Australians Only Thread

[Danny]

2 hours ago, McAzeem said:

 

When I worked on a farm part of our "health and safety" was to carry a big stick across a certain dirt path as it was where Magpies nested....I also got chased by about 6 of them 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Koala teeth map history

Adelaide’s past as told by koala teeth.

If you want to know how Adelaide, South Australia, was settled by Europeans, you may need to look at rat and koala teeth.

A team of researchers, including members from Flinders University and the University of Adelaide, used an interesting method of mapping Adelaide’s settlement: by looking at the build-up of strontium isotope in the teeth of koala and rat remains.

Naturally occurring strontium is found in rocks and soil, and it can be absorbed into the body and bones. The ratio of strontium isotopes – variants of the chemical element – in bone is frequently used as an indicator of age, so this technique can show how long some bones have been in a certain area.

“Each location or geological area has very unique Sr isotope composition,” says Adelaide University researcher Juraj Farkas, an author on the paper, “which is related to its geological history and mineralogy.

“These unique ratios will be ‘inherited’ in local groundwater (which leached these rocks) and thus also in local vegetation and plants growing in this area.”

The team used this technique to compare the strontium in teeth and bones with climate information from different locations around the Adelaide region, including samples from the Adelaide foothills, Adelaide airport, West Terrace (on Kaurna land) and Mount Lofty (on Peramangk land), to learn about the micro-climates of the past.

“Teeth are very resistant materials and will thus preserve really well their original Sr isotope composition, which in turn will reflect what plants or water sources this animal consumed during its life span,” says Farkas. “Sr isotope studies of teeth can help us to reconstruct in what areas this animal was living, plus it can also help to constrain migration pathways and movement of the animal or populations.”

“This study will create the basis for further investigations into the pre-European settlement of the Adelaide region, and help inform us about animals, plant life and weather before temperature and other climate records began,” says lead author Lee Ripon, of Flinders University.

This isn’t the first time strontium isotopes in teeth have been used to tell the time, but it is the first “tooth map” in South Australia. This could show more about the impact of European settlement on climate and landscape on Kaurna and Peramangk land.

Koalas used to live in the Adelaide region but became locally extinct after colonisation, sometime around 1930. They were reintroduced in 1959. Comparing koalas and rats to humans is useful because both animals were heavily affected by European settlement – koala numbers dwindled, while rats prospered after their introduction.

They are also good comparisons because rats and koalas prefer to stay near home, and they experienced relatively little climatic change. This makes them ideal to study historic micro-climates.

“This analysis establishes a benchmark dataset against which previous studies of human (including Indigenous peoples’) tooth and bone samples can be contrasted,” says Ian Moffat from Flinders University.

“The Adelaide area is ideally suited for the investigation of human and animal mobility employing stable isotope techniques; both because of the amenable geology and landscape and because of the nature of the archaeological questions that can be addressed in the region.”

The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/toothy-koala-map/

 

[Machado]

 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Really ancient art

A kangaroo painting is now Australia’s oldest known rock art.

A montage of 39 photographs of the 17,300-year-old kangaroo with an accompanying illustration. Credit: Damien Finch / Pauline Heaney

An image of a kangaroo has been identified as Australia’s oldest known rock painting, dated to over 17,000 years old.

The two-metre-long kangaroo is painted on the ceiling of a rock shelter on the Unghango clan estate, in Balanggarra country in the north-eastern Kimberley region, WA.

A research team led by Damien Finch from the University of Melbourne used radiocarbon dating to determine the ages of mud-wasp nests below and above the painting. 

“In these old paintings, the ochre pigment used is an iron oxide,” says Finch. “It cannot be dated with any of the current scientific dating techniques. The alternative is to date any suitable material found directly under or on top of the painting. In our work, we date mud-wasp nests that are commonly found in rock shelters in northern Australia.”

The team found nests below the painting were 17,500 years old, while nests above it were 17,100 years old. This means the painting is in between these two date ranges, “most likely 17,300 years old”, according to Finch.

There is older evidence of rock painting in Australia, but not “in-situ” – that is, still on a cave or rock wall. “Two very old fragments of rock with ochre or charcoal lines have been discovered in archaeological excavations in northern Australia,” says Finch.

