BigBlog

Yes I've made a decision, in the interests of marital harmony and the danger of my starving to death; I won't mention Paula's name anymore on my blog.

The other day, someone who will remain nameless, told me that some mice had been in the cupboard under the kitchen sink.  I never look in that cupboard, but someone told me that is where all the household cleaning stuff is kept.  I probably checked out that cupboard some time ago and as there wasn't any food hidden there, I hadn't opened it for some time.

I went to Bunnings and returned with two traps.  Spread peanut butter on them and placed them in the cupboard.

Bingo! One mouse.

Reload.

Two mice!

Relaod

Four Mice!  I'm not kidding - there were two mice in each trap.  I should have taken a picture - I'm sure it would have looked a treat here on the blog.

Reload.

One mouse.

We are now mice free.

I am a hero once again.  How many times has it been this week?

I've deduced that all the mice were female.

 

Accused veterans pushed to self-harm
Jonathan Pearlman Defence Correspondent 

May 21, 2009 - 12:21AM 

ACCUSATIONS of fraud against veterans claiming disabilities for mental health problems have prompted former soldiers to inflict self-harm.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Alan Griffin, confirmed he was aware of such cases, saying the investigation process was being improved to ensure greater consideration of the veterans' wellbeing. The concerns were raised in a report on veterans' suicide prepared for the Rudd Government by a mental health expert, David Dunt.
"I'm aware of cases where veterans have been under investigation and where there has been self-harm" Mr Griffin told the Herald. "It is difficult to speculate on exactly why the self-harm takes place … We are trying to streamline the process for investigations to ensure any concerns about wellbeing are taken into account."
Professor Dunt's report, released earlier this month, recommended the Department of Veterans' Affairs improve its processes for investigating claims that veterans had lied about mental health problems.
"A formal investigation for fraud is even more confronting to the veteran than the production of material in a tribunal hearing challenging their veracity," he wrote. "In the worst possible case this can manifest itself in self-harm to the veteran."

The report warned the department about the risk of launching investigations after anonymous tip-offs, which can emerge from "animosities between individual veterans and even groups of veterans".

Now we know that ANZMI and Australian Veteran Matters (AVM) guard their anonymity – but this report warns the department about the risks of investigations from such groups.

Will ANZMI and AVM go public? I doubt it. These silly old buggers don’t have enough conviction to reveal themselves to ensure their allegations will be investigated DVA. It’s called put up or shut up. They’ll continue to fire potshots and throw hand grenades from their bunker, generating some noise, but little else.

I think this is a beat up.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25490144-5005941,00.html

AUSSIE Diggers being deployed to Afghanistan are being warned by the Defence Department to pay for extra life insurance because existing compensation has been deemed "inadequate".

A day after 600 troops from Townsville left for the warzone, The Courier-Mail has revealed hundreds of soldiers have been issued with letters from the department advising of the need for "appropriate insurance".

In 1969 I was in Townsville with the Army before being deployed to Vietnam.  We were advised to take out insurance because we were about to be officially warned out for duty in Vietnam.  That meant that any new policy taken out before an official warning order for deployment meant that there was no loading on the policy by the insurance company because we had not been officially warned for duty in Vietnam.

I hope you can underconstumble what I just said. (Hint: don't do a blog after a couple of Bundy's) 

Forty years later it seems they are still doing the same, offering soldiers good advice.

Some of my mates are upset though as this seems to confirm that the existing compensation is inadequate.  That may be so, it doesn't detract from the good advice given to the soldiers.

Military compensation is poor by civilian standards.  So what else is new?  It is not going to change either because the general public doesn't really care about a soldier's lot, or the problems war veterans and war widows have with the Federal Government.

There are no vote winners in veteran's law, therefore the politicians have no incentive to effect change.

That is the real issue.

 

You can just make out Buster's face as he sits on the driver's seat - he's waiting to go for A RIDE

As I approach my 60th birthday, I think I should change my friends.

I went to a funeral last month and I have another coming up next week.

If I mention a medical condition I have, I get a response along these lines: “Yeah, I got that!”

Angiogram? 
Yeah had one of them.

Stress Test?
Yep.

Colonoscopy?
Yeah, isn’t that stuff awful?

And so on….

I need to move in different circles.

If you are a member of the forum on Australian Veteran Matters (AVM) and you continue to read this then you will not like what I am about to say.

Australian Veteran Matters has one aim---to speak the truth on all Veteran, Ex Service and Defence Force matters and to expose those who degrade our reputation……. If only.

I foolishly believed them.  

I am concerned about veterans issues and I read a couple of articles that guys called Fergus and Mowgli wrote (these are not their real names); so I signed up.

