2009 is now history

I'm writing this with only a few hours left on the clock. Soon it will be
2010, a new decade. We look back in awe at the events of the past
decade and yes the most significant happening was 911. That
certainly changed everything and it's ramifications are still being felt.
This decade has been extremely painful for me. My ex-wife
committed suicide in 2002 and it had an impact on me.
Moving out of the family home to here was also very traumatic.
Then Dad succumbing to war related illnesses in 2007 was
unexpected. My Mother is rapidly declining
into dementia and memory loss.

Healthwise I too am slowing down and increaingly find it difficult
to move about. I also have found it difficult with relationships.
I find it much easier to retreat and not be involved.
Perhaps I have some depression. Yes I am a Christian yet
I do question where I am at now.I do come from a sacramental
background and miss the reverence and dignity of the Eucharist.
I find often organised Christianity has done a lot of
damage and strayed from it's simple original beginnings.

There is naturally quite a deal of hype about the future but I can
see the seeds of another conflict quickly brewing especially
after the recent failure of the Copenhagen Clinate Change
Conference. This was what the future conficts will be
about, Resources and energy plus tribalism
allied with sectarianism which breeds extremism. A
real mix which will break out and be impossible to control
or contain. If nuclear weapons do fall into the hands of
despotic regimes, then a nuclear generated holocaust is only a
question of time.

I have read of prophecies that the end of the World will
happen in 2011 but these so-called prophets have
been wrong in the past. Will it happen? Nobody knows really
but it is unlikely in the short term.However there
will be wars and atrocities committed and I feel so helpless
because it out of our control. Can we change or alter
the future through Prayer? It really depends because we are
so eager to talk but often fail to listen. Prayer is a two-way process.

2010 has already arrived in NZ and be here in 75 minutes.
I am not going to stay up and see it in. I am off to bed and
try and sleep. It is very hot tonight and hope we do get a cool change soon.

Robin 1020 UTC December 31st 2009

Is it news? Reflection in Hindsight

I am fed up with the recent media coverage of so-called "celebrities". Why are they so fixated on their private and public lives? Why do we have to have wall to wall coverage of their activities in life or death? In my humble opinion,there are certainly more deserving stories with substance and carrying more importance. A report of some stupid starlet who has had too much alcohol and is in trouble with authorities resulting from too much drink. Or that an American female singer with absolutely no talent has been caught out lip-synching in a "comeback" concert tour. Is this really news? I suppose we have to be aware of being taken for a ride by promoters trying to sell people with absolutely no talent.

I was going to say the recent wall to wall coverage of Tiger Woods visit to Australia was quite over the top. He was paid over $3 million just to appear and in fact won the tournament. Well we now know he has come off the rails and has been found out. Again media coverage has been wall to wall with plenty of alleged mistresses lining up to say "Tiger was here"! Looks as if his celebrity statuus has spiraled downwards. He is presumably bunkered down probably with well-heeled attorneys trying to save his career and bank balance. I can't say I feel sorry for him, after all he did it himself and thought he was invincible. I feel sorry for his wife and daughter.

Robin

0300 UTC December 10 2009

I'm still here!

It's November and I have not written a blog for an entire month. I said I was bone lazy and I can't offer any excuses. Things have been happening but just have not written down a single thing, yet there has been plenty to make me mad. By keeping silent is tantamount to endorsing
the status quo.

Well our Federal MP has announced she is quitting politics at the next Election in 2010. The Liberals announced their candidate for the poll and he is a former television newsreader. I do hope that somebody will bring forward more suitable candidates. My electorate is considered to be one of the most marginal in Australia and with Ms Campbell departing, it is almost impossible to predict which way the vote will go.

Launceston just had the biannual local government elections and only one new candidate was elected to the Council. The mayoral election was farcial with Albert Van Zetten winning by only three votes from Rosemary Armitage. There were 50,000 votes cast. It is a pity that Jeremy Ball failed to get elected as Deputy mayor.

Robin
November 2nd 0442 UTC

AFL 2009 has ended.

Well the Aussie Rules football season for 2009 has finally ended with Geelong winning the Grand Final in a very tight game played under atrocious weather conditions. I, along with many Tasmanians, were hoping that St. Kilda could pull it off but it wasn't to be. They managed to neutralise Riewold and the other goalsneaks and Geelong won in the final 90 seconds.

What will 2010 bring about? It is not at all clear at this point in time yet clearly Geelong and St. Kilda will be still up there. Collingwood could be but I would not be at all surprised to see the Western Bulldogs drop off. Fremantle are a joke as are Melbourne.I think personally that Freo and the West Coast Eagles will eventually amalgamate. The Gold Coast team in 2011? I think they will be pitiful. I think they should cap the number of teams in the AFL at the present level.

Robin 0425 UTC

Monday observations.

It is infuriating that my standard definition tv decided to finally pack it in last week, just before the Preliminary Final between Collingwood and Geelong. It went to a service shop and is yet to return. Apparently the annoying fault has not resufaced and I can foresee a big bill. My humour vanished anyway after the Magpies were bundled out on Saturday evening.

Anyway I did have to put up with watching the Brownlow on my HDTV tuner on my computer. It isn't as clear as a dedicated receiver and also I can't access my Austar box.It is so frustrating.It was interesting to see that the media predictions of Gary Ablett Jnr. were correct., I had no interest in the so-called blue carpet before it started. Who wants to see what the girlfriends or partners are wearing?. Here's hoping my TV or a suitable replacement is here before Saturday afternoon. As well I do hope to see St. Kilda win. Darrel Baldock is flying over for it.

Robin 1310 UTC

12 month's Reflection on this Blog.

It has been a year since I commenced writing this Blog. Just a year ago, I wrote this:

It is finally Spring here and lately it has been raining and has been very windy. We do need more rain because of the prolonged drought. There has been quite a deal about climate change and mostly blaming Man for it but it is so apparent that it is definitely an cyclic event and has more to do with the Sun than the actions of Man. Currently there have been a prolonged absence of sunspots there and this has been causing most of the World's climatic shifts. I do also believe that Man has not been helping things by pumping increasing amounts of pollution into the atmosphere and dumping his gsarbage without really developing strategies or suitable technology to get rid of it permanently.

Nothing much seems to have changed except we have had plenty of rain and the drought is well and truly broken here in Tasmania. We still have the climate change doomsayers about ,prattling off their mantras. I am still about and so are you.

Nothing has altered with my comments either about this :

I don't believe in blindly following any political party or movement and not a member of any. I believe that one should be independent and not tied down to a single train of thought of philosphy. If anything I am in the centre politically and a moderate. Politicians should be regularly changed and should not be completely trusted.

This still is true and nothing has changed. I'm personally disappointed David Fry was not preselected for the electorate for Bass and is reportedly considering his future. Well I hope he stands as an Independent. He would be an excellent MLC. I also think that Jeremy Ball would be excellent as deputy Mayor in the upcoming Launceston Council elections next month. I am not a greenie but think the alternatives for the position leave a lot to be desired. Jeremy has impressed me with his pragmagtism and honesty.

Robin Harwood

Norwood, Tasmania 7250

We lost the Ashes

I was so tired last night and couldn't keep my eyes open. Yes I missed seeing Australia losing the Ashes again in England. Apparently Flintoff ran out Ricky Ponting and the rest were eventually dismissed giving the Pomms a 197 run victory. The City Fathers were planning to honour Ricky for being the highest Australian run scorer and it has been mooted that Invermay Park, where Ricky played his early club cricket, to be renamed the Ricky Ponting Oval. Wonder now if that will now transpire with the Aussies losing the Ashes in England twice under his leadership. Just wait to 2011 when the Poms arrive back here to defend the Ashes. But will Ricky be there still?

Robin L. Harwood 0545 UTC

I really must write somethig.

I am still about and although I have not recently contributed, I still ruminate on life yet have been too lazy to write. So I decided to just jot down a few random thoughts.

This month has been very damp and we have had plenty of rain. The Cataract Gorge was in flood and it brought back memories of how it used to be before the dam was constructed at Trevallyn. I also remember the 1969 flood and the Gorge then was spectacular. I wasn't even born in 1929 but have seen that rare movie footage. But the biggest flood was apparently in December 1863 but there are no artistic or photographic records of that. It is odd that there seems to be a 40 year cycle for these big floods.

I was shocked to read in today's paper that David Fry has stood down as a candidate in the upcoming State election to put his name forward as a potential candidate for Bass in the federal sphere. What a pity as we really need people of his stature to be in State Parliament.

Essendon provided the biggest upset in this year's AFL season by just beating the unbeaten St. Kilda. I know Dad would have been pleased if he was still here and know my aunt in Sorrento is on a high. Collingwood is in a very good position and will do well in the upcoming finals.

Robin 0550 UTC

August ramblings

I haven't written a blog in over three weeks. Yes I have been tempted to sound off but I was not particularly motivated to put my random thoughts down.

It is August already and it is taking some time for the weather to change and I expect that it will very soon. Spring is only 4 weeks away and there is still a covering of snow on the nearby mountains. However the ski fields on Ben Lomond are not as full as they were last year.
The snow cover has not been consistent this year, although we have had plenty of rainfall during July.

Collingwood are doing well despite the hiccup against Hawthorn. The latter are not the same outfit as last year and this week face up to St. Kilda at York Park in a coup for Tasmanian football. The venue is sold out so the telecast will go out live over the local TV station. The Saints have not lost a game after 18 rounds, although they were extremely lucky against Sydney last Saturday night, jst scraping in by a solitary point. I must state that they have been very impressive so far. They used to be co-tenants of York Park but the former coach, Grant Thomas, was less than enthusiastic about journeying down here. The result was they opted out of playing down here. The Saints used to have quite a lot of supporters here because of the Tasmanian connection e.g. Baldock, Ian Stewart, Verdun Howell. Anyway Hawthorn has picked up thousands of members in Tasmania, about 10,000 and cemented their presence here.

Much was also made in the media over the supposed agreement between Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley to hand over coaching duties in 2 years time. Bucks has not had any real coaching experience at the senior level and it seems to be a gamble on Eddie's part.

Robin L. Harwood 0550 UTC

Drive to stay alive in 2009!

We are over halfway through 2009 and already 49 people have been killed on Tasmania's roads and highways. That is nine more than for 2008. What is going on? Drivers are simply not paying heed to the road safety messages and frankly couldn't care less. Even an off-duty policeman was killed earlier this year driving on a suburban street not far from here. It appears he was not paying attention and may have been speeding.

I know people grumble and see the police traffic blitzes are no more than revenue raising and think they won't be involved in an horrific rad accident. Yes we have to change our attitude and thinking otherwise many more people are going to be killed or seriously injured driving.

Robin 0545 GMT July 10th

Half of 2009 already history.

We are already halfway through 2009. What a year it has been so far! I wonder what will happen over the next six months both personally and historically. As previously stated. I originally thought I knew where I was headed in January but not now. I have been worried over my Mothers failing health and the future ramifications for me. I guess I will have take it moment by moment.

Robin 0445 UTC

Michael Jackson and wallabies.

My last post referred to priorities. Well another major story has emerged which also makes me wonder where are our priorities? Michael Jackson has died, apparently from a cardiac arrest
and this has pushed all the other important stories on to the backburner. Why is that deemed more newsworthy than Iran? Afghanistan? The Global Fiscal Crisis? Ok I have never been a fan of his and he was eccentric to put it mildly. But I don't think it is earth-shattering or a major news headline.

Here in Oz, the major story related to what the local press has coined as "Utegate" has largely fizzed and the pollies are eager to distance themselves from its fallout. Then in our state parliamentary budget estimates hearings, The Attoney-General, who also happens to be the Health Minister, revealed that they have solved the mysterious circles in our legal poppy opiate crops. No it isn't aliens from outer space, nor druggies, but wallabies who eat the poppies and then are so high they go around in circles! I laughed so much when I read it in the local papers.
It even made the BBC news! Of course since the Michael Jackson death, this story probably does not have any more newsworthiness.

Robin L. Harwood 0500 UTC

Where are our Priorities?

There are people dying in Tehran and throughout Iran, fighting for democracy. Here in Australia , they spend their time arguing over a donated ute which the PM may have used in the last election campaign. It is so petty and the ute apparently came from a used car dealer. It is no surprise that pollies and used car salesmen are at the bottom of the scale in the trustworthy stakes. Here in Tasmania, a politician resigns after it was revealed family members were employed as staff at taxpayers expense. Wake up! People are being killed for standing up for their rights in Iran! All we can do is focus on a battered old ute or misuses of electorate allowances. Shame.

Robin Harwood 0433 UTC

The Ides of June.

Well the State Budget has come and gone. There were thankfully no major rises as far as I am concerned but the sting may be in hidden detail. I am far from impressed with the present leadership and there is scheduled to be an election on March 10th 2010 but I would not be at all surprised if this will happen sooner.



It was welcome to see the Sun today after a week or more of being blanketed by cloud and infrequent drizzle. This past week has been one of the coldest I can remember. I can hardly wait for Summer and then turn down the floor heaters. Unfortunately I am on a fixed rate over 12 months but the electricity regulator has increased the rate by a further 7% as from July 1st. I feel sorry for those worse off than I am, trying to balance their budget.



The conflict between Israel and Palestine shows no signs of ending. I believe that the Israeli leadership has announced their position re a two state solution which they know will be rejected by the Palestinians. I worry about the possibility of a conflict breaking out between Iran and Israel involving nuclear weapons which really could make the region even more volatile. We shall watch to see what will happen from now.



Robin L. Harwood

Northern Tasmania 0500 UTC

June is busting out all over!

Yes Winter is in full swing here. It has been constantly drizzling and it is very damp. Today the temperature plummetted and although I have floor heating, I had to reach for another jumper.

I am feeling much better now and determined to press forward. Almost half the year has gone and wonder what will happen over the next six months. In January I was thinking about an eventual move to Queensland but this has now fallen by the wayside. I think I am happiest here despite its shortcomings.

The only worry I have are those increasing hidden financial costs. Electricity has risen sharply for me. I was paying approximately $50 per fortnight but this has now increased to $65. On top of this, we are likely to be slugged for water and sewerage costs, now that these have been separated from local government rates. Wonder in the next few days what other hidden charges will be revealed in the State Budget. Already one unauthorised leak briefly surfaced in the media but was quickly denied by the Treasurer. We shall see on Thursday.


Robin,
Norwood, Tasmania

Mondayitis

I am down again today and really thinking about where life is headed from here. One should be positive although I am a believer but one should be realistic. One cannot be high all the time , there are the inevitable valleys. I am currently descending downwards again. I know one cannot escape into a fantasy world, nor daydream about what I would like. That is running away from reality. I know what I would like and it is so elusive and out of reach.

There are some who advocate a questionable doctrine called Name It and Claim It. That is by definition reducing God to an automaton or a robot. But those who try it
will eventually find out that it does not work. To me, God is God and He is sovereign. We are the people of his creation and really it is the other way around. We should be obeying what He wants and not demanding or insisting like a petulant child our own way.

Robin

A new Beginning.

This is,as the title says, a new beginning. I deleted some of my previous blogs as they were too personal of late and decided I will start afresh because I have plenty to contribute. I was listening to a panel discussion of the New Media on A-PAC TV network on AUSTAR and was motivated to continue with my blog.

The World is certainly in transistion and the media platforms are changing from the old forms such as books, newspapers which takes time to get out to the instant media such as the Internet with it's myriad of social networking sites such as Twitter. So much is happening that it is hard keeping track of the all the comment and opinions being posted instanteously.
So here goes. I don't know where it will lead or what I will write on but certainly welcome feedback.

Robin
Norwood, Tasmania

An Online discovery of my Family History.

I was really touched to find a photograph online of my paternal grandfather at the Australian War Memorial website. He died in June 1963 and sadly I only met him once and in secret, for fear my grandmother would find out. She was extremely vindictive and unforgiving. I was denied having further face to face contact with him and he sadly died alone in a Ascot Vale boarding house. He evidently was a brave and gallant soldier and was decorated with the M.M. and the French Croix de Guerre, besides being mentioned in dispatches.

He was totally different to the lurid description of my grandmother and I am finding out more about her background from her family, which I have also found online. Because of the marriage breakdown, which happened before I was born, there were scant details about my paternal grandfather's family. The internet is peeling all that away and I do hope to one day meet the family, that even my father was unable to do. I am very sad that he is no longer with me to share this momentous discovery. Fortunately they did meet in secret when Dad went to Melbourne on business and was slowly able to repair the breech yet Time and Fate intervened.

Robin

Monday April 6th.

I could write on last weekend's AFL round but really nothing inspires me there. Carlton will be the team to watch this season and at last Collingwood won. Geelong won but their weakness is when pressure is applied to them. Enuff on footy!

I must say I have been impressed with President Obama and the way he has handled the Europeans.It is obvious that he has built up a rapport with the European leaders who seem more at ease with him that with the previous incumbent, "Dubya" He is so measured and calm at the news conferences to the point of being boring. One American critic says he is too professorial.

The one European leader I dislike is Berlusconi. He is too rude and arrogant. The way he snubbed Angela Merkel at the Nato Summit to make or answer a cellphone call in full glare of the world's media, only demonstrates his rudeness and boorishness. He apparently also upset the Queen at the Palace at the G20 by shouting to Obama whilst next to H.M.

And Kev relished being on the World stage and got more publicity than little Johnny ever accomplished oat an international conference. Then he promptly got some unwelcome publicity for apparently shouting at a RAAF stewardess, because she delivered the wrong meal to him on another international flight. He is said to have reduced her to tears. Temper, Kevin!

Robin 5:41 GMT

Thursday's blog

An AFL team for Tassie? What a joke! As I previously have stated, the only option is to continue sponsorship of Hawthorn which would only cost 1/3 to 1/2 of what a full Tassie team would require. The idea was floated by the ALP in order to gain votes and divert public attention away from their many shortcomings and stuff-ups.

Tassie withdrew at the end of the 2008 season from the VFL and have opted to restart the failed Statewide League. 10 teams are mostly drawn from the previous TFL, NWFU and NTFA.Missing are Ulverstone and Sandy Bay. The former wants to come in later whilst the latter dissolved and is now known as Kingston in the SFL regional competition. Lauderdale is the new team and is from the eastern shore of Hobart. There is a distinct lack of interest from the public now we have four AFL matches at York Park. The old rivalries that were there in the past, are just not there. The attendances will be very small despite the hype from the local media.
The local ABC will be televising the match of the day but it a non-brainer as the majority will be watching AFL on commercial channels or Austar.

Robin L. Harwood

A new Month and a new Blog.

I was going to write more often in this blog and have decided to follow the trend and see if I can contribite more frequently. Laziness is not a virtue so really have no excuse to fall back on. Yes there is so much happening and yet we sit back and do nothing. We need to become involved and not lay back on the couch and do zilch. Action speaks louder than words.Well footy is back and that should a good source of blogs yet I know it isn't everybody's cup of tea.

The AFL season commenced last weekend and already Geelong has shown that they are going to be the powerhouse in 2009. Yet they do have flaws and if a team is able to put pressure on them, they seem to take a while to hit their stride. If the Cats are allowed to dominate early, the opposition finds it so hard claw back.

There were no real surprises in Round 1 and will Richmond recover from the hype and buildup prior to their match against Carlton. The Tigers were so woeful and Cousins did his hammy again and will be out for some months. I don't think they will recover either from the mauling from Geelong on Saturday night. Collingwood were disappointing for me and I don''t expect that Malthouse will last beyond this year and his contract runs out then. Doubtful if it is renewed.

Carlton certainly looks impressive and much improved. Melbourne will languish at the bottom of the ladder but Freo will get the wooden spoon IMHO.

The idea of a Gold Coast team in the AFL is ludicrous as Tasmania has more chances of doing better if they got a license. Yet the current economic climate isn't good at present for them either and the only possibility is for Tassie to continue sponsoring Hawthorn. It paid off in 2008! The idea of a separate team is a pipedream of Labor to get votes in 2010.

Robin L. Harwood

let me get this off my chest!

I have not contributed anything for over 10 days and yes there have been issues that I wish to post comments. These have primarily been local issues that have made me angry and I have put off rushing to blog. One should not respond in a kneejerk manner but really think it through soberly.

One issue , which did blow up but has gone silent was the decision of Beaconsfield mine survivor, Brant Webb, to seek Labour pre-selction in Bass, despite his well-publicised anti pulp mill stance. The Tasmanian Labor Party is strongly supportive of the Gunns Mill proposal, which seemingly puts Webb at odds with offical Labor policy. However it isn't the position over the mill which has made me mad but the Labor party policy of endorsing so-called celebrity candidates
in order to prop up a their electoral line-up. This strategy has been used by both of the major political parties in past state elections. Remember St. Kilda football great, Darrell Baldock was once a candidate for Labour in the 70's who was elected not because of his political views, (non-existent) but because of the name factor. Yes he was eventually appointed to cabinet yet in truth was captive to his ministerial minders and never did much. I think he was in parliament for a short period and retired to take on as coach of St. Kilda until he had a stroke.

As I said, both parties That is made it a common practice to endorse candidates who really don't have any political nous yet are chosen because they are well-known because they own a pub, or a DJ, footballer or racehorse trainer. Once elected they are naturally required to toe the party line and rewarded with cabinet positions, where all the work administering their positions is done by their minders.

That is why I prefer the independent candidate who is free from political affiliation who judges the issues solely on merit and is prepared to take a stand on moral issues. We have some outstanding independent candidates who have contributed to both the state and federal parliaments e.g Spot Turnbull, Brian Harradine, Don Wing. I have had dealings with two of the latter and their integrity and willingnness to stand up to government of the day has been an inspiration to many.

I will write a further blog later on other issues that are simmering but will post this in the interim.

Robin L. Harwood
Norwood, Tasmania 7250

Reflections on the Victorian bushfires.

Australia will never be the same after the extremely tragic disaster in Victoria. At the last count, I heard that were over 173 killed in this inferno. In a cruel irony, it happened on the 42nd.anniversary of the Ash Tuesday fire in 1967 in Tasmania. 63 died in that event. As I wrote on twitter, many memories came flooding back on when I was manning the telephone switchboard at the Commonwealth Social Services' office in Macquarie Street, Hobart. I vividly remember seeing the smoke from bushfires to the north over Glenorchy and Moonah around lunchtime and is a very short period the skies turned into a orange hue and we could easily smell smoke.

The building was not far away from the Royal Hobart Hospital and there were constant sirens. I was quickly called back because the switchboard went in overload as many were trying to call fellow workers to notify them that the fires were in suburbs and houses were being burnt down.

For days afterwards we had hundreds of survivors came through the offices seeking help, many with odd shoes or clothes. In 1967, telephone communications was primitive compared to today's standards and landlines to the mainland were destroyed and I quickly was able to organise emergency communications via amateur radio for the department. Eventually they did get a warship into Hobart to provide a temporary comms link for telegrams.

But to return to 2009. I am personally aware of one acquaitance losing their home in the present catastrophe in the Latrobe Valley and also a recently drug rehab. facility in Marysville was destroyed. This is operated by missionaries from our assembly and there is concern that one of its workers has gone missing and cannot be found.

A very sad event for the nation.


Robin

Boy it's hot

Boy it's hot here in Launceston! Yesterday it got up to 35.7C and now it's
37.4! I went to Adelaide in 1955 around Christmas and it was the hottest place I have ever been to, This however beats that and there is no sign of this heatwave ending.

What else can I write about? I fully intended to comment on the Obama Celebrations but this has been extensively covered in numerous blogs and reports. He has been in office now for 10 days and it is obvious that he has a vastly different style to George Dubya. I sense this Global recession will last for quite a while and has shown that it is immune from stimulus packages and political rhetoric.

It is too hot to write anything so I will wait until it cools down.

Robin

Memories of Launceston's trams.

Yes that Barbara Streisand song is in my memory bank today when I read Alison Andrews article in today's "Examiner" It was on Launceston's Trams which ran from 1911 to December 1952. I must have been 2 or 3 years old because I wasn't walking at that stage and have a very vivid memory of going on to a tram with my parents to my aunt's residence in Wentworth Street. We got on in Charles Street, outside the CTA Club, where the Target store is now and tram turned into Brisbane Street and then went up High Street and stopped at Wentworth Street, where High Street ends and Talbot Road commences. I remember the distinctive sound and smell of the tram and this was the only occasion I traveled on them. When I came to St. Giles in October 1952, they must have been running but I can't remember them.

Hobart had trams for another 10 years and I remember getting on at Seymour Street on the New Town line and going into Hobart.Their trams hissed and were far more noisier than Launceston's.

Robin

http://www.geocities.com/tramwaysociety/

I'm back

I know that many of us are deeply worried about the Israeli incursion into Gaza. The two sides don't seem to want to cease this senseless slaughter, which has its roots back in Biblical times.
It seems to me that the Israelis launched this raid in the dying stages of the Bush administration
and seemed to want to lock the incoming Obama administration into their strategies. Let us hope that Peace will come soon and the fighting on both sides will cease.

Robin L. Harwood.