Meanderings...

Goodbye 2011, Welcome 2012!

2011-12-31T15:18:00.000+11:00

Saturday, December 31, 2011
Last day of 2011 -- and the sun shines -- lovely blue sky -- lovely, lovely, lovely!!
This is just a day like another. And tomorrow will be another. Yet today and tomorrow have symbolic significance for us human beings:
end of the old > beginning of the new
We aspire to do better than we have before. We aspire to do good things -- to live more honourably, more honestly, more truthfully. We aspire to put away the bad and put on what's good.
YET...
any change is cosmetic. To reach our aspirations we need an interior change -- a transformation of the heart. Who can do that? We may try mightily and seem to succeed for a time but we still end up reverting to our default mode. A mode that has decades of imprinting by our upbringing, our choices in life, our experiences, our sufferings, failures, successes, and so on.
Who or what can change our default mode? How do we get out of this rut of reverting? Can we never make a real difference in our own lives? Or, in our family's? Or, our community's? Or, our nation's? Or, our world's? Will all things revert to that default which we deem unacceptable, untruthful, unloving?
Seems pretty bleak.
We can't change ourselves let alone anyone else.
But, Jesus Christ can change us. He changes our hearts. He alone makes it possible to reach our aspirations. He alone is the transformer -- not a new year resolution or wish, not a promise on our part. We are weak; he is strong.
Sadly, we have legislated anything to do with Jesus out of our schools, our communities, our nation... and, thus too out of our lives, and out of the lives of our children. Sad really. The one person who can sort it all out is relegated to the dustbin.
YET...
Psalm 113: 4,5 "For the LORD [Jesus] is high above the nations; his glory is far greater than the heavens. Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high?"
For those who seek Jesus... God bless you!
If you don't, may you be surprised to discover how great is his love for you in 2012!

Rubber bands!

2011-11-09T11:00:00.000+11:00

"Straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize." Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

All rubber bands work on the same principle - they must be stretched to be effective!

This came my way... and it's so very true. An unused un-stretched rubber band soon perishes... I know, I recently found some in a box that had been safely and conveniently stored for 20 years and all were useless, perished, and fell apart... maybe that's what happens to us if we seek to be simply safe.

Seen in blogsphere... an anti-bullying message

2011-09-24T15:13:00.001+10:00

One of the awful things a child (and, even an adult) has to bear is being bullied. Whether it's physical or othewise, or name calling, the effect on a person's spirit is the same ... crushing, just crushing. How often hope is lost and the person being bullied decides that the only relief is to die. God be merciful.

Mark Daniels reports:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you...:
One of my nieces posted this on Facebook recently and I re-posted it. It contains a great anti-bullying message and apparently was circulated in connection with suicide prevention:
The girl you just called fat? She is overdosing on diet pills.
The girl you just called ugly? She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.
The boy you just tripped? He is abused enough at home.
See that man with the ugly scars? He fought for our country.
That guy you just made fun of… for crying? His mother is dying.

Longing for God

2011-09-04T11:00:00.000+10:00

Some years ago I wrote a reflection on 'longing for God'. As I read it again now I find that it's still just as relevant for me now as then. As you read this be encouraged... God is no stranger to our unsettlednesses, our longings, our questions.

Psalm 42: 1-3: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and stand before him? Day and night, I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” ”
There are times when I am fully aware of my longing for God. It is so strong that my heart aches inside. At other times I have no awareness and am busy thinking and doing other things yet have felt so restless and unsettled. No matter what I put my hand to or think about in my mind it does not settle the unsettledness. What I believe is happening is that my deep longing for God is causing the unsettledness; I am dissatisfied with everything else. My deep being is crying out with longing for God. My outside being (my conscious self) is distracted with many things; some of these distractions may be my efforts to escape from my longing for God.
Then, too, there are my enemies who seems to whisper forever, “Where is this God of yours?” The demons are ever ready to throw this question at me when God seems not to be near, or seems not be hearing or paying attention.
My longing for God gets attacked by myself (the sinful self who is so full of self and does not want a competitor) or by the demons who do not want me to draw close to God in any way.
God knows this. He knows how to deliver me from the taunting demons. And, He knows how to work in my heart so my dissatisfaction deepens until I do turn to Him and am willing for Him to bring about the needed heart changes.
He has made clear in Scripture that He loves us and desires to fellowship with us. He has planted within us this deep longing for fellowship with Him, as well.
Copyright © 2003 Fran Woods

originally published at Bhojli Reflections

Spring is here! YEAH!

2011-09-01T18:50:00.001+10:00

Bee on Grape Hyacinth, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

These past few days have been glorious! My garden is bursting with new life. Here's a bee on a Grape Hyacinth, a favourite plant.
What a great creative God we have!

Eugene Nida dies

2011-09-01T15:42:00.002+10:00

Dr Eugene Nida has died. You probably don't know who he is but read on. Nida had a tremendous impact on Bible Translation during the 20th century.As a Bible Translator myself his work impacted me in my training and throughout the years in which I was involved in translation and in training others.

Eugene Nida dies
August 25, 2011 By comms

By Dr Philip C. Stine

Eugene Nida, the giant of Bible translation in the twentieth century, died at home in Madrid on August 25. He was 96. Conveying the news, his widow Elena said, “My adored husband has passed away 10 minutes ago. Thank you for your prayers. He was a saint. The Lord is with him.”

For more than 50 years Eugene Nida was the leader of the translation program of the American Bible Society, and subsequently the intellectual leader of the global program of the United Bible Societies, as well as consultant to that organisation.

Dr Nida will be best remembered for the revolution he brought about in the field of Bible translation in the mid-twentieth century. The resulting impact on the growth and development of the Church continues to be felt as millions of people in hundreds of languages around the world have access to the Bible because of the approach he developed and promoted.

[read more]

Now he is with Jesus. How wonderful for him!

Old Building, Hume Highway, NSW - photo art #5

2011-08-31T15:45:00.001+10:00

Old Building, Hume Highway, NSW - photo art #5, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

I've just downloaded the latest Topaz Labs filter. It's called B&W effects. This particular effect is called Opalotype (yellow lilac) and I quite like the effect.
This building is one I pass every time I go to Sydney. I don't know anything about it except that it's been there a long time. If it was a kid's cubby house then it would have been fantastic fun for the kids!

Postage stamps...

2011-08-29T13:37:00.000+10:00

Some days I may feel utterly useless, and especially so as now I'm retired. Being retired can feel a bit wobbly at times. However, the truth is, I'm not really useless despite the feeling. Each day is a new adventure with entrusting myself and my day to God for him to bring blessing to others through who I am and whatever I may do. Whatever my feelings God is still the same God and I live for him as enthusiastically as I ever have. I just don't "do" the same things as I used to.

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB
Be like a postage stamp – stick to one thing till you get there! – Josh Billings.

From: http://dailyreadings.net/

Heartwarming story from Bastar in India

2011-08-21T17:10:00.000+10:00

I lived and worked in the Bastar region of India for a number of years in the 1960's and 70's. And, as a result, this part of the world holds a very special place in my heart. It is heartwarming to read something positive from the area... instead of the heartbreaking and awful news of all the unrest that's been there for so many years because of the Maoist insurgents.

Ramchandra Baghel was the son of a poor farmer from a small village in the infamous Bastar area. Given to the vice of alcohol addiction, the father had leased his farmlands. The habit resulted in the family losing their own lands and Baghel's father was forced to work as a daily wager on his own land. Today, Ramchandra has been able to buy back his forefathers' land. He also supplements his earnings by working as a driver, ferrying school children in his run-down jeep.
The youngster who could have been held in the shackles of poverty rose to attain a respectable position in society instead. This would not have been possible without the support of his beloved Dadaji and Dadiji. This old couple, not his biological grandparents, happens to play a similar role in the lives of around 4000 children in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.
Jayant and Jayshree Kothe, more famously Dadaji and Dadiji, belong to Nagpur, but decided to help those who really needed it after attaining the age of retirement. This took them to the notorious Abujhmar plateau in 1998. "The place has such a difficult terrain that it was impossible to work there," says Jayashree. This led to a detailed study of the needs of the various people around the region. And, finally they decided to make Dantewada and Bastar areas of Chhattisgarh their base. Later, they formed Bhartiya Kushta Nivarak Sangh, an NGO that has its presence in over 80 villages.
"An abandoned police station in Halbaras village in the Naxal-infested area was turned into our home. Today, the building also houses an ashram, a school and a laboratory equipped to screen people for sickle cell disease, a condition very common among the tribals of the area," informed Jayant. The ashram also provides shelter to more than 25 needy children, whom the elderly couple has accepted as a part of their family.
The goodness of the couple also benefits the other children in the villages. More than 200 kids are fed with nourishing khichdi, consisting of pulses like tur, moong, masoor, groundnuts and grams. The improved nutritional profile of the children has meant that malnourishment has been practically eradicated in the village. Those who did not attend school were told to come to the ashram for a couple of hours to study.
The decade long efforts of the Kothe's have finally borne fruit with the villagers as well as the government supporting their activities. The fallow land near the ashram would soon be turned into a park with financial aid from the villagers. Identifying the need for it, the government has assigned the couple with the task of screening more than 25,000 tribal children for sickle cell disease.
They have started spreading their aid to the villages in Maharashtra as well. Already started operations in Melghat, they would also be providing support to villages like Deori, Istari and Yedmagondi in their home state.
All sorts of recognition and achievements fall short for the couple as the highest reward for them is having thousands of children to call their own. The couple is in the city with some of the children from the ashram for an exhibition of handicrafts made by tribal people from Bastar ranging from bell metal, wrought iron, wood work to the famous Chapa Kosa sarees and dress materials. The money earned through sale of these items would go the BKNS's Halbaras ashram.

From: Giving 'em a new lease of life - The Times of India.

Incline my heart to you

2011-08-04T11:42:00.002+10:00

Some years ago I wrote the following poem. It really speaks of issues that can cause us grief in our pursuit of health and wholeness in life as well as in our walk with Jesus. I trust is blesses and encourages you!

Incline my heart to you

My heart is inclined to you, O Lord
Yet not all
So often I see myself withholding
some thought, some desire
some bit of the old
declaring with shaking fist
this is mine,
don't touch.

A so-called friend offends me
I'm enraged
I want revenge, tit for tat.
Don't tell me to forgive,
it's unforgivable...
so my heart inclines to hatred
this is mine
don't touch.

There's much to do, and
I'm tired of doing
I want to play
to go where I want to go
and do what I want to do
so my heart inclines to selfishness
this is mine
don't touch.

And so the list goes on
I spiral down
lost to myself in whirling self-pity
deeper into loneliness,
so my heart inclines to
hopelessness and despair
O God, I am yours, You are mine
touch me.

Written as a result of reflecting on 1 Kings 8:54-61
Copyright 2005 Fran Woods

Ref: Bhojli Reflections: Poetry

Longevity is due to genes not lifestyle, study finds

2011-08-04T10:28:00.000+10:00

An interesting piece of research. It's something I've suspected. In my family from my mother's side, the women of the family seem to live well into their 90's, even when they have had heart attacks, diabetes, blood pressure, or other general health problems during their long lives. I've always found it to be rather intriguing.
Longevity is due to genes not lifestyle, study finds:

"Israeli researchers trying to unlock the secret of longevity studied a population of Ashkenazi Jews who have lived to at least 95 and found their eating and lifestyle habits are no better than those of the general population.

In fact, men in the long-lived group drank slightly more and exercised less than their average counterparts.

The findings are published in the online edition of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. ..." [follow link above for more]

Small 'weapon' makes big difference in war on famine

2011-08-01T10:29:00.000+10:00

The news coming out of Africa is always gut wrenching. Famines and wars, wars and famines. There is such a humanitarian crisis in Somalia at present that it's hard to comprehend the level of suffering. Here is a bit of hopeful news (click on link for full article):

Small 'weapon' makes big difference in war on famine:

"SOMETIMES survival can be a simple equation. The difference between life and death for a frail child in Somalia can come down to being fed a peanut-based paste that costs less than 40 cents a serve.

Plumpy'nut - each sachet of the nutritional supplement weighs only 92 grams - is Red Cross aid worker Hilary Floate's not-so-secret weapon in the war on famine. And amid a litany of bad news from the East African drought and conflict zone, it is good news everyone can relish. ..."

John Stott Has Died

2011-07-30T18:58:00.000+10:00

John Stott Has Died | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction:

"John Stott died today at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott's death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott today as they listened to Handel's Messiah. Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. 'I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders,' Homan said. 'He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior.' Billy Graham's spokesperson released the following statement from the evangelist: 'The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to Heaven.'"

John Stott had a great impact on my early Christian life. I purchased many of his books and found them both challenging and encouraging in my life with Jesus. I had not realised he was still alive till the other day and now I find that he's gone home to Jesus. I'm glad for him.

Old cottage @ Jembaicumbene, NSW - photo art

2011-07-25T10:35:00.003+10:00

Old cottage @ Jembaicumbene, NSW - photo art, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

I pass this old cottage each time I go into Braidwood to check my mail or to shop. It's old and it's abandoned yet there's something very appealing about it. I often wonder about the people who used to live there and the stories they could tell.,
I've stopped to photograph it many times. Lately I've been experimenting on my photos using some of my computer art programs, especially one called Dynamic Auto Painter (DAP). The computer is my canvas and this is something I like to do. I quite like this particular result.
Recently someone has begun a restoration project on the cottage. I hope they retain something of the its character.

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

2011-07-07T19:35:00.002+10:00

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

I was up in Sydney this past weekend and was very delighted to see a small flock of black cockatoos in my friends' trees. These cockatoos are not often seen around Sydney. I see them more down my way in the Southern Tablelands. The flock allowed me to creep quite close and take plenty of photos... a satisfying experience! They stopped all their screeching and watched me closely but stayed put in the tree.

Winter woes...

2011-07-07T13:43:00.001+10:00

It's winter down here in Australia... and it's cold, of course. The last few days have been extremely windy. In fact, Sydney and the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney have been battered by gale force winds. Stately old trees have succumbed to the fierceness of the winds, houses have shuddered and shook and some roofs have come off. It's none too pleasant to go outside.
On Tuesday I drove down from Sydney back to my little house in the Southern Tablelands. My car was loaded down which helped me stay on the road. As it was my arms got very weary just steering and keeping on the road. The winds were blowing from the side and at time they were very fierce. After leaving Goulburn I sadly noticed a lot of trees had come down though none blocked the road.
I was very glad to finally arrive home. The wind was way too strong to even think about unpacking the car. It wasn't quite as cold as predicted but still cold enough in the wind. The house shuddered and shook, the chimney whistled, and I was glad to go to bed where I could be cosy and warm secure from the the wind.
My muscles are all aching today. Maybe that's from all my rushing yesterday--unpacking the car early in the morning before the winds picked up again, splitting wood and carting it to my woodbox at the house, battling to get the wood fire to light and stay alight, watering my plants, and entertaining visitors, etc. I'm sore!
The forecast says that really cold weather is coming...

Why one look will put the fear of god into you

2011-06-11T10:45:00.000+10:00

Well, it looks as if the eyes have it! Have you experienced the unnerving sensation of feeling like you're being watched by a portrait? Such as the Mona Lisa? Or my great great grandfather who's portrait looks as if he's watching your every move no matter where you are in the room?
Then, of course, how many of us are able to look someone in the eye when we've done wrong? As a child could you look your mum in the eye when you'd told a lie? I couldn't. Mum's eyes on me really put the fear of God into me!
Now science has set about to prove it!!

