Sunday, 02 May 2004

The Rock. Eons ago, Ayers Rock (or "Uluru," as the Aboriginals call it) was the heart of a great mountain. Thousands of years later, wind and rain have eroded that original mountain down to a stub, and there haven't been any new mountains to take its place: Australia is all one big tectonic plate, and it's been millenia since it had anything to push against.

Uluru is a sacred place to the local Aboriginals, but it's also the only tourist concern (in fact, the only anything) for several hundred miles in any direction. The Aboriginals don't like people climbing on their rock (specifically, they don't like people falling to their deaths, which has happened about 35 times over the years), but they also don't want to shut down the one local attraction that brings in tourists. So, the brochures for Uluru take the unusual position of trying to guilt-trip people into not climbing the rock. "Please don't climb," they say. It's permitted, but discouraged. I suspect this was some sort of compromise between the Guardians of Culture and the local chamber of commerce. They also ask you not to photograph Uluru except for private use; I'm not sure where blogging falls on the tribal elders' "private" scale, but I figure no one is reading this anyway, so here goes.

Climbing Ayers Rock is not for the faint of heart: It's strenuous physical activity, and steep besides. You know those signs at Disneyland that say "you must be this tall to go on this ride?" There's a sign at Ayers Rock with my picture, that says "you must be slightly more physically fit than this man." Nothing says "you are carrying ten extra pounds" like an hour-long climb at a 45° angle.

The first part of the climb has an iron chain to help you up; unless you're some kind of mountain gazelle (and if you are, I don't want to know), you'll be using the chain to pull yourself. After stopping to pant like an old man about five times, I eventually made it to the end of the chain, about halfway up; after that the route is marked by a dotted line painted on the rock, and the going gets (slightly) easier.

The collection of rocks off in the distance at right is called "The Olgas," and looks like something you'd find in Utah or New Mexico. It's another old mountain, but this one has eroded into individual (large) boulders. You can see the dotted line off to the left, as it dips into valleys and slopes near the top.

At the top of the rock you will find this majestic trash-can shaped thingy, courtesy of the Australian National Survey. Here's a close-up of the thingy, which has a compass rose on top, and points out various geographical features nearby.

Turning around and walking back down again was much easier than the journey to the top, which was fortunate, because we drank all our water getting there. (Luckily some fellow travelers were willing to sport us a few mouthfuls. Take at least 1.5 liters per person. Also, the park rangers will close the climb if it's too windy or if the temperatures are too high, which usually means the climb is only open for a few hours after sunrise.) I can say with complete confidence that climbing Ayers Rock is one of those things I'm glad I did, but will never, ever, do again.

Later that evening (at sunset) the four of us went on a tour called "Sounds of Silence," which is an outdoor three-course meal delivered in the middle of the Outback. Once the sun went down and the flies went away, we sat down at tables that could easily have come from a fancy restaurant, dined on steak and kangaroo, and then just before the dessert course a local astronomer gave one of the more fascinating dinner speeches I've heard: Using a narrow-beam spotlight, he pointed out the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere, including those of the Zodiac that were visible at that time of the evening, and then brought out telescopes to look at the rings of Saturn and the bands of Jupiter. Very entertaining and educational, and a good meal besides.

All in all, it was an excellent way to spend five days in the middle of Australia. You can see my other photos from the trip here, if you like. After three years of living here, most of it working in Sydney or the Gold Coast, I finally feel like I've seen (part of) the country.

- Posted by Scott Forbes at 8:31 am. comments.

Sunday, 02 May 2004

An open letter: On behalf of the American people, I apologize to the people of Iraq — to the individuals, their families, and their loved ones — who have been humiliated and abused by U.S. soldiers, agents, and contractors under American employ. I promise to see that these barbaric incidents are investigated, prosecuted, and that the responsible parties are punished; that the Iraqi victims of these acts are compensated for the abuse and humiliation they endured; that America's armed forces are held to the highest standards of conduct in their treatment of prisoners and civilians; and that the United States in its words and actions respects the inalienable rights of the Iraqi people.

I believe that hundreds of thousands of men and women have served honorably and decently in our effort to rebuild Iraq, and that these despicable actions are not reflective of the U.S. armed forces as a whole. Nonetheless, these actions are intolerable. Our exercise of authority in Iraq is a temporary measure, a necessary step in restoring sovereignty to the Iraqi people; we are custodians of that sovereignty only because we took from Saddam Hussein that which he had unlawfully stolen. Our duty is clear, and our intent is clear: We will restore the sovereign rights of the people of Iraq, and look forward to the day when the Iraqi people exercise the powers we've fought for them to obtain.

These photographs document crimes against the Iraqi people, and I applaud the media outlets that have exposed them to the light. Some would say the publication of these photos is harmful to our efforts: That it damages America's reputation, and fans the flames of Iraqi extremists who would fight our peacekeeping efforts. I would say that the damage had already been done — not by the people who published these pictures, but by the people who made them. The truth could not be hidden from the victims of these acts. Suppressing the evidence would only avoid our duty to see things made right.

We are fighting a terrorist movement that considers mass murder without moral pause. We are fighting to protect the rights that we hold to be universal: Rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we believe are the birthright of all humanity. But we cannot secure these rights for ourselves while denying them to the Iraqi people, and we cannot build a democratic Iraq with the tools of a police state. I condemn and regret these acts of sadistic cruelty, and support all efforts to ensure justice is served.

- Posted by Scott Forbes at 6:57 am. comments.

Sunday, 02 May 2004

Dead man campaigning. Back in January, during the primaries, I asked whether a vote for John Kerry was a vote for the charismatic Kerry, the "bring it on" Kerry who surfaced two weeks before the Iowa caucus… or a vote for the dead-fish Kerry, the mealy-mouthed zombie who lurched around in November and December.

Four months later, many observers (including the Village Voice) have decided we got the zombie — but I'm not sure yet. The book on Kerry is that he rallies down the stretch; he's best when his back's to the wall, and so on. We already know the race is going to be close, and Kerry may be getting more benefit from being a few points behind Bush at this stage: If Bush were ahead, he could claim the "underdog" mantle and use it to rally his base… but Bush has a narrow, insignificant lead, so his base remains distinctly un-rallied.

Some are starting to think that this year's Presidential election will be decided more by events on the ground in Iraq than by the actions of either candidate — but I think that's mostly because neither candidate has done anything, yet, that would overshadow recent events. A policy speech, unless it proposes a radical change of direction, isn't going to crowd Fallujah out of the headlines or replace the photos of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners (in heaven's name, what were these idiots thinking?) on the news reports.

Kerry's choice of a running mate will be the next campaign event that captures the news media's attention, and Kerry's decision will have some impact. (Just not Gephardt. That's all I ask. Edwards is fine. Sam Nunn is fine. Tom Vilsack is "Tom who?", but I'm sure he'll do fine. John McCain is either a Bush nightmare or a Nader opportunity; I can't tell which.) But, for now, the best one can say is that Kerry has avoided the problem of peaking too early.

- Posted by Scott Forbes at 5:06 am. comments.