From The Betrayal of the West by Jacques Ellul - as published in the (September/October? edition) of 'Adbusters'.

With All The "Scandalous", "Shocking", "OMFG Who Knew???? I Am So Surprised I Nearly Fell Off My Chair" And "Outrageous" Revelations About The Queensland Government Currently Being Aired In Our Media, Will They Have The Time To Cover Some REAL Stories?

Unions to ramp up anti-privatisation campaign

Unions will stage a protest against privatisation outside the office of Rachel Nolan, the Queensland Minister for Transport.

Where: Booval Professional Centre, 125 Brisbane St Ipswich
When: From 2PM, Friday 31 July.

This is part of the Queensland Unions campaign to stop the fire sale of Queensland's Railways, ports, forest and roads, that is being ramped up today.

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) Executive today endorsed the escalation of the existing campaign to highlight the risk that privatisation presents for jobs and vital public services, particularly in regional Queensland.

QCU General Secretary Ron Monaghan said the Executive had endorsed the ramping-up of the campaign following the already widespread opposition from the community to the government's decision.

"We are in the last week of a five week long tour of regional Queensland and the public is extremely angry about the government's decision to sell-off these public assets.

"Unions have been visiting towns and cities across the state and the response is the same wherever we go - people are worried for their jobs and the future of their communities.

"Regional Queensland faces a particularly difficult future with Queensland Rail providing stable employment in many regional towns for thousands of workers.

"Who knows what may happen when private industry needs to reduce services and cut jobs to maintain profits and shareholder returns?

"The government needs to get the message that this is not the answer to its budgetary woes and we'll continue to campaign until this message gets through."

Mr Monaghan said the next phase of the campaign would involve more strategic campaigning in addition to ongoing union activities and would include:

research and focus groups;
TV, radio and newspapers ads [You could do all of those things, and still not put an ad in the Murdoch press which is a neoconservative mouthpiece - Ed] planned in Brisbane and regional Queensland over the next 12 months; and
an interactive campaign website.

"We are committed to changing the government's mind on this decision and we anticipate spending around $400,000 on this phase of the campaign over the coming 12 months."

**A major rally against the sell-off will be held in Ipswich this Friday, 31 July outside Minister Rachel Nolan's office (Booval Professional Centre, 125 Brisbane St) from 2:00pm**

Post Card From W.A.

Only Down Under could someone send you such a mind fuck of a postcard! See the pretty natural gas platform - spectacular!

Hey Brisbane City Council Neocons! Get Your Hands Off Mt Coot-tha

Botanic Gardens Lake ... No special place in Brisbane is safe from these greedy pricks

Warning! Warning! Wil Robinson - the BCC have launched a "Mt Coot-tha Future Plan".

The Council website says its is "committed to developing an integrated master plan to make sure Mt Coot-tha is enhanced for generations to come."

That's right, not content with just giving some of the facilities in the Mt Coot-tha Forest Park a bit of a spruce up, it appears Council are engaging in one of their infamous community consultations and discussions with stakeholders in order to deflect and distract as they smooth the way for development.

There's even a weirdly titled "Mt Coot-tha Dream Survey" where you can have your say (before 4 August). Gee, when they collate the results, do you reckon they'll find that respondents mostly want boutique hotels, eco-villages, more shops, restaurants and interpretative/enviro heritage centres with pokey out awnings on Mt Coot-tha?

The Council website states:

What a bunch of weaselly worded newspeak. BCC doesn't care about "vision", "future sustainability" or "generations to come" - that's why they're building that stinking tunnel which has decimated large tracts of our city in an era when we should be getting out of our cars and expanding our public transport network. (And while we're on that topic, what the hell is going on over at Windsor with the fenced off Moreton Bay Fig Trees?)

Leave Mt Coot-tha alone. Give some of the buildings a lick of paint if you must, put in a safe path adjacent to the road for cyclists and walkers, and improve the public transport up there (as well as around the city) - that might improve the view - which over the past few years has become increasingly smoggy.

The greenhouse and planetarium in the Botanic Gardens

Smoggy view on a winter's day from atop Mt Coot-tha

The picnic areas are fine as they are

The Richard Randall Art Studio which was moved to the Botanic Gardens from South Brisbane a couple of years ago, and the Channel Nine television tower. In the past, Mt Coot-tha was known as "One Tree Hill" - because the city founders cut down all the trees. Don't let the Council do this again. They have form when it comes to trees!

Some of the entries in the Sculptors Queensland 2009 Mt Coot-tha Gardens Annual Exhibition

Extraordinary flora inside the Cactus House and Greenhouse

Solar Panels???

Brisbane Parkour

Oh to be young again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju5sEdGpl24

More Free Public Transport In France!

http://www.ladyverd.com/articulo/936/exito_del_transporte_publico_gratuito.htm

Whereas in Australia, citizen's taxes go into building more roads and tunnels (with tolls, which expensive advertising campaigns in the Murdoch press tell you how to pay with ease) and subsidising the purchase of more and more cars:

Which leads to ridiculous fascist scenarios such as these:

[Save The Mary Media Release: 30/7/09]

Ninety-two percent of respondents to a Courier Mail Poll agree Tony Fitzgerald is right on the money in his scathing criticisms of the Beattie and Bligh governments practices - and the lead group in the fight to prevent the proposed damming of the Mary River at Traveston Crossing agrees with them.

Save the Mary River Coordinating Group President, Glenda Pickersgill said today that the group had experienced frustration and anger at the treatment it had received from the government during the last three years.

She called on the government to immediately release all the "Cabinet in Confidence" documents it had relied on to arrive at the decision to dam the Mary River.

"The Beattie/Bligh decision was based purely on political expediency and would be a total waste of billions of taxpayer dollars if it was ever allowed to proceed," Ms Pickersgill said.

"Let's get all the information out there for the public to see so they can see what went on. After all, it was paid for by taxpayers" she said.

"It took a 4-day Senate Enquiry in mid -2007 to force the government to reveal some key reports that it had been denying to us. It also made the startling revelation that the desirability of the Traveston Crossing site was based on the briefest of desktop studies, many pages of which were either maps or blank. Many of the reports commissioned since then would appear to be predicated that they must come out in favour of the dam and the site."

"It really does seem that this government's approach is that a well-oiled (and well financed) media department will cover a multitude of shortcomings."

"It would seem that the people of Queensland are now echoing the cry that's been ringing through the Mary Valley for these last three years, 'Enough is Enough'."

Tweed Council Gag A Corruption Threat

Greens Media Release [30/7/09]

Sylvia Hale, NSW Greens MP and Local Government spokesperson has slammed Tweed Council for imposing a ban on its Councillors disclosing information to the media.

"Tweed Council was dismissed in 2005 because of corrupt conduct.Haven't the Councillors who voted for this ban learnt anything from that experience?" asked Ms Hale.

"Denying the media and the public access to information creates the sort of climate in which corruption can flourish."

The Daly report into Tweed Council that led to its dismissal in 2005 specifically criticised the then Council for adopting processes that "resulted in a low level of transparency in its operations." (Daly report, May 2005, p. 294)

"Now this new Council is doing exactly the same thing, implementing processes designed to reduce transparency and shut down public scrutiny.It's a very dangerous road for the Council to pursue and the Council should reverse its decision immediately."

"If the Council wants to win back the trust of the community it should be looking at making more information available to the public, not less."

