how can we link when our beds are burning?

[tielan]

We are not dead yet.

I'm in suburbia, we're not likely to burn the way towns like Mallacoota and Mogo have. We'll just swelter in the heat and turn up our aircon!

*cue a dozen angry people who can't bridge the sarchasm*

*cue another dozen angry people who need the air-con to keep from physically overheating*

I'm feeling cynical today. Apart from the news, there's an awful lot of failure to bridge the sarchasm happening and since black humour is my default when everything goes to hell, there's been a lot of back and forth.

Tomorrow will be 40C in my area. Let's be honest; my plants are probably not going to make it. I've been watering them as much as allowed, but it's seriously inadequate to the task at hand.

Anyway, have some links from the last couple of weeks.

Scientific American: This Is What Climate Change Looks Like

The Cut: Can A Woman Ever Sound Right?

Healthy Midwestern Girl: African Peanut Stew

Out Abouter: Old Man Rage Levels Rise By 3m After Thunberg Named Person Of The Year

Taste: 20 Crowd-Wowing Christmas Desserts

The Global Church Project: A List of Australian and New Zealand Women Theologians

That last one was a list posted by an Australian Baptist Minister (Baptists in Australia are not like your American Southern Baptists) by the name of Mike Frost. He's very progressive, very forward thinking, good at asking the questions that maybe more conservative bits of Australia don't like having asked. (In contrast, John Dickson is on the conservative side of the scale, and also good at asking questions and feeling a way through complicated answers.)

Anyway, I think I've been watching the FB feeds too much. It is very echo chamber-y, and I know I need to get out.

...and then I briefly surfaced and discovered America has bombed Iran...

Look, the fires may burn me to a crisp, but at least it won't be watching America beat its chest to prove it's got the biggest balls in the world...

Comments

[wpadmirer]

It breaks my heart every time I see the news from Australia. The fires are terrible.

And yes, our asshole government probably just started a war. I'm sure Trump thinks this is an excellent way to win over the public.

[tielan]

Yeah, the fires just keep going and all the responses from politicians are inadequate. Worst of all, Murdoch media is blaming the parties that are out of power and his viewers/listeners believe it. They have no proof, only talking points.

Distract the masses with bread and circuses! Rah-rah white conservatism!

[gingicat]

I'm really worried about you guys.

I asked another Australian "is the strategy to just push the fire into the ocean?" while sympathizing over his aunt being trapped in Mallacoota.

[tielan]

The strategy right now is to preserve life by any means possible. Human first, then pets and livestock, then wildlife. We don't have the resources to stand and defend most property, and when the wind can create a long line of fire during the day and then change to blow at right-angles, creating a long front of fire in the evening...

We have a few thousand of volunteers doing this work. The vast majority are not being paid. Many of them have lost their own houses to the fire, and at least three have died while working - one leaving behind a pregnant wife. Not enough people are trained - the Rural Fire Service had their budget cut for several years running - and even if we got hundreds of thousands in today, they'd still have to do a couple of months of training and would take current trained members away from what needs to be done.

And the news out from our state and federal governments is that we're not going to ask for any help in the fires, we can't do anything, we have to just be optimistic...and admire the struggle of our cricketing sportsmen who are playing New in a 5 day test this month...

Ugh. And I'm sorry for just blurtying this all out at you! You've almost certainly heard it all before from your friend with the family in Mallacoota. Did his aunt get out in the end? I know they got a bunch of people who were visiting friends in the town out on a navy ship, but there wasn't much about the locals - I imagine many have stayed. It's their town, after all...

[gingicat]

It sounds awful all around.

I'm waiting to hear about the aunt.

[morbane]

I'm feeling cynical today. Apart from the news, there's an awful lot of failure to bridge the sarchasm happening and since black humour is my default when everything goes to hell, there's been a lot of back and forth.

I hear you.

Sounds like you're not alone though - I just did a massive double-take on filling out one of the many online donation forms and getting to a 'How did you hear about us' multiple choice selection... which included, among 'Internet', 'Direct mail', etc... 'Smoke Signals'.

[tielan]

"How did you hear about us?"
"A great cloud of smoke from your fires turned up in our skies."

I've seen all kinds of jokes about you loaning us your PM. Although those have been going since last year's Australia Day, if not longer...