Sunday, June 3, 2012

Plight Of The Refugees

Over the last few years there has been a lot of news coverage about refugees who come to Australia, only to be put into detention centers. We repeatedly hear all about the appalling conditions, the cost to the taxpayer, how we appear to the rest of the world and the legality of it all. Is it all true or is it just the media ramping up a story to boost ratings ? I thought that I would go to one of these detention centers to see for myself and give my readers an unbiased opinion. There are none of these facilities for humans near me so I went to the mandatory detention center for foreign animals, known locally as the Perth zoo.

Firstly I can confirm that corruption is indeed rampant, as I had to give the guard a bribe just to get in. Not only that but if you want a drink on a hot day you will be forced to pay exorbitant prices. The facility is obviously making a lot of money from the plight of these poor creatures.

The housing conditions are horrendous. There is hardly any shelter considering the size of the facility. Rather than having proper bedding these poor creatures are forced to sleep on piles of dry grass, under rocks or in hollow logs and in extreme cases even hanging on for dear life in trees. I also managed to get a look at the solitary confinement section and I was outraged. It is kept in a state of constant darkness. The poor souls in this area have been nicknamed “nocturnal”. That is just not humane.

 Some of the residents are relentlessly mocked. I saw horses that had been painted with black and white stripes, much like the convicts of old. Another poor equine type creature that obviously had a physical disability had been marked with large brown spots all over its yellow body and extremely long neck. I felt most sorry for the bear though. It too had been painted black and white but this time to resemble a clown. I have a feeling that the black paint around the eyes was just there to disguise bruising.

 The government assures us that refugees are properly fed while in detention but I can assure you that is a lie. What is jokingly called food is just thrown on the ground or in troughs where inmates are forced to grovel for it. In some cases they were so hungry that they were eating grass. Feeling sorry for them I tried to give them some of my ham and salad sandwich only to be told by one of the prison guards that I would be forcibly removed if I tried it again.

 I am so disgusted that I am putting together a team of like minded souls to help free them all. We are going to call ourselves the army of the 12 monkeys. Leave a comment if you want to join the fight.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Impossible Coffee Table

Something amazing happened. I actually had an entire weekend off from work. Trust me that is truly incredible. It gave me the opportunity to finish a project I started months ago. I call it the impossible coffee table.

The basis of it was an old coffee table that was falling apart. I kept the glass top and scrapped the rest. My new base is made of four pine legs at a 45 degree angle. It looks like they should fall over. Each leg has cutouts that the other legs slot into. When together they all support each other. It looks impossible but it works.

Although the woodwork was finished ages ago, the weekend off gave me the time to give it a good sanding, stain and varnish. It has come up beautifully. I am going to give it a few weeks to dry out completely before putting the glass back on top.

Even in its raw wood state it got a lot of looks. It should get even more now. I enjoy messing with peoples minds, watching them try to figure out how it is standing.

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