Hello Moldova, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom and welcome to Easter Monday...and also to the blog and another shortish holiday post...gotta say I thoroughly enjoyed my day off yesterday...did nothing much more than eat, sleep, and potter around the garden...even turned the ABC/BBC Radio off for a couple of hours...it was a bit unsettling in that I kept feeling there was something I had to do (this blog), but so much sleep, so nice...
Slept in, had a nap in the arvo once I'd decided to not do a post...snoozed off on the couch after a big dinner and some chocolate for afters...slept in another hour this morning...(luxury-Ed)...my point exactly, it is luxury...and I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't feel that just doing a blog is any sort of employment, or at least one that you don't get payed for doing...(like this blog?-Ed)...exactly like this one...but for me yesterday was exactly like a day off...
I cannot speak for other bloggers but I put a goodly slice of myself in every little serve of this here blog...been through all this before, but I do have days where 'posting' takes chunks and leaves scars and then other days where it almost seems not a complete waste of time...I'd be fully prepared to participate in a discussion about how I may possibly have transferred from my child who's now basically moved on, that sense of caring and responsibility of parenthood, transferred, to, well everything else...and always fueled by the sense of guilt and failure re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...
Let's get right down to brass tacks though because this particular post is about celebrating and acknowledging and rejoicing and remembering what it is that we all have that makes it worth getting out of bed...(albeit an hour late-Ed)...that, sir, was an official holiday sleep-in...I don't have much compared to some and so much compared to many others, and whilst my life may not exactly be where I'd planned, despite a perpetual semi-disaster, I've fallen on reasonable times.
And I'm not gloating or bragging or anything stupid like that when it comes to being on the Disability Support Pension and/or having my Housing Trust home, my little car, etc, it's all about being aware and acknowledging and where appropriate, gratitude...for example, how lucky am I that when my car roots up I've got family pushing a 'loan' on me for a new one?...and I gratefully took a small percentage of what was offered and got just what it was I needed, nothing more.
Then yesterday went to the shops in my little car and bought enough food to get me through a couple of days from the vast reservoir of fresh, preserved, tinned, local, imported food stuffs available in that cavernous warehouse of consumerables, then trundled home, spent several hours tidying-up round the backyard, did some laundry in my little washing machine and dried it in front of the heater, had chicken for lunch, played Xbox for 1/2 hour, had not one but 2 hot showers, threw the excess water on the garden...
Today washed the dog, before doing a slab of Roast Lamb and associated vegies with beautiful smells wafting through the house, whilst blogging, and all to the delicate sound of light rainfall with just a hint of gunfire over the back fence...(sorry, what?-Ed)...there's a couple of people just over at the Mt Gambier Gun Club blazing away madly...
(Just One Of Those Clays?-Ed):...yeah, just a casual bit-piece bangin' today...not the usual day long bangathon that occasionally falls on a public
holiday, just the odd random "pull" and Bang!, sometimes Bang!
Bang!...ah, gunfire in a vaguely appropriate context...not my idea of a quiet weekends entertainment but there you go...and I digress because I was just talking about all of the great things that I've been doing across my day off...and it was great...(great-Ed)...things to be celebrated I'm sure...
Fundraisers In Da' House: In a previous post I was somewhat sceptical if not actually critical of the 'Homelessness Fundraiser' recently held at the Barn Palais, and in the spirit of the season, I might possibly have been less than gushing about this particular event and I still have my reservations, but maybe it did achieve something along the lines of that which it claimed, namely, to raise money for services for 'the homeless'...more tomorrow...(trying to be nice 2 days in a row?...careful, you'll hurt something-Ed)...indeed.
Buckets Of Cash On Tap: And I can't mention the Barn Palais without being drawn to recent news that Regional Development Australia will only receive $3million funding from the Weatherill Labor government per annum, to be shared amongst it's 7 offices in SA...but that this is up $1.6m from the $1.4m currently available...and that this $3m is in part mimicking a Liberal promise (of I think $15m) from the March 2014 state election that has apparently been secured by the new Regional Minister Geoff Brock...(sure, but how does that relate to The Barn?-Ed)...
Well it wasn't that long ago that RDA Tourism officer Biddie Tietz (now Shearing) gave The Barn $140,000 for new taps as part of a multi-million dollar expansion, and whilst I think RDA funding was slightly larger at the time ($4.4m approx) that is still only $600k per annum per office across the state, which makes the huge tap amount a fair chunk of the RDAs yearly funding...anyhoos...
I must admit that it's difficult to keep up with what is really happening when it's reported in so many different ways, including from the man himself Independent Geoff Brock who was spruiking the new funding and jumped from the $3m per year to $15m and back again with quotes like;
"My agreement with the premier confirms the State Government's commitment to increasing
support for regional communities in South Australia, with an additional $39m package of
measures from a combination of new and existing funding." (The Border Watch Wednesday 16th April 2014)
(Additional $39m from existing funding?...isn't that therefore not 'additional' if it comes from 'existing'?-Ed)...yeah, a tad pedantic but it is a fair point...and in the same article back and forwards between a $15m a year RDA fund and the $3m a year...no wonder I get confused...there's also the promise of an one-off $10m "to support job creation" but no detail as to what those jobs might be...(oo, I've just thought of a number-Ed)...ah well then you can play too...
Enough for a holiday post today, moving on to;
Tomorrow: The Council Meeting 15th April 2014
Back to the grind tomorrow...as promised the stuff about the Council shenanigans again...hope you've enjoyed this brief 'holiday' reposte re these brief holiday posts.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...and I ain't no Messiah, but I've most assuredly had my fair share of being crucified...cheers and laters...
Monday, April 21, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Short Holiday Post Re Bus Shelter
Hello and welcome to a very short holiday post in this here blog...I have wanted to print the attached article from The Border Watch Friday 6th January 2011since I 're-discovered' it a few weeks ago...it is a long way from getting this sort of letter printed, let alone in the manner it was presented, to getting myself 'banned' from TBW.
When published, I nearly missed my own letter because it looks like an actual article, and said presentation contributes to the credibility of the letter, ie, it looks like it's meant to be part of the paper and that gives it more gravitas and believability, particularly the addition of the picture...and because I'm a stupid ol' hippy who doesn't bear grudges well, I use this perfect opportunity to state...
I may not have handled things quite perfectly when it comes to dealing with some people over some of the issues that I've covered in this blog...(and some stuff that'll never be in the blog-Ed)...indeed, all of all that stuff...it is conceivable that I may occasionally not have handled things as well as I might...it is just possible that I may plausibly have erred in my manner and/or conduct...(wow, way to almost take responsibility for one's own faults and failings-Ed)...thankyou...
In My Own Defense Again: I can only say again that 1) I'm trying, and 2) passion is not always beautiful...I'll continue to try and try to continue improving...what's already been said and/or written cannot easily be retracted and much of it I wouldn't wish to, but I do understand that sometimes I expect way too much and then sometimes out of naivety and sometimes out of hope...(and often hope and naivety are one and the same thing-Ed)...indeed Ed, indeed...
Forestry Losses: the numbers have been all over the place re the potential job losses planned for Forestry SA over the next 2 years...from 300 down to 150 to 100 then 70-80 and now according to The Border Watch Wednesday 16th April 2014 it's 150 statewide and approx 100 of those in the South East...even people like Brad Coates of the CFMEU (the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union)...(soon to be the CMEU apparently-Ed)...indeed...say they struggle to ascertain the exact employee numbers at Forestry SA, but the loss forecasts are fairly accurate.
Hang On A Minute: from Mt Gambier City Council's meeting May 17th 2011 and you'll find reference to a Mr Nick Fletcher standing up at the end, when Council kicks the 'public' out of it's meetings to conduct 'Super Secret Business', and Mr Fletcher apparently wasn't too impressed about a Councillor coming to his home with a threatening letter...(the deuce you say-Ed)...
