Sticking to my political beliefs what opportunities can I find for political participation via the internet? I would really like to drop this task in gutter water and sell it as lubricant! I hate politics! But I shall manage..
Sign an e-petition
I thought that signing a petition relating to parliamentary action would be somewhat more relevant for this task then just signing something completely far fetched and meaningless. If Im going to sign an e-petition I should do it right huh, plea for something worthy!
So, I added my name to a 'GetUp! - Action for Australia' petition, telling the Government to invest more money in renewable energy rather than giving handouts to the polluters.
They say "It's time for less bickering and more common sense - investment in renewable energy means we can stimulate the economy and create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs. Without a groundswell of support from the public the Government will continue to ignore the facts and continue to delay any real action to reduce Australia's carbon emissions."
Yeah I think its right to demand common sense, but then they wanted me to make a donation. Geez, they try and fleece you for some coin any way they can!
I landed here on 'Articulate' which is ABC News Online's daily take on arts news and events in Australia and throughout the world. I then responded to a blog 'Woodstock on Broadway' about turning the three-day peace, love, mud and music festival into a musical. Sophia Gardner asks at the end of her blog post 'Do you think a mainstream Woodstock musical could stay true to the festival's spirit?' and rightly so I followed suit to opinion against the dim idea..
I agree, there was only one Woodstock. The recent Ang Lee film 'Taking Woodstock' focuses on how the festival came together, so it takes a sensible spin and creates an essence of what it was all about. Turning Woodstock into a musical will surely kill it. If Lang says 'the production will look beyond the music' then he is at variance with the spirit of the festival. Wasn't the spirit of the festival the music? People came to Woodstock to experience the music? The music brought peace and the music was anti-Vietnam... 'Taking Woodstock' has already delved into "the human condition, stories affecting people's lives and something of what we experienced on that weekend." It has already focused it's lense on these ideas, so what more is Lang offering?
http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/2009/09/woodstock-on-broadway.html
What is Barack Obama up to today?
Today, being September 17, I googled Barack Obama to see how his day was unravelling. I found a whole bunch of news stories and picked something at random. So heres what Obama's up to today...
"Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe that had long soured relations with Russia. Obama announced the reversal officially at a news conference today. 'This new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems to offer greater defences to the threat of attack than the 2007 European missile defence programme,' he said."
Read the whole story here - Obama abandons missile defence shield in Europe
*** I went ahead and found some Obama fans and included some photos that they have produced... Okay, maybe they're not fans but I got a laugh out of these...
Baby got back, baby get back!
Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.
Local:"Local Government is part of the third or lowest level of government in Australia, often seen as being the most accessible to the people. The Local Government Directory is compiled by the Department of Local Government from information provided by councils and other local government organisations. The Directory contains information about Local Councils, County Councils, Regional Organisations of Councils and other organisations working within the Local Government sector."
So I live in the Tweed Shire, just south of the QLD/NSW border. My local representative is from the Tweed Shire Council and his name is Warren Polglase. State:
"State Government represents the second level of Australian Government. State Government members represent specific areas of the state."
My state representative is Mr Geoff Provest.
Federal:
"The Australian Federal Government is the highest tier of Government in Australia and consist of two houses of parliament - the House of Representatives and the Senate.Members of the House of Representatives represent specific areas of their state (electorates). Decisions made by the House of Represenatatives are then reviewed in the Senate. Senators represent their state as a whole, rather than a specific electorate region - the List of Government Representatives of the Gold Coast Region is a handy reference of members of State and Federal Parliaments representing areas of Gold Coast City."
My local federal MP is Justine Elliot. She's the member for Richmond or Tweed NSW. I met her a couple of weeks ago actually and she seems to be high profiling herself around the Tweed whenever she can. Man she just appears out of nowhere!
Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.
http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard.aspx?pid=4351
Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.
Let your local member know what you think about their last speech.The last time that Justine Elliot spoke in Parliament was Monday, 7 September 2009 according to the hansard.
She spoke in response to MP Mike Symons questions: What action is the government taking to improve the quality of care for older Australians through investment in the aged-care workforce? How is it working to address workforce shortages?
I sent an email to Justine Elliot not so much accrediting her last speech but her work in general. I can't say I'm all that interested in her action to improve 'aged care' and so letting her know what I thought of her last speech would probably sound a bit far fetched coming from a teenager of a non-political-absorbing ethos. I just commented on what she does around the Tweed shire instead. Much sweater.
