Arthur Beetson dies at 66.

When I was in high school growing up in Sydney, Big Artie Beetson was an unstoppable, hard tackling prop for the Roosters (Tigers and Eels as well). He also appeared as a Queensland State of Origin original. Because the opposing packs couldn't put Artie on the deck, he offloaded the most sublime passes to players like John Peard and Russell Fairfax who would dart over the line for yet another Artie-inspired try. Artie was remarkably light on his feet for a man of his great size and his cunning, feigning manoeuvres resulted in many individual tries up the middle. He was also one of the toughest tacklers - able to smother man and ball. The spear tackle was also in his fearsome repertoire. We salute you big Artie Beetson - greatest prop of them all. Rest in Peace. @abcgrandstand http://t.co/VvuhbTXb

Buy Running Amok When Family And Foreign Affairs Collide Book by Mark Bowling (9780733620423) at Angus and Robertson with free shipping

Buy Running Amok When Family And Foreign Affairs Collide Book by Mark Bowling (9780733620423) at Angus and Robertson with free shipping

Ten Years After

Ah yes.. May 21st 1998.. and Indonesians were stunned as Suharto stood before TV cameras at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta and announced he was standing down as leader. His speech to the nation was covered live on Indoneisan TV and there was instant jubilation across the archipelago.
On that day, as this drama unfolded, I was reporting from the ABC's office in central Jakarta. It was a mad scramble writing radio news stories and crossing for TV News interviews describing events as they unfolded. Later in the day I joined the celebrating crowds of students at Indonesia's parliament as they sang and danced beneath the fountain in the forecourt.

You can read about this day and the massive change of REFORMASI that engulfed Indonesia in my book RUNNING AMOK.

I had the privilege to host and "In Conversation" session this last week with one of Indonesias's leading writers and intellectuals Goenawan Mohamad. He remembers those days very well too. The magazine he helped found TEMPO was banned during the Suharto years.. for daring to criticise the state.. only to re-emerge as reforms including press freedom took shape.

Pak Goenewan reckons the greatest issue facing Indonesians in 2008 is the rise and rise of radical Islam.

What do you think?

New Website Explores North Australia

It's amazing how little most people know about Australia's deep north.

Check out this website newly created to foster a conversation about North Australia and to promote a free public forum organised by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) in Darwin on 24 June.

The website contains news and features about North Australia and you can register for the Forum.

Oh.. and you'll see that there's a feature on the front page about moi.. here's a taste:

Heads up: for great yarns, go north
With its proximity to Asia, North Australia is the jumping off point for some of the biggest stories in our region. But the ABC’s strong connection to local communities means some of the best gets can be a lot closer to home.
When ABC journalist Mark Bowling was asked if he wanted to swap the Sydney newsroom for Darwin, he jumped in his yellow Torana and hot-footed it to Australia’s northernmost capital.
Two decades and various job descriptions later – including North Australia Correspondent and the ABC’s Indonesia Correspondent - Mark is now ABC Director Northern Territory and is in a good position to know what it takes to make it as a journalist in the region.
“You need to be pragmatic, (you need) a sense of humour, flexibility and a good ability as an all-rounder,” Mark said.
“In the big cities you get dedicated to a particular round and you might be on it for a long time. You might be in an air-conditioned court system for months and months or years and years.
“But in Darwin or Cairns, Broome or Townsville, there’s more chance than not you’ll get the chance to work in lots of different areas.
“I like to think of it as a centre of excellence. There are many journalists and broadcasters who have cut their teeth in the north for the ABC and have gone on to all sorts of careers – foreign correspondents, leading broadcasters, key technicians – right around the ABC network.”
Communities in North Australia rely heavily on ABC content through 105.7 ABC Darwin and 783 ABC Alice Springs, news, current affairs, sport and entertainment – as well as its emergency broadcasts during times of flood, fire and cyclone.
The close connections forged by this relationship put the ABC in a position to uncover local stories that appeal around Australia.
The upcoming documentary feature In a League of their Own, which follows the first Indigenous football team to join the NT Football League in their first season, is just one example.
Filmed by Steve McGregor, who worked most recently as Indigenous acting coordinator on Baz Luhrmann’s new movie Australia, the documentary chronicles the first season of the Tiwi Bombers as they move from being the new kids on the footy block to passionate participants in the nail-biting finals.
Mark, the Executive Producer of the feature, said he was keen to capture the importance of football in North Australia, particularly in remote communities.
“In a place like the Tiwi Islands and in many remote Indigenous communities, it is not a cliché or stretching the truth to say that boys grow up bouncing plastic water bottles along the street like footballs until they get a real football in their hands. They end up with incredible skills.
“On the other hand, the situation they are living in, in some cases can only be described as third world. For instance, living in the Tiwi Islands community is in many ways precarious, with the highest youth suicide rate in the country and is struggling to find male role models.”
These harsh realities, set against the backdrop of the Northern Territory Federal Intervention, combine with the rollercoaster ride of the team’s football season to make compelling drama.
At the start of the season the Tiwi Bombers create their own code of conduct and commit to stick to it. It means no ‘ganja’ (cannabis) and reduced alcohol consumption – no drinking before games, a celebratory drink afterwards, but tapering down as the week wound toward the next match.
The documentary explores how the players handle this challenge, as well as the many other logistical barriers the Tiwi Bombers face in their first season.
Team members fly from all over the Tiwi Islands, or drive over rough dirt roads to Nguiu on Bathurst Island just to train, while game day involves flights to and from Darwin for all players.
“We film all these challenges. It becomes a journey of the season, a journey of week to week and then it is a journey of a new club,” Mark said.
In a League of their Own will be screened on ABC1 and there are already plans for an accompanying DVD, which will include footy tips and health and lifestyle advice from the players, to be distributed among Aboriginal communities.

Bombers Crash - But Tiwi Island Football Alive and Well

It was the night that the Tiwi Bombers dived out of the Northern Territory Football League finals. It was the emotional end to their first year in the "big league" - as they described the NTFL - an end to their fairytale run which saw the team dominate early in the season, and win over fans who witnessed their "Island-style" of football with freakish skills, lightening pace and keep-the-ball-alive-at-all-costs play.

But in the end, the Tiwi Bombers succumbed to the far more experienced clubs with their big name players, structured football and hard-trained bodies. Frankly, the Bombers looked puny in their final game against the Warriors. It seems that by the "business end" of the footy season opposition coaches had worked out the Bombers magic formula.

But the Bombers have proven inspirational. They have fans in remote indigenous communities right across remote Northern Australia, and beyond in the suburbs and cities of main stream Australia (and around the globe!). They have proven what can be achieved with hard training and discipline and a will to tackle new challenges.

A documentary "In a League of Their Own" featuring the Tiwi Bombers in their first season will be out mid year (July 2008), and will delve into the lives of the players and the unique aboriginal community of the Tiwi Islands which they call home.

Find out more about "In a League of Their Own" by dropping me an email. And in the meantime, tell me: What do you think about the Tiwi Bombers? Leave a comment.

A New Groove for Indigenous Songs

What happens when an Australian jazz musician living in the mainstream decides to team up with aboriginal women singers from the tiny Tiwi Islands? A new music blend which is like no other!

The jazz musician in question is Genevieve Campbell: "The idea for this project started in late 2006 when I heard a tape of the ladies singing and thought it might be fun to put my music together with theirs… just to see what might happen. The journey since then has been one of song, laughter, friendship and sandfly bites. On the face of it there's perhaps not much in common between the main street of Nguiu and the inner city of Sydney, but we've found, having talked and played and sung and danced together that in many ways we are coming from the same place."

Of course the Tiwi Islands are also the home of the famous Tiwi Bombers. Some of these women singers are mothers and aunties of these emerging stars.. and on Saturdays can always be found at the football.

Tiwi Bombers - thrilling football as new doco takes shape

(Right:The Tiwi Bombers in a half-time huddle)

(Director Steven McGregor. Photos: Mark Bowling)


Lights. Action Camera. Shooting is in full swing for the film "In a League of Their Own". It's an observational documentary tracing the exploits of the Tiwi Bombers - a team of talented and highly skilled Aboriginal footballers from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. The Bombers are flying high in their first full season in the Northern Territory Football League. With just a few games until the finals, they are on top of the league table.

But can the Tiwi Bombers go all the way and win the coverted NTFL Premiership? And can the Bombers prove to their fiercely loyal supporters that they are capable of not only matching the best footballers in the TOP END, but they are in fact "In a League of Their Own"?

All will be revealed as this film takes shape - documenting the excitement of the Bombers first season, but also the real lives of the players, their supporters and their island community. I am the Executive Producer of this documentary, and together with co-pro Producers Tony Collins and Carmel Young, I'm proud to have the acclaimed indigenous Director Steven McGregor (pictured above) leading the project. His last major work was the award-winning drama "My Brother Vinnie".
Stay tuned for updates as the Bombers season reaches a crescendo in coming weeks.

See also: Tiwi Bombers blast off

Peddle Power, Wind Power - and a thirst for adventure

A few months ago I blogged about Benji Rogers-Wilson, a young Aussie adventurer who is biking and sailing around the world; a journey which he reckons could take about five years. At that time Benji was in Darwin, North Australia. Now he's peddling his way through SE Asia on route for China and Japan. He has some fantastic tales to tell.. like his recent precarious road trip from Singapore to Bangkok.

Follow this unique journey on his excellent website.. there are some gripping, footloose yarns. There's an important message behind it too.. His aim is to journey using no fuel (other than calories) & emit no greenhouse gasses & he hopes his example will inspire others to think more seriously about living their lives in more sustainable ways.

And I like this quote from his website which sets the tone for his current trip:

"A few years ago while touring in northern Spain a young woman asked me, ‘How do you do it, pull yourself out of your tent each morning and ride all day?’ A curious but not uncommon question to which I replied, ‘How do you do it, pull yourself out of bed each morning and go and work a 9 to 5 job?’ Of course, she may have been perfectly content in her vocation, but for my part, struggling to accept the mediocrity of the rat race and the tyranny of boredom is reason enough to jump on a bicycle and head off into the unknown."

Zorba dance is a smash

A group of 10 traditional dancers from Northern Australia has a smash hit on YouTube, with their unique interpretation of Zorba the Greek.

They are called the Chooky Dancers, a group of young men and boys from Elcho Island - part of a vast Aboriginal region known as Arnhem Land.

Their Zorba dance has gone around the world, and even been screened in a public square in Greece.

Lionel Djirrimbilpilwuy, who is 19, is the lead dancer who came up with the idea of fusing modern Yolngu dance with the Greek Zorba.

"The crowd just loved it, you know. If it's three o'clock in the morning, if it's two o'clock in the morning, the crowd just loved them," he said.

"They just pick up whatever style or tune they like to pick, you know, as long as it's a fast moving type, up-tempo music style with a lot of rhythm.

"They do it at home, just to keep themselves busy and fit, and main thing is to keep themselves away from boredom."

Click here to see the dance!

Tiwi Bombers blast off

The Bombers celebrate their pre-season victory

After winning the pre-season comp in Darwin, indigenous sensations, The Tiwi Bombers have made a dramtic start to the "real" footy season. After losing their first game, the Bombers have re-couped and won the next two matches.

It all makes for an exciting football..

Watch Bombers action in this great story from ABC News

Would you donate to see this amazing film documentary go ahead?

(Left: A carving of The Footy Man: traditional Tiwi art with a modern, twist)

(Below: The Tiwi Bombers - talented footballers from a tiny island community)







The Scene: Tropical Northern Australia.

This is the story of a new and sublimely talented Aboriginal football team from a remote island community. The Tiwi Island Bombers (picture above) are breaking new ground by entering the highly competitive Northern Territory Football League for the first time. The documentary follows the team as it strives to win in its first season, revealing not just the players energetic and entertaining brand of footy, but the hopes and dreams of their disadvantaged island community. There is a strong expectation that the Tiwi Bombers will make the finals and intense speculation about whether they can do even better by winning the premiership in their first season.

This documentary takes us inside the lives of some of the Tiwi players, their families, club officials and supporters – revealing the Tiwis as expert hunters of bush tucker and knowledgeable exponents of traditional ceremony. "In a League of Their Own" also explores the challenges to the Tiwi Bomber’s success - a community afflicted by the abuse of alcohol and "ganja", and where the youth suicide rate is one of the highest in Australia. The way this documentary explores the reality of indigenous community life is honest and inspiring.

Suitability for Philanthropic support

The Documentary is called “In a League of Their Own”. It is to be produced soon for Australian television. It carries an inspirational message for young, indigenous people. The Tiwi Bombers may come from a disadvantage community but as this documentary unfolds we see them emerge as role models – striving to reach their full potential and promoting discipline, health and well-being through sport.

As such, the documentary provides a compelling face for socially conscious organisations that support Indigenous Australia moving forward.

The positive messages contained in "In a League of Their Own" are universal. While the documentary tackles complex and difficult aboriginal issues, the football backdrop makes it naturally appealling to a wider, sports-loving audience. This means that many of the important key messages such as health and well-being, zero tolerance for drugs, and controlled drinking are universally accessible.

BURMA UPDATE:

Leading poet and comedian Zargana (pictured), has been released from three weeks in detention and is reported to be well but exhausted. Zargana remains under heavy surveillance and is restricted in his movement and activities, as he has been for many years. PEN - the international organisation that supports writers everywhere - understands that fellow comedian U Par Par Lay was also one of many pro-democracy activists reported to have been arrested in the ongoing government crackdown in Burma and is believed to remain in detention. U Par Par Lay was imprisoned from March 1996 to July 2001 for, among other things, scripting and performing comedies that criticised the Burmese authorities.

Burma: Grave Fears for Zarganar

Zarganar - a great Burmese talent
What has happened to one of Burma's boldest and bravest? I am referring to comedian and poet Maung Thura (popularly known as Zarganar)? He was arrested Burma's military government on 25 September as part of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

Information from PEN points to his arrest for supporting the monks demonstrating in Burma's capital, Rangoon. Zarganar remains in detention and there are mounting concerns for his well-being and safety.

PEN has long been concerned about freedom of expression in Myanmar. Since the 1988 crackdown on the National League for Democracy (NLD) in which thousands were killed and thousands more arrested, the numbers of detained writers known to PEN has remained largely unchanged.

PEN is currently campaigning for the release of nine writers serving sentences ranging from seven to twenty-one years imprisonment in Myanmar. All are detained for their peaceful opposition activities. They include Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the NLD and writer, who has spent the large part of the past eighteen years in detention.

To download PEN's latest caselist click here.
Click here for more details about PEN's work for Aung San Suu Kyi:

Burma: The Junta's last stand?

From The Irrawaddy:

Rangoon, Morning—About 10 fire trucks took up positions around Rangoon’s City Hall on Friday morning, and about 12 empty military trucks were positioned at Bandoola Park, according to witnesses. Authorities have also blocked a main road with barbed wire leading to Sule Pagoda. Authorities also positioned security forces at Kandawgyi Park and the Livestock and Fisheries office in Kyeemyindaing Township, witnesses said. According to sources in Rangoon, representatives elected in the 1990 election (nullified by authorities) plan to lead a demonstration march on Friday.

Rangoon, Midday—Demonstrators gathered in front of the Trader Hotel around noon on Friday to start a peaceful march, a source told The Irrawaddy. The demonstration will be lead by politicians elected in the 1990 election that was nullified by the junta. A source said they will try to talk to the soldiers and ask them not to shoot at peaceful demonstrators. A large number of soldiers have been positioned around Sule Pagoda.

Burma's Pressure Cooker

Street tension mounting in Rangoon

Ask yourself: How long could you stand living in a country under iron-fisted military rule, with no democracy and in fear of a violent crackdown at any time?

This is the Pressure cooker that is Burma.. and once again we are seeing - if only a glimpse - what happens when a long-suffering people take to the streets.

A Burmese blogger gives a first hand account at Ko Htike’s Prosaic Collection

History shows that eventually, regimes like Burma's military junta can't last. People need their dignity and are resilient enough to hold out for basic human rights.

The last time I was in Burma was 2002.. just as the military junta was planning to release Aung San Suu Kyi. They did - for a short while - and I was privileged to be in Rangoon reporting the event for ABC TV.

I also compiled a report for ABC Radio's The World Today about the quirkiness of reporting in Burma

Cameraman Mark Laban who travelled with me to Burma in 2002

Old Friends

What happens when you receive an email from a friend from your distant past? Of course You read it and discover all manner of surprises.

When I opened an email from a schoolmate Andy A. I was directed to the most amazing MY Space site. I have to share it with you.. http://www.myspace.com/andyatwill

Andy is one of the most accomplished jazz bass players on the planet. (Back in our school band Andy played guitar and I played bass). He certainly has kicked on!!

Do you like it?

Timor under the Microscope

Comment - Get this Alkatiri: you didn't win

Damien Kingsbury from the Masters of International and Community Development School of International and Political Studies Deakin University, writes for Crikey.com:

The troubles currently gripping East Timor following the appointment of Xanana Gusmao as prime minister reflect many of the reasons the country was plunged into political crisis early last year.
In short, former prime minister Mari Alkatiri does not accept the basic principles of parliamentary democracy. It was this authoritarian tendency that directly led to last year's troubles and him being forced to resign as prime minister.

In the period since East Timor's otherwise successful parliamentary elections, Alkatiri has continued to insist that his party, Fretilin, should lead the new government. This is despite Fretilin being overwhelmingly rejected by more than 70 per cent of the population, seeing its vote cut by around half.

Alkatiri has variously insisted that Fretilin be allowed to form a minority government, that it lead a unity government and that it accept a 'neutral' prime minister.

The basis of these assertions was that, as the 'most voted party', Fretilin had the right to determine the shape of the new government. This was in turn claimed to rest on section of section 106:1 of East Timor's constitution. Section 106:1 of the constitution says that the government will be formed either by what is being translated from Portuguese as the 'most voted party' OR 'an alliance of parties that form a majority in parliament'.

There is some dispute about the translation of the first part of this section from the Portuguese, which seems to allow a minority government. But in any case, Alkatiri has consistently neglected the second part of this section. Despite the clear constitutionality and workability - of a majority coalition government, Alkatiri has claimed it is 'illegal', that he will not recognise it and that Fretilin will withdraw from parliament.
Similarly, former Fretilin minister Arsenio Bano has said that Fretilin's supporters believe the party 'won' the elections. Even if explicit instructions were not given to Fretilin supporters to go on the rampage, Alkatiri's language alone would incite such rampage. Fretilin did not 'win' the elections and was unable to form a coalition.

The alternative CNRT-led coalition is, constitutionally and according to parliamentary precedent, a legitimate government reflecting overwhelming majority support. The international community has, conventionally, congratulated Xanana Gusmao on his appointment as prime minister.

It should now condemn Mari Alkatiri for refusing to play by the rules of the democratic game and, in the process, again pushing his country to the brink.

Running Amok in East Timor - When will it End?

Protesters set fire to buildings in anger at
Xanana Gusmao's appointment as PM

Mobs are once again running amok in East Timor's capital Dili.

This time angry youths -supporters of the ex-ruling party Fretilin party - are protesting the naming of independence hero Xanana Gusmao as prime minister, as the former ruling party leader vows to fight the move in court.
Youths have hurled rocks, set up road blockades and torched buildings in the capital and two other towns, with police and international peacekeepers rushing to keep outbreaks of violence under control.
The incidents came a day after President Jose Ramos-Horta named Gusmao to lead a coalition government -- without the ex-ruling Fretilin party -- which broke a deadlock following inconclusive polls in June. Read more

Xanana Gusmao - Former guerrilla leader who led East Timor to independence

• Spent six years in Indonesian prison

• Made first post-independence president

• Stepped down in early 2007 to run for more hands-on role of PM

Profile: Xanana Gusmao

Is it safe to travel to the Indonesian island of Ambon?

Families, once displaced by violence, are returning to their home villages on Indonesia's Ambon Island. Read their story Photo: Kim Johnston/Mercy Corps.

A colleague has come to me with this query:
I am thinking about sailing to the Indonesian island of Ambon as part of the Darwin to Ambon yacht race? Should I go or is it still too dangerous?


Background: Ambon is both an island and a city, and is the main centre in the eastern province of the Moluccas, (once known as the Spice Islands). It was once a easy-going tranquil place off the beaten track - but was well known to sailors - particularly those who competed in the annual Darwin to Ambon yacht race. In 1999 violence broke out.. Ambon became another of Indonesia's flashpoints after the fall of President Suharto, when law and order disintegrated across the archipelago. (You can read about this in my book RUNNING AMOK). Once peaceful Christian and Muslim communities were turned against each other.. and the violence escalated into a bloody civil war which claimed at least 6,000 lives up until 2003. Many parts of Ambon have been destroyed - I have witnessed the fighting, arson and looting and seen the terrible trauma left by those who have been tortured or mutilated.

Suffice to say the Darwin to Ambon Yacht race was halted - but crews are once again ready to sail. So has the violence stopped? Is it safe to travel to Ambon for a yacht race, or even fly in as a tourist?

Generally, calm has returned. However there ARE sporadic acts of violence that should be noted:

• On May 2 this year a grenade exploded as worshippers were gathering outside Ambon's
  Al-Fatah Grand Mosque in preparation for morning prayers. There were no injuries.

• A grenade exploded on April 25 at a bus station, followed the same day by a grenade which was hurled at a house. Six people were injured in the earlier attack. April 25 was the 56thKedaulatan Maluku or FKM. This group is not widely supported.. but it could be growing in strength. anniversary of the founding of a Christian separatist group, the Moluccas Sovereign Front - the Front

The bottom line in considering whether to visit Ambon at this time is that overall the situation is much calmer, however take every travel precaution - don't do anything you wouldn't do at home (travel in seedy neighborhoods, wander alone at night - particularly in central Ambon city, or go partying in loud tourist groups). If you do go - enjoy the wonderful sail!

Travel Adventure - World Journeys that really inspire

Sometime we hear inspiring and adventurous tales. On December 10, 2006 Benji Rodgers-Wilson set off from Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia to embark on a solo expedition to circumnavigate the world by bicycle and sail.

Green Focus

One objective of his journey is to highlight the damage mankind is doing to our fragile planet & to raise awareness of the responsibility we all have to protect it. His aim is to journey using no fuel (other than calories) & emit no greenhouse gasses & he hopes his example will inspire others to think more seriously about living their lives in more sustainable ways.

Benji is currently in Darwin... and says he's always keen to meet the locals ("what better way to learn about the places I visit", he says).

By following his website you'll discover all sorts of wonderful info and stories.

I heard Benji on ABC Radio Darwin today (105.7 FM) and I found him to be a really inspiring bloke. He's headed for Japan on route for Europe, but as he noted during his radio interview.. his travel plans could easily change. Ah the wonders of footloose travel!! On the subject of travel for travels sake it's worth checking out this site too: Vagabonding.