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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	12/12/2006 11:49:34 AM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

You're too suspicious...

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	12/12/2006 11:51:09 AM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

How long do you figure the fish have?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	12/12/2006 12:18:34 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

NO not the gemfish.... AUSTRALIA'S fish stocks are being rapidly depleted by commercial overfishing with some species, such as the orange roughy and the eastern gemfish, near extinction. The devastating results of the latest survey of fish stocks in Australia's 20 major fisheries, being conducted by the Bureau of Rural Sciences, will put more pressure on the Howard Government to force further cutbacks in the size of the annual fish catch. The report, to be published early next year, is expected to show that 20 of the 75 species of fish assessed in Australian fishing waters should be classified as overfished and in danger of being wiped out. A top bureaucratic official has confirmed the Bureau of Rural Sciences audit will contain more grim news on the state of Australia's fisheries. "It's another example of how one of our three major natural resources - water, our forests and our fisheries - have been over-allocated for decades by state governments," the official said. "In the end it has put the Commonwealth into the position where it is having to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to claw back what has been given away so irresponsibly by the states," he said. The Australian Fishing Zone is the third largest in the world, covering nearly 9 million square kilometres, from which about 72,000 tonnes of fish worth $500 million are caught annually. The zone extends to 200 nautical miles from the Australian coastline and also includes the waters surrounding our external territories, such as Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, and Heard and McDonald islands in the Antarctic. Among those species most threatened are the blue warehou, the south-east orange roughy, pink ling and silver trevally, with eastern gemfish stocks so low that its fishery will remain closed. The Bureau of Rural Sciences has also recently written to Australian Fisheries Management Authority managing director Richard McLoughlin, warning him several other species would also be classified as "overfished" unless AFMA acted to cut catch sizes. But the federal Fisheries Minister, Senator Eric Abetz, said he believed there was reason to be optimistic. "It would be fair to say that our fish stocks are very well managed by world standards," he said. "But having said that, I don't discount or underestimate the fact that a lot of fish stocks are under severe pressure," he said. With the $2.2 billion commercial fishing industry already reeling from cutbacks to the fish catch over the past few years, Senator Abetz said the Federal Government's $220 million structural adjustment package introduced last year was helping the industry move to a surer footing. He said about half the money had been spent already, with $150 million set aside to buy back commercial fishing licences and $70 million in grants to help fishing communities cope with job losses. "It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it is doing a great deal to help fishing communities cope with change," Senator Abetz said. "We have already had one round of buy-outs where we have spent $90 million and the other round is closed and assessments are being done as we speak. "So we are talking about catching [fewer] fish but we also need [fewer] fishermen because what we want is good, robust environmental management." It is expected that within the next 12 months about half of Australia's 1200 commercial fishers will have been forced out of the industry. Fritz Drenkhan, president of the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association, slammed the Bureau of Rural Sciences methodology used to classify species as "overfished", saying it was flawed. He said fish stocks were recovering. "Are the oceans running out of fish? Absolutely not. It's complete nonsense. Fish populations are increasing."

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	12/12/2006 12:22:59 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

Pot plants can prevent dry eyes: experts Turning your office into a green zone could help prevent eye problems over summer, optometrists say. Dry eyes are especially problematic for women over 60. Offices with air-conditioning can dehydrate eyes, but Perth optometrists Jean-Pierre Guillon and Andrew Godfrey said workers can do a number of things to prevent painful dry eyes. Drinking water, using eye drops and eating coloured vegetables and food containing omega fatty acids can help combat the effects. But their most unusual recommendation is placing a pot plant on the desk. "Having green plants in those air-conditioned offices will help," said Dr Guillon, president of the WA division of Optometrists Association Australia. "They help hydrate the space, (which) mean there's less evaporation of moisture from the office."

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	12/27/2006 8:24:17 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10087

Mission impossible...

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5477)	1/5/2007 12:16:51 PM
From: Gersh Avery	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10087

Nancy Pelosi cited information from an AARP survey: 78% of people polled were in favor of doctors being allowed to prescribe marijuana. It is a great disappointment that federal marijuana policy seems to be very low on the Democratic to do list. same old same old.