It was indeed a sad story to see serious journalists and scientists trying to debate with the latest of the Australia’s right wing nut jobs on TV.
It should be known well by now that there is no use in using the usual polite and logical approaches with such people. It just feeds into their well practised weird ways of arguing or debating.
A new song from Nick Cave – one you may need to stop and listen to especially when you realise when he wrote it – just after his son had died. Continue reading Nick Cave
From The Guardian UK – a piece about ageism – and how it effects women – and men. click here
Following weeks (or was that months) of questions over land dealings and major developments, and now audits being announced into departmental processes, the Chief Minister has gone on the front foot and announced an idea to change his government’s methods of consulting on ‘Urban Redevelopment’.
click here for the story – by Michael Moore on Trump’s strategy
George has offered a positive take on the Brexit vote. He has published his thoughts on seeing the opportunities despite the nastiness of those who championed the exit vote. Click here.
George Monbiot and the UK Brexit from the EUI cannot say that I understand what the UK lobby for the exit from the EU is all about. Nor can I say which option is the better. Sadly George Monbiot has clarified this with his usual precise summation of a dreadful situation.
More on the Australia’s contribution to the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale
I don’t think the residents will be holding celebrations about what is being proposed for the new supermarket complex here in downtown Dickson.
The Dickson Wetlands have been a success both as a water-engineering project (providing water for the nearby sports grounds) and as attractive open space parkland.
There are so many stories to be told around the installation of the memorial to the 353 people who drowned while attempting the journey to Christmas Island on 19th October 2001.
Some good thoughts on the current tax debate – click here.
The interviews on the ABC program Kitchen Cabinet are in some cases simply soft propaganda for particular politicians.
I remain totally unconvinced about the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull. I agree that the country is far far better off now that Abbott is no longer out there trying to terrify everyone.
I often wondered whether Abbott was not quite sane – and more recent events have done nothing to dispel this thought.
Oh my god! I have been denied my chance of ever being made a knight in Australia!
click on image for story
The whole of the Barangaroo story is messy. Sydney based architectural writers are not very happy. Yes their chosen few did not get the contract. Yes even the next team did not survive.
There’s no doubt that the ACT Government has put an emphasis on communications and marketing when it comes to particular urban developments. This is very evident in the number of media statements in circulation.
Continue reading Wanted: Quality replacements for Currong Apartments
This sign has been mentioned by me previously – click here.
Continue reading Teams have opponents, communities have friends
We have endured several days of stuff written by the junk journalist writing on the Greece decision to reject the demands of the Intentional Monetary Fund. The Greeks voted no and the journalists have reproduced the media releases of those with ties to the Big Banks. It has taken a few days but at last some real journalism is appearing on this important topic.
It has been interesting to watch the political responses to the decision by the Irish to back marriage equality. Sometimes a writer’s opening lines hit the nail on the head.
One of the faults with Australian democracy remains that many decisions by the elected politicians remain flawed because of the obvious but ignored conflicts of interests.
Over the last year or so a local architect has been writing in the Canberra Times on issues around planning, development and design. Unfortunately his tone has changed somewhat. Or maybe it was always so, and we have only now witnessed the true nature of his advocacy.
I was staring at the image above from the Canberra Times story about a concept that has been accepted for the new Canberra Convention Centre. I was wondering, is this something radical or is it an eyesore? Continue reading Architectural Eyesore
Right now the leadership of this country is a total mess and remains out of touch with reality. The politicians are continuing to carry on as if nothing needs to change. Something needs to happen. The country was in a similar state of going nowhere once before.
and his continued destruction of Australia’s way of life
If there was anyone left in Australia, who for one minute thought that the current Australian Federal Treasurer was anything but a mean and nasty politician, then all they had to do was observe his latest crimes. This man looks after his rich mates especially Big Coal, Banks and Big Miners; looks after this who pull his strings and keep him in power, Murdoch and their cohorts; and does all this by stripping back opportunities for health and well-being from those most disadvantaged.
An Opinion Piece
Dickson Section 72 – Community Consultations – 20th Oct 2014
On a cool Monday evening, more than one hundred local residents from surrounding suburbs gathered in the Dickson College hall in response to the invitation to attend a workshop staged by the ACT Government.
Locally the planning authority is notorious for carry out all forms of planning with no real interest in the present residents and no interest in the urban character. It is left to the developers to define how the suburbs of Canberra will look in the future.
About a year ago, we visited Linden Gallery in St Kilda (Melbourne). This was not long after the infamous raid by police following a very dubious complaint about the ‘sexual’ content of an artwork by Paul Yore.
The director of the centre was holding up well given the nature of the issue she was having to deal with. She deserved to have been paid a lot more for all the complex stuff that had come her way.
Architects and their awards have come to my attention for three reasons of late. The first was when Enrico Taglietti was featured in the local paper, The Canberra Times. According to the report one of his significant architectural achievements was being considered for a special award. Click here for the article.
(From YouTube) Many of the world’s biggest problems require asking questions of scientists — but why should we believe what they say?
Bob Menzies, the hero of the Liberal Party. Some of us have other thoughts about this man who wanted to sell out his country.
The Queensland state government spent millions on the Roma Street Parklands. This parkland was set to add huge value to any apartments built around its edges. One would have thought that the City would have insisted on at least some higher levels of design for such buildings. Continue reading Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane, Part Two
Australia has a brilliant history of photography. There is a host of names that have been well published and are well documented.
There are also many who had a significant contribution in their day but who have slipped out of view.
We have another blog that focuses on sustainable settlement issues and the many things that we need to be discussing.
click on the graphic above for the Sustainable Settlements Institute blog.
University of Sydney, Macleay Museum
This exhibition is advertised as being of historic photographs from the Pacific spanning a century beginning from the late 1850s. With these words both in advertising and online, the expectations were for an extensive exhibition of photographs of the pacific islands.
The first story was told to me about a proposal being put to someone’s recent board meeting suggesting that the organisation needed to do far more about the status of women in their particular workforce. That is, along with the business councils in Australia, the organisation could devise some manner by which annually they recognise and award the female achievers.
In a world of inequity, the reactions should not have been so surprising.
It is unbelievable to think that Australia has a Prime Minister who in 2014 has been quoted as saying that:
“We have quite enough national parks, we have quite enough locked-up forests already. In fact, in an important respect, we have too much locked-up forest.”
To be honest I am not so sure given the quality of governments people have voted in. But there are signs within local governments that things may be taken seriously at last.
Check out two posts on Sustainable Settlements Institute.
Reasons for Optimism – click here – & – Clover Moore and the City of Sydney – click here
more news about our friends, the Banks!
Amongst the news items in the last week was the report on the enormous profits by Australia’s Commonwealth Bank. This one slipped through while the media was taken up with all the usual superficial distractions.
With all the spin and calls to be patriotic and to use the Navy for its political purposes, the Rabbott government has carried on with its attack on the ABC.
The ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor
I did not think the day would come in my lifetime when I would find myself agreeing with a speech made by a Pope.
There are many issues unresolved about his church and many nasty things that it remains responsible for. It is one house that needs to get so many things in order before it can be credible on the world stage.
However at least on the topic of inequity this Pope seems to have hit the nail on the head.
I have previously made comment about a local church sign on Limestone Avenue. Mid this month, there was this about climate change.
Please click on any photograph to enlarge it.
This message follows another the week before about national issues – click here
The Australian Government is currently not doing much, except to hand power to its business friends.
We expect all manner of stupid decisions to follow soon. That is, once the business groups have worked out what they want this Rabbott Government to do. Hence all the reviews underway, which are being overseen by the business and lobby groups who brought this government to power.
Late in 2013, there was much ado in Canberra about the completion of the new Cotter Dam. The new wall is a replacement and enlargement of the previous dam on the Cotter River. It was built as a result of the ten-year drought and the need for water security for Canberra.
The surrounding recreational areas had been devastated in the 2003 bush fires and the whole area has been rejuvenated to once again be a reaction area for locals and visitors on the outskirts of the capital.
There have been many times I have driven by a particular church along Limestone Ave and have thought about another church and pub on Broadway just south of the Sydney CBD.
Dear old St Barnabas Church burnt down in May 2006. It has since been replaced with a brand new building.
