tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936183218886162742024-03-05T14:30:01.013-08:00All About AustraliaShahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-68110758977913690512017-05-17T12:10:00.000-07:002017-05-17T12:10:24.998-07:00Australian FootBall (AFL)While on the field, just in one agonizing moment half of the crowd is sent into despair and the remaining half into ecstasy. The fans may belong to different backgrounds, but for more than 100 years now, they have been bonded together by the fortunes of their teams.<br />
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The passion for Australian football, over the past 120 years, has bred a national obsession. It has made some men heroes, some villains and some both. Probably no game in Australian can cram into the short space of 2 hours more thrills and yells, than a well-contested final of AFL.<br />
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Of all the gladiators in more than 100 years of Australian League Football, probably the most notorious has been Jack Dyer. The mere mention of his name sends shivers down the spine. Dyer carved his legend alongside Don Bradman through years of commentary and coaching of hungry young boys, who in turn have seized their place in AFL's history.<br />
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The Grand Final is Australian Football's ultimate day. This is the time when brave deeds become epics. It's a never-to-surrender moment till the premiership is won.<br />
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The game that has produced so many champions was first played in the 1850s, and by 1896 eight prosperous clubs had chosen to take part in the first ever AFL. And since then, the game has bonded the nation through depressions, recessions and everything in between. The club's anthem has even been played at the funeral of a few legends of the game.<br />
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John Coleman was Australian football's shooting star. With 10 goals in his first game and 100 in his first season, he became a magnet for the crowd. For those who were lucky enough to be Coleman's teammates, none ever equalled Coleman.<br />
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Lou Richards (Collingwood - 1941-55) recalls John Coleman saying "If he (John Coleman) had played at any other position, he would (still) have been a star".<br />
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Of all the wild men and personalities in AFL, only one man made it to the big-screen as a real bush-ranger. Carlton Captain Bob Chitty needed no coaching to play the roles of wild-men in movies. Chitty had horrified in foes in the football's most notorious game. He was one amongst the nine men involved in the infamous bloodbath of AFL in 1945. Two years later, Carlton won a less spiteful final.<br />
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Football today is tough as ever, but is less violent than it was at any time in the last 120 years. In these years, fans have loved and witnessed feats of bravery and acts of lunacy. And of all the controversies, few have inspired as much folklore as the Hudson-Leon clash in the 1971 final between Hawthorn and St Kilda.<br />
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The umpires never had it easy on the ground and to have peace with the wildmen on the field was hard. The biggest change came in the 1980s when football authorities responded to community attitude by getting tougher on violence. The most dramatic penalties was handed to one of the game's greatest - Leigh Mathews, for his on-field blow to an opponent. He was charged in a civil court and convicted of assault.<br />
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Of all the news surrounding the Australian Football, the one that rocked Melbourne most was on a Friday night in 1965. Norman Smith who had coached Melbourne to six premierships in eleven years, received a note saying that he is fired. In those days Norm Smith was the super coach. And even though he was re-instated, he was never the same. Melbourne Football Club's performance also saw a dramatic fall.<br />
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The first ever live telecast of the Australian league final was in 1977 and the results were very positive. The grand final was a draw and had to be replayed a week later.Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-18476484045669732152013-12-13T07:58:00.001-08:002013-12-13T07:58:45.857-08:00The Sydney Opera House (New South Wales, Australia)Australia's Sydney Opera House is one of the greatest designing concepts ever conceived. The shape of this Australian marvel is so complex that its nearly impossible to be built. But this history of this building is more that concrete and steel. This Australian engineering marvel contains a story of a broken dream and a fallen hero.<br />
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Sydney, Australia is a bustling, modern super-city and the lifestyle capital of the world. Sydney contains beaching, sun dance and a giant harbour (the Sydney Harbour Bridge) at its heart. But if you mention Sydney to anyone the first thing they think of is <b>The Sydney Opera House</b> - a building that defines and is defined by the city that surrounds it.<br />
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The Sydney Opera House is simple in concept yet infinitely complex in design. And only a few people realize the drama that surrounds its creation. This building in Australia re-wrote the record books by changing not just the way we design the things but also the way we build them.<br />
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The shells of this Australian marvel alone required one hundred and fifty thousand man-hours to design. This was more than just an engineering riddle - it was an engineering nightmare. Yet the most complex problem needed the most simplest solution.<br />
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Designed by a danish architect Jørn Utzon, the story of Sydney Opera House is a story of triumph, drama and heartache. If anyone had come up with a better idea Jørn Utzon would have had no hesitation in scrapping all his previous work - such was his aim to achieve the best result possible. As Jørn Utzon himself said:<br />
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<i>"You don't want to have the name Opera House (written on the building itself). You want to see that this is an Opera House, as you see this is a church."</i><br />
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But behind the story of this masterpiece of Australia, is the story of a disaster. Budgets blowing up by fifteen hundred percent and timelines stretching from five years to fourteen. The Sydney Opera House was Jørn Utzon's lifework and to be deprived to be able to finish it, broke his heart.<br />
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But thirty years after its ruin, Jørn Utzon's broken dreams were planned to be rebuilt. Now the future plans not only came from Jørn Utzon himself, it also came from his son. Jørn Utzon's son would go on to help his father to make an Australian marvel that will astonish the Australians for decades to come.<br />
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Jørn Utzon developed his scheme by making a platform for the Sydney Opera House. That platform was where the artists would prepare and at the top of the platform was where the artists would perform in front of the applauding Australian audience. The roof under the scheme was for shelter.<br />
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As part of an international competition from some of the biggest names in the world design, Jørn Utzon's plan was a revolution. Bennelong Point, New South Wales, is one of the most prominent headlands of Sydney which is visible from not just multiple angles around the site but from above as well. Inspired by a similar landscape near his home in Denmark, Jørn Utzon developed a concept termed as the '<b>Fifth Facade</b>' - a way of looking at this Australian marvel's design not just from front, back or sides, but from everywhere. Judges unanimously awarded Utzon the first prize. The Sydney Opera House was the thirty eight year old Jørn Utzon's first major work. Little did he knew that it would almost be his last as well.<br />
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The radical shape of the Sydney Opera House was unlike anything built before and with today's technology it would still be a challenge. Unlike a regular building where strength can be found in simple straight lines and geometric angles, the sails of the Sydney Opera House are a series of curves and complex geometry. This ideal form for this Australian masterwork is a kind of a shell structure. But making one that is twenty story tall and strong enough to bear its own weight was simply a near impossible task.<br />
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The question was 'How to make the shells of the Sydney Opera House light, attractive and strong? And the answer was hidden not just in material that was to be used but also in geometry. Many tests very performed to design the best possible shape for the shells. Computer assistance was taken to interpret lengthy data.<br />
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For Utzon the pressure was immense. Although guideline plans for the base of the building had been started but could not have been finalized without knowing about the top shells. Politicians were considering to drop the plan altogether unless construction had already been started. This left Jørn Utzon with a dilemma of either to start construction with the completion of the plan or don't start at all.<br />
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The construction was started before plans for the shells of the Sydney Opera House had been finalized.<br />
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Stage I of the construction (the podium) was started nervously. It was like working from the outside in. Details were constantly refined. Engineers were forced to use assumptions and estimations rather than research and facts.<br />
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By late 1962 construction was already overtime and over-budget and no viable solution for the design of the shells had been found yet. And if the solution was not to be found soon, the Sydney Opera House was never going to be a reality.<br />
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Ironically the solution to the riddle of the Sydney Opera House sails was hidden not in complexity but in simplicity. It was found in the purest and strongest curve of them all - in a sphere. Spheres are inherently strong because of their even surfaces and curvature which allows weight and stress to be passed around the shape evenly. Every different shell of the Sydney Opera House was made in such a way that all the shells together could be peeled off from a single sphere. And the man with this concept for the shells (Phase II of the Opera House) was, of course, Jørn Utzon.Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-1566817268147242362013-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:002013-12-11T19:57:07.043-08:00History of Mining and Gold Rushes in AustraliaAustralia is a vast and lucky land! Beneath the feet of the Australian people is a treasure trove of unimaginable riches. For one hundred and fifty years mining has changed the lives of every Australian in unexpected and extraordinary ways.<br />
