [Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
@no_filter_Yamba
Clarence River Protest 2016
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Moggy Musings
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn't disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourism business development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council's ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state's corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements. The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A fun fact musing: An estimated 24,000 whales migrated along the NSW coastline in 2016 according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the migration period is getting longer.
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he's waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
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We have a ton of fun activities going on at Kessler in the next couple of months! I want to give you a quick briefing, so you can mark your calendars if you haven't already. Please keep an eye on reminder emails from Mrs. Carter as well. We love our family and community participation in our events.
This Friday is Tie-dye T-Shirt Day! In the afternoon, we will be tie-dying shirts in preparation for our whole school to attend the Carroll Girls Basketball game next week. If you would like to volunteer to help you should have received a sign-up genius email from Mrs. Carter today. If so….wear old clothing! LOL! Your teachers will keep their students' T-shirts at school for any upcoming field trips for the remainder of the year.
Next Tuesday, October 30th from 5:30 – 7:00 in the Kessler parking lot is our Trunk or Treat Family Night If you are setting up a trunk, please be in the parking lot no later than 5:30. If you are coming to trunk or treat or paint pumpkins, please come anytime between 5:30 and 7:00. This is such a fun event for our children! Let's hope for a beautiful warm evening!
Halloween School Schedule, October 31st: 1:30-1:50 – all school recess, 1:50-2:05 students change into their costumes (check teacher's newsletters regarding costumes), 2:05-2:40 is our costume parade (parents join us to get some cute pictures of your children), 2:40-3:15 – classroom parties.
Carroll Girls Basketball Game, November 1st – Busses load at 11:00, leave at 11:15 and arrive back at Kessler at 2:45. Students can purchase a sack lunch to take or bring their own lunch to take to the game. This year Carroll's theme is how to become "Champions of Character". This is a unique opportunity for your students to step foot on a college campus as well as see a college basketball game. Last week we had a "Champions of Character" all school assembly. The Carroll Basketball Coach and players came to visit with us about Leadership, Responsibility, Integrity, Respect and Being a good sport.
MBI Awards Ceremony – Friday November 2nd at 2:45. If your child is receiving an award, you will have received an email from Mrs. Carter. During our awards assembly we recognize students for being Safe, Respectful, Responsible, and a Learner (Our Cougar Creed). We celebrate by giving awards quarterly.
Picture Retakes and all class photos will be taken – November 7th. PEAK will be on November 6th instead of the 7th.
Book Fair – November 12th– 16th. This is a favorite event for children! They love buying books to take home. The dollars raised during our Book Fair goes back into our library. Thank you for your support.
Parent Teacher Conferences – November 13th and 15th, your teachers will be sending home your confirmation letters on October 31st. Looking forward to seeing you so we can share your children's progress.
My Voice Survey – October 30th-November 20th. My Voice Survey is an opportunity for parents to let us know how we are doing at Kessler school. We value your anonymous input. The survey results help us know how we need to improve at Kessler School and what is going really well. Please participate by stopping into our computer lab during Parent Teacher Conferences or by accessing the survey online. Look for an email from Mrs. Carter on October 30th.
Thanksgiving Holiday – Wednesday, November 21st through Friday, November 23rd.
Clay Day – November 16th and November 30th. This is an opportunity for our students to work with clay and create a gift for their family.
December – Events so far!
Family Night Basketball Game – December 6th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Come and support our 4th and 5th graders challenge our Kessler staff in a basketball game.
Holiday Program – The Kessler Holiday program is scheduled for Friday, December 14th at 9:30 at Helena Middle School.
Winter Break – December 24th– January 1st.
Please always feel free to call us for any clarification regarding events and remember to check your teacher's new letters for specifics in your child's classroom. Thank you so much for your support to your children and our Kessler community.
Kessler Cougars have had a busy week! Wednesday, Kindergarten celebrated National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Picture day was Tuesday and what great smiles!
Reminder – We are doing an offsite evacuation drill on Thursday, September 28th. Please have your children wear comfortable shoes. Note: Students will still need to be picked up at school after our drill.
Please remind you children to dress appropriately for the weather we are having. Also stop by lost and found. We are building quite a mountain of coats, sweatshirts, gloves and lunch boxes.
