This video from Australia says about itself:
Video: Queensland floods: “They totally destroyed anything I could salvage”
On the spot report from Queensland
By Terry Cook and Oliver Campbell
8 February 2011
Thirty five people have been killed in floods that have hit Queensland since December 2010—nine of these from Grantham, which is about 100 kilometres west of Brisbane.
In this video Grantham motor mechanic “Sting Ray” Van Dijk explains his experiences with the Queensland Flood Recovery Taskforce and how its callous indifference to the scores of flood victims led to the destruction of additional property in the small agricultural community. Headed by Army Major Mick Slater, the Taskforce is a strictly organised military operation with flood victims expected to unquestioningly fall into line.
Australia: Both the destruction and the inadequacy of the official response became clearer over the weekend as residents returned to homes shattered by Cyclone Yasi: here.
Grantham agricultural workers Wendy Smith and Lee Sheppard explain how their home and other valuable personal possessions were trashed by the Queensland government’s “flood recovery” operations: here. And here.
As Queensland copes with the impacts of the 2010-2011 wet season, research undertaken by the Australian Institute of Marine Science shows the frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased since the late 19th century: here.
The Australian financial and corporate elite is demanding that the conditions of the working class be slashed to meet international benchmarks being set in the US and Europe: here.
USA: Kenneth Feinberg, the head of the BP oil spill compensation fund, published a report last week paving the way for drastic cuts in BP’s payments to those affected by the Gulf oil spill: here.
A record one in seven Americans relied on government food stamps in 2010: here.
President Obama spoke at the US Chamber of Commerce Monday, assuring the top executives he would tailor the government entirely to the profit interests of US corporations: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Fundraiser for cyclone hit cassowaries
Monday, February 07, 2011 » 08:24am
Bob Irwin has launched a campaign to save north Queensland’s rainforest big birds – the cassowaries.
The father of the late Steve Irwin is raising money to establish food stations and generate driver awareness about the birds to avoid a cassowary road toll, post Cyclone Yasi.
Yasi destroyed rainforest habitat at Mission Beach and surrounding areas on the Cassowary Coast.
‘The authorities and emergency services personnel are busy assisting people in their clean-up operations, so it is up to us to do what we can to alleviate the suffering of these magnificent creatures,’ Mr Irwin said.
‘Without these unique ancient birds, that can turn fruit into trees, we won’t have a rainforest to protect.’
He said the Bob Irwin Wildlife Fund will work with community and government organisations to protect the birds.
Donations can be made online at bobirwinwildlife.com.
Queensland Environment minister Kate Jones told reporters in Proserpine, wildlife officers would be on the ground on Monday examining the cyclone’s impact on cassowary rainforest habitat.
‘We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect the cassowary for the future,’ she said.
‘At the moment we haven’t made a clear decision about whether we will establish feeding stations again but of course it will be on the table.
‘This week is a week about monitoring and assessing the damage of Cyclone Yasi. From there we’ll work out what the best action is needed to restore the environment in this region.’
http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Environment/2011/02/07/Fundraiser_for_cyclone_hit_cassowaries_574113.html
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