BIG mistake!

The alarms bells should have rang when they suggested that people remain anonymous. My first suggestion was that people respect what you say if you put your name to it especially if you are going to name and criticise others.

No reponse.  

Later, this was posted by the moderator, Cassius (not his real name):
“You cannot have freedom of speech without the option to remain anonymous. Most censorship is retrospective, it is generally much easier to curtail free speech by punishing those who exercise it afterward, rather than preventing them from doing it in the first place. The only way to prevent this is to remain anonymous.”

Hmmm…. I see.

This was my response:
“Using the freedom of speech bit to bolster your argument as to why you want to remain anonymous while you trash someone’s reputation is absurd.
This is my opinion of course. Freedom of speech gives me the right to express my opinion, but it does not allow me to potentially break the law and remain anonymous.”

Boy was I attacked!

Cavanough is a sly prick (I put my name to my opinion).

…..he was nothing but a big-noter.

I could see it in him, all yap, no substance, never to be trusted.

Add liar to the list of his failings.

He has something to prove to his former platoon mates, something to do with rectifying or making up for a certain indiscreet moment. 

……so we have another unhappy and bitter sleuth who never made it into the ANZMI group. Your revelations mean all Cavanough said in this thread and other places is meaningless and hypocritical.

His integrity has just been shot to pieces.

You have been very silly Cav, we gave you the option to remain anonymous and you just had to fluff your feathers and strut and grandstand. Chickens/ roost come to mind.

Shall I go on?  

I think you get the idea.

What happened to your aim Cassius?  

Did you not write this? “Our aim is to allow people who wish to share information, to do so.” 

Did you have me in mind when you wrote this?
“…..it is generally much easier to curtail free speech by punishing those who exercise it afterward…..”

Cassius deleted my posts and he fixed my membership so that I am unable to express an opinion on Australian Veteran Matters.

I haven’t been back since.

AVM speak the truth on all Veteran, Ex Service and Defence Force matters....

Really?

Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He DOESN'T thinks too much; such men are dangerous. (with apologies to Shakespeare).

Well I had better pick my game up.

I've neglected the blog for a few months mainly because of a series of health issues, one after another.

First there was visit to the hospital with chest pains.  Not good, but at least you get to the head of the queue at the casualty department.

Then I got crook from hospital with a very bad cold, or maybe it was a strain of swine flu; but gee it knocked me around.

Then it was a seemingly endless round of tests and visits to specialists.  I was screened and scanned; and prodded and poked.

Then more hospital time with procedures and stuff.

Inthe last couple of weeks I got hit with vertigo.  I recall discussing the torture issue on the 'net that the Americans are currently debating and I posted that I would have told anybody everything they wanted to know if they could stop the room from spinning.  So maybe they should do away with water boarding (whatever that is) and give them an injection that induces vertigo - they'd spill the beans real quick.

So how do you get information out of someone?  By being nice perhaps.  I recall in Vietnam we had a guy who surrendered and he was going to take us back to where his mates were.  We had with us the tracker dog team.  They gave the VC guy a pack full of food and off our platoon went to catch more bad guys.

Now the tracker dogs have a limited operational time of only a few days, so the pressure was on.  The VC motioned which way to go.  I was really impressed with his skills at how he could juggle three cans of food in two hands and still indicate the way for us to go so we could find his mates and kill them.

We soon began to realise that this guy probably surrendered because he was starving as he continued to eat and eat.  And let's face it, would he really take us to where his mates were?  So everyone was getting a bit edgy.  Finally our section commander had had enough.  He started yelling about how this VC was leading us around on a wild goose chase and we were the gooses!  He grabbed his rifle and made a motion towards the VC.  The platoon sergeant grabbed him and told him to calm down - then they started the classic good guy bad guy routine.  The VC didn't even look up from his tin of ham and lima beans.

Still it was an interesting week.

So touch wood I'll post something witty every couple of days.

I've got a couple of important issues to discuss about Vietnam veterans and how they relate to each other, but I'll save them for another day.

Oh, and a big cheerio to my mate Curt.

Curt?

Go here to read all about him and his mate Ted from ANZMI

http://cav.bigblog.com.au/post.do?id=150256

Yeah, we met on a veterans forum recently.

He still hates me and got me kicked off so I'll have a few tales about my experiences there pretty soon.

So stay tuned.

I know Curt will.

 

Woo Hoo, I'm excited, to pinch a line from Big Kev.

I've got tickets to Top Gear!

I haven't been in a TV studio since the Tommy Leonetti show where I went with one of my mates in the late 60s.

Top Gear is filmed at Bankstown and we'll be standing around for about two and a half hours with no seating or refreshments; and we can't take any with us.  No logos on our clothing and we must wear enclosed shoes.  What in the hell are we in for?  Oh and no cameras or mobile phones.

Still, I'm looking forward to it.

So how did I manage to get tickets?  Easy.  You have to say in so many words why you want tickets, you know the drill.  Well I told them that I wuz good lookin' and they need me in the audience because I am sick of looking at all those geeks they usually have on the show.

That did the trick.

I'll report on it later, after the 15th May when Paula and I will be 'on set'.

 

I last marched on Anzac Day in Sydney about 10 yeras ago.  It's about a two hour trip by train and the march is so big now that my unit doesn't begin marching until about 11.00am.

So who marches before us?

Well everyman and his dog I think.  It's getting hard now to see the veteran, or the returned servicemen, as we used to be called.

I agree with those that think others should be allowed to march but not WITH veterans, and not BEFORE veterans.

But locally it's not such a problem.

I'll wait and see what the day brings before I make up my mind.

 

 

A Vietnam Veteran mate of mine sent me this picture of a porta loo with a notice attached to it:

The sign reads

VIETNAM VETERANS

JANE FONDA

MEMORIAL URINAL

PAUSE AND REMEMBER

 

I got a real laugh out of it.  If you don't know the story behind this then maybe you should do some googling.

That's right, I know I am a d1ckhead because everyone keeps reminding me.  But guess what?  I've got a new car!

It's a 2000 Ford KA.  Plenty of power from a 1.3 litre engine making a stump pulling peak power of 43kW.

Crazy eh?

I still have the 1992 V8 Fairlane.  It's worth nothing really so why try and sell it?  It's great for long trips because it is so comfortable - I may put it on gas.  It will cost $2800, and with the rebate it will cost me $800.

Cars.  

How many have I owned?

I'll ask Paula.  She keeps a list.

 

Hmmm..

My last post was in December last year, nearly four months ago.

 

I've been busy with pension stuff which I may relate some of the stories to you.  I have to be careful though, privacy of veterans should be respected at all times.

 

I have also been a bit crook.  I ended up in hospital on Boxing Day.  My health is much better now; and I've lost a bit of weight.

 

I should put up a new photo of me.  The one on the left is a couple of years old now.  I have deteriorated a little since.  I turn 60 in September so I may post a new picture then.

Paula still looks the same though.

 

 

5th November 2008

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Ken      and I have been a volunteer pension officer with the      Branch and other ESO’s for many years since my return from Vietnam & Papua New Guinea. "I am also the administrator of a leading Australian Military Forum http://www.tri-service.org/ and represent the members on this issue.

Over the years one thing has really got me mad and that is the amount of effort that some widows have to go through to receive a War Widows pension from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

The majority of widows do not have much trouble if their veteran husbands have had their war caused injuries/illnesses accepted as war or service caused, however there are many veterans that have not had these recognised for one reason or another.

The reason for this could be due to the fact that they have either;

•   Completed their own claim many years ago and what they submitted is held against them,

•   Some are too proud, especially with the information that they have to put on smoking & alcohol questionnaires

•   Some were rejected years ago, but now with the Statement of Principles changed, many would have been accepted.

•   Some have died from illnesses/diseases or the effect of trauma that the SOP’s don’t cover or is restricted to a minority. One of these being Prostate Cancer, this is only accepted if you have service in South Vietnam or served in the territorial waters of SVN.

•   Many have died from accepted disabilities that have been masked by non accepted disabilities, i.e. Prostate Cancer.

Whatever the reasons, some of these have come back to bite them on the backside later in life and their widows/carers are suffering.

Let us have a look at what these widows/carers have done in their long life. These are the wives/partners/carers of returned servicemen who have put their life on the line for this country, whether it was voluntary or through National Service. They have gone off to war when asked by their governments and fought to make this country what it is today.

On their return the majority of them continued working for this country whether it was in the services or through the civilian workforce. They have returned different people to what they were when they went away and many have come back with injuries, illnesses, traumas, both mentally & physically, but they have kept on working. The main reason that they have been able to continue is through the loving and caring of their wives/partners.

These ladies and (for those who have not married) their carers have been more than wives & carers to these people, they have been their doctor, their nurse and their constant companion. They have cared for them day in day out with never a complaint in the world for this is why they live as wives/carers. It is a commitment that they made to each other many years ago. They have not only lovingly looked after these men & women through the hell that they suffer on return from war, but they have saved the government millions of dollars by enabling these people to remain in their own homes, thus freeing up the many beds that they would have occupied in hospitals or nursing homes.

