Global Media Post

3. Check water, gas, and electric lines for damage. If any are damaged, shut off the valves. Check for the smell of gas. If you smell it, open all the windows and doors, leave immediately, and report it to the authorities (use someone else’s phone).

4. Turn on the radio. Don’t use the phone unless it’s an emergency.

5. Check the building or house you are in for structural damage. If there is evidence that the building is compromised structurally, immediately remove yourself and others as aftershocks are likely to occur that may cause further damage to the building. Stay away from other damaged buildings.

6. Take photographs for insurance purposes. Before beginning any cleanup or significantly moving debris, record the damage with multiple pictures from different distances and angles. This makes filing an insurance claim much easier and it is more likely to be accepted with photographic evidence.

7. Be careful around broken glass and debris. Wear boots or sturdy shoes to keep from cutting your feet.

8. Be careful of chimneys (they may fall on you).

9. Stay away from beaches. Tsunamis sometimes hit after the ground has stopped shaking.

10. If you’re at school or work, follow the emergency plan or the instructions of the person in charge.

Earthquake: “Crisis centre remaining open overnight”

Editor — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:03:42 +0000

“The National Crisis Management Centre is operating overnight to ensure any central government support is available for Canterbury. There has been widespread structural damage to buildings and smaller bridges and the centre is ensuring any help that might be needed is available at first light. Water, sewerage and power services have been impaired but are being restored across”s the region. The city has been rattled by around 30 aftershocks since the big tremor hit at 4.35am. And severe winds predicted for tomorrow may be strong enough to further damage already fragile buildings after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Canterbury early this morning. Many homes have been exposed to the weather which is forecast to take a turn for the worse with gales, and possibly hurricane force winds inland, predicted for tomorrow afternoon. Emergency services are continuing to urge people to stay away from the city centre. Ninety-one buildings in the city centre are of deep concern to emergency authorities as the extent of the damage is further revealed. District commander Superintendent Dave Cliff said it’s very dangerous inside the cordons. He said after a major earthquake there’s a risk of big aftershocks and authorities don’t want more injuries”

“Canterbury earthquake really three quakes?”

Editor — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:53:08 +0000

“Scientists are investigating whether the 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch and its surrounding communities was actually two or three shocks in quick succession. The US Geological Survey (USGS ) in Golden, Colorado, has said that scientists are still trying to reconstruct the way today’s quake played out. ’We think that this is a very complex event’, said geophysicist Paul Caruso. ‘We think that the main shock may have consisted actually of three earthquakes’. GNS Science in Wellington – which changed its initial calculations of a 7.4 magnitude shake 30km west of Christchurch to a 7.1 shake 40 km west – said it could not confirm the mechanisms of the earthquake. ’There are several parts to this earthquake occurring within seconds of each other and it will take some time to decipher what the waveforms recorded by our seismographs tell us about the sequence of events’, said a spokesman. But GNS scientist Dr Hamish Campbell said there was potential for a quake to propagate from one end of a fault to the other: the Napier quake moved from the southwest to the northeast. And Pennsylvania State University geoscientist, Professor Kevin Furlong, who is spending a sabbatical year at Canterbury University, told NZPA that the direction of rupture could significantly affect the way ground motion was felt, but detection of ‘directivity’ would have to wait on detailed analysis. He said there was an initial foreshock of about a 5.8 magnitude, about five seconds before the main impact, and possibly from a slightly different location”

Cricket: “Pakistan commissioner believes trio were ‘set-up ‘ ”

Editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:59:52 +0000

“Police investigating alleged corruption involving Pakistani cricketers believe that video evidence crucial to the case is authentic, BBC Sport understands. Pakistan’s High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan claims News of the World video allegedly exposing the scandal may have been made after the incident. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are currently being investigated by the police for alleged spot-fixing. But police and cricket’s governing body are treating the evidence as genuine. The BBC also understands that the questions being posed by Hasan over the nature of the video evidence, after the Pakistan high commissioner had emerged from a Pakistan Cricket Board inquiry on Thursday, will not form part of the three cricketers’ defence. In response to Hasan’s latest comments, the News of the World said it ‘refuses to respond to such ludicrous allegations’ Asif and Amir are alleged to have bowled three no-balls on purpose at pre-determined times to facilitate betting coups after a ‘middle-man’ was reported to have accepted £150,000 in cash from an undercover reporter from the News of the World. The newspaper published the claims last Sunday, days after the incidents were alleged to have taken place on the Thursday and Friday of the fourth Test at Lord’s. The cricketers Hasan referred to will now miss the rest of their country’s tour of England , but the International Cricket Council has agreed to not to speak to them until the Metropolitan Police give permission. Earlier on Thursday, Hasan insisted the players were ‘innocent’. ‘The players have voluntarily offered not to be included [in the tour]‘, he said. ’They want to clear their names first’ “

“Bombs blast Ramadan crowd in Pakistan”

Editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:58:10 +0000

“PakistanI militants have broken their short-lived ceasefire with a bloody sectarian attack in the eastern city of Lahore that has left 31 people dead and more than 280 injured. Three co-ordinated bomb blasts targeted a huge funeral procession by Shi’ites, a minority Islamic sect in Pakistan, just after sunset on Tuesday night, local time, as thousands crowded the streets to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The blasts are the first major attack since the country was hit by devastating floods, which have directly affected more than 10 per cent of the population. An estimated 35,000 Pakistani Shi’ites were marching in the procession to mark the death of Hazrat Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who was assassinated 1300 years ago during Ramadan, when a bomb was detonated near a well-known Shia building. As panicked marchers scattered, suicide bombers triggered two more blasts, sparking a violent reaction from the crowd, which turned on police and set fire to nearby vehicles and buildings, including one police station. Lahore commissioner Khusro Pervez yesterday described the bombings as a ‘security lapse’, saying at least one attacker had successfully broken through a security cordon. But police rejected that suggestion, saying several security officers had forced one of the suicide bombers to detonate his payload early, and had died in the process. A second bomb went off as survivors and onlookers were gathering around the injured from one of the two earlier explosions”

“IMF extends $450 mln in urgent aid for Pakistan”

Editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:56:55 +0000

“The chief of the UNAIDS agency said Thursday that global contributions to fighting the disease are dropping off for the first time in 15 years amid tough economic times. ’The world economic recession is pushing countries… to enforce austerity’, UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe said in Tokyo, calling on Japan to keep up its financial support to the public-private Global Fund. The head of the United Nations agency has in recent days stressed the need for the international community to mobilize 10 billion dollars for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. ’Governments and donors are second-guessing in terms of their budget and priorities’, he told a Tokyo press conference. ’For the first time in 15 years, we are seeing the global commitment beginning to falter’. Many patients, particularly in Africa, still struggle to receive expensive care that often requires skills of highly trained professionals, Sidibe said. The creation of cheaper drugs and simpler treatment methods should save millions of people from dying of AIDS and HIV-related complications, the Mali official added”

Demonstrators march in Vienna's streets as part of the 18th International AIDS Conference

UN: “Global cash support to fight AIDS is falling”

Editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:55:16 +0000

Related posts:“Klaus asks ‘when will the euro zone fall?’ “ “Yen falls against higher-yielding currencies on recovery signs” “Greek PM says reached deal with EU, IMF” Related posts:

“Bob Katter says Kevin Rudd never tried to buy votes while in power”

Editor — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:51:53 +0000

“In a choice between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, Bob Katter would seem to prefer Kevin Rudd. As he entered Parliament House this morning spruiking his 20 point wishlist, Mr Katter once again heaped praise upon the Rudd government and poured scorn over Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott for their Hobart hospital funding offers to secure Mr Wilkie’s backing. ‘There’s a famous old saying – but I better not use it on the national air – we now know what you are, it’s just a matter of how expensive you are’, Mr Katter quipped. It was something that only Bob Katter could say. ‘We’ve established that they’re out there buying support’, he said later. ‘It’s simply a matter of how bad you are, how naughty. That’s about the only thing. I regret to say that. I’ve got respect for both Julia and Tony… All I can say is more credit to the two years of the Rudd government where they weren’t doing that’. The dinner he had with the former Prime Minister earlier in the week must have left an impression on Mr Katter, who argued that Mr Rudd’s government was the first in a quarter century that had not attempted to buy votes. ‘For the first time in 25 years a government wasn’t out there buying votes’, he said. ‘Broadband was not a vote winning exercise. The national energy grid, there wasn’t a single vote in that for the government. And yet they were committed to it’ “

