Mood:  sad

5 Australians died recently in the equivalent of a very big nasty car crash. By all accounts it was an accident, pilot error or poor maintenance or both. The investigators are looking into it both in Indonesia and Australia. Some 21 mostly locals died over there in Indonesia too.

It is sad, shocking and traumatic especially for the families. No doubt about it. But it’s not unusual. How many people died in car crashes this week here in Australia? (51 have died this year according to this story in a brief google http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/driver-killed-in-threecar-crash-at-altona/2007/03/03/1172868802321.html ]

Did the coverage of our military killed in Black Hawk helicopter accidents fill so many pages? Luckily they all survived in this one

Picture: from The Age and reported further here http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1091/topstories/story01.htm

But they didn't survive in this one: Remains of SAS soldier found off Fiji - National - theage.com.au; or this one

"MARK BANNERMAN: Gerard Bampton knows first-hand what it's like to go down in a Black Hawk helicopter crash. It cost him the use of his legs, but he survived Australia's worst ever defence disaster when two Black Hawks collided, killing 18 people, in 1996. That night fire was the main danger for him, but he thinks getting out of a sinking aircraft would be just as bad." in http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1801534.htm

I know this must sound heartless and callous, yet the Big Media revolving door with Big Govt are losing perspective (or even more cruelly manifesting their excessive ego) about the loss of their own. It’s not as big news as they think for the rest of Australia. Yes big enough for some headlines, some bigger than usual pictures of human interest. It wasn’t a car, it was a dramatic aircraft crash. Yes many Australians would use Garuda airlines too but fully knowing it’s the opposite in safety record to Qantas, no different perhaps to millions of Australians driving old cars every day. Yes they were ours doing public service jobs, so it was in the line of duty, but also very well paid, high status, financial security in every case, working in a dirt poor country of 200 million people plus.

For those mourning I apologise in advance for this brutal observation and simply say at times of life and death that raw honesty satisfies far more than sophistry. It behoves this alternative media outlet to make the point they cannot: The sorrow and grieving is properly a private matter so don’t overdo it or the consumers will see the special treatment for what it is, just another ego trip, even at the time of horror and loss.

It does indeed say something about our Big Media culture and Big Government that the loss of these 5 professional people and injury to several others, that the Big Media and PM (desperate for another story doing live Radio National and Trioli the same morning) etc think this story is of such public interest to everyone else here. This may sound cruel but I doubt it.

Of course it’s of intense interest to the families and all their connections, and of course to that employment sector, but it's getting a little voyeuristic folks. It’s getting a little exaggerated. The public consumers of media are being overfed the private sorrow and grief in a quite understandable confusion of news priorities at their time of distress.

How very human (and Mark Riley on 7 Sunday Political Talkies admits the loss of their mates has thrown them for "a loop") but keep in mind the victims of your average Australian car crash. It’s not a competition for sympathy sure, but remember their families are hurting and shocked as much as anyone in Big Media or Big Government: Did these folks think they were different somehow to everyone else? That we are not all fragile flowers? If anything that plane crash proves beyond doubt rich folks at the front are all flesh and blood like the rest of us.

As the profound solliliquy worthy of Shakespeare, but actually appearing in the movie Thin Red Line, goes, spoken by the silent half buried face of a dead Japanese soldier in Guadalcanal war zone: 'Do you think that because you are good, righteous, and kind that you will suffer less?'

Not in real life, I'm afraid. As Jesus makes plain, being good is for it's own sake, win lose or draw.

The real business of Life is indeed Death and the time we are allowed start to finish. They go before us but we follow as night follows day.

May they rest in peace.

Postscript: The above view was written after reading the Friday major dailies The Australian, Sydney Daily Telegraph and The Australian and consuming the press and electronic media earlier in the week. It was written before seeing the Crikey piece by one Thomas Hunter of 9th March 07 in a similar direction. Also of influece was the startling historical footage of Robert F Kennedy last speech and assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968 on YouTube in 7 by 9 minute parts seen earlier this week appropo the reaction of the pro media doing their job on location but clearly in shock too at that horrible event:

Posted by editor at 6:53 AM EADT

Updated: Sunday, 11 March 2007 8:47 AM NZT

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Mood:  cheeky

Be warned this is one of those low rent pieces serious, or wannabe, writers indulge in when they don't real have anything to say about the human condition, real politik or just how scary the world really is.

It's a post that appeals to the great masses who mostly are intimidated by the big stuff and have never been educated to cope with it really except to stay the hell out of the way if at all possible. As such its exploitative of the them because the serious writer knows they are likely to get bigger reaction from readers about how to make tea, or white versus wholemeal bread than say dangerous sea rise from Greenland and West Antarctic melting (which they are).

It's in essence a 'Sienfeld post' meaning 'a story about nothing' just like the famous tv sitcom was about mudane, inane, quirky individual harmless eccentric daily life, that we all have in our personality but prefer to keep out of view if at all possible for fear of being seen as "irregular". Hence the good laugh at someone else like Kramer getting exposed while we sit safe at home in our mediocre privacy.

This story is about my washing my hair in the shower just now. It's in the photo and feels good. As I did said wash I was mulling over the ABC 702 radio Richard Glover show 6 week experiment of not washing your mop and seeing if your oil glands in the scalp adjust so it's no longer necessary to buy shampoo or conditioner. A pretty fair theory too: Returning to au naturale and sidestepping those greedy corporations making detergent stuff.

Glover is similarly an expert at Seinfeld froth content to fill his weekly column, the odd HSC English exam paper and even books.

But here is where my over education and contrary nature comes in. I did a biology degree at Australian National University. Zoology to be exact. ANU Zoo specialised in the 1980ies in parasitology. Those little bastards in the mammalian gut, the malaria, the sheep and cattle industry etc.

So we learnt a bit about such parasites in the au naturale. It's not a pretty picture either. Just as natural humans only lived 25 to 35 years with their parasite load in the gut or other medical ailments without antibiotics etc, so we live much longer for medical science and yes hygiene, especially washing let alone household antiseptics etc.

So today we don't have parasites in our gut very much or at least usually only the good bacteria, and we don't have critters living in nice non chemical oil balanced unwashed soft bouncy head of hair.

You see the choice may not actually be between making a corporation rich buying their shampoo, or not. The choice may be between prehistoric biological arms race with parasites and modern medical age escape from the boundaries of nature for a longer healthier life. Thus humanity has escaped standard evolutionary pressures applying to all other animals and should stop kidding ourselves we live lives aproximating anything like 'au naturale' as important as nature is to our future lives, not least dangerous climate change!

My tip: keep washing your hair.

Postscript #1 April 30th 2007: Seems Richard Glover of ABC 702 public radio has had the last say on this with '86% of 500 trialists after 6 weeks saying their hair is soft and nice as good or better than when they stopped using detergent'. The key it seems is to still wash but only with water, or possibly conditioner. That's a very interesting result.

Posted by editor at 9:55 AM EADT

Updated: Tuesday, 1 May 2007 6:51 PM NZT

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Mood:  incredulous

Years ago on Stateline abc tv show barrister Paul Matters alleged for his client in the Industrial Relations Commission that western Sydney state MP Gabrielle Harrison, a junior minister for the ALP at the time, had said to her staff words to the effect of:

‘This government is the most corrupt in the history of NSW’.

Harrison, a widow with young son, denied the claim but then disappeared from Carr government. If she did say it she is almost certainly right which is saying something given the Wood Royal Commission of the mid 90’s, the Askin Government, the Rum Corps 200 years back.

Here are our favourite hints, the tip as it were of the iceberg of corruption in NSW government and business sector in the context of this current NSW election:

1. NSW Police porn email

Back on February 14^th the NSW Police Commissioner, Police Minister Watkins, and Iemma Government were embarrassed by this lurid story in the hothouse atmosphere of the election:

Police in porn email scandal | NEWS.com.au

By Gemma Jones, February 14, 2007 02:00am, Article from:

HUNDREDS of police are caught up in an email scandal after inappropriate material, some of it sexually explicit, was found in police in-boxes.

An audit of the in-boxes by the professional standards command in New South Wales has revealed up to 150 officers and civilian workers have been sent disturbing emails.

Police halfway through a widespread investigation were yesterday unable to rule out hundreds more police being involved.

Professional standards officers have begun interviewing police while independent auditors are interviewing civilian workers.

While police yesterday confirmed some of the emails were of a sexually inappropriate nature, they would not be drawn on whether any were pornographic.

Police would not comment on the investigation, refusing to reveal how many police and civilian workers were being investigated or how severe any punishment could be.

The investigation began after an audit was undertaken within sections of the police, with the results prompting swift action.

The in-boxes of some staff in the Sydney police radio room are being examined but it is understood most caught up in the probe unwittingly received an inappropriate email and had no part in distributing it.

A memo has been sent to all NSW police in the wake of the findings, warning them of the appropriate use of the police email system.

Head of the professional standards command, Assistant Commissioner Catherine Burn, confirmed that inappropriate emails had been identified.

She said disciplinary action would be taken if the outcome of the investigation warranted it.

"NSW Police does not condone any abuse of the police email system," she said.

"This investigation clearly indicates that we take this issue seriously and we are dealing with the matter appropriately.

"We don't tolerate inappropriate material being distributed via the police email system."

A report into the police force inquiry held at the end of last year revealed that some police believed sexually explicit talk and even pornography were acceptable.

The review by senior counsel Chris Ronalds into sexual harassment and discrimination in the police, called for management to taker a harder line against sexually inappropriate conduct.

It found some police were using mobile phones to show disturbing images to bypass the monitoring of work computers.

In 1999 it was revealed that several officers had used the police internal computer system to email pornographic images.

Police computer records and email in-boxes are audited annually by the professional standards command.

[bold added]

It is government Public Relations AO1 to cancel a bad story with another bigger or equal story preferably of confusingly similar subject matter: Got a bad RTA leak document story, do another RTA story about controlling hoon cars. Got a nature destruction scandal, do a new conservation decision story. It’s all cynical choreography rather than good public policy as such.

Later that day February 14^th “just after midday” according to Big Media press report below the NSW Police, purely by coincidence we are expected to believe, and based on

“a six-month investigation triggered by a case involving child sex offences”

raided 7 Kings Cross sex shops allegedly illegally selling X rated items that as best we understand are not illegal to possess or view as non-violent erotica by consenting adults, but are illegal to sell here in NSW. They are legal to sell apparently in some other parts of Australia (?):

Here is the background in both major daily press widely covered February 15^th 2007 in this tough cruel and yes sleazy city of Sydney, as well as the ABC:

Sex shops raided in porn hunt | The Daily Telegraph

Sex-shop sting: police arrest seven at the Cross - National - smh ...

Kings Cross child porn raid: seven charged - National - smh.com.au

Seven charged over sex shop raids

One can see by a google search of “nsw police porn email” with few results, compared to a google for “nsw police raid sex shop” that the PR benefit to the NSW Govt not to mention the conservative minded voters was highly successful. Indeed the earlier embarrassing story disappeared altogether.

The Herald even invited tips from readers to this email address: “What do you know about this case? scoop@smh.com.au” We at SAM might just send this article to them.

We had reason as a sometime media lawyer to research this turn of events and cannot help thinking this is very cynical timing. One might even suspect it was self interest and corrupt timing to protect jobs in government. The matter is up for first hearing today March 7^th 2007 and the penalties from this patchily enforced ban on X rated real sex on screen in NSW are very very serious.

2. Covert big party candidates.

The reality has been well covered by the Big Media:  the 12 year old ALP Iemma government’s election launch at Hurstville airbrushed any history and indeed the “ALP” brand itself. This is understood.

In Marrickville the ALP’s Carmel Tebbutt was installed in a byelection in September 2005 at the time Planning Minister Frank Sartor and the ALP Govt, we say, corruptly covered up the existence of a plan for a huge $5 billion Inner West Tollway with toxic ventilation stacks and subsidence issues in …marginal seat of Marrickville full of busy Green Party agitators. Tebbutt won the election by a bare few points from the Greens Sam Byrne in September 2005 who later that year was made local Mayor. Byrne would have won if the Inner West Tollway plan was revealed at the time, as it was front page of the Daily Telegraph here:

Perhaps not surprisingly the ALP's Tebbutt has no mention of brand ALP on her electioneering materials going into the local letterboxes here in Marrickville. She rather is "your local MP", not a mention of the "ALP" to whom she owes her whole political career:

But it is not only the ALP which is on the nose it seems. We have also noticed this upper house candidate for the Liberal Party who is an entrepeneur of 10 or so organic markets across Sydney as well as a computer expert: Stephen Choularton. We don't know much about his candidacy and remain open minded but find it curious he doesn't reveal brand Liberal Party as best we can tell from this:

We can even sympathise after what happened to that rare creature in the Liberal Party here in NSW, the moderate environmentally conscious MP for that party, such as hapless John Ryan MLC:

sydneyanglicans.net - sydney stories - Liberals dump faithful Christian soldier

Sure enough we have now at the time of writing found this website for Choularton:

Stephen Choularton's Campaign Site for the the Legislative Council ...

with some savage comments about the ALP:

"What has a decade of Labor done for us:

• public corruption,
• decaying infrastructure, and
• administrative incompetence.

Let's not turn hard labor into a life sentence!."

and

" Today the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW is the Carr-Iemma Labor Government"

If you look hard you will find this under Biography "1996 Joined Liberal Party after arriving in Australia."

But it sure is hidden away. Yep another covert candidacy.

3. Rampant bribery in the sand mining sector in Sydney region?

We met our source yesterday and provided some pro bono legal advice. As such we are under obligations of confidentiality also as a solicitor client situation. However on the public record $50,000 was paid in 2006 by a sand miner Birdon Contracting Pty Ltd for a protester to go away (after suffering firebombing, death threats, shots at their home, family breakdown, over the last 13 years), when they complained about a current sandmine next to Wollemi World Heritage area. Yet the protest continues.

The Environmental Defenders Office has generated a 5 page legal advice of interest.

Our source tells us some staff at both Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury Council officers have been sacked or resigned in the last 5 years under the shadow of alleged developer financial co option by various sandminers. Here is one curious report of Dec 23 2004:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Council-suspends-manager-who-turned-its-fortunes-around/2004/12/22/1103391839237.html

Baulkham Hills especially is a part of town where tricky games with money and politics has been reported before

1. regarding visa for a developer and state/federal MPs back in July 2003:

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/25/1059084203392.html

2. developers monstering public parkland for housing construction, per Sylvia Hale MLC (Greens) http://www.sylvia.nsw.greens.org.au/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=18&page_id=233&tabno=7#section2

Our source reports a senior sand mining figure told him of corruption in the sector "It's $30,000 to keep your sand mine safe". Meaning if you don't pay it they [council regulatory officers] come down like a tonne of bricks on you.

We keep an arms length view, and particularly non financial public interest, of all these controversies but in NSW we tend to believe where

1. the big construction industry,

2. lots of cash and

3. NSW governance

are involved, that there is plenty of slurry to be thrown and most of it does stick, just as Gabrielle Harrison was reported to say and withdrew in a panic (as noted above).

The Green Party are right about developer corruption here, and no doubt it's at the ground floor of sand mine inputs critical to the sector. In fact this is why democracy in NSW is in fact broken by dirty money politics.

Posted by editor at 8:46 AM EADT

Updated: Wednesday, 7 March 2007 10:58 AM EADT

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Mood:  cool

We watched the Channel 10 Cool Aid 2 hours plus special which network apparently rated fairly well at a respectable no.3 for the night after 8.30 pm last Sunday 4^th of March. And we were impressed.

Building on the DVD and Oscar success of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth highly cuddly Sandra http://www.ten.com.au/ten/people_sandrasully.html

was sharper than we are used to seeing cutting across the political talent as needed with federal rivals Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Garrett. Crikey.com.au sad cynic Christian (not) Kerr called it ‘tv for morons’ yesterday without even watching, but he doesn’t look like this:

and there were 5 family/young adult mainstream templates of sorts for checking the carbon fatties (presumably Kerr). Dr Karl the expert science reporter

Dr Karl's Homepage

with the ABC gave us the low down on listening to real climatologists - not paid up liars (just as the Tobacco Industry lied for 50 years on causes of cancer), and Al Gore chipped in too. Highly polished John Dee, even Ian Kiernan from a 4 am start and plaster cast on leg had some kick urging a 10% renewable energy target up from 2%. Prof Tim Flannery and Australian/Troublemaker of the Year, and the show highlighted dangerous sea rise threat HERE for a real change.

Ian McHugh a science writer for Crikey was more favourable and like him I did flake out after a long day before the end, but not before rejoicing that Sandra & Co, who I did but once see passing by there in Harris St Pyrmont once as our eyes briefly met, was doing the ecology action work putting me out of a job. Go sister go.

Which brings us to this sad bad Big Media rabid Right sellout 'blogger' Jekyl/Hyde character Tim Blair:

who was sledging the social movement to save our climate in the Saturday Daily Telegraph the day before the Cool Aid tv special:

Blair’s futuristic satire is easily turned around with literary devices like

-Kissinger Life Centre – where those genetically imperfect are branded, and in the worst cases gassed.

- Le Pen [ultra Right French politician] Immigration Centre, say no more.

- Howard Twin Towers – one in the shape of the original bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the other a phallic symbol of his chicken hawk manhood.

- Thatcher Sports Stadium which doubles as an interrogation, justice and execution centre. Those arrested for jaywalking are held in stocks and beaten with cricket bats made in Saudia Arabia which now has a huge forest industry after the monsoonal rains moved from South East Asia.

- Iran Iraq war celebration day. Because misery loves company.

- Plutonium Day 25^th Dec.

- White Elephant Day 26^th Dec

- Cheney Sunscreen against a hot hot world, and the ever useful Bush motormower: Does  20 feet of a lawn to the litre. And it’s the only oil based product on the market.

- GM made electric car 0-200 km/hr in 4 seconds on compressed cng loaned to me by my neighbour, a Chinese guy who got into solar stocks back in 1998 and is now 3rd richest Australian. He has several vehicles so he can afford to let me borrow one.

Etc etc.

Posted by editor at 9:36 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 8 March 2007 10:46 AM EADT

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Mood:  cheeky

Image: Bondi Rd 3rd March, info stall in the centre left seat of Coogee for ALP MP Paul Pearce, who was sledged recently in the Sydney Morning Herald for leaflet boast"jail population continually increased and escapes declined by 85%".  Not really Pearce's style as a career lefty and likely off the LauraNorder Iemma songsheet. On the other hand local Green Party voters will like the extra 120,000 ha of national park as a swansong of Environment Minister Bob Debus, in an exclusive in the champion of LaurnaOrder policies, the Saturday Daily Telegraph: The timing in typical Debus competetent choreography probably relatest to 5000 strong National Parks Association meeting the same day: http://www.npansw.org.au/web/news/future.htm

Image: Bondi Junction, Oxford St 3rd March. Graffiti guerilla tactics either in or edge of Liberal Peter Debnam's seat of Vaucluse: A mixture of bohemians and stuffy excessively wealthy Establishment types.

Image above: A curious shop parading Union Jacks just opposite the graffiti against PM Howard (above), echoing the conservative  navy credentials of Peter Debnam. Perhaps Debnam has a future in retail (the image helpfully tilts Right)?

Posted by editor at 12:07 PM EADT

Updated: Monday, 5 March 2007 3:38 PM EADT

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Mood:  caffeinated

General preface: Kevin Rudd ALP Leader is said to have ended his honeymoon, but this is vis a vis the Canberra media gallery, not necessarily the public as such. Losing shine with the gallery is significant but will the public follow the adverse coverage? Time will tell.

Note too, we at SAM began the references to doing deals with 'the devil', actually the word “Satan”, in relation to Cardinal Pell promoting nuclear reactors and denying dangerous climate change threat in his Sunday Telegraph columns this last month. (We broadcast an open letter to the Cardinal to federal MP’s amongst others.) Peter Costello soon after used the term “supping with the devil” to attack Rudd's moral stature for meeting (recidivist crook?) Brian Bourke.

Lastly by way of preface, just as The Greens candidate in 2004 federal election Andrew Wilkie experienced death threats for running against Howard in Bennelong, and famously Maxine McKew in the last few days has apparently suffered same, as noted by Ch10 coverage of the newspapers this morning: As a driver for the Not Happy John democratic exercise in Bennelong in 2004 we too experienced violent menaces - on the main road through Ryde: A hotted up car revved and flashed lights in slow traffic on the highway within inches of my rear bumper bar. It really was nerve wracking, though I do enjoy the odd dramatic thrill too.

I jammed the brakes on in my dumpy old car, knowing they had a lot more to lose with a front end collision to their pride and joy. Then in reaction the outraged aggressor drove alongside the passenger seat to swing at the panels at least 3 times before racing hard leftward towards Epping. I did report it to the police. On another occasion in West Ryde/Broadmeadow light industrial area one nice fellow delighted in tearing up my NHJ leaflet in my face aggressively. So yes there is an underbelly of menace in the PM’s electorate.

We wrote of this at the time on Sydney Indymedia self publishing site (around October 2004), which may or may not be available in their records, and copied it to top NHJ organizer John Valder, former President of the federal Liberal Party and signed up ‘Howard hater’ over the PM taking us into the Iraq war unlike say Canada. And I continued with the democratic work, as Maxine McKew can and must, and win the seat also.

Author’s general introductory note (skip this if you know this regular weekly column): This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

"..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses  the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

10 Meet the Press 8-8.30 am

Quality 2^nd string network, good show, lower audience than 9 or 7, both low for Sundays anyway. Traverse of press headlines first. Features Sun Herald attack by PM on Rudd after his own minister Campbell quits [as entre to PM friendly guest, but it gets tough.]

Tony Abbott, Howard “attack dog” (per Albanese grab too) for Howard [Abbott subject of cutting speech by Nicola Roxon too interested in fitness regime than Health portfolio].

Pushes the desperate perception game Rudd is compromised by Bourke who at the time was not guilty of any illegal offence in the public’s knowledge.

PB compere rightly points out Rudd was guest of Edwards, and Bourke used that for PR self interest. [Pretty standard lobbyist manipulation. Rudd can’t control what he puts out. He didn’t sign it. Supping with the devil or facing down the devil, or researching the devil? Rudd says he had the compassionate view that he did his time. 2^nd chance kind of guy. ]

Footage of Abbott name-calling Rudd as Dr Death/Pol Pot. Focus back on Abbott..

Panel: Brad Norrington of The Australian, Fran Kelly of abc Radio National. Nixon speech on dental care. Kelly getting chubby, [morning after Mardi Gras for her, a bit squinty] but smart as a diamond cutter.

Norrington on gay rights. Abbott talks human rights.

Kelly: No one in government lost their place over AWB scandal, but Campbell does resign over a 20 minute meeting with convicted felon? 40 to 50 companies including Geof Prosser federal Liberal MP (?) are they all “morally compromised”.

[Recall too not mentioned, Campbell was also demoted as environment minister, didn’t want his ‘Human Services’ ministerial job, probably supports Costello as future leader anyway, is not a climate change sceptic].

Norrington: Rudd didn’t know about the CCC (Criminal Conduct Commission) was investigating him or such behaviour.

Norrington – dangerous political territory [unrealistic] standards?

Rubbery Figures The Australian – on climate change lack of credibility of the Howard Govt and Minister McFarlane.

Ad break: Cool Aid channel 10 8.30 tonight. Cuts across Rubbery Figures damaging govt again. 2^nd advert on same via sponsoer Sunday Telegraph (compare Tim Blair blog attack on climate change advocate Prof Flannery in Saturday Telegraph yesterday).

Grab from Al Gore: Nuke reactor too expensive – no silver bullets, silver buckshot, part of the solution, too expensive?

Prof Leslie Kemeny – one eyed supporter of reactors, presents like mad old bugger, missing several lower teeth? Start up subsidies in USA? Says not longer necessary. Ignores huge shut down decommission costs.

N asks reactors near coast as per Ziggy report for Federal Govt. Kemeny not essential . Gas cooled away from the coast. New reactors won’t need sea water.

15 years timeline? Yes like to see movement,

Your association with Ron Walker Liberal Party etc? No, academic only. Waffles on.

