...and as the tumble weed rolls past...

OK: so I've been a little quiet lately.

I have reasons.

Good ones.

Like Morning sickness lasts most of the day and lying down helps more than staring at a computer screen.

Or I didn't know how to describe the contrast in news lately and not sound bitter about what it means.

Lets start with some good news.

Baby's heartbeat was 140 at the ultrasound on Monday. :)

I'm going to be a grand aunt again before I am a mum... two weeks before in fact. :)

I'm getting lots of work, have caught up on two seasons of "West Wing", am eating some great curries and have figured out a way around the finances associated with "Baby means not working." :)

All good things.

My father has a brain tumour, probably won't live long enough to meet my child, is going to have to be admitted to a nursing home as we will not be able to care for him at home (even though this is his wish) and the Boi and I will be moving in to help my Mother cope with all the crap that is going on. :(

All bad things; sort of...

My Father dying is one of my biggest fears. My child/ren not knowing their grandparents ranks right alongside that.

Moving home to my parents place helps us financially and me emotionally as I can at least help, but Dad not being there is breaking my heart. I don't know how my Mum is coping. I think she's more concerned about being alone though as she likes the idea of the Boi and I moving in and has agreed to cats moving with us... well... cat. :(

I've always felt that a life goes in a family and another replaces it. My Dad is such a huge figure it's going to take three babies to replace him. Huge as in amazing and all things positive not huge as in obese.

So anyway. If people don't hear from me it's because I'm busy, moving, pregnant, grieving, numb, crying, vomiting, working, vague and slowly collapsing in to an emotional mess.

Warning people: this may result in some Vorgon quality poetry.

Meanwhile: I expect Mr Bolt to jump on the announcement from the US that Gore's electricity bill is high and he hasn't implemented what he preaches... anyone else think that this is a preemptive strike against Gore in relation to the US elections? Me thinks the Republicans are getting worried. (Moving home means more exposure to the HUN; my parents buy it while the Boi and I are Age readers. Expect some ill informed rants about the quality of journalism as a way of venting emotions that are easier to handle if ignored short term than confronted.)

Did any of that make sense?

If your interested photos related to IVF they are posted over at Crayons out of respect for those that don't want to see that type of things.

For people with my number who read this the phone is metaphorically off the hook till I can cope. Please, don't take offense. I just need a bit more time. It's only been a fortnight and all the news keeps getting progressively worse. I'm also making lots of immediate family calls so the phone is becoming the enemy.

Ten reasons I am proud to be Australian.

1) Freedom of speech. You wouldn't be able to say this in many other countries without fear of great retribution. The worst Miss Politics can expect is some personal abuse and a lively debate over the issues she raises. Then again, I wouldn't be able to say many of the things I've said here. (Think about China and Google.)

2) We have a boeard of selectors who have a sense of humour when it comes to Australian of the year and give it to a guy who is raising awareness about climate change to be presented by Mr Head in the sand himself, Howard.

3) We can laugh at ourselves. I awoke this morning to an announcer playing "The National Anthem" as proposed by Monty Python; very simply "Australia, Australia, Australia, we love you." How cool is that?

4) As a female I can determine my own fertlity, I am not subjected to a dress code designed to prevent heat exhaustion and wind burn 2000 years ago (thinking burkhas), I have a right to education, to not be beaten, married off to a stranfer, killed or raped as a "cultural norm". The list is endless. I also live in a country with enough food and clean water for me to decide to follow my heart on an ethical issue and not be forced to eat meat because it's the only thing available.

5) Our love of the under dog and tendency to cut down "Tall Poppies". Come on? Who out there doesn't have a soft spot for the "Little Aussie Battler" while loving to see people like Ray Martin put in their box?

6) We have gun restrictions. We have this as we try to fix our problems in a sensible way, not deny they exist purely because a right wing organisation has a bigger lobby group than the families of those left behind in the many massacres.

