STOP THE INTERNET FILTER RALLY'S

March 5, 2010 by admin

STOP THE INTERNET FILTER RALLY'S

PERTH - BRISBANE - MELBOURNE

SATURDAY 6TH MARCH

click here to see where and when

Australia to pay for Indonesian forests

March 2, 2010 by admin

(Courier Mail) AUSTRALIA is to spend $30 million to protect forests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, to tackle climate change. [..] Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the project would protect trees on the mineral soils of the province of Jambi, and comes on top of an existing conservation project in the swamp forests of central Kalimantan. [..] Australia will not be able to count the greenhouse emissions saved against its own target to cut emissions. But international negotiations over a new climate deal may allow countries to pay others to cut their emissions, then count the emissions savings themselves. Australia has promised to send money to the developing world to help tackle climate change, as part of UN climate negotiations. read more

I went to work today to help fund some East Timor hating clowns in Indonesia? What's wrong with the Indonesian government funding their own Sovereign matters? They don't want our cows any more, so they'll be saving $700 million a year. I must have been dreaming, but I could have sworn that the Copenhagen meeting was a flop and no ETS is in Australia. Why don't we bail out Greece as well -- This Ms.Ying-yen Wong woman giving away money we don't have needs to be sacked ASAP!

China 'should sprint to become the world's most powerful country'

March 2, 2010 by admin

(Telegraph.co.uk) China should build the world's strongest military and move swiftly to topple the United States as the global "champion", according to a senior Chinese army officer. The call for China to abandon modesty about its global goals and "sprint to become world number one" comes from a People's Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu. He also gives warning that his nation's ascent will alarm Washington, risking war, despite Beijing's hopes for a "peaceful rise". "China's big goal in the 21st century is to become world number one, the top power," Liu writes in his newly published Chinese-language book, "The China Dream". read more

We should be ok -- Comrade's Kevin Michael Rudd and Penelope Ying-yen Wong can speak very goodly un-Australian.

related: Penelope Ying-yen Wong called University mates "comrade"

Weedkiller atrazine castrates frogs - study

March 2, 2010 by admin

(Courier Mail) ONE of the most common weed killers in the world, atrazine, causes chemical castration in frogs and could be contributing to a worldwide decline in amphibian populations. Researchers compared 40 male control frogs with 40 male frogs reared from hatchlings until full sexual maturity, in atrazine concentrations similar to those experienced year-round in areas where the chemical is found. [..] "Atrazine exposure is highly correlated with low sperm count, poor semen quality and impaired fertility in humans,'' the study said. Atrazine is widely used by farmers around the world as a weed- and grass-killer, particularly in production of corn, sorghum and sugar cane. read more

related: "Why Atrazine Must Be Banned" in Australia

Passport scandal, UN vote not linked: PM

March 2, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia's failure to support Israel in a United Nations vote has nothing to do with recent tensions between the two countries. The federal government has demanded Israel explain its role in the alleged theft of three Australian citizens' identities by its spy agency, Mossad, to carry out a political assassination. At the UN General Assembly, Australia abstained from a resolution demanding Israel and investigate possible war crimes during the 2008-09 Gaza assault. Mr Rudd said Australia's failure to vote against the move was not a manifestation of recent tensions over the passport scandal. "The Australian government always reviews UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on their merits," he said. "This specific resolution does not explicitly endorse the so-called Goldstone report (accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes) and therefore we have taken our decision based on its merits." read more

Israel wants a UN investigation into December 2009 Gaza? Yeah right. If not for the passport matter, would Rudd have then voted for the UN looking into 2009 Gaza crimes? We think so! Arrhhh, the game they play called good cop, bad cop. 1,200+ Palestinians dead vs 13 Israeli dead (eye for an eye?), and all they can play is good cop, bad cop.

ASIO launches Facebook recruitment drive

March 2, 2010 by admin

(Courier Mail) AUSTRALIA'S top spy agency is targeting Facebook users in a new recruitment campaign.Some Facebook users with links to Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra have been seeing ASIO job advertisements in the past two weeks. ASIO's quietly launched online recruiting drive is part of a broader campaign the agency said was aimed at "both passive and active job-seekers". "We are seeking candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and social-networking sites provide access to a wide audience who may not otherwise consider ASIO as an employer," an ASIO spokeswoman said. read more

Good luck finding honest intelligence officers like former ONA Anderw Wilkie that stood up in 2003 and told PM Howard that there was no intelligence that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction". Over one million+ dead innocent people later in 2010. We don't recall seeing any ASIO then or now in 2010 standing up doing the same thing in the name of protecting the innocence. We remember and salute you Mr Wilkie!

related: Alarm rises on rapid push to build huge ASIO "KGB" headquarters

Garrett demotion impacts defence: ADA

March 2, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Former environment minister Peter Garrett's demotion has unfairly impacted on the defence portfolio, the Australia Defence Association (ADA) says. [..] Prime Minister Kevin Rudd handed responsibility for a new insulation scheme to Greg Combet, who is already the minister for defence personnel, materiel and science. [..] ADA executive director Neil James on Monday said ministerial attention rightly paid to defence had been cut in the interests of political expediency and the short-term electoral cycle."It appears that climate change matters are taking up about 80 per cent of (Mr Combet's) time," he said in a statement. read more

Migrants taking jobs from Aussies: MP

March 2, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Temporary skilled migrants make up less than one per cent of the total labour market but constituted about 30 per cent of employment growth in Australia during the previous financial year. [..] ..Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson said using 457 temporary migrant visa holders to fill labour shortages meant young Australians were missing out on employment. "This approach of saying: 'Let's not worry about training our own and bring in 457 visas' is very short-sighted," he told AAP. "We ought to be training our own geologists, metallurgists, mining engineers and the like." read more

related: TodayTonight "Reverse racism"

Housing affordability plunges

March 2, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Soaring house prices, rising interest rates and a winding back of the first homeowners grant all contributed to housing affordability taking a nose-dive at the end of 2009. The deterioration was widespread in all capital cities and regional areas, with the largest falls recorded in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, according to a Housing Industry Association (HIA)/Commonwealth Bank of Australia survey. read more

related: Hourly pay rates ex bonuses rose 0.6%