Water arriving in waves outside State Library - not stopping the curious from enjoying themselves #qldfloods
posted by @custaro from Twitter for iPhone 46 mins 30 secs ago
Friday, 14 January 2011
Brisbane begins clean-up
Australia's third largest city, Brisbane, has begun to clean up mud and debris in some areas, as floodwaters begin to recede.
As levels fall, residents are starting to see the full scale of the damage. At least 30,000 properties in the city have been swamped.Meteorologists have warned that the threat of further cyclones remains.
Floods have surged through Queensland since last month, killing at least 19 people and displacing thousands more.
Where waters have receded in the city centre, residents have had to heave sticky mud out of their houses. Officials have said the clean-up could take months.
The Brisbane River has fallen two metres since peaking at 4.46m (14.6ft) just before 0530 local time on Thursday (1930 GMT Wednesday).
Power has been restored to 170,000 homes in Brisbane, but power company Energex said 66,000 homes across south-east Queensland remained without electricity.
Meanwhile, floods continue to move southwards towards the neighbouring state of New South Wales, threatening more towns.
'Help your friends'
Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh called for a spirit of cooperation in communities.
"There is a lot of heartache and grief as people start to see for the first time what has happened to their homes and their streets," she said."In some cases we have street, after street after street where every home has been inundated to the roof level affecting thousands of people.
"I encourage people please to make an effort to help your friends, help your families."
Earlier, she warned that the state was facing a reconstruction task of "post-war proportions".
Rubbish collectors have reappeared on the city's streets, while Mayor Campbell Newman called for individuals or businesses with bulldozers and other equipment to help clear roads.
"The big priority this morning and through the day is to try and get the roads open. Clean the debris and the silt off the roads and get them open," he said.
The BBC's Phil Mercer in Brisbane says that while falling water levels will give some respite, the city now faces a huge reconstruction effort, and that some of those who have been displaced may never be able to return to their homes.
There are also 55 people reported missing, and authorities have grave concerns for a dozen of those people, our correspondent says.
'Unchartered territory'
The floodwaters are now testing the levees in the Queensland hamlet in Goondiwindi, a town of 6,000. The warning has lead to the evacuation of hospitals and nursing homes.
"We are expecting this [levee] to hold but we are in unchartered territory," Mayor Graeme Scheu said.In Brisbane, the worst-hit suburbs included Brisbane City, St Lucia, West End, Rocklea and Graceville.
Brisbane airport survived the swell and remains open, with almost all flights unaffected. However, passengers are advised to check before travel.
On Friday, the national weather bureau warned that above-average cyclone activity was expected to last until March. A storm in the Coral Sea is being monitored, and threatens to bring more rain, it said.
The weeks of rain have been blamed on a La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific.
@'BBC'
Palin fails at finding her moment
Following Sarah Palin's videotaped statement today, let there be no doubt about her total lack of seriousness -- a character trait, in fact, that's utterly dwarfed by her chronic inability to construct prepared, teleprompter-presented remarks without virtually choking on her own tongue.Sarah Palin could have used her time to be a leader -- to take the high road and talk about the heroes and the victims of this terrorist attack. She could have used the time to discuss responsible gun ownership. She could have taken the time to address her people and mitigate the anger and political hatred that's bubbled up around this tragedy. Instead, she diminished the tragedy by conflating it with the attacks against her and her record of inflammatory statements...
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
REpost: Why pay $25,000
Pictures of Banksy in Jamaica by Peter Dean Rickards (from 'Afflicted Yard')
Sites that publish these photos are usually handed a cease and desist take down notice by Banksy's solicitors while at the same time they deny it is him.
Radiohead - Live From The Basement [Full Show] (2010)
Track Listing
-------------
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
15 Step
Bodysnatchers
Nude
The Gloaming
Myxomatosis
House Of Cards
Bangers and Mash
Optimistic
Reckoner
Videotape
Where I End And You Begin
All I Need
Go Slowly
http://www.fromthebasement.tv/
DVD torrent link (requires PLG free registration):
http://www.purelivegigs.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9801
the AustinBrock account @ youtube has also a lot of complete Radiohead concerts.
Check it out!
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Supreme Court declines to review Appeal Court's Starr VS Sony decision
America's Supreme Court has knocked back an application by the four major record companies - EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner - to stop a lower court from reconsidering price-fixing allegations that have been made against the US record industry.
A group of American consumers led by Kevin Starr (well, his name comes first on the court papers) launched a class action lawsuit against the four majors a few years back, alleging that the big players of the US record industry - controlling, as they do, about 80% of the market - had colluded to keep the wholesale price for digital downloads at 70 cents and, in doing so, had broken the country's competition, or anti-trust, laws.
In 2008, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the plaintiffs had not presented enough evidence for an anti-trust case to be fully heard in court. But Starr et al appealed, and last year the US Appeals Court in New York ruled in their favour, declaring there were enough facts on the table to at least allege there had indeed been an antitrust price fixing conspiracy. The appeals court ordered the original judge to reconsider the case.
Legal reps for the majors quickly scurried to the US Supreme Court, arguing the appeals court had got it wrong, and that the plaintiffs simply lacked sufficient evidence for their case to be considered anew. But the Supreme Court yesterday declined, without explanation, to review the lower appeal court's ruling, meaning the anti-trust case will presumably now return to the original judge for new consideration. Funtimes.
@'CMU'
A group of American consumers led by Kevin Starr (well, his name comes first on the court papers) launched a class action lawsuit against the four majors a few years back, alleging that the big players of the US record industry - controlling, as they do, about 80% of the market - had colluded to keep the wholesale price for digital downloads at 70 cents and, in doing so, had broken the country's competition, or anti-trust, laws.
In 2008, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the plaintiffs had not presented enough evidence for an anti-trust case to be fully heard in court. But Starr et al appealed, and last year the US Appeals Court in New York ruled in their favour, declaring there were enough facts on the table to at least allege there had indeed been an antitrust price fixing conspiracy. The appeals court ordered the original judge to reconsider the case.
Legal reps for the majors quickly scurried to the US Supreme Court, arguing the appeals court had got it wrong, and that the plaintiffs simply lacked sufficient evidence for their case to be considered anew. But the Supreme Court yesterday declined, without explanation, to review the lower appeal court's ruling, meaning the anti-trust case will presumably now return to the original judge for new consideration. Funtimes.
@'CMU'
Scientist Launches Dubstep Into Outer Space (Albumstream)
Hopeton Brown (aka Scientist) is one of the greatest and last remaining of Jamaica's first generation of dub producers. He apprenticed under the late King Tubby, the undisputed master of all dub masters, and has been at the forefront of developments in the art form since emerging on his own in the early '80s. This two-disc set is something of a departure for him; he was invited to remix a program of 12 previously unreleased dubstep tracks from the likes of Kode9, Shackleton, Pinch, Mala, and Jack Sparrow. Despite its moniker, dubstep actually has little rhythmically in common with reggae; it tends to be built on a lurching, off-kilter beat that sounds like it was meant to be danced to by someone with one leg shorter than the other, and although its basslines are teeth-shakingly loud and deep, they tend not to be as melodic as those of reggae. Many of the tracks collected here are actually somewhat lighter than dubstep fans might expect: Guido's "Korg Back" is calm and nearly pretty, while Shackleton's "Hackney Marshes" dances lightly and Distance's "Ill Content" brings a darker flavor to the proceedings without departing substantially from the decorous tone set by the other artists. Not until the very end, when Kode9 and Spaceape collaborate on the brilliant "Abeng," do the proceedings start getting that nervously bustling quality that characterizes so much contemporary dubstep. The second disc features Scientist's remixes, and it is to his credit that none of them tries to wrestle the original track into a prefabricated reggae template. "The Long Way" by Armour (Roly Vex'd) gets a bigger and more echoey acoustic, and Jack Sparrow's excellent "Red Sand" is given a dense and nearly jungly mix, but for the most part Scientist shows both taste and restraint in his mixes. Unsurprisingly, the most exciting remix is his deconstruction of RSD's "After All," the most reggae-flavored entry in the original program. On this track Scientist does really let loose with some reggae-style dub technique, and the result is spectacular. But there are no weak tracks on this excellent collection. The only complaint one might have is that it would have been nice to hear Scientist's mixes directly after each track rather than segregated on a separate disc. (Rick Anderson - allmusic; 4/5)1. Pinch feat. Emika - 2012 Dub
2. Armour (Roly Vex'd) - The Long Way Dub
3. Guido - Korg Back Dub
4. Shackleton - Hackney Marshes Dub
5. King Midas Sound - U Dub
6. Loefah & SGT Pokes - Dog Money Dub
7. Distance - Ill Kontent Dub
8. RSD - After All Dub
9. Jack Sparrow - Red Sand Dub
10. Mala (Digital Mystikz) - City Cycle Dub
11. Cyrus (Random Trio) - Footsteps Dub
12. Kode 9 & Spaceape - Abeng Dub
ALBUMSTREAM
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