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Australia is Burning


Bjornebye
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1 minute ago, polymerpunkah said:

I can't get over the fact he went on a "secret" vacation to Hawaii while the fires burned and volunteers died.

 

Either incredibly callous or incredibly stupid.

 

A bit of both, perhaps.

 

To be fair, it was a bit hot there so you'd understand him going to a cooler climate for a break.

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On 04/01/2020 at 09:27, Evelyn Tentions said:

Yes, Australia has always had bushfires but never this many, so widespread, so early and so destructive. This year, they are different in many ways. It has nothing to do with the winter burnoffs - the current and ex fire chiefs and fire scientists agree. The burnoffs targets for NSW were met. Hot dry winters are not a good time for burnoffs. The LNP (Australias Tories) like to blame the environmentalists but is is the usual right wing blame shifting. Don't forget the rural fire service is volunteer - you can't expect them to do all the work that is necessary, especially when the LNP state gov't has gutted the capital funding budget. It actually costs to be a volunteer, no expenses paid for any travelling or out-of pocket expenses - some members of my local brigade travel 10 miles or more.

We are in the middle of a horror drought symptomatic of the changing climate exacerbated by the corruption of the politicians and greed of large irrigators and miners who have managed to dry  our largest river system and alter the water table. This has enormously increased the fuel loads especially in the crowns of the trees.

The fires this season has burnt rainforests that were considered fireproof, swamps have burnt. The area and scale of the fires are unprecedented. Not only have mind boggling numbers of animals been roasted but the scale and intensity of the fires has destroyed entire ecosystems.

I came back to Australia before Christmas to my home of 20 years to find a layer of ash from fires 20 km away, orange sunsets and a visible smoke haze. I leave again next week and I despair to think of what I will return to.

The firebods have been on TV saying not enough backburn, I’ve mates in NW Sydney who have said the seasonal backburn they have seen  every year was not done this year.

 

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12 hours ago, polymerpunkah said:

I can't get over the fact he went on a "secret" vacation to Hawaii while the fires burned and volunteers died.

 

Either incredibly callous or incredibly stupid.

 

A bit of both, perhaps.

 

Justified it by saying "I don't hold a hose".

 A bit like Churchill pissing off to Blackpool during the Battle of Britain becacause "I don't fly a Spitfire".

He stayed  and showed  what leadership is all about..

This arsehole doesn't understand what leadership is.

 

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21 hours ago, arthur friedenreich said:

The firebods have been on TV saying not enough backburn, I’ve mates in NW Sydney who have said the seasonal backburn they have seen  every year was not done this year.

 

 Hazard reduction (also known variously as prescribed, planned, controlled or fuel-reduction burning) is the targeted burning of bushland to control fire behaviour (often in winter).  Back burning is a last-resort measure to stop wildfire from burning out specific areas. It works by setting fires from containment lines, such as established fire breaks.

   NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers denied there had been less hazard-­reduction burning than in previous years. “Hazard reductions have gone on each and every year”. He added hazard reduction on its own was not enough to prevent bushfires.

"It’s very (insulting) to say they haven’t done enough of these burns, but the conditions have to be right to do hazard reductions. It comes down to cuts.” – Nathan Bradshaw, Public Service Association 

Problem is it’s drier and hotter. Around here we’ve been trying to do hazard reductions all year.” Blaming "greenies" for stopping these important measures is a familiar, populist, but basically untrue claim.” – Greg Mullins, fmr Fire & Rescue Commissioner.

 

Hazard reduction burns cannot cover ALL the  vulnerable areas and does nothing to prevent crown fires. Rainforest and swamps haven't been under threat before.

 

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1 hour ago, Evelyn Tentions said:

 Hazard reduction (also known variously as prescribed, planned, controlled or fuel-reduction burning) is the targeted burning of bushland to control fire behaviour (often in winter).  Back burning is a last-resort measure to stop wildfire from burning out specific areas. It works by setting fires from containment lines, such as established fire breaks.

   NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers denied there had been less hazard-­reduction burning than in previous years. “Hazard reductions have gone on each and every year”. He added hazard reduction on its own was not enough to prevent bushfires.

"It’s very (insulting) to say they haven’t done enough of these burns, but the conditions have to be right to do hazard reductions. It comes down to cuts.” – Nathan Bradshaw, Public Service Association 

Problem is it’s drier and hotter. Around here we’ve been trying to do hazard reductions all year.” Blaming "greenies" for stopping these important measures is a familiar, populist, but basically untrue claim.” – Greg Mullins, fmr Fire & Rescue Commissioner.

 

Hazard reduction burns cannot cover ALL the  vulnerable areas and does nothing to prevent crown fires. Rainforest and swamps haven't been under threat before.

 

 

Of course it's not the Greenies/environmentalists fault.  

 

But - given we are where we are with the planet/Australia now - was enough funding/care/extra care/extraordinary care/extraordinary funding given to do everything possible to prevent/mitigate this?

 

I'm assuming someone/government knew about the increased threat (eg. rainforests/swamps/danger earlier in fire season etc)... OR is this just a tragic new learning from these fires?

 

If it's the former, could they have acted better/done enough about these new, unprecedented possibilities since ScoMo took over the reins - or was this simply an inevitable, unpreventable, helpless consequence of climate change and it's now too late to do anything about it?

 

With barely 12 months leading the country - emotionally unintelligent twat that he is - I'm not sure ScoMo should bear the brunt of this country's Climate Change predicament.

 

But if he did fail to act/spend/authorise sufficiently in the last 12 months on this fire matter, then that's the cunt's act right there.

 

Of course, by the time he's turfed out at the next election, I'm sure he'll have joined the swelling ranks of Australian PMs - and we're losing count of the number since 2007 - who continue to stand by doing fuck-all environmentally, policy-wise.

 

And he'll be replaced by another inadequate careerist from our talentless political duopoly.

 

 

 

 

 

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That's life in the big chair though isn't it Skaro?

You get the credit when things are going well, even if you've hardly had anything to do with it, and you get the blame when shit hits the fan even if it's hardly your fault.

Just needs your personality to either be charming as hell, or to do or say something to rub people the wrong way at the wrong time and your whole career is stamped as winner or loser.

 

It's the great "what if" of Australian politics, (and should be a huge cloud of shame for the Greens for politicking and blocking it) the carbon trading scheme that Rudd wanted to bring in. 

You'd think Rudd would still have still been hated by the Labour MPs - but maybe not quite as quickly, and perhaps he survives to win another election?

Would there still have been the wedge in the Liberal party for Abbott to fluke the leadership and then batter his way into and out of being PM?

Does Gillard ever get to be PM - likewise does Turnbull get another go of it for the Libs?

Perhaps the parties are just so locked into political nonsense that we'd have had the great turnover of leaders and PMs anyway. 

I'd still have put money on Morrison working his way into the top job at some point or other, as up to now he's been a pretty savvy political operator, even if he has very little in the way of interests outside his own promotion.

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24 minutes ago, Jose Jones said:

That's life in the big chair though isn't it Skaro?

You get the credit when things are going well, even if you've hardly had anything to do with it, and you get the blame when shit hits the fan even if it's hardly your fault.

Just needs your personality to either be charming as hell, or to do or say something to rub people the wrong way at the wrong time and your whole career is stamped as winner or loser.

 

It's the great "what if" of Australian politics, (and should be a huge cloud of shame for the Greens for politicking and blocking it) the carbon trading scheme that Rudd wanted to bring in. 

You'd think Rudd would still have still been hated by the Labour MPs - but maybe not quite as quickly, and perhaps he survives to win another election?

Would there still have been the wedge in the Liberal party for Abbott to fluke the leadership and then batter his way into and out of being PM?

Does Gillard ever get to be PM - likewise does Turnbull get another go of it for the Libs?

Perhaps the parties are just so locked into political nonsense that we'd have had the great turnover of leaders and PMs anyway. 

I'd still have put money on Morrison working his way into the top job at some point or other, as up to now he's been a pretty savvy political operator, even if he has very little in the way of interests outside his own promotion.

 

"Locked into political nonsense", I'm afraid JJ.

 

Every one you've mentioned above (including the Greens) has a self-serving, betray/stay-in/win power legacy - well overshadowing any of their worthwhile societal/environmental ideas and implementations (which are admittedly very few).

