Prime minister personally approves $7,400 hospitality tab for “refreshments”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally approved a $7,400 tab for “refreshments” for public servants about three months before his government announced a crackdown on hospitality expenses.
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Since Australia’s Commonwealth Government refuses to fulfil its international obligations, members of Australia’s (Ab)Original government – with the endorsement of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy – have decided to issue their own passports for a group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were refused entry into Australia This story relates to the recent debacle surrounding the Sri Lankan, ‘Merak refugees’ who claimed asylum status in Australia (as is their right under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention to which Australia is signatory) but – due to the government’s personal intervention – were detained at Merak, Indonesia, and never made it here. On 1st May 2010, Labour Day in Australia, a special Original passport signing ceremony was held in Melbourne. These passports will be delivered to the Merak refugees in a few weeks. Original Passports are recognised in many countries around the world, they have been stamped in Europe, Asia and South America. Obviously it’s a symbolic gesture since Australia is one of the countries that does not recognise the government which issued these passports! However, the impact of this gesture will increase with the number of people who learn about it. “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries freedom from persecution” — Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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PART 3: Going to Plan B could save your life. Sometimes hikers get so focused on accomplishing their wilderness goals, they lose sight of the danger that creeps upon them. They may have over reliance on their fitness levels, their LCBs, and their gear. Conditions change rapidly and can pose lethal threats in high alpine environments. In this Nutnfancy backpack adventure with friend “Cr0cket20,” you will see how we divorce ourselves from ego to make the right call at about 10000 ft elevation on an icy, foggy, and sleet driven glacier. I try to be ready for about any alpine emergency, carried within my Kelty SuperTioga backpack. But good gear preparation is actually just a small part of the equation. It can’t and won’t compensate for poor judgement and foolishness. As shown in this adventure series, despite excellent rain gear and insulation, in these sleeting and drenching conditions it is impossible to stay dry while on the slope. Core temperatures can plummet rapidly. This consideration along with occasional zero-zero visibility conditions, our tiredness levels while on the steep slope, the passing storms (thunder and lighting too), lack of crampons and ice gear, and approaching darkness made my decision clear as the “Expedition Leader” to change our plans and get out of there. Maybe it was a “Glacier Call” that kept us safe. Descending to our bugout location, we bivouac in the driving rain and sleet. Tents are erected, we don some dry clothes, crank the stoves, and warm …
