Hello to Aotearoa (New Zealand), the USofA, in Poland, and in Ukraine...welcome to the second birthday celebrations for The Mount Gambier Independent...(actually, it was yesterday, 21st January-Ed)...shhh, don't want people thinking I'm so disorganised that I'd miss my own birthday...and a bumper issue with much furious flailing at various topics, as is my wanton need on addiction teeters...that last bit's actually from poetry I wrote more than 20 years ago...
There seems to be very little 'mainstream' media coverage of the alleged ceasefire in Ukraine, but there have been several lengthy items on the broader front...I don't know why I feel some strange affinity with Ukraine, other than that there have been Ukrainians reading this 'ere blog pretty much from the start...my thoughts with you all, I can't say more than that because I don't know enough about the reality of what has happened historically, and I don't trust most of what I hear now media wise, on any topic...
Self-evident are the contradictions in 'official ceasefire' and what is actually happening, the daily killing of civilians and soldiers on 'both sides'...and even that just melds into the general appearance that certain deaths in certain places are considered worth less than others...nothing excuses what happened in Sydney recently, or the recent attacks in Paris or London, there ain't nuthin' about any of these that can be justified, but a whole village in Nigeria has been completely destroyed, and there are 10,000s of people missing, including the most infamous abduction of 300 girls from their school, and almost nothing...I know I've done this stuff before, but it continues to be what stands out at me from the maelstrom...daily bombings continue in Iraq, and even as I type, I'm trying to think of a specific recent attack and I can't drag it from the montage of misery in my head...
It just seems very trite to whinge bitterly about local albeit genuine issues like the swamp of debt that Mt Gambier City Council has planned for the City...(oh gourd, I heard this stuff this morning, go on-Ed)...former Councillor now Mayor Steve Perryman...(Stevo, maaate-Ed)...and also now Presiding Member/Chair/Whatevs of Council's Operational Services Committee, was on ABC Local Radio talking about how they're going to review their Strategic Plans and their Long Term Plans and there Budget Plans and then apparently somehow miraculously discover $10million for 'future projects' around Mt Gambier...including a covered Aquatic Centre...
(But haven't Council just ruled that out as not ever possible because any new pool wouldn't make a return and therefore cannot be justified, ie, it must be able to justify it's own existence with a viable Business Plan before it could happen?-Ed)...oh Ed, you are so last year...and the year before...and the year before that...in fact, that's what Council has been bleating for as long as I can remember, 'the pool must be able to financially justify itself to justify the initial cost'...(exactly like they didn't do with the Library or the Main Corner or the Old Hospital Demolition or the Rail Lands or pretty much anything else?-Ed)...yes, exactly like that...
I readily own indeed embrace my deep and abiding dislike for Mr Perryman as being a wholly corrupted individual who, along with numerous other local politicians, is specifically and personally responsible for the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up and a raft of rancidly rorted public projects/monies that have bankrupted Mt Gambier...I remember with great affection those hilarious 2013/14 Budget meetings back in May/June 2013 (previous posts), and li'l Stevie's farcical attempts to try and bully me and/or generate some sort of conflict/incident...(epic fails-Ed)...but I find nothing amusing about the man himself...
And re the 2013/14 Budget, Council self-approving and then borrowing $6million on the Ratepayer's credit card and then spending it all inside 12 months is not laudable fiscal probity, it's a farcical fiscal clusterf***...pardon my language...but I digress...
I choose to identify my animosity and resultant personal disposition only to highlight how irrelevant it is, for the language in Mr Perryman's well rehearsed jibberish is self-evident as carefully constructed reverse justifications for what Council plans to do...(and what's that?-Ed)...try to yet again extend their borrowing capacity and this time they're going for a grandslam $10million...(how do you know?-Ed)...I don't know, I'm just guesstimating that, based on previous behaviours, Council will argue that they have to borrow that money to get the grants, which are $ for $...the entire discussion/spiel was just the same template of alleged but actually manufactured urgent need to get on board with potential funding with the reverse justification that if we don't go for the government funding now, it'll be gone and we won't get another chance to apply and then it'll cost more in the future, etc, etc...
And key phrases like 'engaging with local community groups for ideas and opinions'...(yeah, I didn't hear that golden phrase 'Public Consultation' though-Ed)...no, neither did I, doesn't matter though because this is more about getting their mates in these groups to push the Council agenda, eg, the repeated bollocks from Council and The Border Watch that the Rotary Market was going to move to the ridiculous Rail Station Platform site...stallholders were never going anywhere and Council and TBW knew it but kept saying it...it appears that a couple of people in Rotary were making comments to support Council that were not officially sanctioned and/or the will of the large majority, to stay at Fletcher Jones...
I also note 1) recent Council-based claims that they'll just set-up another market on the Rail Platform extension thingy, 2) the double page feature this week in TBW with big photos of stallholders and how great it all is where they are now, etc, and 3) the two groups that have recently 'self-appointed' in Mt Gambier, one of which has Rory McEwen and Steve Perryman in it...(wow, corrupt much?-Ed)...indeed, and the other is directly linked to Council...I apologise to whoevs in these groups is actually genuine, but apart from that, they are farcical facades for institutionalised corruption and promoting Council's agendas...(what's the difference?-Ed)...again, indeed...
It Must Be My Birthday: because it was just now announced on ABC Radio that the South Australian ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) is 'investigating' the wholly criticised and in my humble opinion perfect example of the rank corruption that defines the SA Labor Party, the infamous $100million Gillman Land Sale (without any public tender, etc)...the ICAC Comm Bruce Lander has released a statement that this is not actually a corruption investigation, but looking for any evidence of maladministration...(then why is the ICAC doing it?-Ed)...well I guess that's what happens, and then when they (ICAC) do find corruption, then they investigate it...
Comm Lander states there is "no time frame", but this 'Inquiry' follows the Auditor General's report which says that the Labor Cabinet submission was "misleading", and Judicial criticism that this deal was "unlawful" and "irrational"...Liberal leader Stephen Marshall reckons he don't know if this ICAC thingy involves Premier Jay Weatherill, and then identified that he (Stevo) is 'restricted in saying things about ICAC stuff'...he described both this Inquiry and it's 'public launch' as being "extraordinary" (unprecedented relative to political decisions) and the first time ICAC used section 25, and there's currently also a Parliamentary Inquiry Chaired by Liberal Rob Lucas...apparently the Weatherill state government says that it welcomes the Inquiry...
(And the question being frequently asked is 'should the Ministers involved, Weatherill and Koutsontonis, should they stand aside if the ICAC discovers and then decides to pursue issues of corruption', and the answer is no they can't-Ed)...can't? don't you mean won't?...(no, no, can't...I'm no lawyer nor nuthin' but my limited understanding of ICAC stuff would seem to indicate that they couldn't stand aside because then it would indicate that they are under investigation, and ICAC legislation is awash with stuff about not talking about ICAC investigations-Ed)...interesting observation Ed...
Kudos Where Due: because this morning I absolutely have to suck down a big slab a' humble pie with a kudo chaser because the ABC Local Radio just ran a fantastic interview about/with Acoustician (Dr) Steven Cooper re his testing of Wind Turbine Emissions at Pacific Hydro's Turbine site at Bridgewater Bay near Portland...a big fat slice of humble pie never tasted so good...(you don't reckon this 'ere post may have affected the coverage side of this-Ed)...you're not the first person to ask that, but don't know, don't care in that context, what's important is that it's being discussed in such a thorough and balanced manner...
Sensational Stuff: because here is the first genuine attempt, in the world, and yes I do believe it's genuine as such, the first actual testing of the various noise/vibration emissions from Wind Turbines as I believe exist, having stood under and/or amongst Turbines at both Millicent (Lake Bonney, SA) and Cape Bridgewater near Portland in Victoria...on relatively calm days these Turbines were emitting all manner of whistles, grinds, whirrings, etc, and immediately obvious pressure changes and a range of 'pulse' sensations, and I've used the word 'sensations' quite deliberately, because that is one of the key reference terms in resident's diaries for the study...
As well as audible noise and other relative factors, this study has offered resident's the issue of 'sensation' as part of the study, and it has proven very informative...I'll cover this at length in the next few posts...but first, kudos again to the ABC, and particularly to Pacific Hydro for not just funding this study but supporting it in the ways that they have...gotta' admit I don't understand why, but cheers...
Float My Boat: was the message from the ASC (Australian Submarine Corp) to the Federal Liberal government's brand spanky new Defence Minister Kevin Andrews during his current first visit, particularly after it looked like the Libs were going to welch on their rolled gold 2013 pre-election promise to build Oz's next subs here at ASC (in Adelaide)...and Minister Andrews is going to do a live press conference and we're expecting a major announcement sometime very soon, so we'll be crossing there shortly, and, wait, I think we can go there now...
(In your best hushed reporter's voice)..."...and after that comment of course David Johnston was moved from Defense Minister, and we wait now as new Minister Andrews steps to the podium, everyone here at ASC hoping that he brings the love in the form of these lucrative contracts, and here is the Minister now..."...Good evening, am I happy to see you or did I just put a canoe in my pocket?-KA...and that's the end of that joke...
Tomorrow: More Turbines and All That Jazz Stuff Revisited
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Just for hilarity sake, please find attached some of the palaver that Council is spewing out to try and force this ludicrous Park and Stride program on people...excuse lay-out, that's a double-sided A4 pamphlet...the posters are in windows across town, these at The Centro/Central/Lakes/whatevs Plaza...Council should provide as many parks as possible as near to shops, etc, as possible, and then piss-off out of it and stop telling people what to do...(and stop burying carparks under ludicrous 'nodes' and 'platform extensions' in what appears to be a bloody-minded campaign to force people to walk-Ed)...absolutely...wall to wall bullshit...laters...
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