Just Curious...
Aug. 21st, 2022 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanOur local newsfeeds are full of stories about the drought(s) affecting the Northern Hemisphere...
So I wonder - during any of the long droughts we've experienced here in Australia - most recently 2017-2019 - did we receive the same kind of news coverage in America & Europe? I know we made a lot of headlines during the 'Black Summer' bushfires of 2019-20, but did the top half of the world know we'd been in severe drought for most of the 2010s decade (which is why everything burned so spectacularly!!)? And on the other side of the coin, are you aware of the severe flooding we've experienced in the last 2 years, which looks set to continue into a 3rd?
It could be argued that Australia's population has a huge proportion of migrants from the UK & Europe, so our interest in news from the Northern Hemisphere stems from that - lots of people want to see what's happening back 'home'... but you can also ask a lot of Australians about USA politics & they could give you a pretty decent rundown of what (the fuck??!!??) is going on over there & could certainly name not only the current President, but also at least the previous 4. Can any of my Top End readers name the current Australian Prime Minister without Googling? He's only been in the job a few months, so how about the one before that - he was there for a few years (too many!!)?
I'm not really complaining about us being forgotten, down here at the bottom of the planet, I'm just interested to know if the rest of the world uses the information super highway to visit us, as much as we do to visit you...
So I wonder - during any of the long droughts we've experienced here in Australia - most recently 2017-2019 - did we receive the same kind of news coverage in America & Europe? I know we made a lot of headlines during the 'Black Summer' bushfires of 2019-20, but did the top half of the world know we'd been in severe drought for most of the 2010s decade (which is why everything burned so spectacularly!!)? And on the other side of the coin, are you aware of the severe flooding we've experienced in the last 2 years, which looks set to continue into a 3rd?
It could be argued that Australia's population has a huge proportion of migrants from the UK & Europe, so our interest in news from the Northern Hemisphere stems from that - lots of people want to see what's happening back 'home'... but you can also ask a lot of Australians about USA politics & they could give you a pretty decent rundown of what (the fuck??!!??) is going on over there & could certainly name not only the current President, but also at least the previous 4. Can any of my Top End readers name the current Australian Prime Minister without Googling? He's only been in the job a few months, so how about the one before that - he was there for a few years (too many!!)?
I'm not really complaining about us being forgotten, down here at the bottom of the planet, I'm just interested to know if the rest of the world uses the information super highway to visit us, as much as we do to visit you...
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Date: 2022-08-21 03:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-21 04:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-21 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-21 06:20 pm (UTC)I have seen mention of elections in Australia, including who was elected Prime Minister, but the names are not mentioned often enough in the news I see, for me to retain the names of the various Australian Prime Ministers. And I am pretty sure that my scanty knowledge of anything that happens in Australia is mostly due to my occasionally reading the BBC website and/or when my Australian LJ or DW friends mention current events.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-23 01:38 am (UTC)