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Please don't forget the great Emu War.

To be fair, most of the animal population is poisonous. The ones that aren't set fires and please don't mention the sea life.

But rabbits? You'd think we could handle rabbits.

Not just animals. Is it safe to extrapolate that Australian meat pies are probably trying to kill you, too?

Ya know, it's not fair to lay it on the cats when they're brought into a closed environment,

No one is blaming the cats, it is their nature to be a predator. Blame the owners of the cats who won't acknowledge the cats natural instinct to be a hunter and won't keep their cats from going outside without supervision and for people who dump cats in the bush where they go feral. The situation where I live is different from you and the evidence of cats driving species to extinction is plain to see.

Nor does it account for that feline populations are pretty much limited to where man has already changed the environment. Which is really responsible for previous species going away??

Ultimately humans, for introducing the cats to where they don't belong and for not keeping them indoors.

There have been studies that noted that if it weren't for feral cats keeping the rat population in check, rats would quickly exterminate urban birds, because rats climb into nests and feed on eggs and hatchlings. (This was also my observation in an area where the cats got eaten by owls and the rats got out of hand... pretty soon there were no birds left. Not even starlings.)

That would be interesting to read if you could send a link to what you mean. Where I am we have plenty of species that eat rats but few eat cats. Rats don't hunt like cats hunt. I have watched a cat chase a rabbit into a moving car and you could see the cat timing the angle and speed of the attack to produce that result of the rabbit being hit by the car. That to me indicated a pretty sophisticated predator so native species have very little chance against them here.

For what reason should a cat to be allowed to roam off the property of their owner? Do you have a specific objection to people keeping their cats inside the house and building enclosures for them to wander in outside?

http://www.australiangeographi...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/201...

> effectively useless.

That's the crux of your argument and it is outright false.

Recreational tobacco smoking has medical benefits. But even under the idea that tobacco use is a net medical negative that still ignores the mental effects. People smoke because it relaxes them, it is a mild pleasant buzz. If there were no upside to tobacco use then no one would ever start using it in the first place, kind of like the way smoking tree bark is not a thing because tree bark doesn't make you feel good.

Now, if you are of the belief that people should never deliberately choose to alter their mental state, well then we have no common ground. But you should know that deliberate use of intoxicating chemicals is not unique to humans. The more social the species, the more likely they are to enjoy getting buzzed.

Booking a ticket to Hobart if the Aurora Australis is going to light up like this again.

what hobby can't be militarized?

Blowing soap bubbles?

Pepper defense soap bubbles! Burn the eyes and nose of your oncoming attackers.

That's stupid - the hydrophobic part of the soap will bind capsaicin.

No matter how lame, no matter how uninteresting,

C'mon mate... 1,463,700 Scoville units is still interesting.

always made me think people have a few taste buds in their anus. I mean how else can it feel hot right?

From here

The chilli is so scorching, that Marcel and his team have to wear protective gear when handling the new variety. "If you don't wear gloves your hands will be pumping heat for two days later," he says.

It's 1,463,700 Scoville units.

The fiery Trinidad Scorpion Butch T registers 1,463,700 Scoville heat units, placing it ahead of the current leader recognised by Guinness World Records, the Naga Viper, which comes in at 1,382,118. Jalapenos measure about 2500-5000 and the hottest Tabasco is 30,000.
...
The chilli is so scorching, that Marcel and his team have to wear protective gear when handling the new variety. "If you don't wear gloves your hands will be pumping heat for two days later," he says.

The birds have caught Darwinism.

TFA:

"It happens every year around this season, they lose all balance and we find them fallen out of trees and the sky," she says. "Unless someone intervenes, they can't fly and will get picked up by predators."

Read more: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/drunken-parrots-falling-from-sky.htm#ixzz0pviKykhI

Okay I get it. The problem is that people have been intervening so birds which should get killed by predators don't and the trait is passed on. Maybe we are breeding new species of animals which try to look cute so they will be picked up by animal hospitals and enrolled in breeding programs.

Australian Geographic magazine has an article on these plants. Apparently they are in an area which also has lots of saltwater crocodiles, so not even humans can claim to be at the top of the food chain there! http://editorial.australiangeographic.com.au/ is the front page but the article does not appear to be on-line.