A Tale From My 2003 Trip To Lebanon

Unique Collateral Damage

In about mid October 2003 I made a trip from Lebanon to Damascus for the specific purpose of visiting Sayyda Zainab Shrine in metropolitan Damascus.  The specific purpose being a promise that I made to my sister in law, Amira, that I will visit the shrine and place an envelope containing $AUS100 note inside the shrine.  
Very close to martyr square in downtown Beirut is Ryidh Sulah bus and taxi terminal where, except to Israel, you can catch a bus or take a taxi to almost anywhere in the Middle East. Early morning, 10 October 2003, I got a lift to the terminal and joined four other passengers in a taxi to Damascus.  The trip was pleasant enough the drive from Beirut was mostly uphill till about the town of Chatura where the taxi driver stopped to purchase some Lebanese bread (which is apparently common practice of taxi drivers heading from Lebanon to Syria) and allow passengers short break.  At Chatura it is also common for passengers to change Lebanese or foreign currency to Syrian pounds.   From Chatura to the Syrian border of Masnaa it is about 15 minutes drive.  Whilst we waited in the taxi the driver took the ID card from the five passengers (in my case Australian passport) and came back 15 minutes later with visa permitting entry to Syria.  Less than 20 minutes later we were in Damascus where all passengers disembarked.  The entire trip from Beirut took about 90 minutes and cost me about $AUS 4!  It was just few minutes before 10 am. 

I first went to Damascus by accident when on 9 January 1976 Beirut International Airport closed and the flight I was on was redirected to Damascus.  This trip was probably my tenth trip to Damascus and somehow the feeling I had when I first visited this ancient and historically rich city never changed.  There is certain aura that makes you consciously aware of ancient civilizations as if it is pulling you back in time and demanding that you pay homage to its presence in the air you smell and the ground you walk on. 
After going to coffee lounge and having a cup of bitter Arabic coffee and piece of baklava I took a taxi to Sayyda Zainab Shrine.  The trip was approximately 40 minutes.  Shortly after getting out of the taxi I took out my Nikkon camera in readiness to take some photograph of the entrance to the Shrine which I saw to be exceptionally rich with architecturally unique mosaic structure.

As I was busy taking photograph little did I know that there was a lady dressed in typical Islamic chador pushing a pram and holding the hand of a boy aged 5 or 6 years that was looking at me from the opposite side just outside the entrance. After finishing the first roll of film and starting to load another I could see the lady crossing the road with the pram and holding the hand of the boy coming directly towards me. 

She started to talk in fluent English with tears coming freely from her eyes: ‘I am a doctor, a graduate from the UK, I am a paediatrician, my husband was a well known surgeon we both had private practice in Baghdad and we worked in hospital.  In April this year our home was bombed by the American my husband and eldest son were killed I had to run away to safety and came with thousands and thousands of refugees to Syria. I live in a little room with another woman who fled Baghdad.  I could not bring any documents and have no identification everyone here thinks I am mad’. 

The lady started wailing and crying her son also started to cry.  I felt tears coming out of my eyes and simply could not utter a word.  I looked at the pram and saw the child, a boy under one year old.  I asked the lady what about her name and the medical school where she studied.  Wiping tears she said that her name was Siham and her murdered husband was named Anwar and she studied medicine at Nuffield College.  She went on to say that she specialized in paediatric neurology and returned to Iraq because that speciality was particularly needed. 
At that point the boy in the pram started to cry.  ‘He and his brother had not been fed since 6 pm yesterday I have no money to buy them anything to eat’ said Siham.  I felt something stab me deep inside.

At that point my eye caught a glimpse of an elderly woman at the entrance of the Shrine looking at me and may be cursing me. She must have been observing from the other side my conversation with Siham.  I don’t exactly know how much Syrian money I had exchanged in Chatura and Damascus I took it all out of my pocket and gave them to Siham.  She cried and uttered the words ‘may God reward you and gives you long life’.  I nodded my head and said ‘I am going to visit the Shrine and may see you when I come out’.  Still crying Siham nodded her head.

I walked across the street to the entrance and stopped in front of the elderly woman. Before I could say a word to her she berated me in what I considered to be the most vehement manner:  ‘this is a holy shrine you should not speak to this woman outside I have been trying to keep her out from coming here for the last few days’.  
After collecting my thoughts and looking at Siham pushing the pram and holding her son’s hand I said: ‘Hajji you are doing a good job keeping beggars out but this lady is not a beggar, she is a specialist children doctor a graduate from London who lost her doctor husband and eldest son thanks to President George Bush’. 
‘Are you sure she was not pulling your legs?’ said the Hajji. 
‘I am sure Hajji, I had good discussion with her and I know what I am talking about’.  
‘Oh my God forgive me’ said the Hajji with some embarrassment and went on to assure me that she will try to help Siham and that she knew the director of the local children hospital.  
After taking my shoes off and walking inside the Shrine and coming next to the burial site I sat meditating for good half an hour slid the envelope entrusted with me by Amira through the donation box and made my way out.  I took a taxi back to Damascus and found a room in the Samir Amis Motel.  That night I went to a well known restaurant and had chat with few diners. 
I was informed that over million Iraqi refugees were already in Syria and sizeable number was in Jordan and Lebanon.   Other sizeable number of refugees made it to Iran. Siham’s plight I was told was not unique all these refugees and their story and agony were part and parcel of the collateral damage which the Neo Con Committee advising president George W Bush and George W Bush were willing to accept.  The so-called Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) which Saddam Hussein was alleged to possess and the stated reason for invading Iraq and killing doctor Anwar, his eldest son and making doctor Siham and her two remaining sons barefoot refugees in Syria was not as at October 2003 located.  Nine years after the invasion when the bulk of the American troops are withdrawn from Iraq there was no evidence of WMD.  Perhaps with the exception of the Kurdish community the current population of Iraq is dreaming of the days when Saddam Hussein ruled with an iron fist.  Despite its substantial oil reserve and cultural richness and wealth current day Iraq is as close as you can get to a country that had been returned to the Stone Age. 

The individual rulers of the Abbasids, the High Caliphal Period that ruled from Baghdad between 750 t0 935 which saw the greatest discoveries ever made by mankind in astronomy, medicine, philosophy and literature at a time when Europe was facing wars,  plagues and black death, will be reeling in their graves. 

Holy Grail - Part 2

Holy Grail       - Part 2

Dear Reader,
I ended my first blog on the subject of the Holy Grail by asking you to keep in mind the name Joseph of Arimathea.  The reason for this is simply due to the fact that legends had developed and grown around the name Joseph of Arimathea.  The name also  pops up in all literature, operas and plays that had been written around the Holy Grail, especially in England and France from the Middle Ages onwards. 
The first question that needs to be asked relates to the identity of Joseph of Arimathea and how he is linked to the Holy Grail.

Who is Joseph of Arimathea?

The gospel of Mark, which is the first of the four gospels making up the New Testament, tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was an honorable counselor who waited for the kingdom of God, who went Pilate and craved the body of Jesus (15:43). 

The gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was both a rich man and disciple who went to Pilate and commanded the body of Jesus to be delivered and when its was, he took the body and he wrapped it in clean linen and cloth and laid it in his own tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed (27: 57-60). 
The gospel of John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus and that he had the assistance of Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe which were rubbed around the body of Jesus before wrapping the body with linen and placing it in the garden new sepulcher (19: 38-41).
 Like Mark, Luke tells us that Joseph was counselor and that he was a good and just man and had not consented to the counsel and deed of them, he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus (23: 50-52).

Despite certain inconsistencies from these four gospels we can be certain that Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy and respected merchant and well known to the High Priests and indeed as a counselor may have been a member of the Sanhedrin who presided over the trial of Jesus and disagreed with the ruling. 

The word ‘Sanhedrin’ literally means ‘sitting together’ or   ‘assembly’.  In the ancient land of Israel Sanhedrin constituted 23 judges who were appoint in every city. Appeals from the decisions of city Sanhedrin was to the Great Sanhedrin which is constituted of 71 members, analogous to modern day Supreme Court.

The question that arises is one of the likelihood of Joseph of Arimathea being a member of the assembly of the High Priests that sat on the trial of Jesus and the only one that spoke against the High Priest decision to order Jesus brought before Pilate and demand death sentence proclaimed.  As to the charge deserving of the death sentence sought of Pilate is Jesus' non denial that he was the Son of God.  It does certainly makes sense that if Joseph of Arimathea was member of the Sanhedrin, a counselor, as the gospels of Mark and Luke tell us, and whether he had sat at the trial  of Jesus or not,  the mere fact that he was a member of the Sanhedrin added weight to the fact Pilate was able to give him audience and cede to his request to take the body of Jesus off the cross.  We are also told by the four gospels that when the High Priest who sat at the trial of Jesus became aware of the action of Joseph of Arimathea he ordered his arrest and imprisonment. 

A number of books had been written in recent times that allege that Jesus was in fact still alive when brought down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea helped by Nicodemus.  The authors of those books base their argument on three basic premises.  The first of these is the fact that Jesus legs were not broken. Had they been broken the body weight would have caused the lungs to compress and death ensued quickly.  The second is the language used by Joseph of Arimathea when speaking to Pilate. He allegedly asked Pilate for the ‘soma’ of Jesus. The word ‘soma’ comes from the Greek and means ‘body’ as distinct from the soul or the mind.  The third is the use of the myrrh and aloe ointments in which the body of Christ was treated with before wrapping it in linen and placed in the sepulcher which Joseph or Arimathea had reserved for his own burial.

If the Holy Grail was the cup from which Jesus and his twelve disciples drank at the last supper or the cup in which the blood of Jesus was collected at the cross and which cup possessed super natural healing powers it makes sense that such a Grail came into the possession of Joseph of Arimathea.  As to how the legend of the Holy Grail developed in Europe will have to await Part 3.

Holy Grail - Part 1a - a little side note...

Dear Reader,

I concluded the first blog about the Holy Grail by asking you to keep in mind the name Joseph of Arimathea.  But before commencing the journey of trying to identify what is referred to as the ‘Holy Grail and trace its alleged route to Europe speculating about its current whereabouts, it is befitting to go little bit deeper into the significance of the shedding of blood to both the Jewish and Christian religion.

 Central to the basic belief of both religions is the fact that the fear of death had been broken by the shedding of blood.  In the case of the Jewish religion, when all prior plagues failed to persuade the Pharaoh to let the Jews to leave Egypt and to free them from the bondage of slavery (Exodus 7:14-11:10) God instructed Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12) to tell the Jews to form themselves into extended family groups and each group to take a lamb from its flocks to be sacrificed placing the blood of this sacrificially slaughtered lamb on the door post of all Jewish homes so that when the ‘Angel of death’ sees the blood it will pass over Jewish homes and proceeds to kill the first born male of every Egyptian home starting with the Pharaoh. 

The celebratory meal of  Passover is the meat of this sacrificially slaughtered lamb, the paschal lamb, cooked, dressed or roasted. A paschal lamb whose blood the Angel of death recognised and passed over saved the first born male of every Jewish family from certain death. So what each Jewish family is doing at the celebratory meal is gathering around the table of the Lord eating the body of the Lamb of God.  In the first blog on this subject I quoted the Eucharist that is central to Christian masses - ‘Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins – Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins’.  Eating the body of Christ, the paschal lamb and drinking the blood result in the forgiveness of sins thus saving the believers. The very same result that the blood of the paschal lamb spilled on the door post of Jewish homes and eating the meat of the carcass of the lamb achieved for the Jews.

There are lots of books written about the four gospels, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John -that are the central pillars of the New Testaments - that tells us by way of narration each Apostles' version of the life of Christ. Narrations are not history and this can be observed when one reads what each of the Apostle had to  say about central events in the Christian calender year. When one keeps in mind that each of the Apostle is a pious Jew that attended synagogue in which the High Priest read the Old Testament or Torah from scroll, it would not be hard to see that what each of the Apostles had narrated are the events that are in the Jewish calendar  year.  Some of those writers go as far to say the Christian calendar year is an embellished copy of the Jewish calendar year.  That is not the subject matter of this blog – perhaps future blog.

Meantime having now established the significance of blood of the Lamb of God as a blotting out the sins of believers and conquering death the quest for the Holy Grail which contained the blood of Christ takes its proper meaning and the historical importance of the quest for the Holy Grail. 

I will conclude this blog in the same manner as I concluded the first blog on this subject matter by asking you dear reader till next time to keep in mind the name Joseph of Arimathea. 

Your $ and the Petrol Pump

Dear Reader,

It is hard to believe that the price per litre of petrol at your local service station increasing by 20 cents or 25 cents depends on the area or the mood of the operator.  This is precisely what takes place in most, if not all, service stations in Australia’s major cities and the surrounding metropolis each week.  This is so regardless whether the world oil price fall or rise on the international market. 'How could this be?' one asks. when there are watchful Federal, State and Territory governments and specialized statutory bodies such as the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) that employs some 813 people with annual budget of $202 million with the armory, penalties and prohibition of the Trade Practices Act?

Let me tell you dear reader what happened to me two weeks ago.  My car takes 68 litres to fill up the tank.  I normally leave home at 6 am and come back around 7:30 or 8 pm.  On Tuesday night the Caltex service station that I normally fill my car was full.  I thought to fill up the following day.  To my astonishment, within less than 24 hours, the price per liter jumped from $1.42 to $1.64!  The 50 litres it took to fill the tank cost me $82 instead of the $71 that it would have cost me 24 hours, and in some cases, a few hours earlier!  My question is: who pocketed the $11?  I am sure that is a question on the mind of every Australian motorist.  If one is on a budget, as most families are, $11 is a significant amount of money.  I felt robbed in broad daylight, but at the time I filled up the light was getting dim. Nevertheless to my mind what is taking place at the service stations amounts to sanctified robbery or robbery with honor.  A robber generally does not distribute the spoils, or loots. If that generality is sound then the spoils goes to the parent company which is a member or perhaps  part of a cartel.

Undoubtedly there had been similar questions asked by irate motorists in the past and convincing explanation and justification given by those in the know on behalf of the cartel.  The fact that the practice still continues on weekly basis and gradually becoming entrenched in the mind of Australian motorists would suggest to me that Australian governments of all persuasion had either being silenced by accepting the explanation given to them by those in the know and regulators, such as the ACCC, told to keep their focus on more susceptible prey. I wonder if motorist in the USA, Europe or the Middle East will keep their silence if they had to pay $11 extra to fill their vehicle tank or the governments in those countries feel they cannot do anything to address the question. Is this daylight robbery in this day and age possible one asks? 

If in fact this practice by the petroleum cartel does not fall under the umbrella of the Trade Practices Act. What is stopping a specifically worded amendment to the Act to ensure it does?  Is anyone there bold enough to make that amendment?  If you wish me to draft such an amendment to the Act I will be honored to do so.            

The Holy Grail - Part 1

Dear Reader,

When I commenced writing my blog, I expressed as one of my interests as Jerusalem, and religious studies.  The subject of the Holy Grail and what had been written about that subject to date falls squarely within the subjects of my interest.  This blog post is devoted to the Christian world interest in and the enigma of the Holy Grail and it will be the first part of series of blogs on that interest and enigma that I will write in due course.

Historically, the Holy Grail had been associated with a cup, a bowl, a container for the blood of Christ that spilled after the Roman Captain Longinus stabbed Christ with his lance on the cross, a bowl from which Christ and all twelve disciples drank at the last supper, a meteorite set at the exterior wall of Kaaba in Mecca, the Shroud of Turin, and in recent time as suggested by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code that the blood in the grail refers to the physical descendant of Christ that may be still be living in the present day.
 In future blog posts, I will write about what eminent dramatist, folkloric tales, and books had been written about the Holy Grail since the return of some of the crusaders back to Europe from the second crusade 1150 onwards. I will commence this post with a brief exploration of the parameters which in future posts sets the boundaries of the interest and the enigma of the Holy Grail.

During mass in all Christian churches regardless of denomination, prayers are said by the priest – ‘Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins – Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. The priest then asks and implores the Holy Spirit to make the bread the precious Body of Christ and the wine in the chalice the Blood of Christ.  When a parishioner takes communion he or she expects that he is eating the body and blood of Christ and his or her sins which are committed up to that point in time to be forgiven.

Blood - Dracula's Thirst

To this day blood is considered the essence or the vehicle of life.  Historically blood was associated with magical power and food for the likes of Dracula, and supernatural spirits.  There are number of non Christian religions that hold annual festival in which participants undertake self flagellation and she blood in reverence. A typical example is the Holy Ashura festival for the Shia faithful.

The Holy Ashura Festival

In 305 AD the bishop of Benevento Januarius was beheaded under Emperor Diocletian. To this day the Catholic Church hold annual feast day in memory of that occasion.  Two vials containing what is said to be the  blood of now saint Januarius are brought near the head of the saint at a Naples Cathedral. After a time the blood becomes liquid again. This miracle is said to confirm eternal life.  According to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux one drop of Christ, the Savior's blood was sufficient to redeem the whole world.

The Holy Grail, if indeed it did physically exist - its whereabout today, how it got there, and what secrets, if any, are kept deliberately or otherwise by those in the know from the faithful. This is what I will explore in future posts that I will write on that subject. Meantime dear reader keep in mind the name   Joseph of Arimathea. Those of you who are familiar with the Bible will be familiar with  Joseph of Arimathea who sought Pilate permission to take the dead Christ off the cross and bury Him in a grave that he prepared for himself.   

Ramesses II - Cairo Museum 1973

As a fourth year medical student in 1972, I was living in Sydney by myself.  My parents, two brothers and sister having left Australia to live in Lebanon in 1966, I decided to follow the family and live in Lebanon.  A major motivation for this decision was to avoid sitting for a Colloquium Examination in Lebanon to have my qualifications recognized if I were to graduate in Australia.  In retrospect this decision is not the best I made in my life but it had its indirect rewards which I now come to really appreciate and feel the urge to share this appreciation with you fellow readers.

As a student at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1973, I had to come to terms and the reality of regular disturbances and disruptions that were affecting academic life at the campus and nearby American University Hospital.  Gradually those disruptions became more serious, and when Lebanese army tanks moved to the campus, academic life came to standstill.  What was happening in Lebanon in 1973 was a prelude to the Lebanese Civil War which officially commenced on 24 April 1975 lasting till October 1990.
Realizing that I wasted one, and possibly two years I decided to make the best of my time in the Middle East.  In late April 1973, I flew from Beirut to Cairo to see the brother of a dear friend of mine in Sydney, Abdel Tawab Salama.  The trip from Beirut to Cairo is under one hour flying time.  In Cairo I stayed in a hotel that overlooked the Nile.  Two days later I called Saleh Salama and arranged to meet him.  Saleh Salama held a highly responsible and influential position in Cairo Museum.  He invited me to a special tour of the Museum, a tour that I later learned few non officials of the Museum or governmental dignitaries had ever taken.
I recall entering the Museum through special door for staff at the back.  The first part of the tour involved looking at newly excavated artifacts being cleansed and restored by experts.  Next we moved to a section where Saleh opened a crate that contained the statute of Tutankhamen that had just been returned back to Egypt after it was loaned to Brittan.  As soon as he opened the crate and saw the statute Saleh knelt and cried: 
'Our silly President Sadat sent this priceless and irreplaceable treasure of Egypt in sea cargo uninsured, unaccompanied, and without official documents. Anyone could have stolen or replaced it with a fake'.
For few minutes Saleh hugged Tutankhamen cried and sobbed.  I looked and watched somewhat bewildered not knowing what to say.  After recovering from what must have been gratifying emotional experience Saleh walked me up the steps to the Museum.  A private tour that on reflection must have been only for the priviliged and valued individuals.  For over one hour Saleh explained material fabrics, curtains, ropes, and variety of clothing that was few thousand years old tood the test of time and still kept its character and identity.
The highlight of the tour was seeing the mummy of Ramsses II.  To my surprise Saleh asked me to pick it in my hands.  Despite some reluctance and after convincing myself that he was serious having lifted the lid I did pick the mummy of Ramsses II in my hands.  Reflecting now, some 38 years later, the mummy must have weighed ten possibly fifteen kilos.  Later that day Saleh and I went to the pyramids and night we went to dinner.

