Psychologists Seek Federal Budget Commitments For Vulnerable Australians: APS [3/1/12]

The Federal Government could save $117.5m through cuts to Medicare-funded mental health services, while still reinstating the right to six additional sessions under exceptional circumstances, according to the Australian Psychological Society, which represents 20,000 psychologists around Australia.

The Government hoped to save $174.6 million by slashing the number of Medicare-funded sessions with a psychologist under the Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative from a potential 18 to just 10. But a Senate Inquiry last year called on the changes to be delayed because of grave concerns about the estimated 87,000 people with significant mental health problems who would be left without care each year.

An APS analysis has shown that a maximum 16 sessions for those in the most acute distress, along with stricter rules for accessing the additional six sessions under exceptional circumstances, could cut costs while ensuring vulnerable Australians are protected, at a cost of just $57.1million.

Professor Lyn Littlefield, Executive Director of the Australian Psychological Society, said: “A large number of vulnerable Australians have been left without access to crucial care. With a slight adjustment to the rules and a relatively small expenditure, the Government can protect them, while keeping the cuts it has used for other mental health investments.”

She continued: “The heavy demand for Medicare-funded mental health sessions are testament to the immense need in the Australian community. Mental illness has a ripple effect on an individual’s family, friends, workmates and community, and it is far more cost effective to intervene early before a person’s mental health deteriorates.”

She said: “The Better Access to Mental Health Care scheme has given access to mental health care for countless Australians who previously had no means of getting help. Given the increasing social and financial costs of mental health problems in Australia, this effective and cost-effective initiative must be protected.”

The proposal is contained in the APS Pre-Budget submission to Federal Government, submitted last month ahead of the setting of the 2012-13 Budget. The Better Access cuts – which came into effect on November 1 last year – were announced in the 2011 Budget.

In its submission, the APS has also called on the Federal Government to invest in:

* greater access to neuropsychological assessments for older Australians, to ensure precise diagnosis of cognitive impairment-related health issues and more cost-effective treatment.

* a scheme to increase psychologists in aged care facilities, to provide psychological interventions to reduce the unnecessary use of medications in the case of dementia, mood disorders and disruptive behaviour.

* psychological sessions under Medicare to help people with chronic diseases change their lifestyle to reduce the severity or effects. New ‘health behaviour change’ sessions could save 10 times the $51.4-$62 million cost estimated by the APS.

* more training of professionals to help reduce the use of restrictive practices in the disability sector.

Professor Littlefield said: “Psychological treatments are effective means of addressing a range of problems and helping to reduce the increasing burden of health costs in Australia. There are a number of ways the Government can take advantage of psychological knowledge to reduce costs and boost the health and wellbeing of Australians.”

Al Jazeera

While the US military has formally withdrawn from Iraq, doctors and residents of Fallujah are blaming weapons like depleted uranium and white phosphorous used during two devastating US attacks on Fallujah in 2004 for what are being described as "catastrophic" levels of birth defects and abnormalities.

Dr Samira Alani, a paediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital, has taken a personal interest in investigating an explosion of congenital abnormalities that have mushroomed in the wake of the US sieges since 2005.

"We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine," Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects.

As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699.

"There are not even medical terms to describe some of these conditions because we've never seen them until now," she said. "So when I describe it all I can do is describe the physical defects, but I'm unable to provide a medical term."

'Incompatible with life'

Most of these babies in Fallujah die within 20 to 30 minutes after being born, but not all.

Four-year-old Abdul Jaleel Mohammed was born in October 2007. His clinical diagnosis includes dilation of two heart ventricles, and a growth on his lower back that doctors have not been able to remove.

Abdul has trouble controlling his muscles, struggles to walk, cannot control his bladder, and weakens easily. Doctors told his father, Mohamed Jaleel Abdul Rahim, that his son has severe nervous system problems, and could develop fluid build-up in his brain as he ages, which could prove fatal.

"This is the first instance of something like this in all our family," Rahim told Al Jazeera. "We lived in an area that was heavily bombed by the Americans in 2004, and a missile landed right in front of our home. What else could cause these health problems besides this?"

Dr Alani told Al Jazeera that in the vast majority of cases she has documented, the family had no prior history of congenital abnormalities.

Alani showed Al Jazeera hundreds of photos of babies born with cleft palates, elongated heads, a baby born with one eye in the centre of its face, overgrown limbs, short limbs, and malformed ears, noses and spines.

She told Al Jazeera of cases of "thanatophoric dysplasia", an abnormality in bones and the thoracic cage that "render the newborn incompatible with life".

Rahim said many of his relatives that have had babies after 2004 are having problems as well.

"One of them was born and looks like a fish," Rahim said. "I also personally know of at least three other families who live near us who have these problems also."

For now, the family is worried how Abdul will fare in school when he is enrolled next year. Maloud Ahmed Jassim, Abdul's grandfather, added, "We've seen so many miscarriages happen, and we don't know why."

"The growth on his back is so sensitive and painful for him," Rahim said. "What will happen in school?"

Jassim is angered by a lack of thorough investigations into the health crisis.

"Why is the government not investigating this," he asked. "Western media seem interested, but neither our local media nor the government are. Why not?"

In April 2011, Iraqi lawmakers debated whether the US attacks on the city constituted genocide. Resolutions that called for international prosecution, however, went nowhere.

Scientific proof

Alani, along with Dr Christopher Busby, a British scientist and activist who has carried out research into the risks of radioactive pollution, collected hair samples from 25 parents of families with children who have birth defects and sent them to a laboratory in Germany for analysis.

Alani and Busby, along with other doctors and researchers, published a study in September 2011 from data obtained by analysing the hair samples, as well as soil and water samples from the city.

Mercury, Uranium, Bizmuth and other trace elements were found.

The report's conclusion states:

"Whilst caution must be exercised about ruling out other possibilities, because none of the elements found in excess are reported to cause congenital diseases and cancer except Uranium, these findings suggest the enriched Uranium exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases. Questions are thus raised about the characteristics and composition of weapons now being deployed in modern battlefields."

"As doctors, we know Mercury, Uranium and Bismuth can contribute to the development of congenital abnormalities, and we think it could be related to the use of prohibited weapons by the Americans during these battles," Alani said.

"I made this link to a coroner's inquest in the West Midlands into the death of a Gulf War One veteran... and a coroner's jury accepted my evidence," he told Al Jazeera.

"It's been found by a coroner's court that cancer was caused by an exposure to depleted uranium," Busby added, "In the last 10 years, research has emerged that has made it quite clear that uranium is one of the most dangerous substances known to man, certainly in the form that it takes when used in these wars."

In July 2010, Busby released a study that showed a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in Fallujah since the 2004 attacks. The report also showed the sex ratio had declined from normal to 86 boys to 100 girls, together with a spread of diseases indicative of genetic damage similar to but of far greater incidence than Hiroshima.

Dr Alani visited Japan recently, where she met with Japanese doctors who study birth defect rates they believe related to radiation from the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

She was told birth defect incidence rates there are between 1-2 per cent. Alani's log of cases of birth defects amounts to a rate of 14.7 per cent of all babies born in Fallujah, more than 14 times the rate in the affected areas of Japan.

A contaminated country?

In Babil Province in southern Iraq, the head of the Babil Cancer Centre, Dr Sharif al-Alwachi, said cancer rates have been escalating at alarming rates since 2003, for which he blames the use of depleted uranium weapons by US forces during and following the 2003 invasion.

"The environment could be contaminated by chemical weapons and depleted uranium from the aftermath of the war on Iraq," Dr Alwachi told Al Jazeera. "The air, soil and water are all polluted by these weapons, and as they come into contact with human beings they become poisonous. This is new to our region, and people are suffering here."

The US and UK militaries have sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors like Alwachi and Alani, and along with researchers, blame the increasing cancer and birth defect rates on the weapon.

Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of Uranium in Iraq, has been researching the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqis since 1991. He told Al Jazeera he personally measured radiation levels in the city of Kerbala, as well as in Basra, and his Geiger counter was "screaming" because "the indicator went beyond the range".

Alani explained that she is the only doctor in Fallujah registering cases of congenital abnormalities.

"We have no system to register all of them, so we have so many cases we are missing," she said. "Just yesterday a colleague told me of a newborn with thanatophoric dysplasia and she did not register it. I think I only know of 40-50 per cent of the cases because so many families have their babies at home and we never know of these, and other clinics are not registering them either."

The hospital where Alani does her work was constructed in the Dhubadh district of Fallujah in 2008. According to Alani, the district was bombed heavily during the November 2004 siege.

"There is also a primary school that was built nearby, and from that school alone three teachers developed breast cancer, and now two of them are dead," Alani said. "We get so many cases from this area, right where the hospital is."

Even with a vast amount of anecdotal evidence, the exact cause of the health crisis in Fallujah is currently inconclusive without an in-depth, comprehensive study, which has yet to be carried out.

But despite lack of governmental support, and very little support from outside Iraq, Alani is determined to continue her work.

"I will not leave this subject", she told Al Jazeera. "I will not stop."

The second annual Climate B.S.* of the Year Awards were announced today on the Huffington Post and Forbes blogs by Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, and simultaneously on a number of environment and climate blogs. These “Bad Science” awards go to particularly egregious, notorious, or well-publicized examples of bad climate science that were produced, cited, or used over the past 12 months to try to influence or confuse the public and policymakers. Nominations for the 2011 “bad climate science” awards came in from around the world and were reviewed, analyzed, and voted on by a panel of climate scientists and climate communicators. For this year, nearly 20 nominations were received and judged.

Background

Even as unusually frequent and intense extreme weather events killed people and damaged property, and as the scientific evidence for the human influence on climate continued to strengthen, national leaders did little to ameliorate or plan adaptation strategies for climate change. Gleick attributes this failure to act in part to the difficulty of the challenges of curbing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea-levels, loss of snowpack and glaciers, disappearance of Arctic sea ice, and more. But he also points to what he describes as “a concerted, well-funded, and aggressive anti-science campaign by climate change deniers and contrarians.”

“These are mostly groups focused on protecting narrow financial interests, ideologues fearful of any government regulation, or scientific contrarians who cling to outdated, long-refuted interpretations of science,” said Gleick. “While much of the opposition to addressing the issue of climate change is political, it often hides behind pseudo-scientific claims, with persistent efforts to intentionally mislead the public and policymakers with bad science about climate change.”

In response to these efforts, in 2010 the Pacific Institute launched the annual Climate B.S.* of the Year Awards. We are now pleased, and disturbed, to announce the winners of the 2011 (second annual) Climate B.S.* of the Year Awards:

THE WINNER OF THE 2011 CLIMATE B.S.* OF THE YEAR AWARDS IS:

All of the Republican candidates for President

Being anti-science in general, and anti-climate science in particular, seems a requirement for nomination to lead the Republican Party. Not a single one of the Republican candidates for President has a position on climate change that is consistent with the actual science accepted by 97-98% of all climate scientists and every national academy of sciences on the planet. The choice among the current Republican candidates on the issue of climate change is scientific ignorance, disdain for science, blatant misrepresentation of facts, or naked political expediency, any one of which would make the individual candidates strong contenders for the 2011 Climate B.S. Award. Combined? The group wins the 2011 Award hands down.

Second Place: Disinformation from Fox News and Murdoch’s News Corporation

Fox News moves up from their fifth place finish last year, joined by the entire News Corporation empire of Rupert Murdoch because of its regular misrepresentation of climate science and anti-climate science reporting among the different Murdoch outlets in the UK, the U.S., and Australia.

Third Place: Spencer, Braswell, and Christy

Third place goes to Roy Spencer and William (Danny) Braswell for a debunked research paper on climate sensitivity, and John Christy, for an astounding piece of misleading testimony at a Congressional climate change hearing.

Fourth Place: The Koch Brothers for funding the promotion of bad climate science

Fourth place goes to fossil-fuel billionaires Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries, Inc., who provide substantial funding to groups and politicians who deny the science of climate change. The Koch brothers fund a veritable Who’s Who of groups that put out misleading science or tout bad science on climate change as an intentional strategy.

Fifth Place: Anthony Watts for his BEST hypocrisy

Anti-climate-science blogger Anthony Watts said he would accept the results of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature or “BEST” study, even if it proved him wrong. Unfortunately for him, the study showed that the Earth’s surface is warming and at just the rate that numerous previous studies had shown – but he reneged and attacked the paper and the science.

Runners-Up in 2011 included:

Harrison Schmitt and the Heartland Institute for “Arcticgate” (documented errors in denying disappearance of Arctic sea ice); Rush Limbaugh for his consistent falsehoods about climate science; and Steve McIntyre for his smear of climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann of Penn State University.

Last year, the first Climate B.S.* of the Year Award went to a series of false and misleading climate science claims including: “there has been no warming since 1998;” “the earth is cooling;” “global warming is natural;” and “humans are too insignificant to affect the climate.” Four other runners up were also highlighted in the first awards given a year ago.

Dr. Peter Gleick, one of the co-authors and creators of the Award, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science, and a hydroclimatologist by training, says: “The public and our policymakers are being bombarded with climate B.S. It is long past time this B.S. was called out for what it is: bad science.”

[* B.S. means “Bad Science”]

A Cambodian riot police officer fires tear gas at residents during a forced eviction at the Borei Keila complex in Phnom Penh January 3, 2012. Local human rights group Licadho said that police officers and residents were injured in a face-off when hundreds of armed authorities tried to evict families from their homes in a long running dispute with a local real estate firm well-connected with the government. The firm, Phanimex, plans to convert the residential complex into a commercial building. Licadho said that at least 12 people had also been detained following the violent clashes. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

The War On The Environment

What: Landholders in the Central Highlands will rally in Emerald to protest against the Land Access Review.

When: 10am Monday 9th January

Where: (Near Racecourse) Emerald

Spokesperson: Sam Bradford

Additional Speakers: Pauline Williams (Bob Katter's Australia Party), Carl Rudd and Mayor Peter Maguire

Landholders within CQ Golden Triangle tired of the rhetoric, endless committee reviews, submissions, drafts and consultation processes are rallying to have their voices heard. It is time for the current government and all that follow in their footsteps to understand that enough is enough, we have heard enough of your monotonous drone, things have got to change. Farmers might even wear hearing protection to preserve their remaining sanity.

"Big coal plans to destroy the fertile lands of the Golden Triangle and landowners have had enough. They are tired of the rhetoric, endless committee reviews, submissions, drafts and consultation processes and are rallying to have their voices heard" says Golden Triangle resident Kate Sullivan.

Kate continues "It is time for the government and all that follow in their footsteps to understand that enough is enough, things have got to change."

Lizzie Bradford, spokesperson for Golden Triangle Action Group says "We are calling upon Campbell Newman to put up his policy on landholder rights - Anna Bligh obviously doesn't care enough to give up the mining royalties. Hard working Queensland farmers deserve to be treated better."

"Many landholders have multiple exploration leases on the one property. One exploration company is time consuming enough, but when you have to deal with three or four at once, your patience wears thin pretty quickly. There is no consideration given to the fact that the first priority of the landholder is the operation of an agricultural enterprise. And there is no way to say 'wait your turn', let alone "go away". The system needs a change - and it needs it now"

"This government has basically said that mining can go anywhere, nothing is off limits, but there are areas that should be and need to be."

"Its time for some fresh ideas, these farmers are full of new ideas, while this government is just full of it. The big question is which political party has the resolve to bring the mining industry onto the same playing field as other businesses, families and individuals have to operate within."

"Farmers are driving their trucks, tractors and spray rigs into town for maximum impact, along with kids on their ride on tractors. We have great big banners and lots of people wearing ear muffs with the simple message 'We've heard enough'", Lizzie continues. "we encourage all residents concerned about the future of this region to join us."

Retail Turnover Flat In November 2011: Australian Bureau Of Statistics Media Release [9/1/12]

The latest ABS Retail Trade figures show that Australian retail turnover was relatively unchanged (0.0%) in November 2011, seasonally adjusted, following a rise of 0.2% the previous month.

Turnover rose in Other retailing (0.3%) and Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.1%) and was relatively unchanged in Food retailing (0.0%) and Household goods retailing (0.0%). Turnover fell in Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-0.4%) and Department stores (-0.1%).

Turnover rose in Queensland (0.5%), New South Wales (0.3%), Western Australia (0.8%), South Australia (0.2%), Tasmania (0.4%) and the Northern Territory (0.4%). Turnover fell in Victoria (-1.1%) and the Australian Capital Territory (-1.9%).

Trend turnover rose 0.3% in November 2011. This follows a rise of 0.3% in October 2011 and a rise of 0.3% in September 2011.

