Good stuff. Perfect for gragging snippets, of which we would otherwise never see, particularly in our local, The Examiner. Also can expand on items of specific interest. Edna Everage

The Mail and Guardian online provides an outstanding African perspective on current events and it would be good to see this added to an excellent list of links.

http://www.mg.co.za/

From The Australian, Fri 6 Feb 09: “THE UN has retracted claims over one of the biggest controversies in the Gaza war, admitting that an Israeli mortar attack that killed 43 people did not hit a school run by a UN agency.

“The January 6 incident, described at the time as the ‘school massacre’, figured prominently in accusations that Israel committed war crimes in the deaths of hundreds of civilians during the war.

A statement issued yesterday by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Human Affairs acknowledged that it had wrongly blamed the deaths at the time on the ‘shelling of the UNRWA (Relief and Works Agency) school’.”

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25013734-15084,00.html

Notes: (i) the correct name for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Human Affairs is the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs;

(ii) have not yet found any item in about this on the OCHA website - http://www.irinnews.org/

(iii) have not seen a similar news item on any of the online editions of the conspicuously compassionate set’s quality broadsheets of choice, the Guardian, The Age and the SMH;

(iv) still wondering why those who are highly sceptical, indeed often cynical, about the mainstream media in open societies like ours, are so gullible when it comes to accepting as gospel anything which media under authoritarian tyrannies in the Middle East put out;

(v) and wondering why the Hamas regime in Gaza is not denounced as neo-colonial, given that Hamas (and Hezbollah, too) is an Iranian proxy answerable ultimate to its Persian masters; p’raps, just as there’s now good racism as well as bad racism, and like apartheid, there’s now good apartheid as well the old-style bad one, we now have ‘good’ colonialism as well old fashioned Caucasian bad colonialism.

Guess the conspicuouly compassionate would know.

A most unusual and atypical news report from the Middle East, Gaza specifically -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/13/hamas-gaza-murders-abduction-torture

A shorter version made it to page 13 of the Fairfax Melbourne broadsheet, the Sunday Age.

Gunns dividends from the ASX

8c 17/09/2007 21/09/2007 05/10/2007 100% Final

6c 31/03/2008 04/04/2008 21/04/2008 100% Interim

4c 05/09/2008 11/09/2008 03/10/2008 100% Final

2c 30/03/2009 03/04/2009 20/04/2009 100% Interim SUSPENDED

Great record, this?

What is the situation with the Gunns MIS scheme’s plantation forests?
I have heard there are questions of specific failure as to the proper care and practices in place, as preached in the Gunns Ltd literatures.
Should these failings be confirmed as fact, what then of this once valuable ongoing source of revenue?
Chances are there may well be more negative issues soon to be announced.
Another assets writedown is certainly on the cards.

checking

Last Saturday a crop duster flew right between houses within the town boundary and drift off hit me while I was just harvesting my organic vegetables. I have been sick ever since but I was told that nothing illegally has happen. Now I can’t even drink my rain water any more and the tao water is undrinkable. I moved to Cressy to live a healthy life style. Just a few month ago I lost my breasts to cancer and now I don’t know where to go any more. Damn the unscrupulous bastards who are responsible.
I do apologize if this is not the right spot to tell the story but I am new to this and I am ready to fight the ‘good fight’ if it means saving people to go through what I have been through.

Ella, this is terrible.  How can we help?  post or email back or ring 63341120 - garry from Liffey/Launceston

Leonard,
would you please have a look at

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/25/israel-white-phosphorus-use-evidence-war-crimes

As well as the written report, the photos etc please look at:
Video: White Phosphorus Use in Gaza

Thanks.

I have, and at others.

There have been a few fairly recent comments regarding the spraying of poison that I have found to be particularly disturbing. The lady in post No.8, Ella, is one. For a person to have survived such a frightening medical ordeal only to find her water and garden vegetables tainted by industrial chemicals, thus leaving her distressed, is bloody appalling. Unless I am mistaken, incidents such as these are highly likely to cause a major outburst of public concern over the use of toxic chemicals. In the interests of combatting public apathy towards issues such as Triazines, perhaps it would be advantageous if these incidents could be provided to the media to deal with, in order to win over public sympathy. Situations such as this could, and should, become front page news. Why isn’t this occurring?? I would have thought journalists looking for a story would have jumped at the chance to present incidents like this, or is spraying triazine just too hot to handle? Incidents that will motivate public concern must not be let slip into the past but should form part of an ongoing media strategy that unfolds right up to the election in 2010. I am quite convinced ‘Ella’s story’ must be told.

