Decision Day today

Good Morning, folks.
Today is the first day of the rest of your lives.

May I politely suggest that you do not waste the opportunity to make a difference - for justice, for decency and fairness.

Check out Tracee Hutchinson's article in "The Age" this morning: "Let this be an Epitaph for a Man of Shame".

And Miss Eagle's blog has the theme, John Howard's "Chooks are coming home to roost" (Miss Eagle is a country girl at heart).

Let this be the sunset of John Howard's career.

I am off to hand out "How to Vote" fliers for the Climate Change Coalition - suggesting that people support Patrice Newell and Dr Karl, in the Senate (in NSW). Most of my friends are voting Greens. Fair enough too. Control of the Senate will be terribly important for the future of Australia, and particularly for Environmental Issues.

8:00am POLLS HAVE OPENED. GOTTA GO!

Zoe reminds me that it is time to "Stand up and be counted".

Never leave home without your Camera !!!

Light from the rising Moon
behind Pine Tree branches,
moving in a strong wind.
How many times have I muttered this phrase? - Never leave home without your Camera! But I still do it.
This morning, I went to volunteer at the local CTC (Community Technology Centre), and that meant I would be leaving the car in the car park. Then I knew I would go to Bowral, to do some supermarket shopping. Nothing to photograph, plus a risk of losing the camera - right? I know Bowral is not the crime capital of the world, but, lets not take a chance. Better to leave it at home?

Right?
Wrong!

Moon rising -
seen through branches
of a Pine Tree.
As I drove back from Bowral, past Burrawang to Robertson (due east) the most stunning full moon was rising, against a pale blue afternoon sky, over a line of pink-washed cumulus clouds (out over the coast). Damn it was a pretty sky. And my camera was fifteen minutes away.
Of course, I realised- too late - that this was one of those "Blue Moon" events.

Astronomers are not impressed with so called "Blue Moons" - they are just a normal full moon, which for reasons of the calendar, not astronomy, have been ascribed this name. The commonly understood term is when there is a second Full Moon occurring within a month. Today, being 30 June, it means that this is the second 28 day cycle in this month. That is all. Wikipedia, boringly says this usage is a mis-interpretation of this term.***

But gosh, it was a beautiful rising Full Moon, in a clear late afternoon sky, against a backdrop of clouds. That was special, for reasons of ephemeral weather conditions, not for astronomical reasons, nor even reasons to do with the calendar.

Never leave home without the Camera, Denis!

Full Moon 30 June 2007
These photos of the moon were the best which I could come up with, after I got home. My house is has a high easterly horizon, as I am just below a ridge, with tall pine trees on my neighbour's property.
So the moon is quite high in the sky before it shines above the trees, into my property. So, the sky is well and truly dark by the time a full moon has risen that far.

So you get a black sky effect here. Still, it was a lovely full moon.


Blue Moon?
Nope - a tinted one!
Sorry, I could not resist a little Photoshop experiment.

*** How is this for a belated apology?
Referring to the origin of the commonly used meaning of "Calendar Blue Moons" Wikipedia says:

"This definition of blue moon originated from a mistake in an article in the March 1946 Sky & Telescope magazine, which failed in an attempt to infer the earlier definition used in the original Farmer's Almanac (see above). It was helped to popularity when Deborah Byrd of Earth & Sky walked into the Peridier astronomy library at the University of Texas at Austin one day, leafed through some old magazines, and found the 1948 blue moon article in Sky & Telescope. She used the definition – the second full moon in a single month – in the radio series Star Date for some years. As a result, the game Trivial Pursuit used a question and answer about blue moon.
Sky & Telescope discovered the error nearly sixty years later and the magazine printed a retraction and correction."

*****

Goodness me!
On that basis, John Howard has time on his side to apologise to the Aboriginal people, on that calculation!

Mr John Howard - Please read this.

John Howard -
at Question Time
in the Australian Parliament
(Photo: A. Taylor)
The Age's website tonight carries this story from Reuters.

"As politicians squabble over how to act on climate change, Greenland's icecap is melting faster than scientists had thought possible." .....

"If the icecap melts entirely, oceans would rise by seven metres. A total meltdown would take centuries, but global warming — which climate experts blame mainly on human use of fossil fuels — is heating the Arctic faster than anywhere else on Earth."

"Greenland, the world's largest island, is mostly covered by an icecap of about 2.6 million cubic kilometres which accounts for a 10th of all the fresh water in the world." .....

Ice Crystals in the soil
- in our one-off freeze-up
last year, in Robbo.
"The more the surface melts, the faster the ice sheet moves towards the ocean. The glacier that Swiss Camp rests on has doubled its speed to about 15 kilometres a year in the past 12 years, while its tongue retreated 10 kilometres into the fjord."

"It is scary," Dr Steffen said. "This is only Greenland. But Antarctica and glaciers around the world are responding as well."

Climate Change and Agriculture in arid-zone Australia

Today's Age reports:
"PROMOTING a biofuel industry makes little economic or environmental sense unless agriculture expands in the tropical north, a farming think-tank says."
"The latest issue of the Australian Farm Institute's Farm Policy Journal says governments should invest in technology that can make biofuel from cellulose in the leaves and stalks of crops, otherwise crops will have to be planted for fuel or food. Not enough is produced for both.

Institute executive director Mick Keogh said that "global biofuel experiences show that crop-based biofuels are generally only viable with high levels of government support, and have at best a limited capacity to meet future energy needs".
If all of Australia's wheat and sugar output was diverted to produce ethanol, it would supply only about 20 per cent of the fuel needed for transport. The belief that biofuel helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions was also questionable, Mr Keogh said.

However, Sydney University's Inakwu Odeh and Daniel Tan, from the faculty of agriculture, say Australia could boost its biofuel capacity by using 20 million to 30 million hectares of marginal land to grow exotic crops.
Source: The Age 4 June 2007

*****

These are just a few "hares" which John Howard's lack of understanding of the environment has set "running". No sensible Government would contemplate feeding people like these, if it had a clear understanding of the impact on the true natural environment of Australia. But Howard has a close friend in Bill Heffernan, and it is his inspiration which is at work here. Turnbull is off saving the Humpback Whales (NOT), and saving his own political skin, as we speak. The last thing he wants to do is hose down these crazies, who are working to bring alive Farmer Bill's dream.

*****

Regular readers may have seen links to Miss Eagle's blog. She has written about Senator Heffernan's pipe dreams of "opening up the North". I suggest you have a look, as Miss Eagle knows of what she speaks (the North, that is). Check out the hot link above.

For myself, I note only that the alarm bells in my ears ring when I see academics talking about using "marginal land". I am of the old school which thinks that marginal land is just that - marginal, and that it is not suited to permanent farming. My comments here relate to arid and semi-arid zones, not the tropical north, but while the problems might be different, the lessons not yet learnt are the same, I believe.

In fact, if pressed I would argue that the arid zones ought be closed to all hard-hoofed animal husbandry - sheep and cattle. Goats, Donkeys and Camels have shown that they can survive un-managed "out there", but have become pests of a huge proportion. So, we know we have been grazing the wrong animals, but it seems we don't now what to do about it.

We did at least realise that we had stuffed up, with the Water Buffalo. Hopefully, in time to save the "top end" wetlands. But then again, there is always the "cane toad" - which we brought in for another "exotic crop" - sugar. It will do as much to destroy Kakadu as the Buffalo ever did, I predict.
Different animal, similar result.

Same problem - ignorance, greed and short-sightedness.

*****

Remember Goyder's Line? He proposed a ban on agriculture in the arid zones of South Australia. We need a modern day Goyder.

If pressed further, I would say, we ought graze our native animals - Kangaroos. At least they are adapted to the climate, and the lack of water, and have learnt to control their fertility to the climate, etc. All we need to do is learn to eat them, without thinking of Skippy!

Wool? Well, from what I hear, wool is a luxury which this country cannot afford any more. It is hardly being used in clothing any more. Let the New Zealanders grow coarse wooled sheep, for carpets. Forget it out beyond the middle of NSW.

Many the animals we think of as growing wool, end up on slaughter-boats going to the Middle East anyway, in a trade which is totally reprehensible, by "humane" standards. At least, remove the sheep from the arid and semi-arid zones. When you are down to one sheep per 30 acres, or less, it is a nonsense.

We are frightened about what the politicians and bureaucrats would call "rural reconstruction". That is code for sending thousands of farmers off their land, and in so doing, risking closing down hundreds of small rural towns.

But the thought of "opening up" entire new industries, based upon a dream of farming "marginal land" with "exotic crops" is madness. Are Miss Eagle and myself the only people out there who have heard of the Ord River Scheme, and Humptydoo, before that?

*****

Untested crops, with little or no knowledge of their weed potential, their susceptibility to insect predation, let alone analysing their impact on water resources is just idiocy of the worst case.

It is as if people had never hear of the problems of farming cotton in arid Australia, and the devastation that is causing. Cotton is not viable, or even sustainable, in most of the areas where it is grown. It is only worthwhile growing when we place little or no value on the land, and allow huge farming enterprises to open new lands every 10 years, and to abandon the lands they have ruined (usually with salinity). And these enterprises are often subsidised by huge tax losses, and indirect grants from Government.

Rice is another case in point. Both are unsuitable. Both should be closed down, at least in the arid and semi-arid areas. The Murray-Darling basin is the centre of both these industries. Turnbull's "Murray-Darling" $10 billion pipe dream is not about saving the Murray-Darling, but about privatising its water supply. He is the last of the free market idealogues, who has the freedom to speculate, because he has no responsibility for its outcome. If and when it goes wrong it will be someone else's fault. Probably Macquarie Bank, or KKR, or some other group of nameless, faceless international financiers. Australia - the people and the environment will pay the cost.

Wake up Australia. Stop the madness - and it is starting from the very top.

Photo: Andrew Taylor. The Age. 15/2//2007

The article linked below is important reading for all Australians.

We are at a turning point in our history, based upon our sense of national identity.

There are two models of "Australia" being drawn up here -

• one a client state of America, and
  
• the other an independent nation.

Kindly take the time to read Michelle Grattan's article.

I know that this image is digitally enhanced, but it surely must be a candidate for a "Walkley". It is brilliant and tells one at least as much as the article does.

Victoria swelters, burns and power goes off.

We live in uncertain times.

Victorians knew before yesterday that it was going to be hot. But they did not know that fires in the north of the State would burn out an electrical connection with NSW which is there as a back-up, just as they needed that back-up power.

As a result, a bushfire hundreds of Kilometres from Melbourne, caused blackouts in Melbourne, and caused chaos on the suburban train network.

On the bushfire front, it is put this way: 8 homes were destroyed yesterday, a million hectares are said to be burning (I suspect that is likely to be incorrect - that 1.05 million hectares have been burnt this season - but it is how it is reported in The Age today). See the Aus-Emaps bushfire hotspots map.

Howard's view on Bushfires
Just remember, folks, that John Howard wants you to be "relaxed and comfortable". And further, remember that he does not believe in Global Warming. He said:
"Mr Howard said there was not enough evidence to suggest climate change had caused extra bushfires in Australia. "I don't think anyone could ever prove that either way." He said that, just one month ago. See the full report in The Age, December 16, 2006.

See my impression of John Howard and his "weasel words" on this subject, in a previous blog entry.

John Howard's "weasel words" on bushfires

John Howard has used "Weasel Words" (see below) to suggest that Climate Change is not responsible for this year's unseasonally early and severe bushfires.
"Mr Howard said there was not enough evidence to suggest climate change had caused extra bushfires in Australia. "I don't think anyone could ever prove that either way," he said.
The Age 16 December 2006
This is a man who cannot admit that he was ever wrong (and still is) about anything - even the simple observation that Climate Change is real.
Wake Up, John Howard. Sniff the air - it is full of smoke. At least, it is, everywhere except in Kirrabilli. Climate Change is burning this country, right now.
As a matter of interest - this is what Victoria Emergency Services Commissioner thinks:
CLIMATE change is causing longer, more aggressive bushfire seasons and must be factored into the state's firefighting plans, Victoria's Emergency Services Commissioner said yesterday.
"We are seeing unprecedented fire behaviour," Commissioner Bruce Esplin said. (The Age 18/12/06)

*****

I know you went and visited some fire fighters in the north-east of Victoria this week, but that actually doesn't achieve anything - except a photo opportunity for yourself.

Visiting the firefighters in Whitfield, John Howard said:

"Going there today shows directly to the people that their fellow Australians are thinking of them, they feel for them, they worry that these fires are starting so early and in such a large number of areas," he said.
"It's going to be a long, hot summer, to use that old cliche. These fires have started very early." The Age 13 December 2006.

*****

Wake Up, John Howard. Sniff the air - it is full of smoke. At least, it is, everywhere except in Kirrabilli.

Climate Change is burning this country, right now.

*****

Wikipedia provides a useful reference to Weasel Words, by the way, with a lovely derivation of the meaning.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says that the term actually comes from the weasel's ability to suck the contents out of an egg without breaking the shell; thus, weasel words suck the meaning out of a statement while seeming to keep the idea intact.

Robertson helps save the planet

In cool, foggy conditions in Robertson, on Saturday morning, about 45 Southern Highlands district people (*) took part in the "Walk against Warming". They walked around the village of Robertson, carrying posters and placards, and wearing various bit of orange coloured clothing and ribbons, to symbolise their concern about the state of the environment, and particularly Global Warming.

This walk was part of the Australia-wide display of solidarity against an apathetic Government, which does not yet comprehend the damage which its inactivity on global warming issues will inflict on the planet, and specifically on future generations of Australians.
(Photo credit: David Young)


If you missed out on Saturday's walk, but still wish your opinion on this matter to be counted, you can go to the Climate Action Now! website, and fill in your details to "Put yourself on the map", to register your support for this campaign to tell the Government that you want them to take serious action now, to limit further environmental damage to the climate.

(*) On my calculations there were 30 adults, 15 kids (including Tilly, with a broken leg, who was pushed in a wheel chair, by Boney), and at least 5 dogs. It was a very "Robertson" event!

*****

Some 30 adults at the "Walk against Warming" also signed a petition to the NSW Minister for the Environment, Mr Bob Debus, calling on him to use his authority as Minister for the Environment, to prevent the Sydney Catchment Authority damaging the environment by pumping water from the Kangaloon Aquifer.That pumping risks causing major environmental damage, by lowering the water table in the Kangaloon area. It also risks causing economic damage to the livelihood of local farmers as well.

The pumping of the Kangaloon Aquifer is the biggest environmental issue facing the Southern Highlands - owing to Sydney's failure to manage its requirements for water. The drought is making this issue worse than previously, but the underlying problem is the failure of Government to manage water demand, and wastage, in Sydney.

PM says "Sorry"

My goodness, today John Howard said "Sorry".

Odd that. He said he could not apologise to the Stolen Generation, (let alone the entire community of Aboriginals disposessed by white settlers). His reason: it was before his time, so any apology from him would not be relevant to the original offence.

Today he apologised to a bunch of Vietnam War Veterans. I do not wish to dispute the merit of their claim to an apology. However, I would just point out that the issue is now 40 years old - long before John Howard entered Parliament. So, the issue for which he is apologising is "before his time". An inconsistent man.

*****

As a matter of record, I lived on Anzac Park, Reid, in Canberra, just down the road from the Australian War Memorial. Some time after the Vietnam War Memorial was built, I heard the most awful howling and wailing echoing up my street. I went to investigate, and found a lone man - of my own age - howling and crying - in front of this most awful memorial. (I mean to use the word in its original meaning as "full of awe".) Please scroll down that page to see the night time shot of the flood-lit memorial. It is truly full of awe. I can only image the memories which this sight brought back to the former soldier. I have no problem with him and his colleagues (living and dead) being offered an apology.

My specific problem is that we should be apologising for having sent them in the first place. John Howard is apologising for their being ignored upon their return.

What a shallow man our Prime Minister is!

A day is along decade ..... in politics

Well, the Prime Minister has put some of us out of some of our misery - maybe, possibly, but I doubt it.

Confused? Well, so am I.

John Howard has announced that he will stay on to fight the next election. This is entirely predictable, because it is the one thing which John Howard really likes doing - beating Kim Beazley.

"Flubber" has completely managed to rub off even the "rusted on" traditional supporters of the Labor Party. First there was the shameful failure to stand on principle, regarding the Tampa refugees. And then, last week there was the double-backflip, when he decided to endorse Uranium mining. And so, he has destroyed the basic constituency of his support. How could Howard resist?

Besides, it is apparent that Howard has little concept of how to stabilise the economy, or the "mood of the nation" regarding Industrial Relations. And as for Foreign Affairs .......with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who knows, Lebanon tomorrow, not to mention East Timor, and other places which I cannot now recall - our Defence and Foreign Policy is a complete basket case. Even the politics of water is now out of control.

However, if Howard now goes into Election Mode, then he can legitimately ignore all those issues, and just concentrate on criticising the Labor Party. How easy is that.

The fact that will create a giant distraction from the real issues of the state of rot of the country, will only be more attractive to Howard than having to do anything about those issues.

God Help us.

The Nature of Leadership - or lack of it.

I had cause to write recently of the lack of Leadership in Australia. That was during John Howard's recent visit to Washington, U.S.A. As it turns out, John Howard appears to have been taking his latest set of instructions from the Power Brokers in Washington. Shortly afterwards, he flew to Ontario, spoke with the new, and inexperienced, Canadian PM, Mr Stephen Harper. As I wrote on 18 May, I was sure he would be carrying a special message for Mr Harper, from the Americans. Subsequently, on 3 June 2006, Mr Harper "discovered" a terrorist cell in Toronto - and just in time too, it seems. The politics of fear has been spread, by a true believer, to another country.

Meanwhile, John Howard, however, had safely flown home, and discovered that while he had been away, Australians had apparently changed their minds on the need for a nuclear reactor industry to be developed in Australia. When did that happen? While he was in Washington, obviously. Of course it did!

Australia has had a State-run electricity industry, until relatively recently (the electricity delivery systems have been privatised, into small component parts). However, historically, only the State Governments (with the Federal Government helping in the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme) have had the capital to develop the huge electrical generating schemes. During my childhood, the entire Latrobe Valley system in Victoria was developed by the "SEC" (State Electricity Commission). It remains a nasty polluting industry, based upon burning the vast reserves of low-efficiency Brown Coal. But it started as a Government facility.

The Australian population

In this day of economic rationality (so called) any future capital raising for a new electricity generating scheme will certainly be privately funded. So, John Howard, by raising this topic now, can "privatise" a whole new industry without being seen to take it from public ownership, because it has never been in existence. It is the last great "resource" which he can "sell off to his mates", without selling anything. He could simply "give it away" without any accusation of selling off the nation's assets (unlike the case with the Snowy, or Telstra, or, or, or). Yet we Australians will be paying for it for ever, and ever, Amen.

