Saturday 31 March 2012

Scoop: Local MP plans to appear in avatar format


At yesterday arvo's meeting of The Table of Knowledge at the local watering hole Tom, who claims to know everything and anything about politics, had his wife's sister's young fella (truly, that's how Tom refers to the strapping young man, not simply his nephew) along as a guest.

When the agenda moved to consider the absence of our local charmer, oops that should be member, Chris Gulaptis's smiling dial on the parliament's website the young visitor remarked, "Reckon he's probably put it out for tender."

"What do you mean?" enquired Tom.

"Oh, sorry, Uncle Tom, but I thought from the way you and Aunty spoke about your local MP at home you reckon he's the ants' pants, a sorta 2012 SNAG (sensitive new age guy) type of bloke.

"And, that being the case, he wouldn't want something as ordinary as a mug shot on the website. Nah, he's probably waiting quietly till his designer has finished his avatar."

Well, readers, remember you read that scoop here.

Hmmm, we're wondering what Chris's designer will come up with. Any suggestions?

New Carbon Farming Handbook Launched In Casino by Saffin and Dreyfus


THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Cabinet Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation

THE HON JANELLE SAFFIN MP
Federal Member for Page

MEDIA RELEASE

New Carbon farming Handbook to help australia’s farmers create extra revenue

29 March, 2011

Farmers, landholders, waste operators and other clean energy businesses in the Northern Rivers region seeking to take part in the Gillard Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) can now access information in a new handbook launched in Casino today by the Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus.

Speaking at a carbon farming forum organised by Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, Mr Dreyfus encouraged farmers, land owners, local government and other stakeholders to utilise the Carbon Farming Initiative to generate extra income by reducing agricultural and landfill waste pollution.
“Climate change poses a serious risk to the future of Australian agriculture and food production, with scientists confirming a strong link to less predictable and more intense weather events. Over the next six years, the Gillard Government will support the land sector by investing $1.7 billion dollars of carbon price revenue to support the CFI and other programs to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability,” said Mr Dreyfus.
“Farmers and landholders have an important role to play in our nation’s clean energy future by increasing the land sector's resilience to climate change and improving long term farm productivity.”
“The Carbon Farming Initiative Handbook will be a great resource for farmers in the Northern Rivers region. It sets out how farmers and landholders can improve their land and farm sustainability while generating carbon credits that can be sold on domestic and international markets,” said Ms Saffin.

“Farmers and landholders in the Northern Rivers region can now benefit from methodologies that have already been approved under the CFI, including reducing methane in piggeries, flaring landfill gas, planting native species and reducing pollution from savanna burning,” said Ms Saffin.

“CSIRO, universities and other research bodies are developing a number of other methodologies with the federal government, including dairy cattle food supplementation, enhanced efficiency fertilisers, manure management and soil carbon,” said Mr Dreyfus.

While in the region, the Parliamentary Secretary also visited Casino West Public School, which received funding under the National Solar Schools Program, and met with local councils to discuss the CFI and the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan.

Further information about the Carbon Farming Initiative is available at: www.climatechange.gov.au/cfi

Media contact: Giulia Baggio 0400 918 776 (Dreyfus) and  Matt Dunne 0417 287 456 (Saffin)

Planet Under Pressure 2012 Conference: Recommendations for Navigating the Anthropocene


The Planet Under Pressure Conference 2012 at its March 24-29 London gathering released this:

Recommendations for Navigating the Anthropocene
Nine Policy Briefs to help inform policy agenda in next decade

International science community has published a series of Policy Briefs for the United Nations Rio+20 conference in June 2012.

