Victorian Fires

Prospector said:

Surely Agentm you must consider that the actions of the media in the face of human tragedy cross the line on many occasions.

Like Mike Munro and his helicopter incident getting an interview with children who were being held as hostage? Too many times we see people being interviewed who are in total shock and distress. Just recently in SA we were shown pictures on TV and in the paper of a mother in total distress who had just witnessed her son being killed when a gate collapsed on him; she was sitting on the fence in total shock; the anguish of another mother who, whilst being filmed on camera, was told her 14 year old son had just been murdered in the CBD. She was filmed screaming as she ran across the road to get to his body. And the next day the front page was just her tormented face.

These people are not in a fit place to consent to being filmed. Or is the argument that Hey, they are in a public place, anything goes!

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I agree, in many cases the media are just parasites, it's all for ratings and money.
Yes people watch it but they watch train wrecks too, it's just pandering to the lowest common denominator - the ABC dont do it because they dont have to worry about ratings and sponsors.

Bushman said:

. The worst I saw was when an unnamed television company flew a wife to be reunited with her husband. She literally had to hurdle over camera men to get to her husband. ABC have done a great job though so please do not include them in the analysis.

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I saw that it was disgusting, the media owned the moment because they lent their helicopter. Pigs

BTW it was Ch 9

the commercial media are true scavengers of human misery IMO

almost no one talks about the misery for both domestic and wild life animals....people are not allowed into the areas....so where is the water and help for the poor suffering animals....everyone giving millions of dollars, food clothing for people....but no one talks about the animals....they would suffer more...they were in the middle of it.....
now 1800 homes lost....new threat to healsville.....wonder if they have kept the animals in the sanctuary or moved them.....
sorry guys...all the talk about humans suffering...but zilch about the animals...

oh and I would probably take a closer look at what that bloke did with the concrete tank and the shelter...above ground but it saved their lives.....
there was a photo of it on the web..

kincella said:

sorry guys...all the talk about humans suffering...but zilch about the animals...

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Nope, you are wrong there. Flick back a couple of pages - Julia, Mr Burns - all very distressed about reading of the misery of the animals. They aren't forgotten at all, it is just too distressing to think of them still suffering.
Is there a wildlife fund that we can donate too? Not just wildlife but all animals in distress?

Cancel that, have just donated to RSPCAvic specifically for the bushfire rescue.

Hi everyone

http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/cms/

The above address will take you to a site where you can make a donation to bushfire wildlife appeal.
Our accoustic music club had a collection last night and all proceeds have gone here.

Prospector said:

Nope, you are wrong there. Flick back a couple of pages - Julia, Mr Burns - all very distressed about reading of the misery of the animals. They aren't forgotten at all, it is just too distressing to think of them still suffering.
Is there a wildlife fund that we can donate too? Not just wildlife but all animals in distress?

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Just off topic for a sec, you can take an injured native animal to any vet and they tend to it and send it to a carer, you know what they get for this ?
Nothing - the Vet and the carer get nothing, with all the money washing around you would think they'd give a little to help these people.

And that group too, thanks Daisy!
To be honest Mr Burns, Vet fees to paying customers are so ridiculously expensive, I think that maybe wildlife treatment should be pro-bono. The carers deserve something though.

Here is an charitable organisation that has been inundated by animals affected by the bushfire.

www.animalaid.com.au

Cheers

Calliope said:

I agree. And the politicians are certainly grandstanding. Would they do it in the absence of the media?:headshake:

When it comes to naive tripe you win hands down.

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your behavior to peoples rights to mourn is reprehensible and you remain a disgrace calliope.. you must be proud of your insensitive tripe calliope..

"They all love a spectacular tragedy. The pollies are consummate actors and they can put on a brave attempt to hold back their emotions while hugging victims at the flash of a camera. And then they arrange "days of mourning" for encore performances. '

so a day of mourning, for those have suffered loss is what your against calliope.. your a disgrace and remain one..

i think you need to recognise why people need to mourn their losses calliope, its not for personal gain, the day of mourning is for all to express their grieve, to try and get through this incredibly difficult phase.. loss, pain, hurt, and the long term grief all family members will feel for losing sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grand parents, uncles, aunts, cousins.. all will feel the loss calliope, and the day of mourning will be only a small part of the long road they will have ahead to recover from this.

i believe there are a great number of dead that are part of a crime investigation, they were senselessly killed.