Over the years the RSL, VVAA, Peacekeepers/Makers and many other ESO’s have been fighting to have this recognised & corrected by previous governments on both sides of the political fence, but we have failed. One of the main reasons that this has not been accepted, is the cost would be too great. This cost is not the financial burden that these widows/carers would be, but the amount that it would cost by them receiving the Gold Card.

To me this is not the Australian way of doing things, we look after each other in this country and we should look after those who have looked after our finest. If the cost is too great then we should have a look at the amount of money that we send overseas in aid to other countries. Let us have a look at what it will cost to look after these great Australians and cut that amount from our foreign aid program. After all, we are always told to look after our servicemen & women, it is about time that we did this for their widows/carers. I don’t think that there would be one Australian who would object to this.

What amazes me is when the honours and awards are bestowed on people each year  on Australia Day & on the Queens birthday, one rarely sees an award given to these people who are the salt of the earth. No, we see High Court Judges, Millionaires, Sportsmen etc.

I realize that we cannot give all of these people awards, but surely we can look after them when their caring is done. Prime Minister, I implore you and your Minster for Veteran’s Affairs to give this request considerable thought whilst framing the next budget for this country. Why, because they deserve it, as did the people that they cared for.

Myself, I am a single TPI veteran who has served his country both in SVN, PNG and Australia, and I been looked after by a carer for many years, and I know from experience that they deserve every cent they get and should be looked after later in life. We are in debt to these people and it is about time we paid that debt.

I hope that you take this on board as I know that I am talking on behalf of all the veterans of this country.

Yours Sincerely



Ken       JP.

 

Ken was contacted by the minister's office........

I received a phone call yesterday from the Ministers advisor, Mr Kevin           (he used to work at DVA) regarding the letter below that we sent to the Prime Minister. We had a good chat but really didn’t achieve anything, at least they answer and talk to you. The outcome of the conversation was.

Whilst they agree with the comments that we made and that some of them are pertinent there will be no change to the VEA on War Widows being granted the WW pension on the death of a veteran with operational service. This has been in since WW1 and it will be basically too expensive to change.

There are currently about 225000 widows in Australia that have been rejected the WW pension, and if the government just granted them the Gold Card it would cost $3.6b out of a DVA budget of $11b.

I spoke about the point I made regarding Prostate Cancer only being accepted for VV {Vietnam Veterans} veterans and how many of the older vets are dying from this when they have other underlying illnesses that could have caused the death of a veteran. He believes, the same as I, that many of the veterans that die from Prostate Cancer with other underlying illnesses is a problem, and the cause of some of the problems is that the doctor that signs the death certificate often puts Prostate Cancer as the primary cause of death (it has to be present) to enable the family to bury their husband, son, brother etc quickly.

We also discussed the problem of veterans completing questionnaires many years ago stating that they did not smoke or drink as they thought that it was socially unacceptable or they were just too proud to own up to it. If we come across this problem with the widow and she states categorically that her husband smoked and/or drank then we should submit an application with supporting letters or evidence and try to get the claim accepted. I have done this myself before and have had the questionnaire overturned and the WW pension granted.

So there it is folks - war widows get knocked back because it costs too much - they have knocked back 225,000!.

There's nothing more I can say.

I just had a thought.

You know how those terrorists all seem to have something to do with Pakistan?  Well maybe it's because we thrash them in cricket.

Now stay with me on this.

If we throw a few games, let them win a few times, they will look good in the eyes of the population.  Everyone will feel good at beating the Aussies and there will be no need to go out and blow people up.

I'd better start preparing my speech for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.

It's still there....

The moon and a couple of planets form a smiley face in the western sky.

I tried to get some pics but there was too much high cloud.

Maybe the papers will have a picture tomorrow.

This is my grandmother, Margaret Lee Foo

This is Lee Foo who came out to Australia December 1899

This is a picture of my mother's family - her sisters and brother.  My mother is the one slightly crouching in the front.

This picture was taken in 1982, 83 years after Lee Foo came to Australia.

So there you have it.  Lee Foo from China on my mother's side; and Owen Cavanough, first fleet, on my father's side.

Beat that you peasants!

 

I am one proud dad.

It seems like only yesterday when number three son looked like this:

 

Cute, huh?

This is what he looks like now....

This was taken the day of his march out parade at Kapooka (near Wagga) he is up at Brisbane now completing his corps training in infantry minor tactics.

I was surprised at how proud I felt watching Chris and his mates walking 10 feet tall as they completed their three months basic training - it really has turned them into men.

Not much has changed at Kapooka in 39 years.  I was there in 1969 when they landed on the moon.