“Rio+20 is an opportunity for progress. We commissioned these nine briefs to summarise scientific findings relevant to the Rio+20 agenda: the green economy and sustainable development.” says Nobel Laureate Professor Elinor Ostrom, the conference chief scientific advisor. “They cover a variety of topics, but a key feature of all briefs is the need for an interconnected approach to addressing our global challenges.”
The final four briefs for the series, released at the London Planet Under Pressure conference today, focus on energy security, green economy, health and wellbeing. Five Policy Briefs, published in late 2011, deal with interconnected risks and solutions, international governance for sustainable development, water security, food security and biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Key findings overleaf here
All nine Policy Briefs will be officially presented by a high-level scientific panel moderated by Georgios Kostakos, Deputy Director of the UN Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel, at the Planet Under Pressure conference, Monday, March 26, 2012, 1.00-1.40pm British Summer Time, Plenary Hall.
A parallel suite of scientific white papers is published in a special issue of the Journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Volume 4, Issue 1 – selected pp. 1-158 (February 2012).
Note to Editors
The research discussed in the press release, the conclusions drawn and the opinions offered are those of individual speakers or research teams at the Planet Under Pressure conference.
*The Anthropocene
The Anthropocene as a new geological epoch was first proposed in 2000 by Dutch Nobel Laureate Professor Paul Crutzen and US academic Professor Eugene Stoermer (1934-2012). Crutzen, Stoermer and others argued that the vast human enterprise now rivals the great geological forces of nature.
More information about Planet under Pressure Conference
The international science conference will be the biggest gathering of global environmental change specialists in advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit: 2,500 scientists, policymakers, industry and media representatives will meet to hear the latest research findings on the state of the planet and discuss concepts for planetary stewardship and societal and economic transformation towards global sustainability.
More information on the web: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/

Earth Hour 2012 - give Mother Nature an even break at 8.30pm March 31


Turn all your house lights and electrical applicances off
for one hour
 at 8.30pm on Saturday March 31, 2012

Mother Nature deserves a little breathing space
to digest all that greenhouse gas

Friday 30 March 2012

Don't blame Dallas - former north coast rep on NSW Aboriginal Land Council wants nothing to do with petroleum exploration


Letter to the Editor, The Northern Star


Local decisions

I was the elected councillor representing the North Coast Region on the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) from December 2010 to August 2011.

It has been mentioned to me that people are insinuating that I, as a councillor, was party to the NSWALC decision to apply for the petroleum exploration licences in the North Coast. I deny this.

In my time as councillor it was never mentioned about exploration licences on the North Coast.

My belief is that such decisions should come from the local level and not from the top down.

I personally find it repulsive that NSWALC made the decision they did without having the decency to talk with local Aboriginal land councils and other indigenous stakeholders. Shame on them.

Big brother has again returned to Aboriginal affairs.

I do not have an issue with mining where it is culturally and environmentally okay. The beautiful North Coast is not the place to pillage.

Dallas Donnelly, Grafton

Source: Letters, The Northern Star, 30/3/12

Iluka Road and the Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Petition


This was the Nationals MP for Clarence during his successful 2011 by-election campaign:


This was another Nationals MP for Clarence six years ago in 2006:


What do these two quotes tell us about ‘Steve’ Gulaptis’ request to the NSW Roads and Maritime Service for a review of the speed limit on Iluka Road in the Lower Clarence Valley?

Well, they tell us that the petition he was touting was unlikely to have ever contained 1,500 signatures – in fact it probably had a 700 signature shortfall.
They also suggest that he is attempting to use this petition a second time, as the former Member for Clarence had brought the petition to the attention of the NSW Legislative Assembly years ago.

Not rogering strangers in The Territory


Thousands of Territorians having crazed anonymous sex in public?
Naah, the pooches give the game away. If their owner was doing the wild thing in the bushes they would be trying to join in.
Betting that all the bloke on this NT News frontpage is doing is having a quick pee or the pic was posed.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Credit where credit's due


At 9 o'clock last night Chris Gulaptis, Member for Clarence, took the opportunity to make a private members' statement in the NSW Legislative Assembly about the value of the Grafton Agricultural Research and Advisory Station.


Mr Gulaptis concluded his statement with the words, "I offer my unreserved support for the Grafton Agricultural Research and Advisory Station."

Good work, Mr Gulaptis, but will your words do any good? Who was listening to the statement? More to the point, do they care and will they support you?

Earlier this week The Daily Examiner reported, "The once-prominent Grafton agricultural station appears to be dying a death of a thousand cuts. Following the closure of the hardwood forestry research facility and changes to the fisheries research facility, it has now been confirmed there are no beef cattle researchers on site and all stock are to be moved to Glen Innes."

Oh, and by the way, Mr Gulaptis still hasn't managed to get his portrait on the Members' Page on the parliamentary website. C'mon, Mr Gulaptis, get yourself down to the studio and have a happy snap taken - it's only a camera shot, not a rifle shot.

