Australia Day 2008

A reminder of what the then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard said in 2007 during a vexing time when Australia was put under pressure about not accepting Muslim ways. I think he made a difficult stand that needed to be taken by the person who leads the country. I guarantee many people thought this but none had the courage to publicly make such a statement.
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.' 'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom' 'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!''Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.' 'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.''This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.''If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

climate change and recession

The upcoming recession is being talked about in the news right now, and it's mainly being blamed on oil prices and the sub-prime mortgage situation. But there's another area where the US economy is leaking money: the insurance industry. They've taken a beating from the bad weather caused by global warming. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted a 21st century rise in ocean levels of 32 inches, but now they say it could be twice that: 64 inches. This is what happened the last time the earth got this hot, 100,000 years ago. This news has the insurance industry terrified, since they’ve already lost $75 million from natural catastrophes in 2007. cIn MarketWatch, Steve Goldstein quotes insurance expert Torsten Jeworrek as saying, "The trend in respect of weather extremes shows that climate change is already taking effect and that more such extremes are to be expected in the future. We should not be misled by the absence of megacatastrophes in 2007." The 11 warmest years worldwide have been recorded during the last 13 years.

Looting angers flood-hit town of Emerald

Looters have ransacked a number of inundated homes in the flood-hit central western Queensland town of Emerald, adding to the woes of locals still waiting for flood waters to recede. While residents living in Emerald's northern parts have returned to their homes after they escaped unscathed, 166 houses and 97 units - mostly in the town's south - remain under water.Police said they were investigating reports of break and enters at a number of evacuated home units between Tuesday and Thursday morning.As the area is still surrounded by floodwaters, it is unknown what property has been taken," police said in a statement.Five complaints were under investigation but the number could rise as residents return to their homes, police said.Emerald Shire mayor Peter Maguire reacted angrily to the reports."I think people that do that sort of stuff are the lowest form of scum," he said."People are in dire straits and can't get to their property, and then people go out and, I don't know exactly what's happened, but people are taking advantage of those who are in those sort of situations. "We'll tip them (the offenders) in the river, it's running fast enough to get rid of them." The main road into Emerald, the Vince Lester Bridge, is set to remain closed until at least Sunday afternoon while engineers wait for the Nogoa River to fall low enough for them to inspect the underside of the roadway. The river, which peaked at 15.4m on Tuesday night, is falling at a frustratingly slow rate. It was still at 14.85m at 3pm (AEST) on Thursday. Australia Day celebrations have been cancelled in the town, with the venue still under four metres of water. However, Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) spokesman Andy Christie said the community spirit is strong, with those who escaped flood damage responding to the aid of those in need."A lot of the people I spoke to, when they found their own homes weren't affected, the first thing they did was jump in their car and actually drive around to see who they could help," Mr Christie said.Supplies are currently being transported to isolated areas around the region, particularly the Gemfields district, with refrigerated trucks delivering milk, eggs, bread and other essentials to stranded locals.Farmers along the Nogoa have lost at least $80 million in damaged crops, infrastructure and livestock.Rural lobby group AgForce will request military assistance to help feed stranded cattle on farms in the flood-hit regions. President Peter Kenny said up to 90 per cent of stock was unaccounted for on many properties, and large numbers of stranded cattle would be impossible to salvage."There have already been reports of cattle being washed 40 kilometres downstream while unfortunately, larger numbers of younger calves have perished," Mr Kenny said.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came to the assistance of those in disaster-declared areas on Thursday, allowing individuals to access grants of up to $10,000, and businesses up to $25,000, to clean up and restock, under Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).The Queensland government also opened the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal with a $100,000 donation. The public can donate at any branch of the Commonwealth, Westpac, National Australia and ANZ banks.Meanwhile, Australia Day celebrations have also been cancelled in Rockhampton, about 200km east of Emerald, as the city prepares to be hit by flood.The Fitzroy River - which bisects Rocky - is tipped to rise to over eight metres on Tuesday.A disaster management centre will be established in the city on Friday.Rockhampton's Australia Day fireworks and celebrations were due to be held on the banks of the Fitzroy.Gavin Steele, the executive officer of the area's disaster management group, said the expected peak of 8.2m would not cause significant damage to property."Part of our flood plain area will see some inundation there, probably between 10 to 20cm of water in most cases," Mr Steele said."Most of the houses in that area are used to flooding, so their habitable areas are well above that mark."

70% of Queensland is currently UNDER WATER.

The hill

The other day my son took me for a drive up to the top of our hill. I have never been there before because it is such a steep climb and you cross a river aswell, even though there are a few places where you can cross it where there is no water. I took my camera to take some photos.
This is my paradise, I love living here even though it's dry again. Home is where the heart is, and this is where mine is.

my son with shnooky the donkey and the neighbours horses looking on







view facing south












view to the east and the neighbours vinyard

A Warming Climate Can Support Glacial Ice

New research challenges the generally accepted belief that substantial ice sheets could not have existed on Earth during past super-warm climate events. The study by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego provides strong evidence that a glacial ice cap, about half the size of the modern day glacial ice sheet, existed 91 million years ago during a period of intense global warming. This study offers valuable insight into current day climate conditions and the evironmental mechanisms for global sea level rise. The new study in the Jan. 11 issue of the journal Science titled, "Isotopic Evidence for Glaciation During the cretaceous Supergreenhouse," examines geochemical and sea level data retrieved from marine microfossils deposited on the ocean floor 91 million years ago during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. This extreme warming event in Earth's history raised tropical ocean temperatures to 35-37C (95-98.6F), about 10C (50F) warmer than today, thus creating an intense greenhouse climate. Using two independent isotopic techniques, researchers at Scripps Oceanography studied the microfossils to gather geochemical data on the growth and eventual melting of large Cretaceous ice sheets. The researchers compared stable isotopes of oxygen molecules (d18O) in bottom-dwelling and near-surface marine microfossils, known as foraminifera, to show that changes in ocean chemistry were consistent with the growth of an ice sheet.
The second method in which an ocean surface temperature record was subtracted from the stable isotope record of surface ocean microfossils yielded the same conclusion.
These independent methods provided Andre Bornemann, lead author of the study, with strong evidence to conclude that an ice sheet about 50-60 percent the size of the modern Antarctic ice cap existed for about 200,000 years. Bornemann conducted this study as a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Oceanography and continues this research at Universitat Leipzig in Germany."Until now it was generally accepted that there were no large glaciers on the poles prior to the development of the Antarctic ice sheet about 33 million years ago," said Richard Norris, professor of paleobiology at Scripps Oceanography and co-author of the study. "This study demonstrates that even the super-warm climates of the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum were not warm enough to prevent ice growth."Researchers are still unclear as to where such a large mass of ice could have existed in the Cretaceous or how ice growth could have started. The authors suggest that climate cycles may have favored ice growth during a few times in the Cretaceous when natural climate variations produced unusually cool summers. Likewise, high mountains under the modern Antarctic ice cap could have been potential sites for growth of large ice masses during the Cretaceous.Ice sheets were much less common during the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum than during more recent "icehouse" climates. Paradoxically, past greenhouse climates may have aided ice growth by increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and creating more winter snowfall at high elevations and high latitudes, according to the paper's authors.The results from the study are consistent with other studies from Russia and New Jersey that show sea level fell by about 25-40 m (82-131 ft) at the same time that the ice sheets were growing during the Cretaceous period. Sea level is known to fall as water is removed from the oceans to build continental ice sheets; conversely, sea level rises as ice melts and returns to the sea.
The presence or absence of sea ice has major environmental implications, specifically in terms of sea level rise and global circulation patterns. As humans continue to add large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that accelerate the heating of the atmosphere and oceans, research on Earth's past climate conditions is critical to predict what will happen as Earth's climate continues to warm.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
by Staff Writers
San Diego CA (SPX) Jan 11, 2008

Just a thought to consider...

Fascism - "A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism."

Corporatism - "Control of a state or organization by large interest groups, set out to maintain stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition, reduce feelings of individual empowerment."

Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008

Below are some of the notable comments made by Sir Edmund Hillary, who died today aged 88.
* Announcing to his climbing companions that he and Tenzing had reached Everest's summit: "We knocked the bastard off."
* On the changes fame brings: "I used to walk down Broadway, Papakura, in my tattered overalls and the seat out of my pants. Now, I thought 'That's gone forever. I'll have to buy a new pair of overalls now'."
* On life's inner challenges: "It is not the mountains that we conquer, but ourselves."
* On the motivation for climbing mountains: "Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it."
* On what is attainable by Everyman: "You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things -- to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals."
* At the 50th anniversary of the conquering of Everest: "I like to think that I am a very ordinary New Zealander, not terribly bright perhaps but determined and practical in what I do."
* On 'giving back' later in life: "The fact that we (in NZ are affluent) is a blessing, and with it comes responsibilities."
* On his reasons for establishing his humanitarian project, the Himalayan Trust, to assist the impoverished in Nepal: "It is impossible not to see that they lack all the things that we regard as essential in life. They don't have schools and they don't have any medical care or anything of this nature. And I suddenly decided that instead of just talking about it - why didn't I try and do something about it."
* On becoming a knight: "It was a tremendous honour, of course, but I had never really approved of titles and couldn't really imagine myself possessing one."
* On the news that his face would adorn a banknote - the five dollar note, the first living New Zealander to be so honoured: "I guess I'll have to be respectable for the rest of my life."
* On the decision by NZ climber Mark Inglis who passed a dying British mountaineer during an ascent of Mt Everest for the Discovery Channel: All I can say is that in our expedition there was never any likelihood whatsoever if one member of the party was incapacitated that we would just leave him to die."

One hundred years ago

The year is 1907. What can happen in just one century--- (in America)

The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14% of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average wage in 1907 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or
egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults could not read or write. Only 6 % of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, Heroin, and Morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect "guardian of health."
Eighteen percent (18%) of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.
What can we expect in the next 100 years from now?

House and garden update

Time for a house and garden update. Living out in windy Wamboin has some drawbacks the greatest of which is the wind and crumbly shale that's supposed to be soil. The rain has greened up the earth and the grass is tall and becoming dry and a fire hazard of the future. This happens every year and the grass gets broken and blown away by the wind each year. This year Shnooky has been grazing in the bottom paddock which has the river trickling through it and the top paddock's grass has not been eaten.
The chooks keep getting out of their yard and wandering around in the tall grass laying their eggs. Well, I'm not looking in tall grass for eggs as there are snakes in there who have probably eaten the eggs anyways.
I have always loved my flowers and have my favourites growing and flowering in pots at the front of the house. I have beautifully coloured Iris's, magnificent lillies, molusk azalea, ordinary azaleas, camelia and gardenia and of course my magnificent roses.
These are some of the flowers growing in pots at the front of my house. Enjoy them as I do.

these are the first roses of the season, their colour is just stunning!

in the foreground are the rhododendrons and my azaleas in the background

not only do I have pot plants but I have cat plants too! this is a cat size pot with "Wiggles" in it. There were bluebells flowering in it before.

Cyclone shelters open in Darwin

Cyclone shelters in Darwin's rural area and in the city have opened their doors as the Disaster Committee declares stage three for tropical Cyclone Helen.
The category one cyclone is continuing to head towards the west coast of the Northern Territory and is predicted to be upgraded to category two by the time it reaches land early tomorrow morning.At 6pm AEDT, it was about 225 kilometres west-south-west of Darwin and moving east at 16 kilometres per hour. A cyclone warning is current from Port Keats to Cape Hotham, including Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.Gordon Jecklin from the Bureau of Meteorology says Cyclone Helen is bringing gale force winds with it.
"We're actually seeing the system still developing, so we expect by the time it hits the coast at about midnight, we'll be looking at wind gusts of 130 kilometres an hour and category two," he said.Those using the cyclone shelters are being asked to bring essential medicines, foods and minimal personal supplies. Northern Territory Police Commissioner Paul White says those wanting to seek shelter outside of Darwin should leave as soon as they can."The cyclone track is forecast across the Stuart Highway and the last thing we want is people leaving at the last moment and getting stuck because the road's closed," he said."So we want people to take a measured approach. We want them to remain calm but we want to give people every opportunity that if they feel they need to leave Darwin to do so."Acting Police Commander for the Darwin region, Mike Stevens, says it is possible gale force winds will be felt across the Darwin region from later on this evening. "We expect the winds to start impacting at around nine o'clock tonight [local time]," he said. "I would urge people to limit their movements after eight o'clock tonight." He says people going to public shelters should take food and warm clothing.
Darwin Airport says it expects all flights to go ahead as scheduled but a meeting is being held at 5:30pm ACST to consider the latest cyclone update.
The Territory's Infrastructure Department says bus services will run as usual until 8:30pm ACST, and the situation will be looked at again after th

2008 The Grand Finale

SOLARA'S SURF REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2008 INTO THE NEW AND TRUE
The Grand Finale !
Welcome to the Massive Breakthrough Year of 2008!
2008 is the year that we've been waiting for. It is a tremendously powerful and exciting year in which all things are possible.
Since it is a year of immensely deep Monolithic Shifts, we will experience profound life altering inner and outer changes throughout the year. By the end of the year, we shall find ourselves in very different circumstances from where we are now. We will be with new people in new places with new career paths that incorporate our creativity. Most of all, we will have a very expanded awareness with a totally new set of priorities.
2008 signifies the beginning of the end of illusion and will bring numerous challenges. These challenges will be immeasurably greater for those who have not yet stepped onto their new level and become True Core Beings.
Some of these challenges will be personal ones in which any elements within us that have expired or which have held us back from being our true selves will rise to the surface greatly magnified in order to be released once and for all. This is because we can no longer carry anything untrue within us. Throughout the year, we will be continually challenged to live our lives as True Core Beings. For if we do, we will be on the Fast Track to the Fulfillment of our Wildest Dreams.
In 2008 we will experience an infusion of the heightened energies of LOTUS LOVE at a frequency never before experienced on planet Earth. This has already begun. LOTUS LOVE originates from the realm of the deeper Invisible known as the Lotus World and brings in a totally new level of awareness that I can only call an Ultra Greater Reality, as well as a core level resonance of Pure True Love that affects absolutely everything. It's vital that we fully align ourselves with these energies as soon as possible. One of the side effects of the powerful infusion of Lotus Love is the breaking down of all illusion. Because of this, the outer world will experience occasional upheavals. There may be times of outer chaos and heightened fear. The area of finance is especially susceptible; there may well be a collapse of some world currencies, financial markets and monetary systems. Since we are in the Time of Completion, this breakdown of the old is to be expected. This makes it even more important for us to remain centered in the Heart of the Lotus at all times and to remain REAL and TRUE. If we do, all will be well. We will be in the Ultra Greater Reality in which there is true abundance and we will be able to do whatever we need to do, without any major financial challenges. We will be fully supported on all levels in our New Lives. Throughout the year, we will experience a steady procession of Green Lights, Golden Opportunities, Major Intersections, Monolithic Shifts and Quantum Breakthroughs. These will take place on levels that we cannot yet imagine. And after that, nothing will ever be the same....
Bring it on I say!
http://snoedel.punt.nl/index.php?r=1&id=381034&tbl_archief=0#381034

LOVE

Start the new year with Love.
All energy comes from a base energy of love. Love is the mother energy from which all other energy forms are created. You do not usually think of electricity or gravity as a form of love, so let us introduce that idea now. Light is a form of unique energy. Energy never dies; it never ends, nor does it begin; it is infinite. It only transforms from one form of energy to another. and when you have love in your heart for any reason you infect the molecules around you with particles of your love. You change everything around you just by your presence. You are a chemical, electrical, magnetic being and your own magnetic field creates your reality just before you walk into it. Even within a relationship both people take on physical aspects of the other person. Have you noticed that people who are together a long time begin to look like each other? It can be said that a relationship is when you like the way you look on them. This is the way you mirror each other and if find that you like the image you see of yourself in them, and then you have a friendship. If you love the way you look at your own image on them, then you have a love relationship.

HAPPY NEW YEAR