Thursday, 27 January 2005
A Crack In The Head
I'm currently in Port Augusta, about 300 km north of Adelaide. It's a small town that deems itself the "Gateway to the Outback". Interestingly, it's the first place we've seen significant numbers of Aborigines.
We got some bad news on our way out of Adelaide yesterday. The mechanic in Kingston told us that we had a crack in the head of our engine. To me, this sounded like a serious problem, but he told us not to worry. He said he puts Mitsubishi engines together all the time and sees these cracks alot.
Just to be sure, we stopped at a mechanic in Adelaide, and he told us we'll be lucky to make it out of the Nullarbor. He said if that crack works it's way all the way through things are going to get very interesting. At best, we'd be firing on 3 cylinders instead of 4. At worst, it'll blow the rocker cover off and oil will go all over the place (again).
Michael, Laetitia and I talked about it and decided we haven't come this far just to turn around. We're getting to Perth even if we have to abandon Gigi in the middle of the desert. This little twist just adds an element of excitement to the journey.
Finally, I found out today that the Eyre highway through the Nullarbor desert has the longest stretch of straight road in the world. 145 kilometers without a single curve.
It's going to be a long ride.
Our tentative plan (click for larger image)
Posted by flow Frazao on January 27, 2005 at 10:12 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 26 January 2005
Melbourne to Adelaide
If you ask an Australian how long it takes to get from Melbourne to Adelaide, they'll tell you it's an 8 hour drive. They're wrong. It's taken us a week.
Of course, we're taking it nice and slow. We came down along the Great Ocean Road, which was absolutely spectacular, and hugged the coast pretty much the whole way. Each night we'd drive as much as we felt like and then find a nice spot and camp out. After checking the oil and water, we crossed the Victoria/South Australia border on the morning of our third day and we were all amazed by how suddenly and drastically the country changed.
In Victoria everything is relatively lush and green, but the moment you cross that line, it changes to the brown of heatblasted earth and dry grass. There are trees here and there, but nothing like what I was used to. From what I understand, the Nullarbor Desert (which we'll be driving across) is more barren, but it's hard to imagine how that's possible.
After we crossed the border we drove into town and got some lunch. Then we piled back in the van, three across in the front seat, and barreled on through the heat of the day.
Now, there's one thing about driving in Oz that takes some getting used to. In America, when you look at a map and see Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Haven, Hartford, and Boston, you assume that there's all kinds of towns in between. Not so in Australia. When the map says there's 200 km between towns, there is NOTHING in between them except for scorched earth and deadly animals.
So you can imagine our state of mind when our van started filling with smoke 100 km after Mt. Gambier and 60 km outside of Kingston.
We pulled over, and the entire underbelly of Michael and Laetitia's Mitsubishi 300L Express (Gigi, for short) was seething with intimidating blue smoke. I said, "That looks like oil smoke, guys." And they both said, "Uh, oh, what does that mean?"
When I'm the one who knows the most about cars you know you're in trouble. The day suddenly seemed much hotter.
We lifted up the front seats to look at the engine and wouldn't you know it? Someone, and I'm not pointing any fingers, forgot to tighten the engine cap when he added the oil a few hours earlier. It looked like oil had spilled out over the entire car. Not to mention it was about 50C (100F) outside and we were running on a bone-dry engine.
We added all the oil we had left and flagged down a car because none of us had a clue what to do. This Australian guy took a look at it and said we'd probably be fine until Kingston, but we should definitely get some more oil when we pulled through. So we piled back into the car and took the next 60km nice and slow.
When we pulled into the BP station in Kingston we shut the car off and went to talk to the mechanic. He came round and asked us to start the car, and when we started it up it started making all kinds of weird automotive farting noises while it shot water up out of the radiator. This was a new development, and we stood around watching in awe and fear.
He told us it was probably the head gasket, and Michael, Laetitia and I looked at each other and silently wondered if any of us knew what a head gasket was. The mechanic told us they couldn't know unless they took it apart, but if it was the head gasket then it could cost up to $500. Worst of all, he told us we weren't going ANYWHERE until it was fixed.
There we were stuck in Kingston, home of 1600 people, a giant lobster, and The Sundial of Human Involvement. We did the only logical thing - we gave the mechanic the keys and headed straight for the pub.
In all honesty though, it could have been much worse. We could have blown this so-called "head gasket" in the middle of the Nullarbor and then we would have been well and truly fucked.
Of course, in the end it all wound up working out amazingly well. While we sat drunkenly wondering if we'd ever get to see Perth with our own eyes, we got to talking with a 23-year old Aussie guy named Cameron whose family owned a farm just outside of Kingston. He offered to take us out the next day and show us his farm and tell us about what his normal day was like.
It was incredible. He owns a 4500 acre farm that streches out as far as you can see with 700 head of cattle and around 10,000 sheep on it. We drove his tractor, and then hopped in the back of his truck and chased kangaroos across the paddocks at 40 km/hour. Then he showed us his lamb-castrating machine.
For me, it was an amazing thing to see. The life of a farmer is so inconceivably far away from anything I know that I spent the entire afternoon in a state of constant awe. It was great, and because of Cameron I can honestly say I'm happy our car broke down in Kingston.
I'm running out of time in this internet cafe, but suffice it to say we got our van back after three days and $350 dollars. It seems to be running fine, and we made it the next 300 k to Adelaide with no problems. We'll probably spend another day here and then take off tomorrow morning. If I had to guess I'd say we'll probably be in the desert by Sunday and hopefully in Perth by Wednesday or Thursday.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 26, 2005 at 09:36 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tennis, Anyone?
As most of you know, I could give a rat's ass about sports. However, I'm currently travelling with an East German guy and his French girlfriend and they're both into tennis. Apparently, one of the biggest tournaments in the tennis world is going on right now in Melbourne, and the number 3 seed is this guy named Paul Hewitt who's from Adelaide.
We've been watching this guy off and on for the past week, and he's won all of his matches. Last night he played the semi-final game against an Argentinian, and we watched the game in Adelaide. Obviously, the locals were totally flipping out, because not only is Hewitt their boy but it was also Australia Day yesterday:
Watching this guy win in his hometown was pretty cool. There's this cheer in Australia that they do when they're feeling patriotic and drunk that goes "Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!" and then another group of them will reply with "Oy Oy Oy!!!". They did this with every single point that Hewitt took, and in a four hour match that is a shitload of Oy's.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 26, 2005 at 08:36 PM in Australia, Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 19 January 2005
Crossing the Land of No Trees
I'm setting off on an adventure tomorrow morning with a couple of friends I met in Fiji. You may remember Michael the German and his French girlfriend Latitia. Well, they've bought a used van and they've invited me to go along with them to Perth.
For those of you who are geographically disinclined, Perth is on the opposite side of Australia from Melbourne. The drive is across the bottom of the country, through a long hot desert called the Nullarbor. The drive is about 500 miles longer than the distance from London to Moscow, if that gives you any kind of scale.
Fiona, meanwhile, will be staying in Geelong and going to her new job. She is a good wife who knows how to support her husband, and I intend to take advantage of it while I can.
I'll do my best to post along the way, but after Adelaide there seems to be nothing but tiny 800 person towns for about 1500 miles. But you never know - Kangergoolie might be a bustling technology oasis in a land known only for the longest stretch of uncurved railroad track in the world.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 19, 2005 at 10:26 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 18 January 2005
Who Cares What A Billion Foreigners Do?
The day the tsunami hit started out as a day of celebration in Australia. One of the biggest rivalries in sports was being played out in the Aussie vs. Pakistan cricket match. By the time the game was over, word of the disaster had spread, and the entrie Australian team had already pledged to donate their proceeds to relief efforts.
A few days later, a charity match between Asia and the Rest of the World was held at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. The game was played in front of a crowd of 80,000, and it was broadcast to an audience of an estimated one billion viewers in 122 countries.
And what happened? Well, the Rest of the World promptly kicked Asia's ass. In a friendly, "Beers are on us and here's a few million bucks" kind of way.
Obviously, this was big news all over Australia and, I imagine, the rest of the planet. However, I haven't heard a single mention of it in any of the US media. Nothing in the Washington Post, NYT, CNN, not even those liberals at the Communist Broadcasting Service seem to have covered it. Maybe I missed something, but I couldn't even find a single word.
For what it's worth, here's a little anecdote I picked up about the match:
So how did the kid respond under genuinely insane pressure, against some of the best bowlers in the history of the game? By batting all afternoon, scoring over 100 runs all by himself. When he was done, 60,000 Australians gave him a standing ovation. And I'm sure more than a few fires back in Pakistan were happily snuffed out.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 18, 2005 at 06:41 PM in World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A Land Down Under
Finally got some pics up. I can't believe I haven't posted any since before Christmas. It's incredible, really. I mean, it's not like I do anything all day long. I've had plenty of time. I guess I'm just a lazy bitch.
Whatever. Enjoy the photos.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 18, 2005 at 06:34 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 11 January 2005
Support Our Death Squads
Our tax dollars at work, folks:
Raymond Bonner
Weakness and Deceit
June, 1984
One military source involved in the Pentagon debate . . . suggests that new offensive operations are needed that would create a fear of aiding the insurgency. "The Sunni population is paying no price for the support it is giving to the terrorists," he said. "From their point of view, it is cost-free. We have to change that equation."
Newsweek
‘The Salvador Option’
January 9, 2005
Billmon's got much, much more.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 11, 2005 at 07:36 PM in Iraq | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 06 January 2005
Return From Buffalo
Once again, we brought the bad weather with us to Mt. Buffalo. The day before we arrived, Angie had been swimming in the lake. The next day, we were bundled up by the fire while the rain poured down on the tin roof of the Butt Hut.
As much as rain does suck while you're camping, there's nothing like waking up in the middle of a forest covered in thick fog. It's eeiry and beautiful, and when you combine it with the minty, eucalyptus smell of the Australian bush you get an experience unlike any other.
I have more pictures to upload, so I'll post them as soon as I can. Until then, here's what's been happening since I've been away:
- Former South African president Nelson Mandela reveals that his son Makgatho has died of AIDS.
- Kyle Van Horn sent a camera via USPS with a message on it asking the postal workers en route to take photos with it.
- Torture advocate Alberto Gonzales eagerly awaits his appointment to Attorney General.
- And the big news in Oz today is that the Australian government has pledged an historic $1 billion aid package to the tsunami disaster. That's almost as much as George Bush spent to get reelected.
- Finally, try typing "How much did George Bush spend to get reelected?" into Google. Their "Did you mean" suggestion is spot-on.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 6, 2005 at 07:10 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Does Anybody Here Remember Jose Padilla?
Soj has written an excellent diary over at Daily Kos that should be required reading for every American. I'm reprinting it in full here because I enjoy indulging in plagiarism.
Does anybody here remember Jose Padilla? I'm sure you recognize the name, but you've probably mostly forgotten about him, right?
I'm sure you know his story:
Born in the United States and an American citizen his entire life, Jose Padilla was "arrested" in Chicago's O'Hare airport by federal agents. I say "arrested", although the better word is "detained" since to "arrest" someone means to take them into custody and charge them with a crime.
Attorney General Ashcroft praised the arrest, saying Padilla had plans to make a "dirty bomb" and use it in a terrorist attack in the United States although Padilla had absolutely nothing illegal on his person or in his baggage at the time of his "arrest". Padilla was sent to a naval prison (brig) in South Carolina where he has been ever since.
Padilla has never been charged with a crime in conjunction with his 2002 "arrest". Instead, the Justice Department has declared he is an "enemy combatant". He is not allowed to see his family, his loved ones or a lawyer.
Can you imagine what you've been doing since May 2002? All the places you've gone, all the things you've done? Now imagine spending two and a half years in jail, not charged with a crime and unable to talk to a single friendly person, not even a lawyer.
Here's what Ashcroft said at the time:
A volunteer and unpaid legal team was assembled to argue for Padilla's case even though they couldn't meet with their client. A year and a half after Padilla's "arrest", a federal appeals court in New York said President Bush does not have the power to detain an American citizen seized on American soil as an enemy combatant:
The majority judges also note Padilla is accused of serious crimes, and that the government should pursue the case vigorously under civilian law.
Despite the ruling, the government refused to either release Padilla or charge him with a crime. The government appealed the New York court's ruling and the case was heard by the Supreme Court. First however they decided to smear Padilla further by making allegations against him against which he could not defend himself:
At a news conference Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General James Comey said Padilla's partner in the attacks was to be Adnan El Shukrijumah, one of seven suspected al-Qaida operatives who the Justice Department cited last week as planning attacks on the United States this summer. Nicknamed "Jafar the pilot," the Saudi native once lived in Florida and has been sought by federal authorities for more than a year.
Al-Qaida officials, including Abu Zubaydah and Mohammed, were skeptical of Padilla's ability to set off a dirty bomb but were very interested in the apartment operation, Comey said. He said Padilla was trained on how to seal the apartments after turning on the gas.
Despite the statements of the Justice Department, Padilla was still not charged with any crimes relating to this - or relating to anything else. Furthermore, Comey admitted that if Padilla had been charged with a crime he would not have been convicted!
Padilla's case finally made it to the Supreme Court in Rumsfeld v. Padilla (PDF) but was thrown out on a technicality - Padilla's case was originally filed in the "wrong" jurisdiction (New York instead of South Carolina) and thus his lawyers had to begin all over again at square one.
Well yesterday Padilla's lawyers were in court yet again, this time in front of a federal judge in South Carolina named Henry Floyd:
Judge Floyd said it will take him at least 30 to 45 days -- and maybe even longer -- to make a decision.
Padilla was designated an enemy combatant by the government and has been held at the brig at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station since his arrest, though he has not been charged with any crime.
This man has been in custody since May 2002... almost three years. He's never been charged with a crime so he cannot defend himself in court against allegations that he is a terrorist. Maybe he is one and maybe he isn't, but how are we ever going to know if the government refuses to present evidence against him in a court of law?
As many of you know, I used to work in law enforcement. There were times when we were sure we knew who the "bad guy" was but didn't have enough evidence against him. Did we arrest him anyway and throw him in a hole for three years? No, what we did was go out there and find the evidence. If someone committed a serious crime then there is going to be evidence, you just have to work harder in some cases to obtain it.
I think it's time for a look at the 5th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States:
Those are supposed to be our rights, not privileges. If they can be taken away whenever the government feels like it, then they are not rights, they are simply indulgences.
I'll end with the famous poem from Martin Niemoller:
They came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me--and by that time no one was left to speak up.
If they can do this to Padilla, they can do it to me and they can do it to you.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 6, 2005 at 06:46 PM in Scary Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, 02 January 2005
Return To Mt. Buffalo
It looks like we're going to be heading back up to Mt. Buffalo for a bit more freezing cold weather. This time we'll be going with Fiona's parents so it's going to be a cramped little campsite, but maybe that'll help keep us warm.
We caught up with Latitia and the German today, and they came in and ate all of Glenys' chocolate cake. I don't care what anyone says, Europeans are greedy sweathogs and they cannot be trusted around sweets. I had set aside that cake for a week's worth of breakfast and now it's all for nothing.
Anyway, we'll catch up with them again when we get back from Buffalo. I'm hoping that I can talk them into staying in Melbourne for a while instead of taking off, but we'll see how it goes.
Obviously, no posting for a couple of days. Hopefully I'll have some decent pics when I get back.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 2, 2005 at 07:31 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Even The Tsunami Has A Bright Side
Much has been written about the Tsunami and it's aftermath, but one thing that I haven't heard anything about in Australia is that Pakistan has offered aid to it's old enemy India:
Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan opened the negotiations between their foreign secretaries in Islamabad by extending sympathy for the "massive destruction in southern India caused by earthquake and tidal waves."
"Pakistan offered assistance in relief and rescue," Khan told a press conference after the first day of talks, which reviewed progress on a year-long peace process aimed at ending 57 years of hostility between the neighbouring countries.
Three years ago these guys were pointing nuclear weapons at each other as they teetered on the brink of war. It just goes to show that even the worst disaster brings with it the potential for enlightened reaction.
Posted by flow Frazao on January 2, 2005 at 07:21 AM in World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Crack Tax
I might be in Australia, but thanks to the internet I can still keep up with every retarded development in US News. Tennessee has introduced a new revenue stream which begs the question, "Is the Knoxville legislature on drugs?"
"The way this is set up, once anyone comes into possession of an illegal substance, they have 48 hours to purchase a stamp," said Al Laney, the department's director of tax enforcement.
The taxpayer needs only to say what sort of illegal substance he or she possesses and how much, then pay the appropriate amount of money - $50 per gram for cocaine, for example. The person need not give a name and the law provides that purchase of the stamp will be kept confidential and forbids revenue officials from asking any questions.
[..]
"We are serious about this, and we do not want the public to take this as a frivolous undertaking," Laney said.
The proposal was nicknamed "the crack tax" by the sponsors, who say the new levy will provide much-needed money for law enforcement efforts.
Does this mean that Tennessee expects to see a line in this year's budget for illegal drug taxes? And if so, does it mean that the state is counting on people to go out and buy things like crack and marijuana in order to maintain that revenue stream?
And also, how stupid are the drug users in Tennessee? Are they really going to go down to the Tax Office and buy $50 worth of "I've got drugs" stamps?
Posted by flow Frazao on January 2, 2005 at 04:37 AM in US News | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Saturday, 01 January 2005
Feliz Ano Nuevo!
I would love to be able to write something eloquent and inspired at the start of this new year, but I'm just too tired. We went out in Melbourne last night and had a great night. I think we got home this morning at around 10:30.
Without getting into it too much, let's just say New Year's in Oz is the same as it is everywhere else. Everybody gets a good drink on and starts kissing each other, and the rest fades out into a hazy blur. We hopped from club to club talking to people and screaming "Happy New Year!" to each other until our voices were hoarse, and then we slept it off for a few hours in the car before heading home.
Anyone who's ever tried to sleep in a Honda Civic knows how spent I am now, but to be honest my exhaustion runs even deeper than that. Over the past four years I've celebrated New Year's Eve on three different continents, and my life has changed more than I ever would have thought possible. If you had told me five years ago that I'd be looking for a place in Melbourne with my Australian wife after having spent the past three years crisscrossing the globe I would have just laughed. I mean seriously, who could dream of such a life?
I've got more to write about, but I just can't do it right now. I'm too tired and Fiona's making bedtime very attractive.
So a big fat Happy New Year to everybody. Hopefully 2005 will be a banner year. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and get a chance to watch Bush squirm at his impeachment trial or something.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on January 1, 2005 at 07:24 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack