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HomeNatan Sharansky Joins Political Prisoners in Pleading for Help at Congress Hearing
Natan Sharansky Joins Political Prisoners in Pleading for Help at Congress Hearing
JTAJanuary 17, 2014
Natan Sharansky joined Forward opinion editor Gal Beckerman and the relatives of political prisoners in asking the U.S. Congress to speak of their loved ones during meetings with foreign officials.
Sharansky, imprisoned by the Soviets for nine years because of his activism on behalf of Soviet Jews who wanted to emigrate, recalled at a hearing Thursday that his jailers told him, "You are in our hands. If you disappear, no one will notice."
Instead, Sharansky told Congress' Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, thousands of activists wrote letters, attended marches and wore bracelets in support of Jewish refuseniks. Sharansky, who now chairs the Jewish Agency for Israel, said he believes he was finally freed because of these activists, according to a Washington Jewish Week report.
Keeping these prisoners in the news is key, he said as he urged Congress members to speak of specific political and religious prisoners whenever they meet with the leaders of the country in which they are imprisoned.
Sharansky and the other speakers said it was important for U.S. ambassadors to frequently ask about the fate of any political prisoners in that foreign country and hold a press conference whenever they are denied the right to meet with a prisoner.
Commission chairman Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) suggested that those working to free political and religious prisoners use Gal Beckerman's book, "When They Come for us We'll be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry," as a model for activism.
"If you think the Congress and the administration will save you, you are sadly mistaken," Wolf said, explaining that a groundswell of support worldwide is what is needed. Beckerman, who also testified during the hearing at the Capitol Visitor's Center, said the Soviet Jewry movement was successful because it combined "a tribal motivation" to help one's own people with a general sense of outrage that someone was being imprisoned for their beliefs.
Countries holding political and religious prisoners that were discussed at the hearing include Bahrain, China, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The commission is named for the late Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress, and whose hallmark was human rights advocacy.
Beckerman's comments begin at the 2:29:00 mark.
Video streaming by Ustream
gal beckerman


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The Governing Bodies section breaks down the five major governing bodies for Softball. This section will give you background information and contact information about each one while explaining the differences between them.


Melrose Golf Club are delighted to host the Stephen Gallacher Foundation texas scramble tournament on an annual basis, this years visit took place on Sunday 8th May.
The best weather the course has seen this year greeted the junior participants who treated us to some very enjoyable golf. Congratulations to everyone that helped make the trip to the Borders an enjoyable experience for all organisers and competitors. We look forward to your return next year.
the full page can be viewed by clicking here.
If you are considering booking a round of golf, we advise completing our online booking form to ensure tee times are available.


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A Praça Vosstaniya (em russo: Площадь Восстания, literalmente Praça da Insurreição) é uma importante praça no Distrito Central de Negócios de São Petersburgo, na Rússia. A praça fica no cruzamento da Nevsky Prospekt, Ligovsky Prospekt, Vosstaniya Prospekt e Goncharnaya Prospekt, em frente a Estação Moskovsky, que é o terminal norte da linha que liga a cidade e Moscou. A Praça Vosstaniya é administrada pelo do Distrito de Tsentralny.

História
Entre 1840 e 1918, a praça era conhecida como Praça Znamenskaya (em russo: Знаменская площадь, Praça do Sinal), nomr vindo da Igreja do Sinal construída entre 1794 e 1804 com um design neoclássico de Fyodor Demertsov. O edifício da igreja celebrava o ícone de Nossa Senhora do Sinal.

Quatro anos antes do tricentenário da Dinastia Romanov, em 1909, o príncipe Paolo Troubetzkoy completou uma estátua do czar Alexandre III da Rússia sobre um cavalo. Ficava em frente à Estação Nikolayevsky, na Praça Znamenskaya. Até membros da família imperial ridicularizaram a estátua. Após a revolução, os bolcheviques a deixaram no lugar como uma poderosa e formidável representação da autocracia até a década de 1930, quando foi removida. Permaneceu guardada por cinquenta anos antes da re-instalação em 1994, em frente ao Palácio de Mármore (extinto ramo do Museu Leningrado), no antigo local do carro blindado que havia transportado Lenin da Estação Finlyandsky em 16 de abril de 1917.

A praça foi palco de muitas manifestações e protestos revolucionários. Depois que os bolcheviques tomaram o controle de Petrogrado em 1917, eles renomearam a praça de Praça da Insurreição para comemorar esses eventos. A Igreja do Sinal foi demolida em 1940 para abrir espaço para a entrada superficial da Estação Ploshchad Vosstania (inaugurada em 1955).

O Obelisco da Cidade Heroica de Leningrado - projetado pelos arquitetos Vladimir Lukyanov e Aleksandr I. Alymov - foi erguido no mesmo local em 1985 para comemorar o 40º aniversário do Dia da Vitória.

Transportes
A Praça Vosstaniya é um importante centro de tráfego de São Petersburgo. É o lar da movimentada Estação Moskovsky, de onde partem trens para Moscou, Novossibirsk e outras grandes cidades. A estação é cheia de passageiros todos os dias.

Praças de São Petersburgo

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Shaun Kelly Van Allen (born August 29, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1991 to 2004. He played 794 games in the NHL and scored 269 points. He serves as the head coach of the Carleton University Ravens of the OUA.

Professional career
Van Allen was drafted 105th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers after a standout junior hockey career with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League. He spent five seasons in the Oilers system with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nova Scotia Oilers, and Cape Breton Oilers but failed to catch on with the big club in Edmonton. While in Cape Breton, Van Allen enjoyed much personal and team success. It was there that he met his wife, and in 1991-92 he won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the American Hockey League's leading scorer. In the 1992-93 season, Cape Breton, led by Van Allen, captured the Calder Cup title as American Hockey League Champions.

Once the 1992-93 season had concluded, the Oilers released him. In July 1993 Van Allen signed as a free agent with the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and became an NHL regular until his retirement in 2005. He spent three seasons in Anaheim and became a versatile forward, able to contribute on the score sheet as well as kill penalties.

On October 1, 1996, Van Allen was acquired by  Ottawa Senators along with defenceman Jason York, and began perhaps his most successful period in the NHL. He spent four productive seasons in Ottawa before unrestricted free agency led him to the Dallas Stars, with whom he signed a two-year contract in July 2000. He spent parts of two seasons in Dallas before he was acquired by the Montreal Canadiens in the early 2001-02 season. After completing the 2001-02 season with Montreal, Van Allen returned to his former team, the Ottawa Senators, as a free agent. He was a regular in the Ottawa lineup in a defensive role until the beginning of the 2004-05 season, when the 2004–05 NHL lockout wiped the season out entirely. Van Allen announced his retirement as an NHL player in 2005.

Career statistics

Other
Van Allen was born in Calgary, Alberta and his family later relocated to Climax, Saskatchewan.

Van Allen served as the Director of Player Evaluation for the Ottawa Senators during the 2006-2007 season, with the responsibility of evaluating all players within the organization including professional players, minor league players, and prospects. He serves as the head coach with Ottawa's Carleton University Ravens of the OUA.

He can be heard on TSN 1200 radio broadcasts of Ottawa Senators games, to which he contributes commentary during pre and post-game shows. As of September 2008, Van Allen has appeared on Rogers TV broadcasts of Senators' games in Ottawa.

References

External links

1967 births
Living people
Cape Breton Oilers players
Dallas Stars players
Edmonton Oilers draft picks
Edmonton Oilers players
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
Montreal Canadiens players
Ottawa Senators executives
Ottawa Senators players
Saskatoon Blades players
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Local Man Confused After Acting like Male Protagonist Fails to Make Him Popular
March 16, 2016 - Guest Post, News - Tagged: Local, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
Today's guest article is courtesy of Truthless. You can find him on Twitter at @Truthless_Jere
PARIS, TX — A local teenager has expressed frustration and disappointment after his efforts to emulate My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU male protagonist Hikigaya Hachiman have seemingly come to naught.
"I just don't get it," Lance Burdeau, an 18-year-old student told Anime Maru, "I acted exactly like Hachiman for an entire semester, but I didn't end up with a harem!"
Burdeau recalled his rigorous efforts to embody the lifestyle of the isolated, friendless Hachiman, describing in detail the daily routine that didn't lead to his social success. "For an entire semester, I would wake up each day and try to convince myself that I didn't think of my younger sister in a sexual way. It was hard, since otherwise those thoughts were pretty out in the open between the two of us."
"At school, I made sure to eat my lunch at my desk, alone, trying to avoid any confrontation with other people. Hell, I tried not to even talk to the other guys in the class." Burdeau explained, applying a thick layer of gel to the forced stray clump of hair at the top of his head, something that our reporter was unable to stop him from doing during the interview.
"At the start of the semester, I spoke to the guidance counselor at school to find out what the least populated club was, joined it, and then reluctantly went to it every day. I showed up each day, just like Hachiman and sat away from the rest of the group, ignoring them all. The other members stopped showing up before I did."
During the interview, there were extended periods where Burdeau began smirking and laughing without saying any words, seemingly indulging in some internal monologue which he would not explain.
Later, Burdeau began discussing the various crushes he had in his class. "I chose two girls – just like in Oregairu season 1. One girl had black hair, the other had blonde because I couldn't convince any of the girls to dye their hair Yui's colour of orange. It was terrible though – no one came up to start a conversation with me while I was having lunch."
Burdeau seemed most confused during the interview when discussing a male friend from his school, whom he initially called Totsuka, but blushingly began to call him Tim. "T-Tim was the closest I got to being Hachiman. I felt as confused about him as I did about hiding my thoughts for my sister."
After this, he explained that he would approach any conversation by one of his peers with sarcastic, snide remarks, and try to dismiss them by insulting them and forcing them away from him.
Burdeau says he has no intentions of stopping his attempts to emulate fictional emotionally confused, insecure high schoolers. "I do not yet despair – this semester was suffering, but I'm pretty experienced with suffering – I've watched Madoka Magica. I trust that next semester, a new girl will show up at my school, and then all the girls will notice me."
Anime Maru
The pinnacle of collaboration, this account is the Anime Maru staff combining to form a giant super mecha. Endless Union, Go! Anime Maru!
38 thoughts on "Local Man Confused After Acting like Male Protagonist Fails to Make Him Popular"
Ye Lin Myat March 16, 2016 at 8:03 pm
you are a fking retard. because fking kids like you, that our society is fked-up.
Hendrik Sunarto March 16, 2016 at 9:37 pm
Andhika Nur Permadi March 16, 2016 at 9:51 pm
This guy is so misleading, Hachiman-shisou's life troubles taught us to be stronger person when things like him happened in your life, yet this guy try to lump his life in the troubles. Utterly stupid!
Shahil Prasad March 16, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Wtf this is cancer
weebtrash March 16, 2016 at 11:56 pm
Ixchel Martinez March 17, 2016 at 1:22 am
haha awesome work!
JigglyJiggly March 17, 2016 at 1:29 am
"I do not yet despair – this semester was suffering, but I'm pretty experienced with suffering – I've watched Madoka Magica."
That's the spirit !
But seriously, though no one yet have an edge as eddggggiiiyy as #8man do at least for the current era.
The best we can achieve with our current edginess growth rate is Kirito.
Kameron March 17, 2016 at 1:39 am
This is why the anime industry is fucked, trying to turn fantasy into reality is a stone best left unturned.
Karl Jarre March 17, 2016 at 2:48 am
worked for me buddy
Benjamin Lee March 17, 2016 at 2:52 am
Some people are just that stupid.I am also an anime fan,but I don't try to act like the characters unless the situation calls for it (like in a cosplay competition,for example) and that's because I know the line between fantasy and reality very well.I know that fantasy is something that would never happen(unless there's a miracle) and I know the limits of reality so I don't understand why that guy would do that.
I'm really confused.
Kavithran Grim March 17, 2016 at 3:38 am
if he really wanted a harem he shouldnt follow anime logic cause anime logic isnt real and doesnt make any sense most of the timeXD
Allein Jeff Alegre Galvez March 17, 2016 at 4:26 am
Some advice:
[1] Season 1 Hachiman —> not a good role model
[2] Season 2 Hachiman past Ep.5 —> could be a good role model
Oregairu Fan May 12, 2016 at 12:57 pm
It was stated that after season 1 the company in charge of making the anime wouldn't follow the light novel by the book no more, so season 1 is the most realistic interpretation of Hachiman's life, an outcast shunned by society, while season 2 opts for a more distorted aproach to reality, the one commonly found in vanilla anime.
For people interested in Oregairu, it's best if you stick to the light novel, not the anime.
Poe Law March 17, 2016 at 4:44 am
Apparently people who commented on this site don't know what this site is about
Yassine Ben March 17, 2016 at 6:22 am
this is fake guys.. xD
lolicon March 17, 2016 at 6:28 am
What? He's free to sexually identify as he pleases, shitlord, and if his preferred identity is an edgy, shitty MC, more power to him. It's 2016!
FF March 17, 2016 at 7:56 am
One thing I love more than articles like this are the people that comment and don't understand what the website does.
Spartanhero613 March 17, 2016 at 9:03 am
@Poe Law probably linked from tumblr or some similarly shitty site
Joshuel Herrera March 17, 2016 at 10:04 am
This is Fake lol
LolisFTW March 17, 2016 at 10:35 am
You know who sadly is more cringy and retarded than the guy from this article, people that don´t know what AnimeMaru does and write comments saying "you are a fking retard. because fking kids like you, that our society is fked-up." and shit like that. It´s a fake article, it´s supposed to be funny. Sorry if this sound a little kinda agressive.
virtual9 (@v9_____) March 19, 2016 at 2:16 am
you're disgusting
PaleBlue March 17, 2016 at 10:40 am
His first mistake was not finding a smokin' hot teacher/mentor that believes in him and supports his efforts. I mean seriously, this is basic shit.
Kzog Kokuto March 17, 2016 at 11:52 am
had a good laugh.. thanks
rai March 17, 2016 at 12:15 pm
Hahahaha always nice to laugh at retardation
Zaki367 March 17, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Omg you are awesome good Job man?
John Phillips March 17, 2016 at 2:25 pm
I like when people can't identify satire
Nicknamesuck March 17, 2016 at 4:39 pm
HahahahahahahahhahahahahahahAhahahahahA damn what the actual fuck
GenuineThings March 17, 2016 at 8:13 pm
But was his intention……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….genuine?
Capturedbynoodles March 17, 2016 at 8:31 pm
Satire, guys. Satire.
Gavin Pritchard March 18, 2016 at 5:19 am
cant believe people think this is real talk about not being able to separate facts from fiction
Mecchi March 18, 2016 at 6:22 pm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire
hey everybody this is real. he goes to my school
Kane Takiya March 19, 2016 at 2:21 pm
remember folks
expectation is always far away from reality
FederallyLicensedOtaku March 19, 2016 at 2:50 pm
So I guess the additional commenters here are from twitter?
Pink pudding March 20, 2016 at 8:12 am
Is that black hair justin bieber?
it's satire you fools March 20, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Pretty sure there was just an influx of randoms who have no idea what this site is about, but tried to jump on the bandwagon by making smartass comments
S a r c a s m March 20, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Is this the Oregairu live action casting?
I hate how live actions change the whole story about.
GreyBaconFace March 23, 2016 at 6:24 am
It worked for me. What's a semester's worth of social experiences worth, in exchange for the chance at your own harem?
If Hikki doesn't work for you, try Kirito from the popular anime Swords Art OnIine. I can see that working at high school.

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While Brighton is certainly a destination for active retirees, it is also a community filled with the energy of youth. Our secondary school is recognized nationally as a leader in environmental stewardship; our students present elaborate Broadway-quality performances, and they achieve excellence in academic sports, and technical pursuits.
With a local OPP office, range of healthcare options and easy access to educational facilities, Brighton seeks to continue to grow its residential base and looks forward to a future filled with 'bright' opportunities!