Research team preparing to collect samples of mud wasp nests. Credit: Sven Ouzman, Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation

“While they could be pieces of paintings that have fallen from rock shelter walls, neither can be unambiguously classified as a rock-art painting. Nonetheless, they are evidence of the use of ochre on a rock going back 42,000 years.”

“It’s important that Indigenous knowledge and stories are not lost and continue to be shared for generations to come,” says Cissy Gore-Birch, chair of the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation. “The dating of this oldest known painting in an Australian rock shelter holds a great deal of significance for Aboriginal people and Australians and is an important part of Australia’s history.”

The team has previously used mud-wasp nests before to identify the age of paintings nearby in the region. Those paintings were from the Gwion Gwion Period – a more recent style than this kangaroo. 

“In the generally accepted Kimberley stylistic sequence of rock paintings, as refined by the research of others over the last 30 years, the oldest is the Naturalistic period that we are reporting for the first time now,” says Finch. “The Gwion period is the second oldest.”

Their research is published in Nature Human Behaviour.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/really-ancient-art/

 

[CaaC (John)+]

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Blind shrimps, translucent snails

11 mysterious new species found in potential fracking sites.

By Jenny Davis, Charles Darwin University; Daryl Nielsen, CSIRO; Gavin Rees, CSIRO, and Stefanie Oberprieler, Charles Darwin University

There aren’t many parts of the world where you can discover a completely new assemblage of living creatures. But after sampling underground water in a remote, arid region of northern Australia, we discovered at least 11, and probably more, new species of stygofauna.

Stygofauna are invertebrates that have evolved exclusively in underground water. A life in complete darkness means these animals are often blind, beautifully translucent and often extremely localised – rarely living anywhere else but the patch they’re found in.

The species we discovered live in a region earmarked for fracking by the Northern Territory and federal government. As with any mining activity, it’s important future gas extraction doesn’t harm groundwater habitats or the water that sustains them.

Our findings, published today, show the importance of conducting comprehensive environmental assessments before extraction projects begin. These assessments are especially critical in Australia’s north, where many plants and animals living in surface and groundwater have not yet been documented.

When the going gets tough, go underground

FULL REPORT

 

[Harry]

So there's been an avalanche of shocking news for the government to deal with at the moment with regards to Brittany Higgins and the issues that have opened up from her coming forward about being raped in Parliament house (learning that the offending staffer had been moved on and is now been accused of raping two other women. 

This hit crescendo last week with reports that a current cabinet minister had been accused of a historical anal rape offence in 1988 of a woman who had since killed herself.

There has been no official disclosure of the minister affected because of the unproven nature of the claims, but it seems in the past 24 hours Twitter has worked out that it's likely Christian Porter, attorney general.

Huge if true. This is someone touted as the next liberal PM.

 

[Spike]

anyone surprised? libs have been raping australians since menzies

[Harry]

What I'm finding outrageous is the extent to which nobody in the media is mentioning the name of this minister due to not wanting to besmirch his name.

Nobody gave Weinstein or Cosby or Pell that luxury.

Same with the liberal staffer who is advised of raping 3 women. His name is out there on Twitter but nobody will report on it.

Makes me wonder the extent to which is driven by fear of the liberal party and their media backers rather than a true commitment to judicial process.

If it was Dan Andrews that was accused I feel this face would already be on the cover of the newspapers

@Toinho @Devil-Dick Willie

[Devil-Dick Willie]

48 minutes ago, Harry said:

What I'm finding outrageous is the extent to which nobody in the media is mentioning the name of this minister due to not wanting to besmirch his name.

Nobody gave Weinstein or Cosby or Pell that luxury.

Same with the liberal staffer who is advised of raping 3 women. His name is out there on Twitter but nobody will report on it.

Makes me wonder the extent to which is driven by fear of the liberal party and their media backers rather than a true commitment to judicial process.

If it was Dan Andrews that was accused I feel this face would already be on the cover of the newspapers

@Toinho @Devil-Dick Willie

This is why I outright attacked you for dissing labor. This countries politics is absolutely fucked. 

[Toinho]

5 hours ago, Harry said:

What I'm finding outrageous is the extent to which nobody in the media is mentioning the name of this minister due to not wanting to besmirch his name.

Nobody gave Weinstein or Cosby or Pell that luxury.

Same with the liberal staffer who is advised of raping 3 women. His name is out there on Twitter but nobody will report on it.