7) Our music: I love Oz Rock, and even have on video many of the Australian Music Festivals when they were broadcast. I am proud to say the I own more Australian music than stuff from overseas. I also love our films, our artists and our authors (despite me collection of mainly English writers.)

8) I love how the country changes constantly, and every side she shows has in it beauty. Sure; Bushfires are bad, but the changes in the scenery though frightening are also hauntingly beautiful. I would love to remove the death of these fires, and the loss to personal property, but the regrowth after shows how much bigger the country is thatn a few people.

9) Our wildlife. Lets face it, it's pretty unique. Platypuses; a sure sign god was on drugs when she designed a few of the animals. More importantly a sure sign that the creators of the dream time left some of the dreams behind them.

Wombats must be my favourite, followed a very close second by fairy (or whatever the fuck we are calling them now) penguins.

10) Our use of language.

Strewth, Mate, you know I'm not coming the raw prawn. You'd have to be some kind of drongo not to see the colourful spin we put on words. Faaark! It's got more texture than a Pollock on the pavement after a dead horse and fly. Those Seppoes mightn't get it,. but hey, no worries... eh, Cobba?

Sadly it's also on the way out...

But mostly I guess I just love how no matter how bad it gets we have a strange sense of optimism;

"Me wife just got pulled in to the combine harvester... still... could be worse. At least I'll save on blood and bone this year."

Unless it effects the sport:

"Bloody drought, can't water the pitch for the cricket. They're sayin' it might impact on the Footy (AFL not Soccer, ARL or Union.) And the Greens for the bowls are lookin' pretty yellow. Still, it's not stoppin' the tennis."


So: Having gotten all of that out of my system.

I'd like to wish everyone a happy Australia Day.

I'd also like to apologise to the Indigenous people of this land for all the hurt and crap we have put them through. Thank you for sharing your beautiful culture and country with us. We are blessed.

Just For Fun

I followed a link at Anonymous Lefty out of curiosity... seems I'm pretty spot on in what I think I am...

Greens	Australian Democrats	Labor Party	Family First	Liberal Party	National Party	One Nation
90.6%	80.8%	74.5%	43.8%	33.5%	27.9%	19.7%

Political outlook

Your broad political orientation score is -65.3%, which equates to a ‘Left’ position

Economic policy

Your economic policy score score is -50%. This equates to a ‘Left’ position

Social policy

Your social policy score is -69.5%. This equates to a ‘Left’ position

Traditional values

Your traditional values score is -75.6%. This equates to a ‘Far Left’ position

Yep, thought so.

I must say I thought I would rank higher on the Democrat scale than the Green, but I am happy with the outcome. It reflects a good general overview of where I am politically. Some of the questions were a bit confusing in their wording, but over all a quiz that was well worded and thought out.

It's not just the Greens...

Sometimes, the media make a mistake. It happens, little details are misrepresented to push an agenda that to the average person seems hidden or non existent.

Like discrediting a political party who disagrees with the cross media ownership laws.

How do you do this? You put a headline in your banner saying "Australian Democrats back ban on flag at Big Day Out" then don't follow it up at all.

For the truth go here.

As Senator Bartlett says:

Democrats' Deputy Leader, Senator Andrew Bartlett says calls by government MPs to cancel the Big Day Out music festival shows how thin their commitment is to free speech and so-called Australian values.

"The approach of the Big Day Out organisers might not be the best way to go, but they should be congratulated for trying to stand up against racism and the misuse of the Australian flag," Senator Bartlett said.

"Andrew Robb has preached long and loud about everyone needing to have 'Australian values', yet when a major festival seeks to prevent misuse of the Australian flag, he calls for their event to be banned!"

"Anyone who thinks that racists don't use our flag as a way to try to justify their putrid creed still has their head buried in the sands of Cronulla beach."

"Being proud of your country shouldn't mean being blind to its flaws, and being proud of your flag is all the more reason to refuse to let it be used by bigots and racists."

