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| 5 FEB 2009 at 5:10pm |
MaraPrivate Detective
Posts : 542
Joined: 6 JUL 2007
Status : Offline | It's interesting that these few, at least, koala's feel that they can go to humans for help. I wonder if they've had some kind of relations with people in the past.
Mara
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 11:53am |
| Deleted User | [size=14]You've got horrible people in EVERY country perpetrating every form of vandalistic mayhem.
WHY? Goodness knows! Need to be a clinical psychiatrist!
Report from some newspaper--- 3 hours ago -------------
Arsonists are responsible for some of Australia's worst-ever wildefires that have left at least 84 people dead, officials have said.
"These people are terrorists within our nation, they are the enemy within and we have to be increasingly vigilant about them," said Mike Rann, the governor of South Australia state on Sunday.
His comments came as firefighters battled against blazes which have destroyed more than 640 homes and 100,000 hectares of forest and farmland across the country's southeastern states.
Many people are believed to have died in their cars as they tried to escape the blazes.
At least 20 per cent of the fires in South Australia state were started by arsonists and another 20 per cent were the result of "stupidity or negligence," Rann said.
Arsonists were also relighting fires that had been brought under control, a Victoria's fire authority official said.
'Hell's fury'
Steve Warrington, a deputy chief of firefighting operations, told local radio: "We know we do have someone who is lighting fires in this community.
"While we often think it's spotting [embers spreading flames], we also know that there are people lighting fires deliberately."
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 12:55pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Not just our two states - but NSW is burning too. They've arrested one man for starting a fire there. I think life in prison is an appropriate sentence for someone who willfully jeopardises the lives of so many others.
Heartbreaking tales of death and near escapes are emerging now. Whole communities have been burned to the ground. Over 700 houses. And it all happened so quickly and so fiercely they could do nothing. We're used to the bush burning but it's shocking when it's whole towns that burn. And there are so many burns victims. :'(
And Queensland is practically submerged with rain and floods.
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 1:03pm |
| Deleted User | TERRIBLE !
Heartbreaking !!
(N.B. ~~~~ It was on our News just a few hours ago and repeated later)
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 2:08pm |
ArkadiaPrivate Detective
Posts : 558
Joined: 1 JUN 2008
Status : Online | The story and picture of that/those koalas are heartbreaking. I was walking down a street yesterday and there was a koala sitting on the ground hugging a tree and sleeping. I've never been so close to a wild koala, and so was standing fairly close to it - I'm pretty sure it knew I was there - but it didn't budge. I think the heat was getting to it badly. Just ten minutes before I saw this one I saw a dead koala laying in some brush a few metres off the side of the road. If I'd seen this article sooner I probably would have tried to give the poor thing some water. There really is none around in the environment, I wonder how they survive.
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 2:46pm |
| Deleted User | They should turn those arsonists over to the communities that they have destroyed, and especially to the families of those that were injured/ burnt to death.... [smiley=furious.gif] [smiley=furious.gif]
It boggles the mind that such mindless evil can exist in modern, so-called "civilised" societies, or for that matter, amongst anyone who labels themself as "human".
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 4:32pm |
JelenaPrivate Detective
Posts : 587
Joined: 30 SEP 2007
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Caroline (8 FEB 2009 12:54pm)
Not just our two states - but NSW is burning too. They've arrested one man for starting a fire there. I think life in prison is an appropriate sentence for someone who willfully jeopardises the lives of so many others.
Is it known what reason he had for starting the fire? He's indeed forfeited his rights to ever live within society again imo.
Heartbreaking tales of death and near escapes are emerging now. Whole communities have been burned to the ground. Over 700 houses. And it all happened so quickly and so fiercely they could do nothing. We're used to the bush burning but it's shocking when it's whole towns that burn. And there are so many burns victims. :'(
Imagine the cost of all the buildings and infra structure that is gone. And imagine the loss of life, home and personal belongings. It's almost beyond what one can comprehend
Temporary guest in your life.
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 10:03pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | The death toll is over 100 now. efinitely the worst bush fire on record.
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 10:17pm |
| Deleted User | Why is there so much terrorism, of different sorts, in this 'best of all worlds' of ours ?
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| 8 FEB 2009 at 11:37pm |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | 108 confirmed dead this morning with more expected! Unbelievable that some people get their rocks off doing something like this, and then it's not uncommon for them to be among the firefighters so that they can observe their handiwork more closely and even be hailed as heroes!
There was a short snippet last night talking about the mindset of an arsonist and they say it's an addiction like any other addiction such as gambling - well, maybe so, but that's no excuse and it's times like these that I tend to think the old "eye for an eye" would be a good idea - of course that will never happen! [smiley=angry.gif]
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 12:26am |
| Deleted User | It was much more than just bad enough in the past when generally "only" trees and bush and sometimes homes were destroyed.
But over a 100 people dead is ghastly --- and if a number of those deaths were due to arsonist-terrorists and not to the ever possible destructive forces of nature, it's absolutely horrendous & despicable !!
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 12:36am |
BazzaLBPrivate Detective
Posts : 512
Joined: 27 AUG 2005
Location: AU
Status : Offline | My sister lives in Kinglake area.. one of the worst areas effected. She was lucky, her house remains standing with only minor damage (blown in windows and melted water tanks) whilst her neighbours was burnt to the ground. The community is destroyed, many people died in the kinglake area but luckily she and her family are fine (albeit extremely stressed)
The smoke got really thick and people crashed their cars whilst trying to escape (thats how thick the smoke was) and trees also blocked roads as they fell.
So many firefighters were already fighting other fires that quick response help was probably a little thin on the ground. Add to this the unpredictability and sheer speed and intensity of the fire itself and its hardly suprising so many people got stranded. Combined with nearly an entire week of 40C+ temperatures the previous week and everyone knew that the hottest day on record with the predicted winds was going to be horrendous.
Many people in the past have stayed and defended their homes. By the time you realise its indefensible, its usually too late. What an awful decision to be left with. Risk losing your house when you didnt need to, or risk losing your life as a result. Bloody awful all around.
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 1:41am |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Kingslake? Damned incredibly lucky - 500 house lost there - just watching the news now. It's still not over either.
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 1:46am |
| Deleted User | Even though your sister was (relatively) lucky BazzaLB --- my sympathies !
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 4:13am |
Lady KestrelGuild Master
Posts : 4035
Joined: 27 SEP 2004
Location: US, NJ
Status : Offline | Let's hope they can get this under control soon. How frightening it must have been for your sister, Bazza. I'm glad she's okay.
"Where is the fountain that throws up these flowers in a ceaseless outbreak of ecstasy?"
-Rabindranath Tagore
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 6:39am |
JoGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 3 NOV 2002
Location: AU, Qld.
Status : Offline | Bazza, your sister certainly was one of the lucky ones, I see the death toll has now risen to 131 http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25028477-661,00.html the news reader Brian Naylor and his wife among the victims.
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 11:30am |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | I'd never heard of Brain Naylor but his house was extensive and his garden laid out like a park. They died in each other's arms. Must have been bloody terrifying. Pity they didn't have a wine cellar.
How about that woman who shoved her kids down a wombat's burrow - and that man who got his family into a drainage pipe. The stories that are emerging are gut-wrenching and I've spent an emotional day watching it all on the TV. No wonder the PM choked. id you see the Parliament session? I remember Ash Wednesday '83 - Adelaide was surrounded by fires then. And Victoria bore the brunt on Black Friday but this is so much worse. It sounds like the firestorm that engulfed Canberra a couple of years ago only with far greater loss of life.
You have to wonder about the arsonists - how do they sleep at night? The whole country's like a tinder box right now. And to see all that water being used and knowing that Victoria is really low.... such a shocking damn waste.
Perhaps the spending money Rudd was going to give us should be redirected to where it's needed most.
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 12:05pm |
| Deleted User | What can one say, except to express shock and anger and sadness and sympathy with all the Australian victims. :'(
Let's hope it ends soon. I really wish that the fire-swept areas could receive some rain as relief. Is there no possibility of this? Or is it unseasonal for that area?
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 5:21pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
As long as I live, I'll never understand the sick mentality of arsonists that start fires like this.
One can at least understand the criminal version that does it for insurance scams and even those who might set a fire in anger as a specific act of murder. In the latter case, while still horrible, it is simply a weapon of choice or convenience - depending on degree of premeditation.
But to set random brush fires near highly populated residential areas is just insane - not to mention an act of incredible cowardice. It is sociopathic and psychopathic to the extreme. Perhaps even moreso than a bomb, because death by fire is so frightening, painful and comparatively slow. It can also spread so fast in any direction that the arsonist can't know who or how many people may be hurt.
Hopefully they will get this under control quickly and catch those responsible. If so, what would be an appropriate punishment?
Cheers, Terry
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 5:44pm |
| Deleted User | Make the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime.
Treat it as murder --- which indeed it is and in this case on a large scale with no "redeeming" features" !!!
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| 9 FEB 2009 at 7:13pm |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By LenG (9 FEB 2009 5:43pm)
Make the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime.
Treat it as murder --- which indeed it is and in this case on a large scale with no "redeeming" features" !!!
Agreed - mass murder in the worst degree... what really cinches it as murder, is that some bastards even restart fires that had been fought down.... [smiley=furious.gif] [smiley=cry.gif]
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| 10 FEB 2009 at 1:23am |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16540
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | That's actually what someone said on TV, that the main danger when the fire had passed was not ember strike but some arsonist relighting the damn fire. >
The death toll is up to 173 now.
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| 11 FEB 2009 at 10:35am |
| Deleted User | http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/indepth/0,,5018723,00.html
Tales of horror, sadness, sascrifice, tragedy, bravery.
---------- but on the other hand some looting, vandalism and arson !
( Our news said over 180 deaths so far --- terrible ! )
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| 12 FEB 2009 at 1:31pm |
| Deleted User | A little bit of good news - Follow-up on Sam:
[img]http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090211/capt.8365c2f0ad7445538fc8b84f02533d74.australia_wildfires_animals_mel803.jpg?x=213&y=168&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=323&q=85&sig=H4LbXuKzn47JWxFp0To9Pw--[/img]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090212/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_wildfires_koala_rescued
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