Makes me wonder the extent to which is driven by fear of the liberal party and their media backers rather than a true commitment to judicial process.

If it was Dan Andrews that was accused I feel this face would already be on the cover of the newspapers

@Toinho @Devil-Dick Willie

Are journalists in Australia allowed to mention names without formal legal proceedings etc? 

[Azeem]

Journalist are one of the most detrimental people to modern society. Here journalists are breaking news mostly fake about secret meetings and personal lives of highest authorities of the country  without any accountability

 

[Harry]

3 hours ago, Toinho said:

Are journalists in Australia allowed to mention names without formal legal proceedings etc? 

You're suggesting they can't factually report that minister X has been accused of rape by person Y? 

 

[Toinho]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

You're suggesting they can't factually report that minister X has been accused of rape by person Y? 

 

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Just wondering if there’s some messed up rule they have to follow...but then again when do they follow rules!!

[Stan]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

You're suggesting they can't factually report that minister X has been accused of rape by person Y? 

 

 

1 minute ago, Toinho said:

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Just wondering if there’s some messed up rule they have to follow...but then again when do they follow rules!!

Do you have those super-injunction gagging order things in Australia?

[CaaC (John)+]

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Rotating rocket science

Australian engineers complete a successful test of a new rocket engine.

As Australia’s space industry gears up, a team of Australian researchers has successfully tested a new type of engine that could be used in rocket launches.

Typical rocket engines burn fuel at a constant pressure in a chamber called a combustor. This engine has a ring-shaped combustor, and it detonates propellant rapidly around the ring.

Once started, there is a self-sustaining cycle of detonation waves travelling around the combustor at very high speeds, exceeding 2.5 kilometres per second.

It’s called a rotating detonation engine, or RDE. Once perfected, it could be more fuel-efficient and more compact than typical rocket engines, meaning it could be cheaper and launch heavier items.

The engine was designed by engineers from RMIT University and is being developed by a group of researchers from DefendTex, RMIT, University of Sydney and Universität der Bundeswehr in Germany.

“To succeed in such an exceptionally challenging project means a lot to everyone involved,” says Adrian Pudsey, an aerospace engineer from RMIT University. “Through strong collaboration over the past two years, we now have a truly unique capability and have demonstrated the know-how and science required to push the boundaries of this technology even further.”

The next steps for the project involve looking at a 3D-printed, actively cooled version of the prototype, simulating the engine’s behaviour and figuring out how to merge the engine into a functioning vehicle.

These engine developments will require a lot of modelling and simulation, according to Matthew Cleary, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Sydney.

“The rotating detonation engine combustor is an extreme environment that cannot easily be tested,” he says. “Experimental measurements cannot provide all the information we need to optimise these engines.”

The technology is still in very early stages, but the researchers say that it could become a useful part of Australia’s launching assets. 

https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/engineering/rotating-rocket-science/

 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

9 hours ago, Stan said:

 

Do you have those super-injunction gagging order things in Australia?

Better. We have lord Rupert, and a complete and total media blackout on alternate opinions. 
The ABC, our public broadcaster, is run by the sitting government. Liberal
Fairfax has a board stacked with formal Liberal party members and sycophants 
Newscorp is option 3. 

Its fucking horrid. You get one take, blasted at you from all angles. 
During election years the number of negative articles against labor and liberal sits at crazy numbers like 50-3, and positive articles like 100-10. 
No one is talking about the sexual assaults that occurred, just like no one spoke about sports rorts, the ruby princess disaster, the NSW land clearing and the fact that Koalas are 20 years from extinction as a result, and the fact that the NSW premier was caught fucking a corrupt official, directly using her influence to aid some of his illegal dealings and lying to the anti corruption committee about it was spun into "she shouldn't have to apologize for being in love"

I'd have them up against the wall if they were lucky for treason personally. Piano wire more likely. It's a government that no longer even attempts to support the nation. At all. Not even in a misguided way. It's entirely about appeasing donors and their masters. 

