So what is news about the Howard Government's popularity slumping after he proclaims that he will take away the majority of Australians' job security and legislate inequitable working conditions in favour of company owners who have more money than their workers anyway - why do the mainstream media consider this news for the masses?
It might be news for the Howard government, but comes as no surprise to the millions of people who stand to be ill-effected by far right-wing proposed legislations which will violate the human rights of the working and middle classes.
In the meantime... Prime Minister Howard crawls to the media via Afghanistan and a condemned man. Sorry, is that seditious?
If you are one of the faceless, voiceless masses, or if you spend a lot of time gazing down at the working class sympathetically from your penthouse window, you can have your say - tell Senator Joyce to cross the floor & vote against the bill, 26 456 people already have, but there's another 3 days to go - so sign the petition and have your say.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
Jordan no more
From Tuesday last week, Jordan F1 team became MF1 Racing.
Colin Kolles, Managing Director for MF1 Racing said November 15th marks the new team's official entrance into the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championships.
Sporting a new format of white, aston martin grey and red and the new 'flowing m' logo designed by the Instituto Europeo de Design in Milan, the new Toyota MF1 M16 is being prepared for pre-season testing in Jerez in December & upcoming 2006 F1 season.
The team's founder Alex Schnaider received the official license from the Russian Automobile Federation and MF1 Racing will become the first team in the F1 Championships to compete under the Russian flag.
Mr Schnaider welcomed the collaboration and said he believed that the decision would help in the development of Russia's motorsports and create new opportunity for Russian drivers at an international level.
Colin Kolles, Managing Director for MF1 Racing said November 15th marks the new team's official entrance into the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championships.
Sporting a new format of white, aston martin grey and red and the new 'flowing m' logo designed by the Instituto Europeo de Design in Milan, the new Toyota MF1 M16 is being prepared for pre-season testing in Jerez in December & upcoming 2006 F1 season.
The team's founder Alex Schnaider received the official license from the Russian Automobile Federation and MF1 Racing will become the first team in the F1 Championships to compete under the Russian flag.
Mr Schnaider welcomed the collaboration and said he believed that the decision would help in the development of Russia's motorsports and create new opportunity for Russian drivers at an international level.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Ferals, conservationists, politicians & the grey areas between
On the revelation that WRC rally cars use up to 40L/100kms, Cfsmtb puts some ovoid perspective on things and raises questions about alternative fuel sources [and backdrafts].
While conservationists' attention is diverted by the loss of another couple of roos [I am sure Spicy could have put them to good use on the eat-what-you-kill-theory, maybe that's where he got the bunny] in the World Rally Championships country stages, Adrian Kirk-Burnnand lets the most notable quote of the rally slip,
Gardemeister and Honkanen encountered a bizarre incident during one of the Bannister stages. "A bee and a spider were fighting on the dashboard of our car," explained Honkanen. "I know it was a dangerous spider because it killed the bee! Then the spider crawled off and I don't know where it is now. It's a worry!" That's the sort of character in events that shouldn't be lost to the WRC.
The most isolated city in the world, Perth, will of course be losing the World Rally Championships after 2006 by royal decree of state 'Tourism'[??!] Minister, Mark McGowan and along with it, the vast amount of multicultural influence, hospitality revenue, jobs, international exposure and good-will that the last leg of the WRC brings to Perth every year - but nevermind we can all still go diving down on the new boatwreck in the formerly pristine Cockburn Sound. The WRC will be losing one of the best gravel-track events of the calendar.
While conservationists' attention is diverted by the loss of another couple of roos [I am sure Spicy could have put them to good use on the eat-what-you-kill-theory, maybe that's where he got the bunny] in the World Rally Championships country stages, Adrian Kirk-Burnnand lets the most notable quote of the rally slip,
Gardemeister and Honkanen encountered a bizarre incident during one of the Bannister stages. "A bee and a spider were fighting on the dashboard of our car," explained Honkanen. "I know it was a dangerous spider because it killed the bee! Then the spider crawled off and I don't know where it is now. It's a worry!" That's the sort of character in events that shouldn't be lost to the WRC.
