OMG! It's 2012 - let's announce a celestial tragedy expected in 4 billion years

Presuming no possible knock-on effect from a collision between Andromeda and The Milky Way, NASA has blithely announced this event scheduled for around 4 billion years’ time.

After all; by then climate change, population pressure, government inaction and the dominance of multinational corporations will have extinguished human life on Earth anyway and the Sun will have probably begun to die of its own accord.

But hey, the 24hr news cycle is alive and kicking right now – so let’s put out a press release!

A celebration of the timeless poetry of voice and instrument

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

http://youtu.be/x8-YMpYbRqY

Mārrma djiḻawurr ŋāthinana, nambawu ḻarruŋana Guwalilŋawu
rirrakayunmina ḻiyanydja milkarri, nambawu ḻarruŋana Murrurrŋawu
roŋiyirri rirrakayyu. y..a barrawaḻayu y..a Mutjwutjŋa gaḻaṉiṉiyu

Ga namba Guwalilŋa, ga namba Warraḏika, ga namba Yumayŋa, m..m

Yä wulman ŋäthinana, yä dhiyaŋuna ḻanyiŋdhu dhungununayu
yä bāpa Kamba-Djuŋadjuŋa. miḻŋ'thurruna bayma Mayaŋ-ŋaraka
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋayathaŋana Ruypu Milinditj
yä ŋäṉḏi maṉḏa. marrkapmirri maṉḏa. nhumanydja ŋāthiyaŋa milŋurr Burarrapu
yä namba guwalilŋa, yä gunambal warraḏika, yä namba Yumayaŋa
m..m
(english)

Two scrub fowl crying out, looking for Guwalilŋa
the calls like women crying, looking for Murrurrŋawu
the cries returning his mind to the jungles at Mutjmutjŋa

oh place Guwalilŋa, Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

Oh the old man cries, from this drink
oh dad Kampa-Djuŋadjuŋa, home Mayaŋ-ŋaraka bright in his mind
oh my two mums, beloved mums, hold Ruypu Milinditj
oh my two mums, beloved mums, cry for the sacred spring Burarrapu
oh the place Guwalilŋa. Warraḏika, Yumayŋa, m..m

 

*Djiḻawurr, the orange footed scrub fowl are family and relatives to the Gumatj---

Wiyathul as written by Yunupingu
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powerd by LyricFind
Read more at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858831261/#dsPWVgkbbJwFDFwQ.99

Barry O'Fibba's perfidy exposed

Like a bad dream, the party whose leader appears to happily involve himself in the disreputable slaughtering of African elephants for their ivory, has this to say in Shooting News on 30 May 2012 about his backroom deal with the O'Farrell Coalition Government:

"Hunters in NSW will be stalking in national parks and eating wild duck by Christmas under a deal done between the Shooters and Fishers Party and the Coalition Government.
Despite losing the fight against the ammunition control bill last night, the SFP is celebrating this significant win, which comes in return for their qualified support for the privatisation of the state's electricity assets.
The SFP has also guaranteed support for its amendments to the privatisation legislation that will protect workers affected by the sale of power generators and other infrastructure.
The SFP has been pushing to legalise hunting in national parks for some time, and has succeeded in forcing O'Farrell to back down on his opposition to it after blocking the electricity sell-off in the upper house.
"We expect to have that legislation through by the end of June and, subject to the implementation program, we expect to be hunting in some national parks by Christmas," SFP MLC Robert Borsak said. "It will be rolled out progressively."
NSW hunters should also be able to hunt duck and quail by then, too.
"These are all positive changes for NSW, which has seen our precious national parks suffer under the idealistic 'protection' of the Greens," Mr Borsak said.
"Australia's once vibrant hunting heritage has been smothered and primary producers have been devastated by ducks in plague proportions. We will at last begin to bring some sense and balance back."
He said government support for the legislation wasn't without conditions. Wilderness and heritage zones will not be gazetted for hunting and a number of high-use national parks close to metropolitan areas would not be included in the program.
Only about 70 of the state's almost 800 parks and conservation areas are to be opened up, although whether more may be added in the future is not clear.
Permission to hunt in parks would be run under the same model as conservation hunting in state forests, but the state's duck and quail shooting would follow a new 'adaptive' model.
"What we're talking about is not your traditional open and shut duck season," Mr Borsak said. "We're talking about a new model for sustainable, progressive utilisation based on species, populations, periodic need for mitigation and so on."
Both national park and gamebird hunting would be managed under the Game Council, which has overseen conservation hunting under R- and G-licences since being formed in 2004.
Hunters will also gain protection from harassment under the legislation intended to reduce the likelihood and seriousness of attacks by protesters, although the details of this are still to be worked out.
"Conservation Hunters save the people of NSW millions of dollars and their impact on pest and feral animal populations has been proven," Mr Borsak said.
"There are around 20,000 licensed Conservation Hunters active in State Forests and on private property, and they remove over 600,000 feral animals every year, a huge benefit for our native flora and fauna."

Sorry Mum, The Devil Made Me Do It!

Latest revelation - Christopher Pyne’s reveals his true opinion of Teh Rabbit here.

NSW Nationals 'Steve' Gulaptis MP places his ignorance on display once again

Theft represents one of most likely sources of firearms for the illicit market according to the Australian Institute of Criminality.

The AIC Monitoring Report 16 went on to observe that:

·     *   In 2008-09 of the total firearms reported as stolen, 89 per cent followed from an unlawful entry into a building or vehicle and, private residential premises comprised 77 per cent of all firearm theft locations.

·     *    A total of 77 per cent were taken from registered owners. In almost 18 per cent of incidents where private residential or business premises were broken into, the theft was aided by the premises being unsecured at the time of the burglary.

·     *    Ammunition was stolen with firearms in 27 per cent of reported incidents of firearm theft in 2008-09.

·     *    In the same financial year, 22 per cent of affected firearms owners were found in breach of firearms law by police. A large number had failed to secure their firearm/s.

In other words criminals are likely to obtain their guns and/or ammunition from ordinary citizens who have inadequately or carelessly stored these items or failed to secure the premises.

On 30 May 2012 the Daily Liberal reported that; Thieves gained entry to a property on Pilliga Road, Kenebri between 8.30am and 5pm Tuesday, making off with eight pistols, eight rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Clearly measures which might limit the amount of ammunition sold and track the lawful movement of such ammunition are in order.

Before the NSW Legislative Assembly on 29 May 2012 was a bill (apparently reflecting a request by the Police Commissioner) which seeks to:

(a) to prevent the sale of ammunition by a licensed firearms dealer to a shooter unless the purchaser is the registered owner of, or has a permit to acquire, a firearm that takes the ammunition (in addition to the existing requirement that the purchaser must hold a licence or permit for a firearm that takes the ammunition),
(b) to require licensed firearms dealers to keep records of purchases and sales of ammunition.

Yet the historically, civilly and politically ignorant NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, rose to his feet and said this:

I have to say from the outset that this bill is fundamentally flawed. It is flawed because it targets the wrong people. This bill makes it tough on law-abiding registered gun owners instead of criminals. Once this bill is passed the law-abiding public will have to deal with the additional costs and red tape associated with owning a firearm. Farmers, sporting shooters and gun shop owners are the ones that will carry the cost, and for the criminals it is business as usual.

UPDATE: An investigation into Sydney gun crime has revealed a near 20% jump in the number of firearms stolen from legitimate owners. [7 News 8 May 2012]

“Dear JUSTICE VICKERY”: When bankruptcy goes all shouty and lands you in the Big Boys' Court

R v Vasiliou [2012] VSC 216 (25 May 2012)

Click on image to enlarge

It's whale watching time on the NSW North Coast

Whale breaching off the Australian east coast

The Sydney Morning Herald 2011

Although the Government of Japan’s sponsored Antarctic whale hunt last season killed an admitted 266 minke whales and one fin whale, the annual migration north to warmer waters is well under way.

Right Wales tend to summer in the Great Australian Bight, while Minke and Fin whales have rather secretive migration paths. So it is the Humpback Whale which is most often sighted between May and November as it travels to and from its northern feeding and breeding grounds.

From Emerald Beach (near Coffs Harbour) right up to Tweed Heads and the NSW-Queensland border, North Coast residents and visitors are sure to sight whales in 2012 as the Humpback migration is expected to be around 17,000 cetaceans strong.

If you are out on the water as a whale passes, remember that the law requires that you do not closely interact with these mammals.

From the NSW Dept. of Environment & Heritage:

Definitions

Approach distance—see figures 1-3 (referred to as 'prescribed distance' in the Regulation): a distance beyond which a vessel or person may not approach a marine mammal. 

Caution zone: a distance of between 100 m and 300 m from a whale and between 50 m and 150 m from a dolphin. In the caution zone, vessels must travel at a constant slow speed and leave a negligible wake.

Negligible wake: wake that does not create waves big enough to make nearby boats move.

Prohibited vessels: these are vessels that can make fast and erratic movements and not much noise underwater, so there is more chance they may collide with a marine mammal. Such vessels include personal motorised watercraft like jet skis, parasail boats, hovercraft, hydrofoils, wing-in-ground effect craft, remotely operated craft or motorised diving aids like underwater scooters.

Vessels: these are watercraft that can be used as transport including motorised or non-motorised boats, surfboards, surf skis and kayaks.

Figure 1: Approach distances for whales

Figure 2: Approach distances for dolphins

How close can vessels and aircraft get to whales and dolphins?

·        
For a vessel, the approach distance is 100 m from a whale or 50 m from a dolphin.

·      When calves are in the pod, the approach distance for a vessel is 300 m from a whale or 150 m from a dolphin.

·       For a prohibited vessel, the approach distance is always 300 m from a whale or dolphin.

·       Helicopters or gyrocopters must not get closer (in height or distance) than 500 m to a whale or dolphin.

·       Other planes must not get closer (in height or distance) than 300 m to a whale or dolphin.

Figure 3: Height restrictions for whales and dolphins

At what speeds can vessels travel around or approach marine mammals?

Vessels must always travel at a safe speed which will enable them to stop in time to avoid distressing or colliding with an animal. This speed cannot be expressed as a maximum number of knots as it will vary according to circumstances and conditions. In the caution zone, the speed must be constant and slow, and leave a negligible wake.

Whales and dolphins rely on sounds underwater to communicate, find food and navigate so vessel operators need to travel at a speed that will minimise the noise around them, and ensure their vessel does not suddenly change its direction.

For details of how to minimise wake from a vessel visit NSW Maritime's website or phone 131 256.

How should a vessel operator approach a whale or dolphin?

First, assess the direction the animals are travelling in then plan a course so your vessel will not cut across their path, or put the vessel directly in front of or behind them. Approach the caution zone at an angle of not less than thirty degrees from their direction of travel at a steady constant speed, being aware of changes in animal behaviour or direction.

Under the Regulation, a vessel operator cannot enter the caution zone if there are more than two other vessels already in it. This may mean waiting for other vessels to leave. If there are two or fewer vessels in the caution zone, continue on course at a constant slow speed and travel alongside the animals, no closer than 100 m away from whales or 50 m from dolphins.

If there is a calf in a group (defined as half the length of the adult of the same species), it is illegal under the Regulation to enter the caution zone.

Be aware of other vessel movements and changes in animal movement or behaviour. Never chase or encircle a whale or dolphin or drive through the middle of a group.