"Given the potential negative consequences for public administrationin the Tweed I am calling on the Minister for Local Government to intervene to ensure that Tweed Council adheres to the principles of freedom of information and stops its attempts to avoid public scrutiny of its processes and decisions," Ms Hale said.

'Triumph' Dismissals In Asia Attempt To Get Rid Of Unions

Lingerie producer blames global recession for factory closures

The German/Swiss lingerie multinational Triumph seems to use the pretext of the global economic recession to close down factories in the Philippines and Thailand. A number of these closures are irregular.

On June 29, Triumph's producer in Thailand, Body Fashion Thailand, announced that around half of its 4200 workers would be out of their jobs by the end of August. Earlier this year, another Thai Triumph producer, Worldwell Garment Company, was closed down on Labour Day (May 1), and the entire work force sent home without their last salaries or the legally-required severance compensations.

In the Philippines, 1660 garment workers will loose their jobs by the end of August when Triumph International (Philippines) Ltd. and Star Performance Inc. will close down. Neither in Thailand nor in the Philippines did the Triumph management conduct timely and transparent negotiations with the factory workers' unions as required by international labour standards.

Gold Coast Signal Box Art

"Community formed through its people's eyes" Central Avenue, Labrador and Bicycles on Marine Parade, Southport

Polar Bears on Main Beach!

Dear Woolworths,

We usually try and avoid the duopoly supermarkets, but unfortunately circumstances led to us having to buy a few items from one of your outlets on the Gold Coast yesterday [25/7/09].

It was around closing time when we arrived, so there was the usual mad dash for Saturday evening dinner items and quite a few people queuing at the checkouts.

By the time we reached the checkout line it was 5.30pm. The stressed out operator not only had to scan everyone's shopping, but also had to contend with stragglers trying to enter the store.

"I'm sorry we're closed," or "We're legally not permitted to let you in," she called out, becoming increasingly frazzled as more and more folks endeavoured to make their way inside the store.

How pathetically backward and sick making.

Customers were squirming and glancing uncomfortably at one another - the tension was palpable and my blood began to boil. The checkout operator was in an impossible - possibly dangerous - situation - trying to remain polite, frantically scanning items through the checkout while rousing on the flow of wannabe customers she had to turn away - harried mothers explaining that they needed gluten free supplies or fathers desperately seeking baby formula.

The checkout operator (who turned out to be the shift supervisor) explained to the customer before us that the store was supposed to close at 5.30pm.

I asked the operator if she was getting paid for the time she worked beyond 5.30pm and she said "no", and that she was supposed to have finished by this time, but that some rostered staff hadn't turned up for their shift.

Woolworths, you have created a scenario which pits worker against customer - and the only thing that doesn't suffer is your bottom line.

You say on your website that you recognise "we have a high level of social responsibility" and that you have "implemented a broad range of community and environmental initiatives to help give back to our customers and the local communities that support us."

The Murdoch press regularly publicises these initiatives - such as sponsorships of local sporting teams - but what are you going to do about this unacceptable state of affairs before something nasty happens? Is there any reason why you can't use your clearly evident lobbying power to liaise with the government to change the Saturday closing time to 6pm, employ a properly trained security guard for the door, and perhaps pay your staff for the hours they work?

Broadwater Parklands Makeover Nearly Complete

Sneak preview of the $36.5 million Broadwater Parkland development:

$36.5 million is an awful lot of money for what essentially appears to be the shifting of a carpark further north, some landscaping, and the illogical removal of the pedestrian tunnel from Nerang Street.

Sand being dredged from the Broadwater to deepen the channels is being used to reclaim additional land at the southern end of the park. Perhaps they'll put some public barbeques up here?

Kick It Over

The Port Frederick sailing throught the seaway and into the Broadwater ...

Can't Help Feeling Immediately Suspicious About This

Lake Cootharaba

Is there any reason why we can't just leave things as they are?

What Is Urban Design?

"Moving, give me motion
Grooving, I'm an ocean
(moving)
Feeling, getting higher
Feeling with desire
Just keep me moving
(moving)
Freedom
Freedom
Freedom
Free"

'Just Keep Me Moving', K.D. Lang [1993]

The $543 million Tugun Bypass that nobody wanted and against which local environmentalists fought a protracted campaign (including through the court system) is a contender in the Gold Coast City Council's 2009 Urban Design Awards.

Roads are roads. They create congestion, obliterate landscapes and are deadly, polluting and unsustainable in their construction and use. In this era of grappling with climate change, should we really be celebrating them as wonderful examples urban design?

Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey was interviewed on the ABC's Coast FM this week about the costs involved in replacing glass noise panels on the Tugun Bypass, which are apparently regularly vandalised.

No amount of public art can make this stinking, noisy road beautiful:

This week, the Gold Coast monomedia reported that the tunnels were closed - once when a truck set off the height sensors, and once when a fire alarm triggered the fire sprinklers and brought down the boom gate.

Surely it is initiatives such as the Varsity Vegies Community Garden - which has also been nominated for the urban design award - that should be encouraged? We must move away from our dependance on fossil fuels and car transport.

Speaking of urban design on the Gold Coast, the March/April edition of 'Architecture Australia' reported that Christopher Gee has been appointed as the new City Architect for the Gold Coast City Council.

It would be interesting to know a bit about him and his vision for the Gold Coast.

We really do need a decent newspaper in this town/region/state/country/world!

Australia, Don't Become America

She Would HATE This

Proposal for Queensland Federal Electoral Redistribution [AEC Media Release: 24/7/09]:

The Mind Boggles

Adult World Factory Outlet, Nerang. What's next? "Sex Shop Seconds"?? "As new, near new, slightly worn and shop-soiled, minor defects (flaccid dildos? punctured inflatable dolls? Inedible underwear with gluten and traces of soy and nuts? Old maid outfits?). S'pose.

Ken-E Koala Launches Campaign To Save Labor Politicians

Ken-E Koala: Definitely not the the AFP or Dreamworld mascot ...

Ken-E Koala has spoken out about the impending extinction of Queensland's labor politician population.

"I have had discussions with conservationists who say the labor politician population could be wiped out within two years," he said at a press conference this morning.

Mr Koala was launching his campaign - "Sit On My Big Koala Arse And Eat Gum Leaves All Day And Try To Avoid Bulldozers, Traffic Hazards, Koala Habitat Mapping and Climate Change".

"The natural habitat of the labor politician is being increasingly decimated," said Mr Koala.

"Over the years koalas have played an important role in that regard."

Mr Koala says he has written to Angry Anderson nominating Queensland's labor politicians as a "critically endangered" species.

YOUR SAY: Should the koalas do anything to save labor politicians?

In related news, many politicians had their photo taken with Adolf Hitler, including Neville Chamberlain. In fact in those days, politicians would refer to him as "Mr Hitler", and fascism was quite popular in the west.

More Estimates Excitement!

Climate Politics Tramps Climate Action With Hill Appointment

Greens Media Release [21/7/09]

The Rudd Government's appointment of Robert Hill to head the Australian Carbon Trust has a lot to do with wedging the Coalition, the Australian Greens said today.

Robert Hill, as Liberal Environment Minister, played a key personal role in weakening the Kyoto Protocol at negotiations in 1997, undermining global climate action for years afterwards and setting Australia up as a global climate spoiler by not ratifying the Protocol.

"Robert Hill has been no friend of the climate and his appointment will not impress international negotiators."

"The Carbon Trust is becoming not much more than a token gesture."

"Meanwhile, the Rudd Government is still insisting on linking the vital renewable energy target legislation to the fundamentally flawed emissions trading legislation," Senator Brown said. [Triple reverse weaseley word wedgie with pike - Ed]

Conclusive Proof Brisbane Backward

Road Deaths Australia, Monthly Bulletin: June 2009

TransWank Data Reveals Public Transport Should Be Free

Hopefully the Gen Y's will have forgotten these accusations by Sunday - the Northern Busway Open Day - because there'll be roving entertainers and plenty of clowns!

Although the baby boomer generation have sucked the life out of any notion of a sustainable and peaceful future on planet earth, Generation Y are clearly at fault because they are the most likely to engage in the SINISTER practise of fare evasion.

According to TransWank data, which was compiled by the Neocon Bastard Courting Public Opinion Unit, Gen Ys were the worst offenders, while Gen X were the second worst.

"We actually found that if all public transport were free, the costs associated with ticketing actually cancel out the cost of issuing tickets and therefore promotes a far more efficient and equitable public transport system." said Mr Mephisto from the Neocon Bastard Courting Public Opinion Unit.

"So what we had to do was massage the data and present the findings in a way that reinforces prejudices and stereotypes according to the backward mindset of a bunch of bean counters."

Today the Minister dutifully announced a crackdown and substantial fines, forgetting that the Northern Busway Open Day is on this Sunday - not a good look.

More Snaps From The Gold Coast "Narnia" Set On The Spit [21/7/09]

What appears to be pieces of the castle facade being prepared beneath the casuarinas

The castle by the sea beginning to take shape

Dunnies in the Sunset! Maybe the stars will 'go' here?

Some site context:

Warning to surfers who paddle the seaway seeking the thrilling waves of South Stradbroke Island, and "Australian Surfriding Foundation" plaque. World Champion surfing legend Tom Carroll was 'ere!

The surging seaway!

No golf!

Seabird swoops over secret seaway cat in the sunset!

Alabama 1950

Who Knew Reg Was So Political?

Reg Lindsay [1929 -2008]

"Black boy in Chicago
Playin' in the street
Not enough to wear
Not near enough to eat
But don't you know he saw it
On a July afternoon
Saw a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

Young girl in Calcutta
Barely eight years old
Flys 'round the market place
See she don't get old
Don't you know she heard it
On a July afternoon
Heard a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
Heard a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

Rivers gettin' dirty
Wind is gettin' bad
War and hate is killin' up
The only earth we had
But the world all stopped to watch
On a July afternoon
Watched a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon
Watched a man named Armstrong
Walk upon the moon

And I wonder if a long time ago
Somewhere in the universe
They watched a man named Adam
Walk upon the earth"

'Armstrong', written by John Stewart and a hit for Lindsay in 1971

Lord Lamington Laments Large Lamington

Lord Lamington: "This Large Lamington is excessive and I am outraged."

Lord Lamington has lamented the Large Lamington that was unveiled in Ipswich today.

"Hurrrumph! Egad! You Fools!" he exclaimed, after driving up in his horse and carraige which was kindly donated by the local horse and carraige dealer.

"This Large Lamington is excessive and I am outraged."

Lord Lamington also lamented the long forgotten Lamington Drive, once a fundraising staple in Australian schools.

"I'm not that fond of those confounded poofy woolley biscuits because I always get coconut caught in my moustache when I eat them," he said.

"But evidently many Australians partook of creating them and eating them until society became really mean, self-centred and hygienically anally retentive during the Howard years."

Lord Lamington said the Large Lamington symbolically marks the demise of Lamington Drives.

"The difficulty for Lamington Drives was that they never involved any PR professionals going forward," he said.

"Today it's all about business plans and corporate strategies."

He also countered the myths conjured by politicians and officials about the origin and naming of the Lamington, which is an icon in every town in South East Queensland as well as in New Zealand.

"Everybody knows Lamingtons were discovered by Burke and Wills when they crossed the Lamington Plateau," he said.

"And I am quite confident they would lament the Large Lamington too."

In related news, the folks at Arsehat Economics appear to have been smoking some of those green shoots they keep going on about.

Fiscal ruin of the Western world beckons

Reality Chef Programs "Not Rigged": Swedish Chef

Salad ala Boom-Boom ... Mwah!

The Swedish Chef has spoken out in defense of reality chef programs saying that they are not rigged.

"Cow-Poo!" was his first response to the suggestion. "Beaker and I worked together for many years as culinary consultants to 'Le Show Des Muppets', as it was called, and everything about the show was absolutely genuine," he said.

"Look, you cannot put together a segment like that every single week without some degree of, shall we say 'organisation', but to suggest that it was in some way not "real" is just hateful nonsense from jealous losers, in my professional chef opinion."

Before he stormed off in a genuine huff, filmed from three realistic camera angles (none of which showed that he is just a puppet with a hand up his insides), the Swedish Chef said:

"It's completely shameless of you media people to just perpetuate this story because you have a stupid readership consisting mostly of media advisors who are ex-employees of the same media, who then go on to tell politicians that they need to pay attention to the same media. Yes, it does attempt to illicitly breed with your mind, doesn't it?"

Beaker was contacted for comment but mysteriously exploded just after making a self-pityingly weak and whiney noise.

NOTE: The Swedish Chef actually said: "Erschin bergin furgin hah, ern murschken hergin glergin flahh!" But we had this interview translated by the same people the ABC and News Ltd. use when they tell you that Iran wants to "wipe Israel off the map", so it must be correct.

Backyard Message To Batman

Anti-war activist Jacob Bolton was discovered by military personnel inside the Shoalwater Military Base late on Saturday night. He was detained and taken to the Rockhampton Watchhouse to be charged and was released on bail early Sunday morning.

A spokesperson from the Martin Luther King House of Nonviolence said:

"Jake is very pleased that he was able to find a physical way to challenge war and the military machine. These exercises are only a step removed from current warmaking by the US and Australia in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US and Australians have no civilian players in the exercises. These exercises are a fantasy. The activists presence counters this fantasy."

Margaret Pestorius, who was detained by US solidiers last week said:

"Each activist that is found by the military is a reality check for those military personnel who run into them. War has real people: Ordinary men, women and children who want peace and who are trying to go about their daily business in the face of bombing, shooting and incarceration."

"We were discovered by US infantrymen playing insurgents in a large role playing invasion scenario. Yet there are no civilians in this scenario."

Jake was part of a group calling themselves the Grana 4. Grana was the sole survivor in her family of a NATO aerial bombing of her village. [see Guardian website]

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/93188

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

The boogeyman's gonna getcha!

More Restoration Works On The Lady Bowen Building, Wickham Terrace

[18/7/09]

One of the Lady Bowen "wings" being demolished in January 2007 and the site on the corner of Wickham Terrace and Robert Street undergoing excavation and groundwork for the housing complex which was constructed later that year.

The Lady Bowen buildings on Wickham Terrace are heritage listed and were formerly known as the Lady Bowen Hospital. It was a maternity hospital in the 1890s, Nurses’ Quarters in the 1920s and a centre for recovering soldiers after the Second World War. A decade or so ago, it was home to the Queensland Writers' Centre and up until the last couple of years, the A.M.E.B. held their musical exams in one of the buildings.

After extensive refurbishment, the Mission Australia facility "Roma House" was officially opened in November 2006, and provides shelter for inner city homeless people. In 2007, an additional housing complex incorporating studio apartments was constructed on the site of one of the demolished wings.

With Such Pristine Light And Sparkling Water, Is It Any Wonder The Narnia Flick Is Being Shot In South East Queensland?

