Will the real Toe Knee Ass-Bit Alfred E. Neuman please stand up.

25 years ago . . .

wednesday newstrip

Spain's King Juan Carlos is abdicating after almost 40 years on the throne, causing two flights to Bali to be cancelled & one delayed ∙ everyone's favorite festering sinkhole of vice was put to sword & flame on Monday night in an otherwise modest upgrade to Apple's mobile OS ∙ Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit & Treasurer Toe Cock-Knee have failed to make headway in their budget sales job but have recovered more than 2000 pieces of stolen jewelery valued at $2 million from a Brisbane jewelery store ∙ British police investigating the disappearance of Consumer confidence have reportedly arrived at a potential excavation site in Portugal near where it disappeared seven years ago ∙ landlords who knowingly lease premises to any armada of satellites designed to expand Internet access will face up to five years' imprisonment under new measures.

dictum

The constants
of my life

are constantly
changing.

maybe

geographies: Bowen

wednesday newstrip

Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit has declared that whales who launch their hefty bodies out of the sea to perform a giant bellyflop have "no right" to hold out for their dream job ∙ the number of deaths related to the marriage of Kanye West & Kim Kardashian at a fortress in the Italian city of Florence has increased significantly ∙ in Australia, the opening night of the Vivid Festival at Sydney's Darling Harbour yesterday carried out a multi-pronged, complex attack against the country's parliament building involving a car bomb, suicide bombers, & an Irishman who drowned, police said ∙ Washington retaliates by cancelling longstanding military cooperation with the world's major economies ∙ militants in Mogadishu have seen their death rates decline thanks to the type of lead found in a 16th-century-style cannon unearthed off a remote beach.

geographies: Dalbeg

she has

painted her
self into
a cor
ner

least wile & vestment

I, Mark Young,

being of sound
mind & body, do
hereby bequeath

the letters of
my name to
anyone who can

make more out
of them than
Guk Mornay.

wednesday newstrip

A Hawke's Bay woman is in prison tonight, beginning a two-and-a-half year sentence for severely neglecting India's general elections ∙ the world's oldest sperm, which has been found after the collapse of a family of telecommunication companies, may have been preserved by bat poo ∙ "there is going to be a growth gap & unemployment for elderly mothers will rise" said a concussed umpire booed by the crowd as he was being stretchered off the field by medical staff ∙ a fossil site in Australia is the world's biggest democratic exercise, say researchers ∙ the Federal Minister for Health, Peter Dustbin, said requiring patients to pay to visit their GP would reduce the number of "marginal attendances" & make it easier for people to get an appointment with their doctor when they need to.

geographies: Carbine

wednesday newstrip

The latest idiosyncrasy of Silicon Valley is to think of facts as fixed & unmoving ∙ a Melbourne supermarket cashier struck by a stolen toddler was the victim of an accident, police say ∙ the modern conception of the syringe first arose as an objective reality in the Middle Ages, according to experts in the field of scientometrics ∙ Queensland police name chihuahua in abduction case ∙ a massive waste incinerator rescued from busy US highway ∙ contemporary consciousness has been put down after a pit bull attack.

some apriletariat words

from won des laits

tripuptych

depressage

truncat

encheapment

do\my/cile

presicion

pornograph

costody

From the Finland Station

Now out from Jukka-Pekka Kervinen's Gradient Books.

the eclectic world
52 pages of recent poetry
Available through Lulu at this URL.

geographies: Sapphire

wednesday newstrip

A monkey heart grown by scientists was amongst a haul of 6,000 weapons seized by customs officers at border control in Australia on Thursday ∙ the World Health Organisation must decide whether Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit carries a pathogen that killed more than 300 million people in the 20th century ∙ Apple's next set of headphones will be equpped with confusion, misleading information, & then long periods of nothing ∙ a mass murderer has postponed a trip to build a costly underground frozen wall at Japan's crippled nuclear plant next week ∙ stun guns disguised as iPhones shot down two of Ukraine's army helicopters during an "anti-terror" operation ∙ a grandmother has been awarded more than £20,000 in compensation after a botched tummy tuck operation caused her belly button to 'explode' on a plane.

geographies: Flora Valley (2)

The new issue of Otoliths is up

There's some Herodotus quote about cyclones not staying us from accomplishing our appointed course; &, despite two more — one of which tripped harmlessly down our main street — since the one that caused the previous issue to come out a couple of days early, we're back on schedule & issue thirty-three of Otoliths is now up.

In this quarter's mailbag, missives from Anne Gorrick, SS Prasad, Richard Lopez & Lars Palm, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Mark Melnicove, Mark Reep, Márton Koppány, Peter Ganick, Philip Byron Oakes, Jack Galmitz, Eric Hoffman, David-Baptiste Chirot, Bob Marcacci, David Dick, Youdhisthir Maharjan, Raymond Farr, Steven Fraccaro, Heidi A. Howell, Scott Metz, A. J. Huffman, Richard J. Fleming, John M. Bennett, Les Wicks, Howie Good, Jean Vengua, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Martin Edmond, Sheila e. Black & Courtney Spohn, Sheila e. Black & Caleb Puckett, Andrew Taylor, Sophie Herxheimer & Andrew Taylor, Bobbi Lurie, Wayne Mason, Cecelia Chapman & Jeff Crouch, Diana Magallón, Mitchell Garrard, Robert McDonald, Joe Balaz, Claudio Parentela, Sara Jean Lane, Chris Ashby, Anne Elvey, bruno neiva, Lakey Comess, Maria Garcia Teutsch, Nicholas Bon, Francesco Aprile, Simon Perchik, Steve Tills, Owen Bullock, Anela Aliotis, Olivier Cans, Mark DuCharme, Sarah James, Roger Williams, Massimo Stirneri, Jeff Harrison, Alberto Vitacchio, Neil Ellman, Carla Bertola, Aditya Bahl, Cat Leonard, Anne-Marie JEANJEAN, John Pursch, sean burn, Lucy Wilks, Pete Spence, Willie Smith, Jake Goetz, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, Marcia Arrieta, Sam Langer, Susan Kachor Conlon, J. D. Nelson, nathaxn walker, Jim Eigo, Michael Brandonisio, Bob Heman, Spencer Selby, Bogdan Puslenghea, Ric Carfagna, Reijo Valta, Carey Scott Wilkerson, Katrinka Moore, & Javant Biarujia.

wednesday newstrip

The royal tour of Australia ended on Friday with Prince George once again stealing the show — by snubbing Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit ∙ drunk Russian warplanes which caused a hijack scare on a Virgin Australia flight to Bali have been arrested for using smart tech & the power of the crowd ∙ former hair clinic operator Roland Bleyer is suing search engine Google for defamation over links to websites he claims paint him as a large-scale fraudster ∙ The Open Source Beehives project, notoriously private about its personal life, is selling its pulp, paper, & packaging business to a Japanese joint venture ∙ a pedophile scout master is currently raising funds via Indiegogo to be able to continue working closely with young boys ∙ a Queensland plumber, who has violated Ukraine's airspace several times in the past 24 hours, has rounded on the inability of the Ass-Bit government's "direct action" climate change policy to tackle bees' dwindling numbers.

from The Canterloupey Tales

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, honey, & cinnamon, & mix well. The Italian grayhound loved to steal things off her desk. The extract is used as the base for a variety of cosmetics.

Once she got to the store, her plan had to be a bit more flexible. She thought about regurgitating the Lemon, but the logistics of carrying it back to the Jeep did away with that notion.

She took a virtual trip back home, even if just briefly. Nice cozy rooms overlooked the ocean. It was easy to slide into the short sleeves & scoop neck of her new fantastic frock, & her suitcases were safe enough in the hollow tree.

She had been paying attention to the news. The stories she retold included tales of gun fights & escapades, of toe rags determined to get the grapes. Even so, there was little there that she had to be worried about.

She wrote down many things, in the hope that some of them might take.

Today the
postman brought
me the Grand
Mufti of Jeru-
salem. I didn't
recognize him
out of uniform.

geographies: Flora Valley

wernesday newstrip

Opposition Leader Bill Shortening wants to give rank-&-file members replicas of William Shakespeare's annotated dictionary ∙ the ground crew at Kahului Airport in Maui noticed the Australian government's chief electronic spy wandering the tarmac, dazed & confused ∙ researchers say they have identified the squidgy mass of grey in the middle of space as a confusing lump of moral ambiguities & disappointment ∙ the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has warned that top business executives do not fully appreciate the complexity & danger of threats they are now facing from trying to avoid evolving genes linked to low pain ∙ two people were shot & injured by a new Internet service that delivers 1 gigabit per second download speeds to households ∙ a boy didn't invent the idea of the reusable rocket ∙ Sherpas have closed Everest to commercial climbing amid mounting anger over pay & conditions.

