One of the advantages of living in cold, dry Canberra is the rather picturesque central area of the capital, which is particulalrly attractive in Autumn when all those non endemic trees change the colour of their leaves. We took a drive on Friday, checking out various possibilities for the upcoming post ceremony photo-shoot. We noticed that the great barrow mound that is our parliament house has become a little less photogenic recently. Since my original whinge about access to the building, security has now taken on a more obvious presence: both the front entrance and the entrance to the Ministerial wing are blocked off to vehicles by those attractive white plastic crash barriers. The barriers are also a stunning addition about a third of the way up the enveloping lawns.

Just back from attending the ANZAC day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial. As usual, thousands of people attended on the lawns. Afterwards I lined up to pass by the tomb of the unknown soldier. To do so I walked past the lists of Australians who have died in service.

I've been doing a little family history research recently. While both my grandfathers served in WW2 (PNG, Borneo and Darwin) and at least two of my great grandfathers served in WW1 (Egypt, France), none were killed and I am not aware that any of them were seriously injured. My Father was in the National Service around the time of the Korean War, but I understand he did not complete training in time to be sent across. One of my great grandfathers enlisted in the 2nd Light Horse, which I think was one of the groups to go to Gallipoli, however (perhaps fortunately for our family) while in Egypt he was seconded to the military police and did not go on to play a direct part in what appears to be firmly a key foundation to our nation. That same great grandfather also served in the Boer War, going across to South Africa at a very young age as a bugler.

Last year I printed off certificates from the WW2 Nominal Roll website for my grandfathers and a great uncle (all of who have passed away). Over Christmas I gave a copy of my great uncle's certificate to my great aunt. I think that my great uncle served as ground crew in the air force in Darwin, which while not the site of land combat, was subject to significant bombing by the Japanese forces. My aunty commented that her husband never told her what he did in the war.

From ABC:

In his address to the crowd the Salvation Army's Captain Bob Stephens said Australia's involvement in conflict was motivated purely by a desire to defend the innocent, the unfortunate and the oppressed.

Let that always be so.

Cute cartoon at Crikey contrasting the general approval of those crowds pushing down the Saddam statues with the concern about the riots.

Australia getting involved in the coalition has made me wonder a bit about political thought in the USA. Discovering blogging has exposed me to an interesting range of viewpoints, most of which seem to emerge from the US.

I'm amused that despite the diversity of sites, and opinions, many of the sites have fallen into a rather simplistic stance of defining other sites as either right/conservative or left. Given that blogs and other commentary websites potentially allow us increased access to a diverse range of points of view on all manner of subjects, why have people felt the need to classify content in such a simplistic and polarised way?

It has been a revealing experience though. I probably sound naive and insular, but some of the views I have come across have been a real eyeopener. An example of what opens my eyes? Have a look at The Command Post - not so much the postings, but the comments made by the community that has gathered around this site. I suppose I can understand that many people in the US feel betrayed by France, Germany etc. It appears that many of the same people have low opinions of the UN ... but the Red Cross???

Haven't been watching/ listening much the last few days. I was interested in an interview on JJJ yesterday (15/4/03) with a returned "human shield" who stayed in Baghdad for about the first 11 days of the bombing. As part of the interview I think the ex shield said that she understood that one of the first sites protected in Baghdad was the building of the ministry responsible for oil. Wouldn't appear to be a first hand account though, and I haven't seen anything else about it.

I don't have cable, so my access to war footage is limited to normal news broadcasts. I suspect that the imagery that will stay with me the longest will be footage taken by an embedded journalist and cameraperson travelling though baghdad at night in a vehicle with a number of soldiers (I have not been able to find a link to this footage, although I'm pretty sure I saw it on ABC). Some of the soldiers appeared concerned about how close civilian cars were coming up behind the truck, and were gesturing and calling for them to keep back. Perhaps the gestures were visible in the headlights, but I suspect the shouts were not (and in any case were in english). One car came closer, which resulted in more energetic waving away from the soldiers. Closer still and the soldiers opened fire. The bullets hitting the car sounded like hail. The car accelerated and swerved to the side, at no time were we able to see those inside. The journalist reported that all three occupants were killed. The soldiers the began shooting off to the side where they believed they had heard/seen shots. Soldiers later interviewed reported that the tracers were not the colour used by US troops, however later the report played back the footage and the journalist expressed the view that it was of the same colour.

Why remember? Because the whole incident seemed so casual, and so much linked to our normal lives. These people were doing something so mundane and every-day - driving down a highway, and for that they died. The soldiers were, for that road trip, placed (should we say embedded?) into another community's everyday activities while at the same time still fighting a war, and for that they carry with them the memory of the loss of three lives.

From Yahoo
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The famed Iraq National Museum, home of extraordinary Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian collections and rare Islamic texts, sat empty Saturday — except for shattered glass display cases and cracked pottery bowls that littered the floor.

In an unchecked frenzy of cultural theft, looters who pillaged government buildings and businesses after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime also targeted the museum. Gone were irreplaceable archaeological treasures from the Cradle of Civilization.

Reference is also made to the fact that while staff had attempted to lock some items away, the vaults were also broken into (perhaps, it is suggested, by people associated with the museum).

UNESCO has been warning about this for a while. It appears that the coalition brought enough troops and weaponry to defeat the regime, however it does not appear that they are able to prevent the people from defeating themselves.

"As people throughout Iraq celebrate the arrival of freedom, America celebrates with them," says the US President. While the ABC reports the head of the fledgling American-led civil administration in Iraq, retired General Jay Garner, as saying it is unfair on US troops that the media is focusing on the widespread looting.

Perhaps the situation is even more unfair for the people who have lost their personal property, their livelihood, heritage, possibly even their lives. Of those many who did welcome the coalition troops, how many expected that with their arrival would come order, not chaos? Organisation, rather than occupation on a budget? This shouldn't have been unexpected.