The 3^rd Annual “Battle of the Bands” is a music festival of ethnic youth and young people within Victoria. The night will include ethnic action dancing, sway of the pacific, the glitter of Asia, Bands from the church groups will range from heavy rock to gospel country.

Many of the stars of the music festival will be “Second Generation” Australian born children of immigrants and refugees as performers.

Everyone is welcome to come and join in the fun and audience members are encouraged to come in costume of your ethnic heritage which include Anglo, European background.(Dutch, German, Scottish, English, Wales, etc)

It is proudly supported by the Uniting Church in Australia.

Date 22 November 2008.

Location Box Hill Wesley Uniting Church in 2-6 Oxford Street, Box Hill, Melbourne.

Times 3pm to 9.30pm

parking details Street parking

Tickets secretary. Tee Makoni - talaheumakoni@hotmail.com

Adults $5.00

Young people 12 to 25 Goldcoin donation

Children under 12 free.

Food stalls will be available

New Performers wishing to join in should contact:

Don Ikitoelagi (03) 9251- 5287 email Don.Ikitoelagi@victas.uca.org.au

Isn’t it sweet that the Australian Government would like everyone to realise that we hold the moral high ground.

Time to end Bush’s wretched war. (excerpt)

Yesterday, the Australian Government, via the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, reiterated its opposition to the death penalty. "We urge countries who continue to apply capital punishment not to do so," he told the ABC, adding that Australia would co-sponsor a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on capital punishment.

Just as we hold the moral high ground on all those other International Treatise signed on the rights of children, or the rights of asylum seekers, after which we close the doors from any critics and go ahead and literally drive people to self-harm, suicide, mental illness.

But we are white, and white is might, so it must be right.

The Pacific Solution.

Feb 2008: As promised prior to the 2007 Federal Election, the ALP on assuming government, quickly moved to shut down the Australian-run detention centre on Nauru in the remote South Pacific. However, it has not withdrawn the controversial September 2001 legislation that created the offshore detention and processing system that came to be known as the 'Pacific Solution'. Instead of transferring asylum seekers en route to Australia to Nauru, it now transfers all asylum seekers to the detention centre on Christmas Island off Australia's far North-West coast. They still have have no rights under Australian law and are processed separately.

Oh, and they didn’t get the chance to enact a new legislation with greater powers similar to what allows the above ‘solution’ because those fool citizens didn’t give the ALP a majority in the Senate.

Commenting on the announcement, James Thomson, spokesperson for the National Council of Churches’ refugee program, which coordinated the statement, said that if it were not for the sustained pressure that churches and community brought to bear in the debate, and the pivitol role played by key parliamentarians who stood their ground against the Bill, it would have been passed.

 

Flight from Nauru ends Pacific Solution

"The Pacific solution was a cynical, costly and ultimately unsuccessful exercise introduced on the eve of a federal election (in 2001) by the Howard government," Senator Evans said.

He said the department had spent $289 million between September 2001 and June 2007 to run the Nauru and Manus centres.

Mark Getchell, from the International Organisation for Migration, which ran the Nauru facility, said there were now no asylum seekers left on Nauru.

"It is the end of an era," Mr Getchell said.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomed the end of the policy.

"Many bona fide refugees caught by the policy spent long periods of isolation, mental hardship and uncertainty - and prolonged separation from their families," UNHCR's Richard Towle said in a statement

One of the wonderful things about Open Source software is that there is a continuum of upgrades where users and developers find things that are broken and fix them.

Unfortunately, some of the fixes cause more breaks than existed in the system.

Gallery 2.1 upgrade to 2.3svn failings

Posted by: Samiuela LV Taufa on January 11, 2008 2:56:59 PM (821 Reads)

The regular problems taking for ever and a day to resolve happened again when I tried upgrading (due to security warnings) to a more current version of Gallery2.

Unfortunately, the upgrade coincided with Tonfon deciding to give me a hard time with Internet connections.

Clear problems from the upgrade.

it’s a good thing I’ve wandered this space often enough that my own records are augmenting poor memory, such that I can fix the new problem with the old fix.

Upgraded my Gallery to the current release as there were a number of documented security reasons to upgrade. Unfortunately, the update broke my Gallery and I haven’t been able to dedicate the time to fixing it, until I decided to google nomoa.com!!! Way to go nomoa.com.

It’s 2008. Every other month I go over my Internet bandwidth limit at home because Ubuntu needs an update, …, and the update just wants to bring home the neighbours kitchen sink.

