Pieces of that plane that went missing on January 1 are finally being found in the sea 150 miles south of where the plane was last seen on radar: seatbelts, flashlight, tray tables, seat covers, tail fin, pieces of fiberglass but still no sign of bodies, clothes, or luggage. The first pieces were found 11 days after the disapppearance. They are still looking for the main body of the plane and especially the black box. (Word just in that the signals from the black box have been detected.) There are aircraft and ships from at least 3 other countries which have also joined in the search. It is now assumed that the plane either broke up in the air or upon impact into the sea from a catastrophic loss of power/control at high altitude. It is assumed that there are no survivors, but they are still hoping to find the main body of the plane.
They are also still looking for the ferry that sank a couple of days after the plane disappeared leaving 350+ people still unaccounted for. But the water is murky from bad weather and there is apparently so much metal down there from other sunken ships and WW2 mines that they can’t be sure where it is. It would be VERY interesting if the sea ever gave up all of its secrets.....
Regarding the preacher that was shot last October, the school girls that were beheaded, the bombings, shootings, etc of the last 3 years... recently the authorities have announced that they have pinpointed the troublemakers. It has been narrowed down to two villages composed mainly of people from another island who relocated there a few years ago. Those folk apparently want to set up their own version of heaven on earth and it doesn’t include the native population – especially those of another religious persuasion. Since negotiations and appeals have apparently failed, the police decided to go in and arrest people. When the police went in to make arrests, the residents responded by throwing bombs and shooting at the police. Generally not a wise idea. Naturally the police persisted and arrested some 25 people at the cost of 1 dead police officer and 13 civilians, plus others wounded. They found a large number of guns, including automatic weapons, ammunition and plenty of explosives. They are currently reported to be searching the jungles for others who escaped. The weapons are said to be from a neighboring country since it is illegal for civilians of this country to own firearms.
The interesting thing is that some religious leaders are advising the government not to be heavy handed, because it would not solve the problem but might cause new wounds in the people especially as innocent bystanders are killed or injured. After all, violence will only lead to more violence. Of course in this case, non-violence has also led to more violence. So if violence leads to violence and non-violence also leads to violence, then what? I suppose they could just allow this little group to continue to be violent and hope that maybe eventually they will get it out of their system and settle down. Gets a little mind boggling.
Today's news reports that after questioning many of the arrestees it turns out that the innocent civilians killed in the conflict may not have been so innocent after all. Most if not all had participated in recent shootings, bombings, beheadings, assembled explosives, etc. Nevertheless a well-known elderly cleric recently released from jail for his involvement in a tourist island bombing a few years ago, apparently feels that folk of his religion who kill folk of other religions for any reason at allare not criminals and should not be treated as such. In fact he cursed the police action and said that it only aided the cause of the infidels and threatened that he might have to organize a holy war. (Mind you, he is a bit of a windbag but he does have a few followers.) Sigh! Thus violence begets violence and the cycle of revenge goes on unbroken.
What better illustration of the need for regeneration?
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
In Memory of Narakati
Born in the 1920s. Died 11 January 2007.
Survived by one sister and three brothers, four sons and four daughters, 11 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.
She was born in the mountains in southeast Asia, the 4th child of 10. She never went to school, never learned to read and write, never learned the national language. Clothes were scarce and shoes unheard of. Her family lived in a wood house on stilts in a small community. The community was scattered across a mountain ridge and overlooked a long valley and an ocean bay. She spent her childhood scampering up and down jungle trails with her cousins and siblings, or following her parents as they worked. Her father hunted for deer, anoa, and wild pig, and they planted corn, hill rice, cassava, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Coconuts didn’t produce much oil at that elevation so making oil was very time consuming. Sometimes people would go into the forest looking for rattan to sell. When there was drought they would have to eat cassava or bitter tubers.
She married a young man of her same ethnic group and eventually had 10 children of her own, 6 sons and 4 daughters. Her husband was a slash and burn farmer like their parents before them, hunting to supplement their diet. She learned from her mother to weave mats, and various sorts of woven containers. She also learned many of the traditional herbal remedies for common ailments. While she was pregnant with her 10th child her husband died of a sudden illness. A few years later she married her husband’s older brother who by then was also widowed with 10 older children. The second husband died many years ago now and she lived with her brother and her adult children.
She was a sharp, down to earth lady and carried herself with dignity. She went to church often, though she really didn’t understand the national language. She was often one of the group of elders who handled disputes in the community. Her house was a magnet for visitors and many people came seeking advice. She didn’t like sitting still and preferred farm work over house work - she would hoe for hours in the hot sun and was happy to leave the cooking to her daughters. She loved going to the market each week and would always find something to sell such as rice, corn, boiled peanuts, or a few vegetables. Four years ago her health began to deteriorate with a series of strokes. She was lovingly cared for by her daughters at home and will be greatly missed by us all.
Survived by one sister and three brothers, four sons and four daughters, 11 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.
