mikkey

We have cycles in the US that we call "El Nino" or "La Nina". El nino phases have an excessive amount of rainfall/precipitation, La Nina, the opposite. Do you guys down there use similar terminology? Yes, we have been affected by El Nino as it influences the temperature of the Pacific. It has caused some lesser droughts in the past, but the current one has nothing to do with El Nino. This one is so damaging because it has lasted for a couple of years. E.g. if we dont get a lot of rain down here in the State of Victoria this fall (reverse seasons) the government has to stop all water allocations to farmers and food prices could increase by up to 500%. Here in Melbourne we are down to 35% water storage, up in southern Queensland down to about 20%. In rural Victoria here many of the rivers and dams are empty. In Queensland they are not allowed to water gardens at all, we are allowed 2 hours a week. Melbourne is known for its gardens and parks and a lot of them are dying.... very sad. The good news is that it rained heavily yesterday and its raining today. Long time since that happened. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

We had droughts like this before, its just a long time since and there are so many more people and so much more agriculture using the water..... There is no evidence this has to do with GW, we had some decades with more overall rainfall then previous, that why people are shocked now. Unfortunately the State governments who are responsible for water policy have been sitting on their hands for a long time and it is hitting very hard now and the only action they are taking is to enforce restrictions, but we cant save us out of the crisis. One example: The current wate storages (dams) we have were mostly build in the 1950's to 1970's and the population we have now is about double... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Enjoy! http://www.jbs.dk/film.aspx --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21543403-2,00.html --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Place of nuke test? --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

A lot of staging going on..... http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/senators-security-circus/2007/04/03/1175366241393.html --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Hi John, Just found a picture of you. It is a few years old when you worked overseas..... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

You are so funny. The one who has demonstrated an ability to misrepresent data in many threads about your obsession with countries that control guns is you. And you have been shown to do so many times. Funny thing is that you always ignore the facts and continue with your rants. I am quite sure I know more about stats then you do. Just a couple of key points: Firstly - you introduce a graph (without source) that in your own (later) admission has nothing to do with gun laws down here. Secondly the graph is based on such small "real" data (20-40 accidents a year) that you can not claim "trends" based on a couple of years with a few more accidents. Ever heard of the term "statistical significance testing"? Numbers are too small to show any significant change. As an aside - just love the way how you think gun laws here are wrong when less then 10% are against it. With that logic most of your laws regulating what you can and can't do in the US are wrong.... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Hi John, Do you work for the NRA? Firstly 90+% of the Australian population does not give a rats fart what you think and support our gun laws. Secondly your little "graph" (source?) only shows that in 2 out of seven years the accidents were higher then the data point before the laws were implemented. It is really only because of an unsual high number in 2000 that the trend line goes upward. You are using your well known MO of taking snippets of information and using them for your weird obsession with countries with gun laws. As somebody mentioned, these accidents have nothing to do with the gun laws here. Firstly we never had many guns compared to the US and lets put some context around this - the "numbers" represent between 20 and 40 accidents per year and might include police and military (yes accidents with arms happen there). Most non-military guns in this country are rifles and held by farmers and hunters (legally) and the numbers are so low that you can't conclude anything. BTW what are the corresponding accident numbers for the US? --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

The Swiss have to stay in the reserves for a number of years after their national service as well as participate in yearly refresh training. During that time they have to keep their weapon at home. The reason is that this would make it easy to organise resistance in case Switzerland is invaded / occupied. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Funny, whenever a snippet of arbitrary bullshit suits your pet cause it appears here as a thread..... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

In regard to the US economy, Senator Webb said it very well: It is also clear that the Bush administration has "sold" the future of the US economy. The deficit in trade has grown from about 350 Biilion in 2000 to around 800 Billion p.a. now. The deficit (budget deficit) is now more then 400 billion p.a. The total debt is closing in on 9 trillion. At the end of 2004, foreign holdings of Treasury debt were $1.886 trillion, which was 44% of the total debt held by the public. The country holding by far the most U.S. debt is Japan which held $644.2 billion at the end of August 2006. In recent years the People's Republic of China has also become a holder of over $1 Trillion in total foreign reserves, of which about $339 billion are US Treasuries (and growing, due to the imbalance of trade). The budget deficit can only be paid via future taxes. The way to pay foreign debt is to export more then you import. Not very likely.... The other way is that your assets are sold to foreign owners. The Chinese will probably own a large chunk of US assets (property and companies) very soon. Yeah, the US economy is in great shape.... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

I am in the wrong job..... http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/investigators-paid-to-have-illicit-sex/2007/01/24/1169594363610.html --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

You just lost you visiting visa..... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

This is Australia not the US.... wont happen. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

It's clearly taken with a mobile phone (and secretly)and not the "official" tape. The government does not want to show the moment of execution so not to inflame the situation further... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

From the news: --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

So a single socialist member of the Scottish parliament wants to ban air guns and it is treated here as if this is what is going to happen in England. --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

An interesting discussion... in regard to health care, I never understood the negative attitude in the US towards universal health care which every western country I lived in had. For those who could afford it (mysef insluded) additional private health insurance makes up fo the flaws in the system. I remember seeing a stats that showed that the US system is very expensive to run because of the red tape caused by the insurance system..... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

We will be some of the first to see the bird down under as Singapore Airlines and Qantas will be some of teh first to get it and it will fly between Europe and Australia. Looking forward to try it, the big question is how they handle check in boarding with the increased numbers..... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Ahhhh... consensus...how nice....

Spare a thought for the Iraqi's too. Just saw some offical stats. This year an average of 100 civilians killed every day... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Have a look at this new Australian Beer ad. Very funny... http://www.flashbeer.com.au/ --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Now that IS something that should be strictly regulated. I thought it was banned under the Geneva Conventions. After several doses of vintage single malt it actually tastes quite good.... as far as I remember... --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

Now I understand why so many people in the US believe Fox News is "fair and balanced". --------------------------------------------------------- When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.