"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. No price is too high for the privilege of owning yourself." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Tasmania’s newest attraction - a barren pit in the Tarkine
Tom Ellison. Pic: Matt Newton, http://matthewnewton.com.au/Commercial/People/1/ Pic* Pub: August 1
02.08.14 6:30 am
Indian mining wannabee Shree released its quarterly report late yesterday ... and nobody will be surprised to hear the news isn’t pretty. Having been forced to finally admit mining had been suspended in June, Shree has now published data which shows a good chunk of the easily accessible iron ore has now been dug up, shipped to Burnie and sold at a loss, with no money left over to look for more reserves.
• Scott Jordan: Shree Minerals relinquishes Rebecca Creek exploration licence in the Tarkine
• Kim Booth: Shree Minerals false hope exposed
NATION, STATE: Refugees, Asset Aales, Jobs, LOGGERS/FSC, LENNON ... Have your say ...
ABC. Mercury. Pub: July 31. Pic*
02.08.14 6:00 am
VENT if you wish over these ABC (and Mercury) story links ... and add a few of your own in Comments below (Remember to include full urls and no more than two per comment)
• Sell assets, says Tony, and we’ll give you money
• Eric hints at backdown on job applications
• Logger escapes conviction for punching protester
• Bryan Green: Abbott attempting to blackmail Tasmania on assets
• Mercury: Former Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon ejected from Melbourne’s Crown Casino
• Guardian: The Great Barrier Reef and the coalmine that could kill it
Ted Cutlan, Spokesperson for ROCC Residents Opposed to the Cable Car Media Release. Pic: Bob Burton
02.08.14 5:49 am
The announcement today by the Wellington Park Management Trust should be of concern to everyone with a love of our wonderful mountain. The iconic organ pipes are under threat from the proposed cable car.
O&A (Objections & Answers) Why should Dr Bob Moles be heard by MPs?
Andrew L. Urban. Four Winds, yacht at the centre of the case ...
01.08.14 4:15 am
Why should Tasmanian Parliamentarians accept the invitation to attend the August 19, 2014 Parliamentary briefing on the controversial case of Sue Neill-Fraser by Dr Bob Moles?
• Court of Criminal Appeals decision. Read for yourself, here
Isla MacGregor’s First Day of the Month
Isla MacGregor
01.08.14 4:00 am
*Pic: Ribbon grass in Big River on Flinders Island.
Martyn Turner, Irish Times. Used with permission. Pub: July 30
31.07.14 7:30 am
NZ Herald: Israel hits symbols of Hamas rule; scores killed
MEANWHILE, in UKRAINE:
•The Washington Post: Obama announces expanded sanctions against Russia as E.U. aligns
WikiLeaks gag order: open justice is threatened by super-injuctions
Richard Ackland, http://www.justinian.com.au/
31.07.14 6:45 am
Australian courts have increasingly been issuing suppression orders preventing the publication of legal proceedings – and an implicit dislike of the media is partly to blame.
“Say it Again Tony” (And Again, And Again)
Dr Buck Emberg. Pic: of Tony Abbott
30.07.14 6:44 am
For me it started in the year 1938 or thereabouts.
Paul Tapp. Pub: July 28
30.07.14 6:40 am
Why Don Hazell came to see me ... And so last week started with a message. It was from a man that I may have interviewed a long time ago, making his way up the business ladder. He owns trucks. The message is handwritten by an Orford businessman and delivered early Monday 21 July by his wife.
Living authentically in the real world – without blind faith or mystery-mongering
Chris Sharples. Pub: July 28
30.07.14 6:35 am
After MONA’s Fair for Freedom of Belief and Religion, Chris Sharples, ponders the Great Questions ... There are many aspects of the world we find ourselves in that seem at first sight to be frightening and difficult to accept. That is why our ancestors invented religious belief, and it is why so many still think they need 1religion . Religious ideas have been designed precisely to re-assure us about the things we find most worrying. Yet to someone who thinks that reality actually matters, it must follow that one’s life cannot be fully authentic if one uses stratagems such as religious belief to avoid acknowledgement of the manifest conditions of our existence. On the contrary, a life lived authentically must be one that acknowledges the actual nature of our existence – with all its potentials and all its limitations – and finds meaning, purpose and satisfaction within the constraints imposed by that reality, rather than by trying to deny them. Thus, I object to religion for the fundamental reason that it is the greatest obstacle that stands in the way of living a truly authentic life grounded in the reality of the human condition.
NATION: No job snobs, says Eric. Sending job applications to Senator Abetz ...
