Yet more of Mission Beach

And a bit more

And more kayaking

Rachel Maddow and why I love Obama

I think I've found a new newscaster whom I can respect, and it's not John Stewart, although he is still my favorite, it's Rachel Maddow from MSNBC. Here is her wonderful report on Obama, some one who can admit when they were wrong, some one who is willing to try to make bridges, some one who just wants us all to get along.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And more kayaking

There is a turtle in there I promise.

and some more

In case you missed it...

Here is the press conference of President Obama on health care reform. I really hope that this passes and with his ideas of how to fund it.

And some more

And more of our private island

If you have some time...

This is an amazing speech by Obama about the Health care reform. It talks about how this bill will help you keep the doctors that you like, try to make more hospitals and doctor offices work like Mayo, and save money for the citizens of this Country. After listening to the first 20 mins, I have no idea what the GOP is complaining about. They have been spreading lies and I would like to know how much money they get from the drug, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies and lobby groups, and I would like to know how much those groups are paying the media to air the false claims that seem to be running wild. Take a listen, and then if you still aren't sure about the issues visit the White House website and the Health Reform Website

The media corrects itself

It's too bad that the media took so long to correct itself, but it finally has, at least in part, so here it is.

And more kayaking

Two of the islands we visited.

I think this was a bunch of fish... Again this is why I need an under water camera

A sunset from our private beach.

And more kayaking

This was our private island. There was no one on it but us... Okay we had to share it for the first 2 hours that we were there with maybe 5 other people. Then as we were kayaking around to about 4 other islands we say a grand total of two other people. I tell you if you ever want to feel like you've got it all, your own island, your own chef and guide, then Coral Sea Kayaking is the way to go. They are absolutely amazing!

I need an under water camera (or an underwater case)

Interesting notes from Wikipedia.

I was watching Media Matters this morning and saw yet another very disturbing interview from Pat Buchanan about Judge Sotomayor, so I thought I'd look her up.



Of course where does one go to find out things? Wikipedia, okay so it is the new Encyclopedia Britanica, and it might not always be 100% accurate, but it's easy to check it's sources, and for this article they seem sound. Here is what I found out about Judge Sotomayor.

Over her ten years on the circuit court, Sotomayor has heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and has written about 380 opinions where she was in the majority.[9] The Supreme Court reviewed five of those, reversing three and affirming two[9]—not high numbers for an appellate judge of that many years[14] and a typical percentage of reversals.[98]
Sotomayor's circuit court rulings have led to her being considered a political centrist by the ABA Journal[61][99] and other sources and organizations.[61][78][99][100][101][102] Several lawyers, legal experts, and news organizations identify her as someone who has liberal inclinations.[103][104][105] In any case, the Second Circuit's caseload typically skews more toward business and securities law rather than hot-button social or constitutional issues.[14] Sotomayor has tended to write narrowly formed rulings that rely upon close application of the law rather than import general philosophical viewpoints.[14] A Congressional Research Service analysis found that Sotomayor's rulings defied easy ideological categorization, but did show an adherence to precedent, an emphasis on the facts of a case, and an avoidance of overstepping the circuit court's judicial role.[106] Unusually, Sotomayor reads through all the supporting documents of cases under review; her lengthy rulings explore every aspect of a case and tend to feature leaden, ungainly prose.[107] Some legal experts have said that the attention to detail and re-examining of facts of a case in her rulings came close to overstepping the traditional role of appellate judges.[108]

Across some 150 cases involving business and civil law, Sotomayor's rulings are generally unpredictable and do not represent consistently pro-business or anti-business tendencies.[109] Sotomayor's influence in the federal judiciary, as measured by the number of citations of her rulings by other judges and in law review articles, has increased significantly during the length of her appellate judgeship and has been greater than that of some other prominent federal appeals court judges.[110] Two academic studies have shown that the percentage of Sotomayor's decisions that override policy decisions by elected branches is the same as or lower than that of other circuit judges.[111]