Before the fire, the church was an icon for anyone driving down Broadway into Sydney because of its signage in front of the church that could be read by passing motorists. The church used to frequently change the wording and this was matched by the pub across the road. The banter between the two sets of signs became known as the “Priest and the Publican”.
There was a routine piece in the Canberra Times about the current heat wave, temperature around and above 40 Degrees Celsius, and backyard trees or in some case about the lack of them. The article pointed to the now well established reality, that during such times those residential properties that lacked shade were suffering higher temperatures.
(cross posted from our other blog)
and now we have a misuse of the term Judea-Christian
I would recommend first reading the Wikipedia contributions on the use of the term, Judea-Christian (click on the image).
This term, Judea-Christian, is being thrown about by our Rabbott government and its appointed camp followers who are to review the yet to be implemented National Schools Curriculum.
There is now doubt that this carefully orchestrated use of the term Judea-Christian is in fact a nasty stirring up of discrimination.
re-post from the Guardian
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Once upon a time, not that many years ago, Australia was on the world stage as a leading in actions on climate change. It was not that a lot had actually happened. The truth was that a many new initiatives were being proposed.
The aura was that the country was on the move. The Australian Government was open to do business on climate change. Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
Once the devastating 2003 Canberra fires were over, the Canberra landscapes to the west of the Lake Burley Griffin were left denuded of the previous forest. The subsequent international design competition delivered a much celebrated design for a National Arboretum.
Continue reading Tale of two Arboretums, The National Arboretum, Canberra
The Latest from our Rabbott Government
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The national edukashon minister announced that after years of development, years of consultations and a bloody huge amount of work, that he considers he needs to appoint two close political associates to look into getting ‘balance’ back into the curriculum. They state that they will be independent. That probably means their report will be independent of facts and of intellect.
It is obvious that this is more about getting the old ‘culture’ wars started again and to drive particular ideological points into the headlines while loads of other disastrous changes are being put through by the Rabbott.
Stupidity in action
From The Guardian Australia: Tony Abbott’s top business adviser accuses IPCC of ‘dishonesty and deceit’. ‘The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling,’ Maurice Newman says.
It does not get much worse than this. The Rabbott government has been doing some stupid things of late, and there’s promise of even more stupidity to come in 2014.
Antony Loewenstein’s wish list for journalism in 2014
Reporters have a choice: to either continue being regarded as untrustworthy, or to be seen as willing to hold the powerful into account. Here are my suggestions for better journalism:
Click here for his article in the guardian
PS: If the ABC could cease having politicians on Q & A, maybe the program format could deliver real debates and possibly become watchable. We need engaging commentators not politicians or their stooges on such programs.
The Rabbott government has moved quickly to shut down and to strangle so many progressive, financial, immigration, education, indigenous, disability, social welfare and climate programs, that it is difficult to identify which of their ideological decisions are the most dangerous to the future of this country.
Freedom of speech and the freedom from discrimination are both fundamental to our way of life. Yet these are now very much under immediate threat thanks to this inhuman national government.
While I am not too worried about the closure of GM’s (Holden) manufacturing plants in Australia in 2017, I am concerned as to whether manufacturing as an Australian industry and its associated innovations are not being supported. It is hard to find intelligent comment on these subjects in the Australian media.
Tourist walks off pier while browsing on Facebook
no need for further comment – click on the image.
An interesting few words from Damon Young on the machines that distract some people. Damon likes to observe – here’s one of his people observations. I think that too often I have observed his subject.
An ordinary suburban cafe, with an ordinary sullen teenage waitress and faux-friendly barista. The tables are unvarnished barrels. The cups are marmalade jars. And the coffee is bitter, weak and overpriced.
A recent opinion piece on bullying that you may have missed given the way the mainstream media reports such things.
For the article by Julia Baird – click here
It was this story on Crikey “Packer’s Sydney arts donation a lay-down misere‘ that took me back to discussions I had been involved with over several decades including when we used to debate such issues openly in the arts. In recent years, all sorts of Sydney groups joined the public debates about the horrors of gambling and in this instance campaigned, unsuccessfully, against the granting of the license for a second casino.
