- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Adam83

Looming threat –Monster' iceberg shedding hundreds of offshoots as it drifts closer to Australia

Adam — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:31:14 +0000

An island-sized iceberg is breaking up as it drifts closer to Australia, producing hundreds of smaller slabs spread over a massive area of ocean, experts said Monday.

The 140-square-kilometre (54-square-mile) block of ice, known as B17B, was seen some 1,700 kilometres (1,054 miles) south-southwest of Australia’s western coast on December 9, prompting a maritime alert for vessels in the area.

But as it has tracked further north and east the iceberg has shrunk to some 115 square kilometres — still formidable at about twice the size of Manhattan.

“There are now many more smaller icebergs calving off B17B, measuring up to several kilometres in length, and spread over more than a thousand kilometres of ocean,” said Australian Antarctic Division glaciologist Neal Young.

Row widens with Fiji as Australia and NZ expel Fijians

Adam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:44:08 +0000

Australia and New Zealand have expelled Fiji’s top envoys.

The two countries announced the expulsions a day after Fiji said it would expel their senior diplomats.

Fiji’s military leader Frank Bainimarama had alleged the two regional powers had been interfering in Fiji’s judiciary.

Commodore Bainimarama sacked the entire judiciary in April when it judged his rule was illegal. He has been trying to replace it with Sri Lankan judges.

Australia and New Zealand have long-standing travel bans on all senior members of the Fiji government, which came to power in a 2006 coup.

One in four A-levels passed at grade A

Adam — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:46:00 +0000

One in four A-levels taken this year was scored an A grade, according to record results published today as more than 300,000 students received their marks.

The proportion awarded an A grade rose for the 27th year running, to 26.7%, while the pass rate rose another 0.3 percentage points, to 97.5%. Record numbers got one of the top three grades, with more than three-quarters of all grades awarded at least a C for the first time.

When rape isn't actually rape

Adam — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:22:06 +0000

A JUDGE has questioned if a man who had sex with a drunken woman after she passed out should be “marked for the rest of his days as a rapist”, describing it as a “technical rape”.

Sexual assault experts and victims groups last night said the judge should be censured while NSW Rape Crisis Centre manager Karen Willis said there was no such thing as a “technical rape”.

In the South Australian District Court yesterday, Judge David Smith said he was “troubled” by the case of Matthew James Sloan.

“Rape is a horrible offence . . . I suggest that this is a technical rape,” he said.

“This is not a situation where an offender perpetrated a sex act on an unconscious victim which she would not have consented to, had she been conscious.

Animal victims of Australia's fires, still recovering

Adam — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:23:41 +0000

Koalas, wombats and baby kangaroos are among the animals that have been rescued from the charred landscape where 173 people died in fires that swept through the state earlier this year.

George, an infant koala, was found crawling along a scorched road on burnt paws, a few days after the bushfires tore through the forest around Marysville. Then five months old, George was orphaned and helpless.

Guns N Roses Bumblefoot on his love of hot sauces (and, of course, Chinese Democracy)

Adam — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:20:03 +0000

Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron Thal is serious about his music – and his hot sauces. With the long-awaited release of “Chinese Democracy” days away, Thal – known professionally as Bumblefoot – talked about his love of all things spicy and...

Raptors Nets Another huge lead blown!

Adam — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:16:23 +0000

What can you do to stop a team from outscoring you by 18 points in a quarter and a half? The Raptors have lost another game in which they had an 18 point lead late in the 3rd quarter. The Nets started to jump passing lanes, grab offensive boards and Devin Harris came back as Jermaine O’Neal was getting tossed to the floor and had to leave the game with a strained knee. Let’s hope it isn’t a serious injury, but it was our fear from the beginning of the O’Neal experiment.

When it comes to breast disease, its best to be proactive

Adam — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:39:12 +0000

If there is a woman who has never worried about the health of her breasts, chances are no one among her family or friends has had breast cancer. Chances are, too, she has never been told after a mammogram that her breasts are cystic or dense and difficult to examine, or that they contain tiny calcium deposits that are usually harmless but bear watching.