Australian PM pays an emotional tribute to her countrymen.....

The "Land From Down Under", Austrailia has been taking it on the chin from Mother Nature - Floods, Cyclones, Wildfires, and all manner of whatever could happen to them has been happening. Aussies are made of tough stuff and anyone who has seen them on the Battlefield can testify to that.

The Austrailian Prime Minister gave an emotional speech about what her country has been through and how a flag was given to her by a helicopter rescue crew who found it - muddy but unbowed.

I salute our friends in Austrailia and their unbrokem spirit...Keep up the superior effort.

No worries mates - Fair Dinkum !!

Australian PM Pays Emotional Tribute to Natural Disaster Victims
2011-02-08 www.ntdtv.com

Australia's parliament met for the first time this year on Tuesday.

Political parties put hostilities on hold as they paid tribute to those who died during a summer of natural disasters.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been criticized for not showing enough empathy during the emergencies, became visibly emotional as she led a bipartisan condolence speech.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
"I move that the house acknowledges with great sadness the devastation occasioned by this summer's natural disasters including unprecedented floods, Cyclone Yasi and bushfires, extends its deepest sympathies to the families of those who have lost loved ones.”

She paid special tribute to thousands of volunteers and rescue workers, displaying an Australian flag given to her by the crew of a rescue helicopter.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
"These helicopters continued with their search and rescue in the days to come and they found this flag mister speaker and I was honored when they gave it to me.”

She also told of local heroes that emerged from touching rescue stories.

[Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister]:
“I spoke to them of courage, the courage it takes to keep filling sand bags even when your back is breaking, the courage it takes to hold your nerve in the dark as the cyclone races around you, the courage it takes to tell your children to run across the railway line, knowing it is dangerous, knowing they could fall but knowing it is their only hope of getting to safety, the courage it takes for a young boy, 13-year-old boy Jordan Rice to say to his rescuers, take my brother first and before that brave rescuer could return, Jordan and mum Donna were taken by the flood but the legend of Jordan's amazing courage will go on."

Floods in the northern Queensland state alone killed 35 people, with nine still missing, inundated 30-thousand homes and wiped out roads, rail lines and bridges.

Destructive floods also swept through New South Wales and Victoria states, a massive category five cyclone hit northern Queensland and ferocious bushfires have destroyed more than 60 homes around the Western Australian capital of Perth.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott also paid tribute to volunteers and rescue workers and commended Gillard for her efforts.

[Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader]:
"I rise to support the motion so eloquently moved by the prime minister, we have lived through a summer of disaster, a summer of flood, of storm, of fire, it is right that this parliament should pause at some length to reflect on that to mourn the death, to offer words of comfort to the suffering, to congratulate everyone who has responded to this with courage, with professionalism and with good old-fashioned Aussie grit and also may I say, mister speaker, to congratulate the prime minister for the effort that she has made over recent weeks and again today to be with the victims of the floods."

The bipartisanism is unlikely to last very long, with the government and opposition still arguing over how to pay for disaster recovery.

Economists estimate the floods and cyclone damage to be more than $10 billion with the national government to pay around 75 percent of the costs.

Marine vet's 20-foot flagpole has HOA filing suit over a display of patriotism that stands taller than allowed

Petty Bureaucrats sit on HOAs (Home Owner Associations) and are the bane of a free society. The people who desire to serve on these types of boards are those who want to be able to inflict their views of what a community needs to be on their neighbors.

I fail to understand why people willingly buy property where others can order you on what you can or cannot do with your OWN HOME.

One of every five Americans lives under rules and regulations that could confiscate their homes from them, remove their right to privacy and take away their freedom of expression.

Neither Congress, the police nor local governments can do anything about it. Some people hate the situation. Others love the rules. Many homeowners, however, don't realize what rights they've signed away until it's too late.

They are people living their American Dreams inside a community regulated by a homeowners association (HOA), and corresponding covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that constitute a form of government that pleases some but is just a headache-inducing hassle for others.

"Fifty-five million Americans live in developments overseen by community associations," says consumer watchdog Ken Hyland. "Four out of five of those associations are doing well, but the other 20 per cent have problems."

The reason: The rules that govern private home developments are very difficult to change and are set up by developers who never live on the site and who disappear after a few years.

Well in this case, they got a fight from a US MARINE and all I can say is he is NOT the kind of person who will surrender willingly or without a fight...

SEMPER FI to you MARINE - Go kick some ARSE on these fools who hide behind petulant rules and try to make other's lives miserable.




Marine vet's 20-foot flagpole has homeowners association filing suit over a display of patriotism that stands taller than allowed
By MIKE MORRIS
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 7, 2011, 4:49AM
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Marine veteran Michael Merola says he "just didn't buy" his neighborhood association's reasons why he couldn't put up his big flagpole.

A Marine Corps veteran is being sued by his Cypress-area homeowners association because the flagpole on which he flies the United States and Marine Corps flags does not meet his subdivision's design guidelines.

Mike Merola and his lawyer, Lee Thweatt, say this is a classic case of overreach by a nitpicking homeowners association. Lakeland Village Community Association says it is seeking to enforce its rules evenly on all residents.

Standing in his backyard in a black T-shirt bearing an eagle and the American flag, the 60-year-old Merola called that argument "a lame excuse." After his application to erect a 20-foot flagpole in his backyard was denied, he protested in a series of letters and, ultimately, erected the pole anyway.

"They just don't understand, unless they've been in the military, to feel the pride that I feel in flying that flag high and proud," said Merola, who served in the Marines from 1969 to 1977. "The excuses and things that they came up with for me not being able to fly that flagpole, I just didn't buy. That's why I bucked the system and put it up."

The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.

Such an approach is "in keeping with the residential nature of the community," the board wrote in a statement. The suit alleges the pole is "a detriment to Lakeland Village and … (causes) imminent harm and irreparable injury to (the association)." The suit seeks a $10 fine for every day the pole stays standing, a court order to remove it and payment of attorneys' fees.

"The problem with a flagpole of that height and that significance is that it flaps in the wind and causes noise to other homeowners," Tran said. "If we allow the mounting of a 20-foot freestanding flagpole in the backyard, who's to say that the next person isn't going to mount it to the top of their roof? We have to have standards."

But Merola, who moved into the neighborhood in March 2009, bringing the flagpole from his former residence, said he's received only compliments from neighbors about the pole, whether from kids skateboarding by on the walking path behind his back fence or from neighbors who've stopped to investigate the source of all the gossip.

Neighbors don't mind
"I don't understand why the homeowners association overreacted like this," said Thweatt, Merola's lawyer, and a Marine himself. "I understand they have to protect the property values of the people in that subdivision, but they've had no complaints. It's not like the guy painted his house neon orange."

Merola's next-door neighbors, Satish and Ann Kalra, said the pole does not bother them.

"The homeowners association should look at the rules again," Satish Kalra said. "If the rules need to be modified, they should be modified. … That would be the logical thing to do."

Tran said even if Merola has not received complaints, another neighbor with a similar flagpole might.

Thweatt, who took the case pro bono, said he believes the suit violates the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, which says, in part, that a homeowners association "may not adopt or enforce any policy … that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag."

No court date has been scheduled in the case.

"I hope we can come to some kind of agreement that will let me continue to fly the flag loud and proud for as long as I live," Merola said.

mike.morris@chron.com

" It’s not an easy thing to do...”

Please read the short story below and understand what it means...this is the personal and up close part of what our military does that only those who have been there can truly understand. I am glad to share this as all need to know how well these brave warriors perform their duties and how important it is that they are there to serve to our country.


Ultimate sacrifice

AP photographer David Guttenfelder was aboard an Air Force Expeditionary Rescue Squadron helicopter that responded to a call about a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle that had been struck by an IED in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Two of the American soldiers aboard the armored vehicle were killed, and three had been seriously injured.

Guttenfelder describes the scene: “We landed in a huge marijuana field, which is growing everywhere in the area, and I could see as we were coming in that the vehicle was completely destroyed; there was nothing left of it and the soldiers were kneeling by the side of the road with their two fallen colleagues, waiting for the helicopter to land.

“On the flight back, they took two flags out of the back of the helicopter and unfolded them and carefully took the bodies of the soldiers and placed them in bags and then wrapped them in American flags in the back of the helicopter. And the helicopter is flying at 150 miles an hour, very low, tactical flying because they’re taking contact often from the enemy.

“When the pararescue guys were covering the bodies in the back of the helicopter, they had only two flags with them. The wind was whipping through the open window … A medic was unfolding one of the flags and handed it to me to free his hands when
the wind caught it and it blew out the window and they lost it. So they only had one flag.

"They were talking to each other on the radios, ‘What are we gonna do?’ One of the pilots had a flag that he kept inside, behind the plate of his flak jacket that he’d kept with him for every deployment he’d ever done – in Iraq, and Afghanistan, he flew over Washington D.C. with it, his children had kissed it and his friends had signed it and he carried it in his flak jacket since he started in the Air Force. He took it out and passed it to the back of the helicopter and that was one of the flags that they used to cover one of the guys.”

When asked how the soldiers reacted to him shooting pictures during such a personal, sensitive moment, Guttenfelder said, “The soldiers were as respectful of me as I was of them.

“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think it was important, because it’s not an easy thing to do.”

Guttenfelder has been covering the war in Afghanistan for nine years

That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will...

This is worthy of posting.....Not something current but something that will stand for a long, long time - Kudos to U.S. District Court Judge William Young.....He hit the target "center mass" for sure....

Sentancing of The Shoe Bomber... Richard Reid
Ruling by Judge William Young

U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts.

=================================================

January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.

On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other. That's 80 years.

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.
The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statues. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court , where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist.

To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santigo had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom.

So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.
It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other judges. We are about it.

Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten.

That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will.

GOOD DAYS / BAD DAYS

Each day in the warzone has the potential to be a GOOD day or a BAD Day. The key indicator is where the flag is when you get up in the morning

When you get up and the flag is at full mast, it will be a good day. When you get up and the flag is at half mast, you know it will be a bad day. The flag tells the tale and is a visible reminder of the reality of being here in Afghanistan.

I look each morning as I am hopeful that our flag is at full mast. Too many times, I am disappointed. The greater disappointment is experienced by a family back home who now must deal with many terrible days ahead. We, as American have always known the cost of defending freedom and have always understood that while we pay for that Freedom today, the dividends are reaped by future generations. Families of servicemembers understand that also and willing send their sons & daughters to defend Freedom around the world.

Our Forefathers understood this and paid mightily for the freedoms we now take for granted. The Military community and their families understand the significance of where the flag stands on the pole and the "real" cost of what it symbolizes. Each day, think about where the flag stands on the mast and be grateful for each good day, and hopeful that we will have less bad days ahead.

REFLECTIONS OF OUR FLAG FROM KANDAHAR

With Reverence & Respect, this message is posted. I am in Kandahar, Afghanistan and wanted you to see this message. Please forward to ensure that as many as possible will read the words of this valiant warrior.

Courtesy of Northwest Herald of Illinois, Kevin Lyons is news editor of the Northwest Herald. e-mail him at kelyons@nwherald.com

V/R

Kevin J. Cook - US Naval Reserve (retired) - working as a civilian contractor in Kandahar, Afghanistan

=====================

E-mail message from U.S. Army Maj. Anne Brophy, who is assigned to the 143rd JAG Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Today, I was given a great honor. My friend, MAJ De Mosby, invited me to join her at Mortuary Affairs. Kandahar Airfield just received 4 fallen warriors. They were on foot patrol when an IED went off.The fallen heroes have to be out of the country within 24 hours of death.

De and I were invited to put on smocks and gloves to assist in preparing the bodies for travel. We entered after the physician and chaplains had finished. The room wasn't cold but the tables were still sterile. The bodies were on the slab that makes up the bottom of the casket, each casket lined up from head to foot.Teams of two worked on each hero. I began with the sign of the cross. We assisted in actually inventorying the bodies and the items brought in with them. Only 3 of the 4 bodies will be able to have open caskets. Only one of those three will be able to have a fully open casket. We could see all four of their bodies.

A few of us through our professions have seen bodies on the table, in various states, but it was so hard not to cry for these young men. All of the soldiers and marines taking care of the bodies did it with great reverence. They see fallen heroes nearly everyday - and continue to treat each hero with dignity and respect. After checking the bodies for any personal affects and inventorying what they had. We assisted in zippering up the black bags and tagging the outside.

While we were there, the companions of the Air Force fallen hero asked to come into the room. Each of the bodies was draped with Old Glory before the companions were allowed to enter. Even though all of us were chatting in small groups, all stopped talking when the companions came toward the body.SSG Arthur drew back the flag and unzipped the black body bag, allowing the companions to view their fallen hero. De and I stood close to each other as the companions grieved. Shortly thereafter, they were escorted out. The flags were removed and put on the side.

The four fallen heroes were then carted outside to a big refrigerated container (reefers). While I didn't know protocol of standing at parade, the soldiers and marines attending to the bodies continued to handle the bodies gently and stood at parade rest when the other bodies were brought out.The large doors were then closed. We looked out to see SSG Kelly, and heard that one of the injured men was from his unit, a unit that De and I heavily support. SSG Kelly was strong, his enlisted soldier, a specialist, was barely hanging on. De and I gave both of them hugs. We then returned to the room where the bodies had been removed. I was amazed and thankful to these soldiers and marine that do this all of the time, unfortunately.

Four new flags were then removed from boxes. De and I had the honor of ironing one of the flags.Supplies are hard to come by and the ironing board is a few pieces of plywood, the iron was purchased from the PX with the soldier's own funds.(No iron donations are needed) They take great pride in ironing the flag and making it look as perfect as possible. While they do amazing work for our Fallen Heroes, many don't see what they do and how they honor our fallen. They do see the flag on top of the casket which is marched past ranks of soldiers, airmen, and marines from the United States and many other countries.

As De and I ironed, we almost cried. We ironed the broad red stripes of our flag, I thought of what the colors actually meant - and how their meaning could not have been more evident than today.

Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, reporting to Congress on the Seal, stated: "The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

As we ironed the red, I thought about the blood these men had shed for us. I could remember the smell from the body when I had the honor of preparing his body for his final trip home. I ironed the white stripes - thinking about how young these men were. One barely had hair on his upper lip. Yet each one of them were proud to serve their country, mixing their innocence with their valor, next to each other. The blue represented the justice we are serving here - helping the Afghanistan people be free from terrorists and in turn, keeping our own land free from terrorists.

We cannot forget that these terrorists came to OUR soil, OUR land, and killed OUR people. September 11 photos are off the TV now, almost a forgotten memory but so real here. The terrorists continue to try and kill us everyday. These young men died to keep all of us and our families alive. They exhibited valor, purity and justice. Although it is late with the ramp ceremony at 0145, I am tired, and have a cold, I am staying up to go to their ramp ceremony.

At times, the fallen heroes names are not read at the ramp ceremony because family members have not been notified. The bodies go to Dover, Del. where they continue to be treated with honor and dignity. Please rent Taking Chance when you can to see how we honor our fallen heroes when they leave here. The new year started out with a ramp ceremony for 4 fallen Canadian Soldiers and one reporter. Tonight, we will say good bye to these four fallen heroes. After I spent time with these heroes, I went back to work, just like I went back to work after all of the other ramp ceremonies, just like I will in the future ramp ceremonies, just like on Christmas and New Years day. The mission still needs to be done.

I'll continue to go to the ramp ceremonies, for well over 50 fallen heroes, because I feel a need to thank each service member.I am still unhappy that I missed COL Rudzinski's son's ceremony but continue to pray for him and his family - I just didn't know. There are days I wonder why these fallen heroes were chosen, and others aren't. Why did I come home after Kuwait/ Iraq after having lived half my life already and yet these young ones, just starting, are now with the good Lord. It is because of our Lord that each of us go on. I can certainly tell you my faith has gotten stronger here - even though I still get into animated discussions with the priests here and there. Same old me but a little different. In the end, please pray for our fallen heroes, their families and those that take care of our fallen heroes

The Picture Speaks for itself

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