Yesterday, your child came home with standardized test scores from 2016-2017's Smarter Balanced Test. These are nationally normed tests we give to understand how our students are achieving relative to students across the nation. The ELA (English Language Arts) and the Math tests have been given for several years. The Science test was given for the first-time last year to fourth graders. Student performance on these tests helps us to evaluate our own curriculum and our classroom teaching, as well as giving us a peek into how your child is doing as a learner.
We usually save these to give out at Parent/Teacher conferences in order to explain the scores. We've been directed to send them out early this year. This information can be confusing. Please know that these tests are only one assessment we use to understand your child as a learner. We also use STAR Math and Reading data, classroom tests and activities, as well as our observations to help us meet the educational needs of your son or daughter.
After you take time to review this information, please feel free to contact me or your 4th or 5th grade teachers with any questions you might have.
This week students worked on Lunch Room expectations. They are making good progress being SAFE, RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, and a LEARNER in the Café. Excellent job students!
Kindergarteners had a full week! We hope they have a restful weekend! It is wonderful to see their progress as they adjust to being a student at Kessler.
Have a super weekend! See you at the Carnival Classic on Sunday!
Then please consider donating it to the music room. We are collecting socks to use as erasers for our individual white boards. Long, athletic socks work best.
Thanks for supporting us in this unusual way!
We have had a wonderful week getting to know your children and they are amazing! This week, we practiced playground expectations, and the Cougar Creed. As you know, because of the air quality, we spent quite a bit of time inside. Kids made the best of their indoor recess time. I appreciated their patience!
Friday, September 15th Please have your students' wear appropriate shoes as we will be taking a walk to our evacuation site.
Wednesday, September 20th Picture Day.
Kessler staff hope you have a fun weekend with family and friends!
I want welcome all of you back to school and welcome all returning students, new students, families and friends to Kessler Elementary. I hope your summer was filled with lots of fun activities and you are excited to gear up for an amazing 2017/18 school year! I personally can't wait to meet and greet you on our first day! It is an honor and I am thrilled to be your new Principal. Kessler is an outstanding school with great teachers, students and families.
Getting to know all of you and building positive relationships is so important as we begin a terrific year. I would like to share a little background about myself. I have worked in administration for eleven years and taught special education eleven years all working for the Helena Public Schools. Working with adults and children bring me the most joy! My passion is helping children become lifelong learners, feeling safe and secure in their school environment, and feeling confident and successful academically and socially. For enjoyment, I am an avid fly fisher, love travelling, camping, and hiking, but most of all spending time with family. My daughter will be heading to middle school this year and my husband is retired.
And… of course our yellow lab Mickey brings fun and excitement to our lives!
Communication between school and home is key to student success. Please feel free to email or contact our office anytime to visit about joys, concerns, and questions about events, etc. I look forward to visiting with you. Let's get this year started! Go Kessler Cougars!
Back-to-School Open House on Tuesday, August 29th. Families visit classrooms from 5:30-6:30 p.m time to meet teachers and drop off school supplies. At 6:30 I will be giving a short welcome back speech in the gym. Parent Partnership will be selling Pizza in the Gym until 7:00 so please plan to enjoy time with family and friends while supporting our Kessler Cougars. Thank you Parent Partnership!
As you have noticed when visiting Kessler to see class lists in our foyer, a new parking in progress Thank you so much to our Transportation Department and Facilities Department! It is going to be incredible! Please keep an eye on our webpage and Facebook for additional details, as we know more about completion and the logistics of entering, exiting, and ultimately keeping our Kessler Cougars safe.
Happy Friday, Cougar Families! I hope this glorious taste of summer weekend has you ready to do fun stuff and enjoy the sunshine. Montana is always beautiful and is really strutting its stuff right now.
This will be my final Friday newsletter to you as your principal. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with your adorable, brilliant, funny, caring, and ever-growing children these past 5 years. They have taught me so much about life, about being a principal, about how to be a good citizen, and about how to have fun. I'm so incredibly proud of them and the things they do. Thank you for your trust in me, the great conversations about your kids- even the tough ones, and your continual support of this school. You make a huge difference in what we are able to do here. I've been fortunate to have the unbelievably committed staff that is family at this school. They have giant hearts for the kids and work tirelessly to make each school day challenging and exciting so the kids can achieve their utmost. Thank you to all of you.