The most isolated city in the world, Perth, will of course be losing the World Rally Championships after 2006 by royal decree of state 'Tourism'[??!] Minister, Mark McGowan and along with it, the vast amount of multicultural influence, hospitality revenue, jobs, international exposure and good-will that the last leg of the WRC brings to Perth every year - but nevermind we can all still go diving down on the new boatwreck in the formerly pristine Cockburn Sound. The WRC will be losing one of the best gravel-track events of the calendar.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
IR Social engineering will go ahead, despite protests
Kevin Andrews today said IR changes which will impact on working and middle class Australians will go ahead despite thousands of Australian workers protesting around the country today.
ACTU President Sharon Burrows said the Government's public relations campaign spent "$55 million of our money trying to convince us that everything was okay." She also said through the protests the union movement was "standing up for the values that shape the way we care for each other," criticising the proposed legislation as "an attack on living standards, community, and family life."
Today it was also revealed that top federal bureaucrats have received a 15% pay rise with their wages now topping $216 million, while the main complaint about John Howard's industrial relations changes is the deregulation of the minimum wage for low income earners.
The IR proposals go hand in hand with other legislation which is said will change the face of Australia as we now know it, with welfare reforms removing study benefits from single parents and the disabled and requiring them to go on unemployment benefits and work a minimum of 15 hours per week in order to do so.
Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell said he did not support the weakening of unions and Anglican Bishop Phillip Higgins said the changes were disturbing and unwise.
Former long-standing Labor PM, Bob Hawke, said the changes strike at the heart of what he called "the essence of Australian character - the fair go.'
PM Howard in an attempt to justify the changes said "the sky will not fall in, weekend barbecues will not be abolished, parents will still be able to spend Christmas Day with their children." [presumably he must be referring to parents from non-middle and working class Australia].
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews said the industrial relations changes were about creating the conditions for a strong economy, but a report issued by 17 independent experts in industrial relations from numerous Australian tertiary institutions stated there "is no convincing evidence the proposals will generate jobs," and "the claim that individual contracts deliver a higher productivity is highly questionable."
Today Telstra announced it would be axing 10,000 jobs in order to comply with the Howard Government's drive to pritvatize the telecommunications company.
Meantime, in the Blogosphere... the reaction to mainstream press towing official party lines is strong. Lefty leads with his usual aplomb and some impressive pics, Flutey delivers a concise analogy and Weezil's serving it out.
Blog snobs vs journalism snobs
Ponderings of the ins and outs of blog snobbery has been a focal point over the last few weeks for a number of Aussie bloggers. From token gestures like Lurker's Day, designed to bring readers out into the open and encourage comments on weblog posts, to elitist memes which ruthlessly abandon the value of creativity, such as 'The 10 Worst things about my blog,' the Blogosphere is frequently its own worst enemy.
However judging by the Oct/Nov issue of Walkley Magazine there is now a firm contender in the slandering of its worth, via journalists who are unable to adapt in a industry determined by technology.
Sadly, some stand to lose income due to the changing face of journalism in this technological age. Displaying fairly typical ethical dexterity, arguments are posed as to the ethics of bloggers - or 'citizen journalists' from the mighty but soiled pedestal of the mass mainstream corporate media.
David Higgins' story in The Walkley, Power to the people? does pose two sides of the story, but is heavily weighted towards journalists' pov and the blogs examined in it are merely the blogs belonging to mass media journalists, rather than not-for-profit bloggers who have a holistic interest in communication and sharing information with others.
As such, it isn't really a balanced look at the ethics of bloggers, but rather a superficial look at the ethics of mainstream journalists who blog, and it appears the blogosphere is still well beyond the mainstream media's comprehension as is tragically evident in Daily Telly journalist, Anita Quigley August 5,2005 column,
'why some pimply-faced geek, sicko or average Joe Blow thinks someone else wants to read every random thought that crosses their minds, is beyond me...blogging is the ultimate form of narcissism.'
However judging by the Oct/Nov issue of Walkley Magazine there is now a firm contender in the slandering of its worth, via journalists who are unable to adapt in a industry determined by technology.
Sadly, some stand to lose income due to the changing face of journalism in this technological age. Displaying fairly typical ethical dexterity, arguments are posed as to the ethics of bloggers - or 'citizen journalists' from the mighty but soiled pedestal of the mass mainstream corporate media.
David Higgins' story in The Walkley, Power to the people? does pose two sides of the story, but is heavily weighted towards journalists' pov and the blogs examined in it are merely the blogs belonging to mass media journalists, rather than not-for-profit bloggers who have a holistic interest in communication and sharing information with others.