you have demonstrated you cannot have any empathy with the suffering of these people, and you sure dont share with the nation the grief we all feel calliope, but the rest of the community does, and i fully support what the politicians are doing, applaud their bipartisan resolve to get all aid to these people remain and totally support the day of mourning 100% imho it would be unaustralian and inhuman to deny these people their loss and i have no respect for those like you that criticise and do not support their right to have an opportunity to mourn calliope.


fantastic post daisy.. well done for the work you are doing

But wasn't it just last week that Rudd announced we would have a day of mourning for the child who was so horribly thrown over the bridge by her father? Because that was what was in the headlines at the time. That day seems to have been forgotten in the midst of this enormous tragedy.

It is things like that which make people question motives.

I am more of a private person; I think memorials need to be held for the people who have been so horribly involved, in a few weeks time to give them some closure. I guess the politicians will need to be there, as a sign of respect.

Ok, so now I want the media to advertise the wildlife donation centres...next to the red cross and other numbers.....most people I know are concerned about the animals....we know people are getting plenty of help

Prospector said:

But wasn't it just last week that Rudd announced we would have a day of mourning for the child who was so horribly thrown over the bridge by her father? Because that was what was in the headlines at the time. That day seems to have been forgotten in the midst of this enormous tragedy.

It is things like that which make people question motives.

I am more of a private person; I think memorials need to be held for the people who have been so horribly involved, in a few weeks time to give them some closure. I guess the politicians will need to be there, as a sign of respect.

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you got it all wrong prospector,

Family reveals grief over bridge death
Feb 05, 2009 12:00am
By: The Australian

THE family of Darcey Freeman, the four-year-old thrown off the West Gate Bridge, has called for a national children's day in her honour


since that day the family askedfor it the fires began shortly after..

no one is trying to diminish the loss there prospector..

the need for the communities to grieve together is also needed prospector, and there is no criticism to be seen in doing it. the community representatives, religious leaders and community will unite and grieve together and its very much what they will want also. its all part of the long mend ahead prospsector

Agentm said:

so a day of mourning, for those have suffered loss is what your against calliope.. your a disgrace and remain one..

you have demonstrated you cannot have any empathy with the suffering of these people, and you sure dont share with the nation the grief we all feel

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You're a twit and you remain one. Your thinking is as muddled as your English.

Most people can empathise withe the victims of the tragedy without grandstanding like you and the media cowboys.

Agentm said:

THE family of Darcey Freeman, the four-year-old thrown off the West Gate Bridge, has called for a national children's day in her honour


since that day the family askedfor it the fires began shortly after..

no one is trying to diminish the loss there prospector..

the need for the communities to grieve together is also needed prospector, and there is no criticism to be seen in doing it. the community representatives, religious leaders and community will unite and grieve together and its very much what they will want also. its all part of the long mend ahead prospsector

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And Rudd's response to the family's request was that Australia should do it.

We grieve for the loss of life (human and animal) and the loss the families are facing; they need our support, care, and of course, donations to keep them going. I am so sad for them, I cannot imagine how they will keep on keeping on, but how does my 'need to grieve' support or help them in any way? That makes it about me, not them! What right do I have, who has not been a victim, to make the grief process about me and my needs? What have I lost?

Because that is what a National Mourning Day means for me!

Calliope said:

You're a twit and you remain one. Your thinking is as muddled as your English.

Most people can empathise withe the victims of the tragedy without grandstanding like you and the media cowboys.

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lol


its not grandstanding to stand against what you are peddling calliope,,

i support the communities and the people who live there and recognise their loss and grieve with them. i respect their right to mourn and totally support the day of mourning which you dont. i applaud loudly the political leaders efforts and the volunteers and the broader community support that has rallied to give aid for those who have and are suffering the loss of lives, homes, and communities.

your just never going to change my resolve to oppose the tripe you peddle and support the community and people in it who are doing the amazing work they are to get through this difficult journey ahead..

Agentm said:

lol
your just never going to change my resolve to oppose the tripe you peddle and support the community and people in it who are doing the amazing work they are to get through this difficult journey ahead..

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Spoken like a true hero.

Prospector said:

And Rudd's response to the family's request was that Australia should do it.

We grieve for the loss of life (human and animal) and the loss the families are facing; they need our support, care, and of course, donations to keep them going. I am so sad for them, I cannot imagine how they will keep on keeping on, but how does my 'need to grieve' support or help them in any way? That makes it about me, not them! What right do I have, who has not been a victim, to make the grief process about me and my needs? What have I lost?

Because that is what a National Mourning Day means for me!

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your right prospector the pm did respond..



Peter Jean, Paul Anderson

February 05, 2009 02:13pm

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has backed a call by the family of Darcey Freeman for an annual Children's Day.

"I'm told there could be all kinds of technicalities associated with it and I don't know really what the processes are but I support the idea," Mr Rudd said today.

"Let's see what the community has to say in the discussion which will happen but I think this has affected everybody and out of such an appalling tragedy how do you turn it to good?"

An emotional Mr Rudd said Darcey's death was "gut wrenching for the entire nation".

"Anyone with a touch of humanity in them finds this just unspeakable and you just recoil horror at all this," he said.

Premier John Brumby said it was possible the idea could be incorporated into the existing children's week and international children's day events in the first week of October.


i think anyone can feel the loss and its totally ok to feel what you are feeling prospector, everyone has the personal right to grieve for others and their loss. its part of what we are, the fabric of community and humainty is about caring.

julia you said you didnt get this

"just going back to the basic principle of staying to defend a house, I will just never get this. If bushfire was anywhere in my vicinity I'd be packed and off with the first warning. Let the house burn down. Insurance will rebuild it and provide replacement accommodation of similar standard in the meantime."

the king lake people often had no choice, sometimes the road out was in the path of the flames.. and it came so fast, not like anything seen before..

the kinglake cfa have 2 trucks, and lost 550 homes.. the two trucks were called out to support the fire down the road and were a long way from their town and their loved ones.. so they left town and were not there when the firestorm hit..

the speed of the fire that came through kinglake really did not leave much time for anything.

i can tell you that in my sisters street they had some residents home on the day, and of them they basically had no choice but to fight the fires and stay.

one neighbour tried to put his horse in his horse float next to his garage, but failed, i guess he was thinking it could be protected from the flames in the float, then when he saw the flames he fled, in his car and left the horse which got burnt and is in my sisters care still.

others fought and were able to contain the massive ember storm that preceded the fire itself.. so you basically do you best to keep your home from burning before the fire hits you, she described it like a machine, a turbine but deafening.. under the instruction of her husband, she and her daughter fought the ember attack and the fires as the took hold of the home, they had only one goal, to try and kep the home from burning so they could retreat there when the fire hit..

these are extremely heroic deeds, as i know personally that both my sister and her daughter were absolutely terrified.

julia the 3 residents that were there and did fight the fires, of them 2 properties were saved, one couple fled their burning home and were fortunate to have a practically empty dam near by which saved them from death. they had to be helped out of later as they simply were exhausted physically from the fight to put out the fire in the intense heat and couldnt get out of the mud..

talk about heros, anyone who faced it, and many had no choice, were doing things that were beyond the normal experience. i know my sister is so proud of her daughter and her ability to be calm and manage the terror around them as the fire passed overhead..

i am jubilant they lived, and i think its amazing they did manage to save their own lives and their home only 500 litres of water..

julia its very hard to understand, but your not protecting your house just for the sake of it, when a fire comes through without warning many were protecting their houses so they could find shelter in there as the fire swept over them.. many died in their homes and really had no option


my brother in law got one call out to the cfa, he told them how many there were in his home and near by, and then the power and the phones went dead..

i have many family members in and around healesville that have for 3 or days and nights had ember attacks and fires all around them, you stay because your able to put out your home, there simply isnt enough people around to stand on your property and fight the embers and keep your home from burning.. they are exhausted and the constant smoke for days on end is also taking its toll health wise..

they will execute their fire plans and they constantly talk to the fire officers and police.. if the winfd changes and they see the flames coming, they will all leave their properties early.

i saw on Q&A on tv last night the guy with his bunker, the footage of the fire and the noise can be heard clearly. he was in fairly flat terrrain compared to where my sister is in kinglake, they had no time to do anything other than set up for the fire and do what they could to stay alive..

just been looking thru the 230 odd photos on the news site...is it glvanised iron or tin from all the roofs that survived the fire ?? can it be recycled ???
imagine if one wanted to build something fireproof....you would have to use that tin or iron or whatever it is...sandwiched in between fireproof cement...or something to stop it being blown away.....
and the wheels of the cars melted...aluminium ??? so what degree of heat would make them melt ??
cheers