Uranium waste to be dumped in Western Australia? say it ain’t so!

IT APPEARS SO – see http://nouranium.wordpress.com/ for the gory details. and Speak out radio 6PR talkback 24/7 922 11 882 ( producer )

For excellent videos on yuranium and nuclear waste – visit http://www.youtube.com/user/SocialJusticePerth

YouTube post on Pangea’s plans to store nuclear waste in Australia

The safety dealbreaker for uranium mining has again been highlighted  with the news of new radioactive leaks in the world heritage listed Kakadu National Park.

Then there’s what to do with the long lasting toxic waste ( see post on US nuclear waste plans in disarray earlier in this blog )

This accidentally released video shows Pangea spending good money to promote storing nuclear waste in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Please subscribe to this blog ( above right ) and keep in touch with the no-uranium movement ( google ANAWA and hang in for new website, blogs and activism ) that has been stung back into action by Colin Barnett’s mad plans to ship yellowcake on our roads and through our ports when we can’t even transport lead ore safely!

Uranium mine water leaking into Kakadu – ABC News

Uranium mine water leaking into Kakadu – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

Please let Colin Barnett know his plans have sprung a leak – see post and video below

Brain Training, Plasticity and You – how have you changed your life by changing the way your brain works

In the last 8 years I’ve recovered from PTSD ( Clinical Depression and Anxiety ) to the stage where my health is actually better than before I became ill.

  

The three main areas that have kept me alive and then allowed me to thrive again are based on Brain Plasticity, the ability to “rewire” your own  brain. ( see the website for Norman Doidge’s inspiring book on the subject in the right sidebar of this blog )

Prescribed drugs may help some, but without proper diagnosis using fMRI it’s guesswork, and my Doctor guessed wrong – the SSRI’s made me suicidal.

The therapies/treatments that have allowed me to build new ways of thinking are neurofeedback, cognitive behaviour therapy and meditation/hypnotherapy.( see my guided imagery page – also in the right sidebar )

Since going public with my illness 8 years ago and on  talkback radio here in Perth recently I have been swamped by people struggling with depression, panic and many other challenges. Almost without exception they have received little help and only grief from the “system” of health professionals who often just hand out potentially deadly pills, even giving SSRI’s to infants!  Just last week a mate who was close to the end of his tether was told by his family doctor to “get over it” – I wonder if someone with a broken leg is told to “run away”

When I return to fill in at 6PR there are always calls from my fellow travellers battling the “black dog” and the common theme is that very few doctors, hospitals or health systems have any idea what to do in the short medium, or long term.

Anyway it’s become clear that the most reliable and effective help available comes through fellow sufferers or their devoted families and carers.

So let’s do something about that.

I am keen to work with anyone who has stories and info on recovery and resilience. I will post text audio and video here and you can make a big difference if you are able to pass on details of your journey and links to any useful sources of help or inspiration.

Clinical work on brain plasticity ( the ability to forge new neuronal pathways in the brain ) by amazing people all over the world has provided us with the means to share effective treatments for illnesses and genetic disorders such as;

depression, panic, anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy, autism, tourettes, closed head injury, head trauma, genetically related disability, stroke, paralysis, alzheimers, dementure, addiction, OCD, bipolar, bulemia, anorexia, fibromyalgia, body dysmorphia and more.

So please join in and contribute, especially if your story or info can help sufferers and reduce the deadly stigma that comes with brain related illness.

Please comment by clicking the button below, and you’re welcome to submit text pics, audio or video.

You’re welcome to send comments or materials by email to serve.tony@gmail.com

You can also call and leave your spoken thoughts or info on my recording service +61 8  9467 2264 – you have several minutes to speak and I’ll post the audio here for you.

Anyone can contribute, so don’t feel your input isn’t valuable because you’re ill or feel small inside, we need to hear from you and welcome questions or solutions equally.

I hope to hear from you soon… and you’re welcome to join me on my last 4 nights at 6PR midnight to dawn – that’s 882 6PR in Perth, globally at 6pr.com.au    

local time is daylight saving and it’s midnight to 0600 sat & sun, then midnight til 0500 mon & tue.