With all of Pat's worries that she wouldn't be there for the white man, I was shocked to read this, again from wikipedia,

In Pappas v. Giuliani (2002),[125] Sotomayor dissented from her colleagues’ ruling that the New York Police Department could terminate an employee from his desk job who sent racist materials through the mail. Sotomayor argued that the First Amendment protected speech by the employee “away from the office, on [his] own time,” even if that speech was "offensive, hateful, and insulting," and that therefore the employee's First Amendment claim should have gone to trial rather than being dismissed on summary judgment.[126]

Although I agree, but hate to agree, one would think that she wouldn't have dissented based on the rhetoric used by the GOP against her. It's amazing to me how many lies the news and journalist can spread with out ever having to check their facts, apologias, or at least tell the whole story. It's lies by omission, lies by ignorance, and lies by ineptitude.

An interesting article on the Media, Politics, and Science

Just thought you might like to read it.

and more kayaking

Some good and some bad in the news

It is amazing to hear what some of the media have to say about Supreme Court Nominee, Obama, and Health Care. . . and then it's good to see some unusual suspects speaking out and correcting others with their miss information.

I survived my first tsunami

I was watching tv and saw a news bulletin that there was a possible tsunami for NSW. I went to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

IDY68028   Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology  MEDIA:  NO USE OF STANDARD EMERGENCY WARNING SIGNAL [SEWS] TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE AND FREQUENT BROADCAST ********************************************************************************  TSUNAMI WARNING NUMBER 4 FOR PARTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES  Issued by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre [JATWC] at 10:44 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009  ********************************************************************************  TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT  ******************************************************************************** SUMMARY:  Tsunami warning for the marine environment for parts of NEW SOUTH WALES.  Threatened areas extend from Gabo Island to Seal Rocks including Batemans Bay, Bellambi, Botany Bay, Gabo Island, Jervis Bay, Kiama, Merimbula, Montague Island, Moruya, Moruya Heads, Narooma, Nelson Bay, Norah Head, Shell Harbour, Sydney Harbour, Ulladulla and Wollongong.  Possibility of DANGEROUS WAVES, STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS AND SOME LOCALISED OVERFLOW ONTO THE IMMEDIATE FORESHORE for several hours from 09:45 pm [EST] Wednesday.  Although major evacuations are not required, people are advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge.  Next update will be issued by 11:44 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009  For latest and further information call 1300 TSUNAMI [1300 878 6264] or visit www.bom.gov.au  ******************************************************************************** DETAILS:  A threat of DANGEROUS WAVES, STRONG OCEAN CURRENTS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME LOCALISED OVERFLOW ONTO THE IMMEDIATE FORESHORE exists for parts of NEW SOUTH WALES from Gabo Island to Seal Rocks including Batemans Bay, Bellambi, Botany Bay, Gabo Island, Jervis Bay, Kiama, Merimbula, Montague Island, Moruya, Moruya Heads, Narooma, Nelson Bay, Norah Head, Shell Harbour, Sydney Harbour, Ulladulla and Wollongong.  Tsunami effects are expected at the following locations from these times:  Port Kembla after 09:45 pm [EST] Wednesday  Batemans Bay after 09:45 pm [EST] Wednesday  Eden after 09:45 pm [EST] Wednesday  Sydney after 10:00 pm [EST] Wednesday  Newcastle after 10:15 pm [EST] Wednesday   COMMUNITY RESPONSE ADVICE FROM THE NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE   - While major evacuations in these areas are not required, people are advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge of harbours, coastal estuaries, rock platforms and beaches.  - Boats in harbours, estuaries or shallow coastal water should return to shore. Secure your boat and move away from the waterfront.  - Vessels already at sea should stay offshore in deep water until further advised.  - Do not go to the coast to watch the tsunami, as there is the possibility of dangerous, localised flooding of the immediate foreshore.  - Check that your neighbours have received this advice.  CAUTION: Tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves, with the first wave not necessarily being the largest.  Low-level effects may be observed in neighbouring coastal areas. People are advised to take care.  TSUNAMI SOURCE: An undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.9 [Latitude 45.960S Longitude 166.470E ] occurred at 07:22 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009 near OFF W. COAST OF S. ISLAND, N.Z..  Sea level observations have confirmed a tsunami has been generated.  Tsunami has been observed at Spring Bay in TAS at 10:05pm and at Port Kembla at 10:06pm  ********************************************************************************  The earthquake of magnitude 7.9 [Latitude 45.960S Longitude 166.470E ] occurred at 07:22 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009.  ********************************************************************************  The NEXT UPDATE will be issued by 11:44 PM EST on Wednesday 15 July 2009  FOR LATEST AND FURTHER INFORMATION: Call 1300 TSUNAMI [1300 878 6264] or visit www.bom.gov.au  FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE: Call the NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE on 132 500   ********************************************************************************  EST = Eastern Standard Time CST = Central Standard Time = EST - 30 minutes WST = Western Standard Time = EST - 2 hours  The JATWC is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia ********************************************************************************

