Findcate

Officers scoured the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in search of works by controversial photographer Bill Henson, one of the country’s most acclaimed and successful artists.

The confiscation of the photographs by police has caused a furor, with the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, describing them as “absolutely revolting”.

But many Australians said the police raid was a clumsy attempt at censorship and a

dangerous attack on freedom of expression which would embarrass the country internationally.

In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, a former police superintendent and now art gallery owner said he was dismayed at “the purse-lipped paragons of public morality” who condemned Henson’s works as child pornography.

On Wednesday a group of leading writers and artists, including Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett, signed an open letter expressing dismay at the actions of police and the allegation that Henson was a pornographer.

The prospect of Henson, whose work has been shown in New York, Paris and at the Venice Biennale, being charged had done “untold damage to our cultural reputation”, the letter said.

Henson’s photographs were not titillating but part of an artistic tradition that stretched back to ancient Greece, Caravaggio and Michelangelo.

One of the few politicians willing to defend Henson was Malcolm Turnbull, a former head of the Australian Republican Movement and now the conservative opposition’s treasury spokesman.

He said he owned two of the artist’s works, but neither depicted naked teenagers.

“I don’t believe that we should have policemen invading art galleries. I think we have a culture of great artistic freedom in this country and I don’t believe the vice squad’s role is to go into art galleries,” said Mr Turnbull.

In addition to scrutinizing the National Gallery, police reportedly ordered a gallery in Newcastle, north of Sydney, not to exhibit two Henson photographs featuring nude teens, and descended on another gallery in the city of Albury.

Police have said they intend to prosecute Henson for obscenity but no charges have yet been laid.

The investigation has stalled because Henson has refused to reveal the identity of the girl he photographed nude for the exhibit.

The chief of police in New South Wales, Andrew Scipione, weighed into the debate, saying that as a father he strongly disapproved of the photographs.

Tags: ancient greece, art gallery owner, artistic freedom, artistic tradition, australian republican movement, australians, bill henson, cate, cate blanchett, child pornography, clumsy attempt, conservative opposition, dangerous attack, freedom of expression, greece, malcolm turnbull, mr turnbull, naked teenagers, national gallery of australia, newcastle north, police superintendent, public morality, sydney morning herald, treasury spokesman

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But the study has been dismissed as %26quot;complete nonsense%26quot; and a %26quot;travesty%26quot; by members of the discovery team, as well as other scientists.
It is the latest salvo in a scientific stoush that erupted within days of the 2004 announcement that remains of the metre-tall people, named Homo floresiensis, had been discovered by Australian and Indonesian researchers in a cave.
The discovery team and other researchers believe the diminuitive people, who lived on Flores between 95,000 and 12,000 years ago, were the descendants of more primitive humans, such as australopithecines.
Some other scientists have claimed they were modern people with small brains due to a condition called microcephaly.
In the latest paper, published yesterday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, researchers at the University of Western Australia and RMIT University argue a new theory: that the hobbits could have been dwarf cretins as a result of nutritional deficiencies, including a severe iodine shortage during pregnancy.
%26quot;Dwarf cretins grow not much more than one metre and their bones have distinctive characteristics very similar to those of the Flores hobbits,%26quot; said Dr Peter Obendorf of RMIT University.
A key piece of their evidence is the claim that part of the skeleton that houses the pituitary glands appeared to be enlarged in LB1, the first fossil found in the cave.
But a member of the discovery team, Peter Brown, of the University of New England, said this was not the case.
The new study was %26quot;complete nonsense and without a glimmer of factual support,%26quot; Professor Brown told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Colin Groves, of the Australian National University, who was not a member of the discovery team, said many of the claims in the new paper lacked evidence.
%26quot;I am very very distressed to see such reputable scientists involved in such a travesty,%26quot; Dr Groves told the Herald.
DISTINCT BRANCH OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
The University of New England team theorised that the little people may have been descendants of prehistoric hominids, Homo erectus, who reached Flores nearly 1 million years ago.
They are trying to have the hobbits enshrined as a separate branch of the human family tree.
Marooned from the rest of the world, the hominids evolved a small stature to cope with the available supplies of food. Stone tools and animal remains showed they were skilled in hunting, toolmaking and butchering.
Indeed, the species was so successful, went the argument, that for many years the hobbits lived side-by-side with the bigger-brained Homo sapiens - an idea that implies the two hominids might have been more than kissing cousins.

