Child brides may declare marriage void- The Times of India
One can easily forget how different the rest of the world can be. From the above story:
The practice of child marriage, linked to poverty and societal attitudes, has been prevalent in the country for decades. According to the 2001 Census, there are nearly 3 lakh girls under 15 who have given birth to at least one child. Nearly 35% of women in India are married between 15-18 years of age.
However, some progress has been made:
Discussions on the evils of child marriage had begun as early as last century, but the current law was introduced only in 1929.
In fact, the Indian political class woke up to the reality when Census 1921 reported that there were 600 brides between the ages of one and 12 months.
I suppose rusks were served at the wedding reception.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Hanging by a thread
String theory is claptrap. By Gregg Easterbrook - Slate Magazine
This is a good review of one of two recent books that point out the trouble with string theory. Namely, it can hardly be called science at all until it comes up with some plausible way to test it. Perhaps the killer quote is this:
Today if a professor at Princeton claims there are 11 unobservable dimensions about which he can speak with great confidence despite an utter lack of supporting evidence, that professor is praised for incredible sophistication. If another person in the same place asserted there exists one unobservable dimension, the plane of the spirit, he would be hooted down as a superstitious crank.
The book in question is by Lee Smolin, a physicist of considerable standing. The other book out is by Peter Woit, who runs the "Not Even Wrong" blog (see my blogroll.) His blog is dedicated to deriding string theory, and I think he does a pretty good job. I suspect Smolin's book might be the better read, though.
Not Even Wrong is definitely the site to go to if you want evidence against the idea that scientists are idealists who are above career politics and catfighting. Some posts are particularly funny, such as this one about the fight with Lubos Motl (a pro-string theory scientist) over Amazon reviews of the anti string theory books.
This is a good review of one of two recent books that point out the trouble with string theory. Namely, it can hardly be called science at all until it comes up with some plausible way to test it. Perhaps the killer quote is this:
Today if a professor at Princeton claims there are 11 unobservable dimensions about which he can speak with great confidence despite an utter lack of supporting evidence, that professor is praised for incredible sophistication. If another person in the same place asserted there exists one unobservable dimension, the plane of the spirit, he would be hooted down as a superstitious crank.
The book in question is by Lee Smolin, a physicist of considerable standing. The other book out is by Peter Woit, who runs the "Not Even Wrong" blog (see my blogroll.) His blog is dedicated to deriding string theory, and I think he does a pretty good job. I suspect Smolin's book might be the better read, though.
Not Even Wrong is definitely the site to go to if you want evidence against the idea that scientists are idealists who are above career politics and catfighting. Some posts are particularly funny, such as this one about the fight with Lubos Motl (a pro-string theory scientist) over Amazon reviews of the anti string theory books.
Can't we get a movie out of this?
Spears fly over 'cannibal' expedition - National - theage.com.au
The pathetic behaviour of our rival low brow evening current affairs programs would surely make a good comedy movie. Sure, the genre was covered well on TV by "Frontline" in the 1990's, but this latest story of (alleged) dirty tactics makes me think there must be scope for a full length movie in this.
Some ideas:
* journalists from the opposing shows start a secret relationship; (probably been done well before, but I can't think where)
* the ex-spouses of opposing journalists start a relationship and sabotage their ex's shows;
* as a sub plot: youngish network head with interest in a fringe religion tries to get current affairs show to give the religion good PR.
Mind you, movie treatments of television shows often feel very unauthentic in the way they show a TV studio. It's a hard genre to do well. I've always liked "Broadcast News" though.
The pathetic behaviour of our rival low brow evening current affairs programs would surely make a good comedy movie. Sure, the genre was covered well on TV by "Frontline" in the 1990's, but this latest story of (alleged) dirty tactics makes me think there must be scope for a full length movie in this.
Some ideas:
* journalists from the opposing shows start a secret relationship; (probably been done well before, but I can't think where)
* the ex-spouses of opposing journalists start a relationship and sabotage their ex's shows;
* as a sub plot: youngish network head with interest in a fringe religion tries to get current affairs show to give the religion good PR.
Mind you, movie treatments of television shows often feel very unauthentic in the way they show a TV studio. It's a hard genre to do well. I've always liked "Broadcast News" though.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Shuttle sightings
Human Space Flight (HSF) - Sightings
The link above is to the list of shuttle/space station sightings for Brisbane over the next few days. Monday night at 6.19 should be a particularly long and good view.
The link above is to the list of shuttle/space station sightings for Brisbane over the next few days. Monday night at 6.19 should be a particularly long and good view.
About time
Robson and crew arrested in Indonesia - TV & Radio - Entertainment - smh.com.au
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of quasi-journos.
The report says:
The head of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Imron Cotan, confirmed five Australian journalists were being held in the Papuan capital and would be deported as soon as possible.
Can't the Australia government to send a top priority two word cable the Indonesians: "No hurry"?
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of quasi-journos.
The report says:
The head of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Imron Cotan, confirmed five Australian journalists were being held in the Papuan capital and would be deported as soon as possible.
Can't the Australia government to send a top priority two word cable the Indonesians: "No hurry"?
Christians: Embrace uranium
The Religion Report - 13September2006 - Ian Hore-Lacy
Hmm, how did this happen? A book that criticises the "irresponsible romanticism" that is the basis of much of the Green (and Christian) environmentalist movements gets a fair hearing by Stephen Crittenden on his "Religion Report" show.
From the transcript above, the author comments:
The basic motivation of the book is to really challenge some of the Green Christian stuff which has been written over the last 15 years and suggest that a Christian approach should not only respect God's handiwork in creation, that is to focus on Green and aesthetic aspects, but also encompass a practical understanding of the earth's resources, which are no less his handiwork, and that's an important point. And furthermore of course, those resources are needed to give all the six billion inhabitants a standard of living comparable with ours. And Christians seem to just lose sight of that whole second aspect altogether, and that has increasingly worried me....
'
Stephen Crittenden: Your book's full of wonderful pithy sentences like the following: 'Nuclear energy is a fascinating area for Christian reflection.' How is it a fascinating area for Christian reflection?
Ian Hore-Lacy: Well because it's a resource which is timely. It's a resource which requires a particular technology which has been developed over the last 50 years, and which is now available when we actually need it quite badly to replace fossil fuels, both for the reasons we've mentioned in respect to oil, and similarly with gas, and also because of concerns about global warming. And so when these concerns are at a peak, here is the technology that is available. And what's more it isn't a very abundant resource, not simply in the amount of uranium you can quantify right now, and divide by the annual rate of usage right now, that gives you a fairly false or misleading sort of answer, but also because with another step in technology, which is fairly well proven, we can get about 50 or 60 times as much energy out of that resource. Now you can't do that with any fossil fuels.
Just like the miracle with the loaves and fishes, isn't it?
[Previous line not intended to sound sarcastic; more designed to annoy Christian greenies.]
Hmm, how did this happen? A book that criticises the "irresponsible romanticism" that is the basis of much of the Green (and Christian) environmentalist movements gets a fair hearing by Stephen Crittenden on his "Religion Report" show.
From the transcript above, the author comments:
The basic motivation of the book is to really challenge some of the Green Christian stuff which has been written over the last 15 years and suggest that a Christian approach should not only respect God's handiwork in creation, that is to focus on Green and aesthetic aspects, but also encompass a practical understanding of the earth's resources, which are no less his handiwork, and that's an important point. And furthermore of course, those resources are needed to give all the six billion inhabitants a standard of living comparable with ours. And Christians seem to just lose sight of that whole second aspect altogether, and that has increasingly worried me....
'
Stephen Crittenden: Your book's full of wonderful pithy sentences like the following: 'Nuclear energy is a fascinating area for Christian reflection.' How is it a fascinating area for Christian reflection?
Ian Hore-Lacy: Well because it's a resource which is timely. It's a resource which requires a particular technology which has been developed over the last 50 years, and which is now available when we actually need it quite badly to replace fossil fuels, both for the reasons we've mentioned in respect to oil, and similarly with gas, and also because of concerns about global warming. And so when these concerns are at a peak, here is the technology that is available. And what's more it isn't a very abundant resource, not simply in the amount of uranium you can quantify right now, and divide by the annual rate of usage right now, that gives you a fairly false or misleading sort of answer, but also because with another step in technology, which is fairly well proven, we can get about 50 or 60 times as much energy out of that resource. Now you can't do that with any fossil fuels.