[Spike]

it is to prevent a biased judge/jury, if the guy’s name is run through the mud for six months before the trial, the judge can throw out the case due to it being influenced via the media, that is why child rapist pell is a free man, his lawyers drummed up a case he wasn’t ‘given a fair go’. if anything the fact we dont ‘officially’ know who it is right now, could be a good thing

ps fuck the nationals, they get off light

@Devil-Dick Willie @Harry @Toinho

[Spike]

if my boy albo doesn’t get elected who the fuck will? dunno how they can spin his story negatively, grew up with a single mum on housing and welfare, dad ditched him, he can play the Namibian consulate card because his aforementioned dad is italian, supports and is a member of the most working class rugby team in sydney,  has mad taste in music,  starting out washing dishes on casual and penalty rates, goes out and pays for groceries for bushfire victims, fights so old people dont die in poverty, what do people want? he is probably the most down to earth aussie battler you could ask for

[Spike]

also the indue card can suck a dick,

think about it like this Aboriginals have been fighting for self determination for 200 years, if they are unlucky enough to need welfare we’ve gone back in time to controlling what they can and cant spend money on. imagine being a single mum  living in a fishing town and going to the markets to get a fresh barramundi for the kids only for the indue card to tell you to get fucked because the local markets dont have eftpos

government officials dont have to use indue for their pension, yet they can spend it on whatever they want, and sont pretend like they dont spend it on durries and grog

[Spike]

also if the minimum wage were higher, penalty rates protected, and workers given more rights, maybe people wouldnt find the dole so appealing. imagine working a shit go nowhere job for the same cash as the dole over a month.people always say ‘there are so many jobs!’ but never take into account hours, casual, availability,  transport, etc.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Unions bad 

Labor lefties

Wind bad, coal good

Senator Dan

 

[Harry]

2 hours ago, Spike said:

it is to prevent a biased judge/jury, if the guy’s name is run through the mud for six months before the trial, the judge can throw out the case due to it being influenced via the media, that is why child rapist pell is a free man, his lawyers drummed up a case he wasn’t ‘given a fair go’. if anything the fact we dont ‘officially’ know who it is right now, could be a good thing

ps fuck the nationals, they get off light

@Devil-Dick Willie @Harry @Toinho

Except scomo has declined to read the evidence presented by the complainant or stand down the minister subject to any inquiry, and said the AFP are handling it when the AFP have no remit to investigate rape.

It's a matter for the NSW state police, but conviction is not gonna happen given the key witness is deceased.

So this guy will go on unimpeded. He could have committed murder and still scomo would leave him to serve in office until the day he was arrested.

 

[Spike]

28 minutes ago, Harry said:

Except scomo has declined to read the evidence presented by the complainant or stand down the minister subject to any inquiry, and said the AFP are handling it when the AFP have no remit to investigate rape.

It's a matter for the NSW state police, but conviction is not gonna happen given the key witness is deceased.

So this guy will go on unimpeded. He could have committed murder and still scomo would leave him to serve in office until the day he was arrested.

 

I was just addressing the media quiet, even from sources that aren't Murdoch or Fairfax aren't reporting the identity. Is this really so surprising? Scunto is the school prefect that would hide hazing in the dorms so he doesn't get in trouble with the headmaster, despite the fact ol' Johno the Ginger on a scholarship is getting pissed on in the showers by the union team. Nothing about the man is sincere, not his support of the Cronulla Sharks (since when the fuck do rich kids from the eastern Suburbs support a damn South Sydney team?), not his 'have a go, get a go', and not his $200,000 empathy classes, the bloke doesn't hold a hose so why would he hold someone accountable for a heinous crime?

The guy is completely representative of all the nastiness you find in upper class private school Australian old boys, a class of people that do not get enough media coverage or shit on enough. Granted he didn't go to a private school, but the one he did go to only has a Sailing Team and thinks it's a pat on the back that in the past wo gs graduated from their classes.

There will be no ICAC for this cover up, just like there was no investigation into the National's Corruptio, Berejiklian's corruption, the Sports Rorts, pork barrelling the vaccine, and so forth, Eddie Maguire gets a more thorough rinsing and he is only a club president in a sport half of the country cares about

[Harry]

The woman went to NSW police in February of last year but the investigation stopped in June when she took her own life....

Malcolm Turnbull: "We don’t know for sure that she took her own life, we know for sure that she’s dead. And there needs to be an inquest"

[Spike]

16 minutes ago, Harry said:

The woman went to NSW police in February of last year but the investigation stopped in June when she took her own life....

Malcolm Turnbull: "We don’t know for sure that she took her own life, we know for sure that she’s dead. And there needs to be an inquest"

who is reporting on  that?