If I were a cynic, I would suggest that John Howard, who has been notoriously "frugal" in his personal financial arrangements, might be interpreted as acting as if he had suddenly realised the need for his own private "retirement fund". What better strategy could the reader develop than to sell a brand new Australian Nuclear Power industry to the world's most powerful multinational corporations? Sell something which does not yet exist. Wonderful. Once that task has been instituted, according to this "theory", John Howard would almost certainly retire. But he would be secure in the knowledge that he might have earned the undying gratitude of huge multinational corporations, such as Westinghouse, General Electric, etc.

Howard knows his time as "leader" is limited. Costello's forces are gathering their power-base to demand a transition to their man. That fact alone could explain the sudden haste in the "Nuclear Debate" which has been invented, and thrust upon us so suddenly.

So, back to the issue of Leadership. Howard is again following his favourite script of saying that public opinion has changed. As I said on 16 May, that is the same as saying: "I am the leader of my people - I will follow them anywhere". Michael Leunig's Mr Curly graphically follows the star hanging from the tip of his own hat. It is the same concept - a total perversion of what Leadership is really about.

So, as yourself these questions:
(A) did you change your opinion on nuclear energy, in the last 3 weeks?
(B) were you or any of your friends asked if you had changed your opinion?
(C) was anyone asked these questions?
(D) is the whole "debate" a fraud on the Australian public?

"You might very well say that: I could not possibly say that" - Francis Urquhart - House of Cards. BBC TV

The Nature of Eagles

This photo is here to prove that one cannot always take good photos of eagles, even with a fairly long lens. This bird spotted me, (and they have far, far better eyes than we do, so that is not surprising) and it decided that I was acting suspiciously, so it simply half-closed its wings, and went into a "semi-dive" mode, and drifted across the sky and away from me, at about 35 Km per hour (without even a single flap of its wings), until it felt comfortably distant from me again, a which point it resumed singing the chorus from "Oklahoma" about making "lazy circles in the sky".

For those of you who do not know, this is a Wedge-tailed Eagle, perhaps the Australian bird with the best Latin Name ever: Aquila audax, which means "bold eagle" (not bAld, bOld, as in daring). The word audacious comes from the same origin.

This photo was taken last weekend, on the same day as I went with Zoe to Tidbinbilla. This was taken near Tharwa, in fact at "Lambrigg" which is where William Farrer did his pioneering research into breeding rust-resistent strains of wheat, which led to the development of the Australian Wheat industry. What John Howard and the mob of conservative free-loading privateers have done since, with the AWB, is not his fault, folks.

Miss Eagle is celebrating her ability to soar over the ridges of Upper Ferntree Gully, tomorrow. Have a nice day, Girl. Fly Free.

Beyond the Usual

My long-term email friend, Leo, lives in Nova Scotia, Canada. Not only is it a long way from Australia, it is also a long way from most of the rest of Canada. I sense that Leo is happy enough with this last part of the story.

Recently, I had cause to warn Leo of the imminent arrival in Canada of our Leader. You see, since the recent election in that Country, rabid-right wing "Leaders" have been lining up to recognise the new Leader over there - Mr Stephen Harper, the recently elected (minority) Prime Minister in Canada. A Head of State visit to Canada has not been on Mr Howard's agenda in the last 10 years.

I have warned Leo to not drink the water in the next few days, if Howard's flight path from Ottawa to Ireland should take him anywhere close to Nova Scotia. Best of luck, Leo, surviving the media onslaught which might (possibly) be associatied with our Leader's "FuhrerFest" in Ottawa. I am sure he will be bringing a special message from The Shrub to Mr Harper, and the oil-based consortium who are his cronies in Government. It is intriguing that this particular "cronie" has offered to work for only Ca$1:00 per year - supposedly to demonstrate how "honest" he is. To me, it almost self-evident proof of the contrary.

If you think this is a laughing matter, have a look at Miss Eagle's post of 17 May: Incorrect labelling? Not a Product of Australia? It is a perfect example of how the Oleo-Political Cartel view smaller, complacent, compliant members of the "Co-alition of the Willing".

*****

My pal, Leo, runs a small(ish) and very individual nursery in far, far, away Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known as el Summit Perennials, and his slogan is "Beyond the Usual". Leo has recently sent me several photos of rare plants which he has recently flowered, and of which he is justifiably proud. I hope he does not mind me sharing them with my small but dedicated band of Australian-based bloggers (and Leo himself).

The first is a bluish/mauve coloured Glaucidium. (Glaucidium palmatum). It is vaguely related to the Paeonia genus, but has distinctive leaves, and flowers with four petals (whereas species Peonies generally have five or six petals). Leo describes it as a , a woodlander from Japan with peony-like flowers and maple-like leaves". Leo, living in Nova Scotia, can grow such delicate plants as "woodlanders from Japan", whereas in our climate, (even the normally wet and soggy Robertson), it is most-likely these delicate leaves would shrivel-up in a single day of hot north-westerly winds. Still, I can enjoy the delicate flowers in digital format.

I also take this opportunity to share this beauty with you (Paeonia tomentosa). Leo says he mistook it (at first) for another nearly-unpronounceable Russian species (P. mlokosewitschii) (synonym P. wittmaniana ssp wittmaniana). Leaves fuzzy on back, but pointy and greener than mloko. Both these plants (or all three, if you like to collect "names" are woodland plants, as I understand it, but P. tomentosa comes from the Causcasus Mountains (but without my reference books here, please don't quote me).

Leo has done well to get this plant to flower after four years of waiting from seed. Leo is more patient and careful of his seedlings than I am, I confess. Mine tend to get buried in weeds. I promise to be more careful in future. Especially when one sees such rewards.

The Nature of Leadership

Australia is swaying about like a rudderless dingy. A ship of state adrift without a Leader.

Surely not? We have a Prime Minister, John Howard who is strutting the world stage, transplanting seedlings in America. And yet, when the question of his Leadership arises (yet again), he platitudinises that he will stay the Leader as long as his Party wants him.

That pathetic statement has the same logical structure as the oft-attributed joke by the Cartoonists: "I am the leader of my people - I will follow them anywhere".

I am reminded of the parallel in Nature with the male of the species of the Australian Wood Duck. This bird is also known by the title "Maned Goose". It is famous for its posturing, when it senses a threat (real or imagined). And yet, if a family group of adults and ducklings is approached by a real threat - a dog or a person - the female will actually hiss and even bite the attacker, while the male hides.

The Nature of Anzac Day - an abomination.

Well, I have published my opinion on Miss Eagle's Blog, so I ought do it here, too. Her tribute and comment on Anzac Day is far more considered, and more erudite than mine - I recommend it to all readers.

I was saddened to hear of the accidental death of a young Australian Soldier in Iraq (no doubt we all were).

The most tragic thing is - he should not have been there in the first place. All other circumstances aside, that is the responsibility of the Government of Mr John Howard!

I accept responsibility for that comment.

*****

I am sitting here, being made ill by listening to the televised Anzac Day service from Kokoda Trail. Those who know me from years ago will recall that I lived (for 27 years) on Anzac Parade, Reid, Canberra - half-way down the processional avenue where Anzac Day is "celebrated".

I cannot bear to hear an Anzac Day Ceremony begin with the words from the Religious Celebrant (who is this person?) starting with these words: "The world has drunk deep of Australian Blood".


A direct quote --- A direct quote!

Very simply, the young Australian who died in Iraq ought not have been there.

Some of us said the young soldiers should not go there - in the first place. We were ignored by our Government.

*****

Too many "burn-offs" by F111s, and FA18s. Too many Tanks thundering up the Parade, at full speed. The endless drubbing of Helicopter blades is etched in my mind. And I have never seen a moment's "Service". Anzac Day has been done to death - quite literally.

Tools of death on display do not represent any kind of tribute to Peace - they are a display of determined, aggressive posturing. These displays are designed, psychologically, to "egg on" the young and the naive. And our politicians are always there - overseeing everything. Funding everything. Promoting everything. And the Generals smile benignly, knowing each resounding successful show (records* reported every year) it assures them of years' worth of future funding.

Even today, I saw Joe Hockey and Kevin Rudd, out-competing eachother in reciting the nauseating "I am, You are, We are Australians" - well, at least nauseating when used in those circumstances. Apparently it is officially known as "I am Australian", but the first site I found attributed it to "The Seekers" back in the 60s. I thought it was written later, by Bruce Woodley. Enough of that!

I am scarred by memories of my former neighbour (an ex-Colonel) bragging to me at how he and some of him "mates" had jeered at the "Women against Rape in War", and chased them down the road - for "dishonouring Anzac Day". One of the more memorable Anzac Day Ceremonies (disasters) I managed to miss. Who dishonoured it, I ask?

And more harrowing still is the memory of a man of my own age "howling at the moon", at the (then) newly inaugurated Vietnam War memorial. A man of my own age, and position in society - totally losing it, in public, in the middle of the night. There before the harsh flood-lights, reflected in the polished granite wall with the image of the Bell Iroquios Helicopter, and the names of the dead. No wonder they hate the sound of those Machines of Death.

*****

I have the greatest sympathy for the family of the young soldier who died in Iraq. I do not mean to dishonour his memory. Far from it. Would it not have been better that he were alive, today with his family, still in Australia? Who can tell me otherwise?

Denis Wilson

* Footnote: I wrote Press Releases for a living for years, for Government Departments and other Agencies. I would love to know when the "record attendances at Anzac Day" press reports are written. I would guess they change last year's numbers about Thursday of the week before - based upon the weather forecasts. The media gratefully accept the published figures - they love a "record" story to run with. The Police concur politely. It helps their overtime budget too, you know.

The Commercial Media are fully "on board" with this jingoism, as evidenced by this morning's bit of Show Biz on Kokoda Trail. The Military/Industrial complex has merged interests with the Commercial Media, I fear.

DJW

Dingos, what dingos?

Dingos, what dingos? We don’t have them in Robertson do we?

“Australia's decision to consider asylum to 42 Papuan asylum seekers has reignited Indonesian derision of John Howard, with one newspaper portraying the Prime Minister as a dingo fornicating with the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, over Papua.” Sydney Morning Herald 30 March 2006.

(DJW notes: the cartoon was not attributed, in the SMH when it reprinted it. I can do a little better than that.)

The cartoon which ran in Monday's "Rakyat Merdeka" newspaper depicted Downer and Howard as dingoes (wild dogs), with Howard's front paws on Downer's back, saying: "I want Papua!! Alex! Try to make it happen!".
(Source: Reuters World News: UK)

How very polite of the Reuters journalist to express it that way: ... "with Howard's front paws on Downer's back".

Is that what was going on? I thought it was two dingos copulating!

*****

What can I say? In an apolitical blog like mine, it would be inappropriate to endorse this view of two of our nation’s leaders, wouldn’t it?

I would draw your attention to the cartoonist’s art in attaching an Australian Flag to the tail of the second dingo.

Summer? What summer?

Sunday was a freezer, in Robertson, and also in Canberra.

So much for these few nice days we have been having. I left Robbo in a howling wind, and got to Canberra to see trees down - all over the place. Apparently that damage was inflicted a week ago, by a previous storm. Last night it was jumper and jacket weather. Ridiculous!

*****

Global warming is a bit of a mis-nomer, as what really is happening is that the severity of our weather is increasing, and is likely to continue to do so. Hence, more storms, more droughts, more floods. At first it appears to be a contradiction, but statistically, it is real.

*****

Lets hope that George W Bush and John Howard can sort out "Global Warming", as soon as they have fixed up "the War on Terror".