Ass-Bit the Ass-Grabber

picture purloined from the ABC

geographies: Upper Barratta

wednesday newstrip

A busty Sports Illustrated model has been identified as a former 'grand dragon' of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan ∙ possible black box signals likely to be hyped as the next super food ∙ the Federal Government took part in a little funny sketch about the deep pollution cuts recommended in the latest report by the United Nations panel on climate change ∙ a slow-moving robot accused of going on a deadly shooting spree ∙ if hemp seed does get the green light, Jewish facilities in Kansas are giving little sign that they will sign up.

some march mallows

from won des laits.

discontext

frotteurge

insertify

astromisnomer

distaut

outlore

unsurerection

mssing

One sort of Pacific Cruise . . .

The past, present, & future track of what is currently category 1 (the lowest) Cyclone Ita. Actually started further to the right, on the other side of the Solomon Islands, as a tropical low that brought massive flooding to that area. Developed into a category 4 by the time it reached Australia, & has retained its cyclone categorization despite being over land for some time. Passed over us yesterday — we're the second (1) above the little doobilacky that shows where it currently is. Lots of rain, strong winds, but nothing destructive for us.

geographies: Charlie's Hill

wednesday newstrip

A man with a dragon tattoo is wanted for questioning over the murder of a Qantas plane in Adelaide ∙ at least four people are seriously injured after a vehicle crashed into a European bumblebee ∙ Australians are drinking less, but opting for better quality melted polar ice caps ∙ the latest data from the Hubble space telescope has shown that claims by big tobacco that more cigarettes are being sold & fewer people are quitting since plain packaging laws were introduced are just "junk science" ∙ Iceland's prime minister is unconcerned about possible extinction after a speech in which he said his Arctic island was full of Russian factory workers bathing in milk.

geographies: Crystal Brook

Today the
postman brought
me a framed
reproduction
of Washington
Irving Crossing
The Delaware.
"What's wrong
with the pict-
ure?" he asked
when I questioned
its provenance.

wednesday newstrip

A warship wearing women's burqas has been on the run since evading police on Sunday ∙ a national campaign to teach parents how to use giant cuttlefish safely is being developed by the Queensland Office of Fair Trading ∙ non-essential lights retrieved by a Chinese ship will slink off & die once this year's Mardi Gras is over ∙ the Taliban have stitched up the rights to sell quick-fix diets, exercise fads, & obsession over bathroom scales ∙ the honeymoon period for gay and lesbian couples crashed into a tree & burned ∙ Labor is trialling community black box detection in five seats.

spring tide, Boonah

geographies: Havilah

wednesday newstrip

A Chinese news agency says an aircrew has spotted a "spiderman" burglar with a taste for Prada watches & Louis Vuitton bags ∙ Australians have a right to be bigots, having been whipped around by weaker-than-expected imported red squirrels ∙ new research has revealed that sleepwalking can reduce the risk of breast cancer ∙ one of East Staffordshire's worst pests could soon lose his manhood or undergo a sex change after Arnold Schwarzenegger gave one lucky man a chance to crush anything he wants in his tank ∙ a dentist who left a patient with a stormwater drain in his root canal has been criticized by the government ∙ the number of children suffering from tomatoes has doubled since 2011 ∙ most bracket sheets loaded with red X's are bizarre & incoherent, & promote no confidence at all.

Today the
postman brought
me an unemployed
dancing monkey. Put
me down as some-
one who can't tell
a lymph node
from a lung, but I
think there may
currently be a search
on for organ donors.

geographies: Springsure

wednesday newstrip

A West Australian telescope has captured images of the Pope's tiny Ford Focus blowing up about 12.5 billion years ago ∙ George Clooney likes to wear the shackles of imposed foreign ownership restrictions on his sleeve ∙ Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit has searched the Yarra River & a rural property looking for evidence in relation to the murder of the Australian dollar ∙ a huge "wet zone" hundreds of miles beneath the surface of the Earth has created a mouse that expresses a fluorescing 'biosensor' in every cell of its body ∙ Russia has denied declaring war as it builds up the number of troops on its border with the Union Movement ∙ Communications Minister Welcome Turncoat has hinted that high-definition satellite imagery would be an ideal tool to use for the cold calls he makes to multinational letter writers.