As the deal was signed, it was arts organisations in Sydney who had agreed to take money from James Packer as the payment demanded for the granting of the new casino license. James Packer has never shown an interest in the arts.
Very cleverly the Rabbott Government used the ‘shock’ announcements of vehicle manufacturing closures to distract attention from the government’s cuts to key social programs.
The mainstream media filled headline after headline about the closure of a particular car manufacturing company.
Our loyal opposition parties did not help as they joined in crying out loud through the media about the closures. Meanwhile damage was being done elsewhere in plain sight.
We’ve all seen it. Now someone has traveled around and photographed it happening.
Just a look through this article in SLATE is worrying enough.
(although I have to say that Slate’s new online web site is a mess)
I quote from the Canberra Times 10 December 2013: “Strong commercial demand is expected for ACT government-owned properties along Northbourne Avenue that will be sold for redevelopment.”
Interesting to hear the mainstream media go on about the high court decision on marriage equality. Yes the ACT legislation was voted down by the judges.
But the real story is how the judges went further and made the call on what the court will allow to be constitutionally recognised as marriage when the Australian Parliament decides to get its act together and do the logical thing.
Under the judgement by the high court, once the National Parliament has passed the inevitable changes, the high court will not stand in the way of the changes, that is there will be no avenue for a challenge by all those vexatious religious types.
David Marr is on the case and has provided a neat summary of what really happened with this quiet landmark ruling by high court – here is his article from the Guardian.
An emphasis on the Not For Profit Sector
It was after a couple of conversations in the last months with people with whom I was able share experiences about bullying in various workplaces, that I have decided to make research in this area one of my ongoing topics.
As I have spent most of my working life in the Not For Profit sector I am including this sector as part of the main focus of this research.
This line of research and subsequent comments will be a ‘work in progress’.
Do you now a Patrick Henderson?
Patrick Henderson attends meetings called to carry out the business of the gallery for which he is a company director.
When Patrick sits at the table he remains very alert to the presence of his mobile and aware that there may be emails, text messages and tweets that require his attention.
Patrick’s commitment to these distractions is such that he cannot ignore them. Because of his lack of control of the technology, poor Patrick has become one of the many who are physically present somewhere but are rarely mentally completely there.
Comments on the statements by Australia’s Governor General, Quentin Bryce.
Every now and then Australians are taken aback when one of our national representatives actually makes intelligent and thoughtful contributions to public debates. This happened recently with the delivery of the Boyer lectures by Australia’s first female Governor General, Quentin Bryce.
First an admission. I used to be a reasonably keen urban cyclist . However some time back, I had two serious near misses whereby I was run off the road by local buses. After the last bruising, the bike sat in garage till one day I sold it on. Whenever I can , I now walk instead. But I do miss the experience of cycling through neighbourhoods.
Today there was a very good summary in the Guardian on the situation and changes to urban cycling across many cities internationally. Click on the image below.
There’s currently a crazy debate here in Canberra about cyclists and vehicles and pedestrians. Crazy because the debate has been dominated by no so cool people who are not accepting of any other point of view. So I wonder what the problem is?
The Democracy experiment continues to be under threat
An article from the Asia Sentinel hits the mark on the media issues in Australia.
A milestone of a dubious kind was passed in Australia recently when it was discovered that the number of public relations practitioners had for the first time exceeded the number of journalists actually working as reporters and editors. (Hamish McDonald)
The full article is a good read. Click here.
former Prime Minister resigns, at last.
Last night I happened to be online when the former Prime Minister stood up in Parliament to resign and to leave office.
There were lots of kind words and some hinted at the troubles he had caused but most were polite and positive about his contributions in public life.
It was while standing in front of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), that it occurred to me that the extension, which includes the new entrance, had not figured in awards. I am fully aware of the controversies about how these extensions came about. Should any of that have excluded this architectural addition to the nation’s art gallery from being the recipient of awards.
I intend to write more about the NGA in the near future, but for now I my curiosity has turned to the architecture awards as run by the national professional body, the AIA. These awards are lauded nationally, so why not apply a reality check as to how their award winners really stack up.
the Australian War Memorial 11 November 2013
Paul Keating’s Remembrance Day address “Those Australians fought and died not in defence of some old world notion of competing empires and territorial conquests but for the new world – the one they belonged to and hoped to return to.
