Latest Developments

Please see my Oesophageal Cancer Blog for the latest news on THAT subject

APEC and Water Cannon

I wonder if the NSW government will send itself an infringement notice for violating its own rules about the wasting of water for the time that it showed off it's new $600,000 waste of the taxpayer's money - it's armoured water cannon!

Not only do we n0w have another expensive toy on the block but with most of the State still drought declared it is amazing to me that no one has, as yet, objected to the purchase and deployment of this monstrosity as a complete waste of water resources.

If we are not allowed to hose our footpaths and our driveways then what gives the state government the right to hose people off the streets during a water crisis?

Sushi Anyone?

Washed up on the west coast of Tasmania was a 6 meter long squid that apparently eats a fish species called blue grenadier - according to the ABC

Interestingly there have been a lot of stories in the media recently about giant squid including one about the biggest one ever found 10 meters large! see:
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/03/21/1877520.htm

Then there is the story about the one they released to watch what it does - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/12/22/1817712.htm

Even more interestingly there are stories about whales being found with giant sucker marks on their bodies.

I wonder if the Japanese will go for the squid to make sushi in wholesale quantities and then try and tell us that this is their contribution to whale preservation?

Sorry - did not mean to give them ideas!

An indigenous point of view

The latest from the ABC

The Combined Aboriginal Organisations (CAO) of Alice Springs says most of central Australia's Indigenous people have no idea about what federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough is really proposing to tackle child abuse.

The CAO is a peak Aboriginal body representing organisations such as CAAMA Radio, the Central Land Council, and the Aboriginal Congress in Alice Springs.

The CAO's Graeme Smith says community confusion is rife as the federal Government seeks to clarify its position on health checks for children and other issues.

"He [Mr Brough] said on one hand he's going to ban porn, ban substance abuse, ban alcohol from communities for six months and then the next couple of days he turns around and says, hang on maybe wet canteens is the way to go," he said.

"I mean, this is just policy on the run."

It's more than policy on the run, it's two sets of "spokes people" playing games - one trying to get re-elected and another trying to get more money and resources!

Who is kidding who in this whole thing?