wednesday newstrip

Australian police say a German backpacker who'd been missing for 18 days in the Queensland outback survived by eating space junk ∙ a new $150 million centre to combat the growing scourge of dredging at the coal port of Abbot Point will be set up at The International Criminal Court ∙ the battle over Sydney's tattoo trade is continuing to take twists & turns as tales of brutality, ill-treatment & appalling conditions continue to emerge ∙ these may be somber days, but Australia's asylum-seeker detention centers on Nauru & Papua were doused in a liquid & set on fire at an apartment building on Castlereagh Street soon after 6:00 p.m., lending light to the darkness.

geographies: Broadleigh Downs

what a difference a few hours makes

Asemicyclone track

we're now living sort of at the apex of a triangle & equidistant from the two (2)s & likely to get severely wet

Non-Asemicyclone track

some hours later it seems like we'll only be farted on heavily as the highwaymen pass by
But information like this is critical to our way of life. Better to be safe than sorry. Thankyou, B.o.M

some febrileweary words

from won des laits

chored

acoheavy

concaveman

partridged

conitnues

semicolonialism

wednesday newstrip

A neighbor of the Government's controversial doctor contracts saying that she heard "bloodcurdling screams" shortly before an entirely new type of black hole—one that's 'super-powered' & highly compact—was recently discovered by an international team of astronomers ∙ electronic spying tools used by the US government has made marine life far sparser & less varied in Arctic depths ∙ a negotiated peace deal between a body building drug & the cost of hotel rooms abroad has received a lukewarm response from the International Court of Justice ∙ another seven cases of measles could end up in the hands of organised criminals & hackers.

geographies: McDesme

Today the
postman brought
me a ticket in
the latest raffle
run by Farmsex.

com where the
first prize is a
poke in a pig
& you get to
choose the pig.

wednesday newstrip

The world's most wanted drug lord had cracks to components which were regarded as "safety critical" ∙ the former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden is sceptical about reports that crash tests revealed only one dog harness on sale in New Zealand would protect pooches in even a low-speed crash ∙ police have seized drugs, cash & high-powered firearms, including a sub-machine gun, during a raid on the taxation system ∙ an orca has told a Senate committee it is unable to substantiate claims that zircon crystals from Western Australia's Jack Hills region crystallised 4.4 billion years ago ∙ a free-diver's catch bag & a no-frills beachside condo tower have showed no resistance to labeling products from the disputed West Bank & Golan territories & increasing revenue through consumer levies ∙ Australia must join the international race to build a bionic brain in order to share the health & economic benefits that will flow from such a prestigious global project.

Neap Tide, Boonah

what a delicious irony!

The Federal Australian government of Toe Knee Ass-Bit has suffered the ignominy of having its asylum seeker policy publicly criticized by another foreign government - this time China.

China's vice-minister of foreign affairs, Li Baodong, said he was concerned about the "very important issue" of the treatment of refugees & asylum seekers, especially children, who arrive in Australia by boat.

"Indeed, we have proposed this question very candidly & also stated our concerns," Mr Li told reporters in Beijing. "We also asked if these refugees will be illegally repatriated to other countries."

Sydney Morning Herald, 2/21/14

Table, Ocean, & Fruit

We are beyond frustrated.
He finally has real reviews
by real people. My hair has
become healthier. We live

in a house overlooking
the ocean. But we both
appear to have a texture
problem, either the toes of

clunky leather boots or/&
cuba libre & tropical fruit on
a wooden table. A player

needs to know two basic
sets of facts: drive-ins were
a very big deal back then; &
juice making can often lead

to exotic states. We're brand
new to power auras. Some-
times they just crash. What
is it we are doing wrong?

thursday newstrip

Police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev are having a field day when it comes to spotting further signs of weakness in the labor market ∙ the cast of the beloved sitcom, Telstra's Telephone Directory, have called for more Internet freedom ∙ a book of articles about Chinese bloggers has claimed thousands of lives ∙ massive male elephant seal with an ego the size of Microsoft & Apple put together has been detained by authorities in North Korea for allegedly possessing religious material ∙ starving melanoma cells have quadrupled profits for the Russian punk group Pussy Riot ∙ the International Olympic Committee, that violent jihadist terrorist organization, has just released the first official trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy.

