The dogs and I see tens of kangaroos around our property when on our morning walks. Most of the 'roos are quite used to us and just stand and watch us as we pass by.
I had no idea referring to the tentacles of the Jewish lobby might sound antisemitic! 😆
"The #NewSouthWales premier, Chris Minns, has warned parliamentarians about sowing division in the community after a #Greens MP apologised for referring to the “tentacles” of the “#Jewish lobby” and its influence across Australia.
The Newtown MP Jenny Leong said she did not intend to reference an antisemitic cartoon depicting #Jews as an octopus when she made the comments at the #Palestine Justice Movement forum in #Sydney in December, where the boycott movement against #Israel was being discussed."
"In one of the largest mass arrests of recent years, police in #NewSouthWales (NSW) detained some 109 protesters on Sunday evening. They had participated in a 30-hour maritime demonstration of 34 kayaks, surfboards and pontoons at the port of Newcastle, aimed at blocking coal shipments and the broader promotion of fossil fuels. The protest had been given police permission until 4 p.m., at which point the arrests suddenly started.
"The arrests point to a deepening crackdown on the #RightToProtest. Significantly, this is being spearheaded by Labor governments, now in office federally and at the state and territory levels across mainland #Australia. The detentions indicate official fears over growing social opposition, related not only to climate change, but to Israel’s genocidal assault on #Gaza, a broader eruption of #militarism and the soaring cost-of-living.
"The action, organised by the #RisingTide organisation, saw dozens and at times more than a hundred people take to the water in small vessels to prevent #coal loads from exiting the port. The activists said they succeeded in delaying multiple shipments, but noted that this is only a fraction of the coal that passes through the port each year.
"In comments at the protest and since, representatives of Rising Tide pointed to the increasingly catastrophic consequences of climate change. In Australia, this included one of the worst #bushfire seasons in 2019-20, and massive #floods in northern NSW and parts of #Queensland last year that displaced thousands.
"Along with their abandonment of the flood victims and others impacted by climate change, the Labor governments are doing nothing to address the underlying crisis.
"The federal Labor administration cynically appealed to discontent over the issue in the May 2022 election. Its policy is a 43 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. Scientists have warned that both are woefully inadequate, compared with the scale of the crisis. But even these targets are entirely meaningless, with Labor approving dozens of new coal and #gas projects across the country.
"The protest was not a snap action or an unauthorised event. It had received prior approval from police. Demonstrators were addressed by prominent political figures, including federal Greens leader Adam Bandt and one of his predecessors, #Bob Brown. The Greens, their references to the environmental crisis notwithstanding, seek to collaborate with Labor, as it greenlights #FossilFuel projects and defends the whole profit system that is responsible for climate change.
"Given the establishment character of the speakers and the police authorisation, the subsequent crackdown was particularly striking.
"Police have claimed that approval was only until 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and that participants then refused to leave the port’s waters. By 5:30 p.m., the port was cleared, and its operations were resumed.
"The speed of the police crackdown indicates extensive prior planning. Footage on social media shows at least one police vessel approaching the activists and moving to detain them.
"The police arrests were indiscriminate. Among the 109 arrested was #AlanStuart, a 97-year-old clergyman. Five children were detained.
"In a statement on X/Twitter, Legal Observers NSW said five of its representatives were arrested. 'Observers were present to document the actions of police and connect any protesters arrested with legal representation,' it stated.
"Despite being marked out with coloured vests and having repeatedly spoken to police during the event, the observers were nevertheless hauled in. They noted that this was an attack on 'the right to document and monitor protest as media and independent observers,' which 'is an internationally protected right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.'
"Three of the legal observers were charged, joining more than 100 others. Even the children who participated have reportedly been referred to relevant authorities under the Young Offenders Act.
"The blanket charge applied to the adult protesters of unreasonable interference by use of a vessel under section 13 of the state’s Marine Safety Act carries a maximum penalty of a $5,500 fine. While most protesters were released on bail after being booked, two organisers, including one with impaired vision, were detained overnight in a police watchhouse. They received hundreds of dollars in fines, with a judge declining to impose the maximum fine because of their lack of a criminal history. The remaining protesters face court next year.
"The arrests and charges were clearly intended to send a message that further disruptions will not be tolerated. If that were not the case, the protesters could simply have been moved on without the mass detention or subsequent charges."
One sack of garbage (including a deck of trivial pursuit cards scattered all over) in first 30 minutes of just me as some rando human wandering around with a stick in the #BlueMountaims doing a bit of #BushCleanup.
"Why can’t Australians enjoy such a pleasant way to travel, given sleeper trains are going through a major resurgence in Europe, partly in response to climate change? It’s a good question, and there’s a simple answer: because the New South Wales government doesn’t want you to."
For Traveller, I discuss the impending removal of sleeper trains between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane - and imagine what could exist instead, based on the European experience.
"Negative prices are now happening more often, and in the middle of the day, because of the sheer scale of output from #RooftopSolar, which is absorbing half of all demand in big states like #NewSouthWales (NSW), and occasionally all of demand in smaller states such as #SouthAustralia."
What an unusual (but not unheard of) Spring day. This morning’s post-sunrise walk with the dogs was undertaken in thick mist and at a chilly 1.0°C (34°F).
Now, 12 hours later, this afternoon’s temperature has peaked at 31.8°C (89°F).
Being nearly 6 months with only about 25% of our average rainfall for that period, grasses are dead and dangerously dry. We've had around 6 or 7 small bushfires/wildfires (100 to 200 ha / 250 to 500 acres) per week within 12 km (7½ miles) of the house for the past handful of weeks.
WATCH&ACT
THE SNOWY RIVER WAY FIRE, DALGETY (MONARO)
#RFS firefighters and waterbombing aircraft are responding to a bush fire burning in the vicinity of The Snowy River Way east of #Dalgety burning towards Maffra. If in the area between Dalgety and #Maffra prepare now.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you on the first red cove day of 2023, a day that witnessed the ruthless #hunting and #slaughter of ~10 innocent Risso's #dolphins in #Taiji. The dolphins fought hard to escape but after a 2 hour chase, the entire #pod was forced into the cove and brutally killed.
Our team is not just standing by. At the end of August we submitted an appeal
Betty Broadbent was the most photographed tattooed lady of the 20th century. Here she is along with some photos of tattoo artist Fred Harris from PIX magazine in 1938.