WA band Gyroscope's Baby, I'm Gettin' Better only reached Number 40 on the Triple JJJ Hottest 100, but for me it's the Australian pop song of 2010, short and sweet, an infectious chorus, great lyrics, the whole thing absolutely crackling with energy.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
I've run this before, but every year when the talk returns to 'What Does It Mean To Be An Australian?' I usually think of this piece first, still relevant, still powerful, almost 100 years after it was written by C.E.W Bean on the eve of World War I :
In 1914, Australians were only 126 years from their first settlement in this continent...we were only 101 years from the first crossing of the Blue Mountains, only 63 (years) from the first gold rush, 58 (years) from the first establishment here of democratic self-government. Some Australian who went to the war had ancestors still alive who could remember some of the first generation of countrymen; many had grandparents or great grandparents who could tell them of the gold rush, the bushrangers, the later explorers and the imported convicts.
Yet, though many of the older men and women had actually lived in them, the colonial days were, by 1914, almost as extinct of those of William the Conqueror.
The people of the six colonies, which had federated only fourteen years before, regarded themselves as being in the forefront of human progress, and indeed, in some not unimportant respects they had reason to do so.
When emigrating from Britain most of their ancestors had half-consciously tried to cast off what they vaguely felt to be elements of inequality and injustice in the inherited social systems of Europe.
They were disrespectful of old methods, eager to try out new ones. They had of late deliberately changed the whole basis of their wage system, in an effort to adjust it to the public conscience in place of the uncontrolled results of supply and demand.
They had made many mistakes, due to vague thinking and inadequate study, but they had achieved something.
They had established at least one very great and successful industry - that of wool production - and had managed to so spread its profits that real wages were then possibly higher in Australia than anywhere else in the world; at all events the life of the ordinary man, woman and child contain probably more healthy recreation than anywhere else.
Public education then compared favourably with that of any people except perhaps those of Scandinavia; in the enjoyment of such modern material benefits as telephones and electric light Australians were ahead of the British though behind the Americans.
Probably nowhere were the less wealthy folk more truly free, or on such terms of genuine social equality with the rich, in dress, habits and intercourse....
It is true that in one respect living conditions in Australia - as in most newly-settled lands, even the United States - differed widely from those in older countries; a vast gap existed between the conditions in country and city. In the cities life was not markedly different from that of any great European or American town; but country life was in many parts still set in almost pioneering environment.
Yet the outback homesteads often contain surprising evidence of culture. It was much more than a superficial sign that the women who drove in to meet the mail train at a distant siding often dressed in the fashion of Paris, London, or New York.
And if in the bars and hostels even of the big cities at racetimes and on holidays there was sometimes evidence of the Wild West, there was little inferiority complex about the people of this particularly free country.
Its universities were in many ways progressive; its governments were launching into social experiments. Its business and political leaders thoroughly believed in its future and, with only 4 1/2 million white people (and perhaps 100,000 Australian blacks) in the continent, they borrowed freely from overseas to launch into industrial and social enterprises.
Many young Australians tended to condemn the English immigrant for his comparative slowness and lack of confidence in dealing with the unknown men and conditions, and were irritated by his certitude as to the superiority of the methods of the "old country".
The Australian ballad writers, Gordon, Lawson, Paterson, Ogilivie and others, were constantly read and quoted. The people were not formally religious, but there was a marked comradeliness in their outlook, and no degree of economic pressure could induce them to abandon it.
The people, newly federated, were at this stage very consciously intent upon building themselves into a great nation.
Without giving the matter much thought, most Australians assumed that the development of their country would be similar to that of the United States.
...with easy optimism, Australian anticipated that within a century or so her 5 million people would be increased to 60 if not 100 million.
The historian, who tries to to discover what motive most powerfully moved the Australian people at that interesting stage, will probably come to the conclusion that tradition - such as is consciously or unconsciously handed down in almost every word or action by parents and teachers to children, by priests and pastors, professional trades and business men to their successors, by witters to readers, even by older children to younger - was immensely strong and enduring.
The tradition was largely British...But with the British standards were mingled those of the pioneers - the backwoodsmen, and the men of the great ruins and the mining fields.
It was to these last that Australians owed their resourcefulness and readiness to grapple with their objectives even against authority, and also their basic creed, in industry as in war, that a man must at all costs stand by his mate.
...they clung to the principle of standing by the weaker brother.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Toowoomba Police released this jarring image from the day a churning, metres high, river of floodwaters slashed through the centre of their city. They wanted to find out if anyone knew who the person caught up in the floods was, and if they survived.
A few hours later it was revealed the girl survived, pulled from the water by rescuers "a fair way down" from where she was photographed fighting for her life in a shocking reality undreamed of, unplanned for, only minutes earlier in the middle of a summer's day in an Australian city.