"Films are created when there's no-one looking. They are the invisible. What you can't see is incredible and it's the task of the cinema to show you that." Jean-Luc Godard in Wim Wender's documentary film 'Room 666' [1982]

View across the bay from Cleveland Point

Sign says:

"To the Resident and Visitor.

This site has been chosen as a filming location for an upcoming major feature film being produced by Dragons Prow Pty Ltd.

Redland City Council have kindly granted us permission to occupy the site and construct our hero boat on the point. This measures 45 metres in length and 12 metres in height and will be built on to a gymbal so that it will have the ability to pitch and it will be clipped together and final finishing touches made by our art department.

In early September we are scheduled to commence filming until approximately September 25th. Once filming is complete, our construction and de-rig crew will be on hand for four weeks returning Cleveland Point to its current condition.

Dragons Prow Pty Ltd would like to thank you in advance for your support. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call on our locations department at Warner Roadshow Studios on 5585 9711."

Skippy begone!

View of set construction from the boat ramp (where, if you're a Skippy you are not permitted - but hey! other than pissweak fences, there weren't any alsation dogs or burly security guards, and mud is a mere nuisance!).

Pieces of the hero boat ... (you know in your heart world peace is possible)

Yet another view of the set construction

More shots (glad it was low tide!)

Memorial to Cleveland pioneers. Here's what the plaque says:

The Cleveland Lighthouse - adjacent to the set - and coincidentally currently undergoing some kind of restorative process!

Part of the information plaque states:

The Lighthouse Restaurant. Local news publications reckon you may catch a glimpse of Aslan as you chow down on your exquisite lunch, but that would be crap as far as we could tell from our place up against the security fence. Why is it that the corporate media, such as Fairfax and News Ltd, are unable to tell the truth about the simplest things? The only place you can see all the action is right up next to the fence at Cleveland Point.

Brave Faces

"i've seen faces in the window i've seen faces in the street
they talk and walk of nothing
i've known many restless summers the sand dunes imagine
a place without a postcard
flower people were so beautiful but straight and loud's the way
good luck the beatnik spirit
the talk of politicians the sentences of cynics are the sentences of childhood

they're all talking shit to me

out-talked by the mass media to pay the bills it lies
and the lies we eat with breakfast
brave faces face the boardroom the oak stained walls
fall silent they leave lined with defeat
and they got those tears in their eyes
well it makes no sense to me

why don't they understand we're so ordinary too
i saw the exits closing now
pain and passions my point of view
well there's nothing like the truth

i've seen men that have been marked out, ruled out by grim assassins
they fell hard on instant replay
and I'm never going there well the place i see is so much better
cos it makes no sense to me
i saw the exits closing now
becoming mountains burning paper burning all around and later"

Midnight Oil [1981]

But Is It Art Or Graffiti Guv?

ABC's 'The Bill' tackles the esoteric

Hey B.C.C.! If You Love Cool Laneways So Much, Get Your Stinking Hands Off Fish Lane!

"I Love You Too (But not in a weird way like with vegetables)" and "Beauty Falls", Fish Lane South Brisbane

The Old Dendy On George Street Has A New Tenant!

"Now Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve, then nothing is cool."

'Man on the Moon' R.E.M. [1992]

Bayer Ban On Farm Chemical Puts Australian Regulators To Shame

Greens Media Release [17/7/09]

The move by multinational chemical company Bayer to stop distributing the pesticide endosulfan highlights the need for action in Australia, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Commenting on the story on page 1 of today's Sydney Morning Herald ('Pesticide too risky for chemical giant - but not for Australia', 17 July 2009), Dr Kaye said:

"Australia's regulators are being shown up by a multinational chemical company realising the inherent dangers of this chemical.

"Bayer is one of four main distributors of endosulfan in Australia. Its decision to dump the pesticide punches yet another hole in the case against banning the persistent organic pollutant that has been linked to birth defects and cancer.

"More than sixty countries around the world prohibit the use of endosulfan.

"With yet another outbreak of fish mutations in a catchment where endosulfan has been extensively applied, continued use is gambling with the health of the local community and farmers as well as consumers.

"NSW households are being put at risk by state and federal minsters who refuse to stand up to a very conservative regulator.

"NSW Primary Industry Minister Ian Macdonald must take the lead in working towards a nation-wide ban.

"In this state there is a complete absence of independent comprehensive testing of fruit and vegetables for chemical residues. Consumers are at the mercy of the farmer workers and their ability to follow the manufacture's instructions.

"Bayer has effectively admitted that it cannot guarantee that agricultural workers will use the chemical within guidelines.

"It is only the conservatism of the regulators that is standing in the way of Australia joining much of the rest of the world in banning endosulfan.

"New Zealand ended the use of endosulfan after it was linked to a higher rate of breast cancer in that country.

"APVMA has steadfastly refused to look at the international trend to ending the use of dangerous chemicals like endosulfan," Dr Kaye said.

The Sydney Morning Herald story is available at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/pesticide-too-risky-for-chemical-giant--but-not-for-australia-20090716-dn0d.html

Greens Will Mount Senate Campaign To Protect Australian Readers And Writers

Greens Media Release [16/7/09]

The Australian Greens will mount a Senate campaign to protect the diversity of the Australian book industry for writers and readers, as the Federal Government considers handing over greater control to big book chains.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said that a recent report from the Productivity Commission that recommended the scrapping of parallel import restrictions on books would, if adopted, simply hand more profits and power to big book chains, squeezing out small, independent publishers and book stores, and reducing support for new and established writers.

"We are facing a big business takeover of Australian writing, as large volumes of generic, unsold books from overseas are dumped here."

Senator Brown called on the Prime Minister to rule out any changes to parallel import restrictions on books.

"Australians don't want book stores operating like big supermarket chains, and the Greens will be doing everything in our power to preserve diversity in the Australian book industry."

Garden Gnome Probed Over WMD War Crimes Link

Sinister: Clearly fascist garden gnome w/ weapons stash (Getubrainwash Images)

Prosecutors are investigating whether a garden gnome has committed war crimes and is harbouring WMD after an anonymous tip off to the Thought Police Unit.

"The garden gnome is being probed as we speak," said special prosecutor Mr Schitzenhausen Dunkopf.

"This investigation proves that evil could turn up where you least expect it - even in your neighbour's garden."

The garden gnome was discovered nestled amid a bunch of daisies when a suspicious neighbour took some aerial photos of a possible mobile weapons laboratory.

Garden gnomes with links to war crimes and harbouring WMD are illegal all throughout the world - except in special places.

The artist's original intention in creating a sculpture is not relevant when you are writing propaganda.

Noam Chomsky, Speaking at Riverside Church in Harlem [12/6/09]

Wanted: Women In Development Making A Sustainable Difference:

Brisbane City Council Media Release [15/7/09]

A new prize will recognise the achievements of women who have improved the sustainability of Brisbane's urban environment. Brisbane City Council has added a touch of 'green' to this year's Women in Development Excellence Awards by supporting an innovative new category to encourage sustainable development.

The new award takes the total on the night up to eight and is an initiative of Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) CEO Brian Stewart. Neighbourhood Planning Chair Amanda Cooper said women were making a tremendous contribution to the city right across the development spectrum.

"From urban and town planning to architecture, engineering, design,surveying, landscaping to project management and development industry support - more and more women are shaping our neighbourhoods, our towns and cities," she said.

"They're making a positive and dramatic difference, and we want to pay tribute to this achievement."