Not for the timid, but for those who have the guts to try, this will be the ride that keeps you coming back for more!
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Home Automotive Design All-Electric Sports Car – Porsche's 522HP Taycan 4S
All-Electric Sports Car – Porsche's 522HP Taycan 4S
Earlier this year, Porsche revealed its plan to add an elaborate line of electrified variants to its catalog, kicking off its innovative integration with the Turbo and Turbo S. Now, the company has decided to add another interesting offering to its sports car range – the Taycan 4S.
When it comes to performance and affordability, this all-new electrified variant is slated to slot in just below its two siblings; but that doesn't mean that it's any less prodigal when it comes to power. At the base level, the great-looking 4S will provide drivers with 522-horsepower in overboost. Luckily, this can be bolstered by around 40 horses, thanks to a Performance Battery Plus package that will net the vehicle 563-horsepower.
The car's 79.2 kWh battery pack will provide over 252 miles of range, complementing its mind-numbing four-second 0-62 mile-per-hour acceleration time.
Inside, you'll find a curved digital instrument cluster, a 10.9-inch infotainment display, and quality-of-life features like eight-way electric seat adjustment, climate control, and premium upholstery. The Porsche Taycan 4S is slated for sale at $103,800 for the base model, while the Performance Battery Plus version will cost you a meager $110,380. And don't forget to check our list of the most expensive and the most beautiful cars in the world.
Beauty is subjective. However, while acknowledging individual tastes in cars, certain car models tend to come up time and time again, in terms of their classy and iconic looks. Here…
Electric Supercar Merkler MIRA GT by Mihael Merkler
Designer from Macedonia Mihael Merkler created a stunning concept of electric supercar. Merkler Mira GT electric supercar powered with 4 350hp electric motors AWD with integrated three wind turbine/generators behind…
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Nissan Motor Corporation and premium automotive brand INFINITI have unveiled a sleek, open-wheeled electric retro-roadster prototype at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car, called Prototype 9, is a…
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Lost Country: Aboriginal Flags Have Begun Flying At Half Mast Around Australia
January 17, 2020 / caa4nsw
(IMAGE: Chris Graham, New Matilda)
"Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians all understand that by lowering a flag we acknowledge that something has died or that something is dying. It is a symbol of mourning. There are so many people who are feeling anguish."
HOME ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS
By Chris Graham on January 17, 2020 Aboriginal Affairs
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An Aboriginal woman from Victoria is hoping that First Nations people and organisations around the nation will join her university in flying Indigenous flags at half mast, to acknowledge the grief Aboriginal people are feeling at the destruction of Country from Australia's ongoing bushfire crisis.
Associate Professor Gabrielle Fletcher is a Gundungurra woman from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. She's also a Professor in Indigenous Studies and the Director of the Institute for Koorie Education at Deakin University in Melbourne.
"To lose Country, in this way, is a particular grief for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It's a messy grief," Associate Professor Fletcher told New Matilda.
"It's more in sorrow than anger, it's mourning. You could say it's 'Sorry business' in a way.
Associate Professor Gabrielle Fletcher.
"As a collective, this symbolic gesture may provide somewhere for all Australians to leave parts of this despair.
"It's also a reflection of the immense grief of guilt where we feel a kind of irresponsible helplessness – our sense of the abandonment of our cultural obligations to Care for Country."
Deakin University is already flying the Aboriginal flag at half mast today, after a request from Associate Professor Fletcher this week to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin, with the gesture receiving "overwhelming" support from Deakin faculty and students.
Professor Fletcher is hoping it might spread across the nation, and that "these lowered symbolic fabrics become the message sticks for urgent change".
Aboriginal flags at Deakin University in Victoria are flying at half mast, to acknowledge the grief Aboriginal people are feeling at the loss of country in the ongoing Australian bushfire crisis.
Assoc Prof Fletcher said the scale of the loss felt by First Nations people was enormous, and it wasn't just restricted to the land and its animals.
"Country moves beyond landscape, allotment, vista or wildlife as stand-alone components. It is also place, Ancestors, shadows, mist, warble, maps and vapour," she said.
The aftermath of the fires on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, in January 2020. (IMAGE: Chris Graham, New Matilda)
"When Aboriginal People lose Country to this scale we lose Knowledge, Ways, Forms, Spirit and Healing – these are a complex interconnection, where everything has its place to teach, feel, show and speak.
"With each loss we slip further away from understanding who we are, and how we fit – this is the ultimate death in many respects."
Assoc Prof Fletcher acknowledged there were some positives to come out of the fire crisis, beyond waking people up to the realities our nation faces.
"People are starting to recognise and acknowledge the validity and value of Indigenous Knowledges, and ways of knowing, being and doing. It's been an uncomfortable discovery for some."
The fires on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in January 2020. (IMAGE: Chris Graham, New Matilda)
Assoc Prof Fletcher hopes that other organisations follow suit and lower their Aboriginal flags in the aftermath of the bushfire emergency.
"I think this action symbolically describes the collective realisation that we've lost so much more than what can be seen and is a true wake-up call." Professor Fletcher said.
"On behalf of the Institute of Koorie Education, I thank Deakin Vice-Chancellor Professor Iain Martin for his support in this unprecedented gesture."
If you're supporting this story on social media, please use the hashtag: #HalfMastForMyCountry
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Chris Graham is the publisher and editor of New Matilda. He is the former founding managing editor of the National Indigenous Times and Tracker magazine. Chris has won a Walkley Award, a Walkley High Commendation and two Human Rights Awards for his reporting. He lives in Brisbane and splits his time between Stradbroke Island, where New Matilda is based, and the mainland.
SOURCE: https://newmatilda.com/2020/01/17/for-country-lost-aboriginal-flags-have-begun-flying-at-half-mast-around-australia/
80% of BLUE MOUNTAINS and 50% of GONDWANA Rainforests burn in Bushfires!
IT would appear government focus has been in all the wrong places … of GROWTH … and ever more ECONOMIC GROWTH …
'It's heart-wrenching': 80% of Blue Mountains and 50% of Gondwana rainforests burn in bushfires
Guardian Australia analysis reveals the frightening amount of world heritage area burned in Australia's ongoing fire crisis
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Lisa Cox and Nick Evershed
The unprecedented bushfires could affect the diversity of eucalypts for which the Blue Mountains is recognised. Photograph: CPOA Brett Kennedy/Commonwealth of Australia/PA
At least 80% of the Blue Mountains world heritage area and more than 50% of the Gondwana world heritage rainforests have burned in Australia's ongoing bushfire crisis.
The scale of the disaster is such that it could affect the diversity of eucalypts for which the Blue Mountains world heritage area is recognised, said John Merson, the executive director of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute.
The data is based on a Guardian Australia analysis of areas burned in New South Wales and Queensland and was confirmed by the NSW government.
Guardian Australia reported in December that 20% of the Blue Mountains world heritage area had been affected by fire in the early months of the crisis.
Four times that amount has now burned in what Merson said were fires of a scale that "has never happened before".
"This is totally, totally unique. As everybody keeps saying, it's unprecedented," he said.
How big are the fires burning in Australia? Interactive map
The Blue Mountains world heritage area covers one million hectares of national park and bushland and is dominated by temperate eucalypt forest.
The area is renowned for the diversity of its vegetation and is home to about a third of the world's eucalypt species.
While most are fire-adapted and can regenerate, many of the species depend on long intervals between fires, Merson said.
"We had a very large fire in 2013. It's only six years after that," he said.
"The eucalypts can be very badly reduced in diversity if fires come through in too short and intense intervals. Their numbers will virtually collapse."
He said the full impact on tree species and wildlife would not be known until more assessments were done as fire grounds became accessible.
But there are concerns about the effect on breeding and feeding habitats for species including the spotted-tail quoll and the brush-tailed rock-wallaby.
The fires have also burnt swamp communities that release water slowly and are important water resources. They flow into streams that feed into Sydney's water supply and provide water for wildlife.
It was revealed this week that a rescue mission by NSW fire crews was able to save the only known natural grove of Wollemi pines, so-called "dinosaur trees" that fossil records show existed up to 200m years ago.
Merson said the fires had entered areas that had not burnt previously and the need for the rescue mission was indicative of the intensity of the fires in the region.
Play Video0:55 Prehistoric Wollemi pines saved by firefighters from Australia's bushfires – video
"This is climate change in its most fundamental form," he said.
"This is right in our face. We're living it."
Further north, the fires have devastated parts of the Gondwana rainforest world heritage area, a collection of reserves of subtropical rainforest that span 366,500 hectares across NSW and Queensland.
Guardian Australia used newly released data which combines all burned areas in NSW and Queensland since 1 July 2019, and calculated the area of overlap with world heritage areas.
This analysis shows 53% of the Gondwana rainforest area has burned.
Guardian Australia spoke to Mark Graham, an ecologist with the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, in December.
Graham is based in the Bellinger Valley near some of these fires.
He said since December there had been "significant, additional fire in areas that hadn't burned" in Barrington Tops.
"The Tweed Valley is the only significant area of Gondwana that hasn't experienced any fire," Graham said.
"Everywhere else has. It's taken a massive hit.
"It's heart-wrenching. It's disturbing. It's frightening."
Graham said his area had experienced some rain in recent weeks but there were now concerns that sediment washed into the Bellinger River has affected the food sources for the critically endangered Bellinger River snapping turtle.
A spokesman for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said understanding the impact of the fires on both world heritage areas was a priority.
Record-breaking 4.9m hectares of land burned in NSW this bushfire season
