An Overcrowded Nation

Here's something for us to think about too as a nation ...

 

Half of Australians want end to immigration: poll

by AFP 2 days ago

SYDNEY — Some 50 percent of Australians want an end to the nation's immigration programme because they believe the country has too many people, a poll showed on Tuesday.

The survey of 2,000 people, conducted for the tabloid Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper, found 51 percent thought "our population is too high (and) we should stop immigration".

Australia has some 23 million people, compared to 19.6 million a decade ago.

Canberra set its immigration programme for the year to June at 185,000 places, with another 13,750 slots available to refugees on humanitarian grounds.

But in the poll only 32 percent of respondents felt Australia should welcome more immigrants and almost two thirds, some 65 percent, said "migrants should adopt the Australian way of life".

The responses revealed a marked swing away from the more tolerant attitudes of previous surveys conducted in 2005, 2001 and 1995, the newspaper said.

Immigration expert Bob Birrell said fears over job security in the shaky global economy and local pressures on infrastructure were behind the shift in opinion.

The poll came as two asylum-seeker boats carrying some 82 passengers were intercepted off northern Australia on Monday -- taking the number of boats to arrive to four in as many days.

A total of 42 boats carrying 3,261 asylum seekers have arrived so far this year, causing Australia's refugee detention budget to spiral to more than Aus$1 billion (US$1 billion).

Though they come in relatively small numbers by global standards, the issue of asylum-seekers is a political flashpoint in Australia, dominating national elections in 2010, when a record 6,555 boatpeople arrived from Asia.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the rush this year was "unsurprising" given the failure of a planned refugee swap deal with Malaysia in 2011 intended to deter people smuggling, after the High Court of Australia struck it down.

The government was forced to abandon offshore processing of asylum-seekers and release many detainees to live in the community after the conservative opposition blocked attempts to get around the ruling.

Bowen said it was essential to find more effective deterrents to stop people making the perilous maritime journey, usually from Indonesia.

"You are going to continue to see people arriving by boat which means you're going to continue to see deaths at sea," he said.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved

Unusual News: Super Cool Bra

Japan iced bra aims to keep everywhere cool
AFP - Thu, May 10, 2012
 

TOKYO — A bra with built-in ice packs, a wind chime and a sprig of mint that was unveiled in Japan on Wednesday is promising to keep women cool this summer.

In a nearly-naked publicity stunt, underwear firm Triumph Japan had models parading around showing off its "Super Cool Bra", featuring what appears to be a pair of small fish tanks encompassing the breasts.
These cups are filled with a gel that remains soft and supple even when frozen, giving the wearer "a cool sensation against her skin", the company said in a statement.

A traditional Japanese wind chime -- and a mint leaf -- dangle between the cups giving an impression of cooling "by way of its refreshing fragrance and sound".

The company, which has a long tradition of novelty launches that are never made available for public sale, said it conceived of the bra in response to a need to save energy during the hot summer.
With no working nuclear reactors amid heightened public mistrust over atomic power in post-Fukushima Japan, the country has once again begun its "Cool Biz" campaign, urging people to dress down for work and avoid the need to crank up the aircon.

Fossilized Dinosaur Eggs Found

Dinosaur eggs said found in Russia's Chechnya
Reuters – Tue, Apr 17, 2012

GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Geologists in Russia's volatile Chechnya region have discovered what they believe to be fossilized dinosaur eggs laid by one of the huge extinct reptiles that roamed the Earth more than 60 million years ago.


"We've found about 40 eggs so far, the exact number has not been established," said Said-Emin Dzhabrailov, a geologist at the Chechen State University.

"There could be many more laying under the ground."

The find was uncovered when a construction crew was blasting through a hillside to build a road near the region's border with former Soviet Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains.

A team of geologists stumbled across the smooth, oval rock-like forms, which range from 25 cm to one meter coincidentally on a recent trip to the area, said Dzhabrailov.

He said paleontologists were needed to determine which species of dinosaur had laid them.

Dzhabrailov said that the regional Chechen government, which is eager to shed the region's reputation for violence, is considering turning the area into a nature preserve and seeking to attract tourists.

Federal forces fought two separatists wars between 1994-2001 in Chechnya, and an Islamist insurgency persists in the mostly Muslim region and surrounding provinces of Russia's North Caucasus.

However, violence has declined under the strong-arm rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, whose multi-million dollar construction projects are aimed at raising the region's profile and boosting the tourism potential of the troubled area.

(Writing By Thomas Grove, editing by Paul Casciato)

Massive Solar Storm Headed Toward Earth

The sun erupted on Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1am and 5am EST on Thursday March 8, 2012 (2pm and 6pm Singapore time), according to forecasters at the United States government's Space Weather Prediction Center.


More information available at:

CNET
The Straits Times

Web-Covered Trees

Webbings covering the trees! Is this the work of Spider-Man?

According to the news from wired.co.uk on March 30, 2011, the web covered trees is the result of spiders fleeing from the unprecedented flooding in Pakistan during the latter half of 2010 which disrupted the lives of 20 million people.

With more than a fifth of the country submerged, millions of spiders climbed into trees to escape the rising floodwater. As the water has taken so long to recede, the trees quickly became covered in a coocoon of spiderwebs. The result is an eerie, alien panorama, with any vegetation covered in a thick mass of webbing.

The unusual phenomenon, however, is a blessing in disguise. The UK's department for international development reports that areas where the spiders have scaled the trees have seen a far fewer malaria-spreading mosquitos than might be expected, given the prevalance of stagnant, standing water.

Read more ...

Hooters-Style Coffee Shop @ KL

Posted on 28 Sep 2009

KL's kopi tiam Hooters': An idea for
S'pore coffee shops?

You can say that this is a case of Kopi C served in a C Cup, literally. But it is not happening at a Hooters' outlet. Believe it or not, this is at a humble Kuala Lumpur kopi tiam.

Singapore kopi tiam owners, please take note, says Stomper DJAM, who received the story and photos via email. Instead of the grubby atmosphere and well-covered up and unattractive beer ladies at Singapore kopi tiams, they should employ these Malaysian girls.

Customers will be better served and the kopi tiams will be able to boost their business if they take a leaf from this Malaysian bright spark at a kopi tiam in Cawangan Bandar Perdana in the Malaysian capital.

A bevy of sexy, young and pretty women serve the beverages and food. They will also talk, play cards and watch the football channel with customers.

One catch though: The price of kopi, beer, teh, milo, nasi goreng, nasi lemak, nasi ulam, mee goreng, seafood tang hun, beef kway teow are all double what one usually pays at other kopi tiams.

Surprisingly, the kopi tiam is owned by a group of women, who employ good-looking and well-endowed girls.

The salary paid to these girls is comparable with what they would get working in an office.

News and Media Archives

News agencies often use archived pictures and video clips for re-publishing in general news articles. This method of placing back-dated clips or pictures however can mislead audience to perceive the visuals as occurring only recently.

Just yesterday, a friend of mine was perturbed when she saw her picture appear in an article of a local newspaper which was taken by the press two years ago for an event. Although the picture from the archive is appropriate for the theme of the article in illustrating the dependency of good teacher-pupil relationship in providing effective teaching, it is seemingly 'incorrect' to portray it as part of a recent news relating to a subject discussed in Parliament concerning a new method of assessing teachers under the Enhanced Performance Measurement System, especially when it is published without prior permission from the person in the picture. This, however, is how it is with news reporting. Where a piece of news has been accepted for publishing by the press, all its content essentially becomes the property of the news agency, in which the agency reserve all rights to do anything they want with it, including the pictures. Such content once published is deemed to be for the 'public' eye, hence, can no longer be considered private, which would require the agency to request permission before re-publishing. However, if the picture is being misused to convey something not relating to the original intent, the matter can then be brought up for scrutiny.

Take the example of the news station that presented an archived video clip of the celebration by Iraqis after the September 11, 2001 event where the twin World Trade Center towers were destroyed in New York. This piece of news was telecast throughout the world and created much hatred, resulting in Gulf War II. The video clip in question, however, is not shown 'live' from Iraq, but from an archive in the library. In reality, nothing of that celebration took place, yet by telecasting the clip immediately after showing the video of what happened to the World Trade Center, audience's perception was misplaced, resulting in hate.

The issue being discussed here is not to determine the extent in which the journalism code must be adhered or about what is and what is not ethical. It is about how audience must perceive news that is found in the newspapers and TV news. To this end, my wish is for all of us as readers of news, to learn to see beyond what is written in the text, so as to decipher for ourselves what is true and untrue, what is real and unreal, and what is right or wrong.