A few hours later it was revealed the girl survived, pulled from the water by rescuers "a fair way down" from where she was photographed fighting for her life in a shocking reality undreamed of, unplanned for, only minutes earlier in the middle of a summer's day in an Australian city.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Beauty In The Debris
All the following images are screengrabs from this incredible high resolution NearMap satellite image of flooded Brisbane on January 13.
Here's some of the things that caught my eye.
All the following images are screengrabs from this incredible high resolution NearMap satellite image of flooded Brisbane on January 13.
Here's some of the things that caught my eye.
On the Queensland and Brisbane floods, here's some thoughts and links from my Twitter feed. It's not a detailed catalogue of the events as they unfolded, it's a bit more random.
January 1, 2011 :
January 1, 2011 :
So all those who went ballistic when the Australian military said natural disasters/extreme weather posed bigger threat than terrorists...
do u get it now? Do u understand? Extreme weather events are kicking Australians' butts far worse than terrorists could ever hope to.
Jan 3 :Rockhampton residents approached by "men with guns on their hips", told to evacuate "or else", according to ABCNews
Jan. 4 : Rockhampton, an Australian city of 75,000, completely cut off by floodwaters. No rail, no roads, no airport. http://tinyurl.com/2vpgj7bJanuary 11 :
Jan. 4 ; Even wild kangaroos understand it's safer in a boat than in the water of the Queensland floods http://tinyurl.com/26qaz5c
I love a sunburnt country, a land of building collapsing flashfloods, of summer snow, of town consuming firestorms, of locust & mice plagues.
Queenslanders told to prepare emergency kits, continuing flood crisis could last "weeks, months" http://tinyurl.com/6lbky6vAustralian PM Julia Gillard on the Queesland MegaDisaster, Jan. 11 :
State Emergency Workers are incomprehensibly brave : http://tinyurl.com/3yxu29z the look of smiling, stunned disbelief at 00:51.
Car stacking in Toowoomba, by Mother Nature http://tinyurl.com/243z9ah
Watch the white van slam into a tree at 00:35. A man is clinging to that tree. He was rescued. http://tinyurl.com/29jquds
QLD premier Anna Bligh reveals suburbs in Brisbane will be sacrificed to preserve integrity of Wivenhoe dam (stop it overflowing)
Flash-Flooded Creek To Cars : I Will Take You, And You, And You. And That Blue Car, Too http://tinyurl.com/6dpgp29
QLD premier Anna Bligh looks stressed? Imagine being told, after the longest day of your life, "This is now a Queensland MegaDisaster."
Brisbane residents told stay in your homes, off roads, wait until announcement of your suburb being evacuated
Of the 23 SE QLD dams, 17 are overflowing after reaching maximum capacity, and three are releasing water through emergency gates
"To people of QLD, I understand the past few days have been very harrowing, but there are dark days ahead.January 12 :
"...we've seen walls of water smashing into cars & buildings....people hanging on for dear life...
"people are frightened, desperately waiting for news of their loved ones...my thoughts my sympathies are with you.
"...with floodwaters so dangerous, so swiftly moving, we have to brace ourselves for more tragedy."
Journalists nudging closer to asking PM Gillard : "Dozens of people were swept to their deaths, no warning. Who's responsible?"
In some areas of Grantham, flash flood waters rose 20 feet in less than two minutes according to resident on ABCNews24
Love the community spirit on twitter, people offering rooms and help to strangers (affected by #Qldflood). You people rock
Brisbane Lord Mayor warned in Oct. 2010 of looming repeat of 1974 floods http://tinyurl.com/4b2wgm9 'I guarantee it'.
The wreckage of Grantham, in the Lockyer Valley, smashed by an eight metre high wall of water http://bit.ly/dYxyDi
Winner of #WorldsWorstLooter. As policeman discusses looters (on news), TV news montage shows man running with wheelbarrow of gym equipment.January 13 :
No truth to Channel 9 story re crocodiles on jet skis heading down into Brisbane River to claim flooded streets of Brisbane as their own. Damn.
High rise residential towers on Brisbane River evacuating. Ferry, Riverwalk, party barge to be destroyed to save bridges
Electricity shut off across Brisbane CBD, food shortage rumours, 80,000 without power, fears of water contamination
Raw sewage in Brisbane River, police protecting supermarkets, expected 50 suburbs/40,000 homes/3000 streets affected by floodwaters.
Weird, people dropping out of timelines, suddenly quiet, as phone batteries run down, networks choke, internet access crashes in
It takes too long for newsreaders to announce what parts of Darwin, QLD, NSW, Victoria, Tas. are flooding. Just names places not flooded.January 14 :
People without power in Brisbane calling ABC612 asking for them to do time announcements, no wind up or battery clocks anymore.