 Perth time is GMT/UTC PLUS 9 hours

Early Sunday morning I’ll have 2 teenage guests in the studio who have worked out effective ways to overcome eating disorders and depression. Join me, Travis and Alicia and about 30 thousand listeners and see if we can make a difference.

Research shows Parents who can’t deal with Gay children create tragedies – so GET OVER IT!

New research outlined in the Scientific American shows that young gays are being driven to despair and even suicide by unaccepting parents.

This is not rocket science, if you didn’t accept your child had red hair  - you would cause problems for them because they HAVE red hair whether you choose to see it or not.

Meanwhile, colouring the hair and pretending it isn’t red doesn’t stop the person being a redhead. So please stop trying to convert or reprogramme people with a gender difference just because you can’t understand a reality more complex than dogma.

In a way it’s a mental health issue because it’s clear that people who don’t accept homosexuality are in denial of the provable facts or simply ignorant.  

Click here for more on the research from Scientific American, and please share the story with anyone you know who is still blind to the realities of gender difference.

Australia web censorship – #$%$# the filter, focus on facts

Crikey.com.au had this gem on censorship ( click link to the left for story “on site” or see text & links pasted below ) that not only covers material posted on this blog, but wraps up the nonsense that has led regulators down the wrong track. “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Contact the Greens or GetUp to force a much needed reality check so the meagre resources put into child protection are not frittered away on a filter that will do more harm than good.

Note to regulators spend the money on targeting P2P nets, providing support for abused children, research on abusers – you know – something useful!

Stilgherrian writes: 

Gloves-off time. The purveyors of pervasive internet censorship – handful that they are – have burned their goodwill. It’s time to call them out on their lies and demand to know why they’re not advocating the real solutions to child s-xual abuse.

Bernadette McMenamin of ChildWise, you’ve crossed the line, defaming everyone who’s protested the government’s plans. “Most of these people are not fully aware of the facts and secondly, those who are aware are, in effect, advocating child p-rnography,” you said. How dare you!

Ms McMenamin, to really stop child abuse we need to spend our resources efficiently. Let’s run through it one more time. And let’s skip those hysterical, made-up “statistics” you still peddle. Child abuse is bad enough without heading into your paranoid fantasyland.

Kiddie-p-rn is hard to find. As Inspector John Rouse, former head of Queensland Police’s Taskforce Argos told the authors of The Porn Report, “the chances of stumbling across this material… are minimal as it isn’t really distributed on web pages.” P-dophiles use peer-to-peer software and, as Crikey reported six months ago, none of the filters can deal with P2P. The filter will not work. The. Filter. Will. Not. Work.

Every single dollar wasted on a demonstrably unworkable filter isn’t just wasting taxpayers’ money in tough times. It’s a dollar that hasn’t gone to the police so they can do what does work. Good old-fashioned policing and the kind of undercover sting that resulted in 19 arrests last week, including a retired QC and a NSW police officer.

But, as blogger Jon Seymour points out, Ms McMenamin has a vested interested in moral panic. “An ineffective filter is actually a very good thing, because it means the oxygen that sustains the flames of moral panic, and her organization ChildWise, will never disappear,” he writes.

“Perhaps McMenamin and ChildWise have done worthy work in the past. Perhaps they do some now. But why should anyone continue to be charitable about a person who unapologetically accuses her opponents of being witting or unwitting supporters of child p-rnography?”

“Public intellectual” Clive Hamilton has been the other public face of censorship since 2003. In Crikey last week he deconstructed Paul Kelly’s writing about emissions trading, saying “Kelly’s spray could be used as an exemplar in a course on how to use debating tricks to try to win a losing argument.” The same could be said for Hamilton’s own writing in support of censorship.

In a piece for ABC News, Hamilton cherry-picks blog comments to construct an anti-censorship straw man of such awesome proportions his hay fever will last a century. He fails to even mention the rational arguments he should be addressing, and then admits, “I have deliberately not considered the question of whether it is feasible to effectively filter extreme and violent p-rnography on the internet.” Let’s not let reality get in the way, shall we Clive? Fortunately the post’s 275 comments re-introduce that reality.

And finally the minister, Hamilton claims Senator Stephen Conroy is boldly going ahead with filtering trials billed as a “live test”. But no, it’s another closed network test and won’t involve actual customers. Even the list of “10,000 sites” is a made-up number.

Opposing the filter are the Opposition, The Greens, Save the Children (who’ve rolled up their sleeves and done the dirty work of protecting kids since 1919), the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre and even ultra-conservative Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi and Glenn Milne.

Why is taxpayers’ money still being spent on this farce?

Ben Cousins abandoned by the AFL and gutless administrators

There is a growing number of people who see the AFL’s abandonment of  ill champion Ben Cousins as a tragic mistake.

Even among media colleagues, people are stepping back and asking some crucial questions after the feeding frenzy of the last 2 years where logic, compassion, and often, the truth were missing.

I am not alone in being concerned about the demonstrably sick AFL community as much as Ben.

Fairfax Digital’s Tim Lane makes some key points in the article posted here – please read it and pass it on. If you are so motivated, contact your MP, media, footy club or friends and ask a few questions yourself.

click here for Tim Lane’s excellent article

So, what hope is there in australia for more ordinary mortals who admit drug use but are not convicted – do we ban them from their job forever and expose them to unwarranted ridicule, do we keep pretending people with mental health issues are dangerous madmen? – please read the article below for more on that.

click here for my earlier piece on Ben’s case being a major blow for social justice and the aussie fair go.

Australian Human Rights push for Intersex gender recognition

Hope, Ignorance & Bigotry

The Australian Human Rights Commission is pushing Canberra to offically recognise Intersex people, whether they have had modifying surgery or not.

First news of the move was the Daily Telegraph via news.com.au and it offers some faint hope for people whose physical identity simply doesn’t fit male or female.

Sadly though, the web article’s first 3 respondents were typically ignorant and hateful, probably out of fear of the unknown, but I found it pathetic but fairly typical.

The push also raised the more complex reality of gender differences, suggesting more classifications are needed.

The legal and community status of genders other than male and female heterosexuals has to be addressed and a bit of education for “normal” people might be very useful.

People who still describe these genetic, physiological differences as “lifestyle” choices are part of the many challenges to be overcome for a minority that is every bit as human as the lovely looking people in your clothing catalogues.

What do you think?

Is it time for us to demand equality for those who are different.  Or do we stay scared of diversity and protect the “Adam & Eve” idea despite the facts.

If you say the latter, then maybe you should start building an Ark too.

If you want to make a difference for people whose only sin is being different write/email/hassle your local, state and federal politician. Here in Australia contact the Greens who’ve had their shoulder to this wheel for some time now.

The news.com.au article and the two all-too-predictable comments are pasted below

THE Federal Government’s human rights arm plans to invent a new official status called “intersex” adding it to male and female as a legally recognised gender.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission wants people to be able to change their gender on their passports and driving licences even if they do not undergo surgery.

And transgender lobby groups say that even this does not go far enough and are demanding a fourth legal gender called “other” for people who feel like their gender is indefinable or changes from day to day.

The extraordinary proposals are contained in a discussion paper quietly issued to transgender and transexual advocates by the commission, a statutory body that advises the Government on such matters.

The paper, entitled “Sex Files – The legal recognition of sex: Proposed reform”, says the introduction of the new “intersex” gender is a “key feature of the reform proposal being developed by the commission”.

 

“Recognition of intersex: Persons who cannot or do not identify as either male or female would be able to choose to be identified on their birth certificate and passport as intersex,” it says.

“A person who cannot or chooses not to undergo surgery would not be automatically ineligible to request a change in their legal sex.”

A response to the report by Sex and Gender Education Australia says there needs to be a fourth legal gender for people who are not even “intersex”.

SAGE spokeswoman Tracie O’Keefe, a sexologist whose doctorate comes from a Californian hypnotherapy institute, is the co-author of the book Transpeople in Love, wrote: “The AHRC proposal does not go far enough in providing legal status and social spaces by only allowing people to be male, female and intersex.”

