The M.A.D. Charity Booksale is coming!! It's finally here!! The M.A.D. Charity Book Sale - and we'd love more donations! If you have any books, magazines, CD's, DVD's, videos, jigsaw puzzles, board games or video games please send me an email:
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m or phone 5429 6572 and I'll organise to collect them or you can help us by dropping off to 38 Bunya Street Maleny The Sale is on Saturday July 12 from 8am to 3pm Baptist Church Hall, Landsborough Maleny Rd Funds raised support The Ebenezer Trust School and Orphanage in Zambia, Africa Please forward this to your friends and help support this wonderful charity Thanks, Arcadia :o)
The Daily.com.au May 2008| By Bill Hoffman A Sunshine Coast project which received $4.6 million in the federal budget may see new subdivisions in high rainfall areas become the dams of the future. The funding announced on Tuesday will develop technology to allow rainwater harvested from the roofs of the planned 1300-home Coolum Ridges estate to be fed back into the Sunshine Coast regional council drinking water reticulation system. The concept of the urban dam was developed by Justin Holbrook of Sunshine Coast company Sustainable Urban Development and Technology, who said this week the Coolum project would demonstrate a smarter alternative to the big pipe Brisbane water solutions now being put in place.
I try not to spend too much time worrying about the way things might be headed but it occurs to me there are some things we should look out for...over the next dozen or so posts, I'll try to enumerate them.
Try not to worry number 1
Much as I hate to admit it, some the of not-so-good and indeed the worst the world has to offer has come out of the US over the last 50 years.
The US was convinced that it led the world in 'all that was best' for so long that it came to believe it had a kind of mortgage over the role.
Indeed, it got off to a good start, with a constitution and a bill of rights that will stand any test of time in.
The thoughtfulness, humanity and safeguards (people will do bad things, given the chance) incorporated in these wonderful documents are a template for democracy for all time.
But - people will find ways to do bad things and get away with it. And the enterprising Yanks have been better than most.
Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, who served in the Army until being honorably discharged last summer after over four years of service in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Phillipines, today publicly announced his intention to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq.
Sgt. Chiroux made made his announcement in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda after members of Iraq Veterans Against the War testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus during Winter Soldier on the Hill.
Neither fish nor fowl: Platypus genome decoded - ABC News
(AAP: Joe Castro) Scientists have for the first time unveiled the unusual genetic make-up of the Australian platypus. According to the study released this morning in the journal Nature, the semi-aquatic animal is a genetic potpourri - part bird, part reptile and part lactating mammal. The task of laying bare the platypus genome of 2.2 billion base pairs spread across 18,500 genes has taken several years, but will do far more than satisfy the curiosity of just biologists, say the researchers. "The platypus genome is extremely important, because it is the missing link in our understanding of how we and other mammals first evolved," explained Oxford University's Chris Ponting, one of the study's architects. "This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk."
I get the Mullumbimby action network newsletter and have been watching their battle against ww. Looks like they may have a better outcome than we did...
MULLUMBIMBY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK Hi Folks Greetings - this has been a big week for calls for the people to speak up. NSW State Gov appears to be attempting to hand over local councils, state electricity, even Mullum's retail sector into the hands of Big Business (see "Keep it Local" below). The only way to counter corporate control of our state (read fascism), our town, our community is to speak up. Wws HOT NEWS:
Woolworths have put in Section 96 Changes to their DA into State Planning NSW (Minister Sartor's office). Byron Shire Council is awaiting details and Ray Darney (Chief Planning) has assured us of a public meeting, an exhibition in Council Chambers, and at least 2 weeks submission period advertised in the local papers.
We will keep you posted as soon as we hear anything….form letters and information leaflets are being formulated. This is our Big Chance (and only one) to speak up about Woolworths in our town!
With the election over and their man of choice relegated to the political wilderness, the busy, busy people who brought you the silent majority have their periscopes up and are scanning the horizon for new targets.
They found me and, gullable bumpkin that I am, I fell for 'Beryl' and her Pixie hoax.
They got on the line to Channel 7 and managed to have the removal of some weed trees made into some sort of ww size scandal. (no link for that, sorry).
They even made it into the Sunshine Coast Daily, where the issue was given a dramatic headline but the facts of the matter left languishing in the final paras.
Yes, some privet and coral trees and camphor laurel were cut down on the Coral St property. No, no figs were cut down.
It's rather funny when you think about it - the campaign's spokesman is a person who has boasted of being able to 'do what I **&% well want with my own land' and the other driving force is the subject of a famous Maleny trivial pursuit question:
"How many trees on ****'s property?"
The answer - "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
Well, I guess they're having fun - and at least it's keeping them from hanging offensive signs around town.
Though I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing them again.
With reference to a previous article ('When the last tree is gone...'), I feel, first of all chastened and second, rather sure I've been suckered by 'Beryl'.
I've walked by those trees many a time and heard the parrots and thought 'How nice'. So when 'Beryl' stated they were fig trees, I just kind of remembered them as such. But they weren't. The following came in from one of the owners of the site. I owe both the owners an apology. And 'Beryl' - I've got your number. Nice to think the Nats are still after me...
Hi Sammy
sorry you and Beryl and Pixie and the parrots miss the trees.
They were however a mix of Coral , Camphor Laurel , Privet ( lge and small leaf ) and wild tobacco... all loved by parrots but ALL declared weeds. When the development is finished they will be replaced by Native trees more suited to our environment and also will provide feed for the parrots.
I would like to also stress that the developers are local.
Between them they have already planted some 20,000 trees in the immediate Maleny area.
Their properties are also enshrined as Land for Wildlife sites with one having extensive self initiated covenants protecting a remnant rainforest area of 12 acres.
One is a founding member and lifelong member of Barung.
The development, when finished will be aiming to provide and environmentally aware and eco-friendly mix of commercial, residential and community facilities. Please let Beryl (and whoever else may be interested ) know . If she wants I can spell it out for her personally if she cares to contact me.
OH SAMMY I AM SO UPSET. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR WHO TO TURN TO AND THEN I REMEMBERED YOUR WEBSITE. i WAS TAKIING LITTLE PIXIE FOR A WALK ALONG CORAL ST TODAY WHEN I CAME ACROOS THE MOST GHASTLY SIGHT. ALL THE LOVELY TREES WHERE THE PARROTS USED TO PLAY HAD BEEN SMASHED DOWN BY ONE OF THEM AWFUL MACHINES. I DO HOPE IT WASN'T THOSE NASTY DEAN BOYS AGAIN. wHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR LOVELY TOWN SAMMY? WHY DO WE LET THESE GREEDY DEVELOPERS GET AWAY WITH IT. I AM SURE THAT IF THEY HAD OF BEEN LOCALS THEY WOULD HAVE HAD MORE RESPECT AND REGARD FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL WILDLIIFE. PIXIE AND I WILL MISS THE PARROTS.CAN WE ORGANISE A PROTEST AGAINST THESE VANDALS OR DO WE JUST LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. i AM NOT EXPERIENCED AT THIS SORT OF THING BUT FEEL I NEED TO MAKE A STAND AS I AM IN THE TWILIGHT OF LIFE AND WANT TO HELP LEAVE A POSITIVE LEGACY. THANKS FOR LISTENING TO A LONELY OLD GIRL, BERYL
And a quick trip with camera to Coral St.
I stood looking at the wreckage on the site (spookily similar to the ww site post-Deen Bros) and was so sad I couldn't even be angry. The owner no doubt has every right to knock down trees on his block, no matter how old or beautiful or full of parrots.
For a moment I thought 'How Maleny is changing' and then I realised that simply wasn't true. Maleny has a fine history of knocking down any tree that stands in the way of 'progress'. I had simply hoped we'd gone past the stage of this sort of destruction.
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