Why one look will put the fear of god into you: "DOES it feel like you're being watched all the time?
An image of a pair of eyes is all it takes to make people more honest or judge the behaviour of others more harshly, research shows.
The effect may help explain why widespread belief in an omnipresent god has evolved.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Pierrick Bourrat, a philosophy research student at the University of Sydney, and his colleagues presented more than 90 people with two stories of moral transgressions - keeping money found in a lost wallet, and faking a resume. Half were given the stories on a piece of paper with eyes on it, and the other half saw an image of a flower." ... [read on]

MI6 hackers hit terrorist website with cupcakes

2011-06-03T16:50:00.000+10:00

Image via Wikipedia

Here's one for the record books! Make cupcakes not bombs ...

MI6 hackers hit terrorist website with cupcakes:
"British intelligence has hacked into an al-Qaeda online magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a recipe for cupcakes."

What to do with trouble?

2011-06-02T10:44:00.000+10:00

When trouble comes our way, what do we do? Depend on God and look to him to help us in the midst of the trouble? Blame him or someone else? Have a pity-party? I've just started another study on Job and am reminded yet again that the why's of our sufferings are known only to God... and only as we trust him for who he is can we hope to make sense of anything. I thought this little snippet from Paul is helpful. It comes from Reading for Today:

“… But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life.” 2 Corinthians 1:9 NIRV

Anything that causes us to turn to God and lean harder on Him is an asset, not a liability. It's when we lose a job, a marriage, a loved one, our health or our peace of mind that we can turn to God and discover what He can do.

And, for inspirational daily messages, check out www.thewordfortoday.com.au

God's character building

2011-04-13T11:54:00.000+10:00

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." Romans 5:3,4

God uses tough times like a refining process to bring out the best in us. He controls the heat, because His goal isn't to destroy us but to develop us. Gold only becomes valuable when the impurities have been removed in the fire!

from Daily Readings

Books from Amazon

William Young found dead at his Chiang Mai home

2011-04-05T12:21:00.000+10:00

News just to hand tells of the death of Bill Young, a son of missionaries, and a former CIA operative in SEAsia.
CIA hitman William Young found dead at his Chiang Mai home

I knew of Bill when I lived and worked in Chiang Mai. The story of the circumstances of his death have saddened me. Unfortunately, this story focuses on the negatives of his life, and this too saddens me as there is a lot more to his life than is reported. Also, we can never know the heart of another person no matter how good or bad their lives may look to us. What I do know is that depression can strike the strongest of us and drive us to the brink of despair, which seems to be be what's happened to Bill.

I pray God's mercy on his soul, comfort for his family, and that God would bring great good from his life and times amongst the Lahu and other hilltribes folk of SEAsia.

Also check out the New York Times article: William Young...

Close call

2011-02-27T17:19:00.001+11:00

Yesterday morning I had a close call and it seriously rattled my body... and it's still rattled.
The Majors Creek bridge will be closed for repairs March 7-April 15 and the detour will go around a back way to the nearby town of Braidwood. The detour is considerably longer and much of it on dirt road. Since I'm fairly new to the area and had not been along the road I decided to drive to Braidwood via the detour to see how it was and how long it took.
The dirt road is good except for one patch where the gravel is very small, very round and, as I found, very dangerous. I was not going fast and did not touch the brakes but my car suddenly spun out of control sliding all over the road. I was sure I was going to roll, my mind went blank on what to do, and there seemed no way to stop the car... it slid for about 100 mts slewing all over the road before spinning sideways and then doing a 180 degree turn before finally coming to a stop on some different sort of gravel. Needless to say I was very shaken!
Another car coming in the opposite direction stopped to check if I was alright. Their car also slid as it came to a stop. I was very grateful for their kindness, and thankful that they were not a few seconds earlier or we would have collided. They warned me of another patch of the same gravel a bit further on.
I'm convinced that God sent angels to stop my car, and that he protected me from something far worse. There seems to be at least 1km of this slippery gravel... it wasn't easy to walk on it either. I've named it "ball bearing" gravel... very unstable and slippery.
I'm planning to write to the local council about it. It seems too dangerous to be pushing all traffic along this road for 5 weeks.
I am so very grateful for God's care of me. This event had underscored the fact that I have the wrong sort of car for the country... too light, only front wheel drive, not enough oomph... and, after yesterday morning's experience too dangerous for dirt roads.

Five life-changing questions

2011-01-28T11:49:00.000+11:00

Some questions to ponder. I don't know about you but I often lose sight of the answers and find I'm anxious when I needn't be. We do need to allow God to work his good things in our hearts and minds.
This comes from The Word for Today which often has some good things to think about. (I've made the 5 questions into separate paragraphs for reading ease.

Friday, 28 January 2011 00:00
'Nothing can ever separate us from His love.' Romans 8:38 NLT
Paul asks five life-changing questions you'd do well to think about:
(1) 'If God is for us, who can ever be against us?' (Romans 8:31 NLT) The presence of God tilts the scales forever in our direction. Really, who can hurt us?
(2) 'Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't God... also give us everything else?' (Romans 8:32 NLT) Would God save our souls then leave us to fend for ourselves? Would He address our eternal needs and ignore our earthly ones? Of course not!
(3) 'Who dares accuse us...? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with Himself.' (Romans 8:33 NLT) Every voice that accuses you, including your own, means nothing in the court of Heaven. God's acceptance trumps man's rejection.
(4) 'Who then will condemn us?... the One who died for us... is sitting at the place of highest honour next to God, pleading for us.' (Romans 8:34 NLT) Let your accusers rise up and speak against you. Jesus, your defence attorney, silences them. Why? Because His grace covers you.
(5) 'Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?' (Romans 8:35 NLT) Paul answers his own question: 'Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away...nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 8:38-39 NLT) Isn't that great?
SoulFood: Ecc 1-4, Luke 6:27-36, Ps 107:1-9, Pr 3:13-18

via The Word for Today.

More on old age...

2011-01-27T11:34:00.000+11:00

In Christianity Today is an Q & A article of an interview with Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals. Among other things he says:

What advice would you give to people who are aging?
First, accept it as part of God's plan for your life, and thank him every day for the gift of that day. We've come to look on old age as something to be dreaded—and it's true that it isn't easy. I can't honestly say that I like being old—not being able to do most of the things I used to do, for example, and being more dependent on others, and facing physical challenges that I know will only get worse. Old age can be a lonely time also—children scattered, spouse and friends gone.
But God has a reason for keeping us here (even if we don't always understand it), and we need to recover the Bible's understanding of life and longevity as gifts from God—and therefore as something good. Several times the Bible mentions people who died "at a good old age"—an interesting phrase (emphasis added). So part of my advice is to learn to be content, and that only comes as we accept each day as a gift from God and commit it into his hands. Paul's words are true at every stage of life, but especially as we grow older: "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).
The other piece of advice I'd give is the other side of the coin, so to speak. It's this: As we grow older we should focus not only on the present, but more and more on Heaven. This world, with all of its pains and sorrows and burdens, isn't our final home. If we know Christ, we know we have "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4). I know it won't be long before I'll be going there, and I look forward to that day. Heaven gives us hope, and makes our present burdens easier to bear.

I thought his take on old age worth repeating here. I hope it encourages you.
(via Q & A: Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.)

Billy Graham at 92: Faithful Honor the Man and His Message (politicsdaily.com)
Billy Graham (mn2az.blogspot.com)
George Beverly Shea: 102-year-old Canadian singer to receive honour (nationalpost.com)
Aging, Legacies and more Time with our Family (logicandimagination.wordpress.com)

Old Age

2011-01-25T12:12:00.000+11:00

“Good people will prosper like palm trees, grow tall like Lebanon cedars; transplanted to God’s courtyard, they’ll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile still in old age.” Psalm 92: 12-14 MSG
We can produce our greatest harvest of fruit in our final years. When the sun goes down the stars come out – we can shine brightest in the closing chapters of our life. So why not live right up till the moment you die?

Old age is not a disease that needs healing but rather a normal progression of our life. God has promised that we will still be fruitful in old age (if we allow it). Are we able to live with that promise? Or, do we like so many, try (vainly) to avoid the inevitable and so waste our energies on fretting about what’s happening to us, attempt to turn back the clock, or use some other denial strategy.
God has good things for us in old age! It's time to grab hold of the promises of God about this, and though we might not be able to run, we can surely walk with a firm step and go for all God has for us!

Sun and salvation make a divine holiday...

2011-01-01T11:55:00.000+11:00

Here's a story that brings back wonderful memories:
Sun and salvation make a divine holiday for fun-seeking souls.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties I was part of a team that did the same sort of thing -- we camped at Scotts Head, one of the beaches in northern NSW and had special programs for kids and parents. Back then we called them Beach Missions. There were loads of different activities for kids of all ages... lots of laughter, exhausting games, and time for significant conversation. Somewhere in all my stored stuff I have photos and slides of those days. One day I'll find them and post some of the memories of those days.
One vivid memory from one year is of a cyclone that hit right in the middle of the mission... wild winds, wild rain, and a wild time trying to keep the tents from blowing away. Nobody got much sleep, and no one was injured. Everything was wet through!

Maoist hotbed Bastar gets 3G coverage

2010-10-24T16:48:00.000+11:00

I worked in Bastar many long years ago. At that time facilities for communication were very limited: telephone (if you were lucky and persisted long enough), telegrams (which might or might go through) and the post. The village where I worked was just one mile from the main highway between Jagdalpur and Raipur, and had no electricity.
Now along with all the troubles the area has been having from the Maoists (Naxalites) there have been great strides in the development of infrastructure which we so take for granted. I am amazed today to read that area now has 3G coverage:
Maoist hotbed Bastar gets 3G coverage
I suppose I would not recognise the place now. I assume the village has electricity and other miscellaneous facilities such as telephones, mobile phones and internet. It's quite a mind stretching exercise to think about. While I'm glad that my friends there have improved facilities I am also distressed that they have suffered over many years from the disruptions caused by the Naxalites.

Our Deep Ache...

2010-10-01T10:02:00.000+10:00

"Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool ...." Psalm 99:5 NKJV
We live in a cynical age that discourages wonder, marvel and awe, yet deep down we still ache for it. God created us so that when we experience something awe-inspiring we need to praise it, to wrap words around it. Let's worship God – not because He needs it, but because we do!
For an inspirational daily message, go to www.thewordfortoday.com.au
The Reading for Today is available at dailyreadings.net

Memory damage reversed in mice

2010-08-24T14:13:00.000+10:00

Memory damage reversed in mice
Interesting article! Those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis less likely to suffer from Alzheimers! That's got to be a plus for them given the amount of pain they have to live with day by day.
If this discovery does prove to help those who suffer from Alzheimers then I say it can't come quick enough. What a wonderful thought that maybe even the damage could be reversed. The slow decline of a loved one is so hard to watch. It's confusing and wrought with great pain for the one whose mind is going, and even more painful for those who can only stand by and feel so helpless.

Meet Sally, still working at 101

2010-08-11T11:04:00.000+10:00

Now this is a story I like to read. Here this lady is 101 and still working. She looks way younger than her 101 years. I'm sure there aren't many older people out there who are as active as she is. And, she's been named as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2010. Good for her. I hope I'm as good at her age, if I live that long!

Meet Sally, still working at 101

Chhattisgarh airlifting doctors to diarrhoea-hit areas

2010-08-01T10:44:00.000+10:00

Chhattisgarh airlifting doctors to diarrhoea-hit areas

I spent many years working in this area of India back in the late 60's and 70's. It is a place that's dear to my heart. The troubles that Chhattisgarh has been experiencing over these past decades with the Maoists / Naxalites has been most distressing for me to read about. I often wonder what has happened to those who became such dear friends. There was no postal service when I was there, nor in the the years following so I have been unable to keep abreast of their lives; and, I don't even know if they are still alive. All I can do is pray for them, and trust them into God's loving care.
Now these dear people are yet again being hit with disease and sickness. One a my precious language helpers died from cerebral malaria when he was about 20. It was an awful thing. One minute a joyous young man in the prime of his manhood, and the next gone with that dreadful disease.
It all comes back to me as I read this piece of news from the area.
I went to Bastar District in order to do language research in preparation for Bible translation. I, and my colleague, was able to make significant headway in language learning and analysis. Sadly, our work was cut short and we had to leave. I was only able to translate a small portion from the life of Christ. I left copies of this with those who'd been helping me. I don't know what impact it may have had in their lives. They were very attracted to Jesus because he had power over nature and over demons. This impressed them very much. God alone knows what their heart response to Jesus was. It's a grief that I've had to hand over and leave with God. He is more than well able to sort all these things out.

The bubbler is back!

2010-07-28T11:04:00.000+10:00

Buying drinking water in a plastic bottle has always seemed rather nonsensical to me when perfectly good drinking water is freely available from the tap; "If it ain't broke don't fix it." The whole idea of having to pay so much to have a drink of water seems so strange and unnecessary . I remember the days when there were bubblers everywhere so that if one wanted a drink of water, a bubbler was easily found. Then they gradually disappeared and the ubiquitous bottled water became the only source of drinking water when one was out and about.

Now, there seems to be a ground swell happening that sees the sale of water in a plastic bottle being banned, at least in certain contexts. Good thing, I reckon. There's way too much discarded plastic everywhere. And I can't imagine that it's that healthy to be drinking water out of a plastic container.

Sale of water is banned, and that's just lubbly bubbly

Voters feel pity for Rudd

2010-07-24T11:38:00.000+10:00

While voters may feel pity for Rudd it does seem like they are forgiving of Julia Gillard. For me, I find my response is to the principles being wrecked. As a nation we voted for Kevin Rudd as prime minister. It wasn't so much about the party he represented but about him and what he was standing for. He came across, at least to me, as a man of principle and character. And yet despite his popular election he was ousted by someone else in his own party... and, in what appears to be rather back stabbing circumstances. This whole episode has given me pause for thought as to the ethics and integrity of our Australian politicians.

Australian Federal Election | Voters feel pity for Rudd

Rudd returns to Canberra

2010-07-19T13:16:00.001+10:00

Kevin Rudd is back in town... just as the electioneering has begun for our federal elections on August 21.
I am still distressed and outraged over the way Rudd was ousted. Our government must seem like a joke to the rest of the world. It certainly does not seem right to me. Before she stabbed him in the back, I was rather partial to Julia Gillard. Not anymore. I now feel like she is not to be trusted. Also, she tells lies. Right before she took over she was saying on TV that she was not interested in the top job... then just two days later the coup occurred! Where's truth?
I keep remembering some biblical principles... 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' and 'the measure you give is the measure you get'. I do fear for Julia Gillard. What consequences are just around the corner for her as a result of the choice she made to grab the top job? Will she be overturned in another coup? Our political system could be a good one.
What to vote? Not only that, but how to pray for my country? We are not in a good place politically or spiritually.
O God, move among us.

