The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has expressed regrets at comments he made to staff last year that the investigation into News Limited was incompetent and unfair and that he would look after staff who were found guilty of wiretapping and other charges.
The comments were in direct contradiction to statements he made to the official investigation known as the Levison Inquiry, were secretly recorded by a staff member at the time and were publicly released last week.As a result of the statements, Murdoch has been recalled to face further questions by a House of Commons sub-committee and has made a series of public statements retreating from the positions expressed in the secretly recorded meeting
Former CIA head, General Michael Hayden, yesterday accused international telecommunications giant, HuaWei, of spying for the Chinese Government, after Malcolm Turnbull said that he would review a Labor government decision to ban the company from building the NBN.
HuaWei has sponsored more trips to China by politicians, mostly coalition members, than any other company, according to the parliamentary record.
General Hayden says “at the very least, Hua Wei is sharing sensitive information about the telecommunications infrastructure of Western countries with the Chinese intelligence agencies.”
The legend of The Bosun lives on with Beenleigh Rum
The Beenleigh Distillery is Australian owned and operated
VOK Beverages has again become the proud owners of the Beenleigh Rum distillery. The oldest registered and heritage listed rum distillery in Australia, established in 1884.
To celebrate this they are relaunching their portfolio of rum, a white rum and a 5 y.o. dark rum, and adding a new product to it, a honey liqueur, that is as unique as the history of the distillery.
Back in 1869 James “The Bosun” Stewart operated SS Walrus as a floating sugar cane mill along the Albert River. Making it easy to mill sugar cane while docked at the plantation jetties. The crafty rogue later decided to install a pot still on the boat to make rum, using the molasses left over from crushing sugar cane.
One morning in 1884 the SS Walrus had run aground on the riverbank, then found by local farmers Davy and Gooding. On the boat they discovered the original pot was still in great condition, but a certain rascal was not to be found. They said a prayer for the missing James “The Bosun” Stewart, applied for a rum license and founded what we now know as the Beenleigh Rum distillery, using his old pot still to make rum.
The Westender had the privilege to taste the new products and enjoy a personal tour of the distillery with Beenleigh Distillery Manager John Mulraney and Vok Beverages Group Marketing Manager Chris Illman. Where they talked passionately about their rum and showing how Beenleigh Rum is crafted. Giving a glimpse into what makes this rum so unique.
The Beenleigh Rum distillery prides itself on producing a product that is based on quality, not quantity. As it was known to be the best rum you could get your hands on in Australia back in its early days, and awarded to be the best tasting rum in the world in 1995 at the London International Wine & Spirit Show — a tradition they intend to continue.
The distillery is an Australian owned company made with Australian-only products. Using locally-sourced water, molasses from Australia’s last remaining, privately-owned sugar mill, Rocky Point, and local, in-house produced yeast.
The bosun’r rum rolls off the line
Beenleigh White Rum 37.5% ABV — With its very mild flavour is intended as a cocktail mixer. Yet it has a smooth and mild sweetness to it which will blend nicely with any drink it is added to.
Beenleigh Dark 5 Y.O. Rum 40% ABV — A dark rum with great character. With a richer taste than the white rum of course, it is still very smooth and can easily be enjoyed on the rocks.
Beenleigh Honey Liqueur 35% ABV — Is a dark 5 y.o. rum infused with Ligurian honey from Kangaroo Island. The honey makes the 5 y.o. rum even smoother to drink without making it too sweet. A perfect and unique liqueur to enjoy on the rocks as well
Shark tales and movies at Edge Theatre on Tuesday 23 July.
Richard Fitzpatrick rides a shark to work
Next Tuesday, hands on environmental group Wild Mob will thrill the audience at the Edge Theatre in Southbank with close up and personal shark tales from Emmy-award winning filmmaker and shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick.
The presentation will be part of Eco Expo13, a free event designed to give students and parents a taste of the careers available in environmental science and related areas.
Richard Fitzpatrick has worked on more than 50 films for the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery Channel, including last year’s popular documentary series Great Barrier Reef.
Eco Expo 2013 is being organised by environmental education charity Wild Mob in conjunction with the Smith Family Partnership Brokers, universities, TAFEs and other organisations.
“Lots of young people are passionate about the environment but they don’t always know how to pursue a career in this sector,” said Wild Mob spokesperson Lydia Gibson.
“Eco Expo gives people a chance to hear from a diverse range of industry professionals and learn about the different pathways to a career in this highly rewarding field.”
KEY EVENT INFO: Environment Careers and Opportunities (ECO) EXPO Date: Friday July 23, 2013 Time: 10-2pm (Schools), 3-6pm (Students and Parents) Venue: The Edge, Southbank, Brisbane Cost: FREE
The fruit is huge, almost the size of a human head
Winter is citrus season and the mountains of oranges and mandarins appear at precisely the time we need the extra vitamins to ward off those winter colds and flu.
Most Westender readers will head to the Jane St markets for mountains of produce in a market settings but I had the opportunity to explore the Mount Gravatt Showgrounds last Sunday and was suitably impressed.
I was meeting someone at 6am on Sunday, odd I know, and was amazed to see crowds of people with head torches darting through the misty dark, it was quite damp and cold last Sunday morning, grabbing the best produce and then heading back to their restaurants, juice bars and veggie shops.
Since I did not have my head torch, I drank coffee and ate curry puffs – yes the same ones from Jane St – until the sun came up.
When you rip it open the flesh is exposed from inside the individual segments.
My find of the day was a mighty citrus fruit I had not come across before, the Pomelo.
I call it the mighty Pomelo, because it is huge.
Described by some people as the ancestor of the citrus, it is available in sweet and sour varieties and ranges from quite green to a rich yellow.
There are two Pomelo sellers at Mount Gravatt, I chatted to Elena Moeller, who grows the Pomelo’s she sells in Bundamba. She offers a free taste which had me immediately interested.
The flavour is reminded my of the Schweppes Old Fashioned Lemonade – it is sharp but not sour, almost sweet but very refreshing.
I took my Pomelo home, peeled it by hand (after making one cut with a knife) and tore it apart. I found myself devouring quite a few of the significant size segments before I remembered that I was planning to make fruit salad.
It is, quite frankly, delicious.
Keep your eye out for this striking fruit and if the vendor is offering a free taste, try it. If you like it, you’ll find it a pretty cost-effective way to put some citrus into your menu for the week.
Community Friends are well known to Westenders because of their regular free food for homeless in Boundary Street on Wednesday night. It is often more than food: blankets, shoes, haircuts and other basic health services being provided as well.
The group sell sausages on Saturday morning to raise money for their charitable activities and their central location has brought them to the attention of aspiring politicians for the seat of Griffith.
Westender was on hand to capture these snaps of Green Geoff Ebbs, Socialist Alliance Liam Flenady and the Socialist Senate Candidate Sam Watson.
The image of Prime Minister Rudd was scanned from the Sunday Mail just days before he regained the top job.