"Analysis will improve as the forests becomes safe to enter and the smoke clears, enabling accurate satellite and aerial imagery to help guide our assessment and on work on ground," he said.
He said both regions contained a mixture of forest types, some of which was adapted for fire, but others that were more sensitive to fire, such as dense rainforest.
Jess Abrahams, the nature campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, said climate change was hitting Australia's world heritage areas "very hard".
"We have witnessed consecutive years of devastating coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, while global heating has been described as a catastrophic risk to the Wet Tropics and Shark Bay world heritage areas," he said.
"It's really upsetting to see how much of the Blue Mountains world heritage area has been burnt.
"This is a place many Australians know and love. It has significant Indigenous cultural values and is home to a number of rare and threatened species."
VIEW SOURCE LINK FOR VIDEOS AND GRAPHS:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/17/its-heart-wrenching-80-of-blue-mountains-and-50-of-gondwana-rainforests-burn-in-bushfires?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX01vcm5pbmdNYWlsQVVTLTIwMDExNg%3D%3D&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MorningMailAUS&CMP=morningmailau_email
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PHOTO: SMH: A firefighter is lowered from a helicopter hovering above the Wollemi stand.
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JAMES MURDOCH Attacks NEWS CORPs Climate Change Coverage
In Australia, News Corp has been criticised by some politicians, scientists and members of the public in recent years for airing the views of commentators who deny that humans are contributing to the warming of the planet.
with Eleanor Hall, Sarah Dingle
LISTEN 4m 22s Volume 87%00:0000:00 Image:
Reuters: Neil Hall
By David Sparkes on The World Today
Download James Murdoch attacks News Corp's climate change coverage (2.00 MB) Download 2.00 MB
They are the most powerful media dynasty in the world and now a very public division is opening up in the Murdoch family over how their companies cover climate change.
And this morning, Rupert Murdoch's son, James, has attacked the company's reporting on the issue in light of Australia's bushfire crisis.
Duration: 4min 22secBroadcast: Wed 15 Jan 2020, 12:22pm
Jim Rutenberg, New York Times journalist
Tony Koch, retired journalist
Rupert Murdoch's son James criticises News Corp and Fox for climate change coverageThe younger son and daughter-in-law of News Corp and Fox Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch take aim at both organisations' coverage of climate change, widely viewed as a contributing factor to the Australian bushfires.
'Shut up and sit on the back bench': Business lobby group frustrated with Coalition climate change scepticsThe Federal Government has drawn the ire of the small business community, with a key lobby group saying its members are disappointed with the lack of preparations for what was expected to be an unusually bad bushfire season.
The bushfire crisis has given the Government a political 'out' to its climate change problemFor those who see their future in peril, climate change action is not a divisive issue, but one of common sense. And with some leadership, Australia's bushfire crisis could be the turning point for our out-of-date climate policies, writes Frank Jotzo.
SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/james-murdoch-attacks-news-corps-climate-change-coverage/11869854
James Murdoch slams News Corp for denying climate facts
January 15, 2020 January 15, 2020 / caa4nsw
' … The majority of people who work here agree with James. We are hoping this may be the tipping point.' Comment from an Executive …
AUDIO FROM THE ABC THE WORLD TODAY: https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2020/01/15/james-murdoch-attacks-news-corps-climate-change-coverage/
James Murdoch and his climate activist wife Kathryn slammed News Corp for perpetuating climate myths. Photo: Getty/ TND
As his country of origin burns, Rupert Murdoch is being slammed for how his businesses promote coverage and commentary that ignores – or totally contradicts – facts about man-made climate change's role in the bushfire catastrophe.
Now, in what is perhaps a sign the smoky winds of change are blowing within the powerful media empire, Murdoch's youngest son has broken ranks to call out the untruths.
James Murdoch, 47, joined his climate activist wife Kathryn in publicly shaming media giants News Corp and Fox News for their coverage on Australia's bushfire crisis.
James and Kathryn Murdoch at Rupert Murdoch's 2016 marriage to Jerry Hall. Photo: Getty
In a rare public statement, the couple expressed their deep disappointment with the Murdoch media empire.
"Kathryn and James' views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known," a spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
There has been a growing chorus of voices calling out Murdoch-owned mastheads for reporting and commentary that downplays manmade climate change's role in the ferocious fires burning across Australia's eastern seaboard.
Commentary in Murdoch-owned mastheads – The Australian, the Herald Sun, and The Daily Telegraph – as well as Sky News, has repeatedly included references to climate concerns being "alarmist".
The Australian has repeatedly argued that this year's fires are no worse than those of the past – a claim which scientists have slammed as untrue.
Rupert Murdoch said at last year's annual general meeting there were no climate change deniers in the News Corp ranks. But the words of high-profile commentators printed in the pages of the Murdoch mastheads and spouting denialist views on Sky tell a different story.
And Australians, and audiences overseas, are increasingly connecting dots between the rhetoric and misinformation in the Murdoch press and the federal government's response to the bushfires.
Not everyone on the News Corp payroll is denying climate change, of course. Just the loudest voices, the well paid who are put up in lights.
Staff have told The New Daily about a deep discomfort with the way bushfire stories are being covered.
Just last week, News Corp finance manager Emily Townsend hit out at News Corp executive chairman Michael Miller after he sent a company-wide email spruiking how much the company had been helping bushfire-affected communities.
Related: Michael Pascoe: How Murdoch's myrmidons murdered climate policy
So far the bushfires have claimed 28 lives, destroyed more than 2000 homes and burnt through more than ten million hectares of land. (12 million Hectares: search for report.)
Ms Townsend had been so "severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires" that she found it "unconscionable to continue working for this company", she wrote.
Rupert Murdoch with his sons James (right) and Lachlan (left) at a wedding in 2016. Photo: Getty
While the public statement was a rare move by James Murdoch, he has previously distanced himself from the views presented on Fox News.
"There are views I really disagree with on Fox (News)," he told the New Yorker in September last year.
Daily Beast claimed the $9 million in donations by Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch and News Corp to Australian bushfire relief efforts were only made after the news site contacted them for a response to James' statement.
Related: Garry Linnell: These people denying climate's role in bushfires are as bad as anti-vaxxers
An unnamed News Corp executive was quoted as saying the couple was deliberately out to attack the Murdoch family, especially considering James' older brother, Lachlan, is currently in charge of overseeing the Fox News Channel.
"They are pissing inside the tent and that's unusual. It's evidence of how high tensions are within the family over climate change. The majority of people who work here agree with James. We are hoping this may be the tipping point," the executive said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
SOURCE: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/15/james-murdoch-wife-kathryn-climate-change/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20News%20-%2020200115
HEATWAVES … add Thermal Mass from Overdevelopment … Heat Island Effect and Mortality … e.g. Penrith …
Photo: Penrith farmlands in December 2009: From Farmlands to Suburbia in 10 Years
TEMPERATURES rise dramatically in urban environments during heat waves from the west.
Compounded by thermal mass and poor city design.
PENRITH has become hotter because of the thermal mass from overdevelopment … the "heat island effect".
Collecting not only pollution but all the heat from the entire city of Sydney in a basin bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south, west and north by elevated terrain.
AND … it is evident that Penrith is becoming a thermal mass wasteland due to the higher density rezoning, motorways, airport construction along with the removal of trees (less than 6% of the Cumberland Plain Woodland remains!), and loss of farmlands …. vegetation!
SUSTAINABILITY would be about adapting … following this disaster of overdevelopment … some might go as far to say that Sydney needs to be bulldozed … redesigned once the awfulizers, the mafia of developers are done with Sydney and run off with Billions in their pockets.
The image from April 2018 shows the completed construction with rows of identical homes. Photo: Nearmap.com.au
BUSHFIRE and NATURAL HAZARDS CRC
"Heatwaves are dangerous and have killed more people in Australia than all other climate related disasters combined.
Urban environments are considered especially vulnerable to heatwaves due to the Urban Heat Island effect. Increasing death rates from heatwaves are predicted to become one of Australia's most detrimental impacts of climate change (IPPC 2014) with major implications for emergency services and public policy development.
The catastrophic dimensions of heatwave mortality are not spread evenly across society but are concentrated among specific population groups. Older people, especially women, are overrepresented in heatwave related excess mortality statistics internationally.
Using a critical perspective, this paper aims to present a literature review exploring current research on social vulnerability of older women during urban heatwaves. It will illustrate how heatwave vulnerability is largely socially constructed through the intersection of deeply entrenched gender inequality with systemic socio-economic disadvantage.
The review will highlight the need for heatwave intervention to be guided by a social justice perspective, to avoid older, poorer women becoming the shock absorbers of the climate crisis.
This paper is part of my PhD research project at Monash University:
'Denaturalising heatwaves: gendered social vulnerabilities in urban heatwaves and the use of public cool spaces as a primary heat health measure'. The research has ethics approval."
Denaturalising heatwaves: gendered social vulnerability in urban heatwaves, a review
https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/publications/biblio/bnh-6408?fbclid=IwAR2xzGN9vpMBFaLKjYRgXpkdwFqb0_jDe3p1fgStKSyg9XKelDi0aM6yjzM
CAAN: AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE DEVELOPER MAFIA DRIVEN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT
Photo: From Farmland to Suburbia: Penrith 2018: A recent shot shows the suburb completely transformed into new homes
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In the face of a bushfire catastrophe, our national conversation is still run by politics
PHOTO: The Eyre Highway reopened on Friday after being closed for 12 days because of bushfires. (DFES: Evan Collis)
