yep thats right...the rant has moved. It is now part of my domain, the kat house, and you will find it at http://www.kat-house.org/journal
come visit!
Most australians would know by now that Schapelle Corby has been found guilty of importing drugs into Indonesia and sentenced to 20 years in prison. For the non aussies here, Schapelle Corby was found with 4 kgs of marijuana in her body board bag when entering Indonesia last October. The bag had no locks or security and had been out of her possession since she boarded the plane on The QLD Gold Coast. Throughout her detention and trial, Schapelle has maintained her innocence, and there was plenty of evidence to support her claim. A drug trafficking ring at Sydney airport has been uncovered among baggage handlers there, and an independent witness, a man who was in jail on remand waiting trial for unrelated offences, was flown to Denpasar to testify that he overheard a conversation between two inmates thta suggested Schapelle was an innocent drug mule in this case. However, the same judges who found the bali bombers guilty and gave them an 18 month prison sentence have today sentenced Schapelle to 20 years in an Indonesian prison.
"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty" a translator quoted the judges as saying on Sky News.
"We've found that drugs were imported into Indonesia. Importation is illegal in Indonesia and it occurred at Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar. This occurred without a licence or any permit to do so. It may not be done by anyone."
"She has been unrepentant to this. It is found the defendant is responsible for the narcotics and this should be considered when handing down the judgement."
The judges said they accepted the evidence of police and customs officials that Corby admitted to owning the drugs, despite her denials.
"So it's true that Schapelle Corby has imported marijuana through customs area in Bali" the judges said, before adding that if sold on the streets of of Bali it represented a "danger to humanity".
Hmmm...obviously blowing up crowded night clubs is LESS of a danger to humanity than marijuana?
The australian Govt reaction to the verdict and sentencing has been mixed.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the Australian government has offered assistance to Schapelle Corby's defence team to launch a legal challenge
Mr Downer said Corby's team would be offered two QCs, who had experience in Indonesian courts, on a pro bono basis.
"Schapelle Corby's team have said they will appeal this decision," he said.
"The Australian government has in the past offered the assistance on a pro bono basis of two QCs to assist Schapelle Corby's defence and we are renewing that offer to Schapelle Corby today.
"Our consul general ... will be talking to Schapelle Corby today and making the offer of the legal assistance."
Mr Downer said the government would begin discussions in the next 10 days with the Indonesians on a prisoner transfer agreement.
"We don't know how long this will take to negotiate but we know the Indonesian government is very willing to enter into negotiations on a prisoner transfer agreement," he said.
Mr Downer said any transfer could only occur after all the appeals process was completed.
"Whether such a transfer agreement would apply to Schapelle Corby would depend very much on what happened in the appeals process," he said.
Mr Downer said the federal government remained hopeful that it could quickly negotiate a prisoner transfer agreement with Indonesia before Corby's appeal process was complete.
"I think we should be able to negotiate such an agreement with Indonesia reasonably quickly but we'll have to wait and see," he said.
"But the whole question of the transfer of prisoners can't even be considered until the appeals process is complete and the appeals have been unsuccessful.
"So in those circumstances it would then be a matter for negotiation with the Indonesian government on the actual transfer, assuming that by then we had completed the prisoner transfer agreement."
He said he did not believe there was anything more the government could have done to help Corby's case.
"In the case of Schapelle Corby we have provided very substantial support," he said.
Really? Idont think so. It's a fact that Schapelle's legal defence was not funded by the Aust Govt but by an independent Gold Coast businessman.
The Labour party have written to the Indonesian Prime Minister asking for a pardon for Schapelle. Under Indonesian law, their PM is able to grant such a request. But will he? Let's hope he remembers the billions of dollars of aid Australia has provided in tsunami relief etc to his country while he is pondering his decision. The request for the pardon does not yet have the backing of the Liberal Govt.
Former One Nation MP Pauling Hanson has called on all Australians to boycott Indonesia as a trvel destination. She says, and rightly so.."you could b the next person in Schapelle Corbys position.
And what does the Australian leader have to say? As usual, nothing we want to hear.
Prime Minister John Howard has appealed for Australians to accept the verdict of the Indonesian court which today jailed Schapelle Corby for 20 years for drug smuggling.
Mr Howard said he felt for Corby and her family but said Australians had to accept the outcome of the Indonesian justice system.
"I do ask we all pause and understand the situation and recognise and respect that when we visit other countries we are subject to the laws and rules of those countries, just as when people visit our country they are subject to our laws and our rules," Mr Howard said in Melbourne.
Mr Howard said whether Corby was guilty or innocent was not for him to judge or for Australians to judge without hearing the full evidence.
Mr Howard said that the outcome was a tragedy for Corby and her family.
"Now that the guilty verdict has been handed down by the Indonesian court and Ms Corby has been sentenced to a jail term of 20 years there will be deep feeling in the Australian community," Mr Howard said.
