"Sunset in monterrey" (Posted by @justVero, Monterrey, Mexico, March 30, 2009)
March 30, 2009
Killer ants taking on killer toads in Australia
Per New Scientist: Scientists say that Australian meat ants might be the biocontrol agent that could help with the massive cane toad population that is a current problem in Australia.
Cane toads were originally introduced into Australia to eat pests in sugar cane fields, per the article. The cane toad flourished, reproducing rapidly all over Australia. The poison these toads produce makes it harder to control populations.
Scientists say that meat ants eat cane toad young and could be useful in cane toad population control if the ants can be controlled themselves.
The Twitterverse had plenty to say on this radical solution:
davidscottkane: (Melbourne, Austrialia) Proof you shouldn't cross an Aussie. See next tweet, 1000's of imported Cane Toads meet their maker.
webmink: (South Hampton, UK) Killing invasive cane toads with invasive killer ants? What could possibly go wrong?
eranbl: (Be'er Sheva, Israel) It appears that the guys down under really hate Cane Toads, and I mean Really.
meika: (Tasmania) cane toads are far more susceptible to being killed and eaten by meat ants than native frogs http://bit.ly/4DMLh5 GOOD NEWS
Aussie Tweeters even had a say about the cane toad problem:
blague: (Melbourne, Australia) At pub at Burketown, Queensland. So many cane toads, you step on them with each step unless you go out of your way to avoid them.
cammy_wammy: (Darwin, Australia) Woo! Dad - 4, Cane Toads - 0
Cane toads were originally introduced into Australia to eat pests in sugar cane fields, per the article. The cane toad flourished, reproducing rapidly all over Australia. The poison these toads produce makes it harder to control populations.
Scientists say that meat ants eat cane toad young and could be useful in cane toad population control if the ants can be controlled themselves.
The Twitterverse had plenty to say on this radical solution:
davidscottkane: (Melbourne, Austrialia) Proof you shouldn't cross an Aussie. See next tweet, 1000's of imported Cane Toads meet their maker.
webmink: (South Hampton, UK) Killing invasive cane toads with invasive killer ants? What could possibly go wrong?
eranbl: (Be'er Sheva, Israel) It appears that the guys down under really hate Cane Toads, and I mean Really.
meika: (Tasmania) cane toads are far more susceptible to being killed and eaten by meat ants than native frogs http://bit.ly/4DMLh5 GOOD NEWS
Aussie Tweeters even had a say about the cane toad problem:
blague: (Melbourne, Australia) At pub at Burketown, Queensland. So many cane toads, you step on them with each step unless you go out of your way to avoid them.
cammy_wammy: (Darwin, Australia) Woo! Dad - 4, Cane Toads - 0
Global hack hits Tibet, China blamed
Per the Associated Press, Tibet's exiled leaders rebuked a cyber spy network Monday for hacking into their government computers.
The Tibetan officials were commenting on results from a Canadian research group that a network, based mainly in China, hacked into classified files from government and private organizations in 103 countries, including the computers of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles, reported by AP.
The Canadian research group said they have not conclusively been able to detect the identity or motivation of the hackers, according to the article.
Twitter users comment and express concern about a growing Chinese cyber spying problem:
The Tibetan officials were commenting on results from a Canadian research group that a network, based mainly in China, hacked into classified files from government and private organizations in 103 countries, including the computers of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles, reported by AP.
The Canadian research group said they have not conclusively been able to detect the identity or motivation of the hackers, according to the article.
Twitter users comment and express concern about a growing Chinese cyber spying problem:
JJ_Idaho (Ketchum, Idaho) Wag of the finger to CHINA! For hacking the Dalai Lama's computer! Thanks to the... Read More: http://is.gd/pwSq
ronaldjackson (New York) China is responsible for so much crap: Bad food, tainted toys, etc. And now global hacking: http://tinyurl.com/d3e6qg
samnzed (Christchurch, New Zealand) Surely this thin about China spying on nations and companies using hacking is going to get more serious?
lesanto (Lincoln, U.K.) It seems the Chinese are hacking us!Cue the next James Bond movie where 007 does it all from his PC 'To China With IP' http://bit.ly/Sy3weJustFoul (Washington, D.C.) I'm amazed how Much china is trying to hack into everything. I have been blocking IPs for the last few days. All of them have been fromChina
subversion (Kansas City, Mo.) This GhostNet stuff is creepy and disturbing. I hope China's latest attack on the Tibetan government in exile backfires in a big way.
Power outage brings chaos to Sydney
Per Reuters, a blackout during rush hour in Sydney on Monday brought chaos to the streets. 70,000 homes and businesses were without power after the power supply to four high-voltage power cables failed. The blackout caused peak-hour traffic jams and resulted in the partial closure of the Sydney Harbor tunnel.
Twitterers from Sydney documented the event:
stephzuniga has power at home but had to walk down 23 flights of stairs! Sydney is surreal at the moment!
fridley Now that was a freaky trip home. Sure its been mentioned a heap already but Sydney CBD was like a third world country this avo with no power
ChrisCopywriter sydney australia in power outage chaos. our office power down. police on every corner. snot much fun being w/out power. batteries work yes!
MikaVidler ONLY i would be caught driving over the harbour bridge during a Sydney CBD power outage, i have come to conclusion i need a schauffer..
Others began to wonder what would happen when the sun went down as discussion on Twitter about the outage turned to talk of zombies:
mlimburn Power cuts in Sydney, and Zombies, all read first on twitter, Check out power story http://tinyurl.com/d2uf9p. what a laugh..(zombes)
matsby Optimism turns to fear - Sydney's power outage might get interesting once the sun goes down... They come at night, mostly..
iB3nji Following the blackout in Sydney on twitter. Sounds pretty bad, power out for hours hmm here comes the zombies!
failnetorg SYDNEY BLACKOUT ZOMBIES ARE NOW TARGETING PEOPLE WITH NO POWER STILL.
Pakistan police academy attack
Per Associated Press, attackers have stormed a police academy in the Pakistani city of Lahore. There are reports of at least 11 people dead and others taken hostage as the drama unfolds.
BBC News reports the attackers gained entry to the academy wearing police uniforms.
Early tweets flagged up news resources for other Twitter users, and made comments on the ongoing situation.
@tahiriqbal (Lahore, Pakistan) just came to knw abt the attack on Police Academy in #Lahore. We'll never get control of Terrorists as long as we've currpt politicians.
@guppu (Pakistan) I heard someone on GEO disclosing where are secret weapons are lying in Police Academy! #Lahore
@nakulshenoy (Bangalore, India) One Pak tweeter already blaming the #Lahore terrorist situation on India! Sigh! When will we get over the blame game and work to a solution?
@chinchinchoo live coverage of lahore police academy hostages http://tinyurl.com/ccx5lc
@paknews (Pakistan) Gun battle at Pakistan police academy http://twurl.nl/kcdlf8
BBC News reports the attackers gained entry to the academy wearing police uniforms.
Early tweets flagged up news resources for other Twitter users, and made comments on the ongoing situation.
@tahiriqbal (Lahore, Pakistan) just came to knw abt the attack on Police Academy in #Lahore. We'll never get control of Terrorists as long as we've currpt politicians.@guppu (Pakistan) I heard someone on GEO disclosing where are secret weapons are lying in Police Academy! #Lahore@nakulshenoy (Bangalore, India) One Pak tweeter already blaming the #Lahore terrorist situation on India! Sigh! When will we get over the blame game and work to a solution?@chinchinchoo live coverage of lahore police academy hostages http://tinyurl.com/ccx5lc@paknews (Pakistan) Gun battle at Pakistan police academy http://twurl.nl/kcdlf8