The funniest story on earth (as reported in the Townsville Bulletin)

Yes, I'm still here!  My apologies to any regular visitors for the 'little' hiatus in my posts - put it down to a combination of work and other things going on in my life and arriving at a point of total despair at the state of the mainstream media in Australia and locally.

So what would break me out of all of that and and lead me back to the blog?  Why, the funniest story for decades of course, the one which brings an instant smile to my face with every new day's revelations - the crashing and burning of brand Murdoch (and potentially his empire)!

While there are plenty of others writing about what has to be the best and biggest spectator sport on earth at present, I'm currently particularly enjoying watching the developing blood-lust in (all but Murdoch) media's reportage of the action - it's sort of like watching Frankenstein's monster feeding on the corpse of the dead Doctor.

And of course then there's the Murdoch press reportage of the biggest media story for decades.  And what better example is there of the Empire's commitment to truth and balance that our very own Townsville Bulletin?

Their coverage of the crisis engulfing their Empire over the last few days?

• Wednesday 13/07 - nothing
• Thursday 14/07 - a 7x6.5 cm piece on page 19 or 0.10% of the 40 page edition
• Friday15/07 - a 7x6.5 cm piece on page 38 or 0.08% of the 52 page edition

And of course these little snippets are not available online and were hidden away in the "World Snapshot" section of the Bully - not so much because no one will notice it there but rather because when they do The Empire's local minions want the reader to be left with the impression that "the troubles" are restricted to quaint old England.

Surely there's nothing more pathetic than watching this blimp on the periphery of The Empire desperately protecting it's little patch while Rome burns.  And burns and burns and burns.

ET brought a lemon - Stupid rich people and that Cyclone

Stupid rich people's toys.
Port Hinchinbrook post Cyclone Yasi

Most of my posts about Cyclone Yasi (and the SE Qld flood for that matter) have at some point discussed stupid rich people buying or building houses in stupid places (like foreshore sand dunes).

There is no better example of this apparently universal malaise (so energetically supported by planning authorities) than Port Hinchinbook just south of Cardwell.  If you're interested in stupid rich people getting sucked in by property developers to build in stupid places have a read of Critics predicted damage to Port Hinchinbrook by Matthew Moore and Tom Reilly at the SMH but note, their piece doesn't even begin to touch on the graft and corruption that enabled Williams to develop the Port Hinchinbrook site (think Jo and the White Shoe Brigade).

And if you need an example of how stupid stupid rich people really can be, check out this little report from the Nine News site on Andrew Ettingshausen's plans to return to Port Hinchinbrook.  Of course, no mention that he really doesn't have much choice given that he failed to sell his property in 2009 and that it would have been failing in value ever since (and would now be even more unsaleable).

X Base Backpackers Trashed! But don't blame it on Yasi

Before Yasi - The Boardwalk
and beachfront rubble

I posted some time ago about base Backpackers (X Base) here on Magnetic Island and their apparent disregard for both the environment they seek to make money from and for the responsibilities that come with having one of the most unique commercial tourism sites in North Queensland. 

As I understand it, X Base Magnetic Island is the only 'resort' (loosely defined) in Australia and one of the few in the world where you can lean to scuba dive on coral from the beach.  To do so anywhere else involves a boat trip and associated expense and is a prime reason for backpackers coming to the island - it's the cheapest place to learn to dive and or get your hours up for an instructors ticket.



Before Yasi - Part of the pool retaining wall
showing broken infrastructure and rubble



As the first two pictures show, the Recreational Tourism Group Pty Ltd,  (the owners of X Base who are in turn owned by, amongst others, Babcock & Brown and Accor Hotels) have for a long time treated their absolute beach frontage with contempt.  The second of those pics is of their beach frontage damage that was never repaired/removed after (I think) Cyclone Tessi in 2000 or maybe a king tide since.

That second pic was taken on Tuesday afternoon - the day before Yasi hit.  The 'resort' had (rightfully, given its location) been fully evacuated by then.  On my Yasi night post I wondered what would be left the next morning. 
The results are below:



After Yasi - This more or less corresponds to the second of the before pics.
The spot in the before pics is on the left of this one, next to the bolder.



After Yasi - From a different angle - there is/was a swimming pool behind that wall

 

After Yasi - The (private) ramp to the beach which has to stretch below the high tide mark.

 

After Yasi - The boardwalk corresponding to the first of the before pics.

