Macdhui is an icon of Papua New Guinea history

The wreckage of the mv Macdhui as seen from Kanudi

Bradley Gewa shows the bell of the mv Macdhui on the roof of St John's Anglican Cathedral in downtown Port Moresby

Mast of the mv Macdhui at the Royal Papua Yacht Club in Port Moresby

The bell of the mv Macdhui on the roof of St John's Anglican Cathedral in downtown Port Moresby

The bell of the mv Macdhui

The mv Macdhui being bombed by Japanese planes

The mv Machdhui on fire

The mv Machdhui...unknown date

A small but significant anniversary takes place on Thursday, June 18, 2009.
This will be the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the mv Macdhui, sunk in the Port Moresby harbour by Japanese bombs on that day in 1942.
One of the best-known landmarks in Port Moresby is the wreck of the Macdhui in the waters just off the Port Moresby Technical College at Kanudi.
Many people just drive or walk past without knowing the significant role that the maritime legend Macdhui played in the development of then Papua and New Guinea.
In 2007, I was asked to be a tour guide for a retired US veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, and one of the World War 11 relics I showed him was the wreck of the Macdhui.
As we stood at Kanudi looking out to sea, I wondered what stories the deep blue sea, the rolling hills, and the wide sky could tell me about what they saw that fateful day in 1942.
The Macdhui, 4630 tonnes, built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1930, was owned and operated on the Australia-Papua New Guinea service by Burns Philp and Company Limited.
Macdhui’s maiden voyage took place in March 1931, sailing to Suva, Fiji, via the Azores, Jamaica, and the Panama Canal, with a load of coal.
Then the Sydney to Rabaul route for Burns Philip with 167 first-class passengers’ accomodation.
On June 20, 1931, a fire broke out on another voyage between Madang and Lae, but the passengers were safely taken ashore in lifeboats.
MacDhui was safely towed to Salamaua, New Guinea's then administrative capital, by Neptuna, another Burns Philp & Co vessel.
After patching at Salamaua, MacDhui was sailed to Sydney for six weeks of repairs.
With the onset of war the ship was commandeered by the Navy and used to evacuate civilians from New Guinea, then carrying Australian troops back to Port Moresby.
On June 17, 1942, the Macdhui was attacked by Japanese bombers as it was discharging to lighters in Port Moresby harbour.
It began zigzagging around the harbour but took one direct hit which caused considerable damage.
The vessel later went alongside the main wharf to unload dead and wounded.
The next day, at 10.45am, there was another air-raid warning and the Macdhui moved out into the harbour and began manoeuvring.
Soon after the raid began, it took a direct hit.
The captain headed towards shallow water where his ship finally keeled over onto a reef.
Ten of the crew of 77 were killed along with five Australian gunners from 39th Battalion.
Altogether, the Macdhui took four direct hits.
The dramatic sinking was captured on a black and white movie film shot by the famous Australian cameraman, Damien Parer from a nearby hilltop.
The loss of the Macdhui was a great blow to the morale of the Australian troops in Port Moresby.
Until then it had been the only regular and reliable link between Australia and Port Moresby.
After the war, the Australian government compensated Burns Philp for its loss.
The wreck itself is now deeply pitted and corroded under the waterline.
It is gradually breaking up but even if it does slip completely under the surface part of the Macdhui will remain in Port Moresby.
In the late 1960s the mast was removed and now stands outside the Royal Papua Yacht Club as a memorial to those who died.
One of the bells was erected in the tower of St John’s Anglican Church in Port Moresby and to this day still calls parishioners to worship.
Former vice-commodore of the Royal Papua Yacht Club, Trevor Kerr, tells of a supernatural experience in 1979 when the ashes of the late Captain J. Campbell, skipper of the Macdhui, were laid to rest with his ship.
The powered launch Tina, owned and skippered by yacht club committee member Russ Behan, approached the wreck with Captain Campbell’s two sons, a United Church minister, and Kerr on board.
“The weather in the harbour was unusually placid, not a zephyr stirred,” writes former Port Moresby diver Neil Whiting in Wreck and Reefs of Port Moresby.
“The sea was so clear that the superstructure of the Macdhui could be seen below the surface of the water.
“There was not a ripple on the surface or current drift to break the calm.
“With heads bowed in prayer, the United Church minister upturned the urn containing Captain Campbell’s ashes and scattered the contents into the sea.
“Trevor, observing the ceremony in a more-detached fashion than the others, observed the most-amazing sequence of events.
“The ashes initially clouded the water as one would expect, but almost immediately condensed into a form similar to a teardrop.
“Then, the most amazing phenomenon occurred.
“The teardrop cloud quite rapidly crossed the six-metre intervening gap between the Tina and the Macdhui and disappeared into the hull.
“At a nudge from Trevor, Russ glanced up and also observed the incredible event.
“The engines of the launch were quickly started and in a state of chilled awe, the funeral party motored away.
“Captain Campbell had returned to his ship.”

Varroa mite not such a threat to Papua New Guinea coffee

A collaborative research between Australian and Papua New Guinea scientists has revealed that the potential economic impact of a new Varroa mite (pictured above feedling on a honeybee) on Papua New Guinea agriculture is likely to be much less significant than speculated earlier.
 This outcome was discussed at a research review workshop hosted by the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Lae last month which gathered a number of key agencies working together on the issue.
 The new variant of the varroa mite (Varroa jacobsoni) was first found in PNG on European honeybees (Apis melifera) in the Eastern Highlands in May 2008.
 The mite is now thought to have been in PNG for about six years. 
There were concerns the mite, which can decimate colonies of European honeybees, could significantly reduce the yields of a number of pollinated crops. Earlier predictions were that coffee yields alone could be cut by as much as 50%.
However, the study, just completed by scientists from NARI and the Australian-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), predicts that in a worst-case scenario, the mite would lead to annual economic losses to the coffee industry of less than K14 million, a fraction of the earlier prediction of K200 million.
The results of the CSIRO/NARI study, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Australia’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), were discussed by a number of agencies at the workshop in Lae, including representatives of NARI, CSIRO, ACIAR, the National Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Authority, the Coffee Industry Corporation and Eastern Highlands provincial offices of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
“The study surveyed food and cash crops dependant on insect pollination and assessed their degree of dependence on insect pollination,” said CSIRO ecologist Dr Saul Cunningham. 
“It also surveyed pollinator insects that visit selected dependent crops both in the highlands and lowlands of the country.
“In PNG, the distribution of managed European honeybees (Apis mellifera) is restricted to the cooler highlands of PNG, whereas the feral Apis cerana are found throughout the country.
“Based on established knowledge from elsewhere, it is expected that Apis mellifera provide significant pollination services to highland crops like coffee, cucumber and orchard tree crops.  While pollinator dependent lowland crops like coconuts, oil palm and some vegetables are serviced by Apis cerana and other pollinator insects that do not appear to have been affected by the new strain of Varroa mite.”
In view of its relatively-high contribution to annual cash incomes of smallholder farmers in the densely-populated highlands of PNG, and its significance to the national economy, the scoping study focused on the likely economic impact that mite may have on the PNG highland (Arabica) coffee.
 The study developed an economic simulation model to estimate probable economic losses from coffee production over a period of years.
“The study showed that the earlier estimate of K200 million worth of annual drop in coffee production due to decline in pollination services is therefore considered a very unrealistic scenario in PNG,” Dr Cunningham said. 
“We predict that given the likelihood that other insects, such as the feral bee species Apis cerana and native bees, will continue to pollinate coffee, the impact could be even smaller than K14 million. 
“The workshop concluded that further targeted research would more accurately predict whether the impacts are closer to K14 million or K4 million annually.
“Further research is also needed on coffee pollination in PNG style coffee gardens, on which insects are involved, and how much they boost yield.  Such research would not only help understand the risks posed by Varroa mite, but would also help improve coffee production practices in the future.”
  Preliminary findings from a separate survey of Varroa mites in all PNG provinces indicate that the Varroa mite is widespread in the country, suggesting the need to initiate appropriate and sustainable parasite management interventions such as targeted application of chemicals, restriction of movements of bee colonies and hive equipment and other quarantine measures.
The coffee industry is already experiencing a gradual decline in supplies of coffee to the market, although the causes for this decline are still unknown. Further research work is needed to identify the possible causes and assess their relative importance.
Further information about results of this study can be obtained from Dr. Saul Cunningham of CSIRO in Canberra (Email: Saul.Cunningham@csiro.au )  or Dr Workneh Ayalew of NARI in Lae (Email: workneh.ayalew@nari.org.pg ).
The final report from the scoping study will be available from ACIAR later in 2009.

Forest carbon market already shows cracks

Source: Reuters

 

 * Papua New Guinea revises policy on forest carbon projects

 

* All projects suspended in meantime

 

* Carbon brokers made lucrative offer to assist govt agency

 

* Development groups warn forest deals could spark conflict

 

By Gerard Wynn and Sunanda Creagh

 

LONDON/NUSA DUA, Indonesia, June 4 (Reuters) - It could save the rainforests of Borneo, slow climate change and the international community backs it. But a plan to pay tropical countries not to chop down trees risks being discredited by opportunists even before it starts.

A forest carbon market is emerging in anticipation of a global, U.N. climate deal in December in Copenhagen, expected to allow rich countries to pay to protect rainforests as a cheap alternative to cutting their own greenhouse gases.

Officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have underlined how things may go awry.

Reuters has uncovered evidence of a multi-million-dollar offer of assistance from carbon brokers to a government agency, and confusion over whether offset sales were from valid projects.

There is growing interest from countries and companies in the developed world to buy the rights to the carbon stored in trees as they grow, to offset their own emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

But development and environment groups have long warned that suddenly placing a big value on rainforests could spur friction and even conflict in some developing nations, because of uncertain tenure rights, corruption and inadequate policing.

At a conference on the Indonesian island of Bali last week, Interpol environmental crime official Peter Younger told Reuters he expected fraudulent trading of carbon credits, as organised crime infiltrates the system of companies and countries in the developed world buying rights to the stored carbon.

Indonesia last month became the first country to set out some form of regulation for how its scheme will work, but stressed it has not yet developed a model for the most sensitive issue of revenue collection.

Papua New Guinea, which has some of the world's fastest-disappearing rainforest and has championed the forest carbon market, established its Office of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability (OCCES) in 2008 to develop forest protection projects.

The agency suspended in January all plans to sell rights to the carbon stored in its rainforests after deals sparked land ownership disputes, a senior official told Reuters.

"All projects are suspended while we get some experience," said Theo Yasause, executive director of OCCES.

One such project included the department's own proposal to give exclusive rights to a large area of rainforest to two brokers which would in return donate A$10 million ($8 million) to fund the agency's creation.

Brokers develop projects for landowners to sell the carbon stored in their forests in return for a share of those rights.

ASSISTANCE

In government papers dated June 12 2008, seen by Reuters that Yasause signed and has authenticated, two brokers offered to help fund the OCCES agency. They were named in the memo as Earth Sky and Climate Assist PNG but could not be located for comment.

"That memo was in June, by January everything was stopped," said Yasause. "I said 'no, let's set a policy first.'"

In the memo Yasause asked PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare to counter-sign a certificate allowing the brokers to sell forest carbon offsets valued at $500 million.

"The (two brokers are) prepared to put in 10 million Australian Dollars to assist the establishment of the Office of Climate Change," Yasause wrote in the June 2008 memo. The OCCES would also earn 20 percent of any proceeds from carbon sales.

When the OCCES was created, Prime Minister Somare said it should be self-sufficient through funds generated from forest projects.

When asked why he thought his agency should receive such a large sum, Yasause said: "Initially we thought we should get some of that. It wasn't meant to set it as a policy. When I started I thought (it) could come as a tax to government.

"It was only a proposal. Nothing came through," he added.

MESS

PNG is now crafting an "open tendering" policy to sell rights to the carbon stored in its rainforests, Yasause said. That would apply to one project initially, called April Salome, when the policy was up and running.