“Burger King dumps Indonesian palm oil company”

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:13:03 +0000

“US fast food giant Burger King said it would no longer buy palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries after Greenpeace campaigned against the Indonesian group’s land-clearing practices. Burger King joins the likes of Unilever, Nestle and Kraft in shunning Sinar Mas in a move that will increase pressure on other corporate buyers of its palm oil products, such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Indonesia is the biggest producer of palm oil which is used in everything from biscuits to cosmetics, but environmentalists say plantations are driving deforestation blamed for habitat loss and greenhouse gases. Burger King said a recent independent audit of Sinar Mas palm oil unit SMART’s land-clearing practices – commissioned by Sinar Mas in response to the Greenpeace allegations – revealed activities ‘inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments’. ‘We believe the report has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas’ palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest’, Burger King said on its Facebook page”

“As part of our… corporate responsibility program, Burger King Corp. is committed to sourcing our products from sustainable suppliers.”

It said it was looking for a new palm oil supplier for the 176 Burger King restaurants supplied by Sinar Mas.

“In addition, we are notifying our suppliers of our intent to discontinue the use of palm oil supplied by Sinar Mas in the manufacturing of our products.”

Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) has been struggling to repair its image after a Greenpeace name-and-shame campaign led several foreign buyers to cancel major contracts.

Greenpeace says the company is clearing high-value peat forest against Indonesian law and failing to wait for environmental studies before starting plantation operations in sensitive areas of Borneo island.

Greenpeace helps the orangutans survive!

South America: “Miners’ morale leaps as rescue drill inches closer”

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:04:55 +0000

“The morale of 33 miners trapped in Chile soared after music and hot meals were supplied, while NASA advisers praised their courage as a rescue drill inched closer. A new video shot by the miners and broadcast on state television showed the men shaven, wearing clean clothes and listening to music. The figures in the images were a far cry from the haggard, mud-caked, bare-chested miners shown in a first video last week, days after they were located by a probe drill. The miners have now spent 27 days in the San Jose mine in northern Chile, which collapsed on August 5 – a feat of subterranean survival unprecedented in modern memory. The only other miners to have spent almost as long trapped underground were three Chinese men rescued in July last year after spending 25 days in a flooded shaft, chewing on coal and surrounded by their 13 dead colleagues. A team of NASA experts, who arrived at the mine to convey the US space agency’s experience in keeping men sane and healthy during prolonged isolation, hailed the Chilean miners’ resilience. ‘We are very impressed with the courage and the organisation the miners provided for themselves in these very difficult circumstances’, NASA’s deputy chief medical officer James Michael Duncan said. A giant Australian-designed drill has been boring slowly down to the miners in an operation estimated to take three to four months to complete. The miners are stuck 700 metres below the surface waiting for the initial shaft to being drilled and then doubled in diameter to permit each one to be pulled up”

The ambitious task, codenamed Operation San Lorenzo after a martyred Christian saint, is going on in parallel with a program of careful medical and psychological care for the miners.

Water, food and other supplies were being dropped through three fist-sized shafts drilled to the men.

President Sebastian Pinera said his government “will continue to do everything humanly possible” to rescue the miners.

Barack Obama: ‘don’t let the chance for peace slip away’

