It's A Long Way

It's a long way down the track, here the harbour bridge in the distance from Taronga Park zoo. Snow leopard cubs were making their first outing to the public, the most beautiful of all the cats. I used to go there more regularly when the kids were younger and I was more likely to do animal stories. The trained birds. The snakes. The seals. The pandas. Something rare was always being born, transported or brought back from extinction.

Now: my 15-year-old son is off in Vietnam on a school excursion for 14 days. How exciting. Wish I was going. Landing in Ho Chi Minh City; travelling to Hanoi. Today is day two: "Mekong Delta exploration". How fantastic. They are also spending several days at a home-stay in a regional city, sleeping out on a boat on Halong Bay and departing from Hanoi. My daughter turned 14 yesterday and is up in Moree for a couple of weeks. The house is very quiet without them.

The Iraq war continues in the distance. Now they're talking about bombing Iran. It just seems so impossible. John Howard made his appearance before the Cole inquiry into the Australian Wheat Board kickback scandal. Nothing will stick. Master of the art. He was crept up inside trying to make things homey, catching up. The middle distance was very quiet.


IRAQ WATCH:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14337216.htm


A look at U.S. military deaths in Iraq
Associated Press
As of Thursday, April 13, 2006, at least 2,368 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 1,853 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is four higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT.
The British military has reported 103 deaths; Italy, 27; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Slovakia, Denmark three; El Salvador, Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, one death each.
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The latest deaths reported by the military:
__ A soldier was killed Thursday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside explosive southwest of Baghdad.
_ A Marine was killed Wednesday near Baghdad.
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The latest identifications reported by the military:
_ Marine Lance Cpl. Eric A. Palmisano, 27, Florence, Wis.; killed April 2 when a truck rolled over in a flash flood in Anbar province; assigned to 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
_ Army Spc. Shawn R. Creighton, 21, Windsor, N.C.; killed Saturday when his vehicle hit a roadside explosive in Rawah; assigned to the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
_ Army Spc. Kenneth D. Hess, 26, Asheville, N.C.; killed Tuesday during a suicide bomber attack in Rawah; assigned to the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
_ Army Cpl. Joseph A. Blanco, 25, Bloomington, Calif.; Army Pfc. James F. Costello III, 27, St. Louis; Army Pfc. George R. Roehl Jr., 21, Manchester, N.H.; killed Tuesday by a roadside explosive and small arms fire in Taji; assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas: