Australia

[keith]

Australian man and his dog rescued by Mexican tuna boat after drifting 3 months in the Pacific Ocean

Heh, I expected this post to be about the Victorian Government backing out of hosting the Commonwealth Games less than a week before the Women's World Cup kicks off.

This isn't going to do much good for Australia's (and Victoria's in particular) reputation as capable of supporting world class sporting events.

The Women's World Cup is going to be a triumph, and it is going to be forever shadowed by the betrayal of Commonwealth athletes. How can any international sporting body trust Australian bid proposals ever again?

[RTH10260]

A strange, giant golden cylinder showed up on an Australian beach, and authorities are asking people to stay away from it as they try to figure out what it is

Natalie Musumeci
Mon, July 17, 2023 at 6:05 PM GMT+2

• A mystery dome-like object recently washed up on a remote beach in Australia.
  Police and officials are trying to figure out what the strange gold-colored cylinder is.
  And authorities have asked beach-goers to stay away from the giant object until they remove it.

A mysterious giant, dome-like object washed up on a remote beach in Australia, perplexing locals, officials, and police as they try to figure out what the strange gold-colored cylinder is.

Officers from the Western Australia Police Force have been guarding the object, and the department has asked people to stay away from it until it is removed from the beach.

The large, apparent-metal object showed up on a beach near Western Australia's Green Head and was reported to police on Sunday, according to authorities.

The Western Australia Police Force said in a statement that it has launched a joint investigation into the matter.

"We want to reassure the community that we are actively engaged in a collaborative effort with various State and Federal agencies to determine the object's origin and nature," the police force said.

Meanwhile, the Australian Space Agency said in a tweet that the object may be from fallen space debris from a foreign rocket.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/strange-gian ... 07293.html

[Dave from down under]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-18/ ... /102614234

Authorities have removed an object, which an expert believes could be from a 20-year-old Indian rocket, after it washed up on a Western Australian beach.

Key points:
Andrea Boyd says the object could be part of the engine from an Indian rocket
Barnacles on the object indicate it could be 20 years old
The Australian Space Agency is working with Indian authorities to identify the item

The canister had washed up on a beach at Green Head, 250 kilometres north of Perth, on Sunday.

On Tuesday evening, the object was wrapped in plastic and lifted up by a front end loader before being driven to a locked storage facility.

European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd said experts believed the item fell from an Indian rocket launching a satellite.

Me: picies at link

[RTH10260]

Headline - "Nasty Aussies remove alien spacecraft" --- illegal ship people have assimilated --- the skies will be falling anytime now ....

[Dave from down under]

bigger than the usual message in a bottle

[RTH10260]

Keith was missing this yesterday:

Commonwealth Games: 2026 event in doubt after Victoria cancels

Published 11 hours ago
By Tiffanie Turnbull BBC News, Sydney

The 2026 Commonwealth Games are in doubt after the Australian state of Victoria cancelled its plans to host due to budget blowouts.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) struggled to find a host before Victoria volunteered in April 2022.

But the premier said the projected cost had now tripled and become "well and truly too much" for the state to bear.

The CGF called the decision "hugely disappointing" and said it is "committed to finding a solution".

The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport tournament that take place every four years. They have only ever been cancelled during World War Two.

To be eligible to participate in the games, competitors must be from one of the Commonwealth's 56 members. Most of the countries in the Commonwealth were once part of the British Empire.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that his state had been "happy to help out" when approached to host last year, but "not at any price".

Downing Street said the cancellation was "disappointing" for fans and athletes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said the UK government hoped "a viable solution" could be found by the Australian authorities and the CGF.

He rejected a claim the move was a sign of the decline of the Commonwealth as a whole, suggesting the King's coronation showed "the strength of the Commonwealth and commitment of countries to it".

Organisers had originally estimated the event - hosted across cities including Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat - would cost A$2.6bn (£1.4bn; $1.8bn) and the state government had billed it as a boost for the regions.

But now the 12-day tournament was expected to cost more than A$6 billion (£3.13bn; $4.09bn), Mr Andrews said, adding that the new figure was "more than twice the estimated economic benefit" it would bring to Victoria.

"I've made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them," he told a press conference.

"That is all cost and no benefit."

The government will still complete the stadium upgrades it had promised ahead of the games, while using the money it is now saving on housing and tourism initiatives.

Mr Andrew said the government had considered "every option" including moving the games to Melbourne, before informing CGF of their decision.

"Amicable and productive" meetings had occurred in London overnight, he added.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the governing body said they were blindsided by the decision.

"We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours' notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions," it said in a statement.

CGF said the estimate of A$6bn is double the figure they were advised of at a board meeting last month, and that the increase in costs were due to the "unique regional delivery model" that Victoria chose for the games.

The government had made decisions to include more sports and changed plans for venues, often against the advice of the CGF and its Australian arm, all of which added "considerable expense", it said.

Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the decision is a "massive humiliation" for the state, and "hugely damaging" for its reputation as a global events leader.

The chief executive of Commonwealth Games Australia agreed, saying the cited cost blowout was a "gross exaggeration" and that it would try to find another Australian host for the 2026 games.

Is this the end of the Commonwealth Games?

Meanwhile, athletes have expressed frustration at the cancellation of the games, which many view as a valuable training ground ahead of the Olympics.

Delicious Orie, a super-heavyweight boxer who won gold for England at the 2022 games, told the BBC he was "devastated" by the news, adding that the event had put him on the "right trajectory" to further success.

"It was my first multi-sport event and it replicated the Olympics and the Olympic Games in how it operates," he recalled.

"The media coverage and everything was just perfect for me and it set me up nicely for what I've got coming up next year and so on; its just put me in a very good position."

The games also host several non-Olympic sports, such as netball. Ex-England captain Ama Agbeze predicted that the cancellation could have a serious impact on sports like hers.

"I think probably the sport will lose lots of people who potentially would go on to play at the top level, but also who would start playing at grassroots level," she said.

"Obviously if there is an impact at grassroots level that impacts the top level anyway, so all around it's detrimental for the game."

Aled Sion Davies, who won Commonwealth gold for Wales in the discuss at Birmingham last year, said the news is "heartbreaking".

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, whose glittering career saw her win 11 Paralympic gold medals, said the Commonwealth Games are something special to be part of, adding it is "important we do not lose" them.

People from the Victorian capital, Melbourne, have had a mixed reaction to the decision.

One woman, Lauren Rogers, said she was disappointed with the decision as she thought the games would bring more money into the state, and another, Kayley Martinez said she thought "Victoria would be such a great host of the games".

But another man, David, said he was "relieved" by the decision to not host them in Victoria.

"They build a lot of infrastructure that then doesn't get used later... I'm happy for the government to be able to change its mind sometimes if something's blown out its budget," he told the BBC.

Australia has held the Commonwealth Games five times - including on the Gold Coast in 2018 and in the Victorian capital of Melbourne in 2006 - but all of the country's states on Tuesday ruled out picking up the event.

New Zealand authorities also say they will not take on the games.

Organisers have had great difficulty finding viable tournament hosts in recent years.

The South African city of Durban was originally set to stage the 2022 games, but were stripped of hosting rights in 2017 after running into money troubles and missing key deadlines. Birmingham agreed to host nine months later.

CGF had originally hoped to name a host for the 2026 games in 2019, but several hopeful bidders withdrew from the process due to cost concerns, leaving it unable to lock in Victoria as the hosts until 2022.




https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66229574

[keith]

Dedicated to Foggy.

Languags!

[keith]

Couldn't resist another.

More language!

[AndyinPA]

None of those reasons kept me away.

[Dave from down under]

[Foggy]

I would sincerely love to visit Australia. I would spend a year there if I could.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Still laughing!!!

[bill_g]

Oregon doesn't have any snakes, but we do have The Blank Moss which is quite stealthy and insidious. It attacks as you walk along, attaches to your back where you'll never see it, and slowly colonizes you from the waist up. Plus, it's invisible!! You'll never know until it's too late. Stay away from tall trees, ponds, large and small bodies of water, streets, open sky, and bridge shadows.

[MsDaisy 2]

I would sincerely love to visit Australia. I would spend a year there if I could.

We've been to Australia, to Chiltern, Beechworth, Ballarat, Melbourne and Queenscliff, beautiful places every one! You could easily spend a year there!

[Dave from down under]

If you find yourself half way between Sydney and Brisbane drop in for a cuppa

[Lani]

I would sincerely love to visit Australia. I would spend a year there if I could.

We've been to Australia, to Chiltern, Beechworth, Ballarat, Melbourne and Queenscliff, beautiful places every one! You could easily spend a year there!

I went to Australia for a few months. Turned into 8 or 9 years....

[Dave from down under]

[Dave from down under]

Rightly ICAC is also subject to scrutiny

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/ ... /102641516

ICAC chief to probe delay in Gladys Berejiklian report, possible maladministration

[RTH10260]

‘They will never be granted the visa in their lifetime’: the families waiting decades to settle parents in Australia
As processing times for some parent immigration visas balloon out to almost 30 years, the families hoping to be reunited for good are left in limbo

by Peter Mares
Sun 30 Jul 2023 16.00 BST

“My heart is broken,” writes Maria from Norway.

Originally from Poland, Maria and her husband, Robert, are eager to join their son in Perth. He’s an IT engineer at a global company who relocated to Australia several years ago. Since then, he’s married, become a citizen and had a son.