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:58:33 +0000

“Speaking ahead of the first direct talks between the two sides for nearly two years, Mr Obama warned the leaders they ‘cannot afford to let it slip away. Differences between the adversaries are so deep that President Barack Obama’s revival of US efforts to finalise a ‘two-state solution’ that would create a Palestinian state could be wrecked in a matter of weeks. ‘This moment of opportunity may not soon come again’, said Mr Obama, who was joined by Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State and George Mitchell, the Middle East envoy. ‘Now is the time for leaders of courage and vision to deliver the peace that their people deserve’. Mr Obama, who earlier condemned the ‘senseless slaughter’ of four Israeli settlers, promised to put the ‘full weight’ of the US behind the peace effort. ‘If both sides do not commit to these talks in earnest, then the long-standing conflict will only continue to fester and consume another generation. This we simply cannot allow’, he said. ‘We know there will be moments that test our resolve. We know that extremists and enemies of peace will do everything in their power to destroy this effort’. As Mr Obama held individual meetings with leaders from the region, it became clear that in the aftermath of the killing of four Israeli settlers by Hamas neither side was able to soften their position. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said there was no change to the cabinet decision to end the partial construction freeze on new settlements in the West Bank on Sep 26. The freeze had been crucial in bringing the Palestinians to the table after they left talks in December 2008 when Israel launched a devastating attack on Gaza, the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas militants”

Tasmanian Devils: “Cedric’s fight raises hope beyond death”

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:01:18 +0000

“The death of a Tasmanian devil whose fight for life raised hopes of resisting the cancer that is scything through the species has underscored the struggle ahead to save it. Cedric, a captive-born male, became famous when he showed signs of genetic resistance to the facial tumour disease in 2007. He was immunised with dead tumour cells and later ”challenged’ with live cells in 2007, University of Tasmania researchers said. A year later, after live cells were again introduced, he developed the disease. He survived until last week when lung tumours led to him being put down, at the age of six. “This was a very sad day’, said researcher Alex Kreiss. ‘ ‘Devils are actually great to work with because they can be really friendly animals’. In Cedric’s lifetime, the species became officially endangered. Sighting surveys have recorded an average decline of 80 per cent in the number of animals, the state government’s Save the Tasmanian Devil Program said. The transmissible cancer has been found in devils across most of their range, and is feared to be closing in on the clean populations of the north-west. ‘Cedric has played an important part in helping us to understand more about the disease’,’ Dr Kreiss said. ‘ ‘He provided hope that an immune response can be generated against DFTD and his recent battle has strengthened our resolve to help the devils defeat this disease’ ”

“Asylum-seeker rhetoric blamed for slump in student visas”

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:59:32 +0000

“The National Tertiary Education Union is concerned about a big fall in the number of international students wanting to study in Australia. Visa applications for higher education fell by 11 per cent last year compared with the previous year. The union says there are many reasons for the fall, including attacks on students and a crackdown on disreputable providers. The union’s Victorian secretary Matthew McGowan says the fall gives a clear message to both sides of federal politics. ‘Both major parties need to re-think the way in which they engage in debates around immigration and people coming to Australia seeking asylum’, he said. ‘I think that these things are sending strong messages to the communities in other countries, and it is not helping the higher education sector’ “

“PM slams Abbott’s attempts to woo Wilkie”

Editor — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:58:13 +0000

“Julia Gillard has attacked the Coalition’s economic credentials amid revelations Opposition Leader Tony Abbott offered a $1 billion hospital upgrade to help win the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie. Mr Wilkie announced he would back a Labor government, signing an agreement to not block supply or support no-confidence motions. His vote, along with Greens MP Adam Bandt’s, gives Labor 74 seats in the House of Representatives, two short of the number required to form government. Labor secured the Tasmanian MP’s support with $340 million in funding for a renovation of the Royal Hobart Hospital and a commitment to increase restrictions on poker machines. Mr Wilkie revealed Mr Abbott had made a more generous offer, including $1 billion for the Royal Hobart renovation, but chose to go with Labor’s smaller offer instead. ‘[Who do I believe has the best chance of providing competent government, whose polices are ethical or less unethical than the other party... the ALP was not going to give me $1 billion because it would have had to go outside proper process to do that', he said. 'Right from the start my conversation with the ALP was much more detailed. There was much more of an understanding that this shouldn't be seen as a pork-barrelling exercise. [A] $11b black hole’ An emboldened Ms Gillard seized on the admission, as well the earlier revelation of Treasury finding an $11 billion hole in the Coalition’s costings, to raise questions over Mr Abbott’s ability to manage the economy”

Middle East talks: “No real desire for change spells little hope of success”

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:20:22 +0000

“The mood is gloomy as the Middle East peace talks begin because neither side appears prepared to make the concessions that meaningful negotiations require No previous round of Middle East peace negotiations has begun with such rock-bottom expectations as the one being launched in Washington. Neither side expects to be able to reach an agreement unless the US tries to impose one. And few believe that if Barack Obama does attempt that, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will be able to live with it – the Israeli premier because of his fractious rightwing coalition and the Palestinian president because of Hamas opposition and wider despair over years of peace ‘process’ without change. Both sides prefer to continue the existing situation as long as they do not have to pay the costs that an agreement requires,” argued Nahum Barnea, the Israeli commentator. Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, was a tad more diplomatic. ‘We are hoping talks will succeed,” he said, “but we are all very pessimistic about the viability of the peace process because of past experience’. Still, convention – and deference to the US host – requires a polite suspension of belief. It was the same when George Bush convened the Annapolis conference in 2007 in a belated attempt to make up for ignoring the Israel-Palestine conflict for so long after 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq. Scepticism was profound then too – even though everyone, including a Syrian minister, turned up for the group photographs at the launch of another process that predictably led nowhere slowly. On the face of it, little has changed since. The core issues of the conflict remain the same: West Bank settlements, the future of Jerusalem, final borders, Israel’s demand for recognition as a Jewish state and the Palestinians’ for their ‘right to return’. Overall, though, the situation is worse”

“US enters final phase of Iraq war”

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:09:49 +0000

“The US marks on Wednesday the transition to the final phase of the Iraq war, shifting the focus of the remaining 50,000 American troops from combat operations to preparing Iraqi security forces to protect the country on their own. President Barack Obama set the tone for changing the role without fanfare, making clear in a major speech on Iraq that this was no victory celebration. A six-month stalemate over forming a new Iraqi government has raised concerns about the country’s stability and questions over whether the leadership can cope with a diminished but still dangerous insurgency. Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen will preside over a military change-of-command ceremony in Baghdad later Wednesday that will signal the formal end of American combat operations in Iraq, 7 1/2 years after the March 2003 invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Gates, visiting American troops in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, said history will judge whether the fight was worth it for the United States. ‘The problem with this war, I think, for many Americans, is that the premise on which we justified going to war turned out not to be valid’, he said. ‘Even if the outcome is a good one from the standpoint of the United States, it’ll always be clouded by how it began’. Claiming that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, then-President George W. Bush ordered the invasion with approval of a Congress that was still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. But Bush’s claims were based on faulty intelligence, and the weapons were never found. Obama declared an end to combat in an Oval Office speech and praised American forces for their work. He acknowledged the ambiguous nature of the war in which American forces quickly ousted Saddam but were never able to fully control the Sunni Muslim insurgency against the Shiite-dominated establishment that even now threatens to re-ignite. Still, he said the time had come to close this divisive chapter in US history. ’We have met our responsibility’, Obama said. ‘Now it is time to turn the page’ “

“Tony Blair’s A Journey – begins is hot ticket at booksellers”

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:39 +0000

“Retailers predict high sales for former PM’s political memoir And so the journey – well, A Journey – begins. Tony Blair’s heavily embargoed, highly anticipated political memoir hits the shelves this morning, amid feverish predictions from booksellers. The book, running to over 600 pages, leapfrogged into top position in Amazon.co.uk’s bestseller chart this morning from 11th place last night, overtaking bestselling books by Stieg Larsson, Stephenie Meyer and Terry Pratchett. The online bookseller says it is on target to become its biggest-selling political memoir ever. Amazon.co.uk said that Blair’s A Journey had generated 36% more pre-orders than Peter Mandelson’s The Third Man at the same stage. It added that the book “is on target to overtake that title to become the most successful political memoir of all time on Amazon.co.uk” – news that will be welcomed by the Royal British Legion, to which Blair is donating all proceeds from the memoir, including his estimated £4.6m advance… At Waterstone’s – where Blair will sign copes of his autobiography on 8 September amid heavy security – A Journey was hovering in eighth place in its online bestseller chart this morning, while Foyles was predicting that the book would be the independent chain’s bestseller of the week… The book will have to do very well indeed, however, if it is to outsell Margaret Thatcher’s The Path to Power, which shifted an estimated half-a-million copies to become the highest selling British political memoir ever”

