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Showing Tag: "sharks" (Show all posts)

Mandurah and Mindarie attacks likely to reignite Perth's shark wars

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, June 8, 2016,
It wasn't a matter of if but when there would be another shark attack in West Australian waters. And now we've had two fatal ones in quick succession.

Not surprisingly there's pressure on the government to act. That's why they've placed baited drum lines off Perth's northern beaches to try and hook the noah responsible for the Mindarie attack.

It's a targeted action and seems like a pretty mild, almost symbolic response to what happened. But even this is seen as some sort of crime against natur...
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Bloke who sat on whale carcass provokes range of reactions

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, November 2, 2014,
I'm sure you've heard about this boatie who sat on a whale carcass off Rotto as humungous sharks circled around it. There was an interesting range of reactions to this stunt. Not surprisingly, most people thought he was an idiot.

Post by Perth Now.

Nonetheless, some opined that he was a champion and a legend, or at least not in any danger. Not surprisingly the ongoing political battle over the shark cull was a persistent theme in comment threads.

Some of these reactions illustrated the green t...

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McGowan's take on Esperance shark attack proves his tin ear

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, October 4, 2014,
Two of the most notable things about Julia Gillard were her inability to judge the public mood, and her utter lack of common sense. While she was brilliant at acquiring and maintaining power at all costs within the Labor Party itself, she hadn't the slightest clue how to sensibly relate to, communicate with and build the enduring trust of the Australian population at large. This "tin ear" is a common affliction in Labor. And the party's West Australian leader Mark McGowan suffers it as well. ...
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Celebrity shark whisperer Ocean Ramsey condemns cull

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, April 2, 2014,
The relationship between the cult of celebrity and the religion of Gaia-worship is an interesting one. To use a biological term, it seems to be symbiotic, or mutually beneficial.

Most often it's celebrities who use environmental causes to boost their profiles. But sometimes it works the other way around. Naturalists with a passion for the planet can become famous in their own right. Examples include Steve Irwin and David Attenborough. David Bellamy was also quite famous for a while until he h...

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Shannen Doherty the latest celebrity to oppose the shark cull

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, April 1, 2014,
I always find it amusing how Hollywood celebrities are attracted to green-left causes. Their motives are so transparent. They clearly have no sincere belief in them. They are just trying to latch on to the feel-good factor, gain some extra publicity and thereby bolster their careers.

Perhaps more amusing is how the green-left activists themselves are so enamoured of these vain airheads. They fawn over them like schoolgirls over Justin Bieber.

 So odd. Aren't these brave crusaders for nature and...
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Kelly Slater's silly anti-shark cull statement

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, March 18, 2014,
The irrationality of those who are against the shark cull is quite something. Sure, it's not that surprising coming from hard core greenies. They live in a world of emotionalism, after all. But every now and then you hear about deranged utterances from people you thought would know better. 

Take Kelly Slater, for example. The world champion surfer has actually gone on record saying that he'd be honoured to be eaten by a noah.

That's not just a case of jumping the shark. That's humping it as wel...
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WA's green intensity and the nature of the state

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, February 24, 2014,
I have been thinking about the ferocity of the anti-shark cull campaign here in the west. I keep wondering why it is so intense. Sure, people get het up about these things all over the globe, but generally not to the extent we've seen here recently

For example, there have been drum lines and shark nets in Queensland and NSW for decades. Yet they have caused little controversy. There were even people demonstrating about the West Aussie measures in those states. Makes you wonder why they didn'...
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Steven Sealberg confirms our desire to see animals as people

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, February 23, 2014,
The older I get the weirder I think people are. One aspect of human nature that I'm particularly intrigued by is how we relate to animals. We herd, hunt, kill and eat them and use the remains of their bodies to make commodities such as clothing and fertilizer. Yet we befriend them as well. And we can even look up to them.

While some mammals such as dolphins, whales, and anthropoid apes are highly intelligent most beasts are pretty thick, let's face it. As well as being dumber than humans, they...
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Memo to greenies: sharks are not the new dolphins

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, February 21, 2014,
When it comes to demonizing humanity and idealizing nature, greenies routinely go to extreme and shameless lengths. Recently, for example, they said that a dolphin was killed in the shark cull. Turned out there was no truth to this claim.

