Obama's Australia visit: No time for golf, Mr President, you're here to work

"Australians hope Barack Obama's trip to Australia will be a case of third-time lucky, but it probably won't include a round of golf for the US President."  [Obama is scheduled to arrive here November 16-17].

Personally, I hope it's a case of third time unlucky, and he doesn't get here at all.  So far his previous announced visits down under never happened..... and whenever he does travel, volcanoes start erupting.

I guess they'll just recycle that Big O from Oprah's visit......


More on Obama's Australian trip at:  News.com

Living on the Edge, Literally

Residents of Kingscliff Beach in N.S.W. are watching their backyards falling into the sea.  Whilst erosion has long been a problem there, the ocean's intensity of late has caused the problem to magnify with six metres of parkland being lost in the past week.

Months of sandbagging and shoring up the beach with sand from nearby Cudgen Creek has amounted to nothing as erosion continues to swallow large chunks of land at an ever-increasing rate on Kingscliff beach.

Several tourists at Kingscliff Beach Tweed Coast Holiday Park have been forced to relocate, with the park losing 6m of land in the past week, including 4m on Tuesday night when a mature pandanus tree and Norfolk pine crashed to the beach.

Tweed Shire Council officers are scrambling to shore up what is remaining of the beach ahead of tomorrow's full moon and associated king tides, with further sandbagging expected to take place in front of the caravan park and Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club.

Source: Gold Coast News

Photo Gallery

Australia's disappearing beach

A popular beach known as Inskip Point near Australia's Frazer Island began to disappear into a sinkhole yesterday.   As nearby campers looked on, the beach began to vanish in front of them.

The World's Obsession with Israel

Unless you are an Australian, you probably have no clue who Austen Tayshus is...... he is one of Australia's best-known comedians, real name Sandy Gutman .... and although he is someone I've known for most of my life through family connections, I rarely get to see him these days, but did manage to catch him on the "Q and A" show a couple of weeks ago, and just found there is a video of that show on You Tube.

If you begin watching at 40:00 mins on the video, you will see him in action, as a woman in the audience mentions the recent boycott of a Sydney council against Israel.... and Sandy [the one with the sunglasses] socks it to the anti-semitic guests on the show.   His comment [at 41:36] to anti-Israel Lee Rhiannon "Why are you so OBSESSED with Israel?" is something we would all like to know - why are all these people so obsessed with Israel?  And a special note about journalist and flotilla-participator Paul McGeogh's response to a question at 46:30 - where he tries, and fails, to justify his blatant anti-semitic journalism. 

For all those who missed the show, or for everyone who ever wanted to know, I'm posting the video here..... why is everyone so obsessed with Israel?  They don't really have a good answer, but at least the question was asked! Thank you Sandy.

Like there's no tomorrow...

An Infinite Light is Coming....

Art: Aura Liliane Ritchie

I've had two "Sydney tsunami" dreams in the past few weeks, other people I know have also had "Sydney tsunami" dreams...   and although we don't get a lot of quakes here, Australia has had three earthquakes (on each side of the continent) in the last two days.    I don't think my dreams were prophetic or anything like that, but I do know that the weird weather is terrifying a lot of people.   Some New Zealanders moved out of Christchurch and over to Australia, and now the ground is shaking here as well. 

Meanwhile, an email came in overnight from someone who has contributed to this blog in the past:

"The reason for the severe weather in the world.....
An Infinite light, is coming into, a finite world."

That's all it said. 

Melbourne's Double Comet [last night]

Yasi's Aftermath: Paradise Lost

Homes disintegrated, crops were flattened and boats were hurled hundreds of metres as Cyclone Yasi left a trail of havoc across Queensland yesterday.

A swimming pool at the Dunk Island resort lies buried under sand dumped by Cyclone Yasi yesterday. Picture: Brian Cassey

A banana plantation is destroyed in Innisfail, North Queensland, by cyclone Yasi - Picture: AAP

Cars are blocked by flood waters on the Bruce Highway south of Innisfail - Picture: AAP

Source: The Australian

Cyclone Yasi: Live Webcam

Townsville - Tropical Cyclone Yasi as it approaches Nth QLD. View from West End looking ENE towards Castle Hill. 


Free video streaming by Ustream

Monster Cyclone Yasi

Q: What's 500km wide and has a giant 100km eye?

A: Cyclone Yasi - the worst cyclone in history - authorities are warning people to evacuate and to "batten down the hatches for monster storm".

It's bigger than anything we've ever seen here, and it's terrifying the poor people of Queensland who are still cleaning up after the floods. It is tipped to cross the coast sometime before Thursday.

Last night, the category-one system was 1780km east northeast of Townsville and was moving west towards Queensland at 30km an hour.

It is expected to intensify when it crosses the coast delivering gale-force winds of more than 250km/h and up to 1m of rain in some areas.

Hamilton Island began flying guests out yesterday. By this afternoon all 3000 staff and guests at every island resort in the Whitsundays will have been evacuated and the resorts closed.

Read more: North Queensland braces for Yasi

 

See the size of it at the satellite image here: NOAA (It's HUGE !)

A weather satellite image shows Cyclone Yasi passing near the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu heading toward the coast of Australia on Monday

Australia: An "Inland Sea" moves through Victoria

Inland Sea: floodwaters around the town of Kerang

A giant inland sea of floodwater, 55 miles long and 25 miles wide, will spread across the Australian state of Victoria over the next 10 days, officials say.

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan said the floods would rank as one of the most costly natural disasters in the country's history.

More at: ABC News

Disaster of Biblical Proportions

Live news streaming from Australia: http://today.ninemsn.com.au/livestreaming.aspx?player=mediaplayer

Watch this video past the 30 sec mark and you will see how fast the water is coming.

No-one has ever seen anything like this. The entire city of Brisbane is threatened as the river breaks its banks. Dozens of people are missing or dead... thousands have had to leave their homes, which will be virtually destroyed by the water.

The devastating flood has left whole families missing, now a mighty dam built to protect Brisbane after its last major flood disaster is at bursting point.

With the dead and missing in its wake, the worst flood in 100 years is building towards Brisbane as Australia's third-biggest city holds its breath and hopes a dam 80 kilometres to its west can keep back enough water to avoid a disaster of biblical proportions.

Spooked city steels for unthinkable