Add caption

In April 1973 Cairo was a sad city.  At night all the cars had their lights painted blue, uncertainty and fear was on the face of people.  Less than six months later in October 1973 the Egyptian and Syrian army launched surprise attack on Israel that culminated in the 1973 Arab-Israel War.  Reading President Anwar Sadat's memoir in 1981, I was not surprised to learn that the October 1973 war was planned to take place in April exactly the same day I arrived in Egypt.  But luckily for me the order for the hoses from the Germany that the Egyptian army used in October to flush the Israeli army across the other side of the Suze Canal had been delayed.

I now wonder how many people can claim to have carried the mummy of Ramsses the Great the Third Egyptian Pharaoh in their hand.  Ramsses the II was the most celebrated and powerful Pharaoh that lived between 1303BC till 1213 BC.

Let me know what you think.       

Author Talk - Part 3 -Wills

Wills

A Will is defined as a written declaration providing for division of property by a living person to take effect after his or her death. 
In the State of New South Wales, as in all common law countries (save for binding local precedents), the applicable Acts are: Probate Administration Act 1898, and  Succession Act 2006.
The Probate Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales deals exclusively with probate issues.  Two crucial questions are often encountered by legal practitoners who practice or claim expertise or specialty in probate.  These are Intestacy and Testamentary Capacity.

Intestate person is defined as one who dies and either does not leave a Will or leaves a Will but does not dispose effectively by the Will of all, or part of, his or her property. 
To make a valid Will one must be:
- over the age of 18,
- of sound mind, memory and understanding and
- must understand at the time of making the Will the nature of the act and its effect, the property being disposed of and appreciate the claim to which effect ought to be given by the Will. 

Often the question is the validity of the Will.  In brief a Will is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the testator or by some other person in the presence of and at the direction of the testator, and the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in presence of 2 or more witnesses present at the same time and at least 2 of those witnesses attest and sign the Will in the presence of the testator (not necessary that the 2 witnesses be present at the same time).

My Third Book - 'The Thumbprint Will'
The deceased is a wealthy timber merchant from Brazil, originally from Lebanon, never married and of Islamic faith.  Having retired at the age of 68, he decided to come live in Australia where he has a nephew living with his wife and six children in the western Sydney suburb of Liverpool, some 20 kilometers from Sydney.  The deceased had an elder brother and younger sister each of whom were married with children living in the City of Tripoli ,Lebanon.  A year prior to coming to Australia the deceased sold his timber business for some $30 million plus right of royalties and annual income of some $500,000.  Some six months after arriving in Australia he suffers a stroke and is admitted to Liverpool Hospital.  Three weeks later he is transferred to a nursing home. 
A will giving all the estate to the nephew is executed at the nursing home by the deceased executing the will by a thumbprint in the presence of two witnesses.  The Supreme Court of New South Wales grants probate of the will to the nephew.  The deceased elder brother obtains grant of probate in a Sunni Court in Tripoli under Sharia Law and at the same time challenges the grant of probate in favour of the nephew on the grounds of testamentary capacity. 
At the heart of this challenge is the fine distinction of how a stroke effects the cognitive capacity of the brain.  The medical evidence relied upon by the deceased brother claims that at the time the deceased placed his thumbprint on the will he had 'massive right cerebral haemorrhage and is unable to communicate or manage his financial affair'.  To counter this evidence the nephew relies on expert neurologist report that says 'that the cause of the stroke is blockage of the right cerebral artery not haemorrhage and as such damage to a cerebral hemisphere will not normally cause lasting coma'. 
This is confirmed by daily nursing home notes that showed the deceased often talking and making gestures. 
Interesting legal issues included the applicability of Sharia law and the precedence and applicability of Australian or Lebanese law and as to whether a law travels over space, oceans and time.  As at the time of writing the nephew and the uncle are each appealing to the Tamiez or the highest appellate court in Lebanon.

The Thumbprint Will

The Thumbprint Will is now available click here    
    

Tale from the Neonatal Unit

In the mid 1980's, a Japanese researcher managed to literally insert a microscopic microphone into the uterus of third trimester pregnant woman. He recorded the sounds of the fetus until it become newly born baby.  The researcher, who I suspect is a former or retired paediatrician or obestatrician, made the recording into cassettes and compact discs and tried playing the recording in the nursery of a busy women hospital initally in Japan.
The orchestral cry of some forty odd newly born babies came to almost sudden stop! The nurses, the sisters, the odd matron and all the doctors did not believe their ears.
The miraculous result was almost identically repeated at other busy women hospitals.  The researcher quickly patented the recording and, as you can appreciate, the news spread and orders for the cassettes and compact discs flooded in.

Interestingly the result obtained in women hospitals in Western European countries, the USA, Canada and Australia was close (within expected statistical devitations) to that obtained in Japan. 
What, if anything, can we conclude from this amazing research?
Regardless of our ethnicity, as neonates we hear the same uteric music.
As newly born in a hospital nursery we react universily to that uteric music and our diverse love for different type of music in later life is purely environmental.

My next blog is Part 3 of the Author Talk      

Author Talk PART 2 - Campsie Library 31 August 2011

The Least Used Part of the NSW Crimes Act 1900

Part 13A (formerly section 458) of the Crimes Act is headed 'Review of Convictions and Sentences'.

Prior to its repeal in 2006 this section allowed a prisoner to have his conviction and sentence or his sentence reviewed by a Justice of the Supreme Court.  Application for such a review effectively provided a further venue, a de-facto appeal if you will, after the prisoner had his appeal against conviction and sentence heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

A well prepared application would provide:

• Background summary of the prosecution evidence and any alleged errors as to the admissibility of that evidence before jury.  
• Any objections that may have been made by defense counsel on the questions of admissibility and the Presiding Judge or Justice rulings on the objections. 
• The relevant section of the Evidence Act and any decided cases in particular what the  High Court of Australia or the Court of Criminal Appeal had to say on the question.  
• The prosecutor opening address to the jury, summing up, paying special attention to comments made by the Judge or Justice.  