It is apparently OK to canvas the misleading idea that the fires have been primarily caused by arson, or deliberately insufficient hazard reduction — which experts including NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons have rejected. *
But it apparently isn't OK to simply say that clearly the climate has changed (even to say that without saying because it's due to, you know, CLIMATE CHANGE)
7.30 By Laura Tingle
Updated Sat
RELATED STORY: Bushfires could kickstart a new crisis for Australia's rivers
RELATED STORY: 'The world is utterly perplexed': As Australia burns, is our reputation at risk?
RELATED STORY: Can Morrison live down his George W Bush moment?RELATED STORY: This has not been Morrison's finest moment, to put it mildly
The Eyre Highway reopened on Friday after being closed for 12 days because of bushfires.
You might not have driven on the Eyre Highway. But unless you want to take the long route north via Kununurra, it is the only sealed highway linking eastern Australia with Western Australia.
The Kings Highway is expected to be closed for most of January. That's the highway that links Canberra with the south coast.
Parts of that road are said to have just melted down the steep sides of Clyde Mountain in fires that have burnt virtually all of the bush from Braidwood to Batemans Bay.
Many communities across the country have been told to boil their drinking water because of contamination linked to bushfires — either by ash, such as in Tenterfield, or by the mixing of water supplies during firefighting, as has happened on the NSW south coast.
PHOTO: Bushfire ash contaminated the runoff after much-needed rain in Tenterfield. (Image supplied; Julie King)
And that's the case for the communities that have not simply just run out of water.
There are concerns that Sydney's water supply could be severely affected in months to come if the ash from huge areas of burnt out bush around Warragamba Dam, which provides 80 per cent of Sydney's water, runs into the dam after heavy rainfall.
The bizarre state of our national conversation
It's hard to take pictures of closed highways, or compromised water supplies.
But these examples give just some idea of the knock-on effects of fires like those we have seen this catastrophic summer.Can Morrison live down his George W Bush moment?
Scott Morrison has had some perplexing failures of political and policy judgement in recent weeks, writes Laura Tingle.
We are leaving aside, for a moment, the human trauma and loss in fire grounds, and the latest estimate from Australian Academy of Science Fellow, Professor Chris Dickman, that 1 billion animals have now been killed in the bushfires — a figure that includes mammals, birds and reptiles, but not bats, frogs, insects or other invertebrates.
Our political leaders are, so often, so much more comfortable framing crises in economic or national security terms, particularly when traumatised people don't want to shake their hands.
If it was sabotage that had closed our major arterial highways — like the Eyre or even the Princes Highway down the east coast (as it was in multiple locations for many days) — you can imagine the sort of political rhetoric and hysteria that would have been going on at the moment.
But instead, we continue to have this bizarre situation continuing where a few belligerent types in politics — and very noisy ones in the media — seem to set the limits of our conversation.
*It is apparently OK to canvas the misleading idea that the fires have been primarily caused by arson, or deliberately insufficient hazard reduction — which experts including NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons have rejected. *
But it apparently isn't OK to simply say that clearly the climate has changed (even to say that without saying because it's due to, you know, climate change).
PHOTO: There are estimates that one billion animals have now been killed in the bushfires. (Supplied: Ryan Pollock)
When an issue is not an issue
Climate change as a possible linkage with the fires is sometimes referred to as "issues", or even "issues contributing to the event".
Sometimes the bushfires are boldly linked to the drought (which of course, may just also be linked to "issues").
10 years of climate policy inertia
Ten years ago one man's plan blew apart Australia's two great parties irrevocably just as they teetered toward consensus on climate change, the most divisive issue of the Australian political century.
The Prime Minister hit the airwaves on Thursday night and Friday morning, talking about the various measures the Government has put in place in the last week or so, including calling out Defence Force reservists and $2 billion of funding (various) for bushfire relief.
It's hard not to listen to these interviews though, and get the sense that he is rattling off an alibi; that he remains on the defensive.
On Melbourne radio on Friday, for example, he was asked whether this might be the new normal — very long fire seasons, affecting many different parts of the country — which might require a new permanent mechanism to deal with it
These were obviously issues to be considered, Scott Morrison said.
"I mean, we stood this [the ADF reservists] up last Saturday," he responded.
VIDEO: Scott Morrison defends the Government's response to the bushfires (7.30)
"We had it moving several days before. We'd actually run a trial process for the call out back in November to ensure that we were in a position to be able to roll that out should that become necessary. And it did become necessary.
"I mean, the scale of these fires going across two very large jurisdictions reached an unprecedented level and that required an unprecedented response at that time and one was delivered and delivered very quickly."
Shockwaves keep going wider
The economic impact of these fires has not been limited this time around to people who have lost homes or businesses, or even small communities.
Vast swathes of coastal NSW and Victoria have lost their most lucrative trading seasons. They have often also been cut for days, by road, telecommunications and power.
Morrison's fires response has put his political judgement in question
Within the Government, there is widespread acknowledgement that Scott Morrison's Midas touch has gone missing, writes David Speers.
Businesses in towns like Braidwood and Bungendore, which have long prospered on the holiday traffic from Canberra to the coast, say their streets are like ghost towns.
The newly appointed recovery coordinator for southern NSW, retired deputy police commissioner Dick Adams, told a local paper this week: "Eden has lost their mill, Mt Selwyn has lost their whole resort, softwood plantations in Tumut, dairy in Bega, apple orchards in Batlow…
"What we've found, is when bushfire is impacting these areas and people are evacuated out, some may not return. We need to work to get people back."
There is some emergency financial assistance from the Federal Government for people who have lost everything, and grants to local governments who have to repair roads. And state governments provide some low interest loans for small businesses in trouble.
But the shockwaves keep going wider.
Even in Canberra, where luckily fires haven't yet hit, hotels are reporting that around 15 per cent of bookings for January have been cut because the national capital has become infamous for literally having the worst air quality in the world thanks to bushfire smoke.
PHOTO: Mt Selwyn's slopes were barely recognisable after being gutted by fire. (Facebook: Andrew Newton)
A royal commission is pretty convenient
The point here is to simply document how these fires are affecting all sorts of aspects of our lives way beyond the terror they represent up close.
And that means they are also changing our political conversation, on everything from the environment to the role of government.
How climate change has impacted the world since your childhood
Global warming is already changing the world before our eyes — let's see what has happened in your lifetime, and what's in store for your future.
The Prime Minister has suggested there might be a royal commission into all we can learn from these fires, including their causes, though of course he has not actually locked into calling one.
Excuse the cynicism, but doesn't a possible royal commission — whatever its ultimate virtues — provide the perfect response in the short term for any question you don't want to answer?
Photo: Macro Business
For example, "well that will be a matter for the royal commission to determine".
A Government that has held on, at great cost to rational policy making, to a budget surplus now stuck together with sticky tape, will at least have an honourable reason to not meet its surplus target if it does actually start spending money because of our burning summer.
But the sort of ripple effects we are talking about here on the economy suggest very tough times ahead for the country as a whole — with the only really obvious positive a fire-led building boom.
The economy and national security are supposed to be the Coalition's strong points.
Yet even in the face of a catastrophe that shows our infrastructure vulnerable, and the economy under threat, we are still overwhelmed with political management.
Laura Tingle is 7.30's chief political correspondent.
Stay across our bushfire coverage:
Bushfire smoke plume expected to lap the globe, NASA predicts
Government pledges $50m for fire-affected wildlife as koalas may become endangered
First all-Indigenous NSW firefighting crews protecting sacred sites, remote communities
Australia fires photos show startling transformation before and after destruction
We crunched the numbers on bushfires and arson — the results might surprise you
Analysis: As Australia burns, Scott Morrison is rattling off an alibi
Wildlife experts say over a billion animals now dead in NSW bushfires
SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-11/australia-bushfire-crisis-just-dont-mention-climate-change/11857590
BOM CHART Shows how Temperatures have Soared in AUSTRALIA over the Past Century!
YES … AUSTRALIA is getting hotter. And Experts say it's likely to continue!
Bureau of Meteorology chart shows how temperatures have soared in Australia over the past century
ABC News Breakfast By Patrick Wood
INFOGRAPHIC: Temperatures across Australia over the past 110 years. (Supplied: Bureau Of Meteorology)
RELATED STORY: 'Well-defined and clear trends': Australia just faced down its hottest and driest year on record
RELATED STORY: Scientists explain why this summer is 'smashing the extremes'
Australia just had its warmest and driest year on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, continuing a long-running trend in the country.
Australia's climate has warmed by more than 1 degree Celsius since 1910
BOM says very warm years like 2019 are now more likely to occur
A rainfall chart shows drying out over the last couple of decades in southern Australia
A chart produced by the bureau and updated with 2019 figures (shown above) displays a stark transformation over the past century.
It shows the anomaly of mean temperature for each calendar year from 1910 to 2019, compared to the average over the standard reference period of 1961–1990.
The colours range from dark blue (more than 3 degrees Celsius below average), through blues and greens (below average), yellow and orange (above average), and then brown (more than 3C above average).
"Australia's climate has warmed by more than a degree since 1910, which means very warm years like 2019 are now more likely to occur," said Karl Braganza, the bureau's head of climate monitoring.
Dr Braganza said alongside warmer temperatures, we were also seeing a trend in recent decades towards drier winter and spring seasons in some parts of the country.
Andrew Watkins, manager of long-range forecasting at the bureau, said the hot 2019 — which had an average mean temperature 1.52C above average — was front of mind for many.
"It was the talking point of all last year," he said.
"All the states and territories were in the top handfuls of temperature. Hot everywhere, pretty much.
"Almost by definition if they're records they are unusual."
The bureau has also produced another chart showing rainfall in each year since 1900.
INFOGRAPHIC: 120 years of Australian rainfall. (Supplied: Bureau Of Meteorology)
The colours range from dark red (lowest on record) to white (average) and dark blue (highest on record).
"We've seen a warming up, and also a drying out, of southern Australia," Dr Watkins said.
"About 10 to 15 per cent drying over the last couple of decades in southern Australia.
"Hopefully the year will head a bit more towards average rainfall and temperature pattern.
"Probably still a bit warmer than normal though, but gee, it shouldn't be as bad as [2019]."
SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-14/bureau-of-meteorology-chart-shows-how-temperatures-soared/11857404
HOW ABORIGINAL PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE BUSHFIRE CRISIS
' … … I hope it'll recover. I hope that Indigenous knowledge & expertise takes precedence in the forward management of natural environments. This requires Indigenous people & systems leading the process, not being tacked on, or our knowledges excerpted & cropped into failing models '
Strength from perpetual grief: how Aboriginal people experience the bushfire crisis
Bhiamie WilliamsonResearch Associate & PhD Candidate, Australian National University
Jessica WeirSenior Research Fellow, Western Sydney University
Vanessa CavanaghAssociate Lecturer, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong
How do you support people forever attached to a landscape after an inferno tears through their homelands: decimating native food sources, burning through ancient scarred trees and destroying ancestral and totemic plants and animals?
The fact is, the experience of Aboriginal peoples in the fire crisis engulfing much of Australia is vastly different to non-Indigenous peoples.
Colonial legacies of eradication, dispossession, assimilation and racism continue to impact the lived realities of Aboriginal peoples. Added to this is the widespread exclusion of our peoples from accessing and managing traditional homelands. These factors compound the trauma of these unprecedented fires.
It's important to recognise that not only do we grieve for our communities, but for our non-human relations. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
As Australia picks up the pieces from these fires, it's more important than ever to understand the unique grief Aboriginal peoples experience. Only through this understanding can effective strategies be put in place to support our communities to recover.
Perpetual grief
Aboriginal peoples live with a sense of perpetual grief. It stems from the as-yet-unresolved matter of the invasion and subsequent colonisation of our homelands.
While there are many instances of colonial trauma inflicted upon Aboriginal peoples – including the removal of children and the suppression of culture, ceremony and language – dispossession of Country remains paramount. Dispossessing people of their lands is a hallmark of colonisation.
Amy Thunig@AmyThunig
Seeing people start to ask 'what is going on in Australia?!'
Ongoing colonisation, that's what's going on.
This land was nurtured in reciprocal relationships with First Nations peoples for some 120,000 + years.
THIS is the result of 200 odd years of extractive yt invasion.2,2825:33 PM – Jan 5, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy812 people are talking about this
Australian laws have changed to partially return Aboriginal peoples' lands and waters, and Aboriginal people have made their best efforts to advocate for more effective management of Country. But despite this, the majority of our peoples have been consigned to the margins in managing our homelands.
Aboriginal people have watched on and been ignored as homelands have been mismanaged and neglected.
Oliver Costello is chief executive of Firesticks Alliance, an Indigenous-led network that aims to re-invigorate cultural burning. As he puts it:
Since colonisation, many Indigenous people have been removed from their land, and their cultural fire management practices have been constrained by authorities, informed by Western views of fire and land management.
In this way, settler-colonialism is not historical, but a lived experience. And the growing reality of climate change adds to these anxieties.
It's also important to recognise that our people grieve not only for our communities, but for our non-human relations. Aboriginal peoples' cultural identity comes from the land.
Read more: Our land is burning, and western science does not have all the answers
As such, Aboriginal cultural lives and livelihoods continue to be tied to the land, including landscape features such as waterholes, valleys and mountains, as well as native animals and plants.
The decimation caused by the fires deeply impacts the existence of Aboriginal peoples and in the most severe hit areas, threatens Aboriginal groups as distinct cultural beings attached to the land. As The Guardian's Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam recently wrote:
Like you, I've watched in anguish and horror as fire lays waste to precious Yuin land, taking everything with it – lives, homes, animals, trees – but for First Nations people it is also burning up our memories, our sacred places, all the things which make us who we are.
For Aboriginal people then, who live with the trauma of dispossession and neglect and now, the trauma of catastrophic fire, our grief is immeasurably different to that of non-Indigenous people.
Bushfire recovery must consider culture
As we come to terms with the fires' devastation, Australia must turn its gaze to recovery. The field of community recovery offers valuable insights into how groups of people can come together and move forward after disasters.
Read more: New research turns Tasmanian Aboriginal history on its head. The results will help care for the land
But an examination of research and commentary in this area reveals how poorly non-Indigenous Australia (and indeed, the international field of community recovery) understands the needs of Aboriginal people.
The definition of "community" is not explicitly addressed, and thus is taken as a single socio-cultural group of people.
But research in Australia and overseas has demonstrated that for Aboriginal people, healing from trauma – whether historical or contemporary – is a cultural and spiritual process and inherently tied to land.
Bushfires have raged across Australia, and the recovery process must not leave out Aboriginal Australians. Dean Lewins/AAP
The culture-neutral standpoint in community recovery research as yet does not acknowledge these differences. Without considering the historical, political and cultural contexts that continue to define the lives of Aboriginal peoples, responses to the crisis may be inadequate and inappropriate.
Resilience in the face of ongoing trauma
The long-term effects of colonisation has meant Aboriginal communities are (for better or worse) accustomed to living with catastrophic changes to their societies and lands, adjusting and adapting to keep functioning.
Experts consider these resilience traits as integral for communities to survive and recover from natural disasters.
In this way, the resilience of Aboriginal communities fashioned through centuries of colonisation, coupled with adequate support, means Aboriginal communities in fire-affected areas are well placed to not only recover, but to do so quickly.
Read more: Australia can expect far more fire catastrophes. A proper disaster plan is worth paying for
This is a salient lesson for agencies and other non-government organisations entrusted to lead the disaster recovery process.
The community characteristics that enable effective and timely community recovery, such as close social links and shared histories, already exist in the Aboriginal communities affected.
The agency in charge of leading the recovery in bushfire-affected areas must begin respectfully and appropriately. And they must be equipped with the basic knowledge of our peoples' different circumstances.
It's important to note this isn't "special treatment". Instead, it recognises that policy and practice must be fit-for-purpose and, at the very least, not do further harm.
Vanessa Cavanagh@nessscavvv · Jan 7, 2020Replying to @nessscavvv
Thankfully no one was hurt here & it's not where we currently live thus have the comforts of home, & knowing that others are not so lucky. I Shared this experience with my kids & their cousin who was evacuated from his home on sth cst. Son asked if the bush will grow back
Vanessa Cavanagh@nessscavvv
I hope it'll recover. I hope that Indigenous knowledge & expertise takes precedence in the forward management of natural environments. This requires Indigenous people & systems leading the process, not being tacked on, or our knowledges excerpted & cropped into failing models
2312:00 PM – Jan 7, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacySee Vanessa Cavanagh's other Tweets
If agencies and non-government organisations responsible for leading the recovery from these fires aren't well-prepared, they risk inflicting new trauma on Aboriginal communities.
The National Disability Insurance Agency offers an example of how to engage with Aboriginal people in culturally sensitive ways. This includes thinking about Country, culture and community, and working with each community's values and customs to establish respectful, trusting relationships.
Read more: How should leaders respond to disasters? Be visible, offer real comfort – and don't force handshakes
The new bushfire recovery agency must use a similar strategy. This would acknowledge both the historical experiences of Aboriginal peoples and our inherent strengths as communities that have not only survived, but remain connected to our homelands.
In this way, perhaps the bushfire crisis might have some positive longer-term outcomes, opening new doors to collaboration with Aboriginal people, drawing on our strengths and values and prioritising our unique interests.
Aboriginals
bushfires 2020
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SOURCE: https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448?fbclid=IwAR1__dEXqdwI3CRXkXzr5OfehTH4S4KavfXCx_VqrTzgiEMQ-z6XII2JI6U
NEWS CORP Employee lashes MURDOCH reporting of Bushfires
News Corp's coverage of the Australian bushfire crisis has received attention from around the world.CREDIT:NICK MOIR
HERE's what some commentators had to say!
I'm surprised that state governments haven't acted to curb News Corp i rresponsibility. Australian states are treated no better than South American countries by this American libertarian agency. Not only do they engage in character assassination of anyone leading positive change, we can now see they deliberately frustrate state governance, seed false arguments and destroy community wellbeing. This is an emergency, the planet and our capacity to transform human behaviour is at stake.
Mary-Anne Well said Paul. That self-entitled evil old man and his corrupt spawn should have the numbers 666 stamped on their foreheads. Australian citizens should demand the re-introduction of media concentration laws because no single person/organisation should ever be allowed to exert so much influence/manipulation over the national conversation. He has succeeded in stiffling important debate and dividing this nation by promoting tribalism rather than sensible rational discussion.
Brian You are forgetting how beholden our state and federal governments are to Rupert Murdoch and their dependence on him for re-election. We no longer have a free press in this country with the domination of News Corp.
Kate Thank you Emily Townsend. If only Murdoch journalists had your strength of character. They could join forces against their errant bosses. Surely they couldn't all be sacked?
Belinda Maybe we should start a GoFundMe to financially liberate any News Corp reporters and staff who want to speak out. I think it would go nuts, imagine if even half the staff could quit and speak out without fear of losing their income. Imagine the truth that could come out. I think it would spread throughout other News Corp owned countries.
The email was highly critical of News Corp's reporting.
Samantha Dick Reporter
A News Corp employee has slammed the organisation for spreading "climate change denial and lies" through "irresponsible" and "dangerous reporting" on Australia's catastrophic bushfires.
In an email, obtained by The New Daily, Emily Townsend, a commercial finance manager at the company, hit out at executive chairman Michael Miller after he sent a company-wide email talking up all the ways News Corp is helping communities affected by the bushfire crisis.
In the email addressed to Mr Miller, which was was distributed to all News Corp Australia staff, Ms Townsend said she was grateful for the company's fundraising efforts, but added that it did "not offset the impact News Corp reporting has had over the last few weeks".
"I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts)," Ms Townsend wrote.
The email was reportedly deleted from New Corp staff inboxes within an hour of it being sent.
A copy of Ms Townsend's email obtained by The New Daily.
Four hours later on Friday afternoon, News Corp issued a statement to The New Daily on behalf of Mr Miller.
The statement claimed Ms Townsend had resigned in December and was due to leave News Corp shortly.
"We respect Ms Townsend's right to hold her views, but we do not agree with them," the statement reads.
"Our coverage has recognised that Australia is having a serious conversation about climate change and how to respond to it," it said.
"However, it has also reflected there are a variety of views and opinions about the current fire crisis. The role of arsonists and policies that may have contributed to the spread of fire are, therefore, legitimate stories to report in the public interest.
"Contrary to what some critics have argued, News Corp does not deny climate change or the gravity of its threat. However, we – as is the traditional role of a publisher – do report a variety of views and opinions on the issue and many others that are important in the public discourse on the fires."
Rupert Murdoch's influential newspapers and television stations have been widely criticised in recent weeks for spreading misinformation about climate change during Australia's out-of-control bushfires.
Ms Townsend's decision to write a damning letter condemning News Corp's coverage has been welcomed by some current and former employees of the company.
The New Daily is aware of a growing discomfort among News Corp employees with how reporting on the crisis is being handled.
While afraid to speak openly for fear of reprisals from the company, some News Corp employees were quietly cheering their colleague's stance.
One current employee described it as "huge", while another said it was "amazing".
"We're all pretty thrilled," another current news reporter said.
So far, more than 12 million acres have burned, and more of New South Wales has been burned in 2019 alone than the previous 15 years combined.
This week, an independent study also found online bots and trolls had been exaggerating the role of arson in the fires, at the same time that an article in The Australian that made similar claims started trending on the newspaper's website.
SOURCE: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/10/news-corp-employee-lashes-bushfire-reporting/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News%20Alert%20-%202020110%20PM
How Rupert Murdoch is influencing Australia's bushfire debate
READ … it is self-evident … bleedin' obvious that the 'Limited News' message is making headway … with what it has also done in the United States and Britain – shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.
-once those seeds of doubt are planted it stops an important conversation from taking place
-with Murdoch outlets condemning protestors; editorials arguing against radical climate change policy; emphasising the need for more back-burning
–echoing between officialdom and Murdoch media that has many people so concerned
RELATED ARTICLE: NEWS CORP: DEMOCRACY's GREATEST THREAT
Australia would be a better country without News. Of course it would be. Either it changes, or we do.
https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2020/01/07/news-corp-democracys-greatest-threat/
The New York Times believes there is a specific bushfire agenda in the Murdoch owned media. Photo: New York Times/Matthew Abbott
Damien Cave
Deep in the burning forests south of Sydney this week, volunteer firefighters were clearing a track through the woods, hoping to hold back a nearby blaze, when one of them shouted over the crunching of bulldozers.
"Don't take photos of any trees coming down," he said. "The greenies will get a hold of it, and it'll all be over."
*The idea that "greenies" or environmentalists would oppose measures to prevent fires from ravaging homes and lives is simply false.
*But the comment reflects a narrative that's been promoted for months by conservative Australian media outlets, especially the influential newspapers and television stations owned by Rupert Murdoch.
*And it's far from the only Murdoch-fueled claim making the rounds. His standard-bearing national newspaper, The Australian, has also repeatedly argued that this year's fires are no worse than those of the past – not true, scientists say, noting that 12 million acres have burned so far, with 2019 alone scorching more of New South Wales than the previous 15 years combined.
*And on Wednesday, Murdoch's News Corp, the largest media company in Australia, was found to be part of another wave of misinformation. An independent study found online bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson in the fires, at the same time that an article in The Australian making similar assertions became the most popular offering on the newspaper's website.
*It's all part of what critics see as a relentless effort led by the powerful media outlet to do what it has also done in the United States and Britain – shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.
*"It's really reckless and extremely harmful," said Joëlle Gergis, an award-winning climate scientist at the Australian National University."It's insidious because it grows. Once you plant those seeds of doubt, it stops an important conversation from taking place." *
Critics accuse the Murdoch media protecting conservative leaders and diverting attention from climate change. Photo: Getty
News Corp denied playing such a role.
"Our coverage has recognised Australia is having a conversation about climate change and how to respond to it," the company said in an email. "The role of arsonists and policies that may have contributed to the spread of fire are, however, legitimate stories to report in the public interest."
*Yet, for many critics, the Murdoch approach suddenly looks dangerous. They are increasingly connecting News Corp to the spread of misinformation and the government's lacklustre response to the fires.
*They argue that the company and the Coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison are responsible – together, as a team – for the failure to protect a country that scientists say is more vulnerable to climate change than any other developed nation.
Editors and columnists for News Corp were among the loudest defenders of Mr Morrison after he faced blowback for vacationing in Hawaii as the worst of the fire season kicked off in December.
In late December, 'the Oz', as the News Corp-owned paper is known in Australia, heavily promoted an interview with the government's energy minister, Angus Taylor, warning that "top-down" pressure from the United Nations to address climate change would fail — followed by an opinion piece from Mr Taylor on New Year's Eve.
Other News Corp outlets followed a similar playbook. Melbourne's Herald Sun, for example, pushed news of the bushfires to Page four on New Year's Eve, even as they threatened to devastate towns nearby and push thick smoke into the city.
Days later, residents in a town nearly flattened by the fires heckled and snubbed Mr Morrison during a visit to assess the damage. A new hire for Murdoch's Sky News channel, Chris Smith, branded them "ferals".
The PM left fire-ravaged Cobargo amid a deluge of jeers.: Photo Channel Nine
As is often the case at Murdoch outlets around the world, there have been exceptions to the company line — an article about Australian golfer Greg Norman's declaration that "there is climate change taking place"; an interview with an international expert who explained why this year's fires are unique.
*The Australian Greens party has made clear that it supports such hazard–reduction burns, issuing a statement online saying so.
*Climate scientists do acknowledge that there is room for improvement when it comes to burning the branches and dead trees on the ground that can fuel fires. But they also say that no amount of preventive burning will offset the impact of rising temperatures that accelerate evaporation, dry out land and make already-arid Australia a tinderbox.
Even fire officials report that most of the offseason burns they want to do are hindered not by land-use laws but by weather — including the lengthier fire season and more extreme precipitation in winter that scientists attribute to climate change.
Still, the Murdoch outlets continue to resist. "On a dry continent prone to deadly bushfires for centuries, fuel reduction through controlled burning is vital," said an editorial published Thursday in The Australian.
*It went on to add: "Changes to climate change policy, however, would have no immediate impact on bushfires" — a stance that fits hand in glove with government officials' frequent dismissals of the "bogey man of climate change."
*It's that echoing between officialdom and Murdoch media that has many people so concerned.*
*NSW RFS boss Shane Fitzsimmons has dismissed the cure-all of fuel reduction: Photo: AAP *
"Leaders should be held to account and they should be held to account by the media," said Penny Sackett, a physicist, astronomer and former chief scientist for Australia.
Of course, it is often hard to know just how much influence any media company has.
Gerard Henderson, a columnist for The Australian, said he didn't think there was much need to address climate change because it was already a focal point across the rest of the media.
"It's hard to distract from climate change because it's spoken about constantly," he said.
*But there are signs that the Murdoch message is making headway – at least in terms of what people make a priority.
*Many firefighters working the smoky hills south of Sydney hesitated to state their views on climate change this week (some said senior leaders had told them to avoid the issue). But they were quick to argue for more back-burning.
Similarly, in Bairnsdale, Tina Moon, whose farm was devastated by the fires, said she was mostly furious about the government's failure to clear the land around her property.
"I don't think it's climate change," she said.
-New York Times
SOURCE: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/09/rupert-murdoch-bushfire-debate/