I then realized that the Tsunami was suppose to hit at 10:15 and it was 10:50. It must have gone by with me not even noticing. So incase you heard anything on the TV about Australia and Earthquakes. I am fine, there doesn't even seem to be any flooding. I'll let you know if anything changes.

More Kayaking

More Kayaking

Okay so a small confession. For many of these under water shots, they were taken by Seth. I didn't like diving down and feeling like the snorkel was filling up with salt water. BUT I want to go again (and on a less windy trip) and try it some more.

What we need here

I found this and I think this is what is needed once again, at least here in Australia. People need to be outraged against how women are treated here. I've been asked if I would be willing to submit a testimonial of my experience in Australia for the Australian embassy to use on their website to encourage more people to study abroad here. I wonder if I send what I want if anyone will take notice and maybe change will start to occur.

I am female student completing a PhD at the University of Newcastle. Australia is a beautiful country and University of Newcastle has some wonderful Prof., which is the whole reason I came out here. What they do not tell you is that most international students are not eligible for student discounts on the busses, trains, or ferries, but then also do not include this added cost to your total cost of living. Another point that they tend to not mention is that women (and to a larger extent foreigners and non Caucasian people) are not treated as equals in many situations. There is still this idea of the man's man and that women are their accessories. This could be localized to the blue collar town of Newcastle, but I've seen it in varying degrees across Australia. The first women's lunch at the university this year was on how to loose weight, not on any women's issues in the university or workplace. There have also recently been many problems with violence against international students and the lack of concern from the general population I find deeply disturbing. My Chinese office mate was mugged walking home 6 months ago and was told that he need only tell the university security and that the police didn't need to be involved. He has lost all faith in being protected by the Australian police and it is a sediment I have heard time and again from international students. I've also heard many people tell me they don't like foreigners..." real foreigners, not like you", in other words non white English speaking foreigners. Over all I have found the experience of comparing the two cultures, that of the US and that of Australia, a very interesting and intellectually stimulating experience. I am very grateful for having this experience of being able to immerse myself into another culture and I have grown because of this. I have found some wonderful friendships which I will always treasure, and I have found people who try to fit me into their stereo type of a stupid American.

I need to find a better ending, and I don't expect them to use it, but maybe just maybe they will see this and see the need for change now.

Kayaking some more

I need an underwater digital camera (okay only if I do one of these again, which I would love to do).

Kayaking

These were lemon or line ants (that taste citrusy)

These are a bit backwards, but that is us leaving our island, our private island.

Queensland Trip

This was the view of the sunrise from our cabin. 

That night we saw a huntsman eating a gecko on the back porch  
And there was some sort of orb spider in the living area of the lodge.