It is not infrequent to have prisoners who were represented by Legal Aid to complain that witnesses that they wanted called were not called and evidence they considered important to their defence was not brought before the jury or argued.  Explanations often given is that defence counsel did not consider the evidence to be relevant.  Despite that explanation, regardless of the seniority or experience of counsel giving it, most, if not all prisoners still wanted the jury and the judge to hear that piece of evidence or objection.
In cases where the prosecution places heavy reliance on warrants whether they be search warrants, surveillance, or listening devices special attention should be given to ensure that the evidence obtained and relied upon at the trial is obtained in strict compliance with the terms of the warrants.  One wouldn't be surprised to find evidence obtained by police, and for that matter highly prejudicial evidence, finding its way to the jury that was obtained illegally.  Illegally in that it was obtained outside the hours or the dates specified in the warrant.
Such evidence is inadmissible.
Applications for review making allegations of illegally obtained evidence will often result in a reviewing Justice recommending re-trial.
If the review is restricted to the question of severity of sentence, the reviewing Justice can refer the matter to the Court of Criminal Appeal with appropriate recommendations.

Let's examine the case of El Hani, a visitor to Australia on holiday, who found himself entangled in ecstasy importation syndicate, in which his host was involved knee deep.

Arrested with number of others, when police raided the premises, they charged him with two of the most serious breaches of the Customs Act.  Breaches that carry sentences to 25 years or life imprisonment.  After spending three years in goal, El Hani was advised by an inmate to enter guilty plea to the two charges.  The inmate alleged reason for the advice was that being a tourist and having served three years a Judge will send him back to his country.  El Hani's French wife and children wanted the best of the best counsel to represent him and tell the court about the great injustice committed against their loving husband and father.  They were given the name of a specialist criminal law lawyer who they instructed to find the best of the best counsel.  After retaining the best of the best to represent El Hani for a two days listed sentence hearing the worst possible and unforgivable legal error and misrepresentation that could happen in a guilty plea sentence hearing did happen.  

Murphy's Law had a field day - everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong.  

The best of the best senior counsel failed to have conference with El Hani and relied on what his instructing solicitor who had seen El Hani once for less than one hour told him. 

Instead of making simple plea and lead evidence from El Hani's wife and daughter he decided to call El Hani into the witness box.  

Having maintained his innocence of not having anything to do with the importation of the ecstacy shipment the Judge asked him that if what he is saying was correct why would he plead guilty to the most serious charges that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.  The best of the best senior counsel having decided to lead oral evidence from El Hani gave the legal right to the prosecution to cross examine El Hani.  

The cross examination developed into argument in which El Hani expressed his mind and frustrations with the Australian legal system.  

The Judge reached the conclusion that El Hani was the head of the ecstasy importation syndicate. 

He sentenced  El Hani to 20 years on one change and 25 years for the other charge.  

Both charges to be served concurrently. 

El Hani's wife and daughter paid the equivalent of $140,000 for this 'two day' turned into four days sentence hearing!

Application for review of El Hani sentence under Part 13A was made.

My book 'Customised Down Under' tells this tale. 

In Excerpt from Author Talk - Part 3 I will discuss wills, intestacy and the issue of testamentary capacity which is the subject matter of a real life story dealing with estate of some $30 million.  Two different legal systems, appeals, doctor reports and expert opinion.  
Compelling reading - The subject matter of my book - 'The Thumbprint Will'.       

Author Talk PART 1 - Campsie Library 31/08/11

Courts 

In all of Australia's six states the heirachy of courts are Magistrate Court, District Court (County Court in some States) and Supreme Court.
The civil appellate procedure from Magistrate court is by way of a stated case to one Justice of the Supreme Court. Currently the jurisdictional limit is $60,000. 
From the District Court, one appeals to the Court of Appeal (three Justices of the Supreme Court). Current jurisdictional limit $1million. 
From a single justice of the Supreme court one appeals to three Justices (Court of Appeal).  Unhappy litigants can only try their luck by seeking Leave to Appeal to the High Court of Australia.   As any experienced legal practitioner will tell you, the success rate of Leave to Appeal are extremely low (5%).

In criminal matters the Magistrate Court is critically important.  Before I come to this critical importance I will mention the appellate procedure.  But for a committal hearing, an unhappy traffic offender faced with a loss of his or her drivers licence or a summarily decided misdemeanor can appeal a Magistrate (now called Judge) decision to a single Judge of the District Court.  Otherwise, criminal matters are tried (heard) before Judge and Jury.  Those criminal matters are referred to as indictable matters that would have been committed for trial by Magistrate.  Thus the importance of committal hearing in the Magistrate Court.  The District Court could sentence a convicted accused to life imprisonment.  The limit a Magistrate Court could sentence a convicted accused is two years.  A convicted accused can appeal from the Magistrate Court to a single Judge of the District Court.  Unhappy with the decision of a single Judge the convicted accused can appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal on the question of sentence.  

Like a Judge of the District Court, a Justice of the Supreme Court can sit on trials with  jury.  However trials before Justice and jury are limited to murder charges and matters of State or Federal security.  A Judge of the District Court, like Justice of the Supreme Court can sentence accused to life.

Costs

If you seek the advice or service of a Queens Counsel or what is now known as Senior Counsel you can expect to pay $8,000 plus GST per day, or $800 plus GST per hour.
Senior Junior Counsel with anything between ten plus years experience $4,000 - $5,000 plus GST per day or $600 - $700 per hour plus GST.
Of course a barrister can only appear for you or proffer advice only if he is briefed by a solicitor.  Depending upon seniority and experience solicitors hourly rates are anywhere between $300 to $750 per hour.
On top of all that you need to pay money upfront before any ear is given to your story or your version of events.

If one does believe he or she had a case and wants justice what chance does he or she has of retaining experienced legal practitioner? Nil or perhaps Legal Aid or no win no pay?
If one meets the income test and criminally charged perhaps Legal Aid can allocate you one of their lawyers.

In civil matters forget it.

What chance does a young wife with two children who lost her husband as a result of botched treatment and psychiatric assessment has of obtaining justice particularly when that justice also involves cornonial inquest and her opponent is a determined multinational insurer?  
This is precisely what the young wife faced in my book 'Observation Status'.

