Australian sports world rocked by scandal! "Project Aperio" details Aussie sports world's secret: widespread drug use by top athletes, organised crime's connections to athletes, possible match fixing and much more; Australian Football League and National Rugby League are cooperating with Australian Crime Commission, but fallout is expected to be heavy; @krishgm

Channel 4 News video: Australia's Justice Minister Jason Clare and Sports Minister Kate Lundy discuss  shocking details of "Project Aperio,' the year-long findings of the Australian Crime Commission. Aired February 7, 2013. http://bcove.me/rsmlfpgg

Australian sports world rocked by scandal! "Project Aperio" details Aussie sports world's secret: widespread drug use by top athletes, organised crime's connections to athletes, possible match fixing and much more; Australian Football League and National Rugby League are cooperating with Australian Crime Commission, but fallout is expected to be heavy; @krishgm

SNTVonline YouTube Channel video: Aussie sport doping scandal revealed by Australian Crime Commission. Uploaded February 7, 2013.

http://youtu.be/OhZ9QPeRSQs

Australia's Channel 10 sports presenter Brad McEwan tells Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, "The country is aghast..." It's "the blackest day in Australian sport." Aired February 7, 2013.
Video at: http://bcove.me/wlhtx8w2
Article at: http://www.channel4.com/news/drug-use-widespread-in-australian-sport-video
-----

Read the full Crime Commission report here:

http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/organised-crime-and-drugs-in-sports-feb2013.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/sntv

Tawdry 'Slipper Affair' sexting scandal leads to national smackdown, Down Under! Boom goes the dynamite! Feisty Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calls Opposition Leader Tony Abbott a hypocrite and a misogynist... and then really starts to level-the-boom!; A case involving sexting and sexual harassment, plus vile personal attacks from a popular radio host, lead PM to verbally hang Abbott by his own words and deeds

This morning's print edition of The Australian has the smackdown and all the associated facts and histrionics front-and-center.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/

NewsOnABC video: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has used a call by Tony Abbott for the Government to remove Peter Slipper as Speaker to attack the Opposition Leader for hypocrisy, labelling him a misogynist. Uploaded October 9, 2012. http://youtu.be/ihd7ofrwQX0

Tawdry 'Slipper Affair' sexting scandal leads to national smackdown, Down Under! Boom goes the dynamite! Feisty Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calls Opposition Leader Tony Abbott a hypocrite and a misogynist... and then really starts to level-the-boom!; A case involving sexting and sexual harassment, plus vile personal attacks from a popular radio host, lead PM to verbally hang Abbott by his own words and deeds

"The Leader of the Opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well I hope the Leader of the Opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation. Because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror. That's what he needs."

This may be THE single most amazing political video I've seen all year..

The transcript: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/transcript-of-julia-gillards-speech-20121010-27c36.html

Some background that led to the remarks...

SkyNewsAustralia video: Greg Combet, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency speaks on the comments uttered by pro-Tony Abbott radio host Alan Jones of Sydney 2GB that Prime Minister Julia Gillard's father "died of shame" because "he had a daughter who told lies every time she stood for Parliament" -despite her being Australia's first female PM. Uploaded October 1, 2012. http://youtu.be/MG5cc63vgss

The predicate and the coup de grâce of the Speaker is here: Peter Slipper resigns as Speaker after scandals trigger a tumultuous day in Parliament

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/peter-slipper-resigns-after-dramatic-day-in-parliament/story-fncynkc6-1226492425543

Sydney Morning Herald

Julia 'badass' Gillard: Slipper resignation just a sidebar

By Stephanie Gardiner

October 10, 2012 - 11:27AM

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/julia-badass-gillard-slipper-resignation-just-a-sidebar-20121010-27c0g.html

I remind those of you who are new to the blog that my family and I were "this-close" to moving from Miami to Sydney back around 1973 or so, just as I was about to enter JFK, John F. Kennedy Junior High School in North Miami Beach. Or, as it was known to many of the area's stoners who routinely ditched class to hang-out all day at the 163rd Street Shopping Center, "Jail For Kids." 

-----

ABC News (Australia) YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NewsOnABC/

SkyNews Australia YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SkyNewsAustralia

Tears soon to be flowing like rivers: Robin Gibb remains near death in a coma in a west London hospital, just days after his 'Titanic Requiem' premiered at Westminster Central Hall on Tuesday

BBC Breakfast: R.J. Gibb on the Titanic music requiem that he and his father Robin have created for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic. April 12, 2012. http://youtu.be/ZDnR8OhZArQ





RobinGibb video: Robin Gibb discusses his work on The Titanic Requiem (trailer). January 12, 2012. http://youtu.be/6I8Q-maVZyo





RobinGibb video: Robin Gibb - "Don't Cry Alone". March 20, 2012.
http://youtu.be/jY7p1zxBYZI

Tears soon to be flowing like rivers: Robin Gibb remains near death in a coma in a west London hospital, just days after his 'Titanic Requiem' premiered at Westminster Central Hall on Tuesday.

My last two posts on Robin Gibb both appeared last year, February 12, 2011 and were titled:


a.) Robin Gibb on the sad state of pop music -a lot of karaoke!- and raising $ for the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, on BBC's HARDtalk with Stephen Sackur
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/robin-gibb-on-sad-state-of-pop-music.html


b.) Robin Gibb and Carola sing "How Deep Is Your Love" on SVT's "Skavlan"; 20-minute interview also!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/robin-gibb-and-carola-sing-how-deep-is.html


I urge you to read them and learn more about this amazingly creative and caring man.


One of my favorite record albums that I brought with me from North Miami Beach to IU in the Fall of 1979 and just loved to play -and show-off a bit- whether I was living in my dorm room at Briscoe Quad or in my apt., was an album that friends of a certain musical sophistication never tired of listening to, in large part because no matter where they were from -Fort Wayne, Chicago, Long Island, Kansas City, London, Oman, Santa Monica- they had never heard any of the songs before.


It was great to be the person who had the rarity, which in this case, was an album compilation I'd been given by someone I knew who was a British music producer which consisted of the most-popular songs recorded by The Bee Gees while they were growing-up in Australia, of which this song below is one.


For my friends and I, that album was like the Rosetta Stone of pop music of the previous 25 years, because it gave you an early look at the sounds, rhyming schemes, singing patterns and vocal dering-do of the Brothers Gibb that the world would soon come to know and try to copy once they moved back to Great Britain and began getting international attention.


More importantly, that album gave you the key to unlocking a better understanding of their true genius. And no matter how old the song was or how old they were when recording it, or even sometimes how good or corny the song might really be, there was always that melody and harmony.
ALWAYS!


Today, Robin Gibb and his extended family are very much in our thoughts and prayers in this very trying time.



The Bee Gees "I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men" 1965
http://youtu.be/U5KR81CCCGg

-----
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/audio/2012/apr/11/robin-gibb-titanic-requiem 


http://www.robingibb.com/ 


http://www.youtube.com/user/robingibb 


http://www.youtube.com/user/bbcbreakfastsalford 

Better than Sci-Fi SFX: Reality! "Aurora Australis Seen From Space"

Fox News Channel: Aurora Australis Seen From Space, October 10, 2011.

Watch the amazing video that ran on Fox News Channel that was in my YouTube inbox" http://youtu.be/5_QENmKpPUM

EDUARDO SALHUANA New Age Music Aurora Australis

http://youtu.be/zRKwKAkEpN4

-----

For more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/phenomenal-images-aurora-australis/9586

http://www.universetoday.com/42623/aurora-australis/

http://www.youtube.com/user/FoxNewsChannel

http://ten.com.au/

Reviewing the 'collar bomb' hoax ordeal of Madeleine Pulver in Mosman, N.S.W., and the ransom demands; clues in James Clavell's novel Tai-Pan?

Network TEN News video: Victorian Police Commissioner Kel Galare explains what the night may have been like for those involved in the Madeleine Pulver case.

Her father, William Pulver, is the former CEO of Nielsen NetRatings in New York and is now the CEO of software company Appen Butler Hill in Sydney. August 4, 2011. http://youtu.be/jrAN6ec5fiE

When I first heard about this despicable situation, I thought back to this case, which, coincidentally, had been mentioned at length in the Sunday NY Post I'd bought and later read over at Panera Bread on Sunday afternoon while listening to the Marlins game on the radio.

New York Post

Bizarre story of pizza-delivery man blown up by collar-bomb still an enigma eight years later

By Candice M. Giove

Last Updated: 11:45 AM, July 31, 2011

Posted: 1:09 AM, July 31, 2011

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/bizarre_story_years_pizza_delivery_4j2oqM9g08aY7QWutcMHnJ

Network TEN News video: Reporter Matt Doran exclusively recounts previously unknown aspects of the ransom demand in the Madeleine Pulver collar bomb extortion case. August 4, 2011.

http://youtu.be/vas1KSJ-7sc

Network TEN News video: Reporter Lachlan Kennedy speaks about Madeleine Pulver's parent remarks to the Australian news media at the N.S.W. Police HQ, as another strange detail emerges from the ransom note. August 4, 2011.

http://youtu.be/33M4dDuOrsQ

Network TEN News video: Reporter Gabrielle Boyle talks to Prof. Greg Barton of Monash University and explosives expert Tony Garland on the background and history of the collar bomb. August 4, 2011.

http://youtu.be/e3E77MIMqEc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai-Pan_(novel)

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/collar-bomb-was-a-fake-australian-police-say/

More on TEN News at

www.tennews.com.au and http://www.youtube.com/user/ten

Miranda Kerr is the NOT-so-secret weapon at Australian retailer David Jones 2011 Spring Summer Fashion Launch in Sydney

David Jones - 2011 Spring Summer Fashion Launch, Sydney, Australia. August 3, 2011. http://youtu.be/kXej4gA1b98

-----

Network TEN News video: Miranda Kerr is the not-so-secret weapon in Australian retailer David Jones' efforts to reinvigorate interest this fashion season in retail and Australian designers. August 3, 2011. http://youtu.be/kutoRSXfjSI

New York magazine

The Cut blog

Miranda Kerr Walks Her Stretch-Mark-Free Self Down the Runway

By Amy Odell

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/08/miranda_kerr_walks_her_stretch.html

Almost three years ago exactly... before Miranda's first show as the new "Face" of David Jones, replacing Megan Gale as their Fashion Ambassador.

http://youtu.be/rA6dZaun6Fw

http://www.davidjones.com.au/

David Jones Store YouTubeChannel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidJonesStore

Network TEN News YouTubeChannel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ten

NOT the kind of Australian we like: Belal Khazaal, Muslim author of terrorism handbook is freed from supermax prison after being granted a retrial

Network TEN News (Australia) video: Belal Khazaal is freed from Australia's highest-security prison, the Goulburns Supermax in New South Wales, after being granted a retrial and having served three years of a twelve year sentence.

http://youtu.be/6BnTjuPixcU

The former Quantas employee -and accused Jihadist- with a yen for writing about killing and assassinating innocent people, not to mention, shooting down passenger planes in his 110-page tome, "Provisions of the Rules of Jihad: Short Judicial Rulings and Organisational Instructions for Fighters and Mujahideen Against Infidels,"will have a number of requirements imposed on him by polite society in Australia while he awaits a new trial in November.

According to Sunday's edition of The Australian, the Lebanese-born Khazal must

live with his wife and family and not change his abode without giving 24 hours' notice. He must also report to Bankstown police daily and declare any visitors received in the previous 24 hours. He must also stay at least 1km from any overseas points of departure and not speak at gatherings that advocate violence.

Oh, and not insignificantly, his family had to pay sureties in excess of $400,000, which have to be paid if he tries to leave Australia in the rear-view mirror.

Read the rest of the article here to see what this character is all about:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/accused-jihadist-belal-khazaal-returns-to-family/story-e6frg6nf-1226091029468

-----

http://www.youtube.com/user/ten

Real Estate March Madness: 3 Indian Creek Island Drive, Indian Creek, Miami Beach; 15 Queen Anne Court, Sovereign Island, Gold Coast, Queensland, AU

ABC News Nightline: March 3, 2011, High-End Real Estate Action

National Correspondent Vicki Mabrey pays a visit to Miami Beach to check out the digs at 3 Indian Creek Drive, Indian Creek Island, and see what makes it worth $60 Million.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSEQM7PZ4hE

3 Indian Creek Island Drive, Indian Creek, Florida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY3M9VQlkkc




Australian TV real estate ad for 15 Queen Anne Court, Sovereign Island, Gold Coast, Queensland (UNCENSORED & UNCUT) - Adrian Jenkins and Ian Adams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9LBQZ3nxCU

http://www.15queenannecourt.com.au/
http://www.neoproperty.com.au/
http://www.youtube.com/user/AdrianCJenkins

Video: Prince William flying to disaster-ravaged areas of New Zealand and Australia next week

Ten News video: Prince William flying to disaster-ravaged areas of New Zealand and Australia next week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wmtlSkklno&tracker=False

Prince William to visit New Zealand and Australia disaster zones
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/8370159/Prince-William-to-visit-New-Zealand-and-Australia-disaster-zones.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/ten
http://ten.com.au/

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to visit White House, speak to Congress, go to U.N., and lobby to gain Australia a seat on Security Council

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard visits The White House, Capitol Hill and the U.N. this week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrBRbXawQ8M

On Wednesday Julia Gillard is scheduled to be the fourth Australian Prime minister to address a Joint Session of Congress -replicating Menzies, Hawk and Howard- as she arrives in Washington, D.C. to meet with President Obama at The White House.

Later in the week she flies to New York for a Thursday meeting with Rupert Murdoch and other senior News Corps Ltd. executives, she'll be at the United Nations meeting the U.N. Secretary and also look to lobby member countries to gain Australia a seat on the Security Council this October.

"Come Monday, it'll be alright..." - Australia's TEN News Thursday network newscast on Jimmy Bufett's fall in Sydney and reactions of fans

Gabrielle Boyle of TEN News on Jimmy Buffett's concert accident in Sydney and interviews eyewitnesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu5n-dMmXvM

Above, from Thursday network newscast. Below, from Wednesday's first reports of the incident.

SKY News Australia

Story at: http://video.theaustralian.com.au/1767604031/Buffett-injured-after-concert-fall



Jimmy Buffett - Come Monday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0---Q97pG4

Personally, I'm not a Jimmy Buffett fan, and I even wasn't in favor of the Margaritaville Resort being selected over Planet Hollywood for Hollywood Beach, where I was for a few hours this afternoon, but there's no denying that this song is one of the most iconic songs of the past 50 years, in part because EVERYONE thinks they can sing this song well.

And at the 2:15 mark, the combination of lyrics and instruments become genius.

See also: http://www.youtube.com/user/ten

Amusing video of Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban serenading (roasting) pal Simon Baker of CBS-TV's The Mentalist at G’Day USA 2010 Black Tie Gala in LA

Expressen TV's video: Se Kidmans galna duett med maken
Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban serenading (roasting) pal Simon Baker of CBS-TV's The Mentalist at G’Day USA 2010 Black Tie Gala in LA in January.
http://tv.expressen.se/noje/1.1849391/se-kidmans-galna-duett-med-maken
This video has a Swedish V.O. but the excerpts of the gala are in English.

Also appearing in video above: actress Cameron Diaz, golfer Greg Norman, actress Toni Colette. Simon Baker and Toni Collette received the Excellence in Television and Film Award. A longer clip of this event -in English- from Access Hollywood is located at the bottom of this post.

I first became a big fan of Simon Baker in The Guardian on CBS-TV in 2001, recording every episode on my VCR when I lived up in Arlington (VA) and watching them over-and-over because of the consistently high-quality of the acting and creator David Hollander's writing.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048932/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian_%28TV_series%29

It was always powerful stuff and in my opinion, the story-lines were definitely the most-realistic on TV, esp. the episodes that depicted people you (Baker) help eventually turning on you and resenting you, despite what you've done.
Wow! Been there!

Sometimes, quite frankly, the dialogue between Baker and Dabney Coleman, who masterfully played his emotionally-distant father, sounded eerily similar to awkward conversations I had had with my own father when he tried to verbally or emotionally undermine some career events I was involved with.

One episode in particular, Heart, Season 1, Episode 8 -with guest star JoBeth Williams as Coleman's girlfriend- gave me some added insight into someone I knew because of how well a particular personal relationship was depicted in the show, which exactly mirrored an awkward relationship I'd previously dealt with. Except now, it all made sense to me!

The Guardian - Heart - Nick & Lesley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3p0lfGSUw0

The Guardian - Heart - Court & End Scenes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNPTHlunZ3M

Simon Baker on The Late Show with David Letterman, 9/23/2009, CBS-TV

"That'll learn ya!"

LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCFSI2Xhz2A


Expressen TV homepage http://tv.expressen.se/

Expressen News homepage http://tv.expressen.se/nyheter

http://www.youtube.com/user/GDay2011

http://www.accesshollywood.com/

Access Hollywood video: It’s A ‘G’Day’ For Simon Baker & Toni Collette

Three Lions make their best pitch for World Cup 2018 as English bid team flies to Zurich led by Prince William, David Cameron & David Beckham

Channel 4 News
November 30, 2010 World Cup 2018 bid heads to Zurich
Reporter Keme Nzerem in Zurich reports on England's bid to secure the FIFA World Cup competition in 2018. The omens are not looking good.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=693409974001

FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS

The BBC Panorama program that's at the center of the FIFA World Cup bid controversy, Fifa's Dirty Secrets, is here, http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/default.stm where you can read about some of the accusations leveled against FIFA officials, but for copyright reasons, the program can't officially be seen in the U.S..
http://www.epltalk.com/how-you-can-watch-bbc-panorama-fifas-dirty-secrets-in-the-u-s-26989

Long story short: The alleged bribes to three officials are included in a confidential document listing 175 payments totalling about £64m.

Here are two videos on YouTube that comprise the FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS program, so watch it while you can before the BBC makes them take the videos down.

BBC Panorama: FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS - Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjlZw9NGSlU

-----

BBC Panorama: FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS - Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQy4eT4M9I


The Channel 4 website article that accompanies this video at the top is here:

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham fly to Zurich to try and boost England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup - but hopes have been dampened by the latest publication of bribery allegations. As delegates gathered to press the flesh at the headquarters of FIFA - football's governing body - ahead of Thursday's announcement of the winner, the English bid team have been frustrated by the timing of the BBC Panorama programme which accused three FIFA officials of taking bribes in the past.

Read the rest of it at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/world-cup-2018-bid-team-fly-to-zurich

-----

I wrote about the bid process on my blog on Monday and just loved Australia's bid videos, esp. the one hosted by Nicole Kidman, which emphasized the sorts of things that real fans care about: fun, safety and ease-of-access and no hassles.
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/even-before-2018-2022-fifa-world-cup.html

As you know by now, the announcements about who'll be hosting the 2018 and 2022 FIFA spectacles are to be made on Thursday, or Friday Australian time.

Nicky Campbell talked on his BBC Radio 5 live show Tuesday morning with some very knowledgeable guests and well-informed listeners about Monday night's Panorama program and whether there'd be a backlash among the FIFA officials against England's bid to host in 2018, or whether the truth is more important than commerce.

The podcast for the informative program is here and well worth listening to:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/5lnpi/5lnpi_20101130-1045a.mp3


Tony Livesey’s show on BBC Radio 5 live on Thursday December 2nd will originate from the City of Manchester Stadium and "will gauge reaction to the FIFA World Cup vote which will have decided the host country for the 2018 World Cup."

"Win or lose, a panel of football pundits will discuss the result including former Hull Boss Phil Brown and 5 live football commentator Connor McNamara, and an audience of 5 live listeners."

It airs 10:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. U.K. time, or 5:30 p.m. Eastern/2:30 p.m. Pacific in the U.S. and Canada.

Catch it here at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live

Even before 2018 & 2022 FIFA World Cup host cities are announced in Zurich, there's scheming & recriminations aplenty. Like Super Bowl host bids!

Looking Ahead to 2022 World Cup

Squawk Box Europe Airtime: Thurs. Oct. 28 2010 | 3:20 AM ET

Countries keen to host the 2022 World Cup flew into Zurich to meet with FIFA members Thursday. Ben Buckley, CEO of Football Federation Australia, spoke to CNBC about the tournament
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1627049219&play=1

-----

Australia's FIFA World Cup Bid Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zd8lTHdj0k

-----

Come Play! Australia 2018 - 2022 - Australia's FIFA World Cup Bid

Nicole Kidman explains why Australia is the best choice to host the World Cup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwWs3HxeKJs

http://www.australiabid.com.au/

-----

Danielle Isdale of Ten News reports on Sunday night from Zurich on Australia's World Cup bid for 2018 or 2022



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd5X8iqDk0w


officialengland2018


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn5RaeOhIyg

Official site of England's bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup:
http://www.england2018bid.com/

-----

A satirical look at why England should host the 2018 World Cup and not Russia.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl2RulISxNY

The official England football channel from The FA
http://www.youtube.com/user/england

-----



Channel 4 News: School sports spending cut row
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=682831172001
Article at http://www.channel4.com/news/school-sport-funding-cut-row

-----

Slate
sports nut: The stadium scene.
Who Will Host the 2018 World Cup?
The most secretive bidding process in sports.
By Simon Kuper
Updated Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010, at 8:14 AM ET

Three years ago, when the bidding to host the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 was just getting going, a lobbyist explained to me how the decisions would be made. Over lunch at the International Football Arena in Zurich—a cozy annual gathering of the game's power brokers—he led me on to the terrace for a quiet word. There, he emphasised that what "the world" thought about the various bidding countries wouldn't matter much. Instead, the only voters were "24 old men." He meant the members of Fifa's executive committee (Exco), who will choose the hosts for 2018 and 2022 in Zurich this Thursday. The lobbyist and his partner, he added, "know those 24 men better than anyone. We know their strengths, we know their weaknesses."

Read the rest of the story at: http://www.slate.com/id/2276128/

-----

Ten News YouTube Channel -videos of the most recent news stories broadcast
http://www.youtube.com/user/ten

Ten News homepage: http://ten.com.au/

http://www.gousabid.com/city/local/MIAMI-FL

http://www.gousabid.com/

Western Australia residents protest plans for 1,500 male asylum seekers in camp 100 km. NE of Perth, made WITHOUT community input; Minister a no-show!

Video of Thursday night's contentious meeting in Northam from Australia's Channel Ten
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDjL8kWzOIs

NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC MEETING - IMMIGRATION DETENTION & PROCESSING CENTRE

The Department of Immigration & Citizenship and the Shire of Northam, hereby give notice that a Public Meeting is to be held on Thursday 4 November 2010, Commencing at 7:00pm in the Town Hall, Northam, regarding an Immigration Detention & Processing Centre to be located in Northam. Representatives of the Department of Immigration & Citizenship will be in attendance to provide information on the proposal. Members of the public are invited to attend.

Or so said the Julia Gillard-led government press release.
But that isn't quite how it turned out, is it?
No, instead, you hold a meeting somewhere where hundreds of people have to stand outside at night.

Now that you mention it, the whole idea of top-down government planning and keeping the public in the dark sounds awfully familiar to this blogger.

When you add high-ranking govt. officials NOT showing-up, in this case, the Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, NOT showing-up in Northam to either talk or to listen to angry citizens who are having this plan shoved down their throat, well, yes, it really does bear a great resemblance to some recent public events I've attended here in Broward County.

But without bully-boy Peter Deutsch's patronizing bluster -or the wail of the dingoes at night as you walk out to the car park- and, of course, without the embarrassing spectacle of Ann Murray or Jennifer Gottlieb refusing to even answer constituents' emails about attending the HB required Ben Gamla Charter School meeting.
(Code Name: AWOL Ann Murray & JenJen.)

And when you toss into the mix some facts not mentioned in the Channel Ten video above, namely, that the meeting facilitator, former WA Labor MP Gavan Troy, ordered the news media there recording and reporting on the meeting, to leave the Town Hall, but they refused to go, while still later, one area MP who did show-up actually left mid-way so that he wouldn't have to answer questions, well, you can see why people there were pretty riled-up.

From the outside, it almost looks like the meeting seemed designed to be a set-up to make the concerned citizens look bad or extremist, but instead, its enormous public failure only made Gillard's government look both incompetent and tone-deaf.

A very bad combination for a government that is held together by little more than Wrigley's chewing gum and the desire to stay in power.

Sydney Morning Herald
Northam, WA, seeks safety guarantee
Josh Jerga
November 5, 2010 - 7:09AM
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/northam-wa-seeks-safety-guarantee-20101105-17g4o.html

Listen to an audio discussion of the detention facility issue here via ABC Radio
WA residents up in arms over detention centre

David Weber reported this story on Friday, November 5, 2010 08:06:00

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s3057316.htm

http://www.visitnorthamwa.com.au/
http://www.youtube.com/user/ten
http://ten.com.au/

Special thanks for the head's up on this interesting public policy story from the Hallandale Beach Blog Special Correspondent in Australia, who alerted me to it early Thursday.
Her identity shall remain secret for now, but for this post, we shall simply call her ATA -All Things Australian.

Rolf Harris - Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-LmRNdQiQ