Another call for seatbelts on school buses


Two school buses collided in Maclean yesterday morning, resulting in an 11-year-old child being taken to hospital with suspected neck injuries. Another eight students were treated at the scene.


The Greens transport spokeswoman, Cate Faehrmann, will today give notice of a private members bill in which buses on some rural routes would need to be fitted with seatbelts. The routes would travel on unsealed roads or roads or highways with a speed limit greater than 80km/h.

While it's not clear if the measures proposed would have alleviated yesterday's incident that occurred before school in Maclean, the call is loud and clear: MPs, extract the digit and move to upgrade the safety of school bus travellers now!

Pollies can roll out statistics till the cows come home about how much safer bus travel is compared with other forms of motorised transport but that will not alter one simple fact ... it's only a matter of time!

Good to see Ms Faehrmann's move!

The $64 question locals in the electorate of Clarence will have on the tips of their tongues will be: And what is our local MP, Chris Gulaptis, who resides a stone's throw (okay, okay, so he lives over the hill and a few streets away from the site of yesterday's crash) prepared to do about improving bus safety by having school buses fitted with seat belts?

Mr Gulaptis, it's over to you.
Pic credit: The Daily Examiner

Andrew Robb comes out in defence of his host, Huawei


One of those tsk, tsk moments....

National Times 28 March 2012:


Excerpt from Australian Opposition Finance Spokesperson Andrew Robb’s Declaration of Member’s Interests dated 23 January 2012:








UPDATE

The Australian 29 March 2012:

Greens renew call for Dorrigo Plateau mines ban


Greens renew call for Dorrigo Plateau mine ban

Excerpts from Media Release: 22 March 2012

Greens NSW MP John Kaye has joined the Dorrigo Environment Watch  in calling for the Dorrigo Plateau to be declared a 'no mine zone' to protect the regions river systems and water supply…...
  
Dr Kaye said: "The Dorrigo antimony mining proposals is playing Russian roulette with the environment and downstream residents' health.

"The O'Farrell government knows that he Dorrigo Plateau is entirely unsuitable for antimony mining.

"Antimony mining, high rainfall and steep terrain is a highly risky combination. 

"The Nymboida and Clarence rivers would likely suffer as toxic pollutants including arsenic and antimony are washed out of the mine and into the catchments that supply drinking and agricultural water.

"The O'Farrell Government has reneged on their pre-election promise to create mining 'no-go' zones in sensitive areas.

"The Dorrigo Plateau catchment supplies water for fisheries, agriculture and domestic consumption.

"Antimony mining would put at risk the local environment and the economy and threaten the livelihood of farmers and the health of residents.

"The O'Farrell Government has failed to rule out Anchor Resources' proposal for a revitalised and expanded antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek, despite strong community opposition and the environmental and health risks it would create.

"The antimony mine at Hillgrove continues to leach toxic heavy metals into the surrounding environment with several spills reported last year and residents told not to pump from the Macleay River.

"The O'Farrell government should learn the lesson from contamination of the Macleay River and prohibit antimony mining on the Dorrigo Plateau.

"Dorrigo Environment Watch have been monitoring the effects that exploration and mining have had on the local environment.

"Frustrated by years of inaction by successive state governments, they are seeking international intervention. UNESCO have been asked to protect the pristine Godwana Rainforests from mining contamination.

"The Greens are calling on the O'Farrell Government  to recognise the threat that antimony mining poses to the Dorrigo ecosystem and rule out any future mining projects in the Plateau area" Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455


April to June 2012 may be good weather for ducks in the NSW Northern Rivers region


National Seasonal Rainfall Outlook: probabilities for April to June 2012, issued 21st March 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Wetter season favoured for much of eastern Australia

The national outlook for April to June 2012 shows the following:
  large parts of eastern Australia more likely to have a wetter season
  southeast SA, western and central Victoria, and Tasmania more likely to have a drier season
This outlook is mostly due to warmer than normal waters over the Indian Ocean.
The chances of receiving above median rainfall for April to June are above 60% over south eastern Queensland and the north eastern half of NSW, rising to a greater than 75% chance over the far northeast of NSW and southeast of Queensland. Such odds mean that for every ten years with similar ocean patterns like the current, about six to eight years would be expected to be wetter than average over these areas, while about two to four years would be expected to be drier during the April to June period…….