Dr O’Keefe, who runs the Australian Health and Education Centre and the International Sex, Gender and Sexuality Clinic in Glebe, said cultures such as Native Americans had more than two genders.

via Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission pushes for third ‘intersex’ gender | National News | News.com.au.

 

Martin of York Posted at 11:18am today  

Agree with Robert. Dr.O’Keefe needs immediate treatment.

AJ of null Posted at 9:15am today  

How Pathetic!!!!

Robert of Melbourne Posted at 7:57am today  

We already have a third classification – “it” or “neuter”. to even discuss this is an insult to human intelligence and a waste of taxpayers money.

Internet Censorship Australia – the Emperor still has no clothes!

Public Activist site GetUp IS making a difference in the battle to convince Canberra that Internet Filtering as proposed would cause major access problems without doing the intended job.

The site is for aussies interested in using online people power for specific causes and social justice in general.

The people used GetUp effectively to pressure the Australian Federal Police and Political establishment ( gee that sounds Bolshy, doesn’t it!  ) in the case of the supervision order for Guantanamo survivor David Hicks.

The Australian Council of Social Services also had an online way for ordinary people to lobby ahead of each budget – I’ll check and see if it’s still going.

My point is, have your voice heard somewhere – have your say.

I am looking forward to posting an appeal for books to go to a village in the Phillipines where a friend has been doing some good work. More on that to come. 

 

Save the Net

 

Our campaign to ‘Save the Net’ is gaining momentum faster than all expectations, as the Government’s ill-considered plans to slow down and censor the internet is “facing a major backlash”, according to media reports.¹

Their internet censorship proposal goes further than any other democracy – making the internet up to 87% slower, more expensive, accidentally blocking up to one in 12 legitimate sites, and missing the vast majority of inappropriate content.

Only a massive public outcry will make the Government see sense on this issue. Please take a moment to sign this important petition:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet

More than 55,000 fellow Australians have already signed the petition to Communications Minister Senator Conroy, against “draconian government restrictions on the internet that will hold back the digital economy and miss the vast majority of unwanted content.”

His plan has even been slammed by children’s welfare groups, who say the filter is “fundamentally flawed” and simply will not work. Join children’s welfare groups, internet providers, consumers, engineers, network administrators, and 55,000 everyday Australians in defence of our freedoms and internet:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet

At a time of financial crisis, the Government should not be introducing measures that will hamper our economy for no real benefit to the protection of the community from material that is already illegal.

Stand up in defence of our rights to prevent Australia joining Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and Burma in an undemocratic club of governments who view the internet as a threat.

Thanks for being part of the solution,
The GetUp team

PS - 55,000 Australians have signed the petition to save the internet from being slowed and censored. Click here to join them.

¹‘Children’s welfare groups slam net filters’, The Age 1 December 2008

Australia the Internet “King Canute” – censor this

Save the Net

 

Well-meaning official moves to filter the internet as it’s received in Australia are set to cause major problems without achieving very much at all.

The Social Activism site GetUp is leading a push to get the regulators to do what is effective and not what may seem politically expedient.

click here to visit GetUp’s campaign page

Meanwhile Greens Senator Scott Ludlum is trying tol get some sense from the Government on the Broadband Fiasco after Telstra only threw half a hat in the ring and Optus cried foul.

Broadband tenders must put public interest first

The Australian Greens are concerned the public may be the real losers  under the new National Broadband Network and are calling on the federal government to explain how it will protect end-users from price hikes, as tenders for the project close today.

“Privatisation of essential public services is not the answer when you want the public interest to take precedence over shareholders. Broadband is an essential service that should be run for the public, by the public and it is a key plank in delivering Green collar jobs and the green economy.” said Greens Communications Spokesperson Senator Ludlam.

“Telstra is demanding an eighteen per cent return on investment to operate a natural monopoly – consequently some analysts are saying there’s potential for broadband prices to increase by 50%.”

“That would be a slap in the face to consumers who were promised an accessible and affordable broadband network at last year’s election,” said Senator Scott Ludlam.

“During the course of Senate hearings into the NBN tender process, we heard from virtually the entire telecommunications industry that Telstra has behaved aggressively and litigiously in its incumbent position, and the NBN process must not entrench this behaviour.”

