The Word B

so if you were curious about some of the destruction from hurricane katrina you must take a look at this link. in it there are dozens of aerial photographs of new orleans post hurricane. the scenes are completely mind boggling! i encourage you to look at this link. then, once more consider the response time of the federal government in regards to the inhabitants left in this city. also remember bush jr. would have seen this same thing as he casually flew past in air fore one, days before any real action took place.
after viewing the images, i then encourage you to visit this second link to grasp some of themoronic, ignorant, attitudes the world has to contend with. believe me, this other shit extends much further than just a few washed out negroes in southern louisiana.

the swans won. sydney goes wild. the game's end result was fantastic if you hail from sydney, although the margin of victory was 4 points, a lot lower than my predicted 22. good thing i didn't bet. i listened to this game on the radio while at work. let me advice anyone who attempts this in the future, that it is impossible. the play by play commentary is ridiculous the only time i could make sense of anything, was when the announcer would pause to announce the score. otherwise, it was totally confusing. but then again AFL is a game of chaos.
in the rugby leg (league) the tigers won, and the north queensland cowboys pulled off the upset of the century. both teams will be in the grand final next weekend. not that anyone in the rest of the world really cares. i barely do, but like i keep telling everyone, it isn't like i can watch baseball all the time. thus, i supplement my sports addiction with the quick fix. automobile racing is not a sport and golf is a hobby, so neither one counts. while we are on the subject of golf, who invented the game? the principle of the game is so fucked up- you take the smallest ball you can find, whack it with the most unbalanced, awkward stick around as far as you can hit it, and try to put the tiny ball into a tiny hole somewhere on the other side of the country.
just a note on the baseball, i hear that every team in the national league west, has a losing record. i guess we can't expect to see any of those teams in the world series.

this is my 200th post! hooray. who would have ever thought? certainly not me, yet here i am.
so it is morning here in sydney australia, another beautiful day in paradise. i am literally moments away from leaving the house to return to the beach for my first day of work in a while. the beaches are about to be open for the next 7 months. in addition to a full time pay check, i will also be getting a tan and paid exercise and once again living the life style of a beach bum. it is a rough life, but someone has to do it (and get paid for it), so why not me?
the only draw back today is that fact that the AFL grand final is playing today. the game is the sydney swans vs. the west coast eagles (from perth). sydney, as a city, is going a bit crazy. there has been a crescendo of anxiety and exuberance since the swans obtained a finals berth. the swans have not been to the grand final in more than 70 years, so it is a bit like the boston red sox making the world series last year, but with 1/2 the craziness involved. had i been grown up in australia, aussie rules football would have been the game i would have played. it just looks like so much fun. (for all you americans, yes, it is the game that they play on an oval field and pretty much run around kicking and punching the ball while crash tackling each other, when a team scores they kick the ball through the sticks, and the umpire points his fingers). my first experience of an AFL game was at the MCG in melbourne several years ago. i was drunk before the second quarter began, but so was everyone else, yet the game was totally amazing. i was in awe at the enomity of the football field. it was like running around on three soccer fields for four twenty minute quarters. television does not give this game any justice.
alright that is enough for now, i have to go to work. my prediction- the swans by 22 points. so while the game is playing out, i will be sitting on the beach catching rays, but with the radio tuned in to the game. go swans!

gas prices just seem to keep going up, up, up. this is not a phenomenon that people are now unaware of. if you are unaware, where the fuck have you been? otherwise, the rest of us keep getting gouged at the pump. this morning i filled up the tank on the car, basically, in response to talk of the price jumping another 30 cents per liter in less than a weeks time (for those of you living in america 3.8 liters= 1 gallon, or round about). this morning the price was $1.34 per liter on the way to work, when i filled up. on the way home, it was $1.38, at the same station. what sort of gas prices are you paying in your neighborhood? lucky for me, i am starting back to work on the beach, lifeguarding. so i will be doing a lot of bike riding to and from work this season. hopefully, this morning's trip to the gas station will be the last for a long time or until i want to go for a long drive.
on a side note, when i first got my drivers license when i was 16 years old, the price for a gallon of gas (as i was living in california then) was 69 cents. i could fill up my car for less than 10 dollars. when i left california in 1998, the price was $1.33 per gallon. what is it there, now? i don't rightly know. i would be obliged if someone let me know. but here in australia, like i said it is now $1.38 per liter. if i was to do the conversion of literes to gallons and take into account the exchange rate etc. in american dollars for a gallon of gas, here in australia, it would a little more than 4 dollars per gallon. makes me wonder what it would be in pesos.
on the other hand, as i am pointing out the price list and having a small whinge on the subject, i know that i am at least fortunate to- 1) afford a car 2) afford petrol to run the car 3) live in a country where it is relatively safe to drive down the street 4) be able to complain about the price. the list could go on.

