Today’s Bad News
Queensland got mauled by Cyclone Debbie. There are reports of winds in excess of 160mph, structures blown apart, large boats ending up inland, trees toppled, roads blocked, power lines down, – a major mess and no hard numbers on casualties because of a lack of communications in the hardest hit areas.
It is a slow moving storm with lots of rain, so the river flooding is to come.
Meanwhile in Britain Article 50: PM Theresa May signs the letter that will trigger Brexit. The clock has started on the two-year process that will separate the United Kingdom from the European Union.
In reaction to the Brexit process the Scottish Parliament voted to hold a second independence referendum by 69 to 59. The Scots are not going to back off as the SNP [Scottish National Party] believes it will pass this time because of Brexit.
All bad news in the US leads back to the SCROTUS: Trump dramatically changes US approach to climate change. Yes, I would say that denying it exists is a pretty dramatic change, as was putting a pawn of fossil fuel companies in as the head of the EPA.
Meanwhile the House just voted to allow ISPs to sell data on their customers. They joined the Senate and the White House will certainly sign it.
8 comments
Yeah… a pretty accurate & dismal round up! 🙁
the remnant of Debbie is moving south causing heavy floods, with an evacuation warning just issued between Tweed Heads & Kingscliff.
I recently tweeted that on the plus side of the ISP data mining operation is that people can get personal info on the GOP/Rethugs. After all, they have the most to hide & loose! LOL
Another day, another *SIGH!*
There’s another warning in Qld. that 3.5 – 4 meter (12′ – 13′) surf is expected to smash the Sunshine Coast beaches for the next week! Also warned of high tides of around 2 meters (6′ 5″). Councils are warning of increased erosion of coastal areas.
Also, flood warnings announced for Northern NSW.
Chirping of crickets heard from Canberra!
Oh, the inimitable Clarke and Dawe (Aussie dynamic duo that have been giving the boot to politicians & *business leaders* for over 20 years) have this take (via YouTube – and a knowledge of current Aussie Politicians would help):
Clarke and Dawe – Cyclone Malcolm. This is a Watch and Act Warning.
😆 😆
Clarke and Dawe remind me of Bob & Ray, who were on the radio when I was a kid. They do assume a lot of knowledge that most non-Australians wouldn’t have about the names of political leaders. It was funnier than hell if you knew who they were talking about.
The coast got blown away and things were washed away inland. The storm stalled and then crawled. It lost its steering just before coming ashore and beat the crap out of towns for hours. They are going to have to remap the coastline and check the bottom for new sandbars. The waves are not only going to be high, they will break differently because of changes to the bottom.
John Clarke is an ex-patriot Kiwi (New Zealander). Before joining with Brian Dawe in 1989 for a weekly sketch on the nightly news program “A Currant Affair” he did comedy under the pseudonym “Fred Dagg” 😀
One of my all time favorite was this sketch about the disastrous oil spill & fire off the coast of WA from the Greek tanker Kirki in 1991. Clarke plays Sen. Collins who tried to reassure Aussies everything was under control. he didn’t succeed one bit! *sigh*
Clarke and Dawe – The Front Fell Off
There’s a funny bit right at the end, so keep watching! 😉 😆 It’s not too long. 🙂
Ehhh… Since I’m on the topic of oil spills… They did a sketch on the Deepwater Horizon disaster! I know it one of your… err, *favorite* unnatural disasters! 😉
Clarke and Dawe – The US Oil Spill
I saw the tanker episode during the Gulf Gusher. Someone, maybe you, put it in comments, or ABC may have re-run it. It wouldn’t take much to edit it for the two RAN ships with the power problems.
It could have been me. 🙂
Back to Debbie…
Cyclone Debbie: Queensland reels at the scale of destruction
It’s being likened to Katrina by some. I’m sure our Government’s response will be quite similar also! Useful as breasts on a snake!
Those useless $billion ships would have been very useful! Typical.
The desalination facilities, the self-contained hospital facilities, the ability to transport heavy equipment and lots of people – they are perfect for hurricane response. Rumsfeld refused to let the USS Bataan help in Katrina even though its Captain followed the storm in to render assistance. At least your ships are broken and not waved off by an asshole.