Just like the miracle with the loaves and fishes, isn't it?
[Previous line not intended to sound sarcastic; more designed to annoy Christian greenies.]
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
No prayers please
Canada: Orthodox Jew forced off plane | Jerusalem Post
I missed this story from last week, about an Orthdox Jewish man asked to leave an Air Canada aircraft for praying quietly and "lurching back and forth":
The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.
"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.
Some left leaning commentators got all uptight about recent incidents where Muslim passengers were off loaded from aircraft. (You know, "poor Muslims being singled out" etc.)
This incident is evidence to show that concerns about behaviour on aircraft is non-sectarian after all.
I missed this story from last week, about an Orthdox Jewish man asked to leave an Air Canada aircraft for praying quietly and "lurching back and forth":
The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.
"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.
Some left leaning commentators got all uptight about recent incidents where Muslim passengers were off loaded from aircraft. (You know, "poor Muslims being singled out" etc.)
This incident is evidence to show that concerns about behaviour on aircraft is non-sectarian after all.
Albrechtsen on the effect of 9/11
Janet Albrechtsen: Human rights not sacrosanct | News | The Australian
The first part of this column is particularly good, where Albrechtsen notes how no one complains about anti domestic violence advertising being targetted to men, because it reflects reality. Yet some complain that all anti terrorism action seems to be directed againt Muslims.
The first part of this column is particularly good, where Albrechtsen notes how no one complains about anti domestic violence advertising being targetted to men, because it reflects reality. Yet some complain that all anti terrorism action seems to be directed againt Muslims.
Lawrence Wright on the Master Plan
The New Yorker: Fact
Lawrence Wright was the author of the book reviewed in Salon and mentioned in my last post.
In the New Yorker he has a long article about Al Qaeda and its plans. Good reading.
Lawrence Wright was the author of the book reviewed in Salon and mentioned in my last post.
In the New Yorker he has a long article about Al Qaeda and its plans. Good reading.
Support from Salon
The road to 9/11 and beyond | Salon Books
When you dig past the weekly articles expressing the writers' ongoing horror of all things Bush, you occasionally find within a Salon article that a bit of support for the President somehow slips through.
For example, there is this week a review of a new book on the background to the 9/11 attacks which contains this line:
Today, from Bush and Cheney speeches to the nation's Op-Ed pages, we continue to be bombarded with declarations about whether the al-Qaida faithful hate America for its freedoms or for its policies. Wright's work reveals that the answer, clearly, is both.
Well, that seems close enough to count as support for the Bush "they hate us for our freedoms" speech of 20 September 2001. How nice of Salon.
You should read the review to see why the author argues this. It is interesting.
When you dig past the weekly articles expressing the writers' ongoing horror of all things Bush, you occasionally find within a Salon article that a bit of support for the President somehow slips through.
For example, there is this week a review of a new book on the background to the 9/11 attacks which contains this line:
Today, from Bush and Cheney speeches to the nation's Op-Ed pages, we continue to be bombarded with declarations about whether the al-Qaida faithful hate America for its freedoms or for its policies. Wright's work reveals that the answer, clearly, is both.
Well, that seems close enough to count as support for the Bush "they hate us for our freedoms" speech of 20 September 2001. How nice of Salon.
You should read the review to see why the author argues this. It is interesting.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Hitchens on fear
Remembering Ari Fleischer's reign of terror. By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Christopher Hitchens' latest Slate piece destroys a relatively small bit of ongoing anti-Bush administration mythology. Still, this type of lazy and careless journalism that this case highlights seems so common now. All rather reminiscent of the non plastic turkey.
Hitchens was on Lateline last night, but I missed most of it. Quite a pity, given this extract posted over at Tim Blair.
And to round up all recent things Hitchens (he has been busy), there was this one at Opinion Journal if anyone missed it.