text:
Werk Press
An Unexpected Mode Of Action For An Antibody
Written by admin|	February 7, 2019| Health
Studies of human monoclonal antibodies isolated from survivors of coronavirus-induced severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are unveiling surprising immune defense tactics against fatal viruses. Atomic and molecular information about the workings of the highly potent antibodies may provide insights to prevent these serious and sometimes deadly lung infections.
Currently, no vaccines or specific treatments are available for any of the six coronaviruses that can infect humans. Some of these coronaviruses cause only common-cold like symptoms, but others provoke lethal pneumonias. Past deadly outbreaks in several countries foreshadow the possibility of coronavirus-mediated pandemics. Additionally, genetic surveillance of coronaviruses in bats, and the fact that the MERS coronavirus naturally circulates in dromedary camels, suggest that previous outbreaks may not be unusual incidences. The animal/human species barrier is likely to be crossed again and lead to new emerging coronaviruses in the future.
As part of anticipation and preparation initiatives, infectious disease research groups are trying to develop an anti-coronavirus arsenal. An international team headed by UW Medicine scientists is among those attempting to understand how SARS and MERS coronaviruses infect humans, and how their presence elicits a response from the immune system. The research group is particularly interested in how neutralizing antibodies target the coronavirus' cell-invasion machinery.
Their most recent findings appear in the Jan. 31 online edition of Cell. The first authors are Alexandra Walls and Xiaoli Xiong, and the lead and senior author is David Veesler, all of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Coronaviruses have multifunctional surface spikes that recognize and attach to receptors on the surface of a host cell. They then fuse the virus and cellular membranes. They use these trimeric spike glycoproteins as their molecular break-in tool.
The spike glycoprotein densely decorates the surface of coronaviruses. The numerous projections resemble burrs on a seed-pod. The spikes are key to the infectivity and pathogenicity of the coronavirus. They are the target of neutralizing antibodies and the main focus of subunit vaccine design.
Previous studies in the Veesler lab at UW Medicine looked at the structural states that occur in the coronavirus spike before and after the membrane fusion reaction. The researchers saw large conformational changes in the spike glycoprotein. Details about activation of the membrane fusion cascade, however, remained unclear.
Using cryo-electron microscopy and other powerful technologies, the researchers gained insight into how the neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from the SARS and MERS survivors inhibit the viruses at the molecular level. Their findings also helped elucidate the unusual nature of coronavirus membrane fusion activation.
The researchers found that both the SARS and the MERS coronavirus antibodies blocked the virus spikes from interacting with the receptors on the host cell membrane. The SARS coronavirus antibody also did something unexpected: it functionally mimicked receptor-attachment and induced the spike to undergo conformational changes leading to membrane fusion. This trigger seems to be driven by a molecular ratcheting mechanism.
"The finding is an unprecedented example of functional mimicry," the researchers noted, "whereby an antibody activates membrane fusion by recapitulating the action of the receptor."
This study used molecular imaging to characterize the structures of both SARS and MERS coronavirus spike glycoproteins in a complex with their respective antibodies. The researchers also provided a blueprint of the carbohydrates that bedeck the spike glycoproteins, in the context of whole viruses. Coronaviruses use this strategy to mask the vulnerable portion of their fusion apparatus to limit antibody access to it and expose it only to carry out the recognition and infection of host cells.
This study was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM120553), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (HHSN272201700059C), Pew Biomedical Scholars Award, Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Rubicon 019.2015.2.310.006), European Molecular Biology Organisation (ALTF933-2015), Zoonoses Anticipation and Preparedness Initiative, Pasteur Institute, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and the LabEx Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases. University of Washington Arnold and Mabel Beckman cryoEM Center and Proteomics Resource, and beamline 5.0.1 at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Last modified: February 7, 2019
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Georgia Patch is a brand planner with a background in creative advertising. She's a deep thinker on a mission to curate a life defined by nourishing friendships, wholesome conversations, music so good it makes you cry and books whose stories linger. Her guiding policy is to 'always be curious'.
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