Western Australia’s planned Uranium mines under scrutiny

Rockingham media pick up on the debate that Colin Barnettt doesn’t want.

So many questions on Uranium Colin Barnett has to answer

Thanks to Mark Winter  (frostyfae.wordpress.com ) for the heads-up nd his ongoing activism. Also see nouranium.wordpress.com for more info,  YouTube video and ways to have your say about the mine that will start at Wiluna next year

Please visit WA’s peak anti-uranium group  http://www.anawa.org.au/ and get involved

ANALYSIS-In big green push, Australia thinks too small on solar | Reuters

SOLEL make 300MW solar thermal plants for base load, AUSRA is close behind  -why aren’t they being used?                                    Image -  jdlasica via Flickr

* New laws promise boost for solar investment

* Complex rules limit size of installations

* Little incentive for commercial solar projects

By Leonora Walet and Bruce Hextall

Related articles by Zemanta

• More Stimulus for Renewables? (greenlight.greentechmedia.com)
• Residential solar thermal systems get huge incentive boost (lightbulbs.org)
• Solar Tax Credit Hooks Another Major Utility (industry.bnet.com)
• A Solar Dream From Israeli Kibbutzim (businessweek.com)

US Beats Australia To The Punch Again! Climate change, clean energy, carbon issues.

Sen. Milne Wikipedia

From; Mark Winter Speaks out

US Beats Australia To The Punch Again!.

America last week publicly announced their draft of the “American Clean Energy and Security Bill”

In response, Greens Senator Christine Milne said

“The world is moving on and leaving Australia behind. It is time the Rudd Government opened itself to the prospect of real domestic and global action to prevent climate catastrophe.”

The Draft Bill is a great leap ahead in comparison to the much debated deeply flawed schemes which the Rudd-Wong collaboration has “laboured” to produce. more from Mark by clicking the blue links above

West Australian Govt lies about cutting scrutiny of Uranium & other projects – Greens WA’s MLC elect Robin Chapple speaks out – we all need to speak out or suffer the consequences

Robin Chapple Greens MLC elect speaks on uranium & other projects by stealth

Click the above link for short interview. Phone numbers, SMS and email for talkback to follow.

Premier Colin Barnett hijacks mining approvals – now confirmed a

►

From Perth’s Sunday Times ( supporting documents to be posted soon.)

More leaked documents add to drama

Article from:
Narelle Towie, environment reporter

March 28, 2009 04:28pm

MORE leaked documents have cast doubt on statements made this week by the State Government about proposed changes to mining approvals.

Last weekend The Sunday Times reported that a government-appointed industry working group (IWG) – tasked with devising a plan to streamline and speed-up mining approvals – favoured moves to dilute the power and role of the Environment Minister among other far-reaching changes.
The next day the Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore stated that a leaked document referred to in the newspaper report was not produced by the IWG.

He said the document, marked confidential, was a submission to the IWG by industry associations.

He said it had not yet been properly considered by the IWG or the government.

The Sunday Times has ascertained that the document was the end product of a workshop involving key members of the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA).

The workshop, which also included at least one IWG member, took place in January and the document has been the focus of much attention by the IWG.

Moreover, further leaked documents show recommendations in the confidential report have been adopted by the IWG – in some parts, word-for-word – and are at odds with the Minister’s statement.

- See both group’s recommendations
- See more recommendations
- See the lead agency model submitted to the industry working group

Up until yesterday Mr Moore and his media advisor were insisting there was “no draft report or draft recommendations.”

The Sunday Times has obtained a copy of the IWG’s “working draft report” dated March 6, which includes an executive summary and eight key recommendations.

The incomplete report proposes similar sweeping changes to how mining applications are processed, though no specific mention is made about the role of the Environment Minister.

Parts of the document’s recommendations appear to be copied almost verbatim from the workshop report the Minister insisted on Friday had not yet been “properly considered or endorsed” by the IGW.

A spokesman for Mr Moore yesterday confirmed the existence of the draft – after a week of denials. He said the Minister was relying on advice from the IWG.

IWG chairman Peter Jones said there are working drafts within the group but the Minister doesn’t know anything about them.

Shadow Environment Minister Sally Talbot last night hit-out: “Last week Minister Moore denied that this report existed and now we have had it confirmed.

“We have a real fear that there is going to be a watering down of the authority for the Minister for the Environment,” she said.

