While I’m feeling political, I thought I’d share another recent Clarke and Dawe gem with you.  These guys are like the Statler and Waldorf of the Australian political stage. Ooh! Did i just compare the Aussie Government to the Muppets?! Ooh!

The background:  In 2008, Australian P.M. Kevin Rudd officially apologized – the first from the Commonwealth government – to Stolen Generations of Australian Aboriginals.  The hundred-year policy, kept in place until the 1970s, allowed for the uncontestable removal of Aboriginal children from their families, and subsequent adoption by white families or missions; officially it was a measure toward education and social elevation but in practice many children were treated as slaves; only a few were able to rediscover their traditional families through documentation.

Two weeks ago, Rudd apologised again, to whom some refer as the “Forgotten Generation” of mostly British children who were treated essentially the same way during the early twentieth century.  Many children were shipped from English (and I presume Irish, etc.) orphanages or state wards, or directly from families, in the promise of better care and income, but raised in horrific, abusive conditions.  Very, very sad.

So Rudd is now known as “The Apologiser”.  He does a pretty good job of it.  Here Clarke and Dawe imagine other things Kevvy could beg pardon for.

(Can’t find a direct video link, click here to watch).

FYI:  Telstra = major phone/internet provider corporation, their CEO resigned last year with a massive bailout and a fat bonus.

Collingwood Magpies = Aussie Rules Football team; imagine if the Dallas Cowboys had fans like the Oakland Raiders…

Land Tax = Property tax.  Mortgage and market value fluctuations, etc.  Taxes are assessed on unimproved property, so there’s almost no profit in renovating.

The Bill = An Australian TV police drama.  I can’t stand it.  “I acknowledge your pain.”  “Thank you. sniff.”

Between 1618 and 1967, approximately about 150,000 British children were sent abroad.  Most of the children were sent to Australia after 1920.  To program was operated by the British government, children charities, and religious groups.  The intent was to provide these impoverished children with a better life somewhere other than Britain.  A more cynical view is that the children were to be cheap, white labor for various locations throughout the then British Empire.  Also removing them from Britain reduced a potential burden for the British government.  Many suffered from abuse and neglect.  Collectively they are known as the “forgotten Australians.” 

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued an apology to the forgotten Australians on November 16, 2009.  Many of the now adult children attended.  Here is a short description and select comments from the announcement:

“At a ceremony in the Australian capital of Canberra attended by tearful former child migrants, Rudd apologized for his country’s role in the migration and extended condolences to the 7,000 survivors of the program who still live in Australia.

‘We are sorry,’ Rudd said. ‘Sorry that as children you were taken from your families and placed in institutions where so often you were abused. Sorry for the physical suffering, the emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care. Sorry for the tragedy — the absolute tragedy — of childhoods lost.’” http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/child_migrants_apology

The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered comments on the topic the night before the Australian announcement.  “On the eve of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the ‘forgotten Australians’, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced he will also say sorry for his country’s part in shipping thousands of children off to other countries.  The BBC reported Mr Brown says ‘the time is now right’ for his Government to apologise to the child migrants.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/15/2743368.htm

Barry Walker, now 70, was one of the 30 forgotten Australians to attend.  He was taken from his parents by the state after they declared his parents to be unfit.  He then lived in Ballarat Orphanage for 13 years.  Walker commented:

“’It was quite emotional in the beginning because I thought of a lot of other kids I had known in there and felt like it was recognition of all of us,’ he said.

‘It (the orphanage) wasn’t too bad but it’s hard to explain, you never really had a cuddle and everything was done as a group. He (Mr Rudd) was right when he said you were just a number,’ he said.

‘All the kids supported each other but as you get older you realise what you missed out on.

‘It’s when you’re spoiling your grandkids, you realise.’” http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/news-features/tears-relief-among-ballarats-forgotten-australians-as-prime-minister-kevin-rudd-says-sorry/1679228.aspx?src=rss

In 2008, Prime Minster Rudd apologized to the “Stolen Generation.”  The Stolen Generation were the children of Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders taken from their families by the state and religious organizations from 1869 to 1969 by acts of parliament.  The actions were taken under the guise of child protection and other rationales but did involve taking children from their families, hence, the term stolen being used.  Here are parts of the apology”

“’We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians,’ the apology read.

‘We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

‘For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

‘To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

‘And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.’”  http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23206140-2,00.html

A full text of the apology can be read at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/13/1202760379056.html while a video of Rudd’s apology can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3TZOGpG6cM

Questions to Consider

1. Why provide the apologies now for actions then extend back 100 to near 400 years ago?
2. How can the apologies be viewed as a form or reputation management by the government?
3. How does the apology for the Stolen Generation compare to the points in Chapter 12 about apologies?
4. Why would the British Prime Minister talk about the forgotten Australians the day before the Australian Prime Minister’s apology?
5. What do Walker’s comment suggest about how the forgotten Australians felt about the apology?
6. Why does it matter how the target of an apology reacts?
7. What is the value of having the victims attend the presentation of the apology?

It’s that time of the week again, folks!

First up, Agnostic reports that high school and college girls are more receptive to PDA than twentysomethings:

Being under her peers’ social microscope predicts that she’d want to shove her overly affectionate boyfriend away without even thinking about it, while the power of monogamy to cloud out her thoughts about potential mates predicts that she wouldn’t care. For anyone who’s been to the park or the mall in their lives, the answer is pretty clear — monogamy is stronger than peer scrutiny. There’s no mystery why a girl would allow PDA from a handsome quarterback, but a lot of the guys who these adolescent girls are with are pretty awkward and goofy. The fact that they accept PDA from them is pretty startling, so it must be that their more monogamous behavior, compared to 20-something women, outweighs their anxiety about what their peers will think when they see some doofus wrapping his arms around her.

You would never see this among adults with jobs, for instance.

Ben Leonard has a great review of From Nyet to Da: Understanding the New Russia:

To begin with one must understand the history of Russia. Russia sees itself as the third Rome; the first was in Italy, the second in Constantinople, and the third in Moscow. The word Czar means Caesar in Russian. Similar to Constantinople/Istanbul the third Rome sees itself as a bridge between the East and the West. The Mongols conquered and ruled Russia for some time (their descendants are the Tartars) giving Russians experience with Asiatic peoples. Russia also borders China and reaches all the way to Alaska which was formerly a part of Russia. Russia has been cut off from the West at times which made it miss the Renaissance. Since Russia lags generally lags behind Western Europe in terms of standard of living and technology it views its Western neighbors with a mixture of envy and contempt.

His post is spot on.

11minutes posts on the death of femininity in American women:

With the blur between gender lines, we lost Gentlemen and Ladies alike. Young boys get told that it is okay to cry even if you are not a girl. And young girls get raised to embrace their tomboyish side of playing in the mud, burping, cursing and farting – just like the boys.

