BUY A BADGE DURING LEGACY WEEK! Some readers may be aware I am a Legatee, a veteran dedicated to helping widows of mates left behind in foreign lands or who later died back home due to their war service. During Legacy Week we remind the public of the essential role we play in the community – providing services such as welfare, support and education to 130,000 widows Australia-wide, and over 1,900 children and disabled dependants. ADF personnel, high school students and volunteers will be pounding the pavements and paddocks of city and country during Legacy Week. Please support Legacy by buying a Badge and wearing it with pride. As Legacy does not receive government funding, we are reliant on the generosity of the Australian public on Badge Day to ensure we can continue to care for our extended family. For over 80 years Legacy has been caring for the families of defence force personnel killed in war or other hazardous service, in peacekeeping operations or in accidents whilst training for war, or who have died subsequently. You will see us everywhere this week so as you go through your daily life, through the shopping centre, down the mall or at the railway station look for these volunteers and help us help all the war widows and their children.

News to hand indicates Fats Domino is missing in the New Orleans disaster.I grew up with Fats on the radio and can still sing all the words of Blueberry Hill.

Domino has sold more than 110 million records in his long career, including the legendary singles Blueberry Hill and Ain’t That a Shame. His 1950 recording of The Fat Man is sometimes called the first real rock ‘n’ roll record. He was among the first honourees to the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. New Orleans police could not confirm if Domino was missing, nor if any official search had been made.

There are indications that New Orleans may not be rebuilt but I find it hard to imagine a world without it’s cosmopolitan face and hope it isn’t true. I can only offer my heart felt sympathy to those inflicted by natures savagery. Meanwhile PM Howard offers practical assistance:

“We have been in touch overnight Australian time with the Federal Emergency Management Authority which is the key body in the US co-ordinating relief and we have offered a special emergency team of up to 20 experts from Australia which we will send to the US immediately in order to help.”

UPDATE: A lot of people are busy trying to work out how to blame President Bush for the disaster and when they can’t, they misquote Bush to make him appear stupid. Tim Blair has a post on this very subject where Tony Jones of ABC Lateline fame waves the flag of Bush’s so called stupidity. Bush refers to Hurricane Katrina and says;

We are dealing with one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history.

The ABC reporter Norman Hermant edits this to read;

The recovery, he said, will take years, from what could be America’s worst natural disaster in a century .

And Tony Jones, seeing a chance to make Bush look stupid says;

President George W. Bush says the recovery may take years and he’s called this one of America’s worst natural disasters this century.

Which would have had all the ABC Luvvies nodding their heads wisely at Bush’s stupidity. I find it very annoying and would think a good proportion of ABC viewers and young people actually think Bush is stupid all based on this type of unbalanced reporting. Bloody ABC.

I’m often heard to say “I used to leap tall buildings, now I only limp around them” but there is hope for even us old diggers. New Scientist report…SPIDERMAN does it, so does James Bond. Now a gadget has been developed to allow US marines to zip up the sides of buildings or ships with virtually no effort.

All you do is fire a rope to the top of the structure using a harpoon gun or grappling hook, and then fit the rope into the device, called PowerQuick, which attaches to your climbing harness. Then just sit back and squeeze a lever.

I could tell you about something like this we were using 20 years ago but if I did, someone from Defence would have to come around and kill me for talking inside the thirty year rule.. If they still care enough….anyway…. Life for the soldier just keeps getting better as the system keeps coming up with better toys.

US air strikes kill al-Qaeda suspects. Operating on the Syrian border the US forces have killed 47 al-Qaeda terrorists

Around 50 militants associated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq, were in a safe house in the border town of Husaybah at the time, the military said without giving details of casualties.

They did however state that 3 airstikes delivered 8 bombs for the total of 47 killed. Good stats guys. On the home front police have arrested 7 unwashed, dreadlock adorned tree huggers at Sydney Any way we can get the RAAF involved in Sydney. They are just as accurate as the US. UPDATE: Arab News says bombing count now 56 and the protestors in Sydney were duped when organizors secretly scheduled the Forbes dinner at the Overseas Passenger Terminal rather than the Opera House. Tee hee hee.

A report from News.com suggests the scene is set for a clash tonight. Wait for the ABC and SBS to give all sorts of weird tree hugging hippies oxygen as they quote them on the news.

SYDNEY Opera House has been locked down for the first time, with thousands of protesters expected to converge today when Prime Minister John Howard opens a conference of global chiefs.

Good. Protest group, the 30A Network, promised a peaceful demonstration today.

“We think the police have grossly overreacted by erecting so much fortification,” 30A spokesman Bruce Knobloch told NEWS.com.au. “If there really are 1000 officers who have been seconded to the protest you’ve got to worry about the sense of perspective in the hierarchy of NSW Police.”

You might worry about the sense of perspective but I think the rest of the country will think it reasonable. Water cannons would be good…clean up the freaks a bit…wash out their dreadlocks…can’t wait.

Some years back, Oh…. OK, 33 years ago, I was a young Sergeant on leave in Bangkok riding in a cab between dens of iniquity when a US Army MP vehicle drove by. Being of an exuberant disposition at the time I gave them the finger, with a smile. The MP’s grinned and waved back but not so the Thai Police Lieutenant in the back seat. He went beserk. Pulled our cab over, ripped open the door, all 5 foot 2 inches of him, and demanded I alight and get in the police car. The US MPs were keeping very straight faces even when I tried to pass the event off as a standard Aussie greeting. Didn’t wash. I had my arm through the pillar of the door resisting arrest when all resistance faded with the introduction of the Lieutenant’s service revolver being rammed into my stomach. Visions of the terror of Thai goals came to mind on the way to the police station as the US MP sergeant waxed philosophically about the sentences people, including Farangs, get for showing public disrespect to an officer of the Thai police. Instantly sober, I ended up standing in front of the Lieutenant in his office with my heels together and my Aussie Infantry Sergeant arrogance and confidence brought to heel as well “I most humbly apologize to you Sir, for my appaling behaviour…..” I got away with it but fear is a good tutor and from that day on, for the rest of my military career, at least while in SE Asia, I was more circumspect about body language and obscene gestures. I learnt, when in Rome….. Now it seems our youth aren’t picking up on the ‘When in Rome…’ principle. The list of young Aussies getting done for drugs in Indonesia keeps getting longer and some think that instant conversian to Islam may help their case. The ‘When in Rome…principle does not include cynical discovery of other Gods to suit the current circumstances. It simply means don’t get caught breaking local rules in the first place. With the recent cases getting full TV and newspaper coverage you would think that all would be aware of the situation in Indonesia. The fact that they are still getting done for drugs can only mean these people are astonishingly dumb or don’t take in any news at all, which almost amounts to the same thing. The little ‘pretty’ in Indonesia currently discussing her possession of two ecstasy tablets with the authorities has decided that the Burka is the way to go. I have always been a bit cynical about felons finding God in the lockup and think the Judges will as well.

Family spokesman Sean Mulcahy said Leslie had decided to cover up for religious purposes.

A lot could and will be said about the fact that she was only carrying two tablets but all that needs to be said is that the Indonesian law considers this a crime and she is in Indonesia. You’d have to be pretty dumb to carry anything more powerful than asprin in the current Indonseian drug war but hey, she has only come across so far as pretty, not pretty smart. Like Schappele, I feel sorry for her and her family but when in Rome…… UPDATE: In this article just to hand, lawyers for Australian model Michelle Leslie have apologised to Australia’s Islamic community for any offence caused by her decision to adopt Muslim dress. However her lawyer Mr Malcahy said Ms Leslie first started practising Islam 18 months ago and formally became a Muslim a year ago. Well, I stand corrected on her recently finding another God in the lock up….maybe We’ll see.

Received this email from a reader. I have checked out previously with a Mac user but nothing is obvious. Does anyone else have trouble reading my right hand column?

Your site’s right -hand column is still a total jumble for me. I have no trouble with any other of scores of sites I visit. Has anyone else mentioned this to you? I have an Apple Macintosh and use various browsers; I am not technically inclined and therefore cannot suggest anything (re the writing code/s used on setting up your site and so forth).

MP seeks Gippsland wind farm moratorium The Liberal Member for McMillan, Russell Broadbent, has called for a two year moratorium on wind farms in South Gippsland, in eastern Victoria. Mr Broadbent has asked Environment Minister Ian Campbell to ban new wind farms until more is known about their impact on birds. Mr Broadbent says wind farms at Dollar and Bald Hills have the potential to wipe out local populations of migratory birds and wedge-tailed eagles. He says the Senator could use his influence to put the wind farms on hold.

“We have to know exactly what’s going on with migratory birds so we can take a stand on behalf of the people of South Gippsland and on behalf of the environment as a whole… I’ve never seen a wind turbine give way to a wedge-tailed eagle, have you?” he said.

No, I haven’t, but we are talking about a bird that can see a rabbit from several hundred feet while flying flat out. I think he would recognize the danger and accordingly, give way to the rotating turbine. When I was in Albany, WA I had to drive past the local wind farm to visit my sister and noted the apparent slow rotation of the blades. At 22 RPM max any eagle would have to be a very low scorer in the hand wing/eye coordination skills to get hit. Western Power has five wind farms in Western Australia and so far claim to have had only one bird strike. Pic of the Albany Wind Farm. With no land mass between Albany and the Antarctic it has to be one of the best sites for a Wind Farm anywhere. I know, I grew up in the cold hole of a place. What is it with Wind Farms? Why do people go on about them. To me they’re clean and green and getting more efficient as time rolls on. The Albany farm produces 75% of the town’s power needs and being on the coast most probably only kills the odd seagull and who cares about those greedy, bludging, carping birds.

The annual Running of the Bulls at San Sebastian de los Reyes just north of Madrid ends in drama when a bottleneck of young thrill seekers develops and is split open by several 600 kg bulls.

A RUNNING of the bulls in a Spanish town outside the capital today left 63 people injured after the crowd was trapped at the entrance to the bullring.

I’ve done some work with bulls in my time, have always treated them with utmost respect and have never thought to get involved in a race with them. They simply move faster than humans…at least this one. Just seems kind of stupid to me