Lokyer Valley hasn't had fresh water since Monday, supplies almost gone. Brisbane food shops don't know whn supplies will get thru
Blackout. 110,000 homes/business without power in Brisbane, low lying areas not expected to get power back on for min. 48 hours.
As terrible as Brisbane will look at dawn, most damage will still be underwater. When waters go Sun/Mon, full scale of destruction revealed.
Must be absolutely devastating to be a Brisbane evacuee in a shelter & 1st thing u see this morning on TV is your home flooded up to the roof.
Sssssss. Phone techs open pit for #Qldfloods repairs, find 5 of the world's most venomous snakes waiting. http://twitpic.com/3phfi9
#MegaDisaster2011 Nearly 12,000 homes in Brisbane/area flooded through. More than 2.5 million people impacted
It's only really panic buying when you're screaming continually as you try to decide between white or grain bread.
Does Kevin Costner have some kind of miraculous machine that can convert sloppy fetid flood mud into beer?
QLDPolice : 60 schools, 7 TAFEs, 19 remote teacher homes and 86 kindergartens/ child care centres damaged/closed
Two-thirds of Victoria to get 10cm of rain in next 24 hours. Incredible, this country is turning into fucking Waterworld.
RadioNational caller airs "rumours" re "armed looters" in Coopers Plain, QLD. Host says police and army in Brisbane to stop thisJanuary 15 :
Emergency workers, ADF, Coroner's office retrieving bodies in Grantham. Nighmare scenes for workers, bodies in cars, trees
Queensland police double looting penalty. Steal water, food, gas bottles = 10 years. Presumably families won't be driven to that
Surreal listening to ABC 612 as Queenslanders detail sleepless night watching water creep into thr homes. "Water goes where it wants to go"
The only official reports of looters confirmed by gov/police in Queensland floods in past few days are about six busted looting alcohol, 3 trying to take boats
20-something Queenslanders already teeth-grittingly annoyed by '74 flood veterans saying, "Yeah, but this one wasn't so bad"January 16 :
The only way to flood proof a city built on an ancient flood plain would be to rebuild Brisbane on stilts.
When will see the developers & gov. ministers responsible for building so many houses on known flood plains named & shamed?
bitumen your front lawn? http://tinyurl.com/4bsgqnk Victorian flash flood sheers off road surface, deposits it outside house.
3 metre high, 3m wide, 100m long debris pile filled with animal corpses, toxic rubbish to be "dismantled" in search for missing
I expected conspiracy sites to start linking HAARP & Australian floods, that's normal, that's what they do to keep their readers happy...
But I didn't expect to read so many journos going on about "Mother Nature's Fury", her "rage" & capitalising 'Her' as was once done for He as in God
(Pic) Man In Ankle Deep Victoria Floods Reads About People In Shoulder Deep Queensland Floods http://tinyurl.com/6c97rcn
You Can Follow Me On Twitter Here
Sunday, January 16, 2011
How Close Brisbane Came
By Darryl Mason
When the Brisbane River, swollen by floodwaters pouring down from mountain ranges and across the ancient floodplains, swollen further by a king tide surging in from the sea, finally hit its peak, it was more than one metre less than predicted. That is, far below the worst case scenario the Queensland government, emergency services and the Australian Defence Force were predicting, and were planning to respond to.
More than 20,000 Brisbane homes are believed to have been affected by the floodwaters. One more metre and the entire sprawl of houses across the centre of the below images would have gone under, along with thousands more streets of homes across Brisbane's suburbs, some to their floorboards some to their roofs. 60,000 perhaps even 80,000 homes, or more.
This was the closest of close calls.
A satellite image of Brisbane from January 13 follows. You can look around the image in greater detail for yourself, here :
And here's a Google Earth image of the normally non-flooded Brisbane :
After everything that the people of Brisbane have been through, everything the residents of hundreds of small towns & villages across Queensland have endured in the past months of what has so often been termed "biblical rains" by the news media and politicians, it seems unfathomable that the worst may be yet to come.
The land is soaked, a decade long dry sponge now squelching with water across hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. The rainy season has only just begun, the first cyclones of 2011 haven't even made landfall yet.
The Queensland government, the long range forecasters, as do the Australian Defence Forces, know full well what the worst case scenarios for "biblical" flooding could be this year, and it's a lot more Noah than what we've seen so far.
The Big Surprise will not be that this happens again in 2011, to Queensland, to Brisbane, to riverside towns, farms and villages down through New South Wales and into, across, Victoria.
The Big Surprise will be that it doesn't.
More to come....
By Darryl Mason
When the Brisbane River, swollen by floodwaters pouring down from mountain ranges and across the ancient floodplains, swollen further by a king tide surging in from the sea, finally hit its peak, it was more than one metre less than predicted. That is, far below the worst case scenario the Queensland government, emergency services and the Australian Defence Force were predicting, and were planning to respond to.
