NOTES ON THE RUN
The weather held off for most of the weekend and we all hopefully got to spend some time outside grabbing onto some sunshine or perhaps stayed inside to watch some inspiring Olympians.
This Saturday, August 7th, the Hiroshima/Nagasaki remembrance is on at 11:00AM. It is being run by the Rotaract clubs of University of Canberra and Brindabella. Bring your own chair, fold your own crane, you won't need an umbrella. I have requested fine weather!
We are going to start a new segment looking at Rotary acronyms this week, I will demonstrate and then hand it over to members from there. Hopefully it will be an opportunity for us all to learn a little more about the Rotary organisation.
See you on Thursday - back at the Commonwealth Club - where we will get a great talk on the tram and its next extension to Woden
President Warrick
PEACE PROJECT
Delighted this week to take a request for two Peace Poles from Greg Marlow from the Rotary E- Club of Outback Australia. They have agreed to donate the two Peace Poles to the Primary and High Schools of Tennant Creek. That takes us to reserved Peace Poles 188 and 189.
Michael Rabey
LAST WEEK'S LUNCHEON MEETING (July 29th)
Last week’s ZOOM meeting reinforced my belief that the multinationals are selling us IT facilities like ZOOM only to drive us mad by frustration and failure. Bring back the slate and chalk I say.
Our first brave guest speaker was Ms Heiji Kim from South Korea who spoke to us from her home. Heiji has a Global Grant Scholarship funded by the Rotary Foundation. Her talk was interrupted by technical difficulties, however, I was impressed to hear she was maintaining her studies at the ANU via the internet and progressing with her thesis to attain a Masters Degree in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development. She intends to complete the thesis and graduate by next July.
Her studies involve the examination of different cultural behavioural habits of different ethnic groups. She has previously worked in NZ and Sri Lanka and hopes to apply her knowledge in one of the government programmes in countries, which may benefit from this specialized knowledge.
We had little time to ask Heiji much about her studies because of the aforementioned interruptions; however I hope we can talk to Heiji again in the not too distant future to get a better understanding of what she is learning and intends to do in the future. Perhaps a face-to-face meeting at the Club?
Our main guest speaker was Ms Maya Glassman from Israel who spoke on “The Current Political Situation in Israel and Palestine”. She is a Rotary Peace Scholar from Israel who is studying for a Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Relationships at Uni of Queensland.
Maya spoke passionately about issues arising from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in her home country, and her fierce support for a negotiated Two State permanent solution. Her background is based on many years of peace activism, supporting “Peace Now” movements, and organizing practical mediation programmes like to SEEDS OF PEACE camps for Israeli and Palestininan children. Her home is Haifa, and her early years of bliss in a coastal city were shattered when she was a youngster by the outbreak of bombing particularly in buses. As she grew she became determined to find a reason for the violence and look for a way through the multitude of prejudices and issues causing the division. She wants her own children to grow up in peace.
Her review of the political situation in Israel was enlightening. A very right-wing government under Netanyahu has been replaced very recently by a coalition of right-wing and Centre-left parties. Her own party now has a voice in government and she has high hopes for a progressive policy being developed in due course.
She talked about the conflict between the PLO and HAMAS and the apparent intransigence caused by that conflict. I don't see how that will play out, however, the omnipresent USA will have a say no doubt.
COVID has been largely successfully dealt with but bigger challenges are arising on the horizon.
A fascinating talk – our thanks and best wishes go to Maya (despite the ZOOM fiasco terminating us early).
Bill Andrews
THIS WEEK'S LUNCHEON MEETING (August 5th )
Guest: Beatrice Bodart-Bailey who will speak on the topic of the “Impact of Civic to Woden Light Rail; What does the Light Rail Extension and Covid have in Common?”
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DAYS THIS WEEK
August 2 World Breastfeeding Week
August 6 Independence Days of Jamaica and Bolivia
August 7 Independence Days of Cote d'Ivoire and Singapore
NOTABLE HISTORICAL EVENTS THIS WEEK
August 2 (1858) Government of India transferred from East Indies Company to British Crown.
August 3 (1492) Christopher Columbus sets sail on first voyage to the “Indies”
August 4 (1993) Rwandan Hutus and Tutsis sign peace treaty.
August 5 (1944) Breakout of Japanese POWs in Cowra NSW.
August 6 (1945) Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan by US bomber.
August 7 (1947) Thor Heyerdahl completes 7000km journey in 101 days from Peru to an island near Tahiti.
August 8 (1879) Birth of Emiliano Zapata, leader of peasants and indigenous people during the Mexican Revolution.
ANSWERS GIVEN BY 7YR SCHOOL CHILDREN TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
Why did God make Mums ?
1 She's the only one who knows where the sticky tape is.
2 Mostly to clean the house.
3 To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers ?
1 He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2 Magic plus superpowers and a lot of stirring.
3 God made my Mum just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1 God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2 They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
What kind of a girl was your Mum ?
1 My Mum has always been my Mum and none of that other stuff.
2 I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3 They say she used to be nice.
What did Mum need to know about Dad before she married him ?
1 His last name.
2 She had to know his background . Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer ?
3 Does he make at least $800 a year ? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores ?
Why did your Mum marry your Dad ?
1 My Dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mum eats a lot
2 She got to old to do anything else with him.
3 My Grandma says that Mum did not have her thinking cap on.
Who is the boss at your house ?
1 Mum does not want to be boss, but she has to because Dad's such an idiot.
2 Mum. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under my bed.
3 I guess Mum is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.
Eric Carmody.
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