No more coal power, says NASA

No more coal power, says NASA: "'There should be a moratorium on building any more coal-fired power plants until the technology to capture and sequester the (carbon dioxide emissions) is available,' said James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies."

There speaks a scientist. Oh hoorah!!!

Bogged tourists spark major alert

Bogged tourists spark major alert: "'Tasmania Police would like to remind the public that EPIRB distress beacons are for matters of distress when there is a serious risk to life.'"

I think tourists need these sorts of things explained to them on the plane over. We are a massive country and it is hard ot imagine how some people feel when they come here, especially when they hear about sharks, crocodiles, death dealing spiders and snakes... The Swiss tourists were probably terrified and did what they thought was reasonable not realising what a distress beacon means in terms of what we will activate. 5 km from a sealed road sounds funny to us, but to them they were probably in the most dire of situations. We need to get some things clearer, I guess, and as it turns out no harm was done. We don't understand how frightened some people can be of our country because of the things they hear.

SA Govt rejects nuclear power plant

SA Govt rejects nuclear power plant proposal. : "South Australian Premier Mike Rann is rejecting a proposal for a nuclear power plant to be built in his state."

Thank you. We have got ahead of the other states in pioneering and committing to renewable energy and I think that is a great direction for us to keep. It keeps pollution and carbon emissions down and we are a decent size to trouble shoot with renewable energy so that there is something practical to offer the rest of the country. Taking our focus off that would be inadvisable given the state of global warming. What's the life of nuclear energy and at what cost??

Businesses urged to cut e-waste

Businesses urged to cut e-waste on clean-up day. : "Clean-up Australia chairman Ian Kiernan says electronic waste is being sent to landfill at three times the rate of general waste.

Mr Kiernan says legislation is needed to oblige manufacturers to collect and recycle e-waste products."

Talking about it is going to get the ball rolling. We all need to do something and it's not something we need to feel bad about. We have had a flurry of activity for the last 10 years trying to implement technology in our homes and workplaces. It has been coming at us thick and fast and we have all been through a J learnign curve. It's a good sign we are NOTICING the heap of technological junk which is replaces so frequently. We are getting into ourstride so yes, now is the time to make the clean up and recycling of e-waste easy. No one has made that a normal part of living. We need a plan and some avenues of logical disposal. It needs to be built into our lifestyle like other recycling.

Self Help Myths

Seven Biggest Self Help Myths: "In 2006, Australians forked out more than $50 million on 'health and hygiene' and 'psychology' titles, according to Nielsen BookScan, not to mention the millions spent on DVDs, motivational seminars and life coaches."

Tends to suggest we feel insecure. Tends to suggest we need help. Tends to suggest we think there's an answer out there and tends to suggest our lifestyle is severely lacking in the qualities which nurture us! This article analyses and quantifies the trend pretty well. We are being trained to be externals rather than internals. We are trained byour nanny society that we are not responsible, that it's not our fault, that we are not masters of our own destiny and then.....there is someone or something that can help us. The quick fix. In 10 days we can make it all happen. Revolution and not evolution. There are some good self help books out there and there is a lot of rubbish. No one thing has the answer. It's about developing an approach, a lifestyle which is self sustaining and nurturing. We are part of a whole. We are connected but while there is this insistence we are powerless except for this magical approach or leader, and the constant message we are so stupid we cannot even think to know how we can be in control...well, it's all about the individual getting a bigger bang for their buck out of us. So... think, people, think. Surround yourself with the things and people who make you feel well.

Labour proposes clean coal fund

Labour proposes clean coal fund: "'We have an overwhelming national imperative at stake here - how do we place long-term coal exports on a secure long-term footing and the challenges which are emerging in terms of the climate change debate globally, and hostility around the world in terms of carbon emissions going forward,' Mr Rudd said."

Put the money into renewable energy. It means we generate and regenerate. It means we are not going underground. It means we are not polluting in any way , shape or form. Coal is so last millennium.

Sudanese women want to go home

AdelaideNow... Sudanese women want to go home: "'They don't listen to the parents and if you threaten the children, they say they will call the police,' she said.

'Boys are not taking any notice of men and even girls are now starting to move out of the house at 15 or 16; in Africa there was not much freedom.'"

I have always been in awe of Sudanese parents. They just look at their children and there is a sense of control. Nothing hostile. Nothing aggressive. Just a look. If their children have come here and learned to abuse their parents...what have we offered them and what have they learned? Disrespect. I am very embarrassed that this is what they have gained from coming to Australia.

Cheney absolutely clear about Labor's Iraq policy: Rudd.

Cheney absolutely clear about Labor's Iraq policy: Rudd. : "During his visit, Mr Cheney said if Australia withdrew combat troops from Iraq he would be disappointed, but it would not damage the alliance."

I should hope not. We have worked with the Americans on different things for years. We have worked with other countries too. Friendships respect the integrity of the other. We have to be able to make our own decisions that we believe to be right or it is not a friendship. We have to be able to speak our minds or it is not a friendship. No one who tells me what to think and how to behave is my friend, and yes, I will stand alongside them and be loyal to them. That is my decision, though, and when I cannot do that I say. We are not a big country in terms of numbers and money and there is unrest in the South Pacific. We have to be able to look after ourselves and our area.

UK lobbying to join missile defence

UK lobbying to join missile defence: "US plans to put a radar system in the Czech Republic and a missile battery in Poland have already caused tension with Moscow which sees the plan as a threat to its national security."

We want peace but with all this ironmongery going in all over the place you can see that the US feels threatened and is creating all this military approach all over the world to protect itself. We want peace. Why do they feel so threatened because if the stuff is there it will get used. I am sick and tired of leaders taking peace out of our hands and shoving their destructive toys everywhere. We'll pay dearly for it because we just keep accepting it. The US really needs to look at why it feels so insecure and heaven only knows there are plenty of Americans trying to get some sense into their heads of state. They are trying their darnest to restore sanity and peace. I admire them for that because our leaders are completely on another planet, another path and another time warp.

Aboriginal leaders stage protest

Aboriginal leaders stage protest at London museum over ancestral remains. : "The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) is taking legal action in the British High Court for the immediate return of its ancestral remains, but the case has been adjourned until March 7 to allow the judge time to consider the evidence."

This is awful. This is so cruel. These remains are their people and their ancestors. They have been treated as though they are objects. This is their family. The Aboriginal Elders must be feeling so sad, but so very strong because protesting is not part of how they do things. They have asked and asked for these remains. They have followed the correct protocols ( not that they should have to...these are their people!) and it appeared to have been resolved. It's revolting how shabbily we treat some people on this planet.

NZ fishermen haul in '450kg' squid.

NZ fishermen haul in '450kg' squid. : "Local media said early estimates put the squid at 10 metres in length and weighing 450 kilograms, which is 150 kilograms heavier than the next biggest specimen found."

That is a big squid!! They worked for 2 hours to get the squid onto the boat with as little damage as possible. I bet it looks disgusting! 10 metres is a big squid and these can be 12-14 metres. It will be preserved and studied...rather them than me, but it's astounding all the same.

Fraudster protests jail term up 22-metre pole.

Fraudster protests jail term up 22-metre pole. : "'I've been unfairly judged', he told Reuters from his perch in the village of Werben by telephone."

Maybe so and the system will grind through its machinations and sort it all out...again. At least he has the right to protest after being sentenced to gaol. It reminds me of when my brother's twins were young and had broken some very expensive equipment in one of their twin forays through his home. They were 3 or 4. They climbed up a big tree to get away from him. Higher and higher. He climbed up and got one of them down, but the other just climbed higher. He knew his Dad was going to be cross...but he didn't realise his Dad was fearing for the little boy's health and welfare and the broken things were nothing compared with that. My brother got a book and sat at the bottom of the tree. "Are you coming down yet? " "No." It went on and on as his wife looked on . He sat at the bottom of the tree and got cold but waited and waited. When it was getting dark, there was a little voice. "Dad..." They were in New Zealand and in a small community you can mobilise help very quickly and without a fuss. A cherry picker appeared, a safety net was put out...my brother climbed as high as he could to steady his little man emotionally...and he was brought indoors to a warm bath. A week later the two boys were sat down and talked through a process of justice for what they had done .

