Locals are quietly smiling at the fact that Clarence Valley Council set up a road block just out of town.Rumour has it that after endless rain then flood, tourists just wanted to go home - please!
Unfortunately they wanted to take the family cars and caravans though flood water coursing over a narrow river causeway which is one section of the only road which ties the village to the outside world.
Yamba Road is expected to be open today.
Photo from The Daily Examiner
A hat tip to Clarrie Rivers for sending this Germaine Greer quote concerning the Clarence Valley flooding in January 2011:
Actually Germaine, Yamba stayed relatively dry even if flood waters had cut it off from the rest of the New South Wales North Coast.
That’s because it had stopped heavily raining in the catchment about 36 hours before the flood peak came past this little coastal town during a very low tide period on its way out to sea.
Germaine presumably was submitting her copy electronically to The Guardian U.K. from somewhere in Queensland and did not think to click onto the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website to double check her ‘facts’.
Minke whale image from Mad Black CatIceland which resumed commercial whaling in 2006 also vigorously protects its hunts in the face of world-wide calls to desist.
How far removed this right to hunt is from any societal food need or commercial reality is seen in an extract from a 9 July 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable:
¶2. (SBU) Staff members of Hvalur, hf, which is the only company in Iceland with the capability to hunt large whales, told Emboff on July 3 that whaling is providing jobs for 150 to 200 people. However, they admitted they are keeping their fingers crossed that there is a market for the meat and said, otherwise "this is a doomed operation." Since minke meat is the only whale meat consumed and sold in Iceland, the fin meat must be exported to another market, such as Japan. In May, Greenpeace and a local environmental group held a press conference which featured a recorded conversation with the Japanese importer of the Icelandic whale meat who stated he would not be importing any meat from Iceland this year. In late June, the Japanese Charge d'Affaires told Emboff that he didn't believe there was a market for the fin meat in Japan.
¶3. (SBU) Charge d'Affaires met with the Minister of Fisheries on July 9 and strongly protested the renewed whaling, particularly the large number of fin whales hunted. CDA reiterated that whaling is an impediment to agricultural and fish exports to the U.S, particularly to environmentally conscious outlets like Whole Foods grocery store, and underscored the Japanese CDA's belief that there is no market for Icelandic whale in Japan. The Minister responded that this was a sovereignty issue and that Iceland is a coastal nation that is using all its marine resources sustainably. He noted his political party is generally against whaling and the government is redoing the country's whaling laws, which date from 1947. He
also said the government has tasked the University of Iceland Economic Institute to create a cost and benefits report on whaling, which the Minister expects to use to develop a new whaling policy at the end of this whaling season. Regarding the reported absence of a whale meat market overseas, the Minister said that marketing was a private commercial issue which did not concern the government.
In the 2009-2010 whaling season the Iceland Government was reputed to have allowed a total hunt quota of 200 minke whales and 150 fin whales.
In the same year Japan’s stockpile of unsold whale meat was thought to be more than 6,000 tonnes.
The Wall Street Journal on 14 January 2011:
Read the WikiLeaks cables with Japan mentions in regard to Iceland’s whale hunting policies here:
June 10, 2008 cable from the U.S. embassy in Reykjavik
June 13, 2008 cable from the U.S. embassy in Reykjavik
January 30, 2009 cable from the U.S. embassy in Reykjavik
June 10, 2009 cable from the U.S. embassy in Reykjavik
So which contributor in the BIOfortified: stronger plants, stronger science and stronger communication online community was responsible for telling the world that the humble macadamia nut (eaten by indigenous Australians for thousands of years) is a relatively new food?
franknfoode Frank N. Foode
@HerbRealm How many years have Kiwifruit and Starfruit and Macadamias been trialled on humans to ensure their safety? (relatively new foods)
The joke gets better when we remember that 'Starfruit' is merely the commercial branding of a fruit cultivated and eaten for hundreds of years in Asia and, that 'Kiwi Fruit' is the marketing re-brand of a conventionally created cultivar of another ancient food.