As such, it isn't really a balanced look at the ethics of bloggers, but rather a superficial look at the ethics of mainstream journalists who blog, and it appears the blogosphere is still well beyond the mainstream media's comprehension as is tragically evident in Daily Telly journalist, Anita Quigley August 5,2005 column,
'why some pimply-faced geek, sicko or average Joe Blow thinks someone else wants to read every random thought that crosses their minds, is beyond me...blogging is the ultimate form of narcissism.'
Friday, November 11, 2005
The Magician earns Golden elephant stamps
The Magician Premiere & Q+A
Luna Cinema Oxford St Leederville Perth
Friday October 7, 2005-10-07
Reviews
Directed & starring, Scott Ryan
Editor Producer - Nash Edgerton
Producer - Michelle Bennett
Actors - Scott Ryan, Ben Walker, Massimiliano Andrighetto, Kane Mason, Nathaniel Lindsay, Adam Ryan.
Hopscotch Films
Running time 85 mins Rating MA15+
Warning - spoilers ahead
The Magician originated as a short film at the St Kilda Film Festival, where Nash Edgerton saw it and offered to become a producer for a commercial production of the story which was created on a $3000 budget.
The narrative and mis-en-scen oozes that grungy St Kilda vibe of dirty underworld blended with a hip artistic edginess, which has been trundled out so frequently in Australian movies in the last few years that unfortunately it has become a cliche`d portrayal of urban Melbourne life, which is beginning to suffer under its limitations.
It is another, in an era of film making which portrays multiple murderers in a positive and compassionate way. Ryan's characterization of Ray Shoesmith depicts a type of all-knowing wisdom doled out by a morally vacuous low-life, who wrongfully holds the power of life or death over his victims.
The basis of the story is hardly original, with a heavy parallel visible between a young Tarantino's macho and misogynistic Pulp Fiction and The Magician, although the American gender role stereotypes are thankfully absent, due to there being no female characters in the script and the artistic Australian sensibilities present in the characterizations.
There is a tenderness exhibited between the all male characters of Ray and his victims, which is suggestive of man's struggle to grasp and face the idea of mortality and construes a vague idea of the brutality of death being merciful and life as a kind of suffering in some instances and explored via a basis of Aussie 'mateship' and 'blokiness'. The idea of warmth and tenderness amidst this harsh narrative is also highlighted by the contrasting use of sunlit forest shots amongst the grungy lo-colour Melbourne images and gentle, rambling parts of the soundtrack as opposed to the edgier percussive ambient sounds used in conveying the images of the city.
The use of a voice-only character in the camera man, Max, gave an opportunity for the exploration of conscience and a higher state of being, as set against the guttural and wrenching on-screen images in which Ray is the star focus while Max is almost 'omnipresent'. There are slight inconsistencies in the depiction of Ray's character, who has a background as a soldier, but who exhibits little discipline in his demeanour but overall Ryan's performance is quite powerful.
The innovative cinematic feature, The Magician, creates a number of outstanding precedents. The filming, on a handheld camcorder gave the movie a very live feel, almost placing the audience within the action. Although at some points the camcorder did induce a bit of seasickness, it was generally more than capably managed, to dramatic effect.
Budget limitations and ludicrous funding restrictions on the part of government bodies demanded considerable tenacity from the writer, Scott Ryan, who patiently clung to the script for sixteen years. Writer, actor and producer, Scott Ryan captures the lead character and drives the character based narrative commandingly, with only a handful of characters and no prior acting experience. The cast and crew are made up of fellow-students of the RMIT film production course Scott Ryan attended, none of whom had any previous experience acting. This all adds up to making The Magician a rather ground-breaking and extraordinary effort.
Scott Ryan says that he enjoys evoking a reaction from an audience, with the sometimes shocking, raw characterization of Ray's personality and experiences as an underworld leg-breaker and odd-jobs man - and, evoke a reaction it did.
I have to admit to being annoyed and disgusted from the first moment the film started.
This is the aspect where the age of the writer at the time of the story's inception becomes evident. The portrayal of the lead character displayed a combination of being a dry, slightly ocker sardonic wit, stomach churningly unpredictable, yet at the same time compassionate and unnervingly endearing. It displayed a limited perception of the reality of that type of lifestyle with little dabbling in the realism of consequence and pain, particularly given the brutal actions depicted in the storyline.