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Albanese has been keeping score on Abbott's Noalition


Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Leader of the House and Federal Member for Grayndler, in full battle cry in The Australian on 23 March 2012:

Noalition Bowling - 0 to 301

The US Republican Party has been dubbed the ‘Party of No’ for its program of perpetual obstruction.  Or, as former presidential hopeful Sarah Palin helpfully described it, the ‘Party of Hell No’. The Republican how-to manual seems to be firmly in the grasp of Tony Abbott as he sets out each day to rally his Noalition troops. There is nothing constructive in this manual. There is nothing in it about building a better Australia. Its sole instruction is to oppose everything and, hopefully, destroy the government in the process.  And, just like in the US, the conservative leader is aided by his friends outside the Parliament with very deep pockets.

It’s hard to imagine the despair then, at the conclusion of the autumn session, as Coalition troops head home for the recess. For the Gillard Labor Government has just achieved something of a milestone with the passing of the 300th bill through the House of Representatives. All the bluster, all the raucousness, all the desperate opposition to everything, has not actually translated into any parliamentary success for this Opposition which has failed to knock back one single bill.

Prime Minister Gillard promised the Australian people a year of delivery and that is what they have been given. Most recently, we passed the Mining Resources Rent Tax, spreading the benefits of the mining boom to everyday Australians. The money raised will fund a major tax break for Australia’s 2.7 million small businesses, cut company tax, give more  superannuation for all workers particularly the lowest paid, and fund critical new roads, bridges and rail lines for our mining regions.

We also passed legislation giving the nation’s truck drivers better protection and entitlements, something that’s been called for since 1979. This will cut the incentive to chase dangerous deadlines, making our roads safer not just for them but for the rest of us as well. And then there’s the means testing of private health insurance, a commonsense change that will mean working people will no longer be funding the medical insurance of people like me who can afford to pay our own way.

Sticking to his Noalition principles, Tony Abbott has taken on the historic mission of repealing just about every piece of Labor legislation. Goodbye mining tax, pension cuts, extra super for low paid workers. No more investment in clean energy technology, the end of the National Broadband Network, trade training centres and computers in schools. And that would only be the beginning.

As we advance our legislative program the Opposition’s tactics have become ever more desperate and disruptive. Already this year, 48 Coalition MPs have been thrown out of the House by the Speaker. The worst offenders have been Bronwyn Bishop and Joe Hockey (four times) closely followed by Christopher Pyne, George Christensen and Kelly O’Dwyer (three times).  We even had the spectacle of Tony Abbott’s chief of staff being threatened with expulsion following her vocal heckles from the staff benches.

Then there’s the near daily attempt by Tony Abbott to suspend standing orders. This action, intended for only the gravest matters, has been trivialised by this Leader of the Opposition who sees it as nothing more than a chance for a night-time news grab. But by cutting short Question Time, he avoids what has until now been the Opposition’s traditional job: holding the Government accountable.

His demands for suspensions have cost this 43rd Federal parliament 12 full question times that could have been spent challenging the Government on the economy, our health reform, infrastructure investment, anything really. Of the first 100 questions they have asked, there were only three on jobs, one on the surplus and one on the cost of living.

In a few months, this Government will reach its second birthday. The question all Australians should be asking is when will we see an Opposition that puts their interests first? When will we see an Opposition that treats the Parliament with respect? Shrill carping and scary slogans are no alternative to intelligent debate and policy. It’s time the Opposition did its job.

Question & Answer of the Month


An exchange in the comments section of a Granny Herald article on 20th March 2012:
Is there no depth to which Abbott will not descend?
Steve
March 19, 2012, 10:12AM
No. Abbott can sink MUCH further, believe me.
Morandir
Marrickville
March 19, 2012, 10:22AM

Tuesday 27 March 2012

NSWALC told to show its face over mining exploration plans

The James Hardie alleged compensation fund scam drags on through the courts into 2012

Monday 26 March 2012

On the subject of unequal consumption


A family’s food for one week in photographs from The Hungry Planet (courtesy of TimePhotos) showing apects of unequal resource consumption around the world.