“Qantas engine debris ‘could have hit passengers’ “

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:20:36 +0000

“The association representing aircraft maintenance engineers says it is lucky no passengers were hit by debris that blasted a hole in the engine casing of an airborne Qantas jet. The Boeing 747 bound for Sydney out of San Francisco had only been in the air for 45 minutes when one of its four engines failed and exploded, blowing a hole in the casing. It is believed the pilot declared an emergency and dumped fuel over the sea as a precaution before returning to the airport. Officials at San Francisco airport say the plane landed safely and there were no injuries. Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association federal secretary Stephen Purvinas says it is lucky the turbine blade, which came loose, did not fly in the other direction”

Internationally acclaimed hit and much-loved fairy tale tours to Adelaide

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:15:55 +0000

Scottish-born Shona Reppe has been described as the fairy godmother of puppet theatre. She will bring her internationally acclaimed, award winning tabletop production of Cinderella to Adelaide for Windmill’s 2010 season finale. Direct from sell-out seasons on Broadway and in Sydney, Shona’s petite production of Cinderella has toured Canada, Belgium, France, Japan and the Netherlands. The show is suitable for ages 5-10 and their families. The public performances commence on 25 September playing to 2 October in the Forge Theatre, Marryatville High School, 170 Kensington Road Marryatville. Every day is bad hair day for Shona’s ‘Cinders’ as she vies for the hand of the handsome prince and battles her sinister stepsisters across an intricate tabletop stage laced with secret hatches and hidden drawers. Shona Reppe Puppets’ Cinderella is unlike any other you and your kids may have seen. It is a magical and mischievous delight; combining simple storytelling with lush and inventive images. nytheatre.com… It’s a bonny affair from the start. Reppe, who’s visible throughout behind the tabletop stage, has a lilting brogue that makes her words sound like song. Much of the show’s magic lies in her nimble fingers and her interactions with her inanimate cast. Time Out New York
Created, designed and performed by Shona Reppe Cinderella premiered at the Imaginate Scottish International Children’s Festival in 2002 to excellent reviews followed by a successful run at The Netherbow Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2002 Cinderella received a Total Theatre Award for physical and visual theatre during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in February 2003 Cinderella won the Victor Award for best showcase in children’s theatre in Montreal.
The show is co-created by Ian Cameron and co-directed by Gill Robertson.
Shona Reppe undertook Theatre Studies and History of Art at Glasgow University (1988) before completing a post grad diploma in Stage Design at the Welsh College of Drama in Cardiff (1992). Shona Reppe Puppets was established in 1996 and has been dedicated to creating highly visual theatre for children ever since. In 1998 Shona embarked on a world trip with The Little Red Hen – a puppet show in two shopping bags – performing in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Zimbabwe in libraries, schools, theatres, living rooms and beaches (paid in dollars, beer or board). In 2000 her production Tom Thumb toured throughout Scotland before performing to sell-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Cinderella plays in the Forge Theatre, Marryatville High School:
Schools performances commence from 20 September;
Public performance commence 25 September 10.00am and 2.00pm; 27 September 1.00pm; 28,29, 30 September 10.00am and 1.00pm; 1October 10.00am and 2 October 10.00am and 2.00pm.
Tickets are $19; $14groups of 6 or more and may be purchased at all BASS outlets by phone on 131 246 and online at www.bass.net.au

Festival Centre announces new Artistic Director for Adelaide Cabaret Festival,2012, 2013

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:09:48 +0000

Adelaide Festival Centre’s CEO and Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier announcedthat the Artistic Director for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival for 2012 and 2013 will be nohe other than Kate Ceberano. Award-winning singer and songwriter, Kate Ceberano has been a leading star of Australia’s music industry writing and singing soul, jazz and pop for more than 25 years. She has won multiple ARIA and Mo awards, a Logie Award and achieved five Platinum and five Gold albums. She has sold more than one million albums in Australia alone. Kate was the winner of season six of Channel 7’s Dancing with the Stars, helping the show to be the highest rated television program in 2007. She played the role of Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar which toured nationally with the album the biggest hit of the year (4 times Platinum). She also won a Logie Award for Most Popular Music Video for Everything’s Alright taken from the show. Kate also hosted her own late-night cabaret-style show on ABC TV during 1993-1994, Kate Ceberano and Friends. A strong believer in using her gifts for the good of others, Kate is the Victorian Ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, helping the organisation to raise awareness and funds for the disease. I am very excited about Kate’s appointment as David Campbell’s successor for the 2012 and 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festivals, said Douglas Gautier, Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival Centre.