Next Thursday will be our last day of school and we will have a Field Day to close things out. Apparently….I am to close out my time at Kessler in a dunk tank. As of today, the weather looks warm and wonderful. I am hopeful for the warm. Parent Partnership ALWAYS needs additional help with this event and additional active members to help the group grow and thrive. Come out and be a part of last day fun. I'm getting dunked to raise money for a water bottle fill station for the building.
Happy Friday Cougar Families! Looks like the weather is prettying up for the weekend! That's GREAT! I hope you all have fun things planned for you and your kids this weekend.
School is winding down for the year. We are under 100 hours of schooling left before summer, but we still have LOTS to get done. Please remind your kids that we have work to do, school expectations are still in place, and they need to be kind, focused learners up until the end.
Yesterday was our Volunteer Appreciation event. It always reminds me of how fortunate this school is to have so many people willing to share their time and talents with the kids. It makes such an enormous difference in their lives. Big thank you to Mrs. Curry for putting it together and having yummy nummins for all of us to enjoy.
Spring Benchmark testing is taking place right now. It'll give us a chance to share with you the growth your child has made this year. I'm proud of their hard work and the amazing things the teachers have done this year to know each of the kids and make the lessons fun and engaging for all of them.
My time here at Kessler School is winding down. I'd like to thank all of you for the trust you placed in me by sharing your amazing children with the school. I love all of them and I am excited to see what the future holds for them. I have been blessed to serve here for five wonderful years and I am most thankful for the things the kids have taught me over those years. This staff is fantastic and loves your kids and will continue to love your kids. I know life will go on at Kessler, but know that a piece of my heart will forever sit in this building and with the people who make the Kessler community amazing. Thank you!
As yesterday was May The Fourth Be With You, today is Revenge of the Fifth!
Our year is winding down, but far from over. Still a lot of learning to be done! We will be completing the Spring Benchmark testing over the last two weeks of the month. Talent show is next week. Several filed trips are in the works. Many things going on.
This link is to an interesting article about kids and social media. Give it a read if you have a chance.
Parent Partnership will meet next Thursday at 6:00 in the library. Many volunteers needed for upcoming Field Day and also for officers for coming years. Come out and be a part!
Have an absolutely wonderful weekend! Weather looks like it is finally Springy! Thank you for all you do for Kessler School!
Hello Kessler Families! I hope you're enjoying this Montana Springtime weather! It's definitely like a box of chocolates.
We re closing out Smarter Balance testing with grades 3-5. This is the state assessment of where the kids stand academically. We are told we can expect the results back before the end of the year. We had that promise last year and got them in the fall….so we shall see.
As the seasons struggle with change, the kids struggle with keeping up with their belongings. Lost and found is continually overflowing. Please stop by to check for things. We'll bag it all up next week and take it to the thrift store.
As the school year works toward closing, please reinforce with your kids that we work until the final bell on the final day. There is a lot of Spring Fever right now. Playground issues are on the rise and classroom distractions are increasing as well. We are all eager to run barefoot in the grass, but there is much left to be done this year.
Next week is Secretary's Week. As all of you know, Mrs. Carter is the REAL boss at Kessler Elementary School. She has guided me along for these 5 years and I would be truly lost without her doing so. The entire Kessler community is blessed to have this amazing woman be a caretaker for all of us and our kids. If you are around the building next week, please be sure to thank this special, special lady for the tremendous things she does to make this school run so smooth.
Have an incredible weekend. Hug your kids. Read with them. Laugh with them. Ask them what they want to be when they grow up.
Another week is in the books and we are marching towards the finish line. Seems like the year is picking up speed as we go. Really seeing the growth in your kids- physically, socially, and academically. They have done well this year. I'm so proud of all of them. I've seen tremendous acts of kindness, sharing, caring, helping, and being great Kessler citizens.
As I announced earlier this week, I will be going to Bryant Elementary next year. I sat in on the bond meeting Wednesday night and it really hit me hard. My time at Kessler has been fantastic. (And isn't over yet! We will finish the year STRONG). Mrs. Lisa Lowney will be the principal next fall. She is currently the Special Education Director for the district. She has come by to meet with staff and is eager to become a part of this incredibly caring community here at Kessler. She is planning on being at the Parent Partnership meeting next Thursday and will be sending out a welcome letter to all of you very soon. As I have told the staff, this place is about our kids. Let's keep our focus on helping them be the best they can be.
