diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 83fd6efd24..a7477265ad 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -610,8 +610,14 @@ AG_GST_SET_PLUGINDIR
 GST_PKG_DEPS="glib-2.0, gobject-2.0, gmodule-no-export-2.0, gthread-2.0"
 AC_SUBST(GST_PKG_DEPS)
 
+dnl make sure it doesn't complain about unused variables if debugging is disabled
+NO_WARNINGS=""
+if test "x${GST_DISABLE_GST_DEBUG}" = "xyes"; then
+  NO_WARNINGS="-Wno-unused"
+fi
+
 dnl define an ERROR_CFLAGS Makefile variable
-AG_GST_SET_ERROR_CFLAGS($GST_GIT, [-Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-prototypes -Wredundant-decls -Wundef -Wwrite-strings -Wformat-nonliteral -Wformat-security -Wold-style-definition -Winit-self -Wmissing-include-dirs -Waddress -Waggregate-return -Wno-multichar -Wnested-externs])
+AG_GST_SET_ERROR_CFLAGS($GST_GIT, [-Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-prototypes -Wredundant-decls -Wundef -Wwrite-strings -Wformat-nonliteral -Wformat-security -Wold-style-definition -Winit-self -Wmissing-include-dirs -Waddress -Waggregate-return -Wno-multichar -Wnested-externs $NO_WARNINGS])
 
 dnl define correct level for debugging messages
 AG_GST_SET_LEVEL_DEFAULT($GST_GIT)
@@ -660,7 +666,7 @@ dnl - src and build dirs need to be added because every piece that gets built
 dnl   will need the GStreamer source and generated headers
 dnl LIBS: XML doesn't need to be added because we don't explicitly use symbols
 dnl       from LibXML except for in the core library
-GST_ALL_CXXFLAGS="-I\$(top_srcdir)/libs -I\$(top_srcdir) -I\$(top_builddir)/libs -I\$(top_builddir) $GLIB_CFLAGS $(GLIB_EXTRA_CFLAGS) $XML_CFLAGS \$(GST_OPTION_CXXFLAGS) \$(ERROR_CXXFLAGS)"
+GST_ALL_CXXFLAGS="-I\$(top_srcdir)/libs -I\$(top_srcdir) -I\$(top_builddir)/libs -I\$(top_builddir) $GLIB_CFLAGS \$(GLIB_EXTRA_CFLAGS) $XML_CFLAGS \$(GST_OPTION_CXXFLAGS) \$(ERROR_CXXFLAGS)"
 GST_ALL_CFLAGS="-I\$(top_srcdir)/libs -I\$(top_srcdir) -I\$(top_builddir)/libs -I\$(top_builddir) $GLIB_CFLAGS \$(GLIB_EXTRA_CFLAGS) $XML_CFLAGS \$(GST_OPTION_CFLAGS) \$(ERROR_CFLAGS)"
 
 dnl FIXME: check if LTLIBINTL is needed everywhere
diff --git a/gst/gstbin.c b/gst/gstbin.c
index 815a33b886..52f87c1ad2 100644
--- a/gst/gstbin.c
+++ b/gst/gstbin.c
@@ -1775,7 +1775,7 @@ gst_bin_get_state_func (GstElement * element, GstState * state,
 typedef struct _GstBinSortIterator
 {
   GstIterator it;
-  GQueue *queue;                /* elements queued for state change */
+  GQueue queue;                 /* elements queued for state change */
   GstBin *bin;                  /* bin we iterate */
   gint mode;                    /* adding or removing dependency */
   GstElement *best;             /* next element with least dependencies */
@@ -1819,7 +1819,7 @@ add_to_queue (GstBinSortIterator * bit, GstElement * element)
   GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (bit->bin, "adding '%s' to queue",
       GST_ELEMENT_NAME (element));
   gst_object_ref (element);
-  g_queue_push_tail (bit->queue, element);
+  g_queue_push_tail (&bit->queue, element);
   HASH_SET_DEGREE (bit, element, -1);
 }
 
@@ -1828,11 +1828,11 @@ remove_from_queue (GstBinSortIterator * bit, GstElement * element)
 {
   GList *find;
 
-  if ((find = g_queue_find (bit->queue, element))) {
+  if ((find = g_queue_find (&bit->queue, element))) {
     GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (bit->bin, "removing '%s' from queue",
         GST_ELEMENT_NAME (element));
 
-    g_queue_delete_link (bit->queue, find);
+    g_queue_delete_link (&bit->queue, find);
     gst_object_unref (element);
   } else {
     GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (bit->bin, "unable to remove '%s' from queue",
@@ -1989,8 +1989,7 @@ gst_bin_sort_iterator_next (GstBinSortIterator * bit, GValue * result)
   GstBin *bin = bit->bin;
 
   /* empty queue, we have to find a next best element */
-  if (g_queue_is_empty (bit->queue)) {
-
+  if (g_queue_is_empty (&bit->queue)) {
     bit->best = NULL;
     bit->best_deg = G_MAXINT;
     g_list_foreach (bin->children, (GFunc) find_element, bit);
@@ -2015,7 +2014,7 @@ gst_bin_sort_iterator_next (GstBinSortIterator * bit, GValue * result)
     }
   } else {
     /* everything added to the queue got reffed */
-    best = g_queue_pop_head (bit->queue);
+    best = g_queue_pop_head (&bit->queue);
     g_value_set_object (result, best);
     gst_object_unref (best);
   }
@@ -2035,7 +2034,7 @@ gst_bin_sort_iterator_resync (GstBinSortIterator * bit)
 
   GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (bin, "resync");
   bit->dirty = FALSE;
-  clear_queue (bit->queue);
+  clear_queue (&bit->queue);
   /* reset degrees */
   g_list_foreach (bin->children, (GFunc) reset_degree, bit);
   /* calc degrees, incrementing */
@@ -2052,8 +2051,7 @@ gst_bin_sort_iterator_free (GstBinSortIterator * bit)
   GstBin *bin = bit->bin;
 
   GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (bin, "free");
-  clear_queue (bit->queue);
-  g_queue_free (bit->queue);
+  clear_queue (&bit->queue);
   g_hash_table_destroy (bit->hash);
   gst_object_unref (bin);
 }
@@ -2076,7 +2074,7 @@ gst_bin_sort_iterator_new (GstBin * bin)
       (GstIteratorItemFunction) NULL,
       (GstIteratorResyncFunction) gst_bin_sort_iterator_resync,
       (GstIteratorFreeFunction) gst_bin_sort_iterator_free);
-  result->queue = g_queue_new ();
+  g_queue_init (&result->queue);
   result->hash = g_hash_table_new (NULL, NULL);
   gst_object_ref (bin);
   result->bin = bin;
diff --git a/gst/gstclock.h b/gst/gstclock.h
index 2bc9d80918..e90bd7652f 100644
--- a/gst/gstclock.h
+++ b/gst/gstclock.h
@@ -81,28 +81,41 @@ typedef gpointer GstClockID;
  */
 #define GST_CLOCK_TIME_IS_VALID(time)	(((GstClockTime)(time)) != GST_CLOCK_TIME_NONE)
 
+/* FIXME: still need to explicitly force types on the defines below */
 /**
  * GST_SECOND:
  *
  * Constant that defines one GStreamer second.
+ * 
+ * Value: 1000000000
+ *
  */
 #define GST_SECOND  (G_USEC_PER_SEC * G_GINT64_CONSTANT (1000))
 /**
  * GST_MSECOND:
  *
  * Constant that defines one GStreamer millisecond.
+ * 
+ * Value: 1000000
+ * 
  */
 #define GST_MSECOND (GST_SECOND / G_GINT64_CONSTANT (1000))
 /**
  * GST_USECOND:
  *
  * Constant that defines one GStreamer microsecond.
+ * 
+ * Value: 1000
+ * 
  */
 #define GST_USECOND (GST_SECOND / G_GINT64_CONSTANT (1000000))
 /**
  * GST_NSECOND:
  *
  * Constant that defines one GStreamer nanosecond
+ * 
+ * Value: 1
+ * 
  */
 #define GST_NSECOND (GST_SECOND / G_GINT64_CONSTANT (1000000000))
 
diff --git a/libs/gst/base/gstcollectpads2.h b/libs/gst/base/gstcollectpads2.h
index 39ef6034d3..39f1ba73b6 100644
--- a/libs/gst/base/gstcollectpads2.h
+++ b/libs/gst/base/gstcollectpads2.h
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ struct _GstCollectData2
   /*< private >*/
   /* state: bitfield for easier extension;
    * eos, flushing, new_segment, waiting */
-  guint                  state;
+  GstCollectPads2StateFlags    state;
 