Reactor waste? Says compared with fossil fuels waste and toxic pollution is favourable. Buried here at 600 metres in his view, says not Fort Knox for 24,000 years.

Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress

7 Weekend Sunrise, 8.35-40 am Riley Diary

Humourous, quite edgy as usual. Correctly notes honeymoon comes to an end

[but only because the consensus of 2, 7, 9, SBS federal political affairs reporters] of the Press Gallery is that it has ended. Has it ended with the public? Doubt it.]

Good direct footage of question to Rudd re no knowledge of ban on dealing with Bourke. Rudd says it was “a fact”. This may be plausible as intensely involved in Foreign Affairs and off the domestic scene. It’s been a very busy time since at least Sept 11 2001. Plenty to keep an Opposition Foreign Affairs eye off the local ball here.

Q and A with Riley: Howard attacks Rudd honesty character. ALP call the bluff re election. A bit of mud sticks.Andrew OKeefe gutsy comments about irony of Howard record on Tampa, Iraq war, (ethanol?). His buddy stays stum on such risky politic. Riley himself says some mud will stick on Rudd.

Web page here but no transcript usually: http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

2 Insiders (abc) 9-10 am, http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

Rudd integrity discussed re “stench from the west” WA senior ALP federal MP Stephen Smith strongly defends Rudd, significant from Beazley camp but gutsy plausible defense. The difference with Campbell? Campbell meeting was “benign” by PM’s own admission.

Image: Kevin Rudd right is fighting some politcal wildfires of his own today, but they are somewhat "artificial" threats to his leadership to borrow a term from veteran reporter Laurie Oaks today.

Skip to Ch9.

Smith pushes proper perspective, admits met Grill and Fortescue metals.

Back to ch9 feature on Rudd. [tape on, watch later if can be bothered, rebroadcast at 11.10 am]

Panel Toohey, Akerman, Meglogenis.

9 Sunday 9-10.30am (to follow) http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/

Oakes interview is centerpiece of the morning re interview with Rudd?? [No, the feature before is.] Rudd in bit of trouble says Oaks. Similar to hard attack by Oakes on Ch9 tv news last night.

Rudd feature is pre package not fresh interview, Oakes has another talent subject.

Ch9 audition for PM job. Albert Rudd (father’s) death car crash, drink drive case internal injuries, infections killed him and or medical limitations. Wouldn’t have died if he’d been rich? War veteran.

Does folksy naturally like most country people (as per the Jed Bartlett character.)

Clearly most sensitive topic, testing Rudd’s personal psychological strength. Pretty harsh Big Media personalized trawling. Kevin Rudd talks about compassion for those who get a bad deal in life/brick walls.

Presents as guy who is emotionally secure with a strong successful wife with real emotional commitment and happy kids. Who doesn’t live in the past or is defined by his parents life for all time. A guy who has transcended profound sadness and living his own life. That’s healthy.

Goss has substituted for Kevin Rudd’s dad’s empty psychological place in the cast of his life. His career in DFAT then into politics via Qld not the normal approach journey to PM, is flattery to Wayne Goss for reforming Qld politics after corruption of Bjelke Petersen era. That’s quite a compliment to Wayne, survivor of brain surgery himself.

(That’s how deep psychology works just like how I see now dead Milo Dunphy as more of a father figure in my career than my own alcoholic father.)

“would be the smartest young prime minister we’ve ever had” quote from one worthy (DFAT veteran?)

……………………

Ray Martin interview with latest expose’ of outsourcing torture by CIA “at the orders of the White House …. don’t hand suspects to FBI, don’t read them their rights”: Stephen Grey (Gray?), Ghost Planes

Rendition started under Clinton, says author. Before Sept 11 2001.

[The whole interview effect is favourable to Rudd, that we as a country need to get out of this business and start afresh. To distance our country from Howard’s past. ]

Author talks about fear of doing this work about grim and dark world. Total hypocrisy of allies on torture.

Vote question to the effect of: Do you believe the Australian Government endorses the USA use of torture?

(63% of 9’s internet poll says don’t follow British example of withdraw from Iraq (?). Counter intuitive.)

Interview with Julie Bishop, federal education minister, who presents like a female SS officer with deep set eyes beset with strident fascist dogma. A real nasty skinny whippet like driven woman pushing ideology regardless of weight of evidence.

Any evidence of deals done or favours sought? Got nothing.

Iraq war, porkies over children overboard? This is such a big deal? Only got 2 votes in the leadership vote. …..Bourke close friend of Kim Beazley.

She says great inexperience by Rudd [Either Rudd was dishonest or inexperienced, can’t be both, almost certainly the latter because out of the country so much doing stuff like China relations.]

Oaks goes into Bishop’s own relations with sleazy numbers man Noel Crichton Brown in the WA Libs and says no connection. Oaks pauses as if he has other research on this point but is holding it. She continues the steely smile taken aback by the pressure back at her. [It’s a dangerous genie that can land on anyone in this blood sport, she didn’t quite realize it could happen, re establishes with unprompted exclusive.]

