Digital killed the picture star

In an age when almost everyone now has a digital camera in their phone it is easy to forget that taking good pictures required good equipment and the very best chemical technology and I can vouch for the quality of Kodak’s Kodachrome. I have some slides taken on this stock many years ago that are still as crisp and bright as they were when got the parcel in the post.

Sorry, Paul Simon, Kodak is taking your Kodachrome away. Eastman Kodak is discontinuing its oldest film because of falling demand in an increasingly digital age.

The world’s first commercially successful colour film, immortalised in song by Simon, spent 74 years in Kodak’s portfolio. It enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s but in recent years has nudged closer to obscurity: sales of Kodachrome are now just a fraction of 1 per cent of the company’s total sales of still-picture films. Only one commercial lab in the world still processes it and it was being made only about once a year.

Simon crooned about it in 1973 in the aptly titled Kodachrome. “They give us those nice bright colors. They give us the greens of summers. Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day,” he sang. “… So Mama don’t take my Kodachrome away.”

Indeed, Kodachrome was favoured by still and motion picture photographers for its rich but realistic tones, vibrant colours and durability.

It was the basis not only for countless family slideshows on carousel projectors over the years but also for world-renowned images, including Abraham Zapruder’s 8mm reel of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.

I have gone digital now just like most other photographers But my first real camera was a Pentax K1000 that I bought new in my first year at university it was a a no nonsense SLR everything on it was manual and the only really modern feature that it had was through the lens light metering. I loved it for its robust design and its versatility. I also loved to shoot black and white because I could process and print my own pictures  and the pleasure that I got from printing my own is one of the reasons that I,  like so many others have embraced digital photography. The end of Kodachrome almost  marks the end of film cameras and I wonder how long it will be before you can’t get film stock for any 35mm camera?  Not that long I would imagine. But I wonder too if being able to take as many shots as you please for virtually no cost will mean that individuals take less care in composing each shot…

Cheers Comrades,

The Vicky Pollard defence of discrimination in favour or Gay couples

The much mooted changes made by the federal government, to remove all kinds of discrimination against homosexual couples from the first of July is something that I fully endorse. No ifs buts or maybes. We are a society that does not prescribe a template for the sort of relationships that consenting adults can make, have or maintain. I do however think that it is more than a bit rich for gay advocates to complain that some people will be worse off because they will be treated the same as heterosexual couples under the new regime.

Same sex wedding cake Equality comes at a price - literally July 1 should be a celebration for gay couples when they are recognised by law, but there will be a catch.

He said for many years elderly gay people had missed out on family tax benefits, medicare benefits, partner benefits or family assistance.

“Despite having paid higher taxes all their lives and not being recognised as a same sex couple, now they’re going to receive less money in their retirement when their planning was done many years ago,” Mr Mackereth said.

“Gay and lesbian people don’t want any more than equality; they don’t want special rights; they just want to be treated the same as everybody else.

“But when somebody’s been treated poorly for their entire life and then suddenly the laws are going to treat them poorly again, that makes it awfully tough on those people, especially older people.

Mr Page called on the government to install a grandfather clause, so that people affected kept their current benefits until their situation changed.

He said he realised it could be politically difficult to continue paying a gay couple more than a heterosexual couple when they were now recognised as the same by the law.

The argument that Gay couples should continue to have a financial advantage over heterosexual claimants of social benefits and welfare is self-serving and deeply offensive to those of us who believe in equality and it ignores the fact that lacking the obligation of raising a family gives most homosexuals a potentially lifelong advantage in terms of disposable income. Frankly if individuals have frittered that “edge” away with hedonistic living then they should be prepared to enjoy the consequences of the choices that they have made just as heterosexuals do who make the same sort of lifestyle choices.
Cheers Comrades

Paramedics and the “Pink Mafia”

Just what is with the political correctness zealots within the publicly funded organisations in the UK? This sounds to me rather like an attempt to give the public a rather false impression about how many people actually approve of and support the promotion of a very sexualised public life.