As well as being typical of how shark huggers are so fast and loose with the truth this assertion brought to mind one of their wider aims. That is to convince the wider public that these gruesome carnivorous fish are as deserving of respect and affection as ...
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Colin Barnett believes shark cull has public support

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, February 13, 2014,
Considering the level of outrage about the policy of deploying drum lines and killing big sharks, you may be wondering why the WA State Government is going ahead with it.

I think that there are two reasons for this. Firstly, they are pretty sure that despite the noise created by the anti-cull protesters and their fellow travellers in the media, most West Aussies are quietly in support of this approach. Premier Colin Barnett said as much during a live blog session earlier today.

I doubt this is ...
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Media focus on drum lines as shark debate intensifies

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, February 12, 2014,
It's amazing to watch how the shark wars are covered by the media here in Western Australia. People are intensely focused on this subject -- not least because they're worried that the next time they go for a swim at one of our beautiful beaches they might get bitten in half by a bloody great white pointer!

They're also forming into two polarized political groups. There are those strongly against what they feel is the brutal murder of these deeply misunderstood creatures. Or, more likely, they'...
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Animal Justice Party's Katrina Love speaks at shark protest

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, February 6, 2014,
As I mentioned in a previous post, there were some truly silly speakers at the Cottesloe protest against the "shark cull" on February 1. Katrina Love of the Animal Justice Party was one of them. I've included a video of her speech below for your amusement.

Now, if your average garden-variety greenie is out where the buses don't go then animal rights activists are well and truly off the beaten track. (Well, metaphorically speaking that is. It's one of the ironies of their movement that the more...
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Anti-shark cull protest at Cottesloe had a surreal atmosphere

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, February 1, 2014,
Having been an avid surfer in my youth, when the sport was a lot safer than it is now, I've taken a keen interest in how the local shark wars are progressing. So I went down to Cottesloe Beach earlier today to watch the latest protest against the so-called cull and get some video footage of it. 

And isn't it interesting that the term "cull" is the default description -- even for those who are for the State Government's mitigation strategy. In my opinion it shouldn't even be defined as a cull. ...
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Protest placards prove Perth is shark raving mad!

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, January 5, 2014,
One of the most fascinating aspects of green-tinged, left-wing demonstrations is what's written on the placards. The slogans often give a telling insight into the state of mind of many of the participants. Read them closely and you'll realize just how nutty, retarded, and sometimes flat out scary many of those attending actually are. 

Yesterday's rally at Cottesloe in support of white pointers, tiger sharks and sundry marine man eaters was no exception. There were silly signs aplenty. You can ...
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Large crowd at Cottesloe anti-shark cull rally worries me

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, January 4, 2014,
In these days of social media mania, "slacktivism" is rife. There are countless people all over the globe who think they are changing the world for the better simply by pressing a like button on Facebook. Routinely, many more people pledge online to attend upcoming demos than actually rock up on the day. 

Frankly, I thought this was going to happen with this rally to oppose the State Government's plans to kill sharks deemed a threat to human life. See, six thousand people had said they would s...
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Shark-huggers up the ante in stoush over "cull"

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, December 13, 2013,
A coupla days ago one of the marine greenies who had vowed to protect sharks hinted at extreme action against fisherman hired to take out threatening noahs. Now the threats have been clarified. They are both funny and alarming, and reveal just how silly the green movement has become.

So enamoured with their toothy brethren are these dangerously naive numpties that they will now intentionally get in the way of professional shark-hunters in the manner of the harpoon dodging anti-whale crowd.

Sha...
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Shark-huggers react predictably to "kill zone" strategy

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, December 10, 2013,
I'm really glad that the WA Government has finally decided to do something about the threat posed by sharks. As this article makes clear the proposed "kill zone" strategy is nowhere near a cull. It's actually a targeted approach.

Quite frankly I would have been much happier with a cull -- preferably one involving dynamite. But you can't have everything. The Government was under immense pressure to make a compromise and has done so. 

Well, good to know they are doing something proactive. Obvious...
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West Australians for Shark Conservation indoctrinating children

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, February 17, 2013,
Hot on the heels of the barmy Peaceful Paddle (Against Shark Culling) comes another dippy deep green campaign of "attitudinal reconstruction". The group West Australians for Shark Conservation is now offering school classes teaching kids that sharks aren't scary at all. No, they're actually kind and cuddly cweatures just like weally big fwuffy-eared bunny wabbits!

That's so typical of greenies' "get 'em while they're young" philosophy, isn't it? And highly ironic given that while they want ...
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Peaceful Paddle at Leighton was incoherent and half-hearted

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, February 11, 2013,
I'm glad that no-one was eaten by a shark during the Peaceful Paddle on the weekend. (What a disaster that would have been, eh!) But I still think the whole exercize was pretty silly. While the participants who showed up are probably congratulating themselves for successfully making a political point, I think most Perth people who'd heard of the event would be shaking their heads in bemusement at its dippy incoherence.

Firstly, the original paddle was supposed to be from Cottesloe to Scarboro...
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Thoughts on the Peaceful Paddle (Against Shark Culling)

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, January 21, 2013,
Clearly many Perth people are very anxious about the possibility of shark attacks these days. And in an attempt to allay their fears, a couple of local surfers called Rob Mayberry and Cam Avery have created a community event to be held on Sunday, February 10. They, along with anyone who wishes to join them will paddle from Cottesloe to Scarborough. The event is called the Peaceful Paddle (Against Shark Culling).

While I'm sure their intentions are sincere, I can't help being skeptical myself....
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Colin Barnett's shark tower vs Mark McGowan's ocean pools

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, January 6, 2013,
Premier Colin Barnett has recently confirmed that a shark tower will be built at Cottesloe Beach. This is his own electorate, so it's not surprising that many people claim the decision is a case of cynical pork barreling, an accusation he denies:

"Yes it is my electorate and as the Member for Cottesloe I'm delighted the government is going to help the club build a much needed patrol tower and I think beach users at Cottesloe will appreciate that," he said.

"Most of the other surf clubs do have ...

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Perth shark sightings a frighteningly common occurrence

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, December 31, 2012,
The shark problem here seems to be growing all the time. While there haven't been any attacks for quite a while, there have been sightings galore. Pretty much every day now there are reports of beaches being closed -- and not just in and near Perth. They're occurring at many places along the West Australian coast.

Take this incident at Twilight Beach in Esperance, in which a bunch of people were taken to safety by boat after a big noah was seen near the rock they had swum to.

And it's not just...
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WA Government attacking shark problem proactively

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, September 27, 2012,
It's heartening to know that the State Government is introducing new measures to deal with the serious threat posed by sharks in West Australian waters.

Chief among the measures was $2 million to allow the Department of Fisheries to track, catch and kill white pointer sharks if they are deemed to be an imminent risk to public safety.

Of course an approach like this will annoy greenies. And a good thing too! They get their way so often that it's refreshing when their will is flouted for once.

And...
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Perth begins heat wave. Beaches packed, lifesavers busy!

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, January 24, 2012,
We're in the middle of summer, so it's hardly surprising that the temperature is soaring. There have been a few stinkers in Perth lately, some of them very humid indeed. And there was that thunderstorm not so long ago ...

But this week looks like it will really stand out for its sustained and intense heat. The Weather Bureau predicts it will be the hottest week for 47 years. If this does turn out to be accurate it will give some ammo to global warming believers, no doubt!

In any case, the beac...
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Mettams Pool closed after shark sighting

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, January 13, 2012,
If there's one thing that has stood out in local news reports recently it has to be the high number of shark sightings off Perth beaches. I have been back here a bit over a year and a half. But I'm pretty sure that there weren't nearly as many such stories at this time last year. And there were far fewer over the years 2006 and 2007, when I was living here. The numbers really do seem to have just shot up in the last year. This period could be dubbed Perth's Summer of the Shark!

The latest sigh...
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More shark sightings and attacks at Perth beaches

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, October 17, 2011,
Something a lot of Perth people must have noticed with alarm is the rise in the number of shark attacks in recent years. The latest one resulted in the death of Bryn Martin. Another poor bloke called Ken Crew was taken off Cottesloe about ten years ago. And there have been others.

These fatalities are both tragic and terrifying. But there are all those shark sightings as well. These days, you often hear about them on the news. There was one recently off Mullaloo beach. And here are details of...
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When War Came to Fremantle
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