   /* refcounting for struct, and destroy callback */
   GstCollectData2DestroyNotify destroy_notify;
diff --git a/plugins/elements/gstqueue.c b/plugins/elements/gstqueue.c
index bdacc36a3d..fbc1d1ae7e 100644
--- a/plugins/elements/gstqueue.c
+++ b/plugins/elements/gstqueue.c
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ GST_DEBUG_CATEGORY_STATIC (queue_dataflow);
                       queue->cur_level.time, \
                       queue->min_threshold.time, \
                       queue->max_size.time, \
-                      queue->queue->length)
+                      queue->queue.length)
 
 /* Queue signals and args */
 enum
@@ -420,7 +420,8 @@ gst_queue_init (GstQueue * queue)
   queue->qlock = g_mutex_new ();
   queue->item_add = g_cond_new ();
   queue->item_del = g_cond_new ();
-  queue->queue = g_queue_new ();
+
+  g_queue_init (&queue->queue);
 
   queue->sinktime = GST_CLOCK_TIME_NONE;
   queue->srctime = GST_CLOCK_TIME_NONE;
@@ -438,16 +439,15 @@ gst_queue_init (GstQueue * queue)
 static void
 gst_queue_finalize (GObject * object)
 {
+  GstMiniObject *data;
   GstQueue *queue = GST_QUEUE (object);
 
   GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (queue, "finalizing queue");
 
-  while (!g_queue_is_empty (queue->queue)) {
-    GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
-
+  while ((data = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue)))
     gst_mini_object_unref (data);
-  }
-  g_queue_free (queue->queue);
+
+  g_queue_clear (&queue->queue);
   g_mutex_free (queue->qlock);
   g_cond_free (queue->item_add);
   g_cond_free (queue->item_del);
@@ -631,9 +631,9 @@ apply_buffer (GstQueue * queue, GstBuffer * buffer, GstSegment * segment,
 static void
 gst_queue_locked_flush (GstQueue * queue)
 {
-  while (!g_queue_is_empty (queue->queue)) {
-    GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
+  GstMiniObject *data;
 
+  while ((data = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue))) {
     /* Then lose another reference because we are supposed to destroy that
        data when flushing */
     gst_mini_object_unref (data);
@@ -664,7 +664,7 @@ gst_queue_locked_enqueue_buffer (GstQueue * queue, gpointer item)
   queue->cur_level.bytes += gst_buffer_get_size (buffer);
   apply_buffer (queue, buffer, &queue->sink_segment, TRUE, TRUE);
 
-  g_queue_push_tail (queue->queue, item);
+  g_queue_push_tail (&queue->queue, item);
   GST_QUEUE_SIGNAL_ADD (queue);
 }
 
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ gst_queue_locked_enqueue_event (GstQueue * queue, gpointer item)
     case GST_EVENT_SEGMENT:
       apply_segment (queue, event, &queue->sink_segment, TRUE);
       /* if the queue is empty, apply sink segment on the source */
-      if (queue->queue->length == 0) {
+      if (queue->queue.length == 0) {
         GST_CAT_LOG_OBJECT (queue_dataflow, queue, "Apply segment on srcpad");
         apply_segment (queue, event, &queue->src_segment, FALSE);
         queue->newseg_applied_to_src = TRUE;
@@ -698,7 +698,7 @@ gst_queue_locked_enqueue_event (GstQueue * queue, gpointer item)
       break;
   }
 
-  g_queue_push_tail (queue->queue, item);
+  g_queue_push_tail (&queue->queue, item);
   GST_QUEUE_SIGNAL_ADD (queue);
 }
 
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ gst_queue_locked_dequeue (GstQueue * queue, gboolean * is_buffer)
 {
   GstMiniObject *item;
 
-  item = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
+  item = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue);
   if (item == NULL)
     goto no_item;
 
@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@ out_eos:
 static gboolean
 gst_queue_is_empty (GstQueue * queue)
 {
-  if (queue->queue->length == 0)
+  if (queue->queue.length == 0)
     return TRUE;
 