[Oaks is decidedly less aggressive to Rudd’s character and integrity between the 9.05 am prelude and the main interview commencing at 10 am quite possibly informed by ch10 and Insiders 2 evidentiary coverage.]

Announces nuke physicist traineeships at Lucas Heights at Opal Reactor – uses cover of medical research when its really “national interest” dual use as per Hugh White story in Sydney Morning Herald 1/3/07 p17

“Who could suspect Australia of wanting nuclear weapons? Well, anyone with a sense of history. In the 1950’s and 1960’s Australia actively, if sporadically, tried to acquire nuclear weapons. And we were amongst the last and most reluctant adherents to the the [sic] [Non Proliferation] treaty when it was concluded in the early 1970s. …Professor Hugh White is a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute and professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University.”

Feature on Indonesian poverty. 30,000 deaths from polluted water per year for under 5s.

Posted by editor at 11:49 AM EADT

Updated: Monday, 5 March 2007 2:25 PM EADT

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Mood:  energetic

(giving new information corroborating the stink of a page 1 story in the Sydney Daily Telegraph - about a “$5B TOLL SECRET” about a huge “Inner West Tollway”, namely the Marrickville Truck Tunnel we pursued with unsuccessful FoI requests back in 2005 – and posted the relevant original documents on Sydney alternative media site)

we suddenly lost our dial tone and adsl broadband connection to the office about 9.45 am.

We ducked down to a local internet business to check our website was still up with our server, which it was, and posted our increased readership figures.

Maybe it’s the weather, or paranoia. We hope it wasn’t any of these stories which attracted the attention of the authorities in an oppressive censorious way:

1. sledging the visit by an alleged war criminal the Vice President of the USA, Dick Cheney especially his strange expression entering the plane at KSA (possible);
2. sledging the shadowy, privately funded Australia America Leadership Dialogue which Cheney addressed last Friday 26^th Feb 07 here in Sydney, with heavy defence hitters in their ranks from both sides, (possible);
3. sledging Maxine McKew a supporter of the AALD and aspirant of John Howard’s seat (not very likely);
4. sledging dancing bear Greg Sheridan, journalist for Murdoch press, over his interview with sinister Cheney around invasion of Iran (possible);
5. broadcast email to Federal Parliament of our SAM piece on rednecks motive to start a bushfire at Goonoo Pilliga area of North West NSW this summer, to neutralise malicious smears by Minister Eric Abetz of the ALP and Green Party in the Senate last Wednesday 28^th February (unlikely); or
6. Legally privileged correspondence from a bunch of agitators at the NSW Supreme Court recently seeking advice about trial by jury (unlikely).

In the paranoid stakes we recall Peter Wright’s book Spycatcher where he desribes the orthodox methods of faulting a phone line in order to insert eavesdropping equipment via the ‘repairman’. Only we are happy to have our information and hard drive transparent to the whole world, just not have our communications equipment sabotaged by persons unknown, or indeed act of God.

Curiously Telstra’s helpful staff after calling back to our mobile told us they ‘are locked out of checking our line” on their remote system, and would have to send a tech in the next few days. The second staffer specialising in faults curiously mentioned she ‘was briefed about the problems you are having with your family’. No actually, that wasn’t my case, nothing about sick family members or anything like that. I told her I was a political blogger. “Oh, okay” sounding a little confused herself.

We only hope to be back doing our democratic duty soon, and posting stories about Sydney politics as below as the NSW election approaches, and federal election after that. Heaven forbid we would be censored by Big Brother with its excessive security budget. As the High Court noted in the famous Albert Langer case, Mr Langer is entitled to be “an agitator”, and so it is with sydneyalternativemedia.com/blog, in a democracy anyway:

Posted by editor at 7:54 AM EADT

Updated: Friday, 2 March 2007 8:10 AM EADT

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Mood:  crushed out

This short month we have a monthly hit rate of 5,372 up from 2800 or so for the month of January 2007.

As always our original material here is copyright free for the community and media sector generally big and small, as per the copyright policy at the link on the right hand side of the page, as written by the owner and legal adviser, Tom McLoughlin.

The sydneyalternativemedia blog is independent of, but also friends with similarly named Alternative Media Group here in Sydney.

Posted by editor at 11:49 AM EADT

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Mood:  down

SAM's editor sought by formal Freedom of Information in mid 2005, a taxpayer funded Commission of Inquiry Report into the expansion of Port Botany which would categorically evidence massive increase in truck container traffic via the Inner West of Sydney. The govt were sitting on the report by respected Kevin Cleland for months, and even changed Planning Ministers from Craig Knowles to Frank Sartor while community groups like my own Botany Bay & Catchment Alliance http://www.botanybay.info/ patiently waited. The report helped evidence the Ports agenda for the same Inner West Motorway in the news today, that we knew as the Marrickville Truck Tunnel in 2005.

A tunnel that would involve subsidence, toxic ventilation stacks and massive voter concern. Marrickville Byelection was scheduled for 17th September 2005 and the ALP were at risk from The Green Party's Sam Byrne.

