Ban the Blog!

It seems Michael Moore’s CairnsBlog has managed to upset the Cairns Regional Council to the point of censorship. In a move that has had the Cairns Regional Council labelled more conservative than the former Cairns Council under the Reign of right wing Kevin Byrne, Council computers have been blocked from accessing CairnsBlog, while the censorship did not extend to Dennis Quick's CairnsWatch blog.

The following is an extract from the CairnsBlog;

Councillor Lesina says this is normal. "Based on my own personal experience, I believe that almost all outside websites are initially 'blocked' by Council computers," she said today. "The user is required to click through to the website after acknowledging that any outside websites they visit may be monitored. I am not sure if the Cairnswatch blog is 'blocked' but the ABC News website is and often comes up with an additional warning about 'offensive content'," says Kirsten. "Even google is initially blocked, I hope that sets your mind at rest," she advised.

However, Councillor Robert Pyne says that you can no longer 'click through to the website' after acknowledging that any outside websites may be monitored. Robert confirmed this. "You can with the ABC [news] and Cairnswatch, but not CairnsBlog. Di can confirm this."

And indeed the rooftop protester did indeed confirm this.

"CairnsBlog is indeed blocked from council computers," Councilor Forsyth said this evening. "I have raised with Val, not sure if she mentioned it to CEO, I will take it up with him."

Dianne said that it's been blocked for nearly two weeks. "Yet we can still access Dennis Quick's Blog," Di said.

Perhaps the CairnsBlog is too risqué for Council to handle? More than likely though its constant criticisms of the Council has upset someone’s applecart. Ignorance sometimes is bliss.

Goodbye to the Magic

I first moved to Cairns because I wanted to attend a small university, with small class numbers and be able to have face to face conversations with my lecturers, something I would not have received at the larger southern universities.

I fell in love with Cairns because it wasn't like every other city, with skyscrapers and that awful shadow that seems to command so many waterfront places seen in most waterfront towns from 10am daily.

I remember seeing the mountains the first time and thinking this place is magic.

This magic may soon disappear. I guess we all knew it was coming, we all suspected sooner or later the high-rises would come to town and take over. Perhaps naively I admit, I thought we might win that battle, the first time I heard the high-rises were threatening to come to town the shouts on the airwaves were loud and clear, "We do not want another Surfers Paradise! We are unique! We are different! We are special!"

However our continuing silence at the ever sneaking high-rises popping up all over the city, each one just a little bigger, has now given the excuse the developers needed. In an application to rezone the RSL site, the developers have put it perfectly;

"Under the Height and Impact of Buildings Section, it is clear that the numerous other tall buildings along this part of the Esplanade has removed any sense of a low scale and the retention of this one building, otherwise surrounded by much taller buildings, would provide little value in attempting to retain a low rise character that has since been removed".

Am I against development you may ask? The answer is no, do I think we need to go skyrocketing into the atmosphere for development, the answer again is no.

Is it to late now to speak out? I don't think it is, we all need to yell now, before we are no longer unique, we are no longer different, we are no longer special, before we are just like every other town.

Dad, Dad, Mum, Mum.

Victoria has acknowledged the social diversity that has long been present in modern society. Passing landmark laws late Thursday, which now legalise surrogacy giving single women, lesbians and gay men (via a surrogate mother) access to fertility treatment, including IVF. Predictably the Australian Christian Lobby is outraged denouncing the legislation as “social engineering”.

If a whale could write, it would be with a red pen.

The Opposition were busy patting one another on the back and exchanging high-five’s, totally ignorant that they had missed an opportunity to grill the Bligh Government on the budget going into deficit, electricity bills set to rise, not to mention the looming questions on what services will be cut to save money.

No instead the Opposition went after the Government on the all important issue of red pens. Armed with paper in hand “proving” (they said) the Government had banned teachers from marking in red pen because it was aggressive. Branding them the “Loony Left” poor Anna must have stood there scratching her head and counting her blessings, wondering what the hell the Opposition was on about, and how it was they had missed all the real issues. You see the red pen issue was one suggestion from a psychologist in a kit given to teachers on how to deal with students who are mentally ill or dangerously depressed. Furthermore the suggestion came from a program called Mind Matters which was a national health initiative launched quite recently in 2000 by (and here is my favourite part) the Howard government.

It is no wonder Premier Bligh was forced to quote YouTube (http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVHZwI8pcA) whale antics “your beached, your beached as bro, you are sooooo beached”, I think at the end of this week it may have been the only thing the Opposition understood.