Europe - Italy


North America – U.S.A.


South America – Ecuador


Asia – Bhutan


Africa – Chad

ACCC product recalls list - everything from motorbikes & mattresses to margarine


Car yards and supermarkets seem to be real buyer beware areas these days. Ducatis with dodgy real-wheels, Maseratis as crash hazards, Meadowlea marg suspected of containing cleaning agent and a Super A-Mart cot mattress capable of smothering the newest member of the family, to name just a few of the dangers for unwary consumers so far this year.
Even a bit of Wiggles branding isn't going to save the kids from discovering glass shards in their Ricey Bites.
From www.recalls.gov.au and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission here's a list of recalls created within the last 33 days.

A Right Royal Ruckus?



Something you don’t often see on an Australian High Court list:

King v The Queen
M129/2011

Sunday 25 March 2012

Speaking up for the NSW North Coast in opposition to coal seam gas mining


NSW Legislative Council Hansard, March 15 2012:

The Hon. JEREMY BUCKINGHAM [10.39 a.m.], in reply: I thank all members for their contributions to the debate—despite half of them being categorically wrong. At the outset, I must say it is disappointing to hear the Government's response to the Coal Seam Gas Moratorium Bill 2011. The Hon. Scot MacDonald called this bill "facile". I think that is a damning indictment of him rather than of the bill. The community will not be thanking the Government today. By voting against the bill the Government is opening the door just a fraction more to an industry that has unequivocally proven itself to be neither clean or safe nor good for our economy. I say to the Labor Party upfront that The Greens will support its amendments and I think the Government should take note of that. We congratulate the Labor Party on putting aside its history and the party's involvement in the beginning of this industry and standing up for the community today.

We support the move to have a moratorium pending the outcome of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee's bioregional assessments. I also note at the outset the authentic and heartfelt contribution from the Hon. Luke Foley during the adjournment debate when he discussed coal seam gas exploration in the Putty Valley, his comments on the environment generally and Labor's proud commitment to protecting our environment. I urge the Shooters and Fishers Party and the Christian Democratic Party, despite what they have said previously, to take note of the hundreds of phone calls and emails that have flooded all members' offices over the past week.

These have not been from Greens members or activists. In the main, they have been from farmers and mums and dads across the State who have genuine concerns about the potential for this industry to cause very real harm to their communities, their families' health, local water supplies and agricultural land. I urge members of those two parties to vote for the second reading of this bill and to back Labor's amendments. The Premier has said he will support the Federal bioregional assessments. Let us call on him to do that. Let us put a moratorium in place until those assessments are done. The community demands at least that much.

Since I introduced the bill last year, more and more evidence of the destructive nature of the coal seam gas industry has come to light. More and bigger public meetings have been held. More groups have formed in local communities across the State, all committed to protecting their land and water where this Government and the previous Government both failed them. The coal seam gas industry is at war with the New South Wales community, from Kangaroo Valley in the south to Kyogle in the north and everywhere—and I mean everywhere—in between. People are absolutely fed up with what they see as an assault on their way of life, on their businesses and on the future prosperity of their communities.

Last month, in Lismore 600 people turned up for a public meeting at the Soldiers Club. I spoke at that forum and it was clear to me that for many it was their first time at such a meeting. At least half were local farmers, with many from the Casino area where Metgasco continues to pursue its project in the face of clear community opposition. The meeting resulted in the formation of a new Lismore-based coal seam gas campaign group, and another has formed in Channon to the north. I understand that 150 people turned up to their first meeting held the following weekend. At that meeting I was approached by some members of the North Coast community who have, very eloquently and with clear understanding of their local geology and ecology, mapped out the risks of the industry to their region. They started their plea quoting this Government's own words back to it, highlighting the Government's commitment to use the strategic land use process for identifying land use practices for different areas ahead of the granting of exploration licences.

The Government has failed to deliver this, so now the community has made its voice clear. The Northern Rivers community has put together a plea to heed local concerns and this document has been backed by eminent scientists and academics with links to the region. They end this document with the following conclusion:


For the Northern Rivers there is little to be gained and much to be lost from allowing the Coal Seam Gas industry to operate in our region. ... We believe critical evaluation will show the destructive potential of this industry and the potential for loss of irreplaceable community and natural assets. In any cost-benefit analysis our region will lose; please help us to protect our water, our ecology, and our home.