This is an extract from an August 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable 08SAOPAULO432 (coordinated with and cleared by the Embassy in Brasilia) speaking of forced labour and posted on Wikileaks this month:
1.(SBU) Brazil's high profile, high-tech ethanol industry has fallen under an international spotlight for alleged use of forced or slave labor to harvest sugarcane. The press focus on sugarcane has drawn attention away from other sectors which may be at higher risk for forced labor/slave exploitation (cattle ranching, charcoal production, the sex industry). Top NGO labor experts have stated that while isolated problems remain in the sugarcane industry, the situation is improving and these other industries should be of more concern. Singling out or over-emphasizing sugarcane could play into the hands of some in the GOB who allege that U.S. TIP policy is only a cover to attack Brazil's flagship ethanol industry (Ref B). Mission suggests a broad anti-TIP strategy that enlists the large, more advanced sugarcane producers as allies in the fight against forced labor. Our efforts should also emphasize that the USG commitment to TIP is global in scale and rooted in our commitment to human rights. End Summary. Sugar is (Again) King
2.(U) Brazil has been a sugar producer for centuries and the development of ethanol as a promising green fuel has lent new energy to this key industry. The country's contemporary sugar industry is worth $40 billion, or 2.35 percent of GDP. It directly employs 1.1 million people, and its prospects for growth are tremendous (Ref A). Understandably, Brazil's leaders take great pride in their country's world class status as a leader in green fuels production. The Evidence for Forced Labor/Slavery
3.(U) Reports of forced or slave labor in sugarcane harvesting have marred the image of Brazil's ethanol industry. In May, the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report characterized forced labor on sugarcane plantations as a growing trend. Days later, Amnesty International echoed the TIP report's assessment. With Brazilian ethanol production for export on the rise, the issue has caught the attention of the international press, particularly in the U.S. and Europe (Ref A).
From the Bureau of Meteorology webpage National Warnings Summary:
Queensland
Warnings current:
High Seas Warning for TC Zelia,
Tropical Cyclone Information Bulletin for TC Zelia,
Flood Warning - Fitzroy River,
Flood Warning - Burnett River,
Flood Warning - Lockyer, Bremer, Warrill & Brisbane below Wivenhoe.,
Flood Warning - Condamine-Balonne Rivers,
Flood Warning - Macintyre/Weir,
Flood Warning - Thomson/Barcoo/Cooper Ck,
Queensland flood warning summary,
Forecast Track Map (QLD) for TC Zelia.
NSW and ACT
Warnings current:
Cancellation of Severe Weather Warning for Snowy Mountains forecast district,
Flood Warning - Richmond/Wilsons,
Flood Warning - Clarence River,
Flood Warning - MacIntyre River,
Flood Warning - Macquarie River,
Flood Warning - Murrumbidgee River,
Flood Warning - Culgoa, Bokhara, Narran,
Flood Warning - Warrego River,
Flood Warning - Barwon-Darling US Bourke,
Norfolk Island Tropical Cyclone Advice for TC Vania,
Ocean Wind Warning 1 - South Eastern area.
Victoria
Warnings current:
Coastal Waters Wind Warning for Victorian waters between Mallacoota and 60nm east of Gabo Island,
Brown Rot Advice for Northern Country, North Central and North East forecast districts,
Cancellation of Severe Weather Warning for East Gippsland and North East forecast districts,
Flood Watch for Greater Melbourne,
Flood Watch for Barwon, Hovells Creek and Otway Ranges,
Flood Watch for the Glenelg and Hopkins Basins,
Flood Watch for North East Victoria,
Flood Watch for the Goulburn and Broken Basins,
Victoria Flood Warning Summary,
Flood Warning - Maribyrnong River,
Flood Warning - Werribee River,
Flood Warning - Hopkins River,
Flood Warning - Glenelg River,
Flood Warning - Ovens and King Rivers,
Flood warning for Seven Creeks / Castle Creek,
Flood Warning - Goulburn River,
Flood Warning - Campaspe River,
Flood Warning - Wimmera River,
Ocean Wind Warning 1 - South Eastern area.
Tasmania
Warnings current:
Boating Weather - Wind Alert SW and Central Plateau Lakes,
Ocean Wind Warning 1 - South Eastern area.
This page last updated at:-
Friday January 14 2011 13:36 UTC (GMT) -- January 14 2011 21:36 WST -- January 14 2011 23:06 CST -- January 15 2011 00:06 CDT -- January 14 2011 23:36 EST -- January 15 2011 00:36 EDT
