I wish I could have been there.
The atmosphere must have been quite interesting at Anzac Cove (Ari Burnu) on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsular this past Monday.

NZ's top military man, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Ferguson, told those gathered for the dawn service that the failed campaign was "a combination of extreme tragedy, gallantry, occasional inspired leadership at lower levels, gross incompetency at higher levels, and of endurance, cruelty and compassion."
He said all this and more - that it was "a folly of high command, joint warfare at its worst from the British side, a lack of focus, blunders and a squandering of life" - all in front of Prince Charles who sat there listening to it all.

At long last these things are being said out front. They have been thought in private for long enough.
It was not at all what I was taught in school, but it was certainly what I discerned when I took history a little more seriously and read for myself some time later on.
Neither are these notions gleaned from the 20/20 vision of hindsight.
That the colonials - the Aussies and the Kiwis - were considered dispensable canon fodder is a matter of attitude.
Likewise, the Turks were discounted as a serious fighting force, plus no topological map was considered necessary for planning such an invasion.
There were some real "know it alls" in the bunkers of Whitehall.

The Anzacs did die valiantly, but could their sacrfice have been not so much for freedom's sake as a pagan atonement for the sheer arrogance of those in office?

Yet by asserting such beliefs, I have no wish to upset my British friends.
They are not responsible for bad decisions of some men in power now 90 years ago.
No offence intended, and I hope that neither will offence be taken.
After all, Prince Charles was said to be "not concerned one bit", an interesting springboard itself for potentially treacherous thoughts.
I must not make the jump. The rocks below are surely encrusted with a seditious paranoia.

But the week has moved on and other matters will soon be barging in to take their turn for the mulling.
Apart from Scottish porridge, I shall continue to spare you from a knowledge of my breakfast menu.
That is, anyone who cares to read any of these words anyway…

Ninety years ago today (25 April) NZ and Australian troops (known as the ANZACs) landed on beaches of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsular with orders to take Chunuk Bair, the high point of extremely rough terrain beyond which was the strategic waterway, the Dardanelles.

This daring and ill-conceived plan back in 1915 was the brainchild of the British First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Winston Churchill, who had not reckoned with the hostile geography of Gallipoli nor the fighting courage of the Turks.

Already in position at Chunuk Bair, Turkish troops under the command of General Mustafa Kemal, later called Ataturk ("Father of the Turks"), rained down deadly artillery and machine gun fire, pinning the ANZACs to their narrow strip and decimating them.
Casualties were extreme, 32% Kiwis killed and a further 55% badly injured and maimed. The Australians suffered likewise. It was a slaughter.

Meanwhile, the British and French forces were landing at Cape Helles, some 30 kms to the south, and after coming ashore to no resistance were enjoying cups of tea upon the beach.

Fighting continued another 9 months with massive casualties on all sides - including the Brits, the French and the Turks.

Lt.Colonel Malone of NZ's Wellington Regiment initially refused orders to take Chunuk Bair, saying ‘I am not going to send them over to commit suicide.'
He was not popular with British command for his adamant stance that never again should NZ forces be commanded by another country's generals.
However, he waited until just before dawn on August 8th and successfully seized Chunuk Bair. At about 5.00 pm that same day some long-awaited help came in the form of an artillery bombardment from a British warship just offshore.
But the shells and shrapnel burst amongst the few surviving Kiwis causing further casualties. Of the 760 troops who began the assault at first light, only 70 were left unhurt by the end of the day.
Ironically, William Malone was one of those killed by a shell fired from the British destroyer out at sea.

These days the Turks and the ANZACs share strong bonds of friendship based on mutual admiration for each other's courage and honour during that terrible Gallipoli Campaign.
General Ataturk established a memorial to the ANZACs at Anzac Cove, the beach where they landed, and showing the measure of the man he was, wrote these very moving words:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. . . You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference to us between the ‘Johnnies' and the ‘Mehmets,' where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. . . You, the mothers, who sent your sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

A fine restaurant, the company of good friends, and an evening of Sibelius with our world class NZ Symphony Orchestra…
Yes, I hopped up quickly from my computer and sewing machine, and off we went last night.

There was something rather special about listening to our excellent orchestra playing Finnish music under the baton of a Finnish conductor with a Finnish virtuoso violinist who did such a magnificent job of the one-and-only violin concerto that Sibelius ever wrote. He played the entire 34 minute piece without music, and received well-deserved tremendous applause.

Right at the back of the orchestra, just behind the big drum and the cymbals, below the massive pipes of the permanently fixed pipe organ, I noticed a small mirror.
It gave me an excellent view of the back of the Principal Flutist with her intriguing tangle of thick curly tresses.
But no matter how hard I tried, keeping within the proper boundaries of personal space, I was not able to bring into view the face of the conductor as his black beetle-like back energetically darted all over his 3 foot square podium.
But as far as conductors went, he did have the essential bouncy hair which can be effectively tossed this way and that to always end up more-or-less in the same style that it started - thick, straight, short, definitely layered and very definitely bouncy.
In that regard he was just like my favourite Andrew Davis who has often conducted the British Proms in London.
With so much expression from the back, those beetle-like coat tails swishing everywhere in contagious enthusiasm, I am sure his face would have been just as good to watch as well.
But one can't have everything, I guess.

An evening of Sibelius kept us talking well into the wee hours of the morning.
Finland… the land so far north… Kalevala, Finland's national epic of old folk poems and mythology that so inspired Sibelius… the melodies, harmonies, tonal poems, flavours of Wagner, the powerful emotions…

Oh that's right, it was to be light and fluffy omelettes for breakfast this morning.
Well, I did get in that bit about the conductor's hair.

The Dawning of a New Dark Age: a collection of essays on Islam ~ by Mark Alexander

Mark’s format, a collection of essays, makes this an extremely readable text that can be picked up and put down as opportunity allows, giving ‘thinking time’ between reads in order to fully process the knowledge and insights imparted here.

Still too much is misunderstood about this aggressively invasive ideology which threatens to overwhelm and subvert our Western civilization. Since Islam seeks to progress an agenda of world-wide domination and universal submission of all to Allah, by the sword if necessary, we most certainly need to understand far more about it.

Mark knows Islam intimately, and his writing is both perceptive and authoritative. He clearly outlines the dangers posed by Islam, describing the process of ‘Islamicization’ that is already happening, supporting his concerns with references (in context) to the Qur’an and to history, identifying the factors in our own civilzation that fosters erosion of our Judeo-Christian heritage and invites the incursion of Islam, and suggesting means by which this could be stopped and reversed. There is a great deal of information packed between the covers of this book and much food for serious thought. To some it will be a horror story, but as frightening as the subject may be, we are wise to have our eyes opened in order to recognize what is happening hopefully in time to help stop the situation from worsening. It may already be too late unless radical measures are put in place, but we all need to know and properly understand the real threat in order that something effective can be done about it.

This is an absolute ‘must read’ for anyone who wishes to know the truth rather than be lulled into complacency by the ‘taqiyya’ (holy hypocrisy) of the Islamic clerics and apologists. If you have never read anything on this subject before, this is a good place to start. Likewise, it is also an essential read for those who do know the subject, the author becoming increasingly well known for his contributions to major websites devoted to the education of the web-savvy general population interested in knowing more about Islam.

I have become well-read on this subject myself, and can testify that the author writes in accord with all else that I have read by other authors with impeccable and relevant credentials. I can recommend Mark’s book to all who wish to be properly informed on this subject and, as the author puts it so well, the ‘dawning of a new dark age’ under Islam.

Alexander, Mark. The Dawning of a New Dark Age: a collection of essays on Islam.
Bloomington, Indiana, USA. 2003

ISBN: 1-4107-9038-X (e-book)
ISBN: 1-4017-9037-1 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1-4140-3021-5 (Dust Jacket)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003297102

Mark Alexander is a graduate of London University. He has an honors degree in economics. Further, he has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education with Distinction. As well as his native language, English, he speaks German fluently, reads French, and has a sound knowledge of Arabic. Over the years, articles of his have appeared on education, languages, and economics in British newspapers such as The Independent, The Times, and The Sunday Times. His international travel has widely influenced his world perspective.

While living and working in the Middle East for many years, Mark's uncommonly perceptive observations and keen insights led him to predict the Islamic quest for domination which is only now being played out on the world stage.

Mark Alexander is a Western author deeply concerned about the future of Western civilization. In The Dawning of a New Dark Age, Mark has written powerfully about the rise of Islam in the West, and the dangers that lie ahead as a result.

Mark is uncommonly articulate, insightful, and perspicacious. These qualities are particularly evident in his understanding of the Islamic worldview and the intentions of Muslims vis-à-vis the West. You will surely find his message both riveting and shocking!

Visit Mark’s blog for up-to-date comment on these issues: A New Dark Age is Dawning

G'day all you curious types!

I know I have ink in my veins, the royal blue blood of the Fourth Estate inherited from a line of journalists and newspaper editors.
I've always liked writing.
However, I am still not sure that blogging like this is quite my thing… really, honestly and truly.
After all, in many ways I'm actually quite a private person.
I'll just as soon write about you than I'll write about me.

But since mad scientist DKC likes his lab rats to jump through the little hoops he makes for them, I am giving this a go to see if the hoop needs to be made anymore kinky in order to fit.

A few months ago I confided something very personal to a couple of friends.
I chose just them, and only them, because I particularly valued their perspectives and knew they would do just as the best of friends do… sift the wheat from the chaff, save the wheat and blow the chaff away.
Since then others have wanted me to share more of my personal life, and some are hurt when I don't.
I don't mean to upset my friends because they are poeple who really do matter to me.
But I'm just not always much of a talker… and maybe not much of a blogger as well.
Not that a blog has to be about anything terribly personal and private, of course.

Psalm 62:
1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

We feel the outpouring of grief into the heart of a friend to be so sweet.
At the same time, he who talks much of his troubles to men is apt to fall into a way of saying too little of them to God; while, on the other hand, he who has often experienced the blessed alleviation which flows from silent converse with the Eternal, loses much of his desire for the sympathy of his fellows.
It appears to me now as if spreading out our distress too largely before men served only to make it broader, and to take away its zest; and hence the proverb, "Talking of trouble makes it double."
On the contrary, if when in distress we can contrive to maintain calm composure of mind, and to bear it always as in the sight of God, submissively waiting for succour from him, according to the words of the psalmist, Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation; in that case, the distress neither extends in breadth nor sinks in depth.
It lies upon the surface of the heart like the morning mist, which the sun as it ascends dissipates into light clouds.
Agustus F. Tholuck, in "Hours of Christian Devotion," 1870.

It was a good day for a Q, and an even better day for a triplet of them.
So I headed up my blog as follows:

Judah's Quaquaversal Quotidian Quidities

For some reason it got abbreviated (originally) to make not much sense at all.
But what an appropriate start to a blog!
After all, anything I write in a blog is more than likely to be some abbreviation of experience that makes little sense, having very little real significance, to the big picture over all.

I see I got a couple of visitors while I was trying to set up this thing.
What a curious pair you were!

You'll have to come back later and leave some comments.
But even if you don't, I'm quite good at talking to myself.
In fact, I like to chat away about you all… in a combination of behind your back and to your face.

Quaquaversal: a geological term meaning "pointing in every direction".
Quotidian: daily, commonplace, trivial
Quidity: a philosophical term meaning "the essence of a person or thing, what makes a thing what it is".

There! That saved you looking up the dictionary, didn't it?

Judah: that's me.