More than 20,000 Brisbane homes are believed to have been affected by the floodwaters. One more metre and the entire sprawl of houses across the centre of the below images would have gone under, along with thousands more streets of homes across Brisbane's suburbs, some to their floorboards some to their roofs. 60,000 perhaps even 80,000 homes, or more.
This was the closest of close calls.
A satellite image of Brisbane from January 13 follows. You can look around the image in greater detail for yourself, here :
And here's a Google Earth image of the normally non-flooded Brisbane :
After everything that the people of Brisbane have been through, everything the residents of hundreds of small towns & villages across Queensland have endured in the past months of what has so often been termed "biblical rains" by the news media and politicians, it seems unfathomable that the worst may be yet to come.
The land is soaked, a decade long dry sponge now squelching with water across hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. The rainy season has only just begun, the first cyclones of 2011 haven't even made landfall yet.
The Queensland government, the long range forecasters, as do the Australian Defence Forces, know full well what the worst case scenarios for "biblical" flooding could be this year, and it's a lot more Noah than what we've seen so far.
The Big Surprise will not be that this happens again in 2011, to Queensland, to Brisbane, to riverside towns, farms and villages down through New South Wales and into, across, Victoria.
The Big Surprise will be that it doesn't.
More to come....
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Secret American Life Of Kochie
Now we know where Channel 7 Sunrise host David Koch goes on all those extended vacations :
Either Kochie is lying when he says "I'm actually a bit of a homebody" and is instead secretly jetting off to the US to help The Tea Party shake the American two party system to its core, or someone who put together this piece for TruthOut used the first picture of a 'David Koch' they found on Google Images instead of a photo of the actual American billionaire.
I'm going with Kochie is a rotten lying bastard.
Spotted by @Paris_David
Now we know where Channel 7 Sunrise host David Koch goes on all those extended vacations :
Either Kochie is lying when he says "I'm actually a bit of a homebody" and is instead secretly jetting off to the US to help The Tea Party shake the American two party system to its core, or someone who put together this piece for TruthOut used the first picture of a 'David Koch' they found on Google Images instead of a photo of the actual American billionaire.
I'm going with Kochie is a rotten lying bastard.
Spotted by @Paris_David
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Brisbane Is Being Evacuated
"I'm So Glad I Parked Out The Front Today"
Floodwaters are now entering Brisbane's CBD, and according to locals on Twitter, are rising rapidly.
More than 32 suburbs of Brisbane are now being inundated, office buildings in the city are being evacuated, roads are filling rapidly, with both cars and floodwaters. Some evacuation centres are also reportedly under water. At 1.30m, the emergency message to the people of Brisbane was to stay in their homes, off the roads, until they hear announcement that their suburb is being evacuated.
ABC News : City Under Siege
Incredible. Traffic cam of flooding on Ipswitch Highway :
update : just found out the above is mostly roadworks.
Some evacuating Brisbane are driving on clogged roads that are now also starting to flood.
The biggest king tides of the year are expected to sweep into the Brisbane River tonight.
The worst of the Brisbane City flooding is not expected to peak until tomorrow afternoon.
More footage from the Toowoomba flash flood yesterday, that may have claimed the lives of more than 6 people.
When you hear people on radio describe floodwaters that rose a metre in a handful of seconds, it's hard to imagine what that must be like to see.
Imagine no more.
Watch the white car hit the bridge at 3:00, get sucked under and shot out the other side.
"I'm So Glad I Parked Out The Front Today"
Floodwaters are now entering Brisbane's CBD, and according to locals on Twitter, are rising rapidly.
More than 32 suburbs of Brisbane are now being inundated, office buildings in the city are being evacuated, roads are filling rapidly, with both cars and floodwaters. Some evacuation centres are also reportedly under water. At 1.30m, the emergency message to the people of Brisbane was to stay in their homes, off the roads, until they hear announcement that their suburb is being evacuated.
ABC News : City Under Siege
Incredible. Traffic cam of flooding on Ipswitch Highway :
update : just found out the above is mostly roadworks.
Some evacuating Brisbane are driving on clogged roads that are now also starting to flood.
The biggest king tides of the year are expected to sweep into the Brisbane River tonight.
The worst of the Brisbane City flooding is not expected to peak until tomorrow afternoon.
More footage from the Toowoomba flash flood yesterday, that may have claimed the lives of more than 6 people.
When you hear people on radio describe floodwaters that rose a metre in a handful of seconds, it's hard to imagine what that must be like to see.
Imagine no more.
Watch the white car hit the bridge at 3:00, get sucked under and shot out the other side.
Just Replace 'Plague Of Blood' With 'Feral Pigs'
According to the Daily Telegraph, this will be NSW in 2011
Okay, I've heard some pretty wild predictions about what the results of rapid climate change might be from the likes of Tim Flannery & ABC's Robyn Williams, but I've never seen even the most apocalyptically-fixated warmitarian fear monger claim the people of New South Wales, in 2011, will suffer "the same fate" as Egypt under the alleged 10 biblical plagues.
The Daily Telegraph, of course :
Fuck! NSW is going to suffer plagues of Blood? Of Frogs? Of Gnats, Wildbeasts, Pestillence, Boils, Hail, Locusts, plagues of Darkness & plagues of Dead Firstborns? All in just one year?
Well, not quite.
The Daily Telegraph has its own version of the plagues detailed in the Book of Exodus :
That's when you get rabbits on feral pigs hurling cockroach encrusted bluebottles at fleeing humans.
It could happen.
Maybe.
However, the story does offer up is this all too real and vomitous reality, for night-time wearers of lip gloss and ice-cream dribblers :
It's probably best not to know.
According to the Daily Telegraph, this will be NSW in 2011
Okay, I've heard some pretty wild predictions about what the results of rapid climate change might be from the likes of Tim Flannery & ABC's Robyn Williams, but I've never seen even the most apocalyptically-fixated warmitarian fear monger claim the people of New South Wales, in 2011, will suffer "the same fate" as Egypt under the alleged 10 biblical plagues.
The Daily Telegraph, of course :
Fuck! NSW is going to suffer plagues of Blood? Of Frogs? Of Gnats, Wildbeasts, Pestillence, Boils, Hail, Locusts, plagues of Darkness & plagues of Dead Firstborns? All in just one year?
Well, not quite.
The Daily Telegraph has its own version of the plagues detailed in the Book of Exodus :
"Rabbits, mice, feral pigs...snakes. locusts, ticks, cockroaches, sandflies, mosquitoes, bluebottles."Where it gets really freaky is when you get them crossover plagues, where a few ramp up at the same time, and start mingling.
That's when you get rabbits on feral pigs hurling cockroach encrusted bluebottles at fleeing humans.
It could happen.
Maybe.
However, the story does offer up is this all too real and vomitous reality, for night-time wearers of lip gloss and ice-cream dribblers :
...he issued a special warning for women who wear the flavoured varieties to bed.
"They can smell the flavours and to them it's just food."
Cockroaches like to lick and nibble human lips in the dark of night, depending on what your lips smell like.
Remember, the deeper you sleep, the less likely you are to hear those tiny little lapping noises, coming from just below your nose.It's probably best not to know.
Monday, January 10, 2011
"An Instant Inland Tsunami"
Queenslanders Told To Prepare For Ongoing Flood Emergencies That Could Last "Weeks, Months"
This is the usually calm, sun baked Queensland city of Toowoomba :
This is Toowoomba in the middle of what a police spokesman called "an instant inland tsunami" :
Yesterday afternoon, the central business district of Toowoomba as was as busy as it usually gets on a Monday. Rain began to fall, some took shelter under shopfronts to wait it out, others climbed into their cars with their kids and shopping and expected a delayed trip home.
Then the rain hammered down. Minutes later, a waist-high wall of water swept through the city centre. Nobody knew it was coming. Nobody could prepare for it. Those caught in it hung on to whatever they could, walls, trees, each other.
Within an hour of the rain beginning, the flood was gone, and shocked survivors climbed out of their battered cars, and exited shops and offices rivering water to stare in disbelief at the devastation.
At least ten people (confirmed so far) are dead from the Toowoomba flash flood.
It ripped children from their parents arms and crashed through the front doors of homes and dragged people out into the churning streets.
Watch the white van at 00:32. A man clings desperately to the tree the van is slammed into. He was later rescued.
ABC News :
The aftermath :
Cars are Mother Nature's play toys. She will toss them around as she pleases.
The Toowoomba Chronicle :
Queensland's capital Brisbane will be hit by floodwaters starting Tuesday.
At least four more days of heavy rain are expected over the city, and local suburbs.
Dozens of south east Queensland towns and villages are being evacuated, an unknown number of people are spending the night on the roofs of their houses, hundreds of kilometres of road have been washed away, the premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, has announced the food crops & coal production losses due the weeks of flooding across the state will impact world markets.
Bligh said after weeks of flooding, Queensland was "desperate".
A photo gallery of surreally beautiful evening images of the empty, flooded Queensland city of Rockhampton.
Toowoomba, shortly after 1pm Monday :
UPDATE : The Brisbane Times :
Queenslanders Told To Prepare For Ongoing Flood Emergencies That Could Last "Weeks, Months"
This is the usually calm, sun baked Queensland city of Toowoomba :
This is Toowoomba in the middle of what a police spokesman called "an instant inland tsunami" :
Yesterday afternoon, the central business district of Toowoomba as was as busy as it usually gets on a Monday. Rain began to fall, some took shelter under shopfronts to wait it out, others climbed into their cars with their kids and shopping and expected a delayed trip home.
Then the rain hammered down. Minutes later, a waist-high wall of water swept through the city centre. Nobody knew it was coming. Nobody could prepare for it. Those caught in it hung on to whatever they could, walls, trees, each other.
Within an hour of the rain beginning, the flood was gone, and shocked survivors climbed out of their battered cars, and exited shops and offices rivering water to stare in disbelief at the devastation.
At least ten people (confirmed so far) are dead from the Toowoomba flash flood.
It ripped children from their parents arms and crashed through the front doors of homes and dragged people out into the churning streets.
Watch the white van at 00:32. A man clings desperately to the tree the van is slammed into. He was later rescued.
ABC News :
Resident Joanne Kruger says it was like being in a disaster movie.Water, and even water tanks."It was like the tide had come in dramatically, like rolling waves across the road," she said.
------------
People were stranded on roofs in Grantham, near Gatton, where residents say the water rose about a metre every few seconds."As far as the eye can see north, south, east and west is just water," one local resident said.
The aftermath :
Cars are Mother Nature's play toys. She will toss them around as she pleases.
The Toowoomba Chronicle :
(QLD premier Anna Bligh) said the waters had hit the communities at "lightning speed"."Mother Nature has unleashed something shocking..."
As an example, the premier said the river at Gatton, east of Toowoomba, had risen 9 metres in the course of the afternoon.
The Courier Mail :
The Brisbane Times :Through Toowoomba city and down to the Lockyer Valley, the torrent washed houses off their stumps and snapped 4m-high trees at the base of their trunks.
Video footage showed families scrambling desperately to get out of their cars as they were washed away in a sea of water.
Landslides and the wild water picked up cars and tossed them into trees, turning the vehicles some with people still inside into missiles.
People cowered on their roofs and pleaded to be rescued as the water engulfed homes.
As of late Monday night, up to 50 people are still reported as missing."It only takes 15 centimetres of fast flowing water to sweep a person off their feet and into a flooded waterway..."
"It only takes 60 centimetres of floodwater to push a four-wheel drive off the road. "People underestimate the danger of these waters...
Queensland's capital Brisbane will be hit by floodwaters starting Tuesday.
At least four more days of heavy rain are expected over the city, and local suburbs.
Dozens of south east Queensland towns and villages are being evacuated, an unknown number of people are spending the night on the roofs of their houses, hundreds of kilometres of road have been washed away, the premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, has announced the food crops & coal production losses due the weeks of flooding across the state will impact world markets.
Bligh said after weeks of flooding, Queensland was "desperate".
A photo gallery of surreally beautiful evening images of the empty, flooded Queensland city of Rockhampton.
Toowoomba, shortly after 1pm Monday :
UPDATE : The Brisbane Times :
Queenslanders are being warned to prepare for emergencies as unprecedented floods threaten much of the state.Residents have been told they may need to fall back on their emergency kits in "coming days, weeks and months"...
"This is a very uncertain time for Queensland residents, and even if you don't experience flooding today, it pays to be prepared for the coming days, weeks and months."
"Emergency kits should contain essential supplies of non-perishable foods and water, clothing, medications, torches and batteries, a battery-operated radio and pet supplies."
Headlines from ABC News :
- Brisbane Valley 'inland sea' isolates towns
- Theodore residents 'suffered heartbreaking loss'
- Emerald pleads for government help for flood recovery
- Farmers return to flood devastated land (audio)
- Toowoomba dams filling fast
- Prepare for illness after floods: AMAQ
- Rain dampens cane growers expectations for 2011
The rain keeps falling.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Australian journalist John Pilger in interview for his revelatory, truth-telling new movie 'The War You Don't See' :
A short collection of clips from the movie about the government lies the mainstream media pumps out, decade in and decade out, to mindwash people into believing war is not only, repeatedly, necessary, but utterly patriotic :
'The War You Don't See' doesn't have an Australian cinema or TV airing release date, which seems strange. Surely the million or so Australians who marched against the War On Iraq in 2003 would be exactly the kind of audience who'd want to see a movie like this.
Plus the millions more who have since learned the truth of the Australian government & Murdoch media lies, myths and deceptions about the Iraq & Afghanistan wars over the past seven years.
A short collection of clips from the movie about the government lies the mainstream media pumps out, decade in and decade out, to mindwash people into believing war is not only, repeatedly, necessary, but utterly patriotic :
'The War You Don't See' doesn't have an Australian cinema or TV airing release date, which seems strange. Surely the million or so Australians who marched against the War On Iraq in 2003 would be exactly the kind of audience who'd want to see a movie like this.
Plus the millions more who have since learned the truth of the Australian government & Murdoch media lies, myths and deceptions about the Iraq & Afghanistan wars over the past seven years.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Spooking The Spooks
Very interesting. Seemingly out of the blue, but long overdue :
Budget cutbacks are obviously on the cards. The intelligence agencies have to prove, presumably, they are vital, useful and cannot afford to have their budgets and staff numbers cut. But how will they go about convincing the Gillard government?
One to watch.
Very interesting. Seemingly out of the blue, but long overdue :
Check the incredible growth of Australia's six (official) intelligence agencies since September 11, 2001 :The ballooning powers and funding of Australia's spy agencies will be interrogated for the first time in six years, with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announcing an independent review of their role.
"The review will ensure Australia continues to have a well-coordinated, appropriately resourced and adaptable intelligence system that supports our national interests," Ms Gillard said.
...ASIO has undergone a 535 per cent increase to its funding since 2001...its budget appropriations have grown from $69 million to over half a billion annually since 2001.
The Full Story Is Here...ASIS and ONA have experienced growth rates of, respectively, 344 per cent and 443 per cent.
Budget cutbacks are obviously on the cards. The intelligence agencies have to prove, presumably, they are vital, useful and cannot afford to have their budgets and staff numbers cut. But how will they go about convincing the Gillard government?
One to watch.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
This Is Serious, Mum
UPDATE : Julian Assange has been freed on bail, but with some incredibly restrictive conditions :
UPDATE : Correction. Julian Assange has not been freed on bail. He has been returned to solitary confinement at Wandsworth Prison while British and Swedish prosecutors plot to keep him behind bars until the extradition hearing scheduled for February.
Previously...
Julian Assange is probably the most famous man in the world right now. Surely the most famous journalist. And isn't it good to see someone reaching such a level of prominence for speaking the truth and trying to educate the public, instead of only getting so much media attention because of some sex scandal...oh, right.
Assange has had his life and his son's life threatened. American politicians have called for his execution. He has been accused of being a terrorist. Incredibly, a new term has entered the vocabulary of some politicians and media commentators. "Information terrorism." Assange is an InfoTerrorist. Think about that for a moment.
Distributing Truth Is Now Terrorism.
Assange, at the time of this posting, is in a London court to find out if he will be granted bail, after turning himself into police for questioning over charges he faces in Sweden for "sex by surprise." He has offered to wear an ankle monitoring device, and bail sureties numbering in the tens of thousands of pounds have been offered by journalist John Pilger and documentary maker Michael Moore.
It's interesting that the hammer really came down on Assange within hours of his announcement that he had documents exposing corruption in one of the United States' biggest banks and he was preparing its New Year release.
If he is set free today, Assange will be straight back into preparing that release.
Julian Assange's mum flew to London to see her son. She was refused entry to Wandsworth prison and offered only a 10 minute phone call instead.
Her story:
The Sunshine Coast Daily has a reporter 'embedded' with Julian Assange's mum in London, while her son faces court, and probable further, suspicious, detention. Assange used the phone call with his mother to issue a statement to supporters :
David Frost interviews Assange's lawyer, who warns the United States may be preparing a grand jury investigation, and may seek to extradite him to the US :
Michael Moore :
This is a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, prepared by The Walkleys Foundation, and signed by dozens of prominent journalists, radio news producers and newspaper editors :
The Guardian has one of the best daily blogs on Wikileaks-related news. Hopefully the focus will soon shift back to the important, history redefining revelations of the diplomatic cables themselves, and away from Julian Assange.
UPDATE : Julian Assange has been freed on bail, but with some incredibly restrictive conditions :
£200,000 in security, surety from two people, a curfew, daily reporting to police and surrender of his passport.Good round up today's events in London, and background on the charges Assange still faces here.
UPDATE : Correction. Julian Assange has not been freed on bail. He has been returned to solitary confinement at Wandsworth Prison while British and Swedish prosecutors plot to keep him behind bars until the extradition hearing scheduled for February.
Previously...
Julian Assange is probably the most famous man in the world right now. Surely the most famous journalist. And isn't it good to see someone reaching such a level of prominence for speaking the truth and trying to educate the public, instead of only getting so much media attention because of some sex scandal...oh, right.
Assange has had his life and his son's life threatened. American politicians have called for his execution. He has been accused of being a terrorist. Incredibly, a new term has entered the vocabulary of some politicians and media commentators. "Information terrorism." Assange is an InfoTerrorist. Think about that for a moment.
Distributing Truth Is Now Terrorism.
Assange, at the time of this posting, is in a London court to find out if he will be granted bail, after turning himself into police for questioning over charges he faces in Sweden for "sex by surprise." He has offered to wear an ankle monitoring device, and bail sureties numbering in the tens of thousands of pounds have been offered by journalist John Pilger and documentary maker Michael Moore.
It's interesting that the hammer really came down on Assange within hours of his announcement that he had documents exposing corruption in one of the United States' biggest banks and he was preparing its New Year release.
If he is set free today, Assange will be straight back into preparing that release.
Julian Assange's mum flew to London to see her son. She was refused entry to Wandsworth prison and offered only a 10 minute phone call instead.
Her story:
The Sunshine Coast Daily has a reporter 'embedded' with Julian Assange's mum in London, while her son faces court, and probable further, suspicious, detention. Assange used the phone call with his mother to issue a statement to supporters :
“My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have always expressed.’Assange said his cell was under 24 CCTV monitoring due to fears of an assassination attempt.
“These circumstances shall not shake them. If anything, this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct.“We now know that Visa, Mastercard and Paypal are instruments of US foreign policy. It’s not something we knew before.
“I am calling on the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral acts.”
David Frost interviews Assange's lawyer, who warns the United States may be preparing a grand jury investigation, and may seek to extradite him to the US :
Michael Moore :
WikiLeaks exists, in part, because the mainstream media has failed to live up to its responsibility. The corporate owners have decimated newsrooms, making it impossible for good journalists to do their job. There's no time or money anymore for investigative journalism. Simply put, investors don't want those stories exposed. They like their secrets kept ... as secrets.Fellow Australian journalist John Pilger :
"That mindset that only authority can really determine the 'truth' on the news, that's a form of embedding that really now has to change.
"There's no question about the pressure on it to change coming from the internet and coming from WikiLeaks -- it will change.
"Authority has its place, but the skepticism about authority must be ingrained in people."
This is a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, prepared by The Walkleys Foundation, and signed by dozens of prominent journalists, radio news producers and newspaper editors :
Dear Prime Minister,
STATEMENT FROM AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER EDITORS, TELEVISION AND RADIO DIRECTORS AND ONLINE MEDIA EDITORS
The leaking of 250,000 confidential American diplomatic cables is the most astonishing leak of official information in recent history, and its full implications are yet to emerge. But some things are clear. In essence, WikiLeaks, an organisation that aims to expose official secrets, is doing what the media have always done: bringing to light material that governments would prefer to keep secret.
In this case, WikiLeaks, founded by Australian Julian Assange, worked with five major newspapers around the world, which published and analysed the embassy cables. Diplomatic correspondence relating to Australia has begun to be published here.
The volume of the leaks is unprecedented, yet the leaking and publication of diplomatic correspondence is not new. We, as editors and news directors of major media organisations, believe the reaction of the US and Australian governments to date has been deeply troubling. We will strongly resist any attempts to make the publication of these or similar documents illegal. Any such action would impact not only on WikiLeaks, but every media organisation in the world that aims to inform the public about decisions made on their behalf. WikiLeaks, just four years old, is part of the media and deserves our support.
Already, the chairman of the US Senate homeland security committee, Joe Lieberman, is suggesting The New York Times should face investigation for publishing some of the documents. The newspaper told its readers that it had ‘‘taken care to exclude, in its articles and in supplementary material, in print and online, information that would endanger confidential informants or compromise national security.’’ Such an approach is responsible — we do not support the publication of material that threatens national security or anything which would put individual lives in danger. Those judgements are never easy, but there has been no evidence to date that the WikiLeaks material has done either.
There is no evidence, either, that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have broken any Australian law. The Australian government is investigating whether Mr Assange has committed an offence, and the Prime Minister has condemned WikiLeaks’ actions as ‘‘illegal’’. So far, it has been able to point to no Australian law that has been breached.
To prosecute a media organisation for publishing a leak would be unprecedented in the US, breaching the First Amendment protecting a free press. In Australia, it would seriously curtail Australian media organisations reporting on subjects the government decides are against its interests.
WikiLeaks has no doubt made errors. But many of its revelations have been significant. It has given citizens an insight into US thinking about some of the most complex foreign policy issues of our age, including North Korea, Iran and China.
It is the media’s duty to responsibly report such material if it comes into their possession. To aggressively attempt to shut WikiLeaks down, to threaten to prosecute those who publish official leaks, and to pressure companies to cease doing commercial business with WikiLeaks, is a serious threat to democracy, which relies on a free and fearless press.
See the full list of who signed the letter here.
Finally, here's some interesting thoughts from Julian Assange on privacy, in 1994 :''Privacy is relative. 'We run perhaps the most private multi-user computer system in the country. Nearly every piece of information can be obtained, depending on how many resources and/or time you want to expend obtaining it. I could monitor your keystrokes, intercept your phone and bug your residence. If I could be bothered.
''As one who's has [sic] one's life monitored pretty closely, you quickly come to the realisation that trying to achieve complete privacy is impossible, and the best you can hope for is damage control and risk minimisation.''
The Guardian has one of the best daily blogs on Wikileaks-related news. Hopefully the focus will soon shift back to the important, history redefining revelations of the diplomatic cables themselves, and away from Julian Assange.
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