"Giving an uncritical approval to anything as long as it has the Australian flag wrapped around it is a sure fire way to encourage misuse of the flag," Senator Bartlett concluded.

Seek the truth from more sources then Today or that thingy on 7 in the morning.

Answers and admissions.

Answers:

This is not an attack on the Greens; I have some questions that I cannot find answers to on their site. I support the Greens for what they are trying to achieve, but my vote and heart lies elsewhere.

1) Do the Greens support Methadone as a way to reduce the number of people on Heroin? If so why. If not; do they have another option for those who want help beyond safe injection rooms.

2) Are the attacks on Garrett connected to a perception that he has somehow betrayed the Greens by supporting the party he is now a member of or an attack because he no longer is a Green but jumped ship (did a Kernot) in the hope of raising the profile of environmental issues in Australia?

3) For a group that advocates many of the same things that the Democrats do why are they dividing the vote between the two parties and not trying to reconcile the differences in a hope of gaining more power? (Historically my understanding is it has been the Democrats who open a topic in Parliament and the Greens who get the publicity; if we could harness this I feel we must surely be able to become a strong viable third party option. Is this my naivete? First person to raise the royal fucking over we got from a former member when she was leader gets tied down and talked to about Liberal policy and voting vs. selling out and being screwed over.)

4) Must you vote along party lines if you are a parliamentary member? Why?

5) Is it just media bias in the way they report the aftermath of a Green defeat or are the Greens totally unable to accept that some of the not getting people in to Parliament blame lies within the party? (As I said; this is not an attack. I feel the bias against reporting on the Dem's is costing us as much as some bull shit decision from ten years ago, so i can understand how the Greens might perceive it. I'm mostly curious.)

Admission:

OK; at about this point I should probably ask someone to edit this to remove wordiness, pretty up presentation and try to reduce the poorly worded thought processes. I'm not going to as I will be away from the computer for about a week (Honeymoon and Wedding.)

The last time a political piece I wrote was edited by someone other than me it was manipulated to fit a meter that didn't exist and resulted in stanzas not making sense so I am paranoid about editors too. (Hey, you try to get attention to a party not ALP in a Labor safe seat and tell me how you'd do it? Beyond eating pies and cross promoting Jester's Pies; animal products and gluten :( prose seemed a natural choice for me, especially as I was a regular performer at the Dan Poetry on Saturday for a year or more.) The fun one site has had with the poem amuses me. (Concatenate for those curious.) Still I stand by every poorly worded line in that piece. (FUCK! I think I've just really come out of the political cupboard... still, anyone using my full name will be edited. Unfair? Yes, but I respect others right to be anonymous to their own degree, I hope others will respect mine.)

Do You Want Lies With That?: McDonalds vs. FFN.

The stuff in bold is taken from the McD's website. The rest is my opinion. I don't know how objective I can be as a vegetarian, a coeliac, and a person who doesn't buy things at large corporation owned fast food establishments. The book upon which the movie is based changed my eating and buying habits.

Our understanding is that the movie Fast Food Nation is a fictionalised thriller and features a storyline based around a fast food restaurant in the US.

Fiction? Read the book on which it is based; it is one of the better sociological impact studies written up in a manner that is easy to read and presents the information in such a way that it opens your eyes to the deeper damage done by corporations like McDonald's. It's only fictionalised in that it does not name corporations directly in the film (to my understanding; I am hoping to see it soon.)

Whilst this movie isn't about McDonald's, as so often is the case, by virtue of our size, we are the centre of debate.

Once again: READ THE BOOK! The book does not only attack McFecal Matter in Burgers but any of the corporations that actively campaign against OH&S laws in the US, primarily employ migrants with poor English and pay below poverty line wages. It is the size of McDonald's that makes it an easy target; but it's hypocrisy that makes it such an attractive one. ($1 from one product sold on one day to help the families of sick children? How much revenue does the RMCH make you each year?)