In emasculating men, we’ve made women into dudes with vaginas. Ugh.

Cless Alvein has a two-part story “describ[ing] the average-case life trajectory of a very average young professional female in Manhattan.” From the first part:

Sarah’s full sexual history: 3 boyfriends from relationships lasting more than 6 months. Normal. No problem. She’s had flings, one of which was an earnest attempt at a relationship that nevertheless failed early and explosively, and two of which were rebound relationships with no intention of permanence. She broke off all of those flings, each in an extremely rude way. Then there are three one-night stands– her first sexual encounter, at 16, was with an unemployed man then twice her age; one was in college (sophomore year, early winter) with a frat boy; and the third was at age 26 during a grinding dry spell, when she was “too busy for relationships”. She’s never cheated, technically speaking, although her college one-nighter occurred two days after breaking up with a long-term boyfriend, and everyone found out about it. Her total number is 9.

Sarah does not consider herself a slut. Sluts, in her mind, are those actively seek casual sex, those who have it a lot more often than she does, and those who are proud and vocal about having casual sex. Sarah has a clear definition of a slut and, by her definition, she’s not one. (Author’s note: I tend to agree with Sarah: she’s not a slut. She’s a worse-than-average modern woman, but I wouldn’t describe her as a slut. She’s just badly behaved.)

Definitely worth a read.

LILGRL debuts at Girl Game with a post defining the objectives of girl game:

There are a few reasons that “Girl Game” is universally ignored as a phenomenon — the main reason being, it’s become intrinsic to the concept of “femininity.”  So, instead of seeing a girl as being “good at game” we see her as being ultra-feminine (and thus, well-liked by men).  Of course, a girl can learn to be (or just act like she is) a paragon of femininity in the same way that a guy can learn to be (or just act like he is) an alpha.  Being feminine, after all, has nothing to do with looks.

Given the worthlessness of mainstream women’s dating advice, I’m looking forward to hearing more from these ladies.

Rake tries a daytime approach and reports on the results:

Now, I HAVE approached in the daytime before. I don’t find it horribly difficult if I can come up with some sort of pretense, or somehow figure out a way to make it seem natural that I’m talking to her. Last week, for instance, I got on the elevator with a woman that works on the same floor as me, made idle chit chat on the way down and then wound up walking with her and chatting for a couple of blocks. Right at the end I noticed that she had a great big rock on her finger, so I didn’t go for the number, but it was a solid interaction. I could tell I was generating attraction from her. It worked. It was seamless and natural without any awkwardness.

Day game is going to become big in the next few years. Bet on it.

Roissy reveals that inside every good girl is a slut yearning to break free:

Yes, women like to fuck. But there is a caveat. They only like to fuck men higher than them in status. Female hypergamy doesn’t disappear; it just acclimates to changing incentive structures. Tyler Durden was hitting upon a truth when he wrote about the existence of a matrix-like secret society. A small pool of alpha males really is hogging a disproportionate amount of vaj action when that vaj is at its most desirable. The fact that most betas eventually settle down with a road-worn, heart-stomped wife in their late 20s/early 30s doesn’t disprove the reality of the secret society.

It takes game if you want to unleash the nymphomaniac in any girl.

Also from Roissy, this video featuring Ukrainian sand painting artist Kseniya Simonova:

Now that’s talent, right there.

Roosh distills pickup into nine rules:

It’s rare that the hottest girl will be the most horny—she always has a steady supply of dick that she can access. Banging her depends just as much on luck and timing than actual game. Try your hand with her every now and then, but keep in mind that screening for horniness is just as important as personality and beauty. If the girl you’re dealing with has gotten laid recently, there will be no sense of urgency and the iron will be too cool for you to get inside her pants quickly.

Working within the rules of reality is always the best way forward.

Talleyrand writes on the psychological neoteny of women:

Not only have men been selecting women for beauty, they have been selecting them for being childlike.  A woman that was more childlike was more fun as a partner.  The unfortunate side effect is that women as a group tend to live in the moment just as children do, without thinking about the long term impact of their choices and consequences.  They are more emotional.  Despite what our current society pushes about emotional health, existing like this is incredibly destructive.

As I’ve written before, a society that doesn’t beat morality into its women will be undone by their behavior.

A.J. Travis has been on fire in the past week, his most recent post informing men how to identify sluts:

1. Tattoos.

There is a reason they call them ‘tramp stamps.’ Any girl who is foolish enough to make a decision to allow a high school drop-out to inject ink under her skin, usually has no problem letting other unsavory guys inject her with less permanent liquids.

Roissy’s epic, Jezebel-invaded post on this subject is also worth a read.

Virgle Kent takes a trip to Colombia and comes back with an amusing story:

One final note. Hot girls were everywhere in Colombia, even in the airport. It was tough preparing myself for what would greet me when I landed in Atlanta for my connecting flight back to DC. One thing’s for sure: you know you’re in the A when all the flight attendants are flamboyantly gay males, dudes wearing shades on the plane at night, and more dudes making out with each other. Fat girls munching away. No cute girls in sight. I can’t wait for my next trip to South America.

*adds Colombia to list of must-visit countries*

Geoffrey Falk uses a recent murder in Kentucky to remind us that white trash proles are just as bad as NAMs:

Two guys owning a house together = gay. And two Yuppie-ish “friends” who own a house, going out for a walk together = flaming gay. At least, that’s the prole logic. Why else would four white dumbfucks have beaten the shit out of them, in a “random” crime? Just because they looked gay.

Stick that in your race realism and believe it.

Steve Sailer reports on the liberal plot to unleash Australia’s failed Stolen Generation policies on black children:

In other words, the trend is to re-enact the Australian Stolen Generation scheme. As you’ll recall, in the 1930s, half-blood children of alcoholic Aboriginal mothers were sent to boarding schools to learn how to function in white society by well-intentioned whites. This was condemned in the movie Rabbit Proof Fence, but, amusingly, the director, Philip Noyce, wound up, much like the white bad guy in his film, sending his adolescent half-blood female star to boarding school to get her away from her alcoholic family.

The evil wrought by egalitarianism will not abate any time soon.

The Audacious Epigone compiles a list of countries where the U.S. dollar goes the furthest:

The ideal runaway spot is a place that is simultaneously modern and allows you to live like a king. What follows is a rank order listing of countries by exchange rate-PPP ratio as a percentile for which 2008 data and estimates are available. A value over 100% means your dollars will go further than they will in the US; a value under 100% means they won’t go as far they will at home.

Russia, the Ukraine, and Brazil are all pretty high up on the list. Huzzah!