"We suspended all communications and dealings with the brokers at this stage. I put a notice up saying 'there's no dealings as of January.'"

However, another broker and project consultant, Swiss-based South Pole Carbon Asset Management, said it had rights to sell carbon credits from a certain portion of the April Salome project and would continue to do so.

"We have all kinds of letters of (government) support, approval and so on, including letters after January," said Christian Dannecker, principal at South Pole, who also referred to written authorisation for the project from 160 landowner groups in the region.

South Pole is already selling the carbon rights before the project is approved by a third party, called validation, a common practice in carbon markets. The timing of approval was unsure given it was "in an early phase", said Dannecker.

The company estimates April Salome will generate 1 million tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide emissions per year, but that was not formally audited. "We're still putting together data," said Dannecker. "It's not done, just estimates."

One buyer of the credits from South Pole was a Spanish environment group promoting ecological projects, CeroCO2, which in turn has sold the offsets to individuals, small companies and an event in Zaragoza, for example to offset travel.

The company has sold 660 tonnes at about 10 euros each. The buyers paid up-front but the group would replace the credits if the project was never approved, a group spokeswoman said.

CeroCO2 had told their clients that the project was at an early stage and that the carbon offsets were still hypothetical, she added.

CeroCO2's Web site said the offsets met a standard devised by U.S.-based auditors called the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), but they did not.

"We have not received any documents about this project," said Joanna Durbin, a director at the CCBA.

"It was a mistake in our Web site," the CeroCO2 spokeswoman said. "We are human." CeroCO2 removed the project from its Web site after speaking to Reuters.

"It all goes to show what a horrible mess will ensue when there is neither a basic level of governance in the countries where the forestry credits are supposedly being generated, nor any regulation in the international markets where they are being traded," said Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK.

Counsell urged much slower adoption of forest carbon rules, rather than rushing these in time for a December climate deal.

ELIGIBLE

Industrialised countries already pay developing nations to avoid greenhouse gas emissions, for example to build dams, wind farms or improve the efficiency of their factories, in a $6.5 billion trade in carbon offsets.

They view such offsets as a cut-price way to meet their carbon caps under the Kyoto Protocol, instead of taking more costly action at home, for example imposing carbon taxes on industry or households.

Payments to conserve trees are not eligible under Kyoto, but there is enormous pressure to widen the scheme to include rainforests under the successor climate pact to be thrashed out in Copenhagen.

Papua New Guinea helped found the 40-nation Coalition for Rainforest Nations which wants support for the system, Reduced Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD), under a new treaty.

Most PNG rainforest is owned by communities and indigenous groups, but the government still hands out concessions, said Andy White at Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative.

The head of the Office of Climate Change, Yasause, produced papers in a PNG court on Monday confirming that he had suspended a deal -- which he had originally approved -- involving another carbon fund, after complaints from landowners that they had not been consulted over sales of carbon rights in a forested area called Kamula Doso.

"I am not working with them until I get clarity in this landowner dispute, we cannot do REDD in those places if there is fighting between landowners, it will kill it," Yasause told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Daniel Fineren; Editing by Sara Ledwith

World Environment Day mangrove planting programme (please click to enlarge)

ENVIRONMENTAL and Conservation groups under the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum network are embarking on a massive tree planting drive with a target of 10,000  mangrove seedlings to be planted to commemorate World Environment Day on June 6.
The Motupore Islands Research Centre, mangrove expert Marine Biologist Thomas Manuawie is heading the re-vegetation exercise to take place in three coastal villages of Gabagaba, Tubuseria and Tahira on June  6.

Jamie Maxtone-Graham loses 65kg...and saves his life

The new-look Jamie Maxtone-Graham

Less than two years ago, after the 2007 national elections, Angalimp- South Wahgi MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham was a disaster waiting to happen.
Tipping at scales at 165kg, the big man was obese, unfit, depressed, and was basically about to die.
But one day, 18 months ago, Mr Maxtone-Graham decided that enough was enough and turned his back on the lifestyle that was killing him.
He also turned to the Christian faith for answers.
Since then, the big man has lost a whopping 65kg, and looks leaner and meaner than he has ever been in his life.
When I met him last Sunday, the first time I had done so in two years, he was no longer the same fat old Jamie Maxtone-Graham who was living on borrowed time.
Running shoes, sports short and shirt made him look like an athelete, a lot younger than his 50-odd years.
Mr Maxtone-Graham wants Papua New Guineans to give up their bad habits like drinking, smoking, poor diet (including lamb flaps), and drugs as well as exercise more and find peace and solace in the teachings of the Bible.
This is timely as Sunday May 31 was World No Tobacco Day.
He practices what he preaches and sugar, soft drinks, and all processed foods are now definite ‘no-nos’ for him and his family.
Mr Maxtone-Graham already talks on radio about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and wants to write about it in a weekly newspaper column, as well as a blog on the Internet.
“Why did I get interested in my health?” he poses to me.
“Bascially, I had a serious health problem.
“I was a walking disaster.
“I was extremely obese at 165kg.
“I had gout, I had shortness of breath, high blood sugar, and I was extremely tired, fatigued.
“I was a sick animal as a result of my overindulgence in a life of living in the city, being an MP, and all the trappings that go with it like dinners, cocktails, parties.
“That was the life that I was living.
“It forced me to become more depressed and I was eating more and more.
“One day, two years ago, I had serious chest pains.
“I was suffering from angina (chest pain or discomfort that occurs when your heart muscle does not get enough blood).
“The doctor checked me and said my blood pressure was extremely high, my cholesterol was extremely high, my blood sugar was extremely high, my triglycerides (chemical form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body) was extremely high, my uric acid (chemical created when the body breaks down substances called purines) was extremely high.
“My tests showed that 80% of the blood vessels to the heart were blocked.
“I was clogged up by the fat that I had eaten over many years and I was about to die of heart attack.
“The doctor looked at me and said, ‘you’re in a very critical condition.You need to take stock of your health and do something’.
“The doctor shocked me and I let go of everything.
“I started changing my diet and my lifestyle, and did more exercise.”
Mr Maxtone-Graham, an avid reader, went through several books, the Internet, and watched health programmes on YouTube to get a good picture of health and nutrition.
Cathy and Robert Badui, a couple who preach the message of good health in PNG, were a great inspiration.
Mr Maxtone-Graham found hope in American Dr Thomas Jackson of M.E.E.T Ministry, who teaches God’s plan based on eight health messages in the bible.
M.E.E.T. Ministry - http://www.meetministry.org/ - teaches the body was designed by the Creator to heal itself.
People need to be educated as to how to cooperate with nature, learning accessible, practical life-style principles: Godly Trust; Open Air; Daily Exercise; Proper Rest; Lots of Water; Always Temperate; and Nutrition.
Stress – distress - is killing people, according to the ministry, so it teaches people how to manage stress through the eyes of God.
“My life was in peril until then,” Mr Maxtone-Graham recalls.
“I accepted God as my creator and Jesus as my saviour.
“I now eat home-grown garden food.
“I don’t eat anything that’s manufactured or processed.
“I don’t eat any meat and I’m a total vegetarian.
“I’ve never been sick for the last 18 months.
“I’ve got more energy now.
“I do exercises in the gym, do cardio exercises, boxing, I run on the treadmill, I swim, and I play rugby touch.
“I’ve discovered that health is more valuable than all the gold and money in the world
He encourages fellow Papua New Guineans: “People neglect their health in pursuit of wealth, only to lose all their wealth to regain their health in the final days of their lives.
“Money doesn’t give happiness.
‘Money gives more and more problems.
“As the people reach 50 or 60, they are already falling apart
“Let’s not end up like this.
“Let’s not leave our health too late.
“I’m a believer in preventative measures rather than curative medicine.
“It’s a lot cheaper and wiser to do this.
“I want to share my experiences with other Papua New Guineans as I don’t want to see them dropping dead at an early age.
“I feel that someone has to champion the cause of a healthy lifestyle in this country.
“My message to the people of Papua New Guinea is that we don’t need Western food and Western lifestyles.
“We must go back to our traditional food.
“It’s the healthiest food in the world.”
Mr Maxtone-Graham can be contacted on email jamiemaxtonegraham@gmail.com.

Microsoft's new search engine throws the gauntlet at Google

Captions: 1. Screenshot of the Bing homepage 2. Bing tour page with a banner image of Huli wigmen from the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea

Internet search engines seem to have been all the rage for the last couple of days, first with the nerdy Wolfram Alpha a fortnight ago, and just last weekend Bing – Microsoft’s (AKA Bill Gate’s) answer to the Google juggernaut.
What if there was a better search engine than Google?
Microsoft has released its latest iteration of its search engine platform, Bing, into the marketplace in an attempt to take on Google.
Microsoft quietly launched its new search engine without fanfare and sans parade.
Such is technology, and just when I was getting used to Wolfram Alpha, as well as people from all over Papua New Guinea and the world, including well-known journalist and columnist, Frank Senge-Kolma, who was also bitten by the bug.
“It’s so marvelous,” wrote Bethuel Kotty from the Divine Word University in Madang after trying out Wolfram Alpha.
“I have tried and every calculation in mathematics, money and finance has been done and all the answers are given.”
The emergence of Wolfram Alpha made people start questioning Google and the whole future of Internet search engines.
And just when they were starting to do so, along comes the new kid on the block, Bing.
Bing has a PNG flavour to it as on the top of its tour page is a picture of a group of Huli wigmen from the Southern Highlands province (I’m wondering if they’re going to send a bill to Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, for use of their picture).
But Bing’s entry has been very controversial, as throughout this week, bloggers and Internet safety experts quickly discovered that one of Bing's ‘features’ is that it takes only a few clicks for anyone — of any age — to view explicit pornographic videos without even leaving the search engine.
Today Show’s technology editor Charlie Brown, well known to Papua New Guineans as we watch the Nine Network breakfast show every day, believes that Bing can take a chunk of the Google cake.
“Some pundits are probably asking ‘why bother?’” he writes on his blog http://www.charliesblog.com.au/.
“Such is the strength of the Google brand.
“With between 70-90% of the market share in most western countries, to try and knock it off its perch seems almost impossible, and would be a very expensive exercise.
“Its current rival, Yahoo, only has about 15-20% share depending on the country, and that hasn't varied for a long time, and doesn't look like changing soon.
“Sure, others have tried to take a chunk off Google, but have failed.
“Wolfram, the most-recent example of a search engine device, is too narrowly-focused in its objectives to have any impact on Google.
“So is it a fait acompli? Is there no hope for any fledgling entrepreneur – or current player for that matter – to take on Google's seeming monopoly and win?
“Absolutely! I am of the belief that it is only a matter of time before Google is taken down a peg or two.
“What needs to happen is for one of the other companies to give their tool something that blows the company away.
“Think about it. If I was to say to you, ‘hey try this search engine, it's better than Google because of X, Y, Z’ and you tried it, and I was right, then like a virus the word would spread. That is all it will take.
“I'm not saying Bing will do this, because I haven't had the chance to have a good play with it yet, but what I am saying is to all those cynics out there – it can be done.
“And I believe it will only be a matter of time before some starts eating into Google's market share.”
In its bid to beat Google, Microsoft has unveiled a slate of convenient features for Bing, including an ‘auto play’ tool that lets users preview videos simply by hovering a mouse over them.
That asset may become a liability, because users can get a taste of porn videos on Bing instead of having to go to a smutty Web site — an innovation other search engines have yet to offer.
Technology blogger Loic Le Meur (http://loiclemeur.com/) noticed the issue early Monday after testing video search on Bing.
What he found was a cornucopia of pornography that he said transformed the search engine into its very own pornographic Web site.
"You are now on a porn site without leaving Bing. Amazing," Le Meur wrote on his blog.
Bing, like other major search engines, lets users set filtering preferences at one of three levels — strict, moderate or simply off.
Online safety advocates argue that search engines need to do much more to cut off underage access to pornography — because the filters can be circumvented easily with just one click.
Content-filtering companies have also been reviewing Bing — and have found the same gaping problems.
Microsoft said in a statement that it was up to users to turn off the filters, and provided instructions on how to toggle the settings on its blog.
"By default, Bing filters out explicit image and video results,” the statement read.
“Consumers must take action to turn off the Safe Search filter in their settings in order for explicit image or video content to appear in Bing's results," the statement read.
Other major search engines like Yahoo and Google come up with similar video and image results when electronic filters are turned off — but don't provide automatic playing of videos within the search-results page.”
The abundance of pornography is something child health experts say is simply a fact of life.
"Kids can access pornography on the Internet no matter what the search engine is," Dr. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, told FOXNews.com.
Walsh said it's particularly important that kids be protected from the worst excesses of pornography during their formative years.
"Because they're at the very age when they are developing their whole attitudes about sex and sexuality," he said.
“It's bad for them to be visiting porn sites where sex is basically a commodity to be bought and sold and where women are treated like objects.
“The attitudes that they're going to pick up there are not the attitudes we want them to have for life."
Protecting kids from pornography or other potentially harmful materials must ultimately rest with parents, Walsh added.
"I don't know that search engines can be programmed to do the job that parents need to," he said.

Hubble telescope gallery

This is really worth looking at and bookmarking.

Even in the era of hourly declarations of  "its awesome, man!"- this really does fill one with awe.

And the knowledge of the apparently endless nature of this, "our" universe,let alone other universes which are believed to lie out there, unnumbered, this, "our" universe's internal dimensions expressed in tens of thousands of lightyears is the genesis of awe.

Even though one expects to be so struck by pix of this sort!

 

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/

 

Gulf mourns

From The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

Governor Kavo points finger at Government

 

GULF Governor Havila Kavo yesterday blamed the poor condition of the Hiritano Highway for the horrific accident that claimed 17 lives and injured several others at the weekend.

Mr Kavo said the National Government should be held responsible for the poor state the highway was in.

He said the highway, which he described as a national asset, was littered with potholes, making driving from Port Moresby to Malalaua and vice-versa very dangerous.

He said thick shrubs and bushes had grown tall and onto the road, often obstructing the views of drivers and making it difficult to negotiate corners and give way to oncoming vehicles.

The governor held a press conference yesterday to announce that the Gulf province was mourning the loss of lives in the tragedy. Two PMV trucks collided near Bereina on Saturday, killing 17 people and leaving many more injured.

Mr Kavo said the provincial government would assist with the funeral costs and urged relatives and people of Gulf to also contribute at this time of mourning.

He expressed his sorrow at the loss of lives and added he had travelled to the crash site on Sunday.

He blamed the National Government for turning a blind eye to a “national asset”.

“The Government is pumping money into roads in Lae and the Highlands Highway while we have more than 300 lives lost so far of people trying to seek services in Port Moresby,” Mr Kavo said.

He said because of the poor road condition, people often resort to long boat trip in dangerous conditions, and only last week four people were lost at sea and a search was still continuing.

Meanwhile, eight people injured in the accident continue to battle for their lives at the Port Moresby General Hospital (POMGH).

The two doctors on duty,

Dr Posing Posanau and Dr Gary Nou, said yesterday that the number of reported deceased victims remained at 17.

Those injured include eight people who are in a critical state and another 13 who sustained multiple injuries, bringing to 21 the number of people admitted to the hospital.

Dr Posanau said he had certified another two bodies which where taken to the funeral home directly from the accident site, and there was a possibility that other bodies were also taken directly back to their villages after the accident.

So the total death toll could be higher, according to the senior medical officer and coordinator of the emergency unit, Dr Sam Yockpua.

Dr Nou said that Saturday night was quite chaotic, with family and relatives flooding into the emergency room.

But he commended the efforts of the health workers of the Bereina health centre whom he said did a brilliant job in ensuring that the patients’ injuries were prioritised and well taken care of, which made his job much easier when the casualties were brought to the POMGH and, most importantly, saved lives.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Attempts to contact senior police officers in Port Moresby yesterday were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, POMGH also reported another road accident in Port Moresby that allegedly resulted from drunk driving during the early hours of Sunday morning.

A couple crashed their vehicle along Bava Street, but neither of them sustained any serious injuries.

 

Resource ownership law review before Parliament

By HENZY YAKHAM

 

Twice Prime Minister and New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan introduced during the May session of Parliament a motion seeking comprehensive review of the Mining Act 1992 - to transfer all natural resources ownership from State to Papua New Guinean landowners.

The motion is a most revolutionary change and opens the gateway for majority citizens, which if gets the blessing of Parliament and subsequent changes to the law, will enable the resource owners to be meaningful  partners with rights protected and become real PNG citizens of the 21st Century.

Since the idea of the motion was mooted and its eventual introduction in Parliament, overwhelming support has been received from law makers, customary landowners and resource owners from new project areas.

On Thursday May 14, 2009, Sir Julius articulated the reasons why resources ownership must be removed from the State and given to the landowners in a well presented speech delivered to his colleague legislators.

The motion was introduced while State negotiators and landowner representatives were struggling desperately to break the impasse over equity participation in the multibillion PNG Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project Benefit Sharing Agreement (BSA) in Kokopo, East New Britain province.

Sir Julius has, on a number of occasions warned that “the agreement you sign is not worth the paper you’re signing on, if the State is not going to honor its obligations,” making reference to over K350 million owed to the New Ireland Provincial Government by the National Government in outstanding payments as per the Lihir Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) they signed in 1995.

That MOA specifies for among others the National Government to allocate each year major infrastructure grants, SSG and major infrastructure projects. The major infrastructure projects include an international airport, an international seaport, a modern well equipped hospital at Namatanai and major redevelopment and sealing of the Bulminski Highway. To date, none of the major projects have been undertaken.

Speaking on his motion in Parliament, Sir Julius told an attentive audience that times have changed since PNG’s existing resource laws were legislated and time was right for some radical changes to conform to the wishes and aspirations of the resource owners in the 21st Century.

“We must shift the wealth of the nation from the Government to the hands of the individual - the resource owners. The wealth of our nation must be in hands of our people. This truly then is the pinnacle of what democracy defines - the people’s government. For too long those who own the land where resources are extracted have suffered far too many of the negative impacts and received far too little of the benefits of such activities,” the House heard.

The motion is a follow-up of Resolution No. 6 on Mining Benefits of the Governor’s Conference held at Lombrum, Manus province on June 2 2008. The conference unanimously approved and tasked Inter-Government Relations Minister Job Pomat to bring to the National Government to produce a comprehensive review of the Mining Act 1992. 

Sir Julius’ motion is aimed at assisting Minister Pomat to speed up that process and the National Parliament to push to reality. The motion has been referred to the Parliamentary mining committee to deliberate and report to Parliament for consideration.

Whilst stressing the need for landowners to have greater share of benefits from resources on their land, Sir Julius also noted the substantial negative environmental and socio-economic impacts of major resource extraction activities.

He told Parliament that people in affected areas suffered the greatest negative impacts, and since they would realise the financial benefits of the mine for only a limited time, it was only fair that they received a greater share of the benefits.

Currently, the main benefits the people receive are:

•           Royalties which amount to only 2% of the F.O.B. annual revenues of the resource extraction activity;

•           Special Support Grant’s which the National Government has now tried to reduce to only one-quarter of 1% of F.O.B. annual revenues; and

•           Some infrastructure benefits in projects such as schools and health centres.

This Sir Julius was very critical of the huge imbalance because although the province and local communities suffered huge negative impacts, they received only about 2¼% of the financial benefits. 

“This imbalance cannot be allowed to continue, especially since most of the negative impacts of the mine will last for generations.  So, despite the fact the land belongs to Mama Graun and despite the fact that they feel the negative effects more than anyone else the people themselves receive an insultingly small amount of the financial benefits of the mine. The people must benefit more and suffer less from the exploitation of their land.  If they do not, then the people will refuse to allow further mining on their land.  Why should they allow outsiders to come in and take their wealth for such a small payment?  Government should protect the people.  Instead it has been protecting the mining companies and sharing in their profits while denying those benefits to the people,” he said.

Sir Julius suggested for an independent statutory authority, such as the Mineral Resource Development Corporation, will be formally legislated as the first recipient of all payments for which the mining company is liable under the Mining Contract, including corporate tax, PAYG tax, dividends and any other payments due.

The Statutory Body would then be legally responsible to distribute the funds it receives in the following way and in the following order:

•           Distribution 1 - All funds owed to the province, LLG(s) and landowners under the MOA or similar agreement with the State;

•           Distribution 2 - Fifty percent (50%) of all remaining funds are to be deposited into a Reserve Fund to be independently managed by a reputable financial institution outside Papua New Guinea for use for future generations; and

•           Distribution 3 - The remaining fifty percent (50%) of funds are to be transferred to the State on the condition that one third of that total is to be used for PIP (development) activities inside the province in which the resource extraction activity is occurring and two-thirds of the total is to be used for development activities in the rest of Papua New Guinea.

Under this proposal, the province, Local Level Government and landowners will continue to receive payments of royalties directly from the mining company, but the State would receive no funds directly from the company. The State would be the last of the payees to receive funds.

The State would then keep all funds received under mining or related agreements separate from all other income, and strictly dedicate those funds in the way outlined for development activities under the Public Investment Programme (PIP).

Sir Julius called for a reversal of the current imbalance by turning the tide and take a bold step forward in a new path, leading to a new level of opportunity for the majority of our rural population.

“I hope we can stand together today to support this motion and get the government to move swiftly to introduce the changes proposed to revolutionise our economic vision providing a new beginning for greater participation of the majority of our people and resource owners,” he urged the MPs.

The motion before Parliament is calling on the National Government to review the ownership of minerals as part of a comprehensive review of the Mining Act 1992.

The review calls for among others:

•           Review the decisions by the State to reduce the rate of Special Support Grant (SSG) calculations from 1% to 0.25% and demand the state to immediately restore the 1% special support grants (SSG) will full compensation to be paid to affected provinces retrospectively to the date of the Governments unilaterally, without consulting the stakeholders or invoking settlement of dispute under Terms of the MOA;

•           SSG calculation be increased from 1% to 10% of annual FOB sales revenue and that SSG be given untied;

•           The principle of derivation revenue (5%) paid to provinces be applied also to mineral exports;

•           The rate of mineral royalty payment be increased from 2% to 5% of annual FOB sales revenue;

•           The 10% equity option offered to Provincial Government and the landowners be fully carried by the State;

•           The supply and procurement of goods and services from within PNG be transferred from within the province where the mining operation is located so that GST to the provinces is maximised;

•           Tax credit scheme be supplemented with more favourable arrangements to enable linking infrastructures to be established right from day one of the mining operations;

•           Mining companies contribute at least 10% of the value of further expansion costs not originally planned for that many prolong the payment of corporate tax;

•           Mining companies committed to support infrastructure as recommended by the Provincial Government and this commitment must from part of the mining contract;

•           National Government immediately settle all outstanding MOA by 30 June 2009; and

•           Amendment to the Mining Act 1992 and transfer all natural resources, (Timber, Fish and Underwater Mining, Oil and Gas), ownership to resource owners with clear and agreed sharing formula.

Since Post-Courier published the first write-up about the introduction of this motion on May 4 2009, there have been overwhelming supports from all sectors.

Among them was former Okapa MP Castan Maibawa, a former Minister for Petroleum and Energy, who said time has come for Papua New Guineans to take higher skate in resource development, particularly from the country’s abundant gas reserves.

“I believe we have come to a stage where we, as a country need to seriously take stock of our natural resources and the decisions of the past. For far too long we have allowed foreigners to come and exploit our natural resources. The basis of inviting foreign investment into PNG in the past was that the country was young and did not have the expertise, capital and know-how to develop these resources, while the government concentrated on collecting tax revenue while promoting employment and spin-off benefits

“Thirsty four years have passed since PNG's independence and in the light of changing time and nationals graduating of highly specialised skills and expertise, time has come for greater change in resource ownership and management by Papua New Guineans. We must not allow our remaining natural resources to be exploited without land owners meaningfully benefiting from,” he said.

Mr Maibawa explained that 30 years ago, the gas market was almost zero, but in the past 12 years there has been great interest in gas development because it is was a multibillion dollar industry.

“Landowners must demand for higher stakes than the current 22.5% for the Government and a mere 2% for resource owner. Instead we demand 30%, of which the State gets 20% and the landowners 10% from any gas development project. Let us forget the infighting for the crumbles and demand for 30% skate in all gas development projects. No 30% no gas,” Mr Maibawa when supporting Sir Julius’s for taking a bold initiative for benefit of the majority landowners.

For comments and full text of speech delivered by Sir Julius on his motion, contact nstar@datec.com.pg

New ride just for one

This is not a toy, not a concept car.

It is a newly developed single seat car in highly aerodynamic tear-shape road-proven real car.

It is ready to be launched as a single-seater for sale in Shanghai in 2010 for a mere RMB
4,000 (US$600)!
Interested? Wait till you learn that it will cruise at 100-120 Km/Hr with an unbelievable 0.99litre/100Km (258 miles/gallon) !
Impressed? Totally, after you have read all the details below about the hi-tech and space-age material input into this car!
The most-economic car in the world will be on sale next year

Better than Electric Car - 258 miles/gallon: IPO 2010 in Shanghai
This is a single seated car
From conception to production: three years and the company is headquartered in Hamburg , Germany.
Will be selling for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600.
Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons
Speed = 62 - 74.6 Miles/hour
Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon
Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

Health Minister urged to impose anti-flu measures

Health Minister Sasa Zibe has been urged to get his department to take drastic measures to combat the swine flu that is sweeping the world.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil made the appeal yesterday as Australia’s swine flu tally had hit 306, while the number of cases around the world rose to 15,000.

He is particularly concerned because there are up to seven international flights from Australia each day, including those carrying fly-in fly-out workers to various project sites around the country, including Hidden Valley gold mine in his Bulolo electorate

Victoria is the Australian state worst-hit by swine flu with 212 sufferers, while NSW has 64 people with the disease, Queensland has 17 confirmed cases, while all other states and territories have six or fewer cases each.

“I’m particularly concerned because in Queensland, the number of cases is up to 17 now,” Mr Basil said, adding customs and health at Jackson’s Airport did not have proper facilities to screen visitors, which posed a serious threat to Papua New Guinea.

He also called on Mr Zibe and the Health Department to spell out clearly what vaccines were in place should the virus hit PNG.

“I’m very concerned,” Mr Basil said.

“What is the Health Minister doing about this?

“What is Papua New Guinea doing?

“Are we going to sit back like this?”

 

A cake for Keith Nalu

A cake for Keith...Keith (centre) blows the candle for his second birthday on Monday night flanked by siblings Moasing, Keith and Jr Malum Nalu.

The horse and cart days

Down Memory Lane with PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia

When I was a small child, most of our family’s daily requirements except meat, were delivered by a horse and cart. (Ice, Bread, Groceries, Milk, etc)

We didn’t have refrigerators in those days and used ice chests. Ice chests were galvanized zinc lined wooden boxes with a flap on the top opening into a self draining box. The bottom of the chest held a small, enameled metal cool area not unlike a very small bar fridge. This was how everyone kept their butter, milk and meat to ensure they didn’t go off in the heat.

The Ice man came early in the morning twice a week, to deliver ice to our house. His cart always had a slow drip of water trailing out the back. He knew we only had a smaller, ‘half block’ ice chest although some people had a larger ice chest that took a whole block. The Ice man would grab hold of a large block of ice with his two ice hooks and slide it out from under the hessian bags that kept the ice blocks insulated. He would then pull the block onto the back of the cart. A large block of ice was about two feet long (2/3’s of a meter in length) and a foot (a third of a meter) square. The Ice man would then break the large block into two halves by expertly striking the block in the middle with his ice pick and turn the block over and strike it again in the middle. The block would split neatly into two halves but often leave some small ice chips that would fall onto the road. Small boys used to follow the ice cart around and grab the ice chips and suck them like highly prized lollies.

The Ice man would grab hold of the half block and lift it onto his shoulder using his ice hooks. He wore a leather cape made up of a shoulder guard and a hood covering his head to protect him from the ice he carried. With his yell of “Ice Oh!” people would open their front doors and have the top flap of the ice chest open ready. The Ice man would deposit the block or half block into the top of the top of whatever was left of the last bock. Sometimes in the cooler weather, the last block hadn’t completely melted and the top flap of the ice chest wouldn’t close for a while until the ice had melted down and drained away.

The Ice man’s leather head and shoulder guard was very similar to one that the sanitary carter used when he picked up and carried on his shoulder the sanitary bins from the outside toilet. He would then replace the ‘full’ bins with empty ones from the ‘Honey Wagon’. The sanitary bins were two foot high and about 18 inches in diameter and when full, were very heavy. It took a strong man to be a sanitary carter in every sense of the word and in those days, the sanitary carter was reputedly one of the most highly paid workers. Everyone knew why. You always checked the outside ‘loo’ for any undesirables like snakes and spiders before use.

Milk was also delivered early in the morning, in bulk and direct from the dairy at the end of the street. The dairy farmer, who had milked his cows before dawn, would make his deliveries via his horse and cart. The Milkman’s cart had a large metal barrel on the back of it and the Milkman would ladle out the fresh milk from a hole in the top of the barrel into a large Billycan and carry the milk to each house. Each family had a servery built into the side of the house about a foot (1/3 of a meter), square where the milk Billycan would be left at night. When we sometimes were locked out of the house if the wind had blown the door closed, my job was to crawl through the servery and open the front door from the inside. The milkman would then pour the milk delivery into the family’s quart pot (2 pints or about 1 and ½ liters) Billycan and close the outside door to keep the milk out of the sun. Some larger families might have half a gallon (4 pints) delivered in the same way.

Later in the day, the baker would also use the servery to deposit the family’s bread delivery. Baker’s carts were often painted in a very artistic manner with colourful scrolls and the name of the bakery painted on the side. The back of the cart was open and the loaves were held on shelves. Our bread was usually a high topped loaf although some preferred a square loaf. Wrapped, sliced bread was not available then. Grandfather would slice the loaf in a peculiar way using an old bread knife. He would hold the loaf with his left arm around it and with his right hand slowly saw towards him a slice off the top of the loaf. I understand this was a traditional English way of slicing bread and Grandfather’s parents came from Cornwall and Devon. Breadboards were apparently a more recent invention. As a child, I can remember waiting impatiently for the next slice of bread to be available but nothing would hurry Grandfather. Butter, fresh out of the ice chest, was usually ‘as hard as goat’s knees’ and you had to wait a while for it to become spreadable. My favourite lunch was bread and treacle.

The horses pulling all these delivery the carts would remember where the next delivery was to be made and automatically halt outside that house. Each horse would have a nose bag with grain and chaff in it and would slowly ‘munch’ its way along the road and occasionally deposit a pile (on a winter’s morning), of steaming horse dung. The road outside our house often had lumps of horse manure in the middle of it and people would collect this and put on their roses. This had a good effect on the roses but always sprouted unwanted oats seedlings that the horse had eaten but not digested.

Talking to my Aunt recently, she related a story about when my Grandfather (her brother) was working at McIlwraith's Grocery Store in Parramatta. He borrowed the pony the family used to pull the farm sulky and took it on the rounds to collect and deliver grocery orders. My Aunt said that it turned out to be a bit of a nuisance for when the family decided to go on a sulky ride somewhere, the darned pony would continually stop and wait every time it arrived outside each house that Grandfather used to visit with a grocery order.

Horror smash leaves 17 dead

* 17 killed, over 40 injured                                    

 * Two PMVs collide near Bereina

* Many victims from Iokea and bodies, casualties at Port Moresby General Hospital

 

By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI and PATRICK TALU in The National, Papua New Guinea’s leading daily newspaper

 

SEVENTEEN people were killed and more than 40 are fighting for their lives in hospital after one of PNG’s worst road accidents on the Hiritano Highway near Bereina in Central province on Saturday afternoon.

Two PMV trucks collided head-on in the horrific accident about 4pm, several kilometres toward Iokea village from the Bereina station turn-off.

Sixteen of the passengers and crew died on impact, while a young boy died on arrival at the Port Moresby General Hospital from severe internal injuries.

A nursing staff of Bereina Hospital, who helped transport the crash victims, told The National: “Planti lain dai na planti igat intenel injuri na lek bruk na han bruk” (Many people are dead and there are many with internal injuries and broken bones in their hands and legs).

Hiritano Highway Police Patrol unit officers told The National in Hisiu yesterday that the 13 passengers who died on impact were in the PMV truck travelling to Iokea from Port Moresby, while three died in the truck heading toward the city. Both trucks were carrying at least 28 passengers each. The exact number of passengers could not be confirmed.

One of the women killed instantly was named as Fotuna Akarai Sarufa, in her mid-40s, who was travelling to Iokea for a farewell feast for her elder sister who passed away 43 days ago.

Mrs Sarufa died instantly from a head injury. Her niece, Emma Tau, who was accompanying her aunt, also died instantly, and one of her sons-in-law, Kivovia Kevei Ovai, a former Correctional Services officer, also died in the crash.

An employee of a mining company, Loksy Ovai, who was heading home to Iokea for his field break, was killed as he sat in the cabin of the PMV truck. The driver, Charlie Tapora, and a third person in the cabin, were crushed into the back of the cabin and died instantly.

Police said the driver and crew of the city-bound truck also died on impact.

There was a smell of death in the air and cargo and passengers’ belongings strewn all over the scene of the accident when The National arrived yesterday.

Kerema East local level government president, Robert Paiva, who was at the scene, was shocked and distraught by the tragedy.

Many who died were his relatives and he was travelling to Port Moresby last night to be with family members.

He called for more police patrols on the highway and urged the Works Department to clear the sides of the roads which were overgrown with tall grass that made the national highway appear like a bush track, with visibility of on-coming vehicles extremely difficult (see separate story above).

The Hiritano Highway Police Patrol told The National that the PMV travelling to Port Moresby was loaded with passengers and cargo and it collided head-on with the PMV from Port Moresby.

On impact, passengers and cargo were thrown toward the cabins of the two PMVs, with visible signs of the metal frames bent inwards.

Help was sought from the Bereina Hospital and the Catholic Diocese staff, who rushed to the scene, struggled to retrieve bodies from the twisted metal frames and cabins.

They rushed four passengers with serious internal injuries to Port Moresby General Hospital while others with broken bones were taken to Bereina Hospital. Later on Saturday night, they were transferred to Port Moresby General Hospital with the dead bodies, police and hospital staff said.

The total death toll was put at 17 last night by various persons and police spoken to by The National.

The front of the POMGH turned into a large mourning site as people from Gulf province arrived in droves as news of the accident spread through various suburbs like Taikone, Kaugere, Mahuru, Gerehu, Koki, Hohola, Tokarara and Gordon on Saturday night.

There was wailing and mourning at the hospital grounds up to about 1am on Sunday as relatives confirmed deaths of their family members and identified bodies as they were transported in.

Reliable sources from POMGH’s Accident and Emergency unit confirmed that 17 bodies were transferred to the hospital morgue, while the rest of the passengers, some with serious injuries, are fighting for their lives at the intensive care unit.

When The National visited the emergency ward and surgical units at 6pm yesterday, 43 badly injured passengers were fighting for their lives.

 

Happy 2nd birthday, Keith Nalu

Happy 2nd Birthday to my third son, Keith 'Baby' Nalu Jr, who turns two years old today, Monday, June 01, 2009.

That is sadly without Mum, Hula, who left us so tragically in Easter 2008.
I love you son, and God Bless You as Your prepare to take your place in this wide, wide world.
Love from Dad, as well as big brothers Malum Nalu Jr, Gedi, and sister Moasing, plus family and friends in Daru, Lae, Goroka, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the world.