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In history, mining in Australia has sparked waves of mass immigration and ignited political revolt. It has also toppled Australian Prime Ministers. Mining has taken aboriginal people's land away but it has also saved Australia from financial crisis.<br />
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In 1851 the small colonial town of Melbourne, Australia caught a fever - the Gold fever. A word of mouth ran through the streets of Melbourne, Australia that there is gold to be found and that it was in reach of anyone who could reach to the diggings as quickly as possible. Hundreds of thousands of people left their jobs and families and headed upcountry.<br />
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The Australian fields offered the chance of a golden future but striking at rich was not a sure thing. In those days mining in Australia was a gamblers game because vast majority of the people lacked the sufficient geological knowledge. But even then this Gold Rush of 1850s saw people from the entire globe migrating to Australia. For every person already in Victoria at the time, another five arrived.<br />
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Such huge inflow of people into Australia enabled new methods of becoming rich. This huge number of people now living in Australia required commodities such as tea and rich which were transported by the merchants from Asia. A new economy was created by mining in Australia.<br />
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But in the rush for riches, mining ignited unexpected and bitter battles and sparked a new era of racism. European miners in Australia expressed a particular racial hostility to Chinese miners. The fundamental question of who deserves to cash-in on the Australian mining boom inspired the passing racist laws. The government of Victoria, Australia placed a particular tax on the Chinese coming to Australia by ship and also limited the number of Chinese per ship that could come to Australia.<br />
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By the mid 1860s, right across the eastern states of Australia, the surface gold had most disappeared. But the very fact that Australia's treasure trove of minerals was now locked deep underground - was the catalyst for a dramatic new era that would have repercussions for generations to come. The need to mine deeper required the investment of further capital which in turn led to the formation of companies which further led to the development of stock exchanges.<br />
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In 1880s mining in Australia and stock market gambling became synonymous. Even the birth of, what later on became, the richest mining company in the world (Broken Hill, New South Wales) was decided on the turn of a card. As the boom times began for BHP, the money created by gold mining was already invested in property to built towns right across Australia. And jewel of the crown was Melbourne - <b>'the Marvelous Melbourne'</b>.<br />
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By 1880s in Australia, the children of the gold rush generation wanted to get in on this property boom and make a killing of their own. But in just a few short years of rabid speculations, this mining inspired boom of 1880s became a devastating bust. It was a volatile cycle that was repeated in the years to come i.e mining provoking rocketing booms that turned to crushing busts.<br />
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Recession in the east (New South Wales and Victoria) was given new hope in 1893 when gold was discovered in the west at Kalgoorlie (six hundred kilometers east of Perth). This meant that the gold rush was on, again. And this second gold rush not only made Western Australia rich but it also propped up a depression-affected nation.<br />
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One of the miners who came to Western Australia was a man named Herbert Hoover (who would later on become the President of USA). This 22 year old engineer from Iowa had plans to run the gold mines of Western Australia with maximum efficiency and maximum profit. He brought cheap foreigners workers to these gold mines of the deep Western Australian deserts. Gone were to days when miners could become rich - under Hoover's regime labor rates were cut and labor hours were increased. It were the mining companies that were making all the money in Australia.<br />
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For these tens of thousands of workers flocking into the minefields of Western Australia, consumable water was a basic necessity which was lacking. It was not common for the miners to die of thirst. But as they say: '<i>In amongst the despair there is daring</i>'.<br />
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In 1898, mining was the catalyst for one of the most ambitious constructing schemes in Australia'a history. To provide the workers of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie with drinkable water, a six hundred kilometers long pipeline was planned to supply water from Perth to Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie.<br />
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Charles Yelverton O'Connor was the man in-charge of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in Australia. And after five long years, piece by piece, the pipe came together. In 1903, fresh water arrived in Kalgoorlie, Australia. The richest goldmines of Australia were saved for the next hundred years.<br />
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It was the start of the wet season of 1952 when Lang Hancock made the richest discovery of the Australian mining. Because of monsoon weather he had to drive his airplane below the clouds where Hancock discovered (which he would later call) his 'Rivers of Gold'. At that time Hancock was not aware that in future Pilbara will open up a mining area larger than Tasmania and contain twenty four billion tons of high grade iron ore.<br />
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Vietnam War pushed the demand for a new age metal called nickel. It was desperately needed to make guns and tanks. And a strike at a factory in Canada there was a worldwide shortage of nickel. So a chance discovery of nickel at Kambalda, 600 kilometers of Perth, was a perfect find at the perfect time. It became the basis for a stock exchange fortune to be made.<br />
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Small companies started running after the discovery of nickel. One such small company was Poseidon. They had found a lot of high grade nickel. It marked the beginning of the largest share market gamble in the history of Australia. The share prices kept on going up skywards. But Poseidon was just the beginning. Every penny-stock company's shares went up skywards.<br />
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<br />Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-88868250007022447762013-12-09T20:43:00.002-08:002013-12-10T12:05:13.015-08:00The Australian DesertDeserts - the driest places on earth, covering almost one-fifth of the all the earth's land mass. They are as dangerous to life as the highest peak or the coldest glacier. But in these harsh and barren wastelands nature endeavors. People have lived in the deserts since the beginning of the time. Resiliently and resourcefully the people of the Australian outback have also developed unique cultures and deep spiritual bonds with these lands. But the modern world of commerce and industry is encroaching on these Australian deserts claiming its resources and changing the delicate balance of life. And it is now, more than ever, that the desert people of the Australian Outback must adapt to survive.<br />
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<b>The Australian Outback</b> - a place so forbidden that it seems to be incompatible with life. But for tens of thousands of years people have called this place their home. In their isolation these Australian people have developed a thirst for adventure and knowledge that is key to their survival. The Australian Outback is the place of untapped wealth and secret histories. It takes a certain type of person to live in these parts of Australia.<br />
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Almost all of the Australian population lives along its coastal fringes. Inland is vast, arid space where everyone and everything seems to work in a different way.<br />
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Anna Creek's cattle ringers work for long hot days in the Australian deserts. Their tasks include locating large herds of cows. A process known as '<b>Mustering</b>' involves gathering a herd together and driving them nonstop for thirty kilometers in the blistering heat of the Australian Outback. In the past this work was done on horseback but nowadays the ringers use airplanes. A hundred years ago the practicalities of managing a farm this size were unthinkable. Stretching for almost two millions hectors of the South Australian Outback, Anna Creek Station is the largest cattle station in the whole world. The Australian cowboys are known as '<b>the ringers</b>'. The head Stockman operating from the skies is a shepherd taking a bird's eye view of his cattle. His airborne directions keep his young <b>jackaroos</b> (male) or <b>jillaroos</b> (female) on the right trail. They drive the herd together. In summer, where temperature can reach up to fifty degrees, it is a tough job. Its like working in an oven.<br />
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Although the cattle can find food by grazing vast areas in the Australian Outback - to survive they also need water which is not always supplied by the sky. But there is plenty of water here if you know where to look. Beneath the earth-crust of Australia, there is a geological phenomenon - an immense subterranean body of water known as the <b>Great Artesian Basin</b>. It extends through almost the quarter of Australia and holds a staggering 65 million mega liters of water. It is enough water to submerge all of the land on earth. It is Australia's greatest natural reservoir.<br />
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In the Australian Outback, desert based airplanes are quiet a prevalent mode of getting from one township to another. These bush-planes have conquered the tyranny of distance and thus providing a lifeline even to the most isolated doorsteps - no matter how hard the elements. One of the greatest perks of being an Australian desert pilot is the view from the cockpit.<br />
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In the heart of The Outback, where there hardly even rains, lies the largest lake in Australia - the <b>Lake Eyre</b>. Situated 15 meters below the sea level, Lake Eyre is the lowest point in the continent. This saltwater expanse is formed by rain flowing from all over the desert into the largest drainage basin in the world. In the Australian desert most of the rain that falls evaporates before it reaches the Lake Eyre. In the last 150 years, Lake Eyre has only been full three times.<br />
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Mining has always attracted people to the Australian desert. The prospect for making a future by digging dirt triggered the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s. But soon people discovered that the red sand of the Australian Outback held other precious deposits too. Coal, iron ores, lead and uranium can all be found in the Australian Outback in relative abundance. Today Australia is one of the largest mineral exporters in the world. But such high scale extracting is a complex process that requires vast amounts of the Australian desert's most precious commodity i.e water. Throughout the Australian Outback, behind barbed wire enclosures, are the biggest pumping stations on earth that extract subterranean water from the Great Artesian Basin. This water is used for industrial purposes. But every week billions of liters are withdrawn from the basin. This prompts fears that this finite resource is being depleted to the detriment of all.<br />
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<b>Australian Aboriginals of the Outback (Testing in Woomera, South Australia)</b><br />
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For over 50,000 years, Australian aboriginals have lived deep in the desert. No one thought to ask their permission before testing in Woomera began. The native population had to simply live under the rockets being tested. But worse (even worse than the testing in Woomera) was to follow.<br />
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During 1950s and 60s, in an area known as Maralinga, the British and Australian governments joined forces to conduct secret nuclear tests. The Australian desert sky was lit-up by nine atomic explosions. This turned parts of the Australian desert into a radioactive waste land. Australian aboriginals were forced from their homes.<br />
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These days different kinds of prohibited zones have appeared in the Australian Outback. Lands that are permanently owned by the aboriginals. In these zones the indigenous Australians are free.<br />
<br />Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-77421650274434505552013-12-08T14:23:00.001-08:002013-12-08T14:23:40.309-08:00Australian Legislation Banning the Super Fishing Trawler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In Port Lincoln, South Australia, the second biggest trawler in the world sat uselessly before making its way to New Zealand. It was shackled by the Australian government which was willing to sink its own fisheries regulator in order to stop the super trawler exploiting the Australian waters.<br />
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But why on earth the Australian officials gave the super trawler every encouragement to leave Holland and sail riding to a political far storm? The officials say that they turned to the Dutch because they were experts in this kind of fishing and they had a number of vessels - all of which would have been suitable for fishing in Australia.<br />
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Before she was flagged the <b>Abel Tasman</b>, the super trawler was known as the FV Margiris. The ship is around 142 meters in length but it was her enormous industrial scale fish factory below deck that galvanized her critics. Below deck, the crew can process and store four and a half thousand tons of fish thus allowing the boat to stay out fishing weeks longer than any other Australian trawler.<br />
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Controversies follow super trawlers right across the globe and that was the reason why the Director of Seafish Australia asked his Dutch partners to come to Canberra and meet with regulators at the headquarters of AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority).<br />
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Dirk Van Der Plas (co-owner of Margiris) had a meeting with the officials of AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority) to get a reconfirmation that there will be no problems during operations. The officials of AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority) said they will back him up completely. If they had not received this assurance the joint venture would not have gone ahead.<br />
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Even before making its way to Australia, the green peace activists had already painted <b>"PLUNDER"</b> on Margiris's hull - so the Dutch knew that they will be a target for environmentalists in Australia. Local fishers throughout the Africa were screaming to their officials to ban these trawlers off their shores because of their catastrophic impacts on their catches.<br />
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From the outset the most vocal opponents were Australia's most powerful recreational fishing lobby. There are 5 million recreational fishers in Australia (about a quarter of the total population of Australia). They were concerned that if the super trawlers wipe out the small pelagic fish (eg Jack mackerel and Redbait), other fin-fish, endangered birds, dolphins and seals (dependent upon these pelagic fish) will be adverse effected. But AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority) was quite keen about the super trawlers.<br />
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Another sensitive political issue for the government Australia was <b>Bycatch</b>. Bycatch refers to the marine animals caught in the super trawlers' nets unintentionally as it pursuits its target catch. 90% of these bycatch is ecologically very important. Such bycatch die because of the water pressure, on-board damages or shock. Even if these bycatch are given routes to escape the nets, they still find it difficult to do so. And even if they do escape, the injuries during their struggle to break free from the net can be fatal.<br />
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But despite the highly publicized protest, no one in AFMA (Australian Fisheries Management Authority) attempted to stop Margiris from leaving Holland as planned. But when Margiris reached Port Lincoln it was met by green peace activists. Margiris' opponents both outside and inside the government were now heavily relying on Tony Burke to stop the super trawler. But Burke discovered that there was nothing in the existing environment laws of Australia that could stop the super trawler from going fishing.<br />
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Burke had secretly asked his department to prepare a new law to stop the super trawler at least for the short term. Cabinet backed Burke on a new law to stop the super trawler for at least two years before more scientific advice could be sought on its impact.<br />
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The Australian Government followed a third world decision making route - but the decision it made was right. It was seen as a victory for sustainable fishing not just in Australia but around the world.</div>
Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-15849671676593161532013-12-08T10:48:00.000-08:002013-12-08T10:48:47.841-08:00Australian Teens Committing SuicideOn the south-eastern outskirts of Melbourne in the growth corridor cut through by the railway line there is alarm, fear and heartbreak. In suburbs like Dandenong the community is confronting this dark reality of suicide in their midst. The suicide of their youth. The deaths had, until recently, largely gone unreported - a disturbing number were death by train.<br />
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Professor Patrick McGorry (Youth Mental Health Expert) states:<br />
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<i>"I have been talking about this phenomenon in Dandenong with colleagues and no ones knows about it. Its quite amazing that this many young people could be dying in a community and not being widely known. Its known in the local community - obviously there is tremendous anxiety in the local community about it but more widely - its covered up!".</i><br />
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Dee McIntyre's daughter Paige Rose took her own life soon after her 16th birthday. Upto her sixth grade Paige was a very easy-going girl but became more and more reserved in high school. Paige joined facebook in late 2009 (Oct 22) at a humble age of thirteen.<br />
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Paige was happy on her first day (Nov 21, 2011) at her new school (Berwick High School) but six months later she posted a comment on facebook showing her disgust for her new school. At age sixteen, for sometime now, her facebook chat was peppered with needy comments.<br />
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The warning sign for Dee MyIntyre was when Paige's reports started to change. But initially she believed that such a change was normal and that was "what teenagers do". But in February 2012, Dee saw the signs that Paige was self-harming. Such harming would continue and worsen.<br />
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On March 10th, Paige attempted suicide for the first time when she slipped away from her house to watch movies with her friends and after sometime of watching movies she stood up and left for the railway tracks. Her friends brought her back and reported her mother the following day. Dee eventually admitted her to Stepping Stones Adolescent Inpatient Unit.<br />
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Dee McIntyre stated:<br />
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<i>"I was walking on the egg shells all the time. No one seemed to be able to give me help or answers so i felt like...uhh... No one else had any urgency so i felt that even though i feel anxious and so worried all the time - I kind of felt that no one is in panic and I didn't want to talk about it because I felt if I talk about it will increase the risk of her (Paige) wanting to do something."</i><br />
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Paige texted her grandmother (Carol Menzies) <i>"love you"</i> before committing suicide infront of the train. While breaking in tears, Paige's mother felt betrayed by her saying to herself :<i> "How could she (Paige) do this to her? How could she leave without giving her one last hug?".</i><br />
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Paige's death struck hard in a community already effected with suicide among youth. Heads of various schools and universities throughout Australia are now understanding that suicide needs to be addressed. They also realize that if the suicide issue is not handled carefully it can have drastic impacts on vulnerable students and people who have lost someone.<br />
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<br />Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193618321888616274.post-90879730515607081112013-12-07T11:10:00.001-08:002013-12-07T12:50:21.697-08:00The Australian Fires of 7th February, 2009In 2009 Australia witnessed the worst firestorms in the country's history. So severe were the flames that they capsized entire towns in minutes. Two hundred and fifty people died in less than three hours. Nearly 2000 houses and half a million hectors were destroyed.<br />
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Everyone in Australia grows up knowing the dangers of forest fires but no one could have predicted the devastation that swept through Victoria on February 07, 2009. It is a tragic story of loss and survival. A series of fires started in the rural hills just outside of Melbourne, Australia. Fueled by one in a thousand years weather phenomenon - this fire would change the way people perceive fire safety forever. This day would come to be known as <b>Black Saturday</b>. Black Saturday is labelled as Australia's worst ever natural disaster not only because of its fatality rate but also because of the impact of these fires on the community generally.<br />
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Located in the south-east of the country, the state of Victoria has Australia's second largest population. And in recent years, Victoria has been in the grip of a record drought. The week before 7th February, 2009 the plants of Victoria experienced an unprecedented scorching.<br />
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While looking at the computer simulations (on Friday 6th February, 2009) for Saturday 7th, 2009, they indicated some incredible extreme conditions: forecast temperatures in excess in 45 degrees were common across Victoria and the computer simulations were indicating burst of strong winds across the Australian deserts. The fire danger ratings that normally peaked near hundred were (on 6th February) ranging around 200-300. Basically it was a recipe for disaster. As the reality of the warnings began the take effect the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the state (Victoria's) leaders did their best to prepare Victoria for the worst.<br />
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Victorians woke up on Saturday morning to ominous warnings broadcast throughout the State. The day was declared aa "a day of total fire ban" throughout the State of Victoria. The broadcast qouted as "CFA reminds you that now is the time to implement your personal bush-fire plan. If you are planning to leave your property - leave early, and if you are planning to stay and defend your property - you should be properly prepared."<br />
At 11 am the winds got pace, temperature began to absolutely sky rocket and humidity fell. All the figures that were predicted the day before, were becoming true. The conditions were very much alarming. It just needed a spark.<br />
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Shortly before 12 noon reports surfaced of a fire 60 kilometers north of Melbourne at Kilmore East. At 11.48am, the Kilmore fire station received a message alerting them to a small grass fire burning only 10 kilometers from their post. They had no idea that this fire would eventually turn into a 150 kilometer fire front that would go on to devastate Victoria.<br />
Within minutes the small (seemingly harmless) fire gained momentum racing at high speeds along the grasslands. The Kilmore fire crew had no chance to outflank this fire as winds gusting over 100 kilometers per hour pushed the fire into an oil rich plantation which exploded into a towering black cloud. Eucalyptus plants are like petrol on a stick. In other words these are big trees with leaves filled with oil.<br />
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On 7th February, 2009 a very significant record was broken. The capital city of Victoria (Melbourne) reached its highest ever recorded temperature (since records commenced over 150 years ago) reaching 46.4 degrees. The State's worst fears were beginning to unfold. Those on the front lines quickly realized that this is going to be a blaze like no other.<br />
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In just two hours the fire traveled sixty kilometers. It was spreading out at an unprecedented rate through a process called "<b>spotting</b>". Spotting is largely from the eucalyptus bark being burned off the trees and then being carried with wind. The remains are hot enough to start a new fire where they land. On 7th February, spotting was observed 15 kilometers ahead of the main fire front. Spotting lead thousands of people caught in the firestorm. The fire was like leapfrogging.<br />
At 2.00 pm the temperatures continued to climb. The highest temperature (48.8 degrees) of the State of Victoria was reached at Hopetoun. At 2.00 pm around a thousand spot fires were raging across Victoria.<br />
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Just as it seems that things cannot get any worse, at 02.57 pm another large fire front developed at The Murindindi 40 kilometers away from the Kilmore fire. And a wind change predicted for later in the day would create a fatal firestorm.<br />
And then (as predicted) the wind change takes effect with tragic consequences. Prior to the wind change the locals (even close to these fires) thought they were in no danger (because the fires were moving away). But no one predicted that the fires would change so swiftly vaporizing everything in its path.<br />
The fires violence wiped out entire towns literally within minutes. After the raging inferno passed through, those left behind found many people deceased in the cars in which they tried to escape.<br />
<br />Shahkar khanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003925069340959132noreply@blogger.com0