Mr Bagel

Thursday, 24 January 2008

I love a sunburnt country...
Even if we're about to get flooded

Flood 1991

Are we about to get flooded
after we have only just moved here?

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains,
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me.

Part of an Australian poem called My Country
written by Dorothea Mackellar early last century

______________________________

The major river that runs past the city we live in now, has a long and well documented history of flooding with flood records dating back to 1859. The highest recorded flood occurred in January 1918 and reached 10.11 metres on the gauge. The most recent major flood occurred in January 1991. The flood was the third highest on record and rose to a height of 9.30 metres on the gauge.

The thing that has us nervous is from our research the expected peak of the flood of 8.5 metres will not place us in any bad situation, especially since the house is on high stilts, but if it raises just another .5 to .8 metre the whole of the downstairs under house storage area will be flooded. As we have only just finished moving, theres still a lot of possesions which are stored under the first floor of the house.
The hard thing is if we were to get just half a cm of flood thru, a lot of our possessions would be destroyed. Do we trust the weather man who earlier said the flood peak early next week would be about 9 meters, has now revised it to 8.5metres. At 8.5 metres we are safe by I estimate 30 -5 0 cms.
To move all the stuff stored underneath will take a lot of work.

Last night we saw pictures of the flood of 19-88 and our house and the block of houses around us sat like a desert island, high and dry.

Tonight I made the mistake of looking at the 1991 flood, it wasn't a pretty sight we could see our house was flooded. The photo above shows the 19-91 flood including our house flooded, which for privacy reasons I haven't indicated.

What would you do? Trust the projected flood heights knowing if they are basically right we will be safe? Or move it all upstairs which requires a herculean effort.

Any one own a dinghy?

References:
Dorothea Mackellar: My Country

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Canada pulls out of Durban II farce

From AP

OTTAWA (AP) — Canada has withdrawn its support for a U.N. anti-racism conference scheduled to take place in South Africa next year after deeming it to be anti-Israel, a government official said Wednesday.

The so-called Durban II conference "has gone completely off the rails" and Canada wants no part of it, said Jason Kenney, Canada's secretary of state for multiculturalism and Canadian identity.

"We'll attend any conference that is opposed to racism and intolerance, not those that actually promote racism and intolerance," he said.

Kenney said that during the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, Arab and Muslim countries criticized Israel, prompting Israel and the United States to walk out in protest. But he added that Canada remained to speak up for Israel.

The U.N. declined to comment directly on Canada pulling out of the conference, but U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said "racism is too important an issue for member states not to work out their differences."

Kenney said his government was left with no choice but to abandon the process, expressing displeasure with Libya elected to chair the gathering, Cuba appointed vice-chair, and Iran named to the organizing committee.

"This (Iran) is a country whose government has publicly expressed its desire to eliminate the only Jewish country in the world," he said.

Mr Bagel: Finally some one has turned the light on in Canada. The Canadian government should be commended for taking an active stance against such a blatantly anti Israel conference.

Further Reading:
The Canadian Press:
Canada abandons UN anti-racism conference; Kenney calls it 'circus'

JTA:
Canada to shun Durban conference
CTV.ca:
Canada pulls support for UN anti-racism conference

References:
AP: Canada Abandons UN Racism Conference

Picture Credit:
Jason Kenney from CTV.ca Canada pulls support for UN anti-racism conference

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Monday, 14 January 2008

A Step back in Time

Wave after wave, the endless march of the sea

A eerie feeling, seeing what is virtually an unchanged view
of an unspoilt beach from one's youth.
My memories seem so very vivid thirty years later.

Where the sky meets the sea

Many years ago my family used to holiday in a beautiful seaside town which was rather undeveloped. These holidays hold some of the best memories I have, the time was innocent, the world was at peace and this little town was so very beautiful.

Whilst holidaying at this town 30 years ago we learnt of an amazing remote beach which was untouched, unspoilt and had the most amazing sand dunes.
It was a place of wonder and beauty.
Well yesterday I took my family to that very same beach.
It was still 'remote' and unknown, certainly not the haunt of the average tourist.
The memories came flooding back, some happy and some sad.

My parents have passed away, the dear friends we used to stay with have long passed away.

I went back to the exact house we used to holiday in, now its new owner proudly renovates it, renovating it slowly peeling away the memories and details of its previous life as a carefree house of the early seventies.

The beach was still just as beautiful, and my kids yelled with glee as each wave crashed into shore and chased there little feet trying to greedily gobble them up in the virgin sands.

All three of the girls said they had a wonderful time.. and theres the paradox will they stand on this beach 30 years from now trying to recreate moments of happiness from long ago?

Mr Bagel

Photos:
Taken on a Samsung Mobile Phone

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Friday, 11 January 2008

Mr Bagel is Back

Yes its true, despite a spectacular absence of blogging for over two months, Mr Bagel has returned.
Mr Bagel has been 'moving' from a remote country location to a more civilised part of Australia.

Moving has required Mr Bagel to do five seperate trips of over 2,000kms each, despite selling what we thought was almost all of our worldly possesions, we still had to do five trips to move our 'personal belongings'. Which raises one very valid point, how personal can 5 trailers worth of belongings be? Do you think Mr Bagel might just be a horder? mmm?

Anyway after selling all our furniture we have been rushing around buying beds and fridges and lounges and just about everything else required to life a civilised life. Now that Mr Bagel has moved to civilisation he has decided to stop talking to the soccer ball with a wig. (Tom Hanks.)

We've only been in town a week but, living where there are shops, and services is such a refreshing break from living hours away from the most basic shopping. Its taking some adjustment, I generally spoke to about 3 peaople a month where I lived, now I see hundreds a day.

Mr Bagel: Thank you to all the well wishers and the emails I received

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Friday, 2 November 2007

Mr Bagel's Gone Fishing

Yeap, its time for a blogging break for ole Mr Bagel.

I need to recharge my batteries and get inspired again.
I've got some rather pressing issues of hoping to move to the big smoke soon, so its time to put my blogging brain away and focus on other tasks.

How long is a blogging break by the way?

I sure don't know. Never had one before.

JPix is due out this Wednesday if some one would like to volunteer please do, otherwise I apologise it will have to be postponed.

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Monday, 29 October 2007

Court appearance for man accused in Lakewood bat attack

Lee Tucker 37, accused of the attempted murder of
Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz

TOMS RIVER — A state Superior Court judge noted a 37-year-old Lakewood man’s history of mental illness Thursday as he faced charges of attempting to murder an Orthodox rabbi who was severely beaten with a baseball bat earlier this month.
Lee Tucker of Ventura Drive, arrested Wednesday, stood before Judge Barbara Ann Villano in the Oct. 9 attack on Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz, 53. Deputy Public Defender Frank Gonzalez entered a not guilty plea on Tucker’s behalf.

“There were concerns about the defendant’s history and any mental health issues he may have had or continues to have,” Villano said, although she did not elaborate on what it was.

The judge added that she would notify officials at the Ocean County Jail of that history.

Gonzalez, questioned outside the courtroom after the brief court appearance about Tucker’s mental condition, said, “That will be investigated by this (the Public Defender’s) office. . . . I don’t know very much about Mr. Tucker.”

Court records show Tucker was charged with a weapons offense in Monmouth County on May 19, 1997, but the charge was downgraded, and he pleaded guilty to a disorderly persons offense of fighting in public, for which he was fined $250. He was charged with aggravated assault in Ocean County in 1994, but the charge was administratively dismissed.

No Contact

During Thursday’s court proceeding, Villano maintained Tucker’s bail at $375,000, with no option to gain release from the county jail by posting 10 percent of that amount. She told Tucker that should he post bail, he can have no contact with the victim or his family or he would forfeit the amount posted.

Tucker then asked, “What do you mean by no contact?”

Villano responded, “You can’t call them, you can’t write to them, you have to stay away from him and his family.”

For the most part during the proceeding, Tucker was quiet and, at times, hung his head.

He was arrested at Fourth Street and Princeton Avenue in Lakewood Wednesday afternoon, eight blocks from where the bat attack occurred. The arrest was the result of an investigation headed by Lakewood Detective Steven Wexler and county Prosecutor’s Investigator Carlos Trujillo-Tovar.

Psychiatric patient

Lakewood police first questioned Tucker on Tuesday after they picked him up at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow upon his discharge from the facility, police said. They also didn’t elaborate on why he was there or for how long.

At that time, they did not have enough evidence to charge him in the bat attack, but enough additional information came to light over the next day to file the charges, they said. He is also charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Moskowitz, of Lakewood, a third-grade teacher at Lakewood Cheder School, was struck just after dark while walking to synagogue to pray. The assault occurred at Princeton Avenue and Carey Street. The victim is at a rehabilitation center with injuries to his face and head.

Authorities have said there is no information to support a theory that the attack was motivated by religious bias.

Last week, the Vaad — Lakewood’s Council of Orthodox Leaders — and the Anti-Defamation League offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, which led to some tips in the case, police said.

Update: According to Yeshive World Lee Tucker's birthdate is 05-30-1970

Mr Bagel: There's no doubt the vicious assault of Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz has brought a lot of attention. There is a long list of blog posts dealing with this assault. It seems some are very thankful that the Lakewood Police were able to find the perpetrator whilst others aren't so impressed with the recent actions of the police. What is for sure, is this man is a danger to the community and his arrest is at least a positive step in making Lakewood a safer community.

To read some of the comments pertaining to this case try Yeshiva World News

References:
Ashbury Park Press: Court appearance for man accused in Lakewood bat attack

Hattip: Thanks to JewishBlogmeister