Cr Cooper said sustainable development was an integral part of Council's vision for Brisbane as a world class, easy living city with unique character and stunning environment.

"We are working at all levels - with community, industry and other agencies to create a clean, green sustainable city to meet the needs of today's generation without compromising future generations.

"By setting the guidelines for built environments that minimise energy and water use - planning policy can make a vital contribution to protecting our city."

Cr Cooper encouraged those working in the development industry to nominate a colleague or peer who had demonstrated excellence in their field. The closing date is August 14 and entry guidelines and nomination forms can be downloaded from the UDIA Queensland's website atwww.udiaqld.com.au. Entrants must be a member of Women in Development (or employed by a member organisation). Winners will be announced at the official awards ceremony on October 30, 2009.

[Notwithstanding the obvious greenwashing, this is wrong on SO many levels it is not worth the electrons or the effort to explain. One wonders whether these Council people actually wander around Brisbane - it's a planning disaster - Ed]

Fury Over Hale Street Bridge Naming Shock And Outrage

Anglican Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale (1811 - 1895)

A new bridge currently being built over the Brisbane River between West End and Milton is creating a non-existent fury, shock and outrage over its proposed name.

Although the bridge - which on its completion is set to stink out West End and South Brisbane - is already called the Hale Street Bridge, there have been calls for it to be named after a rugby league identity.

POLL: Government and corporate spin giving you the screaming shits?
YOUR SAY: Why is it that confected distraction and debate over the naming of traffic infrastructure only ever happens in Brisbane?

Other names for the bridge put forward include:

The EKKA chairlift - iconic, reeking with decades of exhibition history, and offering the proverbial brown eye view of the show

The Brisbane Exhibition's iconic chairlift may be dismantled after this year's show, but it will take on another life - soaring over the CBD as part of Council's new transport initiative 'Sky Peddo'.

The 'Sky Peddo' will cover a network of 521 metres above the CBD and take 100s of pedestrians off city streets. As part of Council's sustainability going forward initiative it will be powered by methane captured and stored from the EKKA's beef cattle pavilion.

Travel on the 'Sky Peddo' will require the purchase of a "Peddo Card" along with a "YO Card" which will offer commuters a thrilling way to get around the city at an extortionate price.

"It's an initiative that makes environmental sense as we look for sensible ways of decreasing our carbon footprint," said a Council spokesperson.

"Pedestrian emissions cause environmental chaos in Brisbane's CBD so it's a win win to take them up in the air where their emissions are more easily dispersed and they can cause the least amount disruption to traffic."

Incorporating a variety of routes, the 'Sky Peddo' will allow city workers, shoppers and tourists to travel all over the CBD.

"'Sky Peddo' commuters will be known as 'Peddos'," said the spokesperson.

According to the spokesperson, 'Sky Peddo' will have a number of stops on the roofs of well known highrises throughout the city.

"The stops will be serviced by men in lederhosen who will play loud Bavarian music," he said.

"A good 'Peddo' might hop on at the top of the Myer Centre after doing some shopping, then travel to the Riverside Centre to see their stockbroker before travelling to Queens Plaza for a spot of lunch."

This is not publicity for the EKKA. I repeat. This is not publicity for the EKKA, and we had absolutely no idea the EKKA chairlift and Industrial Pavilion were doomed until now.

Queensland. Which special part of the state will be next to be demolished, dismantled or destroyed?

Red And Black, Marine Parade, Southport

Bronze Statuettes At Southport Park

Steve Irwin, soldiers and swaggies in a jewellery shop window, Southport Park Shopping Centre

Kevin Afraid To Use Phone To China

Hu?

In November 2007 the Australian public resoundingly voted for certain politicians to be 'The Opposition' to represent them as their duly elected Opposition. Sometimes the evil Rudd Government forgets how real democracy works, and pretends that just because the Opposition has no place in Government affairs they can be side-lined. Well, that is not so!

Of course, the man who was most resoundingly voted into opposition was John Howard. He was so resoundingly voted in to opposition that he even missed out on that! After that, we had to do with unelected Opposition leaders. The latest is Mr Turnbull.

Mr Turnbull has been getting all sorts of media time lecturing Mr Rudd on "picking up the phone" and calling China. How would Turnbull handle that conversation if he were PM?

"Hello Hu, moneybags Turnbull here, how are you?"

"That's nice, now about this other chap, 'Wong' is it? Whatever, one of our chaps has fallen foul of some of your chaps apparently. I was hoping we could sort something out, you see the people over here take all this stuff a bit seriously when Rupert Murdoch's papers... [interruption in very loud and angry mandarin] ...Yes, we all know he is but what can you do? It's not like any government apart from yours is willing to stop him, and you know he has us completely by the nuts here in the West."

"Well yes, I understand that I am lower than a worm's scrotum, I accept that I too have enthusiastically supped from the font of Rupert's freckle, but I'm assuring you that I can turn this around into an attack on that Stalinist Rudd."

"Hows this for a headline: 'Rudd Won't Pick Up Phone To China: Turnbull'? I reckon Milne, Albrechston, Sheridan, Bolt, Blair and Humpty will run it. Hell, those dumb pricks at Crikey! will probably even run this piece just because it mentions them, how fucking stupid are they?".

Where Will They Park?

The recent flyer received by residents and parking restriction sign in Labrador Street

Residents of Labrador were pleased to receive this flyer in today's mail. As if they don't have any other crap to worry about at the moment! Thanks for the giant up yours to citizens Main Roads.

FYI, the flyer says:

Why haven't Main Roads liaised with the Gold Coast City Council to relax parking restrictions in the area? (There is a two hour parking limit in surrounding streets - Monday to Saturday.)

What is the point of this flyer? All it advises is that if you live between Broad and Whiting Street you won't be able to access Frank Street in your car. It offers no alternative parking or transport arrangements. How are residents supposed to get to their job job job or take their kids to school? Surely these residents are entitled to compensation?

Progress On The 'Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader' Set At Doug Jennings Park, The Spit [14/7/09]

Lots of workers, security fencing, a guard and looks like it's going to be a castle by the sea!

A seagull on a rock and the Sir Henry Morgan - The Spit [14/7/09]

Letter To The Editor, 'National Geographic' [May 2009]

Vive la France!

"B'EAU-PAL" Water Scares Dow Execs Into Hiding:

'The Yes Men' Media Release [13/7/09]

London - A new, beautifully-designed line of bottled water - this time not from the melting Alps, nor from faraway, clean-water-deprived Fiji, but rather from the contaminated ground near the site of the 1984 Bhopal catastrophe - scared Dow Chemical's London management team into hiding today.

Twenty Bhopal activists, including Sathyu Sarangi of the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal, showed up at Dow headquarters near London to find that the entire building had been vacated.

Had they not fled, Dow employees could have read on the bottles' elegant labels:

The launch of "B'eau-Pal" water came as Bhopal prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal catastrophe, and coincides with the release of an official report by the Sambhavna Trust showing that local groundwater, vegetables, and breast milk are contaminated by toxic quantities of nickel, chromium, mercury, lead, and volatile organic compounds. The report describes how a majority of children in one nearby community are born with serious medical problems traceable to the contamination.

The attractive yet toxic product, developed by the Bhopal Medical Appeal and the Yes Men with pro-bono help from top London creative design firm Kennedy Monk (making-of video here), highlights Dow's continued refusal to take responsibility for the disaster. (Five years ago, the Yes Men impersonated Dow Chemical live on BBC World Television and announced that after 20 years, the company was finally going to clean up its mess in Bhopal. That hoax, which temporarily knocked two billion dollars off Dow's share price, is featured in the Yes Men's new movie, The Yes Men Fix The World, which opens in UK cinemas on August 11.)

