silly seers and superstition?

sign of the kiwi: photo by virtual tourist

sceptics in defiance of a report released by the kremlin last week are disputing predictions that there'll be another quake in NZ around the end of this week. the report partially corroborates some of renegade weather predictor ken ring's announcement that there'll be another quake in new zealand around march 20th.

to demonstrate the extent of their disbelief, the sceptics are planning a lunch in one of christchurch's [still standing] oldest stone building's [the sign of the kiwi]. they will be joined by ACC government minister, nick smith in order to expose what they say is popular mythology and "nonsense" due to concern that a large number of people have been taking the predictions seriously. one can only hope if they're wrong they order very dry martinis as extreme aperitifs. james bond would surely approve.

a "super moon" is predicted for this saturday by astronomers. the web is awashed with theories about its connection to earthquakes which is disputed widely by various scientific factions. the moon will be at its perigee, the closest point to earth on its orbit on march 19 as well as being a full moon. it will be the closest the moon has been to earth in almost  two decades.

 photo: NASA/SDO/GSFC

the sun unleashed a powerful Class X1.5 solar flare on March 9, 2011, a solar storm that could supercharge earth's auroras. The flare was recorded by NASA's solar dynamics observatory and other spacecraft. here, it appears in white at the upper right of the sun as seen by the solar dynamics observatory.

read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/10/major-solar-flare-erupts-make-auroras-visible-northern/#ixzz1GhpraJ5J

this is coupled with an arc of increased solar flare activity which has been shown to have significant impact on our weather and magnetics. the japanese earthquake last week was preceded the day before by a massive solar flare. russian researchers have shown the connection between earthquakes and magnetic storms is about 50%.

there's also been an alleged HAARP connection leading once more back to the european oligarch's and US/NWO powerbrokers... interesting.

ken ring has responded to the traditional media, sceptics and scientific institution that he is not needlesslessly fearmongering and pointed out that the scope of science is immense without much being understood demonstrating that many universities around the world are working on a lunar and/or solar link to earthquakes and then asked "what is science?"

ring also cited additional support to this theory by referring to the national geographic article about a study co-authored by a graduate student from the university of california, showing a correlation between tides and earthquakes, and a report link on the study.

he has produced extra evidential support through links to an article in the journal of geophysical research 'evidence for tidal triggering of earthquakes as revealed from statistical analysis of global data'  with a link to a blog by biologist dr jennifer marohasy which references the moon's position at the time of the tokyo quake.

also included a link to this story which is based on the kremlin's report:

EARTHQUAKE WARNING FROM RUSSIAN INSTITUTE of PHYSICS of the EARTH

First posted by Real News Reporter on March 12, 2011.

A new report released today in the Kremlin prepared for Prime Minister Putin by the Institute of Physics of the Earth, in Moscow, is warning that the America’s are in danger of suffering a mega-quake of catastrophic proportions during the next fortnight (14 days) with a specific emphasis being placed on the United States, Mexico, Central America and South American west coast regions along with the New Madrid Fault Zone region.

This report further warns that catastrophic earthquakes in Asia and the sub-continent are, also, “more than likely to occur” with the 7.3 magnitude quake in Japan today being “one of at least 4 of this intensity” to occur during this same time period.

Raising the concerns of a mega-quake occurring, this report says, are the increasing subtle electromagnetic signals that are being detected in the Earth’s upper atmosphere over many regions of the World, with the most intense being over the US Western coastal and Midwest regions.

Important to note are that Russian and British scientists are at the forefront of predicting earthquakes based on these subtle electromagnetic signals and have joined in an effort to put satellites in space to detect more of them.

More ominously in this report are Russian scientists confirming the independent analysis of New Zealand mathematician and long-range weather forecaster, Ken Ring, who predicted the deadly Christchurch quake and this week issued another warning of a quake to hit on or about March 20th.

Ring explains his methodology for predicting earthquakes as follows:

“The planets very much affect the earth, indirectly, by having an effect on the Sun. Some planets are very large. If the Sun was a basketball the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn would be the size of grapefruits, and the Earth would be, on that scale, the size of a peppercorn.

Jupiter and Saturn cause extra tides on the Sun when they get on either side of the Sun (as with Moon – Earth-Sun when the moon is full) and when these gas giants get on the same side as the Sun, (as with Earth -Moon – Sun when the moon is new). These greater solar tides become sunspot activity and solar flares and can be understood as akin to the increase in tides caused by the Moon when it too gets alongside Earth or opposite Earth.

At the moment we have Jupiter and Saturn on either side of the Sun and creating a tug of war with Earth in the middle. That started last September and will continue until about May. In September the Earth was right in line with Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun too.

That’s why there were several 7+ earthquakes around, it wasn’t just us. For instance there was one in Pakistan on the same day as Christchurch. This Jupiter/Saturn alignment continues until about May, and the Earth comes back into line as well in March. It is why there may be an extreme event, perhaps a large earthquake, around 20 March, which is when the Moon may be again in a trigger position.”

According to this report, however, where Ring is correct in assessing blame for our Earth’s earthquakes on the Sun and Planets, his substituting of Perigean Spring Tides (also known as King Tides) for the low pressure systems associated with them may be incorrect.

The mention in this report of massive low pressure systems being associated with catastrophic earthquakes is especially dire to the United States Midwestern region, which even today is continuing to be pounded by horrific rainfall amounts, and most especially impacting the New Madrid Fault Zone State of Arkansas which has suffered over 800 earthquakes in the past 6 months alone.

Equally in danger, this report continues, is the South American Nation of Bolivia which has, likewise, suffered catastrophic low pressure system storms that in the past week have killed over 52 people.

Most ominous in this report, though, is its warning that the fault-riddled State of California may be about to suffer its most catastrophic earthquake in decades as new reports for this region show the mass death of millions of fish [photo bottom left] is now occurring, and just like the mass stranding of whales on New Zealand beaches days prior to the February 22nd destruction of Christchurch.

Making the situation for our Planet even grimmer are the reports that our Sun is continuing to spew forth massive solar flares, the latest warned to hit our Earth today or tomorrow thus prompting the Hermanus Space Weather Warning Centre (SWWC) to issue a Solar Flare warning for the Southern Hemisphere.

Interesting to note in all of these events is the United States Army announcing this week that it is holding a rare training event involving the US Military, the CIA, Canadian officers, US Treasury and State departments, the US Agency for International Development, the Defense Threat Readiness Agency and the International Red Cross between March 21-25 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and which should the worst happen they will certainly be prepared for it.

As this report concludes, that as of yet, “no firmly reliable” method for predicting earthquakes has been scientifically recognized, it is well worth noting the too many to be ignored anomalous coincidences leading up to catastrophic mega-quakes are breaking out all over the World and should only be ignored at ones peril.

as the clock ticks away, we don't have long to wait to see whether the sceptics can legitimately mock the seers. do they know something we don't? perhaps they've received the HAARP weekly memo already.

new zealand's darkest day [part i]

 copyright: quake catcher network seismic monitoring [QCN]

new zealand is in its first ever national state of emergency. the christchurch/lyttleton earthquake has hit the country hard. about 1g to be precise. according to research program QCN, stations around christchurch registered accelerations up to 1g [9.8m/s/s] equivalent to the force of gravity at the time of the quake.

NZ prime minister, john key said on february 22, 2011, "we could be witnessing new zealand's darkest day". along with fellow countrymen & women joined by people from all around the world, i'm inclined to agree. perhaps for slightly different reasons.

states of emergency are interesting in that for the course of their duration government seizes absolute power. historically they have often been used as a rationale for suspending rights & freedoms under the guise of duty of care. on february 26, 2011 barack obama also issued a national state of emergency over libya imposing immediate sanctions on muammar al qaddafi & his ilk. SOE is SO february 2011.

 copyright: US democrat election campaign

in actual fact USA is now in its tenth successive year of a national state of emergency since 9/11. it keeps getting extended & the unaccountable war on terror shows no sign of letting up. the military industrial complex hums, and the government works through its agenda unchecked.  the bush/barack partnership lives on. who would have thought they'd have so much in common? but he's still "barackky from the block".

ever notice that "benevolent" dictators are born from civil or natural disasters?

the third reich was essentially in a twelve year long state of national emergency after hitler came to power championing "reichstagsbrandverordnung - the decree for the protection of the people & the state". individual liberties became relegated to grimm brothers faerie tales.

political theorist, carl schmitt's [1888-1985] produced a body of work focused on legally contextualising the state of emergency & illustrated that the historical application of it was the rule rather than the exception, which can transform the political system into an apparatus of death.

we're surrounded by modern day machiavellian princes wearing slippery suits & bleached smiles. in the twentieth century, congress in the united states passed 470 laws alone delegating emergency powers to the president. behind the patriot act is a plague of PR savvy boy scouts.

today, america would be outraged if UN troops entered los angeles to restore order [referring to the 1991 LA riot]. tomorrow they will be grateful! this is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond [i.e., an "extraterrestrial" invasion], whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. it is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. the one thing every man fears is the unknown. when presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the world government. - dr. henry kissinger, bilderberger conference, 1991

new zealand's history is a social experimental playground. seen as a backwater commonwealth colony with a small isolated population base, it has been long used by international voyeurs to monitor the pioneering & implementation of principles & ideas in an unusually ideological & egalitarian scape.

most notably: a founding constitution which recognised the indigenous people's rights, women's suffrage, the welfare-state which encapsulated "having a fair go", anti-nuclear stance, and an iconic "she'll be right" modus operandi which evolved from the golden age of the 50s when NZ once boasted the highest living standards in the world. alas no longer. backflipping to more controversial radical reforms like SOE [state owned enterprise] privatisation, rogernomics, think big, and a deregulated labour market [employment contracts act].

 copyright: glen.h @ flickr

not exactly a success story economically, new zealand has had our international credit rating downgraded twice as foreign debt & inflation soared. i would always hear about that stuff as a kid & have no idea what it meant. the net result was my mother fastidiously tearing out "new world" grocery coupons & and enforcing shorter showers because the rain tanks could run dry. they were always rigidly timed anyway.

while my sister & i would squirm with boredom, the parents would utter nonsensical binary with disturbed faces during the six o'clock news on TV ONE. then my mother would appease our father's brooding form with bags of lollies as if administering to a child. meanwhile outside our 1980s living room, other OECD economies grew by an average 20% through to the early 90s. NZ remained stagnant, shrinking by 1% & went into recession & is still barely sustainable today.

growing up i didn't really notice the direness of the eighties. it had always been that way, although i knew we weren't rich. i was a marmite & weetbix kid. mum drove my grandfather's old ford cortina instead of her fantasy trans am & my father a mitsibishi celeste: a yellow shark with tinted windows. i let him drop me off in front of the movie theatre to see "raiders of the lost ark".

government enforced carless days were a problem-solving adventure & it was pre-playstation era so the lack of shininess in my rough & ready hand-me-down semi-rural life went largely unnoticed. our mother handmade a lot of clothes; the sewing machine whirring at night or the clacking of knitting needles would accompany BBC programmes [which we were allowed to watch, just "not american rubbish"], but on my thirteenth birthday we went shopping for a pair of to-die-for "matches" jeans to awkwardly frame long toothpick legs with customised nomad shoes. 'twas a memorable day.

a romantic era; i dreamed of being katherine mansfield at the bay, pined for william marshall who could run faster than me, played with my chemistry set, soaked stamps off envelopes to be dried, delicately filed and hinged in albums. we were healthy, grew untampered veggies in the garden where the bulrush & the living was easy. 

what tourist brochures don't show is the number of new zealanders still living in poverty which is estimated to have increased at least 35% during the recession years.

kiwis hit australian shores in droves during this era seeking employment & a higher standard of living. grossly underpopulated & needing a cash injection the NZ government relaxed immigration policy & flung our  doors open wide.

wealthy hongkongers arrived to dodge racial discrimination like flying squash balls [conservative locals took time to adjust to the sudden influx]. in the first five years of the 1990s the total asian population more than doubled [NZ census 1996]. an uneasy equilibrium was met.

our 2010 GNI is $12,639.40 per person putting us at #29 worldwide & that position right now seems precarious.

i believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. the issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs. 
- thomas jefferson, US president

those NZers that remain below the yellow line today are increasingly vulnerable to globalization & further right wing guiding principles, as the country moves into banana republic territory.

the beneficiaries of the old welfare state, casualties of shifting radical change which has failed to deliver the trickle-down effect promised in elections when voters agreed to sell off public services & assets. could new zealand be the new mexico?

if so, alarm bells should be ringing now, for with NZ's increased financial dependence on the "generosity" of outside agencies offering "aid & recovery deals" post earthquake, the usual suspects will move in. not paranoia just pragmatism.

biotech agent monsanto will probably soon be after our pristine water. this much documented, money-making predator machine has diversified beyond patenting the world seed supplies & then genetically engineering crop dependence on toxic chemical cocktails to threaten any remaining open pollinated heirloom varieties. the people who made 245T & agent orange are now implementing phase three:

the corporate water market is estimated at 600 billion USD worldwide, the less there is, the more it's worth. think diamonds & the de beers. sheiks & their oil fields. except our slavery to water is much more immediate & tenuous. drink up now... because of all the groups to put a twist on "there's something in the water" monsanto are the ones we want least to be involved. don't worry, the world bank is all over it. there could be a few jobs in it for us.

 copyright: www.whileoutriding.com

in the maquiladora zone of mexico, drinking water is so scarce that babies & children drink coca-cola or pepsi. this obviously drives corporate profits.

"all of us in the coca-cola family wake up each morning knowing that every single one of the world's 5.6 billion people will get thirsty that day. if we make it impossible for these 5.6 billion people to escape coca-cola, then we assure our future success for many years to come." - coca-cola annual report 1993

 copyright: adriana zehbrauskas for the new york times

coca cola have since expanded into the water market & predicts that eventually the H2O line will surpass the soft drinks. how refreshing.

"there will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. and this seems to be the final revolution." - aldous huxley  1961

 copyright: AP/rob griffith

there was a 2 minute silence earlier today when it was still march 01, for the christchurch earthquake. i sat here at my computer with blue edward de bono hat on & thought about the situation & felt ill. it hasn't passed. my country has been raped & i fear it's just the beginning. the invisible gang will undoubtedly move in & cement their hold.

we are grateful to the washington post, the new york times, time magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. it would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. but, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. the supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries. 

- david rockefeller, in an address to a meeting of the trilateral commission, june 1991

as much as i'd like to believe the recent earthquake eventuated because papatuanuku [earth mother/gaia] in well-rehearsed motions tossed & turned restlessly writhing ecstatically to reach up & meet her lover ranginui [sky father] up above, before rolling back over in her tomb into spent slumber, i don't think so. intuition says the answer does not lie in the old stories. at least not the traditional ones of our people.

my grandmother is now out of christchurch. despite not having water, power or the ability to flush her toilet for what could be months, she was reluctant to leave. bonded to the disaster & the house she built with my grandfather in the 1950s building boom, it is an indelible part of her identity.

 copyright: AP/mark baker

she is one of the lucky rational peasants. her house in south brighton still has a roof & walls, & none of her immediate family or friends are dead. but still the horror hangs like a heavy cloud above the increased activity which quietly buzzes beneath.

despite the basic conditions with many residents denied luxuries the west takes for granted [and they too until a week ago], the cream rises to the top of the liquefied mud. people are so incredibly resilient, beautiful in the face of travesty. there are heroes at every turn. the smiles still come easily enough. they are the happy poor people on the streets one sees on the news from our couches & marvels at. in third world countries.

we know what major corporations think of local cultures. there is no respect, only profits. i watch those documentaries.

globalization rhetoric exists for a reason. a few collaborators get paid off & the majority suffer. later to demonstrate the injustice, there might be another documentary long after the untouchable corporation has polluted the environment, subjugated the people, usually introduced a couple of never seen before lab-engineered diseases, exhausted the resources & the money is in the bank. being poor white trash won't help, corporate profits are not particularly discerning. the intent is single-minded. speaking english actually makes it easier.

 copyright: cameron spencer/getty images

my uncle reported from christchurch being amazed at the friendliness & warmth of my reclusive nana's neighbours whom there wasn't much of a pre-existing relationship with. their helpfulness & genuine concern brought tears to his eyes. this incredible disaster phenomena sees people unselfishly break through the barriers of segregation & fear far beyond the rolling TV cameras. it's a wonderful social experiment. for some more wonderful than others.

with a long post earthquake recovery ahead, hushed questions are starting to gather momentum: how could this have happened again? with all our science & technology why was this deadly quake not predicted? that was an aftershock? how can i feed & clothe my family now...

 NZ prime minster, john key with christchurch mayor, bob parker - copyright: zimbio

will there be enough insurance money? how will the country deal with the inevitable debt? where does the money come from? did john key sell out the nation aided by his perfectly delivered TV host mayor as they maxed media bang for buck with high rating backdrops in the best televised reality show yet [hang on bob, i just want to go in for your close-up]?

if this is NZ's 9/11, have we been somehow ingratiated into the farcical war of terror campaign? has the system failed us? or is it all going according to plan? just not ours. may we wake up now please! the internet frenzy builds as we gaze deeper into the test tube.

aggressive expansionists, the US with the UN were quick to jump to haiti's aid last year when severe disaster struck. the unprecedented 7.0 quake struck only 25 kms west of port-au-prince, haiti's capital. the resulting damage was incredibly immense because the earthquake also had a shallow depth. over 300,000 people died & 1,000,000 made homeless. hundreds of thousands of buildings completely collapsed. so horrific.

a few days after the event the US built a serious military presence in haiti following the shattered nation's request for help. because of the extent of their force, french minister, alain joyandet called on the UN to clarify the american role in the impoverished country which had previously been colonised by both countries. "this is about helping haiti, not about occupying haiti" he said.

then the aid came: USAID -the development agency arm of the US government has been implicated in engineering industrial contract kickbacks worth over 1 billion dollars overseas, OTT interference with local politics [remember their coup attempt of hugo chavez in venezuela in 2002, cuba, then bolivia under the auspices of providing help (in partnership with monsanto)], in the 70s they employed torture specialist, dan anthony mitrone to train special ops in uruguay whose target were left-wing latin american groups. with friends like these who needs enemies?

USAID's conditional love is a self-seeking double edged sword. a conduit for subversive CIA funding & front for intelligence gathering overseas. it was set up by JFK in the 1960s as a military propaganda adjunct to the puppet south vietnamese government & was closely involved with civil & military ties there until the end of the war.

there are no free lunches for third world nations. new zealand needs to sit up & pay attention. especially if the country has already been sold out.

 creative commons: photo by trey ratcliff

if we stay focused on our own shores where does the money trail lead? new zealand is a young fertile country with lush alluvial soils, pasture, water, minerals and petroleum. a great candidate for further controlled tests. we're a globalist's wet dream.

oh they'll come. actually they're already here... FEMA deputy chief, admiral thad allen was coincidentally in christchurch as were many other US delegates when the earthquake struck. several congressmen also flew out just before the quake struck.

the admiral interviewed on TV shortly after, described the earthquake in military speak as if launching into a brief for a controlled field exercise before the interviewer abruptly cuts him off:

"..this is a very small and targeted in the area right around christchurch.."

as for the strange earthquake itself, there are a number of possible theories how it eventuated including the arguable cover-up shielded by expertise and uncertainty. could the unthinkable have happened: could the earthquake have been predicted and/or pre-empted? or even controlled?


for HAARP skeptics, there's already a history of man triggering earthquakes through magnanimous intervention. tried and tested methods include nuclear tests, mine blasts AND ELF waves.

in order to implement a desired solution, one needs only to architect the problem transporting it from the theoretical realm to shift into our paradigm. the technology undoubtedly exists to engineer earthquakes. is it possible that the NZ & haiti earthquake[s] are the product of something much larger than the magnetic cycles of the earth causing unfortunately located shallow strike slip epicentres? bottomline: is there motive?

further is the question of what opportunities are created and/or reforms it brings? the why/wherefore?

denver international airport NWO mural: copyright-dmountain.com

the countries all over the map who fall onto the other side of the colour wheel [and enable us to have cheap holidays] will tell us that globalization is no boogeyman. famine, cancer and a myriad of other unnecessary afflictions perpetuate not because they can't be fixed [they are all manufactured] but because not only are they hugely profitable, they also manifest incredible control over large populations to whatever required long-term end [of the philanthropic overlords].

sometimes it's better to work backwards & understand possible objectives to comprehend the related actions, including activation and/or management of such an event. theoretically it's still early days yet UNLESS this is the deployment of a well executed master plan. will the anticipated US led corporate invasion kill NZ with kindness, and if they do would anyone notice or believe?

all warfare is based on deception. hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. hold out baits to entice the enemy. feign disorder, and crush him.
- sun tzu, the art of war 

 copyright: reuters/tim wimborne

whether this globalization gift to the corporate pack was artificially created or not it won't be passed up. one thing which is certain, nothing will ever be the same again. new zealand's naive years draw to a close. i've no doubt that sooner rather than later our colour code on the hierarchical world map will change. the 50s are dead, long live the 50s.

there's so much we don't know. but we can find out, each and everyone of us. on the flipside there's also an incredible amount of [often overlooked/ridiculed] multi-disciplinary information past & present which together draw a more balanced perspective than any one vehicle. the 20th century scientific age which supplanted one monotheistic view for another has not offered holistic development for humans or our planet. in many ways our worldview has shrunk into a pre-columbus mindset. THE WORLD IS NOT FLAT.

copyright: jenny! @flickr

"all religion, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree" - albert einstein

we have not been encouraged to think. some who ask questions and strive for knowledge or balance are allegedly being punished. & quietly disappearing. right now. welcome to the police state.

afterword: as i go to "publish post" i see that new zealand's civil defence minister, john carter, has just announced the extension of the national state of emergency & that it is "likely to remain for several more weeks":

"this declaration ensures coordination and cooperation between central and local resources, and international assistance. due to the scale of this disaster, the civil defence response is beyond the resources of the local authority," 

the extent of the damage & the continued aftershocks are the attributed reason for the extension. prime minster, john key assures the public that the national emergency state will allow the greatest coordination of local, national and international resources to work on the recovery and rescue efforts.

according to chinese newspaper reports the civil defence emergency management act requires the declaration to be renewed every seven days. it's something worth waiting for.

the final death toll estimate for the february 22, 2011 earthquake will be about 240 the police say.

absentee survivor guilt

 photo: copyright AP?

this week is like one epic post-apocalyptic train-wreck. christchurch earthquake has irrevocably impacted my life. my crippling guilt & shame are so immense. why? because i'm not even there.

 photo: copyright - TVNZ still - AP

but still the ensuing devastation seeing the city of my greatest "coming of age" stories, my heritage, the pain of chasing my friends & family down via social media, interwebs, phone, etc watching the ongoing decimation & also enduring resilience of my people and all the others who have selflessly come has attacked my very core. nothing will ever be the same again. an emotional mirror not dissimilar to september 11.

deadlines have fallen & crashed at my feet as the compulsion to know everything & to keep abreast of developments & throw energy into the hope well so as to increase the likelihood of a miracle, the constant updates or lack of has been... draining. torturous even. here i sit in front of a computer in my humble film studio aptly supplied by power, with a fresh glass of fresh tap water, the ability to eat anything i want & with all facilities at my disposal. what's wrong?

survivor guilt from catastrophes is well documented. it's a well recognised subgroup of PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder. first officially recognised with those who'd lived through concentration camps & the holocaust - the downside of the elation of living is potentially overshadowed by this sensation experienced by many, after the initial shock recedes. think of schindler's breakdown in schindler's list.

still i feel like a fake. or a phony, as holden caulfield would say. it's not like i'm actually there off my fat ass. it's cringe-worthy that i've spent the week blocking out my clashing & banging sydney life. instead almost 24/7 i've been projecting my energy into the peoples' life-force far-off in christchurch whose souls lie trapped under the rubble. captivated by the real-life drama.

i suppose absentee survivor guilt is a manifestation offered by the ubiquitiousness of our modern day media. first we saw the gulf war televised, 9-11, new orleans... these days we have disasters on demand. second degree trauma or universal consciousness is no less real.

 photo: copyright getty images

in many ways despite not experiencing the horror of the actual shakes those from afar have the ability to tap into the 360 degree visual impact more than others who are actually present in outlying suburbs etc cut-off without electricity or communications. the images & heart-wrenching emotions are splattered all over our televisions, computer monitors & iPads on the hour every hour. and sometimes more. click refresh faster. the degree of connection is amplified. 

we watched a guy in order to be extracted from a broken building having his legs sawn off with a hacksaw for crissakes. and someone else had to do it. that wasn't "house", that was real.

 photo: copyright REUTERS

we are driven to reduce what it means to be human. it is the invisible thing which drives & binds us to one another. tragically it often takes an event of such horror to supercede segregative fear & suspicion and become brothers & sisters in supporting arms.

although this has been an immensely crushing time it's also incredibly inspiring watching the constant heroism for the sake of others not self which has become a matter of course for all those involved. we've all seen the stories. most of us have cried. some haven't stopped.

 photo: copyright iain mcgregor/REUTERS

although many of us absentees are not physically there manning soup kitchens, pulling bodies or bricks from the rubble, sweeping liquefied silt off streets or lending a shoulder to cry on, we are spiritually present. guilt can be harnessed as an excellent mobilizer of productive action. and action leads to resolution which is universally craved. like kinetic energy it must transfer and be passed on into useful energy otherwise it eats the souls of the living & the generations who follow. the scars of trauma are more than skin-deep.

 photo: copyright john grainger, the daily telegraph

us absentee survivors who cannot be there offer solidarity in support; financially & emotionally, a union of strength, to stand proud bearing a beacon of hope for those who are at ground zero who will often understandably run short of all these. to go on. the people need us. the power of love is a formidable force indeed. it is our humanity.

NB. thank you to air new zealand who are still offering compassionate airfares for those to get in or out. and all the other companies who have come to the fore to provide the building blocks for the people to grieve, heal and in time grow.

PS. survivor guilt is a crippling & very serious mental condition which can be terminal in worst cases. please look after those around you & seek medical attention if it persists. we all have to look after each other.

hope slowly fades

 photo: copyright - RP

with the christchurch earthquake death count currently at 75 & due to escalate considerably today as search teams transition from rescue to recovery mode, the start of the release of identified bodies names with permission from their respective families begins. prime minister john keys has announced that it is the public interest in order to understand the scale of this disaster the names of the dead must be shared.

according to the person finder tool by google, 8800 records have been tracked thus far.

but still people all over the world especially those directly connected to the estimated 300 missing cling to hope beyond hope that the rubble will yield life. despite technology, sniffer dogs & estimates that the wreckage is unsurvivable. i'm still firmly holding out for a miracle. stranger things have happened.

photo: copyright nine news

text messages came out of the CTV building long after it collapsed. there were people alive in there. whether they survived smoke asphyxiation or eventually succumbed to shock, injuries and have lost consciousness or access to oxygen only time will tell. but it is certainly of the essence. i firmly believe that there is life in there.

it has been heartbreaking to watch & the sense of overpowering helplessness to watch the abandonment of the search of the CTV at certain stages over the last 24 hours. i don't want to criticize the decision because we're all aware of the risks involved but if it was my loved one in there - i'd be picking up rocks until my fingers bled off. and probably be in jail right now. like we've already seen to one impassioned standerby come rescuer.

UPDATE FEB 24 12:52NZT:

glimmer of hope after alleged contact within CTV!!!!!!

UPDATE: FEB 24 13:51 NZST: 
police say 238 people are missing & up to 120 are trapped in the rubble of the CTV.

UPDATE FEB 24 13:11 NZST:
queensland urban search & rescue team's team have detected scratching sounds amongst the rubble with their audio devices.

beached as - donate to christchurch

across the tasman we're not only sending rescue teams & police to kiwi aid. the creators of infamous youtube sensation "beached as" have created a special episode in support of the stricken christchurch earthquake cause. 

there are many ways to lend support in the face of tragedy. in the grimmest hours, it's a welcome escape to break the stress & crack a lighthearted smile, albeit briefly.

seaside town goes slipside

here's where yesterday's christchurch/lyttleton earthquake struck. to get a sense of the ongoing physical rollercoaster cantabrians are experiencing, go here & change the settings to the last 24 hours of the earthquake which struck at 12:51 [NZDT] on February 22, 2010. something akin to being in a cocktail shaker. on auto acceleration.

photo: copyright the press

 

photo: copyright associated press

above are current photos gleaned from the interwebs of canterbury seaside suburb brighton [south & new] after the 6.3 christchurch earthquake yesterday. 

 photo: new brighton beach copyright juneh via webshots

this is where my nana nora lives in new zealand. childhood walks to the beach to be invigoratingly dumped by merciless waves onto endless straights of biting sand with my grandfather, coupled with obsessive sea shell collection & racing back to the house for the best pavlova ever pervade early consciousness.

i would deliver elaborately scripted performances with my sister to emotionally coerced relatives & undertake table tennis tournaments at christmas, & escape from the dullness of parental control with walks across the road to the domain [where later i had an epic & somewhat infamous magic mushroom patch]. these are all fond memories. thankfully i have since heard that our grandmother is OK & was rescued by nearby relations.

liquefaction is particularly bad in this area & also in that of nearby bexley. liquefaction as seen in the christchurch september 04, 2010 earthquake is the result of massive shaking & separation of particles and water in the earth. it is a major contributing factor to ongoing damage during & post tremors. eye witnesses have described mini geysers which open up through the earth, erupt and pour an endless sea of stinking liquid mud.

UPDATE: liquefaction now threatens the very stability of the hotel grand chancellor, christchurch's tallest hotel which visibly moved three metres earlier today on an angled slump as it began to sink. it lies within the cordoned off area adjacent to the pancaked CTV building. this further complicates the rescue effort.

photo: cnr manchester & high street - copyright martin hunter/getty images

i have since heard that my close friends & family have survived this quake. at least physically. one of my oldest friend's who i had grave concerns for & spent the day feeling physically ill about knowing he was most likely at a pre-existing red-stickered [declared unstable > 2010 earthquake] zone in ground zero [high street shops] texted me last night:

 photo: embassy on high street >2010 quake - copyright destination shopping christchurch NZ

"I'm alive. Very close call. The building I was in collapsed. Had to climb down tree."

there's always a flipside. so many stories of horror & trauma are balanced with miraculous tales which reinforce the power of survival & freedom of spirit. what does matter are not the historic buildings, pathways or the crippling economics but the preservation of identity & ability to go on. to survive and evolve. theoretically the spirit of the people will rise. it's amazing what hardship humanity can endure.

 photo: copyright @samsuth1 on twitpic

may the universe protect those who lie still trapped today in pancaked spaces and impossible voids; especially those in the CTV,  pyne gould guinness, the cathedral, & other crumpled buildings. may you be rescued in time.

for those seeking loved ones google has set up a people finder.

love and light to all.