Guardian Pub: July 28
30.07.14 6:30 am
• Work for dole program to be expanded to include almost all jobseekers
• Morrison defiant as asylum seekers may seek compo
• Helen Burnet:The Federal Government’s Budget cuts This evening (Mon) my motion was considered at last by full council and fully supported regarding the federal government’s budget cuts on the Tasmanian science community, especially relating to climate science.
• Helen Burnet: Big Issues a Council Matter
• Facebook: Sending job applications to Senator Abetz ... As a community we should all get behind our good Senator in his mission to help those who cannot help themselves. Just posted: Call the office, 10 times a day, be persistent, jobs WILL appear. As if by magic. Winners are grinners, the early bird catches the worm, laziness is not next to godliness.
• Simon Warriner, in Comments: Over the years I have applied for a few jobs, and dealt with hundreds of job seekers. Doing so in a courteous manner takes time. Sometimes lots of time. 16,000 unemployed people on the NW Coast looking to lodge 40 job applications a month is going to waste a hell of a lot of time and money for the employers in this region. That time is worth money that would otherwise be profit. Senator Abetz’s policy is an impost on every business, and it will be bitterly resented by many business owners. It is also reminiscent of many campaigns by politicians to demonize a particular “other” in a society to further their own narrow political ends. No government that engages in that tactic is one worth having.
• Fairfax: More than 100 public service whistleblowers come forward each month
• Job seekers could be forced to turn to crime, expert warns
• Wayne Francis, in Comments: Thanks Eric, you are such an inspiration to the Australian people. We are delighted to accept your offer of work for the greater glory of the Commonwealth of Australia in return for the pittance known by your government as a benefit. Thank you for taking out Australian citizenship so you could remain in your elected role and guide us in our hours of need since your Liberal and Labour predecessors have and continue to be guided by wealthy importers in past and future decisions to close down manufacturing and Australian self reliance into the bright future. Please let me know ASAP when I can start work in your office to help you explain to your fellow Aussies what your aims and objectives really are. We may need to meet over lunch beforehand so you can explain them to me first as I should really get to know your aspirations for a brighter future for all Austalians before I can accept a role.
Hodgman has questions to answer on FIFO spin doctor
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader Media Release. Pic: of Will Hodgman. Pub: July 30. Pic*
29.07.14 4:10 am
Labor Leader Bryan Green has condemned Liberal Government’s secrecy following revelations Will Hodgman has employed a fly-in, fly-out spin doctor on a pro rata salary of more than $230,000.
• Mercury: Liberal spin doctor pockets $20,000 for one month’s work
Max Atkinson. Pic* Pub: July 28
29.07.14 4:00 am
There is no one in American public life quite like the Senator for Massachusetts. A Harvard law professor who brings an unusually gracious tone to national debates, her courtesy and good humour come with impressive expertise, a razor-sharp mind and an ability to put complex issues in simple but resonant language. Add endless energy and a commitment to challenge the abuse of financial and political power, and you get a sense of why, after barely two years in office, she is emerging as an alternative to a jaded and compromised Hilary Clinton, as the first US woman President.
NATION: The search for the clean coal holy grail ... as Galilee gets go-ahead
Paddy Manning, Background Briefing Pub: July 28
29.07.14 3:45 am
Transcript Paddy Manning: Clean coal. It’s the key to a low-emissions future for one of Australia’s largest export industries and a linchpin of the government’s plan to slow climate change. So get ready to hear more claims like this, from Environment Minister Greg Hunt, about cleaning up our coal-fired power stations:
…
Bob Burton: The track record of Ignite, and it’s common to a lot of these other small companies, is it’s a small company to start with. So the fact that we don’t have major coal companies pursuing these technologies tells us a lot, because major coal companies don’t think this technology is worth investing in, it’s not going to give them significant rates of return. All of these small companies rely on hyping a technology to deliver a future benefit, and then hoping that they can either find private investors, or wangle grants out of governments.
• Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst: Concerns over carbon emissions from burning wood
• Peter Hannam, Environment Editor SMH: Giant Galilee coal mine gets Canberra nod The federal government has approved a giant Queensland coalmine that it says will generate as much as $300 billion for the economy, but which environmental groups say will contribute to a “carbon bomb” and risk causing significant damage to the Great Barrier Reef.
• Helen Burnet:The Federal Government’s Budget cuts This evening (Mon) my motion was considered at last by full council and fully supported regarding the federal government’s budget cuts on the Tasmanian science community, especially relating to climate science.
• Mining outlook reaches a new five year low, says latest report
The Insincere Campbell Newman. Background Briefing’s Qld special
Fairfax. Background Briefing ABC Transcript
29.07.14 3:20 am
Corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald says Premier Campbell Newman’s apology was insincere.
•John Powell, in Comments: Had the pleasure of witnessing Cambo’s empathy first hand in 2006, Qld in grip of drought and Wivenhoe dam at lowest ever level. I was Project Director of Western Corridor Recycled Water scheme designed to deliver water to the dam etc. I made a presentation to Board of SEQWA the prime water authority of Brisbane. He as Brisbane mayor was a Board Member. Showed zero interest, asked no questions and spent the entire hour playing with his new toy an IPhone! A failed major, failed mayor and now failed Premier. GONER!
• Background Briefing: Could Campbell be the new Joh? Read the BB Transcript for yourself ... Cathy Van Extel: 25 years on, Tony Fitzgerald and his right hand man Gary Crooke believe they’re watching the LNP undo the hard-won reforms to clean up Queensland and make sure it never happens again.
The pervasive power of Rupert Murdoch. The Bullying and Hypocrisy of Andy Coulson
Nick Davies, The Guardian. Extract of Hack Attack ... Pub: July 28
29.07.14 3:15 am
In this first extract from his new book, the reporter who broke the phone hacking story looks at Rebekah Brooks’s 2009 wedding – and how it was a perfect display of the nature of Rupert Murdoch’s hold on British life
• Nick Davies’ Second Extract: Bullying and hypocrisy – Andy Coulson’s reign at the News of the World
Essays from Near and Far - Northern Launch
Editor
28.07.14 4:00 am
Great poet, great man, Tim Thorne, will be launching James Dryburgh’s Essays from Near and Far in the north at Petrarch’s Bookshop, 89 Brisbane Street, Launceston, Friday 1st August at 6pm.
In Essays from Near and Far, James Dryburgh manages to contextualise and illuminate the human condition. From South America to Tasmania his collection of essays reveal the motivations and beliefs of those who struggle against economic, historical and political injustices. He also succeeds in articulating his own soul and the reasons why he is drawn to the subjects explored. A great collection by an author not afraid to immerse himself and, quite literally, get his hands dirty in pursuit of the essential story in the tradition of the finest literary non-fiction.
John Martinkus, Journalist, Author and Academic. More HERE:
My anger at the instant blaming of the Ukrainian resistance and Russia
Bart Wisse
28.07.14 3:30 am
In our society even those accused of heinous crimes have a right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Like all of our species with a heart and a mind, I was deeply saddened by the horror of MH17, particularly with two daughters and a grandchild in Europe, soon to return.
• Huff Post: 9/11 Human Remains Possibly Recovered From WTC Debris, Says NYC Medical Examiner
• An expert’s view: Another Look at the AA Missile Theory - TTG
Mother Mountain: The Symphony of Birdsong (22)
Don Knowler, http://donaldknowler.com/
28.07.14 3:15 am
The “Respect the Mountain” forum ( here, here, and here ) at the Hobart Town Hall earlier this year prompted Don Knowler to return to a diary he compiled after daily rambles on Mt Wellington during the previous year. In what promises to be a momentous year in the modern history of Kunanyi, the weekly diary gives the mountain and its wildlife its own voice. All Don’s Mother Mountain columns - and much more by this superb writer - can be found under the Category, Don Knowler, here
The Torquay Ferry Cross the Mersey
John Powell, Myrtlebank
28.07.14 3:00 am
The Torquay Ferry has been in continuous operation since the 1850’s transporting community members across the Mersey from East to West and return.
• Luke Martin, in Comments: Unique, heritage assets like this don’t grow on trees, and we know from the challenge with heritage rail across the State once something ceases operation just how much more challenging and expensive it is to resurrect the operation. Nevertheless it seems from this article and stories in the Advocate, there are some fundamental challenges with the Torquay that maybe require a total rethink of its future purpose. In this context, I’d be interested if thought has gone into the following questions?
Five reasons every journalist should be fired (me included)
Dan Uglow, Cirrus Media
28.07.14 2:45 am
In case you didn’t notice, the media industry is in the throes of a revolution. At the forefront of this you’ll find journalists, and many of them are just as resistant to change as the organisations that employ them.
• ‘Something You Need To Know…’
• Former Soldiers Expand their Humanitarian Effort
• 2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition Applications now open!
• Celebrating the release of Born Bad ...
Tasting Tasmania: Pointing to food, wine reviews, with latest news, MRs below ...
Cheapflights.com.au leaves the light on: Spend the night in a lighthouse
• Fullers Launceston: Conversation event for Born Bad with James Boyce
Robin (#17), it is a matter of clear historical fact that protesters about forest issues were fined or imprisoned at a…