The update process in Ubuntu has …. well it has gotten out of control. There is no doubt that updates are a necessity for security patches and bug fixes…no argument there. However, Ubuntu seems to want to build the operating system as they go… having you download huge numbers of updates, often daily.

read more

Ubuntu…Please Don’t Release on Time!
mogyweb
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:50:28 GMT

But that is the life of a wannabe techo, bleeding edge bleeding pocket book.

Looks like it’s Tonga week over at Cumberland Newspapers with news through again through Glenn Mitchell.

1st Up: Royal Touch from the Mt. Druitt Standard

King George Tupou V (left) enters the church grounds in traditional style. He is accompanied by an unidentified security official. Picture: ARMEN DEUSHIAN

MORE than 2000 people turned up at Glendenning last week to witness the official opening of a new $7.3 million church by the King of Tonga.

King George Tupou V ushered in a new era for the Australian-Tongan community when he opened the King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Memorial Church.

Head on over to see the rest of the dialogue, including finding yourself in one of those kai polas?

2nd Up: Williams to fire up for Tonga from the Manly Daily, of all places?

 

Tonga's Tony Williams in action against Ireland on Monday night.

TONGAN World Cup coach Jim Dymock believes Sea Eagles 2009 recruit Tony Williams could be the “X-factor” in securing a win over rivals Samoa on Friday night. Williams will be named in Dymock’s 17-man squad on Wednesday.

I guess since William’s is running on for Manly next year, it’s appropriate that the locals there want to know what’s happening with their players (and we’re all ‘locals’ when it comes to news of the Tonga boys.

Local representation, national presence. Thanks to Cumberland Newspapers, so read you local daily/dairy.

p.s. I think they need to water-mark their photos, ‘cause we know how you young un’s love to share your favourite pics …

We won, and there were free tickets at some of the sports stores (although free is as in spend $100+ dollars and get a free ticket?)

Rugby league world cup match between Ireland and Tonga at Parramatta stadium. Picture Brent McGilvary

 

http://parramatta-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/photos/gallery/tonga-vs-ireland/

 

A few pics for you!

 

cheers,

Ian Stehbens’ put up some earlier images of the church under constructions. Awesome photo, and the celebrations are in full swing for the opening.

Zion Church of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Australia under construction. This building replicates Centenary Church built in Nuku'alofa, Tonga in the 1950s.

• 

All those in the know are there … so more photos should be available somewhere…

Ian Stehbens’ put up some earlier images of the church under constructions. Awesome photo, and the celebrations are in full swing for the opening.

Zion Church of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Australia under construction. This building replicates Centenary Church built in Nuku'alofa, Tonga in the 1950s.

• 

All those in the know are there … so more photos should be available somewhere…

I’m not sure whether the date on this news item is correct Oct 2008?

From Radio Australia.

A parliamentary inquiry has heard Australia has one of the harshest immigration detention systems in the Western world.

A Joint Standing Committee on Migration is holding a public hearing in the west Australian city of Perth, as part of an inquiry into immigration detention.

Linda Briskman, from Curtin University's Centre for Human Rights and Education, told the hearing a Royal Commission is needed to expose the abuse of children in detention

Great to hear citizens trying to make a difference within their democracies.

Some are calling for abolition of the practise or the law, I think the deeper problem in Australia is that Governments with significant control in parliament can create laws that are outside the check-and-balances necessary for a functional democracy.

When you allow a law where decisions made cannot be challenged through the courts, then you aren’t too far different from a dictatorship. Same thing in pretty clothes. Oh wait, we have a term for countries like that, such as banana republics, pacific island countries?

Suppress innovation, but claim the credit

It is a staple of wisdom amongst many physicists that “physicists invented the web”. This is a story trotted out particularly when physicists justify their work to the outside world. A string theorist once told me that virtually all his grant applications include a paragraph that says “support fundamental research in physics - that’s what brought us the web”.

In fact, the claim that physicists invented the web is largely mythical.

read more …

For geek's it’s an interesting recount of history, for management it is an opportunity to re-appraise why you don’t like something.

Weather in Sydney is taking a Melbourne turn. We’ve had the coldest day of spring in aeons (or at least within the collective memory of the weather bugs) and it doesn’t feel like it’s getting any warmer.

They have this problem of a high percentage of asthmatics in Australia and a side of the medical profession believe that there a significant factor of the Australian lifestyle to the high rate of asthmatics.

We’re standing in the ‘smoker’s’ end of the station this cold morning, the wind is blowing a good chill factor. In our section is this cute little baby in her/his trolley standing with mum. There out here in the cold instead of being under the covers or behind the building from the wind because … good ol’ dad’s gotta have his smoko.

Way to go.

Sounds like Kevin Rudd has a partner in arms.

"Bush, in a meeting with his Cabinet, said he's confident that 'in the long run, that this economy will come back.'" -- As I recall, in the long run, the economy also recovered from The Great Depression. So basically Bush is confident we're not fatally screwed. Great prediction, Nostra-dumbass.

Bush confident nation not doomed
Sumocat
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:22:00 GMT

I guess they subscribe to the philosophy that what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger ? From their nice comfortable, government funded housing, cars, etc.

Meanwhile a lot of people forced out of their houses this summer/winter wont be too happy about things.

I’ve been tracking OpenOffice (using it exclusively on-and-off) and they are really progressing quickly through their RC (Release Candidates)

The wonderful thing about their recent announcement?

The first office suite to use the new OASIS OpenDocument format, the future-proof international standard for office software

So now all those Paranoid types can get the ‘standards’ compliant Office Productivity tool for which IBM and Sun have been pushing to save your soul from Microsoft.

Read: There’s been a lot of hoopla huffing and puffing over a ‘standard’ that only now exists?

Not even in Tonga.

From: OpenOffice 3.0 RC4 

OpenOffice.org is an open-source, multiplatform and multilingual office suite comparable with MS Office.
It is compatible with all other major office suites and is free to download, use, and distribute. It was previously known as StarOffice before it became an open-source project. OpenOffice comes with OpenWriter - a word processor, OpenCalc - a spreadsheet and OpenImpress - a presentational package.
* The first office suite to use the new OASIS OpenDocument format, the future-proof international standard for office software
* Easy to install, with a whole new look and feel, matched to the type of computer in use
* More intuitive, more easy to use than ever, with a host of new usability features
* Complete with Base: an easy-to-use database manager with a fully integrated database
* Compatible with other software packages - now understands even obscure and rarely used features in major competitors.
You may download OpenOffice.org completely free of any licence fees, use it for any purpose - private, educational, government and public administration, commercial - and pass on copies free of charge to family, friends, students, employees, etc.
News source: OpenOffice.org
Download: OpenOffice 3.0 RC3
View: Release notes
Read full story...

OpenOffice 3.0 RC4
Marcel Klum
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:53:33 GMT

Game Over Man, Game Over ….

It looks like annoying flash has become a serious security threat.

But where does it leave the security bod out there trying to let people in their organisation use the Internet ?

Looks like a great opportunity for a security appliance border device between users and their web experience.

Net game turns PC into undercover surveillance zombie
Daniel Fleshbourne
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:17:02 GMT

Underscoring the severity of a new class of vulnerability known as clickjacking, a blogger has created a proof-of-concept game that uses a PC's video cam and microphone to secretly spy on the player. The demo, which is available here, appears to be a simple game that tests how quickly a user can click on a series of moving targets. Behind the scenes, it combines a generic clickjacking attack with weaknesses in Adobe's Flash technology to record the player using the PC's video camera and microphone.
The proof of concept is a powerful demonstration of the spooky implications behind clickjacking. The vulnerability allows malicious webmasters to control the links visitors click on. Once lured to a booby-trapped page, a user may think he's clicking on a link that leads to Google - when in fact it takes him to a money transfer page, a banner ad that's part of a click-fraud scheme, or any other destination the attacker chooses.
View: The full story @ The Reg
Read full story...

We all knew nz’s?

THE Federal Opposition's new immigration spokeswoman has raised strong concerns about the Government's new seasonal worker program.

Sharman Stone, from regional Victoria, where many of the new visa-holders would work, said the program was confusing and lacked detail.

Regulations to allow 2500 Pacific Islanders into Australia as guest workers were introduced into Parliament on Tuesday.

Unease over seasonal jobs - National News - National - General - Central Western Daily

My editor of choice is Scite and there's been an enhancement with one of the 'packages' I use that just drives me crazy. Autocompletion of quotes and brackets. This feature autocompletes your quotes, such that everytime your enter a single or double quote " the editor will automatically put in the second ". Feature drives me crazy.

Got on the 7:49 to City Circle (Wynyard) this morning and was surprised that the carriage I got on had just had the partial face lift operation. It had that glossy look of a fresh coat of paint, and it also had the nice lingering smell.

Only 40 minutes left then I can get off.

Sure would hate to be on this train this afternoon. With Sydney starting off with hot weather this spring (currently 17 deg. C and expecting a high of 23 deg. C)  the paint mixed with afternoon mass transportation body fumes is not something I wish to contemplate.