Though Dow has consistently refused to clean up the mess in Bhopal, they have taken numerous steps to clean up their image. In a recent press release, for example, Andrew Liveris, Dow's Chairman and CEO, noted that "lack of clean water is the single largest cause of disease in the world and more than 4,500 children die each day because of it." He went on to assert that "Dow is committed to creating safer, more sustainable water supplies for communities around the world."

The Yes Men met Liveris' attempt to greenwash Dow's environmental record with a challenge.

"Since Liveris earns $16,182,544 per year, he could give each of the children who die worldwide for lack of clean water $10 per day to buy Evian, Fiji Water, or Perrier," said Mike Bonanno of the Yes Men. "Or, for vastly less money, he could build them clean-water pipelines, like the ones that Bhopal so badly needs."

Dow's greenwashing comes while Bhopal is experiencing an extremely rare drought, just three years after facing its greatest floods ever. "Even though people are already dying by the hundreds of thousands, and we know that climate change will kill many more, companies like Dow are not being forced to cut back on emissions," said the Sambhavna Clinic's Sathyu Sarangi. "Bhopal should be a lesson to the world - one we must learn before it's too late for all of us."

B'eau-Pal water: http://www.bhopalwater.com

http://www.theyesmen.org/

Government Announces M.A.G.I.C. Robot Competition

The impartial panel of experts advising the government on MAGIC

The Australian Federal Government has come up with its very own idea, for a change. This idea has not come from anywhere else. It certainly has not come from America. This idea is unique and unusual. This idea is about robots. The Australian Government has special expertise in the area of robots because obviously many of them actually are robots.

The robot idea will obviously require an acronym. The acronym will be catchy and relevant. The Government has been told by its various PR advisors (all of whom are Murdoch programmed robots) that the acronym will be "MAGIC", so the new improved robot program will therefore be known as: "MAGIC"

The new initiative will be called: Mechanical Arseholes Garnishing International Control, "M.A.G.I.C.", and will be deployed to ensure that international control is garnished by those people who work for Rupert Murdoch, for example. It has been proven to work in Australia, the U.K. and America just to name a few!

MAGIC is the future! And the future is robotic!

In a perfect world MAGIC robots will do all the killing. All the people who need to be killed will be killed by MAGIC and the rest of us, the good people who didn't make any trouble, will live happily ever after without bad people to bother us. MAGIC, how can we thank you enough?

Australian Media (Including Prominent Bloggers) ... Where Are You????

The RIO story is ho hum. Why are you actively suppressing the story of the century? If you're not interested in the fact that this company (which runs the 70% of the newspapers in Australia) has been engaging in criminal activity, SURELY the fact that "Our Elle" was on a list of individuals who suffered 'intruder' interest in her phone calls piques your curiousity? What more could you want?:

There are people who have worked for News of the World working in Australia and you know very well who they are. Hey Fairfax/ABC, why don't you ask these individuals about their experiences working at the "screws"?

This story is exploding in the UK where there is a parliamentary committee underway. What happens to democracy when the media is corrupt? Hello Hello? Is there anybody in Australia who gives a fuck about this? Or are you just watching the cricket and don't care about what's going on?

Labrador. Worst Place In The World For High Rise Painters!

These guys have been blowing about in the wind, painting for the past few hours. Hope they get paid well!

Quote of The Week

Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen!

(The Western Way Of Life Is Not Negotiable)

'The Snow Queen' (Sneedronningen) is a fairy tale by author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875).

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
Friendly old girl of a town
Where we all just might
Take a December flight
And talk about coal that is brown

To wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
We'll also discuss rising seas
While we hope and pray
We'll agree some way

Singing Copenhagen, wonderful, wonderful
Copenhagen for me!

I'll sidle up to Barack
He'll know where it's at
We've got all the coal so you'll see
Advances in clean coal technology
And delaying renewable energy

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
The western way of life is not negotiable
So don't you stinky old greenies frown

Though there'll be a shit fight
For the planet's plight
And future lies with puppeteered clowns

At wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
I doubt we're going to agree
Though you'll hear me say
It's a hard slog, OK?
Singing Copenhagen, wonderful, wonderful
Copenhagen for me!

With apologies to Frank Loesser, who wrote the words and music of 'Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen', for the Hollywood musical 'Hans Christian Andersen'.

Haven't Heard About This In The News

http://www.bluetoothheadsetlitigation.com/

Queenslander Reaches Top Of The Queue For MRI

Photo: Kate Geraghty, 'The Age' [18/6/09]

A Queenslander has defied all the odds by undergoing an MRI for his serious health complaint.

Mr Tutin-Carman was complaining of stomach pains and went to his GP in the Brisbane suburb of Stafford around 3000BC, where he was put on a priority waiting list for an MRI.

After a considerable waiting period of several centuries, Mr Tutin-Carman's descendents had his bodied embalmed (with his cat Fluffy).

After a few more centuries undergoing corporate charity fun runs, screening programs, awareness campaigns and enduring endless video news releases from pharmaceutical and private health companies, he hit the jackpot and was booked in for an MRI.

"He has a willy! He has a willy!" exclaimed Mr Tutin-Carman's oncologist Dr Vi Agra.

US Govt Websites Maybe... Possibly... Coulda Been... Attacked By Axis Of Evil Doers

"I'm so ronery
So ronery
So ronery and sadry arone

There's no one
Just me onry
Sitting on my rittle throne
I work very hard and make up great prans
But nobody ristens, no one understands
Seems that no one takes me serirousry

And so I'm ronery
A little ronery
Poor rittre me

There's nobody
I can rerate to
Feer rike a bird in a cage
It's kinda sihry
But not rearry
Because it's fihring my body with rage

I work rearry hard to stay nice and fit
But none of the women seem to give a shit
When I rure the world maybe they'rr notice me
But untir then I'rr just be ronery
Rittre ronery, poor rittre me
I'm so ronery
I'm so ronery"

'I'm So Ronery' from the 'Team America: World Police' soundtrack [2004]

The US are probing how a cyberattack could have infiltrated US government websites in the hope it could have originated from one of the world's Axis of Evil-Doers.

"We're investigating and though we can't confirm anything and have no proof, we are taking a scattergun approach and not singling any one country in particular. What I can tell you is that it maybe, possibly, coulda been North Korea," said State Department Spokesperson, Hank Trouser-Pant III

"Look. They have form. What about all them nukes they tested lately? And let's not forget we've got a shitload of big bombs and other assorted weapons and we need to fire them somewhere."

It is understood the obesity watch and go green aspects of US government websites were corrupted as a result of the cyber attack.

Australian Workers Celebrate As No Pay Commission Delivers Sensible Decision

"There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong."'

'I Dreamed a Dream' from the musical 'Les Misérables' [1980]

Grateful workers sing "hip hip hooray for the pay commission"

Australia's 1.3 million cleaners, childcare and hospitality workers cracked open the champagne last night at the news the No Pay Commission had decided not to give them a few extra dollars in their weekly pay packets.

At last night's celebrations, the grateful 1.3 million workers unanimously agreed that because of the tough economic conditions, it was only fair that even though big business have made out like bandits over the last boom, there was no need for workers to receive a couple of extra bucks a week.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Don't listen to those stinky unions, you know it's better to have a job job job rather than a payrise? Right?

Mr Bar-Stard, of the peak industry - Landed Gentry - says low paid workers will now participate in a new system in which they sign up to the Special Employee Retention Foundation (S.E.R.F.).

"S.E.R.F.s will still be able to work full-time and in all other respects be treated just like under the old system, the only real difference will be that they won't get any money. A lot of S.E.R.F.s have told us that they hate having to pay tax and dealing with banks and so on, so they'll really love having all those hassles taken away," he said, at a press conference full of nodding journalists.

"They will have cottages provided and all their basic needs met by the foundation. It's a win-win."

Mr Bar-Stard also said that consumer sentiment is on the up and up according to latest statistics from the Ponds Institute's Commerce And Corporate Media Synergies To Counteract Pesky Union Sentiments Unit.

"Repeat after me, what's more important, a job job job or a payrise?" he said.

Art On Central Avenue [7/7/09]

Signal Box Swirls and Curls, Central Avenue, Labrador

No More Duopoly Supermarkets

Don't let them destroy another local community:

http://www.newportversuswoolies.org/

Visual Pollution And Hypocrisy

I wouldn't go and see this trash if you paid me.

The government would be better off using the millions spent on scaring Australians witless with graphic awareness campaigns, on actual support services, education and community outreach.

Why do I always get the run around when I call TELSTRA, and why does it take so long to connect my phone?

Brisbane City Council's new Health, Safety and Amenity Local Laws include hefty fines for a range of offences including sticking posters on bus shelters.

Basically, the Council is protecting advertisers and they don't want people expressing dissent.

So if you are a citizen who happens to take offense at any advertising that appears on the city's bus shelters - tough - unless it's one of those animal liberation advertisements highlighting how detached western consumers are from barbaric industrial farming practices!

Don't believe me? Try complaining to your elected representatives or writing to the Advertising Standards Bureau and see how far that gets you!

Thinking The Unthinkable

Tim Jackson, from "Prosperity without Growth" - www.sd-commission.org.uk

The Creative Destruction of Neoclassical Economics

Both published in the July/August 2009 edition of 'Adbusters'

www.adbusters.org

What Happened To The Old S.W.A.R.A. House And Railway Cottages?

The life and work of the Sunshine Welfare and Remedial Association's (S.W.A.R.A.) "Pink Twins" will be celebrated in a musical production as part of the upcoming Queensland Music Festival.

Last year, S.WA.R.A relocated from Spring Hill to Dutton Park. Their website states:

In May 2006, the 'Courier-Mail' reported:

One of the old S.W.A.R.A. railway cottages can been seen in this photo (just to the right of the "depression" billboard) of construction work on the Normanby Normanby Pedestrian Cycle Link (adjacent and beneath College Road, Spring Hill) in early 2007.

Getting High At Southport High

(We Know You're Just Tools Of The Corporatocracy - But Hey, Thanks For Visiting Us One Nation Voters By The Sea!)

the resources minister
was a little late
while protesting teachers
stood at the gate

chanting "hardest working
lowest paid
Anna Bligh should
be afraid"

the opposition
were out in force
along with Ron Clarke
he's the Mayor of course!

at Southport High
in the school hall
a welcome to country
but what had us enthralled

was not so much Angela
though she hit the right notes
for the national anthem
and it wasn't those blokes

who got the awards
for being brave
but Adrienne's acrobatics
set to 'Fever' that gave

the community cabinet
something thrilling to see
so high above us
before we were free

to ask some tame questions
about public transit
solar hot water systems
and our natural assets

motor cycle enthusiasts
and the CEC
all asked things
that were well beyond me

a lady whose neighbour
smokes dope all day long
down at Currumbin
isn't it wrong?

yet police at Palm Beach
have a sign out the front
they're revenue raising
not policing this month

and while money is tipped
into coloured patrol cars
you're better off asking
about those mars bars

the bulletin says Blighty
eats bananas before
she runs marathons
but we want to know more

she may have been wearing
a lovely red jacket
but are those mars bars
low fat on the packet?

Wattle in the Southport State High School grounds [5/7/09]

"Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin,
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin,
I saw a white ladder all covered with water,
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,
And its a hard, and its a hard, its a hard, its a hard,
And its a hard rains a-gonna fall."

'A Hard Rain's a-gonna fall'. Bob Dylan [1962]

Sunset over Bayview Park, Runaway Bay [5/7/09]

Pelican Sculptures, Winders Park, Currumbin Creek

Australians Shocked, Outraged Over Navy Allegations

"Where can you find pleasure, search the world for treasure
Learn science technology?
Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true
On the land or on the sea?
Where can you learn to fly, play in sports and skin dive
Study oceanography?
Sign off for the big band or sit in the grandstand
When your team and others meet"

'In the Navy', Village People [1979]

Everyday Australians and their political representatives are shocked and outraged at allegations of a Navy sex scandal.

"It's astonishing", said Mr Maninthestreet, a man in the street on his way to church.

"I thought they were all gay."

His companion, Miss Ladyinthestreet, a lady accompanying him and secretly hoping he wouldn't sing the hymns so loud this week after making such a goose of himself last week, agreed.

"These surprising revelations remind me of the recent scandals involving professional football players," she said

"I was shocked and outraged by those. Who knew that corporatising sport could create such monsters?"

"Hang on," interruppted Mr Maninthestreet,

"You're being a bit of a hairy armpitted man-hater by drawing on your study of the relationship between vicious sexism, imperialism and corporatism at the University of the Free World."

"Oh bugger off you uptight queen," said Miss Ladyinthestreet.

"You're just jealous you couldn't get funding for your research into the prevalence of television shows featuring gay men telling fat breeders what to wear."

A political representative said they nearly fell off their chair when they heard about the Navy allegations.

"I just can't fathom what's going on in the Navy," she said.

Australian Catholic Workers Resist Military Exercise & Af/Pak War

Jacob's Ladder Gets A Pop Art Makeover!

If you're "olde Brisbane" you'll know Jacob's Ladder. It's that challenging set of stairs you climb when walking from town up to the medical specialists on Wickham Terrace.

According to the Spring Hill Heritage Tour, a walkway known as Jacob's Ladder existed in the early 1900s, with the concrete steps being built in 1920. On one occasion a motor car was driven up the ladder as a publicity stunt! Jacob's Ladder once nestled beside Trades Hall, a five-storey Classical-style masonry building built in the early 1920s and demolished in 1985 to make way for the IBM Building.

The Vasarely/Rileyesque makeover of Jacob's Ladder is part of Council's "Vibrant Laneway Project". Apparently the area beneath the Turbot Street overpass and Burnett Lane have also been targetted for "renewal". (Interestingly, the popular Elevat@32 restaurant in Burnett Lane closed down a couple of months ago.)

And if I'm not mistaken, Arnaldo Pomodoro's, 'Forme del Mito' sculptures - which vanished from King George Square in August 2007 - are about to be unveiled at the base of Jacob's Ladder.

Part of Arnaldo Pomodoro's, 'Forme del Mito' sculptures, which were commissioned for World Expo 88. 'Forme del Mito' represents the force and principal characters from the Greek tragedy 'Agamemnon'.

Jacob's Ladder, 1915

The Old Windmill on Wickham Terrace is also undergoing restoration works which are expected to be finished in August.

Built in 1827, the old windmill is a reminder of Brisbane's convict heritage. This stone sentinel sits silently amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy Wickham Terrace medical precinct, and has been a mill, a convict torture chamber, a signal station and an observatory for experimental television broadcasting. Mystery surrounds the windmill's poor ability to function. Was the convict millwright Martin Frawley so reluctant that he sabotaged the workings? If you go and check the old windmill out, you'll notice a row of old (recently restored) sheds behind the windmill. These were Brisbane's service reservoirs, which operated from 1871 until 1886, and then from the early 1900s until 1962.

Sign next to the Windmill states: "The Brisbane City Council and Queensland Government are currently restoring the old Windmill to ensure it remains a historic icon of Brisbane for years to come. Restoration works are part of "Connection Brisbane" - a $2 million co-funded project between Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Queensland's separation from NSW and Brisbane's declaration as a municipality. Restoration works will include strengthening the floors and stairs, restoring the door and window openings and undertaking bird proofing and pest control measures."

'Spring Hill Voice' remembers a few years ago Council announced that the restoration of the Windmill was to be funded from levies on CBD developers.

Wonder what happened with that?

Freaky Friday As Nation's Mainstream Media Implodes

"Boy, it make-a me sick, all the things I gotta do.
can't-a getta no kicks, always gotta follow rules,
boy, it make-a me sick, just-a make a lousy bucks,
I gotta feel like a fool."

'Shaddap You Face', Joe Dolce [1980]

Reality is imploding and heads are exploding around the nation as Rupert's scribes and current affairs presenters grapple with their rapidly diminishing absolute power

Australia's monomedia have been forced to interview each other and retired Liberal party politicians today as no-one else will talk to them.

"We just got sick of their one-eyed neoconservative agenda," said PM Kevin.

"I'm starting to think the emporer has no clothes and perhaps many other Australians feel the same way," added Minister Julia.

"From now on we're only going to talk to reporters and writers from independent media and websites. Those corporate shills had their chance and they blew it by just getting too hysterical and bossy. Stuff that, they can go whistle now. Anyway, making things up is their forte so why should we play along?"

The impasse follows a week of upheaval in Australia's media landscape when a man with a name that rhymes with fart again addressed the press club:

"Look, I was misquoted and taken out of context. Let's just all take a cold shower and remember who does all the real serious journalism in this world. Outlets like the Hun, FoxxSportz and Skyee are the true leaders in news. Blogs are just stupid and don't make any money. I make money and I have all the power."

He was then politely tarred and feathered by an appreciative audience.

It is understood that Rove McManus is the new darling of the National Press Gallery, and is tipped to become the country's most prominent political interviewer.

Professor Hot Source from the Ponds Institute's Illusory Fourth Estate Unit said Rove has proven he has the ability and will undergo intensive Red Kerry 101 and Beginner Leaning Tony to polish his technique.

A well known critic of stifling dissent and spin doctoring, the Krystol Irving award winner and former Prime Minister, made several comments and everyone went, "Who fucking cares what you say you mean old has been?"

This Sounds Like A Polite Arrangement - Is Any Money Involved?

Sunset View across the Broadwater from The Spit, Main Beach [2/7/09]. Doug Jennings Park at The Spit is one of locations for the 'Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader' shoot.

The "West Bull-Puncher Sunset Rider" gun

Police say the results of a report into the 12 month Queensland taser trial reveal an urgent need for the expansion of law enforcement procedures.

A spokesman from the Police Department said that given the report's positive findings on the taser trial, they are now looking at tasering individuals other than blackfellas, the homeless and abandoned psychiatric patients.

"The report's findings give us carte-blanche on anyone who the corporate media say are a nuisance, such as striking teachers, railway workers speaking out against state government asset sales and environmental protesters," he said.

The report also found that disguising tasers as "West Bull-Puncher Sunset Rider" would lead to a more general acceptance of the stun guns in the community.

Mr Maninthestreet, a man in the street, said he was utterly flabbergasted by the report's findings.

"I am utterly flabbergasted that the police report would find that tasers are effective," he said.

His companion, a lady in the street agreed.

"Who knew the report would find that tasers are beneficial and are therefore here to stay?" said Miss Ladyinthestreet.

"I'm really surprised."

A civil liberties spokesperson was not consulted for his point of view because it just won't fit into the narrative.

Broome Oil Slick

Image from 'Save The Kimberley'

The 'West Australian' reported yesterday [1/7/09]:

Luxury Fashion Brands Leave Indonesian Workers In The Cold

Clean Clothes Campaign Media Release [30/6/09]

Polo Ralph Lauren, the upmarket US-based fashion giant, continues to ignore union repression and bad working conditions at one of its suppliers in Indonesia, the Mulia Knitting Factory near to Jakarta. The fashion house simply refuses to respond to the plight of workers who produce its garments.

Tommy Hilfiger, another buyer at the same clothing factory, has claimed that they have discussed the problems with the supplier, but the company has yet to take decisive action.

Following the establishment of the factory union SBGTS-GSBI in May 2007, the management of the Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) organised a campaign to destroy the union by forcing all of its founding members to resign from the union or be removed from the factory. Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.

Although the national umbrella organisation GSBI has now managed to open up a direct dialogue with the MKF management, the latter remains unwilling to discuss matters related to freedom of association.

BACKGROUND
The CCC and its allies in Indonesia and in the US have undertaken intensive efforts to set up constructive dialogues with MKF's foreign buyers to support a solution to the problems at the clothing factory. Indonesian law, international labour standards and the fashion brands' own codes of conduct protect the workers' rights to form and join a union. But Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger have done nothing to demonstrate that there is substance behind the claims in their codes.

Despite seven letters from the CCC and our allies and repeated phone calls, Polo Ralph Lauren's corporate social responsibility manager has refused to discuss the problems at MKF. Unfortunately, this is common practise for the designer of lavish lifestyle products.

Although Polo Ralph Lauren actively promotes charities and philanthropic programmes, it refuses to mainstream ethical trade principles in its day-to-day operations. The company has been the defendant in a number of court cases involving discrimination and violations of labour rights.

After dragging its feet, Tommy Hilfiger now says it is committed to solving the problems in its supply chain. However, after more then six months, its efforts have not yielded any concrete results. This raises serious questions about Tommy Hilfiger's commitment to uphold the values laid down in their corporate Code of Conduct.

"Fairly Rapid Response Team" Swings Into Action

"Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust"

['Another One Bites The Dust', composed by John Deacon, from the 1980 Queen album 'The Game']

"Mrs. Peel, we're needed".

Local fruit and vegetable shop about to be bulldozed to make way for a stinking tunnel and the Minister for Fluorescent Vests and Construction Helmets expresses his regret and calls it an "institution"? Lost your job job job and he says you're so friendly and knowledgeable about your fruit and veg that you'll easily get a job job job elsewhere?

Never fear, the "Fairly Rapid Response Team" are here to help you!

Brochures, a website, community forums and an Arse Face Page comprise the "Mission...Highly Improbable" approach of the "Fairly Rapid Response Team".

Headed by Mrs Peel and Steed, the "Fairly Rapid Response Team" is made up of people with lanyards and rectangular framed glasses, who will team with marketing and PR professionals to envisage solutions and outcomes going forward.

According to a government spokesman, the "Fairly Rapid Response Team's" primary purpose is to obfuscate pressing community concerns about the economy, and to avert any requirement for the government to provide actual leadership, governance, government services or accountability.

"What's your problem? Don't you want to clean shitters for below minimum wages?" he asked.

Is There An Election On the Horizon?

Stuart Robert MP, it will take more than an appearance on 'The Chaser' and a notepad in the letterbox for me to consider voting for you.

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