Paramedics are being encouraged to walk along Brighton's seafront in uniform

Dozens of paramedics, the majority of whom are heterosexual, are being encouraged to walk along Brighton’s seafront in their uniform at this year’s Pride festival.

They will be provided with refreshments and driven to and from the resort, all adding to the bill for the taxpayer.
A paramedic who contacted the Daily Mail said South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust had decided to pay its workers £40 each to take part in their own time because it was feared that not enough would volunteer for the event.

The money is the equivalent of two hours’ overtime pay, although paramedics say the trust has recently stopped paying overtime while they are actually on duty, blaming financial pressure.

The trust, which covers parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey, has put up posters around its headquarters advertising the August 1 march with an ambulance covered in rainbow-coloured balloons and offering staff free transport to Brighton.

One paramedic said: ‘People from the trust went last year but they all attended as volunteers. I heard that the turnout wasn’t very high and they wanted to get more people there.

‘They’ve had to bribe people with the overtime cash because the overwhelming majority of staff are straight and not totally comfortable about giving up their free time to go on a gay march.’

Tory MP Ann Widdecombe said: ‘It is unacceptable to use taxpayers’ money in this way, especially as it’s a political movement.

‘The fact that the ambulance service is having to bribe paramedics to go is even worse. It would be much better to let them take a day off so they can get refreshed before they have to start their vital work saving lives.’

You have to wonder about the priorities of any public official who is willing to spend even a small part of their budget on crap like this just to make themselves look “Uber progressive” and in the vanguard of the “Rainbow Revolution” But really it is just an intolerable nonsense that will undoubtedly lead to the victimisation of those who decline to take up the offer by the elements of the “pink Mafia” who have thought up this plan to waste public money.
When it comes to the crunch I am all for celebrations of cultural diversity and I am more than happy that we live in an age when any individual can decide to openly express their sexuality but forcing encouraging  them to do so  through the use of public money is just not right.

Cheers  Comrades

The connection between totalitarian socialism and vegetarianism…

Yesterday’s post was poking a little bit of fun at those latte-sippers who give up meat for the cause. This post is to show the connection between totalitarian socialism and vegetarianism…

Revolutionary: Lydia Guevara, on the set of the PETA photoshoot, wore a red beret and bandoliers of carrots (click to enlarge)

‘It very much evokes the tag line of the ad, which is ‘Join the vegetarian revolution,’ Mr McGraw said. ‘It’s an homage of sorts to her late grandfather.’

Che Guevara was a Marxist leader who played a pivotal role in Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba. He was executed by the CIA in Bolivia in 1967.

The ad is PETA’s first campaign promoting vegetarianism in South America.

Yesterday I pointed the finger at a modern-day totalitarian socialist vegetarian but today I am going to remind my readers that there was another far more dangerous totalitarian socialist vegetarian who caused quite a bit of bother in his day.

That is not to say that the local lad is anything like the historical figure after all I know for a fact that he has no air force, no tanks, and no intention of invading Poland. The strike on the local butcher shop is however, on, because the carrots told him to…

Cheers Comrades

Screaming carrots and millitant vegetarians

Anyone who has been around for a while has probably dabbled with vegetarianism, as fads go it’s pretty popular with a lot of latte sippers who often seem to do this so that they can demonstrate to all and sundry just how committed they are to their ethical perspective, many however end up rather sick of living on lentils and brown rice and relent to the more natural* omnivorous diet. If they do not see the light they could very well end up being very sad and miserable examples of humanity who constantly play on the martyrdom of “I am a vegetarian“.

Alicia Silverstone ... The actress appears naked in the latest print ad to promote vegetarianism, produced by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PEOPLE for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is upset with Barack Obama killing a fly during a televised interview – and are sending him a parcel to prove it.

PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside.

“We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals,” PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. “We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals.”

During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama’s conversation with correspondent John Harwood.

“Get out of here,” the president told the pesky insect. When it didn’t, he waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked it dead.

“Now, where were we?” Obama asked Harwood. Then he added: “That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.”

Friedrich said that PETA was pleased with Obama’s voting record in the Senate on behalf of animal rights and noted that he has been outspoken against animal abuses.

Still, “swatting a fly on TV indicates he’s not perfect,” Friedrich said, “and we’re happy to say that we wish he hadn’t.”

Source

The nutters from PETA are of course the most militant face of vegetarianism they do the more moderate lentil munchers no favours when they do something as stupid as make a fuss about the US President killing a fly during an interview on TV. Frankly I think that anyone who can actually kill an annoying  fly with their hand deserves respect because the pesky buggers are fast and swatting the blighters takes very fast reflexes and a little knowlege of the species.

It is really about having a balanced perspective on the place of humanity on the planet, we are essentially the top predator  and we should not feel any guilt about holding that position as long as we are able to maintain enough respect for the living things that we kill and consume to live. but trap and release flies? Hmm that is just so ridiculous  that it just brings the whole notion of vegetarianism in to the realm of the absurd.

I think that having a vegetarian diet can be respectable, (as demonstrated by the millions of Hindus ) sadly though the preachy and holier than thou types spoil it for all of those who do it quietly without a fuss.

Cheers Comrades

* for human beings

Day made

Justice?

As a parent I can not say that had someone that I knew molested one of my children that I would not have reacted in anger with violence, especially if it had happened in my own home while I was near by.

A QUEENSLAND father who bashed a man caught molesting his 10-year-old son is facing a prison sentence, while the boy’s attacker walks free.

In a highly unusual case, Shane Thomas Davidson was spared jail despite pleading guilty to molesting the boy on State Of Origin night last year.

Judge Ian Dearden told Beenleigh District Court the sentence was reduced because the young victim’s father had wrongly taken action into his own hands and badly beaten Davidson.

“There is no place in our community for a vigilante approach,” he said.

Davidson was sentenced on Monday to a nine-month intensive corrections order.

The boy’s father is awaiting trial on one count of grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Child safety campaigner Hetty Johnston yesterday slammed the sentence for Davidson..

But this sort of sentencing is just bonkers, the offender being justifiably assaulted by his victim’s father should have no bearing on the legal sanction he received. This is the same sort of fuzzy thinking that led to the light sentencing in that Aurukun Rape case. Justice is ill served when  its blindfold is removed if a crime deserves jail time then it deserves jail time in all circumstances .

As for the victim’s dad, I can bet that every day he spends in jail will be served with pride, because protecting your kids , even with extreme prejudice, is part of the job description.

Cheers Comrades

100 leftard slaves required

My general opinion of cats can be summed up by my suggestion that they make excellent bait in crab pots, or by the aphorism that “dogs have masters, cats have slaves” so I post this with the hope that there are 100 willing slaves out there for these poor widdle puddy cats…

HOMES wanted ... Nellie Worringham of the RSPCA with birman kittens up for adoption. Picture: Annette Dew

THE RSPCA is helping a Lockyer Valley couple who have a problem – about 100 cats too many – after a home breeding program went out of control.
Already 20 of the strikingly coloured birman cats have been taken to RSPCA headquarters, where they are being neutered before being offered for adoption.

Some with illnesses have been euthanased.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said yesterday the couple was working with the RSPCA to reduce cat numbers at their property.

It is sadly amusing that so many lefties seem to also be cat fanciers, ah well that must be because, at heart they are all slaves .
Cheers Comrades

Fly away Peter

Peter Costello

Unlike some of my fellow conservatives I have never held a torch for Peter Costello. I have always thought that as leader he would have been unelectable. But for the benefit of the party and those of us who want to see that Brother Number One only has a single term in the lodge the imminent retirement of the member for Higgins is a very good thing indeed.

A RESURGENT Malcolm Turnbull is free to go to the next federal election without speculation over his leadership after Peter Costello eliminated himself as a rival yesterday by announcing his retirement.

And as the former treasurer told parliament he would end two proud decades in parliament at the next election, a Newspoll showed the opposition had smashed Labor’s long-standing first preference lead to move to within a percentage point of the government.

While Kevin Rudd continues to command strong personal popularity, the poll, conducted at the weekend exclusively for The Australian, has Labor on a primary vote of 41 per cent with the opposition on 40 per cent.

Maybe he will make a return to the law because regular readers will realise that there must be a dearth of talent at the Victorian bar if the example  of one of its members seen here is anything to go by.
Cheers Comrades

The perils of late starts

The biological imperative tells us to reproduce before we die, The commercial imperative tells us to buy until we can’t buy any more and Feminism tells us that women should value a career above all else.
Am I the only one who sees that there are “irreconcilable differences” between these three imperatives?

Cameron Diaz expressed recently that to be child-free is to be happy (click to enlarge)

A worrying range of conditions (for example, cleft palate, heart-valve defects, digestive-system abnormalities) was more likely to occur in IVF babies.

The HFEA ordered an alert and decided to update its guidance.

But behind all these complex issues lies a more simple question: what has brought so many people to the point where they place a faith in the science of IVF that would once have been placed in God (or at least nature)?

Some doctors have conjectured that the poorer health prospects of IVF babies and children may to be to do with the fact that older women seek IVF when their eggs are of a lower quality.

Whatever the truth, it’s certainly sobering to recall that when I had my first child in 1974, at the age of 28, I was considered by the medical profession in those days to be quite old for childbirth.

Today few educated, professional women are even considering having children until they are into their 30s – and often not until they are well over 35.

It’s as if they are thinking (even subconsciously) that if they fail to conceive, IVF will come to the rescue.*

The simple truth is, there are no such guarantees.

I am the very last person on the planet who would suggest that a woman should not pursue career goals, just remember that your carer ambitions are able to be fulfilled at any time during your life but the ability to conceive and gestate  healthy children is not so amenable to your whims and desires.

Cheers Comrades

*My bold

Labor’s anti-Semites break cover

Israeli Drag queen K-Long participates at the annual Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv,Israel. AP Photo*

Its always sadly amused me that when it comes to dialogue with Israel all that the far left want to hear is the announcement of that nations dissolution so it is no surprise that when our deputy PM Julia Gillard announces that she is leading a delegation to Israel that the anti-Semites  Zionists Israelis in the party break cover.

SEVERAL Labor MPs have expressed concerns about Julia Gillard’s upcoming trip to Israel, where the Deputy Prime Minister will lead a delegation to hold a dialogue with Israeli leaders.

The MP for Fowler, Julia Irwin, an executive member of the Australian Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group, yesterday criticised the trip as an unnecessary “public relations exercise” for Israel. “When leaders and academics are distancing themselves from Israel following its attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, Australian politicians are taking part in this public relations exercise,” Ms Irwin said.

The delegation also includes the Labor MPs Michael Danby and Mark Dreyfus and the Liberal MPs Peter Costello, Christopher Pyne and George Brandis.

Ah well it is probably better that they are in the open rather than pretending that they are fair minded individuals who don’t want to see every Jew driven into the sea …

Cheers Comrades

*I do wonder how the minions of the far-left reconcile their support for the Palestinians, who are predominately members of  the faith that wants to see a capital sanction for gay sex, and their support for the gay agenda.

Pay per view

Probably the most profitable online content is what tickles your fancy. Erotic and pornographic content has driven much innovation on the net from the fairly respectable content of "soft" sites like Australia's "Abby Winters*" to stuff that sickens and disgusts many people . As the old saying goes "there's money in muck". The question is of course: Can money be made from the more mundane content of the news?

This post is a follow on of sorts to both the last one about copyright and this one citing Rupert Murdoch because it raises the question of just what internet users would be willing to pay for accessing online content and just how content providers could possibly hope to charge for their stuff when it is available from multiple sources simultaneously.

WITHIN five years internet users will have to pay to access content now free, according to Barry Diller, chief executive of InterActiveCorp in the United States, which runs about 30 websites and turns over $US1.5 billion ($A1.8 billion) each year.

“I absolutely believe the internet is passing from its free days into a paid system,” he told the Advertising 2.0 conference in New York this week.

Mr Diller said the paid model would include subscriptions, one-time purchases for access to sites and micro-payments.

So dear readers would you care to nominate just what you would pay to view online*?
Personally I don’t pay for any content, well other than paying for access to the net via my ISP and I think that Barry Diller, rather like Rupert Murdoch may actually be trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy here, a piece of wish fulfilment that is going to be disappointed.
Cheers Comrades

* This website is cited to spite the Grodites who think that a bloke appreciating  pretty Aussie girls is something to be ashamed of.

“Arrrrr-bout time”

Regular readers may remember that a couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about yet another back down by Jeremy Sear and the Pee Pee Boys and his response was to complain that I had violated his copyright by reproducing the entirety of his post, As can be seen from his comments posted to that piece he is very precious about his own intellectual property

Jeremy

Submitted on 2009/05/15 at 8:12pm

Iain, you do not have permission to repost the entirety of the piece above.

It’s not your work, and reprinting it wholesale is not “fair use”. (Although if you’d like to pay me for the right to reprint it, I’d be happy to charge you a special Iain Hall rate.)

[...]

In fact he went further accusing me of stealing his work and making an implicit threat of litigation:

Jeremy

Submitted on 2009/05/16 at 9:13am

Iain, you’re a thief. Crikey pays me to print my work. You’re just taking it for free, without permission.

Good thing you only have a Noddy car to your name, or you’d be at risk of someone doing something about it.

[...]

The one thing that you can be sure off from these comments is that Sear does think that the notion of copyright has value when it comes to his own “intellectual property” (even though he is conflicted on the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism) so imagine my amusement when I checked out his blog  and discovered him celebrating the election of a candidate to the EU parliament who advocates, shall we say  a” more open” approach to the right to use other peoples creations.

He opens his case thus:

The corporate copyright cowboys like to pretend that overly-extensive and ridiculously long-lasting intellectual “property” laws are their god-given right, rather than simply a temporary monopoly granted by governments for the public policy purpose of encouraging creativity and innovation. They get away with it because they have huge pots of money at their disposal, and the danger of what they demand is rarely apparent to the politicians they court until it is far too late.

Of course he fails to understand that the whole point of any copyright is to protect the interests of authors, and artists who actually create something be it literature imagery or anything that can be published in any media. Sear has a seething sense of envy when it comes top any person or entity that is popular enough to profit from the things that they make.   He appears to think that the products of a person’s creativity should be ceded to the collective and that he should be able to use them for free.

Which is why the election to the European Parliament of a party dedicated to countering their relentless scheming is such a wonderful thing:

Today, the Pirate Party accomplished what some believed to be the impossible, by securing a seat in the European Parliament.

With 99.9% of the districts counted the Pirates have 7.1 percent of the votes, beating several established parties. This means that the Pirate Party will get at least one, but most likely two of the 18 (+2) available seats Sweden has at the European Parliament.

Note that to Sear the election of a group of people who advocate the destruction of the current copyright regime has our learned friend almost dancing a jig with the sheer joy and delight that he feels at this  result.

The problem with the copyright debate has long been one of balance – one side is organised, well-financed, and prepared to do anything to protect its turf. The other is a loose coalition of those citizens of the world who are alert to the rights and interests the former group wants to extinguish.

I can only suggest that Sear has never created anything in his life and that he is only thinking from the point of view of a consumer. There are many many artists, authors game designers and musicians who rely on making a living from their creativity and it is they who benefit from a fair copyright regime not just the corporate entities that are created to market their work.

But now the latter have actual representation in some form of Government. Let’s hope they can build on that. Let’s hope that the other parties start to recognise that this is a real issue, and that it’s time for the people’s representatives to start standing up against the corporate hacks who’ve had free reign in corrupting this area for their own benefit for far too long.

It would be nice if this were a turning point.

But what is he actually celebrating here? and what is his preferred model for a fair copyright regime? It seems to me that what he is celebrating is the right to use the works of others that he and the Pirate party are advocating. Sorry but I can’t help thinking that  our learned friend is very wrong headed on this issue.

ELSEWHERE: Donald Duck just turned 75. A helpful reminder of the corrupting influence of the copyright lobbyists: if it weren’t for their fine work in bribing politicians to change the law, Donald would now – like other “literary” creations of the past – now be public domain. The Disney corporation actually claimed that a mere 75 years of exploiting its characters – long past the death of their creator – is insufficient to inspire creativity in the future. If Walt had known his company was only going to have a mere 75 years of getting obscenely rich on Donald, why, he wouldn’t have bothered in the first place!

You can see why that argument needed to be washed down with millions in campaign contributions, can’t you?

I can’t help thinking that the entity of Sear’s position on this issue is all about envy . He can’t seem to cope with the notion that anyone could make a quid (or three) from a good idea, or even one as trite as a duck with a speech impediment, a bad attitude and no pants. More than that  though his current post is very much at odds with his little hissy fit over someone like me  reproducing what he has created that I cited at the head of this post. The question of how long anyone should have the right to the exclusively profit from their work is a difficult one. The life of the creator plus 50 years was conceived very much with the written word and printed books in mind and in that context it has worked well but I can also see that in the case of say a film character like Donald Duck (or any other fictional film character) that a more enduring ownership has merit as well.  Because the character becomes almost like a valued piece of real estate and who would countenance ownership of say a house being only valid for a limited time and the asset not being something that the heirs of the creator could benefit from? But all Sear can see in this issue is money, bags of money, and like a lot of socialists he is envious of those who manage to make money from their art.

There is one word that I have yet to mention about Sear’s attitude to copyright and it begins with a ” H”.  Heck I have had such accusations levelled at me when I have got high and mighty about this subject over the use of my own images by others. As a result I have done  a  great deal of soul searching on this subject and I now realise that there is something of a moral difference between using the occasional photo without permission in a non-commercial context (like in this blog) and using the same property to make money . The difference is pretty much the same as comparing a venal and mortal sin. The trouble is that “free for all’ers” like Sear will end up making creativity impossible to live from, not at the corporate level but at the grass roots where it really matters to the artists and musicians  who make this world a more  understandable  and beautiful place to live in. The fact that he is very precious about things that he has himself has created demonstrates one of two things; either he has not thought deeply enough about the topic or he is an unrepentant hypocrite.

You decide Comrades

Aztecs and Climate Change

Will the Latte sippers be willing to do what is necessary to save the planet?

The way that climate change is argued is often rather inventive and repeatedly lacking in any proof of a causal relationship between the factors being considered, there is no more tenuous relationship than the one claimed for CO2 and temperature, the piece I quote below postulates a different cause for climate change and it also suggests a strategy that will undoubtedly be attractive to many AGW enthusiasts of the Latte sipping variety.

Statistical climate reconstruction techniques using the CLIVAR model produced accurate temperature anomalies for Middle America and Valley of Mexico region for various time periods. Several independent proxy data sets, including the invaluable new Codex data on sacrificial frequencies and corn yield, were used to derive estimates of regional spatial temperature covariance patterns (corrected for atmospheric absorption) and amplitude changes in them through time. A modified principal component analysis technique was used to optimise this combination of spatial and temporal information. Verification statistics obtained from data subsets confirmed the validity of the CLIVAR reconstructions.

The reconstructions confirm, on the balance of probabilities, that the major forcing agent determining regional temperature anomalies was the frequency of human sacrifice. Cooler periods, for example, showed an impressive causal connectivity with (lagging) high sacrificial numbers. Sacrificial frequency also directly influenced local rainfall patterns and corn yields.

There were other intriguing outcomes too. For example, young male sacrifices were statistically the largest percentile and tended to drive cooler weather, while female sacrifice produced warmer weather. The meteorological outcomes of child and animal sacrifice were less clear, and probably masked by the adult groups.

Recent research by David Lobell and Christopher Field concluded that wheat, maize and barley yields decline with increased temperatures. Annual global temperatures have increased by about 0.04 degrees since 1980, with even larger changes in some regions. This has had a negative impact on crop yields and produced serious losses.

Source

I would suggest though that if they are really genuine in their belief in AGW that the Latte sippers should all put their names down to be the new sacrifices on the altar of Gaia, and if they refuse then we will know that their faith is somewhat shallow.
Cheers Comrades

Another side splitting comedic piece from Jezza

No, not that Jezza , the one who is actually funny and witty even when offering withering criticism.

the Toyota Urban Cruiser.

Obviously, this is a very stupid name. Urban Cruiser makes it sounds like a predatory homosexual, stalking inner-city lavatories at night in search of some George Michaelism. The test car I drove reinforced this by being purple.

Whatever, it is designed for the city —and that’s stupid too. Because, in my experience, urbanites go to work on a bus or the Tube and then use their car to go somewhere far away at the weekend. And, trust me on this, the Urban Cruiser is not going to get you very far at all before you are overcome by a need to step outside and commit suicide.

Jeremy Clarkson

He really makes reading The Times worthwhile
Cheers Comrades

“The loggers would love to see me unseated,” Senator Brown said.

a painting of Bob Brown, complete with gum trees (click to enlarge)

One of the things that is required to hold a seat in our parliaments is that senators and members have to be solvent and it looks like poor old Bob Brown is in very big trouble over his use of the courts to try to prevent logging in Tasmania.

“The loggers would love to see me unseated,” Senator Brown said.

“I intend to pay, one way or another.”

Greens supporters are also being urged to make donations and Senator Brown has held two exhibitions of his photographs to raise funds.

He needs to find the money to save his political career.

Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans, told Senator Brown last week that the constitution ensured “you would be disqualified from further service in the Senate and your place in the Senate would become vacant” if he were to be declared bankrupt or insolvent.

Senator Brown’s strife began with a victory in 2006.

He went to the Federal Court to claim that logging in Tasmania’s Wielangta Forest threatened the endangered wedge-tailed eagle, the swift parrot and the Wielangta stag beetle.

The Federal Court’s Justice Shane came down on Senator Brown’s side, requiring logging to be halted. The ruling, hailed by environmentalists, had implications for logging across Australia because it held that regional forest agreements were subject to overriding environmental protection legislation.

However, the environmentalists’ celebrations turned out to be short-lived.

Within three months, Forestry Tasmania appealed to the Full Federal Court, and the Howard and Tasmanian governments intervened on behalf of Forestry Tasmania.

Then prime minister John Howard and Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon, in response to the initial Wielangta judgement, agreed at about the same time to amend the Tasmanian Regional Forests Agreement.

The section in which the state agreed to protect endangered species from logging was rewritten.

In November 2007, the Full Federal Court overturned the earlier decision. In effect, it found that Regional Forests Agreements gave no guarantee that the environment, including endangered species, would not suffer because of logging.

The moratorium on logging the Wielangta forest, in Tasmania’s south-east, no longer applied. Senator Brown was ordered to pay costs.

Last year the High Court, in a two-one decision, refused Senator Brown’s attempt to appeal against the ruling.

Two weeks ago, Senator Brown received a letter from Forest Tasmania’s lawyers demanding $239,368.53.

The lawyers said that if the money did not arrive from Senator Brown by June 29, there would be a further interest bill of $2,830.99, which would rise by $69.04 a day thereafter.

The letter also said Forestry Tasmania reserved its right to issue “relevant notices or petitions under the Bankruptcy Act”.

Logging has not yet resumed in the Wielangta forest, although roads have been prepared and contractors sought.

I have more than  a modicum of respect for Bob Brown, he has fought very hard for his beliefs and he has been quite consistent in doing so. But you have to live with the consequences of your actions so if this ends his career in politics then so be it, at least we will be spared his sanctimonious pronouncements about every bleeding heart cause known to man evry time they are in the news.

So the question to my readers is simply this; should politicians like poor old Bob be held personally liable for their activism, or should they get a free ticket to intrude into the legitimate and lawful businesses of those who want to mine or log the countryside?
Cheers Comrades