They are heroes twice over, and my condolences to their families

Three Americans killed in Australian plane crash identified – and all are U.S. military veterans

Glad that not everyone is as hateful as the woman and her children were

After A 3-Year-Old Aboriginal Girl Was Attacked For Dressing Like Elsa, The World Came To Her Support

Horrific, indeed

Both for the animals and the people below:

Sheep rain down on cars in Australia

MELBOURNE — Sheep plunged onto cars on a busy Australian highway after a truck carrying 400 livestock crashed while crossing an overpass, spilling its cargo into the path of terrified motorists below.

Mega-Wombats!

Wombat The Size Of A Rhinoceros, Diprotodon, Found In Australia

Isn't it cute?

Illustration by Dmitry Bogdanov

I used to know someone who got wombats confused with wolverines. She thought they were vicious. (She was also stark raving mad; she was the first person I ever watched go 'ping', and I fully expect one day to see her in the news murdering some pregnant woman for her unborn baby or kidnapping some poor child, she was so obsessed with having children.) Later, another person I know was dubbed the Womberine because she had qualities of both (leaning to the wolverine side). Can you imagine a wombat the size of a rhinoceros? Wow.

So tragic

To those affected by this horrible disaster, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

The things I miss since I'm a solo librarian

These are the librarians of the National Library of Australia having fun during their Christmas Party of 2010. Thanks Jessamyn for the link!

Beautiful--and alive

Ancient rock art's colours come from microbes

A particular type of ancient rock art in Western Australia maintains its vivid colours because it is alive, researchers have found.

While some rock art fades in hundreds of years, the "Bradshaw art" remains colourful after at least 40,000 years.

Jack Pettigrew of the University of Queensland in Australia has shown that the paintings have been colonised by colourful bacteria and fungi.

These "biofilms" may explain previous difficulties in dating such rock art.

How strange

Drunken parrots falling from sky: Parrots intoxicated by a mystery substance are dropping out of the sky near Darwin

Seemingly drunken and hungover parrots are dropping out of the sky in the Northern Territory and experts are at a loss to explain why.

The red-collared lorikeets lose coordination and pass out after eating a mystery food, Lisa Hansen, of the Ark Animal Hospital at Palmerston, near Darwin said on Thursday. Red-collared lorikeets are an NT subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubritorquis).

"It happens every year around this season, they lose all balance and we find them fallen out of trees and the sky," she says. "Unless someone intervenes, they can't fly and will get picked up by predators."

(Photo by: Duncan Rawlinson, modified by Snowmanradio)

Ancient artwork may be oldest in world, depicting a long-extinct flightless bird

Australian Aboriginal Rock Art May Depict Giant Bird Extinct for 40,000 Years

An Australian Aboriginal rock art may depict a giant bird that is thought to have become extinct some 40,000 years ago, thereby making it the oldest rock painting on the island continent. The red ochre drawing was first discovered two years ago, but archaeologists were only able to confirm the finding two weeks ago, when they first visited the remote site on the Arnhem Land plateau in north Australia.

That would be older than the cave paintings in Europe, for example, making this the oldest ever discovered, if radiocarbon dating supports the indicated age.

Now, some humour

Spider-Man foils comic book thief in Australia

"We had about 40 people dressed up as their favourite superheroes to celebrate International Free Comic Day, so he [the thief] didn't have much of a choice but to hand the X-Men Omnibus back after a little bit of a scuffle," Mr Baulderstone told the Adelaide Advertiser.

He said a group of Jedi knights blocked the door to prevent the thief from escaping, as The Flash looked on.

"I've had a look at the security footage and it shows Spiderman running down the corridor of the shop, grabbing this guy, hauling him off," said the 45-year-old.

"It was a bit serious at the time, but now we're looking back laughing at what greeted police when they arrived."

I can so imagine this going down in the comic store I used to work in. :)

Training carnivorous marsupials to avoid poisonous toads

Sausage 'solution' to Australia's cane toad invasion
They are mixing in a nausea-producing chemical in with cane toad meat sausages to teach quolls (which used to numerous but which have seriously declined in the last twenty years) from eating the large toads.

What's next, a meteor strike?

In the last 24 hours, Australia has been hit by earthquakes, hail storms, and bush fires. Now Sydney is being attacked by a red dust carried by gale-force winds from the outback. For more, see:

Dust storm sweeps East Australia

I've been in dust storms before (I lived in the Californian Mojave Desert and sometimes even walked home from school in them), but the video that accompanies the story is extremely eerie. If it weren't for the water (some of the dust was brought in by thunderstorms), you'd think it was some sort of Mars landscape or strange orange-red camera filter. People susceptible to breathing issues have been urged to stay inside. Others are venturing forth at a crawl, many wearing masks.

Wow. It sounds like something out of Cthulhu, omens for another apocalypse. Maybe all those wingnuts going on about the End Times are right after all.

Criminal, sad, and disturbing

Lost teen's 7 emergency calls prove futile: Australia promises overhaul of emergency response after hiker's death

In 2006, David Iredale died of thirst in 100-degree heat after becoming lost in the Australian bush and repeatedly calling 000--their version of 911--and getting recorded messages or operators who insisted on a street address before they could dispatch an ambulance or helicopter. In addition, the calls kept dropping because he was in a gorge.

The operators "lacked empathy" because they were too preoccupied with the computer, [coroner Carl Milovanovich] said. Operators should be trained to override the computer and to recognize signs of illness or distress in callers.

Let's hope they make the system better.

More from Australia...

Australia to shoot 6,000 kangaroos: Killings intended to protect plants and insects; conservationists outraged

The kangaroo slaughter follows a recent government environmental report that the common eastern gray kangaroos are too numerous in Canberra's parkland and grassland, eating scarce native grass which is the habitat of endangered insects such as golden gun moths and perunga grasshoppers.

The kangaroo overpopulation is also threatening endangered reptiles, the grassland earless dragon and the striped legless lizard, the report said.

Kangaroos are slaughtered to control population throughout Australia, but government agencies have been reluctant to kill the beloved national symbol around Canberra in the past 20 years because of public outcry.

And still more... (*You may not want to read if you're arachnophobic, and certainly don't go visiting the links*)

Giant Spiders Invade Australian Outback Town

Scores of eastern tarantulas, which are known as “bird-eating spiders” and can grow larger than the palm of a man’s hand, have begun crawling out from gardens and venturing into public spaces in Bowen, a coastal town about 700 miles northwest of Brisbane....

While not deadly like other Australian spiders, the eastern tarantulas are venomous and can grow up to 6cm (2.4in) long with a leg span of 16cm (6.3in). Despite their common name, they do not eat birds, but can kill a dog with one bite, and make a human very sick.

They are also known as whistling or barking spiders for the hissing noise they emit when they are disturbed or aggravated at close range.

They creep me out, and I *like* spiders.

My, Australia's been in the news quite a bit this week!

An Australian Smokey Bear

Koala rescued in wildfire-scarred Australia: Firefighter: 'He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby'

Okay, she's not really a bear, but Sam the koala, like many of her kind, was injured by the horrific fires sweeping through sweltering Australia. A firefighter noticed her walking on burnt paws and offered her some water. Koalas rarely drink, getting what they need from the leaves they chew, but she was in dire need. Koalas are particularly vulnerable in this situation because they are so slow on the ground.

She's been rescued and is expected to make a full recovery and be released back into the wild. [Oh, and the picture, although of a koala, is not of Sam, but was taken at the San Diego Zoo by photographer Sanjay ach, and appears as part of the Wikipedia Commons with free licensing given.]


Although the US Forest Service's own Smokey Bear (the 'the' in Smokey the Bear is actually wrong, having gained popularity from a song where an extra syllable was needed for rhythm) predates the living symbol, in 1950 a black bear cub was rescued in a New Mexico fire and later taken to the national zoo, where he lived until his death in 1976 (I remember when Smokey died.)

Here's to Sam and her good health. The article spoke of kangaroos running from flames on fire. It sounds horrible down there. My thoughts are with all the people, livestock, and wild animals affected by these fires, and may the temperatures and dry conditions break soon so these will come to an end.

UPDATE:

Millions of animals feared dead in Australia: Intensity of fires, and vast area covered, leave 'no doubt,' expert says

Many who survived the fire initially will slowly starve to death without food. Animal rescuers are doing what they can, but many of the animals are too far gone and must be euthanised to end their suffering. The death toll among humans may be as high as 200. It's an awful situation.

:(

A feel-good story

Hero dog risks life to save kittens from fire

An unfortunate necessity

Lone Sydney baby whale put down

The baby humpback whale, abandoned by its mother, was trying to suckle boats. The 2-3 week-old, who had been named Colin, had not eaten in a week and his health was deteriorating. Efforts to lead him out to sea and hopefully find an adoptive mother did not work. He was suffering from shark bites and starvation, and rather than have him die slowly, the decision was made to humanely euthanise him. Colin's story has captivated Australia. Apparently there is no way to feed a whale in captivity if it is still breast-feeding. It's sad, but I suppose it's also a matter of survival of the fittest. Still, I hate that they had to kill him.

Here's a video from MSNBC of Colin.

Isn't she cute?

Tinkerbell is a tiny joey, a baby koala. :) She's at the Koala Hospital in Port MacQuarie, New South Wales, which rescues koalas and releases them back into the wild. It's run completely by volunteers and via donations. You can adopt a wild koala to help support their work for forty Australian dollars (within Australia) or fify Australian dollars (for those outside of Australia) [right now that's about US$46.58 for those of us in the United States, according to the XE Universal Currency Converter].

Good night.

This so appalls me

Appeal lodged over 'lenient' Aboriginal rape sentences

A 10-year-old girl is gang-raped by 9 men who confess to the crime and the judge lets them off without prison time saying (and I quote) she 'was not forced and she probably agreed to have sex with all of you'.

Since when is a 10-year-old girl able to give consent to sex? In Australia, the legally-defined age of consent is 16. This apparently gets thrown out if you are not a white, middle-class Australian. The truly sad thing about this? This was the second assault on this child. She was removed from the town when she was sexually assaulted at the age of 7 by several juveniles who never even made it to court. She was sent back by the welfare agencies and almost immediately gang-raped. Several in the welfare agency have faced enquiry/loss of jobs. But the actual perpetrators in both cases have received almost encouragement for their deeds.

It has many in Australia up in arms over the sentence and particularly the judge's remarks. A full review of rape cases in the area has been ordered to see if there is a trend to go lenient in cases involving Aborigines and this case has been appealed by the attorney representing the state of Queensland.

I hope the judge in the case gets reviewed as well and if she was appointed, that appointment be revoked. In the meantime I hope this child is finally where she can be both safe and receive counseling. She's now 12, I think, and has already had her childhood yanked from her by both groups of thugs and now the supposed justice system.

Listening to

Men at Work, 'Down Under'



Man, it's catchy. :) Takes me right back to the 80s. And it's the entire reason I know about Vegemite.

PS Yesterday we hit a record high of 70 degrees here in Lexington. Today it's much cooler, and it's heading for the 40s. :( Oh, well, I can't really complain--it is almost winter. Still, it might be nice to be in Australia right now. :)