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Australia

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Suranis
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Re: Australia

#76

Post by Suranis »

Yes the Aboriginies, we called all the animals...
Hic sunt dracones
Dave from down under
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Re: Australia

#77

Post by Dave from down under »

MOTHRA!!!!!

Dr Lambkin said the moth was the heaviest in the world with the female weighing up to 30 grams and boasting a wingspan of up to 25 centimetres.

Jump to the link to see how big it is!
(Hint 25cm = 10 inches)


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-05/ ... /100114940

A giant moth belonging to the heaviest species of its kind in the world has been discovered at a primary school in south-east Queensland.

Key points:
Builders discovered a giant wood moth at Mount Cotton State School
The female moth can weigh up to 30g, with a wingspan of up to 25cm
Entomologists say the giant moths can be found from Far North Queensland through to southern NSW
Builders at Mount Cotton State School discovered the giant wood moth on the building site of new classrooms at the school.

The school's principal, Meagan Steward, said it was an "amazing find".

"Our new building is situated on the edge of a rainforest and during the build the moth was found," Ms Steward told ABC Radio Brisbane.

"Our staff and students weren't surprised by the find because we have a range of animals at Mount Cotton, but certainly this moth was not something we had seen before."

Female moth can weigh 30g
The giant wood moth, also known as the Endoxyla cinereus, belongs to the Cossidae family and survives only a few days as an adult.

Queensland Museum's head of entomology Dr Christine Lambkin said at the larvae stage, the giant wood moth grubs were the "true witchetty grubs" of traditional First Nations people's diet.

Dr Lambkin said the moth was the heaviest in the world with the female weighing up to 30 grams and boasting a wingspan of up to 25 centimetres.

A man holding a saw with a giant grey moth on the flat side of the saw
An image of the Giant Wood Moth was used by students as a stimulus for creative writing, prompting students to write about a "giant moth invasion".(Supplied)
"They fly very, very poorly. In most cases when they emerge, the females, they just crawl up a local tree or stump of a fence post and sit there and wait for males to find them," Dr Lambkin said.

"The males are much smaller — about half the size. Essentially what happens is the females are non-feeding, they only live for a few days as adults, they emerge, they mate, they lay eggs, they die."

'Very rarely seen'
Honorary fellow of the Australian National Insect Collection, Ted Edwards, said as caterpillars the creatures bore deep into gum trees and fed on the bark of the growing tissue of the tree.

"They stay like that for two or three years, with a central bore right in centre of tree and then just before they turn into a pupa, they cut out a circle of bark … and build a series of defences against ants and other insects," he said.

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"That's when they turn into a pupa, and then when they come out, they are very rarely seen."

He said the moths had a total life span of about three or four years, and the adults could not feed or drink.

Moth sparks creative writing flair
Ms Steward said the builders took a photo of the moth before returning it to the rainforest, with the discovery providing some inspiration for students in the school's creative writing class.

"After viewing the photo the class brainstormed what could happen and they decided on a giant moth invasion," he said.

"The students wrote some very creative, imaginative pieces of writing — including (Year 4/5 teacher) Mrs Wilson getting eaten by the giant moth."
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Re: Australia

#78

Post by Foggy »

Yabbut Dave, tell us about the movement to rein in the Murdoch "cancer". I got an email about it, and it looks like something we need here.
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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Re: Australia

#79

Post by fierceredpanda »

CNN: Why are Australian officials hinting at war with China?

For a country with a much smaller military and no nuclear weapons, Australia is suddenly hinting an awful lot about a war with China.

On April 25, the symbolic date of Anzac Day, when Australia honors its war dead, newly appointed Defense Minister Peter Dutton said a conflict with China over Taiwan shouldn't "be discounted," adding that Australians needed to be "realistic" about tensions around the region.

In another Anzac Day message, the top official at Australia's powerful Home Affairs department, Mike Pezzullo, told his staff "free nations" were hearing the "drums of war" beating again.

A few days later, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced $580 million in military upgrades. One week on, several newspapers published a confidential briefing by Australia's Maj. Gen. Adam Findlay to special forces soldiers, in which he said conflict with China was a "high likelihood."

:snippity:

But much of the war-like rhetoric from Australia is actually driven by domestic politics, said Yun Jiang, managing editor at the Australian National University's Center on China in the World. The Morrison government is under pressure over allegations it has mishandled its Covid-19 vaccine rollout, and could be looking to shift the focus.
Obviously, I'm not an Australian. But rattling that particular saber seems...ill-advised? :confuzzled:
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Re: Australia

#80

Post by LM K »

Dave from down under wrote: Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:27 am Spoiler - don't go swimming in Darwin Harbour

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-03/ ... r/13211628

A battle-scarred crocodile weighing up to half a tonne has been pulled from Darwin Harbour — prompting a warning that crocodiles are on the move during a heavy wet season.

Key points:
Rangers estimate the creature weighs 500kg
They say crocodiles are mobile because of recent heavy rain
Another large crocodile was caught in the same trap last Saturday

The creature, which is 4.5-metres long and missing some toes and part of its tail, is so large rangers struggled to remove it from the trap in the western side of the harbour, where it was found on Wednesday.
I would love, love, love to visit Australia! But I fear I'll be murdered in my sleep, on the beach, hiking, sitting outside or inside in any location, etc. Y'all have super meanie wildlife.
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Re: Australia

#81

Post by Phoenix520 »

Yeah, I was surprised that giant moth isnt poisonous.
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Re: Australia

#82

Post by LM K »

Dave from down under wrote: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:16 pm https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-15/ ... t/13247972

After a Liberal* party wipe-out, WA's Lower House could end up with more MPs named Lisa than Liberal party members.

Key points:
Australia's first female MP Edith Cowan entered WA Parliament in 1921
A century on, WA has elected the 100th woman to State Parliament
Women are set to occupy 28 out of the 59 seats in the lower house

(*Liberal in this context is conservative... things are different down under ;) )

Me: slowly getting there.. hopefully before I fall off the perch...
In my college dorm wing, 6/22 women were named Lisa. Several of us were bestowed with nicknames to keep the chaos to a minimum.
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Re: Australia

#83

Post by Dave from down under »

Foggy wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 8:06 am Yabbut Dave, tell us about the movement to rein in the Murdoch "cancer". I got an email about it, and it looks like something we need here.
Some thing are worse than poisonous spiders/snakes/jellyfish..

Power corrupts
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Re: Australia

#84

Post by Foggy »

LM K wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 3:06 pm In my college dorm wing, 6/22 women were named Lisa. Several of us were bestowed with nicknames to keep the chaos to a minimum.
Aha! So I wasn't the first to call you the Shrinky Lady! Good to know. :thumbsup:
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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Re: Australia

#85

Post by LM K »

Foggy wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 7:40 am
LM K wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 3:06 pm In my college dorm wing, 6/22 women were named Lisa. Several of us were bestowed with nicknames to keep the chaos to a minimum.
Aha! So I wasn't the first to call you the Shrinky Lady! Good to know. :thumbsup:
:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
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Re: Australia

#86

Post by jcolvin2 »

LM K wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 3:06 pm In my college dorm wing, 6/22 women were named Lisa. Several of us were bestowed with nicknames to keep the chaos to a minimum.
Reminded me of the following:
Dave from down under
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Re: Australia

#87

Post by Dave from down under »

I prefer the years of flood to drought..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-26/ ... /100160174

Scientists analysing growth rings of 700-year-old native cypress trees in Western Australia's Wheatbelt say the region suffered a series of megadroughts lasting up to 30 years in past centuries.

Key points:
Researchers discover seven centuries of rainfall data by analysing ancient tree rings
South-western Australia suffered several megadroughts in past centuries
The researchers say instrumental records don't fully capture how bad drought can get
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Re: Australia

#88

Post by Dave from down under »

Loads more at link

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-08/ ... /100197458

4,000 police involved in raids this week
The sting, known as Operation Ironside, has allegedly exposed criminals linked to South American drug cartels, Asian Triads and Middle Eastern and European criminal syndicates.

Police said dozens of members of the Comanchero and Lone Wolf outlaw motorcycle gangs were arrested.

Police claim the plan to use an encrypted app was hatched overseas over a few beers with FBI agents in 2018, before police figured out how to decrypt all messages.

The app was unwittingly distributed by fugitive Australian drug trafficker Hakan Ayik, after he was given the device by undercover agents.

Ayik, 42, recommended the app to criminal associates who would purchase the device pre-loaded with AN0M on the black market, allowing them to send messages, distort messages and take videos.

Police said in some cases it took months to establish whom a specific device was being used by.

Authorties said about 4,000 police raided properties this week, with the investigation growing so large the AFP paused its operations over the past few weeks, except for child protection and counter-terrorism.

More than 11,000 people were using AN0M devices across the world, including 1,650 in Australia.

Half of the criminal activity detected on the app was in New South Wales.

Police conducted 210 search warrants yesterday, which they said broke the previous record of 50 search warrants in a single day.
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Re: Australia

#89

Post by scirreeve »

Dave from down under wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:51 pm :snippity:
4,000 police involved in raids this week
The sting, known as Operation Ironside, has allegedly exposed criminals linked to South American drug cartels, Asian Triads and Middle Eastern and European criminal syndicates.
Lots more info in this thread.
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Re: Australia

#90

Post by scirreeve »

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Re: Australia

#91

Post by bill_g »

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Lani
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Re: Australia

#92

Post by Lani »

What the hell is going on with the vaccines in Australia?
Scott Morrison has been forced to defend Australia’s vaccination failings on the world stage, as the Prime Minister was grilled over the lagging rollout at the G7 summit in Britain.

When pushed, Mr Morrison could not say what percentage of the population would need to be vaccinated before international travel could resume.

Only 2.6 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That places us below the world average, and behind countries like Peru, Lebanon and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Britain and the United States have fully vaccinated more than 43 per cent of their populations.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronav ... 2020210614
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Re: Australia

#93

Post by RTH10260 »

I guess with the near to no covid infections in the country the vaccination program for locals is second priority.
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Re: Australia

#94

Post by Dave from down under »

Arrrggg.. going so well then Delta from a flight crew to an unvaccinated chauffeur and then... we have a problem...

Greater Sydney in 2+ week lock down
Mask mandates and venue limits etc

One super spreader party - 24 infected guest, the only not infected were the 6 vaccinated.
Dave from down under
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Re: Australia

#95

Post by Dave from down under »

Other news..

contempt of court = 9 months jail - justly..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-28/ ... /100249670

A convicted conman has been sentenced to nine months in prison after he published defamatory videos about a senior Tasmanian government minister.

Key points:
Kane Dallow made defamatory videos about Tasmanian Government MP Michael Ferguson
He was ordered by the court to stop making videos, but made two more
He has been found guilty of four charges of contempt and sentenced to nine months' prison
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Re: Australia

#96

Post by Domenico »

Cross posted from 'Sovcit Nuts'

Chaos as protester crashes NSW press conference
NSW’s coronavirus press conference has been thrown into chaos by a protester declaring that he is “God”.

https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavir ... 87b86895ad

This guy is a classic. Postage stamps, red thumbprint, and even a 'David-Wynn: Miller' style of presenting his nonsense.
Dave from down under
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Re: Australia

#97

Post by Dave from down under »

He got himself a $1K fine...

What's the bet he doesn't pay and then blows off the court?
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Re: Australia

#98

Post by keith »

Lani wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:06 pm What the hell is going on with the vaccines in Australia?
Scott Morrison has been forced to defend Australia’s vaccination failings on the world stage, as the Prime Minister was grilled over the lagging rollout at the G7 summit in Britain.

When pushed, Mr Morrison could not say what percentage of the population would need to be vaccinated before international travel could resume.

Only 2.6 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That places us below the world average, and behind countries like Peru, Lebanon and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Britain and the United States have fully vaccinated more than 43 per cent of their populations.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronav ... 2020210614
Meh.

Whaddya want from poor "Scotty From Marketing"?

He doesn't hold a fire hose syringe. And this "isn't a race".

The Morrison government’s ‘vaccine rollout is not a race’ nonsense tells us a lot about what’s gone wrong
Has everybody heard about the bird?
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Re: Australia

#99

Post by Azastan »

2.6 percent vaccinated is barely worth mentioning. How embarrassing :oopsy: .
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Re: Australia

#100

Post by RTH10260 »

Azastan wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:37 pm 2.6 percent vaccinated is barely worth mentioning. How embarrassing :oopsy: .
Considering that Australia has been able to contain and localize covid outbreaks with quarantine measures I can understand that vaccination efforts were kept minimal.As a result they were not the first to queue up for vaccines at the few producers. Though I would say, technology wise Australia would be predestinated to produce locally with the option to supply outside, like N.Zealand the South Pacific region.
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