Monsoon Season

I'm the one in the middle

Nette is older than me and she's bossy

Andy is younger, he's the baby even though he's 5

And goes to school

but Nette treats him like a baby

Every Christmas holidays Dad takes us camping

he tries to get back before the Big Wet

cause then all the roads are closed

one time we went up north

we were coming back home

Dad listened to the radio in the car

it had started to rain and the rivers were rising

“Peg” he says to my mum “we'll have to stop in Bundaberg.

The road's cut between us and home.”

We put up the tent in the caravan park.

We all have jobs to do.

I'm good at putting up tents.

I pull the guy ropes tight when Dad has banged the pegs into the ground.

Mum cooks dinner in the covered bbq place

Dad listens to the radio with the other dads near the ping pong tables

“River's still rising”.

Every time it rains we go to the poky little library and read all the books.

They don't have any Tintin or Asterisk.

When it stops raining we run down and check the river

Creeping up the stairs one by one.

I see a cow floating by its legs in the air.

One day Mum says “Go and get the kids, lunch is ready.”

I race down to the river

Nette and Andy are standing at the top of the stairs but

They're not looking at the river.

Nette hisses at me “Stop! Don't come any nearer!”

There's a huge snake lying between her and me

Lying across the path that goes down to the steps that lead down to the river.

She is holding Andy tight and he's staring at the snake

But he's not making a sound.

I turn and run

Back through the caravan park

Screaming “Snake! Snake!”

Dad and two other men grab mallets and sticks and shovels and

Follow me back

And whack that snake

One man hangs it over the No Parking sign.

“Taipan” he says. “Deadliest snake. Must've been going down for a drink.

You kids are lucky you stood so still.”

Andy is bawling his eyes out and Mum cuddles him.

We all stand around staring at the snake.

Next day the river starts going down and we join the long queue heading South

For Home.

O is for oil

At last. Good news for Israel. 2 large natural gas reservoirs have been found off-shore: Tamar in 2008 and Leviathan in 2010.

Tamar holds enough for Israel for the next 20 years. Leviathan, thought to be the world's largest off-shore discovery in the last 10 years is twice the size.

Israel and Cyprus will need to work together to exploit these resources and add stability to the region.

Prisoner swap

Ah the usual "balance" in the Middle East when it comes to Israel: one Israeli soldier is released back home to his family in exchange for 1000 terrorists.

Too depressing for words.

Freedom of Speech

Have to keep repeating: Freedom of conscience (and the resultant freedom of speech) is the foundation of all freedoms.

Z is for Zionism

From Kelvin's book, page 10. "In 1798 a Baptist minister in England named James Bicheno ( whose son James E Bicheno was one time colonial secretary in Tasmania) wrote:
/Now we are looking for the restoration of the scattered Jews. . . to pretend to determine, positively, how this ought to be brought about, would be arrogance, the probability being that the Turkish power being overturned in Palestine, by some invading enemy, that enemy will think it politic and necessary, for the promotion of its own schemes, to invite the Jews to take posession of their ancient patrimony. & to make one cause with themselves. For without the support of some powerful nation, how are the dispersed, disorganized Jews, to collect their numbers & unite their energies, so as to produce the effects predicted? We know God can work miracles; but we know also that he usually works by 2nd causes.
I shall now only add that Egypt, it is probable, will be an easy conquest (Isaiah 11:11) & a thoroughfare for the returning sons of Abraham, to the country of their ancestors./
A few months later, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. . .[setting] the scene for the unfolding of an amazing geo-political dynamic, the consequences of which have continued on until the modern period."
I am enjoying Golda Meir's autobiography. On page 62:
"Perhaps at this point I should say something briefly about the [Valley of Jezreel], because the story of the struggle to develop it is so integral a part of the story of the whole Zionist effort. When the 1st WW ended & the Mandate over Palestine was awarded by the League of Nations to Britain, the new hopes raised by the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of a full-fledged Jewish national home seemed to be on the way towards fulfilment. Years earlier, however, in 1901, the Jewish National Fund had already been formed by the Zionist movement for the exclusive purpose of buying & developing land in Palestine in the name of the entire Jewish people. & a great deal of the Jewish-owned land in Palestine was bought by 'the people' - the bakers, tailors & carpenters of Pinsk, Berlin & Milwaukee. . .
Come to think of it, I am more than a little tired of hearing about how the Jews 'stole' land from Arabs in Palestine. The facts are quite different. A lot of money changed hands, & a lot of Arabs became very rich indeed. . . So let that libel. . .be done with."

O is for Origami

I have been making origami pieces since childhood - I still have the origami instruction book given to me as a birthday present when I was about 10. So I'm always interested in new folds.

A couple of weeks ago, someone told me about a clip she had watched online of a little book by British origamist Dave Brill.

So I've made these little books for the grandchildren. All you need is a 15cm square of Japanese paper (colored on one side). No cutting or gluing.

L is for Language/Linguistics

I enjoyed studying Linguistics at uni. When I had children, all the theory was made real in participating in their development.

Later I worked with special needs kids. A joy when language sessions went well. Other times, constant struggle.

Now the grandchildren are forging ahead with language and it is wonderful to see again, theory worked out in practice.

H is for Holocaust

When we were in Israel, we visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. The most heartbreaking memorial is to the one million children killed by the Nazis. Their names are recited continuously in a candle-lit underground labyrinth.

One of the many threats to Israel today is abortion. Since 1948 about two million unborn children have been terminated, more than the number of Jewish children killed in the Holocaust.

Be'ad Chaim is an organization in Israel that gives practical help to girls who decide to keep their babies.

Skeptics

A friend asks "Why is it ok to be skeptical of any religion except the religion of climate change?"

Good question. Actually it is good to ask questions and take time to think through important issues and not just accept everything you hear.

But don't be constantly doubting. Don't be like the boat tossed by the seas. Put down your anchor.

Oh, and the religion of climate change? Topic for another day. Quadrant has some excellent articles on it.

Winter Blues

It's been a long cold wet winter and everyone has been sick. We crave the sunshine and the warmth. The grandchildren are out of sorts. When it's warm again we'll go to the park.

September 11

Ten years ago I sat all day in disbelief staring at the computer screen and wondering what was going on.

Ten years ago I didn't know much about Mohammed and his followers. Since then, I've bought 2 different translations of the Koran, and several books on Mohammedism.

Ten years on, maybe I'm beginning to understand the ideology and why those 19 men did what they did.

Animal rights and the right to life

It's very trendy these days to Fight for Animal Rights. Not so trendy to fight for the rights of the unborn child.

S is for South Sudan

I read an encouraging article in Israel Today. Israel and South Sudan are fast becoming good friends.

"Both Danon [Israeli lawmaker] and [President Salva] Kiir said that Israel and South Sudan have a bright future as partners in combining the former's vast technological abilities and the latter's enormous natural resources."

FGM

This is a revolting practice and it is revolting to write about. I will not link to the article but you can find and read for yourself. The Jakarta Globe 2 September 2011 "Fears Indonesian female circumcision guidelines could increase practice".

And to refute the tired old argument that "it's not Islamic", a quote from the hadiths: "A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband." - Sunan Abu Dawud 41.5251

M is for marriage

If there are no absolutes and marriage is a tool of bourgeois oppression (as I was told at uni when I was told that everything is meaningless and everyone was shacking up with everyone else), why is having homosexual marriage an absolute must-have?

G is for grandchildren

What a privilege to have children and then to have grandchildren.

Truly blessed.

Free Spee-------

"I cannot say any more or I will be sued."

"I cannot say what I think or I will lose my job."

"I cannot believe/think/speak or I will be killed."


It is a sad state of affairs when freedoms are taken away.

AGW or HGW?

Anthropogenic or heliocentric?

8000 scientists at CERN (the world’s largest particle physics laboratory and the place where the Internet began) say "the sun plays a large role in modulating the quantity of cosmic rays reaching the upper atmosphere of the Earth." Cosmic rays help clouds to form (through some process called ion-induced nucleation, google it) which have a large effect on the global temperatures.

My, oh my, Mister Goracle, who woulda thunk that some little thing like the Sun would have some impact on Earth, I mean it's so far away and all.

Cryptics and Ordinaries

Every Saturday I work on a cryptic crossword or an ordinary one. Today was an ordinary one and I was pleased with the answer to the clue. "21 Down: Israeli capital city" Answer: Jerusalem.

I had thought at first it would be PC and say Tel Aviv or something else entirely.

Country Mouse and Town Mouse.

I have lived in both town and country.

Today I rejoiced in living in the country where I could wash my clothes in rainwater and dry them on the clothesline in the sunshine.

And walk for an hour in the twilight with my man, beside the sea.

BDS or BIS?

If you don't know what BDS Israel is, google it. What I'm talking about here is BIS: Buy, Invest and Support Israel.

I buy hand and face cream made of ingredients from the Dead Sea by an Israeli company.

I bought a tree which has been planted on Mount Carmel. Thousands were lost in the fires of last summer.

I visited Israel (and when I can afford it will visit again, God willing), I read about Israel, I talk about Israel, I've written and illustrated about Israel, and I pray for Israel.

Drawing group.

D is for double standards

On Monday one of our young Diggers is killed by the Taliban. On Monday al-Qaeda trained Hicks is shortlisted for the Qld Premiers Literary Awards.

V is for violence.

There is much concern nowadays about violence to woman - domestic violence and rape. But do we forget about the violence towards unborn girls through abortion, and the violence done to young girls through FGM, and the violence done to young girls who are married off to old men?

You've missed the soup and the fish...Let me introduce you to that leg of mutton said the Red Queen.

I have loved the Alice books since Auntie Helen gave me the Annotated Alice by Martin Gardner, when I was about 9 or 10.