‘David, and Julia Holt before him, were integral in developing the Adelaide Cabaret Festival – one of the jewels in the Adelaide Festival Centre crown – into an event which has attracted attendances of more than 500,000 over its ten year history. It is an event which attracts significant sponsorship and which is a favourite on the arts calendar for artists and audiences alike,” Douglas said.

“David and Lisa Campbell are doing a sensational job and we are looking forward to what they have in store for the 2011 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. They know we are leaving the door open for them to return as the artistic direction team in the future. The success of the last two festivals has very much been due to their creative programming which has really connected with audiences. As a consummate performer himself and one who has great rapport with his audiences, David has a good handle on what audiences want’, he said.

Douglas explained that appointing Kate for 2012 and 2013 is part of the Festival Centre’s desire to keep building and growing the reputation of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival which continues to receive interest from artists, media and audiences from around the world.

Ideally a Festival of this size and scope takes well over a year to bring together so Kate will be able to commence thinking now about what she’d like to bring to the event in 2012 and 2013.

‘I’m very excited and motivated to get into my role as Artistic Director of Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2012-2013. To be able to craft an event that invites the level of talent and creativity for Australian audiences is in itself inspirational, but to also work with the calibre of directors and administrators, who have to date, been making this festival one of the most successful in the world is thrilling,” Kate said.

“I have huge admiration for David and his wife Lisa and what they have achieved over the last two years. He is an inspiration and a great friend and understands exactly what it is to strive to make a difference and really aim for something sky high!!! He mirrors my dreams as an artist. And I’m going to be very challenged and motivated to continue to create the standard he has set’, she said.

Also announced today, by the Premier, was extra ongoing funding of $500,000 per year for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and $250,000 per year for the Festival Centre’s annual OzAsia Festival from this year.

Premier and Arts Minister Mike Rann said “the Cabaret Festival has grown from strength to strength under Julia and then David’s artistic leadership.

‘David put on a spectacular 10th Anniversary Cabaret Festival this year and I look forward to next year’s Festival under his visionary artistic leadership. I’m delighted that Kate Ceberano has agreed to take over the Festival from 2012, and as we prepare for a new era, I am happy to announce today that the one off funding of $500,000 allocated for the special 10th anniversary event is now to be ongoing. I am also delighted to announce that we have allocated, for the first time, $250,000 per year, specifically for the OzAsia Festival. This unique Festival is important in celebrating the rich and diverse cultures within the Asia Pacific region, the ties we have with countries throughout the region and also in fostering an understanding and celebration of the contribution that these cultures make within our own community’, Mr Rann said.

Douglas thanked the Premier and the State Government for their ongoing support to enable the Festival Centre to bring the best work it can from around the world for South Australian audiences and visitors.

The 2011 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, with David Campbell at the artistic helm, will open on Friday 10 June.

‘We are thrilled to have been given an extended budget to work with for the 2011 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. After the huge success of the previous two Festivals, this helps ensure the next can be even bigger and better’, said David Campbell in response.

‘It is an honour to run the Festival and Kate Ceberano could not be a more fabulous successor. She is a dear friend, an exceptional performer and I look forward to seeing what she does with the 2012 program’, David concluded.

