Animal Advocates Pressure Canada to Ban Seal Hunting -- Again

Concerned Groups Pressure Canada to End Seal Hunting The Protect Seals Network, an international coalition of some three-dozen groups including Greenpeace, Canada’s Nova Scotia and Vancouver humane societies and others, is calling for a new boycott of Canadian seafood. As one of its many actions, the group recently placed a full-page ad in the Christian Science Monitor urging readers to join the boycott until Canada’s government ends the seal hunt. Nothing was done of course I wonder if it ever will at times just like the Japs and the poor Whales and don't less us be to uppity I mean we in Australia breed Crocodiles and not just for food either, Ladie's Handbags or purses spring to mind; does the old alligator in the USA suffer this fate I wonder? Whatever this cruelty will I fear continue just so some rich Woman desires A white Fur and there are plenty of men with enough shekels to buy them.

AWB paid Pakistani middleman for deals

So what’s new and yep you guessed it good old honest John denies it AGAIN. Does he think for one moment we are stark raving mad? Well it seem so judging by his usual remarks as one can see in this report. Twelve million dollars in anyone’s dollars is a lot of cash but look at our medical services, just look at what he and that cheap skate treasurer of ours (the one that acts like a schoolboy in parliament) have just done with public monies why was it not spent on the Australian public instead of going into the greedy hands of a Pakistani agent?. Incredible simply incredible and here is the western world and in particular the USA helping Pakistan with their clean up; I am wondering if this now wealthy man courtesy of the good old Aussie tax payer chipped in at all with his couple of bucks towards this relief fund. Of course he didn’t; I am now wondering if Kim Beazley if he had been at the helm of our ship would have done the same; you know what I reckon he would have. The same thing applies to that monster in Iraq who walked out of court yesterday our wheat board had some deal with him going; denied of course politicians must have red faces surely when they lie through their teeth. When will they realise that the Buck stops with them and in the long term it is our money they are tossing around like ten cent pieces.

Saddam trial falls into chaos

THE troubled trial of Saddam Hussein collapsed into chaos moments after resuming today as the former Iraqi president and his defence team stormed out and guards dragged his half-brother from the courtroom. I was always under the impression that a court belongs to the Judge any transgressions are usually in Australia at least dealt with by contempt and the person making them serves his allotted time or apologises to the court; when it involves the actual defendant well I just don’t know. Saddam's lawyers threatened to boycott future sessions unless the chief judge apologised, and called for the trial to be moved abroad, saying a fair hearing in Iraq was impossible. why the devil the Judge should apologise to a defendant especially one who is charged with horrific crimes is all beyond me I'm afraid. But after reading and seeing this charade I am now thinking well why was he not at Guantanamo Bay when he was found like all the rest and treated just like the rest of the unfortunates in there; Think about this his trial is at least being held which is more than can be said about the rest of them in camp X-Ray. Still being as he is in Iraq let him go before a war crimes tribunal as was done in the world wars we have gone through prior to this; this business of letting him be judged by his fellow citizens to me is all wrong; one only has to look at the Joker on trial from Bosnia or Kovosco or wherever; look at the farce being enacted there in the Hague.

Beazley promises free TAFE in new policy push

Millions of dollars in TAFE fees would in effect be scrapped for tens of thousands of apprentices if Labor wins federal office, as it vows to tackle the skills crisis. It would pay $800 a year into special bank accounts for apprentices to cover their TAFE fees and other expenses such as books and equipment. For those not familiar with the term TAFE means Technical and further education. The thing is Kim where is this money coming from? And another thing why don’t our children stay at school? Maybe that ought to be addressed first before throwing away millions of dollars like it was thrown away at skill share and all those other lurks and gimmicks that were frittered away in the past. Yes ok I agree the Howard government should try to fix up this problem and have not; still consider this; all these educational problems first reared its head I would say when the Whitlam mob took over; indeed they have never been fixed not even in a temporary manner either. The reason the Howard government has increased skilled migration should be obvious to an utter idiot. We have none of our own for the simple reason that successive Australian labor Governments did not bother to educate our children as we were too busy giving hand outs to social welfare in all the wrong areas. I notice that the Brits did it with their new labour party and Blair and it worked; well up to a point and now of course they are plagued with refugees; something we are trying to avoid; if you got into office we would be plagued with them. Wake up Mr Beazley the average Australian cares little for you or Howard; one wonders who is the lesser of the two evils. Ready to listen to solutions not really just a tax cut keeps the average worker happy. Now here is something that would win you votes for sure cut the massive salaries you are given by the duly elected government of the day. I might consider voting for you then myself. So when are we going to hear about the rest of these so called policies of your’s? SOON I hope. I for one am not holding my breath. Still how about Big Kev for Prime Minister

Black president aims at parliament

January 29, 2006 WARREN Mundine, Australia's first ever indigenous political party president, sees himself as a Labor MP when his term is over. Mr Mundine, yesterday made president of the federal Labor Party, said he had never hidden the fact that he wanted to get elected. "I am very strong about designing policy. To do that you have go to be in the parliament wing," he said on Sky News. "You have also got to be in government. I want to work towards that as president. That is my main focus. There is no hiding the fact that I would like to be in the parliament." But the more pressing job is to get Opposition Leader Kim Beazley in and Prime Minister John Howard out, he said. Mr Mundine is correct on one point at least GET RID OF HOWARD. the snag is that whilst on preferences the Australian Labor Party had more votes under our (idiotic system to my thinking at least) Kim does not present a good image to the Australian public. reports all say that the Tampa disaster cooked his goose in favour of that little bloke and his mate the schoolboy treasurer but I am not so sure of that myself as one can see here Mr Mundine said Labor had lost the last four elections and that reality had to be faced. "There are reasons for that. There has been a lot of navel gazing and there has been a lot of in-fighting within the party. That is what happens with any opposition," he said. "You only have to look around all the Liberal parties, National parties around Australia that are in opposition. They have a similar problem." Mr Mundine said Labor had to win the next election, scheduled for late 2007, for the Australian people, and to do that the party needed to unify behind Mr Beazley. All well and good but in my opinion it is Beazley who needs to be shafted, lets face it he resigned once to the back benches and did the usual B/S job of denying to make a come back and has; it would be great to see new blood like Mr Mundine in Parliament but he will have to if elected of course make his way up through the ranks like anyone else. It could well be he is Prime Minister material but what ever and I wish him luck in his endeavours get rid of Mr Beazley first.

A NAMBOUR LEGEND

It seems we have a guy in Nambour Queensland who has perfected the art of sleeping at his work desk. I kid you not he has been observed and actually told the truth and admitted it. According to a fellow employee for want of a better word he’s a dead set legend; I have to agree with that statement. I don’t think I could have gotten away with such a thing when I was a working man but it seems it is just one of many techniques he has studied lol. I am terribly sorry this is such a short post but I nodded off AGAIN. Ah I understand now he is a public servant still he appears to get in a good solid thirty minutes work before he goes home; yes I do believe he stays awake while the news is on but. Of course none of this is really true; I thought I had better say just in case it is just satire.

THE FIRST ELEVEN: ABORIGINAL CRICKETERS

I have Read many accounts of this as I am a cricket fanatic it is true and the accounts presented here actually did happen. And they did do battle on the sports field against the arch enemy and acquitted themselves well I read and to think that in those days it took a three months sea voyage to reach these places how times have changed. Years later of course Australian cricketers sailed to the UK for matches which became known as test matches a term still in use today and possibly to a lot of folks astonishment to the USA and Canada where games were played; albeit in Canada on coconut matting. Nowadays games have been cut down and are called one day games and coloured uniforms are worn instead of the traditional creams or whites of the five day test games which are still played against the cricketing nations in the world as are these limited over games; also a newcomer on the block is the 20/20 game which a lot prefer. This is the first ever team from these Australian shores to engage in combat against the old enemy; It seems a lot got crook and I don't wonder at it in the British climate. This is An original first eleven bat by the way as well.

So you Wanna be a True Blue well here are the rules

Subject: Being Australian ... > You're not considered to be a true blue Australian 'til... > > 1) You've mimicked Alf Stewart's accent, eg. "Struth! Get out of it, > ya flamin' drongo!" > > 2) You've had an argument with your mate over whether Ford or Holden > make the better car! > > 3) You've done the "hot sand" dance at the beach while running from > the ocean back to your towel. > > 4) You know who Ray Martin is. > > 5) You start using words like "reckon" and "root" and call people > "maydee". > > 6) You stop greeting people with "hello" and go straight to the "how > ya Goin'But?" > > 7) You've been to a day-nighter cricket match and screamed out > incomprehensibly until your throat went raw. > > 8) You kind of know the first verse to the national anthem, but don't > know what "girt" > means. > > 9) You have a story that revolves around excess consumption of alcohol. > > 10) You have a mate named "Davo". > > 11) You've attended an outdoor music festival on the hottest day of > the year. > > 12) You've tried to hang off a clothesline while pretending you can fly. > > 13) You've visited the emergency room after hanging off the > clothesline pretending you can fly. > > 14) You own a pair of thongs. > > 15) You own a separate pair of "dress thongs" for special occasions. > > 16) You don't know what's in a meat pie, and you don't care. > > 17) You pronounce Australia as "Stralya" > > 18) You call soccer soccer, not football. > > 19) You've squeezed Vegemite through vita wheat to make little > Vegemite worms. > > 20) You suck your coffee through a Tim Tam. > > 21) You realise that lifeguards are the only people who can get away > with wearing Speedos. > > 22) You pledge allegiance to Vegemite over Promite or Marmite. > > 23) You understand the value of public holidays. > > 24) Your weekends are spent barracking for your favourite sports team. > > 25) You've played beach cricket with a tennis ball and a bat fashioned > out of a fence post. > > 26) Your religious beliefs extend to the fact that in the end, > everything will be ok, and you have told a mate in tough times that > "She'll be right, mate" > > 27) You use the phrase, "no worries" at least once a day. > > 28) You've been on a beach holiday and have stayed in a caravan. > > 29) You constantly shorten words to "brekkie", "arvo" and "barbie" > > 30) You've adopted a local bar as your own. > > 31) You know the oath of mateship can never be limited by geographical > distance. > > 32) You measure a journey in beer, not kilometres or time. (That's a 3 > beer trip mate).

welcome to all New Citizens on Australia day which is today

I myself got a beaut Book on the area I had chosen to live in and Brother was it tough then but enjoy the day I know I will.

Legless and lawless sounds like OZ

I had a real laugh at this ok I know I should not have but legless and lawless made me see the funny side An Oregon man hurled both of his prosthetic legs at a state trooper, striking him with one, after his son was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, police said today. The incident on Friday began when the trooper stopped a sport utility vehicle going the wrong way on a highway in southern Oregon. The trooper at first detained only the driver, a 26 year old, after he became aggressive. But then his father, Joe, 53, a passenger in the vehicle, grew hostile, a police spokesman said. The senior one Joe charged at the arresting officer several times before the trooper knocked him to the ground, according to the police report. "Passenger removed a prosthetic leg and threw it at trooper, hitting trooper in chest. Passenger removed second leg, threw it at trooper but missed," the report said. The father and son face multiple charges including assault on a public safety officer. "It got to be quite a dangerous situation. I think the officer used a lot of discretion and restraint in the amount of force that he used in this situation," said a County district attorney. A lawyer for the accused could not be immediately reached for comment, but I bet you any money you like he will charge an Arm as well as a leg we all know what lawyer's fees are like excuse the pun lol.

A visit from the stars yes or no

Have we been visited? Have extra-terrestrials influenced our history? If you look at mythology, it appears we have been visited! Almost all mythologies (Christian mythology included) mentions some sort of flying gods. There has to be a spark of truth in this surely to God and don't laugh at that statement as it could well be true. This guy believes it and I confess I am not trying hard to disbelieve as there is so much evidence on our earth and in all countries. And then of course why did the American government deny such things existed or indeed were possible when they must have spent vast amounts of Public monies on this research. From where did the extra-terrestrials come? According to the Zecharia Sitchin, they came from a twelfth planet with in our solar system. He points to the importance put on the number twelve through out history. There were twelve high Sumer gods, and twelve gods of Mount Olympus. In the Bible, Joseph compares himself and his brothers to twelve celestial bodies. We have twelve months of the year, and some of our math systems continue to follow the Sumerian use of the numbers 60 and 12. (Doesn't it seem strange that we have 60 minutes in an hour, and not a hundred? Or that our day is 24 hours, not 20?) Well of course it could well be coincidence but that is a word that I myself have never believed in; also the language of the Sumerians is different than any other earth language; most strange I thought. If extra-terrestrials came from planets in other solar systems, than it would be unlikely that they could travel back and forth as easily as they are reported too. The idea that they came from a yet unknown planet in our own solar system makes more sense. Could ancient myths speak of extra-terrestrials? From what I read, I see that there is such a possibility. Why should Earth be the only planet with life; One has to form their own opinion, but I formed mine years ago.

This is where to be on the 26th of January Australia of course

Please don't come all at once and if you can't help it well at least leave our grog alone as it is ours by right.

The Australian War Memorial and Museum Canberra A.C.T

Just to let you know that our War Memorial in the nation's capital Canberra is also a museum dedicated to Australian,British and Canadian Forces who served their country in their hour of need and unlike a lot of latter wars and campaigns was in the very begining for Australia at least composed of volunteers. In the very begining they actually marched from the country town in which they volunteered to places like Melbourne; one heck of a way and we should not forget our neighbours in New Zealand either although it seems the museum has on it's web site unless I read it wrong. The exhibits are actually very good; I realise we had American allies and they are featured in some of the exhibits naturally it's just that they are not members of the commonwealth of nations. Indeed we had American's who volunteered and joined the Royal Air Force some did their training in Canada and when the USA entered the war in 1941 they were given an option of transfering to a USAAF squadron or staying on at lower pay with the R.A.F and one would be surprised just how many did take that option; but I do believe they were allowed to wear some insignia on their uniform's to prove this. Bed is looming goodnight and pleasant reading. From this to the new Memorial in London UK.

Winter chills: 1947 and 1963

Severe winters I was sort of prompted to write a blog about the severity of the weather in 1947 in the UK as I do recall it rather well; and I love this shot of the two folk on a frozen river; I received this info from a friend I write to in Idaho USA who is a Nurse and remarked about the 1947 winter a guy told her about (I reassured her it was the truth) so I did a little research on the subject recalling it. I guess I was around eleven at the time and we had just moved from war ravaged Portsmouth to the countryside in Gloucestershire which is not far from the Cotswold’s. So here I am on a Saturday afternoon at a loose end, and so down the hill into the Valley I go to a little place called Nailsworth just to watch a film at the Cinema the terms Movie and Movie house were not then in general usage by the British population that was American of course and to think most of the world uses them now; unthinkable then of course to a staid British Public. Just a normal winters day minus snow and rain and I was only to glad to get inside and watch what was being screened at the time. Holy Moley when I came out it was a whole new world, it took forever to get home place was so full of snow and huge drifts. I made it of course and no one remarked my being late for a welcome change lol and guess what the whole community was shut off from the outside world; gosh we even had an airdrop of supplies that was a novelty. I even came across a Bus driver with his bus and he had received orders it seems via the local man in charge of law and order ordering him yes ordering him to stay with the bus until the thaw. He was miles off of the road and not a hazard his passengers had long gone poor bloke; I don't know what happened to him honest I do know that Dad still found his way to the Pub. Then I guess after the thaw flooding occurred And now I read on the World Wide Web that there was a colder one afterwards in 1963. I don'’t recall it so I must have lobbed into good old Australia then. It seems that the coldest of the lot was in 1684. Since daily meteorological records began in Britain in the 17th century, there have been a number of severe winters. The coldest of all was probably 1684, when the diarist John Evelyn took a coach to Lambeth along the frozen River Thames. There was an exceptionally cold and protracted winter in 1739/40 when, between November 1739 and May 1740, snow fell on 39 days in the London area. January in both 1795 and 1814 were colder than January 1740, and the month of February in 1855, 1895 and 1947 were colder than February 1740. England and Wales would have to wait 223 years for a winter as cold as 1740: 1963. But what was so remarkable about the 1739/40, however, is that the mean temperatures of both January and February were below 0 °C in the Midlands and southern England. The only other known instance of two successive months with mean temperatures below freezing took place in December 1878 and January 1879.

Something I should not have done and I now deeply regret

I was getting a lot of spam mail from various folk all over the world and it finally clicked that it was from this mob not the smiling lady pictured I got her from a site specialising in images ok; By golly she looks happy doesn't she?. So at first I simply deleted my profile on there; I don't have the time to be frank to do a lot of it as I have another and much better interest as you can maybe see; this is not to say I don't have my friends as I do I just don't really want more. So ok here's how it goes I see you smirking and yes it is my own silly fault lol. Right first up I tried to delete my profile only to find to my horror my e-mail address although ticked not for view obviously was as the mails kept on a coming but. I ranted and raved all to no avail it stayed on there. I wrote them cranky letters all sorts so then I thought Aha and I changed it to a lady of 80 years, I had 15 e-mails straight away; but thankfully only one came to my personal e-mail which I had marked private if you are an avid reader and can recall that. I have just been back yep you got it 5 more and I am a deleted person. so my trick did not work although I did have a nice letter from a young guy in The USA I guess who saw through my ruse and had a chuckle he said; we now write. I have learnt my lesson well by all this but I thought youse would all get a smile out of it as even I did in the end.

Paragliding Down Under

Welcome Paragliding in Australia has one internationally famous location and Manilla is it. Whether you are a pilot coming to fly XC(cross country) or keen to take a course and learn at one of the best flying schools in the world, Manilla has got it all! This is also where one can learn the sport it seems as well and I reckon as well as providing a thrill it will also show you a region of New South Wales known as New England. Fossicking for gem stones was very popular the last time I was here which was oh maybe six years ago; indeed Manilla is situated on the Fossicker’s way. This is the route to Warialda near the Queensland border and several small friendly places are on it, you would get a pleasant surprise I know I did the first time I ever travelled along it. ! The friendly Lake Keepit Soaring Club also offers gliding joy flights and courses; I did not know this but I have been to lake Keepit many times as it is a beaut place and one can fish there; heaps of wildlife Para and Hang gliding pilots use rising currents of warm air called 'thermals' (just like the eagles and conventional Gliding pilots do!) to provide lift. By finding a number of these thermals, a course can be completed with height gains up to 10,000ft (3 kilometres)! The 'Big Sky Country' of North West NSW (5hrs drive from Sydney) is ideal for such flying, and the launch location - Mount Borah - is one of the world’s best. Mt Borah with its 4 large launches and landing areas also provides easy ridge soaring for all levels. Mt Borah close to Manilla is and has been home to multiple World Records and Australian National Records so I can see why it was chosen for the 2007 world championships. It also attracts pilots from around the world seeking some of the best (and safest) cross country (XC) flying to be found anywhere. So come along and enjoy, the folk are real friendly as well.