Tags: endor, Food, sydney morning herald

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But the study has been dismissed as %26quot;complete nonsense%26quot; and a %26quot;travesty%26quot; by members of the discovery team, as well as other scientists.
It is the latest salvo in a scientific stoush that erupted within days of the 2004 announcement that remains of the metre-tall people, named Homo floresiensis, had been discovered by Australian and Indonesian researchers in a cave.
The discovery team and other researchers believe the diminuitive people, who lived on Flores between 95,000 and 12,000 years ago, were the descendants of more primitive humans, such as australopithecines.
Some other scientists have claimed they were modern people with small brains due to a condition called microcephaly.
In the latest paper, published yesterday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, researchers at the University of Western Australia and RMIT University argue a new theory: that the hobbits could have been dwarf cretins as a result of nutritional deficiencies, including a severe iodine shortage during pregnancy.
%26quot;Dwarf cretins grow not much more than one metre and their bones have distinctive characteristics very similar to those of the Flores hobbits,%26quot; said Dr Peter Obendorf of RMIT University.
A key piece of their evidence is the claim that part of the skeleton that houses the pituitary glands appeared to be enlarged in LB1, the first fossil found in the cave.
But a member of the discovery team, Peter Brown, of the University of New England, said this was not the case.
The new study was %26quot;complete nonsense and without a glimmer of factual support,%26quot; Professor Brown told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Colin Groves, of the Australian National University, who was not a member of the discovery team, said many of the claims in the new paper lacked evidence.
%26quot;I am very very distressed to see such reputable scientists involved in such a travesty,%26quot; Dr Groves told the Herald.
DISTINCT BRANCH OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
The University of New England team theorised that the little people may have been descendants of prehistoric hominids, Homo erectus, who reached Flores nearly 1 million years ago.
They are trying to have the hobbits enshrined as a separate branch of the human family tree.
Marooned from the rest of the world, the hominids evolved a small stature to cope with the available supplies of food. Stone tools and animal remains showed they were skilled in hunting, toolmaking and butchering.
Indeed, the species was so successful, went the argument, that for many years the hobbits lived side-by-side with the bigger-brained Homo sapiens - an idea that implies the two hominids might have been more than kissing cousins.

Tags: endor, Food, sydney morning herald

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Just one week after Bulldogs halfback Ben Roberts was bashed outside a Wollongong nightspot, young Roosters Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Setaimata Sa were involved in a fight with up to 10 other men at a fast-food restaurant, giving the NRL another off-field headache before the 2008 Centenary season has even begun.
Roosters officials last night confirmed police and the club were investigating the incident, which appears to have been started after $100 was stolen from Kenny-Dowall. The Sydney Morning Herald understands the Kiwi representative left his wallet in the outlet, and after returning, confronted a group of males, who handed back the wallet with the money missing.
Sa then became involved, and it is understood the two were set upon by the group. Neither Roosters player was believed to be injured in the fight.
A male from the other group was hospitalised; there were suggestions that he may have been injured after falling and was heavily intoxicated.
Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan said the club was treating the incident, which occurred just hours after the squad took part in a fundraiser for a local rugby league club, seriously. He also confirmed that the two players had ignored a club-issued directive to return to the team hotel at a certain time.
%26quot;We%26#39;re aware there was an incident after some money was stolen from one of our players%26#39; wallets,%26quot; Canavan said. %26quot;Police are investigating, and we%26#39;re carrying out our own investigation. We%26#39;re co-operating one hundred per cent with police.%26quot;
Canavan has spoken with Kenny-Dowall and Sa, adding: %26quot;It%26#39;s an unfortunate situation. We%26#39;re disappointed in the situation eventuating.%26quot;
Roosters coach Brad Fittler said: %26quot;Nothing%26#39;s official at the moment.%26quot;
A police spokesperson last night said inquiries into the altercation, which occurred at 4am on Saturday, were continuing, although their investigations were preliminary. The spokesperson confirmed a 26-year-old was taken to hospital to treat %26quot;minor injuries%26quot;. Officers were %26quot;yet to identify the other parties involved in the altercation%26quot;.
The Sydney Morning Herald attempted to contact Kenny-Dowall last night, but his mobile phone was answered by a man who said he was the winger%26#39;s father. The man said before the call ended: %26quot;It was 10 guys on two guys. He [Kenny-Dowall] just stuck up for himself. I trust my son.%26quot;
NRL officials will again be frustrated that more off-field drama is overshadowing the build-up to the game%26#39;s 100th season, especially so soon after the Roberts incident.
Roberts was hospitalised after being bashed outside Wollongong nightspot the Glasshouse Tavern. He later returned to the venue and was arrested after allegedly becoming involved in an altercation with police. Officers were forced to use capsicum spray to subdue Roberts and he was charged with resisting arrest. He will appear in court later this month.
It appeared last night, however, that neither Kenny-Dowall nor Sa faced any police sanctions. Still, the fact they effectively broke curfew may result in club punishment.
Detectives were last night attempting to obtain CCTV footage of the incident.
The squad was in Wollongong as part of a fundraiser for the Berkeley rugby league club. Earlier in the day the players held a coaching clinic at the local sports oval.

Tags: cate, Food, s hospital, spokesperson, sydney morning herald

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Not in a Curious George sort-of-way perhaps, and certainly not in the manner of Magilla Gorilla but the fact remains that, if ever you needed an international cricketer to play the part of a clownish but dim-witted simian, you%26#39;d almost certainly stop at Symonds every time.
I know monkeys all over the world will be outraged by this; the idea that they%26#39;re being compared to a wild-eyed Queensland buffoon and stereotyped on the basis of his jester-like appearance and foolish behaviour.
They%26#39;ll almost certainly say it%26#39;s bad for their name and reflects poorly on their intelligence. Which is important because, to my knowledge, no one has yet stepped in to represent the primates in this dispute (sparked by a Harbhajan Singh jibe at Symonds during the second test at Sydney), despite the fact that the monkeys were probably the only party who could seriously claim any damage.
Certainly Symonds, who paints his lips Bozo-the-Clown white, wears his dreadlocked hair off his face and by habit engages his mouth before his brain, has no reason to complain; he should probably take the remark as a compliment given it represents a standing in the food-chain several notches above his current position.
I mean, Harbhajan could just as easily have called him a donkey, a goose or a turkey; never mind an inanimate object such as a spoon or a knob all of which would have been much closer to the mark, though still a little unfair on the knobs.
But a monkey? He should be so lucky.
And you have to wonder how Tasmanian-born Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who initially protested at the alleged comment, could in any way feel damaged considering the outrageous behaviour he has allowed on his watch from players such as Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and the reputation he has earned for fostering a hostile, win-at-all-costs attitude.
The surprise, if you were to read anything into his indignant response to questions from Indian journalists after the test, is that he somehow now believes he%26#39;s beyond reproach on issues such as integrity and honesty, and that he shouldn%26#39;t be asked to comment on anything that might jeopardise such a lofty standing.
For all that, the most preposterous suggestion to emerge from this nonsense has surely come from white South African match referee Mike Procter, who not only pronounced Harbhajan guilty of making a racist slur on the flimsiest of evidence, but also went on to offer a vote of confidence in his decision; declaring himself an expert on the issue because he grew up in the apartheid era.
%26quot;I am South African and I understand the word racism,%26quot; Procter told the Sydney Morning Herald. %26quot;I have lived with it for much of my life.%26quot; Good grief. What next? Bob Mugabe claiming the high ground on tolerance? Trevor Mallard lecturing us on anger management? The Ingham twins championing water safety?
Would someone please remind this idiot that it was because his and his parents%26#39; generations didn%26#39;t give a hoot about racial stereotyping that the apartheid regime was able to flourish for as long it did. It wasn%26#39;t that they were trying to understand it, for goodness sake they were the ones perpetrating it.
For Procter to suggest now that we could have no better person sitting in judgement of a racial discrimination case than a white South African who grew up in the apartheid era, simply boggles the mind and makes you wonder whether he has learnt anything at all since reunification. As it is, I can%26#39;t help wondering whether the former fast bowler who telegraphed his incompetence while presiding over the first forfeiture in test history two years previous has become hopelessly bogged down in this issue, and that one of the chief influences in his verdict was a concern over how he%26#39;d be portrayed if he threw a racism charge out.
Yet, the upshot is even more unpalatable the fact he appears to to have accepted the word of two Aussies, while choosing to reject the evidence of two Indians.
The way the Final Whistle sees it, Proctor might have had a point if the alleged slur was made by a white man to a non-white man. But to uphold a charge of racist behaviour when a non-white bloke calls another non-white bloke a %26quot;monkey%26quot;, is to stretch the bounds of common-sense just as if the taunt was exchanged between two white-skinned individuals.
Which, if we can leave aside for the moment the fact that Harbhajan denies even uttering a racist comment, brings us back to Symonds and the quite plausible explanation that he%26#39;s sometimes teased about looking like a monkey because he does, actually, look like a monkey.
Just as the long-beaked Otago and Somerset fast-bowler Neil Mallender was dubbed %26quot;Concord%26quot; because he had the same nose-cone as the supersonic aircraft, and Andrew Caddick (of the enormous ears) was said to look like a Volkswagen Beetle with its doors open, Symonds might just have to get used to the idea that with face paint and big hair his antics sometimes put folk in the mind of a circus chimp.
As for the formal charge, I still can%26#39;t get my head around the idea that a non-white person would attempt to insult another non-white person on the basis of skin-colour (surely the ultimate example of the pot calling the kettle black) when to do so would effectively mean they were racially abusing themselves. Hopefully Procter, given his level of expertise in this area, will soon be able to enlighten us.

Tags: attitude, champion, Food, indians, journalist, sake, sydney morning herald, ups

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The funding from the Italian designer has been called one of the largest ever individual financial gifts in Australia’s performing arts. The theatre said Armani’s patronage would last at least a year.The designer is a well-known admirer of the 37-year-old Oscar-winning actor and already has an agreement to provide outfits for public appearances, as he did when she won the best supporting actress category in the 2005 Baftas (left).Blanchett described the septuagenarian designer as “meticulous, exacting and creative”, and predicted his relationship with the theatre would be “inspiring and expansive”.Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton, will be co-artistic directors of the STC for three years. News of their appointment last year was met with surprise, not least because other potential candidates said they were not given the chance to apply for Australian theatre’s most influential job. But it was acknowledged that Blanchett’s Hollywood connections and star power would help draw sponsorship for the company, which has recently struggled for funding.Armani will be in Australia next month for a dinner hosted by Blanchett, her husband, and outgoing director Robyn Nevin to finalise the deal, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, which first reported the story.

Tags: actress, andrew upton, appointment, cate, hollywood, job, sydney morning herald

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The funding from the Italian fashion designer, described as one of the largest ever individual financial gifts in Australia’s performing arts, will help the STC to tour overseas and to foster new talent.Mr Armani’s patronage will last at least a year, according to a theatre spokesman.The multi-millionaire fashion designer is a well-known admirer of the 37-year-old Oscar-winning actress and already has an agreement to dress her for public appearances.In a statement, Blanchett described the septuagenarian designer as one of the most “meticulous, exacting and creative” people she had met and predicted that his relationship with the theatre would be “inspiring and expansive”.Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton will be co-artistic directors of the STC for a three-year period.News of their joint appointment, announced last year, was greeted with surprise, not least because other potential candidates said they were not given the chance to apply for Australian theatre’s most influential job.It was acknowledged, however, that Blanchett’s Hollywood connections and star power would help draw lucrative sponsorship for the company which has struggled for funding in recent years.The Italian fashion designer will be coming to Australia next month for a dinner hosted by Blanchett, her husband and the outgoing director, Robyn Nevin, to finalise the deal, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, which first reported the story.

Tags: actress, andrew upton, appointment, hollywood, job, sydney morning herald

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While Melbourne and Adelaide require only a 45-minute car trip to flee the metropolis and plonk a picnic rug under a tree, Sydney%26#39;s sprawl turns a drive to the country into a three-hour return trek in traffic that rivals peak hour.

If you don%26#39;t require hectares of space, however, Sydney Harbour offers plenty of parks and harbourside nooks and crannies in which you can easily immerse yourself and feel a sense of release.

For the past year I%26#39;ve watched the transformation of Blackwattle Bay and the Glebe shore from the 504 bus, as it grinds its way across the Anzac Bridge. The City of Sydney has spent A$15 million (NZ$17m) on the last of its harbourside land in order to connect the parks and open spaces into a single walkway.

Paths have been built, gardens replanted and the magnificent 19th-century mansion Bellevue has been given a A$1.32 million (NZ$1.5m) restoration as part of the work.

Each day I%26#39;ve traced the progress until one day on the 504 it dawns on me: you could probably walk all the way from Annandale to the Sydney Fish Markets.

So, on a humid weekend with an American guest in tow, we drive the few short kilometres to Blackwattle Crescent in Annandale. We have a simple mission: an appetite-stimulating walk to the fish markets, where we will lunch before a stroll home to justify the feast.

Although the entrance to the small car park is not salubrious - an eclectic shipyard and marine salvage area stands sentinel on one side, a timber yard on the other - the park spreads out before us. Moreton Bay figs, ringed by sandstone %26quot;timelines%26quot;, are slowly developing shade.

There is a large children%26#39;s playground and behind it, the old viaduct upon which the light rail runs. The viaduct%26#39;s arches create a point of interest across the vast open space.

Further behind that is a picket-fenced cricket field with heritage grandstand. It%26#39;s pretty enough to convince me that cricket could actually be an interesting game.

There are families picnicking in the rotundas and on blankets but not so many that it%26#39;s overcrowded. Dogs yap and socialise along the canal; part of the park is a leash-free zone.
The gobsmacking moment is the view of the Anzac Bridge; its cables give the appearance of being inside a piano. The bridge has a scale from the bay walk that cannot be appreciated from any other angle. It looks majestic, a grand and fitting sibling to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The walk stretches along a sandstone boulevard edging the park and then twists and turns its way along the harbour, past luxury apartments juxtaposed with remnants of Blackwattle Bay%26#39;s industrial past, with glimpses of grand heritage homes.

Blackwattle Bay was named in 1788 by boat parties sent from Sydney Cove to gather timber. Until the 1820s it was known as an isolated and dangerous place whose rocky slopes were used as retreats by criminals and bushrangers.

It quickly became an industrial centre. Timber yards, tanneries, chemical works and abattoirs were built along its shores and the bay became a stinking soup. In 1887 The Sydney Morning Herald noted that sewage was emptying directly into the bay. The swamps upon its shoreline were turned into slums.

The swamps have since become parkland and the environmental damage is well on its way to being reversed. The new pathway makes a feature of the broad steps that descend to the water at semi-regular intervals - ideal for the dragon boat crews that regularly use the harbour, or kayakers. Small sections of mangroves have been replanted; a tiny beach has been reclaimed. Oysters and mussels can be seen clinging to rocks.

The walk ends at the Glebe Rowers%26#39; Club, home to The Good Food Guide%26#39;s one-hatted restaurant The Boathouse. Close by is another significant marker: the Walter Burley Griffin incinerator that was once part of the council works but is now surrounded by multimillion-dollar townhouses.

Here the path ends but you can divert around Glebe High School to reach Pyrmont Bridge Road, which is where it gets ugly. The busy road keeps pedestrians hugging the tight footpath next to the cement works. The smell of rubbish, cement and tar on a hot day is %26quot;fragrant%26quot; but short-lived.
We%26#39;re quickly at the Sydney Fish Markets and agonising over what to eat. A $58 grilled seafood platter for three from Peter%26#39;s Seafood is enough to feed the ravenous five of us and is so large we create a take-home pack that becomes the basis for dinner. We sit underneath the palm trees, shoo away the seagulls and feast.

The walk home will do us good.

Tags: adelaide, Feast, Food, pace, sydney harbour, sydney morning herald

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