this may be one of those doctored up photos, but it is hard to get any more accurate than this. the federal government response was piss poor for the poor citizens of new orleans. bush jr. only visited the place once it was truly washed out and cleared out of all disgruntled residents. after all, i am sure he didn't want his position questioned or threatened. is anyone surprised?

good morning. i just woke up, had breakfast and my moring ritual 2 cups of tea. now i am sitting here, motivating myself to walk outside to tackle the day. i have a number of things on my "to do list." so i better get started. blogging is not on the list, but i can always find the excuse to slip it in there. so yes, it is another glorious day to be alive and living in paradise. the sky is blue and the morning air is warming in the sunshine. i am so glad i do not work in an office building, with the stale recycled air that inevitably gets you sick, with the windows that are permanently shut so that it is impossible to force them open and jump (office suicide rates would be too high otherwise), and uncomforatble elevator rides where everyone pretends to ignore the rest of the party on board. no, i work outside, on the ground floor where life is best. those of you office rats, i wish you the best of luck. i have made several attempts at that sort of career, but every time i find it totally and absolutely soul destroying, no matter what the pay incentives are (they have all been shit anyhow). the weekday commutes into the city by bus, ferry, or train, take their toll. i found out a few years ago now, that my life is too short to be another suit, in the rat race. i also discovered there is no cheese for me in the corporate office environment. thus i have chosen a different life. i am now giving up the glow of the computer screen, and trading it in for the glow of the big yellow orbital in the sky, our sun. have a happy monday!

alright. i thought i would share a copy of my final draft with you all. this is the paper i have been working so diligently on all day and part of last night. the same one i was procrastinating over last night. have a read over it. give me your input and feedback and what sort of grade you would give me, if you were the teacher. enjoy-

Has multiculturalism overcome racism in Australian schools?

My original response to this question was an adamant “no.” However, during investigation and through research into this exact topic, my response remains the same, yet there are a few beacons of light, representing hope, in a sea of overwhelming prejudice and racist fear that permeates all levels of society in Australia. I still believe that there is a major undercurrent of racism in this country, despite the fact that some of its citizens would say and/or have you think otherwise. Throughout the history of this country, in the past under a “White Australia” policy, racism, bigotry, and prejudices were openly expressed and acted upon. However, in more recent times, due to technological advancements in areas such as; communication, travel, and health, world populations have shifted. Despite the best efforts of some people to keep Australia white, this country too has become multi-cultural, which has vicariously pushed open displays of racism into a category of unacceptability. Being a multi-cultural country has by no means eliminated racism. On the contrary, I think open racist policy and sentiment has become more covert, and therefore become more entrenched in a community that on the surface speaks of racial harmony and tolerance, yet through its actions is still a very racist society. I believe schools and society have a mirror effect of each other, where issues and ideologies are reflective of one another. Thus if multiculturalism has not overcome racism in the community, therefore racism is still present in our schools. However, if there was ever a time, place, or platform to implement change, it would be in schools and within an educational setting.
I was born, raised, and educated overseas. I immigrated to Australia at the age of 25 after traveling to many places on all six of the inhabited continents. I grew up in Los Angeles, California, a very openly multi-cultural city, yet one that is still combating issues of racism, as displayed in 1992 with the LA riots following the acquittal of the police officers who severely beat Rodney King. I would say that Los Angeles and most of the United States is still a very racist place. One only has to turn on the evening news to see evidence of this on an ongoing basis (take the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans as the most recent example). So I know first hand that overcoming racism in a society is an extremely difficult challenge. Despite this, I went to primary, junior, and senior high schools that were racially mixed. My classes were culturally diverse, with students ranging from a plethora of backgrounds. It was during these school years (K-12) where I am sure that racist ideas and stereotypes were indoctrinated into me and every other student along with me. This was not by our choosing, it just happened. It was not until I went to university and studied in the area of Anthropology where I first confronted and studied the issues of racism. It was then I was forced to analyze and accept my learned racism. Through this identification, I was then capable of transforming into a much more positive, tolerant, and accepting human being.
My family background is culturally diverse. As children, we were continually encouraged to be “adventurous” in our cultural explorations. This took place in a wide range of forms; music, dance, travel, language, friendships and cuisine. I feel the influences from family have prompted me towards a positive view of multiculturalism, and created a desire to embrace the differences in people, rather than reject them. This support has indeed been crucial in my desire to travel the world, and in the end, immigrate to Australia.
I immigrated to Australia in July of 1999, in order to share a life with my wife, who is Australian by birth. Having had no experience of this country prior to arrival, my only insights were through film and music. In regards to both, very little information was expressed regarding racial interactions between the diversity of ethnic groups in Australia. My only knowledge of racial issues came through songs by Midnight Oil, and the film “Babakiueria,” a film I saw several times at the University of California, at Santa Cruz, depicting the reversal of racial interactions between the whites and Aboriginal peoples of Australia. Thus, I knew before arriving, there were black vs. white tensions, or native vs. colonialist, which was not unlike the history of the United States with its hegemonic policies of the North American Native Indians. So immediately I could draw many parallels. However, when I did arrive I was pleasantly shocked and surprised by the many other cultural groups represented in this country. There was a large Asian population, many people from Pacific Island communities, Africans, North and South Americans and a wide range of proud ethnic Europeans all of whom were alive and thriving. Strangely, in the major cities and large population centers, Aboriginals were predominantly absent, or quietly under shadow. I needed to travel to the country areas before I could meet them. Was this the white Australia I had been expecting? No. Was this the multi-cultural haven the world was in desperate need for? I saw many promising possibilities. I had hope that Australia was a place on Earth that could overcome racism where people from all cultures could live in peace and harmony. After all, there are only 20 million people in Australia, overcoming ignorance and bigotry could be achieved. Yet, over the past six years I have witnessed and experienced a racist Australia, a nation that cannot get past the color of a persons skin. Australia is a nation deeply entrenched in its racist past, which carries over into the present. I have come to view the true idea of multiculturalism in this country as “a declaration predicated on the logic of assimilation,” rather than acceptance (Perera & Pugliese, 1998, pg161). In other words, racially diverse peoples are expected to become Australian by casting off their cultural heritage, language, and traditions in an attempt to become more accepted in a white dominated society. Conversely white Australians are viewed as the standard, therefore not needing to change, thus reinforcing and allowing themselves to maintain their racist ideologies.
Throughout the research of this topic it has become apparent to me that there are several people who are making valiant efforts to implement change in this area, particularly in the educational setting. In most cases, though I feel what is being done is a more reactionary response as opposed to one of pro-action. Basically, the change has come out of necessity and in relation to world events that have affected Australia both directly and indirectly. Most apparent is the reactions by educators to reduce possible racial (or in this case religious) tensions between Muslims and Christians post September 11, 2001 attacks on the world trade center in New York City. One such case was depicted in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003. This was approached through inter-school dialogue between 25 girls from Wiley Park Girls High School and 24 boys from St. Joseph’s College of Hunters Hill. The headmaster from one school said he “saw a social divide opening up around his students,” and did not want to allow “xenophobia [to] take root.” The overall outcome was extremely positive where there “was an opportunity for the two very different cultures to learn about each other, and the kids from both schools want these exchanges to continue… Once you put the kids face to face, the barriers come down.” (Sheehan, 2003).
Another example of change in Australian education which is creating a move into a more positive direction is the growing involvement of Aboriginal communities in the educational content in some schools. In several communities, Aboriginal people are working in conjunction with educators in order to provide a more historically accurate and relevant history of Aboriginal culture to present to students. Many of these students are of Aboriginal descent themselves, yet the classroom is still culturally and racially mixed. This method provides “learning structures that do not offend cultural sensibilities but work with them. Theory states that all this combined can act as a substitute for the external motivation structures, such as anticipated employment, that are socially absent for minority groups who have faced a history of institutionalized discrimination” (Malin, 1997, pg 4). Having an integrated curriculum where community and schools have worked together has created a better and more positive sense of culture for many students from Aboriginal heritage. They have begun to view themselves as relevant to the world, environment and society, rather than as static peoples with a bleak future.
Despite these two positive examples in schools, Australia as a whole has much to make up for and a long way to go in order to achieve true multiculturalism. This country has a very real and recent past involving the “White Australia Policy” and Terra Nullius, two culturally relevant laws maintaining white, Anglo-Saxon dominance, while keeping any and all other cultural groups second rate. Both laws have become outlawed yet, as Kathy Butler states in her article on Terra Nullius “institutional declarations and changes to legal precedent, however, do not lead to immediate rejection of past mindsets nor the reversal of processes they inform” (Butler, 2000, pg 100). So Australia is still living under these very same ideologies of its racist past. These beliefs are reinforced through the rhetoric and actions of the federal government, the prime minister, and his staff. This is evident in two instances that occurred while I was researching this topic. The first was when Prime Minister John Howard said on August 24, 2005 “intelligence agencies will monitor mosques, prayer halls and Islamic schools to the extent necessary.” This was followed by the federal Minister for education, Brendan Nelson saying on the same day “Muslims who did not share Australian values should clear off.”
So I ask: how can a nation throw off the shackles of its racist past when its own leaders are perpetuating racist ideologies? The federal government has established a celebratory day called Harmony Day. It is an unofficial holiday with some federal backing supported through the Department of Immigration and Multi-cultural Affairs. In theory, it is a wonderful sentiment, yet, I believe that it is only tokenistic in response to a society that is in dire need of addressing a multi-cultural issue. Through having this one day, the federal government can wash its’ hands clean of any accusations of continued racism, despite the actions and policies of the government; detention centers, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mamdu Habib, David Hicks, the Tampa and children overboard, the deportation of the Bahktiari family, Cornelia Rau an Australian citizen wrongfully detained in a detention center for seven months, the recent fear spreading tactics by the government officials themselves about terrorist in our midst, and the governments' failure to truly recognize and reconciliate with the Aboriginal peoples of Australia whom have suffered the most cruelly over the past 217 years of European colonialization.
In regards has multiculturalism overcoming racism in Australian schools, I do not believe that it has. I still believe there is a long way to go in order to achieve this outcome. However, I do believe that it is not an impossible feat to achieve. I still believe, like I did when I stepped of the plane in 1999, that if a true multicultural society was to be achieved anywhere in the world, Australia is the place with the most potential. The whole world was given a small taste of this potential during the two weeks of the Sydney Olympics in 2000, proving that multiculturalism IS possible.! True multiculturalism will not happen over night. It is a dynamic concept that is ever changing and growing with society and world events. However, through sharing and acceptance, especially at an educational level, where dialogue and learning are expected in the school environment, the indoctrinated racism of this country’s past can be cast aside. We are beginning to see wonderfully positive examples of this in many classrooms throughout the country. I for one believe in the possibility of true multiculturalism becoming a reality in Australia. What better way to initiate this change, than through education.

i am sitting here at the computer, doing everything i possibly can to avoid the essay i need to complete for class. i have emailed everyone on my list to write, some people twice. (those of you who didn't get a letter, it is because you never write me, ever. you know who you are). and now i am blogging- about nothing. the paper is a reflective one, so not at all challenging, but more time consuming and irritating as i would rather organize my thoughts around a cold beer rather than a university paper. whatever. perhaps i will post it on a blog soon. or maybe not.

i've got a confession to make. this past week i have been watching the cricket on television. i think i have finally given into it. really, it is more the case of i finally understand it, the rules that is, not the reason for playing. i figure my reasons for watching, is that i have finally accepted the fact that i won't see much baseball while living in australia, unless i buy foxtel or some other pay t.v. thing. but at 60 bucks a month, i can't afford it.
this latest cricket match between england (fuck the poms) and australia, "the ashes," has turned out to be exciting and on the edge of your seat drama. or as close to drama as cricket gets (it is better when shane warne is text messaging girls around the world). now i've written a little poem to commemorate this occasion:
so yes, i do confess.
i can't watch baseball, so cricket is second best.
the only thing more exciting than watching grass grow, is the 2005 ashes test.

o.k. today is september 11, five years on from the twin tower episode in new york.
-a minutes silence please-

thanks. now, i wasn't going to bring this up, but george bush did first. he is trying to stir american spirit into a patriotic frenzy through rememberance, but the event most people are realizing as more endemic of america is what has happened post hurricane katrina. bush is attempting (in vain) to redirect attention to his biggest moment as president- twin towers 9/11/01. however, even then (just like last week) he didn't do shit! wait, he did do something in 2001, he continued to read that childrens book. yet, new orleans is still under water, it is a toxic wasteland.
where am i going with this blog? hell, i don't know. all i know is that president bush jr. is trying to blame someone, something, anything, but is failing miserably. i think people are finally over it, i know i am. new orleans is a disaster, iraq is an even bigger mess, afghanistan, well what ever happened to that place??, bin laden is still on the loose, and gas prices have gone through the roof. if anything is going to stir the american voter awake, it is the price of fuel. since the unlawful invasion of iraq the price of gasoline has more than doubled throughout the world. go figure. people are finally getting pissed off. however, while bush is pointing the finger, looking to place blame (yet again), people are tiring of the same rhetoric- "it is ______'s fault." in reality, as president, bush jr. needs to start accepting some responsibility for his actions, and more importantly, his inactions as a leader.
a word of advice bush jr. if you want someone to blame you can try the following people from the short list i have compiled: dick cheney, john howard, tony blair, george "big daddy" bush, the saudi arabian government, or ronald reagan. if i were you bush jr. i would go for reagan, afterall he is dead, and dead men don't fight back.
now as far as john howard goes, the little rat faced liar, he too is cashing in on the 9/11 annivesary celebrations. how tacky! but yes, once again displaying for the world that white australians have absolutely no class. i am not trying to take unnecessary jabs here at australians because i think they are for the most part great, but you people have elected this physical and mental midget 4 times now. so, own it.
i've had enough. so good night and let's look forward to the 10th of september, when we can put all this doom and gloom behind us. get over the past, all we have to live for is right now.

in regards to multi-culturalism: as teachers, we can only hope to have an affect on the students in our classroom. our domain is the classroom for the 60-90 minutes a day that we have the focus of these people. we can provide a haven of tolerance inside this space, despite the culture that exists once the individual steps through the door. in order to create a "better" society, we can only provide these students with the tools, knowledge, information, encouragement, and the motivation for change.

just trying to dispell a few myths about my life in australia. but the kangaroos do run down the street through the middle of the city.

as an american living overseas, i am often put in the position of answering questions on americans and the united states. i make every effort to be as representative as i possibly can, with as much integrity in my response as possible. however, in light of what has happened in new orleans over the past week, i have been utterly speechless. truly, i am flabergasted by the events that have unfolded.
i was shocked but not surprised at the destruction caused by hurricane katrina. afterall, mother nature, when she wants to rise up and get downright nasty, reigns supreme. what i found to be most shocking and totally shameful was the response to the victims left ravaged by the brutal storm. there were literally hundreds of thousands of people, yes, mostly black americans, left stranded without food, water, ample clothing, and proper shelter. this was not an over night thing. this went on for six fucking days! it is an absolute disgrace this was allowed to happen.
in six days, you could drive a car from one end of the country on the east coast, clear across the country to the west coast, and all the way back again to the east coast, still with enough time to catch a full nine innings of a baseball game along the way. so for it to take six days for a rescue effort, to not only get organized but, mobilized, is a total joke. why were there not more people driving their own cars down to help those people evacuate? why were school buses from kansas city not commandeered and driven to new orleans the next day? one answer could be the price of fuel, and that would be legitimate (thanks to W). someone pointed out to me the other day, that when the big hurricane wreaked havoc in florida last year, the federal government was there with aid the very next day. so what took so long in louisiana? no one from the white house will say it, so i will for them. it was because the people who were left in new orleans were predominantly black. pure and simple it all boiled down to race. once again displaying to the world that racism is alive and thriving in america. you could bet your very last dollar that had there been a hundred thousand wealthy white folks stranded in that flooded city, fighting amongst the waste and dead bodies for some clean water to drink, that the entire united states military would be mobilized to get them out of there in less than a single day. this shoot to kill policy that came straight from the white house, as a first response, now i ask you, what the fuck is that about? of course those people were hostile. they were abandoned for six days! jesse jackson coined it perfectly. he said, "this situation is like the hull of a slave ship." he was not wrong.
there is going to be a lot of finger pointing over this for years to come. however, there are a few issues that have already come to my attention. mainly, the diversion of funds to upgrade the levee system in new orleans over 18 months ago (never happened), the money was used in order to fund a war in iraq. irony does not get any more blatant than that. i am going on the record here- i do not blame george bush jr. for the hurricane. i do hold him responsible for the shit house relief effort up to this point, and there is no amount of rhetoric that will ever make up for it. i do hold bush jr. responsible for the diversion of federal funds (that is public money, tax payers money, not his) away from social programs and infrastructure, in order to fight an illigitimate war on the other side of the planet. could this disaster (hurricane) have been prevented? who knows and frankly, who cares? it happened. could the rescue operation have gone better? hell yes.
george bush jr. ought to be fired! he claims to have run a few businesses in his time, so he should know- when the business fucks up royally, who gets fired? the boss. so it makes perfect sense to me that he should get the sack over this fiasco.

i longer longer think there is any discussion about a changing environment throughout the world. global warming in happening. the people of the world, have finally woken up! new orleans is a total duster. it happens in bangladesh every year, the tsunami in the indian ocean, fucked up millions of people, earthquakes, tornadoes, we live in a time of a drastic changing climate.
there are many more elements to this situation to consider. for now we watch in awe, new orleans. to be continued...

then the guy goes and gets himself into an even bigger drunken stupor, as well as ingesting pills (now were those legal pills?) and attempts to kill himself through self inflicted wounds. and just like his work in politics, he couldn't even get suicide right. john brogden, (former) liberal leader for the state of new south wales. what a joke!