In Part 2,  I will talk about a forgotton section of the Crimes Act that was repealed in 2006        

My Dear Friend - The Late Keith Wong PART 2

The Capital Theatre in Campbell Street, Sydney is just over hundred meters down the road from the Mandarin Club and Chequres Night Club.  In the mid 1960's I worked as an usher at nights and on the weekends whilst attending Hurstville Boys High School.  On some occasions I was asked to be an usher in the Royal Theatre in Quay Street.  On my way from Central Railway Station I often passed through the Mandarin Club.  I remembered well the name Keith Wong as the owner of the Mandarin Club and Chequres Night Club, a highly respected businessman.  Little did I know that I was destined to meet Keith Wong and for us to become the closest of  friends.

As a practicing barrister in 1996 I accepted brief to represent Keith Wong.  Keith had been charged with breaching various clauses of the NSW Company Laws (now the Corporations Act).  The charges totaled 33 in number and related to number of companies under the umbrella of Trans World which Keith Wong had established.  Trans World imported wide ranging variety of goods and products from China and was the first Australian group of companies to do so. A number of directors and company secretaries were also charged. Some faced trials,were convicted and served custodial sentences. 

My brief consisted of six boxes of documents which were couriered to my Chamber.  After reading the documents and familiarizing myself with the legal issue,s I prepared 'No Bill' application.  The application consisted of some 40 plus pages and covered each of the 33 charges.  I was informed that since 1982 Keith Wong had been living in Taipai Taiwan.  Soon Keith and I started to communicate by phone almost on a weekly basis and I kept him updated of progress of the application.  After pressing for a decision on the application in late 1997 the Director of Public Prosecution contacted me and said that no decision will be made regarding the No Bill until Keith Wong returns to jurisdiction.  However, from my contacts in the DPP I became aware that the prosecutor allocated to review the application considered it highly meritorious.  In mid 1998 Keith Wong did return to Australia.
To ensure that there were no hiccups on his arrival I waited for him at Kingsford Smith Airport. Everything went smoothly and I met him for the first time face to face when he came out of Customs pushing a trolly.

Between 1998 until a month before his death Keith Wong was my closest friend.
In August 2000 he invited me to a tour of China for 3 weeks.  It was the most memorable trip that I ever had.  In Sydney we saw each other almost every week.  Keith loved lunches he would call me and ask my availability to have lunch with him and some of his friends.  Initially those lunches were in the private room at the Mandarin Club.  Some of the people that Keith invited to those lunches included former Federal Government Ministers, State Ministers, the Heads of Australia's top corporations including Ampol, and BHP.  All those people had fond memories and recalled the days when Kerry Packer and Rubert Murdoch used to attend the Mandarin Club and play cards.

After the Mandarin Club, our lunches covered a full circle of well known Chinese restaurants and in later years, Skygarden, Imperial Peking, and Yum Cha  at the Marigold Restaurant.

Some fours years ago, Keith asked me to accompany him to Chatswood Road and Traffic Authority as he needed to renew his drivers licence.  Keith had the required medical certificate about his health.  He needed to pass a driving test.  After taking number and waiting Keith asked me to have a word with the officer who will be testing his driving.  I walked to the counter and asked.  They pointed me the officer who will be testing Keith.  I introduced myself to the officer and said
'do you see that elderly gentleman sitting there?'
the officer nodded his head. I said 'he is my dearest friend please do your best to ensure we will walk out of here smiling'.
Much to the chagrin of Keith's daughter who drove us to Chatswood we did get out of Chatswood RTA with big smile.    

I last had lunch with Keith a month before he passed away.  Prior to going to lunch on that day we went to the Art Gallery of NSW.  Keith had a painting that he brought from China in 1960 and wanted to check its authenticity.  I held Keith's hand and helped him down the 23 steps from the ground floor to the lower ground floor and some 40 minutes later again on the way up.  I could feel that Keith was very frail and had dry cough.  I was concerned about him.  That day we went to the Marigold and had delicious Yum Cha lunch with a vintage bottle of red wine which Keith asked me to select.

Ironically, on the day I intended to call to ask about him his daughter called me and told me about his passing away.  She asked me as the only non family member to say few words at the funeral service.  I told her it would be an honour and thanked her for asking me.
 My deepest condolences to each of Keith's seven daughters and to his son Jefferey. 

May He Rest In Peace. 
I will always have fond memories of Keith and will miss him greatly as the closest friend I had.  

  

My Friend Keith Wong - PART 1

Link to article in Sydney Morning Herald : http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/club-owner-created-starstudded-spots-20110824-1ja2v.html 

Below is the article on Keith Wong as appears in Sydney Morning Herald

Club owner created star-studded spots

August 25, 2011

Keith Wong, 1916-2011

When Keith Wong and his brother Denis opened Chequers nightclub in 1959, a rival nightclub owner, Joe Taylor, laid odds ''2-1 on'' that the nightclub wouldn't last three months, mainly ''because they are Chinese''. How wrong Taylor was.

With its glitz and glitter, and stream of international celebrities, Chequers was to be listed by Variety magazine as one of the top-10 nightclubs in the world. Wong, who was granted citizenship in 1957, showed that Chinese migrants could not only integrate with the Australian community but could make their own culture part of it.

Principally associated with Chequers and the Mandarin Club, Wong busied himself with horse racing, entrepreneurship, cultural events within Sydney's Chinese community and fostering a closer relationship between Australia and China.

Advertisement: Story continues below

Entrepreneur ... Keith Wong co-founded several entertainment hubs.

The limelight he enjoyed did attract some unsavoury characters. Towards the end of his life, Wong himself had some questions to answer, but nothing came of it.

Keith Wong was born Jup Kee Wong on December 4, 1916, in a village in Zhongshan, Guangdong province in China, one of nine siblings. The family moved to Hong Kong in 1930. Wong migrated to Australia in 1938, unable to speak English, and settled in Brisbane, where he studied accountancy. In 1941, Wong became a part-owner and cook at a Chinese restaurant. In 1945, he married Ruby Musung. He also started a business in Hong Kong, exporting to China. The same year, he moved to Sydney and became a partner in a restaurant, the Cathay, in Castlereagh Street.

In 1952, Wong opened the Transworld Importing Agency, which was arguably the first company in Australia to import Chinese products on a large scale. He expanded his chain of restaurants. To strengthen his ties with China, he hosted Chinese government delegations, which included the governor of Guangzhou. In the mid-1950s, Gough Whitlam became one of their regular diners. Then, with Denis, Keith founded Chequers.

