earthquake

Asde avinun we had three small tremors. The first was like someone jumping up and down on the floor and that's what I thought was happening. The next two shook my computer screen. There's been about six or so tremors since I've been here. We had really good rain last night, probably the best since I came back early January. Yesterday didn't feel like it was building up to anything - a reasonably cool day, not too uncomfortable humidity, sunny as I remember and the rain started pitter pattering on and off about 10pm and began in earnest about 11pm. If the decent people of the world need any more reason to worry about the Yanks after seeing more pictures of their "fight for freedom" against defenceless Iraqis which I saw on SBS Dateline last night then I just wonder what it will take to convince them about this new evil empire. It is no wonder they are hated around the world. Did anyone ever love the Romans? I love the story of Mithridates pouring molten gold down the throat of a captured Roman General. "You want gold? Here, I'll give you gold" he said as he tipped the cauldron down his throat. If the Yanks continue the way they are, people will begin to see Osama as a latter day Mithridates. I just wonder whether the phenomenon is not happening already with Saddam - cruel tryrant that he was to his people.
Just thinking again about Doreen, my Aboriginal Teacher's Aide of Wilcannia. Her mother Elsie lived through the time of white man's exploitation of the Aborigines as cheap stockmen. She had reason to be resentful of White man but she had the grace and dignity that Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Mrs Scott I think it was who was the inspiration for the civil liberties movement in the USA. I wonder where the grace, dignity and sense of self respect of my culture has gone? That little four year old boy the other day is for me representative of what my culture has lost. Him, and Peter's little girls, Peter himself, and so many others up here have humanity which seems to get lost in materialism.
As for the Tok Pisin language, I know it is used throughout the South Pacific but it seems to give the people a sense of belonging which has been lost to much of Australian Aboriginal culture. Where Aboriginal language survives the people seem to have a sense of purpose and dignity and value which seem to be lost when the language identifier is lost.