Never too hot for school

Never too hot for school : "Twins Maddison and Jessica Billington attend the school and when they suffered nosebleeds, their mother measured the temperature inside."

I went to school here with no air conditioning and yes, I survived. It's insane. It's worse for the kids these days because just about everyone has air conditioning, shops are airconditioned and children grow up in a regulated climate. Classrooms of 46 are too hot but I thought schools sent children home if it got too hot if they were not air conditioned? If kids were used to it, it wouldnt' be such a problem but they have pools, showers, air conditoners and so they have not learned to look after themselves in the heat. It's not at all reasonable in 2007 and I bet the decision makers are sitting in lovely air conditioned offices.

P-plater's parents beg forgiveness

P-plater's parents beg forgiveness for son : "His parents said their hearts ached for the men's families."

This is very kind of the parents . Their son was 19 and he killed two men last Friday by driving on the wrong side of the road. Their loss is great. But the son did this. They are not responsible nor should they take responsibility. It is time for 19 year olds to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. The parents must be beside themselves and the families of the other men must be horrified and so sad. At some stage we need people who take responsibility for their actions and we seem to have lost touch with that aspect of socialisation. When they finish their investigations they will probably discover again that this could have been avoided. I really do think we need to front up to this and fix it.

Blair dashes hopes of speedy exit

Thousands of troops to stay in Iraq as Blair dashes hopes of speedy exit: "But the Prime Minister dashed hopes of a swift and comprehensive withdrawal, telling MPs: 'The UK military presence will continue into 2008, for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do.'"

I thought he was resigning? Truly, the three of them just keep throwing lives and money away. Their way hasn't worked. We need a change.

Struggling Coles puts itself up for sale

Struggling Coles puts itself up for sale : "He said the rebadging of the discount Bi-Lo stores to Coles had not achieved the earnings and sales uplift that had been envisaged."

Indeed. We are watching Australian companies go up the spout and out the window. The economic management of our successful companies in these so called prosperous times has led to us watching our familiar names collapse around us and be led and run by overseas interests. I am sure this will really help us. Taking away Bi Lo meant we saw quite clearly what was occuring. Suddenly we had no choice. Many of us chose Bi Lo . It was really annoying to find out we couldn't chose and where ever we go there is Coles or Woolworths. We are confronted by non choice on a daily basis and the worst thing is our shelves are being filled with names we do not recognise or we know are not ours. So we are getting angry. Economic management has led us to a non country. We are watching local stuff that we grew up on disappear and suddenly we are expected to endorse things we do not like. If Coles is collapsing it's because we are tired of 700 choices of milk, the brands we want being hidden away or right down the bottom where we cannot see them...I ask. We have had so many brand changes and so many things become so different. We are getting people free check outs and that means job loss. We are getting the same thing everywhere and SA has thrived on choice. You cannot get the yoghurt you want, the cheese choices are diminishing. Soon we shall look at our shelves and it will be one brand. It is just nonsense but it is also playing us for fools. Coles used to be where you went to get vaiety and something different as well as the staples. Bi Lo was always about being price conscious and keeping it simple. We are not a bit happy.

Woman dragged by taxi recovering

Woman dragged by taxi recovering : "A woman has suffering critical injuries after being dragged 150m under a Sydney taxi is recovering in hospital."

I hope the woman will be okay because this is horrifying and so cruel. I saw it happen to a dog on our street and the driver kept sriving and we were horrified and the young lad who owned it was screaming down the street and still the sriver drove on. Somehow the dog freed itself and the young owner cared for it and nursed him back to health. It was very touching. After a trip to the vet he came home without his tail. It was awful , so the woman would have been traumatised and if anyone would have seen it they too will be so upset. I hope she is okay.

School claims face-painting record

School claims face-painting record : "Five teachers decorated 500 faces, smashing the old record of 406 and raising funds for the Cerebral Palsy League."

Well, I hope this record is validated by the Guiness Book of Records. It was a great fund raiser for cerebral palsey. The children and staff have put in a team effort to help themselves, others and achieve a big goal. I hope we see some pictures of the facepainting from Craigslea State School.

Plan to give old light bulbs the flick

Plan to give old light bulbs the flick : "A Howard government plan to phase out Australia's 87 million standard light bulbs has received widespread support from environmentalists, energy groups and even the opposition."

Good!! I have been using them for at least 15 years and have been considered an oddball and yet my energy bill is lower than anyone else's and I keep telling them and they see me as odd!! I replaced every globe in my home over two years. They rarely "blow" so the cost is well worth it and they pay for themselves immediately. I just think people have been slack! Incandescent globes are a total waste of energy and money. Now , more than every they should be banned. I am now planning solar lights for the garden.

Computer games 'burn up calories'

Computer games 'burn up calories': "Lead researcher Professor Tim Cable said: 'Through our testing it is clear that the motion sensor-controlled console can make an impact on a child's heart rate, energy expenditure and the amount of calories burned."

These are the new style computer games and it shows we can make significant changes if we want to. At least they are studying the effect ofthese games and at least the games market has reacted very quickly to the notion that they are causing children to sit still. The new games encourage more physical output and so can become a part of a fitness routine which people can enjoy without guilt. That's thinking!!! Well done!

Australia Post - Postcode Search

Australia Post - Postcode Search: "Enquiries for locations where a postcode cannot be found can be made by calling 13 13 17"

Sorry, I am being a bit self indulgent here but I might also be helping you too. I go nuts trying to find postcodes these days and as if I am going to lug that bloomin' phone book out to look them up. I used to have a nice wee booklet but that's vanished along with my snail mail...fso here is the post code site and I won't have to keep looking it up. It's now boomarked here and in my favourites!!

Google Inside

Google Inside: "A special happy Valentine’s Day from Google….but wait, Google or Googe?"

This is a well thought out blog with plenty of inside information about the workings of Google. I just cracked up, though, when I saw the unmistakeable Google logo with the beautiful chocolate strawberry for Valentine's Day....and it does read Googe!! Classic and I guess Google is big enough to weather this and it's nice we can actually poke fun at them. Google Inside is actually very easy on the eye. I like the design of the site and it is very easy to access the information you want. There is a good aesthetic sense so even though it might be a bit of a geek site...it's geek chic, that's for sure. It's a site to help you with Googlery like Adsense and Google changes. It keeps you up to date on the Google news, but as it does that it amuses and diverts you too so you do not feel swamped by information. Some nice art work, nice You Tube trips, a laugh or two and then some very functional, notional stuff which makes it a valid and valuable practical site.

Comme Une Image

Cannes Film Festival: "This is the story of Lolita Cassard, a young woman of twenty years who has it in for the entire world because she doesn't look like the girls in glossy magazines, who doesn't look a thing like her young mother-in-law, and who would so much like to feel beautiful, at least in her father's eyes, if only her father's eyes could find her."

Comme une Image/Look at Me is a lovely little film which diverts and draws you into its world in a very easy way. It won the 2004 screenplay award and you understand why. It's a delight and you attach yourself to the characters and how they develop through out the film. The singing you hear is very moving and the film turns about the significance of one of the songs. It is not a musical. Marylou Berry is the young girl with no self esteem but a wonderful voice. Agnes Jaoui directed and acted in it and has produced a film which gets into your heart. Jean-Pierre Bacri is wonderful as the father but every actor has carefully deveolped his or her role so that the film becomes so real and so engaging. This young girl could be any young girl trying to find herself and accept her wonderful talent. It's a quiet film. No riotous assembly here but so charming.

Organ donor Awareness Week

Organ donation rates still too low. : "Today marks the start of Organ Donor Awareness week and Australia continues to have one of the lowest donation rates in the world despite being a world leader in organ transplant surgery."

I know it is a very difficult thing to confront and I have blogged about organ donation before. Thinking about donating your bits when you are alive is actually difficult. It can also be traumatic for the ones who are left when you go. So I have told people I am happy to donate whatever might be useful to the living but they need to decide because it can be bad enough losing someone without thinking about their being cut up. There have been some pretty insensitive hospital cases with regard to this. That, in itself, should not stop you. I do not believe I shall need my bits when I am gone and if they can help someone else I am happy for that. Hospitals need to ensure that the living feel comfortable with it all because, bottom line, people would like to see others live. The waiting lists are sad. We have had a local lady die because she couldn't get the second transplant she needed. That's the other reality. Sometimes the transplants only last a while. She couldn't breathe any more and her new husband had to let her go. That's sad. Cystic fibrosis is one of those diseases we all know but the reality of it doesn't really hit home unless you know someone. These people can live relatively well and then they have to have a transplant. If nothing else this week we should look at the hopsital practices to reassure people it is done sensitively. We should talk about it and we should look at the people who have survived and renewed their lives because of the gift of an organ. In many ways I think it would help to connect the families of those who give and those who receive. I can imagine it would be tricky. It needs to be judged and a period of time needs to pass...but I am certain that putting a human face on it all would make it more real to us all.

Cystic Fibrosis in Australia

Teacher in trouble over meth maths question

Teacher in trouble over meth maths question : "Local news reports said the principal at Moriarty High School in New Mexico believes the teacher 'made a misjudgment' when he posed this question to his students:"

This seems to be without context.Obviously not your usual ditch diggers, cows and sheep, a's and b's and the usual twaddle in Maths books. How I remember those stupid maths questions. So empty. So unrelated to me and my world. Who cared how many men could dig a ditch in 5 days if so many many had done it in 3. Compelling questions. So what was the make up of his class? What sort of students were they? Did he have their interest or was he trying to be clever? I think you need to look at his clientele and his motivation because , in the end, he could probably use his maths knowledge to show young kids that the meth business really isn't worth while and that other businesses would give them a better bang for their buck. He could put in all the liabilities , overheads, risks...you could actually really teach some kids some really worthwhile lessons. If the question had them motivated, then it's better than the bloomin' cows that turned me right off maths. And the tree measuring on an angle. Dull, dull, dull.

Green answer is blowing in the wind

Green answer is blowing in the wind: "Make no mistake, the cat will still smell, and its emissions will still contain methane, but Easy Being Green vows to spend the $8 you give them on products, such as energy-saving lightbulbs and water-saving shower heads, that reduce emissions elsewhere (if not in your own backyard)."

I have just read this whole article and I am none the wiser. I do not see how it helps as it seems a bit like the good old smoke and mirrors to me. I cannot see how getting carbon credits and then not actually using them and somehow magically it happens somewhere else ( "a tonne of carbon dioxide will be kept out of the air for 100 years")...or someone else gets the low energy lights because you already bought them. It seems like a good idea...but it also seems a great way to make money but actually do nothing about the environment and global warming. I think this needs to go back to the drawing board. At this stage there do not seem to be any real guarantees.

Relief at hand for NYC text addicts.

Relief at hand for NYC text addicts. : "Graceful Services, a New York City spa, recently began offering the massage to its customers.

A one-hour session costs $US60 ($76), spa owner Grace Gao Macnow said."

Well, there you go, a nice little money spinner from people who cannot stop texting!! Makes texting pretty expensive. I cannot believe people do this to themselves. Mobile phones have been quite handy in spawning a whole heap of service industries.

Stacey Mitchell

Man fronts court over 'body in bin' murder. : "Police allege the man had discussions with the women on how to dispose of Miss Mitchell's body and went with them to a hardware store to buy several items."

Stacey Mitchell was 16 years old and she keeps being called the body in the bin because the 18 and 19 year old girls who killed her put her in a wheelie bin. She has suffered enough. To add to her indignity like this is feeding the awful thoughts that went through those girls' minds. It supports them and not the dignity of Stacey. Now there is a man who obviously helped them so it all seems very callous and cold hearted. How do we get people like this and so young? I am sure I do not know how her family and friends are coping with all of this. Their needs must be very great at this time.

Pedophile 'reoffended day after release'

Pedophile 'reoffended day after release' : "However, the prosecutor told the court Hodges hit the internet the day after his release and committed the latest offences up until March 20 last year, while serving a suspended jail sentence."

Clearly gaol has had no effect on this man's behaviour so gaol is not going to resolve this for him or the victims of his crimes. There seems to be evidence to suggest that he has a number of things which need to be addressed and resolved . The man has this all wrong and has not had any help. He cannot be allowed to continue in his ways because he is not safe, so he does need to be kept locked up but he also needs help. A lot of help. Sometimes I think we need to prescribe an action plan along with a sentence. I should have thought that we would want to improve people. I do not see the point in shoving people away if we are not doing anything to help them improve and overcome their difficulties. Surely that would be cheaper..to stop them? To change them where we can? All we are doing is avoiding the problem for the length of the sentence. He maybe also needs to have certain things banned from his life and yes, how would we monitor that??

Medicare claims to be made at doctor's

Medicare claims to be made at doctor's : "'A patient who pays to go to the doctor will be able to pay in whatever manner they normally do now and then will be able to claim their Medicare rebate through the EFTPOS network at the point of service,' Medicare deputy CEO Rona Mellor told a senate estimates committee today."

About time!! It saves time, energy, stress and trees! My private fund can be claimed immediately and I just pay the difference at the place I am accessing the medical service. If it worked that way for Medicare too it would be great. No paper. No fuss. It saves petrol. It saves human energy and global energy and when you are being treated for something, then costs often need to be covered quickly and waiting for the cheque can hold up the bank balance. I think it's a great idea...It will cost jobs though. That's not good. I think we need to look at where those jobs will be re invented. Our society is changing and the jobs are changing with it. Cold comfort for those in transition unless we can show where the new jobs are and what they are.

Woman gives birth in shower

Baby shower delivers a gift from heaven: "'He just fell on the floor,' she said from her hospital room.

'I dropped the phone and picked him up, then he started crying, which was a good sign.'"

Well, this new Mum is a bit of a hero too! We are surrounded by great people. Luckily the new wee baby is okay, but what a shock that must have been to be alone, in the shower , on the phone to 000 and delivering her first baby. She is obviously good at thinking on her feet and a whizz at managing a crisis situation. It is so lovely to hear it all went well in the end.

Man attacks shark.

Man attacks shark. : "An Eyre Peninsula man is the talk of the town after catching a bronze whaler shark in his hands and wrestling it up onto a jetty."

Well, wrestling a 1.3 bronze whaler shark puts Phillip Kerkhof well and truly into the category of legend. What a legend!! He may never do this again...but I think once is enough! What a guy.

Teen girl charged over ute deaths

Teen girl charged over ute deaths : "Police today arrested her and charged her with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, one count of negligent driving occasioning death, three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and driving without a licence."

So, what do you do with a little girl like that who has killed three other children? How do you explain it? How do you stop it? How do you comfort the parents of all the children? Eight people in the ute , 6 of them children. Were the other two adults? This is a really sad state of affairs. Really sad. I don't know how we manage things like this and I don't know how they occur.

Teenage car thieves foiled

Teenage car thieves foiled: "What the duo did not know was that the car was chained to a tree."

Obviously we have had enough if this man chained his car to the tree and the noise of it trying to be stolen was sufficient to be able to allow the police to capture the young thieves. We are tired of this . We are tired of people who mess up our lives and think our things are their things. I am glad they were caught and I am sorry this man had to go to thoses extremes to protect his property...but nice one!!

Nanofilters

Blood HIV filter unveiled: "The Queensland team have worked out how to eliminate viruses from water using nanofiltration – technology which pushes minute particles through extremely small pores."

It's obvious when you think of it, but sometimes we do not think of the obvious. If you can't kill it or destroy it, why not filter it??? I can't belive we can have little sieves to sift through our blood to get out the bad things. How handy would that be. Plop ourselves on the couch, turn on the filter and pass our blood through it and bingo...diseases gone! I think filtering air woild be much harder but I can see it happening and I think filtering water is also obvious. I just think it's brilliant. We are so clever sometimes.

Inefficient air routes 'exact carbon cost'

Inefficient air routes 'exact carbon cost': "'You will all be aware that our industry is taking a beating in the environmental debate,' Mr Bisignani said to a conference in Holland.

'Our critics may have lost perspective.

'But they are absolutely correct in demanding more efficiency.'"

Flying is what we do these days and it is one of the great achievements of the last century. I don't think we'd want all aircraft grounded...or would we? How would it benefit us? We need to look at the things which are contributing to global warming in the cold light to day. We need to look at the benefit to us as a planet and if we value them, then yes, we are now challenged to make them more efficient. Considering we pioneered flight at the turn of the last century I see no reason why we cannot pioneer carbon efficiency at the turn of this. If nothing else we can be very creative and flexible in our thinking and we need the challenges to make us achieve our best.

Aboriginal SACE rates soar

Aboriginal SACE rates soar: "Three of the students, all girls, will be among 800 to be awarded for 'perfect' scores."

This is fantastic news. It's about time aborigines where allowed to shine because they have so much to share and offer. To hear of so many of them doing so well here is great news and obviously we are getting something right. It will mean a lot to them and their families but it means we now are getting a better balanced community.

Water curbs dangerous

Water curbs dangerous: "``SA Water has been fielding many queries of this nature and also from elderly people that cannot operate trigger nozzle hoses,'' she said."

Tell me about it. It is not just the elderly. The restrictions are difficult to manage. I have never used a trigger hose. Now I find I have twice forgotten to turn the water off because I have been watering late and am tired and you just do not notice trigger hoses are on because the trigger doesn't let you know. I have arthritis so I have to use the steel clip to hold the hose on, but then you have to release it and trigger for some parts and it just kills my hands. I have burst two hoses because trigger hoses put a lot of pressure on the hose and if they are not turned off...which I have never done with a normal nozzle, then the pressure is massive. I also keep blowing off the end attachments of the hose connections which has never happened on a regular basis.I just cannot managetrigger hoses easily and I have probably been less efficient than usual and have encountered more problems. 8 pm has often been really cold. So I am boiled during the day and am standing there freezing at night. Adelaide is getting sick. I wonder why. We have managed our water well and household use has not been exorbitant. We'll trigger away but it is expensive, inconvenient and really, really hard. I hope industry and business is pulling their weight because apart from all of that, watering used to be an evening relaxation. Now we are all stuffed!

Howard loses control in question time

Howard loses control in question time: "He's had a bad few days. Last week he had to tell parliament he'd made a mistake in an answer on climate change; a small thing itself, but uncharacteristic of a politician who rarely makes mistakes and even more rarely admits to them."

Yes, in all honesty, Mr. Howard is usually very careful in his remarks and in the way he manages things. He can be annoyingly calm at times! His success has been founded on his capacity to be cool when everyone else is flapping. Maybe he's not well. Maybe he has just done too much and maybe there are things we do not know about which are affecting him. He can be very one eyed, but we know that. He is not usually undiplomatic and he can normally weather everything. I guess it's all weighing on his mind.

Rudd's policy would destabilise Iraq

Rudd's policy would destabilise Iraq, says PM. : "'My charge is that the consequences of the policy you are advocating would be to destabilise Iraq and threaten the security interests of this country through a defeat of the United States in Iraq,' he said."

Iraq IS unstable. More unstable than ever. Before we invaded the regime was undesirable and the country was under stress from a cruel regime and trade sanctions. it wasn't unstable. Now it's a gaping, bloody black hole which sucks up human blood and squillions of dollars and armaments. It is chaos. What we have done has made it a ruined tract of land and what we are doing is contributing to the chaos and so, the question is , should we get out and leave well enough alone ? We created this and maybe we should clean it up...but it just sucks up more lives and more money. Nobody's policy is right. Nobody's policy is wrong. We have NOTHING to offer the Iraqis and we have NOTHING to win or lose from this. We just keep sacrificing and sacrificing. To stand there and argue about it is a dreadful waste of time because in the meantime more people have been maimed and killed. Their people , our people. It is very self indugent to argue about winners and losers. Everyone is dying. Do something about it.

190,000 sick after Jakarta flood

190,000 sick after Jakarta flood : "'Most of the displaced suffer from diarrhoea, dengue, severe respiratory problems. The number of out-patients is 190,000 and in-patients is 510,' Rustam Pakaya said.

Fears lingered that disease could spread as people stay in cramped emergency shelters or move back into houses often lacking clean water, plumbing and power."

You would think the tsunami would have been more than enough for one country to deal with. Indonesia just keeps having to deal with floods, earthquakes, land slides...and I know some of it is just the nature of the country. Some of it will be deforestation and some of it will be lack of infrastructure to protect the land and the people. I just don't know how they keep withstanding it all and managing just to keep carrying on. When you see them on the news in the flood areas everyone is just doing their bit to get the problems solved. I hope they do not think we do not care. We have been watching and noticing and a lot of Australians are still going to Bali to support the people there. Indonesia is a close neighbour and it just atounds us how much they have to put up with and how much they just get on with it.

Caught by their own stupidity

Caught by their own stupidity : "Motorcyclists were caught showing off their 'sheer stupidity' on popular website YouTube.

Insp Lovegrove said the amateur video 'confirmed what (police) already knew was happening in the Adelaide Hills'."

Thanks to You Tube 367 drivers and motorcyclists were caught speeding in 2 days in Adelaide. Well, as I said, if they want fame, let them win all the prizes. The police think they are not making enough use of technology. I am not sure they have to...people seem to bring it all to them because fame is more important than common sense. Cause and effect is irrelevant to them. I do think the police in many countries are making extremely good use of technology to help us live in a safer environment. The police have been pretty techno smart which is more than can be said for the felons. Well done. Lessons in self preservation wouldn't go astray!!

Experts to discuss water crisis

Experts to discuss water crisis: "From today to Thursday there will be workshops on such issues as water planning, irrigation, storage and climate change."

Well, how sensible is that? Gathering experts from 2 countries together to discuss common problems? Engineers and scientists form 2 countries under the co ordination of Professor Graeme Dandy. Someone is thinking.

PM stands by Obama attack.

PM stands by Obama attack. : "'The most charitable thing you can say about Mr Howard's comment is it's bizarre,' Senator Wyden said.

'You know, we'll make our own judgements in this country with respect to elections and Barack Obama's a terrific public servant.'"

Exactly!! Discretion is the better part of valour. We hate it when overseas people of import stick their noses in here and pass comment. It is true, we ought to be able to speak freely, but when you are a head of state or a person of considerable import, then I think you stay out of the affairs of another country...and their election is their election and ours will be ours. Not that I think Senator Obama cannot defend himslef and Mr. Howard has probably allowed him to prove just that. I guess as a head of state you have to be able to manage meddlers. As for criticising the invasion of Iraq, well, yes, we can because it is quite clear it was the wrong decision and that it was ill conceived and we are now in a situation where it is a gaping hole on the planet. Mr. Bush did decide that and it was not a good idea. We do pass comments and opinions on leaders of countries and their decisions. Passing comment on a candidate for an election who has to win it on a platform is not on, not when you are in a leadership position in another country. Thinking it and maybe making your own phonecall to Senator Obama is "diplomacy"... I can see how this can be judged as interference because we'd think the same. All Mr. Howard can do is say he doesn't agree with a 2008 pullout of troops.

Warning over home insemination baby boom

Warning over home insemination baby boom: "'You find the couple you want to work with, make sure each person has tests for STDs, you can track your ovulation with ovulation kits, the intended father gives a donation and you go into a room with a syringe that you can purchase in the chemist,' she said."

Well, there you go. Do it yourself insemination...and it's really taken off. I am not only speechless, I am chortling like nothing on earth. This must be 2007.

Markets don't like Sundays

Markets don't like Sundays: "Nick's fruit and vegetable shop manager Brian Coure will not open on March 4 but may open on another Sunday depending on the customer response. 'The biggest problem we have is getting staff,' he said."

To me, Sunday is an obvious day to have the markets open , but it is hard on the traders and that is the bit that needs to be resolved in a logical fashion without pressure on the stall holders. The markets have served us well for years and have a great atmosphere. It would be good to have them open on Sunday and would help the tourists. Some cities run markets for a short time on Saturday and Sunday. These people just can't keep doing because it suits us and they would need to have their precious businesses in safe hands if they need time out...as they deserve. Maybe some kind of mentoring programme needs to be set up so the stalls have trustworthy, competent people who can run them. There is no doubt they'd make a lot of money once we all knew Sunday was the go. More people are living in Adelaide too so it would be good for them. It just needs to be looked at and each hurdle jumped as it arises.

Fox hounds car hoons

Fox hounds car hoons: "Besieged by burnouts and screaming engines, the frustrated Bright MP is keeping a diary on her street's hoons.

'I really should get a pair of night-vision goggles and start hiding in trees,' she said."

We are fed up with it and it seems we have to spend our time looking, watching , socumenting. In a way it's totally ridiculous. More and more we are changing our lives to accommodate the few people who have no social consideration. We have to put ourselves out a lot and put up with a lot while these anti social people get a lot of our time, energy and attention. Stars. They are such stars. I know how she feels about the goggles and the bushes because they do roar at night or in the rain when it's hard to see them and get a plate number. Watering out the front has been a pretty good deterrant after 8 but then it is dark by 9. We spend our time on people who are not contributing. Society certainly is upside down and back to front.

Frightening changes for SA

AdelaideNow... Frightening changes for SA: "It examined the impact of rising temperatures on ecosystems, crops, forestry and livestock, water resources, public health and on human life. A senior scientist for the CSIRO said that 'for the higher levels of warming, it's pretty serious for Australia'."
So, are we still sitting here umming and aahhing or are we immobile and worrying? Are we pretending it'll fix itself? So what action are we going to take? Change is action. We are doing our water bit and we are careful to stick to the rules and remind each other. We have started making the recycling changes. We, the general public, are shifting ourselves and our life styles, so what is the masterplan? We are ready , are you?

$25 million climate prize

Wired: "'The Earth cannot wait 60 years. We need everybody capable of discovering an answer to put their minds to it today,' Branson said."

Richard Branson is certainly prepared to put his money where his mouth is and I cannot think of a better use for money than to work on our climate predicament. Together with Al Gore he is offering hope and incentive to us all. He has become a leader. He has vision for the future but he is channelling his efforts and energies into trying to solve some of the real issues we are confronting as a human race. That is a real leader. The money will work for us. It will work for him because he is reshaping our world in a psosive way instead of contributing to misery and pain. Al Gore has been trying to get people to sit up and listen in the best way he knows and has also committed himself to a life of trying to right the wrongs and reshape negative into positive. To criticise is silly. Yes, we have planes and no we are not going to abandon them...but we can reshape them. Maybe the critics would like to come up with some real incentives to shift this mess we have made for ourselves. It's about inspiring people to think differently to to feel like we can be part of the solution. We can neither sit and do nothing nor be accepting of something we can change.

Cancer mouse a roaring success

Cancer mouse a roaring success : "'We've taken out a portion of p53 – the part people think is important for making p53 kill cells – but the animals thrive regardless,' he explains of the cancer-prone mice. 'I didn't expect that at all.'"

I want to see Hercules!! I want to see this mighty little mouse which has put a break on cancer. I love blogging. I get to discover so much. Now I know we should all be talking p53 because there is a lot p53 can do to save us from the scourge of cancer...but where is Hercules? This is a long article , but if you read it you will discover how inspired and enthusiastic our researchers are and how they can meticulously work towards having a Hercules the Cancer Fighting Mouse. I tell you , though, there is all this stuff about kids not liking science and not doing it...Hercules is the perfect vehicle and this type of research would get everyone involved. We'd all know about p53 , cell division, genes, biochemical events. Where is the film? The book? The T shirt? The little Hercules replicas ...you can't tell me that wouldn't have kids and teenagers enthralled in science. Why not merchandise science...surely it is far more worth it than just frivolous muck? The pink ribbons and red ribbons have taken off...let's get enthusiastic about science. I want a Hercules! If nothing else it would raise money for more research in a twinkling and would be a great way to get artists and scientists together. This article is so exciting!!

Eight dead in 'friendly fire' incident

Eight dead in 'friendly fire' incident : "EIGHT Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers were killed and six others wounded in northern Iraq overnight after US choppers opened fire on them in what appeared to be a 'friendly fire' incident, Kurdish officials said."

It is not friendly fire. It's death. It's another mistake. Iraq is a constant , implacable, bloody mess. Death. Destruction. Just a gaping wound and 6 helicopters down in the last 3 weeks, so the US are losing a lot of their own and such expensive equipment. How would that be if that money were spent in the US and the people were alive? Iraq ia a bigger than ever black hole which sucks up life and squillions of dollars. No magic wands, no fairy dust so it is becoming worse and that is noticeable and the Iraqis must be so frustrated and the Americans must be so frustrated. Why would you want to keep it going? Why would you want Iraq to stay the bloody mess it is? We have turned it into a hellhole for everyone there and they are living in constant , awful misery and we do nothing. Change nothing. Talk about nothing. Just let it get worse and worse. 111,000 pounds of bombs on targets in 2006...plus all the other chemicals and ironmongery. And we think there will be no mistakes? When are we actually going to do something about this...or don't we want to?

States must perform to receive health funds

States must perform to receive health funds, Abbott says. : "'Are the states really running public hospitals as well as the can be run? Are the state public hospitals really putting the Commonwealth dollar to good value uses?' he said.

'I think they'll have to demonstrate that in the months ahead.'"

And is the Federal Government really performing and making the best possible use of our tax dollars? Is the Commonwealth running as best it can. The Commonwealth IS the states. WE are the Commonwealth. While you put more pressure on docters, nurses and hospital administrators to prove they are doing their best, while they are mopping people up and keeping them well, dealing with burns, cancer and crime victims, let us know how well you are managing our dollar in Canberra. This constant sniping by the Federal government is very debilitating. They are constantly fault finding, constantly criticising, constantly picking holes in others. Not really a visionary, positive lot at the moment, are they?

Water Restrictions

On the local news sites they have been running this ad which changes so that we get reminded of what our current water restrictions are!! The black and white really makes you take note, but to run through the restrictions is a great idea and this is just so easy. We cannot get confused and it's right there under our noses...we do not have to hunt the restrictions down. Fantastic use of technology and a good way to keep us in the loop and on top of it all! Good one!!

New weight loss regime

New weight loss regime: "The first person to be implanted with the pacemaker-like device, which blocks hunger nerves, lost 20 kilograms in a year without changing her dietary habits or exercise regime.

The Adelaide medical centre was one of three in the world to trial the new device, developed by EnteroMedics Inc."

Sounds too good to be true!! Change nothing and lose weight. How happy would that make people? Getting rid of the weight might actually get people to deal with their levels of fitness. It might not necessarily teach them about nutrition, but it would have to break a major hurdle for them. This device has been developed through observation and then testing and the article at least explains the line of thought and how it all came to be. Quite clever really and tells me the researchers are on the ball. I hope all goes well with this device because so many people would love to lose weight...and then we need to get hold of them and teach them how to be healthy. It would be so fantastic for people to get a kick start like this.

PM says water torture won't wash

AdelaideNow... PM says water torture won't wash: "The Howard Government wants the four states which control the Murray-Darling system to hand control of the rivers to the Commonwealth in exchange for a huge upgrade of irrigation infrastructure and measures to address water over-allocations."

There has been a lot of state bashing from the Federal Government. It's as if the states are no longer competent and that state leaders have suddenly lost it. There are a number of big criticisms against the states from our federal leaders...the water, the disability stuff, the health issues, nationalising education. The threats are there too, so it's not really about negotiating.It would appear to me that the Federal Government, now it has control of the work places , wishes to control other major services...water, education, health and run them from Canberra because our states are so useless. Well, why did we have federation and keep our states? I don't like this at all because it's not true. Our state leaders know our states. They are not perfect but they are in the position to know our state needs and we can access them and get our voices heard. If it all runs from Canberra, like the workplace stuff, well, ...oh , sorry, I forgot. How silly of me. Of course we do not know how to run the country.

Plastic nanospheres to hunt out cancer.

Plastic nanospheres to hunt out cancer. : "While some nanospheres seem to be toxic to human cells and kill them before they get a chance to deliver the drug, others latch onto the cells, or are taken up by them.

Once attached or inside the cell, the nanospheres release the drug slowly as planned."

There is a feeling now that nanotechnology will be a thing we are increasingly familiar with. I have heard there are problems with it , but it doesn't alter the fact that this is what researchers are working on and there are some real benefits for us. Like anything else , we shall hopefully improve the good side without increasing the already copious amounts of human misery. If nanospheres could hunt out cancer cells and destroy them , it would be a massive break through in chemotherapy. Yes, there is a long way to go with this research, but it is exciting and you can see sooner or later we shall get rid of this disgusting diease and it will be thanks to people like Dr. Stenzel.

Healthy food a hard sell for school canteens

Healthy food a hard sell for school canteens : "A study backed by the Australian Research Council has found that many canteens could be forced to close unless federal and state governments provide extra funding to help carry through healthy eating guidelines."

Yes, indeed. For a clever country we cannot feed ourselves and we have a hissy fit because people want us to eat properly. Real food is not a preferred option. How bright are we? If kids are eating the wrong things it is because they are bombarded with the nonsensical alternatives. Virtual reality.This comes back to family values and preferences and then teaching people to be discerning eaters....and to have brains! Why would you put trash in your body and if you prefer front of palate over refinement then , truly, you have lost touch with real food. There was a time we all ate properly. There can be change to eating properly again. It depends whether people are prepared to eat food rather than stuff. If nutrition is not a viable option what does that say about us and if children are making the choice to eat rubbish why are we listening to them and who is backing them? Garbage in , garbage out and this is just so unbelievable. So stupid. Just so stupid.

Power substation explodes in Sydney - Yahoo!7 News

Power substation explodes in Sydney : "A substation in a western Sydney office block has exploded, leaving the building without power and forcing road closures in central Parramatta."

How? Why?

Drought plants

Drought plants keep Victoria blooming: "'Australian plants are under-utilised within the Australian home garden context and again, this is one of the challenges that we are trying to get out to the public,' Horticulture manager, Jason Davenport said."

There are examples in different states of how to beat the drought. It's tough. You lose plants. You spend hours developing the garden and watch it crisp. You watch trees stress, the crispy brown. We need to remind ourselves constantly of what works and we need to keep careful lists of plants which thrive and survive. There are plants which do well. Our roses have never looked better. My South American whatever it is is in full bloom and has added a wonderful splash of purple colour. The natives are doing well and the leavy grassy things. The agapanthus are good too. The big ones survive better than the small ones. My garden looks odd because some parts are growing well and other parts are dry and crispy. We have all been talking at work about what we have lost...both in terms of plants and the garden as a place to enjoy and relax and watering as a great stress buster. it is now adding to our burdens and we are thinking long and hard about it. We just need to keep the ideas and lists public because even when the weather changes our practices will be sounder.

Squadron apologises for friendly fire incident

Scotsman.com News - UK - US squadron apologises for friendlyfire incident: "He added: '

While nothing we can do will alleviate the grief of the Hull family, we can only promise that our personnel will continue to receive the very best training, in an effort to minimise the potential for similar occurrences in the future.'"

Well, that's a start and a pretty honourable approach to it. It's decent and honest and to make a public statement helps bring some dignity to it. Changing the past is not possible. Hiding behind protocol and defence is not appropriate because a family lost one of their own and it was in military circumstances and I guess it goes with the territory, but to put it right in a human way is what is important for the family and it also helps the Idaho National Guard keep its sense of honour. Within this there is also a very personal apology and statement of regret from Lieutenant Tony Vincelli. As I said yesterday, this wouldn't happen if we didn't have weapons, but that is not my decision to make. I think it's better to make personal amends to a friend and this certainly gets the ball rolling and may help to ease the pain of Lance Corporal Hull's family.

Vandals caught by YouTube

Vandals caught by YouTube, say police : "But they came unstuck after uploading pictures and video of the rampage onto YouTube."

Everyone wants to be a star. Well, let them win all the prizes.

RSPCA seizes 'starving greyhounds'

RSPCA seizes 'starving greyhounds' : "'A very sad situation, most of the animals were malnourished and in very poor condition with sores and vast quantities of ticks,' he said."

I remember that someone I worked with got into trouble with his cows because he had not tended them. His wife was dying of cancer and his daughter had had a serious car accident. It had all fallen in on him and when we found out, we wondered why he had not said because we would have helped. That's the first lesson. People need to say when they need help. Greyhound owners generally love their animals. Just dote on them and are very proud of their condition and if the owner took took 10 to the vet to be put down, then some sense of rational thinking was there because it's so much harder to do that if you know you have been neglecting things. It is very hard to own up. Clearly there is a story here which will explain the abject circumstances of the dogs. It is so cruel and fortuately the vet people were alert because they rescued the others, a few of whom can be saved. It's so sad. People need to cry for help when they need it and maybe we need to be more alert to people who are trying to cope when clearly they aren't. When you cannot look after things then you need all the help you can get. This is why I get my dogs from the RSPCA. The current one had been starved and malnourished and I am really proud of my well fed shiny dog now. I have found the RSPCA is incredibly helpful when you take on a "sad" case. The last one was ill too but the RSPCA gave me a lot of support to get him started on the right road and he, too, led a happy life inspite of some tough things to deal with. You see, it workd both ways, if you need help, there are people who are pleased to help . I feel really good about what I have done and it will motivate me to keep doing it...and my family because they have loved our "strays".

Government 'in denial' over rate pain

Government 'in denial' over rate pain : "'Mortgagee defaults have now doubled since 2002 and they are up 50 per cent since 1991 at the height of the recession.'"

I have blogged before this is the last cycle of any so called property boom and I thank my original land agent for giving me all this wisdom. You have to have the mortgagee sales..the banks make money and the people with real money come in a invest. We have 2 people in this street whose homes are up for sale because they cannot afford to keep them. Two families out. Maybe they will be able to get a cheaper property and stay in the market. It's the sad part of others feathering their own nests. I survived the last one and I went without food to keep children fed and pay exorbitant rate hikes. It goes in cycles...it's a matter of whether you can manage the bad times and it is very, very hard.

Howard fails to ease MPs' concerns for Hicks.

Howard fails to ease MPs' concerns for Hicks. : "The Prime Minister is toughening his language on the detention of Australian David Hicks, but that has failed to ease the concerns of some Coalition backbenchers."

Absolutely. That we cannot and have not dealt with this makes us look so incompetent and weak. Letting David Hicks stay in Guantanamo for 5 years is evidence we have no way of dealing with people. At this stage he is a mess. It is openly and undeniably cruel and if that is the best a civilised nation can do, what will we do with real problems? It is not confidence inspiring at all. He needs to be home, we need to hear what it's all about and we need to know he has had a humane and fair treatment. At this stage our leaders are demonstrably powerless.