In 1963, he and Denis formed a partnership with entrepreneur Harry M. Miller and founded Pan-Pacific Promotions to bring out international acts. In partnership with the manager of Billy Thorpe, John Harrigan, they opened the Whisky au Go Go, Bull and Bush, and Stagecoach nightclubs. In 1964, the Wongs opened the 24-hour Mandarin Club, which became the place for performers after they had finished their shows.

With Chequers the venue for performers such as Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick and Sammy Davis jnr, and the guest list including Cliff Richard, the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees and the Beatles, among others, the club became an entertainment hub. Wong's friends included the premier Sir Robert Askin, Frank Packer, the police commissioner Norm Allan and occasionally Rupert Murdoch. One night, the prime minister John Gorton created a sensation by disappearing backstage with Liza Minnelli.

The total workforce across the businesses exceeded 500 people. Wong helped hundreds of Chinese people to come to Australia to start new lives. His lawyer, Anthony Jackson, said: ''Keith was a guy with a lot of principles and standards. He did not take nonsense from anybody.''

Inevitably, the nightclub also attracted some less savoury individuals. In February, 1969, the club hosted a party held in honour of visiting Chicago mobster Joseph Dan Testa. Present were such notorious individuals as Lenny McPherson, George Freeman and Milan ''Iron Bar Miller'' Petricevic.

In 1980, the Wongs organised the first Guangdong Exhibition, at Centrepoint. Wong also went into property development.

But some dark clouds were forming. In 1982, he was called to give evidence to the NSW Police Tribunal about his dealings with the deputy police commissioner, Bill Allen. Transworld had organised Allen's trip to Hong Kong in 1981 and he had travelled on an account made out to Wong.

In 1982, Trans World Agency, the centrepiece of the Transworld group, collapsed owing $37 million, attracting the interest of the Corporate Affairs Commission. In July 1984, Wong was accused of defrauding various banks and other agencies of more than $4 million. He left for Taiwan. Wong returned in 1998 after 14 years abroad and the charges against him were not pursued.

The Mandarin Club, affected by Star City Casino, closed in 2008. It reopened in Chinatown, but unsuccessfully. In 2008, Ruby died, followed by Denis in 2009. Keith Wong died on July 26. He is survived by his eight children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Malcolm Brown

 http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/club-owner-created-starstudded-spots-20110824-1ja2v.html

A-list ... many celebrities visited Chequers, including Bob Hope (centre).

Overseas Trained Doctors - A Tale

At any one time there are something like 1,500 to 2,000 overseas trained doctors who have migrated and settled in Australia. Some came as refugees escaping persecution from number of countries and in recent times, from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Egypt. Others arrived from South Africa or number of Eastern European countries as well as Western Europe; including the United Kingdom.

Regardless of one's experience and expertise as a doctor, to become registered and have qualifications recognised in Australia, overseas doctor's have to sit and pass a specially designed exam and pass a language exam.  The success rate of passing this exam is historically low and in recent years had only slightly improved.

This slight improvement is been due to individual initiatives taken by overseas trained doctors which included liasing with hospitals in order to allow them to attend and go on rounds with medical students and observe patients and take their own notes.

This blog Dear Readers, is about one such overseas trained doctor who came to Australia from Czechoslovakia (now the Czeck Republic) in1960.  His name was Frant.  For the first few years after his arrival Frant rented a room in a house and worked as a labourer in a shoe factory.  To the astonishement of other workers in the factory he told them that he was a heart specialist in Czechoslovakia and he wanted to sit for an exam and start practiciing as a doctor. At that time, in order to pass and practice as a doctor, a committee of doctors from various specialities appointed by the Royal College grilled you for as long as they saw fit.  They need not give you any reason or reasons why they failed you and told you where to go. 

Two different committees of doctors grilled Frant on two separate occasions for hours.  Neither committee could make up its mind and Frant was not told whether he passed or failed.  A 'super' committee of hand picked doctors, the best in their specialities, hand picked by the various Royal Colleges, examined Frant.  During the examination Frant put his hand up and asked the cardiologist who was interested in his replies a question.

'Could you please tell me the name of the author of the book to which you referred?'

All his examiners looked at him with a stare  and awe.  Frant said nothing.  He folded his arms and waited for a reply. The cardiology book from which Frant had been examined was the English translation of his book written in German!

I know that there are currently taxi drivers in Sydney (and undoubtedly in other Australian States) and others, working in shops, who had been doctors with years of experience and in some cases specialists in various disciplines in their countries - even directors of emergencies and trauma medicine in major hospitals in Europe who had failed the current exams in Australia on few occasions.

One can ask how is this possible? The answer is either blowing in the wind or may be in the spirit of Frant.  

     

Did you Know?

Did you Know that:

1. That if you have a coin or a note that you think is damaged or for whatever reason or reasons you are not happy with the coin or note you can go to the front counter of the Reserve Bank of Australia in Martin Place and ask for its replacement with new coin or note. That is your legal right.
2. That the first Book of Enoch is revered as Scripture in the Ethiopian church and the text only in Ethiopic language and that Enoch is the seventh descendant of Adam.
3. That Switzerland has the only flag that resembles the vestement of the Knight Templers. Is there a connection that could be considered not far fetched?
4. That for whatever reason you find yourself stranded in the middle of the sea in Thailand, do not make the mistake of telling your rescuer that you will pay them by Australian dollar. The chances are they will leave you in the middle of the sea. Simply say AMERICAN DOLLAR. Yes American - despite the fact its value is lower than the Aussie dollar. A doctor friend of mine had that very experience. His jetski failed in the middle of the sea some 20 kilometers from the closes land. He took his pants off and waived it to a passing ferry. 'One thousand Australian dollars if you come and take me to your ferry' he said. The reply: 'No we only take American dollars'. 'Yes for heaven sake American bloody dollars make two thousand' said my doctor friend. 'OK you have cash we don't accept credit cards' came back the voice from the ferry. 'Cash, Cash Cash' said my doctor friend. The ferry that was conveying passengers between islands turned around and picked him up. After feeling secured he asked whether there were any passengers that were feeling unwell on the ferry. There were non. He had no options but to pay the two thousand dollars. When the manager of the  jetski hire asked him to pay for the lost jetski he told him where to go and took the next available flight back to Sydney.
5. The the famous Roselyn Chapel was built by the Knight Templers and despite the fact that it is a chapel, it had never seen any official mass service, christian or otherwise. If you want to know why you may care to urge me in you own individaul way to tell you what I think is the reason.
6. That the Church of the Holy Seplucher was destroyed by the sixth Fatimid (Hakim fi amr Allah) and that was the primary reason for the first Crusade.
7. That the Islamic calender is luner and it is eleven days less than the Justinian calender in use so roughly every 33 years there Ramadan repeats itself, ie starts on the same date.