I,ll tell you what you can bloody do, EVERYONE pick up on Ella’s story and Jon’s and send it to the examiner, ive just this minute done so ,so how about the rest of you get off your collective arse’s also,  there’s been a damn lot of whinging about that paper lately, so get to it and see if we can prick their conscience !
                Chin up Ella, let’s see if we can stop some one else from going through what this girl is going through , those criminal bastards. !
                Don Davey

BETTER STILL ! SEND HER STORY TO AS MANY PAPERS AS YOU CAN , I JUST SENT IT TO 27.    THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE, IF HOWARD HADN’T TAKEN OUR GUNS , WE COULD SHOOT THE BASTARDS DOWN.

                    D.D.

The only way I can see ‘Ella’s story’ getting into the local press is to have someone from The Age or similar run a headline story and embarrass the local press into subjugation.

Well done Don. Lets hope one of the newspapers takes it up.

The following letter i have submitted to 27 papers across the country and i now invite EVERYONE to join me in doing so.
                        d.d.

                EDITOR

      WHY ISN’T THE EXAMINER AND OTHER PAPERS PICKING UP ON THIS POOR LADIES STORY.
     
      YOUR PIECE JOHN , I ADDED AS BEING BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED IN MY MY PRESENT STATE , WHICH IS F——-G LIVID !.

                D.D.

Last Saturday a crop duster flew right between houses within the town boundary and drift off hit me while I was just harvesting my organic vegetables. I have been sick ever since but I was told that nothing illegally has happen. Now I can’t even drink my rain water any more and the tao water is undrinkable. I moved to Cressy to live a healthy life style. Just a few month ago I lost my breasts to cancer and now I don’t know where to go any more. Damn the unscrupulous bastards who are responsible.
I do apologize if this is not the right spot to tell the story but I am new to this and I am ready to fight the ‘good fight’ if it means saving people to go through what I have been through.

Posted by Ella on 26/04/0

here have been a few fairly recent comments regarding the spraying of poison that I have found to be particularly disturbing. The lady in post No.8, Ella, is one. For a person to have survived such a frightening medical ordeal only to find her water and garden vegetables tainted by industrial chemicals, thus leaving her distressed, is bloody appalling. Unless I am mistaken, incidents such as these are highly likely to cause a major outburst of public concern over the use of toxic chemicals. In the interests of combatting public apathy towards issues such as Triazines, perhaps it would be advantageous if these incidents could be provided to the media to deal with, in order to win over public sympathy. Situations such as this could, and should, become front page news. Why isn’t this occurring?? I would have thought journalists looking for a story would have jumped at the chance to present incidents like this, or is spraying triazine just too hot to handle? Incidents that will motivate public concern must not be let slip into the past but should form part of an ongoing media strategy that unfolds right up to the election in 2010. I am quite convinced ‘Ella’s story’ must be told.

John Ayling
                                                        Don Davey
                                                          32 eardley st
                                                            launceston
                                                        03 63431531

To add to the story from Ella….
A patient of mine came this morning and told me about the awful night she had on Sunday- could hardly breath and her asthma has been really bad ever since. Not only did the foul smelling pesticide spray (delivered by a boomspray tractor getting rid of weeds across the road from her house) flood her house, but now the acrid smoke from forestry burns east of here (seemingly not fuel load burns, but after clearfelling) is invading St Helens with westerly winds and temperature inversions.
She has gone home feeling ill, despondent and apprehensive.
I am appalled at the lack of support that ordinary folk actually receive to prevent unwilling and unwitting exposure to known toxins; our preventative health strategy must do better than this.
Letters to the media, to Ministers, to anyone that cares are needed; we need to support those most vulnerable in our communities, especially those already sick!
Dr Alison Bleaney

Can I ask if anyone has taken up my call in joining me and sending to the EX. and other papers, “Ella’s Story” and if not why not?  only takes a minute or two.

  The more letters sent ! the more attention will be given to this deserved story.

                    d.d.

Recently the world authority on triazine chemicals Professor Tyrone Hayes from University of California gave a presentation at a well attended Royal Hobart Hospital medical meeting.
The meeting was attended by many medical specialists, academics and public health specialists including Dr Roscoe Taylor and his deputy Dr Chrissie Picken.
Professor Hayes also met with Minister David Llewellen during his visit.
The meeting was told that these chemicals which include Atrazine and Simazine are potent sex hormone disrupters which result in diminished sperm counts and fertility in human beings as well as a variety of other tested species including frogs and fish.
Atrazine has been suggested to be causally associated with prostate cancer in men most exposed to the chemical in the production factory in the USA.
Women drinking triazine contaminated well water were found to be more likely to develop breast cancer than women from the same district who had an alternative uncontaminated water source.
I have copies of the DVD of Professor Hayes’ lecture.

Frank Nicklason

post 18 sorry,
of course I meant the ” forestry burns west of here”

On the issue of getting support from the authorities, after being sprayed on January 20th with Alphacypermethrin at Weegena those of us who fell ill and put in official complaints are still waiting for the outcome of the DPIW investigations.
It is hard to shake the feeling that they are hoping that we will just go away.
Unfortunately for the authorities the symptoms of the poisoning have not lasted long enough to permanently damage my memory.
Hint
Never give up

It is clear that the debate about health risks from pesticides is conducted by independent health experts on one side and industry representatives on the other. In the middle is the government and its public health advisors who seem too timid to disagree with industry interests.

We have heard the voice of industry from Julian Amos, Chairman of the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania. In defending the forest industries Dr Amos has said in a recent letter to the Mercury, “Atrazine has not been found to be harmful to human health”. This view is echoed by Simon Cubit who was reported on the ABC News, (May 6th 2009) to have said, ” there is no evidence to support the theory that atrazine causes cancer”. Cubit assiduously followed up this with his letter in the Mercury (May 8th 2009) where he even talks about, “the acceptable daily intake of herbicides”.

Currently, Dr Amos works for the forest industries and Dr Cubit used to work for them. Both these men push an industry line which is dangerous to public health but financial worthwhile to industry. Both these men should not be believed when they say such things as ‘atrazine is not harmful to human health’ or ‘it does not cause cancer’, or even worst, that we can all have an ‘acceptable daily intake’ of these poisons. This is sales talk; the spin you get when someone is trying to sell you something.

The truth is that atrazine disrupts endocrine activity which interferes with reproduction and development. These changes are likely to cause a range of serious illnesses including cancer. This information is widely available to anyone who wishes to look it up on the web.

One only has to look at the web site of Choice to see an unbiased view of pesticides. Choice says: “We urge the Australian government to apply the precautionary principle to all chemicals and place the burden of proof on manufacturers and importers that a chemical is safe, rather than simply giving them the benefit of the doubt”. This is exactly what should be done in Tasmania.

Dr Andrew Lohrey

Falmouth.

The elephant-in-the-room is the endocrine disrupting effects of triazines and other pesticides causing adverse biological effects at low doses.
Neither the APVMA (Simon Cubit), FIAT (Julian Amos) nor the Tasmanian State Government ( Minister Giddings - DHHS –and Minister Llewellyn - DPIW) can acknowledge this.
The USA EPA has “noted that endocrine disruption is now considered the main toxic mode of action of atrazine”. The TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc.) is the only organization that focuses primarily on the human health and environmental problems caused by low-dose and/or ambient exposure to chemicals that interfere with development and function, called endocrine disruptors, and has volumes of work documenting this. http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/about.introduction.php

Why then do our pesticide regulators and our protectors from pesticide exposures (public health) continue with their stance of denial?
Indeed, who are we to believe? 
Why do our regulators not place the burden of proof on manufacturers and importers that a chemical is safe?
The contamination of many Tasmanian water supplies from triazines over the last 15 years is well documented.
I agree with Alan Ashbarry (Exam 9/5/09); it is time to tell the truth.

Dr Alison Bleaney, sec-BODCRG

Is there any truth in the rumour that the popular ‘Criminal Minds’ is to be replaced by ‘Today in Parliament’ on local TV?

Again I bring to the attention of the Tasmanian people, the need for a thorough scrutiny of the present Gunns Ltd MIS schemes.
An attempt recently by Robert Gottliebsen to gain an insight into the motley of Gunns Ltd, I believe calls for a deeper probe into this high revenue generator.
The web-site page of Gunns Ltd MIS, is still spruiking certain offers and benefits in an environment only they can see as being unaltered in manner, as well as opportunity. 
The factors and failures by other MIS marketing entities belies the stance taken by Gunns Ltd, irrespective of their hyped up claims and of their presumed successful investment offers.
Gunns Ltd business models are ever in need of proper scrutiny, also in considering what may go on via their cloaked-over status, they thus generally denying all and every realization brought to the public notice.
Soon we may hear from the ASX on how they inteprete the veracity of certain claims made by this Gunns Ltd.

Breaking News

Tasmanian Times completes its Monoculture Conversion

Tasmanians for Balanced Views (TBV) chairperson Tomas Rignoli recently announced that Tasmanian Times has completed its conversion from a website with its creed as a “forum of discussion and dissent” to a monoculture of anti-government, pro-Greens commentary. Mr Rignoli said “I was eating my organic, low-woodchip cereal this morning and revisited the site, when I noted that all 30 of the comments on the right hand side of the page represented a totally aligned view”. Tomas Rignoli supped his low-fat gluten-free soy chai latte and noted further “where is the dissent? Have alternative views finally been expunged? Why doesn’t the wider community engage here?”. 

The TBV chairman added “Alas, the usual suspects main point of contrarian view point is from a made-up ‘Lester Barker’, whose main purpose seems to be rile the contributors up further and amplify the bitterness”

Speaking from his daily atrazine bath, Mr Rignoli concluded “the triumph of group-think on TT is remarkable, and I wonder if the Editor endorses the site becoming a political vehicle rather than a doyen of alternative media and community thought?”

Fair suck of the whip, Comment 27 -  just have a think about what you’re claiming: anyone who didn’t know better would reckon that TT was as uniformly monocultural as, say, ‘our’ ABC, the two Fairfax broadsheets, or, worse still, one of those soft-option ‘Studies’ faculties in our group-think unis.

Tomas, surely you’re not really claiming that the average TT reader and poster puts trees on a higher pedestal than millions of women treated as fourth-raters in the Arab/Muslim world, malnourished millions in Africa, or millions starving in the world’s last Stalinist Eden to our north?

Just to show how poly-cultural TT is, I am offering an observation about a recent news item in The Australian:

Earlier this month, 170 or self-styled ‘eminent Australians’ signed an open letter to MHR Gillard and others protesting about some of our MPs visiting Israel.

Given that hundreds of thousands in Tehran and elsewhere are demonstrating for democracy, fair elections and women’s rights for themselves and their fellow Iranians (Iran in crisis as protesters shot dead, The World, Wed 17 Jun 09), why are we still waiting for news about those 170 ‘eminent Australians’ supporting these brave Iranians standing up to a regime far more brutal, repressive and autocratic than most in the Middle East? 

No, no, Tomas: all those TT posters who frequently berate our State government for being ‘undemocratic’  -  or fume that our whole set of arrangements is ‘undemocratic’  -  would be appalled that men, women and children on the other side of the world are getting such violent treatment.

Wouldn’t they?

More than ever are writing under their real names and identity and funnily enough even the mass media are taking the ‘real’ stories up - To mass.

#28 I think the moment that you can link the current goings-on in Tehran with Gunns, trees or the Tasmanian Premier, then the frequent flyers on TT will be on to it.

Expect some photoshopped/badly composed ‘cartoons’ as well.

And perhaps a new front (sorry, not front) activist group to emerge. “Tasmanians opposed to Iranian Politics however distantly related to Gunns”

Of course Iran and Gunns are linked. Didn’t their dictator also cut down all the trees and sell them as woodchips before they discovered oil? No wonder the place looks like it does. Just a few derricks sticking up out of the bare sand. That’s what’s in store for Tassie, isn’t it? Black stumps in a desert! Soon they’ll be snatching babies out of incubators and stealing hospital beds from under the patients, just like their neighbour, Uncle Saddam did. Ask and American. It’s the Axis of Evil. Just like in Lindsay Street in Launceston.

For a bloke who professes such loathing of the website you sure do post here a lot Tomas.
There is nothing sadder than a man who cant accept that his opinion is….just his opinion. I’m sure you are too old for all these tantrums Tomas. Surely there must be plenty of right wing blogs where you can vent? Or perhaps you could apply for a job writing opinion pieces for the Mercury when the columnist whose name we dare not speaketh leaves!
Still, you are always welcome to join in the conversation here Tomas. But leave the bitterness at the door and the satire to Lester. You stink at it!

Comment 32, in stating “that his opinion is….just his opinion”, seems to reckon that one opinion is as good as another, although that may not be what is meant.

Take brain surgery, for example:  it makes much more sense to take more note of the opinions of Gazi Yasargil than of Gary Ablett (Snr or Jnr). Or on economics: what Amartya Sen and James Tobin think would be preferable to what Anthony Mundine and Cate Blanchett might opine.

(Perhaps actors’ opinions should be treated with extra caution: they lie, almost full-time, and very expertly, for a living, pretending to be someone else and passing off someone else’s words as their own -  and, remember, they get world-famous awards for this.)

When experienced experts in their fields speak, it is not just they themselves who are speaking: it is a vast depth and breadth of human knowledge and experience speaking through them. Of course, experts can be wrong, seriously wrong, and can be over-ruled by other experts, or overtaken by developments.

But, no, one opinion is not just as good as another.

Or, to use that widely-known quote from the last ‘Dirty Harry’ movie: “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks”  -  but, as a bit like what George Orwell said about everyone being equal, some arseholes smell less unlike roses than others.

Pacific National wants to permanently halt running trains on its only profitable West Coast bulk mineral line in 12 days….. The Mercury.

If this is a profitable line, the easy solution would be to sell it to the mining companies and let them run it. If it is profitable as it stands, then the mining company can reduce their costs and increase profits AND it would keep the fleet of big trucks off the road that they would require to shift their minerals without the rail.

There is also a possibility that they would not need the railway engines if they shifted smaller loads using modified road haulage vehicles on the lines. The infrastructure would stand up to it a lot better as well with the lighter loads.

Barnaby Drake

If Wayne Swan is forced to resign, do you think it is possible that Kevin Rudd will offer Peter Costello the job of Treasurer?