3rd-5th grade begins Smarter Balance testing next week. If you have a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader, please help them be rested and calm for the testing. They are super smart and this is their chance to really shine. The testing will take the next couple of weeks and we hope to have the results back before the end of the year.
I hope you have a great weekend. I had a friend from Indiana send me this yesterday….seems about right..He said it's "signs of Spring in Montana".
Thank you for all you do to help us help our kids.


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Whether you need to manage a multinational business or your home life Opus Domini gives you the possibility to keep at the top of your game while keeping up with your daily routine.
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St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh underwent an extensive restoration in 2002/2003. The then Archbishop, now Cardinal, Dr Sean Brady appointed Gregory Architects and Rooney and McConville Architects to oversee the project. A main element of this £6 million 17 month refit, which was part-funded by the Heritage Lottery, entailed the redesigning of the sanctuary including the complete manufacture and fitment of a new floor by Armatile to the exacting specifications of the liturgal architect.
From the complex curved radius trellis patterns, through the stunning use of engraved polished porcelain on the altar, to the replication of original mosaic flooring in the bapistry and synod bathrooms, the complexity, scale and detailed finish requested by the architectural brief of this project required Armatile to utilize the full range of skills of our technical manufacturing and fitting teams. Only then could we ensure a perfect manufactured and fitted finish as per specification.
It was even possible to incorporate a modern take by the architect with a new mosaic/waterjet cut section inspired by an original drawing which had not been incorporated into the original build, bringing to life a design that lay dormant for over a hundred years.


The Downtown San Rafael Arts District partners with local arts leaders, businesses, city officials, and community members to create a vibrant and engaging environment that promotes well-being, equity, and inclusivity through the arts.
Provide access to world-class arts and culture education and experiences for everyone in San Rafael.
Embracing the arts to build inclusive community relationships and dialogue to confront and address pressing social and economic issues.
Engaging the under-served and disadvantaged populations in our community to promote greater equity and diversity.
Creating a welcoming and innovative downtown community anchored and unified by a thriving arts and culture scene.
Create opportunities for San Rafael youth.
Promote a safer, cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing environment.
Generate more business traffic through increased tourism.
Originating with the adoption of Assembly Bill 189 in 2015, the California Cultural Districts program aims to leverage the state's artistic and cultural assets. Aligning with the mission and values of the California Arts Council, the districts will celebrate the diversity of California while unifying under an umbrella of shared values—helping to grow and sustain authentic grassroots arts and cultural opportunities, increasing the visibility of local artists and community participation in local arts and culture, and promoting socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.
Art Works Downtown 1337 4th St.
Bananas at Large 1654 2nd St.
The Belrose 1415 5th Ave.
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center 1118 4th St.
Community Media Center of Marin 819 A St.
Copperfield's Books 850 4th St.
Falkirk Cultural Center 1408 Mission Ave.
The FolkArt Gallery 1321 4th St.
George's Nightclub 842 4th St.
Italian Street Painting Marin 5th St. and A St.
Marin Shakespeare Company 514 4th St.
Marin Society of Artists 1515 3rd St.
Open Secret Bookstore 923 C St.
Rebound Bookstore 1611 4th St.
RileyStreet Art Supply 1138 4th St.
San Rafael Public Library 1100 E St.
Seawood Photos 1601 4th St.
Youth in Arts 917 C St.
Hands-on activities with our INSPIRE exhibition at Youth in Arts, 917 C Street, San Rafael, CA 94901.
We are working with the city to get community (specifically youth) feedback for San Rafael's 2040 Plan.
Participants will consider their dreams for San Rafael in 2040. Using tags featuring categories such as "arts and culture," "open spaces," "transportation," and "community gathering spaces." Participants will be encouraged to choose the ones that best represent their wants and needs and mark an enlarged map of San Rafael with their tags. In this way, gallery visitors will be polled in an interactive way to gain better insight into their expectations for the future of San Rafael.
Participants will be provided with small paper squares and drawing utensils. They will be prompted to draw how their choices in the Interactive Response Map might be realized in the actual landscape of San Rafael. Participants will be able to take their mini-artwork home with them or add it to a larger collaborative art piece which will be featured in the Youth in Arts downtown gallery.
The newly designated Downtown San Rafael Arts District, located along Fourth Street in San Rafael, officially launches this Fall with an exciting array of arts programming centered around the shared theme of Latinx. Latinx is inspired by national movements such as Spanish Heritage month and National Arts Education Week, as well as the City's 30th Anniversary of the Día de Los Muertos celebration in November. Audiences of all ages can enjoy and experience a range of arts perspectives and voices from Latin America ranging from exhibits, film screenings, family programs, and more.
Please check back periodically. This website will develop as the Downtown San Rafael Arts District develops.
Inform others about Downtown San Rafael Arts District!
*We will do our best to return your email in a timely manner.


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Politicians, government departments and international organisations play a key role in the science sector. We work to ensure key policymakers are aware of the views and concerns of our membership.
We feed into many government consultations through our collaboration with the Royal Society of Biology. This collaboration aims to provide a unified voice when advising Government and influencing policy.
If you've got an opinion on any of the documents below and want to make sure that it's heard, or just have a question about a consultation, please contact our Policy team. We are keen to hear your opinion and all comments are read and appreciated. Please note that we will not include your name/affiliation in a response without your explicit permission.
Recent consultations:
The Biochemical Society wrote a letter to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in response to their consultation on EU Exit no-deal contingency legislation for the regulation of medicines and medical devices in November 2018.
The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee's inquiry into 'Antimicrobial Resistance' June 2018
The Biochemical Society fed into the Royal Society of Biology's response to the following consultations:
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's inquiry on an 'immigration system that works for science and innovation' June 2018
The Department for Education's consultation 'Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework: subject-level technical consultation' May 2018
The Department for Education's consultation on the Review of Post 18 Education and Funding May 2018
The Department for Education's consultation on Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and Improving Career Progression for Teachers March 2018
The Environmental Audit Committee's Inquiry into the Government's 25 year Environment Plan February 2018
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's Brexit, Science and Innovation Summit inquiry February 2018
The Department for Education's consultation on the Implementation of T Level programmes February 2018
The Institute of Apprenticeships' Occupational Maps consultation February 2018
The Education and Select Committee's inquiry into the Quality of apprenticeships and skills training January 2018
The Migration Advisory Committee's call for evidence on EEA-workers in the UK labour market October 2017
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into Life Sciences and the Industrial Strategy September 2017
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategies inquiry Building our Industrial Strategy April 2017
We fed into the Royal Society of Biology's response to the consultation on the Second Research Excellence Framework, February 2017. Full RSB response is available online.
We fed into the Royal Society of Biology's response to the Genomics and genome-editing inquiry, January 2017.
We fed into the Royal Society of Biology's response to the consultation onthe UK Bioeconomy, January 2017. Full RSB response is available online.
Wakeham Review of STEM degree provision and graduate employability
In response to the Wakeham Review, we have published a statement and a comment piece by the Chair of the Policy Committee, Dr David Pye, on Campaign for Science and Engineering blog.
Dr Mark Downs, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Biology, has sent a letter on behalf of their Member Organisations and the whole bioscience community to all MPs who are planning to stand for re-election.
Campaign for Science and Engineering has written to the leaders of all the political parties, inviting them to set out their party's policies on science and engineering.
Parliamentary events
We have taken part in these events alongside other learned societies:
Parliamentary Links Day (read more about it on The Biochemist Blog)
Voice of the Future (read about the most recent event on The Biochemist Blog)
See the consultation archive.
Position Statements >
Science and the EU >
Supporting Industry >
Promoting Diversity >
Informing Government >
Policy Events >
Highlights – Recent Blog Posts
Science and the Industrial Strategy – Parliamentary Links Day
Standing up for Science – A Voice of Young Science Workshop
Voice of the Future 2018
Making the most of the Industrial Strategy
Out and About STEM: Why visibility of LGBT scientists is important
European Medicines Agency and Brexit: Where next for the UK?
UK Industrial strategy and the life sciences sector
Science Policy homepage >

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