Tunnels Through Time

Haven't done this for awhile. To be very boring, I've been ill with a urinary tract infection that won't go away, on two different antibiotics, feeling drained, fantasing about living in the country, just wanted to escape the pressure of my own head, of feeling ill, of walking out the front door and not being able to cross the road because of the traffic. Financially nothing adds up in Sydney. The politicians, the commentators, they all talk about the boom times in Australia. But those boom times are poorly distributed, and for most people life is a struggle to pay bills, mortgages, credit cards, school fees. There's stunning amounts of money in Sydney, dripping wealth, but at the same time kilometre after kilometre of suburbs, of locked rooms, of staring voices and crazed eyes and introspective tunnels curling through the mud.

We don't know why things dived and escaped, why regular patterns suddenly became disrupted, why success vaulted into failure and why a longing for peace translated into disappearance. Sometimes I fantasise about sitting in a bar on the Amsterdam docks, the smoke curling through the morning cigarette, the weak European sunshine forming atmospheric patterns as the die hards settled into the first drink of the day. When intoxication took you into streams of knowing others. When he wrote not for others but for a deeper truth. Or if not Amsterdam, perhaps the streets of Calcutta. Hey, I remember you, the man who sold books would say. He did wierd things for personal gain, like taking us to the leper colony; as if it was a standard tourist site, outraging the doctors at the hospital.

We apologised, we left, he seemed nonplussed and wanted his 50 rupees anyway. What was that, a $1.50, we gave it to him, who cared. The cruelty of that city, the cruelty of his own torments and displaced brain, they didn't work except in streams of words and images and angst which portrayed a dislocated sensibility, nothing more, nothing less. Tears welled up and washed into headaches that wouldn't go away, he wasn't sure what this was about, what the past few weeks had been about. Sometimes he slumped into his chair at work, under flourescent lights, staring at a computer screen, reading crossed wires and other blogs, other lives; just wishing he wasn't 54 and heading into the dark, with old friends fizzling out, the ones that hadn't died young; and feeling in himself, too, the strands of hope and pessimism and resignation. It was good to be free.

NEWS:
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group led by al Qaeda vowed a war against the "worshippers of the cross" in response to a recent speech by Pope Benedict on Islam that sparked anger across the Muslim world.
"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said an Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al Qaeda.
"We shall break the cross and spill the wine. ... God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. ... God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen," said the statement.
It was posted on Sunday on an Internet site often used by al Qaeda and other militant groups.
Pope Benedict said on Sunday he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a Medieval quotation on Islam and violence. The remarks outraged Muslims and triggered protests and attacks on churches in several Arab towns.
Another militant group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, also vowed to fight Christians in retaliation.
"You will only see our swords until you go back to God's true faith Islam," it said in a separate Internet statement.
Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups have staged suicide bombings and killings of foreign forces and members of the U.S.-allied government and security forces.

ABC:
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney has backed the controversial speech Pope Benedict XVI made in Germany last week that linked Islam to violence.
The Pontiff has apologised saying he is deeply sorry about angering so many Muslims, and that the 14th Century passages that he referred to in no way reflect his views.
Some Muslim groups have accepted the apology.
Cardinal George Pell says the Pope did nothing wrong in making the speech.
"I think he's trying to move the dialogue on a bit so that we can agree without resorting to the use of weapons," he said.
"I think what he feared has been established and that is that if there is some sort of criticisms, even mild, there are elements among the Muslims who will resort to violence or threaten violence."

AFP
DUBAI: Gulf newspapers continued to criticise Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, with one Saudi daily saying his remarks linking Islam to violence were beating the drum of war for the far right in the United States.

The Pope's comments, made Tuesday in a university address in his native Germany, were not "an ordinary blunder requiring an apology", the Saudi Arabian Al-Yom wrote in its Monday edition one day after the pontiff said he was "deeply sorry" for the outrage caused.

"These remarks belong in a current of thought that is in total accord with the ideas of the extreme right in the United States on the conflict between civilisations," it said.

"This ideology beats the drum of war even more."

Benedict had sought to mollify Muslim anger on Sunday, saying he was "deeply sorry" for the outrage sparked by his remarks on Islam and stressing that they did not reflect his personal opinion.

But the Qatari daily Ash-Sharq rejected his public statement of regrets and demanded that he issue a full apology.

Under the headline "Regrets... less than an apology", the paper said the pope "must absolutely apologise for his prejudiced remarks, thus soothing the anger of Muslims".

Father's Day

It was Father's Day yesterday in Australia. Funny the twists and turns life takes; and that because of the station I had suddenly become a public spokesman for fatherhood. Children weren't exactly on the cards in the early days. I was taunted in the playground, a hundred kids gathered around; hit me with your handbag, hit me with your handbag. These were some of the most awful, most shameful, most embarrassing days of my life. I was smashed to the ground. The kids kept chanting, hit me with your handbag, hit me with your handbag. They were capable of any cruelty. I squirmed on the ground. The leader of the pack was a handsome boy, Terry comes to mind but I don't think that was his name. The teachers were miles off and in no rush to interfere, those were the days before bullying became the latest fashionable no no to have propaganda and government resources thrown at it.

Later I was to discover that Terry was getting blow jobs after school from the same bloke I was. That was John Hay, who in a way was my first sugar daddy. Virtually the minute I could drive he gave me a smart little GST Torana, a sports version of the Torana which was very cool in its day. I whizzed around town like the it boy of the season. He was fat and rather plain looking, and that was why he was prepared to pay for it. Funny to think now that he died at the age of 26, and we had considered him enormously old; certainly old enough to demand cash for favours. How obsessive he was, how cruel I was. Perhaps this is the wrong post to dwell on these things; the beautiful house overlooking the bay, I would return only when it suited me; everything was done only when it suited me. He descended into a quagmire of pills and alcohols and suicided - all of 26. He had been a very talented businessman. I had worked in one of his reading colleges for a brief spell, a go at straight jobs. How sad it all was.

From all of this, I wandered out of the storm, well out of a detox anyway, and into the arms of Suzy; who was pregnant before we barely knew each other. I remember, I will always remember, standing on the balcony of that beautiful apartment in Victoria Street, overlooking Woolloomoolloo Bay with the city as a backdrop, and saying: "I've always wanted to have children". It was the following week, maybe ten days later, anyway it wasn't very long, when she declared she was pregnant. That baby miscarred, but by that time we were living together, the couple, and our paths were set. She miscarried, distressed, that anguished look on her face; not the same face you see today; and got pregnant again promptly, probably the next time we bonked. By that time I had moved from that wonderful apartment in Victoria Street; down to her more down to earth flat at Bondi Beach, and my life had taken a different course. In sickness and in health; through all the different paths.

In the course of work yesterday, a general reporting shift, I met the First Lady of East Timor, Kirsty Sword, who was completely charming, decent, intelligent and impressive and is much loved by the media who deal with her; and Jana Wendt, the first lady of Australian television, who was holding a farewell party at the Three Weeds Hotel in Rozelle. With thoughts turning to retirement, it's funny to think of long days when nobody could care less who you were or where you are from. I look forward to it, but will miss the casual drama and the easy access.

NEWS:

Australia, UN Hunt East Timor Rebel Leader After Jail Break
By Ed Johnson
Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Australian-led peacekeepers and United Nations police are hunting for 57 escaped prisoners in East Timor, including rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, after a breakout that may further destabilize the Pacific Ocean state.
Forces were searching the nation's capital, Dili, and surrounding areas today after the escape from Becora Prison late yesterday, the UN's Acting Police Commissioner Antero Lopes said in a statement.
Reinado, an Australian-trained former military police commander, led a group of rebel soldiers who refused to lay down their arms after former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri dismissed around a third of the country's armed forces for deserting.
The sackings in March provoked clashes between security forces and escalated into fighting between armed gangs. The violence resulted in the deployment of 2,500 peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia in May.

Disengaging From The Long Goodbye

These were the times to say goodbye, not just to old friends but old selves, gangs which had been so fraught with belief, who thought they mattered. We were slow on the uptake and dissolved as we aged. We moved from our twenties, slid through the thirties, still partying, still young enough to get away with it, survived through our forties, through long nights of introspection and discontent, and emerged as relics in our fifties. We were often saddened by the disappearance of hope; but there was no excuse. We had known better. Or to be more precise, we should have known better. We just didn't go down that path, into rectitude, self-righteousness, Christian beliefs, high moral and ethical standards. We just survived, and our hopes to write all those great novels, perform those great sympathies, paint in ways that nobody else had ever painted before, they all disappeared.

And now Ian has gone, too; and we're all left like shags on a rock, watching the sun set and even now disengaged from any true meaning; any normal depth, any normal way of thinking. What club was it anyway?

Ian, I want to say goodbye now, I want to thank you for the mysteries you showed me; I want to thank you for the good times we had; I want to apologise for the hurt I created. I didn't mean to hurt you, anymore than I meant to hurt so many others. I remember your kindness; I remember those few moments of intimacy, when tenderness and thrill was at the core of the moment; I want to thank you for the amused, ironical, kind view that you took - and imparted - and I want to thank you for the gift of creativity. You were always encouraging. You were never the one to say go get a job boy, work in an office, become a nine to fiver, have a normal career. You were always the one that thought our destinies were singular, that we could perform, write, paint, act, that there wasn't anything else in life worth pursuing. So thank you and goodbye, dear friend. See you on the other side.

NEWS:

Howard has sparked a furore by suggesting that muslims should learn English.
But I don't think he's going to lose any votes.

Here's a sample of the coverage:

DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Muslim free speech blackmail

ISLAMIC leaders are trying to gag Prime Minister John Howard from speaking out against Muslims who refuse to integrate, threatening that any criticism of their culture could lead to another race riot.
The head of Mr Howard's own Muslim advisory council, Dr Ameer Ali, yesterday tried to shut down debate on whether Muslims should learn English and treat women as equals by raising the spectre of the shameful Cronulla riots.
Dr Ali warned: "We have already witnessed one incident in Sydney, in Cronulla. I don't want these scenes to be repeated, because when you antagonise the younger generation they are bound to react.'' ....

John Howard's column in The Tele:

AUSTRALIA has been greatly enriched by immigration and most people who have come to this nation have happily integrated with the community.
They have willingly embraced the Australian way of life. They have become part of the fabric of the nation and have helped make Australia the great country it is today.
I have said many times that people who come to this country - no matter where they are from - should become part of the Australian community.
For new migrants, that means embracing Australian values, accepting our culture, being able to speak English if it's not their first language and understanding that men and women have equality. But it is an undeniable fact that some who have come here are resisting integration. There are pockets of this resistance in different migrant groups but it is perhaps most visible at this time in a small section of the Islamic community.
A small minority of this community, and other groups that reject integration, regard appeals for them to fully integrate into the Australian way of life as some kind of discrimination.
It is not. It is commonsense and, importantly, it is also a powerful symbol of a new migrant's willingness and enthusiasm about becoming an Australian.
It is difficult to get anywhere in this country without learning English. It's the common language of Australia and is, quite simply, a passport to the future.
Simple tasks like securing a job and making new friends would be so much harder in Australia without a working knowledge of English.
Treating women as equals is an Australian value that should be embraced. Australians generally do not tolerate women being treated in an inferior fashion to men.
There are some societies that do not treat women equally. Migrants from those societies must be fully prepared to embrace Australian attitudes towards women.
We are an egalitarian nation that prides itself on the concept of a fair go, our equal treatment of men and women, our parliamentary democracy and free speech...

ABC:

Prime Minister John Howard has restated his view that Australian Muslims need to learn English and treat women as equals, in order to fit in with Australian community values.
Mr Howard's comments on a talkback radio station made national headlines this morning, with the Prime Minister accused of singling out Muslims.
He was quoted as saying that Muslim migrants need to make a greater effort to embrace Australian values, treat women as equals and make a better attempt to learn English.
As he opened a new school building in his own Sydney electorate of Benelong this morning, Mr Howard said he stood by his comments.
"It's wrong, I haven't singled anybody out," he said.
"I said yesterday what I've previously said, that there is a section, a small section, of the Islamic population which is unwilling to integrate.
"And I've said generally of migrants who come to this country, no matter where they've come from, they have to integrate.
"That means speaking English as quickly as possible, it means embracing Australian values, and it also means making sure that no matter what the culture of the country from which they came might have been, Australia requires women to be treated fairly and decently and in the same fashion as men.
"If any migrants coming to this country have a different view, they'd better get rid of that view pretty quickly. "

SBS:

Comments spark fury

The prime minister’s comments sparked fury among some Muslim leaders who say they were offended by what the prime minister had said. The chairman of the government's new Islamic advisory committee, Dr Ameer Ali, has warned of more trouble unless Mr Howard tones down his rhetoric on Muslim migrants. "We have already witnessed one incident in Sydney recently in Cronulla, I don't want these scenes to be repeated because when you antagonise the younger generation, younger group, they are bound to react," Dr Ali told Macquarie Radio. But Mr Howard today stood by his comments. "I don't apologise," he told reporters."I think they are missing the point and the point is that I don't care and the Australian people don't care where people come from. "There's a small section of the Islamic population which is unwilling to integrate and I have said generally all migrants ... they have to integrate."

The Age:

THE Prime Minister's "divisive line" on Muslims was alienating and ostracising the Muslim community, according to one leader.
Sherene Hassan's comments followed an attack by men with crowbars on two cars belonging to another community leader on Thursday night.
Ms Hassan, an executive committee member of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said the council had received more abusive and threatening emails this week than at any time since the Cronulla riots.
One read: "F--k off back to where you came from and rape the women there."
She blamed John Howard's radio comments on Thursday, in which he urged Muslims to learn Australian values. The emails have been referred to Australian Federal Police.
The vandalised cars belonged to the council's past president, Yasser Soliman, who said the attacks were being investigated by local and federal police and ASIO.