tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85829950816371325792024-02-06T18:01:14.215-08:00Camel DroppingsThe Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-58787038841644662312011-04-12T10:50:00.000-07:002011-04-12T10:50:57.128-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Namaste</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hindu greeting;</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; line-height: 16px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another;</span></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">'</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I honour the Holy One that lives in you'</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Shalom: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;"> Hebrew greeting; </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">as term and message, seems to encapsulate a reality and hope of wholeness for the individual, within societal relations, and for the whole world;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">peace</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">After sitting with the meanings of these greetings for a while, 'hello' seems to me the shittiest and most inept greeting out. Devoid of the <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">richness and meaning</span></span></b> of it's Indian & Hebrew counterparts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">..nozzle..</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #bf9000;">(favourite word)</span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">May you greet those you meet on your path with blessings of peace in acknowledgement of their humanity. </span></b></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For therein you will find yours</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">.</span></b></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></i></span></div>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-23214653759519801132011-04-10T09:57:00.001-07:002011-04-12T10:58:29.516-07:00Everyday Enigma<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>here are some things in history about which, we have no end of information. Moments such as Kennedy's assassination, Jesus' birth or the introduction of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">colour television</span> are so well documented that we can find out where any number of people were at those moments and their thoughts, feelings and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>mindless musings</b></span> on the matter. Endless accounts of the story, rehashed and replayed throughout time, enshrining single moments as more important than the rest, never to be forgotten by the ancestors of those who bore them witness.<br />
<br />
However, some moments are lost. It grieves me to think that <i>significant historical events</i> have fallen between the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">C-R-A-C-K-S</span>; Incredible people forgotten simply because their poor sod of a mate didn't keep a diary; Important factual information about how certain things came about, tossed by the wayside without a moments hesitation - so that we, living in the present day, are left to drown in a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">savage sea of speculation.</span><br />
<br />
Whilst many a kindred fellow might wonder about more profound historical matters. I am a simple lass of everyday proportions and there is one historical enigma that troubles me above others:<br />
<br />
Which came first, '<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Orange</span></span>' as the name of a colour or '<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Orange</span></span>' the name of a family-favourite fruit?<br />
<br />
Seriously, were some friends sharing an <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">orange</span> one day, when one said to the other 'You know I don't think there's a name for the colour of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Orange</span> we're eating but my it's delicious, unlike it's vegetable counterpart, the Carrot. Why don't we just call their colour 'orange' in recognition of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">Oranges</span> superiority!?'<br />
<br />
Or did it so happen that a group of 7 nobles were assigned the task of naming all the fruits and vegies. They distributed the produce by colour and gave the laziest of them, Otis un Originale, the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Orange</span> items and set him to work. Otis' man-servant then presented him with the first of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">orange</span> goods to be named - a round citrus segmented fruit, sweet to taste. Otis, underestimating the magnitude of the task ahead of him responded,<br />
'This is a piece of piss! Let's call it an '<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">orange</span>' and toddle off to the pub shall we?!' <br />
<br />
The scenarios are endless! <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To speculate without any real hope of knowing the truth is to suffer</span></b>. Why did nobody think to make a note of it when they started calling one after the other? It would save me many a sleepless night if they had.<br />
<br />
So, friends, the next time you notice a difference in how you refer to any given inanimate object, be a dear and scribble it on a post-it. Because in a couple hundred years, a pennyless minstrel will find it <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>mildly interesting</b></span>.The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-39011726826885781022010-10-11T09:44:00.000-07:002010-10-11T09:44:22.588-07:00Lord have Mercy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>When I think of the word 'mercy' three scenes enter my mind:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[Act One, Scene One]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lounge room. Two young kids wrestling each other, trying to inflict as much pain as possible on the other without causing long term damage. One grabs the other in a headlock, knuckles rigorously burrowing into the top of the others head mischievously screaming "Say it! Say it!" To which the other finally yields, "MERCY!" The children suddenly relax and tumble to the ground, one gloating in triumph, the other slumped in defeat.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[End scene]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[Scene Two]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A concert. One slowly descends a flight of grimy stairs, follows a narrow corridor into a dark, cavernous space. Words like 'Hell', 'Anarchy' and 'Rage' emblazoned across a sea of black T-shirts. Figures eagerly, yet somehow ever-so-cooly, await the flooding of stage lights revealing their idol standing headstrong amid a flurry of smoke.Suddenly a thunderously bass line rips through the air; a man seemingly of mutant decent, steps forward to the microphone as the crowd approaches catatonia, and with an ear splitting "HAVE NO MERCY!" The show begins...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">[End Scene]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">[Scene Three]</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A cathedral. Neath towering steeples, an aged few scuffle down the aisle finding pews formerly shared with late loved ones and with a slight wince their rears make contact with the hard wood. A greying man adorned with white robes rises to sombrely address the Sunday smattering. "Lord have Mercy." To which, the people, as though programmed to do so, respond without hesitation, "Christ have Mercy."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">[End Scene]</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the first time in my life tonight, I pondered the word 'Mercy.' And realised that despite having three very clear pictures spring to mind upon hearing it, the true essence of the word was totally lost on me and I had never fully appreciated what it truly means. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, obviously, I googled it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And basically: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">To show mercy is to show compassion <i>where compassion is not due</i>.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To look someone in the eye who has knowingly done you wrong and to say "As an act of love, I'm not going to punish you and nor is anyone else." The sheer strength of character that would take is enormous. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mercy, so foreign but so profoundly needed.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> How powerful! It's like that saying, "Turn the other cheek." Until recently, I have always understood that saying to mean when someone is doing something bad or hurting you in some way, you should turn away and ignore it. But rather it being a rejection of responsibility it is the opposite. If someone's hurting you on one cheek you should expose your other cheek to them so they can get all their anger and frustration on you and you take it as an act of mercy and by extension, love. True mercy -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> totally unheard of in a society obsessed with justice, retribution and revenge.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"> My first thought? </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"> "...I should get it tattooed on me..."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But then, I thought, why not instead get tattooed,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Insert cliché here."</span> How sad is it that some of the most powerful words in the English language have been corroded down to a meaningless assembly of letters.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Peace.</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Charity.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Grace.</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6aa84f;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Love.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Justice.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"So I came to hate life because</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">everything</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">done here under the sun is so troubling.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everything</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>is</b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">meaningless</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">—like chasing the wind."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Ecclesiastes 2:17</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are only as meaningful as the language we speak. Modern English is like a "Dummies Guide to Verbal Expression." Wouldn't it be great if we communicated in a language like Greek where there are four different words for Love. Maybe then, words so richly profound as 'mercy' would not have me lost in superficial scenes in my imagination but awestruck by the revolutionary potential that understanding it could have on the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"> My final thought?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;"> "...I want to be a woman of mercy."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-34387625927972660352010-09-22T11:55:00.000-07:002010-09-22T11:55:44.946-07:00Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDG's<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmL4fNEC0SCUmnNNLd5uh-mL9tHPxGUp_u2s90FNDobRRB-Op-wU_D0FyVw6hHjGDF_8cwojh4SOriAlgYnh4MaVTJHUNIXYNUs9Dwt-aKV_t8c2cSNw7oE8O0aI8_haDDweSg1yUtCfY/s1600/mdg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmL4fNEC0SCUmnNNLd5uh-mL9tHPxGUp_u2s90FNDobRRB-Op-wU_D0FyVw6hHjGDF_8cwojh4SOriAlgYnh4MaVTJHUNIXYNUs9Dwt-aKV_t8c2cSNw7oE8O0aI8_haDDweSg1yUtCfY/s320/mdg.jpg" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Millenium Development Goals</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (MDG's) are 8 time bound goals agreed upon by member states of the United Nations (UN) back in 2000 that, if achieved, would mean an end to extreme poverty by 2015. These goals are well off track. Easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia & malaria continue to run rampant in children under age 5, meaning that MDG 4, 'reduce child mortality by 2/3 by 2015' is startlingly behind and yet governments seem to be lethargic in their movements to change that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hence, the 63rd Annual United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) conference was entitled "<i>Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDG's</i>." The conference sought to draw representatives from hundreds of international Non-Government Organisations (NGO's) together in Melbourne in August 2010 to devise how we're going to <u>make poverty history</u>. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was lucky enough to be chosen as a one of the youth delegates representing World Vision and eagerly jumped on the plane from Adelaide to Melbourne brimming with excitement about the groundbreaking steps we were going to collectively take toward 'advancing global health'. What I got, was a reality check.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I am not naive.</span> At least I thought I wasn't. I know that there are no quick fixes to poverty. I know that there are many powerful forces that oppose the liberation the world's poorest people and I know that if it were an easy task, it would have been done by now. I thought this conference could have been an opportunity to spotlight the MDG's on a global scale and this was something I was so humbled and excited to be a part of but there, sitting in that room among 2000 people who share my desperation to see an end to poverty, I felt numb. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Time and again people were stepping up to the microphone during question times to push their own personal agendas, seemingly ignorant of the fact that we were there to tackle the bigger picture - even keynote speakers deviated from the topic at hand. The lack of urgency experienced throughout the entire conference was disturbing... </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>devastatin</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">g even.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Don't get me wrong - the caliber of the delegates was amazing. I was so humbled to be in the presence of people who quietly go about their daily lives in deserts, jungles and everywhere in between championing<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> equality, freedom and human rights</span> on behalf of those who have been stripped of all three. Whether it be in a home for AIDS orphans in Kenya; nuns attending to the sick in the highlands of PNG or community health workers in the red centre of Australia, these people are the unsung heroes of humanity as they work tirelessly and selflessly for what they believe is just. Their actions are transforming lives everyday and it was incredible to hear their stories. Yet there seemed to be a common thread in all of these stories - a thread that Tim Costello identified in the 3rd Roundtable session.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"I know the purists among you with disagree with me when I say this, but I believe that representatives from the private sector should be here in the thick of these discussions around advancing global health."</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NGO's & Governments more often than not form the framework for the discourse of advancing global health but when we neglect to include key private sector stakeholders that are responsible for a huge amount of anguish, we neglect to address the bigger picture. When pharmaceutical & mining companies are monopolising on much needed resources purely for their own gain, where does that leave the world's poor? They lay at the absolute mercy of a consortium of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">money hungry </span>extortionists and paralyzed halfway to the finish line. When mining companies are ripping through areas of once fertile agricultural land, leaving only destruction in their wake and countless children are dying from AIDS simply because pharmaceutical companies jack up the prices of anti-retroviral treatment because they realise that desperate people are a profitable commodity, one has to question the humanity of these faceless giants. What I want to know is, <i>who</i> is holding these companies accountable? And <i>how</i> have they been able to get away with such atrocities for so long?</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVllAN0-zmM2BSEkt25wNgzlmP_C2WyDQieWTBEum_gpzTq0NXGMrh-bs6QK8FhjWJ7t54Fnl0oDFdlhBo3mJkssVMomrCtwDFZfKXTFT-rDmg1GQmulWYy_DJDm0Vwa_Z-epql-I1Lsh/s1600/Claudio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVllAN0-zmM2BSEkt25wNgzlmP_C2WyDQieWTBEum_gpzTq0NXGMrh-bs6QK8FhjWJ7t54Fnl0oDFdlhBo3mJkssVMomrCtwDFZfKXTFT-rDmg1GQmulWYy_DJDm0Vwa_Z-epql-I1Lsh/s320/Claudio.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My colleagues and me with Dr Claudio "Rocks my World" </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shuftan</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One man that particularly captured my attention was <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Dr Claudio </span>Shuftan from the People's Health Movement (PHM). Dr Shuftan stunned UNDPI officials when he deviated from the pre-rehearsed Roundtable discussion, claiming that without a Human Rights approach the MDG's were not going to achieve their objectives. Whilst considered a bit of a radical by some of his peers, he was right in saying that the focus we need moreso than equality is equity. The MDG's, as they stand, only set quantifiable requirements for developing nations without placing any onus on OECD countries to set quantifiable goals for developing accountability and equity - particularly in regards to fairer trade and reducing consumption. It was so refreshing to hear someone speaking with passion and actually stirring the pot and challenging some of the ideas being put forward and bucking the UN custom of playing it safe.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>"As we endure this fight, we must continue to ask ourselves: how great is our hope?"</b></span></i> - Chris Varney</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite the fact that I found the UNDPI/NGO conference frustrating for the most part, I remain optimistic that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">the global health situation isn't hopeless</span>. My hope lies in the diligence and strength of those NGO leaders whose work we celebrated over course of the conference. My hope lies in a World Vision health worker named Sokha, whose commitment to training women in her Cambodian village is willingly privileged over every other aspect of her life. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My hope lies in the passion of the youth I meet on a day to day basis who's cries for a better world refuse to be drowned out.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">With every one of our small victories comes a downpour of hope.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The declaration that was drafted and unanimously agreed upon last month in Melbourne is now, as I write, being presented to the member states of the UN in New York. Ban Ki-Moon, Barrack Obama & K-Rudd are probably perusing it over a cuppa right now...</span>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-56648604412802019542010-09-22T11:54:00.000-07:002010-09-22T11:54:37.833-07:00The Lives You Can Save<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;"><i>"Every day, the equivalent of a major earthquake killing over 30,000 young children occurs to a disturbingly muted response. They die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> dying multitudes</span> even more invisible in death."</i></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu5Sg90BWc1OamDWtoUQxsEwV-pf2PV090lR_CjZIj-8w9FpYp_u3Zd5ebIH8K-B6PNQJq1tA4QSJiiCNBdQ7_3qa-gQxEfsKMIHWw72mfBRYkn4-geoqfGC-NPIPdZ3cH6LmX6PT6-4Z/s1600/Aus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu5Sg90BWc1OamDWtoUQxsEwV-pf2PV090lR_CjZIj-8w9FpYp_u3Zd5ebIH8K-B6PNQJq1tA4QSJiiCNBdQ7_3qa-gQxEfsKMIHWw72mfBRYkn4-geoqfGC-NPIPdZ3cH6LmX6PT6-4Z/s400/Aus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">www.ChildHealthNow.org</span></div>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-86594831660608927302010-09-13T10:23:00.000-07:002010-09-13T10:44:55.809-07:00Dr Phillips<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>I think that when Cosmetic Surgeons become Cosmetic Surgeons they should each be required by law to change their name to Phillips.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>"G'day my name is Dr Phillips. Phillips by name, I fill lips by trade!"</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>Everyone who's never had cosmetic surgery would laugh; everyone who has would try to join them and the world would make sense once more.</b></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinV0_zauUAkiiBZYqyts-sReBQdxpKeqSKOaaLypks-QVAVJAoFXkSekDqzLcphiQk-3SsIeReDf7eQRtxAHTxfu4_qwLv5sEgNQ42NbVSXNmzZ7k9NHLKE_KhLzQc4uyG8q1MvQSevWpF/s1600/Dr+Ryan+Zimmer+Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinV0_zauUAkiiBZYqyts-sReBQdxpKeqSKOaaLypks-QVAVJAoFXkSekDqzLcphiQk-3SsIeReDf7eQRtxAHTxfu4_qwLv5sEgNQ42NbVSXNmzZ7k9NHLKE_KhLzQc4uyG8q1MvQSevWpF/s200/Dr+Ryan+Zimmer+Large.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Dr Phillips. <br />
(Formerly known as Ryan Zimmer.)</span></span></td></tr>
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy of Klosterman Chiropractic. For health. For life.</span></div>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-44212785924794783352010-09-13T09:49:00.000-07:002010-09-14T08:52:16.754-07:00Give a Thug a Hug Tonight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XYG7j_uJRpC14UR2wZ8bZwJWolNhuPq5bVQS7W8XNYgTGnL0Gc-zGYmlzWeGFM3YamPQCBZBTVKieD2ihpryWcmYqpjUQEJhgrvkC4EHPHnlCMwezpuuiLoG_6Sz5q5uglqfZaF1wvOE/s1600/ANKLE_GARYPHILLIPS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XYG7j_uJRpC14UR2wZ8bZwJWolNhuPq5bVQS7W8XNYgTGnL0Gc-zGYmlzWeGFM3YamPQCBZBTVKieD2ihpryWcmYqpjUQEJhgrvkC4EHPHnlCMwezpuuiLoG_6Sz5q5uglqfZaF1wvOE/s320/ANKLE_GARYPHILLIPS.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVimSDRb7zeAezlh6VRVgcprQqgRTsaFdhKrJ_E26PQKMv8Ah4-JM9pZWw5UcG__YfcLGWHaxxznfvOjHaRS4oGeLznfaNRtIAhHTr5tvxOJ8u6weMryuGSPGiVRUe5ae5czNk0F9pXWvH/s1600/SP_A0914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVimSDRb7zeAezlh6VRVgcprQqgRTsaFdhKrJ_E26PQKMv8Ah4-JM9pZWw5UcG__YfcLGWHaxxznfvOjHaRS4oGeLznfaNRtIAhHTr5tvxOJ8u6weMryuGSPGiVRUe5ae5czNk0F9pXWvH/s320/SP_A0914.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photos & song title courtesy of Sam Evans</span>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-32104937844126687772010-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:57:23.220-07:00Claiming emotional baggage<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>I often seem to find myself, inexplicably, in airports. I step onto the tarmac; fresh, non-pressurised air penetrates my lungs, as I leisurely make my way to the carousel a la baggage. I'm standing there about 3 or 4 metres back from the conveyor-belt and time and again, come to the stark realisation that at that moment, even if I saw my humble little baggy effortlessly gliding around the bend, I wouldn't be able to access my belongings due to the throngs of once beloved co-passengers now </b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>mounting</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b> the carousel. Please somebody explain to me, for I simply cannot fathom why people feel this irrepressible need to be so darn close to the moving platform of goodies. Notions of chivalry are all but forgotten in the bloody scramble to retrieve Roxy backpacks & Samsonite suites - elderly women and small children tossed thoughtlessly by the wayside in the wake of the silent stampede...</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b> ...In my frustration I wish to remind my fellow bystanders that we are not eyeing off the same magical, little, mouth-watering morsels like one would find at Sushi Train where the belt whistles by at such a speed that it inhibits a swift retrieval. No, the baggage carousel moves slowly, allowing enough time for baggage owners to casually approach, grip, heave, lower & roll - so why does everyone freak out? Is it some sort of primal, survival of the fittest mentality that drives this panic? Is it a reflection of our time-bound, individualistic culture? Does the carousel emit some brand of alluring pheromone, to which, I am clearly immune? Who knows? All I know is, it is diminishing my faith in humanity's capacity for patience.</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b>Friends, I <i>implore</i> you. Next time you're at the airport, loitering around baggage claim, can you please, please, stand the hell back?</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><b><br />
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</b></span></div>The Dromedary Camelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06381531781569881916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8582995081637132579.post-14918250654613644072010-09-02T09:54:00.000-07:002010-09-02T09:54:52.251-07:00I am one in a million<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">...</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I feel I should begin my blogging career with a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Disclaimer</span></span>.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I am a student of the world. I do not profess to have expertise on any issue you might peruse during your time here. That which follow are mere musings of a curious mind - nothing more, nor less.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">...</span></span></span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">One may wonder, why "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Camel Droppings</span></b></span>?"</span></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The answer is simple. Time and again, I have been likened to the Dromedary beast of the desert and this here web log will form the dumping ground for the shit, with which I drivel, as I wander time and space searching for meaning & hope in a world gone mad.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>. . .</b></span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I am one in a million.</span></span> Which means there are 22 others just like me in Australia alone.</span><br />
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