More detailed industry analysis and further information on the statistical methodology is available in Retail Trade, Australia (cat no. 8501.0).

Set your air-conditioner to a cool 24 degrees

Shut doors, windows, curtains and lower external blinds early to keep the heat out

Switch your hot water system to off-peak and save

Turn off your second fridge or freezer

Use your clothes line instead of your dryer

Use your dishwasher outside of 4pm to 8pm

Defrost your freezer regularly. The frost build up should never exceed a thickness of 6mm. A fuller freezer prevents heavy icing.

Consider insulating your ceiling, walls and floors

Switch appliances off rather than leaving them on standby

Use an energy saving power board

Use your washing machine outside of 4pm to 8pm and wash clothes in cold water

Consider using a fan – it’s always friendlier on your pocket than switching on the air-conditioner

Switch your pool pump to off-peak or install a minimum five star energy efficient pool pump

Turn off TVs, computers and game consoles when no one is using them

Cook on the BBQ or the microwave instead of an electric stove on those hot summer peak days

When renovating or building a new home, talk to your electrician about switching appliances to off-peak

Change light bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs
When you go away on holidays turn off all unnecessary appliances before you go

Ensure the seals on your fridge are in good working order to stop cold air getting out
Appliances which heat or cool are generally the most energy hungry appliances

Small things make a big difference.

Occupy Wall Street protesters shout warnings of a creeping police state in Grand Central Station and are themselves quickly arrested for speaking in public.

Calling all creatives!

We are seeking film submissions of between 30 seconds and 5 minutes that effectively communicate positive messages about a zero or low carbon, clean energy future. You may choose any genre or style that you like and we encourage participants to push creative boundaries and think outside the square. Green Screen: Climate Fix Flicks is open to everyone and the winning entry receives $5000. Submission DEADLINE is Friday 10 February 2012. Download the flyer [PDF] and spread the word!

Protestors dressed as Guantanamo detainees march on the Trafalgar Square in central London, Britain, Jan. 7, 2012. Human rights campaigners called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in London on Saturday, 10 years after the establishment of the camp. (Xinhua/Bimal Gautam)

2012: Year Of The Farmer

New research shows one in four Australians never venture beyond our cities! 12th October 2011 – Nearly a quarter (22%) of city dwellers never make it to the countryside and the majority (69%) visit rural Australia less than once a year, according to research released today at the Australian Year of the Farmer 2012 launch in Sydney.

Despite Australia’s rich farming heritage and iconic rural landscapes, the research conducted by TNS found altogether city people spent an average of 3.5 days a year in rural areas and the majority (58%) said they would like to visit the country more often.

However Year of the Farmer Chairman Philip Bruem AM said he expected the Year of the Farmer campaign to help boost these numbers.

"The Australian Year of the Farmer campaign aims to enhance the ties between city and rural communities in a celebration of Australian farming, and in doing so, communicate to all Australians the importance of farming to our economic and social fabric," Mr Bruem said.

Today’s official launch of the Year brought a diverse combination of celebrities, business and farming identities together today at the site of the first European farm in Australia in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Television personality Natalie Gruzlewski joined Patron for the Year, Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce AC and Ambassador for the Year, former Australian cricket champion, farmer and philanthropist Glenn McGrath in launching the Year, which also enjoys the support of the Federal, State and Territory Governments, sponsors and industry supporters.

Conceived by NSW-based farmer Philip Bruem, and former Sydney Markets CEO Geoff Bell, the Australian Year of the Farmer 2012 is a year-long program of activities that will celebrate the contribution farmers and rural communities make to the nation.

"For the first time ever, Australia will celebrate our farmers and recognise how they connect rural and urban communities.

"The Australian Year of the Farmer recognises what farmers do for all Australians. It celebrates them for feeding the nation, for leading the world in farming techniques and innovation, and for sustaining the vital agribusinesses that underpin our economy. Farmers are the providers of our nation," Mr Bruem said.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, said the year-long celebration would highlight the contribution made to Australia by its farmers.

...

Mr Bruem said the Australian Year of the Farmer was particularly important because of the key role farmers would play in providing food to meet significant growing demand in Australia and abroad.

"By 2050, there will be 9.3 billion people in the world, up from seven billion today. Farmers globally will need to increase productivity by 70% over the next 40 years," Mr Bruem said.

"It goes without saying that we need a strong, sustainable farming sector in Australia.

"In 2012, the Australian Year of the Farmer will encourage all Australians to celebrate and recognise the contribution farming makes to all of our lives. It will celebrate farmers for feeding the nation, for leading the world in farming techniques and innovation, and for sustaining the vital agribusinesses that underpin our economy. Farmers are the providers of our nation."

A non-political, not-for profit organisation, Australian Year of the Farmer is made possible by Foundation Partners Elders and Woolworths, and major partners Fairfax Media, oOH! Media, Toyota and PMP. Seed funding for the development of the Year was provided by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry with support from all States and Territory Governments.

Undermining our food bowls – CSG forum 6 February 2012

Visiting voices from the frontline, plus health expert

Hear about the fight against mining and coal seam gas from leading activists in the prime agricultural region of the Liverpool Plains, as well as from Doctors for the Environment. Learn what you can do to support farmers in 2012 – Australian Year of the Farmer.

The debate about mining and coal seam gas on prime agricultural land in NSW is heating up, at a time when food security is becoming an increasing global concern. More than half of NSW is covered by titles for coal, mineral or CSG exploration or production but the question of what this means for food production is yet to be answered.

The absence of real commitment to identifying, protecting and preserving agricultural land has led to continued uncertainty for farmers. It also undermines our ability to control quality, price and availability in an increasingly resource-scarce and climate-change affected environment. ...

Dmitry Medvedev had a telephone conversation with President of Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The conversation took place at Iran's initiative. Dmitry Medvedev and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation in 2012.

The two leaders exchanged views on a variety of regional issues. The parties called for intensifying efforts on the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and addressing the problems involving the Caspian Sea, including the environment, fishing and others. In this context, the importance of implementing the agreements reached at the third Caspian Summit in Baku was highlighted.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, which is the subject of grave concern to the international community, Dmitry Medvedev and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed their firm belief that the region’s problems, including the crisis in Syria, can be resolved exclusively by political means, through dialogue of all the parties involved.

The two leaders expressed their support for the ongoing efforts within the UN, regional and other international organisations to achieve this goal.

Dmitry Medvedev noted with satisfaction the Iranian President’s positive response to Russia’s proposal to implement a phased plan to restore confidence in the Iranian nuclear programme. The parties agreed to continue consultations on this issue.

Secrets of Empire And Self-Deceptions Of Partisans

A howling defiance into the darkness of the corporate state night

By Phil Rockstroh

January 06, 2012 "Information Clearing House" - It is laughable (in a weeping outright sort of way) that Obama and his fellow Democratic Party supporters and apologists can't find a more resonant campaign theme than, "We carry out the agendas of the national security/bankster/militarist state (i.e., the one percent) while appearing to be less crazy than Republicans."

The notion of even possessing a preference as to whom should be president of this crumbling, faux republic...is a bit like asking what color uniform one would prefer that the crew tasked with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic should don as they go about their duties.

In times such as these, when escaping into one's comfort zone is no longer a viable option, one is advised to evince the audacity of hopelessness, because the act leaves one desperate enough to embrace this daunting proposition:

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

Although, for the present and foreseeable future, the propitious aspects of the sentiment will not hold true for Bradley Manning…whose plight displays the punitive, hyper-authoritarian nature of late U.S. empire. As is the case with Manning, in a national security state, few acts will cause one to lose his freedom in a more rapid manner than to reveal the secrets of lawless, ruthless power.

Apparently, Bradley Manning guarded secrets of his own…not shameful ones--but traits that would cause him to become subject to derision if revealed.

Manning desired to practice transvestism. This U.S. Army private was privy to illusion. Innately, he grasped how being coerced into suppressing one's secrets damages one's soul. Manning merely harbored the desire to practice a bit of gender bending; in contrast, the operatives of empire demand that they be allowed to bend and twist the world itself towards their exploitative ends.

To live in empire--in the service of its imperial military or in the thrall of the pursuit of careerist vanity and consumerist compulsions--is to live a selfish lie, day in and day out.

Rupaul (Andre Charles) averred, "We all came into this world naked. The rest is all drag.”

We all make choices as to what form of drag we practice. Does my lie promote the truth? Is my act educational, entertaining or edifying? Does it allow me to inhabit my true self yet transcend my narcissism? Does my act and attendant actions bring balm or does it deliver more suffering than necessary to a world where it is impossible to escape suffering?

Ask yourself and those around you these questions in regard to Private Manning and the operatives and denizens of U.S. Empire.

On the subject of identity, authentic or dubious: Even after being an almost constant public presence for more than half a decade, Barack Obama's true nature and authentic identity remains elusive. After all this time, he still seems less man than marketing rollout, less of a political leader than an object lesson in product placement. The situation is like having the role of chief executive of the nation filled with a disposable razor or a heavily hyped iPhone application.

The U.S. presidency, as is the case with almost all aspects of life in the corporate consumer state, has become increasingly dominated and defined by commercial/public relations-type legerdemain. The constant commercial come-ons of the media hologram mask its hollow core; the proliferation of weightless lies serves to overwhelm the gravity of perilous times.

Obama's nebulous nature works to ensure the continued irrational ardor of his supporters, who, against all evidence, insist on clinging to fantasy and projection regarding the president's much in evidence anti-democratic tendencies; hence, progressive types seem prone to project their own redeeming qualities on the blank slate that Obama creates and deploys as his public persona--a method similar to that used by con artists who exploit the decency of their marks to achieve their criminal ends.

Apropos, this indefensible, Bush-era type of deceit connecting 9/11 and the invasion and occupation of Iraq:

"The war in Iraq will soon belong to history. Your service belongs to the ages. Never forget that you are part of an unbroken line of heroes spanning two centuries — from the colonists who overthrew an empire, to your grandparents and parents who faced down fascism and communism, to you — men and women who fought for the same principles in Fallujah and Kandahar, and delivered justice to those who attacked us on 9/11.”— President Obama speaking to troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., December 14, 2011

In this instance, the shape-shifter Obama morphs from hollow man to Death's slick, narrow-ass, public relations representative.

I've noticed that debates with Obama's apologists have a very similar trajectory as those with Republican partisans. Because partisans are hard pressed to explain away the affronts to truthful discourse and good governance displayed by the politicians they support, any attempt to engage them in debate involving the merits (or lack thereof) of the policies of said politicians (e.g., their unwavering support of the 1% and U.S. militarist imperium)--quickly devolves into volleys of ad hominem attacks launched from the ranks of their supporters.

For example, from the right, OWS activists are labeled dirty, America-hatin' hippies who supports swarthy terrorists, yet from the liberal camp, OWSers who refuse cooperation with the Democratic Party are cast as purer-than-thou types--too above it all to sully themselves by an acceptance of the pragmatic nature of political reality.

What is the reason for this irrational response from liberals--from folks who scoff at teabaggers and religious fundamentalists for their less than sane and sanguine approach to political discourse? There is simply no reasonable way to defend the acts of our blood-sustained empire abroad and the machinations of a predatory economic elite at home; hence, the testiness evinced by the enablers of the duopolistic state.

Withal, when I post an article or FaceBook status critical of President Obama--the tone and tenure of the ensuing debate with his defenders takes on a Bush era aura. As a general rule, when the rationalizations of both Bush and Obama supporters are countered with facts regarding their dismal governance, the invectives fly. Granted, the grammar and syntax of Obama apologists is superior to that of Republican loyalists--but their fallacy arguments are every bit as dodgy.

Consequently, the policies of both parties (bulwarked by the concretized support of partisans) translate into unnecessary suffering and death--the calling card and ground level criteria of the oligarchic/imperialist state. And sorry, Obama loyalists--your man is not the lesser-of-two evils candidate: He is among his peers. In many ways, he has proven himself a more deceitful, ruthless crime boss than his predatory, Republican predecessors, in other words, the chief executive of a militarist empire.

The 1% and their advocates and operatives in the U.S. political class have thrown us to the wolves. How does one make an ally of uncertainty and keep close the verities of the heart while negotiating this howling political wilderness?

Even in this era of oversized fear and diminished imagination, there are some among us--nonconformists, creative thinkers, artists and occupiers--who welcome (rather than cower before) the metaphorical image of wolves (that are recognize as fellow outcasts). Instead of being shamed by outsider status, they have been suckled and raised by wolves--i.e., by embracing their fate of having been cast-out into the wilderness.

Nourished by the spirit of defiance, some thrive when freed from the constraints of a habitual adherence to groupthink. The dark terrain of societal abandonment becomes their natural habitat: They howl at the moon; they reject the daylight world of bland consensus; they learn to see in the dark, apprehending their own interior darkness and, as a result, gaining understanding into the hearts of darkness beating within those in power.

The wilderness of political activism, of poetry, of art becomes their home: They don't clean-up nicely for the polite company demanded by political duopoly; they don't let themselves be bred down (as a few domesticated wolves did) to yapping Toy Poodles, in exchange for a few food scraps.

When you're looking at a Toy Poodle--you're looking at a former wolf, as, for example, when your looking at corporate press members, you're looking at folks whose ancestors long ago were journalists.

One moment, you're loping through the woods, snout held high, smelling the scent of fresh game on the wind, but the next thing you know--you're being led around on a leash and collar, encrusted with tacky rhinestones, and you're salivating at the sound of an electric can-opener. One moment, you're a child, entranced in play, hardwired to eternity--next moment, you're sitting at work and your passions, hopes and yearnings have been shrunk down to Toy Poodle-sized agendas . . . You're truckling for your boss's approval; you're counting the minutes until break time. Like domesticated livestock and unfortunate animals incarcerated in zoos, you are no longer a noble animal--you have become a Thing That Waits For Lunch.

To resist, we must cast off the fear of being an outcast. The signs bode well for us: Over the last few months, in the company of the OWS pack, I have witnessed the awakening of many…have been graced with the privilege of being in their lupine company as we howled defiant into the darkness of the corporate state night.

One must remember this: We human beings are of nature as well. Accordingly, within us lies an indomitable self, encoded with the grace and fury of the natural world, and, if acknowledged and respected, our authentic nature will awaken and arise. Then the real dogfight begins: The fur will fly, as we fight, fang and claw, to retake the lost landscape of our collective humanity, and, by extension, begin the struggle to restore health, imagination and empathy to a nation of cage-accepting, imperium-countenancing, sick puppies.

Phil Rockstroh is a poet, lyricist and philosopher bard living in New York City. He may be contacted at: phil@philrockstroh.com. Visit Phil's website or at FaceBook.

Tent Monster In Jail

NYE Art Attack @Iamverysmart

Media revelations that resources and energy minister Martin Ferguson has called on the spies to monitor environmental campaigners and urged stiffer penalties for protests should come as no surprise to anyone who has worked on those campaigns and protests in the hope of a safer climate.

What may surprise the federal Batman MP's constituents, however, is the range of peaceful democratic action Ferguson considers a threat.

The minister's rhetoric is full of dire talk about "energy security", disruption to "critical infrastructure" and the prevention and deterrence of "unlawful activity", but the overwhelming majority of the many protests Ferguson attracts are entirely lawful, peaceful, and - inconveniently for him - devastatingly coherent in their critique of his passion for uranium and emissions-intensive fossil fuels.

Ferguson may like to paint activists as potential terrorists, but where is his evidence to support that smear? How many acts of actual criminal sabotage by environment campaigners have really taken place, and how many has his wasteful, anti-democratic enthusiasm for spying prevented? Isn't it really more about winning the public relations war on behalf of the minerals and resources lobby?

The extent of his distaste for the protests of civil society may not be fully known by his local constituents, but they are increasingly connecting Ferguson with his federal role undermining our climate security and preserving business-as-usual exploitation of fossil and uranium "resources" that need to be left - safely sequestered - in the ground.

These connections are as often forged by small-scale protests in his electorate as they are by large-scale protests at coal-fired power stations such as Hazelwood. And, judging by his past performances, they're the ones that really spoil the minister's day.

"... I believe that the right to peacefully demonstrate is an essential part of freedom of speech in a democratic society..."

That's Ferguson in a 9 September 2009 letter-box message to Preston constituents after protesters at his opening of an environmental refurbishment of a local park pointed to the stark contrast between worthy local green initiatives and Ferguson's climate-heating exploits.

The letter-box effort followed a string of letters to local newspapers from climate campaigners pointing to this inconvenient truth. This was also the letter in which Ferguson falsely accused me of being a "Greens activist".

Sounding a more ominous note, however, was his meeting with myself and other climate campaigners in his electorate office on 9 April 2010. The result of a rare, last-minute invitation, that meeting has been recounted in Crikey and in more detail on this blog, but it was an unguarded comment by Ferguson that pointed to the kinds of activities that have landed him in hot water in today's media coverage.

It wasn't his rather grumpy remark to me that "I've read your blog. You're not worth talking to", after I began on what he deemed a "cross-examination" on the energy and climate issues we had come to discuss. Instead, it was his response to my happy claim of a substantial readership.

"We know how many hits your blog gets," Ferguson replied.

It was this statement that hinted at the pervasive monitoring that has now been revealed in today's important public interest reports by Philip Dorling in The Age. While most activists would be used to seeing a range of government departments, including police, in the reports of server traffic to their websites, they and the public are not nearly as aware as they should be of the extent of what can only be called spying, and of the sinister mismatch between this expensive and fruitless activity and the democratic rights of citizens to protest and seek change in the public interest.

Contrast with this the modest capacity of civil society campaigners, groups and watchdogs to track and shine light on the closed-door fossil fuel and uranium lobbying that wears out the carpets in ministerial offices.

The threat of such hidden, unaccountable activity is real and it's global. That's why protesters rightly dog Ferguson - they want you and your children to be safe.

I hope this message gets through to the minister. One thing is certain - it's sure to be monitored.

Amendment: The date of my meeting with Martin Ferguson at his electorate office has been corrected from the original version. The meeting took place on Friday 9 April 2010.

The United Nations human rights office expressed alarm today at the significant increase in Saudi Arabia’s use of capital punishment in the past year.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the number of executions in the country almost tripled last year compared with 2010.

“We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect international standards guaranteeing due process and the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, to progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and to reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.

“What is even more worrying is that court proceedings often reportedly fall far short of international fair trial standards, and the use of torture as a means to obtain confessions appears to be rampant,” Mr. Colville added.

Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences, including the charge of sorcery and witchcraft, for which a woman was executed last month.

OHCHR also expressed grave concern at the recent sentencing of six men convicted on charges of highway robbery. The men were condemned to “cross amputation” – a form of punishment which involves the amputation of the men’s right hands and left feet.

“We call on the authorities to halt the use of such cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment,” Mr. Colville continued, noting that as a party to the Convention against Torture, Saudi Arabia is “bound by the absolute prohibition” against the use of torture and other forms of cruel punishment.

Last October, OHCHR voiced deep distress over the execution of 10 men who were publicly beheaded in the country’s capital, Riyadh, while underscoring that about 140 of the 193 UN Member States are now believed to have either abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium.

Now you have a chance to buy what must be one of the more famous U-Haul trucks in history. Artist Clark Stoeckly has put his spoof "Wikileaks Mobile Collection Unit" on eBay to raise funds.

Created as a mobile art project, the truck ended up serving Occupy Wall Street well in the role of designated hauler and truck-of-all-trades.

Bailing it out of impound after the cops confiscated it became an accidental performance art piece. The NYPD claimed at first that they couldn’t find the vehicle, and the snafu went viral.

Eventually the truck turned up, and now it's on eBay.

The listing reads in part:

Clark's New Year's Resolution is to expand the WikiLeaks Truck project and make a fleet around the world.
To afford to do so, he must sell the original truck.
This is not the end of this conceptual art piece, rather it is merely just the beginning.
Clark bought this box truck from U-Haul exactly one year ago. On March 19th, he transformed the truck into the WikiLeaks Mobile Information Collection Unit.

Extras

Satellite Dish
4 Dummy Security Cameras
Patriotic Bunting
Couch
Toy Piano
and possibly tracking bugs installed by the government

Minimum bid is $7,500 and only 6 more days left to bid!

Ordinary citizens are not being represented by their elected officials.

Where will you be on January 17, 2012?

occupyyourcongress.info

 

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown spoke to journalists about Fairfax reports detailing the Australian Federal Police spying on green activists.

The federal government has outsourced law enforcement surveillance of environmental and other protest groups, with a key monitoring service operating from an inconspicuous Melbourne apartment block.

A private intelligence company, the National Open Source Intelligence Centre, works under contract for the Australian Federal Police and the federal Attorney-General's Department to monitor activist websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter to provide warning and analysis of protest activity.

Details of its work have emerged as internal government documents reveal a push by the Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson, to increase surveillance of protest groups, including by specialist intelligence officers employed by the AFP.

The files show Mr Ferguson urged creation of stronger criminal penalties for groups that disrupt ''critical energy infrastructure'' after he was lobbied by energy companies.

The centre, owned by a Melbourne couple, Jody and Amanda Lambden, has been operating since 1999 and aims to provide law enforcement agencies and private clients with internet monitoring and analysis directed at groups engaged in ''radical activism, criminal (terrorist) activity or unlawful behaviour''.

Services offered by the centre include ''issue monitoring'', ''tactical intelligence'', ''threat analysis'' and ''trend analysis and forecasting focus on emerging patterns and trends in activism''.

It has been on contract with the AFP and the Attorney-General's Department since at least 2003. In 2006-08 the centre was paid $184,800 to provide ''open source information monitoring services'' to the AFP.

The centre also provides services relating to specific events. These include a $15,400 contract with the AFP for "information services" between October 24 and November 17 last year - the period coinciding with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and the visit by the US President, Barack Obama.

In an emailed response to questions from the Herald, Mr Lambden declined to discuss specific work undertaken by his ''small company'' because breaching client confidentiality could ''result in contracts being discontinued and with that loss of income''. However, Mr Lambden emphasised that ''no information is collected unlawfully or obtained at its source by clandestine or covert means''.

Opportunistic Politicians Beware

Rupert May Hate Bats, But Aussies Hate Rupert More

Culling Flying Foxes Won’t Fix Hendra:

Australian Veterinary Association Media Release [14/7/11]

Culling flying foxes to prevent Hendra virus outbreaks will only make things worse, says the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA).

“Calls to eradicate flying foxes in an attempt to control Hendra virus are ignoring the facts,” says Dr Barry Smyth, President of the AVA.

“They fly and travel long distances, and would be very difficult if not possible to eradicate. In trying to kill them they would become very stressed, and that would increase their chances of spreading Hendra virus.

“Instead, everyone who works with or cares for horses needs to know their risks, and take appropriate measures to protect themselves and their horses from Hendra.

“We understand people’s anxiety about this virus. Vets who see sick horses every day are really in the firing line of the disease and the number and range of cases this year is certainly alarming. There are also several months to go before Hendra season finishes for the year.

“Our best option for dealing with this deadly disease is the Hendra horse vaccine currently in development. We’re looking forward to the vaccine being available as soon as humanly possible.

“With the unprecedented number of cases across a vast area this year, it’s clearly a national and urgent problem. Both flying foxes and horses travel large distances in Australia, and we believe all horses will need to be vaccinated to adequately protect against the disease. We think that vaccination should be a condition of entry into events, races and shows.

“An identification system through microchipping and keeping accurate records in a good database will be needed for us to be sure our patients have been vaccinated,” said Dr Smyth.

Horse owners can reduce the risks of Hendra virus in their horses by fencing off trees attractive to flying foxes, covering horse feed and water containers, and not feeding horses with food that could appeal to flying foxes such as fruit and vegetables. They should wash their hands when dealing with horses, and contact a vet quickly if a horse is unwell.

When You Take Murdoch's Leftovers, You Get Murdoch's Sleaze

Real estate developer and media mogul Mort Zuckerman has picked Colin Myler to be the new top editor for his New York tabloid, the Daily News. That's a surprising choice on at least a couple of accounts.

One is that Myler's last job was at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut down while he was boss due to the scandal over News reporters hacking into people's voicemail for scoops. True, the phone hacking seems to have happened before Myler got there--but he seems to have been brought in by Murdoch not so much to clean up as to cover up, to judge by his acknowledged deception (Guardian, 12/15/11):

Giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry into press standards, Myler was challenged over a letter he wrote to the PCC in August 2009--a month after the Guardian first wrote that phone hacking was widespread at the News of the World (NoW).

Jay, counsel for the inquiry, told Myler his reply to the PCC was "disingenuous" given that he had seen the so-called "for Neville" email a year earlier, which revealed that hacking at the NoW went wider than a single "rogue reporter" and prompted a £700,000 payment to football boss Gordon Taylor.

Responding to Robert Jay QC, Myler said: "I had no reason not to give them a full and frank answer. For that I apologize."

But Myler's involvement in scandals hasn't all been after the fact. Before being sent to the News, he worked at Murdoch's New York Post when that paper's scabrous ethics came under scrutiny. Here's Rolling Stones' summary (8/3/11):

The newspaper was rocked by a scandal in which a star Page Six reporter allegedly attempted to shake down billionaire Ron Burkle for "protection" from the gossip sheet, telling him, "It's a little like the Mafia."

Burkle secretly recorded Page Six reporter Jared Stern offering to go easy on him in the gossip sheet in exchange for a hefty payoff. "We know how to destroy people," Stern reportedly threatened. "It's what we do." To shield himself from character assassination, Stern allegedly suggested, Burkle could make a one-time payment of $100,000, followed by monthly installments of $10,000.

News Corp. axed Stern, dismissing him as a rogue reporter and calling his behavior "highly aberrational." But according to a 2007 affidavit by a fellow Post veteran, the alleged shakedown was an integral part of the company's culture. "The spineless hypocrites in senior management at the New York Post and News Corp. have always used 'expendable' employees as scapegoats for the misdeeds of its senior executives," Post reporter Ian Spiegelman testified. Spiegelman revealed that Page Six's top editor Richard Johnson and two others had accepted cash from a restaurateur whose business had received a positive mention the day before. Johnson also allegedly accepted a $50,000 all-expenses-paid bachelor party to Mexico from Joe Francis, the founder of Girls Gone Wild, whom the Post subsequently hyped as "the next Hugh Hefner." Spiegelman further charged that Col Allan, the Post's top editor, received free lap dances at the strip club Scores in return for favorable coverage by the paper.

Myler, as the Post's managing editor, was Johnson's superior when all this going on; it was Myler who handled Burkle's complaints when the billionaire wrote to the paper to complain about the shakedown (New York Times, 4/7/06).

Tom McGeveran of Capital (7/8/11) last year wrote up some more Myler-related scandals, including his resignation as editor of the Daily Mail in 2001 after his paper's interview in a soccer-related assault case led to a mistrial, another mistrial that stemmed from the Post' s singling out a juror in a corporate corruption prosecution, and his defense of News of the World "investigations" that involved prostitutes tape-recording orgies and the like.

It's been suggested that part of the appeal of hiring Myler for Zuckerman is that neither of them like Rupert Murdoch. That's true of plenty of people; it's not a good enough reason to put someone in charge of your newspaper.

A Short Film By: Revolution Of The Mind Films http://revfmind.wordpress.com/ Song: 'Cosmic Love' by Florence and the Machine. ...

Daggs Waterfall, on the scenic Falls Drive between Killarney and Boonah. A nearby memorial commemorates the lives of Samuel Young (born England 1818, died Warwick 1894) and Mary Anne Young (born USA 1825, died Spring Creek 1885) who arrived in Queensland in 1866 and selected land "including this reserve".

... There was silence for a long time. I looked at the pictures on the wall. All faces familiar since I was a kid. All great men. All lovers and supporters of freedom, of the rights of human beings, builders of a great country, where men may and shall be free to pursue their happiness.

The consul rose and left the room.

After five minutes he came back. A new question had occurred to him: "You might be - I do not insinuate you are - an escaped convict. You might be wanted by the police at home, or in any other country."

"You are quite right, sir. I might. I see now that I have come in vain to my consul, who is paid to help Americans in need. I see it is hopeless. Thank you for your trouble, sir."

"I am very sorry, but in your case I simply do not see any way I could do anything for you. I am only an official. I have strict regulations by which I have to work. You should have been more careful with your papers. In times like these nobody can afford to lose his passport or similar important papers. We are no longer living in those carefree pre-war times when practically no papers were asked for."

"Would you, please, and if you do not mind, tell me one thing, sir?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"There was here, yesterday afternoon, a very fat lady, with a dozen heavy diamond rings on her fingers and a pearl necklace around her fat neck which might have cost ten thousand dollars at least. Well, that lady had lost her passport just as I have. She got a new passport here in less than an hour."

"I see, you are referring to Mrs. Sally Marcus from New York. Surely you have heard the name before. That big banking firm of New York." This the consul said with a gesture and a modulation of his voice as though he had wanted to say: "My good man, don't you know, this was His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and not just a drunken sailor without a ship."

He must have noticed by the expression on my face that I had not taken the information as he had expected I would. So he added hastily: "The well-known banking firm, you know, in New York."

I still did not satisfy his hope of seeing me turn pale when such great personage was mentioned in my presence. But Wall Street, the house of Morgan, the richness of the Rockefellers, a seat on the stock-exchange has never made any, not even the slightest, impression upon me. It all leaves me as unimpressed as a cold potato.

So I said to the consul: "I do not believe that this lady is an American. I would think her born somewhere in Bucharest."

"How did you guess?" the consul opened his eyes wide and almost lost his breath. "Sure, she was born in Bucharest, in Roumania. But she is an American citizen."

"Did she carry along her naturalization papers?"

"Of course not. Why?"

"Then how could you tell that she is an American citizen? She has not even learned to speak the American language. Her lingo is not even East Side. I bet it is not even accepted at Whitechapel."

"Now get me right. In the case of that lady I do not need any evidence. Her husband, Mr. Reuben Marcus, is one of the best-known bankers of New York. Mrs. Marcus crossed in the most expensive stateroom on the Majestic. I saw her name on the list."

"Yes, I understand. You said it, Mr. Consul. I crossed only as a plain deck-and in the forecastle bunk of a freighter. That, I see, makes all the difference. Not the papers. Not the birth-certificate. A big banking firm is the only evidence needed to prove a man a citzen. Thank you, sir.

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you sir." .... ['The Death Ship' by Bruno Traven]

War Memorial - Beaudesert. The man in the foreground symbolises those who died for us. The man in the background symbolises those who are killing us.

"I'm going into Town to get some fuel. I'll do my banking. And post some letters, pay some bills, and get lunch while I'm there. I'll buy the beer and wine, then I'll pick up a stupid newspaper (just for laughs) and maybe a few books to read."

Don't call this guy! Call 'Dodgy Brothers': "Guaranteed Mining Wealth For All - Yeehah! Don't Miss Out! Once In A Lifetime Opportunity! You'll Be As Rich As A Rhinehart, Palmer or Forest! Pty Ltd"

Did you see it? It had obviously just swallowed - whole! - a News Ltd. story which fell out the back of a local ABC radio show! Poor devil needed a bit of a rest and a purge of the system before getting back to finding more nutritious brain-tucker.

Just 10kms East of the lovely village of Liston in Northern NSW. Really beautiful and a great place to picnic with Australia's less deadly snakes (you know, the ones who don't work in Capital Cities!)

Just one example of the "Lock The Gate" signs all over rural Queensland. Be warned politicians - people are very, very unhappy with you. The last time we saw anything like this was when our elected representatives tried to steamroll Traveston Dam through without any transparency or accountability.

"Cattle Enthusiast? Rustic cottage just south of Legume: Natural Skylight for solar heating or ventilation. No bothersome doors to open or close. Chimney reeking of heritage values and past bygone era times of Convicts and Bushrangers. Handy to Post Office, Bank, Petrol Station, Great Dining, Bookshop and Wine Retailer. And all this just a handy three hour commute from Brisbane! First Home Buyers or Investors Should Hurry or be Very Quick! Won't Last."

A 42-year-old male senior constable from North Coast Region has been issued with an Infringement Notice for an offence against Section 88(2)(d) of the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (the Act) which creates an offence for a person, who is not an authorised person under the Act, to kill a protected animal.

Issues associated with this matter are also being considered as part of the Queensland Police Service disciplinary process.

A 16-year-old boy has also been dealt with for the same offence under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act 1992.

This relates to an investigation into incidents which occurred on a Booral property between 16 and 18 December 2011 where a number of animals were fatally shot.

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.

Hon Paul Raymond Henderson MLA

 

Dear Chief Minister

Re The death in protective custody in Alice Springs of Terrance Daniel Briscoe, 5/1/2012

It was not an easy death for Terrance Daniel Briscoe, aged 28, early this morning Thursday 5th January 2012 in protective custody at the Alice Springs police lockup.

But for the people of Alice Springs, Terry’s death is as unremarkable as so much of road kill on the Stuart Highway, which cuts through town on it’s way from Adelaide to Darwin. All the respectable folk in town could get pissed to their hearts content at the local pub, and perhaps catch a taxi home, blissfully unaware of the events in the lockup down the road. For Aboriginal people, and for Mr Briscoe in particular it’s the usual story of a casual drink with friends, then being taken into protective custody by police, conflicting reports of a bashing or a fall in custody, no medical care, and a one way trip to the cemetery.

The police say Terry injured his head by falling while in custody and later died of cardiac arrest. He was only 28. Terry’s friends who were arrested with him say they saw five officers bash him.

Wonder we all do how Terry was healthy when arrested, and zipped into a body bag when released.

How and why? How Terry died will no doubt be the matter of much dispute. Will the police be able to collaborate on their stories? Or if the investigation is to be worth it’s salt are they to be separated and put off duty while the investigation proceeds.

Why didn’t Terry receive any medical attention for his injuries?

And why was Terry arrested at all. Is the Northern Territory zero tolerance policy on public drinking, just a policy for locking up Aboriginal people? If the intervention is forcing Aboriginal people to migrate off their homelands and come to Alice Springs, that’s not a reason to lock them up in protective custody. And how protective is protective custody? Since the Northern Territory Intervention did away with the Community Development Employment Program, it has reduced the capacity of local Aboriginal communities to support their members in all of their situations and difficulties, including support and help for those who are drunk.

Most of us have been drunk at some stage in our lives, but for Terry it meant being taken into protective custody. I’ve met many indigenous people who literally don’t touch a drop over the last several decades.

The indigenous community has the highest rate of non-drinkers of all the community groups in Australia. Many leave drinking later in life and there is no reason Terry could not have done the same.

If the information that Terry Briscoe was subjected to a bashing is proven, then there is every reason to believe that it has something to do with his subsequent death.

If Terry had been alive 50 years ago men like him would have been the backbone of the Northern Territory economy, and one hundred years ago men like him would have been warriors of their tribes, knowledgable, fit and capable men.

Now Terry has been reduced to another death in protective custody.

Australia is diminished for it.

I ask that your government ensure that Terry’s death is not in vain. A thorough and impartial investigation must be carried out to ensure that the whole truth of the circumstances of his death are investigated and the truth achieved. Any death in custody, especially given the circumstances here, is to be treated as a homicide unless it is shown to be otherwise. That means that the investigation must proceed with serious intent to get to the truth at all costs.

Terrance was my nephew by marriage.

Daniel Taylor

Good Morning,

I refer to your email of 31 December 2011 and apologise for the delay in responding to you.

No Queensland Corrective Services' prisoners were in the vehicle in question.

I can advise that Queensland Corrective Services regularly works with the Queensland Police Service to assist in the provision of prisoner transport vehicles, particularly during periods such as New Years Eve.

In this instance, the vehicles were being utilised by the Queensland Police Service.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Principal Advisor, Custodial Communications

Custodial Operations Directorate

... The reason people delight in the sound of fountains, said Yolanda, is because white water mixes high and low frequencies together, and they say that's the most pleasing sound to the human ear. In Oscar's unmoved silence she heard how less than pleasing to her own ear the theory was. How petty it sounded. No, she said, sharply disagreeing with herself. No, the sound of running water must have meant here is somewhere you can live. Here you can drink and eat and cook and plant and grow. That must have made it the best sound on earth.

And because a fountain has no purpose, Oscar replied, unlike everything else. It just is. It just does. That's got to make you happy. ... 'The Fountain At The Centre Of The World', Robert Newman [2004]

Another year passes, broken dreams, broken promises, disappointments, short lived elation, hard work, good times, new found freedoms, too much bad news, loss of focus, gaining new focus, tired, defeated, energized, excited, broken resolutions, new resolutions and in the end, another year, much like others. But was it?

Not really. 2011 was, for me, the best I can remember, and I can remember many. For me, it’s usually, what have I learned?

I have learned that people, finally, have found their voice, Tahrir Square.

I have learned that a little Movement called Occupy has allowed the disgruntled and disenfranchised to have a place to call home, after decades of nowhere to go with their frustration.

I have learned that all things are possible.

I have learned by way of it being proven to me through Occupy that most people, regardless of economic or social position, education, geographic location, age, gender or occupation, strive for the same things, a government of the people, for the people and by the people, not one owned and run by Corporations and lobbyists.

I have learned that a little “Accountability” on the part of either the Government or the massive banks that sold us out would go a long way.

I have re-learned the value of “Ruth”, a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others. It has astounded me in my association with one of the Occupy sights, that no matter one’s own dire and/or precarious position, the Occupiers were willing to help and give when and how they could.

I have learned my belief that Main Stream Media Journalism is dead is well founded.

I have learned that “Citizen Journalists” are the answer to obtaining the “Truth”.

I have learned that sometimes an outstretched hand can be a hand up, or, depending on who is extending it, a shove back down.

I have been reminded, and sorely needed, that “There, but for the Grace of God, go I.” I have been reminded that most people are basically good.

I have learned that my faith in humanity is well founded. I have learned, and am angry beyond belief, that we have no privacy.

I have been reminded that my Dad’s admonition (a war hero) to “Question Authority” was rooted in personal experience that became his truth, has merit.

I have learned that I am stronger than I thought. Of all these, my greatest revelation is the most liberating. I have learned that I am not afraid to speak “my” truth.

I am not afraid to question or challenge although I am advised I should be. I will copy the DHS warning, “If You See Something, Say Something.” Well, say it, write it, post it, film it and don’t ever be hushed, never.

This is OUR country damn it. THEY work for us. Speak Up, Speak Out, and Take a Stand.

I am reminded of this quote, one I use often, “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”. ... by George Orwell, carry on.

Oh, I almost forgot, Happy New Year.

LJ Lassiter

Cairns police have located the missing Body Armour Vest.

Inquiries have ascertained the vest was being used in another police vehicle and was operationally deployed on this particularly busy New Years Eve.

Cairns police are reviewing their equipment sign out procedures.

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.

 

 

NYPD Scooter Contingent Cnr 2nd, South Of 12th [1/1/12]

Image: @Newyorkist

According to livestream footage from @Timcast, during violent NYPD oppression of an Occupy march through New York City, certain protesters were singled out for arrest - including a legal observer from the National Lawyers Guild. [Fast Forward to 10 mins 30 secs]

@Timcast himself sustained an injured wrist as a result of police violence.

National Lawyers Guild Condemns NDAA Provisions On Indefinite Detention: Media Release [27/12/11]

After over a decade of the so-called “War on Terror,” President Barack Obama is about to sign the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. The NDAA permits the indefinite detention of anyone, including citizens of the United States, who “was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces, under the law of war until the end of hostilities” – an extremely problematic and vague definition. In addition, it permits the transfer of any detained individuals to any foreign country and trial of such persons before a military tribunal.

The National Lawyers Guild adds its voice to the many others who oppose this legislation. Our opposition is not based solely on the fact that this bill allows indefinite detention of US citizens and residents or that the presumed “battlefield” encompasses the entire globe. We oppose indefinite detention without trial because it is immoral and cruel and because it violates the U.S. Constitution and international law.

Our principled opposition is based on the:

1. United States Constitution’s Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 which enshrines the privilege to petition for habeas corpus;

2. United States Constitution’s Article 3, Section 3 which provides those charged with treason heightened due process protections;

3. United States Constitution’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure;

4. United States Constitution’s Fifth Amendment prohibition of deprivations of liberty without due process; 5. United States Constitution’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy and public trial, to knowledge of the charges, to the assistance of counsel and to confront witnesses;

6. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United States has signed, and which holds that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile” (Article 9); those who are arrested are entitled to a fair and public hearing by an impartial tribunal (Article 10), and all those charged with a penal offence are presumed innocent, and have the right to a public trial and all of the guarantees necessary for a defense (Article 11); and

7. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States has ratified, and which provides in article 9 (1): “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”

The laws of war do not override these rights. International humanitarian law, set forth in the Geneva Conventions, applies to all battlefield hostilities, including illegal wars. The current “war on terror” is an undeclared war without end, waged everywhere on Earth. Indefinite detention for the duration of such a “war” is an immoral act of extreme injustice that makes a mockery of the idea that prisoners of war may be held only until the end of hostilities.

The National Lawyers Guild opposed expansion of executive power by George W. Bush, who oversaw Guantánamo and other “black sites” where prisoners often endured cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and torture at the hands of their captors without access to lawyers or courts to challenge either the fact or the conditions of their confinement. We oppose equally the current president’s claim to such executive power and his apparent desire to expand it.

The absolute power that the NDAA affords the Executive Branch and the military is dangerous, allowing the Executive Branch to designate whomever it chooses to be subjected to its draconian provisions.

If President Obama were committed to Constitution and international legal norms, he would veto this bill. Instead, he seems more concerned about consolidating the power of the Executive Branch at the cost of our legal and human rights. As “terrorism” and “radical Islam” have come to replace “Communism” in the federal government’s lexicon of fear, the United States continues its spiral toward a new era of McCarthyism. The NDAA is one more step down that road.

Lobbying by the Gladstone Ports Corporation [GPC] to have the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage boundaries modified is a request to de-list Gladstone Harbour, according to the Queensland Greens.

"Comments from the Gladstone Ports chairman and the CEO that they believe the World Heritage Area should align with The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park [GBRMP] is a ploy to remove UNESCO oversight and environmental controls over destructive port activities in Gladstone Harbour," Queensland Greens state spokesperson Dr Libby Connors said today.

"GBRMP boundaries only extend as far south as Grahams Creek in The Narrows channel and to the eastern side of Curtis Island.

"The World Heritage listing however recognised the integrity of Curtis Island and its high quality vegetation and consequently included it and the harbour waters in the WHA.

"This is an admission by the GPC that they are likely to be severely criticised by UNESCO for their mismanagement of Gladstone harbour."

A UNESCO delegation is due to visit Queensland in March 2012 to investigate the impacts of port expansions and of development of coal seam gas facilities in this valuable marine environment.

"It is clear to see why UNESCO are concerned," Ms Connors said.

"These waters are a recorded birthing site for humpback whales and important habitat for dugongs.

"Its shallow waters sustain rich seagrass beds which resulted in the state government declaring all the waters south of Graham Creek to Bustard Head a dugong sanctuary in 2002.

"The dugongs were one of the reasons for the World Heritage listing and Queensland has a responsibility to protect them and their habitat to the world community."

Ms Connors said that the revelations confirmed the Greens fears that the Ports Corporations and mining companies were driving the political agenda in this state.

"There is a real problem with the lack of transparency of government owned corporations.

"We have a former ALP city councillor, Ian Brusasco, appointed as chairman and a former Labor candidate, Leo Zussino, appointed as CEO and successive Labor environment ministers have stood by while one outrageous development after another was proposed.

Missing Police Vest – Cairns: Media Release [1/1/12]:

The Queensland Police Service is currently seeking assistance from the public to help locate a missing Body Armour Vest that belongs to the Cairns Police Station.

Police officers performing duties in Cairns last night signed out the vest at the beginning of their shift. When the officers concluded their shift early this morning they noticed the vest was missing.

The vest has gone missing throughout what was a very busy New Year’s Eve shift, so it has not yet been established if the vest has been taken or accidentally lost throughout the shift.

Police have carried out extensive searches today and have been unable to locate the vest. An internal investigation regarding its loss has commenced.

Members of the public who have information about the location of this vest may not know the significance of such a piece of equipment and are urged to call Cairns Police or hand it in to their nearest police station.

The public is also reminded the vest is a ‘Category E’ weapon under section 6 of the Weapons Categories Regulation 1997, and there are fines that may apply to those found purposely in possession of it.

Anyone with information which could assist police with their investigations should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.

Looking Forward To The Day When Citizens Have Privacy And Governments Can Keep No Secrets

1981 Cabinet Minutes reveal tensions, industrial strife in the Bjelke-Petersen Coalition Government

Growing tensions within the Bjelke-Petersen Coalition Government, power blackouts, a crippling transport strike, and the introduction of lotto and preparations for the 1982 Commonwealth Games dominated 30-year-old Cabinet Minutes released by Queensland State Archives today.

Minister for Government Services Simon Finn said the 1981 Cabinet Minutes provided a great insight into issues facing the government of the day, many of which continue to play a role in 2011.

“The unity of the 13-year-old Coalition Government began to show cracks in 1981 and provided a colourful backdrop to a year dominated by industrial disputes in the electricity and transport sectors,” Mr Finn said.

“Rejecting customary practice, the Premier refused to accept the nomination of Mr Justice Douglas as the new Chief Justice of Brisbane’s Supreme Court by Attorney-General Sam Doumany, who was also the Liberal Party’s deputy leader.

“This prompted Doumany to declare that the stability of Cabinet and the future of the government rested on how the decision was handled.

“In a further demonstration of a relationship under strain, Premier Bjelke-Petersen dismissed Liberal leader Dr Llew Edwards’ proposal to implement a ministerial code of conduct for his ministerial colleagues, saying that ‘no code, written or otherwise, can make any man honest if he has not lived that way all his life’.

“On the industrial relations front, the government in 1981 faced a series of disputes, involving work stoppages in the electricity and transport sectors, many of which had carried over from 1980.

“Blackouts and power rationing prompted Cabinet to negotiate settlements on claims for salary increases and reduced working hours.

“When a nation-wide strike action by the Transport Workers’ Union for an immediate wage increase of 10.45 per cent commenced in mid 1981, the Premier sought, and Cabinet approved, amendment of the Essential Services Act 1979, enabling the Premier to declare a state of emergency across Queensland, and to make provisions to secure the transit of basic food, medical and other supplies into the state.”

Much like today, the environment featured highly on Cabinet’s agenda. Vehicle emissions were emerging as a major concern in 1981 and following a review, Cabinet endorsed a national strategy to phase in lead-free petrol for motor vehicles from 1986.

“Having lived and worked in the Townsville/Magnetic Island region, I read with much interest the 1981 Cabinet deliberations over proposals for the development of a major international tourist resort at Magnetic Island’s Florence Bay,” Mr Finn said.

“Florence Bay along with Magnetic Island generally, is a beautiful part of the world and has been subject to proposals for resort development over the years.

“However, this particular proposal had a huge impact on the people of Magnetic Island and Townsville.

“This development proposal polarised the community, forming pro and anti development camps that exist to this day.

“Townsville got its casino, but Florence Bay was spared by Cabinet when, in the face of stiff opposition from the Townsville City Council, it withdrew its support for this development.”

In 1981, excitement was building, particularly in Brisbane, with the Commonwealth Games set for 1982. To prepare the Brisbane CBD for the Games, Cabinet gave the go ahead for the construction of a pedestrian mall in Queen Street and the development of Anzac Square to replace the ‘hole in the ground’ between Queen and Adelaide Streets.

“To assist in funding the Games – and to stem the flow of revenue to other states – Cabinet approved the introduction of lotto to Queensland in 1981, the only state without a lotto competition at that time,” Mr Finn said.

“With the floods and cyclones of 2011 still very fresh in our minds, 1981 also experienced a summer of destructive storms and floods, especially in Far North Queensland, the Granite Belt and the Darling Downs.

“The year’s most significant cyclone event came on 24 February when severe tropical cyclone Freda tracked across Cape York Peninsula – the system brought downpours of up to 260mm over the next 24 hours.

“Cabinet approved disaster relief packages for the worst affected areas.”

In 1981, Queenslanders could buy a loaf of bread from the supermarket for 65 cents, 500g of butter for $1.22 and have two bottles of milk delivered for 68 cents.

By the end of 1981, Queensland’s population was 2,387,943, up 3.6 per cent on 1980 and Brisbane’s population was estimated at around 46.7 per cent of the total state figure. Unemployment had fallen 0.6 per cent over the year to 6.4 per cent in December 1981.

Mid-year, the state weekly basic wage was $97.10 for males (a rise of $10.30 from the previous year) and $78.20 for females (up $8.30), following a blanket 3.6 per cent wage increase awarded in May.

The 1981 Cabinet Minutes will be available to the public at Queensland State Archives, 435 Compton Road, Runcorn, from Tuesday, 3 January 2012.

Queensland State Archives is open to the public on weekdays from 9.00am to 4.30pm, and for the same hours on the second Saturday of the month.

Dear Corrective Services Queensland,

I was passing the GCCC New Years Eve event at Paradise Point on the Gold Coast and saw one of your inmate transport vehicles parked there.

We wondered whether there were some inmates assisting with the festivities in some capacity? Or perhaps the vehicle was being used for display purposes or Community Education?

This is a genuine request for any information you are able to provide.

Thanks for your assistance.

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