Just Googled my own name the other day...(as one does-Ed)...and this came up on the menu...and I offer it as yet another example of 2 things...1) most obviously the practice of 'Excluding the Public' from public meetings to hide decisions made re the expenditure of ratepayers money, but also 2) that even though I was technically 'outta line' by standing up and speaking in the meeting, that's all that happened...I was being 'excluded' so I said my piece very briefly, handed over my correspondence, and went about my business...
And with Council possibly considering employing a person solely to manage social media, eg, Facebook, Twitter, as per some large Adelaide based Councils surely they could organise to pod-cast their meetings...nobody's allowed to say and/or do anything at meetings unless pre-organised and Council is always bangin' on about 'liaising with the citizenry' and 'Social Inclusion', etc, so here's a way to get Council's message right into people's homes, their phones, etc...
Anyhoos, if you've had a gutful of my Rail Lands lambasting and/or Lady Nelson Bus Shelter patter no need to read further,
Tomorrow: The Council Meeting As Promised
Hope your Easter Saturday is going (has gone) just swimmingly...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters
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When published, I nearly missed my own letter because it looks like an actual article, and said presentation contributes to the credibility of the letter, ie, it looks like it's meant to be part of the paper and that gives it more gravitas and believability, particularly the addition of the picture...and because I'm a stupid ol' hippy who doesn't bear grudges well, I use this perfect opportunity to state...
I may not have handled things quite perfectly when it comes to dealing with some people over some of the issues that I've covered in this blog...(and some stuff that'll never be in the blog-Ed)...indeed, all of all that stuff...it is conceivable that I may occasionally not have handled things as well as I might...it is just possible that I may plausibly have erred in my manner and/or conduct...(wow, way to almost take responsibility for one's own faults and failings-Ed)...thankyou...
In My Own Defense Again: I can only say again that 1) I'm trying, and 2) passion is not always beautiful...I'll continue to try and try to continue improving...what's already been said and/or written cannot easily be retracted and much of it I wouldn't wish to, but I do understand that sometimes I expect way too much and then sometimes out of naivety and sometimes out of hope...(and often hope and naivety are one and the same thing-Ed)...indeed Ed, indeed...
Forestry Losses: the numbers have been all over the place re the potential job losses planned for Forestry SA over the next 2 years...from 300 down to 150 to 100 then 70-80 and now according to The Border Watch Wednesday 16th April 2014 it's 150 statewide and approx 100 of those in the South East...even people like Brad Coates of the CFMEU (the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union)...(soon to be the CMEU apparently-Ed)...indeed...say they struggle to ascertain the exact employee numbers at Forestry SA, but the loss forecasts are fairly accurate.
Hang On A Minute: from Mt Gambier City Council's meeting May 17th 2011 and you'll find reference to a Mr Nick Fletcher standing up at the end, when Council kicks the 'public' out of it's meetings to conduct 'Super Secret Business', and Mr Fletcher apparently wasn't too impressed about a Councillor coming to his home with a threatening letter...(the deuce you say-Ed)...
Just Googled my own name the other day...(as one does-Ed)...and this came up on the menu...and I offer it as yet another example of 2 things...1) most obviously the practice of 'Excluding the Public' from public meetings to hide decisions made re the expenditure of ratepayers money, but also 2) that even though I was technically 'outta line' by standing up and speaking in the meeting, that's all that happened...I was being 'excluded' so I said my piece very briefly, handed over my correspondence, and went about my business...
And with Council possibly considering employing a person solely to manage social media, eg, Facebook, Twitter, as per some large Adelaide based Councils surely they could organise to pod-cast their meetings...nobody's allowed to say and/or do anything at meetings unless pre-organised and Council is always bangin' on about 'liaising with the citizenry' and 'Social Inclusion', etc, so here's a way to get Council's message right into people's homes, their phones, etc...
Anyhoos, if you've had a gutful of my Rail Lands lambasting and/or Lady Nelson Bus Shelter patter no need to read further,
Tomorrow: The Council Meeting As Promised
Hope your Easter Saturday is going (has gone) just swimmingly...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters
Friday, April 18, 2014
Have A Good Short Friday Post
Hello Bulgaria, France, Spain, and Aotearoa (New Zealand)...and welcome to the blog...and I've never really understood why the day that, according to legend, Jesus was crucified and died, why that day would be called 'Good'...but there you go...apparently it's something about the good things that we get because Jesus died, to rise again, etc...(so it's all about what's in it for us then?-Ed)...well not quite like that...I think it's more about the sacrifice that he allegedly made...
And I say 'alleged' because there are plenty of people who believe it's all piffle and/or montages of Ancient and/or Pagan tales and/or Festivals used to assimilate pagan tribes, etc, etc, eg, Christmas is on the Winter Solstice, Easter is the Anglo-Saxon festival around the end of Winter, something about the Dawn Goddess...and some who belief Jesus did exist but was just a bloke who was actually preaching a form of Buddhism that he learned during his Uni gap year in Asia Minor, Nepal, et al...(fascinating...get on with it-Ed).
(And don't you mean the sacrifice that his father allegedly made-Ed)...well no it was the Romans and/or other persons who were responsible for the physical act of torturing and crucifying Jesus...(yes, but his father allowed it to happen-Ed)...well yeah allegedly...(seems unlikely if you ask me-Ed)...but that's religion for ya', it doesn't necessarily make sense all the time...(ya' gotta' have faith, right-Ed)...
It seems trite to give it one paragraph but wrong to not mention it at all, the Indian Election could lose our entire electoral roll worth of votes and not even notice...800million registered voters...180m voters aged under 25...I understand that the Bharatiya Janata Party are considered front runners, with the recently successful Aam Aadmi continuing to do well with their 'Anti-Corruption' platform...however, the general observation is that regardless of which party wins, life for the vast majority of Indians will not change at all...
It seems equally trite to just mention the violent attacks by Muslim gangs right cross Nigeria, attacks that are becoming a daily occurrence with bombings, murders, and kidnappings...I really don't know what to say about this, yet more Sectarian based violence that in many respects defies basic societal norms...in this campaign children are deliberately being targetted, particularly with attacks on schools and the recent kidnapping of over 100 girls from a boarding school...sorry, moving on...
Feedback: following the recent short 'Comment' that was a question, I have really gone through that whole issue of 'why do I stay here?'...(but you already do that everyday anyway-Ed)...not everyday, just most days...(fair enough-Ed)...and a big part of it for me is that now Mt Gambier is my home, for what ever reason...(whether anyone likes it or not, yourself included-Ed)...exactly...my little house is my home...and after that comes being responsible and not turning away just because things get a little unpleasant...("a little unpleasant"?...whatta' ya' call that?...anti-hyperbole-Ed).
Sometimes one just has to accept that life isn't all beer and skittles and fully appreciate that whilst one may have undoubtedly had a wee bitta' shizzle goin' down in one's immediate vicinity, one still has the globally extraordinary level of comfort that one experiences compared to 95%+ of the planets population...one...I don't want that Flouride bullshit in my water but I still have technically potable water on tap, hot water only 5 seconds away, my little TV and Xbox, a cheapy laptop...(hey, who you callin' cheap?...come here when it suits you and start punchin' my buttons...takin' liberties...it's an outrage-CLT).
I've managed to 'borrow' the $1500 for my 'new' little car and that's a luxury many cannot afford...and I ain't sleepin' in it...I could go on about everything I do or don't have but the point is I'm genuinely grateful for what I have and that pushes me to try to improve things for people who can't necessarily do it for themselves...it's why I'm so rabid about all things public transport, because I consider it a basic public service...which segues nicely into the Old Rail Lands stuff.
Went past there yesterday and was greeted with yet another large hole but this time it's going to be filled with cement as part of a fake lake/pond/creek thingy with a drainage pond attachment...and I've had the same conversation with several people about the Old Station where they have commented that nothing seems to be getting done on the building itself...please review previous posts for the broader issues re the Rail Lands Retail Agenda, an agenda that finds the Old Station surplus to requirements...(well actually it's right in the road of the RLRA-Ed)...fair enough...
Furthermore, I have been wanting to get stuck into Mt Gambier City Council about the current closure of the Tourist Hut thingy at the Umpherston Cave site and of the Centenary Tower...it's a shocking look for Mt Gambier that two of our major 'touristy things' are shut...the Cave Hut thing is the first 'Tourism' spot that visitors on the road from Melbourne encounter, and the Tower is the premium viewing point for the entire area.
But I'm going to take this opportunity to segue into a big positive finish to this shortish holiday post, because the people who were until recently operating the Centenary Tower have stepped into the breach for the Easter break...(and good on them I say-Ed)...indeed, massive kudos to Bob and Vivian Peters for coming forward to go back up there and open the Tower for tourists...(well done thems peoples-Ed)...indeed...
Tomorrow: Just Another Post of Extraordinary Quality
(Copying something off Wikipedia then?-Ed)...probably...that or make some shizzle up...(how's about 'everybody's corrupt and it's not good enough'-Ed)...yeah, done that...('I'm not happy don't ya' know'?-Ed)...yeah, done that one too...anyhoos...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
And I say 'alleged' because there are plenty of people who believe it's all piffle and/or montages of Ancient and/or Pagan tales and/or Festivals used to assimilate pagan tribes, etc, etc, eg, Christmas is on the Winter Solstice, Easter is the Anglo-Saxon festival around the end of Winter, something about the Dawn Goddess...and some who belief Jesus did exist but was just a bloke who was actually preaching a form of Buddhism that he learned during his Uni gap year in Asia Minor, Nepal, et al...(fascinating...get on with it-Ed).
(And don't you mean the sacrifice that his father allegedly made-Ed)...well no it was the Romans and/or other persons who were responsible for the physical act of torturing and crucifying Jesus...(yes, but his father allowed it to happen-Ed)...well yeah allegedly...(seems unlikely if you ask me-Ed)...but that's religion for ya', it doesn't necessarily make sense all the time...(ya' gotta' have faith, right-Ed)...
It seems trite to give it one paragraph but wrong to not mention it at all, the Indian Election could lose our entire electoral roll worth of votes and not even notice...800million registered voters...180m voters aged under 25...I understand that the Bharatiya Janata Party are considered front runners, with the recently successful Aam Aadmi continuing to do well with their 'Anti-Corruption' platform...however, the general observation is that regardless of which party wins, life for the vast majority of Indians will not change at all...
It seems equally trite to just mention the violent attacks by Muslim gangs right cross Nigeria, attacks that are becoming a daily occurrence with bombings, murders, and kidnappings...I really don't know what to say about this, yet more Sectarian based violence that in many respects defies basic societal norms...in this campaign children are deliberately being targetted, particularly with attacks on schools and the recent kidnapping of over 100 girls from a boarding school...sorry, moving on...
Feedback: following the recent short 'Comment' that was a question, I have really gone through that whole issue of 'why do I stay here?'...(but you already do that everyday anyway-Ed)...not everyday, just most days...(fair enough-Ed)...and a big part of it for me is that now Mt Gambier is my home, for what ever reason...(whether anyone likes it or not, yourself included-Ed)...exactly...my little house is my home...and after that comes being responsible and not turning away just because things get a little unpleasant...("a little unpleasant"?...whatta' ya' call that?...anti-hyperbole-Ed).
Sometimes one just has to accept that life isn't all beer and skittles and fully appreciate that whilst one may have undoubtedly had a wee bitta' shizzle goin' down in one's immediate vicinity, one still has the globally extraordinary level of comfort that one experiences compared to 95%+ of the planets population...one...I don't want that Flouride bullshit in my water but I still have technically potable water on tap, hot water only 5 seconds away, my little TV and Xbox, a cheapy laptop...(hey, who you callin' cheap?...come here when it suits you and start punchin' my buttons...takin' liberties...it's an outrage-CLT).
I've managed to 'borrow' the $1500 for my 'new' little car and that's a luxury many cannot afford...and I ain't sleepin' in it...I could go on about everything I do or don't have but the point is I'm genuinely grateful for what I have and that pushes me to try to improve things for people who can't necessarily do it for themselves...it's why I'm so rabid about all things public transport, because I consider it a basic public service...which segues nicely into the Old Rail Lands stuff.
Went past there yesterday and was greeted with yet another large hole but this time it's going to be filled with cement as part of a fake lake/pond/creek thingy with a drainage pond attachment...and I've had the same conversation with several people about the Old Station where they have commented that nothing seems to be getting done on the building itself...please review previous posts for the broader issues re the Rail Lands Retail Agenda, an agenda that finds the Old Station surplus to requirements...(well actually it's right in the road of the RLRA-Ed)...fair enough...
Furthermore, I have been wanting to get stuck into Mt Gambier City Council about the current closure of the Tourist Hut thingy at the Umpherston Cave site and of the Centenary Tower...it's a shocking look for Mt Gambier that two of our major 'touristy things' are shut...the Cave Hut thing is the first 'Tourism' spot that visitors on the road from Melbourne encounter, and the Tower is the premium viewing point for the entire area.
But I'm going to take this opportunity to segue into a big positive finish to this shortish holiday post, because the people who were until recently operating the Centenary Tower have stepped into the breach for the Easter break...(and good on them I say-Ed)...indeed, massive kudos to Bob and Vivian Peters for coming forward to go back up there and open the Tower for tourists...(well done thems peoples-Ed)...indeed...
Tomorrow: Just Another Post of Extraordinary Quality
(Copying something off Wikipedia then?-Ed)...probably...that or make some shizzle up...(how's about 'everybody's corrupt and it's not good enough'-Ed)...yeah, done that...('I'm not happy don't ya' know'?-Ed)...yeah, done that one too...anyhoos...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Thursday, April 17, 2014
TFTITFC Part III - All Stuff About Stuff All
Hello USofA, China, Indonesia, and Chile and welcome to the blog...and if my Anglican Sunday schoolboy upbringing serves me, to Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good Friday...apparently derived from the Latin mandatum or 'commandment'...(isn't the Liberal Party always banging on about having a mandatum?-Ed)...indeed they are Ed, well a 'mandate' at least...and welcome to Easter which is of course yet another Pagan Festival assimilated by the early Christian Church.
Over the last couple of posts I've covered some of the Liberal Party shenanigans re the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption and Australian Water Holdings, and yesterday those shenanigans claimed the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell...(who's nickname used to be Furry O'Barrell, honest-Ed)...quite ironic given the AWH Hearing started with corruption in the NSW Labor Party, and more than one commentator has suggested that Mr O'Farrell was 'set-up' by his own side or at least elements within.
Ironic also that the NSW ICAC was established in 1989 by former Liberal Premier Nick Greiner who himself fell foul of it back in 1992...I agree with the sense of frustration that proven corruption such as Eddie Obeid's goes apparently unpunished whilst Mr O'Farrell goes down, but also with the observation that Mr O'Farrell's alleged forgetfulness is actually indicative of how unremarkable it is for this sort of 'exchange of gifts' to take place...(thank goodness you declared that booze you were given at Christmas-Ed)...hey yeah, so I did...
The general tenet of these posts is that when it comes to the collusion, corruption, and self-interest of politics there are no genuine party divides...and the Tony Abbott Liberal government have been crowing about their own infallibility and highlighting, constantly referencing the dishonesty of Labor, but 6 months in and there's Fiona Nash interfering in Health Dept business, Arthur Sinodinos's career going pear-shaped, Barry O'Farrell's spectacular disintegration, and Mr Abbott's own deceits re not touching the ABC or Pensions...(and Alexander Downer disappearing off to London-Ed)...indeed...
(And of course you're going to link that directly to the cross-party bipartisanship re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up-Ed)...and with St Martins, not just at a state level, it's a Federal cover-up involving Federal politicians...like AWH, the St Martins Issue has tentacles that reach out to contaminate all involved...and in Victoria there's plenty of people calling for their version of ICAC to get some actual powers...and that that isn't likely to happen because of the NSW experience, so Victorian politicians are hardly likely to empower an authority that might turn around and bite them.
What is there to say about the South Australian ICAC?...it is a Victorian clone, largely ornamental and wholly compromised...I re-offer as evidence the shenanigans from the ICAC re the Old Hospital Demolition, the $350,000 that former City Council CEO Greg Muller 'misappropriated' from the Main Corner Project, and/or the rank corruption of the entire Main Corner fiasco, culminating in a brand new commercial facility initially given gratis to Councillor Des Muttons' son....rank corruption, nepotism, insider trading...all right there large as life plain as day...and the ICAC says?...
(Nick Fletcher is a complainer and an allegor and everything he says is wrong, wrong, wrong-Ed)...ahh there you go putting their words in my blog, but exactly, I'm the problem, yet again, surprise surprise...'only problem to see here is that fat hippy'...and I know this local stuff is hardly corruption on the Eddie Obeid 'slip me a quick $100mill will ya' scale, but it's still gross malfeasance from public officials and should be dealt with in that context...
I'm not aware of any allegations re AWH, "corrupt" former Labor NSW Minister Eddie Obeid, etc, outside of the collusion, dodgy contracts, lobbying, and so on...none of it's particularly great, but which would you prefer?...politicians engaged in greed, graft, and grubbiness driven by a desire for personal financial gain, or what we have in South Australia which is a political system completely mired in pro-paedophile corruption.
And this stuff doesn't just happen in SA or the South East, but a charming detail from a local case that, well, I'll let you read it for yourselves (from The Border Watch Tuesday 15th April 2014);
"Bail refused over sexual exploitation -Police did not arrest a mother for more than two
years after seizing sexually explicit photos that allegedly depict her engaging in bestiality
and a "threesome type situation" with her four-year-old child.
Police seized the incriminating material in February 2012, but the mother and her partner
were not arrested until last Monday."
The closest thing to an explanation from SAPol for this 2 year delay is that they apparently didn't realise that there was a victim until their experts viewed the material, which then goes to detectives, who then arrested the couple...I'm a little lost with this one because it seems like SAPol just doesn't care, but maybe their processes are so ramshackle, haphazard and disorganised that it does take 2 years to do basic work...either way it's miles from acceptable.
How is it that a couple is 'not arrested' for Child Pornography offences nor have any action taken about the children in their care?...how can the official line be that police weren't aware there was a victim?...
"Had SAPol known there was (an alleged) victim...it might have been sped up." (SAPol-TBW)
I have met police who seem genuine and half reasonable, and on any given day I'm sure it can be a prick of a job, but this is just beyond belief, beyond the pale...I got nuthin'...
Now in the Sow East of Sow Straya we are about to lose another 50-100 full-time positions, this time from Forestry SA...and I could just spit when I hear that sanctimonious junket junkie Labor Forestry Minister Leon Bignell distancing himself from the multiple promises of job security re Forestry SA, as made by Premier Jay Weatherill and 'last weeks' Forestry Minister Jack 'The Rat' Snelling...'I've only been the Minister for 2 weeks and I didn't make those promises'...forget that.
You are the Labor Minister in the Labor government that sold the SE Forestry Estate, it's your problem champ, not ours...not our problem how long you've been there, your excuses are irrelevant...I remind availees that Mr Bignell was directly involved in the 'Fake Family First' T-shirts and How-to-vote cards fraud of the 2010 state election, an endeavour he was joined in by his wife who herself makes a fortune sub-contracting to WorkCover...(yay-Ed)...
Better News: there are some great stories that do come out of Adelaide and maybe I don't give enough time to them, but here's one...Adelaide University's Dr Brendan Coventry and his crew have developed a vaccine to treat Melanoma, arguably Australia's most common cancer...one patient had been operated on 24 times to remove returning tumours, but after repeated vaccine treatments, was still alive 14 years after a prognosis of 12 months to live...this vaccine given fortnightly, then monthly, then every 6 months has been proven to remove all tunours in approx 17% of patients...
This sort of story always puts me in the gratitudinal disposition, being as I am a person who survived Lymphoma largely due to the many clinicians, scientists, lab workers, etc, whom worked to develop the Chemo regime (CHOP) that saved my life and build the various 'scanners' I was shoved through, etc, all people I'll ne'er likely meet...and grateful to all the staff who operated and/or applied those technologies, people I met maybe once or twice but played a critical role in my survival...thankyou...
Let's Be Manure: is the SA Labor state government's typically dismissive and derogatory take on issues re the economy, industrial relations, and pretty much anything else they disagree with...(actually it's 'mature', they keep saying 'let's have a mature discussion'-Ed)...ah right, that makes slightly more sense...Premier Weatherill had a go at Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine re the Holden closure, Attorney General John Rau re the (now avoided) Bus strike set for next week, Tom Koutsontonis re Fracking and/or Nuclear Energy, and Leon Bignell re the Forestry debate.
It's an absolute crock, an absolutely derogatory dismissal of opposing or dissenting opinion designed to belittle the other party...if you don't agree with me then you're 'immature'...'manure' is however an appropriate descriptor for the state of the state's economy...(and we're all in it together-Ed)...thankyou Ed for wittily referencing the famous Mike Rann era Labor TV ad 'We're all in this together'...unless of course you live in Regional SA then "You're on your bloody own"...
Kudos to Liberal Member Troy Bell for his highly diplomatic approach on the ABC Local Radio this morning when he used the 'mature' line to praise Leon Bignell and the conduct of their various exchanges thus far re the Forestry SA job losses...I'd call him a lying bastard amongst lying bastards (Bignell not Bell)...I don't think that Mr Bell realised the context of that simple word 'mature', used so often by Labor to denigrate others, when he used it to praise them up...(an unintended classic-Ed)...well quite.
Excuse me but I've got a blinder so's I'm gonna finish up here;
Tomorrow: Council Meeting and Rail Lands Pondage
Dig a hole, fill it in, dig another hole, move that crap round in circles, bury it again, move the Rail Easement, dig another hole, it's only bloody money...and still not one word about the Old Rail Station itself.
I am Nick Fletcher and I put my name to everything I do, everything I say...and here t'is...cheers and laters.
Over the last couple of posts I've covered some of the Liberal Party shenanigans re the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption and Australian Water Holdings, and yesterday those shenanigans claimed the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell...(who's nickname used to be Furry O'Barrell, honest-Ed)...quite ironic given the AWH Hearing started with corruption in the NSW Labor Party, and more than one commentator has suggested that Mr O'Farrell was 'set-up' by his own side or at least elements within.
Ironic also that the NSW ICAC was established in 1989 by former Liberal Premier Nick Greiner who himself fell foul of it back in 1992...I agree with the sense of frustration that proven corruption such as Eddie Obeid's goes apparently unpunished whilst Mr O'Farrell goes down, but also with the observation that Mr O'Farrell's alleged forgetfulness is actually indicative of how unremarkable it is for this sort of 'exchange of gifts' to take place...(thank goodness you declared that booze you were given at Christmas-Ed)...hey yeah, so I did...
The general tenet of these posts is that when it comes to the collusion, corruption, and self-interest of politics there are no genuine party divides...and the Tony Abbott Liberal government have been crowing about their own infallibility and highlighting, constantly referencing the dishonesty of Labor, but 6 months in and there's Fiona Nash interfering in Health Dept business, Arthur Sinodinos's career going pear-shaped, Barry O'Farrell's spectacular disintegration, and Mr Abbott's own deceits re not touching the ABC or Pensions...(and Alexander Downer disappearing off to London-Ed)...indeed...
(And of course you're going to link that directly to the cross-party bipartisanship re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up-Ed)...and with St Martins, not just at a state level, it's a Federal cover-up involving Federal politicians...like AWH, the St Martins Issue has tentacles that reach out to contaminate all involved...and in Victoria there's plenty of people calling for their version of ICAC to get some actual powers...and that that isn't likely to happen because of the NSW experience, so Victorian politicians are hardly likely to empower an authority that might turn around and bite them.
What is there to say about the South Australian ICAC?...it is a Victorian clone, largely ornamental and wholly compromised...I re-offer as evidence the shenanigans from the ICAC re the Old Hospital Demolition, the $350,000 that former City Council CEO Greg Muller 'misappropriated' from the Main Corner Project, and/or the rank corruption of the entire Main Corner fiasco, culminating in a brand new commercial facility initially given gratis to Councillor Des Muttons' son....rank corruption, nepotism, insider trading...all right there large as life plain as day...and the ICAC says?...
(Nick Fletcher is a complainer and an allegor and everything he says is wrong, wrong, wrong-Ed)...ahh there you go putting their words in my blog, but exactly, I'm the problem, yet again, surprise surprise...'only problem to see here is that fat hippy'...and I know this local stuff is hardly corruption on the Eddie Obeid 'slip me a quick $100mill will ya' scale, but it's still gross malfeasance from public officials and should be dealt with in that context...
I'm not aware of any allegations re AWH, "corrupt" former Labor NSW Minister Eddie Obeid, etc, outside of the collusion, dodgy contracts, lobbying, and so on...none of it's particularly great, but which would you prefer?...politicians engaged in greed, graft, and grubbiness driven by a desire for personal financial gain, or what we have in South Australia which is a political system completely mired in pro-paedophile corruption.
And this stuff doesn't just happen in SA or the South East, but a charming detail from a local case that, well, I'll let you read it for yourselves (from The Border Watch Tuesday 15th April 2014);
"Bail refused over sexual exploitation -Police did not arrest a mother for more than two
years after seizing sexually explicit photos that allegedly depict her engaging in bestiality
and a "threesome type situation" with her four-year-old child.
Police seized the incriminating material in February 2012, but the mother and her partner
were not arrested until last Monday."
The closest thing to an explanation from SAPol for this 2 year delay is that they apparently didn't realise that there was a victim until their experts viewed the material, which then goes to detectives, who then arrested the couple...I'm a little lost with this one because it seems like SAPol just doesn't care, but maybe their processes are so ramshackle, haphazard and disorganised that it does take 2 years to do basic work...either way it's miles from acceptable.
How is it that a couple is 'not arrested' for Child Pornography offences nor have any action taken about the children in their care?...how can the official line be that police weren't aware there was a victim?...
"Had SAPol known there was (an alleged) victim...it might have been sped up." (SAPol-TBW)
I have met police who seem genuine and half reasonable, and on any given day I'm sure it can be a prick of a job, but this is just beyond belief, beyond the pale...I got nuthin'...
Now in the Sow East of Sow Straya we are about to lose another 50-100 full-time positions, this time from Forestry SA...and I could just spit when I hear that sanctimonious junket junkie Labor Forestry Minister Leon Bignell distancing himself from the multiple promises of job security re Forestry SA, as made by Premier Jay Weatherill and 'last weeks' Forestry Minister Jack 'The Rat' Snelling...'I've only been the Minister for 2 weeks and I didn't make those promises'...forget that.
You are the Labor Minister in the Labor government that sold the SE Forestry Estate, it's your problem champ, not ours...not our problem how long you've been there, your excuses are irrelevant...I remind availees that Mr Bignell was directly involved in the 'Fake Family First' T-shirts and How-to-vote cards fraud of the 2010 state election, an endeavour he was joined in by his wife who herself makes a fortune sub-contracting to WorkCover...(yay-Ed)...
Better News: there are some great stories that do come out of Adelaide and maybe I don't give enough time to them, but here's one...Adelaide University's Dr Brendan Coventry and his crew have developed a vaccine to treat Melanoma, arguably Australia's most common cancer...one patient had been operated on 24 times to remove returning tumours, but after repeated vaccine treatments, was still alive 14 years after a prognosis of 12 months to live...this vaccine given fortnightly, then monthly, then every 6 months has been proven to remove all tunours in approx 17% of patients...
This sort of story always puts me in the gratitudinal disposition, being as I am a person who survived Lymphoma largely due to the many clinicians, scientists, lab workers, etc, whom worked to develop the Chemo regime (CHOP) that saved my life and build the various 'scanners' I was shoved through, etc, all people I'll ne'er likely meet...and grateful to all the staff who operated and/or applied those technologies, people I met maybe once or twice but played a critical role in my survival...thankyou...
Let's Be Manure: is the SA Labor state government's typically dismissive and derogatory take on issues re the economy, industrial relations, and pretty much anything else they disagree with...(actually it's 'mature', they keep saying 'let's have a mature discussion'-Ed)...ah right, that makes slightly more sense...Premier Weatherill had a go at Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine re the Holden closure, Attorney General John Rau re the (now avoided) Bus strike set for next week, Tom Koutsontonis re Fracking and/or Nuclear Energy, and Leon Bignell re the Forestry debate.
It's an absolute crock, an absolutely derogatory dismissal of opposing or dissenting opinion designed to belittle the other party...if you don't agree with me then you're 'immature'...'manure' is however an appropriate descriptor for the state of the state's economy...(and we're all in it together-Ed)...thankyou Ed for wittily referencing the famous Mike Rann era Labor TV ad 'We're all in this together'...unless of course you live in Regional SA then "You're on your bloody own"...
Kudos to Liberal Member Troy Bell for his highly diplomatic approach on the ABC Local Radio this morning when he used the 'mature' line to praise Leon Bignell and the conduct of their various exchanges thus far re the Forestry SA job losses...I'd call him a lying bastard amongst lying bastards (Bignell not Bell)...I don't think that Mr Bell realised the context of that simple word 'mature', used so often by Labor to denigrate others, when he used it to praise them up...(an unintended classic-Ed)...well quite.
Excuse me but I've got a blinder so's I'm gonna finish up here;
Tomorrow: Council Meeting and Rail Lands Pondage
Dig a hole, fill it in, dig another hole, move that crap round in circles, bury it again, move the Rail Easement, dig another hole, it's only bloody money...and still not one word about the Old Rail Station itself.
I am Nick Fletcher and I put my name to everything I do, everything I say...and here t'is...cheers and laters.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
TFTITFC Part II
Hello Brazil, Spain, Ukraine and Canada, and welcome to the blog...and it's going right orf in the New South Wales parliament with the sudden resignation of Liberal Premier Barry O'Farrell re accepting a bottle of Grange Hermitage and then telling the Independent Commission Against Corruption he knew absolutely nuthin' about it...more later...
Feedback: on motivations...and because it's come up more than once, I'll directly address the most recent 'Comment' on the blog, 'Why do you stay?' which I believe may have continued by inference to say 'given that you've allegedly had such a rough and unpleasant time of it in Mt Gambier and don't mind having a good whinge about it all the time' (my words)...and that's fair enough...doesn't matter if the 'Commentor' is genuinely concerned for me and my well-being or suggesting that I should just piss off out of it.
It's really fairly straight forward...in 1997/98 I moved to Mt Gambier to be a father to my child and was wholly committed to that...then some unpleasant stuff happened, eg, unemployment, etc, and particularly the St Martins issue where I had my eyes opened to a whole raft of realities I'd quite frankly rather not know about...and unlike a number of other parents, I've been singularly unable to relinquish responsibility for what I know has happened, the abuse of a class of 7 year old kids...abuse that has been covered up by the Lutherans, the police, the Labor and Liberal Parties, etc, etc...and all the implications that entails.
And everyday I deal with my personal failure to resolve this horrendous situation...I don't see where moving away from Mt Gambier will do anything other than make me feel worse for turning my back on what I know to have happened...I know this situation exists for some other parents as well...how does one see the reality of the total pro-paedophile corruption of the South Australian bureaucracy and then just turn away?
I do feel that I have at least tried to explain all of that in trying to find a balance between the trauma and the many positives in my life, eg, how fortunate I am to have this Housing Trust place...why would I give up this amazing place and move to where?...I've been incredibly lucky with the Dental Care stuff but it just highlights how others are suffering...if I could walk away from the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse issue, don't you think I shreckin' would...ain't gonna happen...
This blog is largely about what's happening for me in my life and I have clearly identified how fortunate I feel that, given all the trauma, particularly with St Martins, that I still have the standard of living that I do...corrupt politicians and all the rest of it is not my doing, it's just there...I offer as example the ICAC dealings here with the Mt Gambier City Council; not my complaints or allegations but reports about actual events, all completely dismissed.
And it remains that this is where my child is based if currently off at Uni, so if I want to see them then here is where I need to be based...and the fact they still have anything to do with me at all is indeed something to be celebrated...so here I stay...and here in the blog is why...I've got some stuff to do that clearly needs to be done...oh, and the fishing's not bad either...and the beaches are fantastic...
You Snooze On Booze News You Lose: because not a word of a lie, in yesterday's post I started into a paragraph about how dodgy Premier Barry O'Farrell's '1959 Grange' evidence was, but I scrubbed it...damn...obviously had no idea that he would resign today of course, that's just bizarre...and I did also crack wise about 'washing my paint brushes in it' and then today heard a 'wine expert' state his disdain for the 59 as a very "dusty" wine reminiscent of wet bison and burnt Shag feathers...(I added the bison bit)...
Forestry Jobs: in previous posts I've tried to cover the many issues re the sale of South East Forestry Estate and how when the Rann/Weatherill Labor government flogged off the SEFE they repeatedly and specifically stated that all jobs at Forestry SA would be protected by the very strict restrictions placed on 141 Plantations...now it's alleged that roughly half of the staff of Forestry SA, nearly 100 jobs, will be gone within 2 years and that we are subsiding 141 who get more from Forestry SA than they pay for.
More allegations that FSA has known for months and questions about does Independent Geoff Brock know and if so when?...these job losses directly affect Forestry SA plantations in his electorate of Frome where 90% of the Wirrabra Forest was lost in the recent fires...and apparently that used to be self insured for $20m but then Labor took that and gave it to Treasury so there may well be no money to replant at Wirrabra.
The allegation is that Labor suppressed this disclosure by Forestry SA to skulk past the March 15 2014 state Election...just finished listening to long interviews with Forestry expert Gerry Leech again repeatedly calling for a Royal Commission into the Sale, and this weeks Forestry Minister Leon Bignell saying I've only been Minister for a week and we'll check our contracts and make sure we only do exactly what we have to...my head hurts...so much so very conflicting information.
Also this morning, another long interview with City Council's Daryl Sexton about the large drainage basin and artificial lake to be constructed on the Old Rail Lands...(under construction-Ed)...to all be finished in 18 months...and claims that Council has matched $for$ the government funding of 2 payments of $1million, bringing the total expenditure to approx $4.3m...and more discussion about 'platforms and balustrades' but not a mention of the Old Rail Station...please review previous posts.
Word In The Street: is that the Penola Rd bike lanes were worked on overnight across at least one weekend, apparently lit up like a bay of beacons it was, and there were issues of 'revellers' heading for Macca's...(ah, a drunken Macca's snack attack run, happy days-Ed)...yes anyway, in the wee small hours people were going to McDonalds allegedly via the still wet cement which subsequently had to be re-done in places...didn't see it myself, but it is alleged that there were some interesting words and/or images carved into the street.
I had my first drive through there yesterday in my little car, and the bike lanes and central painted median strip were installed as presented and as described in this blog...hope to be wrong, but it looks like a pedestrian accident is inevitable because when cars are parked there, one is forced to drive out wide on the median strip.
And in closing, I love this increasing trend of 'self-obsessed meets desperate for a story' reportage of the "media circus" following the British Royal family visit...(I know, as if there weren't enough things going on in the world that we need media stories about the media doing stories about whatevs-Ed)...
Tomorrow: TFTITFC Part III
Given that I strayed off topic today with all my self-justificationings...and just a quick observation about the differences between what the ICAC achieves in NSW compared to here in SA...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Feedback: on motivations...and because it's come up more than once, I'll directly address the most recent 'Comment' on the blog, 'Why do you stay?' which I believe may have continued by inference to say 'given that you've allegedly had such a rough and unpleasant time of it in Mt Gambier and don't mind having a good whinge about it all the time' (my words)...and that's fair enough...doesn't matter if the 'Commentor' is genuinely concerned for me and my well-being or suggesting that I should just piss off out of it.
It's really fairly straight forward...in 1997/98 I moved to Mt Gambier to be a father to my child and was wholly committed to that...then some unpleasant stuff happened, eg, unemployment, etc, and particularly the St Martins issue where I had my eyes opened to a whole raft of realities I'd quite frankly rather not know about...and unlike a number of other parents, I've been singularly unable to relinquish responsibility for what I know has happened, the abuse of a class of 7 year old kids...abuse that has been covered up by the Lutherans, the police, the Labor and Liberal Parties, etc, etc...and all the implications that entails.
And everyday I deal with my personal failure to resolve this horrendous situation...I don't see where moving away from Mt Gambier will do anything other than make me feel worse for turning my back on what I know to have happened...I know this situation exists for some other parents as well...how does one see the reality of the total pro-paedophile corruption of the South Australian bureaucracy and then just turn away?
I do feel that I have at least tried to explain all of that in trying to find a balance between the trauma and the many positives in my life, eg, how fortunate I am to have this Housing Trust place...why would I give up this amazing place and move to where?...I've been incredibly lucky with the Dental Care stuff but it just highlights how others are suffering...if I could walk away from the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse issue, don't you think I shreckin' would...ain't gonna happen...
This blog is largely about what's happening for me in my life and I have clearly identified how fortunate I feel that, given all the trauma, particularly with St Martins, that I still have the standard of living that I do...corrupt politicians and all the rest of it is not my doing, it's just there...I offer as example the ICAC dealings here with the Mt Gambier City Council; not my complaints or allegations but reports about actual events, all completely dismissed.
And it remains that this is where my child is based if currently off at Uni, so if I want to see them then here is where I need to be based...and the fact they still have anything to do with me at all is indeed something to be celebrated...so here I stay...and here in the blog is why...I've got some stuff to do that clearly needs to be done...oh, and the fishing's not bad either...and the beaches are fantastic...
You Snooze On Booze News You Lose: because not a word of a lie, in yesterday's post I started into a paragraph about how dodgy Premier Barry O'Farrell's '1959 Grange' evidence was, but I scrubbed it...damn...obviously had no idea that he would resign today of course, that's just bizarre...and I did also crack wise about 'washing my paint brushes in it' and then today heard a 'wine expert' state his disdain for the 59 as a very "dusty" wine reminiscent of wet bison and burnt Shag feathers...(I added the bison bit)...
Forestry Jobs: in previous posts I've tried to cover the many issues re the sale of South East Forestry Estate and how when the Rann/Weatherill Labor government flogged off the SEFE they repeatedly and specifically stated that all jobs at Forestry SA would be protected by the very strict restrictions placed on 141 Plantations...now it's alleged that roughly half of the staff of Forestry SA, nearly 100 jobs, will be gone within 2 years and that we are subsiding 141 who get more from Forestry SA than they pay for.
More allegations that FSA has known for months and questions about does Independent Geoff Brock know and if so when?...these job losses directly affect Forestry SA plantations in his electorate of Frome where 90% of the Wirrabra Forest was lost in the recent fires...and apparently that used to be self insured for $20m but then Labor took that and gave it to Treasury so there may well be no money to replant at Wirrabra.
The allegation is that Labor suppressed this disclosure by Forestry SA to skulk past the March 15 2014 state Election...just finished listening to long interviews with Forestry expert Gerry Leech again repeatedly calling for a Royal Commission into the Sale, and this weeks Forestry Minister Leon Bignell saying I've only been Minister for a week and we'll check our contracts and make sure we only do exactly what we have to...my head hurts...so much so very conflicting information.
Also this morning, another long interview with City Council's Daryl Sexton about the large drainage basin and artificial lake to be constructed on the Old Rail Lands...(under construction-Ed)...to all be finished in 18 months...and claims that Council has matched $for$ the government funding of 2 payments of $1million, bringing the total expenditure to approx $4.3m...and more discussion about 'platforms and balustrades' but not a mention of the Old Rail Station...please review previous posts.
Word In The Street: is that the Penola Rd bike lanes were worked on overnight across at least one weekend, apparently lit up like a bay of beacons it was, and there were issues of 'revellers' heading for Macca's...(ah, a drunken Macca's snack attack run, happy days-Ed)...yes anyway, in the wee small hours people were going to McDonalds allegedly via the still wet cement which subsequently had to be re-done in places...didn't see it myself, but it is alleged that there were some interesting words and/or images carved into the street.
I had my first drive through there yesterday in my little car, and the bike lanes and central painted median strip were installed as presented and as described in this blog...hope to be wrong, but it looks like a pedestrian accident is inevitable because when cars are parked there, one is forced to drive out wide on the median strip.
And in closing, I love this increasing trend of 'self-obsessed meets desperate for a story' reportage of the "media circus" following the British Royal family visit...(I know, as if there weren't enough things going on in the world that we need media stories about the media doing stories about whatevs-Ed)...
Tomorrow: TFTITFC Part III
Given that I strayed off topic today with all my self-justificationings...and just a quick observation about the differences between what the ICAC achieves in NSW compared to here in SA...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The Fracking Truth Is The First Casualty
Hello and welcome to the blog...and after a week where the usually damper and cooler Mt Gambier has been one of the driest parts of the state, even the country, eg, it was 22C and fine here but was raining at Alice Springs, Ularu (Ayers Rock), etc...this is not particularly unusual because moisture from tropical weather systems across Northern Australia tends to push down into northern South Australia...but I digress..
Feedback: I enjoy going back through occasional posts because quite frankly I don't remember fair chunks of it...not withdrawing anything,, I remember the general stuff of course, but it comes and it goes and fortunately it's not just me...I've heard various discussions about how people who do daily programs in whatever media forum, can begin to 'scan think' (I don't know the correct term) and it is very prevalent with the instant media overload generation where people are not retaining information because they are trying to constantly take in new info, and/or are relying on 'Google search' to remember for them.
Yes, on occasion I am embarassed about the language in my own posts and that language still happens occasionally...but I'm tryin', still always tryin', and it would be fair...(ly obvious-Ed)...to suggest that the blog is a barometer of my mood...but the fundamental reason I continue to hang myself out like laundry for public scrutiny, is that I...(and other parents-Ed)...and yes, some other parents, but me most particularly and specifically...(fair enough-Ed)...because we have been presented as the problem when it comes to the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...
When is a lie not a lie?...apparently when it's a 'debatable truth', which is Liberal code for what Tony Abbott unequivocally promised the day before the September 2013 Federal election but now chooses to ignore, and the 2 most obvious examples of the 'debatable truth' are the 2013 promises to not touch the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Old Age Pension...but first...
If Forgetting Was A Sin: it could be known as the Sin of Dinos...(ah, the Sin of Dinos-Ed)...yes, the extraordinary testimony of Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos in the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing about Australian Water Holdings, Labor Minister Eddie Obeid and family, etc, etc...it takes a bit to get me scoffing with disbelief these days but Mr Sinodinos had me there in moments...now many will have already heard this...(it's old news mate-Ed)...indeed, but for those who haven't, I swear that I haven't made this up...it just gets funnier and funnier every time I hear it...Interweb Search it...the details are excruciating.
Mr Sinodinos. a senior Liberal powerbroker, was starting in 2008 a Director and then Chairperson of AWH receiving $200,000 per annum for approx 40hrs work pa...(good work if you can get it-Ed)...and was concurrently the Treasurer then President of the NSW Liberal Party, but claimed in the ICAC to have been entirely unawares of the near on $80,000* that AWH donated to the Liberals in that period...(so on the Board of the donator, senior office holder with the receiver, and he has no recollection?-Ed)...no he said he never knew in the first instance, not that he'd forgotten...(fair enough-Ed)...no, it was everything else he couldn't recall...(ah-Ed)... (*I've seen this reported as $190K but $80k features elsewhere more often).
Mr Sinodinos contradicted various high ranking witnesses who made claims of warning him about 'worrisome issues' with the management of AWH, and in other instances said he couldn't recall these critical conversations, etc...it's not entirely unbelievable that he might forget some things, but it's the broad nature of the various denials/disclaimers coupled with Mr Sinodinos's reputation as the go-to man who always knew what was where with whom and when, eg, as Chief of Staff for former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard.
It's a complete shmozzle, an intricate web of pay-offs, kick-backs, and consultancies, and it has led Mr Sinodinos to stand down as Assistant Treasurer but not actually resign...(and apparently he's up again when ICAC looks at former NSW Minister Hartcher in the near future-Ed)...super...and today current NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell was a guest of the ICAC re a bottle of Grange Hermitage...(I wash my paint brushes in it don't you know-Ed)...that he was allegedly given re AWH...but he can't remember anything about a "59 Grange"...and he kept saying '59 Grange' and 'that vintage' and all about moving house, etc...it was very odd...
Specific to the title was the Fracking Information session conducted by the South East Local Government Assoc at Penola last night which I couldn't attend, no car, but there was bits of it on the ABC Local Radio this morning...and yes thankyou, I know how I bang on about the bloody ABC, blah, blah, blah but particularly in Regional areas they play an undeniably vital role...(I wasn't gunna say nuthin'-Ed)...I also maintain that that is a great responsibility to be exercised with extreme diligence.
And I absolutely agree with Anne Daw's comments that short term financial gain does not out-way long term consequences, that we must look to the future...she described salt water replacing ground water at some sites near the ocean where water was extracted for drilling, etc...there was a lot of detail about the 'naturally present' contaminants mobilised by Fracking, eg, benzene, methane, uranium, etc,
Neil Gibbens (?) of Beach Energy...(boooo-Ed)...steady on...stated that they were well away from surface Aquifers and didn't use much water (1 megalitre per well?) and using lined evaporation pits and it's all covered by strict government regulations...and something about hoping to drill a deeper water well to find a deeper aquifer that will help use less 'surface aquifer' on the project...
And again with the justification that there's an opportunity to supply NSW and international markets and that it's no different to conventional gas extraction, nothing new...and that the Penola 'Fracking' is not CSG extraction which is much shallower, etc, etc...sorry but it went on a bit and it's all the same ol' ground...I make no apologies for what I believe to be the truth re the Penola Fracking project...it is happening and it is happening right now and it's going to be a massive disaster in the South East Aquifers, plural.
Also locally, Liberal Member Troy Bell will be meeting (have met by now) with Tourism Minister Leon Bignell at some stage today about tapping into the millions of tourist dollars coming down the Great Ocean Rd but not as far as Mt Gambier, and some lights at Penola Rd/Wireless Rd, and probably some other stuff...so good luck with that...
Some very quick bits from previous posts...South East couple charged with persistent exploitation produce child pornography, beastiality (and incest?) have been denied bail...Oceanlinx reckon it'll be another year before their Wave Energy unit is moved from the shallows off Carrickalinga Beach...and Energy Australia have pulled their Wind Turbine (29 turbines) plans for near Robertstown, with Mary Morris stating it was clearly the wrong site, way too near Waterloo...result...
Sorry, but I'm going to grind to a halt here because it's real late, went to Council meeting, etc...and yes that means I have a very cheap car again...(yay-Ed)...yay...
Tomorrow: The Council stuff and and more Federal Politics
More about the Tony Abbottathon that we've all been subjected to of late.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my very tired blog...cheers and laters...
Feedback: I enjoy going back through occasional posts because quite frankly I don't remember fair chunks of it...not withdrawing anything,, I remember the general stuff of course, but it comes and it goes and fortunately it's not just me...I've heard various discussions about how people who do daily programs in whatever media forum, can begin to 'scan think' (I don't know the correct term) and it is very prevalent with the instant media overload generation where people are not retaining information because they are trying to constantly take in new info, and/or are relying on 'Google search' to remember for them.
Yes, on occasion I am embarassed about the language in my own posts and that language still happens occasionally...but I'm tryin', still always tryin', and it would be fair...(ly obvious-Ed)...to suggest that the blog is a barometer of my mood...but the fundamental reason I continue to hang myself out like laundry for public scrutiny, is that I...(and other parents-Ed)...and yes, some other parents, but me most particularly and specifically...(fair enough-Ed)...because we have been presented as the problem when it comes to the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...
When is a lie not a lie?...apparently when it's a 'debatable truth', which is Liberal code for what Tony Abbott unequivocally promised the day before the September 2013 Federal election but now chooses to ignore, and the 2 most obvious examples of the 'debatable truth' are the 2013 promises to not touch the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Old Age Pension...but first...
If Forgetting Was A Sin: it could be known as the Sin of Dinos...(ah, the Sin of Dinos-Ed)...yes, the extraordinary testimony of Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos in the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing about Australian Water Holdings, Labor Minister Eddie Obeid and family, etc, etc...it takes a bit to get me scoffing with disbelief these days but Mr Sinodinos had me there in moments...now many will have already heard this...(it's old news mate-Ed)...indeed, but for those who haven't, I swear that I haven't made this up...it just gets funnier and funnier every time I hear it...Interweb Search it...the details are excruciating.
Mr Sinodinos. a senior Liberal powerbroker, was starting in 2008 a Director and then Chairperson of AWH receiving $200,000 per annum for approx 40hrs work pa...(good work if you can get it-Ed)...and was concurrently the Treasurer then President of the NSW Liberal Party, but claimed in the ICAC to have been entirely unawares of the near on $80,000* that AWH donated to the Liberals in that period...(so on the Board of the donator, senior office holder with the receiver, and he has no recollection?-Ed)...no he said he never knew in the first instance, not that he'd forgotten...(fair enough-Ed)...no, it was everything else he couldn't recall...(ah-Ed)... (*I've seen this reported as $190K but $80k features elsewhere more often).
Mr Sinodinos contradicted various high ranking witnesses who made claims of warning him about 'worrisome issues' with the management of AWH, and in other instances said he couldn't recall these critical conversations, etc...it's not entirely unbelievable that he might forget some things, but it's the broad nature of the various denials/disclaimers coupled with Mr Sinodinos's reputation as the go-to man who always knew what was where with whom and when, eg, as Chief of Staff for former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard.
It's a complete shmozzle, an intricate web of pay-offs, kick-backs, and consultancies, and it has led Mr Sinodinos to stand down as Assistant Treasurer but not actually resign...(and apparently he's up again when ICAC looks at former NSW Minister Hartcher in the near future-Ed)...super...and today current NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell was a guest of the ICAC re a bottle of Grange Hermitage...(I wash my paint brushes in it don't you know-Ed)...that he was allegedly given re AWH...but he can't remember anything about a "59 Grange"...and he kept saying '59 Grange' and 'that vintage' and all about moving house, etc...it was very odd...
Specific to the title was the Fracking Information session conducted by the South East Local Government Assoc at Penola last night which I couldn't attend, no car, but there was bits of it on the ABC Local Radio this morning...and yes thankyou, I know how I bang on about the bloody ABC, blah, blah, blah but particularly in Regional areas they play an undeniably vital role...(I wasn't gunna say nuthin'-Ed)...I also maintain that that is a great responsibility to be exercised with extreme diligence.
And I absolutely agree with Anne Daw's comments that short term financial gain does not out-way long term consequences, that we must look to the future...she described salt water replacing ground water at some sites near the ocean where water was extracted for drilling, etc...there was a lot of detail about the 'naturally present' contaminants mobilised by Fracking, eg, benzene, methane, uranium, etc,
Neil Gibbens (?) of Beach Energy...(boooo-Ed)...steady on...stated that they were well away from surface Aquifers and didn't use much water (1 megalitre per well?) and using lined evaporation pits and it's all covered by strict government regulations...and something about hoping to drill a deeper water well to find a deeper aquifer that will help use less 'surface aquifer' on the project...
And again with the justification that there's an opportunity to supply NSW and international markets and that it's no different to conventional gas extraction, nothing new...and that the Penola 'Fracking' is not CSG extraction which is much shallower, etc, etc...sorry but it went on a bit and it's all the same ol' ground...I make no apologies for what I believe to be the truth re the Penola Fracking project...it is happening and it is happening right now and it's going to be a massive disaster in the South East Aquifers, plural.
Also locally, Liberal Member Troy Bell will be meeting (have met by now) with Tourism Minister Leon Bignell at some stage today about tapping into the millions of tourist dollars coming down the Great Ocean Rd but not as far as Mt Gambier, and some lights at Penola Rd/Wireless Rd, and probably some other stuff...so good luck with that...
Some very quick bits from previous posts...South East couple charged with persistent exploitation produce child pornography, beastiality (and incest?) have been denied bail...Oceanlinx reckon it'll be another year before their Wave Energy unit is moved from the shallows off Carrickalinga Beach...and Energy Australia have pulled their Wind Turbine (29 turbines) plans for near Robertstown, with Mary Morris stating it was clearly the wrong site, way too near Waterloo...result...
Sorry, but I'm going to grind to a halt here because it's real late, went to Council meeting, etc...and yes that means I have a very cheap car again...(yay-Ed)...yay...
Tomorrow: The Council stuff and and more Federal Politics
More about the Tony Abbottathon that we've all been subjected to of late.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my very tired blog...cheers and laters...
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