In August 2021, Maria and Robert applied for contributory parent visas, which offer permanent residency and cost $47,955 for each person. At the time they were advised it would be three or four years before they could migrate. Now Maria is reading on Facebook that the wait could be more than six years.

“This is unbelievable!” fumes Maria. “This visa is so expensive. We must pay about AU$100,000 for two persons. And we must wait so long? How is it possible?

“I don’t understand why the Australian government is so afraid of parents who want to be with their families in Australia. They are not old and ill. Many of them are quite young, healthy and want to help their families in Australia and want to work.”

“Misook”, from South Korea, has already spent six years in the parent visa queue, though she and her husband “Soejun” and daughter “Eun” have been living in Australia for more than a decade (they do not wish to use their real names). In 2012, Misook’s employer sponsored her to come on a temporary skills visa to fill a gap in the global firm’s Australian operations. Eun, then 18, went to university and has since qualified as a lawyer, built a career and become a citizen.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Because she came to Australia late in her career, Misook was considered too old to apply for permanent residence as a skilled migrant.

The couple lodged their contributory parent visa applications in 2017. Based on information on the Home Affairs website at the time, they expected them to be issued by the end of 2019. But Misook now fears her application won’t be considered until 2025 or 2026.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... -australia

[Dave from down under]

Really crappy that it takes so long for a yes/no, review, appeal, etc.

[RTH10260]

no Darwin Award for them

Darwin divers drive a ‘mud crab’ LandCruiser underwater for 7km – and perhaps into the record books
A team of engineers, divers and car enthusiasts took more than 12 hours to drive the vehicle while underwater across city’s harbour

Caitlin Cassidy
Mon 31 Jul 2023 23.00 BST

A 1978 orange LandCruiser fondly named the “mud crab” has travelled 7km across Darwin harbour’s shipping channel while 30 metres underwater, in a feat that may have broken two world records.

It took a team of 30 more than 12 hours to get the job done, with commercial divers changing out of the driver’s seat every 15 minutes due to the underwater pressure.

After entering the harbour via the Mandorah boat ramp at 9am on Saturday, they faced almost a dozen boggings and dealt with the threat of crocodiles and pipelines to navigate the waterproof electric four-wheel drive to nearby Mindil beach.

“I was stressing out a bit,” the project lead Tommy Lawrence said. “We had heaps of problems, certain sections of harbour were so muddy and silty we sank like a rock.

“We were bogging, winching, towing – all part of a four-wheel drive adventure but 30 metres underwater.”

Around 9pm, five hours later than scheduled, the Toyota emerged from the blackened water victorious to the scream of hundreds of excited Northern Territorians.

“It was wild,” Lawrence said, after he watched the final moments from an adjacent boat.




https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... cord-books

[RTH10260]

[keith]

(This link was also posted in the KaKa Lake thread, cause someone mentioned mushrooms and I sometimes have a perverse sense of humor).

Three suspected mushroom-poisoning deaths put a national spotlight on a community in grief

In a cold and beautiful corner of Victoria dotted with dairy farms, two small towns are grieving the sudden loss of three of their own — while the rest of the country has watched on, intrigued by the unusual deaths.

The national and international media has focused on the town of Leongatha – population 5,800.

Here, Erin Patterson hosted her former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson for a family lunch on July 29.

Since that lunch Gail, Don and Heather have all passed away from suspected mushroom poisoning while Ian remains in intensive care.

Police investigating suspected mushroom-poisoning deaths return to Victorian tip

Victorian police officers have returned to a South Gippsland tip as they investigate the deaths of three people from suspected mushroom poisoning.

Officers were seen speaking to staff at the Koonwarra transfer station, south of Leongatha, on Wednesday.

The ABC understands police also attended the site on Friday and removed a food dehydrator.

Food dehydrators are used to dry out and preserve fruits, vegetables and meats.

Police have said they are keeping an open mind as they investigate the deaths of married couple Gail and Don Patterson and Ms Patterson's sister Heather Wilkinson.

[Sam the Centipede]

I recall that Poland has high death and hospitalization rates each fall as people enthusiastically collect fungi in the many woodlands, take them home, then inadvertantly experiment with mycological toxicology in their kitchens.

[Uninformed]

“Live worm found in Australian woman's brain in world first”:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-66643241

“In a world first, scientists say an 8cm (3in) worm has been found alive in the brain of an Australian woman.
The "string-like structure" was pulled from the patient's damaged frontal lobe during surgery in Canberra last year.
"It was definitely not what we were expecting. Everyone was shocked," said operating surgeon Dr Hari Priya Bandi.
The woman, 64, had for months suffered symptoms like stomach pain, a cough and night sweats, which evolved into forgetfulness and depression.”