Paul Hogan: “I’d rather go bankrupt than pay the ATO”

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:50:39 +0000

”Paul Hogan has vowed to take his five-year fight with the Australian Taxation Office to the bitter end, saying he would rather go bankrupt than pay money he does not owe. The actor told The Australian in a long interview yesterday that he reckoned he was an ‘ideal scalp’ for the tax office’s $300 million Wickenby investigation into the use of offshore tax havens, but insisted he was not guilty. Hogan, who also appeared on A Current Affair last night to argue his case, said he was tired of being ‘smeared’ as a tax dodger, and that he could not pay even a tenth of what the tax office was demanding, and that the case against him appeared to be based on a statement by a ‘disgruntled’ employee who was sacked years ago. Hogan’s wife, US-based actress Linda Kozlowski, is too scared to join him in Australia while, after being hit with a Departure Prohibition Order, Hogan feels he is being kept a virtual prisoner in the country he loves. ‘It is just so un-Australian’, Hogan said. ‘Whatever happened to this country? Whatever happened to a fair go’? Hogan has been the target of the Wickenby investigation for five years, with its focus on the use of offshore structures to deal with the flow of royalties from his Crocodile Dundee movies. The actor has denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged with any offence. When asked what he thought would happen next, he said: ‘I can’t pay 10 per cent of it, and if they keep me here, seize whatever assets I have . . . they can declare me bankrupt’ “

Germany: Author banker Thilo Sarrazin defends ‘racism’ claim

Editor — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:33:38 +0000

“A German central banker with outspoken views on Turks, Jews and the decline of his country has defended himself amid calls for his dismissal by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Thilo Sarrazin told the Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag that ’all Jews share the same gene’ and that Muslim immigrants across Europe were not willing or capable of integrating into Western societies. Yesterday at the launch of his book, Germany is Abolishing Itself, which warns against the effects of Muslim immigration, Mr Sarrazin denied he was a racist
and insisted on his right to freedom of speech. The Bundesbank said that its executive board would talk to Mr Sarrazin and then decide on further steps. Mr Sarrazin, 65, caused an earlier uproar by suggesting that people on welfare should spend only $A7 a day on food, mocking them for being overweight and sloppy dressers”

“Ms Merkel and at least three cabinet ministers have denounced his remarks, and
the Social Democratic Party, of which he is a member, is calling for his
expulsion. The banker yesterday insisted his book was balanced. “All I do is
read and make sense of the statistics,” he said. “I don’t want us to end up as
strangers in our own land.”

The German population is sinking rapidly, he says in his book. The demographic
balance is maintained only by immigrants’ higher birthrate. The result, he says,
is dropping school standards and rising crime.

“The intellectual potential of society is shrinking rapidly,” he said, “and
immigration is not the appropriate answer . . . Those coming in from Islamic
countries are posing a threat to the European cultural model.”

A leader of the Turkish community in Germany, Kenan Kolat, accused him of
intellectual racism”

The Australian, Sep 1, via The Times

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/german-banker-thilo-sarrazin-defends-racism/story-e6frg6so-1225912524846

“Depardieu labels Oscar-winner Binoche ‘a nobody’ “

Editor — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:59:46 +0000

“Mr Depardieu, 61, the star of Cyrano de Bergerac and Green Card, said: ‘ ‘Tell me what is Juliette Binoche’s secret? I wonder why she has been so respected for so many years. She has nothing. Absolutely nothing’. Binoche, who made her name in films including Three Colours: Blue and Chocolat, won an Oscar in 1996 for Best Supporting Actress in The English Patient and received the Best Actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her role in Certified Copy. Despite all the plaudits for her performances in almost 50 films, Depardieu – who has never won an Oscar himself – could find no saving graces in her acting ability. ”She’s nobody. Isabelle Adjani, well she’s wonderful, even if she is completely lost [as a person]. Or Fanny Ardant [Francois Truffaut's former wife and leading lady], she’s grandiose and extremely impressive. But Binoche? What’s she ever had going for her’?’ he asked. Depardieu has shot about 200 films, but has never performed alongside Binoche. Her entourage declined to comment on his outburst. Although lauded as a genius at his best, Depardieu has often been criticised for agreeing to appear in countless flops. Indeed, he recently admitted: ”I’ve made 200 films, of which 150 were —-”…. But despite his provocations, the French still have a soft spot for the incorrigible tearaway; his latest appearances in France in films such as Mammuth, a road movie about a 60-year-old oddball, were critical and box office successes”

'Nobody' claims: Gerard Depardieu lashes out at Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. Photos: Still from '36 Quai Des Orfevres'/Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP