Samson & Delilah, the low-budget feature film debut from Australian director-writer-cinematographer, Warwick Thornton, shines as it continues to pick up more awards.
It won seven awards at the AFI Awards this month and was named the Best Feature Film at the third annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Queensland last month.
Earlier in the year, it stunned the film world by taking out the Camera d’Or (Golden Camera) at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Since its Australian theatrical release on May 7, Samson & Delilah has become a genuine word-of-mouth sensation.
Far from the biblical story, this one is about two young teenagers in a central desert community. Samson (Rowan McNamara) is a petrol sniffing layabout who wants to play music, if only his brother would let him.
He likes Delilah (Marissa Gibson), a self-reliant woman, who looks after her grandmother and helps her with her artworks. Her real-life grandmother Mitjili Gibson takes on this role.
Following her death, Delilah and Samson escape to live on the fringe of Alice Springs, seeking to get their life together.
This is a tough film about love where dialogue is used sparingly to tell a poignant story. That’s why images deliver an emotional impact.
With a good soundtrack, the film is tastefully made where you can see a noticeable show of restraint.
It’s a sturdy little film, with winning performances by all the cast, especially the two young lead performers.
There are some special features on this DVD worth mentioning including interviews with director Warwick Thornton, theatrical trailer the making of Samson & Delilah by Beck Cole and Thornton’s short films: Nana,Green Bush, Mimi and Payback
''Organic - Don Burke''s Guide to Growing Organic Food''Organic – Don Burke’s Guide to Growing Organic Food
New Holland Publishers, RRP: $29.95, 304pp
Reviewer: Rama Gaind
This is a bible for first-time gardeners, and an authority to reinforce techniques for established organic gardens.
With this hardback compilation, Don Burke has covered all aspects to ensure a win for all those with green fingers – and others, too, no doubt.
It’s an all-inclusive, wide-ranging guide to creating our own grocery store in our own backyard!
Australia’s foremost expert on backyards, Don goes through every necessary step to set up a blooming, thriving vegie patch.
He tells us why it must be set-up in the full sun, how compost is the single most important element in achieving long-term success with vegetables and how to make our own compost.
What a wonderful opportunity for children to establish their own garden and to learn the origins of food and how to grow it. One happy outcome could see them happily eating vegetables that they have grown themselves.
However, going organic isn’t only about healthy eating – home-grown organic produce is far cheaper than over-the-counter vegetables and the variety can be limitless.
The taste sensation of eating fresh produce will also be greatly appreciated!
Delectable recipes
There are scrumptious recipes for all those freshly-picked organic foodstuffs – like strawberry and mint sorbet, zucchini relish, bread rolls with pesto and oven-dried tomatoes, sultana carrot cheesecake and that vegie patch salad is refreshing at any time. Why not bake a chocolate zucchini cake? Be adventurous, and learn how to make a scarecrow.
Just looking at the collection of beautiful, colour photos will have people scurrying to creative their own gardens!
Don Burke tells us the best way to keep those pests and insects (who love our gardens) away without resorting to dangerous chemicals and pesticides.
This book is inundated with helpful hints: when to pick the vegies, the best way to store them and freeze them, how to dry them and make jellies and marmalades. There is even an organic planning calendar, a guide to the various kinds of chooks to buy and to enhance the organic nature of our backyard.
Looked on as a pioneer of lifestyle television in Australia, Don planted a vegie garden, on his own, when he was six years old.
Don Burke, the life-long passionate gardener, has produced an organic garden gem which is a must for the bookshelf.
A.R. Rahman will perform in Sydney on January 16, 2010.Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman to perform at free concert in Sydney
By Rama Gaind
India’s two-time Oscar winner A.R. Rahman will perform at Parramatta Park, Sydney, on January 16, 2010. The concert will be free.
The undisputed king of contemporary Indian music, Rahman won the Academy Awards this year for his work as composer and songwriter on Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle.
Rahman will reportedly entertain with an entourage of over 40 musicians and Bollywood dancers, presenting various rhythms and melodies of contemporary India.
In what has been described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, authorities will close Parramatta Park to cars on the day to allow the event to run smoothly. Patrons have been urged to use public transport. Although the event will start at 7.30pm, the gates will be opened at noon.
The organisers, Sydney Festival 2010, have labelled the outdoor concert as “night like no other”.
Sydney Festival is proud to celebrate this “inspiring and multi-dimensional artist – truly one of India’s international superstars”.
Prior to his double-win at the Academy Awards, Rahman was already an icon in the world of cinematic score and has redefined contemporary Indian music. On an international scale, CD sales of his film scores and soundtracks have exceeded 100 million (as well as more than 200 million cassettes) making him one of the world’s all-time top-selling recording artists.
In 2009, ‘Time’ magazine placed Rahman in the Time 100 list of ‘World’s Most Influential People’.
Sydney experience
The best time to experience Sydney is in January, when the city is in full celebratory mode. Sydney Festival is Australia’s most attended annual cultural event, presenting the biggest and best of the world’s performing and visual arts, all coming together in an avalanche of artistic activity.
Since it was first held in 1977, Sydney Festival takes over the city every January. The festival program features more than 50 events including theatre, dance, music, circus, visual arts and artist talks. Through its mass free events and ticketed program, the festival attracts an estimated one million people.
As part of the festival, another group from India – The Manganiyar Seduction – will perform at the York Theatre, Seymour Theatre Centre, from January 11-14, 2010.
One of the rave reviews received by the group includes: “Picks up momentum with every cycle of speed until euphoria sets in” – The Hindu
With a showman’s flair, director Roysten Abel has transformed a traditional Indian music concert into a dazzling theatre spectacle, placing 43 Rajasthani musicians in a ‘magic box’ structure.
The individual curtained compartments are framed by carnival lights, opening one by one to reveal each solo musician, with the build-up of instruments and voices unfolding into a lush spectacle of melody, rhythm and song.
Some memorable moments are in store for you, so start planning now!
The Informant: Based on a true story about a biochemist who became an informant, this is an unsettling account about embezzlement, price-fixing, cheating and a misleading corporate culture that directly impacts American lives.
Director Stephen Soderbergh gives his skewed take on this, but as a comedy.
What follows is a twisted tale.
Matt plays Mark Whiteacre, a rising star at a company called Archer Daniels Midland. ADM products, ingredients with names like sorbitol and lecithin, can be found on the labels of most foods.
As the youngest division president, Whiteacre earns enough money to live the dream life with a spacious house and a fleet of cars.
In the early 1990s, he turns into an FBI informant, supplying hundreds of tapes that implicate ADM in a price-fixing scheme. However, nothing is what it seems with Whiteacre, who soon becomes the informant from hell.
Told in well-designed frames, the film does not engage you emotionally. When you laugh, it sticks in your throat, because the text is gloomy and skeptical.
It’s worth seeing just for the brilliant character acting by an overweight Matt Damon. He is always tragic, yet intensely funny.
Where the Wild Things Are: Director Spike Jonze maintains the gloom and sadness of the book by Maurice Sendak.
It elaborates on the strange journey of wolf-suited Max. While the solemn undercurrent can be disconcerting, the puppetry and costumes are incredible.
By Roseline DELEU, International Feng Shui Master, Best selling Author and Inspirational Speaker
www.fengshuisteps.com
Who does not enjoy browsing in pre loved shops in search for a good bargain?
Keep in mind that the 2nd hand goods are carrying subtle energies, storing memories of their previous owners, their moods, their vibrations, their energies, their laughter, their joy too of course! Displaying pre-loved items in your home will have an impact on your life; so follow these suggestions to take essential precautions.
1. Mirrors
To my understanding and my perception, and… having visited and consulted so many houses over the past 17 years, I can tell you that mirrors are real gateways to spirits. They also act like sponges and ‘keep in mind’ all what happened in their vicinity. This is one of the reasons why having mirrors in a bedroom (new or old mirrors) can be disturbing your sleep, having babies waking up at night crying for no obvious reason. Do you have a mirror reflecting your body when laying in bed? It is recommended to cover it during your rest.
Mirror ‘As New’ -> Need to be perfectly flat and levelled – any distorted mirror will reflect a distorted view of your persona. Tiled mirrors can only ‘cut’ you into pieces and could have a subtle impact on the reason why you are loosing self-confidence.
Mirror ‘Second Hand’ -> Has to be cleansed thoroughly to remove as much as possible from its past memories.
Two steps are essential:
Step 1 – Use cleaning product (e.g. Windex) OR a few drops of vinegar and salted water + paper towel to give a sparkle AND make sure that you add your intent of cleansing all memories from this newly bought item.
Step 2 – Put the mirror outside on your lawn facing up during the full moon to remove any old energy.
2. Furniture
Inherited wooden furniture, vintage and antique items also have their own stories and past memories. Clean the wood with professional products adding your intent of clearing the vibes and energies of the previous owners. Whenever possible, put outside overnight in the full moon if too heavy to move out, repeat the first clearing suggestion for 9 consecutive weeks (one day a week).
3. Jewellery
A dear friend of mine offered me a gorgeous real pearl necklace over 100 years old that she had received herself from an old and dear friend. As soon as I put it around my neck to show her how good it looked on me, I felt strangled. To avoid hurting her feelings, I did not mention anything about this incident but simply asked what had happened to her friend. She was a sad lady who went though tough times in concentration camps during the 2nd World War. Her life sadness was carried in the pearls. I decided to cleanse this necklace several times during the full moons with respect of who she was and what she had lived. Today I wear it proudly for special occasions without feeling any negative effects and feeling very special to have such a valuable item from someone who I now better understand, respect and honour.
4. Clothes
To get rid of the energies stored in second hand clothes, simply wash them before wearing. Buying leather or suede clothes are more difficult to cleanse as perspiration together with memories cannot be washed out; put those items regularly in the full moon.
5. Decorative items
Only display in your home items in perfect condition. Avoid buying craft goods without knowing “the mission” that the craftsman gave to them – by this I mean warrior masks, African amulets and assimilated.
I recall a story of a lady whose boy friend avoided sleeping at her place. Checking her bedroom she had displayed on each side of the bed two large PNG warrior masks that were protecting her… they did their job! When she removed them, the boy friend decided to move in within that week.
Now, feel and have another look at the items displayed in your home; what do they remind you of? Do you feel happy with each of them or is t time to prepare a bag and drop some at the Charity shops. Enjoy your de-cluttering!
Roseline Deleu, International Feng Shui Master and Best Selling Author 0412 717 454
Visit www.fengshuisteps.com for your free “Feng Shui Life Quiz”
Upcoming Trainings with Roseline Deleu:
11 -15 JANUARY 2010 – CANBERRA and surrounding NSW
15 – 19 MARCH 2010 – BRISBANE and SE QLD
Feng Shui 5 day Practitioner Certificate Course – with Roseline Deleu see her website for full details.
Bollywood films capitalise on scenic locations in Thailand
By Rama Gaind
There’s a certain mystique about Thailand, but my fascination was further fuelled on learning that this kingdom is now the number one location for shooting Indian films.
Bollywood has been fascinated with foreign locales for quite a while, but it appears that Indian filmmakers have taken a fancy to shooting action movies in Thailand as it works out cheaper compared with Europe.
During a recent trip, hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, I spoke with a number of Indians (and others) who were enthusiastic about the increasing number of Indian film crews visiting various cities.
What’s been filmed in Thailand?
Nikhil Advani’s ‘Chandni Chowk To China’ and Anthony D’Souza’s directorial debut in ‘Blue’, an underwater action thriller, which is said to be the most expensive Hindi film. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif.
Talented Shreyas Talpade is travelling to Bangkok so often that the actor jokingly says he might apply for Thai citizenship.
He has been to Bangkok many times for many of his films from ‘Bombay To Bangkok’, ‘Golmaal Returns’ to ‘Paying Guests’.
“Though we were more around Pattaya than Bangkok for ‘Paying Guests’, I am again going back to the Thai capital for some of my upcoming films,” Talpade says. “I really like that place.”
Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley is playing a glamorous woman in her first Kannada film ‘Sreemathi’, a remake of Hindi film ‘Aitraaz’, and the former Miss India bought all her costumes from Bangkok and Paris and Bangkok for it. Why? Her designer wanted her to have the looks of glamorous heroine of the ‘80s.
Some scenes from producer Aditya Ram’s ‘Ek Niranjan’, directed by Puri Jagannath and starring Prabhas and Kangana Ranaut were shot in Bangkok and Pattaya. Major portion of the movie was shot in a huge set eerected in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
However, what some of the ‘locals’ had to say was heartening.
Meeting the director of sales and marketing at Dusit Thani in Bangkok, Andrew Cornelio, was an infectious evening. He still could not contain his excitement after his hotel hosted the 2008 IIFA and how he could vividly remember its Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. awards being held at his hotel in 2007.
“I’ll never get tired of speaking about the time that the event was held in our hotel,” Mr Cornelio said. “Sure there was a lot of work that went into putting on a show of that calibre, there was months of planning involved, but the rewards were amazing.”
“We had so much happening, Bollywood stars, international celebrities, fans and our hotel was full at all times.
“We would certainly like to host another IIFA event in the near future.”
Indian-born Shreyash Shah, sales manager at the glorious Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya, was enthusiastic in describing the films and how he made a point of seeing all of them.
Among the films that have recently been shot there are ‘Kal Kisne Dekha’, starring debutants Jackky Bhagnani and Vaishali Desai which has been directed by Vivek Sharma who had earlier directed ‘Bhootnath’. There’s also ‘Golmaal’, ‘Loot’ and many more to come.
I met Deep Singh, manager of Namaste India, a café half way between Bangkok and Pattaya, whose brother Dilbir Singh Sahani (known as ‘Bobby’) assisted will film shoots through his company Indo-Bangkok Film Pty Ltd. I was unable to meet him as he was busy with a film crew, but had dinner at his restaurant Spices in Pattaya which was being managed by Sandeep ‘Tony’ Bairua
Even Pongsak Kanittanon, public relations manager with the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Sydney, attested to the importance of Thailand being a popular destination for filming, saying there were a ‘lot of places to showcase overseas’.
Our tour guide Wasawadee Sanpradith, of Sydney, was a patient listener as I spoke at length about the worldwide popularity of Bollywood.
A testament to these sentiments has come with the news that Thailand’s national committee on film production recently approved a 2009-2011 master plan to promote Thailand as the hub for shooting and post-production.
Even the 7th Bangkok International Film Festival 2009, held in September, took on a strongly social and regional thematic focus with films that exemplified today’s era of change.
For the second time, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand joined forces to present the foremost film event in south-east Asia. Not only had attendance risen on previous years, but the festival directors managed to attract an even wider range of audiences, exposing a new generation of filmgoers to an incredible variety of movies from across the globe.
Rama Gaind was a guest of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The forum is entitled: Filling the Gaps with Leadership.
The forum will look at the challenges faced by leaders in public and private organisations, and how to develop leadership and language skills in key areas such as science and technology.
The venue of the conference will be the conference and meeting facilities of Unions ACT (the Canberra arm of the Australian Council of Trade Unions).
Discounts are available for early birds and groups.
The Discovery Group showcases the very best of the region''s natural assets.
The Discovery Group is top 2009 tour operator
By Rama Gaind
Being a part of the travel industry has many challenges, but there’s one tour operator – The Discovery Group, in Noosa – which continues to win against all odds.
For the second successive year, the group’s enthusiasm could not be contained after being named the ‘Tour Operator of the Year’ at the 2009 Queensland Tourism Awards last month.
The Noosa-based eco-tourism operator The Discovery Group claimed the best tour and/or transport category – one of the most prestigious and highly contested awards.
Naturally, the group’s managing director Wade Batty, is delighted and overwhelmed at his company’s success – in the face of a very challenging 12 months.
“It has been an extremely difficult 12 months for The Discovery Group,” Mr Batty said.
“2009 has seen a complete revitalisation of the business structure in order to ensure its on-going sustainability,” he said.
“We’ve implemented new business systems and procedures, introduced two new t20-seater Mitsubishi 4WD vehicles affectionately known as ‘The Warrior’ and ‘Xena’, three new touring packages and also a totally revamped website – all this through a global economic downturn, a cyclone, an oil spill and two 1-in-100 year floods.”
The Discovery Group has flourished over six years and today comprises of Fraser Island Discovery and Noosa Everglades Discovery brands.
Proprietors Wade and Kelly Batty relocated from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast in 2003 leaving behind their respective careers in the construction and beauty industries to pursue their dream – which is slowly being overwhelmingly realised.
The Discovery Group’s passion for the Noosa Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Listed Fraser Island, coupled with a strong desire to showcase the very best of the region’s natural and cultural assets to visitors from around the world, has paved the way to their resounding success.
Winning the Queensland and Australian Tourism Awards in 2008 for Tour and/or Transport Operator inspired Wade and Kelly to maintain their focus on excellence and continuous improvement in spite of a difficult 12 months.
More than 17,000 people have travelled with The Discovery Group over the past 12 months, including about 7,650 guests from overseas primarily arriving from Germany, UK, North America and New Zealand.
Mr Batty is justifiably proud when he says: “This award is a true reflection of our amazing team who continue to deliver tourism excellence and offer our guests uniquely Australian experiences through some of the most magnificent landscapes and waterways in Australia”.
Robert Connelly''s ''Balibo'' was a winner at the AFI Awards.