Federal Election | Rudd returns to Canberra

Life & Living

2010-07-16T12:26:00.000+10:00

No glitches to final inspection... the house passed for living and now I live. It's been a wonderful experience to move into my new home. So very hard to believe I have a house that's mine (actually it's God's house but he's given it to me to enjoy!).
Settling in goes slowly. The weather has been so cold that the unpacking of boxes goes slowly, oh so very slowly. The thing that's slow is that I have to get the boxes from where they're stored in a container further down the property up to my house (100mts or so). The car has been useful to do this but lugging 30-50lb boxes up the steps to the verandah is backbreaking when one is not so young anymore.
More recently the shed/garage has been built and yesterday cementing was finished for the garage verge, for a slab for a small annex for storing firewood, and for a path to back door. Looks good. Sadly, we've had so much rain in the last 6 weeks that the earth is sodden and the trucks have churned up the earth into a right royal mess. Now I'll have to plan for some earthworks once the ground dries up enough to be graded and deep ruts filled in.
We've had some bitterly cold days. The wind from the southwest blows off the Snowy Mtns and is frigid this time of year. To go outside I have to rug up and wear gumboots... so, I don't go out if I don't have to. The wood heater keeps me cosy and provides a nice cook top and little oven.
So, that's where it's at for the moment.
God is so good, and he's good all the time

Unwelcome comments

2010-06-11T11:14:00.000+10:00

For some months now I have been getting unwelcome comments submitted to my blog. They appear to originate in China as the comment is in Chinese and consists of a lot of links to sex sites. I keep rejecting them... and will keep on rejecting them. However, it is annoying that this is happening.

Ready for inspection

2010-05-03T16:10:00.000+10:00

Today some finishing touches were done to my new home in readiness for Council inspection tomorrow (Tues). Hopefully, there will be no glitches and the inspector will issue a certificate saying the house is ready for occupancy. Ahhh... what a thought... "ready for occupancy".

I've been slowly moving boxes of stored stuff into the house, unpacking them, wondering why I have so much, wondering where to put everything, wondering and wondering some more. Each time I come down from Sydney (300kms) I come with a car stacked full of my accumulations of the last 2 1/2 years... and again wonder why I have so much stuff... sighhh... seems like it's hard to give or throw away anything... you never know I might need it one day!

One goal of this move is to get radical about passing on stuff I do not need. Otherwise there will be no room for me in the house!

I have some boxes for things to keep for the retreat cabins. These will get stored in the garage until such time the cabins are built.

The view out the front window is wonderful. Hills and cattle quietly grazing in the later afternoon sun. Very nice, and very peaceful. Feels good!

Soon to move south...

2010-04-24T15:59:00.000+10:00

This day has been long in coming! Too much of life got in the way, at least from my perspective... Since God's perspective tends to be rather different to mine this move is right on schedule!!

My house is finished, just awaiting connection of electricity and final inspections. So the first stage of a place for spiritual retreat is almost ready. The next stage will see the building of a couple of cabins (a 2-bedroom & a 1-bedroom) and a prayer room/prayer chapel. The whole project was totally impossible. Yet here I am on the verge of moving into a house that God has made possible. I have great hope that the next impossible stage of the project will soon be coming to reality.

The place where I'm building is a little village in the southern tablelands of NSW, a place called Majors Creek. It's an old gold mining area (and it seems as if there's still lots gold in the hills that may cause considerable unwelcome development).

The vision I have for this retreat is a place for the rekindling (restoration) of hope in a person's life, a place to connect with God and spend time alone with him, a place to address whatever may be getting in the way of knowing Jesus.

Some pictures of the building process may be found at my website Hope-Today.

Earthquake in Chiang Mai

2010-04-06T12:55:00.001+10:00

Interesting! An earthquake in Chiang Mai, Thailand about the same time as the earthquake in Mexico/California... opposite sides of the world. Makes one wonder if our earth is having indigestion!

I was in Chiang Mai when the earth quaked in 1995. It frightened a lot of people and broke the umbrella up on the temple on Doi Suthep. Many saw this as a bad omen. However, it didn't make much difference to how people lived their lives.

Chiang Rai, 5 April 2010, [PDN]: Chiang Mai was gently rocked by a magnitude 3 earthquake, today, at 6.45am, with its epicenter in Muang district. Although the quake only lasted 5 to 10 seconds, the quake was sufficiently significant to cause people to dash out onto the street in alarm; however there were no reports of any damage or casualties. There are nine active fault lines in Thailand, the one near Chiang Mai being the Mae Tha Fault, about 30 kilometres away from the city. About 55 kilometres long, this fault has generated 23 quakes during the past 28 years, the most severe having been a quake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale in December 1995.

Pattaya Daily News

Gateway to memories - photo art

2010-03-29T18:26:00.001+11:00

Gateway to memories - photo art
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Here's a spiffed up view of the gateway to where I spent many of my growing years. "The Farm" was well known in the district being an orchard producing wonderful citrus and stone fruits as well as having chooks for eggs. The navels oranges were wonderful--large, juicy with incredible flavour.
The main stone fruits were plums and peaches. Mum used to make endless jars of jam, especially plum jam. We'd eat fresh plums, cooked plums with custard, plum jam, plums and more plums until I was satiated and now don't eat them if I have the choice.
Anyway, that's all in the distant past now. The gate, path, and house still exist but the fruit trees and chooks are long gone.

God's wisdom -- our circumstances

2010-03-11T13:58:00.000+11:00

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all..." James 1:5 NIV

When we tap into God's wisdom, it's amazing how clearly things come into focus. With God's wisdom comes a remarkable absence of fear. We're no longer intimidated by circumstances or the opinions of those around us.

Sydney Opera House and Bridge

2009-12-09T18:29:00.001+11:00

Opera House - Filtering #2
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Been doing some fun stuff with my photos and experimenting with various artistic filters. I like this one especially.
One great thing about the many filters available is that a bad photo can be turned into something spectacular.
I find this quite therapeutic.

Discernment: Testing My Own Voice by Brad Jersak

2009-12-07T12:55:00.000+11:00

I came across this today as I was following through on thoughts about listening prayer. Brad has written some really good stuff in his book: "Can You Hear Me? Tuning In to the God Who Speaks"
Here's what he wrote on Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Discernment: Testing My Own Voice by Brad Jersak
In recent days I have been thinking about our dialogues with God and how we weigh them. I started noticing that when the prayer conversation alternates: God, then Brad, then God, then Brad, and son on, I was diligent to test what God is allegedly saying. I test to see whether the voice of God is really God or not God. I check that voice according to the three-legged stool of the Word, the Body and the Spirit, as recommended in Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God who Speaks.

But I neglected to test MY voice. And why should I? After all, it’s my own voice, isn’t it? Or is it? But when I began to categorize the themes that came under the umbrella of ‘my voice,’ I noticed something. On the one hand, there was the voice that agrees with and responds to God in faith. We could call that the voice of my ‘true heart,’ or the voice of the ‘new creation,’ or the ‘new me.’

On the other hand, there are these other voices that I assumed were my own as well: The voice of condemnation (beating myself up) that would then trigger the voice of self-pity (feeling sorry for myself), and the voices of shame, self-hatred, fear, worry, anger, and so on. In my head, I would hear and say, ‘I am afraid; I am angry; I don’t like myself; I’m not worthy,’ etc. Perhaps you know those voices as well.

THE VOICE THAT IS NOT EVEN ME

And then it occurred to me, esp. as I read the dialogues from prayer journals of about sixty Bible school students, if the voice of my true self loves God and responds in faith and love to the voice of Christ, what are these other voices? On occasion I suppose I could have been hearing an unclean spirit. Or I suppose I might have been dealing with a wound in my heart. But mostly, I found these voices could not be cast out like a demon nor could they be healed like a wound. In fact, my greatest discovery was that those voices were NOT ME at all! ME is my true self. ME is the heart Jesus gave me. ME is the new creation. So what was I hearing that masqueraded as ME?

The Bible calls it the old nature (Rom. 8), the old Adam or Eve, the flesh or desires of the flesh (Gal. 5). In modern terms, we refer to the false self, the ego. My mentor, Ron Dart, calls it ‘the craver’ that underlies all of my cravings, demanding that I feed it but knowing it’s a bottomless pit. It is that vacuous demanding echo of something that was crucified with Christ; something to be reckoned dead (Rom. 6) but still far too talkative in my head; something to be disowned and discredited; marginalized and silenced as far a possible.

DISOWNING AND DISCREDITING THE VOICE OF THE FALSE ME

How do we silence the voices of the flesh or ego? We’re half way there when we begin to recognize that voice and declare, that’s not me. That’s not the beat of the new heart Jesus gave me. We can step back and hold it at arm’s length and begin to make a practice of disowning it—even to the point of refusing to call it my ego or my flesh. It is an ‘it’ of days gone by.

Besides disowning it, we can discredit the ego’s voice by challenging its motives and its fruit. The flesh or ego always has a motive. For example, when it is accusing you, its motive is pride and self-righteousness and it is punishing you for not living up to its standards of perfection. Your stumbles embarrass and offend the ego, triggering a barrage of condemnation. OR when the flesh lapses into self-pity, its motive is to seduce fleshly sympathy out of others—a deadly counterfeit of compassion that brings death rather than life. The ego can multi-task, both accusing and sulking at the same time, but when we step back quietly and watch that ludicrous inner dialogue, it ceases to be credible.

We also discredit the ego/flesh by challenging its fruit. Jesus called us to test everything, including every voice, by the fruit it produces. In testing the fruit of the ego, we see that when we have listened to it, NOT ONCE has it ever produced a smidgeon—not the slightest sliver—of goodness in our lives. So why give it a voice at all, much less the freedom of speech it currently enjoys under the guise of being ME just because I hear it beaking off inside? It is as if we’ve said, ‘As long as you don’t claim to be God, you can say whatever you want. By pretending to be me, you have free rein because I don’t discern MY voice. I only discern God’s voice.’ The resulting fruit has been most rotten.

I have also noticed that when the dialogue is between God and my true, restored heart, God tends to take the lead in the conversation and I find myself following, responding, led by the Spirit to listen. Conversely, when the ego/flesh dialogues with God (when it lets me, for it aggressively tries to unplug from the conversation through doubt or shame) it consistently tries to control the conversation, attempting to argue God into corners, silence or defensiveness. Here I see his relentless patience on the one hand and the complete waste of time on the other. I want to say, “Ego, would you just get over yourself and listen to what God is saying?” Of course, it never does. The flesh/ego does not really listen and its innumerable arguments are a distraction from where God would like to take the prayer time.

SPIRIT TO SPIRIT CONVERSATION

Finally, I do not silence the voice of the ego/flesh by obsessing over it. That only feeds it. Rather, I am learning to give it a brief, passing nod: “I see you, you blood-sucker. But I know what you’re up to and I’m not listening to you today.” And then I quickly move on to listen to the voice of God’s Spirit interacting with the responsive, faith-filled and loving voice of my renewed spirit. 1 Cor. 6:17 goes so far as to say that in uniting with Christ, his Spirit and my spirit become one. I.e. I don’t even need to distinguish between the Holy Spirit and my spirit, because they are in an ascending spiral of heavenly agreement.

True discernment simply means refusing to listen to all that is not God AND all that is not me. To me, this latter half was an ‘aha moment’ that I hope will upgrade our discernment and bring readers fresh freedom as well.

Transferring to the next generation

2009-09-15T15:16:00.000+10:00

'Tell the next generation...of...His power, and the wonders He has done.' Psalm 78:4 NIV
Karl Marx said that to conquer a nation you just have to block the transfer of values, morals and beliefs between generations. Our kids are like mirrors, they reflect what they see. 'Tell the next generation...of...His power….' If we don't; who will?
www.thewordfortoday.com.au

A back door

2009-09-03T19:23:00.000+10:00

“… God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it" (1 Co 10:13 NAS).

God builds a back door into every temptation with a lighted 'exit' sign over it. The way of escape comes with the temptation. So while you will never be exempt from temptation, you can be victorious over it.
www.thewordfortoday.com.au

We are still becoming

2009-08-15T11:59:00.000+10:00

"God planted a garden...there He put the man whom He had formed."
Genesis 2:8 NKJV

What does it mean to plant? To bury seeds beyond human view so that they germinate and eventually produce fruit. You're still becoming what God planted. There are talents in you that haven't been discovered and dreams that haven't been fulfilled. It means God believes in you - even when you don't believe in yourself.
www.thewordfortoday.com.au

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

2009-08-08T14:38:00.001+10:00

Multnomah Falls, Oregon
Originally uploaded by bhojman

In May I visited friends in Oregon. They very much wanted for me to see as much of Oregon's beauty as possible. One thing we did was to drive down the Columbia River Gorge stopping at all the waterfalls along the way. They were breathtakingly beautiful! Here is one view of the Multnomah Falls. The Multnomah Falls were the only ones I'd heard of. What a sight to see all that water plunging down the cliff face...
Each waterfall had its own particular beauty, no two were the same.
God's artistry was abundantly manifest all along the way. Even the moss and the small forest flowers had such a delicate beauty that my soul was fed and I was blessed more than I can say.

Joy comes in the Morning

2009-08-08T13:10:00.000+10:00

“His favour is for life; weeping may endure for a night but joy comes
in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b NKJV

Joys are always on their way to us. They are always travelling to us
through the darkness of the night. There is never a night when they
are not coming – Amy Carmichael.

Raise the bar!

2009-04-28T09:51:00.000+10:00

"Do it...in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through Him." Col 3:17 NIV.

Whatever our work, let's 'raise the bar' because we're Christ's
representatives. Let's set the industry standard for excellence.
Knowing we follow Christ should give employers and customers
confidence they'll get nothing but the best.

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

My friend Paulette

2008-12-21T13:36:00.001+11:00

My very dear friend Paulette Hopple died on Thursday morning. It was sudden, yet not unexpected. For 20 years she'd had a death sentence over her because of a rare form of scleroderma which had attacked her lungs. Through much prayer God gave her more strength, vim and vigour than most of us without any disease. She was someone who never did anything by halves... it was always full on.
I've always been impressed with her keen interest in people, and no matter who they were she wanted to know them, was concerned for them and wanted to encourage them in whatever way she could. I remember on a visit with her earlier this year in Mae Sai. She would always speak with the beggars who'd come across from Burma; she wanted to know who they were, what language they spoke and what were the circumstances of their life that had brought them to begging. Invariably she would give them some money or pay for a good meal for them. I found this care about people to be quite overwhelming.
She had been serving God in Asia. While on a 6 week trip for language data collection and a literacy workshop she experienced increasing difficulty with breathlessness at the slightest exertion. She knew it was bad but did not stop until completing the literacy workshop in which training was given to speakers of the ethnic language with whom she worked. These folk were being trained to be literacy teachers for their own people in their own language. After this her breathing become more laboured and she ended up in hospital. Her heart was unable to oxygenate her blood and gave out just after midnight December 18.
I miss her, and will continue to do. She was a good friend to me. We've been friends since being in grad school together in the mid 70's, so it's been a long blessing.
All her friends and colleagues around the world are in shock, and feeling deeply the effects of sudden loss. Though it seems as if her life was cut short, it wasn't. It was God's time for her. It might not suit us, or make sense to us, but it was definitely God's time.
This mornming I was reading John 14:1-3 and was impacted afresh by Jesus' words when he said: "I am going to prepare a place for you ... When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." Jesus had finished preparing Paulette's place and came to get her! Wow! And, I'm sure she was ready to go and knew it was time.
When will our places be ready? Will we be ready to go with Jesus when comes to get us? I pray we will. I pray I will.
Bless you all!

Koalas at Cape Otway

2008-12-09T19:27:00.001+11:00

Koalas at Cape Otway
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Having just returned from a few days travelling along the Great Ocean Road along the souther coast of Victoria, I can't help but post this photo of a koala in a gum tree in the national park at Cape Otway. There were many in the trees along the road to the lighthouse. Koalas are always so cute!
Nothing seems to phase them... and they were observing us as much as we were observing them.
There were so many of them that there was plenty of time to observe and move around to het a good view of them.

Spring Garden - Kangaroo Paw

2008-10-17T22:14:00.002+11:00

Spring Garden - Kangaroo Paw
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Around Sydney at this time of year (Spring) are many beautiful gardens open to the public. Today (17Oct08) some friends and I went for a drive to 4 of these. They were really beautiful! Here is some red Kangaroo Paw in a garden bed of blue flowers. I'm not juch on the names of flowers but I sure do enjoy looking at all the beauty of them. I find it very refreshing to the soul, especially after the pain of the past weeks and Mum's death last week.
There are many more of these pictures at my Flickr page if you'd like to see them.

My Mum, 8 Oct 2008

2008-10-08T20:50:00.001+11:00

My Mum died this afternoon (8Oct) at about 2:20pm.

My brother, Peter, received a call from the nursing home this morning to say that Mum's breathing had become very shallow and they were moving her into the palliative care room. I'd intended to go up tomorrow but decided I should go today. She was deeply unconscious yet still held my hand. I sat with her praying and speaking gently to her for about 2 hours. At one point I asked her to squeeze my hand if she could hear me. She did and shook my hand quite vigorously for her weakened condition. I knew she was hearing me so continued to speak blessing over her. My sister Stephanie arrived about 1:30pm and I took the opportunity to go for some lunch. On my return I passed Steph driving off. She said Mum's breathing was extremely shallow and sometimes stopped altogether. As I walked down the hallway the nurse, Heather, met me to say that Mum had just died. She just stopped breathing.

The staff were wonderful! They came into the room to farewell to Mum and took the time to sit with me and give comfort. They talked of the good experiences they'd had with her, and they gave me opportunity to talk of Mum and what she meant to me. They asked if I'd like the chaplain to come and I felt it very right to say 'yes'. The chaplain was wonderful. We prayed over Mum and she anointed her with oil and committed her into God's hands. We had a good time talking and sharing together which helped me to process what had happened and was happening.

I don't know when the funeral will be, possibly Tuesday. We have yet to let all the rels know as well Mum's many friends.

Even though this has been expected for some time, it is still painful. I grieve Mum's passing, but I'm glad she's finally at rest. She's in God's hands, the very best place to be.

My Mum: born 3 July 1917, died 8 October 2008... a long life!

Australian King Parrot and juvenile Crimson Rosella at Majors Creek

2008-10-05T20:35:00.003+11:00

Australian King Parrot and juvenile Crimson Rosella at Majors Creek
Originally uploaded by bhojman

God has made it possible for me to acquire some land at Majors Creek for the development of a small retreat centre. It is to be a place for the renewal of hope in a hopeless world. The land is beautiful! There are many birds, a resident wombat, rabbits, kangaroos, etc. There is a very lovely feel to the land, a sense of God's presence and blessing.
I was down there last week and watched the parrots enjoying a feast of flower buds on the weeds growing profusely in one section of the land. Here is an Australian King Parrot (left) and a juvenile Crimson Rosella. At times there were well over a dozen feeding within 5 metres of where I was sitting.
I have started to develop a website: Hope for Today

View of Middle Harbour, Sydney

2008-09-30T16:42:00.001+10:00

View of Middle Harbour, Sydney
Originally uploaded by bhojman

A good friend of mine has just moved to Balmoral in Sydney. This is the view from her front verandah. Hard on the eyes, eh?

Mum, an update

2008-09-20T19:22:00.003+10:00

My mum lives on contrary to her doctor's expectations. The nursing home she's in is really very good; the nurses and aides are kind and helpful. I am impressed, and very glad for Mum's sake. It's also a relief for me and my siblings to know that she's getting good care.

Those of you have had a parent go through dementia know exactly what it's like... one day my Mum is pretty well with it and her conversation is quite lucid. Other days she's so deeply asleep there's no rousing her. On yet other days she is off with the fairies, talking about some very weird things, some of which are quite funny. Sometimes she's really cranky and wants to go home and sleep in her own bed. I'm often told to call a taxi and to help her get out of bed so she can go home. This is quite impossible as she has lost the use of her left leg and arm... and has been bedridden for the past 4 months.

I find myself often grieving for her loss of mobility and sensibility. Getting old like this is awful. Up till her 3 falls in 2 weeks back in May she was doing very well and still living in her own home. Since the falls and brain hemorrhages and several some small strokes she's become totally dependent on others for everything. It's no wonder she's often cranky.

Sydney from North Head

2008-09-15T21:16:00.001+10:00

Sydney from North Head
Originally uploaded by bhojman

I love the views of Sydney from North Head. Years ago there were no fences so one could walk right up to the edge of the cliff and enjoy the spectacular views up and down the cost. Now there's a well fenced walkway and signs to say to stay within the confines of the walkway... boring, really. It's now harder to get close to the cliff edge. Even though there are several viewing points they're not really enough.
Anyway, the views are still so very spectacular.

My Mum, the story continues

2008-07-25T14:57:00.002+10:00

This week my siblings and I completed the clearing out of Mum's house in readiness for it to be leased. This was a hard job as there were so many memories, so many emotions. It all seems so final...

The lockdown at the nursing home was lifted July 15; it'd been in place for 10 days. We siblings were very glad to be able to go visit Mum again. She continues to decline and is completely bedridden. It's an awful feeling to see her so weak and so helpless. She is lucid most of the time we visit though sometimes she talks about things that have come from the past somewhere. She sleeps most of the time and often drifts off to sleep while we visit her.

I find myself grieving deep inside, grieving for the person she once was, for the weakness in which she finds herself now, and for my own sense of loss. 91 is a good age and we all must die sometime... and I am at peace about that. However, I do feel deeply the looming loss of her physical presence here on earth.

The doctors are surprised that she lives on even with all that is wrong with her, and with all the weakness and heart failure she experiences.

Not any easy time...

Aging mothers

2008-07-05T13:48:00.002+10:00

My plans changed dramatically when I returned from a 5 week trip to Thailand mid May. My Mum had 3 falls in a couple of weeks. I was with her during her last fall. Each time she banged her head but had no obvious injuries. With the 3rd fall she ended up with a brain hemorrhage and lost he use of her left arm and leg and was hospitalised. She's been in hospital since. Things don't look too good for her. Besides the hemorrhage, she's since had a small stroke, battled a nasty urinary tract infection, had a chest infection, a large clot develop in her left leg, etc...

She was way out of it for a while but has come good physically, at least she doesn't look as if she's going to die any minute. We (my siblings and I) have been constantly at the hospital.

Yesterday she was moved to a nursing home where she will probably live out the rest of her days. Today we found the home in lockdown as a number of residents have come down with a nasty bug... not a good time for my Mum to have been moved.

On July 3 she celebrated her 91st birthday. Here are a couple of photos of the occasion. The second includes my brother and sister and a niece.

The Burmese military and their lack of compassion!

2008-05-31T16:06:00.004+10:00

The Burmese military are at it again! This latest seems to be par for the course, and a continuing indication that the country's leadership cares nothing for the ordinary people. Today's Sydney Morning Herald has news of the military forcing the cyclone victims out of the refugee places and back to their non-existent villages; places where there are no houses or food or medical supplies. This is all so heartless!

US slams Junta: SMH

The Burma military's obstruction of international aid after Cyclone Nargis came "at a cost of tens of thousands of lives", US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said today.

"Our ships and aircraft awaited country approval so they could act promptly to save thousands of lives - approval of the kind granted by Indonesia immediately after the 2004 tsunami and by Bangladesh after a fierce cyclone just last November," Gates told a regional security forum in Singapore.

"With Burma, the situation has been very different - at a cost of tens of thousands of lives."

Meanwhile, earlier reports said Burma's military government appears to be reasserting its authority over cyclone relief operations. Aid officials say the junta has been forcing survivors out of refugee camps and hindering the access it had promised foreign aid workers.

A UN official said yesterday the government was making cyclone survivors leave camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies.

Eight camps set up for homeless survivors in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, said Teh Tai Ring of the United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF - at a meeting of UN and private aid agency workers discussing water and sanitation issues.

"The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically with nothing".

After his statements were reported, UNICEF issued a statement saying the remarks referred to "unconfirmed reports by relief workers on the relocation of displaced people affected by" the May 2-3 storm.

In his remarks at the water experts' meeting, however, Teh said the information came from a relief worker who had just returned from the affected area and that "tears were shed" when he recounted his findings earlier in the day.

Separately, at a church in Rangoon, more than 400 cyclone victims from a delta township, Labutta, were evicted today following orders from authorities a day earlier.

"It was a scene of sadness, despair and pain," said a church official at the Karen Baptist Home Missions in Rangoon, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of official reprisal. "Those villagers lost their homes, their family members and the whole village was washed away. They have no home to go back to."

All the refuge-seekers except some pregnant women, two young children and those with severe illnesses, left the church in 11 trucks yesterday morning.

The authorities told church workers that the victims would first be taken to a government camp in Myaung Mya - a mostly undamaged town in the Irrawaddy delta - but it was not immediately clear when they would be resettled in their villages.

An estimated 2.4 million people remain homeless and hungry after the May 2-3 cyclone hit Burma. Burma's government says the cyclone killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

Aid workers who have reached some of the remote villages say little remains that could sustain the former residents. Houses are destroyed, livestock have perished and food stocks have virtually run out. Medicine supplies are nonexistent.

Terje Skavdal, a senior UN official in Bangkok, Thailand, said he could not confirm the camp closures but that any such forced movement was "completely unacceptable".

"People need to be assisted in the settlements and satisfactory conditions need to created before they can return to their place of origins," Skavdal, head of the Asia-Pacific region's UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters. "Any forced or coerced movement of people is completely unacceptable."
Agencies

The cruelty of Burma's leaders

2008-05-28T19:28:00.004+10:00

Unbelievably, Burma's leaders are unable to be compassionate toward their own people; and they prevent anyone who would render assistance.

Burma's beggars being forced off the roads: SMH

Police have begun clearing roads of thousands of cyclone survivors in Burma's Irrawaddy Delta whose desperation has reduced them to begging for food from passing cars.

Most of the 2.4 million people in need of food, shelter and medicine have yet to receive any international aid, according to the UN. Volunteers from Rangoon and other cities have been driving to villages to deliver aid themselves.

But police are warning volunteers against making donations, and have threatened to suspend their driving licences.

"Aid goods should be given out at relief centres only," one officer told a volunteer trying to give food to cyclone victims.

"The people should learn to feed themselves. They should return to their homes. We do not want foreigners to think we are a country of beggars."

Police say they are trying to ensure the safety of the crowds of people who are lining the region's few roads. Desperation has grown so intense that hundreds of people stampede every passing car.

Six foreign staff based in Rangoon with the UN children's fund, UNICEF, were allowed by the junta to join teams of mainly Burmese workers to assess the scale of the devastation from Cyclone Nargis, which left 133,000 dead or missing.

Other charities such as Doctors Without Borders were also sending foreign staff into the delta.

"We're very pleased that we've been able to get international colleagues out" into the delta, a UNICEF spokeswoman, Shantha Bloemen, said in Bangkok.

Police, soldiers and immigration officers have staged roadblocks to question foreigners on the main route from Rangoon into the devastated town of Dedaye in the delta, which bore the brunt of the cyclone.

Police in Rangoon also yesterday detained 15 members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy as they marched to her home ahead of the annual deadline for renewal of her house arrest.

The group was shoved into a truck by riot police after 30 of her party marched from their headquarters to Ms Suu Kyi's home, where she has been under house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

Security was stepped up around Ms Suu Kyi's home as the junta faced an annual deadline to decide whether to extend her current period of house arrest or release her. Most analysts expect her detention to be extended again this year.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, urged the junta to release Ms Suu Kyi, in light of the goodwill the world has shown in recent weeks. But in the aftermath of the cyclone, the anticipated extension has drawn little other international attention.

Agence France Presse, Associated Press, The New York Times

Burma, breaking in and through

2008-05-21T11:31:00.002+10:00

Though the higher ups have dug in their heels there are tales of extraordinary efforts being made by the "little people" (Burmese and expats) to help those devastated. Here's one such story from today's Sydney Morning Herald.
Pray for this beleaguered country and its people who have suffered so much trauma for so many decade.

Breaking through Burma's cruel wall of silence

Harry McKenzie* decided to crack the Burmese regime's Bamboo Curtain that bans foreign aid workers and journalists from the areas worst hit by the cyclone. He organised a truckload of food, hired a few locals and set off into the Irrawaddy delta. This is his story.
"DON'T worry about the dead bodies; the fish will eat them," a general in the Burmese junta was heard to say last week.

The general was being serious, it seems. Nearly a fortnight after Cyclone Nargis flung a tidal wave of salt water over the rice paddies of southern Burma, many bodies still float in the paddies, ignored and unclaimed, and hundreds of thousands of people are in dire need of food, fresh water and medicine.

Last week our secret aid truck penetrated the wall of secrecy the junta has thrown up around the Irrawaddy delta. The truck, packed with food bought by foreign donors, myself and locals, made it into Bogale, at the centre of the worst-hit area.

Thousands of people are living here in makeshift refugee camps, still desperate for food and medical help two weeks after the cyclone struck. These were people who had borne the unbearable, whose condition the Burmese military junta is desperate to shield from the outside world, and who it continues to refuse to help by allowing in foreign aid workers. Hundreds crowded around our little aid truck when it entered town last Thursday. They were crying and begging for food. "Me, me, give me food," shouted one man, who tried to drag off one of my aid workers.

My "NGO" - comprising four handpicked Rangoon "street kids" - worked through the night distributing parcels of food to surviving families in Bogale and surrounding villages. Villagers wept: "Please, please give us rice, soup, anything."

"People were begging on their hands and knees for a single packet of soup," a team member said. "Please don't leave us," cried a hungry young mother nursing her child. She had lost her husband, mother and three other family members.

Nearby, a parentless baby lay splayed on a concrete slab. Elsewhere, a wretched old man raged against the paranoid regime that had so cruelly abandoned his family: he had received no warning of the cyclone and lost most of his family in the tidal surge that killed at least 100,000 people and left 2.5 million in need of aid.

Save the Children and the UN estimate the death toll could now exceed 200,000 (the official Burmese Government figure is 78,000).

When food arrived last Thursday it caused a stampede, forcing local officials to padlock the gates to the Hindu temple, where 3000 were packed in.

Overhead, the thwump-thwump of a government helicopter tormented this living hell. Sent to "survey" the damage, the official choppers rarely land in the devastated areas. Our aid team travelled for two days in the delta and saw not a single government helicopter land.

Many in Bogale were too sick or exhausted to care. In a corner of the monastery, alone with her awful memories, sat a teenage girl. She stared blankly into space. She had lost seven members of her family. She survived the storm by clinging to a tree.

My idea started as a dream, and ended as an unlikely reality: to send a single truck of food, as a kind of Trojan Horse, into the delta to penetrate the worst-hit areas that were cut off from the world last week.

The Government has literally locked up Rangoon, blockaded the roads heading south and west, confining foreign aid workers and journalists to the city. Only locals were permitted into the disaster zone.

To make the plan work, I needed the right locals. The officials seemed to find the idea of a foreigner organising a private aid convoy a great old hoot. Major Tun even wondered whether he might take his fishing rod.

Further mobile calls yielded an official reply: No. "A boat is not possible," said one official. "Why not go by truck?"

Full circle. We agreed - a truck - and everyone relaxed.

It was 3pm on Wednesday; the plan was to leave at 5am the next day. We had two hours to buy food supplies before the markets closed. Rangoon central marketplace is a human hive of ramshackle little boxes of traders piled one on another.

But there is method in the madness, and Win had mastered the method.

Kumer waited in the truck outside as we negotiated with the traders. By 5pm we had bought six 20 kilogram bags of corn, three 40 kilogram bags of potatoes, 10 boxes of chicken noodle soup packets (about 1000 packets), 10 boxes of mosquito coils (500 coils) and 10 boxes of canned fish. Total price: 1,002,000 kyat (about $1040).

We met on the street at 5am the next day. The major, Win and I travelled in an old VW van - while Chi and Mug went with Kumer in the truck behind. We soon left the city and passed through wide rice paddies, still flooded, with smashed homes and villages on either side.

Within an hour we reached the first checkpoint. The youth at the gate, seeing Major Tun, sprang to attention, saluted, and waved us through. After surviving two more checkpoints we reached the large township of Kunyangon. We passed this, too, and it seemed I might reach the worst-hit area of the delta.

Then I noticed a motorcycle rider in an army uniform, who gestured for us to pull over. Major Tun's smile froze; I looked forward to watching the motorcyclist get a severe dressing down.

Alas, it was Tun who got the dressing down, for taking a foreigner into a restricted area. The soldiers inspected my passport and confined me to the van with curtains drawn. The team was interviewed by a senior army officer: where were we headed? Bogale. Why? To feed some people. With whose aid? Mr Harry's. On behalf of which NGO? None, this was Mr Harry's private initiative.

We were forced to turn around; the foreigner - me - was not allowed to proceed.

"Look, why don't I hide under the tarp in the back of the truck?" I suggested a little way back down the road.

"No, very, very dangerous," Win said. "They shoot you - maybe."

"OK," I said, "you blokes go to Bogale and the major and I will return to Rangoon."

It was agreed: Win, Chi, Mug and Kumer turned back to Bogale in the truck. I slipped them my camera and recorder, which Win rammed into his underpants.

That was how half our convoy made it into Bogale.

The team looked distraught on its return on Friday. They described the little truck's arrival in the stricken town.

"Mr Harry … Bogale is totally broken, broken, broken," Win said. "Every home is broken. There are 130,000 dead in the area. The villages have no electricity, no lights, no lunch, no dinner, no hope. The people are broken."

But he couldn't go on. He lay his head on the table and wept. Mr Chi wept too: "It is everywhere," Chi said furiously. "Bogale just one place. This f---ing government."

Win raised his head, still in tears: " … so many children and babies naked and crying. So many naked. I gave the people my shirt. They are my people."

Both men gave their shirts to the people.

As they wept I looked at Win's photos, taken at great risk. They revealed the scale of the horror: families wiped out; broken legs and arms, unset; babies sleeping on banana leaves in mud.

"The Government has given nothing," Chi stressed.

"We saw no government aid. We saw no UN or NGOs, and very few medicines. It was mostly private donations - by local businessmen - or from China."

"My heart is crying," Win said. "So many people crowded around us, crying, 'Please, please. Please help us."'

It is a portrait borne out by local and foreign aid workers. UNICEF said it feared a cholera epidemic from drinking bad water directly from rivers polluted with human excrement, bodies and dead animals.

"The water in the whole area is contaminated," one official said.

By Friday, UNICEF had sent 100,000 oral rehydration solutions, many more essential drugs, tarpaulins and bleaching powder (to purify water in wells). But the official conceded this was way too little; 2.5 million people were in dire need.

"I'm always thinking of how we can mobilise resources. But we can't bring in foreign workers."

UNICEF employs only 130 locals in Burma.

The biggest fear is cholera. Such an epidemic would kill millions without modern treatment and experienced doctors, whom the junta refuses to allow into the area.

A UNICEF official said: "Normal preventative medicines will limit deaths to 2 per cent of a stricken population; but without help, as in the Irrawaddy delta, the numbers killed will be at least 50 per cent."

Malaria, tetanus and measles were spreading last week; and typhus may also be a big concern. The UN is organising fumigation teams to spray the malaria-carrying mosquitoes, but few teams have been allowed into the area.

To help the 300,000 most in need would involve 10 times the current relief effort, one foreign official said.

"Otherwise tens of thousands will die in the next few weeks. The death toll may double."

A spokesman for Medecins Sans Frontieres in Rangoon said: "We're equipped to deal with 25,000 people, but if there's a massive outbreak of infectious diseases we wouldn't be able to cope at our present level of readiness. On the ground people are breaking down; our translator was crying when he returned."

MSF has just flown in psychologists to counsel their local staff.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of cyclone survivors have been forcibly moved into refugee areas, in the towns of Laputta, Pyapan, Bogale and Pathein, where they sit in temporary camps set up by the Burmese Army. In Laputta and surrounding villages the official death toll is 26,000.

One reason little aid is getting through is that so few experienced people are on the ground to distribute it. In the absence of foreign aid workers and so few locals, the junta has delegated responsibility for distributing foreign aid to local business tycoons. They include:

■ Te Zay, a top crony in the economic wing of General Than Shwe's regime, and head of HT00 Trading Company, the local airline and several construction businesses. Te Zay, also an arms dealer, heads the US sanctions list for Burma;

■ Steve Law, the son of a drugs baron and owner of Asia World, a local business with sharemarket and construction interests;

■ Serge Pun, the head of the local conglomerate FMI.

No doubt these men are doing their best to help, one official said, but foreign NGOs say the business leaders have no experience of massive disaster relief.

And, of course, corruption is never far away. One business leader used his private aid fiefdom for a photo opportunity showing him handing out DVDs and TVs to flooded villages with no electricity. Others were branding packets of foreign aid with their own corporate logos and filming themselves handing it out, as a publicity stunt.

Most aid goes straight to the Government or the army. The US is sending four plane-loads a day, all of which goes to the junta. Not surprisingly, bags of aid designated for the desperate south are showing up in the street markets of Rangoon.

Many foreign governments now see the regime's inability to deal with the crisis as a man-made catastrophe. The British Opposition Leader, David Cameron, has described it as a crime against humanity.

Nothing will change before Saturday, when the worst hit areas will be forced to participate in the second stage of a referendum on whether Burma should adopt a new "democratic constitution".

Few Burmese have the will to resist and vote "no", though most people affected by the cyclone feel extreme anger towards the regime. In the first round of voting an absurd 98 per cent were said to have voted "yes".

People had little choice: they were threatened with the confiscation of their crucial ID cards or bank books if they voted "no". In many villages the local chief simply requisitioned all ID cards, and ticked "yes".

Amid the chaos and sadness, one voice has been forced to stay silent: Aung San Suu Kyi. A Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the symbol of democratic opposition, Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

Her spirit seems to hover over the madness and tragedy of Burma, where the great courage and care of local people such as Win and Chi will prove helpless before this encircling nightmare of the junta's making.

* Harry McKenzie is not the writer's real name.

Burma, the drama and pain continue

2008-05-19T11:55:00.000+10:00

The farce in Burma continues... The generals claim that the first phase of recovery is over and now they are moving onto reconstruction... and it's reconstruction on their terms as they take the land for their own purposes, like building a new naval base. They don't give a damn about the people! They want them to die, to be gone. How sick can a leadership be?

No wonder Tim Costello is discouraged!

Tim Costello dejected over inability to help in Burma (SMH):

TIM COSTELLO has dealt with devastation before. He has stood among the ruins of people's homes and lives, and bodies rotting in the streets.

But in Burma, while suffering in the wake of Cyclone Nargis was all around, it was a sense of frustration at being unable to help that overwhelmed the World Vision Australia chief.

In his first interview since returning to Melbourne on Saturday, Mr Costello broke down yesterday as he detailed the infuriating hurdles he faced in a country that seemed more focused on its elections than saving the lives of its people.

After flying in to the country's south with one of the few visas granted to foreigners on May 8 he was granted an audience with a general in Rangoon until two days later.

Mr Costello said he worked hard to prove he was not a "foreign saboteur". "We told [the general] we had come to ask for a letter to give us access through road blocks, the ability to distribute aid ourselves rather than through the military and permission for one of our planes to leave Dubai. He agreed to the first two."

The letter gave World Vision unrestricted access to deliver materials such as blankets and rice. But it was not enough.

Foreign aid workers from across the world continued to remain on standby yesterday as contaminated water threatened the health of thousands who have remarkably survived to this point.

Mr Costello broke down as he described the guilt of returning home.

"It's knowing what could have been done," he said. "This is the frustration. Even though it's not in your control and it's inappropriate and neurotic, you still feel it."

After praising the Government's $25 million aid commitment to Burma, Mr Costello said he was concerned about the impact of the junta's resistance to donors.

"Australians have not given," he said. "It would be interesting to compare the figures to China after they opened up, responded fast, allowed helicopters and journalists in, the whole lot.

"There is deep, deep cynicism in the donor public in Australia. They think … it's going into the Government's pockets, they're not getting the money. In truth, not a cent of our aid is going to the military.

"Getting that message through is very difficult … But we must not give up on them. They did not choose their government."

Julia Medew
May 19, 2008

Keep the pressure up on the Burmese Junta!!

2008-05-13T20:21:00.002+10:00

The quake in China is a disaster of huge proportions... so many dead, so many trapped, so many injured and so many missing. Yet the Chinese govt's response has been swift to provide all the help and aid needed.

What a contrast to the Burmese govt's response to the disaster in their own land. Many many thousands are in danger of dying from disease, starvation, thirst, and neglect. What agonising traumas are being visited upon the little people of the land! The ruling generals don't seem to care one little bit... except to keep control and oppress and depress their own peoples.

World govts, and the media ... keep the pressure up on these paranoid self-serving holders-onto-power-at-any-cost group of leaders They are so out of touch with reality, it's laughable ... if it weren't so tragic.

How about ignoring the generals? Fly directly to the affected areas. Drop the needed supplies. Forget the permissions and visas and regulation. Save the people...

Save the poor and suffering! Do it now!

Burma's bizarre behaviour...

2008-05-13T18:22:00.005+10:00

It is so hard to comprehend the totally bizarre behaviour by the Burmese military and leadership!

Today's Sydney Morning Herald reports has the story of the Burmese military stopping locals from helping those suffering from the cyclone's devastation. How bizarre can things get in that suffering country?
Army stops locals trying to give aid

MA NGAY GYI, BURMA: When one of Burma's best-known movie stars, KyawThu, travelled through the Irrawaddy Delta in recent days to deliver aid to the victims of the May 3 cyclone, a military patrol stopped him as he was handing out bags of rice.
"The officer told him, 'You cannot give directly to the people,"' said Tin Win, the village headman of the stricken city of Dedaye, who had been counting on the rice to feed 260 refugees who sleep in a large Buddhist prayer hall.

The politics of food aid - deciding who gets to deliver assistance to the homeless and hungry - is not just confined to the dispute between Burma's military junta and Western governments and outside relief agencies.

Even Burmese citizens who want to donate rice or other assistance have in several cases been told that all aid must be channelled through the military. This restriction has angered local officials such as Tin Win who are trying to help rebuild the lives of villagers. He twitched with rage as he described the rice the military gave him.

"They gave us four bags," he said. "The rice is rotten - even the pigs and dogs wouldn't eat it."

He said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees had delivered good rice to the local military leaders last week but they kept it for themselves and distributed the waterlogged, musty rice. ...

SMH 13 May 2008

Seen in Laos

2008-05-10T00:06:00.001+10:00

Seen in Laos
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Just had a few weeks in Thailand and spent most of the time up in Mae Sai. We went over to the Golden Triangle for a look see... then rented a boat to go across to Laos, at least to an island that's on Lao territory. It's really a place for tourists to spend money.
It was not all that enjoyable as it was hot and very muggy and I found the island to be quite oppressive...
Many stalls had bottles of pickled snakes and scorpions and other nasties... I believe they are bottles of liquor which can be drunk. I suppose some people find them appetising but I'm not one of them.
I was glad to leave and get back to the Thai side.
I was especially glad to get back to Mae Sai and the coolness of my friend's house.

Sunrise, Easter Morn

2008-03-31T17:24:00.001+11:00

Sunrise, Easter Morn
Originally uploaded by bhojman

It's amazing the beauty of the early morning and a sunrise. I don't usually get to be up to see the sun rise but did so this past Easter Sunday. It was great, and I'm so glad I did.
To see the darkness give way as the sun slowly moved up over the horizon... wow! And the colour changing from the black and white of the night to the amazing colours of the day.
Light dispels the darkness... darkness does not dispel the light... even a single little candle dispels the darkness... we live in an amazing world!
And we have an amazing God!

Lake Macquarie

2008-02-25T18:35:00.001+11:00

Lake Macquarie
Originally uploaded by bhojman

A photo taken at the foreshore at Warners Bay... a beautiful spot with nice walkways.

Gang-gang Cockatoos eating hawthorn berries

2008-02-18T16:12:00.001+11:00

Gang-gang Cockatoos eating hawthorn berries
Originally uploaded by bhojman

I was camped at my property in Majors Creek last week and had a fun time watching the gang-gang cockatoos eating the hawthorn berries. The trees were full of them, all cracking open the berries and eating the centre. They did this all day! I was ignored as I walked around taking photos of them. I've been told that as the berries ferment the gang-gangs get tipsy. I suspect they were beginning to experience that as I watched them. The morning I left they were screeching and it reminded me of someone with a hangover....
The one in the photo here is male. The female has a gray head with a gray tuft.

Naming the unborn...

2008-02-11T21:04:00.000+11:00

A recent court decision in France means that parents of a stillborn or miscarried child can register their names thus recognising their humanness at whatever stage of development the child was at. This is a great move! It gives the parent the opportunity to grieve the lost life and acknowledge the pain of the loss. Pro-abortionists are not too happy with this decision as it has many implications.

French Court: Parents Can Register Names for Fetuses

PARIS, France, February 8, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - France's supreme court has ruled that parents of miscarried or stillborn children can register a name for the child, no matter what stage of development the child was at at the time of miscarriage or birth, reports the AFP.

Previous to this most recent ruling, parents in France were allowed to register a name for miscarried or stillborn children, but only after 22 weeks gestation, or if the child weighed over 1.1 pounds.

This new ruling gives parents the right to claim the body of their child, which, until this point, was incinerated by the hospital along with other waste tissues. It also allows the mothers of miscarried or stillborn children to claim maternity leave.

According to the AFP report, the ruling is triggering a storm over the issue of abortion in France, with pro-abortion activists arguing that the ruling gives pro-life activists a strongly emotional argument for the humanity of the child, by indicating that a fetus at any stage has a right to a name. "A fetus is only viable after 26 weeks," said Chantal Birman, deputy president of a pro-abortion group called ANCIC. "You have to take the timetable of pregnancy into account."

She said that the court decision, "will help a rollback [on abortion availability] that has been taking place in Europe for the last few months."

However, there is an increasing recognition in medical circles that miscarriage or stillbirth can be an extremely traumatic experience for mothers and fathers alike, who may have developed a profound emotional connection with their unborn child. "The mourning process can be long and lonely," says the Helping After Neonatal Death (HAND) website. "After the death of a baby, it generally takes twelve to twenty-four months simply to find your new base."

Many parents have found that the process of grieving is helped significantly by the giving of a name to their child. "Giving the baby a name and having the baby baptized or blessed, if such rituals are important to us, are ways for us to acknowledge the reality of the life that has come and gone so quickly," says HAND.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

Abortion survivor bombshell

2008-02-08T13:16:00.001+11:00

A welcome move! How anyone could kill a baby born alive after an abortion is beyond me. I am glad to see that the medical profession is taking a stand. I've never been able to understand how anyone could terminate a pregnancy simply because the baby was inconvenient. That feels to me like someone else is playing "God" in the life of another.

In my capacity as a healing prayer minister, I've worked with women who've lived with the unexpectedly huge guilt of having had an abortion... it seemed so clinical to them at the time but ended up reverberating through their souls. I've also worked with several who survived abortion attempts on them. The pain of the rejection was immense for them... they felt as if they were supposed to be dead and sometimes had a death wish that dogged them in their attempts to be alive. This may not make sense to some of you out there but it happens.

We do not know when a foetus becomes a human life. My belief is that it's at conception! This probably does not sit well with some but, again, in my experience with healing prayer, I've prayed with folk who, in some deep hidden part of their spirits, have known things from the time of their conception. They knew they were conceived in violence or they knew that they were wanted or not. It is amazing what we know if we give ourselves the time and place to be still enough to listen to those deep inner places of our beings.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I share this with you in hopes that it will help some make good decisions for themselves and for the lives of their unborn children.

Italian Doctors: Abortion Survivors Must be Given Care, Even Against Mother's Wishes

Doctors from four different Roman universities have issued a joint
declaration affirming the duty of doctors to rescue and care for
infants born alive after an abortion attempt, even against the wishes
of the mother.
The declaration, made by doctors at the obstetric clinics of La
Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Campus Biomedico and Sacro Cuore, represent both
the secular and religious sides of the Italian university system. The
first two universities are public, and the second two are Catholic.
"An extremely premature newborn must be treated like any other person in danger, and assisted adequately," said Domenico Arduni, director of the Tor Vergata gynecological clinic.
Arduini added that this principle would hold even if the child had
survived an abortion, and "even if the mother is not in agreement."
The four physicians issued the statement together during a meeting at Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome last Saturday.
According to the Spanish publication El Pais, the doctors'
declaration and the Vatican's recent campaign for a "moratorium" on
abortion in Italy (which has now become a global campaign), "has fallen
like a bomb among scientists and politicians".
Emma Bonino, the Italian Minister of European Policy, complained to
El Pais that "the political class should not allow others to set their
agenda." The Italian health minister, Livia Turco, told the
publication that protecting the life of such children was "senseless
cruelty." A prominent physician reportedly suggested that abortions be
done by poisoning the baby with potassium chloride, thus ensuring his
death before exiting the womb.
However, the ANSA news agency reports that the liberal bioethicist
Cinzia Caporale has endorsed the physicians' declaration, stating that
while she is in favor of allowing euthanasia for adults who want it,
children who leave the womb alive should be cared for, even against the
will of the parents. "I don't even consider their consent necessary if
the fetus has survived an abortion," she said.
Source: LifeSiteNews.com

New jawbone thanks to adult stem cells

2008-02-07T20:37:00.001+11:00

It's amazing what can be done now in the medical world. Here is an adult's own stem cells being used to produce a replacement jawbone! It seems as if stem cells don't need to come from embryos after all. this is really exciting and more ethically right.

Patient's Own Stem Cells Provide a Tailor-Made Jawbone
Scientists in Finland have replaced a 65-year-old patient's upper jaw with a bone transplant cultivated from stem cells isolated from his own fatty tissue and grown inside his abdomen, Reuters reported.
Researchers said the breakthrough opens up new ways to treat severe tissue damage and makes the prospect of custom-made spare parts for humans a step closer to reality."The use of a patient's own stem cells to grow a new jaw is a great example of how personalized medicine is becoming a reality," said Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action.
"Despite all the talk about using embryonic stem cells to create personalized therapies, this displays the practical and timely advantages of adult stem cells."
(Citizen Link)

More on transplant breakthroughs

2008-02-01T16:29:00.001+11:00

CBN News has a report in their health and science section which is exciting. A dear friend of mine had a kidney transplant 18 months ago and she's had a very rugged time of it. The anti-rejection drugs have given her all sorts of nasty side effects. The transplant is doing great... it's the stuff to keep her body from rejecting her new kidney that's caused all sorts of misery for her. It would be a terrific step forward if they could rebuild a new immune system that won't need medication.

Doctors Report Transplant Breakthrough
In what's being called a major advance in organ transplants, doctors
say they have developed a technique that could free many patients from
having to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.The
treatment involved weakening the patient's immune system, then giving
the recipient bone marrow from the person who donated the organ. In one
experiment, four of five kidney recipients were off immune-suppressing
medicines up to five years later."There's
reason to hope these patients will be off drugs for the rest of their
lives," said Dr. David Sachs of Massachusetts General Hospital in
Boston, who led the research published in Thursday's New England
Journal of Medicine. ...

Read the rest of the article: Breakthrough - Chang

Burma history through postage stamps

2008-01-28T11:14:00.001+11:00

The Irrawaddy has an interesting article about a book on Burmese postage stamps which tracing the history of Burma up to 1988. The author, an activist, who has rallied again the illegal junta of army generals does not recognise the government of Burma post 1988... it's not legal... the elections were won far and square by Aung San Suu Kyi but she has not been allowed to lead the country. And, the illegal government continues it oppressive and deadly treatment of any and all who would oppose it.

Burmese postage stamps record the country’s official history, therefore the pro-democracy movement goes unrecognized
Stamps of Burma: A Historical Record Through 1988, by Min Sun Min. Mekong Press, Chiang Mai, 2007. P84.
Postage stamps are more than just small, adhesive pieces of paper that people put on envelopes, the author of this book argues. In the case of Burma, they are “a colorful visual record of its unique history, from the British colonial government through the Japanese occupation, the British military administration, Burma’s independence, the revolutionary council, and the Burmese Way to Socialism.” But, as there are no stamps depicting the pro-democracy uprising of 1988, the author fills this void by designing his own stamps to commemorate this struggle for freedom, and, who knows?— one day they may be sold in post offices in his home country?
I did not associate the author, who uses the pseudonym “Min Sun Min,” with an interest in philately when I first met him in late 1988 on the Thai-Burmese border, where he had fled after the military had brutally crushed the mighty uprising of that year. He was a writer, and he told me about the free newspaper that he had run in his hometown, Bassein.
From the left:
Two stamps from the Japanese occupation of Burma; A stamp from the British colonial era followed by the first stamp after independence in 1948 replacing King George VI with Aung San
Min Sun Min was his nom de plume, meaning “Unique King,” and he proved to be unique indeed. A year later he ended up in New York, one of the first Burmese dissidents to make it to the West after the 1988 uprising. There, every Saturday when he was free from work, he donned one of his two suits, knotted his one red polyester tie and rode the subway to the Burmese consulate in the city. He stood there every Saturday with placards that read: “Hand over the power to the voters!” and “Release all political prisoners!” He was a lone protester long before human rights and democracy in Burma became international issues, but he began receiving letters of support from all over the world. That aroused his interest in postage stamps, and how they reflect historical developments in their respective countries.
His book covers postal history and the world’s first postage stamps and contains a brief history of Burma and images of stamps from various eras in modern Burmese history with explanations of their significance. The first provisional stamps of Burma were issued on April 1, 1937, the date of its separation from India. These were Indian stamps with a portrait of the late British King, George V, with the overprint of the word “Burma” at the top. The first definitive stamps with “Burma Postage” printed on them and a picture of King George VI followed in 1938.
Socialist era stamps
Colonial imprint remained until the Japanese occupation, when new stamps were issued with text in Burmese letters as well as Japanese katakana, which is used by the Japanese for transcription of words from foreign languages. The Shan states, however, had their own stamps, some with “the State of Burma” (bama naing-ngan daw) overprinted in Burmese, reflecting the complex nature of the Japanese occupation, which ended in 1945.
Then the British were back, but this time the stamps did not depict only the face of the British monarch; they also had images of Burmese farmers, elephants and women with Burmese parasols. Colonial rule was coming to an end, and the first set of stamps after independence on January 4, 1948, looked exactly like the last colonial stamps — but with the picture of the British king replaced by that of Aung San, Burma’s independence hero, who had been assassinated on July 19, 1947. He and his cabinet colleagues who were killed along with him were commemorated with a special set of stamps issued in 1948.
Burmese stamps of the future?
Democratic Burma’s stamps showed Buddhist monks and temples and honored the United Nations. Then came the military coup of March 2, 1962, and the introduction of the “Burmese Way to Socialism.” Now the stamps depicted heroic farmers, workers and athletes, and railways and other signs of “progress” under the one-party rule of the Burma Socialist Program Party. And, still, portraits of Aung San, which under the present government have disappeared.
After the 1988 uprising, the “Burmese Way to Socialism” was abandoned, but military rule prevailed. Min Sun Min does not include any post-1988 stamps in his book, “because it was a turning point in Burmese history. That was the year when the military illegitimately assumed (direct) power.”
The last set of stamps depicted in the book—designed by Min Sun Min and, therefore, yet to be issued—show demonstrators thronging the streets of Rangoon and a Buddhist monk exhorting his audience at a rally in the capital in 1988.
Thus, the book ends on a very positive note: Min Sun Min has faith in a democratic future for Burma. The images of the cataclysmic events of 1988 will not be forgotten, he writes, and, “They deserve to be recorded and issued as stamps, one day, when Burma is free.”
Bertil Lintner is a correspondent who specializes in Burma and Asian issues. His latest book is Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s Struggle for Democracy (in Korean)

Walking with God has positive impact on teens

2008-01-27T17:28:00.001+11:00

A rather interesting article in today's Sydney Morning Herald describes the positive impact the being a Christian has upon teens. The survey found that teens with a belief in God has more social awareness and compassion for others.

Those teens who walk with God tend to have a big helping heart, too - Sydney Morning Herald

ALMOST a third of Australian teenagers do not have any religious beliefs, new research has revealed.

And academics from Monash University and the Australian Catholic University found those with serious spiritual and religious beliefs were likely to donate more money, participate more in their communities and be more concerned about their society than their non-religious counterparts.
...

Researchers surveyed 1219 13- to 24-year-olds nationally. At least 47 per cent of those aged 13 to 17 identified themselves as Christians. About 15 per cent classified themselves as New Age and 7 per cent as having "other" beliefs.

Researchers found that active Christians rated helping others and social justice higher than other spirituality types and that teenagers serious about their spirituality were more likely to be volunteers. They were also more likely to be more generous when giving to charity.

Purposeful … Caitlyn Foster at the All Souls Anglican Church in Leichhardt,

where she voluntarily runs a Fair Trade stall selling products from India and South Africa.
Photo: Tanya Lake

Caitlyn Foster, 17, describes herself as an active Christian and voluntarily runs a stall for the Fair Trade organisation at her church every Saturday, selling products from India and South Africa. It turns over up to $800 a week. Profits go back to the people who make the products.
...

A University of Queensland study found that moving away from traditional beliefs to "trendy", self-focused religions was not making young adults happier.

Sarah Price

A wretchedly awful reaction to Heath Ledger's death

2008-01-27T16:55:00.000+11:00

This past Friday on Channel 9's "A Current Affair" there was the most unbelievably awful interview with a pastor in the USA (Westboro, Kansas). It was distressing to hear him as he railed against Heath Ledger, his family, gays, the war in Iraq and Australia. The introductory hymn was "God hates the world" with a catchy tune but a horrible message.

This pastor, Fred Phelps, and his brand of "christianity" bear no resemblance to the Christianity I know. It bears no resemblance to my own experiences with God and Jesus Christ. When I read the Bible, I see God's love towards all and his desire that we all know and experience love and forgiveness. The only crushing condemnation that came from Jesus' lips was against the self-righteous religious leaders of the day who felt they were better than everyone else. Jesus said they were blind, and hypocrites... people who wouldn't lift a finger to help the poor and downtrodden. I do wonder at what Jesus's response would be to the vitriol of Mr Phelps.

What was even sadder to me was the way the young children in his congregation were spewing the same kinds of words... hatred.

When asked about Australia, he said that they pray for Australia... and they have a map of Australia with the word "sodom" written in large letters over the whole continent. He said we were "the land of the sodomite damned". Shudder! Has God (or god?) given him the mantle of a judge over us all? Absolutely not. Jesus Christ is the judge, he's the only one worthy enough to be the judge. And, he's already made clear through his death and resurrection that he's paid the penalty for all sins and wickedness. Our part is simply to accept that.

Anyway, if you would like to watch the video, follow the link below:

Heath Ledger: Minister speaks

Transplant miracle

2008-01-25T13:15:00.001+11:00

In Oz, we are agog with the report of Demi-Lee Brennnan's miracle. She had a liver transplant at age 9 (she is now 15) and in some miraculous way her immune system and blood type have changed to that of the donor! The result is that she does not have to take anti-rejection drugs! If researchers can figure out how it happened they may be able to replicate it for others. What a wondrous possibility!
I wonder if her young age when receiving the transplant might have had something to do with it. Whatever, it's lovely to have some good news coming from the media!

15 year old Demi-Lee Brennan

Read the full story at:

Transplant girl's blood change a 'miracle' - National - smh.com.au

You can also see a video about it at:

A medical miracle

Have a good day!

Another World War I veteran dies in France

2008-01-21T12:36:00.000+11:00

One of the two remaining veterans of WW1 has died at age 110. It's a ripe old age for one who endured the horrors of war. I respect his feelings about not accepting medals and honours. So many died, so many young men died... and for what? The "war to end all wars" has become just one of many. There is so much death and destruction happening in so many countries in the name of something or other. Has any good come out of any of the battles? Maybe. But at what cost? We talk about having evolved from the apes. However, if that were the case how come we seem to be devolving not evolving in kindness, goodness, love and peace?
I am thankful for those who endured so much to deal with the megalomaniacs whose inflated view of their own importance has taken us on such a costly journey over tha past 100 yrs.

France's oldest man dies, one World War One survivor left - World - smh.com.au

France's oldest man dies, one World War One survivor left
France's oldest man, a First World War veteran who refused a medal and spoke powerfully about the horrors of war, has died at 110, leaving just one veteran alive from the conflict.
Louis de Cazenave died at his home in the Auvergne region in central France on Sunday, the government said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy called his death a reminder of the 1.4 million French who had lost their lives in the 1914-18 war.
Cazenave survived both the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the Second Battle of the Aisne a year later, two of the bloodiest episodes of the "war to end all wars".
Born in October 1897, de Cazenave became an infrantryman in 1916 and retired in 1941. He refused a military decoration but was eventually awarded the civilian Legion of Honour in 1999.
"Some of my comrades weren't even given a wooden cross," he told Le Monde newspaper in 2005.
Recalling events etched into his mind 88 years earlier, he gave a grim account of the offensive on German positions along the river Aisne which caused about 350,000 French and German deaths and led afterwards to a partial French mutiny.
"You should have heard the wounded between the lines. They called out to their mothers, begged us to go finish them off," he told Le Monde.
"We found the Germans when we went to get water at the well.
We spoke to them. They were just like us; they had had enough."
He described patriotism as "a way of making people swallow anything" and war as absurd and useless. "Nothing can justify it, nothing," he said.
The last surviving "beardy," the nickname given in France to First World War veterans because of conditions in the trenches, is now Lazare Ponticelli, 110.
He has refused an offer of a state funeral, saying it would show disrespect to war victims who never got the same honour.

Reuters

Arab comedians

2008-01-15T11:04:00.000+11:00

Great article in today's Sydney Morning Herald!

Arab comics find laughter the best weapon in war on prejudice

Sacred cows … Maysoon Zayid in action. (Photo: Johnny Farraj)

THE comedian Maysoon Zayid introduces her act by declaring she is a Palestinian Muslim virgin with cerebral palsy, adding: "I just want you guys to know I am a virgin by choice … and that is my father's choice.

"My father has spent the majority of my life terrified that I will accidentally lose my virginity so there's a list of activities I am not allowed to do: there is to be no horseback riding, not even on a carousel."

Like much minority humour, Arab comedians are intent on challenging stereotypes.

Aron Kaydar, another Arab comedian on the festival bill, jokes that he will name his first-born son Al, as in Al Kaydar.

Zayid and a fellow comic, Dean Obeidallah, started the festival in 2003 when the Arab community was "under siege" and any news coverage that did not portray Arabs as terrorists was a reason for rejoicing.

Obeidallah, a native of New Jersey raised by Sicilian and Palestinian parents, said the terrorist attacks transformed how he was seen in his own country.

"Before 9/11, I am just a white guy living a typical white-guy life. I go to bed September 10th white. I wake up September 11th, I'm an Arab."

Initially, Arab-American comedians were wary of mocking themselves because their community was so widely criticised. Their humour had now evolved from pleas for understanding to a more mainstream comedy reflective of minority, immigrant humour, Obeidallah said.

The title of the festival - Arabs Gone Wild - would have been inappropriate and unthinkable several years ago, Obeidallah said, but the Arab-American community has become more assertive and confident. The festival of stand-up and sketch comedy will run over six nights off Broadway.

One festival sketch suggests that if Fox News gave itself free rein, Arabs could be blamed for all misfortune in America, including extreme weather events. And hurricanes would be given exclusively Arabic names, as in "Look out, here comes Mustafa. Run for your life."

Before the 2001 attacks many Arab comedians worked in ignorance of one another, but America's response to the attacks gave them a sense of a shared cultural experience.

Zayid said the war in Iraq had intensified the pressure on Arabs. "When you're vilified, you need a voice and the most vilified people in the media right now are the Arabs," she said.

She does not joke about September 11 nor about the 72 virgins some extremists believe are the reward in the afterlife to those martyred in the cause of Islam.

"I'll push the envelope as far as I can, but if I am going to get someone killed I am not going to joke about it," she said.

An example of the more mainstream humour that has evolved over recent years is Obeidallah's routine where he relates the discomfortof other Americans on learning he is an Arab. "Oh, you're an Arab," one said. "I love hummus."

Zorba the Greek Yolngu style

2007-12-12T14:40:00.001+11:00

This is a great new take on Zorba the Greek! Wonderful! Great creativity of the young folk from Elcho Island.

Airing the quilts at Braidwood, 24Nov07 #9

2007-12-11T11:13:00.001+11:00

Airing the quilts at Braidwood, 24Nov07 #9
Originally uploaded by bhojman

I recently was able to attend the annual "Airing the Quilts" at Braidwood, NSW. It was rather fantastic with quilts hanging from the awnings of most shops along the main street. Braidwood is a quilting town with plenty of quilters and shops to delight the quilters' hearts. Quilts were also on display in several places. I am in awe of the creativity of quilters! They are able to produce some most majestic pieces of stitched together patches of cloth. If you go over to my flickr page you can see more of these quilts.

Fleeing squirrel at Dallas Arboretum

2007-10-21T11:44:00.001+10:00

Fleeing squirrel at Dallas Arboretum, October 2007
Originally uploaded by bhojman

A photo of the squirrel's tail is better than no photo at all. It's fun to watch these little critters munching away on the nuts they bury around the Arboretum gardens.

American Beauty Berry

2007-10-15T09:49:00.001+10:00

American Beauty Berry
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Found these beautiful berries out in the bush at the Brookhaven Retreat Center in east Texas. The bush had lots of little bunches of these and made interesting patterns along the branches. Never anything like this before... though they're probably quite common in this part of the world.

Bamboo pipes

2007-09-27T19:05:00.001+10:00

Bamboo pipes
Originally uploaded by bhojman

I took this photo at Bo Sang umbrella village outside of Chiang Mai. The pattern of the stack of bamboo pieces really caught my eye. In fact there were a lot of interesting pattern to see out at the factory. Bo Sang has become very commerialised in recent years but the factory section still retains an attractive charm.

Curtain Shadows #4

2007-09-14T21:14:00.001+10:00

Curtain Shadows #4
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Shadows created on the curtains of my room by the afternoon sun... spectacular images of the khamoy (burglar) bars and the leaves of the papaya tree outside.

Burma Hills #2

2007-09-14T19:15:00.001+10:00

Burma Hills #2
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Yesterday I had dinner with friends in Mae Sai. Their house has the most wonderful views of the mountains round about the city. This is just one such view of the mountains across the border in Burma, and taken just as the sun was setting. . Beautiful!

Wattle #1

2007-07-31T20:20:00.001+10:00

Wattle #1
Originally uploaded by bhojman

Spring is in the air here in Sydney. The wattle is beginning the really bloom and is really beautiful.

Finally, a peaceful result

2007-06-25T14:05:00.000+10:00

It's been a long time in coming, but finally the row between the Muslims in Victoria and the Catch the Fire Ministries has come to a peaceful conclusion.

From what I've read of the transcripts of what was said in the meetings in focus I find it hard to understand why it became a row in the first place. It's almost as if someone was looking for an argument and to cause ructions.

I pray blessing on both parties.

Handshake ends Vic Christian, Muslim row - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

Mediation and handshakes have ended a five year racial vilification battle between an evangelical Christian group and a Victorian Muslim body.

The Catch The Fire Ministries sparked a row with the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) in 2002 when it claimed in a newsletter that Muslims were demons training to make Australia an Islamic state, that the Koran promoted violence and killing and that Muslims derived money from drugs.

Catch the Fire pastor Daniel Nalliah said he was relieved the long-running case, which was settled in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after a hearing in the Victorian Court of Appeal, was now over.

"No-one expected it to be so prolonged," Pastor Nalliah told AAP.

He said the two parties were able to resolve the matter after seven hours of mediation last Friday.

"On the same day, my wife Maryse delivered a baby girl so I had had just two hours sleep before mediation," Pastor Nalliah said.

"We found ourselves in a very friendly environment talking about the baby.

"The mediation brought two communities to a closer relationship - there was a lot of goodwill and a lot of shaking of hands."

In a joint statement the ICV, Pastor Nalliah and Pastor Daniel Scot, who aired the offending comments at a seminar, said they recognised the rights of all to express their own religious beliefs, while also recognising everyone's dignity and worth.

It was the first case to be heard by VCAT under Victoria's 2002 Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

Former ICV president Yasser Soliman said he welcomed Pastor Nalliah's comments and hoped the two communities could move forward together.

"It's most important for people in this day and age to be talking directly to each other rather than talking about each other," Mr Soliman said.
© 2007 AAP

Children for sale

2007-06-25T13:37:00.000+10:00

Here's a rather distressing piece of news. What has happened to us? Children being an item to be traded? And for what purposes? I dread to think given the many pedophile gangs there are operating in the world today.

Children for sale: police target gangs - World - smh.com.au

PARIS: Police in France are investigating a trade in children, with babies being offered for sale at more than $15,000 each.

Detectives believe that Eastern European gangs are holding impromptu "auctions" in supermarket car parks across the south of the country and in Portugal.

They chose to release a warning because of the possibility that Madeleine McCann, who vanished in Portugal last month, has been caught up in the trade.

The alert comes as shoppers in a Monaco branch of Carrefour, the international hypermarket chain, reported seeing a four-year-old girl - the same age as Madeleine - escaping abduction.

Her would-be kidnappers were said to have tried to cut off her hair before she fled in tears. When passers-by raised the alarm during the incident, which is believed to have happened last week, the failed abductors escaped in a car with foreign plates.

Details of the most recent attempted sale of a baby are even more definite.

It happened in a hypermarket car park near Angouleme, north of Bordeaux, last month.

Two Romanian couples were arrested trying to sell a two-month-old girl for between €10,000 ($15,900) and €15,000, a police spokesman said.

Telegraph, London

SMH - Outrage over videos mocking Thai king

2007-04-06T14:44:00.000+10:00

While the original offensive video clip has been removed, two more have been uploaded to YouTube. I doubt that it's anything to do with the insurgents in the south and the King is highly revered there, as well as elsewhere, because of his compassion and good works to help the little people of Thailand.

My hope is that those doing this will stop. The King has the country's good at heart and it's rather stupid to insult him. If someone is unhappy with the political scene in Thailand, then maybe they should focus on where the rot really is. Leave the King alone.

Outrage over videos mocking Thai king - World - smh.com.au

Thailand today expressed outrage at the posting of two new videos mocking the country's revered king on the video-sharing website YouTube, pledging to maintain a ban on the site.

"This group of people has found another outlet, taking another action that is considered very offensive to the king," said communications ministry spokesman Vissanu Meeyoo.

"Thailand doesn't want to take this kind of action. We are just doing it temporarily," he said of the ban imposed on Tuesday.

The original video that prompted Thai authorities to block YouTube appeared to have been withdrawn by its creator, with a notice on the site saying it had been "removed by the user".

But two more clips, posted by users with different screen names from the original video creator, surfaced today. The site was accessed in Bangkok via a foreign server.

Like the first video, one of the new postings showed images of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's face covered with graffiti or juxtaposed with images of feet, considered deeply offensive in Thailand.

Another clip showed pictures of the king that had been digitally altered to make him resemble a monkey, and carried messages saying Thailand's leaders are "evil and hate free speech".

The second video used an expletive to denounce the king and the government.

"Officials will meet this afternoon with an association of internet users to discuss taking further action, after the parent company Google failed to give any cooperation," the communications ministry spokesman said.

"We need cooperation from internet users to monitor these groups," he added.

A spokeswoman for YouTube said before the new videos were posted that the company was "disappointed" with Thailand's ban of the site.

"We have asked the government to lift the block, and we look forward to the resumption of service to our Thai users," spokeswoman Julie Supan said.

The decision to block the entire YouTube site drew sharp criticism from media freedom groups, who said the ban highlighted a growing trend for the military government to censor political expressions on the internet.

Thailand's king, almost universally adored by Thais, is the world's longest-reigning monarch, and one of the few who is still protected by tough laws that prohibit any insult against the royal family.

The ban came a week after Thailand jailed a Swiss man for 10 years for insulting the king by vandalising his portraits during a drunken spree.

AFP

YouTube disappears from Thai Internet

2007-04-05T17:00:00.000+10:00

Well, there we go... the problem revealed. Of course, YouTube nobs would have no idea how offensive anything against the King would be. I believe a foreign national has been sentenced to 10year jail for defacing posters of the king. The foreigner was in a drunken state and now has a long time to consider his stupidity!

Bangkok Post: Top Stories: YouTube disappears from Thai Internet

By BangkokPost.com

Internet users reported on Wednesday that Thai authorities had blocked the popular website YouTube, over an insulting video of His Majesty the King.

Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the minister of information and communication technology, told the Reuters news agency he personally ordered a block of the entire site from Thailand after the ministry's attempts to block the offending page last week failed.

"Since Google (which owns YouTube) has rejected our repeated requests to withdraw the clip, we can't help blocking the entire site in Thailand," said Mr Sitthichai. "When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban," he said.

The site was unavailable to all customer of Thai Internet providers by Wednesday evening. The ban took several hours to take hold, with many users able to access the site at midday, while others said they could not reach it.

An Internet engineer in Bangkok, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the block appeared to be at the main Thailand gateway maintained by CAT Telecom, which claims to have a monopoly on all international Internet traffic.

"All traffic to the CAT Internet providers seems to be blocked at CAT's router," said the engineer. "It doesn't help that they only have two (customers) to begin with." Thailand has two major high-speed Internet providers.

Most users of one of the two major high-speed Internet services in Thailand were able to reach YouTube as usual as of noon on Wednesday, several hours after other users reported being blocked. By evening, all subscribers of Thai Internet providers were blocked from all of YouTube.

YouTube has many controversial videos concerning Thai politics, but a user uploaded a serious video-slide show satire against His Majesty last Sunday.

The clip, seen more than 16,000 times, was posted by someone using the screen name "paddidda." His post was criticised or rudely attacked by most of the 532 comments up to last night about the video.

Mr Sitthichai said YouTube had told Thai officials it did not find the clip offensive and declined their request to remove it.

The minister had promised early this week to block websites he or his staff considered to be pornographic, offensive to the monarchy or a danger to national security.

Blocking YouTube, which has hundreds of thousands of videos, will be highly controversial, even if offensive clips remain on the site. It already has been criticised as throwing the baby out with the dirty dishwater.

In a similar case last month, many Internet users in Thailand claimed they could not reach YouTube because of a block - but others had no problem reaching the site.

As Post Database writer Don Sambandaraksa wrote about the last YouTube partial outage in his column in today's newspaper:

NOTE: link is
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Database/04Apr2007_data71.php

"[W]hen something as blatant as censoring YouTube occurred, nobody seems to be responsible for it, or for finding out who did it. The Ministry of ICT (MICT) said it was not their fault while the TOT and CAT also denied responsibility."

YouTube blocked in Thailand

2007-04-05T16:22:00.000+10:00

This is really charming! YouTube is being blocked here in Thailand. I accessed it okay yesterday but today all that comes up is the following message:

Sorry, The web site you are accessing has been blocked by the requested of The Communication Authority of Thailand. For more information please contact: Ministry of Information an Communication Technology Building 9, TOT PCL Chaeng Wattana Rd. Laksi Bangkok 10210 Tel. 0-2505-7147,0-2568-2498
It's in both English and Thai. It makes me wonder what, if anything has been uploaded that has offended whomever. So much for freedom of speech!

UN scuttling from Northern Thailand's haze

2007-03-21T11:04:00.000+11:00

The smoke/haze pollution seems to have no let up in Northern Thailand. Now the UN refugee agency is evacuating personnel who are having breathing problems.
I feel for those stuck with nowhere to run to for fresh clean air. The whole of the north needs a good storm with fierce winds to disperse the crud.
I'm heading into it next Monday... and can't put it off any longer. I'll take some masks with me, I think.

Bangkok Post: Northern haze too much for UN

Northern haze too much for UN
By Cheewin Sattha

The UN refugee agency and other international organisations based in Mae Hong Son province are evacuating officials and families with respiratory problems - and may evacuate entirely.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which cares for Karen refugees living in camps in the northern province, said it has plans to evacuate all staff if haze caused by forest fires is not brought under control.

Suthep Nutsruang, Mae Hong Son municipality mayor, yesterday launched a campaign to urge residents to help solve haze pollution, which threatens the health of people with respiratory ailments.

Dust particles smaller than 10 microns were measured at 340 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/cu m) in Mae Hong Son's Muang district yesterday, almost three times the maximum level considered healthy - 120 ug/cu m.

Mae Hong Son governor Direk Konkleep urged residents to spray their roofs and roads with water from 1-3pm in a bid to reduce haze and increase humidity.

The province was recently declared a disaster area after the number of people suffering respiratory problems soared.

Mr Direk said he has asked chiefs of all seven districts to join hands with local administrative organisations to set up coordinating centres to operate around the clock combatting haze in their areas.

He also threatened to revoke occupational rights on private land plots if owners or occupants let bush fires burn on their land.

Third Army commander Maj-Gen Jiradet Khotcharat has ordered troops to survey forest fires at Doi Suthep-Pui national park in Chiang Mai and help forest fire units fight the blazes.

Troops from the 33rd Army Circle and the 7th Infantry Regiment yesterday took to helicopters to survey Doi Suthep-Pui national park and found several forest areas had been burnt out.

More than 500 soldiers and territorial defence students were yesterday sent to combat a forest fire which raged near Wat Ban Pong temple. It took several hours for the soldiers to put out the fire. Monks were evacuated to safety.

Col Khachachart Boondee, head of the 33rd Army Circle's military training centre, said the centre has closely monitored fires in Chiang Mai by sending troops to survey forest areas and national parks in several districts including Muang, Mae Rim, Mae Taeng and Chiang Dao.

Crossing the Harbour Bridge on its 75th birthday

2007-03-18T22:23:00.001+11:00

Walking across the Harbour Bridge on its 75th birthday - #12
Originally uploaded by bhojman.

Well, I did it! I walked the bridge today, along with hundreds of thousands of others who did the same.
It was great, just great!

75th birthday of Sydney Harbour Bridge

2007-03-17T19:57:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow Sydney celebrates the 75th birthday of the bridge. They're closing the road lanes for the whole day so people can walk over the bridge as a reenactment of the opening back in 1932. 200,000 people have registered to do the walk. I was too slow and so didn't register. However, I do intend to go into the city by train and participate in the celebration from The Rocks.
It could be a great time and lots of fun... I hope so.

Health authorities issue masks to northerners

2007-03-17T14:33:00.000+11:00

The pollution in Thailand's north is not abating. Lots of people are having trouble with breathing, sore eyes, and other ailments. They need a good thunderstorm to wash the air clear again... though maybe that's simplistic it usually seems to make a difference.

MCOT : Health authorities issue masks to northerners :

BANGKOK, March 16 (TNA) – Thailand's public health ministry has sent 300,000 additional masks to eight northern provinces shrouded in haze pollution, even as the provincial health authorities estimate that as many as two-thirds of local residents now have respiratory complaints, serious allergies and colds.

Deputy Public Health Minister Morakot Kornkasem led a team to visit patients with respiratory illnesses in hospitals in Lampang, Chiang Rai, and Phayao on Friday.

He said that the North's average level of the air pollution is still higher than the maximum permitted by health standards, and more patients come daily to receive medical treatment at the region's hospitals.

Dr. Morakot said in Lampang, dust particles were measured at 152.6 microgrammes per cubic metre, against the health standard of 120 microgrammes.

There were 1,578 patients with respiratory illness visiting the hospital from March 1-14, 2007. No severe illnesses were reported, but two-thirds had colds.

In Chiang Rai, some 12,000 cases of colds and eye irritation were reported. About 120,000 masks are needed for children, the elderly, and patients with asthma and heart disease.

Local residents are advised to avoid outdoor activities and to cover their noses and mouths with damp cloths to filter out the particle-laden air.

Deputy Prime Minister and Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said in his capacity as chairman of the committee coordinating haze pollution response in the northern provinces that all bush fires will be contained in the north within three days.

When the situation improves, he said, long-term measures will be planned and implemented.

Air quality in many areas has improved, he indicated, stating that there is now no need to declare an environmental emergency as was earlier being considered as officials are bringing forest fires under control. (TNA)-E004

Thailand's prime minister flies north for smog crisis talks

2007-03-15T20:10:00.000+11:00

The smoke pollution situation in Thailand's north continues to be bad. Yesterday dust particles in the air measured at 400 microgrammes per cubic metre. The health standard is a maximum of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.

A friend wrote today to say that a couple of days ago it hurt to breathe. The family keeps the doors and windows closed with the air conditioner and air filter going all the time.

The pollution is already affecting tourism. Who'd want to go visit a place where you can't see anything nor can you breathe?

Bangkok Post: Prime Minister flies north for smog crisis talks

Chiang Mai (TNA)

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will fly to Chiang Mai today to see for himself the smoke and haze now described as Thailand's worst airborne environmental disaster.

He is to escort royal supplies to be distributed to victims of the haze which is choking the northern provinces.

Chiang Rai Governor Amornpan Nimanant declared natural disaster areas in 16 districts and two subdistricts because of the smog.

He did not immediately say what his plans were. But declaring a disaster means he can dispense aid on an emergency basis, with little paperwork or involvement by the central government.

There is widespread criticism of the cabinet decision on Tuesday to give the smog problem another week to clear up before the government takes any action.

Dust particles caused by forest fires in this northern province have risen to their highest concentration in two weeks, measured Wednesday at nearly 400 microgrammes per cubic metre.

The highest level was measured at 383 microgrammes per cubic metre at Yupparatch Wittayalai in the provincial seat, compared to the health standard of a maximum of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.

The regional environmental office reported the figure to the government, but solutions were not necessarily in sight.

The mayor of Chiang Mai municipality said the city is urging residents to spray water into the air by hoses to reduce dust particles and to increase moisture in the atmosphere.

The municipality is turning on fountains around the city, at historic moats and at other sites.

The province has banned all outdoor fires and has accelerated the activities of forest fire response teams, including using fire engines to spray water throughout residential areas to reduce the effects of the concentrated pollution.

Akkhanee Moonmek of the Love Chiang Mai Group said that the government's response was too slow to deal with the problem. "It ignored the problem and adopted a wait-and-see policy," he said
critically, suggesting the response was too little, too late.

He said the government should ban fires and declare an environmental emergency. It should also warn local residents of the health hazards posed by the dust.

The numbers of patients suffering from respiratory diseases has increased markedly throughout the region.

Dr. Pisit Sriprasert at Nan's provincial hospital said about 160 patients per day are visiting his hospital.

Nan forest fire control chief Muangman Kerdnana said the seasonal fires were expected to be critical due to severe drought. His firefighters are prepared to work around the clock, but are short
of necessary equipment for the numbers of workers needed.

Mai Sai district hospital director Dr. Sura Khunkongkhapan in Chiang Rai said many villagers are suffering from smoke-related respiratory diseases.

Patients from Thailand and Myanmar crossing the nearby border are coming to the hospital by as many as 100-200 people daily. Most of the patients are the elderly and children.

Northern region weather chief Thatsanee Chaichiengpin said a southwesterly wind is expected to move into the northern provinces and will increase humidity, coupled with artificial rain-making to help wash out the haze.

Royal rain-making operations centre director Somchai Ruangsutthinaruepab said that two more aircraft will fly Thursday, joining Royal Thai Air Force planes already in use to coax the rain daily since Friday March 9, he added.

The rain-making operations have not yet succeeded, he said, because smoke from the forest fires are rising as high as 10,000 feet.

NSW Governor and the Light Horse Brigade

2007-03-14T12:48:00.001+11:00

NSW Governor inspecting the Light Horse Brigade at Braidwood's Heritage Day Parade
Originally uploaded by bhojman.

This past weekend I had the privilege of being in Braidwood for their Heritage Day Parade. It was a lot of fun. Just about everyone in the district turned out to take part in the event. Many were dressed in the colonial style clothes which made it great!
The governor of NSW attended with her entourage and gave a speech. Here, she's inspecting those representing the Light Horse Brigade from WWI.
I found the whole event very moving. There are other photos of the day at my Flicker site.

Chiang Mai's continuing smoke problem

2007-03-14T10:56:00.000+11:00

I understand that the situation is pretty bad in Chiang Mai. One of my friends wrote to tell me not to come back just yet, it was so bad.

Slash and burn farmers are being blamed. I don't know if they really are to blame. It's usually convenient to blame the hill tribes people and the farmers for these sort of problems. The biggest problem has been the deforestation that has gone on for years and continues to occur despite the bans... it's not the little people who do this but the "dark influences" who continue to thumb their noses at what is good for the country in order to make a profit.

Authorities set one week smoke deadline
(Bangkok Post: Authorities set one week smoke deadline)

By Anucha Charoenpo and Apinya Wipatayotin

The government will declare a state of environmental emergency in the northern provinces and impose harsher penalties on slash-and-burn violators if they don't stop within a week.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Snidvongs said article 9 of the 1992 National Environmental Quality Act deals with the question of an emergency or public danger arising from a natural disaster or pollution caused by contamination and spread of pollutants.

In such cases, the prime minister has the power to order government agencies, state enterprises or any relevant people to take prompt action in order to control or mitigate the adverse effects of such danger or damage.

After the declaration of a state of emergency, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont would have absolute power to consider what measures should be taken or whether people should be evacuated, Mr Kasem said after the cabinet meeting.

He said the cabinet was also very concerned about the severity of the forest fires, especially in the northern provinces. Dangerously high levels of small dust particles have been generated by forest fires and burning activities.

The minister said forest fire control units from provinces with a low risk of forest fires, as well as soldiers from the Third Region Army, have been sent to the northern provinces to help local officials control the bush fires and haze crisis.

The Pollution Control Department yesterday reported that the level of small dust particles in the air in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son provinces was measured at between 240 and 290 milligrammes per cubic metre (ug/cu m), against the health standard of a maximum of 120 ug/cu m.

The level of dust in Chiang Mai was measured at 284 ug/cu m, the highest since the department issued its first dust warning on March 6.

Siri Aka-akara, director of the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department's forest fire control division, said the forest fire peak period would continue until the end of this month. This means air quality in the northern provinces, particularly Chiang Mai, could get worse unless there is more rain.

Mr Siri predicted that there would be more forest fires in the northern provinces due to a very low moisture level in the atmosphere, scarce rainfall and increasing burning activities on farmland.

"When such human activity mixes with natural conditions, then the severity of these forest fires will be terribly high," Mr Siri said.

The forest fire control chief said the haze problems occurred in the northern provinces every year during this period, but this year's situation was far more critical due to some "unusual climate conditions".

"The country has never experienced a cold air mass during this time of the year. But the cold air mass hit us this year and has blocked the small dust particles from evaporating into the air. A shortage of rainfall also worsened the situation," Mr Siri explained.

Suraphol Leelawaropas, the chief of the forest fire control division in Chiang Mai, said statistics showed that the smoke that has shrouded the province mainly came from slash-and-burn activities in farmlands, not from bush fires.

Puchong Insomphun, chief of Chiang Mai environmental office, said the situation had not shown any signs of improving thus far.

Officials had been searching for sources of smoke and found that Korean Bulgogi, a chain of outdoor barbecue restaurants, was a major source of smoke in northern cities, he said.

"We will soon ask these restaurants to reduce the smoke from their barbecue stoves. Although this would only be able to reduce a small amount of the smoke, we will have to do it to improve air quality," Mr Puchong said

Northern provinces declare haze disaster areas

2007-03-13T19:45:00.000+11:00

I'm kind of glad not to be in Chiang Mai at the moment. It's shrouded in smoke from forest fires in Burma. I can well imagine what it's like. Each year the air is very smoky anyway from the burning off of the fields. Chiang Mai sits at the foot of mount Doi Suthep and during this season the mountain disappears in the haze.

Bangkok Post: Provinces declare haze disaster areas

By Post Reporters
Chiang Mai

Chai Prakan and Phrao districts of Chiang Mai have been declared haze disaster areas and airlines have cancelled most flights because thick smoke from forest fires and traditional slash-and-burn farming has shrouded northern provinces and raised fears of increasing levels of harmful dust.

Chiang Mai, along with nearby Chiang Rai, Lampang and Mae Hong Son provinces, has been encountering heavy haze. The smoke also comes from bush fires in the Burmese town of Tachilek opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, officials said.

"The thick smoke is seen all over the sky," said Chai Prakan district chief Chokedee Amornwat.

The disaster zone announcement follows bad weather conditions caused by the haze for the past two weeks.

The smoke has hindered the visibility of airplane pilots and caused flight delays and cancellations.

Poor visibility has also blocked an effort to make artificial rain aimed at reducing the amount of dust, which is posing serious health risks to people.

The dust particles, technically called particulate matter (PM-10), have a diameter of not more than 10 microns, around one-seventh the width of a human hair. The tiny size allows them to easily lodge in lungs and cause respiratory problems.

To reduce their exposure to the harmful dust, the Public Health Ministry has distributed 130,000 masks to people in eight northern provinces - Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Lamphun, Phrae, Nan and Phayao.

"The ministry has also given out leaflets telling people how to take care of their health in the face of thick smoke from burning activities," said permanent secretary for public health Prat Boonyawongvirote.

Yesterday, the level of PM-10 dust in Chiang Mai and Lampang was found to be beyond an acceptable standard. It was measured at 250.9 microgrammes per cubic metre in Chiang Mai and 154.8 in Lampang, against a health standard of 120 ug/cu m, according to the Pollution Control Department.

Chalermsak Vanitsombat, chief of the Natural Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said forest fires were not only to blame for the air pollution.

"The haze largely comes from weed-burning in farms," said Mr Chalermsak, who supervises forest fire control operations.

Mr Chalermsak said his department has no power to stop the farmers and could only ask for their cooperation in stopping the burning.

The high price of maize has driven some farmers to encroach on forest and set fire to it to clear land for farming.

Mr Chalermsak said this was a "main cause of thick smoke" in Chiang Mai. This has intensified air pollution in the province, where household bonfires are also common.

The level of humidity in the air is also less than that of last year, causing more severe fires this year, according to the department.

Officials yesterday started making artificial rain in Chiang Mai. The mission aims to increase humidity in the forest, thus reducing the chance of forest fires.

Meanwhile, Thai Airways International (THAI) cancelled flights between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son for the second day yesterday due to poor weather conditions. However, Weerapong Kranlert, THAI manager for Chiang Mai airport, said it was common practice to do so due to haze in the dry season and mist in the cold season.

The thick smoke has also caused flight delays between Bangkok and Chiang Rai, but there have been no reports of flight cancellations on this route.

In Chiang Rai, 700 officials and volunteers have been ordered to be on alert for forest fires in areas near the border with Burma. Farmers are also prohibited from burning farm residues. Violators will be fined 2,000 baht, according to the Environmental Quality Act.

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