Video of US friendly fire

Video of US friendly fire unleashes storm in UK. : "United States and British officials have denied trying to bury details of a 'friendly fire' incident after a cockpit video was leaked in which US pilots are heard weeping after mistakenly killing a British soldier in Iraq."

We need to stop talking about friendly fire immediately. It is a grossly inappropriate term which denies the reality for everyone concerned. Let's keep it all honest, shall we and then the picture won't get skewed and people will heal better. Shooting and killing is shooting and killing. If you didn't have weapons, then you wouldn't kill people. If you didn't have military stuff then the wholesale damage to life and limb, which cannot be denied, would not occur. That's me. I do not believe you fix anything with violence. I think you make it worse. When in a military situation there will be unintentional killing of people, but here are no excuses for that. You cannot pretend it's something else by calling it "friendly fire." It solves nothing for the people who mistakenly killed someone they didn't mean to and it does nothing for the families of the people killed. It shows no respect for anyone to treat it in such a glib fashion. Obviously the US pilots were very upset. This is a burden they have been carrying. It would help them more if they could front up in some kind of an honest way and say yes, we stuffed up big time, we were thinking ....and then the military can address this and try and put better precautions/training/methodology in place to avoid such mishaps. The family of Lance Corporal Hull would probably need to meet the pilots as much as the pilots need to meet the family of Lance Corporal Hull. Military things can go so awry but avoiding dealing with them does not help. All of this can be resolved within the confines of a proper hearing and civilised meeting so that sensitive information is managed. It's the humanity of it which needs to be dealt with.

Glider spends hours stuck in tree

Glider spends hours stuck in tree : "The woman, in her 30s, had taken off from Mount Emu, 310km north east of Melbourne, at 2pm yesterday (AEDT) but crashed into the tree canopy shortly afterwards."
This is the second paraglider mishap in less than a week. Another woman. Is that significant? Probably not. This one was stuck in a tree for 9 hours before she was located and rescued. She was lucky she had a radio to contact others, but I guess you'd spot a paraglider from the air. So, obviously all paragliders need to be able to carry communication devices. We have huge terrain and some of it is very difficult to reach. Luckily this one went well but she was stuck there all day and heat or cold might have been a problem. Paragliding - yes, I know, it is a sport people are just devoted to. I have a friend who has injured himself on more than one occasion and it's not going to stop him. I think we need to look at why they seem to be going off course.

If you want to know more about Paragliding, Adventure
is a really great visual and informative site which runs in French, English and German.

Six more members for the Aust-NZ billionaires club

Six more members for the Aust-NZ billionaires club : "BOOMING stock markets, soaring real estate and stronger currencies helped the 40 wealthiest people in Australia and New Zealand become even richer in 2006."

Unless we are printing money, then you can only get richer while others get poorer. As a few get richer more and more are losing income and wealth. There is only so much money...or there should be if you have a bona fide economy. So what is the cost to the rest of the people in Australaia and New Zealand? Who is losing out and how? The property market is obvious. People cannot afford to buy when they used to be able to and there are few rental properties. What else? Let's get the picture straight, shall we? Celebrating wealth is only appropriate when the cost is not paid by the misery of others. I want to know this is the case.

A third of Australia's cancer deaths relate to poor lifestyle

A third of Australia's cancer deaths relate to poor lifestyle : "But it's a difficult message to communicate. Information aimed at encouraging people to eat a healthy diet cannot compete with the multimedia advertising employed by wealthy fast food and beverage companies."

It is World Cancer Day today and a read of this article sums it all up for Australians. Professor Ian Olver is remarkably clear, precise and to the point. He understands us well and has isolated our blocks and our strengths. We can achieve with anti smoking stances, but we cannot seem to achieve with proper eating...not really. We say we do and then we slide off into advertising. He has it so right. Lots of people say they haven't time to cook a proper meal, but if you plan it right, you not only have the fun of gasbagging through the preparation and yummy smells, you can cook it faster than reheating, take away...whatever the processed option is. It's ludicrous when we see ourselves as a civilised nation that we cannot feed ourselves properly and we think preparing food to look after our health is a massive burden. The cures we come up with are great, but we need to get our heads straight about looking after ourselves. Why are we so slack about sun protection? Like the global warming information, we have information about how to prevent skin care and we ignore it, or we are half hearted about it. Let's liven up, shall we?!

Participants strip off for nude Olympics.

Participants strip off for nude Olympics. : "Organisers are also encouraging people to bring shelters to cope with the expected 40 degree day."

The nude Olympics soen at Maslin's was cancelled a couple of weeks ago because it was freezing, wet and windy. Well, today is not only World Cancer Day, it's also going to be up around 40 degrees...so once again...rather them than me! HOT!! With no clothes they had better be ultra sun smart, I can tell you, because 40 burns really hot on the skin. I don't doubt they'll have fun and will probably have the sense to bring shade cover with them and the ocean is right there to cool off. They are allowed to wear a hat! I just hope all goes well because sunburn kills.

Bribes offered to scientists

Bribes offered to scientists: "'Right now, the whole debate is polarised,' he said. 'One group says that anyone with any doubts whatsoever are deniers and the other group is saying that anyone who wants to take action is alarmist. We don't think that approach has a lot of utility for intelligent policy.'"

Oh , thank heavens, someone who can think. Covering up, denying, polarising , hiding will not alter the truth. The truth is there. We are damaging the planet. Why wouldn't we act? We all have to act and position bargaining is not appropriate at this stage. We know we have to change and we want to. When you know you are doing harm, you stop it, right? So why wouldn't you ? It simply does not make sense. We don't want people to beat their children. We don't want people to blow things up, we don't want people to hurt us. Why would we keep beating up the planet?? Why would we want to lose places under water? Why would we want floods and hurricanes and cyclones and snow at the wrong time? No water??? As adaptable as we can be why would we want to be living in constant chaos?? Time to change.

Emergency Drops for Stranded Towns

Siberia's cool and colourful weather

Siberia's cool and colourful weather: "The yellow, green and orange snow was later declared harmless by investigators."

So why is the snow coloured and why do we keep getting this oddball stuff around the world? Even if it is harmless it is not natural so something is wrong and a lot of stuff like this happens. Why?

Scientists agree man is to blame

Scientists agree man is to blame for the world's climate change: "'If we are going to change our attitude to climate change properly there has to be a culture change in every home in the country and I think it will be the younger members of our society who will lead the way on that. That is why eco schools are so important.'"

Well, hooray for Scotland. This is the first article I have found where a country has actually said what it is doing instead of pontificating, defending its position or adding more hot air to what we already have far too much of. If I lit bushfires and I was found out a) I'd be doing unspeakable and unthinkable damage to this country and its ecology and b) I'd be put in gaol and severely castigated for being such a stupid, thoughtless, dangerous human. Okay, so global warming has been on the agenda for a while and this leader goes blah blah blah and that leader goes da de da de da and so the scientists say it all again and we get the fingers in the ear and we're not changing, it'll cost jobs, it can't be done la la la la la la. Seriously, if you knew , and we now know again, that we are REALLY damaging the planet and the attitude you adopt is adapt, we can't change...what would you think? Why can't you adapt when I light bush fires? When my company puts poisons into the soil? Where on earth is the common sense of our leaders??? We have to change. We have to change now. We have to make big changes and we ALL have to play a part. If I light bushfires and you don't...should you come and join me lighting bush fires? Should you dissuade me? The apathy and indifference coming from the top is so difficult to understand because it doesn't make sense. Jobs lost will be jobs created in other approaches to living. We change. We don't use cassettes. What happened to those jobs? We don't wear stays, what happened to those jobs? I cannot believe it. I want to hear, right , that's it, we cannot destroy the planet like this any more..we'll change and this is what it will look like and this is what you can do. We, on the ground, are doing our bit, doing our research and we are already doing a lot...but the big changes need to kick in and excuses and stalling are not good enough. How many more people will you allow to suffer flood and storm damage? Why would you let future generations suffer the consequences? What is wrong with looking after the planet???

Police make drug arrests at Adelaide Big Day Out.

Police make drug arrests at Adelaide Big Day Out. : "But they have commended the behaviour of the 35,000-strong crowd, saying only four people were arrested for minor offences."

I get the impression that this year it went pretty well. For a lot of kids this is a big day out and they really look forward to it and just want to enjoy the artists they can see at such a good price. My impression this year is kids didn't want others mucking it up for them. It sounds like the good won. It's pretty unfortunate when a few mar and spoil things for so many and then a whole event gets a bad name. It's always badly placed in Adelaide because it comes in the first week of the new school year and quite a few parents are so annoyed they are trying to get their kids off to school with the right attitude and then it's all messed up by the Big Day Out. I think we took it more in our stride this year and maybe the timing can be looked at but people consider the big states first, so we won't hold our breath. If the police had an easier time of it and more kids were happy and well, then we need to be encouraged to keep doing what we are doing because it's working. I must say you see hardly any sad cases around the shops these days so I think all our efforts are starting to pay off.

PM's water plan may force BHP to pay for basin water.

PM's water plan may force BHP to pay for basin water. : "It is the largest user of basin water, drawing 33 million litres of water each day for its South Australian mine at at Roxby Downs in the far north."
Oh for more water discussion. Don't we need water in our Artesian Basin? Irrespective of the price you charge , how will it be replenished? I have heard we need to run nuclear power so we can run desalination plants so we can run water.Other methods would be too expensive apparently. This all needs to come out into the open. We need to see the big picture. We need to talk about it and we need to understand the cost, the players, the impact of various decisions. I do not think it should be a cause to politicise and fight. I think it's a good opportunity for us as a nation to work out a solution to a national problem. We cannot damage our environment nor our economy and we cannot drive people broke nor deprive them of water. Let us look at it and let's see who can save water, how we can provide water , how we can distribute waterand let's all be included in the loop because that way we shall be able to get a whole range of ideas and knowledge at our disposal so that we can make sensible choices and plans. How grown up would that be??!

ABC journo awarded $1m over Thredbo fall.

ABC journo awarded $1m over Thredbo fall: "The company has 21 days to appeal against the judgement and has declined to comment on the decision."

I am not surprised. It will take them a while to get their bottom jaw off the ground. What about Stuart? What about the families of the ones who did not survive. What about the rescuers who put their lives at risk to try and save people? What about he wear and tear on all of us as a nation as we stressed silently and stayed glued to the unfolding news and deprived ourselves of oxygen as we tried to hardly breathe for fear the land would shift? Does this skew and make a mockery of the grief, the loss, the terrible agony of those under the ground and those trying to get people to safety and us trying to pray for wings of angels to carry the rescue operation through? The bridge was there...you judge whether it is safe or not and the whole damn area was unsafe.It was a catastrophe for cryin out loud. There was such totally meticulous planning to try and get people out. Every rescue footstep was planned . Do I sound outraged? I'll get over it, but not yet.

Wedge-tailed eagles protected

Wedge-tailed eagles protected following licence ban: "The penalty for harming a wedge-tailed eagle is $11,000 per bird and/or six months jail.

Wedge-tailed eagles are found in most country areas west of the Great Dividing Range."

At times licences have been issued for culling because wedge tailed eagles breed too much, unusual since there is not a high chick survival rate from eggs. Maybe one out of three. Mostly relocating is done these days which is a far saner approach, and that is an expert job. Birds of prey are well respected here and in New Zealand which also has some beautiful, beautiful eagles. We do protect them in this big country of ours because we need them as part of our environmental chain. They keep our country safe and stop some our smaller wild life populations from exploding.

'Screeching' wild eagles attack paraglider

'Screeching' wild eagles attack paraglider : "Wedge-tailed eagles are Australia's largest predatory birds and have a wing-span of more than two metres."
Australia is the home of many beautiful animals and our wedge tailed eagles are magnificent and our largest bird of prey. They are totally awesome. Deforestation has robbed them of their homes. If you are going to take to the skies, you have to respect the wildlife which lives there. It is their home...and we are their guests. They will attack if you invade their territory. We just attack anyway.

Wedge tailed Eagle

Who are the hoons?

Who are the hoons? : "Since anti-hoon laws came into effect in July last year, police have seized 1014 vehicles, or 35 per week - up from about 10 per week in the first month."
Male 18-21, first time drivers. No surprises there. The map for Victoria is interesting the way the impounding of the cars has occurred. Would be interesting to see a map like that for all states. We still have hoons here . It was quiet for a while but they have gone back to raoring at night and in the rain. Waste of tyres and energy. Loud, annoying. I think young males are represented pretty well on speeding and road deaths to so they are what is now called a high risk taking group but labelling them does not change the headset. What will? The energy and excitement needs to be rechannelled or confined. The police are surprised that impounding cars really hasn't had an effect. Why would it? They are people who are run from the inside. They are not used to punishment. They have not been brought up on guilt , punishment and a good dose of reality. They have been brought up on consequences...so they pay the consequence and then do as they wish. Consequences change nothing because children brought up on them do not understand cause and effect. They do not understand speeding is dangerous. It's fun. They do not understand hooning damages the environment, annoys other people, creates stress. It's heaps of fun. They do not understand that going too fast can kill you and other people. It is soooo fun. When you have fun then your toys get taken off you and that's it. You get your toys back and go and have fun again.

Doctor diagnoses minister's tumour

Doctor diagnoses minister's tumour on TV : "'He told me you had better get that seen to. I am an extremely lucky person that this consultant was sitting at home with his wife and spotted what was happening,' Lenihan told RTE state radio."

Thi swas in the World Wide Weird section of The Australian. It's not weird. It's fantastic. I guess lots of doctors see lots of things and at some stage they might have to rationalise how much they keep diagnosing other people. I twould escalate their load and it would take time when they need to rest, but this particular doctor took the time and energy to contact the minister whose lump he'd noticed on TV. As it turned out, it was a benign tumour. I just think it's great there are still people in the world who care about others and maybe that's why it's weird. Maybe we think it's odd to show that level of concern. Yes, get lumps checked out...yours, your family's and your pets'.

Howard rejects South Australia water plan

Howard rejects South Australia water plan : "SA Premier Mike Rann yesterday became the first state leader to reject the plan, proposing an alternative model in which the Murray-Darling would be managed by a more powerful, independent body of experts to replace the Murray-Darling Basin Commission."
The Rann Government has shown a good understanding of our environmental issues. He has shown some good initiative with energy and the environment. So who can mediate and help him and Mr. Howard come to an agreement? It's not as if the two of them cannot talk. I just think they need someone to mediate because , quite frankly, Mr. Rann has taken a personal pride in developing successful strategies for us in terms of conservation and energy management and I can understand his reluctance to hand over something as big as the Murray-Darling. I think it unbelievable Mr. Howard will not discuss this with Mr. Rann. It's not as if Mr. Rann is some dumb hothead who has made a complete mess of anything. In truth, our MPs in SA are all very committed to what they do and say and don't just do things willy nilly. I actually like the way all MPs interact here, particularly on environmental and energy issues, and are capable of articulating ideas and problems without putting anyone else down. For the most part it's pretty well reasoned material we hear and objections to anything are often well founded and properly discussed...because we all care about our State.

Insomnia drug prompts strange behaviour

AdelaideNow... Insomnia drug prompts strange behaviour: "The committee also had 104 reports of hallucinations and 62 reports of amnesia since the drug, known generically as zolpidem, was released in 2000."

Stilnox has been on the market for 7 years. You'd think we'd have heard about such bizarre behaviour before now because the article lists a whole list of mad aberrations in people who have used the medication to combat insomnia. It's a wonder no one has been hurt and gaining 23 kg is a pretty huge mount to gain. Why has it taken 7 years? Who produces the drug and what sort of research and testing was done? I think the whole thing needs to be properly investigated because maybe people are not using it properly. It all sounds very odd.