Australian films take top AFI awards
by Rama Gaind
Two Australian films – Samson & Delilah and Balibo – took out top awards at the AFI Awards last Saturday.
Seven awards were won by Samson & Delilah, with four going to Balibo.
In fact, it was the Madman Iconic Aussie Films range of releases which garnered a major sweep of awards at the 2009 Samsung Mobile AFI Industry and Ceremony Awards.
The talk of the Australian Film Industry in 2009, Samson & Delilah took out Best Film, Best Direction (Warwick Thornton), Best Original Screenplay and a shared AFI Young Actor Award for Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson the ceremony, as well as Industry Awards for Best Cinematography (Warwick Thornton), Best Sound and the AFI Member’s Choice Award.
Making major headlines at home and abroad, and recently controversially banned in Indonesia, Robert Connelly’s Balibo also picked up a number of major awards, including Best Lead Actor (Anthony LaPaglia), Best Adapted Screenplay (David Williamson, Robert Connolly), Best Supporting Actor (Oscar Isaac), and an AFI Industry Award for Best Editing (Nick Meyers ASE).
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts – Scott Hicks’ study of internationally acclaimed composer, Philip Glass, also picked up a 2009 ceremony award for Best Feature Length Documentary.
SBS DVD series’ take top AFI Awards
SBS DVD series’ have picked up several major awards in the television and documentary categories at the 2009 Samsung Mobile AFI Industry and Ceremony Awards.
The second season of Sydney-based multicultural crime drama East West 101 (starring Don Hany and Susie Porter) scored three key 2009 AFI Awards with Best Television Drama, Best Direction in Television (Episode 13, Peter Andrikidis) and Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama (Susie Porter).
In the documentary category, SBS series Cracking the Colour Code won for Best Cinematography in a Documentary (Episode 2, ‘Making the Colours’), whilst breakthrough historical series First Australians was recognised with the award for Best Documentary Series.
Nominations for SBS series’ were abundant in several other categories, including East West 101, Season 2, Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama (Don Hany) and Best Screenplay in Television (Episode 13, ‘Atonement’), Cracking the Colour Code, Best Editing in a Documentary (Episode 2, ‘Making the Colours’), First Australians Best Direction in a Documentary (Episode 4, ‘There Is No Other Law’) and Death of the Megabeasts for the AFI Visual Effects Award.
There are three destinations in Queensland – Hervey Bay, Noosa and Fraser Island – that have a captivating charm which is hard to ignore. The infectious ambience will attract like a magnet.
Finding these ‘treasures’ – and an Indian connection – made the visit a more rewarding one!
Hervey Bay is the ‘whale watching capital of the world’ where the annual one million visitors get a chance to sample the relaxing lifestyle.
No surprises at finding three Indian restaurants overlooking the bay: Tandoori Taste is one of them.
In the 12 months that owner Nadeem Qadri has had the restaurant, he has been heartened at the response by patrons to Indian cuisine. Nadeem is now preparing in earnest for a busy festive season.
For luxurious accommodation in the Hervey Bay Marina precinct, stay at the newly-opened $20 million, five-star Ramada hotel and resort. It has splendid studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites with the flexibility of dual-key configuration. All rooms are beautifully appointed with full kitchen facilities, the latest appliances and stone benchtops.
All rooms have balconies which overlook the landscaped swimming pool. Privacy and security is assured, along with high-speed Internet connection, spas and king-size beds.
While there, dine at Herveys at Ramada Bar and Café and let head chef Jason Dickfos showcase local produce with simple, tasty dishes.
Make your way to Noosa which is a gem in the crown of the Sunshine Coast with its warm climate, natural wonders found in the Noosa National Park, main beach and the enticing haunts of Hastings Street.
Regarded as a summer playground, Noosa has developed from a small fishing hamlet to a world-standard holiday destination where tourism provides the foundation to the local economy which flourishes with more than 250,000 holidaymakers a year.
Indian chef Mohan Singh Manrah, while working at the Incredible India Restaurant in Hastings Streeet, has added to the population to approximately 40,000. Mohan said the restaurant had proved to be very popular in the past 14 months.
Enjoy the novel attributes of the Noosa River through daily Noosa Ferry Cruise services from the Sheraton Resort jetty which take you up and down the river between Hastings Street, Noosa Heads, Noosaville and Tewantin. Take in the sights from the water instead of meandering through traffic on the roads!
Relax as you see people having picnics and barbecues on the river bank, walking, swimming, fishing, sailing and diners enjoying the ambience of one of the many dining establishments on the riverfront.
Let Ricardo’s gondola take you to Ricky’s river bar and restaurant at the Noosa Wharf where, while enjoying great views you partake of a modern menu built around fresh, local produce.
Take pleasure in dining at Trios on the River which has been run by David Stellon and Geoff Cohen for 12 years. Bathe in the river atmosphere and delight in the menu choices featuring seafood, meat and vegetarian choices.
Get a stunning perception of the Noosa River, the wetlands and the lakes and their importance to the region by going on a Noosa Everglades Discovery river cruise.
Stay at the comfortable Hotel Laguna, in the heart of colourful Hastings Street, which has some stylish studios and suites boasting river views.
Your next stop has to be the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island with the Discovery Group. This is the largest sand island in the world stretching 123km long and covering an area of 166,038ha.
The island’s untamed wilderness and rugged, natural charm entices, but you will be delighted with what the eco-friendly Kingfisher Bay Resort has to offer.
Seabelle Restaurant manager Nitin Menon loved the isolation of the resort which had shades of his hometown “Mumbai climate”. He’s looking to enjoy it for another three years.
Why not start planning your Queensland holiday experience now?
I sincerely hope that after all Australians do their own independent and conflict of interests-free research that you will all call for a halt to "water fluoridation" permanently and irrevocably for all time, when you gain access to the real truth of silicofluoride poisons sourced from industries’ toxic waste.
I remain in utter despair that the powers that be, still deny/suppress/cover-up the cumulative evidence of harm of silicofluoride poisoning of our water supplies and keep bleating that it is safe and effective; nothing could be further from the truth. Any people, groups, organizations and Governments who continue to ignore/suppress/cover-up the cumulative evidence of harm from such silicofluorides used in "water fluoridation schemes" and continue to force this on the population is in my view allegedly, extreme negligence and a criminal act.
Nationally, bad and inappropriate behavior, criminality and violence is almost out of control, kidney disease is rising in Australia at a terrifying rate (no wonder with the populations’ kidneys being used as toxic waste filtration); bone diseases, cancers, alzheimers epidemic also estimated growing at 1,300 each week, depressive illnesses and other neurological disorders and syndromes, thyroid disease et al; and I say with so much evidence of harm from the cumulative effects of silicofluoride poisons from highly credible experts all over the world, why has the Precautionary Principle never been applied? Why do the Dental Associations and their interests allegedly have so much power, clout and pull that they can allegedly “pressure” Governments to mass slow poison the people with “fluoride” poisons.
Please See Diana Buckland www.dianabuckland.webs.com Violence & Criminality Report – which includes Kidney Disease, Tooth Decay in “fluoridated areas” etc., and of course the work of Prof. Roger Masters and Mary Sparrowdancer on fluoride & aggression, violence and criminality including Report from FLUORIDE RESEARCH on Water Fluoridation & Crime in the United States of America http://www.fluorideresearch.org/381/files/38111-22.pdf Extract: “Crime is a measure of social dysfunction, and a barometer for socio-economic dislocation and change.
Its causes are infinitely varied in their particulars, nebulous in their totality, and they vary historically from one era to the next. The historical context at any given time, moreover, cannot be duplicated experimentally, challenging the use of scientific methods; and the data that are available to us tend to be colored to some extent by the preoccupations and motives of the era and the people that produced it. There is thus an evident need for an interdisciplinary approach to crime, and for a paradigm which integrates chemistry, statistics, sociology, and history, at a minimum.
The post-Civil War era, for example, saw a significant rise in American crime rates.20 The war may have inured the population to violence; the post-war westward expansion may have created a less-well-ordered frontier society; or those frontiers may have included numerous areas with high fluoride levels in the groundwater—three competing explanations which would doubtless challenge the available data. And while the data in this study focus on the United States during the 1990’s, there are nearby anomalies such as unfluoridated Vancouver, British Columbia., which has experienced high crime rates associated with gangs, drugs, immigration, and ethnic conflict. Immigration, migration, and relocation
create difficulties in tracking exposure to fluorides. In the United States, the Clean Air Act (1970) did not address airborne fluorides at all, so we have virtually no data for evaluating exposures from this source.
The senseless multiple shooting became the signature crime of the 1990’s in the United States. Fluoride exposures in many areas may have passed a threshold beyond which “fluoride-related crime” became common. Saturation of Americans with fluorides, via public water supplies, continues to expand. I think we can currently discern the resultant crime effects due to their locational variations. If water fluoridation were ended, it might take a generation for the effects to recede. If it continues to expand, the “signal” identified in this study may get lost in the “noise” of endemic violence.” *end Extract Fluoride Research.
Also referring to www.dianabuckland.webs.com In my 351 page Report as a Layperson, in the beginning I showed just some of the violence and criminality in the “fluoridated” capital cities which I feel is important to Australia’s almost out of control bad behavior, criminality & violence – also see the work of Professor Roger Masters and Mary Sparrowdancer as well as the Water Fluoridaton and Crime in the United States of America as above – Refer to page 297 of my above report did Australians know that:
AUSTRALIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION STATES THAT GOVERNMENTS MUST ADOPT WATER FLUORIDATION AS PART OF HEALTH POLICY AND ACTIVELY PROMOTE ITS INTRODUCTION, WHERE IT IS FEASIBLE, AS A PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURE. http://www.ada.org.au/app cmslib/media/lib/0703/m51011 v1 fluorideuse2.pdf
About tooth decay from about page 298 (Reports from Glen Walker ) and then continuing on to more data on fluoridated areas and tooth decay and high demand for dentists. See page 335 REALITY BITES – the nations crumbling teeth August, 14, 2003 (Australia). See particularly Tasmania information, they have the worst dental health in the nation and have been “fluoridated” for 45 years, Beaconsfield, Tasmania was first “fluoridated” in 1953. Please also see a lot of info on other tooth decay/dental crises in other states of Australia and USA, including:-
PORTLAND, OREGON:
Water Status: Never fluoridated
2008 Population: 550,396 (US Census Bureau Pop. Fact Finder)
Number of Dentists: 629 (AnyWho Yellow Pages, current listing)
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Water Status: Fluoridated since 1945 (first in US and world)
2008 Population: 193,627 (US Census Bureau Pop. Fact Finder)
Number of Dentists: 924 (Any Who Yellow Pages, current listing)
And other extensive information in this report accessed on www.dianabuckland.webs.com in my 351 page Violence & Criminality Report.
See also about kidney disease page 313 = a lot of info including The cost of dialysis back in 2006 was estimated to be $646.6 million ! On 2005 figures the cumulative cost of dialysis from 2004 to 2010 is expected to be $4.5 billion. See kidney disease & “water fluoridation” .
WHAT AUSTRALIANS (AND OTHER COUNTRIES) HAVE ALWAYS NEEDED AND NEED MORE THAN EVER, IS ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE DENTISTRY AS THE COST OF DENTAL SERVICES IS PROHIBITIVE TO AN INCREASING
PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION.
In addition in hotter climates people drink much more water so the dose of “poison silicofluorides” is much higher also the rate of absorption of silicofluorides through the skin from extra bathing and or swimming in “fluoridated water”.
I also present the information websites hereunder as the people of Australia need access to the truth of silicofluorides and not the “laundered version” they receive from those with massive interests to push this POISON ON TAP onto an unsuspecting, gullible and trusting population.
The wool has been pulled over the eyes of many Australians and many citizens in "fluoridated areas" of the world and I am astonished that many people are still not aware of the true facts and continue to believe what they have been told by those with massive interests in the instigation, promotion and forcing of this toxic chemical waste sourced from industries, onto a gullible and trusting populations’ water supplies, and of course every other food and beverage et al which contains "water" also is contaminated with silicofluoride poisons. These same people never seem to look at the long term cumulative effects especially! from silicofluoride poisoned water supplies from which there is absolutely NO escape! In addition there is the cumulative effects of “fluoride/fluorine” from other sources apart from water, beverages, foods, some of those other sources being prescribed medications/pharmaceuticals, toothpastes and other dental products, dental procedures, anaesthetics, industrial emissions et al.
From: Diana Buckland, Kallangur, Queensland, Australia
Professor of Chemistry Joel Kauffman University of Philadelpha
http://www.jpands.org/vol10no2/kauffman.pdf
Mary Sparrowdancer Battle of Darkness & Light
http://www.rense.com/general45/bll.htm
another Dentist speaking out about the absolute dangers of “fluorides”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2aR6yq5Mg
Fluoride compounds – 3 of the 6 worst air pollutants
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fluoride/2009%20Final%20Website%20Files/Aqua%20Pura%20Jan-March%202009.pdf
The story of a simple haunted house in San Diego, California, yields 90 minutes of unrelenting suspense in Paranormal Activity. It uses low-budget effects and a mockumentary method to great outcomes. In this tale of supernatural horror, this house does not hide that fact that it’s not pleased with its new tenants. Micah (Micah Sloat) and Katie (Katie Featherson) are a young couple who move into their new home. Katie has a curiousity about the paranormal and feels that malevolent spirits have been following her since childhood. Not believing her at first, Micah soon agrees that a ghost may have followed them into the house after experiencing several nights strange happenings and loud noises. What follows when video cameras are set up to ‘capture’ the spirits leads to some frightening experiences. Paranormal Activity is writer-director Oren Peli’s first feature film which stars Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer Big opening Paranormal Activity has scared up a huge opening weekend result, the biggest for any horror film since The Blair Witch Project, back in 1999. As its local box office exceeds $2.7 million, Paranormal Activity also holds the record for the second biggest horror film opening of all time in Australia. Leaving other horror films such as Scream 2 and Saw 3 in its wake, Paranormal Activity is the little film that could. Made on a shoestring budget of $15,000, the indie horror has become a worldwide success, smashing box office records and grossing more than $114 million. Paranormal Activity follows the movements of a young, middle class couple who become increasingly disturbed by a presence in their seemingly typical suburban house. The presence may or may not be demonic, but it is most active at night, when the couple attempt to sleep. Experience the Paranormal Activity for yourself – if you dare.
Santa Claus is derived from St Nicholas, fourth-century Archbishop of Myra
While the big shops put up enormous wreaths and the little shops spray on the Santa-Sno window stencils, churches iron out the creases on the Put Christ Back Into Christmas posters for the glass cases on the street front.
Their struggle is not new. In Britain, the Church, or at least Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan Commonwealth, tried to stamp out Christmas, all feast days and anything fun more than three centuries ago. A tract author with the central casting-Puritan name of Hezekiah Woodward wrote, in 1656:
"The old heathens’ Feasting Day, in honour of Saturn, their Idol-God, the Papists’ Massing Day, the Profane Man’s Ranting Day, the Superstitious Man’s Idol Day, the Multitudes’ Idle Day, Satan’s – that Adversary’s – Working Day, the True Christian Man’s Fasting Day …"
Picture that on the notice board outside St Chad’s.
The fact is, old Hezekiah Woodward, in part, made a pretty fair point. Christmas was, indeed, in its origins a heathen day of feasting for Saturn. And Baal. And Mithras.
Christmas, ironically, antedates the Nativity of Jesus Christ, and December 25 is a fudge. In the third century, the Church fathers chose that day as Jesus Christ’s birthday, with good reason. It happens to fall approximately on the Northern Hemisphere’s Winter Solstice, and December 25 (Midwinter’s Day/Winter Solstice/Yule) has been from time immemorial a day sacred to the rebirth of the light of the sun in the depths of winter.
This day was the Festival of Natalis Sol Invictus (the Birth of the Undefeated Sun) in ancient Rome. Ancient peoples also commemorated the Babylonian Queen of Heaven, Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus, Helios, Adonis, the Celtic horned god Cernunnos, the Syrian Baal, Attis, Mithras, Balder and the Norse god Frey – all celebrated on the ancient Winter Solstice, and mostly solar saviours and dying gods. Most of these deities were given similar titles: the Light of the World, Sun of Righteousness, and Saviour.
Origins of customs
The Roman Empire gave the world the tradition of gift-giving in late December, with its citizens giving clay dolls (sigillaria) at the festival of the Saturnalia. Like modern revellers, too, they ate their fill of fruits, nuts, breads, pies and star-shaped cakes. They gave us decorations as well, decorating their temples with greenery for the festive Saturnalia celebrations at this time of year. Later, the Saxons at Winter Solstice time decorated their homes with two of the scarce bits of natural colour in the winter snowscape, the red-berried holly and the evergreen ivy.
Meanwhile, the Celtic Druids gathered mistletoe, a parasitic plant that grows on trees. On the sixth day of the new moon a fasting, white-clad Druidic priest cut the holy parasite from an oak tree with a sacred golden sickle held in his left hand. A virgin had to catch the falling plant, for it was not allowed to touch the ground. Mistletoe was believed by these ancient Britons, and other Europeans, to promote fertility and ward off evil. Today, of course, the fertility connections are clearly seen when a kiss is snatched under the mistletoe; the modern quest is to find a virgin to catch it should it fall. Mistletoe figured prominently in Celtic and Norse mythology – the Viking god Baldur was killed with a weapon made of mistletoe.
Unable to stamp out the widespread pagan ‘Yule’ (Midwinter) customs, early Church leaders pragmatically put a Christian spin on them. Throughout Europe, the celebration of Christ’s birth grew in stature and became, with Easter, one of the two great festivals of the calendar. Gradually, traditions grew up, growing and changing over the centuries, even until today, layer upon layer like sedimentary levels in an archaeological dig.
Yule drool
For example, for about 300 years in Britain it was customary to eat a goose at Christmas, though eventually the turkey took that honour – Henry VIII is the first person on record to have had a turkey Christmas dinner. Today, the steaming turkey in Australia is still a hot property, but because of the climate, Australians are increasingly turning to mixed cold meats as well as fish and vegetarian main courses for Christmas luncheon. The plum pudding (introduced to England in the seventeenth century by George I, it is said), still appears on Australian tables as a matter of course, though few families still have silver pre-decimal coins to bake in them.
In early Christian Rome, sweetmeats were presented to the fathers at the Vatican on Christmas Eve; no doubt from that custom we derive such seasonal standards as plum puddings and mince pies. (The latter were once called shrid pies and were coffin shaped, to represent the manger of Jesus.) In olden days the hackin, a large sausage, had to be baked by dawn on Christmas day, or else two young men would frogmarch the cook around the marketplace to shame her for her idleness.
Today’s yule log in Australia is generally a pastry or ice cream concoction, or else a chintzy plastic thing with a little Santa sleighing along the top on the end of a cord, to the tinny tune of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’. The original, ancient, Celtic version was a large log brought indoors symbolising the purifying radiance of the sun god and bringing his blessing into the home. Centuries later, in medieval times, the custom was still to light this year’s log with a piece of last year’s. In Cornwall they chalked a man on the log, perhaps a forgotten reference to the human sacrifices that took place on the old bonfires (bone-fires) of the Solstice. The yule candle had a similar role to the log, and we see it everywhere today on Christmas cards and decorations.
Deck the halls and other culture
The old Saturnalian greening of the temple soon led to church decorations at Christmas (in old church calendars, Christmas eve is marked ‘Templa exornantur’: churches are decked) and eventually the Christmas wreath and tree emerged. The latter had an interesting path down the centuries to modern homes. Tradition has it that St Boniface in the eighth century substituted a fir tree for the pagan oak, as a symbol of the faith. While Church reformers often turned their zeal and malice towards ‘idolatrous’ practices, Martin Luther fostered the ancient Christmas tree cult by using a candlelit tree as a representation of Christ’s home, the starlit heavens. Fir trees decorated with candles, apples, fruits and paper flowers were introduced by German immigrants into Britain, and popularized later in the nineteenth century by Prince Albert, the German-born consort of Queen Victoria.
Another Victorian addition to Christmas which is now an indispensable part of the cult, is the Christmas card. Englishman WCT Dobson is usually regarded as the blameworthy one for sending the first such greeting, and in 1846 Henry Cole, the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum produced the first commercial Christmas cards. They initially flopped but by the end of the century the Postmaster was already urging the good folk of Britain to "Post Early for Christmas".
Carols
Christmas carols also endure as integral parts of Yuletide. We hear them in shops and lifts, in commercials and on the radio. For a few weeks each year they are a ubiquitous feature of the Christmas landscape. The reason is simple: millions of people love them. Carols are touchstones of our lives, unchanging reminders of who we are and where we have been. The carol we hear today is the same as the one many Australians sang in childhood, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty years ago. And we can be reasonably sure they were sung centuries ago by those ancient folk whose blood still runs in the veins of many Australians. They, however, were fortunate in not having to hear them endlessly from a million public address systems.
English carols go back to early medieval times, but the first printed collection of carols in English was published by Wynkyn de Worde in 1521. Not all of the inhabitants of the British Isles enjoyed carols with equal fervour – until recently the custom was virtually unknown in Scotland where religious feasts were discouraged by the austere sixteenth century reformer John Knox. Throughout much of the Western world, however, carols are an ineradicable part of Christmas. Even Oliver Cromwell in his Puritan fervour to ban Christmas and carols, did not succeed for long, though many carols were lost for centuries until rediscovered by Victorian antiquaries (‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ are examples).
We keep adding to the ancient song list: ‘Silent Night’ was first performed in Austria on Christmas Eve, 1818; ‘Jingle Bells’ was written by JF Pierpont in 1857 for his Sunday School class; ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ appeared in 1939; Irving Berlin gave us ‘White Christmas’ in 1942, and John and Yoko’s ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’ (1971), is now almost an old standard.
Unfortunately, like the excellent animated tableaux in department store windows that delighted children a generation ago, carol singing from door to door seems to have been lost to ‘progress’. If only Carols by Candlelight organizers could let their imaginations loose a little, and reintroduce the strolling group. In Igls, an Austrian village, about 250 children parade by lamplight every December 23 in a tradition loved by villagers and tourists alike.
Christmas reflects change. Today all over the planet the Christmas theme of redemption is often subordinated to commercial and secular themes, and the baby Jesus is lost behind the jolly fat man in red (it might only be an urban myth that a Japanese department store put a crucified Santa in the window). I have noticed that in Australia, there are many, many more kitsch tableaux of Christmas carolling scenes in people’s front yards than there are actual carollers. Similarly, department stores and bargain centres sell models of carollers by the millions, it seems, quite possibly to people who, for the most part, have never had a visit from a group of house-to-house carollers, as was relatively common in Australia until about the 1970s.
Saint Nick
Santa Claus is derived from St Nicholas, fourth-century Archbishop of Myra, one of Christendom’s most popular saints. Secretly at night he gave bags of gold to the three daughters of a poor man so they would not have to sell their bodies: this deed eventually gave pawnbrokers their ‘three gold balls’ guild sign and ‘Santa Claus’ the reputation as a gift-giver.
Pagan attributes from the Norse god, Woden, who rides through the sky with reindeer and forty-two ghostly huntsmen, blended with the saint. He became one, as it were, with the old Yuletide Father Christmas during the Reformation, and was given a nudge along by Clement C Moore’s famous 1822 poem, ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’ (‘Twas the night before Christmas…’). Moore, however, had a gnome-like St Nick ‘dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot’. The Santa we know is a late-nineteenth century creation of Coca-Cola’s ad department.
Did Charles Dickens invent Christmas?
The modern Christmas owes as much to Charles Dickens as to Clement C Moore, the Church and all the pagan tribes combined. The English author published A Christmas Carol in 1843, idealizing and, some will say, sentimentalizing the festival. He used the theme in other stories and had a huge impact on the English-speaking world’s conception of Christmas. Dickens is one reason that our Christmas symbols today are so very often those of nineteenth-century London.
From ancient Rome and Celtic Europe, to Madison Avenue and the Chinese sweat shops that churn out our less expensive baubles, Christmas is an international affair that spreads like a mist, altering – and itself being changed by – all that it touches. It was ever thus. Perhaps mist is not the word. A spirit. Forever there have been changes to the ‘Christmas of old’ that have riled the conservative side of we humans. Every innovation to Yule, from the Christ-child himself to the plastic Christmas tree, has brought disturbance and discomfort. This, surely, is how culture happens and how traditions, bless ‘em, are made. There are middle-aged people now who look back as nostalgically upon plastic trees and the Australian Christmassy smell of mangoes as their forefathers did upon sleigh rides, and as their forefathers did upon a jolly good human sacrifice. And there are those who will brook no talk at all of Christmas in our times.
Happy New Year
‘Merry Christmas’, of course, goes with ‘Happy New Year’, like ‘hollyberry’ goes with ‘jollymerry’. These days, on January 1, New Year’s celebrations take place in the great majority of places in the world. Even places like Japan have dropped their lunar calendar and accepted the West’s, helping to make commemorations like New Year a part of world culture.
The Japanese like to see the New Year in with a good blast from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, while on Rio’s Copacabana Beach on New Year’s Eve, one might chance to see locals surging into the ocean bearing flowers and gifts for the goddess Yemanja. The Danes love to make a racket, even more than most nationalities do, and they might be found smashing pottery and bashing on front doors.
All over the world, people love to make a noise on the last midnight of the year. Church bells ring out in England (fitted with muffles until midnight, then allowed their full voice), and in Thailand the temple bells peal at midnight as people call out Kwam Suk Pee Mai! (Happy New Year!).
An old Icelandic custom has it that if the pantry window is left open on New Year’s Eve, the pantry drift (a frost which is fine-grained and sweet to the taste), will come in and, when gathered and saved in a pot marked with a cross, will bring prosperity to the home. Icelanders used to believe that elves moved house on this night, and could be coerced into giving treasure to those who intercepted them at crossroads.
The People of Nigeria allowed their Ndok ceremony, held biennially in December, to merge with Western New Year customs, as Ndok was a rite of renewal. Only the men engage in Ndok, which sees, as everywhere on New Year’s Eve, much noisy, rowdy behaviour and, as in Iceland, people meeting at crossroads, which are believed to be places of assembly for spirits.
In Russia, Grandfather Frost (D’yed Moroz), who looks suspiciously like Santa Claus, and his assistant, the Snow Maiden (Snegourka), will pay a New Year’s visit to children, bringing with them gifts. In Greece, however, children will have left out sweets, cakes and drink for St Basil, another Santa-like character, for it is his feast day. They’ll even put a log in the fireplace so he can step easily down the chimney. In Armenia, on December 31, goodies are lowered down the chimney on a rope.
New Year’s revelry, however, has been most shaped by the otherwise generally sensible Scots, who really know how to kick up their heels to say “good riddance!” to the old year and “welcome!” to the new. The singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, is, of course as Scotch as whisky, and was recorded from the oral tradition by the Scottish national poet, Robbie Burns. Now, all over the world, people mouth the words like football players pretending the national anthem before a game. Despite its difficult words, it is one of the world’s best known songs.
The Scots call this season the ‘daft days’, or Hogmanay, a word which might derive from practically anything if you listen to the experts, such as the Greek for ‘holy month’ and the French for ‘man is born’.
While some New Year’s customs go back to ancient Europe and even the Middle East – we know, for example, that 4,000 years ago the Babylonians made New Year’s resolutions – the Scots put their stamp on it, for they always thought it was a bigger deal than Christmas. They have yet to convince the rest of the world, however, to indulge in the Hogmanay sport of ‘first-footing’, in which it is thought to be good luck if the first person over one’s threshold in the New Year comes in the front door, is male, without eye trouble, not splay- or flat-footed, fair haired, carrying a lump of coal and a bottle of Scotch, and leaves by the back door. (In 1966, 19-year-old first-footer, Alex Cleghorn, was walking on Govan Rd, Glasgow with his two brothers, when suddenly he disappeared and was not seen again. Or, so it is said. Daft days indeed!) According to one source, "It was traditional for men to dress in animal skins, wear horns or antlers, and smoke sticks called Hogmanays to ward off evil spirits". Over on the Greek island of Carpathos it is a white dog they have to rush inside at the stroke of midnight.
Australians, with their keen sense of culture and modernity, tend not to bother with the lumps of coal, white dogs, elves and crossroads, tending instead to get blithering drunk (like the wassailers of old England, the door-to-door drinkers whose name came from the cry, "Wass hael!", which approximates to “Cheers!”) and to pretend to have a fantastic time. A few, however, will see the New Year in at Watch Night services in churches, a custom started by the abstemious John Wesley.
Perhaps this year we could all spare a thought for poor young Alex Cleghorn as well as all the victims of alcoholic poisoning and Watch Night services. And while we’re at it, for all the one-eyed, red-headed, splay-footed females of Scotland – if only for this one special night of the year.