At McDonald's Australia we welcome an objective and fair discussion about issues important to our customers.

Issues important to our customers? It's important to me that if I buy a strawberry milkshake I get real strawberries and not an artificial strawberry flavour that includes nail polish remover. It's important to me that my fries aren't cooked in animal fat or coated in beef tallow so that they taste the same as they did in the 1950's. It's important that the people who serve me get a decent wage and have the right to join a union to protect their rights. AND not just in Australia but in other countries too.

We are proud of the journey we have been on over the past few years and while we don't have all the answers; we are committed to continual improvement.

Suggestions for continual improvement: Don't put meat in all your salads; especially that reconstituted kabana crap. Make gluten free products readily available beyond sundaes, shakes and chips for your main menu; and have gluten free vegetarian friendly stuff at the cafe that is not just cake or friands. Don't put adds on TV during kids programs that pay lip service to kids getting active. How about biodegradable packaging? Put back in to the community what you take out. Stop having one day a year to "Support charities" you own or better still have your one day but ALL MONEY MADE ON THAT DAY GOES TO CHARITY; and I mean Open Family or the Bronte Foundation.

We have received much praise with the changes we have made but with praise comes criticism. We invite you to explore our website, check out the facts and make up your own mind.

I have explored your websites. I have read other material. I have made my mind up. It didn't take "Supersize Me" to make me stop eating McDonald's. It took Fast Food Nation; because I don't care too much what I do to my own body but I do care what my choices mean in relation to the welfare of others. Nope; I haven't seen the film. I've read the book. I researched the information in the book as best I could to verify it.

The reality is that these movies are aimed at awakening awareness in the US market not the Australian one; but some of the practices discussed in the book upon which the film is based occur here. Sadly, people will see the film or read the book, and they'll forget it all unless an image sticks with them (mad cow disease from cows, herbivores, being fed beef; fecal matter in food products; disfigurement of workers in plants that supply the large corporations.)

Ok, I'm off to bed with hot water bottle and honey lemon drinks. (Laryngitis is now head cold that is impacting upon tempreture.) Good luck and good weather to all those marching to raise consciousness about G20. Once again Miss Politic's Australia has the information you need and has put it so well that I won't bore you with repitions.

Something to consider...

ONE: The burning of coal used in fuel to generate the electricity to desalinate the water so we can drink it creates pollution. Coal when on fire uses huge amounts of water to cool it down.

Why can't we put in place sustainable options? Free water tanks for every home with incentives to use this water in more than the garden (Eg. rebates for plumbing it in to houses). Tougher laws on building and bathroom renovations so that houses must be able to utilise grey water somehow. Better education so people learn how to use a broom to sweep a drive and not a hose. Plant more trees (I vaguely remember something in Biology about trees and the water cycle). Use recycled water for public conveniences (flushing toilets) and fountains. Better funding for aged care facilities so you don't have to run water for half an hour to get it warm.

I don't claim to have answers, but burning another finite resource and damaging the environment in a manner that is thought to be contributing to the cause of the drought to remove salt from water doesn't make sense to me.

TWO: Rather than eliminate Zone 3 why not put money in to improving the infrastructure so that trains can run more than every half hour to places like Pakenham, Cranbourne, Lilydale and Belgrave?

THREE: If the idea of Fundamentalist Christian party Family First gaining more power is so abhorrent to so many people why not encourage support of other smaller parties; like People Power, The Greens, and my personal choice the Australian Democrats.

The Fundamentalists in the US have a huge lobby and large amounts of power over the government, they influence many humanist debates from a warped interpretation of the Bible and enforce it on people who do not hold their beliefs (I know that statement is clumsy but I hope it communicates what I mean). If you do not want to see that kind of thing increase in Australia than think about who you are really voting for?