I seek leave to incorporate this plea and the supporting letters from the academics in Hansard.

Leave not granted.


The plea and supporting letters in pdf form here.

It must be something in the town water up Grafton way


Fair dinkum, they’re a weird mob around Grafton way. They like nothing better in the idle hours than thinking up ways to do away with democracy or wreck the lower Clarence River.
Here’s a few recent samples from the-poor-are-scum & build-it-and-be-b*ggered brigade….

·         Scott Thomson
The government keeps telling us how good our economy is while businesses close their doors so lets see what you think of these ideas.
1/ Voting should be limited to those that are working and paying taxes.If you are unemployed there is no right to vote. The exception being returned service men and aged pensioners. They have earned that right and have the life experiences to sit in judgement.
2/ All welfare payments be conditional to drug testing ............. if you can afford to do drugs you dont need government funding.
3/ Changes in Prime Minister shall come out of THAT politicians pocket. Why should we the tax payer pay for removalsits to and from the lodge? Why should we pay for all the reprinting of stationary? Same for ministers when they change portfolio let THEM pay for their stationary out of their ever swelling pay packet. It is a tax deduction after all!!
February 26 at 9:33am
·         Christopher Blanchard
So, are the NIMBYS going to form an action group against the proposed More to Goodwood Island rail link or is it something that we will at least take the time to investigate? Goodwood Is. could have been expanded years ago and provided growth for the Clarence with both export and coastal shipping , but the river mouth MUST finally be allowed to be cleared!
March 6 at 5:41am
LG Olen in a letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner:
"Access from the proposed dual railway line to the foreshores of Lake Wooloweyah {which has no access to the sea that is over a kilometre and a half distant as the crow flies} could well reduce the cost of this {coal port} project by hundreds of millions of dollars. Lake Wooloweyah could well become a major port for international shipping and a doorway for international tourism."

March 24

Saturday 24 March 2012

Queensland Election 2012 on the night - links to live coverage


For everyone fascinated with politics north of the Rio Tweed. Links which will be live at close of polls in Queensland on 24 March 2012.


Queensland Electoral Commission - provisional polling results begin to be posted after 7pm.

The Courier Mail newspaper online - Queensland Votes 2012

ABC News online - listen live or stream. Election 2012 webpage
ABC News Radio - results from 7pm
ABC Radio Brisbane

Website

goldcoast.com.au - live election updates from 10.30am

Twitter

http://twitter.com/antonygreenabc
http://twitter.com/abcelections

Hashtags
#qldvotes
#yourvote12

Let's put Lindsay on the front page

This morning while yarning with a couple of mates outside the paper shop Tweedy, who was/is an avid reader of the Tweed Daily (warning: don't ask him what he thinks about APN's decision to virtually take his favourite read out of circulation - it's no longer a daily, hence the website's title), remarked about a letter in today's edition of his paper. Read the letter below.


Lindsay yet to make front page

I was having a cold ale with an old bloke who's 87 (don't worry Lindsay, I won't mention your name) when a friend on his way out tapped Lindsay on the shoulder and said "Be good." Lindsay muttered under his breath, "If I could be bad, I would want it on the front page of the Daily News".

George Kelly, Terranora

Photograph & video of the rare Australian Featherless Drongo


Parasitus palma

Family: Cuculidae
Sparse plumage
Usually solitary but sometimes seen with Noisy Miners
Natural habitat is degraded land and open cut mines
Call is similar to that of the European Common Cuckoo
Recognizable by its clumsy flight
Untidy nest construction
Frequently lays eggs in nests of other avian species
Aggressive feeder
Has been the subject of an international banding program by
LaRouche Movement
Citizens Electoral Council
Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
Nominated for protected species status by
Liberal and National Parties of Australia

Video of the Featherless Drongo in the wild


http://youtu.be/TryXOPcLW2A

Australian health professionals are sometimes a bitter pill to swallow

Friday 23 March 2012

A word on the subject of divorce


The Dawn Magazine, Tuesday 15 May 1888, on the Divorce Extension Bill: