Category: World

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Woutertje Pieterse

My dutch name is Wouter.  I anglicised it myself in 1952, when I was about 8. I have been reflecting on how easily I made that transition to becoming a little Australian kid. On the one hand it was a good thing, I fitted in reasonably well. On the other I faked not being Dutch, I learned to cut off a whole other Dutch/Australian life. I built a wall dividing two cultures.

I was named after Woutertje Pieterse in a book by Multatuli. Researching that!  Here is an image of the character I was named after!

 

Van Gogh Museum – Jan Kruis tekent Woutertje Pieterse:  (DEAD LINK)

Het Van Gogh Museum toont de originele schilderijen en tekeningen die striptekenaar Jan Kruis vervaardigde voor de geïllustreerde versie van Multatuli’s Woutertje Pieterse. Aanleiding voor deze tentoonstelling is de presentatie van dit boek, uitgegeven door De Bezige Bij.

Woutertje Pieterse gaat over de onbevangen, maar onbegrepen Woutertje die opgroeit in een kleinburgerlijk 19de-eeuws milieu in Amsterdam. Als hij leest over de roverhoofdman Glorioso en van zijn leraar, Meester Pennewip, de opdracht krijgt een gedicht te maken, wordt hij geïnspireerd tot het Rooverslied. De inhoud daarvan schokt zijn familie en kennissen hevig. Met vele andere levendige gebeurtenissen en treffende personages geeft Multatuli zo een mild-satirische beeld van het bekrompen 19de-eeuwse burgerdom. Tegelijkertijd schetst hij een boeiend psychologisch portret van een kind, iets dat in zijn tijd uniek was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multatuli

 

Eduard Douwes Dekker - 001.jpg

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Dharawal State Conservation Area

Further info re previous post:  I hope the National Parks and Wildlife Service has some clout and can be effective to stop coal mining in this area.

DECC | Dharawal State Conservation Area:

A beautiful and distinctive network of creeks, including the ecologically important O’Hares Creek catchment, make Dharawal a special place to visit. Swim in the peaceful creeks and rock pools, enjoy the superb waterfalls, or ride your mountain bike on signposted trails in the park. Birdwatchers will love the prolific bird life.

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Mining threat: Dharawal land and rock art

Sharyn Cullis the secretary of the Georges River environmental alliance (left) and Pat Durman an executive member of the National Parks Association (NPA) Macarthur branch (right) swims in O'Hares Creek, at a swimming spot called Cobong in the Dharawal State Conservation area

Among the state’s cleanest creeks … Sharyn Cullis and Pat Durman swim in O’Hares Creek in the Dharawal State Conservation Area. Photo: Kate Geraghty

Preposterous that coal mining could destroy this region!

This pool is just like the one where spent the endless summers of my childhood, Heathcote Creek, a tributary of the Woronora River, like O’Hare’s Creek a tributary of the George’s River. I am only recently learning about the Dharawal aboriginal people who are connected to this land.

I am reading: Rivers and Resilience: Aboriginal People on Sydney’s George River (I’ll post more later about that book)

I am outraged by the proposals to destroy these areas. This must be stopped. I hope that there is a massive opposition to these offensive plans. Please comment if you know of petitions, or campaigns.

Mining ‘threat to swamps and rock art’:

Resistance is growing to coalmine plans, writes Ben Cubby.

Full article from the SMH follows:
Continue reading “Mining threat: Dharawal land and rock art”

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The Kidnapping of Haiti

On Radio New Zealand news today there was a report of violence in the street and looting in Haiti, they made it sound as if the Haitians were the problem, gang violence, terrorism even, and the US were there to help. I know this is pure twisted reporting, part of an empire building strategy that we get such news. But it is so easy to sound like a conspiracy theorist, even to myself.

Then, the following items bring a more sane perspective:
I listened to:

Democracy Now

This daily report is so valuable, and essential listening IMO for anyone wanting to know what’s happening in the world. Just excellent journalism.

I listened to Cameron Reilly doing a useful synopsis of

Haiti’s history

Looks like he will have more Podcasts coming on this theme.

I like Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine site.

Am editing this post – Monday, 8 February, 2010 – to add this link from socialistworker.org – jus reading it makes it clear how Orwellian the neoliberal language for imperialism is: re-construction, healing, reform. Yeah Right!

The “shock doctrine” for Haiti | SocialistWorker.org:

With its intervention in Haiti, the U.S. is sending a signal to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean–where masses of people have rejected neoliberalism and elected reform socialist leaders like Hugo Chávez, who aim to tame the excesses of capitalism and pass reforms to address social needs.

and read this Pilger item:

ITV – John Pilger – The kidnapping of Haiti:

The theft of Haiti has been swift and crude. On 22 January, the United States secured “formal approval” from the United Nations to take over all air and sea ports in Haiti, and to “secure” roads. No Haitian signed the agreement, which has no basis in law. Power rules in an American naval blockade and the arrival of 13,000 marines, special forces, spooks and mercenaries, none with humanitarian relief training.

The airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is now an American military base and relief flights have been re-routed to the Dominican Republic. All flights stopped for three hours for the arrival of Hillary Clinton. Critically injured Haitians waited unaided as 800 American residents in Haiti were fed, watered and evacuated. Six days passed before the US Air Force dropped bottled water to people suffering thirst and dehydration.

Full item follows
Continue reading “The Kidnapping of Haiti”

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Scary #ACTA Threat

Steven Hodson in the Inquisitr

Scary, there are a bunch of people out there hell bent on making the world worse:

It is planned that all these secret negotiations taking place will finish in 2010 and the world will be presented with a new world wide copyright/IP treaty that has been written and bullied through all levels of individual country governments by the US entertainment industry and their trade groups around the world.

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Afghanistan – NYT with Google

Interesting page, finally New York Times has a page that makes sense online! I guess it will update as life goes on, an interesting development.  It might help both their business models but not the world.  Here is a more pertinent summary.

The War in Afghanistan:

Summary: In a major policy move, President Obama has committed 30,000 more United States troops to Afghanistan but added he would begin drawing out American forces there starting in July 2011. But administration officials have since scrambled to defend that withdrawal schedule. Some lawmakers voiced skepticism. Mr. Obama’s decision is likely to prove to be a defining one for his administration. The policy also leaves unanswered the question of whether Afghan President Hamid Karzai will met the challenge and how to respond if he does not. The strategy’s success may ultimately be determined in an unruly region that straddles the Afghan-Pakastani border.

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