 

We are sadly talking about both a lack of talent as well as integrity/conviction/heart. 

 

Imagine what Shorten's charmless response to all this would have been?  Empty, "caring" platitudes that would have betrayed his pining for the good old days of a bob each-way as Union honcho on the one hand and, on the other, a free dinner at his mother-in-law, the vice-regal's place at Yarralumla.

 

To be honest, I'd rather a callous cunt than a disingenuous one.

 

And you have to go all the way back to Hawke for charm... but he wouldn't last a minute nowadays with moral judgments and political correctness.

 

So, we are where we are.  

 

Fucked, politically, and as a consequence in most other ways too. 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, skaro said:

 

"Locked into political nonsense", I'm afraid JJ.

 

Every one you've mentioned above (including the Greens) has a self-serving, betray/stay-in/win power legacy - well overshadowing any of their worthwhile societal/environmental ideas and implementations (which are admittedly very few).

 

We are sadly talking about both a lack of talent as well as integrity/conviction/heart. 

 

Imagine what Shorten's charmless response to all this would have been?  Empty, "caring" platitudes that would have betrayed his pining for the good old days of a bob each-way as Union honcho on the one hand and, on the other, a free dinner at his mother-in-law, the vice-regal's place at Yarralumla.

 

To be honest, I'd rather a callous cunt than a disingenuous one.

 

And you have to go all the way back to Hawke for charm... but he wouldn't last a minute nowadays with moral judgments and political correctness.

 

So, we are where we are.  

 

Fucked, politically, and as a consequence in most other ways too. 

 

 

 

 

You’ve nailed it there, sadly.

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5 hours ago, skaro said:

 

"Locked into political nonsense", I'm afraid JJ.

 

Every one you've mentioned above (including the Greens) has a self-serving, betray/stay-in/win power legacy - well overshadowing any of their worthwhile societal/environmental ideas and implementations (which are admittedly very few).

 

We are sadly talking about both a lack of talent as well as integrity/conviction/heart. 

 

Imagine what Shorten's charmless response to all this would have been?  Empty, "caring" platitudes that would have betrayed his pining for the good old days of a bob each-way as Union honcho on the one hand and, on the other, a free dinner at his mother-in-law, the vice-regal's place at Yarralumla.

 

To be honest, I'd rather a callous cunt than a disingenuous one.

 

And you have to go all the way back to Hawke for charm... but he wouldn't last a minute nowadays with moral judgments and political correctness.

 

So, we are where we are.  

 

Fucked, politically, and as a consequence in most other ways too. 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like every major nation in the world. Politicians become hateful so normal people dont question what they do,good or bad, and then the most hateful rise to the top fucking up both the country and the planet at the same time.

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6 hours ago, skaro said:

 

"Locked into political nonsense", I'm afraid JJ.

 

Every one you've mentioned above (including the Greens) has a self-serving, betray/stay-in/win power legacy - well overshadowing any of their worthwhile societal/environmental ideas and implementations (which are admittedly very few).

 

We are sadly talking about both a lack of talent as well as integrity/conviction/heart. 

 

Imagine what Shorten's charmless response to all this would have been?  Empty, "caring" platitudes that would have betrayed his pining for the good old days of a bob each-way as Union honcho on the one hand and, on the other, a free dinner at his mother-in-law, the vice-regal's place at Yarralumla.

 

To be honest, I'd rather a callous cunt than a disingenuous one.

 

And you have to go all the way back to Hawke for charm... but he wouldn't last a minute nowadays with moral judgments and political correctness.

 

So, we are where we are.  

 

Fucked, politically, and as a consequence in most other ways too. 

 

 

 

 

Nice to see you parroting the Merde-och bullshit about Shorten.

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22 hours ago, Rico1304 said:

An American woman promised to send a

nude pic of herself to anyone who could send her proof they’d donated $10.  She’s raised over $1m.  
 

 

I saw a tweet yesterday , someone replying to a porn star who had also offered nudes for cash to help out. 

 

"I've seen you get drilled by at least 3 12 inch penises, what the fuck is a nude going to do for me?" 

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