This is why Australia was never in need of any redemption at Gallipoli, any more than it was in need of one at Kokoda thirty years later.
There was nothing missing in our young nation or our idea of it that required the martial baptism of a European cataclysm to legitimise us.”
full text of his speech at Australian War Memorial
It it time to monitor the performance of our nation’s pet Rabbott now that he and his followers are inside the pen with all the assets of people of Australia to play with.
The trend is to make fools of the media – and this is a turn around given the role of the mainstream media in promoting the Rabbott and Murdoch messages prior to the last federal election.
Yes those retail dinosaurs are still with us.
All those stupid consumers were supposed to spend up big after the recent federal election. The election of the Rabbott was supposed to bring about a boost to consumer confidence.
There’s nothing more basic in our democracy as the processes that underpin the election of our governments. At the time of writing , the WA Senate election has become complicated, not just because of the necessary recount given the closeness of the first results, but because of the unfortunate event whereby by about 1,400 previously counted votes have been misplaced.
Global Warning on Coloured Hair Dyes
Alert Alert – it may be time to panic!
There’s an alert in circulation globally about the use of a particular hair dyes by aging business men.
I do not get this one. The supermarkets and other retailers have again attempted to convince us that Australia celebrates Halloween and we should be encouraging children and teenagers to wander around and knock on doors to demand sweets. I do not think so!
I’ll migrate that appropriate saying from that other not so relevant event: Bah Humbug.
The Australian politicians were called on to address climate change over a decade ago (at least). Local community groups have recognised the need for climate change adaptation and have been frustrated with the lack of meaningful leadership that should be offered by elected officials.
The mainstream press, as led by Murdoch, and the ABC have provided their own biased information on these complex topics. The general public has received mixed messages instead of meaningful and useful information based on the overwhelming scientific evidence.
Ever so often, actually a little too often, Crickey puts out a silly and patronising report that leaves you feeling What was the point?
Here’s one by Andrew Crook, who has a few of these out there.
Hold the bus! He has researched the possible annual income of the outgoing Prime Minister. Well that ‘s important information I needed to know!
One can not help sense that he is not going to let that Julia Gillard retire quietly and resume life peacefully in her new roles. Must be some dirt here somewhere. Surely such a ‘senior journalist’ could do some real journalism. Is that asking too much? Andrew – get a life, on your bike…
Wooow!
Former Attorney General, Nicola Roxon, has delivered a speech that outlines her ten housekeeping tips for a future Labor Government. However it is her comments about and suggestions for Kevin Rudd that have made the headlines.
On Monday this week, the new Labor opposition party met to talk leadership and opposition front bench positions. The leaders had already been elected and now the caucus would elect the members of the Opposition Ministers and then leave it to the leaders to appoint the actual opposition minister positions to those on the elected list.
No sooner had the list being announced, then one of their number, Anna Burke, the previous House Speaker, let it rip as to what she thought of the process.
The democracy experiment continues to be under threat in the United States.
A revealing article on a the web site, Independent Australia, explains how frightening the current political crisis is within the US and the background to the government shutdown.
Unfortunately it does not take much to join the dots as to what is going on behind the scenes in Australia now with the Abbott government.
here’s the link to the article – hope it dos not spoil your spring day.
an article re-published – in no fibs – was originally published by Mary Crooks
Executive director Victorian Women’s Trust on 5 July, 2013 as a full page advertisement.
I identify with her finishing paragraph:
“The truly ugly aspect of our national life revealed by the past three years should give cause for us all to reflect on what else is required to restore and maintain respect, civility, common decency and a fair go for women – in our society and in our democratic politics.”
read the original piece as reproduced here
An article in a paper today by Alecia Simmonds stopped me in my tracks.
In the piece she discusses the reporting of the conversation between Anne Summers and Julia Gillard in Sydney. Alecia questions why the reporting concentrated on the statement by Julia when she referred to ‘murderous rage’. Alecia point was that such reporting was about manufacturing controversy yet again. There remains so many celebratory aspects of this event to be highlighted and discussed but too many reporters have yet again chosen to concentrate on making a headline as some form of criticism.