Oh; and as pointed out by Ari Gary Pinto; former City of Dandenong Boys member (Yes folks, that's what CDB stands for); is running in Prahran for Family First. If this doesn't make you stop and think...

FOUR: If you vote the same way as your parents do, why? I have never understood this. You don't dress like them, you probably don't listen to the same music as them. So why vote like them?

If I voted like my parents I would of voted Liberal and supported the GST; I would of voted One Nation and ignored racism; I would of put in a Counsellor who thinks all Muslims and non Anglo Saxon people should be deported.... the list continues well beyond this but I think you get the idea.

FIVE: Are people so stupid that an hour after getting a voucher from a local community aid organisation for "emergency relief" they try to sell it back to the Volunteer that handed it to them at a reduced price so that they can "buy petrol" ? I know people need petrol but if you ask for food help then you get food help. If you ask for petrol vouchers then you get sent to where they are available (Often with the assistance of a free zone 3 ticket). And how much petrol do you think you'll get for $5 anyway? (We give $10 vouchers out; on the rare occasions we have them.)

OK; That feels better now. Vent over.

Tuesday Twosome:

Comments are mine; not the party I am a member of.

Election Day

We don't vote in Victoria until the end of the month, and some of our electoral processes are different from the US. I'll try to explain as best I can for those not reading this in Australia.

I don't like commenting on how other countries run themselves as I feel we only get a limited amount of information. I'm open to being told how my views are misinformed; but because I don't live in the US I would ask that people don't take my comments as US bashing (they're not) and respond to them using facts not opinions; e.g. websites with the information not just name calling. I am open to being educated.

1. Are you registered to vote? Explain why you are or are not registered to vote?

Voting is compulsory in Australia from the age of 18. I have friends that argue that enrolling to vote is an option but I have yet to find evidential data on this. So; Yes. I'm enrolled because I have too, but also because i think you cannot complain about the results of the process if you have not been a part. Its also too important a thing not to vote.

2. Did you vote early (if your state offers this) or are you voting on election day?

I'll be voting on election day; which is also my Hen's night.

3. Do you truly believe your vote counts or are you not convinced that “every vote counts”?

Yes, every vote counts. Especially in a country like America, you cannot get true change until the people have a true voice. I don't think that optional voting gives a true indication of what the people in the US really think. I read somewhere that if the Black American population voted more that the US would already have its first black President, less civil rights violations and better funding for education and health rather than one of the poorest (financially) health and education systems (according to people like Bryson, Moore, and many of the more prominent sociologists).

4. Did you make up your mind about what candidates to vote for a while back or within the last two weeks?

I belong to a political party, so I know who I will be voting for. I support the Australian Democrats (completely different from the ones in US) for their policies on education, health (especially in the areas of stem cell research and mental health), women, indigenous Australians, the aged, the environment, refugees and the war. I do not support the GST; which is why I voted against the Liberal party and was hurt when one of our senators crossed the floor.

Sadly the GST furore has hurt the party deeply with a large number of people blaming the Democrats for what happened but continue to vote for the major party that implemented them. I am also aware of many cases where the Democrats have laid the ground work for a project to have it taken over by another party and given more publicity.

Voting Democrat makes sense as they are also one of the only minor parties on the left not in the hip pocket of a major party, (Labor and Greens; Liberal, Nationals and Fundamentalists First). They are also truly separate from religious influence (Think Liberals think white protestant; Labor was strongly Catholic at one point; I won't insult people over the Fundies.)

5. Compared to your parents’ views, are you voting the same as or different from them? Are you more liberal or conservative than them?

I vote differently from my parents (One is Labor, one is Nationals.) My influence comes from my father who taught me the importance of Unions and a party that gives the workers a voice; something I also feel that the Democrats do. As I grew older I realised that environmental concerns were also something I felt passionate about; so I became more politically active on these issues and then sort-of drifted into representative positions (student council, board member on various charities, etc.) I guess my left leaning attitudes make me a small l liberal.