Ray's character does dwell momentarily on outcomes, when he shoots an old friend after he is suspected of being an informant, in order to prevent him from being more cruelly killed by someone else. However while that appears to redeem the film from the general lack of emotional consequence frequently depicted both in this film, and those of this genre, it desperately plummets again with Ray's glib reasoning for doing the mockumentary. This lack of emotional and physical consequence detracts from the acting performances and innovative filming and dialogue, and robs Ray's character of valuable depth which would have made him more believable and given the narrative more lasting impact throughout.
It is curious that Australian film makers and their audiences should find themselves so drawn to characters who in reality, both society and artists alike shun for being savage and mercenary. Perhaps the answer lies in the curiosity of society to understand the power of life and death and Australia's ancestry as a convict colony which binds us to the compassionate portrayal even of the most vicious criminals, who are normally subject to tremendous social exclusion and quite rightly so.
The never ending stream of movies on this theme give cosmetic treatment to make such characters humourous, attractive, deep etc to sell movies when in reality such people are shunned by both society and the artists whose idealism carries their ventures a lot further than the harshness and ugliness of reality.
That said though, Ryan's portrayal and scripting is raw and energetic. Given the budget limitations, experienced director Nash Edgerton should have seen that it probably would have retained more impact and continuity as a slightly shorter feature. However, as a writer Ryan shows more promise, passion and innate talent than has been seen in Australia in many years and it would be a tragedy for Australian film funding bodies to attempt to rob our culture of any more artists of his calibre.
'Bureaucracies don't like to take chances - we didn't get funding, we didn't fit the criteria - talent wasn't one of the criteria,' Scott Ryan said at the Luna premiere of The Magician.
The structure of government funding for films leaves plenty of room to manipulate the content of movies made in Australia, and due to the poor efforts displayed in the last few years in the Australian film industry, leaves plenty of room for generic US films to take their place at the box-office which no doubt will suit the Australia-US free trade agreement no end.
The Magician gets 3 Golden elephant stamps for effort and steadfast tenacity in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Luna Cinema Oxford St Leederville Perth
Friday October 7, 2005-10-07
Reviews
Directed & starring, Scott Ryan
Editor Producer - Nash Edgerton
Producer - Michelle Bennett
Actors - Scott Ryan, Ben Walker, Massimiliano Andrighetto, Kane Mason, Nathaniel Lindsay, Adam Ryan.
Hopscotch Films
Running time 85 mins Rating MA15+
Warning - spoilers ahead
The Magician originated as a short film at the St Kilda Film Festival, where Nash Edgerton saw it and offered to become a producer for a commercial production of the story which was created on a $3000 budget.
The narrative and mis-en-scen oozes that grungy St Kilda vibe of dirty underworld blended with a hip artistic edginess, which has been trundled out so frequently in Australian movies in the last few years that unfortunately it has become a cliche`d portrayal of urban Melbourne life, which is beginning to suffer under its limitations.
It is another, in an era of film making which portrays multiple murderers in a positive and compassionate way. Ryan's characterization of Ray Shoesmith depicts a type of all-knowing wisdom doled out by a morally vacuous low-life, who wrongfully holds the power of life or death over his victims.
The basis of the story is hardly original, with a heavy parallel visible between a young Tarantino's macho and misogynistic Pulp Fiction and The Magician, although the American gender role stereotypes are thankfully absent, due to there being no female characters in the script and the artistic Australian sensibilities present in the characterizations.
There is a tenderness exhibited between the all male characters of Ray and his victims, which is suggestive of man's struggle to grasp and face the idea of mortality and construes a vague idea of the brutality of death being merciful and life as a kind of suffering in some instances and explored via a basis of Aussie 'mateship' and 'blokiness'. The idea of warmth and tenderness amidst this harsh narrative is also highlighted by the contrasting use of sunlit forest shots amongst the grungy lo-colour Melbourne images and gentle, rambling parts of the soundtrack as opposed to the edgier percussive ambient sounds used in conveying the images of the city.
The use of a voice-only character in the camera man, Max, gave an opportunity for the exploration of conscience and a higher state of being, as set against the guttural and wrenching on-screen images in which Ray is the star focus while Max is almost 'omnipresent'. There are slight inconsistencies in the depiction of Ray's character, who has a background as a soldier, but who exhibits little discipline in his demeanour but overall Ryan's performance is quite powerful.
The innovative cinematic feature, The Magician, creates a number of outstanding precedents. The filming, on a handheld camcorder gave the movie a very live feel, almost placing the audience within the action. Although at some points the camcorder did induce a bit of seasickness, it was generally more than capably managed, to dramatic effect.
Budget limitations and ludicrous funding restrictions on the part of government bodies demanded considerable tenacity from the writer, Scott Ryan, who patiently clung to the script for sixteen years. Writer, actor and producer, Scott Ryan captures the lead character and drives the character based narrative commandingly, with only a handful of characters and no prior acting experience. The cast and crew are made up of fellow-students of the RMIT film production course Scott Ryan attended, none of whom had any previous experience acting. This all adds up to making The Magician a rather ground-breaking and extraordinary effort.
Scott Ryan says that he enjoys evoking a reaction from an audience, with the sometimes shocking, raw characterization of Ray's personality and experiences as an underworld leg-breaker and odd-jobs man - and, evoke a reaction it did.
I have to admit to being annoyed and disgusted from the first moment the film started.
This is the aspect where the age of the writer at the time of the story's inception becomes evident. The portrayal of the lead character displayed a combination of being a dry, slightly ocker sardonic wit, stomach churningly unpredictable, yet at the same time compassionate and unnervingly endearing. It displayed a limited perception of the reality of that type of lifestyle with little dabbling in the realism of consequence and pain, particularly given the brutal actions depicted in the storyline.
Ray's character does dwell momentarily on outcomes, when he shoots an old friend after he is suspected of being an informant, in order to prevent him from being more cruelly killed by someone else. However while that appears to redeem the film from the general lack of emotional consequence frequently depicted both in this film, and those of this genre, it desperately plummets again with Ray's glib reasoning for doing the mockumentary. This lack of emotional and physical consequence detracts from the acting performances and innovative filming and dialogue, and robs Ray's character of valuable depth which would have made him more believable and given the narrative more lasting impact throughout.
It is curious that Australian film makers and their audiences should find themselves so drawn to characters who in reality, both society and artists alike shun for being savage and mercenary. Perhaps the answer lies in the curiosity of society to understand the power of life and death and Australia's ancestry as a convict colony which binds us to the compassionate portrayal even of the most vicious criminals, who are normally subject to tremendous social exclusion and quite rightly so.
The never ending stream of movies on this theme give cosmetic treatment to make such characters humourous, attractive, deep etc to sell movies when in reality such people are shunned by both society and the artists whose idealism carries their ventures a lot further than the harshness and ugliness of reality.
That said though, Ryan's portrayal and scripting is raw and energetic. Given the budget limitations, experienced director Nash Edgerton should have seen that it probably would have retained more impact and continuity as a slightly shorter feature. However, as a writer Ryan shows more promise, passion and innate talent than has been seen in Australia in many years and it would be a tragedy for Australian film funding bodies to attempt to rob our culture of any more artists of his calibre.
'Bureaucracies don't like to take chances - we didn't get funding, we didn't fit the criteria - talent wasn't one of the criteria,' Scott Ryan said at the Luna premiere of The Magician.
The structure of government funding for films leaves plenty of room to manipulate the content of movies made in Australia, and due to the poor efforts displayed in the last few years in the Australian film industry, leaves plenty of room for generic US films to take their place at the box-office which no doubt will suit the Australia-US free trade agreement no end.
The Magician gets 3 Golden elephant stamps for effort and steadfast tenacity in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
QLD public service psych test ordeal a raw deal for whistleblowers
The two security guards who blew the whistle on co-workers making pornographic videos and dvd compilations of people having sex in the Queensland Culural Centre carpark and grounds have been ordered to undergo psych tests under Section 85 of the Public Service Act, which are said to stifle public interest disclosures.
In 2003-2004 70 people underwent the tests and 59 were retired from the Queensland public service. The nurse who blew the whistle on Queensland Public Health's 'Doctor Death,' was dismissed as having a personality clash with The 'Doctor' and she was told to undergo psychological counselling for it. She said that the Section 85 mandatory psych tests should be banned to prevent corrupt and incompetant managers from using it to subvert accountability.
In 2003-2004 70 people underwent the tests and 59 were retired from the Queensland public service. The nurse who blew the whistle on Queensland Public Health's 'Doctor Death,' was dismissed as having a personality clash with The 'Doctor' and she was told to undergo psychological counselling for it. She said that the Section 85 mandatory psych tests should be banned to prevent corrupt and incompetant managers from using it to subvert accountability.
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