God help America

[Jerry_Atrick]

I woudl hardly suggest Rupert and son are down. News Corp can absorb the losses from Dominion, though no doubt, it would hurt. Which is good, because they need to be held to account for abusing their position in society. Sadly, it may well drag out for years - possibly after the old fella has dropped off his perch; ultimately, Newscorp will be less wealthy, but unless people are criminally held to account, it won't make much difference in the scheme of things.

 

The write up in the SMH is from a competitor, who, through Fairfax, have a decent amount of that concentration of media ownership - or let's be honest where it counts in the corporate world - market share. Though, it was mightly noble of them to allow that prose to be published, as it sort of attacks their position as well.

 

Should the Royal Commission get the gong, then the wishful outcome is freedom of press held to account of reckless or wilfull lying; the APC will have real teeth to bring organisations into line. Free speech is important, but where that speech is toxic, vindictive, and inaccurate, there has to be consequences.

[red750]

Just eight months after finalising his divorce to American model Jerry Hall, News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch is getting married for the fifth time.

 

This time, it’s to a former model and San Francisco police chaplain.

 

Widow Ann Lesley Smith, 66, met Murdoch at his Moraga Bel Air vineyard in Los Angeles in September as the annual grape harvest got under way – and they apparently hit it off.

 

The Australian-born media mogul said he dreaded falling in love, but a “nervous” Mr Murdoch, now 92, called Ms Smith a fortnight later.

 

Now, they’re looking forward to spending the “second half of our lives together”.

 

He thinks this will be his last.

[red750]

An interviewee from the States on Sunrise says the Blue states and Red states should get a divorce. The country will end up a banana republic. He says this action against Trump is frivolous, run by a DA who has only been in the job 12 months, about an alleged crime well outside the statute of limitations. He says if they go ahead, Trump will win in a landslide.

 

Also saw Trump refer to that woman as Stormy Horseface Daniels. She must have been drunk, stoned or both.

[facthunter]

With a face like Trumps you'd think He'd pull his head in.. Nev

[Old Koreelah]

Someone earlier used the term “lower than a snake’s belly”.

 

I’m sitting in our local hospital waiting for a doctor. A few minutes ago, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a movement- a brown snake wriggling across the lino. Plenty of room for them to fit under the door. After I’d disabled it with a nearby garbage bin, two nurses performed extra surgery with extreme prejudice.

Another day in an Ozzie waiting room.

[red750]

They're not supposed to be "dispatched". They are supposed to be relocated to a safe place.

[Old Koreelah]

55 minutes ago, red750 said:

They're not supposed to be "dispatched". They are supposed to be relocated to a safe place.

Easy to say, plurry hard to acheive. These are among the most deadly snakes on our planet and need specialised equipment and training (which I refuse to do). Our VRA unit did snake jobs for many years, until all those trained to handle them retired or grew tired of having their time wasted (most snake disappear by the time our team arrives).

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Isn't heaven the safest place?

[facthunter]

NOT if the people who think they are going there, do get there.  Nev

[Marty_d]

One of my mates killed a tiger snake on the side of the road once, and a woman pulled up and started going off at him.

When she stopped for breath he just said "Did you see where it was going?" 

Not far from the side of the road was a child care centre with kids playing outside. 

 

I don't mind getting snakes relocated if there's time, but you have to manage risk. 

[Old Koreelah]

The little toddler next door was bitten by a snake that her cat was carrying. 
Innocent and inquisitive.

[Bruce Tuncks]

3 snakes around here ( farm south of Edenhope ) so far this year....  2 brown and one tiger snake. We thought the tiger snake may have bitten a lap dog and it cost us an overnight stay at the vets to find out the dog was ok.

I have read, and believe, that the only people killed by snakes were at the time of being bitten, trying to kill the snake.

In Alice Springs, one day we came home to see the next-door lady screaming and trying to hit a tiny snake on the road with a shovel. The snake was like a shoelace. We took over, and called the official snake-catcher who told us that this was a very rare spinifex-snake and he thanked us for saving its life.

[Old Koreelah]

W see a snake about once a year, despite our block having plenty of places to hide and all sorts of critters they’d eat. Who knows how many snakes per hectare there’d be?

The young and inexperienced ones presumably get gobbled up by predators, the bigger ones got that old by keeping out of sight. Suits me.

[kgwilson]

There are so many people who will tell you with conviction that Brown snakes will chase you and attack. Snake experts have debunked this theory many times but the myth continues. I grew up in NZ where there are no snakes except a few sea snakes that get brought down from the tropics and end up on the beach. They don't last long.

 

When I first came to Australia I got a book out of the library on Australian reptiles & went to a demo by a snake catcher. I have never had any fear of snakes or other reptiles but I am suprised at how many Australians I meet who have an almost hysterical fear of snakes and have never taken the time to get any real information on them.

 

We have quite a few pythons around here and I see the large green diamond pythons sunning them selves in the Pandanus trees in the early mornings. They are superbly camouflaged so most people don't know they are there. I get the odd Red bellied Black in my hangar and they are good at keeping the mouse population down. I have only ever had one in the yard & it could have been anything. Young Browns can be any colour & can have various patterns. It did whatever it came for and I never saw it again.

 

Snakes have terrible eyesight but their hearing is good and they detect vibrations and movement very well. When you are out in the bush, make plenty of noise and they will stay away. Their preference is always flight over fight but will fight if there is no other option. Leave them alone & they will leave you alone.

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, kgwilson said:

.I am suprised at how many Australians I meet who have an almost hysterical fear of snakes and have never taken the time to get any real information on them.

I fit into that category- to me they’re hideous, loathsome creatures, but if they keep their distance I respect their right to exist. If near my house, that respect disappears.  
 

Interesting that my fear of snakes is like my fears of other things, like confined spaces: worse in memory. When I actually encounter a snake, it’s not as scarey as I’d imagined.
 

Maybe age also is a factor. These days I almost have nightmares about the caves I’ve squeezed through.

[old man emu]

My grandson lives in the suburbs where snakes have long since moved out. What gets on my goat is that he has been taught by women to fear spiders. Someone told him that Daddy Long Legs have the most potent venom, so he's scared of them. But I told him that, while the potency of the venom might be high, that spider's fangs are too small to penetrate human skin. He's also been told that those spiders help keep insect numbers down in the house. He's been told to avoid Red Backs and Funnel Webs, but I've yet to convince him that Huntsmen are harmless. 

 

He has more chance of being killed or diseased by a mosquito than by a spider or snake.

[willedoo]

6 hours ago, kgwilson said:

There are so many people who will tell you with conviction that Brown snakes will chase you and attack. Snake experts have debunked this theory many times but the myth continues.

I grew up with brown snakes everywhere, and I've never heard of one chasing anybody. The Taipan is the only one that will do that if it feels threatened or cornered. They have very good eyesight for a snake, supposedly up to 12 metres according to one snake handler. With a Brown Snake anything beyond a few inches is a blur. First instinct for a Brown is to flee whereas first instinct for a Taipan is to strike if the object is close enough.

 

I've had them rear up and strike at the Landcruiser as it goes past. They seem to be fearless.  I remember once being on a bulldozer and being chased by one. I'd accidentally dug him up and he was fairly cranky. I was curious to see whether he really was charging at the dozer, so I kept turning it and going in different directions. Wherever I turned, the Taipan turned and kept chasing it. He got sick of the game after a while and left. I've had another one that was cut in half repeatedly strike at the machine for quite a long time. They don't seem to bleed out very quickly. A very fast snake, they rapid strike in multiple hits, unlike the Brown that will tend to latch on and pump venom with the one bite.

[facthunter]

I believe the Taipan is the worst but I'd put a tiger snake well up there when it protecting young. I've had them cross a creek to try to get me.  Nev

[willedoo]

4 hours ago, old man emu said:

but I've yet to convince him that Huntsmen are harmless. 

Huntsmen are great spiders; the best in my opinion. I've co-existed with them for years. Always a couple in the house, and a permanent resident in the bathroom. I recon they are more intelligent than most spiders. I've still got a round unpainted spot on the shed wall which needs to be touched up one day. A female Huntsman was sitting on eggs and I didn't have the heart to shift her, so painted around the area.

[facthunter]

The attrition rate of young spiders is very high otherwise you'd have them everywhere.  Nev

[willedoo]

The Red Bellied Black snake is another fast snake when it wants to be. They like water, and you often see them on cane paddock headlands besides rivers, creeks or drains. Once they sense the vehicle coming they do a lightning fast backflip back into the bushes. They rear up quite high as they do the backflip.

[red750]

When I was about 6yo, we lived on a farm near the junction of a small creek and a river.

 

One day, Dad said to me, "Get that kerosine tin from the back of the house and bring it around here."

 

As I lifted the tin, a tiger snake slid from under it, between my legs, and disappeared into the long grass. Dad looked for it but couldn't find it. On another occasion, one was found on the bricks laid at the bottom of the back steps. Our Dutch migrant farm hand killed it. This would have been around the late forties or early fifties.

[old man emu]

I once stood on the middle of the back of a red-belly. It took off, leaving me feeling sorry for the hurt my weight on its back had caused. 

[Old Koreelah]

6 hours ago, old man emu said:

My grandson lives in the suburbs where snakes have long since moved out…

Don’t bet on it, Nev!

Lots of wildlife has adapted to suburbia and I fear that includes some types of snakes. My kid often leaves the door open for hours. Plenty of the buggers live in the nearby gully, so I fear they’ll find her garden.

[old man emu]

The snakes would have to catch a bus to get to my grandson.