Caught in Cashless Transport

Dear Readers,

Have you ever heard or shared the experience of being unable to board a bus because you are not in possession of a pre paid plastic card or a ticket which you can only buy from certain newsagencies? Well let me share with you a personal experience of getting on a bus at a bus stop in George Street, Sydney some two months ago. 

I wanted to go to Sydney University some three kilomteres away just at the junction where Broadway becomes Parramatta Road. I took the step from the kerb to the bus looked the driver in the eys and attempted to hand him $5 note and expecting a change. The driver shook his head and looked at me as though I was some sort of a moron. I said: 'what, you think this is a fake $5 note or I need to give you more money, I only wanted to go to Sydney University'. The driver shook his head again and looked at me as if I was a moron or smelled. At the time I was wearing suit that had some come out of the dry cleaners and an expensive tie. I was lost for words and waited for the driver to speak. He took a deep sigh and spoke: 'mate this is a cashless bus can't you read'. I said: 'I am not here to rob you I am giving you money'. 'Funny' said the driver with a sarcastic smile. I could see people on the bus watching and listening to the conversation. I said: 'with respect to you I don't think you can refuse taking my money the $5 note is a legal tender and I an tendering to you legally for my fare to Sydney University'. Someone shouted from the middle of bus 'yeh bloody oath tell him mate'. The driver appeared lost for words as other busses starting to que behind the bus. the driver finally said: 'bloody lawyers or smarty pants. Get in mate you don't have to pay'. I said: 'I don't want yiur charity or free journey keep the $5 and give it to whoever you think should receive it'. I walked inside the bus and took a seat next to a middle aged lady who appeared to have been distressed by my conversation with driver. On the second stop the lady finally said to me there is a sign on the front of the bus that says 'Pre Paid Only'. 'Ah I said I thought that was an advertisment'. When I pressed the button to get off at the next stop I made sure that I exited through the back door. Going back to the city that afternoon I made sure that the bus I casught did not have the 'Pre Paid Only' sign. 

For the rest of the day I wondered whether the trend toward cashless society had cirumvented and masde useless the Reserve Bank Act 1959, the Currency Act 1965 and Section 51(xii) of the Commonwealth Constitution giving the Federal Government the power to make laws.    

Sunset...

Is this majestic?

Taken on 1 May 2011 from the porch of the humble house in which I was born...Lebanon

ECG explained for no apparent reason

I just thought I'd brag about how smart I am ...

Hello Dear Readers,

Since I started my first blog by writing about the world most famous cardiologist, the Late Michael Dabaghy (by sheer coincidence I might add) I thought it would be appropriate if I were to continue my second blog by writing about the heart and attempt to explain the tracing of ECG (ElectroCardioGram) which is heavily relied upon by General Practitioners and cardiologists to diagnose arrythmia (abnormal rhythm), flutter (fast heart rate), fibrilation (beats from abnormal sources than SA Node), infarcts (heart muscle cells that had been damaged or died) both past and present.

The main leads of the ECG machine are placed on the body in the form of a triangle in which the heart is in the middle. The other leads that labelled V1 to V6 ar placed in different positions on the spaced of the ribs. The ideas being to observe the hear from different angles. Lead V4 provided important information useful to tell whether there had been damage to the muscle of the ventricles from previous infarcts (heart attacks). Some of the tracing from the V leads are inverted images of the main leads in which the heart is in the middle of the triangle.

In brief the heart is a pump that is split into two halfs. Each half has upped chamber and lower chamber. The upper is known as the auricle and the lower is known as the ventricle. The opening between the auricle and ventricle is controlled by one way valve. On the right hand side the valve is known as the mitral valve (from the Bishop collar) and on the left is the pulmonary valve which allow the passage of blood to the lungs. On the question of valves it is interesting to note that the mitral valve is damaged in childhood diseases such as rheumatic fever. Australia's former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who suffered rheumatic fever as a child had last week undergone surgery to replace the mitral valve and is now recovering in Queensland hospital. The right side of the heart receive cifrculating blood that had shed its oxygen content (not the full content). This blood is pumped to be oxygenated by the air we breath and is then pumped by the left side of the heart to nourish the body and return back after releasing its oxygen for bodily metabolism. The pumping by the left ventricle requres much greater energy than the pumping of the right ventricle. As a result the mucscle mass of the left ventricle is significantly greater than that of the right ventricle. Depending on their severity heart attacks (myocardial infarcts) normally leave damaged areas in the left venticle. This often show on lead V4 and the 'T' wave of the tracing in which the heart is at the centre of the triangle.

The above diagram shows normal ECG tracing taken from the three leads in which the heart is at the centre of the triangle. The letters are P, QRS, and T. Every cell of the heart could potentially fire a signal which could be picked up by ECG. However, in a normal heart the firing begins with the Sino Atrial Node (SA Node) located in the right atrium. This is a collections of cell with a firing threshold lower than the rest of the myocardial cells. When the SA node fires it gives the 'P" wave of the ECG. As this wave travels in the atrium it triggers the firing of cells that allows the left ventricle to fire giving the QRS wave of the ECG. As the heart comes back to rest the 'T' wave records the resting electrical activities of the myocardial cells. The 'T" wave is important in picking upand diagnosing prior heart attacks. Elevated blood potassioum level could also give you abnormal 'T' wave.

I realised that I may have written too much for a blog I will attempt to briefly summarise the essentials of what i have written:

If you listen to the heart you will hear the sound "Lubb" "Dubb", "Lubb" "Dubb" etc... The "Lubb" is the sound of the right side of the heart filling with blood coming from the body. The "Dubb" is the sound of the firing of the left ventricle pushing the oxygenated blood to the body. The 'P' wave is the firing of the SA Node. The distance between the 'P' wave and rthe 'QRS' wave is measured in milliseconds. If there is anorther wave that means some cell is firing on the pathway of the wave. A road block or a pump on the road. It could suggest damage or ectopic beat (arrythmia). The width and the height of the 'QRS' wave is important reflection of the state of the muscle cells of the left ventricle. The height of the 'T' wave is an indicator of prior damage to the heart muscle. The reading is normally confirmed by the V leads to which I referred earlier.

      

So dear Readers if you find what I have written about is interesting and you wish me to continue writing about the drugs that is norally prescribed to treat heart ailments you may care telling me.   I will be happy to write about drugs that doctors normally prescribe to treat either chronotropic conditions (rates and rythems) and ionotropic conditions (weakened heart muscles).

If you are mad I wasted your time with this information, please feel free to kick me in the nuts...

Cheers for now