She was born in the mountains in southeast Asia, the 4th child of 10. She never went to school, never learned to read and write, never learned the national language. Clothes were scarce and shoes unheard of. Her family lived in a wood house on stilts in a small community. The community was scattered across a mountain ridge and overlooked a long valley and an ocean bay. She spent her childhood scampering up and down jungle trails with her cousins and siblings, or following her parents as they worked. Her father hunted for deer, anoa, and wild pig, and they planted corn, hill rice, cassava, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Coconuts didn’t produce much oil at that elevation so making oil was very time consuming. Sometimes people would go into the forest looking for rattan to sell. When there was drought they would have to eat cassava or bitter tubers.
She married a young man of her same ethnic group and eventually had 10 children of her own, 6 sons and 4 daughters. Her husband was a slash and burn farmer like their parents before them, hunting to supplement their diet. She learned from her mother to weave mats, and various sorts of woven containers. She also learned many of the traditional herbal remedies for common ailments. While she was pregnant with her 10th child her husband died of a sudden illness. A few years later she married her husband’s older brother who by then was also widowed with 10 older children. The second husband died many years ago now and she lived with her brother and her adult children.
She was a sharp, down to earth lady and carried herself with dignity. She went to church often, though she really didn’t understand the national language. She was often one of the group of elders who handled disputes in the community. Her house was a magnet for visitors and many people came seeking advice. She didn’t like sitting still and preferred farm work over house work - she would hoe for hours in the hot sun and was happy to leave the cooking to her daughters. She loved going to the market each week and would always find something to sell such as rice, corn, boiled peanuts, or a few vegetables. Four years ago her health began to deteriorate with a series of strokes. She was lovingly cared for by her daughters at home and will be greatly missed by us all.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Our lives are in God’s hands
“Winter” has finally arrived. It is cool (at least by local standards) and rainy. Sweatshirt or blanket is needed at night. It has been cloudy and raining every day since New Year’s Eve which has superstitious locals worried. They say that for every day in a row it rains starting January 1, you will have a month of rain. By that reasoning it will rain through May now.
Normally this kind of weather would have started in late November or early December but I guess weather is messed up everywhere these days. This cool, rainy, stormy weather has contributed to several ship and even aviation disasters in the second of my worlds. Emergency response is basically inept and always too late. (I think everything has to go through a committee first, including emergencies.) One large passenger ship and at least two smaller ones sank this past week in stormy weather. 400+ people are still unaccounted for, though they continue to pick up a few survivors at sea each day. A plane went missing on New Year’s Day – and it still hasn’t been found. Early reports of it crashing into a mountainside with 12 survivors are now said to be false. Distress signals were picked up in a neighboring country but somehow not in-country though they say they have the equipment to detect such signals. No word on whether the equipment was functioning - or monitered.
All of this brings to the foreground the generally abysmal state of maintainence on vehicles, ships, planes, and equipment in general. There are also hints of management issues – profit being the highest priority. Of course it is all being blamed on bad weather, but it isn’t like bad weather is an anomaly. There’s always bad weather somewhere. But in a poorly maintained ship or plane, bad weather certainly adds stress to the system. Rubber bands can break and glue can come loose.
I too have to travel on budget airlines a lot. One of the main places I travel to can only be reached by a budget airline – or a 24-30 hour boat or bus trip. It is interesting that that particular airline has a card in all the seat pockets with prayers for travel safety printed on it – a Muslim prayer, a Hindu prayer, a Catholic prayer, a Protestant prayer, and a Buddhist prayer. Perhaps that is part of their maintanance system.
The underlying philosophy of life is this: our lives are in God’s hands. He knows the day of our birth and the day of our death. If it is our time to go, then we die. If it is not our time, then we will live another day.
Normally this kind of weather would have started in late November or early December but I guess weather is messed up everywhere these days. This cool, rainy, stormy weather has contributed to several ship and even aviation disasters in the second of my worlds. Emergency response is basically inept and always too late. (I think everything has to go through a committee first, including emergencies.) One large passenger ship and at least two smaller ones sank this past week in stormy weather. 400+ people are still unaccounted for, though they continue to pick up a few survivors at sea each day. A plane went missing on New Year’s Day – and it still hasn’t been found. Early reports of it crashing into a mountainside with 12 survivors are now said to be false. Distress signals were picked up in a neighboring country but somehow not in-country though they say they have the equipment to detect such signals. No word on whether the equipment was functioning - or monitered.
All of this brings to the foreground the generally abysmal state of maintainence on vehicles, ships, planes, and equipment in general. There are also hints of management issues – profit being the highest priority. Of course it is all being blamed on bad weather, but it isn’t like bad weather is an anomaly. There’s always bad weather somewhere. But in a poorly maintained ship or plane, bad weather certainly adds stress to the system. Rubber bands can break and glue can come loose.
I too have to travel on budget airlines a lot. One of the main places I travel to can only be reached by a budget airline – or a 24-30 hour boat or bus trip. It is interesting that that particular airline has a card in all the seat pockets with prayers for travel safety printed on it – a Muslim prayer, a Hindu prayer, a Catholic prayer, a Protestant prayer, and a Buddhist prayer. Perhaps that is part of their maintanance system.
The underlying philosophy of life is this: our lives are in God’s hands. He knows the day of our birth and the day of our death. If it is our time to go, then we die. If it is not our time, then we will live another day.
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