geographies: Dalby

Have added

to Series Magritte again, with a poem I'm pleased with. The lines are too long to re-post it here, so here's the link:
http://seriesmagritte.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/252-this-is-piece-of-cheese-for-yoko.html

saturday newstrip

The presence of two-year-olds Boomwaa & Bugatty has added another dimension to the strange S-shaped phenomenon which appeared on the weather bureau radar ∙ a parasite that is found in cats & can cause brain disease, blindness & miscarriage in people has been found for the first time on the steps of a private plane ∙ Facebook has freed members from the bonds of a tax on fizzy drinks ∙ Google is working on technology that will provide data transfer speeds over the internet that are many times faster than Arctic beluga whales ∙ the woman behind a campaign to stop a controversial rap group from performing in Auckland is uber rich & chronicles the receipt of all death threats on instagram ∙ Thailand's government is moving to save dozens of lives a year by letting people opt for custom genders such as young or jealous or military exercise.

Ten years after

I commenced the ekphrastic series, I've just posted poem #250 in my Series Magritte. A good place to stop.

But, ever the masochist, I've decided to push on. & to cement my determination, have posted #251, a very slight, light & corny piece.

geographies: Koumala

rôlex

Today the
postman brought
me a mass-mailed—
but individually ad-
dressed & personally
signed in blue ink—
"letter" from the
Postal Service
Director herself
asking me to part-
icipate in an online
survey about min-
imizing fiscal outlay
by reducing mail
deliveries to every
other day of the
week. Today the
postman wore a
black tee on which,
in blue, the message:
morituri te salutant.

geographies: Sarina

you are wry upfront, Jan

from won des laits

ammunation

devoutity

dialhectic

meutered

robotulism

terrestlessial

zerombie

tha yeah off tha

consequences

name a tropical cyclone dylan

&

pete seeger dies
little boxes

The new issue of Otoliths is up

Issue thirty-two of Otoliths has just gone live. It's a few days early, but there's a cyclone named Dylan — let's not go there —heading in our general direction, &, if it comes too close, I'll shelter happier knowing the new issue of Otoliths is up on line.

The southern summer 2014 issue maintains the magical mix of styles & media Otoliths is known for, with work from Jennie Cole, Michael D. Goscinski, Howie Good, Kyle Hemmings, Eric Hoffman, Raymond Farr, Jim Meirose, John M. Bennett, Craig Cotter, Philip Byron Oakes, Jack Galmitz, A. J. Huffman, Reed Altemus, Anne-Marie JEANJEAN, Paul Summers, Philip Terry & Tom Jenks, Miro Sandev, Lee Slonimsky, Joshua Comyn, Zachary Scott Hamilton., SS Prasad, Michael Berton, Marthe Reed, Nicola Griffin, Owen Bullock, John Martone, Louise Landes Levi, Kate Tough, Alex Stolis, Elizabeth Allen, Bobbi Lurie, Cecelia Chapman, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Catherine Vidler, H. Mark Webster, Adam Fieled, Joel Chace, Carol Stetser, dan raphael, Corey Wakeling, Taylor Reid, Johannes Bjerg, Mariapia Fanna Roncoroni, sean burn, Felino A. Soriano, Leigh Herrick, John Pursch, Mark Cunningham, Tony Beyer, Vernon Frazer, J. D. Nelson, Richard Kostelanetz, Lakey Comess, Andrew Brenza, Jeff Harrison, Darrell Petska, Marc Thompson, Spencer Selby, Katrinka Moore, Michael Brandonisio, Eryk Wenziak & Amy Gentile, Branko Gulin, Bogdan Puslenghea, Caleb Puckett, Bob Heman, Marty Hiatt, Gene Flenady, Tim Wright, Collin Schuster, bruno neiva, Geraldine Burrowes, Dylan Kinnett, & Aditya Bahl.

Today the
postman brought
me what looked
like some sort
of interrogation
technique. I had
to ask him: is this
a glottal stopʔ

saturday newstrip

Pope Francis describes Canadian pop star Justin Bieber as a "gift from God" ∙ in the latest sign that Hillary Rodham Clinton will run for president, Indonesia has readied jet fighters to respond if Australia encroaches into its waters ∙ the World Economic Forum has promised to install a permanent renal dialysis facility inside Prom Minister Toe Knee Ass-Bit's collection of caramel colorings ∙ former Oasis star Noel Gallagher was gang-raped by 13 men on the orders of a village tribunal as punishment for having a relationship with a variety of domestic agribusinesses ∙ the polypterus fish has become an online sensation after Microsoft's push into hardware developed the ability to breathe air whilst under water ∙ emerging market currencies sank across the board as jitters arose over the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) getting caught street racing in Miami Beach.

status quo tardis

geographies: Wulguru

sunday newstrip

Lawyers attempted last week to block the execution of dozens of Air Force officers accused of turning a blind eye to a money-guzzling rice subsidy program ∙ scientists are attaching minute sensors to track the movements of honeybees entrusted with maintaining U.S. nuclear missiles ∙ firefighters have helped discover a giant trench deeper than the Grand Canyon under the Antarctic ice ∙ a sharp drop in the local currency helped give cannabis sprays their toughest day in the continuing heat wave ∙ the Oscar nominations announced on Thursday created a medical phenomenon known as air hunger & caused mining giants to suffer agony & terror while cheating on a competency test.

what happens

when a literary magazine's website lapses . . .

Excellent Bulls bench , the former Yugoslav player Kukoc is Jiumu "night" reputation, only defected to the Bulls play . cheap jordans free shipping But good luck to tease people , when he came from the war-torn Balkans sunny Chicago , waiting for him is the fact that Michael Jordan retired . cheap air jordan shoes To this end, Kukoc cried , Early parents did not hate myself , what a pity hero untimely. After spent 17 months there is no idol , initiation of weariness , cheap jordans online he has inadvertently hope back to the hero. This opportunity allows Kukoc laugh . However grad . cheap jordan shoes for sale Orlando Magic Eastern Conference , Western Conference 's San Antonio Spurs and other teams are on Jordan's comeback shudder . Their dream might win because Jordan 's comeback and shattered.

http://quarterafter.org/

recycled

farmer, fox, bag of corn, chicken fox, bag of corn bag of corn chicken

farmer, chicken farmer farmer, fox farmer, chicken farmer, bag of corn farmer farmer, chicken

chicken fox fox, bag of corn farmer, fox, bag of corn, chicken

sometimes reality trumps imagination . . .

. . . the president arrives on a chauffeur-driven scooter . . .

some deckchair embers

from last month's won des laits

vacantion

extrapolute

rhurbrharb

rhubarbiturate

bananality

articulatent

famepire

geographies: Millaroo

sunday newstrip

In a review published Saturday in the journal Science, an international team of scientists says the Ass-Bit government's policy of towing or turning back boats may breach Australia's obligations under international law ∙ at least four tanks were deployed Friday around the French presidential palace after a cockroach bigger than Luxembourg & Liechtenstein combined burrowed into Francois Hollande's ear & his efforts to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner failed ∙ the United Nation's refugee agency says some creatures are so specialized that, without them, other species would perish within a generation ∙ lions & wolves endured multiple biopsies over eight years to monitor a non-aggressive form of rock & roll hang out ∙ all 7-year-old Sophie Lester wanted for Christmas was a dragon.

FOR AMIRI BARAKA

& twenty
volumes later ( but
how many thus far
gone?)
               you will be buried
in unhallowed ground,
black man /
                    whom I love.
c.1968

some of what the recently-elected conservative federal government are up to. . .

Tony Abbott, Australia's prime minister, has deployed the navy to force back boats carrying asylum seekers from Indonesian waters for the first time, leaving the boats to run aground on a remote island.
Indonesian sources said two boats carrying groups of about 45 Middle Eastern & North African asylum seekers were "pushed" back into Indonesian territory by the Australian navy.
Mr Abbott, elected last year after running on a hard-line pledge to "stop the boats", would not confirm the incidents.
*
Federal ministers have held talks with BHP about ways to assist in the expansion of the South Australian uranium & copper project, including research & development aid, approval processes & political stability in decision-making.
*
Businesses will not be punished if they fail to meet carbon emissions targets under the federal government’s Direct Action plan.
The Direct Action plan aims to cut emissions to 5% below 2000 levels by 2020 & is outlined in the Emissions Reduction Fund green paper which is now open for comment.
The Emissions Reduction Fund is set to commence on July 1, 2014 to coincide with the scrapping of the carbon tax & under it the government will “encourage” low-cost, effective emissions reduction opportunities.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt said there are no penalties for businesses which do not comply.
*
Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd says its three boats found all five ships from the Japanese whaling fleet, one with four dead minke whales onboard.
Sea Shepherd says the Japanese fleet was in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary & that the activist group was working to drive the fleet from the area.
It is the first time the environmentalists & the whaling fleet have crossed paths this season.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt last month said the Government would send a plane to monitor the fleet, despite promises before the election to send a ship.
A statement from Mr Hunt's office says the Federal Government is ready to start a "monitoring mission" but the whalers have not yet been in Australia's search & rescue zone.
*
Under Labor's plans, dozens of areas around Australia were declared marine sanctuaries, or "no-take" zones, in which all forms of fishing & oil & gas exploration were banned.
In total, about a third, or 3.1 million square kilometres, of Commonwealth waters between three & 200 nautical miles offshore were set aside as marine reserves.
Commercial & recreational fishing &resource activity were allowed in most.
As part of a little-touted move that was derided as "sneaky" by some critics, Environment Minister Greg Hunt confirmed last month the Government would axe the sanctuary "lockouts".
*
When the Russian scientific vessel MV Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck in ice earlier this week while hosting a mission to retrace the steps of Sir Douglas Mawson & to conduct research on climate science, the blogosphere & talk-back radio were quick to gloat. What would the scientists say now, the deniers demanded to know, as if the presence of sea ice was enough to disprove the entire theory of climate change.
Disconcertingly, these claims are no longer the province of bloggers, right wing media & talk-back radio. They now have currency in the highest corridors of power in Australia. Indeed, they are forming the basis of critical decisions being made on economic & infrastructure development in this country.
Earlier this week Maurice Newman, the head of Tony Abbott's hand-picked business advisory council, declared the science of anthropogenic climate change to be the world's greatest ever popular delusion, & accused the UN climate body of fudging data. Australia, he wrote in a column published in Rupert Murdoch's The Australian, had "become hostage to climate change madness."
He didn't stop there. He railed against "Himalayagate" & "Amazongate", accused state governments of a "cover up" over Australia's renewable energy policies, & even complained about a $60,000 grant given to help community groups pursue renewable energy installations. Many of his comments were repeated & given more prominence in a separate interview with the paper's environment editor.
*
In October 2013, another statement on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons was delivered to the 68th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee by New Zealand on behalf of 125 nations.
“Unfortunately, not only did Australia fail to sign this statement, but it introduced its own rival statementdesigned to steer governments away from a ban on nuclear weapons. The much weaker statement by Australia was endorsed by just a small number of US allies, & had little impact. We were pleased that the New Zealand-led statement attracted the support of a large & diverse number of governments committed to delegitimising the use & possession of nuclear weapons.”
Proponents of nuclear abolition find it disappointing that Australia appears desperate to thwart the efforts of many countries to highlight the devastating effects of nuclear weapons & the need to ensure they are never used again.

Zugzwang

He
never could
find the element

of
surprise in
the Periodic Tables.

geographies: Gogango

friday newstrip

A helicopter mission is under way to rescue passengers stranded by a cyber attack that reportedly exposed a gruesome act of animal cruelty ∙ a Japanese consortium has scrapped a deal to buy natural gas from the Sydney Opera House ∙ the botched launch of a hot air balloon near contested islands held by Japan has seen the introduction of many Android tablets & cost the health service millions of pounds in additional fees ∙ the restoration of changes to energy tariffs paves the path for resolving the Dark Matter's mystery ∙ you won't want to miss these adorable pictures of a territorial dispute between Asia's two great powers.

new year's desolution

In
the evening
he would play

hill-
billy songs
on an accordion.

What
was worse.
We sang along.

Solstice, Millmerran

where ignorance
      is bald

'tis follicle to
      be wise

thursday newstrip

Three icebreakers are on the way to Kim Kardashian who has become wedged in Antarctic sea ice celebrating her first Christmas as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics ∙ one of the companies set to get a boost from the deal that Apple signed with China Mobile last night has spent a lifetime guiding yachts into the big blue, overcoming monster seas that flattened rivals & achieving feats no one else has managed ∙ the flu vaccine took to Instagram & Twitter on Tuesday to urge people to shun pride & selfishness & ended up provoking travel chaos at one of the busiest times of the year ∙ Pope Francis is less effective for men than women, & researchers at Stanford University believe the reason behind that is hormonal ∙ widowed people are reporting higher levels of wellbeing than married couples.

What, I asked, is the active ingredient? & could you please sign it for me. I find pseudo-chemical such a hard language to follow without help.

http://positjournal.com/

tuesday newstrip

Scientists are hailing the first complete 3D map of the unpleasantness of Australian high school students ∙ the number of violent attacks on British PM David Cameron's ping-pong & culinary adventures in Chengdu has shot up to more than 173 every day ∙ a medical device has admitted she made a mistake by re-tweeting a highly offensive message from a fossilised leg bone ∙ Kim Jong Un, who suffered head injuries when he was allegedly punched in Bali, has woken from a coma & announced he wants to pour billions of pounds into the HS2 rail line between London & the North ∙ controversial air defence zone has admitted acting as a circadian clock, limiting food intake to specific times of the day ∙ Npower has been forced to make a grovelling apology to 3.4 million customers for the appalling service they received this year.

geographies: Drummoyne

some found postman poems

Today the
postman brought
me this completely
killer canvas creation
from the King of
Cool himself. I
fucking love it. Try
not to be too jealous.

Today the
postman brought
me a pair of
these eccentric boots
from v ave shoe repair
online sale. How much
more scandinavian
can you go?

Today the
postman brought
me a letter from
Google, saying
they'd like to pay me
my AdSense money
in the form of
advertising for my
website—meh, no
ta... plain ol' cash
will do, thanks.

Today the
postman brought
me my order from
27th nov. The
pomade has taken
a very long travel.
Now I'm happy
to be able to use
this superb pomade.

Today the
postman brought
me yet another
of your sweet
gifts. The two turtule
doves that arrived
today are adorable,
& I'm delighted by
your thoughtful &
generous ways.

Today the
postman brought
me a proper
letter! With a
hand-written
address!

Its complex and pessimistic theme of a spiritually-failed man is told from several, unreliable perspectives and points-of-view (also metaphorically communicated by the jigsaw puzzle) by several different characters (the associates and friends of the deceased) - providing a sometimes contradictory, non-sequential, and enigmatic portrait. The film tells the thought-provoking, tragic epic story of a 'rags-to-riches' child who inherited a fortune, was taken away from his humble surroundings and his father and mother, was raised by a banker, and became a fabulously wealthy, arrogant, and energetic newspaperman.

geographies: Molonglo

tuesday newstrip

Tories in Suffolk reacted badly late Saturday to the "terrible message" that the NHS says its electronic diaper can help reduce incontinence ∙ Brisbane has officially become the G20 host city just in time for the start of the charity event season ∙ a red Porsche will make an historic statement to the House of Commons about the importance of lifejackets ∙ plain tobacco packaging has confessed to "hostile acts" against North Korea ∙ the House of Lords has been accused of costing taxpayers nearly £20m hiring consultants to ensure Cristiano Ronaldo remains los Blancos' finest ∙ increased availability of Iranian oil could disrupt the dynamics of gay marriage & the cherry market ∙ Kim Kardashian defends her mothering abilities.

Today the
postman brought
me back to
reality.

Today the
postman brought
me the Swiss Cheese
calendar for 2014.
I've sent it back
because it was
full of holes.

a long walk ends

a found magritte

http://seriesmagritte.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/248-torturing-of-vestal-virgin-104-15.html

so_me nova_mber pwoe_rmds

from won des laits

librarity

rodentifrice

problemonade

blodne

magmazine

oppressreleasive

k
c
u
ph

geographies: Fredericksburg

tuesday newstrip

Irish troops fired on by Silvio Berlusconi ∙ a communal latrine of fossilised faeces has been found to date back 240 million years ∙ less than half of all people suffering from Justin Bieber are being formally diagnosed because doctors fear stigmatizing their patients ∙ telescopes saw the still unfinished reactor disappear behind the star, but only tiny, leaping, amphibious fish re-emerge ∙ diehard fans of PlayStation finally got their hands on the next generation Syrian rebel units ∙ Boris Johnson says he "never, ever wanted to be a gameshow host" ∙ Rio Tinto's decision to mothball performance-enhancing graffiti production at its loss-making Italian newspaper site has polarized much of the community, with those in favor being labeled as liberal hippies & those against as rigid & old-fashioned.

Spring is here #2