   /* It is possible that a max size is reached before all min thresholds are.
diff --git a/plugins/elements/gstqueue.h b/plugins/elements/gstqueue.h
index 6ab861706f..9af6e140f5 100644
--- a/plugins/elements/gstqueue.h
+++ b/plugins/elements/gstqueue.h
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ struct _GstQueue {
   gboolean      eos;
 
   /* the queue of data we're keeping our grubby hands on */
-  GQueue *queue;
+  GQueue queue;
 
   GstQueueSize
     cur_level,          /* currently in the queue */
diff --git a/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.c b/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.c
index f89bd491f1..d868c247c0 100644
--- a/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.c
+++ b/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.c
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ enum
                       queue->max_level.time, \
                       (guint64) (!QUEUE_IS_USING_QUEUE(queue) ? \
                         queue->current->writing_pos - queue->current->max_reading_pos : \
-                        queue->queue->length))
+                        queue->queue.length))
 
 #define GST_QUEUE2_MUTEX_LOCK(q) G_STMT_START {                          \
   g_mutex_lock (q->qlock);                                              \
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ gst_queue2_init (GstQueue2 * queue)
   queue->item_add = g_cond_new ();
   queue->waiting_del = FALSE;
   queue->item_del = g_cond_new ();
-  queue->queue = g_queue_new ();
+  g_queue_init (&queue->queue);
 
   queue->buffering_percent = 100;
 
@@ -458,13 +458,13 @@ gst_queue2_finalize (GObject * object)
 
   GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (queue, "finalizing queue");
 
-  while (!g_queue_is_empty (queue->queue)) {
-    GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
+  while (!g_queue_is_empty (&queue->queue)) {
+    GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue);
 
     gst_mini_object_unref (data);
   }
 
-  g_queue_free (queue->queue);
+  g_queue_clear (&queue->queue);
   g_mutex_free (queue->qlock);
   g_cond_free (queue->item_add);
   g_cond_free (queue->item_del);
@@ -1442,8 +1442,8 @@ gst_queue2_locked_flush (GstQueue2 * queue)
       gst_queue2_flush_temp_file (queue);
     init_ranges (queue);
   } else {
-    while (!g_queue_is_empty (queue->queue)) {
-      GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
+    while (!g_queue_is_empty (&queue->queue)) {
+      GstMiniObject *data = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue);
 
       /* Then lose another reference because we are supposed to destroy that
          data when flushing */
@@ -1853,7 +1853,7 @@ gst_queue2_locked_enqueue (GstQueue2 * queue, gpointer item, gboolean isbuffer)
       update_buffering (queue);
 
     if (QUEUE_IS_USING_QUEUE (queue)) {
-      g_queue_push_tail (queue->queue, item);
+      g_queue_push_tail (&queue->queue, item);
     } else {
       gst_mini_object_unref (GST_MINI_OBJECT_CAST (item));
     }
@@ -1884,7 +1884,7 @@ gst_queue2_locked_dequeue (GstQueue2 * queue, gboolean * is_buffer)
   if (!QUEUE_IS_USING_QUEUE (queue))
     item = gst_queue2_read_item_from_file (queue);
   else
-    item = g_queue_pop_head (queue->queue);
+    item = g_queue_pop_head (&queue->queue);
 
   if (item == NULL)
     goto no_item;
@@ -2065,7 +2065,7 @@ gst_queue2_is_empty (GstQueue2 * queue)
   if (!QUEUE_IS_USING_QUEUE (queue) && queue->current) {
     return queue->current->writing_pos <= queue->current->max_reading_pos;
   } else {
-    if (queue->queue->length == 0)
+    if (queue->queue.length == 0)
       return TRUE;
   }
 
diff --git a/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.h b/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.h
index ccbead6a17..02a38f264a 100644
--- a/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.h
+++ b/plugins/elements/gstqueue2.h
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ struct _GstQueue2
   gboolean unexpected;
 
   /* the queue of data we're keeping our hands on */
-  GQueue *queue;
+  GQueue queue;
 
   GstQueue2Size cur_level;       /* currently in the queue */
   GstQueue2Size max_level;       /* max. amount of data allowed in the queue */