The rubble shown in that before pic has clearly moved.  Some has been lost to the sea

These results were completely predictable - a sure bet.  While none of the buildings at the 'resort' appear damaged, their sea frontage is a wreck for only one or, more likely, both of two reasons:

• Their sea frontage structures should never have been built there in the first place.  The seawall by the pool and the rocks under the boardwalk have to (at best) be on the high tide line.

• The structures were extremely poorly (read cheaply) built and certainly not constructed to a standard that would survive the inevitable storm surge.  Some closer pics of their seawall footings which I hope to get over the next few days will provide ample evidence of the shoddy construction.

While there are a lot of questions to be answered about why this was allowed to happen and/or never redressed, the reality is that the Recreational Tourism Group Pty Ltd and X Base are responsible for their structures and they have done nothing in the years that they have been custodians of the beach to ensure that those structures were both attractive to visitors and safe to the environment (and to visitors and beach walkers for that matter).

Given the damage that they will have inflicted on the beach and  inshore reef, I reckon it's time to go this mob - after all, the damage was within in their control and as such is their fault, NOT Yasi's as they will no doubt claim to their insurance company and Authorities. 

Copies of this post will be going to the EPA, National Parks, GBRMPA, Townsville City Council, local members and the relevant State and Federal Ministers over the next day or so.

Vandals!



Getting your bearings: Nelly Bay looking west on the morning after Yasi.
X Base is located at the end of the Bay, just out of frame.  There are no other beachfront structures between where this pic was taken and where X Base are located at the end of the Bay

Businesses acting responsibly

As an olive oil lover, I was glad to see news that the Australian Olive Association is to introduce national standards for olive oil labelling within the next 12 months.

Contrast this responsible action of the local olive oil industry with that of multi-national big tobacco who "is hoping a new multilateral free trade agreement will enable it to sue the federal government if Australia introduces plain packaging for cigarettes in mid-2012 as planned."

Bastards! 

But then, maybe it would be good if they sued - I suspect that it would be even more counter-productive than Stupid Rich Person, Gerry Harvey's, attempt at public relations

Will the Vatican's Bad Boy Strategy work?

You have probably heard that the Vatican is in the throws of beatifying the last CEO of the multinational conglomerate, Pope John Paul #2.  It seems to me that, like the rest of entertainment industry, the Catholic Church needs to continually create new celebrities in order to reinforce the faithful and maintain and hopefully grow it's market share.  John Paul #2 was a consummate celebrity maker, beautifying some 1,340 celebs in his time - more than the sum of all of his predecessors since Pope Sixtus V#5.

And like any other celebrity industry (movies, music, sport, politics etc), they like to keep their celebrity-making pretty much in-house and under their control - which is presumably why they don't let outsiders verify John Paul #2's supposed miracle.

Of course, you don't really want too much scrutiny when, under the ex-CEO's watch, his Manager for Ireland at the Vatican wrote to Ireland's Catholic bishops urging them not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police and, it seems twice intervened and stopped attempts made by Irish bishops to defrock pedophile priests.

Like the sporting industry is learning - you need to be very careful about who you make a celebrity (think Favola, Henjak, Carey etc).  Or perhaps the Vatican have deliberately embarked on a Bad boys and the cult of celebrity strategy?

Of Malls and Convention Centres

I finally had a wander down the 'finished' section of the Townsville Mall (or Flinders Street as it will soon be instantly recognised as around the globe).

Seeing no one is game to publicly bucket Council's latest little adventure in urban design (remember Flinders St East), let me be the first:

• It's gonna be a bloody wet place to go shopping in the wet season
• It's gonna be a bloody hot place to eat your lunch when it's not raining

On the plus side, some of Townsville's ugliest buildings are now fully exposed for the world's architecture tourists (and American boat people) to truly 'enjoy'.

More to the point, it seems that Council and the developer class about town have worked out that the renovation ain't going to work, ain't gonna make the Mall one bit more competitive as a shopping destination and ain't gonna be the $57 million incentive to potential investors in Lancini's Flinders Plaza development that it was designed to provide.

The building 'campaign' for Townsville's much mooted Convention Centre to be located within the CBD (read Lancini's Flinders Plaza ghetto)  is a great study in how these guys play the game (with the help of The Bulletin of course):

• You simply start by someone with profile raising the suggestion - as CBD Taskforce chairman Craig Stack no doubt did in a call to Tony Raggatt who pushes the idea into play.  The same day the Bully's anonymous Editor does a support piece in his editorial - not too strident, gently, gently, place it second.
• The next day you run a page-3 story (complete with front page header) in which, according to Raggatt, "the idea has been supported by Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell and CBD Taskforce chairman Craig Stack" (the previous day he had reported Stack and Tyrell as saying that the idea should be considered). 
• While we're about it, let's introduce Lancini into play - carefully though, you wouldn't like to look too eager at the prospect of a $140 million key-stone tenant to kick your stalled development along.
• And let's add a bit a bit of weight to the proposition by quoting an economist - and none other than local developer Carey Ramm
• And for good measure, why not give Raggatt a 'Business Desk' opinion piece on the same day when he can invoke the ghosts of his father to argue that Lancini should have the subsidy Convention Centre.

In one sense, of course, they are all right - the only thing that will make the Mall work is more people!  However, no one is going to open a shop in the Mall on the promise of maybe lots of people attending a 2 or 3- day conference once a month for maybe nine months of the year.

And of course adding a few carparks (even at the expense of the hundreds that come to the precinct every day by bus - how dumb is that) is not going to make the CBD any more attractive or convenient or, therefore, competitive against Stocklands, The Willows etc

I'm afraid that population density in the CBD (both residential and office) is the only thing that will save The Mall and Council had their chance when they considered a proposal for the development of an Arts Centre (that could have also accommodated conventions) and office/residential complex on what is currently the carpark between Council and the Law Courts.  Instead, they chose to use the available funds to build the tack-on to the Civic Theatre which (coincidentally, of course) gave Les and the big boys a perfectly oriented balcony from which they can gaze down on Pitt Straight during the annual Ried "Park" dinosaur race.  Perhaps Raggatt should chase down that story.

A convention centre to save Flinders Street is a dumb idea - just like putting a road down the middle will prove to be.  But now that they've started the play, I'm afraid that we're all gonna have to watch it unfold over the quite holiday period when no-one is paying any attention to politics. After all, it might just lead to an extra $140 million subsidy support to the failed Flinders Plaza ghetto -on top of what is fairly obviously the failed $57 million subsidy Mall 'upgrade'.

Oh, did I remember to mention that Lancini is a gold advertiser with the Bully and probably the occasional supplier of free drinks to Tony Raggatt?

Is Mark Arbib just the tip of an iceburg?

I got a good chuckle out of this mornings news of the outing of Mark Arbib as a US sycophant - it could well be the end of his political career which probably wouldn't be a bad thing for either the country or the ALP.

However, there is a sub-plot in this story which needs a bit more exposure and that is about the role of the Australian-American Dialogue organisation in the Abib Affair and more broadly in Australian Politics over recent decades.

I first became aware of the Australian-American Dialogue during the Hawke years when a Cabinet insider explained their pervasive reach thought the labor party and union movement, the conservative parties and big business.  Their modus operandi was explained as targeting political up-and-comers early in their career, offering free junkets to the States and other general ego stroking in order to build their loyalty to the alliance (read, the US) and to build relationships which are able to be called on over the careers that follow.

Hopefully the Arbib-saga will shine a bit of light on this extremely well funded lobby group.  I'd suggest as a starting point, a bit of a trawl through the MP register of pecuniary interests.

In case you haven't seen it

Doing the rounds in the blogosphere and no doubt soon to be seen in the email in-tray (The TSA is the US Transportation Security Administration - think full body searches at US airports)

Which reminds me - anyone want to take a bet on who the rich and powerful capture first - Osama Bin Laden (apparent cause of at least two wars) or Julian Assange (very apparent cause of much nakedness amongst the ruling class)?  Funny that - not!

Come on in. Take a seat at the Cabinet table. Let’s talk water.

Regular contributor Dee writes:

Just before the QR Float takes over the media completely.

Patrick Lion caught my imagination today.

I guess it won't be too long before there are many vacant seats at the ALP Cabinet table, however, I'd put a small wager there is now, and will be in the future, standing room only with the many advisers providing high quality advice by way of large numbers of options.

They have wound up the mis-allocation of taxpayer's funds to new levels.

Patrick Lion's Courier Mail post is well worth a read: Come on in. Take a seat at the Cabinet table. Let’s talk water.

The invisible man-of-steel

I just love the reports that man-of-steel John Howard (never to be confused with the pig-of-steel - a true Oz icon) gets mentioned just three times in Bush's 500-page attempt at writing his own history.

PS: It would almost be worth going to the Townsville re-re-re-launch of the old fella's soon to be remaindered book just to count how many mentions he makes of his old friend George - I guarantee it's a lot, lot more than three!
Via Your Democracy

Crime and perspective in Townsville

Maybe today's headline news in The Bulletin may finally give the city's 'opinion makers' a real perspective on crime and law and order in Townsville.

Contrary to the wedge first inserted by Mooney all those years ago and repeated ad nauseam ever since by the likes of Cr Dale Last and of course The Townsville Bulletin, the real crime/law-and-order issue in this city (as in any other) is not a few homeless people looking untidy and (perhaps) drinking in full view of the general public (and the 'opinion makers' in particular) or a few teenagers in the western suburbs meeting in public spaces at night or having the occasional brawl or leaving the occasional graffiti tag.

As is very clear from today's story, the locus for crime in this city (as in most) is the night club district where the purveyors of and profiteers from legal drugs provide the venues, culture and environment for the illegal drug traffickers.  As has been the case since the days of Al Capone, they're also great places to lander money.

Arguably these dealers - the legal and the illegal - are some of the city's greatest social menaces.  The police understand this, that is why they devoted so many resources to this last operation (on top of what they have to normally devote to Flinders Street night-in and night-out).

Perhaps now Cr Last and The Bully will finally get it too?

PS: Having again broken a lifetime habit and read today's editorial in The Bully, maybe it will be a while before they get it.  Reading that 'opinion-making' piece you'll see that the problem is young people (2 out of 11 identified in the article were below 20 years), that responsibility rests with parents (tell that to the aging parents of the over-40s who were arrested) and that the public policy response should be an education campaign!  Doh!

Sex shame or just plain pedophilia?

I find the headline highlighted below fascinating. 

Pedophile becomes sex shame teacher when it happens in a private school (or is that, a private school formally attended by many of Courier Mail's elite?)

Who really won in Herbert?

Slim raises an interesting point below about the recent campaign in Herbert. 

Judging by my letterbox and my TV habits, the LNP outspent the ALP 3:1!  So who exactly stumped up for Ewin What's-his-name?

Either the developers as Slim suggests or perhaps Big Clive P (a former property developer, now coal developer - basically the same MO though)?

One thing Slim is dead right about for sure - the property developers about town would have invested enough in each campaign to ensure that there would be a return for them no matter who won!

As for No Raffles at Mooney's wake? - I reckon he's petrified that no one will turn-up so he's simply eliminating the disincentives!

And finally, I thought a lot about whether Slim uses Ned's last words appropriately...and, yep!

Slim writes:

No Raffles at an ALP function? Has he quit the party as well?

The land developers must have come up with the big green notes - sometimes referred to as a "Jolly Green Giant"

Who else is known as as "Jolly Green Giant"?  Why Ewan Jones of course.

The land developers win every which way.

Such is life.
Slim

Peter Lindsay's final rort?

Sim writes:
Well we have all been waiting such a very long time for the swan song of the Hon. Peter Lindsay.

Here it is folks.

One more run on the public purse, but for whose benefit?

This document is clearly set out to deceive the voting public during an election campaign.

The document does not have an "authorised by" nor a "printed by" acknowledgement.

The document was personally addressed using the electronic electoral roll facilities and other taxpayer-funded office equipment available to sitting members.

The document contains the idea that the Coalition candidate has the authority to decide that for the Seat of Dawson there will be two electorate offices.

Honorable?

Hope he doesn't let the door belt him on the arse on the way out.

Cheers,
Slim

Mulrunji and the coppers - "The whole charade is totally offensive"

Tony Koch has consistently written the best pieces in the MSM on the outrage that is the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee and the charade that has followed ever since.  In today's Oz:

THE lawyers' picnic in the Queensland Supreme Court is masquerading as a titanic battle.

THE lawyers' picnic masquerading in the Queensland Supreme Court as a titanic battle between the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Queensland Police Service is just another attempt to deny any blame for the disgraceful investigation into the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee.

The CMC, after years of ignoring its responsibilities to ensure that police acted properly, recommended that disciplinary action be taken against six officers involved to varying degrees in the sloppy cover up.

Last month, CMC chairman Martin Moynihan gave Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson a fortnight to report back on action the QPS intended to take against the officers.

The only body with more culpability is the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, which has the responsibility to be the watchdog, but whose members have sat mute all this time.

So this week it was back to court with injunctions ensuring that justice for Palm Islanders is further delayed. The whole charade is totally offensive.

Commissioner Atkinson has not had just a fortnight to consider action against the police involved - he has had almost six years. He has a sworn responsibility to ensure the law is applied equally to all citizens, but he has a special duty when a situation involves the most vulnerable in our community.

His refusal to accept the responsibility of his office and to take the obvious action against his officers is reprehensible. His contract should not be renewed when it expires late this year.

The motto of the QPS is "With Honour We Serve".

The investigators of the 2004 death of Mulrunji, so enthusiastically supported by Atkinson, have defiled that noble claim.

After five and a half years - some truth is finally told

Well, five and a half years after his death at the hands of copper Hurley, we finally have some truth about how the police culture and system set about covering his little ass.

It will be fascinating to see whether the Top Copper will still be there in a month and similarly whether Bligh has really stuffed-it this time by recently reappointing him. (I have this strange feeling in my waters that this may well turn out to be her Waterloo and if not it will be because Niel Roberts is sacrificed instead)

Other interesting reading:

• The CMC Report can be found here



• Palm Island officer Chris Hurley promoted while fellow officers face sanctions from News.com.au



• Labor MPs attempted to pressure Queensland's corruption watchdog to wind back its criticisms of Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson from couriermail.com.au

Remember:
 

The Government Mining Tax Adds are a response to a national emergancy

Contrary to the confected outrage being expressed by the Murdoch press and the Federal Opposition at the Government’s citing ‘national emergency” as the reason for their $38 million add campaign about Mining Super Profits Tax, I actually agree with the Government on this on. Getting a fair price for our non-renewable resources is an issue of critical national importance – at least as much so as deciding as a nation whether to go to war.

Unlike those issues however, in this instance we have some of the largest corporations in the world running a bottomless and extremely misleading media and advertising campaign against the proposition that as a nation we should must get the best possible price for our assets. Such a self-interested campaign is a threat to our national well being.

Recommended reading on the Mining Super Profits Tax:

The corporate backlash on Public Opinion

or just about anything here by Fairfax's Peter Martin and in particular this table that he discovered in the Budget Papers:

'Nuf said, I reckon

How the Corporations Broke Ralph Nader and America (and Australia), Too

I met Ralph Nader briefly in the 70’s when I helped organise one leg of his Australian tour. He struck me as a good man.

So I was interested to read How the Corporations Broke Ralph Nader and America, Too by Chris Hedges in TruthDig.com about the intentional marginalisation of Nader by corporate America.

Among other things, I was fascinated by the account of how the big end of town copied Nader’s own tactics, establishing “lavishly funded think tanks and conservative institutes to churn out ideological tracts that attacked government regulation and environmental protection … and … organizations to monitor and pressure the media to report favourably on issues that furthered corporate interests…”

Which got me to thinking about the plethora of right-wing think tanks established and funded by corporate Australia in recent decades to represent their interests over all others.

Judging by the daily column inches and airspace given over to the likes of the Australian Business Foundation, the Brisbane Institute, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, the Centre for Independent Studies, the HR Nicholls Society, the Institute of Public Affairs, the Lowy Institute, the Menzies Research Centre, and the Sydney Institute (to name a few) it is clear that the same tactic is a work here. Supported so enthusiastically by big media of course.

Other suggested reading:

• Think tanks, oil money and black ops by Clive Hamilton at the ABC’s The Drum
• The Intellectual Sorcery of Think Tanks by Sharon Beder
• Think tanks in the 1990s  by Georgina Murray and Douglas Pacheco

Well...I did tell you

After my post on Tuesday advising readers to stick it to Westpac and switch to a Credit Union comes this news from SmartCompany :  More competition in mortgage market as CUA cuts rates

Credit where it's due

A few days ago I got stuck into Mary Vernon over her article on bullying but credit where it's due. Today she has an excellent and timely article in the Bully (not available online) about the child slaves on whose backs the chocolate manufacturers prosper.

Google will find you plenty of stories on the issue including these:

• From World Vision:  What is the real cost of chocolate? and The Good Chocolate Guide to Australia
• From BBC News: Meeting the 'chocolate slaves'
• From The Age: Bitter life of chocolate's child slaves

Think before you buy this Easter