Random thoughts

[rbkwp]

agree
because i am stauncly anti fracking
my main concern is th possible damage to the WATER in particularr

its been proven already this happens
believe they are allowing it WW

BEAUTIFUL NATURAL AUSTRALIAN countryside destroyed

its been PROVEN this FRACKING IS NO F'kn good for our water, still they persist

quoting 400 jobs i think it was
whats 400 jobs when theres 000s of lives/peoples health at stake,plus the future generations

Beetaloo Basin: What do we know about the region at the heart of the NT fracking debate?
Love it or hate it, a decision on fracking in the Northern Territory appears imminent.


VIDEO: NT grapples with environment and economy fracking dilemma (ABC News)

MAP: NT
Love it or hate it, a decision on fracking in the Northern Territory appears imminent.

After 15 months of research and community consultation, the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturingconcluded the challenges and risks associated with any onshore shale gas industry in the NT could be "appropriately managed".

So what do we know about the region experts believe will be ground-zero for onshore gas?

The Beetaloo Sub-Basin, around 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin, sits in the Sturt Plateau region, between Mataranka to the north and Elliott to the south.

Farmers, businesses and the industry alike remain at odds over its place in the fracking debate — but one thing they can all agree on is that it is a bounty for gas.

What is the Beetaloo Basin and why should I care?
For some time, the Beetaloo Basin — and the people that live there — have had a pull-and-push relationship with the gas industry.

External Link: The Beetaloo Sub-basin


Its exploration history dates back more than a decade, but in recent years, Origin (among others) has its sights set on the region and its gas reserves — around 6.6 trillion cubic feet, according to industry predictions.

Around 70 per cent of the Territory's prospective shale gas resources are estimated to occur in the Beetaloo Sub-basin, and according to the NT fracking inquiry, recent shale gas discoveries in the region could increase Australia's global ranking of gas resources from seventh to sixth.

It's considered so promising that it's pulled in around 50 per cent of the total $505 million of exploration investment in the NT since 2010.

To put it simply, it's a pretty big deal in the gas world.

But it's not without division.

What are the arguments against?
Though rich in shale gas, the basin takes in pastoral land and Indigenous communities.

Modern mining methods, known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" for short, allow companies to "untrap" these reserves from rocks kilometres underground; and that has some concerned.

By injecting a fluid underground, mostly comprised of sand and water, companies are able to break open the rocks and tap into any gas reserves that may be there.

But a mix of chemicals must also be injected through water aquifers and into the land for the process to work.

Pastoralists and landowners alike fear it is this fluid that could pollute rivers and bores across the region.

PHOTO: Anti-fracking grafitti on the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. (ABC Rural: Daniel Fitzgerald)


Last year, Origin's own environmental report for 10,000 square-kilometres on the Beetaloo Basin warned that drilling could pose a risk of causing aquifers under some properties to leak into each other, and potential exists for the deterioration in groundwater quality, which could impact existing groundwater users.

The company said once those issues were identified, it developed solutions to mitigate them.

But it has done little to allay concerns. There is no guarantee abandoned wells will never leak, farmers fear.

Others point to the potential negative economic consequences, including a "rapid increase" in the cost of living for Territorians not involved in the industry, exacerbation of existing issues of inequality and disadvantage, and reductions in the financial viability and sustainability of existing businesses.

Though the arguments differ, the message is the same: as far as they're concerned, fracking and the Beetaloo Basin are incompatible.

What are the arguments for?
On the flipside, proponents argue the risks associated with fracking can be mitigated.

They point to the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing final report, which found the industry could be "appropriately managed" in the Northern Territory.

For those in favour of the proposal, the sticking point is jobs and economic growth.

The fracking industry has promised up to $1 billion worth of investment in the NT, including remote roads, and up to 6,000 jobs.

Likewise, there is already a 622-kilometre-long pipeline in the works from Tennant Creek to Mount Isa promising to connect the Northern Territory to the national gas grid — touted as a possible solution to the supposed east coast gas shortage.

PHOTO: Origin chief geologist David Close at a well head in the Beetaloo Basin. (supplied: Peter Eve)

PHOTO: Farmers on the Beetaloo Basin are worried that fracking could damage the area's network of aquifers and rivers.(ABC News: Jane Bardon)

PHOTO: Six trillion cubic feet of shale gas has been found in parts of the basin. (ABC News: Jane Bardon)

Topics: business-economics-and-finance, industry, oil-and-gas, rural, greenhouse-gas, mining-industry, government-and-politics,environmental-impact, environmental-management, environment, environmental-health, health, mining-environmental-issues, nt,darwin-0800, alice-springs-0870

First posted April 15, 2018 06:17:25

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...Email||8940&utm_content=RuralMail_ArticleLink

 

[rbkwp]

WELCOME AMERICA to AUSTRALIA
we ae happy to lose our AUSTRALIAN identity
esp when your going to be prtecting us fom them bd bad RUSSIANS /more so CHINA huh

US military ground drones set to be deployed on Australian cattle stations
Share

• 
  
  Updated yesterday at 09:16
  
  
  First posted yesterday at 08:40
  
  
  
  
  
  An autonomous ground drone used by the US military will soon be delivered to Meat and Livestock Australia.
  
  (Supplied: HDT Global)
  
  
  Autonomous ground drones designed to carry supplies to US troops in combat will soon be heading to the paddocks of northern Australia.
  
  Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has been in talks with developers HDT Global, and is set to take delivery of a customised version later this year.
  
  "This six wheel device, is the next evolution of a device which the US currently uses at the moment," said Sean Starling, MLA's general manager of research, development and innovation.
  
  "It's the size of a large quad bike and we've been working with that US military supplier to effectively evolve that technology for application on Australian pastoral operations."
  
  Mr Starling said once the drone arrives in Australia, it will be sent to work on various cattle properties, starting in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
  
  He said six pastoral companies involved in the project had already identified a number of potential applications for the drone, from simply being a "work horse" that can carry a payload of 500 kilograms, to doing bore runs and delivering lick-blocks to cattle.
  
  "We will then spend the next couple of years deploying this to different locations with different producers, to get some additional input into what sensors and attachments we can deploy from this device to add value for pastoral businesses," Mr Starling said.
  
  Autonomous drones 'are the future'
  Mr Starling said it was now commonplace for pastoral companies to use manned drones to carry out various jobs, but MLA believes manually-operated drones could soon be obsolete.
  
  "Where we would like to see this go, is that you don't even have to be at the controls," Mr Starling said.
  
  "It is what we'd call a 'silent service'.
  
  "These autonomous drones, be they aerial or ground, are just a silent service, they're in the background, doing their pre-determined task, and the only time you hear from them is when they can't make a decision and need human input to make a decision on something they've seen which is unusual.
  
  "So at MLA we used to have our drone strategy, but now we call it our autonomous strategy — we think drones will reach their limit very soon if we don't move them into this fully autonomous, silent service offering."
  
  The autonomous six-wheeler being sent to MLA is expected to retail for less than $100,000.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/20...Email||8940&utm_content=RuralMail_ArticleLink

 

[rbkwp]

sory i missed it at the time

Therese Frare
The Photo That Changed the Face of AIDS
LIFE.com shares the story behind one of the most harrowing and controversial photographs to emerge from the global pandemic

 

[rbkwp]

smile
likely better looking/behaved than say you and me

Photograph by Hidetoshi Ogata
| CALLING FOR ENTRIES |
CONTEST NOW OPEN
Where have your travels taken you recently? Submit your most powerful travel photos to one of three categories—nature, cities, or people—for a chance to win amazing prizes. The competition will be fierce. Do you have what it takes to inspire our judges?

smile
thats the life
we dont need no wars

Dive-bombing hummingbirds add a twist to impress mates
Male hummingbirds increase the volume and pitch of their calls by manipulating their tail feathers.

Most male North American hummingbirds show off with a flashy dive during which they fan their tails to make a chirping sound. Females seem to use the chirps to rate the speed of the dives — with the faster the better. But male Costa’s hummingbirds (Calypte costae) can boost the volume and pitch of the chirps by twisting feathers in their tail toward the female, masking their true velocity.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41...il&utm_campaign=briefing&utm_content=20180416

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Photograph by Naresh Balaguru
WILDLIFE |
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Capture the beauty of nature in all its forms: it’s wildlife, landscapes, and hidden corners of our natural world.

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Show us the world’s people, communities, and cultures.

 

[rbkwp]

smile
along with the other silly posts ha
i would get shitty also with the loss of this product
enjoyed it so much on island on occassion
BIG BUMMER almost as BAD as Trump being the leader of the USA

SUNDAY BANNANNA PANCAKES and llonglife Ceam mmmmm

Scones, jam and no cream: The prospect outback communities face as long-life cream is discontinued

• Blogger Danielle Doyle's son Clancy with one of the family's last bottles of long-life cream.
  (Supplied: Danielle Doyle)
  Cooks in some of Australia's most remote kitchens have been left reeling after a common outback staple — Devondale long-life cream — disappeared from supermarket shelves.
  
  The UHT cream, which is known for its capacity to be whipped into firm peaks, was taken off the shelf when dairy processor Murray Goulburn closed three of its factories.
  
  Although news of the closures was heard around the country, Alby Davey, from Chatsworth Station in north-west Queensland, said the unavailability of long-life cream took her by surprise.
  
  "Sometimes it was [at the shop], sometimes it wasn't and then it was just gone. There's nothing now," Ms Davey said.
  
  "Now we just have to cart extra Eskys in and bring home fresh cream, which certainly doesn't have the expiry date of the long-life cream, so once it runs out, you just don't have any."
  
  
  Alby Davey, from Chatsworth Station about 180 kilometres from Mount Isa, says the station has been forced to take more coolers to town and use fresh cream.
  
  (ABC Rural: Eric Barker)
  As well as using fresh cream, Chatsworth Station, which is a two-hour drive from Mount Isa and feeds about 15 staff, has started using a lactose-free alternative.
  
  "It's OK for the savoury things but you cannot whip it for cold deserts or anything cold," Ms Davey said.
  
  "On the savoury side, I think it stays a little bit too runny for my liking.
  
  "The Devondale thickened cream definitely makes it a lot more creamy and thick. It's a bit more of a sauce base."
  
  Long-life cream loss goes viral
  A recent Facebook post by outback blogger Danielle Doyle addressing the loss of long-life cream went viral, reaching more than 350,000 people, showing widespread the loss was.
  
  "The difficult decision to discontinue Long Life Thickened Cream (among a number of other products) was made in 2017 as part of ongoing efforts to improve our commercial performance via a more focused product range.
  
  "In addition, we have been required to reduce our manufacturing capacity in response to a significant drop in milk intake from farms.
  
  "This includes the factory in Tasmania where Long Life Thickened Cream was manufactured, and unfortunately it was not cost effective to continue production of this product at an alternative site."
  

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://...sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFMCbhHpveWEwUN-PkGnVAwJu3vuw

 

[rbkwp]

Animal/Human health
PSI

thinking of other WW viruses/epidemics etc that hit the world if not contained huh
WHO will eventually get onto it no doubt
most profound statement for months/years as it festers will be its stndard response
would be something like
'the worrld could be affected'
or someting similar

yep
i am a most negative bastard


Rare human outbreak of monkey malaria detected in Malaysia
Handful of people diagnosed with parasite found in macaques has scientists worried about increasing contact between monkeys and humans.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41...il&utm_campaign=briefing&utm_content=20180417

i wii be nice with a positive

In encouraging sign, Ebola vaccine appears to provide long-lasting protection
By HELEN BRANSWELL @HelenBranswell

APRIL 16, 2018

https://www.statnews.com/2018/04/16/ebola-vaccine-lasting-protection/

 

[rbkwp]

liked very much
youve got it if you want or not ha

BOOKS AND ARTS

War and peace and summer camp
Alex Haslam appraises an account of key experiments on the psychology of conflict and cooperation.

[paste:font size="4"]

Illustration by Stephan Schmitz
The Lst B oys: Inside Muzafer Sherif’s Robbers Cave Experiments Gina Perry Scribe (2018)

A few years after the Second World War, Muzafer Sherif conducted possibly the most complex field studies ever attempted in social psychology. Sited in summer camps around the United States, they focused on conflict and cooperation within and between two groups of about a dozen 11- and 12-year-old boys. The children were never informed that they were taking part in research. In each study, Sherif and his fellow researchers spent up to three weeks disguised as counsellors and caretakers, manipulating features of the camp set-up — in particular, the structure of team competitions and challenges — to examine their impact on group relations.

In The Lost Boys, Gina Perry puts these extraordinary experiments under the microscope. As in her 2013 book Behind the Shock Machine, which probed psychologist Stanley Milgram’s 1960s research on obedience, she is unsatisfied with the half-truths lazily handed down in textbooks. Her aim is to make a distinctive contribution to the current debate about replication and reproducibility in social psychology. She goes in search of the stories behind the research, in particular reassessing Sherif’s legacy through the recollections of study participants and research collaborators. The result is an enlightening read, and a ripping yarn.

All three studies featured a phase in which the two groups competed for scarce resources such as prized penknives. In other respects, their designs were quite different. In the 1949 and 1953 studies, the boys underwent a phase of making friends. They were then assigned to one of two distinct groups that cut across friendship lines. In the 1954 study, at Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma, there was no initial friendship phase. Moreover, competition was followed by a period in which the two groups could achieve a prized outcome (such as watching a movie) only if they cooperated (say, by pooling group funds). The studies were very much of their time: the scientists selected white, Protestant boys who were deemed psychologically ‘well adjusted’.

As Sherif and his colleagues reported in later texts — notably the 1966 book Group Conflict and Co-operation — their manipulations profoundly affected the boys’ behaviour. In particular, as predicted by ‘realistic conflict’ theory, competition generally led to ‘us–them’ group identities: well-mannered boys were turned into aggressive, prejudiced adversaries. Significantly, at Robbers Cave, this process was then reversed with the requirement to cooperate in the study’s final phase.

Sherif’s research is less well known than Milgram’s, or later classic studies by Solomon Asch on conformity and Philip Zimbardo on tyrannical power dynamics (B. Maher Nature 523, 408–409; 2015). But what has made Sherif’s legacy clearer and more enduring is the meticulous theoretical work that informed his studies’ design. Sherif was no blind experimentalist. Rather, his ambitious goal was to create an empirical landscape capable of capturing the richness of ‘big picture’ social relations.

In many ways, this concern was a reflection of his own tumultuous life. As Perry clearly documents, that had been marked by external conflicts and inner torture. Before and after the Second World War, Sherif had moved back and forth between his native Turkey and the United States in the face of threats posed by nationalism, Nazism and McCarthyism. At various points, these pressures placed his work — sometimes his life — under threat, and led him to win and lose many friends along the way.

The Lost Boys illuminates Sherif’s life and times, as well as Turkish history and how large field studies work. Sherif’s own accounts of the latter give a sense that support for his theoretical hypotheses followed reasonably seamlessly from the studies’ manipulations. In practice, it wasn’t quite like that, as Perry’s careful detective work reveals.

First, the boys responded in a range of ways to changing group relations and escalating conflict, and it is not always easy to weave these into a single account. Second, even when they were describing the same event, Sherif’s co-investigators often interpreted it differently. Third, it was impossible for the investigators not to shape the boys’ behaviour — not least because ‘doing nothing’ was itself laden with significance (as when researchers refused to censure intergroup aggression, and the tacit approval led to escalation). Fourth, sometimes things simply didn’t go to plan. This is seen most vividly in the 1953 study, which — to Sherif’s dismay — had to be abandoned because the boys, realizing the tensions were engineered, refused to buy into group conflict.

Perry does a magnificent job of documenting these nuances. She tracks down participants, many now retired, and shares their reactions on first discovering that they had taken part in a famous study. Most were intrigued and hungry for information; some were conflicted. Perry rightly worries about the ethics of her own psychological archaeology.

Nevertheless, her efforts to fill in the inevitable gaps in her sources are not always convincing. Sometimes she does rather too much ‘imagining’ to join the dots between experimenters’ actions and participants’ reactions. This is especially problematic in the context of her rather unforgiving commentary on similar shortcomings in accounts by Sherif and his team. Although she questions whether Sherif’s data collection was merely fleshing out a preconceived script, she herself is not immune to this charge.

A bigger problem is that Perry does not put the material she excavates to better use. Had she more thoroughly surveyed contemporary social psychological research on group conflict and collaboration, she would have found important clues that fit closely with the evidence she unearths, and pave the way for significant progress in the questions that Sherif posed.

For example, in his 1976 monograph Social Psychology and Intergroup Relations, Michael Billig observed that Sherif’s key theoretical failing was not factoring in the experimenters as the studies’ third group. Michael Platow and John Hunter have pointed out that Sherif himself recognized that the effects of group membership (such as in-group affinity) preceded competition, and so seem to be as dependent on internalized group identity as on the battle for scarce resources (in ways that Henri Tajfel and John Turner would later unpack in their social identity theory). More generally, Sherif failed to appreciate how the participants and researchers would follow his own lead (in particular, in his cultivation of shared identity). As research has since clarified, this is a blind spot in many classic social psychology studies — not least those of Milgram and Zimbardo.

In The Lost Boys, Perry opens the door to clearer theorizing about these crucial processes of identity and influence, but she fails to walk through it. In these terms, her book leaves the reader concerned not just for the boys’ lost voices, but for Sherif’s. He argued passionately and compellingly for theoretical progress in social psychology. Today, when a focus on empirical replicability often drowns out the equally important requirement for strong integrative theory, we need that voice as much as we did 70 years ago.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41...il&utm_campaign=briefing&utm_content=20180417

 

[rbkwp]

CONGRATULATIONS for that decision
imagine there will be a lot of happy people
followed from the outset damn GREAT result

Poland violated EU law by logging in ancient forest, rules European Court of Justice

Warsaw failed in its obligations to protect the Bialowieza Forest when it authorized the tripling of logging activities. The forest is one of Europe’s last remaining primeval forests and protected under EU law.

Poland's decision to beef up logging in the country's protected Bialowieza Forest — a UNESCO World Heritage site — is in breach of European Union law, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday, the eve of World Heritage Day.

"The forest management operations concerning the Puszcza Bialowieska Natura 2000 site that have been undertaken by Poland infringe EU law," the ECJ said in a statement.

The ECJ said that the Polish government must stop logging "without delay" or face financial penalties. Poland said in a statement that it would respect the ruling by the bloc’s top court.

The final ruling was in line with a preliminary decision released by the ECJ in February.

The European Commission took Poland to court in 2017 arguing that the forest, that boasts unique plant and animal life, was being destroyed. Logging in the Bialowieza Forest began a year earlier.

Read more: Can the EU save Poland's Bialowieza forest?.

• 
  
  BIALOWIEZA FOREST: A POLISH TREASURE GETS CHOPPED DOWN
  Pest control - or profit?
  In March 2016, the Polish government decided to triple the amount of logging allowed in the Bialowieza forest. Since then, at least 10,000 trees have been felled. The government says the reason for the deforestation was to fight an infestation of bark beetles. But scientists say the insects only affect conifers. Critics say pest control is just a cover for those who stand to benefit economically.

12345678
'Huge victory'

The chief executive of environmental organization ClientEarth, James Thornton, said the ruling was a "huge victory for all defenders of Bialowieza Forest, hundreds of people who were heavily engaged in saving this unique, ancient woodland from unthinkable destruction."

"This is not the end of our fight. The ruling is just on paper for now: we need to see concrete action … We believe that this World Heritage site and one of the last primeval forests in Europe deserves it."

"Today is a clear victory for Europe’s wildlife," said Andreas Baumueller, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) European Policy Office. "Nature cannot be ignored and neither can EU law."

The European bison is among species that make their home in the Bialowieza forest

Read more: In Poland's Bialowieza National Park, the woodchips are flying

Chainsaw massacre

Last year, the EU's high court issued an injunction forbidding Poland from continuing to allow logging in Bialowieza, Europe's oldest forest. But in an unprecedented move, Poland's government ignored the order and continued to allow logging.

The entire Bialowieza forest covers around 60,000 hectares (148,260 acres) in eastern Poland and stretches into Belarus with a total of about 150,000 hectares. Bialowieza is one of the last remaining parts of the primal forest that once stretched across the northern European lowlands.

Read more: Polish police break up protest against Bialowieza forest logging

Although designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979, only parts of the Polish section of the forest are protected as a natural park, while in neighboring Belarus, the entire forest is protected. After Tuesday's ECJ ruling, ClientEarth's Thornton said the Polish government should consider enlarging the national park so it encompasses the whole of Bialowieza Forest.

Read more: Poland's chainsaw massacre

A boy attends a protest against the cutting of trees in the Bialowieza Forest

kw/rc (AFP, dpa)

http://www.dw.com/en/poland-violate...n-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-html-newsletter

 

[rbkwp]

ahem/smile

the ONLY TIME i would live with awoman, if she could cook me fine pastys once a week ha
thee goes my 12 stone weight fo my entie life haha


The Best Pastries in Paris, According to Top Chefs

From a sublime apple tart picked by one of America’s best bread bakers to the most exquisite lime cake chosen by the French-born creator of the Cronut, here’s where to indulge your sweet tooth now.

 

[rbkwp]

LISTEN
F'n disgusting
why you continue to allow your leader to make such decisions
85 pc of the Park gone

Rare fossils could face trouble outside new Bears Ears National Monument boundaries

https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-04...e new Bears Ears National Monument boundaries

 

[MickeyLee]

Trixie Mattel is why I wanted to be a Drag Queen when I was a lil ML.

WeeML: I'm gonna be a drag queen when I grow up
Drag Queen: That's called a beauty pageant, you confused little white girl.
WeeML: I WILL BE FABULOUS!!!

 

[rbkwp]

have a best friend who kept blowing smoke dope into his wifes cat, till i told him off HEAPS
not exactly H material, just as well he never shared our magic mushrooms with it years later??

still
a different sort of H buzz i geuss

There’s No Such Thing as a Hypoallergenic Cat
With its short tight curl, many claim that the Cornish Rex is proof that cats can be allergen-free. Nope

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...allergenic-cat-180968819/#QKr028gBktxhsLOI.99
r

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...pJobID=1262070466&spReportId=MTI2MjA3MDQ2NgS2

 

[rbkwp]

COOL
leave himalone you officious b.....ds
thing is,not everyone does it or even want toso get F'kd


"I find it completely and utterly outrageous that something that was perfectly legal for our forefathers is now illegal for us.
"How can that be at the stroke of a pen … that sounds like capricious government."

edit

Mr Gopel said he would be willing to sit down with the council, but he was remaining steadfast in his position.
"An arbiter usually means that it's somebody who arbitrarily makes a decision one way or the other and all parties have to stick to that," he said.
"Well, I don't know what there is to discuss — I'm going to live here regardless.
"How about leaving me in peace?"


Police advice sought over threats during ongoing feud
The status quo looks unlikely to change anytime soon, and while Mr Gopel was convicted at trial, the court of public opinion seems to be on his side.
More than 2,100 people have signed an online petition to stop Mr Gopel from being evicted.
The Shire of Menzies was also forced to seek advice from police after receiving threatening emails and telephone calls after the ABC broke the story last year.


Email
Caravan man Roland Gopel digs in: 'They will carry me out of here in a wooden box'
ABC Goldfields
By Jarrod Lucas
Posted April 18, 2018 15:42:49

PHOTO: Roland Gopel remains adamant he will continue to live the way he wants in his caravan.(ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Jarrod Lucas)
RELATED STORY: Caravan man found guilty of illegally camping on his own property
RELATED STORY: Man fined $50 a day for living on his own property

MAP: Menzies 6436
A man who was convicted for illegally camping on his own land in outback Western Australia is still living in his caravan and says the only way he will leave is if he is dead.

The tense stand-off between Roland Gopel — dubbed "WA's Darryl Kerrigan" — and his local council is in its third year.

Mr Gopel has been living on the outskirts of the historic gold mining town of Menzies, 700 kilometres north-east of Perth, since he paid $4,500 for a block of land in 2015.

The Shire of Menzies has taken him to court twice for breaching the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act, while fining him $50 for every day he has lived in the caravan from August 1.

The 58-year-old was convicted in the Leonora Magistrate's Court last month and fined $4,000 — a penalty Mr Gopel refuses to pay because he believes nobody has the right to tell him what he can do on his property.

Shire hopes arbiter can resolve long-running dispute
The Shire of Menzies plans to bring in an independent arbiter in a bid to resolve the situation, but Mr Gopel told the ABC he was digging in.

"I'm living on my land, which is the only place I have to live," he said.

"The only way I'll leave here is in a coffin … they will carry me out of here in a wooden box.

"I find it completely and utterly outrageous that something that was perfectly legal for our forefathers is now illegal for us.

"How can that be at the stroke of a pen … that sounds like capricious government."

Caravan fitted with solar panels and satellite dish
With only the flies for company, Mr Gopel lives on a hill overlooking the Menzies townsite without toilet or sewerage facilities, periodically emptying a bucket at the local caravan park.

The self-confessed introvert has his own rainwater tank for drinking and showering, solar panels connected to 12 batteries for electricity, as well as a satellite dish for internet.

PHOTO: Roland Gopel has set up his own self-contained solar power system at his caravan on the outskirts of Menzies.(ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Jarrod Lucas)


Mr Gopel has also installed a new wind turbine to boost his power supply, so next summer he may be able to run air conditioning to escape the scorching temperatures.

But it is the council's view that his dilapidated property is a health risk, and argued in court it had received complaints from Menzies residents.

Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.


VIDEO: Man fined for living on his own property (ABC News)


Council between a 'rock and a hard place'
Shire of Menzies president Greg Dwyer told the ABC the council was "between a rock and a hard place" because it was required to enforce local government regulations, but he declined to comment further.

OTO: Shire of Menzies president Greg Dwyer says the council is required to enforce local government regulations.(Supplied: Shire of Menzies)

Councillors voted at their most recent meeting to bring in a mutually agreed independent arbiter to enter discussions with Mr Gopel, Mr Dwyer and the shire's chief executive Rhonda Evans.

Mr Gopel said he would be willing to sit down with the council, but he was remaining steadfast in his position.

"An arbiter usually means that it's somebody who arbitrarily makes a decision one way or the other and all parties have to stick to that," he said.

"Well, I don't know what there is to discuss — I'm going to live here regardless.

"How about leaving me in peace?"

Police advice sought over threats during ongoing feud
The status quo looks unlikely to change anytime soon, and while Mr Gopel was convicted at trial, the court of public opinion seems to be on his side.

More than 2,100 people have signed an online petition to stop Mr Gopel from being evicted.

The Shire of Menzies was also forced to seek advice from police after receiving threatening emails and telephone calls after the ABC broke the story last year.

PHOTO: The makeshift clothes line set up by Roland Gopel on his property near Menzies. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Jarrod Lucas)


Council does not want man kicked off his property
During the trial, lawyers for the council stated it was never the shire's intention to evict Mr Gopel, but rather to bring the property up to code.

Mr Gopel is not so sure, describing his relationship with the council as a "de facto civil war".

"I've had lots of offers from people to put me up if the worst comes to the worst, but how bad can it get?" he said

"I mean what are they going to do — evict me at gunpoint? Even if that were to happen, what does that say about Australia?"

PHOTO: Menzies is 700km north-east of Perth. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Jarrod Lucas)


The council's environmental officer David Hadden has carried out one inspection since the trial, having told the court he had done at least a dozen inspections over a two-year period.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...tm_content=ABCNewsmail_topstories_articlelink

 

[rbkwp]

UTAH
Into the Wilds of Utah, In Search of Tiny Owls

As darkness falls, hike into the forests of the Wasatch Mountains, ears perked for the low-pitched “boop” of the Flammulated Owl—a pocket-sized insectivore less than six inches tall with dark, searching eyes.

Led by an expert avian biologist, you'll experience one of the most secretive owl species in North America. At four different study locations near our home base in Ogden, Utah, we’ll be helping researchers find active Flammulated Owl nest sites, measure and band female birds, estimate insect prey abundance, and follow the calls of territorial males competing over food and forest resources. We may also be lucky enough to encounter other small owl species such as the Northern Saw-whet Owl, as well as northern flying squirrels. Efforts at tracking nesting owl pairs and their offspring help scientists understand resource needs in an ever-changing environment and shifting climate, and the information we gather during our four days together will add important data to the longterm study of this population.

Day 2
Into the Forest
THURSDAY, JUNE 14

• Enjoy breakfast at the house and pack a bag lunch for our upcoming day in the mountains. We'll drive out near the town of Mantua, Utah, where we’ll check for active nest sites in the aspen forest.
• We’ll hike along trails and through thick vegetation to several nest sites, stopping for lunch in the forest. While out in the field, we'll aid Markus and his assistant in collecting scientific data on incubating female Flammulated Owls.
• After hiking back out, we’ll enjoy a relaxed dinner at a local restaurant in Brigham City before returning to our accommodations in downtown Ogden for the evening. (This evening's dinner is not included.)

Note: This is likely going to be our most strenuous day, so we'll be flexible based on how people are feeling.

Day 3
Owls and Insects
FRIDAY, JUNE 15

• After a good night’s sleep, we can move a bit more slowly this morning and sit down for a hearty, homemade brunch. Afterwards, we’ll prepare dinners for the road—or in this case, the forest.
• We’ll head to a small and more remote study location in Halfway Canyon to check more nests for breeding activity (one-hour drive). During the short hike to the nest locations, we can enjoy the diversity of butterflies often seen in this area in June.
• Later, we’ll help deploy insect traps at select locations to measure habitat quality near active nest sites.
• Afterwards, we’ll call for territorial males with the help of an MP3 player and speaker. Male owls respond to the playback of their call by moving closer, often flying right overhead in an effort to intimidate. While we're in Halfway Canyon, we'll potentially trap them in a mist net (up to 12 by five meters in size)—a bird-trapping method used by experienced ornithologists to trap a variety of avian species.
• It will be a late return to our house after our nighttime work in the forest.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/unusua..._18_2018)&mc_cid=d64691ec98&mc_eid=d67b59bc0e

 

[rbkwp]

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

a best ever magazine,in my books anyway
can never be said all there very fine contributors were racist inclined
unfortunate,but i am sure it will change with the current times

has earnt its credibility
dont believe at all it has to confront its racist history?
just a simple apology from its current CEO will suffice id say/like many politicians love doing,often taking an opportunity to grandstand


How can National Geographic confront its racist history? | The Stream

National Geographic magazine recently apologised for a history of racism in its coverage of non-Western cultures and people of colour around the world. In this month's special "The Race Issue", the 130-year-old publication said it could not now cover stories about race without acknowledging its own past in upholding certain stereotypes.
Known for its iconic photography, National Geographic had long portrayed darker skinned people as uncivilised, and through its imagery, exoticised non-Western cultures for a largely white and Western audience, according to John Edwin Mason, a professor and photography historian at the University of Virginia. The magazine asked Mason to evaluate its coverage of people of colour over the years.

In this episode, we'll ask: What role should media organisations have in dismantling institutional racism?

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[rbkwp]

just sayin

i LOVE EGGS

plus it would be WW i am sure
wont just target the USA in this inst ha
us damn humans
imagine the bosses face of shameless guilt/whatever you want to add
even worse if its corporate owned and hes just a manager, like T

an excuse can be
USA the best democracy in the world, self professed
and/or
we do it biggerr better, because we can

And the FDA has inspected a massive egg farm in North Carolina. What they found may disgust you. —Sam Schulz

Two eggs scrambled, with a side of dead mice. Rodents in manure pits. Swarms of “large flying insects too numerous to count.” Grime-coated equipment. The FDA has blamed the "spread of filth" at a North Carolina farm for the salmonella outbreak that led to America’s largest egg recall in eight years.

Rodent Infestation, ‘Spread of Filth’ Found Before Egg Recall

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ation-spread-of-filth-found-before-egg-recall

 

[rbkwp]

so BEAUTIFUL
damn unfotunate !!!

Email
Coral on the Great Barrier Reef was 'cooked' during 2016 marine heatwave, study finds
By science, technology and environment reporter Michael Slezak
Updated April 19, 2018 05:25:30

PHOTO: A researcher surveys damage on the Great Barrier Reef following the March 2016 mass coral-bleaching event.(ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies: Gergely Torda)
RELATED STORY: Severe coral bleaching hits two-thirds of Great Barrier Reef, aerial surveys show
RELATED STORY: New coral bleaching database puts Australia second worst

MAP: QLD
An underwater heatwave that bleached massive sections of the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 was so severe it immediately "cooked" some corals in the northern region, scientists say following the results of a major long-term study.

Key points:

• Study looked at impact of marine heatwave on the Great Barrier Reef two years ago
• Scientists already had good estimates of how much coral died in immediate aftermath
• Research shows how rising temperatures have transformed ecology of reef

The study also revealed how the bleaching event transformed the makeup of the reef, and removed important habitats for fish and other marine animals.

"The mix of species in the future will be radically different from two years ago," said Professor Terry Hughes from James Cook University (JCU), who led the research published in the journal Nature.

"And that transition is already well underway."

The findings come as a scientific advisory body to the United Nations considers what parts of the natural world are on the verge of an environmental failure.

The JCU researchers said their work showed climate change was threatening the Great Barrier Reef with ecological collapse.

Reef changed 'forever'
Professor Hughes and his colleagues conducted aerial surveys of the entire reef, as well as detailed in-water surveys, at 63 locations along its 2,300-kilometre length, and combined it with data from satellite monitoring.

They did that early in 2016, just after the bleaching, and then repeated it nine months later.

Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.

VIDEO: Vision shows parts of the Great Barrier Reef after the heatwave (ABC News)

Scientists already had good estimates of how much coral died in the immediate aftermath of the heatwaveevent, but the new results show how rising temperatures have radically transformed the ecology of the reef.

Professor Hughes said the new results showed which coral species were "winners" and which species were "losers".

"There's a small number of species that are very robust to heat stress and they've survived quite well. On the other hand, the so-called losers [had] mortality rates of 90 per cent or more in the worst-affected portion of the reef," he said.

The species that were most affected by the bleaching were branching staghorn coral, which grow in complex spiky branches, as well as plate corals.

PHOTO: Corals respond differently to changing water temperatures; some are considered "winners" and others as "losers".(ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies: Mia Hoogenboom)

'They didn't die of starvation … They cooked'
The researchers were surprised not only by the magnitude of the mortality across different species, but also by the way the corals died.

Underwater heatwaves are thought to kill coral by stressing them, causing the coral polyps to expel the symbiotic algae that lives inside them.

That happened, but in addition "many millions of coral" in the northern third of the reef were killed much more directly by the heat, Professor Hughes explained.

PHOTO: The colour morphs of Acropora millepora as the species responds to a bleaching event.(ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies: Gergely Torda)

As a result, on average around the globe, there are 54 per cent more days each year that are subject to a marine heatwave.

INFOGRAPHIC: The main areas of coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017. (Supplied: ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies)

"The sorts of events that cause coral bleaching will occur more often in the future," Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.

She added she was shocked by the results of Professor Hughes's paper.

"I've got to say, it's catastrophic. Seeing all the news articles and seeing it evolve, it looked catastrophic," she said.

"But there might have been a glimmer of hope that it wasn't as bad or might recover faster than we thought. But this paper made the reality very present. The bleaching will forever change the Barrier Reef."

Reef threatened with collapse
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is in the process of developing a Red List of Ecosystems, which mirrors their influential Red List of Threatened Species.

Professor Hughes said his new paper should allow the Great Barrier Reef to be assessed in that framework.

The IUCN will categorise ecosystems that are threatened with collapse as either critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable.

Professor Hughes said the Great Barrier Reef as a whole is likely in the endangered category.

"We showed that 29 per cent of it exceeded the threshold for collapse in the north. So the data we have for the Great Barrier Reef meets those criteria," he said. "It's certainly threatened."

Dr Ward agreed.

"We're not going to lose it tomorrow, but we're at the point where if we don't make some really dramatic changes to our emissions, then we are at risk. We're at risk of having a barely recognisable reef."

Topics: great-barrier-reef, oceans-and-reefs, environment, qld, cairns-4870, australia, mackay-4740, rockhampton-4700,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...tm_content=ABCNewsmail_topstories_articlelink

 

[rbkwp]

ANZAC Day 25 APRIL Au / NZ
Receive a free packet of Soldier Poppy seeds for every $20 spent (excluding shipping) from now up to and including Anzac da

We LOVE gardening!

 

[rbkwp]

think they just want to get away fom the humans killing them

Why Do Great White Sharks Congregate in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean?

Apparently,

Every year, great white sharks swim from California to an isolated spot in
the Pacific, but no one understands why.

Once a year, a large contingent of great white sharks that typically prowl
the coast of California take a break from their hunting activities and head
out to a remote spot in the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Baja
California and Hawaii. Scientists are not quite sure why these massive
sharks, some as long as 22 feet (6.7 m), travel to what has become known as
the "White Shark Café." It takes around 30 to 40 days for them to swim to
this featureless and out-of-the-way spot. After they arrive, the male
sharks inexplicably dive deep into the ocean, typically to depths of 1,000
feet (305 m), as often as every 10 minutes or s

 

[rbkwp]

dont mind putting it out there because i can
there chemical shoule be banned as well

you dont see the devils bombing the chemical corporates that they support huh

Strawberries Top the "Dirty Dozen" List of Fruits and Vegetables With the Most Pesticides

http://time.com/5234787/dirty-dozen...:"TIME_FOR_HEALTH","ZIP":"","COUNTRY":"AUS"%7