Ms Talbot is calling on the government to come clean on what plans are being put together by the industry working group.

Mr Moore, who is due to receive the IWG’s recommendations in May, said there were several hurdles to be surmounted before any recommendations were implemented.

They would first be considered by him and a cabinet sub-committee before full Cabinet. And any legislative amendments would need the approval of parliament.

Mr Moore said he was aware IWG were considering transferring large parts of the Department of Environment and Conservation’s role to the independent Environment Protection Agency, which is currently an advisory body.

“I’m not sure that that is a good thing if you want the approvals process to move quickly,” Mr Moore said.

Mr Moore said he could not guarantee that the powers and the responsibilities of the Minister of Environment, when dealing with approvals processes, will not be diminished at all by the reforms being considered.

“It is not within my power to provide cast-iron guarantees about issues of this nature. The granting or relinquishing of Ministerial power is a matter for Cabinet and Parliament. That said, the aim of this exercise is not to diminish the level of scrutiny applying to the environmental conditions related to mining approvals,” he said.

MLC member for mining and pastoral region Robin Chapple said the IWG’s intentions were quite clear.

“The community at large must be very seriously concerned that the environmental controls and parameters that have been established over the years are going to done away with,” he said.

Robin Chapple Greens WA MLC elect warns on hijack of approvals

Stigma and shame leads to tragedy for mentally ill people “sane” people need to “get over it” :*)

An important event in Perth W.A. to discuss ways to reduce shame & stigma

shame kills - help reduce stigma & visit http://www.comicwa.org/

I interviewed Dr Alun Jones using Skype & Call Recorder on  a MacBook.   ( see above for related local forum info)

You are welcome to listen to, download, or better still, link to the audio below. ( click the blue link and the blue link it goes to )

Dr Alun Jones speaks to Tony Serve on the stigma of Mental Illness          *Recorded March 24 2009 for COMIC.org    23 mins 44 secs

Comments, feedback and guest posts on mental health are very welcome –

{ especially you ” Abeeliever”   and all the twitter folk }

Phone or Skype calls are welcome to my auto-recorder which has up to 10 minutes time for your comments, stories, questions.

Skype perthtones or phone +61 8 94672264

Meanwhile…think of the Children

It’s common sense that an ill parent will have an affect on the entire family, but all too often around the world, the children of people being treated are left out in several ways.

There are further complications because it is often the case that genes determining aspects of mental health are shared by some family members

Follow this link to coverage of new research on affected families and suggestions for professionals on more effective, holistic treatments.

Colin Barnett turns tyrant on project assessment – including nukepower & uranium

from: nouranium.wordpress.com

Dracula in charge of the blood bank: WA Greens expose horror plan for the State Government’s assessment processes

Premier Colin Barnett hijacks mining approvals – now confirmed a

►

A confidential document viewed by the WA Greens (attached here  -> pdf ) has revealed radical plans to overhaul legislation so that the Premier would have sole power to decide which projects are allowed to go ahead in WA.

The proposal, developed by the Government’s hand-picked Industry Working Group committee, indicates that the Premier should become the decision-maker on every major project in the State.

Under the plan, the Premier would only be obliged to merely consult with the Environment Minister.

“If the recommendations of this report are accepted, then every mega-project Colin Barnett ever recklessly dreams up – be it a Kimberly Canal or a nuclear waste dump, or anything else – could go ahead,” Greens Upper House MP-elect Robin Chapple has warned.

“This document is truly horrific,” Mr Chapple continued.

“It is proposing that mining and petroleum activities be exempted from planning approval by local government.

“Now, I wonder how local government will feel about being dictated to by the Premier?

“Quite clearly, these recommendations mean massive legislative changes and the Government must be salivating as they wait to take control of the parliamentary Upper House on 22 May so they can ram through amendments to legislation.

“This Liberal minority government, aided by the National Party, seems intent on orchestrating the death of what remains of our state regulatory authorities.

“This proposal will enable the Premier to push through the Kimberly gas hub, the Gorgon development on Barrow Island, the Oakajee Port and ship lead out of any port of his choosing without a second thought.

“This will lead to unbridled excesses in climate change impacts from a government that just doesn’t get it.

“No wonder they have kept this secret until now, this plan is just like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.”

ends.

Robins Contact Details: Mobile 040 9379263, Work 08 93712615

Key points:

- [page 3] “review mining tenement conditions for conservation reserves”. Do they mean they will review and possibly change the conditions that apply to mining in existing conservation reserves? If so that would seem to be an extraordinary legal situation; it would effectively gift to those mining companies an increase in the value of their privately owned property rights.

- [page 3] It’s alright to talk about EPA timelines but often the delays in the process are because of industry failures to properly address EPA questions / requests for more information. Also, any talk of timelines must make adequate allowance for the need for proper consideration if the matters are technically complex. Sometimes it will be hard for the EPA to have enough staff with expertise in the relevant area. Presumably this will be a real issue for uranium mining, at least in the short term.

‘Minor’ legislative changes [better described as major changes!]

- Removing an appeal right if the EPA decides something could be managed under the clearing provisions sounds good in theory, as the clearing decision will of course be subject to a separate appeal. But the first appeal right is about the EPA’s decision not to formally assess under Part IV, not about the issues that will later be dealt with under Part V. Removing an appeal right would effectively create a massive loophole in the EP Act; if the EPA wanted a project to sail through it could say that the clearing rules would manage it even if the project had impacts on say water quality or something else not related to the proposed clearing. Such a decision would have the effect of quarantining those non-clearing issues from any further public scrutiny, save the possibility of judicial review, and we know how hard that road is!

- Removing appeal rights against the setting of a level of assessment would be an outrage and a fundamental shift in the EIA regime that has served the State for over 20 years. There are few things more important than the level of assessment, as that scoping decision determines the process from then on.

- [page 5] new approvals framework for [ESE] could of course be good in theory but not if it means economics winning out in a Premier-led process that involves no appeal rights!

- [page 6] one decision maker; well, not if the decision relates to issues beyond the expertise of the decision-maker.

- [page 6] proportionality based on… importance to the State. This could be very dangerous; are they saying bigger projects should attract less environmental scrutiny? This would be an unprecedented and very dangerous move.

- [page 6] special consideration for major projects – ditto.

- [page 8] melding works approvals and clearing permits into mining approvals; currently two quite separate technical issues for different departments!!

- [page 8] exempting mining and petroleum activities from planning approval; It will be interesting to see what WALGA and the local govts think about this!!

- [page 8] appeals to SAT; not necessarily a problem with Part V decisions but this takes Part IV appeals out of the hands of the Env Min and into the rarefied apolitical air of a Tribunal. Do they propose to resource the SAT with environmental specialists who aren’t all just former industry representatives?!

- [page 9] Premier obliged only to consult with the Minister for Environment on major projects!!

- [page 10] Applicants can appeal against the conditions of approval but what about the decision to approve? I.e. can the SAT only ever change the conditions of approval but not say no to something? If so that would be an absolutely fundamental negative change!!

- [page 11] appeals to SAT only for “significant activities”; this could mean a significant constraint on appeal rights!!

- [page 11] timelines; do these factor in SAT appeals? We hope not!!

- [page 12] approvals reform group; notice no community representation!

Industry Working Group Committee (Hansard Wednesday, 26 November 2008)

· Peter Jones (chair) (Water Corp Chair 2002) (former resources Minister for Mines, Fuel and Energy for Western Australia to the Sir Charles Court government) (Peter Vernon Jones elected 30/03/1974 Narrogin for NCP became a Liberal in 1985)

· John Bowler (deputy chair) (Kalgoorlie member and former Labor mines minister)

· Derek Carew Hopkins (Department of Environment director general) (former Appeals Convenor) (adviser, Office of the Minister for Regional Development)

· Mark Gregory (Special Counsel to Minter Ellison, his practice has focused on the land access needs of his clients. This includes advising clients on complex government approvals processes; assisting clients to obtain necessary land tenure and mining tenements and dealing with compulsory acquisition matters.)

· David Parker (former Chamber of Minerals and Energy director) (government and public affairs manager, Apache Energy)

· Richard Ellis (Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s WA director) (also in 2004 Colin Barnett’s former chief of staff was called Richard Ellis, may or may not be the same)

· Ian Wight-Pickin (former or current Secretary of the Dawesville Branch of the Liberal Party) (chief of staff, office of the Deputy Premier and Minister for Indigenous Affairs)

· Ian Fletcher (former adviser to the Pangea Nuclear Waste Dump company), (former CEO of the Kalgoorlie/Boulder Town Council), (Premier Richard Court’s principal advisor), (Vice-president of government relations in WA for BHP Billiton)

· Tim Shanahan (Minerals Initiative director and former Chamber of Minerals and Energy) (director, Energy and Minerals Initiative, University of Western Australia)

· Chris Clegg (principal consultant, Statewide Tenement and Advisory Services)

· Doug Koontz (was on the DME Minerals Environment Liaison Committee in 2000 representing the Minerals Industry) (currently chair of the Environment & Water Policy Committee for AMEC and a councillor on the AMEC executive council) (principal environmental consultant Aquaterra Consulting an international water and environment consultancy, operating with offices in Australia, UK, Ireland and Mongolia)

· Noel Ashcroft (former Executive Director, Major Projects, Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, heavily involved in the development of the Burrup as an industrial hub) (chief executive of government relations and market development for the Griffin Group)

· Tony van Merwyk, (partner in Freehills)

Robin Chapple

Greens Member Elect

for the Mining & Pastoral Region

Approvals process for WA – READ IT AND WEEP pdf file

West Australian Mining Town says NO to URANIUM – go figure! Maybe it ISN’T safe!!!!!

Thanks to eco warrior Robin Chapple for the newstip.

Thanks to WIN television for covering it – this is a good yarn, and I’m not sure mainstream media will cover it or understand it’s significance

West Australian Mining Town says NO to URANIUM – go figure! Kudo

►

Please share this news as a wake up call that BigNuke is on the move, thrashing around like a dying dinosaur.

Relax and destress with Guided imagery meditation – it’s free, it works and it’s fun to make your own

Iguazu-Falls © scribeworks.com.au - check out Chris's site

Guided meditation links here are free. One from the US and one from me.
As my page says – don’t pay for guided meditation audio, there’s plenty of excellent audio free – including good sound FX and binaural beats ( see my page for wiki link with info on binaurals.)

http://serve.tony.googlepages.com/guidedimagery

Here is a great 10 minute guided meditation – you just sit or lie down with earphones on and let your mind go for a walk. This link will open at a University of Michigan’s complementary medicine site for cancer patients which has the 10 min “walk” and other cool stuff that has been scientifically shown to help anyone feel better. Take a walk, go on.

Net censorship – australia – Could The Clean Feed Bypass Parliament? | newmatilda.com

Could The Clean Feed Bypass Parliament? | newmatilda.com .

Ziggy Switkowski says you want Nuclear Power Plants – did he ask? thanks to ABC for covering it.

Aussies will accept nuclear power, conference told – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

not even Barry Obama has a plan for nuclear waste,where's Ziggy's

Is he TELLING us we will accept nuclear power?

Who is he talking to?

He admits a new Nuke plant would take 15 years – by then the cost of clean renewables will be less than dirty atom splitting.

Notice how various professors and community ” leaders” are suddenly speaking up, almost spookily singing the same words.

It’s also scary that some of my colleagues in mainstream media leave some crazy claims unchallenged and out of context. Question everything!

IF WE DON’T RAISE OUR VOICES the only ones heard will be the heavily backed and resourced Uranium and Mining complex.

contact me for info on using talkback and new media to have YOUR voice heard ( even if you disagree with me – it’s a hippie thing )

West Aussie voters please see copy and use the letter in the right column to send a message to Colin Barnett, but cc ALL MP’s – their ears are full of slick-helled lobbyist noise and they need yours for balance

Meanwhile

This article may be from 2007 but it’s so relevant for us in WA right now

The Barnett Government plans to give miners the “green” light to dig up, process and transport uranium.

Politically there is clear evidence the mighty nuclear industry is taking advantage of the fear of global warming and the global recession.

See the Greenpeace UK story & video by clicking

uranium | Greenpeace UK.

See how a Greenpeace co-founder has been drafted in to push for nuke power here, is he right, if not who’s speaking up?

http://tinyurl.com/co7k38

20+ More videos here http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=648207BCB5C42D37

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

Murder in Nairobi: Wikileaks related human rights lawyers assassinated – Wikileaks

Murder in Nairobi: Wikileaks related human rights lawyers assassinated – Wikileaks.

It’s still not OK for Aussie stars to be gay, even with an Olympic Gold

Sad story but true from news.com.au

check it out below and please comment whether you agree or not.

It’s still not OK for Aussie stars to be gay | Celebrity | News.com.au.

Nuclear Waste – would you like some from West Australia too?

Click below for A sobering item from the US on waste as West Australia considers allowing uranium mining against the wishes of voters.

We need also to remember that in the years it will take to build any sparkling new nuclear power stations, the world economic dynamic will have changed so that truly clean and renewable alternatives are a lot more competitive and practical.

Please comment on whether we in W.A. should mine Uranium and send it overseas, sometimes to nuclear armed countries with unstable governments and with no clear direction on how to deal with waste that will still be deadly in thousands of years.

For other info on our “friend” uranium Google “depleted uranium Iraq” – be careful if you’re a sensitive soul – it’s not pretty and it’s very real for the children and families affected.

People in WA are now gearing up to remind the Barnett Govenrment why this state has been free from Uranium mining and nuclear power all these years – watch this space! You may also like to visit this youtube link

Nuclear waste dogs US energy policy

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0306/p02s01-usgn.html

Yucca Mountain was supposed to be where the highly toxic material was sent. But Obama’s energy budget leaves it out.

By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor  from the March 6, 2009 edition

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.

John Lennon asks us to join One Laptop Per Child – well sorta, and it’s OK with Yoko ONO

The One Laptop Per Child group has produced a new ad  ( click here to view it on Youtube ) featuring a remixed voice and video package that at least gives the feeling that the Beatle was supporting it.

It’s not exactly slick, but if it continues to focus on the needs of children it’s okay with me too Yoko.

By the way, here in Australia John Lennon’s “Double Fantasy” Album was number one on this day back in 1980, the year I started as a radio journalist.

Click here for the website of One Laptop, and see the mission statement below.

To create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.

 

We all know that the biggest challenges for children in our world are war, disease, famine, drought and neglect.

We desperately need energy money and resources there, but this campaign looks worthwhile for some fairly obvious reasons.

Please let me know if you support or see other advocacy and advocate stuff that might be worth republishing here.

 

BlogBack - talkback to this blog - you are most welcome to;

email submissions   serve.tony@gmail.com ,

post new material in comments,

share websites or media,

leave a voice comment  - phone +61 8 9467 2264

contribute in any way.

I’m particularly keen to hear from people who are working in area of mental health with stories or help finding useful treatments based on brain plasticity.

Everything from meditation to; neurofeedback, analysis, CBT and guided imagery works on “rewiring” the neuron circuits of the brain after damage, disease or deterioration.

Exciting and hopeful clinical work being done in many areas, such as stroke and HI recovery and many  ”disabilities” are turning out to be treatable conditions.

It’s been exciting to see mainstream media at least begin to pick up on the great work being done, and the ongoing success of Norman Doidge’s book ( and PBS special ) has been an important starting point or focus for those unaware of the new treatments that continue to evolve.

That  ”brain training” software and games we see being advertised are just a small part of the real and repeatable effects of “rewiring” the brain.  They are becoming more and more widely used as theraputic devices in private homes, business, hospitals and nursing homes.

The possibilities, even in the short term, for better treatment and some cures are inspiring, but there will soon be debate about some key elements of life and law.

It’s become clear that all crime and substance abuse are related to mental health.

It is self evident that no-one in their right mind kills, rapes, tortures or neglects. No-one in their right mind uses substances that make them ill, violent, impulsive or an addict.

It stands to reason that Governments as providors of health care could ( and I say should) be held accountable for not

providing mental health care when someone comes to grief.

Maybe that will be a good thing in the this risk averse corporate world.

Perhaps if lawyers and activisits around the world began a concerted series of claims for individuals and groups based on their known mental health issues not being addressed we may see less seriosuly ill people released from jail or hospitals and into a new tragedy.

Once again it comes down to whether we care enough about our safety, health and the future to spend money and energy on better diagnosis and treatment for brain related illnesses.

We have the knowledge, but the will is yet to come and there are  also the hurdles of  stigma and cost. Change will come though, we’re evolving. 

Anyhow, I’m just a madman with a will to make a difference, it’s what YOU think and do that will make a difference.

6PR Late Night Links – websites & videos on 6pr.com.au

Midnight to dawn radio lsteners in Perth ( 882 am )and  those listening online around the world                 ( at 6pr.com.au ) might find these links useful over the next 3 weeks as I fill in at the Farifax radio station.

I’ll add to the links and welcome your input – simply click on the comments link after the tags at the bottom of a story. I have yet to set up email in the studio but you can text me your number anywhere in the world and I’ll call back, SMS/text your name , country,area and phone number to +61 403 339 290

Hours related to this material are midnight to 0530 local time, 1500GMT/UTC to 2030 GMT/UTC weeknights from Dec 22 to Jan 11.

The call in number is +61 8 922 11 882  and in a pale imitation of the great NPR network ” all things are considered,” so join in and talk about anything at all, because as long as we’re respectful we can tackle anything.

Special shout outs to Paul in Alicante Spain, Gina in Phoenix, Byron in Oregon, my friends in Israel and Palestine and anyone who’s been listening but has yet to make a call.

 

Listen in in over the next night or two for a chat with Robin Chapple from FARA a global network of people concerned about the destruction of ancient rock art that preadtes the Pyramids – click here for info on the shameful neglect and corporate vandalism of the Spirit Rocks on West Australia’s Burrup Peninsula.

Now some food for our brains

fMRI – functional magnetic resonance imaging has revealed amazing brain facts

One of the greats of brain science explains the principles and amazing applications of brain plasticity – covering ageing issues, strole, mood disorders and a lot more. This video runs an hour and twenty minutes, so grab a cuppa and prepare to be inspired

 

This  Discovery Channel video is an amazing story about how our new understanding of how the brain can rebuild itself.

Meet a little girl whose illness meant half her brain had to be removed.

 

INFO on the book that has amazed, informed and inspired me more than any other in decades   *  This link will take you to info on the book ”  The BRAIN That CHANGES ITSELF “

 

Watch here as Alvaro Fernandez describes some new brain science that promises breakthroughs in treating a range of illnesses and injuries that had ’til now thought to have been something we just had to live with or die from.

George W Bush and the hard shoe shuffle

There’s a new web game based on the Iraqi reporter throwing his shoes at dubya that might cause a smile, even to the Pres himself.

the ABC covers the reuters story here  

you can play one version here and please let me know if you get a top score

I’ve never been a fan of Bush the younger ( or his daddy ) but he did show grace under fire this time, ducking and coming back up to face his attacker. I was expecting him to go bananas!

So apart from an illegal war that’s left 600 thousand plus Iraqi men, women and children dead and failing to regulate or even monitor the corporate cowboys who’ve caused a global economic crisis, maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all.

Meanwhile it took real courage to do what the reporter did and he faces an uncertain future after his arrest despite popular support. Hamdallilla – good luck Habibi. A Salaam Aleikum.

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’ Dad on radio 6WF – great work as usual by our ABC

If you’d like to hear Ben Cousins’ dad Bryan talking to abc local radio’s Russel Wolfe click here.

The interview reveals a great deal about a parent’s battle to support a child through almost unprecedented levels of pressure and scrutiny.

Please pass the link on to others, particularly those standing on soapboxes or flinging rocks from glazed domiciles, and to those whose mouths seem unconnected to any human brain let alone their own.

Congratulations to Ben and family, Kevin Sheedy, the mighty Tigers and kudos to Perth’s abc radio.

visit Richmond’s website here, and don’t be shy about joining the club or at least sending a message of support.

oh, one last thing… watch out for vultures! There are media people already drafting stories about Ben’s future failure – certain that it will come and that they will profit from his failure.

The best way to dreal with these flying vermin is to ignore them – so choose your media wisely

Ben Cousins saved by Tigers after abuse by Weasels

Ben Cousins has been selected to play for the Richmond AFL club.

 

Story and Video here from my colleagues at WA Today ( Fairfax Digital/Radio )

 

I’m not a joiner, but I will become a member at the Victorian club to show both; support for their bold action, and  send a message to the Eagles and AFL that they should not expect a Christmas card.

 

Listen in to sports tonight on local radio 6PR from 1700hrs local

 

( 1000 UTC/Greenwich ) to hear the full story.

 

click here for the link and then click on “listen live.”

 

Remember, Ben has been battling an illness, has not been convicted of anything and yet has been villified and isolated by big sections of the Media, AFL and various Club administrators.

 

I trust these big tough aussie men who run these shows will abandon their own children if they get hooked on drugs and make sure they can’t continue their careers. They may also realise their institutionalised booze drinking is a drug addiction and sack themselves.

 

Many of them will be waiting for Ben to fail so they can crack a tinnie and say ” told you so!”

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.

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