"I recognise that, I say at the outset, that guilty or innocent, I feel for this young woman.
"If she is guilty I feel for her, that a tragic mistake and tragic act has done so much damage to her young life.
"If she is innocent, my feelings are redoubled.
"It is not for me to make a judgment and not for my fellow Australians, however strongly they feel to make a judgment."
Mr Howard said it was appropriate for the Australian Government to continue what it had been doing to provide proper assistance to the defence team.
"We have neither the power nor the right to intervene at a government level in the way in which those justice systems operate," Mr Howard said.
"I'm sure that if a foreigner were on trial in this country and the prime minister or president of that country sought to intervene in our justice system we would rightfully resent it."
"I can assure my fellow Australians that whatever additional assistance that can appropriately be provided will be," he said.
"But at the end of the day we must, and the Government will, respect the processes of the justice system of other countries."
Oh really? how comforting that must be to Schapelle and her family, knowing our Govt has respect for the justice system that has dealt with her so unfairly. Because I have no doubt at all that she IS innocent. And that is the opinion of the majority of the Australian public.
Our govt may not have the right to intervene in their justice system, but it sure can stop their country using ours as a personal piggy bank. In my opinion, all aid should be ceased to Indonesia, and all trade agreements which benefit their country should be suspended. I agree with Pauline Hanson. Boycott Indonesia. And if Mr Howard doesnt finally stand up and be counted for the people who elected him, show him how Australians really feel at the next election.
Since it's Anzac Day, and since I've had a request from a loyal reader, I thought I would make this rant about the wonderful yet disspearing aussie language.
If you have a copy of the new Macquarie ABC Dictionary handy, you'll know by now - assuming that you enjoy mooching around in a dictionary like me - that in recent years the ABC and Macquarie have joined forces to create a collection of regionalisms known as the Australian Word Map database.
Their argument is simple: Australia's language is so rich, and the people who listen to the ABC are so committed, that with a little effort you can find out the variations in language from one side of the continent to the other. For example, did you know that those odious 4WDs, which never get dirty and are status symbols in suburbs of ineffable pretentiousness, are known as "Dalkeith tractors" in Perth, "Kenmore tractors" in Brisbane, "Burnside buses" in Adelaide, "Toorak tractors" in Melbourne and, because they are more pretentious than the rest of Australia put together, as "Balmain bulldozers", "Double Bay tractors", "Bronte buggies", "Mosman tractors" and "Turramurra tractors" in Sydney?
This is all very entertaining, but is it really correct? It seems to me that true Australianisms, those expressions which some people now call "bush" or "regional" Australian, are rapidly disappearing.
What has happened? Certainly globalisation has produced some significant changes. Australians used to go to "the pictures" or "the fillums" in smelly old picture theatres. Today, "picture theatre" has virtually disappeared, to be replaced by the anonymous "multiplex" and certainly we talk about The Movie Show on SBS and "going to the movies".
Globalisation has also had a huge impact in terms of television and mass media. Arthur Daley and Alf Garnett made East End English commonplace. Fran Fine made a virtue of the peculiar accent of a working class Jewish girl from Queens. The Beverly Hillbillies taught the world how to speak like a resident of the Ozark Mountains. Father Ted and Ballykissangel liberated vernacular Irish from the hands of the "top o' the morning to ye" stage Irishman. Billy Connolly made the language of the Glasgow docks commonplace. The Beatles made a Liverpudlian Scouse accent a sign of hipness and Rolf Harris taught the world what a true Australian accent sounded like.
Then there are the Americanisms.There is a lot of evidence that, in certain areas, Americanisms have won favour. "You guys", an expression now commonly used in Australia to describe groups of men and women, is obviously from America.
There are quaint spellings: jail is now the accepted orthodoxy rahter than Gaol, and increasingly we see "color" and "labor". There are odd pronunciations: It is now Australian English to pronounce schedule as "skedule" and the last letter in the alphabet as "zee".
Increasingly Australian children are referring to biscuits as cookies (probably as a result of Sesame Street) and, largely due to movies and rap records, teenage boys have adopted "motherf---er" as their obscenity of choice, and "ho" (African American slang for whore) and "bitch" have largely replaced slut, moll and slag as terms of abuse for women.
Then there are the historic factors. Language is dynamic and consequently expressions that are widely accepted and commonplace for one generation will disappear when circumstances change. No one today talks about "a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down" partly because Bex (a form of powdered aspirin) does not enjoy the popularity it did in the 1950s.
"He's just shot through like a Bondi tram" was doomed when the tram tracks along Oxford Street were ripped up; so was "couldn't work in an iron lung" when more modern medical equipment replaced the cure-all for polio.
Similarly, the terms "bodgie" and "widgie" have disappeared as teenage fashion has moved on from the greasy, sideburned Elvis look and girls with high heels and rope petticoats. "Boofhead", a term of affection for particular male stupidity, was never really going to last beyond its resonant association and origin, with the Boofhead cartoon that first appeared in the Daily Mirror in the 1940s.