Female Misogynist lays into feminists and the amorality of women:

So that feminist was figuring that, when a man makes her horny, she’s willing to suspend any scruples she has for him. If he wants to steal, murder, whatever, that’s fine with her, as long as her gina tingles. Therefore, since women make me horny, I should be willing to tolerate any evil behavior on their part! They lie? Make false battering and rape accusations? Use litigation to force their way into jobs they can’t do? Spawn fatherless bastards who will grow up to be violent criminals? Wreck civilization? So what, as long as I’m wet that’s fine with me! Because I want to have sex with women, I should be willing to allow them to wreak havoc to their hearts’ content!

She also gives a shout-out to The Fifth Horseman via this post of mine.

Φ watches a National Geographic special on mail order brides and gives his thoughts:

My primary emotion watching the episode was sadness. It profiled two male clients of an International Marriage Broker (IWB) seeking Russian women. We saw profiles of two men: the first, 36yo James, starting his relationship with 30yo Uliana; the second, 3rd grade schoolteacher Gary (age not provided, but I would guess 50yo), who married his Russian fiance’ Olga (I would guess 40yo) by the end of the hour. My general impression was that, personality-wise, James had a bit more going for him than Gary, but both of these men were sweet, awkward, and bereft of game. We see James’ fawningly complimenting Uliana in a desperately beta kind of way; we see Gary, at the airport to receive Olga, waiting for two hours for her to clear customs, almost in tears at the possibility that she may not have made the flight. It was easy to see why these men faced difficulty in the domestic mating market. They were, in a word, harmless, it both the good and bad senses of the word.

Really worth a read.

Ganttsquarry vents on an aspect of the Roissysphere that pisses him off:

My irritation still stands though.  Every time Roissy writes one of his “Approach This Set” posts for example, the comment section has a few people ridiculously undervaluing the women in the picture.

Generally an 8 becomes a 6( or even less in a few cases), a 6 becomes a 4( or a 3), and so on.  Maybe they take those 2 subtracted points and add them somewhere else.  I dunno.

It’s a fair point.

Hermes challenges the Roissysphere to reconcile what he feels are two propositions that are at odds:

When an unruly dog bites the mailman, we don’t blame the dog; we blame the owner for failing to keep the dog fenced in or on a leash. The stronger the first proposition, the weaker the second, and vice versa. If it is solely up to men to control and lead women, then women can have no responsibility for the current situation. If women are to blame, on the other hand, they must possess at least as much moral agency as men, if not more.

I’ve read Hermes’ blog for close to two years, and he’s one of the bloggers who I respect the most. His argument is compelling.

Finally, the Nostalgia Critic compares the classic children’s movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Tim Burton’s remake. Laughs ensue.

And don’t forget The Spearhead! Great contributions from everyone this past week. If you don’t have The Spearhead on your RSS reader, you’re missing out big time.

The Virus

I was 5 or 6 years old
a migrant child of parents
who were swept away from the sooty chimney towns
of Britain’s working class north by the promises of
a bright new life in a young country
A country brimming, spilling and erupting with
outrageous opportunities for people
especially white people
who dreamt of owning their very own land
Australia

We were the ten pound package , government assisted
chance of a life time Brits who
flocked in their thousands to these shores
and landed like sparkling white seagulls
that squabble amongst themselves as they fly in kindred form
Noisy chattering seagulls on the look out for the best morsel they can find
Some have said seagulls all look and act the same…
Poms they called us, the latest flock of new arrivals
following in the footsteps of the convicts
and our sea faring ancestors
who came to seize new territory in a land
that was not young at all.

Big skies, wide streets, pupil dazzling light
Brand new asbestos houses far removed from the
tall sooty terrace flats
cramped side by side
back Home
We staggered wearily, eagerly into government issue houses
that nestled expectantly
in the middle of tiny little paddocks
Neatly sliced quarter acre blocks that beckoned the new arrivals to
seed a brand new life and sow a future far removed
from the misty grey land
where the sun rarely shines….

This was The Lucky Country
and we thought that we were very lucky indeed!

There was much to learn and many new things to see
and for awhile my migrant child’s world was consumed with more space
new friends, big school, new sounds, interesting sights
and beach time delights
In fact we were so immersed in our new life
we were utterly, completely, mind numbingly oblivious
to the Land where we were living…

That is when the virus struck.

I remember the day it happened
Unlike those silent viruses that sit invisibly on taps
waiting to hitch a ride
on fingertips that brush past lips
this insidious, relentless, sickening parasite
travelled effortlessly upon the breath
transmitted upon invisible sound waves
elusive in their source
the destination always the same

It was very hard for young children to escape a
germ such as that!

I was standing by the milk shed when the virus struck
Its current host was a plump red freckly boy called George
He was no doubt named after a king, an uncle or grandfather back Home
The kids called George names like dot-face and carrot top
Giggling and laughing, George entertained us by
pulling faces and joining in the fun
His best friend stood with us, Peter Green,
an Australian boy who was fond of saying
“we go back 6 generations “
even though he didn’t really know what it meant
his father said it all the time
so it must have been important

Peter was teaching George
the real Australian way

We were standing in the cool shade ,
a rare find across the sweltering expanse of the asphalt playground
when the virus emerged
and the first cross infection occurred
In a loud voice that announced his cockney origins wherever he went
George sang out four words in the mocking tone of a confident child:
“Dirty coon, rotten baboon”
Four words that speared my consciousness
and left a tender wound,
a vulnerable space to host a virus
that I was too young to fight
Georges words invoked contempt
a voracious contempt that swept through the crowded school yard
as quickly as it took to
catch one another’s breath
I followed Georges eyes and saw the object of
his loathing
Curly haired Lindy and her little brother Jimmy
the Aboriginal kids

The Blacks

Lindy and Jimmy stood out from the sea of white faces
Shiny black birds surrounded by vicious seagulls
They stood holding the eyes of their attacker
whilst holding tightly onto one another’s hand
Jimmy leaned towards his big sister
terrified that the big kid with the flaming red hair
was about to lunge and squash him then and there

They were the outcast kids
the Abo’s who were never ever invited to play our games.
Peter smiled at George approvingly
and one or two others snickered our way
the virus twisting itself across children’s faces
annihilating the anti-bodies of innocence
feasting upon the collective enjoyment of
someone else being teased.

This particularly robust virus had its own language.
after coon followed different words
boong-boong –that’s the noise they make when the bull bar hits them
…before long other children joined in the heckling
until a bubonic plague of racist torment
swamped us all in its vitriolic grip
That was the day I learnt a new A, B C
the uniquely Australian alphabet
A. B. C.
Abo
Boong
Coon.

This was the alphabet I was infected with as a child

In the lucky country
A magnificent land older than the mountains
with secrets winding back through time
Something terrible occurred
A virus was unleashed long before our little family
travelled to the down under shores…..

What became of Lindy and Jimmy?

Innocent children who were called half castes, treated as out casts
Removed from their Mother, kidnapped before her very eyes

Thanks to the power of forgiveness
and decency
and common sense
strong medicines for curing the malaise
of toxic tongues
and the virus that leaves many deaf and mute and blind
Lindy and Jimmy and I became friends.
Precious friends
…..and together we are all in recovery
from the virus that strikes so many innocent children down.

Carol Omer

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Such was the suddenness of the transition it seemed like a dream: we were plucked from beneath the mosquito net in a tropical bush campsite, whisked through the air in a humming metal tube and dropped into seats around a table in an old pavilion – a former lawn bowls club – just boomerang’s throw from the Brisbane River.

If you know us at all, then you know that we’re not ‘into’ lawn bowls. The pavilion is the home of the Musgrave Park Cultural Centre and we were sitting around the table with twenty or so teachers, youth workers, lawyers, doctors, medical students, writers, business people and staff members from Indigenous Community Volunteers.

We used to live in Brisbane, but here was something I never saw, or never cared to notice: indigenous culture. I remember the sadness of seeing young aboriginal kids staggering across busy roads high on the petrol they were sniffing from bottles under their shirts, but once they were out of sight I suppose they were out of mind. The anonymity, or the rush and tumble, of urban life focussed us on our own lives, or at least provided an excuse to look at the surface and then look the other way.

Since coming to the Northern Territory we’ve had our eyes opened wider to the plight of many indigenous Australians. News reports, documentaries and films like Samson and Delilah can teach us about the issues, but there is no substitute for experience. Away from the cities, especially in the north, it’s impossible to ignore that Australia – a country that brands itself as a classless society – is riven with inequality.

Neither of us are particularly good at idle observation – why sit and watch when you can get up and join in yourself? We don’t want to travel to places and flit through without making an effort to understand them. I mentioned last time that we are interested in having a participatory experience with indigenous Australians. We have time and skills, and we also have a compulsion to actually do something.

Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) is a not-for-profit organisation that works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – not for them or on them. They utilise funds from government grants and donations to operate projects in indigenous communities across Australia. Importantly, the projects are suggested by the communities rather than imposed upon them. ICV support them to scope the projects and then match volunteers, people like us, from their database.

We had heard of ICV before, but Ella chanced across their office in Darwin, wandered in and learnt a bit more. We applied to be volunteers and within a couple of weeks were in Brisbane for our induction.

The two days were jammed with talks from aboriginal community members, presentations from staff (indigenous and otherwise), insightful DVDs, and discussions and exercises that improved our understanding of the cultural practices we are likely to encounter ‘in the field.’ Along the way we tried to find space in our bellies for the huge quantities of food supplied by the cultural centre, whilst being careful to leave a little room for a lot of laughing.

Ella and I are often sceptical about the role of ‘aid.’ However well-intentioned it is there is often a patronising or even imperialistic nature beneath the surface of the offer. Aid is given with conditions – to make you more like us or even to make you beholden to us. At the workshop we were taught to accept other cultures for what they are, so we felt it might be a little ironic that outsiders go in as agents of change. I suppose the key is to help improve conditions without eroding culture. To be sure that we’re getting into something we feel happy about we submitted the staff to a barrage of confronting questions, so much so that I apologised for my ‘difficult wife’ (tongue in cheek) to the organisers at the end of the workshops.

…………

I’m a great believer in stories. We learn through stories – morals, humour, understanding are gained from sharing experiences. I can make a judgement about a general situation or circumstance, but after hearing a person’s story of their experience I can suddenly have a different understanding, a new way of seeing the same issue.

Storytelling was rife over the two days. The experiences of ICV employees and other volunteers entwined themselves around the lessons we learned, supporting and embellishing the impressions and generalisations. Appropriate preparation indeed for life in a storytelling culture. For me this was more than just the icing on the cake. It helped the bridge in my mind between my culture and others, and it reinforced the fact that although we might have slight differences in our cultures, those differences are exceptions. We are extremely similar.

In the evening, sitting around a fire, an older aboriginal lady sang us her songs and told us the stories of her life. Few eyes were dry by the time she finished talking, but there were many laughs along the way – seeing the funny side of things is clearly an effective coping mechanism. As a member of the Stolen Generation, she was taken from her family in Western Australia as a three-year-old, dislocated from her culture and brought up as a white child. She’s suffered great pain from separation, discrimination, abuse – pain of the kind that never truly goes away. As an adult she was reunited with her family but she struggled to reconnect to her people and her culture. An immensely strong woman with a smile that lit up a dark night, now she sings, paints and tells her stories to overcome the pain. I hope one day you’ll hear her stories for yourself, so, out of respect, I won’t share any more.

Stories often have the greatest impact when we identify with the issues they raise, and as I listened to this woman certain elements of her stories tugged at me, reminding me of stories I heard from my own family history. At the end of the evening I told her about how genocide affected my ancestors, and of the prejudice my immigrant grandmothers faced when they came to England after the war. She really appreciated this, and I realised more than ever that if we share stories between cultures there is hope that we can understand one another.

…………

As part of this adventurous journey we had hoped to minimise our environmental impact, avoiding the use of aeroplanes and living simply. We don’t believe in carbon offsetting but we’re hoping that the trade-off of the flights to and from Brisbane will be the empowerment of others to create sustainable lives for their people. We’re flying back to Darwin soon and hope to find a suitable project to help out with through ICV. With the permission of whichever community we arrive in I will hopefully be able to let you know more about it. Stay tuned!

I’m afraid that there’s no new photos to show off for once, but for those of you who can’t cope without pretty pictures Ella’s Dad has given us a cracking photo of a possum in his garden. Somehow it got into the middle of a very prickly miniature date palm. We hope this isn’t a metaphor for our future volunteering experience!

Possum in a prickly place

The Original McKenzie Clan Fathered by my Great-Grandfather Fred McKenzie Snr

My Great-Grandfather was the Son of an Adnyamathanha and Scottish European union, and thus explains why we are now known by the European Scottish name of McKenzie

Despite this My Great-Grandfather became one of the Last Ceremonial Leaders of Our People

Nhangka, Today I was reading the book “Yura and Udnyu – A History of the Adnyamathanha of the North Flinders Ranges” by Peggy Brock.

First published in 1985 by Wakefield Press ISBN # 0 949268 08 9

Peggy Brock Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini Consultants were: Rufus Wilton, Bill Stubbs, John McKenzie, Pearl McKenzie, Violet Gilbert, Claude Demell, Ethel Demell, Artie Wilton, Annie Coulthard, Roma Wilton, Gertie Johnson, Don Coulthard, Clem Coulthard, Clifford Coulthard and Elsie Jackson

I thought it important to share with you how my Grandfather’s Peoples handled the Stolen Generation issue and policies for their fortitude and response during this stressful and racial discriminatory time of our Australian Aboriginal history.

We Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini living today and our Future Descendants should always be proud and honoured to be descended from such strong Peoples.

Peggy Brock learnt this from our Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini Consultants the following:

• The Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Peoples of the Northern Flinders Ranges have survived today as a Peoples because they full accepeted the children of mixed unions – Adnyamathanha and Europeans – as FULL members of their Ancient Society;
• The Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Peoples, like other Aboriginal communities, had complex and very strict kinship rules;
• Contravention of these kinship rules could result in the death of the wrongdoer;
• These rules did not apply to sexual relationships with Europeans;
• Children born from sexual encounters between Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura-artu (Women) and European men were FULLY acccepted and brought up by the whole of the Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Community;
• When the Mother subsequently married an Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Miru (man) he accepted FULLY the children from such Adnyamathanha-European union as his own;
• There is no early recorded marriage of a European White Mother and an Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Miru Father. The first recorded Marriage was between an English women Rebecca Castledine and Jack Forbes in the 1920s;
• Such Marriages are quite common today and the children are considered FULLY as part of the Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Community;
• Occasionally the white fathers tried to take control of their children through police action, for instance the Beltana police attempted to ‘arrest’ children as neglected and bring them under state control;
• However, in two documented cases the Mother and Adnyamathanha (step) Father refused to give up their children and it was subsequently found they were not neglected as their Adnyamathanha (step) Fathers had employment;
• There were attempts from the 1890s to send children of mixed descent to other far flung misson stations;
• Our Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Wardumathanha (Ancestors, people of long ago) managed to fight off these attempts by the Protector of Aborigines and police to disperse our Peoples, especially their children of mixed descent;
• In 1893 the Sub-Protector of Aborigines tried to send the young children to far flung mission stations, but the childrens friends and realtives would not allow them to go because Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini Mudha saw that the customs and language of others were different, and they would not allow their children to grow up in places where such customs and languages were different;
• In 1902 there were another concerted attempt to send children to Point McLeay Mission, down south on the Shores of Lake Alexandria and the Lands of the Ngarrindjeri;
• Families where one parent was widowed were approached and persuaded to let their children go to Point McLeay, but they would not do so and could not do so because the whole community of Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini Mudha would not allow such a thing to occur, because our Laws prevented sole parents to decided for themeselves to send their children away. Such an sole action and decision needed firstly the whole communal permission of all the children’s Ngankini, especially their Elders, and such permission was not forthcoming, ever;
• After an measle epidemic the attempt to remove children was finally stopped when the whole of the Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Peoples said such attempt needed to be stopped because they needed the children to build up their tribe again.

This is how our Adnyamathanha Ararru Mathari Yura Ngankini Wardumathanha and their Yarkati (children) survived the disgracful and racial Australian Governments Stolen Generation Period and Policy of Removing Our Children.

Therefore, let us always be fully proud of the strentgh and fortitude of our Wardumathanha for many of us may not be here today, our culture would not be as strong, and our Peoples may have became exinct and vanished from our Yarta (Lands).

Warntu?

Riding the Black Cockatoo

Sometimes sick days can be rewarding – it meant I could lie in bed and just read the whole of this well-written and totally engrossing book. John’s story follows him on his journey as he goes from a family man learning to become  a teacher, to a sincere supporter of reconciliation.

John makes a casual comment one day (in a class about Indigenous Writing)  about how his family had an Aboriginal skull on their mantelpiece for over 40 years. This is the start of his amazing journey to the return this skull to its rightful resting place. Along the way, he goes through attitudinal and mental changes.  I do wonder what his wife and kids thought of all the goings-on, but I suppose it was his story rather than theirs.

His recall of attitudes towards Aboriginal People in Australia over the last four decades reminded me of how far many of us have come (not far enough and not enough of us, however).

Stolen Generation – children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal & State government agencies & church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments.

Is it safe?

Period of removal happened approximately between 1869 – 1969. Reasoning behind their removal consists of multiply ideals.

“Documentary evidence, such as newspaper articles and reports to parliamentary committees, suggest a range of rationales. Motivations evident include child protection, beliefs that given their catastrophic population decline after white contact that black people would “die out”, fears of miscegenation and a desire to attain white racial purity.”

Links for resources and more information:
St. Angela’s Peace and Justice Web-site
Paper on Aboriginals
Australian Aborigines
Stolen Generation
Aboriginals: Foreigners in their own land?
BBC World Service Documentary – Culture not colour

Monday 18 May 2009

Sorry (Tony Albert)

Brisbane’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission has urged Catholics to continue to commemorate National Sorry Day on 26 May.

National Sorry Day has been marked on this day each year since the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s Bringing Them Home Report was handed to the Federal Government in 1997.

The report details the Commission’s findings from an inquiry into the policy of forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families and communities over much of the twentieth century.

The Day precedes National Reconciliation Week which runs from the anniversary of the 1967 referendum on May 27 when Indigenous people were recognized as citizens and the anniversary of the High Court’s recognition of native title in the Mabo Case on 3 June.

The Brisbane Commission’s Executive Officer, Peter Arndt, said that Indigenous people place great importance on National Sorry Day because it gives them an opportunity to remember the grief and loss they have suffered as a result of the policy.

“Despite the momentous apology of the Federal Parliament to members of the Stolen Generations on 13 February 2008, there is still much healing to be done,” Mr Arndt said.

“There is still much pain and trauma for many Aboriginal people because of this practice,” he said.

“The Federal Government recognized this fact when they announced the establishment of a Stolen Generations Healing Foundation on the first anniversary of the apology this year,” he said.

“There will be a number of National Sorry Day ceremonies at Bringing Them Home Plaques around Brisbane and at various locations in South-East Queensland on the day and we would encourage Catholics to join with Indigenous people in remembering the pain and making commitments to be a part of the healing process,” he said.

“We would also hope that parishes and schools around the Archdiocese will mark the day in some way,” he said.

“Despite the apology, there is still a lot of ignorance about the forcible removal policies and this must be addressed,” he said.

“The Bringing Them Home Home Report recommended education about the practice in schools and for a range of professionals who work with Indigenous people,” he said.

“We cannot come to terms with the on-going effects of the trauma of forcible removal unless we know the history,” he said.

“Teachers, police, lawyers, social workers, doctors and nurses all need to know what happened so they can understand why there are problems for some Indigenous people,” he said.

“We ask Catholics to read summaries of the Bringing Them Home Report and look at its recommendations,” he said.

“When you read the recommendations, it becomes very clear that there is still so much more that needs to be done,” he said.

“We must also keep asking Governments why they reject recommendations that affected people receive reparations payments,” he said.

“The Tasmanian Government has established a standard for the Federal Government and other State and Territory Governments in making reparations payments to members of the Stolen Generations a couple of years ago,” he said.

“We should all be asking the Federal Government and our own Queensland Government to follow Tasmania’s example,” he said.

For further information, please contact Peter Arndt on (07) 3336 9173 or 0409 265 476.

NB  This release is issued with the approval of the Commission or its Executive under the provision of its Charter which enables it to speak in its own right.  The views expressed in it do not necessarily represent the views of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

“If you’ve got nothing good to say then don’t say anything at all”, goes that old aphorism. And despite having written squat for The Spin Embargo over the past month or so, I fear that I might have to do exactly that… cos baby I got nothin’! Well shoot, in all honesty, there’s all kinds of dribble I could rant on about but none of it would be terribly interesting and would have at best been only vaguely contemplated, and it would be writers’ suicide to bore you with unsubstantiated hoo-haa, lacking in any form of fun or wisdom.

But hang on, before i throw in the towel here, I could always talk about Peter Garrett…Yes! That’s what i’ll do. This guy definitely warrants a blog entry.

Why? Because surely Garrett is a man who knows a thing or two about political ’spin’. Now in saying that, I sure as shit aint accusing our dear friend ‘lurch’ of necessarily dishing up ’spin’ himself – never! But by joining in on K-Rudd’s 24hour media-cycle circus, he’s obviously had to toe a few lines here and there – this is part and parcel stuff in the great ALP parade that demands ‘good politics’ and ‘good politics’ only.  Long gone then are the days of Garrett chaining himself to a giant Tasmanian ‘Plumpton’ (tree), and so too has he ditched donning the black T’s with words such as “sorry” or the like splattered across the front (ok so the apology’s been made but you get my drift). But worst of all, in his bold political morph, Garrett, in my view, lost a little faith and a little pride in himself for a period there, and may have even wound up scratching the back of that cue ball head of his at times, wondering what, by Jesus, all that activism back in the ‘Oils’ days had now amounted to. And so after just a few years under the pump of Labor-correctness, he was showing signs of being a dead weight; a chunk of driftwood floating about in a stagnant dike while the rest of the team shot off to play hard ball.

Crusading Kev kicked a winner by signing the Kyoto Protocol, then a month later pranced around the House of Reps with Dr. Nelson, in a bi-partisan lap of honour, you might call it, following his delivery of the ‘apology to end all apologies’ – yes the one to the (indigenous) stolen generation that was about 60 years in waiting. Jivin’ Jules too got to step up to the plate to deliver a fastball in her grand, ‘revolutionary’ plans for the Education sector. And, good God, even Wayne ’slap-on-the-back-for-trying’ Swan – who’s like the kid on the bench that you put in the game cos he just tries so bloody hard – has been pulling out all stops since taking over the ‘treasury’ reins, to show the big boys that when it comes to business, he means… economics (or is it the other way around Wayne?)

But as for lurch, well, he hasn’t been able to say or do a whole lot at all. A few blunders in that tiresome campaign back in ‘07 and his expected porfolios were given a bit of a downsizing – basically he was given all the ones that require little dealings with the media (or anyone really). A hardhat photo op. with Kev down at the local energy plant was about the biggest gig he’d be seeing in a day’s work.  Of course there’s that sticky pulp mill number – ‘to approve, or not to approve’ – which Garrett affirms “will not be granted until detailed studies on the potential marine impacts have been completed”, but in the end that’ll all just get passed up to the bigger and better (or longer serving) players – who will ultimately base their decision on ‘labor-correct’ principles.

Alas! Garrett’s ok, babe. Better! He’s nestled his niche. He’s struck a chord. He’s settled right on in. That big ol’ seat with the words ‘Peter Garrett – Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts’ inscribed is his for the sitting, and finally it seems, he’s totally cool with that. He’s re-discovered his voice, babe, in more ways than one. He’s in the zone, and he realizes now how far that zone he can safely call his, stretches.

And thus, as he returned to his roots and recharged that energetic mojo of his on stage recently for the Bushfire Appeal concert at the MCG, reunited once more with Midnight Oil, I’ll bet Garrett not only felt like the hippest kid in the squad (ALP), but that as federal Minister of the ARTS! he was playing his part, doing by Jesus, the duty bestowed upon him by the great Commonwealth of Australia.

And so…. ‘10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1′… Garrett rocks. And let’s not forget that. ‘Spin or no ’spin’. I have a renewed faith in the man. He is ‘the olive branch man’, and ‘he’ll press it any way he can’.

Over and out.

We should have said sorry: Abbott

Opposition spokesman for Indigenous affairs, Tony Abbott, has admitted publicly for the first time that the Coalition made a mistake by refusing to apologise to Australia’s Indigenous population.

The former prime minister, John Howard, repeatedly defended his decision not to say sorry to Aboriginal people during his 11 years in power and criticised the Federal Government’s historic apology to the Stolen Generations last year.

Addressing a social services forum in Sydney, Mr Abbott was applauded when he publicly admitted the Coalition should have said sorry while in government.

“It was a mistake for us not to apologise to Aboriginal people,” he said as the crowd applauded.

“And I’m pleased when Kevin Rudd did decide to apologise that he was strongly supported by the Coalition.”

He was speaking as the Government officially adopted the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples at a ceremony in Parliament House, reversing the decision of the previous Government who voted against it in 2007.

What I’m not clear on is whether Abbott is implying that they should have done it as a vote winning political move, or they should have done it because its the moral thing to do.  For the rest of the article goes on to say that the Opposition are declaring the Government’s decision to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of  the Indigenous Peoples, a “grave error”.

What I am clear about is that  the ABC News comments thread is proving to be excellent blog fodder.  While a few commentators shared a reaction akin to mine, some, probably diehard JWH fans, were not happy.

Concerned Aussie: Already the socialist ALP party is dragging this once great country to the far-left, so much so that we have right-thinking politicians like Abbott succumbing to the do-gooder mentality.

Tony Porter: Dear Tony,
You and I were not in OZ when the stolen generation debacle happen so don’t apologize but make sure that any help given to the indigenous or part indigenous people at this time will not come back and bite our descendants on the bum.

regret: Whats wrong with you Tony Abbott? Why do you have to rehash the past? I admired John Howard for his stance on this issue, its a pity the rest of the govt. at the time didnt get behind Mr Howard and explain that he was right in his wording.

(Do I even live in the same country as ‘concerned aussie’?)  On the, most assuredly slim, basis of a comparison between the reaction to this story and the reaction to the story about a report the lifetime earnings gap between men and women, it seems that misogyny’s more acceptable than racism, in terms of how people comment.

It was not a bad movie; I never thought it was. Fact is I enjoyed every minute of it – the whole 190- minute run. I have thought the cinematography is superb and the social milieu that made up its thematic stuff is relevant and timely.

I came out of the movie quite satisfied.

When I turned on to the pages of online papers, however, what the bloody hell was going on? Critics, most of them ‘fair dinkum Aussies,’ have thrown all the rotten eggs at Baz Lurhmann’s face calling him an “embarrassment.”

Andrew Bolt, in his Herald Sun’s column, was simmering with anti-Baz comments. He alleged Lurhmann for treason, literally for “selling Australia” to the world. Hard-line feminist Germaine Greer, likewise, tagged the film as a “disaster” — a fradulent and misleading fantasy.

These critics loathed at the historical context of the movie. Nothing else.

So far, only Marcia Langman from Melb Uni came out in the open in defense of Australia saying it has given the nation a “new past.” But Greer later ridiculed her. She can’t agree.

Other nasty comments fell on Nicole Kidman. Suddenly, I learned from anonymous critics this award-winning actress “cannot act.” Hadn’t I watched her award-winning film “The Hour” and “Cold Mountain?” What happened in Australia?

That “Over the Rainbow” scene is corny, so with her torrid kissing scenes under the rain and elsewhere with Hugh Jackmann. I undersdand why she “cringed” at herself when she and her husband Keith Urban watched the premiere. Didn’t she enjoy Hugh? She stressed out later he is lovely, so as Brandon Walters.

Australia got only one Oscar nomination for its costume arrangement– designed by the same costume director in 2001’s Moulin Rouge. But it did not win.

The $150 million film is gone. Only Tourism Australia could probably benefit from what’s left, along with film producer, Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox.

Anyone else who can patronise this film? No one? How un-Australian!

(courtesy of http://thecinemareview.com/site/images/jmovies/img_pictures/australia_movie_poster.jpg)

Synopsis: (courtesy of imdb.com and wikipedia.com)

“In 1939, the English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley, travels from Great Britain to northern Australia to try and convince her suspected of philandering husband, Maitland Ashley, of selling their failing cattle farm, Faraway Downs. Her husband sends an independent cattle drover, simply called “Drover”, to the city of Darwin to transport her to Faraway Downs. Lady Sarah’s husband, who has been working hard to sell 1,500 head of cattle to the military, is murdered shortly before she arrives. Meanwhile, treacherous FD cattle station manager Neil Fletcher is trying to gain control of Faraway Downs, so that neighboring Lesley ‘King’ Carney can have a cattle monopoly in the Northern Territory, which will give him negotiating leverage with the Australian army. Fletcher also claims to Lady Sarah that the murderer of her husband is an Aboriginal elder with magical powers, called “King George.” Lady Sarah persuades Drover to take the cattle to Darwin for sale after firing her station manager when Nullah, a mixed race Aboriginal-Caucasian child Lady Ashley befriended, proves that Fletcher has been lying  the whole time. Drover leads a team of six other riders, including Lady Sarah, to attempt to drive the 1,500 cattle to Darwin in time to beat out the sale of King Carney’s cattle.”

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence, a scene of sensuality, and brief strong language.

Genre: Drama, war, adventure, western.

Cast of characters: Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, Hugh Jackman as “Drover”, Dale Wenham as Neil Fletcher, Jack Thompson as Kipling Flynn, Bryan Brown as Lesley “King” Carney, Brandon Walters as Nullah, David Gulpilil as “King George”, Ben Mendelsohn as Captain Emmett Dutton, and David Ngoombujarra as Drover’s colleague and friend Magarri.

Stars: 5 Stars!!!

If there was ever a movie that deserved 5 stars, this movie is it. It was simply fantastic and totally delightful. It was a good, clean, family film that left you sitting on the edge of your seat, hoping and praying that Lady Ashley, Drover, and their entourage would successfully make it across some of the barren wastelands that Australia contains. This was not simply a “chic flick” or a “guy’s film”, but truly one the whole family could enjoy and connect with. This story had such great depth and intrigue that it left you wanting more, or to simply re-watch it over and over, again.

This new video on the Apology to the Stolen Generations was produced by Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas and Perth director Russell James.

Apology (It’s time)

The rest of the site is worth a look too!

“To the stolen generations, … I offer you this apology without qualification. We apologise for the hurt, the pain and suffering that we, the parliament, have caused you by the laws that previous governments have enacted. We apologise for the indignity, the degradation and the humiliation these laws embodied.”  Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd

Australia Commemorates February 13, 2008

Friday February 13 marks the first anniversary of a significant moment in Australia’s history. The Prime Minister’s apology to the Stolen Generations was a major historical moment and hope for a turning point for Indigenous communities. Heard and watched by millions of Australians on the first full-sitting day of the new Parliament, the apology fulfilled the newly elected Labor Government’s election promise to say sorry to the stolen generations, their families, and communities.

You can listen to or read the Prime Minister’s Apology here: http://www.australia.gov.au/Video_-_National_Apology_to_the_Stolen_Generations

Join in as Australia Reflects

The theme this year is Beyond Sorry, looking at the healing process and the next steps in the reconciliation process, and celebrations are being held across Australia to mark the day.

In Perth, an Apology Anniversary Gathering will be held At Derbal Yerrigan in East Perth on Friday from 11am to 2pm. The event will include lunch, a Nyoongar welcome, Nyoongar dancers, a replay of the Apology, Stolen Generation guest speakers, and on-site counsellors. For more information or for a complete list of registered events in WA, visit Reconciliation Australia at this link: http://www.reconciliation.org.au/i-cms.isp?page=829

You can also catch The Apology, a documentary by Indigenous Film Services and Reconciliation Australia, this Friday at 6.00pm on ABC1.

Recording Our History

The State Library of Western Australia captured the historic day last year to share with Australians for generations to come, and we are continuing to strive to create a collection that reflects the significance for all West Australians. If you have any photographs, ephemera (promotional material etc.) or stories from the day or anniversary events and would like to share them or make a donation to the collection, please feel welcome to contact our Subject Specialist Indigenous on 9427 3480 or email indigenous.spec@slwa.wa.gov.au

WENT TO SEE THE AUSSIE DAY FIREWORKS WITH HUBBY -TO INITIATE HIM AND MAKE HIM FINALLY FEEL LIKE HE’S IN AUSTRALIA. I’M SURE HE FEELS OTHERWISE.

WE’RE STILL HOUSEHUNTING .HE STILL RANTS AND RAVES ON HOW RIDICULOUSLY HARD IT IS JUST TO RENT A PLACE AS WELL AS HOW COLD PEOPLE ARE HERE AS COMPARED TO HOME AND JUST HOW PEOPLE COULD SURVIVE IF THEY WERE MIGRATING ON THEIR OWN AND HAD NO FAMILY BECAUSE MONEY JUST GETS EMPTIED SO QUICKLY FROM OUR POCKETS.

HE STILL HAS PLANS TO HAVE US MOVE BACK TO EGYPT AFTER WE PAY OFF THE DEBT, AND I ASKED HIM WHY? -WHEN OF ALL THE PLACES HE’S BEEN TO AND LIVED IN, AUSTRALIA’S THE BEST PLACE WHERE HIS ISLAM HAS GROWN AND BECOME ONLY BETTER AND THAT FINALLY NOT ONLY DOES HE HAVE TIME FOR HIS FAMILY, BUT ALSO TIME FOR ALLAH. THIS SHOULD BE A GOOD ENOUGH MANDATE TO STAY.

LUCKY WE DIDN’T CATCH THE TRAIN BECAUSE IT WAS SO PACKED WHEN IT ALL ENDED. GLAD I WENT ALONG WITH HIS IDEA IN PARKING AT THE PERTH TRAIN STATION.

HUBBY WAS BEWILDERED WITH ALL THE DRUNK AND LOUD PEOPLE SCREACHING “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI!” IN AMONGST THE SEA OF GOLD, GREEN AND BLUE.

ALWAYS ON AUSTRALIA DAY OUR BELOVED THE WEST AUSTRALIAN PAPER FEATURES HOW UNAUSTRALIAN MUSLIMS HERE ARE OR WEEKS LEADING UP TO IT, HOW WE SHOULDN’T CHANGE THEIR WAY OF LIFE.

I’M LIKE WHO’S WAY OF LIFE? WHY ARE PEOPLE CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA DAY WHEN FOR THE ABORIGINALS, IT WAS INVASION DAY, ETHNIC CLEANSING DAY. HOW COULD WE CELEBRATE ONE WAY OF LIFE WHEN LITERALLY EVERYONE WHO CAME TO AUSTRALIA WAS AN IMMIGRANT, EVEN ABORIGINALS THEMSELVES. SINCE WHEN WAS THE AUSTRALIAN CULTURE A MONOCULTURE WHEN THERE’S SO MANY PEOPLE FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD? THE TYPICAL AUSSIE MEATPIES DON’T JUST HAVE WORCHESIRE SAUCE BUT SATAY, CHILLI, QUACOMOLE ETC ETC TOO.

SINCE THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FINALLY SAID SORRY LAST YEAR FOR THEIR PAST ILL-TREATMENT TOWARDS THE ABORIGINALS, PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERING ABOUT CHANGING THE DAY WHICH I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE IT FINALLY SHOWS HOW FAR WE’VE MATURED AS A NATION IN ACCEPTING THE REAL FOUNDERS OF THIS COUNTRY AND ITS CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE.

ALSO MANY THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE MUSLIM, YOU CAN’T BE AUSTRALIAN AS WELL.

WELL, IF YOU’RE EXPECTED TO SERVE HUMANITY IN ORDER TO SERVE ALLAH, HOW THEN CAN THIS NOT BE APPLIED TO MUSLIMS BE GOOD AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS AS WELL?

DID I ALSO MENTION WE HAD A PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE TOO?

PRETTY FULL ON DAY

http://www.astronomywa.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=368:australia-day-solar-eclipse&catid=14:stories&Itemid=2

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24946317-5006785,00.html

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=113198

http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw/education-kit/stolen-generations/
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/classroom/factsheets/52.html

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/stolen.php

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998067,00.html

The first week of the Obama administration is going to be something to watch with keen eyes. One story, among the dozens that come out daily, really caught my eye today. It reported that Obama will be ordering the closure of Guantanamo Bay within the first week, maybe even his first day on the job:

Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

That executive order is expected during Obama’s first week on the job — and possibly on his first day, according to two transition team advisers. Both spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Obama’s order will direct his administration to figure out what to do with the estimated 250 al-Qaida and Taliban suspects and potential witnesses who are being held at Guantanamo.

It’s still unlikely the prison would be closed any time soon. Obama last weekend said it would be “a challenge” to close it even within the first 100 days of his administration.

While the practical closure of the facility, as mentioned, probably won’t happen too soon, it’s the symbolic action that we, in Australia, are not unaccustomed to. Prime Minister Rudd, hours after being sworn in, ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Here, his first act as Prime Minister, his actions too would take time to come to fruition: the ratification would come into force 90 days after the instrument is received by the United Nations. Of this rather symbolic gesture (as Australia had been previously been targets to meet the reduced emission levels, though not officially as the Protocol was never ratified), Rudd said:

This is the first official act of the new Australian Government, demonstrating my Government’s commitment to tackling climate change.

Australia’s official declaration today that we will become a member of the Kyoto Protocol is a significant step forward in our country’s efforts to fight climate change domestically – and with the international community.

Another symbolic action from the Rudd government was the apology to the stolen generations. It was the first order of business for the new parliament, and was another (like Kyoto) campaign promise of Rudd’s for a Labor government. Neither of these two actions actually physically do anything on their own. But they are important and crucial actions that will allow for future progress in both the areas. It was agreed before the election, and by the election of the Rudd government by Australians, that the best way to tackle climate change was by first signing the Kyoto Protocol. It would open up opportunities in the next round of negotiations as well as set Australian governments goal in the future. The actual Kyoto Protocol goals would have been met by the Howard Government, who never signed it. So our effect on the climate would have remained the same. Yet with the signing, the symbolism behind it signified a new page in Australian policy on the environment. Similarly, the only way that reconciliation would occur between Indigenous Australians and the wider Australian community was with the first symbolic step of an apology. From there, a better effort could be made to improving the standard of living for Indigenous Australians, but it wouldn’t happen without the apology.

And so, with Obama’s own campaign promises to restore the world’s faith in America, to return to a more moral path, and to reinstate democratic justice to America’s actions, his largely symbolic action, possibly the largest symbolic act he can carry out, shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks away. I’ll quote Obama on what his campaign promise was from a speech on August 1, 2007:

I also will reject a legal framework that does not work. There has been only one conviction at Guantanamo. It was for a guilty plea on material support for terrorism. The sentence was 9 months. There has not been one conviction of a terrorist act. I have faith in America’s courts, and I have faith in our JAGs. As President, I will close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Our Constitution and our Uniform Code of Military Justice provide a framework for dealing with the terrorists.

Closing Guantanamo Bay down is the right thing to do. Processing the prisoners is long over due, has been a gross miscarriage of justice, and a stain on America’s history. But it can’t happen over night – and it won’t. But when Obama comes out next week and informs that world that he has ordered Gitmo, it will be a symbolic measure only. It will take time to close it down, and it will take even longer for the US to have its international image restored. But like Kyoto and the apology here, it’s an important first step to shaping and change the course of the country for the better. Progress can’t be made without a symbolic gesture to show that you are sincere about change.

The actual results won’t come for a while yet (not just for Gitmo, but for all three really), but for the place to even get shut down, for the US to start back on the right track, and for a point where we can mark a change between the old and the new, that announcement will be will be the thing to look to. I anticipate, and look forward to, it.

Thomas.