Author: Wan Kerr

West End Street musicians Stunn.

You’ve probably seen Ray, River and Oits (members of the band Stunn) jamming on Melbourne St in West End. I stopped by for a chat and discovered that the three indigenous musicians are enchanting and charming. Ray told me a little about the band.

“We got together to produce ethnic and cultural music that’s selected from our various cultures. All three of us are from different backgrounds. Our ethnic backgrounds include Eastern-Polynesian, Samoan, Aboriginal and Malay cultures. We combine that with modern music and our own style. We try to create some sort of fusion and identity based on this.”

“Do you think there are any other artists or bands draw on various cultures like you guys do?”

“Well if they don’t they’re limiting themselves. They should do it and explore what’s out there. The collaboration that we have is pretty good.”

“Do you think music is a big deal in West End?”

“Music is one of the major spiritual forces in West End, without a doubt. West End wouldn’t have the commercial success that it’s enjoying today without music. West End has boosted from music. It’s a street energy. The business people here should take note. Without the freedom to creatively express on a street level or at any level really, you have a dead street.”

“Do you think other suburbs in Brisbane have as much street music as West End does?”

“We’ll we’re from outside the West End area but we play here because it’s already been created for us. We hope that other musicians take advantage of what West End has to offer.”

Three weeks from now Stun will be hitting the road. However there are no concrete plans for the tour.

“We don’t have a plan as such, simply because we don’t believe in planning. You can only live life for today, not tomorrow or yesterday. You can only live right now. I cannot tell you what’s going to happen tomorrow. In the present, right now, I’m doing music and that’s all I can guarantee. That’s all I can give.”

Ray’s advice for life: “Create your own culture and become yourself. Seek a wider perspective rather than an individual one.”

Â

There’s no place like home

Brendan Barclay was born and grew up in West end. After a long time away from the area, Brendan has returned home.

“I moved back to settle down. It’s the best place in Brisbane. There’s a real community vibe, there are gardens on every corner. Everyone is really friendly and lovely. They like bringing everyone into their homes and sharing their lives with everyone. It’s the best community around, easily in Brisbane.”

“There’s no place like home. I think West End is one of the last places in Brisbane that still has culture. I like the Valley and New Farm, but West End still has a lot of old culture. It’s still holding onto it, whereas new development has really changed the city. West End is the most amazing place.”

“What’s your day been like so far?”

“I had some coffee and breakfast at Blackstar. It’s a cafe that’s tucked away in Thomas Street. It’s serves amazing coffee. Now I’m going to buy a lantern at Dandelion. I love that shop. I’m like a kid in a candy store there.”

“Later on I’ll go out for evening drinks at Rumpus (Rumpus Room). It’s happy hour for all of Monday. It has a really nice evening feel too. It has a garden outside and a lot of the locals will gather around that area. You can drink and smoke at the same time. It’s a nice little place to hang out.

Brendan’s advice for life: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Â

West End’s movie buff

Â

John Swain has been a West End resident for only 12-months and says he loves the location, restaurants and shops.

“Saturday and Sunday is very busy around here. I lived near by a while ago. It’s changed quite a bit, there used to be trams, double-decker buses and steam trains. But we shouldn’t be losing our hospitals and although we have some good police, we need more.”

John’s a trusted local around west end with close relationships with restaurant owners and the South Bank cinema.

“I’m waiting to go to an Italian restaurant across the road. They’ll give me a meal today and let me pay them tomorrow.”

“You must be a pretty trustworthy person, for them to believe that you’ll pay them back.”

“I’m pretty good that way. I’ve known them for a while.”

When I ask what John’s plans are for the rest of the day, I discover his great joy- going to the movies.

“I’m going to see the Titanic, they reckon it’s pretty damn good.”

“Have you never seen the Titanic?”

“Not yet, I also want to see the new car racing movie, The Fast and The Furious. I get a good deal at the South Bank cinemas; I’ve been going there since the place was opened. I sure do love my movies. The South bank cinema is great, the Imax screens are terrific and it’s real cheap too. I’m also really excited to see the new cartoons they have coming out. The new Superman movie looks good too.

John claims he sees at least two movies a week at the local cinema.

“Who’s your favourite actor?”

“Mel Gibson.” John’s advice for life: “Wear sunscreen.”

Â

News about the GMO contamination of U.S. wheat crops seems to be spreading faster than the GMOs themselves. On Friday, South Korea joined Japan in announcing a halt on imports of U.S. wheat due to the USDA’s recent announcement that commercial wheat grown in the USA is contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically engineered wheat.

Some Americans may still not realize this, but GMOs are outlawed or shunned nearly everywhere around the world. Only in the USA have GMOs managed to avoid being labeled or outlawed — and that’s primarily due to Monsanto’s financial influence over lawmakers.

Monsanto shares plummeted 4 percent on Friday following the announcement by South Korea. This is completely in line with predictions made here at Natural News, where I said earlier in the week, before Japan and South Korea announced their wheat boycotts.

All wheat produced in the United States will now be heavily scrutinized — and possibly even rejected — by other nations that traditionally import U.S. wheat. This obviously has enormous economic implications for U.S. farmers and agriculture.

How much of the U.S. wheat supply is now contaminated with GMOs?

“…the mysterious appearance of the Monsanto wheat has raised questions about how the strain traveled there and whether it is lurking in the commercial wheat crop,” reports the Washington Post.

WashPo goes on to report that Monsanto, “is still testing strains of gene-altered wheat in Hawaii and North Dakota.”

In truth, nobody knows how much of the wheat is contaminated. Every more shockingly, food companies don’t bother testing wheat for GMOs, either!

Until now, that is. All of a sudden, food importers all around the world are wondering whether they are inadvertently buying U.S. wheat that’s contaminated with GMOs. Consumers, too, are asking the question, “Have I been eating GMO wheat without even knowing it?” These Monsanto wheat experiments, after all, have been taking place since 1998.

Is Monsanto lurking in your Wheaties?

U.S. farmers suddenly seeing the economic damage that Monsanto can do.

The real issue in all this, however, is an economic issue. Suddenly U.S. farmers are seeing the kind of economic destruction that can be caused by Monsanto’s genetic engineering experiments.

Thanks to Monsanto and the USDA — which approved the open-field experiments — every U.S. farmer who grows wheat is now at high risk of losing enormous sums of money on a food crop that’s increasingly being rejected around the world. This means Monsanto is pushing U.S. farmers toward bankruptcy while harming America’s exports and GDP. Monsanto has become a force of economic destruction in America.

Will Monsanto reimburse all these farmers who suffer an economic loss? Not without being sued, of course. Perhaps it’s time for a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Monsanto, supported by all commercial farmers who hope to be able to protect their crops from market-crushing GMO contamination.

Nobody wants GMOs except Monsanto!

Consumers don’t want GMOs, farmers don’t want GMOs, foreign nations don’t want GMOs and food companies don’t want to deal with the hassle of GMOs either. The only entity that still wants GMO in America is the very company making money off GMO: Monsanto.

Republised from http://www.naturalnews.com/040604_GMO_contamination_wheat_South_Korea.html

Â

On site for the momentous occasion were Brisbane City Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, General Manager-Locations for Quest Serviced Apartments Andrew Weisz, with Michael Kent and Nando Pellicano from the Pellicano Group.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the development would be a wonderful addition to the community and the local economy.

“We are thrilled that Quest has committed to this development which is another vote of confidence in the strength of the city’s economy,” he said.

“Quest has recently fast-tracked its growth in Queensland by announcing plans to open five new properties in the next 12 months.

“I am delighted that Woolloongabba and the surrounding suburbs will benefit from the investment Quest is making in the area as not only will jobs be created but we will have a quality accommodation option for visitors doing business in the area.”

The Quest property will be located at 130 Logan Rd in Woolloongabba and is expected to open in March 2014. Woolloongabba is approximately 4km South of Brisbane CBD with the Quest property about 1km away from “The Gabba” – Queensland’s major sporting venue.

The property will feature 70 apartments comprising of Studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom apartments. There will be a conference room, gymnasium, and a rooftop BBQ area in the complex.

Andrew Weisz, General Manager – Locations, Quest Serviced Apartments, says the project is in line with Quest’s growth strategy.

“Our focus is to provide corporates with flexible quality accommodation in the locations that need it. Simply, our business growth is based on supply and demand and in recent times the greatest demand has been in suburban and regional locations, and Woolloongabba is definitely one of those areas,” he said.

Quest Woolloongabba is the Pellicano Group’s second project under construction in the area, with the highly successful 82 apartment project Eastwood Apartments due for completion in July 2013.

The Pellicano Group is a privately-owned family business that has been in operation for 45 years and focuses on property development and management and construction funds management. The group has offices in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Â

Walking off with the door takings was Joe (Jonathon Sri). Also famous for his band Rivermouth and one of the founding hosts of Courtyard Conspiracy, Joe is quickly becoming a West End institution.

Hosted by Scotty (Scott Sneddon) with huge passion, energy and a creative approach to judging, the afternoon was attended by thirty or forty lovers of poetry. Sine that includes the ten poets and probably their ten lovers my mental arithmetic indicates that proprietor topped up the envelope to round out the prize money.

Given that the winner probably took home more on the day than the owner did, it is easy to see why this might be the last instalment of this particular creative outbreak of Westendism.

Not content with his commercial support, our host also thanked Scotty for his work in keeping the slam up and running over the last two years, and graciously acknowledged the hilarious sending up of his own poetry from one of the performers.

Westender is assured that future Sunday afternoons will still revolve around performance poetry in a form that packs the place with punters and rebalances the scales toward commerce without killing the creativity.

Sunday poetry at the Jam Jar is dead, long live Sunday poetry at the Jam Jar.

The event was part of a global network of celebrations including an Original Nations passport ceremony at the Trades Hall Council in Melbourne. It took place in the shadow of the death of young activist Kainus Tabuni on Wednesday May 29th.

The flotilla is spearheaded by Uncle Kevin Buzzacot and has evolved over ten years since it was conceived at the thirtieth anniversary of the Canberra Tent Embassy. Following a ceremony at Lake Eyre on July 25th the flotilla will make its way overland to Brisbane and up the cost to Cairns. The flotilla itself will sail from Cairns on August 17, following concerts and ceremonies. Check the flotilla’s facebook page.

It aims to bring international attention to the rampant killing and oppression of the West Papuan people by the Indonesian military.

The public meeting at Turnstyle Community Hub in Laura St last night heard that the flotilla is aware that the Indonesian military plans to intercept the flotilla and hope that international attention brought about by the social media will help protect their safety.

Young activist Kainus Tabuni was shot dead on Wednesday May 29 2013. Leader of the West Papuan National Committee (KNBP), Mako Tanubi was assassinated in public in June 2012 by the Indonesian government. The movements leaders are regularly arrested and beaten, meetings broken up and headquarters destroyed.

At least 100,000 West Papuans have been killed by the military since the Indonesian took control of the country in 1969 using an illegal act known by West Papuans as the Referendum of No Choice. This well documented international crime, in which one thousand Papuan tribal elders were forced at gun point to vote on a referendum handing over control of the country to the Indonesian government, is celebrated by the Indonesian government with a surreal statue in which a giant Indonesian soldier is supported by tiny, naked West Papuans.

Despite Indonesian and Australian government denial that the genocide is taking place only hundreds of kilometres from the Australian coast, footage smuggled out of the country clearly depicts a warzone in which 30,000 armed police and military, suppress a population of around two million West Papuans. This is the highest ratio of military to civilian control in the world.

Flotilla organisers in Melbourne discussed the role of the Freeport mine and the Australian government with the Turnstyle meeting. Freeport mine is the biggest gold mine in the world and Indonesia’s largest taxpayer. In 2011 Freeport paid the Indonesian government $2billion in taxes alone. The government also owns 19 percent of the mine. US shareholders received a further $1.8 billion.

The meeting then screened the documentary, Goodbye Indonesia which shows the Indonesian Intelligence forces bizarrely texting death threats to the leader of the Free Papua movement as they hunt him down.

Posing as birdwatchers, the film makers record interviews with leaders of the movement, including one tribal elder who was part of the Referendum of No Choice. After spending a night in the swamp surrounded by the intelligence forces hunting them and their subjects two very scared journalists flee the country.

Following the release of the documentary on Al Jazeera television, a minister in the Indonesian Government Ms Dewi Fortuna Anwar observed that any movement toward independence is illegal under Indonesian law and is not afforded the right of free speech. “However, I do not think it is the policy of the Indonesian government to carry out violence against activists without due process of law,” she said.

Whether that constitutes plausible deniability or simply denial is a matter of conjecture.

What is clear is that the attempts by the Indonesian and Australian government to contain the genocide to the remote highlands of the world’s second largest island have failed. Online activists and the independent media will take this issue to the world and, hopefully, restore justice to this tragically betrayed region.

The author, Geoff Ebbs, is the Greens candidate for Griffith.

Â

The State Library of Queensland last night awarded local author Matthew Condon the 2013 John Oxley award for his investigative work into bent coppers,Three Crooked Kings.

It also awarded $20,000 to researchers Kathleen Fallon and Matthew Nagas for their proposed Pilgrimage of Significant Sites from Tweed Heads to Torres Strait.

The 2013 John Oxley Library Community History Award has been granted to Brisbane Open House, an annual event facilitated by the Open House Worldwide family.

Picture courtesy of CitizenJ

Â

Â