Mercifully, we have reached a point where we no longer seek endless euphemisms for public toilets or lavatories. The days when the male/female toilet options were Dave and Mabel, Hens and Roosters, Stallions and Mares are gone - happily replaced by simple Men and Women signs.
Perhaps one historic explanation for these huge changes is the overt multiculturalism of modern Australia. Distinctive Australian expressions were handed on from one generation to the next, which is why some quite antique expressions ("drongo" comes from the horse of that name which, back in the 1920s, never won a race) persisted beyond their natural life. However the huge immigration in the 1950s changed Australian society so dramatically that there were large numbers of people who did not know the local vernacular.
There is no reason why a first generation Australian-Greek or Australian-Italian father would pick up a word like "drongo" and pass it on to his children. This, however, doesn't explain why "youse" (as in Jeff Fenech's famous "I loves youse all") has risen in popularity to a point where it is now almost acceptable in spoken Australian as the plural "you".
A more subtle, but hugely important, influence has been the gradual feminisation of Australian urban society. Expressions that reflected a very "Aussie male" view of the world have started to disappear simply because they are just not seen as the way a modern person would address an issue or a member of the opposite sex. "Sheila" is probably the best example of a relatively neutral term which, by the 1970s, had become a quite negative expression. And it would be a very brave Australian male who, seeing his partner dressed out in haute couture, would now declare that she was "all dressed up like a pox doctor's clerk".
Yet some wonderfully resonant Australianisms have disappeared. Take "possie" (as in "I'll look for a possie to park the car while you go into the supermarket"); "blue" (as in "He got into a real blue last night and there was blood everywhere") and "jiffy" for a moment in time.
Joining them in obscurity are "a fat" for an erection, "burl" as in the delightful expression of optimism "let's give it a burl", "moola" for money, "clapped out" for something long beyond its use-by date, "stone the crows" (an expression of amazement and an impossibility, if you think about it), "donkey's years" for a very long period of time, "Buckley's chance" in the sense of very little likelihood, and "raving ratbag" for all wild-eyed purveyors of crazy ideas.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy has been the decline in the subtle way we used to structure Australian English. This is not an issue of either words or accent, but rather of expressions: "What's the chance of" instead of "Can I please have", "Not a patch on" as a comparative in the sense "it's not nearly as good as" and "I'll bend over backwards" which wasn't an invitation to sexual gymnastics but rather a willingness to make a very special effort.
When did you last hear someone tell you "to go to billy-o"? When were you last in competition with someone who said, "I bags that one"? Does anyone now say "fair dinkum"? Apart, of course, from professional Aussies such as Paul Hogan and Steve Irwin. Or Roy and H.G. who know how to mine that particular seam of nostalgia and turn old gold into new irony?
Linguists are starting to recognise that all that is left of Australian English is a rural-regional divide with rural Australians holding on to many of the elements of historic vernacular that city folk regard (and avoid) with considerable disdain. Still, rural Australia's "rawer" language is not so embedded - as, say a Mancunian or Liverpudlian accent is - that it can't be quickly dropped when people from regional areas move to the city. A few decades ago a distinctly Australian English was on the brink of entrenching itself and, for a variety of reasons, it has largely disappeared.
Like most of the changes that have occurred over the past 50 years it still seems that this huge linguistic shift is, more than anything else, a product of the very history of Australia. We didn't have long enough - and we didn't have a large enough population - to embed an authentically Australian vernacular before the age of mass media and mass communication.
But for those of us who miss the Australian way of speaking, and especially that great Aussie adjective, "bloody", There really is no substitute for such resonant linguistic uniqueness as C.J. Dennis, and W.T woodge. Read their work below and I bet theres not one of you who can't say Aussie Aussie Aussie, OIY OIY OIY after it.
Strewth mate!
A Marching Song
Air - Onward Christian Soldiers
Fellers of Australier,
Blokes an' coves an' coots,
Shift yer --- carcases,
Move yer --- boots.
Gird yer --- loins up,
Get yer --- gun,
Set the --- enermy
An' watch the blighters run.
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on,
Have some --- sense.
Learn the --- art of
Self de- --- -fence.
Have some --- brains be-
Neath yer --- lids.
An' swing a --- sabre
Fer the missus an' the kids.
Chuck supportin' --- posts,
An' strikin' --- lights,
Support a ---- fam'ly an'
Strike fer yer --- rights.
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on, etc.
Joy is --- fleetin',
Life is --- short.
Wot's the use uv wastin' it
All on --- sport?
Hitch yer --- tip-dray
To a --- star.
Let yer --- watchword be
"Australi- --- -ar!"
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on, etc.
'0w's the --- nation
Goin' to ixpand
'Lest us --- blokes an' coves
Lend a --- 'and?
'Eave yer --- apathy
Down a --- chasm;
'Ump yer --- burden with
Enthusi- --- -asm.
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on, etc.
W'en old mother Britain
Calls yer native land
Take a --- rifle
In yer --- 'and
Keep yer --- upper lip
Stiff as stiff kin be,
An' speed a --- bullet for
Post- --- -ity.
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on, etc.
W'en the --- bugle
Sounds "Ad- --- -vance"
Don't be like a flock er sheep
In a --- trance
Biff the --- Kaiser
Where it don't agree
Spifler- --- -cate him
To Eternity.
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on, etc.
Fellers of Australier,
Cobbers, chaps an' mates,
Hear the --- German
Kickin' at the gates!
Blow the --- bugle,
Beat the --- drum,
Upper-cut an' out the cow
To kingdom- --- -come!
CHORUS:
Get a --- move on,
Have some --- sense.
Learn the --- art of
Self de- --- -fence.
Footnote to 1915 reissue - Where a dash (---) replaces a missing word, the adjective "blessed" may be interpolated. In cases demanding great emphasis, the use of the word "blooming" is permissible. However, any other word may be used that suggests itself as suitable.
"Den"
The Bulletin, 12 November 1908, Red page
The Sentimental Bloke
by C. J. Dennis
Wot’s in a name?-- she sez . . . An' then she sighs,
An' clasps 'er little 'ands, an' rolls 'er eyes.
"A rose," she sez, "be any other name
Would smell the same.
Oh, w'erefore art you Romeo, young sir?
Chuck yer ole pot, an' change yer moniker!"
Doreen an' me, we bin to see a show--
The swell two-dollar touch. Bong tong, yeh know.
A chair apiece wiv velvit on the seat;
A slap-up treat.
The drarmer's writ be Shakespeare, years ago,
About a barmy goat called Romeo.
"Lady, be yonder moon I swear!" sez 'e.
An' then 'e climbs up on the balkiney;
An' there they smooge a treat, wiv pretty words
Like two love-birds.
I nudge Doreen. She whispers, "Ain't it grand!"
'Er eyes is shining an' I squeeze 'er 'and.
'Wot's in a name?" she sez. 'Struth, I dunno.
Billo is just as good as Romeo.
She may be Juli-er or Juli-et--
'E loves 'er yet.
If she's the tart 'e wants, then she's 'is queen,
Names never count . . . But ar, I like "Doreen!"
A sweeter, dearer sound I never 'eard;
Ther's music 'angs around that little word,
Doreen! . . . But wot was this I starts to say
About the play?
I'm off me beat. But when a bloke's in love
'Is thorts turns 'er way, like a 'omin' dove.
This Romeo 'e's lurkin' wiv a crew--
A dead tough crowd o' crooks--called Montague.
'Is cliner's push--wot's nicknamed Capulet--
They 'as 'em set.
Fair narks they are, jist like them back-street clicks,
Ixcep' they fights wiv skewers 'stid o' bricks.
Wot's in a name? Wot's in a string o' words?
They scraps in ole Verona wiv the'r swords,
An' never give a bloke a stray dog's chance,
An' that's Romance.
But when they deals it out wiv bricks an' boots
In Little Lon., they're low, degraded broots.
Wot's jist plain stoush wiv us, right 'ere to-day,
Is "valler" if yer fur enough away.
Some time, some writer bloke will do the trick
Wiv Ginger Mick, Of Spadger's Lane.
'E'll be a Romeo,
When 'e's bin dead five 'undred years or so.
Fair Juli-et, she gives 'er boy the tip.
Sez she: "Don't sling that crowd o' mine no lip;
An' if you run agin a Capulet,
Jist do a get."
'E swears 'e's done wiv lash; 'e'll chuck it clean.
(Same as I done when I first met Doreen.)
They smooge some more at that. Ar, strike me blue!
It gimme Joes to sit an' watch them two! '
E'd break away an' start to say good-bye,
An' then she'd sigh
"Ow, Ro-me-o!" an' git a strangle-holt,
An' 'ang around 'im like she feared 'e'd bolt.
Nex' day 'e words a gorspil cove about
A secret weddin'; an' they plan it out.
'E spouts a piece about 'ow 'e's bewitched:
Then they git 'itched . . .
Now, 'ere's the place where I fair git the pip!
She's 'is for keeps, an' yet 'e lets 'er slip!
Ar! but 'e makes me sick! A fair gazob!
E's jist the glarsey on the soulful sob,
'E'll sigh and spruik, a’ ‘owl a love-sick vow--
(The silly cow!)
But when 'e's got 'er, spliced an' on the straight
'E crools the pitch, an' tries to kid it's Fate.
Aw! Fate me foot! Instid of slopin' soon
As 'e was wed, off on 'is 'oneymoon,
'Im an' 'is cobber, called Mick Curio,
They 'ave to go
An' mix it wiv that push o' Capulets.
They look fer trouble; an' it's wot they gets.
A tug named Tyball (cousin to the skirt)
Sprags 'em an' makes a start to sling off dirt.
Nex' minnit there's a reel ole ding-dong go—
'Arf round or so.
Mick Curio, 'e gets it in the neck,
"Ar rats!" 'e sez, an' passes in 'is check.
Quite natchril, Romeo gits wet as 'ell.
"It's me or you!" 'e 'owls, an' wiv a yell,
Plunks Tyball through the gizzard wiv 'is sword,
'Ow I ongcored! "Put in the boot!" I sez. "Put in the boot!"
"'Ush!" sez Doreen . . . "Shame!" sez some silly coot.
Then Romeo, 'e dunno wot to do.
The cops gits busy, like they allwiz do,
An' nose around until 'e gits blue funk
An' does a bunk.
They wants 'is tart to wed some other guy.
"Ah, strike!" she sez. "I wish that I could die!"
Now, this 'ere gorspil bloke's a fair shrewd 'ead.
Sez 'e "I'll dope yeh, so they'll think yer dead."
(I tips 'e was a cunnin' sort, wot knoo
A thing or two.)
She takes 'is knock-out drops, up in 'er room:
They think she's snuffed, an' plant 'er in 'er tomb.
Then things gits mixed a treat an' starts to whirl.
'Ere's Romeo comes back an' finds 'is girl
Tucked in 'er little coffing, cold an' stiff,
An' in a jiff,
'E swallows Iysol, throws a fancy fit,
'Ead over turkey, an' 'is soul 'as flit.
Then Juli-et wakes up an' sees 'im there,
Tums on the water-works an' tears 'er 'air,
"Dear love," she sez, "I cannot live alone!"
An' wiv a moan, She grabs 'is pockit knife, an' ends 'er cares . . .
"Peanuts or lollies!" sez a boy upstairs.
THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN ADJECTIVE by W.T. Goodge
The sunburnt ---- stockman stood
And, in a dismal ---- mood,
Apostrophized his ---- cuddy;
"The ---- nag's no ---- good,
He couldn't earn his ---- food -
A regular ---- brumby,
----!"
He jumped across the ---- horse
And cantered off, of ---- course!
The roads were bad and ---- muddy;
Said he, "Well, spare me ---- days
The ---- Government's ---- ways
Are screamin' ---- funny,
----!"
He rode up hill, down ---- dale,
The wind it blew a ---- gale,
The creek was high and ---- floody.
Said he, "The ---- horse must swim,
The same for ---- me and him,
Is something ---- sickenin',
----!"
He plunged into the ---- creek,
The ---- horse was ---- weak,
The stockman's face a ---- study!
And though the ---- horse was drowned
The ---- rider reached the ground
Ejaculating, "----!"
"----!"
"The Colonel"
Bulletin, 11 December 1898, p26
Note:
This poem was originally published under the title "----!" (The Great Australian Adjective).
Yep its St Patricks day today! I hope youre all wearing green and speaking in ridiculous fake oirish accents!
And we cant forget the traditional irish toast...I guess I'll forgive you all if you dont do it with guiness...
"O Ireland isn't it grand you look
like a bride in her rich adornin?
And with all the pent up love of my heart
I bid you the top o' the mornin!"
happy st patricks day.
So who was St Patrick??
Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."
Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.
There are several accounts of Saint Patrick's death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the "evil eye." Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. Today, many Catholic places of worship all around the world are named after St. Patrick, including cathedrals in New York and Dublin city
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
Yep its St Patricks day today! I hope youre all wearing green and speaking in ridiculous fake oirish accents!
And we cant forget the traditional irish toast...I guess I'll forgive you all if you dont do it with guiness...
"O Ireland isn't it grand you look
like a bride in her rich adornin?
And with all the pent up love of my heart
I bid you the top o' the mornin!"
happy st patricks day.
So who was St Patrick??
Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.
Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."
Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.
There are several accounts of Saint Patrick's death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the "evil eye." Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey. Today, many Catholic places of worship all around the world are named after St. Patrick, including cathedrals in New York and Dublin city
Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.
So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.
"Because We're Women"
was written by Australian Feminist
Joyce Stevens
in the early 1970's
BECAUSE WOMAN's WORK IS UNDERPAID OR UNPAID & WHAT WE LOOK LIKE iS MORE IMPORTANT THAT WHAT WE DO & iF WE GET RAPED IT'S OUR FAULT & iF WE LOVE WOMEN IT'S BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET A REAL MAN & iF WE EXPECT COMMUNITY CARE FOR OUR FAMILY WE ARE SELFISH & iF WE STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS WE ARE LOUD & iF wE DON'T WE ARE tYPICAL WEAK FEMALES & iF WE WANT TO GET MARRIED WE ARE OUT TO TRAP A MAN & iF WE DON'T WE ARE UNNATURAL & BECAUSE WE AREN'T DEEMED RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH TO DECIDE iF, WHEN AND HOW WE WANT TO GIVE BIRTH ..
WE ARE FEMINISTS
Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world's women?
The United Nations General Assembly, composed of delegates from every Member State, celebrates International Women's Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.
For the women of the world, the Day is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.
You might think that women's equality benefits mostly women, but every one-percentile growth in female secondary schooling results in a 0.3 percent growth in the economy. Yet girls are often kept from receiving education in the poorest countries that would best benefit from the economic growth.
In recent decades, much progress has been made. On a worldwide level, women's access to education and proper health care has increased; their participation in the paid labor force has grown; and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries. The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.
However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men.
The majority of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor are women.
On average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work.
And everywhere, women continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women of reproductive age worldwide.
In my local paper today, a well known sporting identity said this: "If we're going to have International Women's Day, then we also need an international men's day because they face an awful lot of issues, too."
and it's true...men DO face alot of issues. For those of you who question WHY there is an international women's day...read the following articles.Nowhere in the world are men used as breeding machines to create a new generation of a race, to exterminate the genes of a race, nowhere are men arrested because they created a child out of marriage, or put to death because they were raped and fell pregnant by their attacker. What kind of Government attempts to have reports about widespread rape witheld from the public?
Report reveals mass rape horror
By Opheera Mcdoom in Khartoum, Sudan
08mar05
ABOUT 500 women in Darfur have been treated for rape in recent months and most said their attackers were militiamen or soldiers, according to an aid agency report.
However, the number of rape victims was probably higher as many were afraid to report the crime for fear of stigmatisation and mistreatment, said the study prepared by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
UN aid chief Jan Egeland said he fully supported the report, which he said included some of the first documented medical evidence of the widespread abuses against women in the arid region in western Sudan.
The Government could not continue to allow impunity for the crimes and the guilty must be brought to justice, he said.
"The problem is acute - it's wide-ranging. Sudan never had this kind of systematic rape before," said Mr Egeland, the UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
"Now Sudan has the same problem that we see in many other African and other conflicts, and the Sudanese government has to face up to this."
The Government in the predominantly Muslim country has accused media and aid groups of exaggerating the extent of rape during a more than two-year-old rebellion in Darfur.
The MSF study said more than 80 per cent of the victims reported that their attackers were militiamen or soldiers. It did not specify whether the militiamen included rebel factions.
In anonymous accounts, it described how three women in West Darfur state were beaten and raped by five men last October.
"After they abused us, they told us that now we would have Arab babies; and if they would find any Fur women, they would rape them again to change the colour of their children," the women said in the report.
The Fur is one of three non-Arab tribes which form the majority of the almost 2 million people displaced in Darfur, where rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglecting the western region and favouring Arab tribes.
Darfur rebels say the Government armed Arab militias to help put down their uprising and they have conducted a campaign of village-burning and rape. The Government denies links with the militia, known as Janjaweed.
The MSF head of mission in Sudan, Paul Foreman, said the Government had asked the agency not to publish the report.
"They have expressed their strong desire that we don't publish it, and I politely declined," he said.
The report said that in one of the three Darfur states between October and mid-February, MSF clinics treated 297 rape victims between the ages of 12 and 45.
Given the victims' sense of shame and the threat of imprisonment for illegal pregnancy in Sudan, where Islamic sharia law is enforced, the MSF "strongly believes that the numbers recorded are only a partial representation of the real number of victims".
Women were held captive for days and raped by multiple attackers, and many were beaten, the report said. Some were ostracised from their communities and others had been arrested.
Mr Egeland said he did not expect MSF would be threatened with expulsion, as aid groups Oxfam and Save the Children UK were for reports the authorities disagreed with last year.
Tens of thousands raped
By David Lewis in Bunia, Congo
07mar05
GOVERNMENT soldiers and rebels have raped tens of thousands of women and children in eastern Congo but are going unpunished, a leading rights group said today.
Fighters on all sides of Congo's war have raped civilians on a massive scale since the conflict broke out in 1998 but only a handful have been tried, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
"Sexual violence has shattered tens of thousands of lives in Congo but fewer than a dozen victims have seen their assailants prosecuted," Alison Des Forges, senior adviser to HRW's Africa division, said.
Sheltering in a refugee camp protected by UN peacekeepers with tanks and machine guns, Therese Yeda, 32, described how a militia group gang raped her last week as she walked between two villages.
"One was at the checkpoint and the others were hiding in the bushes before they jumped out and pointed their weapons at me," she said.
The people she was with ran away terrified but Yeda was unable to run because of all the things she was carrying.
"Ten of them had guns, the other two had machetes," she said.
" All 12 of them raped me ... I am eight months pregnant but the baby doesn't seem to be moving any more."
Her five children were also beaten by the gunmen.
An upsurge in clashes since January has displaced 70,000 civilians in Democratic Republic of Congo's remote north-eastern Ituri district, and reports of rape are frequent.
Ethnic warfare has killed more than 50,000 people in Ituri since 1999.
Children as young as eight have taken part in the most recent fighting, refugees said.
Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) said it had treated more than 2500 rape victims, from four months to 80 years of age, at its hospital in the regional capital Bunia since June 2003.
The true number could be 50 times higher as victims are afraid to speak out, the organisation said.
"We have been here for two years and we have not seen any improvement," Patrick Barbier, head of the MSF mission in the region, said.
"It is so systematic – whenever there are attacks by armed groups, there is rape.
"Sexual violence is so stigmatised. The victims don't come and seek medical care ... It is not taken seriously by the authorities so there is complete impunity."
HRW said an increasing number of sexual abuse victims wanted justice but rape trials that had taken place in Congo had fallen woefully short of international standards, with support for victims virtually non-existent.
While the International Criminal Court may prosecute the occasional case, the vast majority would have to be tried in Congolese courts, HRW said.
One woman told HRW how she watched her 13-year old niece being raped by fighters loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda, who launched a short-lived rebellion in the eastern town of Bukavu last June.
"Four men raped her," the woman told HRW.
"They had spread her arms and legs and held her down.
"I had been with her but hid in a banana tree and watched what happened. Afterward she started to vomit blood. We brought her to hospital and she died two days later."
Well here I am...I made it to the new year. Technically of course it's an old year now, I was late as usual...what can I say, I like to make an entrance!
So thanks to all the viagra and poker online (there's a connection there I can just tell, but it's too disturbing to contemplate) spammers who have kept my tag board alive and well while I was gone. Yep, most appreciated...now piss off and don't do it again!
Thanks also to the REAL people who have tagged me in my absence..you guys rock!
And just so you know I haven't lost my sense of humour since 2004 left and 2005 entered...here are a few headlines you may or may not like to see in the new year, courtesy of Kerry Cue. Who you may or may not know is an Adelaide journalist and quite a good one I may add!
New Sign Proposed For Suburban Speed Zones: Buggered If We Know Either.
McDonald's Customer Asks For Upsize Salad. Employee Faints.
iPod Owner Dies Before Hearing Full Play List.
Hollywood Scandal: Celebrity Confesses – I Haven't Had Sex With Paris Hilton.
Man Falls Into XXX Large Latte And Drowns.
New Hair Colour Discovered: Your Own.
Buy Full Tank Of Petrol. Get Car Free.
Crocodile Mauls Steve Irwin. Actually Improves His Haircut.
After $10m Research New Toothbrush Looks Identical To Old Toothbrush
Disney Prequels For 2005: Bambi's Mother Is Alive, Pinocchio Just A Bit Of Wood and Nemo's Still Here.
Latin Dancing Gene Discovered With Fake Tan Wrapped Around Other Genes.
Ten Commandments Revised To Ten Lifestyle Options.
New Personal Digital Assistant Camera Phone Shock: So Complicated No One Can Turn It On.
Spider-Man's Affair With Catwoman Produces Web-Firing Superhero Who Won't Get Out Of Your Chair.
Green Shopping Bags Prove More Environmentally Friendly Than Non-Green Shopping Bags.
Rod Stewart Marries Short, Flat-chested Brunette: Blames New Glasses.
Celebrity Chef Subdued With Capsicum Spray. Garnished With Coriander.
Medical Breakthrough: Doctor On Time For Patient's Appointment.
New Anti-Wrinkle Cream So Effective Women Shrink Three Sizes.
Obese Find A Way To Improve Health Statistics: Just Eat More Statisticians.
It's Official: Baby Boomers No Longer Babies (despite prevalence of chubby cheeks and bald heads and a good deal of blubbering and whining).
X-ray Proves Rugby Player Has No Neck.
Singing Detective Shot: Colleagues Suspected.
Kill Bill III: The Autopsy.
Big Brother Contestant Uses Two-Syllable Word.
Woman Manages To Find Ringing Mobile Phone In Handbag.
Women Discover New Sex Toy that Doesn't Need Batteries: Men (But warranty is limited).
Boxster Porsche Driver Looks Humble.
Cane Toad Solution Found: New Topping For Pizza (Will be called the Croakacosa).
New Turquoise Ribbon Day To Raise Awareness of Ribbon Days.
Politicians Agree On Something.
Football Star's Groin Injury Fails To Destroy Western Civilisation As First Suspected.
Extreme Pet Makeover For Labradors: Get Two Chihuahuas.
Yaaayyy...it's DECEMBER! you know what THAT means dear readers...yes, its means it's ALMOST xmas time! Of course those of you who aren't housebound, deaf, dumb, blind and mute,or no longer with us have known this for AGES..and how did we know? Because there's been xmas stuff in the shops since about FEBRUARY, that's how!
Seriously...who else is tired of not being able to move in the shops without being assualted by trolley-weilding grandmothers, stalking candy canes and fruit mince pies? Or nearly losing an eye on the holly and mistletoe that EVERY shop in the western world feels its neccesary to hang over, under and all around the doorways? And let's not forget the singing xmas decorations..You can't escape them...they're everywhere. I went to the hardware store the other day..to buy hinges for a cupboard door that was falling off in my kitchen. Now one would THINK that a hardware store would be a safe zone from the xmas thing..cos let's face it...hardware stores are for guys really arent they...and guys just dont buy into the whole xmas deal like us women do. They dont CARE if the star on the top of the tree lights up, or if the front door wreath is fresh and green...the lucky bastards.
So anyway..there I am, walking into the hardware store...and what do they have right by the front counter? A xmas tree..and lights...and "xmas specials"...wow....I could've bought a toaster, a kettle, an iron, a cordless drill, several power tools that I havent even HEARD of before..all for the special people in my life. Okaaay then...but where's the hinges? All i want for xmas is cupboard hinges...really. That's it...I want hinges. I finally tracked them down, after leaving a trail of bread crumbs up and down the aisles to find my way back to the counter. And guess what...the big 30% OFF EVERYTHING FOR XMAS sign out the front of the store? It didn't apply to hinges...now how does THAT work? Do hinges not come under the "everything" catergory? Who knows..I wasnt going to debate the issue with the santa-hat wearing teenager who served me, that's for sure. He did give me a candy cane though, so it wasn't a total loss. I added it to the 4 raffle tickets for xmas stockings, 3 coloured ribbons for some unheard of christmas charities, 2 "free" (when you purchase something you dont want or need) entries into xmas hampers and the packet of tinsel that I have no idea why i bought in the FIRST place cos I have several TONS of the bloody stuff in my SHED that I collected on the short walk past the other shops at the centre back to my car.
Oh well...let's look on the BRIGHT side...soon xmas will be over and the shops will be stocking EASTER EGGS again...and aren't we all looking forward to THAT!
Tune in next week for more kat xmas shopping adventures...
bah HUMBUG!
White Ribbon Day is the largest effort by men across the world, working in partnership with women, to end men's violence against women. White Ribbon Day is held on November 25 each year, designated by the United Nations in 2000 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW). The day relies on support from men and women and their organisations and from business, industry and government.
White ribbons are worn on the day by men who want to encourage other men to speak out against violence towards women, and by women who are supporting men. The sale of ribbons supports activities on the day to promote community commitment to ending violence in men’s and women’s relationships.
How did IDEVAW start?
In 1991, a group of Canadian men began a campaign to urge men to speak out against violence against women. The group adopted the wearing of a white ribbon as a symbol of men's opposition to men's violence against women. That first effort distributed 100,000 white ribbons to men across Canada, and promoted widespread community discussion about violence in personal relationships.
Why wear a white ribbon?
Wearing a white ribbon is a personal pledge that the wearer does not condone violence against women, and is committed to supporting community action to stop violence by men against women.
Men who wear a white ribbon demonstrate their opposition to violence against women and their commitment to equality between women and men. Men of all ages, from all workplaces, of all political affiliations and of all racial, ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, sexual orientation and physical ability are needed to help establish community leadership to stop violence against women.
Violence Against Women in Australia
Australian research has established that:
UNIFEM and the White Ribbon Day
UNIFEM Australia is one of 19 international committees for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which was established by the UN General Assembly resolution in 1976 following the 1975 UN First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. Since then, UNIFEM has worked to help improve the living standards of women in developing countries and to improve the physical security of women through the elimination of all forms of violence against women to transform development into a more equitable and sustainable process. UNIFEM also works to strengthen women's economic security and rights and to increase women's participation in governance and peace-building.
UNIFEM Australia Incorporated was formed in 1990 and is run by a voluntary national committee of 12 women from the non-government sector, community organisations and corporations. UNIFEM Australia has made the White Ribbon Day one of three national priorities for action, and is working in partnership with other organisations and individuals to provide support to men, men’s organisations, business, industry and governments, across Australia, to achieve nation wide action and leadership to eliminate violence against women in our society.
make sure you wear your white ribbon on the 25th of november. REAL men don't hit women.
Remembrance Day is the day Australians remember those who have died in war.
In 1918 the armistice that ended World War I came into force, bringing to an end four years of hostilities that saw 61 919 Australians die at sea, in the air, and on foreign soil. Few Australian families were left untouched by the events of World War I - 'the war to end all wars' most had lost a father, son, daughter, brother, sister or friend.
At 11am on 11 November we pause to remember the sacrifice of those men and women who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts and all those who have served during the past 100 years.
In May 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps was working in a dressing station on the front line to the north of Ieper, Belgium, when he wrote In Flanders Fields:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Last week Australia stood still for a horse race. Today very few people will stop what they are doing to observe the respectful two minutes silence in honour of the day the guns fell silent on the western front. Don't be oblivious to the moment of the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. There's more than 60,000 reasons to embrace the day.
Lest We Forget.
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