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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • AVAAZ ACTA time to win

    AVAAZ HAS OVER 13 MILLION MEMBERS WORLDWIDE.

    ACTA – time to win!

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    Alex Wilks – Avaaz.org avaaz@avaaz.org
    3:47 PM (0 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear friends,

    In days, ACTA’s backers will try and use the courts to revive their failing censorship attempt — referring it to the European Court of Justice with a narrow frame that’s certain to get the greenlight. We can force the court to look at the whole truth of ACTA’s attack on our free internet — and kill this treaty for good. Click below to join:

    In days, the European Commission will try a last ditch attempt to revive ACTA. But we can shine a light on their dirty trick and foil their plans.

    Governments are turning their back on ACTA one by one, so the EC is asking their Court of Justice to give the treaty the greenlight and renew its momentum — but they plan to manipulate the process by giving the court only a narrow, uncontroversial question to consider, hoping it will lead to a positive outcome.

    We can push the court to see though the EC’s ploy and look at all the legal implications of this censorship treaty on our freedoms — forcing a negative decision that kills ACTA for good. Click below to sign the call:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/acta_time_to_win//?vl

    The European Commission spent five years negotiating ACTA in secret with corporations, but in the last five weeks we’ve blown the ACTA debate into the open. Now the Commission is fighting to keep ACTA alive by getting the blessing of the EU’s highest court. Unless we step in now the Commission, well-versed in bureaucratic dodges, may only present the court with a narrow question, preventing it from assessing ACTA’s impacts on our freedom of expression, privacy and democracy.

    We’ve forced governments in Poland, Germany, Bulgaria and other countries to freeze ratification. And now, if we win this battle in the European Commission, we can stop ACTA for good. If the EU does not ratify, ACTA will never become a global agreement and negotiators will have to go back to the drawing board to produce a treaty that stops genuine abuses but protects our rights.

    Let’s urgently call on the Commission and Court to give ACTA a full and fair hearing, and make sure the whole truth about this threat to our fundamental freedoms is revealed. Sign now and send this to everyone:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/acta_time_to_win//?vl

    Millions of us joined together to fight for Internet freedom and stop the US censorship laws. We won, but now this threat is back on a global scale with ACTA. We’ve done what no one thought we could and stopped the treaty’s march to ratification. Let’s finish what we started and beat back ACTA, for good!  

    With hope and determination, 

    Alex, Pascal, Laura, Alice, Ricken, Dalia, Diego and the whole Avaaz team 

    PS. Check out the media coverage of our 2.4 million strong petition delivery to the European Parliament on Tuesday — we caused quite a stir!

    Activists present anti-ACTA petition to EU (Associated Press)
    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goN98YMyvwPqQiW31gBs8U-xnvIg?docId=7afd9eef4f6b44acbb43b1029820bc87

    Anti ACTA petition hits European Parliament (The Inquirer)
    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2155775/anti-acta-petition-hits-european-parliament

    ACTA opponents present 2 million petition to EU (Washington Post)
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/opponents-of-acta-anti-counterfeiting-treaty-present-petition-with-2-million-names-to-eu/2012/02/28/gIQAmHCsfR_story.html

    More Information

    ACTA approval stalled by European commission (Guardian):
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/22/acta-stalled-european-commission?newsfeed=true

    ACTA: EU court to rule on anti-piracy agreement (BBC)
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17125469

    EU suspends ACTA ratification (Euractiv):
    http://www.euractiv.com/infosociety/eu-suspends-acta-ratification-news-511054

    EU To Refer ACTA To Top Court (Wall St Journal):
    http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120222-715091.html

    FAQ on Commission Referral of ACTA to the CJEU (Access Now):
    https://www.accessnow.org/policy-activism/press-blog/faq-on-commission-referral-of-acta-to-the-cjeu

    What makes ACTA so controversial (EDRI):
    http://www.edri.org/files/acta-bklt-p2s.pdf

    Support the Avaaz Community!
    We’re entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way.


    Avaaz.org is a 13-million-person global campaign network     that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    This message was sent to . To change your email address, language, or other information, contact us via this form. To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe@avaaz.org or click here.

    To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).

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  • State governments hands are in the cookie jar over school bank accounts

    State government’s hands are in the cookie jar over school bank accounts

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    Blacktown South Public School

    Ambushed … Geoff Scott, principal of Blacktown South Public School with his students (L-R) Ebonee Annabel, Kaitlyn Nash, Jessica Nash, Pavitraa Hathi, Abhinav Hathi, Ishan Puri and Deklyn Nash / Pic: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph

    MILLIONS of dollars of interest will be snatched from state school bank accounts by the cash-strapped state government under a radical restructure of education department finances, principals and parents fear.

    More than 2200 primary and secondary school accounts could be replaced with a centralised banking system by 2014.

    Click here for a full list of NSW public school bank accounts

    The move, part of the Learning Management Business Reform program, would deliver a single finance, human resource and student management system across the department but would take finances out of the hands of principals.

    Despite being told the overhaul would save money, teachers are concerned they would no longer be able to keep tens of thousands of dollars in interest payments which go towards stationery, books and uniform subsidies.

    Results: Today’s poll

    Thanks for voting!

    Should the government control state schools’ bank accounts?

    • Yes31.31% (31 votes)
    • No68.69% (68 votes)

    Total votes: 99

    Recommended Coverage

    Premier supports early start talks

    PREMIER Barry O’Farrell yesterday urged schools to talk to their community about changing class hours for young students.
    Merrylands East Primary School

    Early start plan to avoid school daze

    PRIMARY school students to have classes from 8am to 1.15pm under a proposal to make the most of children’s ability to learn in mornings.

    “We’re running pretty tight to the bone anyway and if there is a proposal to take away any money from the school budget then it’s going to cause problems,” Blacktown South Primary School principal Geoff Scott said.

    A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said the reform aimed to improve school finances: “The Learning Management Business Reform program is currently in the design phase and the Department of Education and Communities is working with principals and school communities to design a system which best suits their local needs.”

    Former primary school head and Primary Schools Principals Forum spokesman Brian Chudleigh said the group did not believe assurances that schools would not lose the interest.

    “Principals are absolutely aghast about losing control of their finances – it will reduce us to the level of a McDonald’s franchise,” he said.

    “We were assured there was no intention that interest money could be taken back under these changes.

    “What is being done will give them (the government) the capacity to do it.

    “We don’t believe (the assurances) because the NSW Treasury is so strapped for cash they will do anything to get that money.

    “The fear is that principals won’t have control (of their bank accounts) and will have to seek the approval of a grade one clerk to do anything.”

    Education sources said bureaucrats in the department had been “eyeing off” interest monies in school bank accounts for years, claiming they could make better use of it.

    Primary Principals Association president and Albion Park Public School principal Jim Cooper said students could be worse off.

    “If it means a reduction in resources given to schools then it usually means a reduction of things given to students,” he said.

    Secondary Principals’ Council president Chris Cawsey said an average high school would lose $25,000 a year if interest were withheld.

     

  • Sydney water war- Labors desalination plant is a tap we can’t turn off

    Sydney water war – Labor’s desalination plant is a tap we can’t turn off

    0

    THE decision was made – Sydney would get a desal plant “drought or no drought”.

    Before the 2007 election, premier Morris Iemma promised it would be built when dam levels hit 33 per cent.

    The current government is now railing about a “stupid contract” that means the plant will stay in operation for two years regardless of the state of Sydney‘s water supply.

    But an engineer who was involved in designing the Kurnell plant said this was playing politics over sense.

    “It was an insurance policy,” Brett Miller from the UNSW Water Research centre said.

    “Sydney at the time was in a drought. A large proportion of our water was coming from the Shoalhaven. I really don’t see that you could have made any different decision.”

    Mr Miller said Sydney runs through a wet/dry cycle – meaning it was likely that in a few years pouring rain would give way to drought.

    Mr Iemma said the then government decided to build the plant based on advice Sydney’s water supply was disappearing at an alarming rate.

    “The advice was that (dam levels) were going to hit 27 per cent in a very short period of time. We just needed to provide certainty,” he said.

    The 2006 metropolitan water plan, which supported the decision to build the plant, noted that the probability of dam levels reaching 30 per cent was “very low” but building the plant was “vital to ensure that Sydney’s water needs can still be met should this situation occur”.

    The desalination plant announced on Wednesday that, following heavy rain, it would reduce the volume of water it supplied to 45 megalitres a day.

    Finance Minister Greg Pearce said he welcomed the decision to cut the volume of water produced. The two-year “proving period” for the plant expires on June 15, and Mr Pearce said it was not viable to shut the plant before then.

     

  • Thickest parts of Arctic ice melting faster

    Thickest parts of Arctic ice cap melting faster

    Posted: 29 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST

    A new study revealed that the oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice is disappearing at a faster rate than the younger and thinner ice at the edges of the Arctic Ocean’s floating ice cap.

    Finding a potent new energy source by listening for Earth’s gas bubbles?

    Posted: 29 Feb 2012 11:21 AM PST

    What if we could cheaply and efficiently detect a potent new energy source, while also monitoring for environmental safety? Physicists are using the symphony of sound produced in the ocean to do just that.

    Sea level rise to alter economics of California beaches: Certain beaches will shrink, others remain large

    Posted: 28 Feb 2012 08:43 AM PST

    Rising sea levels are likely to change Southern California beaches in the coming century, but not in ways you might expect. While some beaches may shrink or possibly disappear, others are poised to remain relatively large — leaving an uneven distribution of economic gains and losses for coastal beach towns, according to a new study.
    You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Oceanography News
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  • Sea level rise to alter economics of California beaches: certain beaches will shrink, others remain large:

    ScienceDaily: Severe Weather News

    Sea level rise to alter economics of California beaches: Certain beaches will shrink, others remain large

    Posted: 28 Feb 2012 08:43 AM PST

    Rising sea levels are likely to change Southern California beaches in the coming century, but not in ways you might expect. While some beaches may shrink or possibly disappear, others are poised to remain relatively large — leaving an uneven distribution of economic gains and losses for coastal beach towns, according to a new study.
    You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Severe Weather News
    To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.    		 Email delivery powered by Google
    Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

  • Next-Gen Weather Satellites to improve Tornado Warnings

    Next-Gen Weather Satellites to Improve Tornado Warnings

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    NASA Science News snglist@snglist.msfc.nasa.gov
    2:58 PM (1 hour ago)
    to NASA

    NASA Science News for Feb. 29, 2012

    NOAA and NASA are working on a series of next-generation weather satellites called “GOES-R” that will improve warnings of deadly tornadoes and other severe weather.

    FULL STORY: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/29feb_tornadosurprise/

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