Senator Ludlam raised the issues with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy in Senate Question Time today. He asked how consumers would be protected from price gouging and whether the new Communications Consumer Action Network had been involved in the tender process.

Minister Conroy declined to answer the question directly.

For more information or media enquiries please call Robert Simms on 0417 174 302

Australian Federal Police forced to get real re David Hicks

The Australian Federal Police have apparently reacted to public/media pressure and stepped back from their standing orders to monitor every move and motive of illegally detained australian David Hicks

This may clear the way for the Guantanamo Bay survivor to speak publicly about his experience.

Well Done to the Australian Greens, Liberal Petro Giorgiou, the community network GetUp and others who spoke up for justice.

As you’ll see from the AFP media release on their website and pasted below – the Feds won’t comment further.

This is the agency under a huge dark cloud over the Haneef debacle and other  politically tainted events under John Howard’s “leadership”

David Hicks’ Control Order not to be renewed

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Media Statement

On the 21 December 2008, the current control order in respect of Mr David Hicks expires.

Following extensive consultation with a number of agencies, the AFP has decided it will not be seeking a further control order in respect of Mr Hicks.

The AFP has today advised the Attorney-General and Mr Hicks’ legal representative of its position.

The AFP will not be making any further comment in relation to this control order process.

I noticed on CNN Asia’s website that one blogger said he wouldn’t lose any sleep over Hicks’ plight, totally missing the point that it’s not about David, it’s about all of us.

Perhaps his snoring may disrupted if he read and had the wit to understand that great piece of writing that begins ” First they came for the communists, and I said nothing…:” ( full text via Wikipedia here )

 

Greens push for change over David Hicks’ muzzling post-Gitmo

Greens Senator Scott Ludlum has renewed calls for changes to our Jackboot Justice system, much as Human Rights Doyen Geoffrey Robertson QC did in his recent ABC Lateline  interview.

There is reason to pursue the Australian lawmakers from the discredited Howard regime who legitimized the US shame of “Gitmo” just as moves are underway in America to pursue the legal attack dogs who set up Guantanamo and sanctioned torture and “rendition”

The Human Rights Judge also pointed out that Australia’s lack of a Bill of Rights means this sort of travesty is possible in the future if another morally bereft PM feels so inclined. ( see link to his interview on lateline on this blog or just click “Geoffrey Robertson QC” in the tag cloud on the left )

Today Senator Ludlum released the statement pasted below;

Thursday, 20 November 2008
Hicks case shows need for anti-terrorism review

The public gagging of David Hicks should be ended and Howard’s heavy-handed anti-terrorism laws reviewed, according to Australian Greens Attorney General Spokesperson, Senator Scott Ludlam.

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks today told members of online lobby group, Get Up that he is fearful a new control order will be imposed on him by the Australian Federal Police, and this will prevent him from being able to move forward in his life.

“Control orders are infringement of basic human rights and incompatible with Australia’s broader democratic culture,” Senator Ludlam said.

“Control orders are just one example of some of the draconian and extreme aspects of the anti-terrorism laws the Howard government rammed through the Senate after 2001 – and are yet to be reviewed by the Rudd Government.”

“The laws were passed without any safety net or mechanism for review. Unfortunately, David Hicks is feeling the consequences of that flawed process today. The Rudd government needs to support an independent review so that we can be assured that the rights and freedoms of Australians are not being eroded.”

Last week the Greens supported a Bill initiated by Liberal backbencher Petro Georgio to review the forty pieces of anti-terrorism legislation. The government voted against the measure.

Senator Ludlam has also questioned the legitimacy of David Hicks’ initial sentence.

“David Hicks was subject to an illegal and illegitimate military tribunal process on foreign soil. He was held for five years without charge, the principles of natural justice and rule of law were disregarded and the Geneva conventions were not complied with. The legitimacy of his conviction is therefore in doubt, even more so as the US President-elect Obama has indicated his intention to close Guantanamo Bay. David Hicks has a right to closure and should be allowed to move forward in his life.”

“The control order should not be extended and David Hicks should be afforded the same rights as any other Australia,” said Senator Ludlam.

For more information or media enquiries please call Robert Simms on 0417 174 302
senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au  |  http://www.scottludlam.org.au  |  http://www.greensmps.org.au

Australian Guantanamo prisoner speaks out on GetUp

Illegally detained aussie David HICKS has broken his silence as he tries to recover from his years of suffering in Gitmo.

See the video here and get involved so abominations like George W Bush’s Guantanamo Bay “prison” won’t happen again.

This is not anti-US, but pro justice and the morally bankrupt John Howard regime is as much to blame for his treatment as Dubya’s was.

Click the link to hear what’s going on.

https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/WereAfraidNot&id=435

Wikileaks reports on Mormons Vs Gay rights ( human rights that is )

I am and always have been heterosexual, but I can’t believe some people still don’t recognise that homosexuality is NOT a “life choice” or “lifestyle.”

The science is indisputable; gays, lesbians and transgender people are that way because they are born with physiological and brain function differences that are real, as real as the differences between heterosexual men and heterosexual women.

To deny people the right to marry and be “normal” legally is outrageous.

If the reports ( see wikileaks link below ) are right about the Mormon Church’s role in turning back the clock, then God’s punishment is awaiting them.

Anyone from any religion will tell you that the creator made ALL of us, not just the nice appearing young men in white shirts who disturb our peace by visiting our homes uninvited.

Surely the historic experience of Mormons should inform their views on minority groups who are marginalised, villified and ostracized.

see the story below on the link between Mormons and the anti gay rights lobby in the US

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Mormons_tipped_scale_in_ban_on_gay_marriage

WIKILEAKS also has stories other media won’t or can’t print and is well worth a look and possibly your support as a haven for whistle-blowers who risk their lives for truth.

Australia’s “Pyramids” still under threat – time to Stand Up for the Burrup

The First Australians came to this continent from Africa tens of thousands of years ago and left a legacy of carved stones and rocks on the Burrup peninsula that pre-date the pyramids.

The Australian and West Australian Governments have allowed mining companies to smash and move these absolutely irreplacable heritage items.

Visit www.standupfortheburrup.com and join the global movement to protect and research one of humanity’s oldest inscribed legacies. Below are the Latest 10 ”Stand Up for the Burrup” events

MUST BE
WORLD HERITAGE LISTED

Mob 0190 Greece 10/11/2008 Acropolis of Athens One of the most famous World Heritage listed sites in the world is The Acropolis of Athens, a limestone outcrop upon which are the remains of historical temples and sanctuaries, one of which is the Parthenon, a temple sacred to the goddess Athena, Protector of the City. Although there are many acropoleis (acron-edge, polis-city) in Greece, this one in Athens, because of its dominating position and its commanding beauty, is simply known and recognized as The Acropolis.  Oh, that West Australia’s Burrup Peninsula Rock Art was as well known and internationally recognized – here is a site of extraordinary cultural and historical significance – and our Stand Up crew at the Acropolis is helping bring it to world attention.  Mob 0189 Turkey 10/10/2008 Göreme – Cappadocia Rock When travelling to Turkey, one must not miss the Fairy Chimneys and other magical cave structures of Cappadocia, originally homelands of the Hittites in the late Bronze Age.  The site is evidently on the UNESCO World Heritage list.  But did you know that they are pre-dated by the powerful rock engravings of the Aboriginal people of the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia by at least 20,000 years? – and so desperately in need of World Heritage listing too… Mob 0188 England (Norfolk) 12/10/2008 Hanworth Common The villagers of Hanworth Common fought for the rights to their common when these were threatened by a developer. After a lengthy and expensive fight through the courts, the commoners won their case. The grazing of cattle on the Common now continues as it has done for hundreds of years. In the Domesday Book it was recorded that there were 24 cattle in Hanworth.  Those who stood up to save Hanworth Common are in full support for the fight to save the Burrup.  Mob 0187 USA (NY) 25/8/2008 New York City – Times Square, Blue King Brown – Touring USA Blue King Brown is a Melbourne based blues/roots award winning band who loves the big sound and is not afraid to jam and improvise. With its solid following it is no surprise that it has a high rotation on Triple J. The band members like to travel to as many places as they can and their grassroots politics travel with them. Their support for human rights and ethical issues gains them even more of a following.  There is overseas interest in Blue King Brown now, which means that the players ethical interests can be aired worldwide. Hence this Stand Up in Times Square, New York City, which the band displayed while on their recent USA tour. Blue King Brown is bringing the plight of our Rock Art site, the Burrup Peninsula, WA, to a new larger audience.  Mob 0186 Saint Lucia 28/4/2008 Saint Lucia A lesser visited West Indian island is the astonishingly beautiful St Lucia, a lush tropical delight which is 27 miles long and features twin peaks of over 2000ft, and fascinating Sourfriere drive-in volcanic crater!  St Lucia has an interesting history a component of it being that it is also called “Helen of the West Indies” because, like Helen of Troy its control by nations was switched so many times, in this case England and France.  It is of course a tourist’s paradise and our Stand Up here is conducted by passengers on a visiting cruise ship. They are fully aware of the damage done to and impending desecration of the premiere Australian Rock Art site, the Burrup Peninsula, a national treasure which truly deserves World Heritage listing. Mob 0185 Turkey 15/9/2008 Istanbul – The Sultan Ahmed Mosque Europe is geographically linked to Asia by Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul which straddles the Bosphorus Strait. With such a strategic location it has been associated with major political, religious and artistic events for more than 2000 years.  Remnants of settlements from 6000 years BC have been discovered. Its rich history is marked by numerous surviving buildings and remnants of ancient sites and some of these are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  Istanbul is a fitting place to see the 100th International Stand Up for the Burrup demonstration urging the addition of the Rock Art of the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Mob 0184 Bulgaria 8/9/2008 Nesebar The city of Nesebar in Bulgaria is sometimes called the Pearl of the Black Sea, its geographical position being ideal for a tourist destination. It is also rich in 3 millennia of history. The ancient part of the city is located on an isthmus (cape), the Old Town as it is known has been restored and has been World Heritage Listed by the UNESCO for its abundance of historic buildings.  The Rock Art at Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia represents a remarkable historic and cultural heritage and our Stand Up here in Nesebar helps raise awareness that The Burrup must also become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Mob 0183 France (27) 30/8/2008 Corneuil near Evreux – World Music Festival On the 30th of August 2008, the MUSIK DU MONDE festival took place at Corneuil in Normandy. This festival of contemporary and traditional music offers a wide range of styles (hip-hop, metal, rock, folk…) and involves local groups.  The association A.A.I.S. 27, which is supported by the association “Ensemble a Corneuil”, gives amateur, emerging and veteran artists the opportunity of exhibiting or performing on the stage while laying the stress on global conservation. Every participant, whether volunteer, artist, exhibitor or visitor, wished to show his or her support to the ancient Burrup land by proudly wearing the tee-shirts.  The public was particularly interested in the information display about FARA’s struggle and in the petition which FARA had made available to participants and visitors alike. Mob 0182 Australia (WA) 22/8/2008 Fitzroy Crossing (Kimberley) Three generations of Wagners and friends did a Stand Up for the Burrup at Fitzroy Crossing while exploring the amazing area of the Kimberley in northern Western Australia.  Professor Hermann Wagner and his family from Bavaria, Germany were overwhelmed by the majesty of the landscape and by the beauty and deep spirituality of the ancient rock art they saw there.  What a tragedy it is that the West Australian Government has failed to acknowledge that the rock art of the Burrup is of inestimable value to human kind and worthy of protection from the ravages of industrial development. Mob 0181 Romania 27/8/2008 Tulcea Tulcea in Romania is the town of the Danube Delta, the largest and best preserved delta in Europe.  It covers more than 5000 square kms. As well as the flow of the Danube into the Black Sea there are countless lagoons, channels, small lakes and marshes – giving refuge to and supporting the 1200 species of plants and trees, and a rich diversity of fauna including 300 species of birds and 45 species of fresh water fish. For these ecological reasons some areas of the Danube Delta are under the protection of UNESCO’s World Heritage listing.  We urgently need protection of our Rock Art at the Burrup Peninsula in NW Australia. This sensitive area must be also World Heritage listed to ensure the proper care of our outstanding historical and cultural site. www.standupfortheburrup.com

The WORLD IS WATCHING and LISTENING

Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc.
City West Lotteries House – 2 Delhi Street – West Perth WA 6005 – AUSTRALIA

Australia – Health Professionals needed, but leave your Down Syndrome child at home – an exclusive by Perthnow’s Paul LAMPATHAKIS

Disability sucks,but some politicians and bureaucrats suck even more.

The denial of a woman’s right to stay here in Perth is based on open and official discrimination and cannot stand.

That she is a much needed professional and that her child will not be the only down syndrome child in the state are actually beside the point.

The Point for the Immigration Minister is that the point is now media and community pressure – so PLEASE register your complaint at his website’s contact email http://labor.com.au/people/email/evans_chris.php – and pass this on to your friends and colleagues at home and abroad to do the same.

I’m sure he’s a nice man and has nice people working for hium, but what’s being done is NOT nice.

Thanks to award winning journalist from the Sunday Times and PerthNow Paul LAMPATHAKIS for the story 

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,24622247-2761,00.html  ( also pasted below )

( congratulations to the Sunday Times team for last night’s journalism awards, Colleen EGAN and Joe SPAGNOLO joined Paul in being recognised for outstanding work that has seen them subject to incredible pressure from the powers that be  - though I can’t remember any of them ever complaining about the cost to them and their families )

Click the audio below for my interview with Journalists spokesman David COHEN earlier this year on the unprecedented police raid that followed one of Paul LAMPATHAKIS’ other stories.

Police raid on the Sunday Times – hear from David Cohen – Media & Entertainment Alliance-on-2008-06-09-at-2121

 

Paul Lampathakis

 

November 08, 2008 06:00pm

 

EXCLUSIVE: A HIGHLY regarded British midwife working in WA is being forced out of Australia because her Down syndrome child is considered a financial burden.

The woman, who works at Joondalup Hospital and is described by fellow staff as “one of the hospital’s best” , has waged a legal battle with the Federal Government since 2002.  

Her application for permanent residency was rejected that year because the Government viewed her child as needing health or community services that would result in a “significant cost to the Australian community”. 

After unsuccessful appeals and court hearings, the family has applied to Immigration Minister Chris Evans to intervene. 

But a spokesman for Senator Evans could not say if this would happen - even though The Sunday Times understands the mother has only weeks left. 

The woman did not wish to be named or interviewed, fearing retribution by the Government. 

But one outraged supporter said: “This country recruited her to come here and work due to an acute shortage of midwives. She is one of the best nurses in the unit, she has contributed widely to the hospital and the general public. 

“(She has) wasted thousands of dollars on court cases to try to overturn the Government’s stupidity.” 

Family support group Down Syndrome WA labelled the Government’s stance “discriminatory and disgraceful”, calling on Senator Evans to grant the family residency. 

Group spokeswoman Jan Gothard said the Immigration Department should examine cases individually, rather than just assume those with Down syndrome would be a burden, when many led independent lives. 

Dr Gothard said the WA case and another recently - where German doctor Bernhard Moeller was to leave the Victorian town of Horsham after the department classified his 13-year-old Down syndrome son a burden on taxpayers - were the “tip of the iceberg”. 

As well as those already in Australia, many potential skilled migrants were also being denied entry for the same reason. 

“Nobody, whether they’ve got Down syndrome or not, can guarantee they’re not going to be a cost to the system,” Dr Gothard said. 

“Nobody can guarantee they’re not going to get lung cancer, or liver disease, or need a heart transplant. 

“Is there not a potential cost for somebody who smokes all their life? Is there not a potential cost for someone who’s overweight?”

She said the Disability Discrimination Act protected people with disabilities living in Australia, but not during migration. 

Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton called on the Rudd Government to show “compassion” and allow the WA family to have permanent residency. 

“In this country we’re desperate for good health professionals,” he said. “It would be a tragedy to lose the skill and expertise that this person has brought to the local community.”