The government ran the clock down on our FoI request. We smelt a rat over the Truck Tunnel damage in the byelection. The Planning Dept under Frank Sartor even refused despite numerous promptings by phone to give up a letter of refusal prior to the close byelection. This writer was forced to go into The Lands office in Bridge St CBD and refuse to leave until I was given the letter on 12th Sept 07 (as noted below in handwriting). But the refusal letter they couldn't provide to me was actually already drafted "6th Sept", and signed "9th September" by Sam Haddad (note the changed date by hand by Haddad). The same Sam Haddad promoted to head up the department sometime later from Deputy Director position.

We duly complained and sought a review but the byelection was held on Sept 17th and negative replies excusing the government cover up were received soon after. (These letters are copied below from the reviewing officer, and the electoral commissioner). A few weeks after the byelection the Port Botany report was released.

The Greens Sam Byrne lost by only a few per cent, and was then chosen to be Mayor of Marrickville Council later in 2005 being the quality candidate that he was.

Now the major story running in Sydney is the same secret Truck Tunnel this time before an election vote in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on page 1. I also mentioned this on 702 ABC radio talkback and am happy to take interview calls on tel. 0410 558838:

$5b secret road under Sydney

Exclusive by Heath Aston: THE RTA has secretly drawn up plans for a gigantic underground toll road through Sydney's inner west in a bid to ease the city's worsening traffic woes.

10 comment(s) about this story

Here are SAM's letters of that time evidencing the Government successfully covering their tracks in 2005 ... but not today:

Posted by editor at 9:29 AM EADT

Updated: Thursday, 1 March 2007 11:49 AM EADT

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Mood:  accident prone

We wrote to Catholic Cardinal Pell recently in an open letter widely circulated accusing the senior cleric of vain posturing, and alot worse, in his climate change denial, and pro nuke reactor, positions in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper in the last month. Like a tonne of bricks 4 Corners on Monday night just past

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1854517.htm 

, and every third news bulletin carries more grave news of the reality of the Warm, that it's big and it's real.

Pell in his next column in the Sunday Telegraph returned to safer ground with a solliliquy on the religous season of Lent. It was all about restraining one's vanity including that author.

And just so, PM Howard attacks rival Rudd for being "full of it" especially after a feature in The Australian colour mag some weeks ago quoting Rudd he would 'have fun playing with Howard's mind' like a condescending intellectual alien visitor to Earth. Rudd quickly retreated from that ugly perception in the Oakes interview on Sunday 9 25th Feb 07 show humbly stating he is a long way behind Howard 'at the base camp of Everest' or such like metaphor. That was necessary but was it sufficient? What he should probably have said is:

Yes it was a smart alec comment and I apologise to the PM for that. It was an insecure thing to say because Howard's record and budget war chest is just so intimidating. So it actually reflected my own nerves. But now I am refocused on the enormity of the challenge for our side and concentrating on winning with integrity to quote Gandhi and not simply to win.

Glenn Milne, a Treasurer Costello booster vying with the ALP leader to be PM, pushed the vanity line against Rudd too in his column in the Sunday Telegraph last week showing it's a real risk for Rudd and his pompous ALP, and indeed all of us in the political community.

The real politik of vanity. It's a dangerous befuddling emotion, and pride before a fall usually.

Now today high profile Catholic and Minister Tony Abbott writes in the conservative friendly Fairfax of guess what: Vanity with this quote:

"Has NSW now come to resemble Italy [SAM's editor is 1/8 Italian too], where an incompetent and venal government is accepted as an unalterable fact of life?"

with the quote extracted on the front page for good measure, full story at: Tony Abbott: A Government so bad should be thrown out

But here is the thing: Tony Abbott's own federal government has a huge dollop of vanity informing it's support for risky long term nuke energy technofixes one day, synonymous with expanded fossil fool economic (read material) growth in the short and medium term against all ecological reality:

Businessmen deny nuclear proposal - Sydney Morning Herald - 21 hours ago
Turnbull says Labor waging nuclear scare campaign - ABC Online - 1 hour ago

Not just the Howard Coalition government, most western governments suffer such vanity that it's market based business as usual with their mates on top in society, unlike say far more ecologically sustainable, far more radical countries like Cuba according to a World Wildlife Fund Report of 2006: WF - Living Planet Report, and much earlier EIJ Winter 94: The Greening of Cuba,

That's human vanity and why in all anthropological history no civilisation has transcended that exhaustion of its ecological bubble to inevitable demise.

Odds are that vanity will bring on dangerous climate change, with or without nuke energy, for failure to really know our place in the scheme of the universe endlessly pursuing personal affluence. We are fast approaching the pointy end of vanity vis a vis global warming, nuke waste, and technological religous faith, and we all would do well to consider these images of urban inundation via YouTube and Hurricane Katrina there in New Orleans a year ago:

Posted by editor at 11:44 AM EADT

Updated: Wednesday, 28 February 2007 4:45 PM EADT

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