Christopher Hitchens' latest Slate piece destroys a relatively small bit of ongoing anti-Bush administration mythology. Still, this type of lazy and careless journalism that this case highlights seems so common now. All rather reminiscent of the non plastic turkey.
Hitchens was on Lateline last night, but I missed most of it. Quite a pity, given this extract posted over at Tim Blair.
And to round up all recent things Hitchens (he has been busy), there was this one at Opinion Journal if anyone missed it.
Meteor boom in New Zealand
Readers report: Sonic boom in Christchurch - 12 Sep 2006 - National News
Reports are just coming in about a meteor over New Zealand causing a very loud "boom". First hand reports are at the link above.
No word yet on whether part of it hit the ground.
Reports are just coming in about a meteor over New Zealand causing a very loud "boom". First hand reports are at the link above.
No word yet on whether part of it hit the ground.
Funny Price
Matt Price: All sides cop a flegging | News | The Australian
Matt Price's column on the Queensland election is really very funny. The funniest line (out of many) is this one about weird independent Bob Katter:
To steal from Winston Churchill, the ex-Nat turned Queensland independent is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma swallowed by a joke covered in bananas sprinkled with peanuts dipped in ethanol.
If this is a bit puzzling to an overseas reader, well, you have to know a bit about Queensland to understand.
Matt Price's column on the Queensland election is really very funny. The funniest line (out of many) is this one about weird independent Bob Katter:
To steal from Winston Churchill, the ex-Nat turned Queensland independent is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma swallowed by a joke covered in bananas sprinkled with peanuts dipped in ethanol.
If this is a bit puzzling to an overseas reader, well, you have to know a bit about Queensland to understand.
Monday, September 11, 2006
About that Senate report
Power Line: Smiling Phases
I expect Hitchens will eventually write on this topic too, as he has already talked a lot about al Qaeda figures in Iraq. I'm sure there must a lot more on the internet about this, but I have not yet gone looking for it.
I expect Hitchens will eventually write on this topic too, as he has already talked a lot about al Qaeda figures in Iraq. I'm sure there must a lot more on the internet about this, but I have not yet gone looking for it.
Christopher Hitchens on the anniversary
Never again: America's new mantra - World - smh.com.au
Worth reading.
He was also interviewed on Radio National this morning. From the parts I heard, his points were generally along the lines contained in the article above. It should be available here later today.
Worth reading.
He was also interviewed on Radio National this morning. From the parts I heard, his points were generally along the lines contained in the article above. It should be available here later today.
Devils Tower has a birthday
'Close Encounters' rock prepares for centennial - United States - North America
So, the alien landing site celebrates 100 years as a National Monument. Congratulations.
North of Brisbane, Mt Coonowrin in the Glasshouse Mountains could substitute as a less symmetrical landing beacon. Just a little bit of blasting might create a nice flat top to give it added appeal.
So, the alien landing site celebrates 100 years as a National Monument. Congratulations.
North of Brisbane, Mt Coonowrin in the Glasshouse Mountains could substitute as a less symmetrical landing beacon. Just a little bit of blasting might create a nice flat top to give it added appeal.
A brief guide to EMP
How to survive global warming. By David Shenk - Slate Magazine
From Slate's odd, and barely useful, guide on how to survive various disasters, the entry about electro magnetic pulse is at least a bit informative in a general way.
I would also like to remind any new readers that I have previously discussed the possible use of EMP attack on Iranian nuclear facilities (not necessarily via nuclear weapons, but using the mooted "e bombs".)
From Slate's odd, and barely useful, guide on how to survive various disasters, the entry about electro magnetic pulse is at least a bit informative in a general way.
I would also like to remind any new readers that I have previously discussed the possible use of EMP attack on Iranian nuclear facilities (not necessarily via nuclear weapons, but using the mooted "e bombs".)
The Queensland election
John Quiggin - The end of the Nats
Oddly enough, this short post by John Quiggin is about the only thing I care to link to about the Queensland State election on Saturday.
It is hard to imagine how a worse run campaign could have been run by the conservatives. Springborg has never appealed to me, but then again no Nationals leader has for decades now. His campaign was also interrupted by family tragedy (his father-in-law's suicide.) I doubt that the vote would have been any different had this not happened, though.
Bruce Flegg for the Liberals clearly needed an intensive week long course on media management, and a new haircut. He came across as a goofy looking, charmless, grumpy character, with nothing very specific to say about how to fix the Health portfolio. I had heard him sometimes before he was elected leader, and I thought he came across OK. I just don't know how he let it fall apart so quickly once the election was called.
Both should be replaced, and quickly.
There has been a lack of charisma on display in the State conservative parties for so long that it seems to have become self perpetuating. I mean, what new blood wants to get involved with such a bunch of losers?
Apart from that, they seemed to have no money for advertisements, and to be pretty much policy free. (The only thing I can remember is a vague aim to have no stamp duty within 5 years. This certainly did not sound financially very sound, and even if it was done and did result in a flood of investment and people to Queensland, voters probably wondered where the water to build the new suburbs would come from.)
Ah well, I suppose the one good thing is that uniform Labor State governments helps the Liberals keep power in Canberra.
Oddly enough, this short post by John Quiggin is about the only thing I care to link to about the Queensland State election on Saturday.
It is hard to imagine how a worse run campaign could have been run by the conservatives. Springborg has never appealed to me, but then again no Nationals leader has for decades now. His campaign was also interrupted by family tragedy (his father-in-law's suicide.) I doubt that the vote would have been any different had this not happened, though.
Bruce Flegg for the Liberals clearly needed an intensive week long course on media management, and a new haircut. He came across as a goofy looking, charmless, grumpy character, with nothing very specific to say about how to fix the Health portfolio. I had heard him sometimes before he was elected leader, and I thought he came across OK. I just don't know how he let it fall apart so quickly once the election was called.
Both should be replaced, and quickly.
There has been a lack of charisma on display in the State conservative parties for so long that it seems to have become self perpetuating. I mean, what new blood wants to get involved with such a bunch of losers?
Apart from that, they seemed to have no money for advertisements, and to be pretty much policy free. (The only thing I can remember is a vague aim to have no stamp duty within 5 years. This certainly did not sound financially very sound, and even if it was done and did result in a flood of investment and people to Queensland, voters probably wondered where the water to build the new suburbs would come from.)
Ah well, I suppose the one good thing is that uniform Labor State governments helps the Liberals keep power in Canberra.
Pamela Bone on 9/11
Pamela Bone: The folly of blaming ourselves | News | The Australian
There will be many good columns on the anniversary of 9/11. Pamela Bone's one in The Australian today is fairly short but good.
There will be many good columns on the anniversary of 9/11. Pamela Bone's one in The Australian today is fairly short but good.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Terry Lane and I agree on Australian cinema?
Sunny Steve cut through the dismals - Opinion - theage.com.au
Most of time, I read Terry Lane because there is an excellent chance that he will say something I strongly disagree with, and the flaws in his arguments are sometimes easily picked. (Especially when he writes an entire column based on a made up story.)
This week his Age column is a kind of defence of Steve Irwin, but is most notable because of his take on the state of Australian cinema:
All this is by way of putting it on record that the Lanes will not be parting with any more of their hard-earned to watch dismal Australian films. We endured the grim masterpiece Somersault. We were depressed by Look Both Ways and were shocked by the parched, unrelieved violence of The Proposition. We left half-way through the incredibly ugly Jindabyne. We didn't find a lot to laugh at in Kenny with its relentless portrayal of human nature. And we had to tie ourselves to the seat to see Last Train to Freo to the end.
We passed on the several celluloid entertainments to do with drug addiction and teenage suicide. It is all enough to make you leave the cinema desperate for the sunny optimism of Steve Irwin.
Barry Jones once observed that the characters in Australian films are typically regressive - they never make things happen, things happen to them. When was the last time that you saw a local film in which the principal characters seized control of their lives and made some good things happen and finished the film ahead of where they started? Is this how our creative elites who control the disbursement of production money see us? Is a happy ending anathema to the funding wallahs?
Gosh, even lefty atheists can dislike Australian film on the same grounds as I do. This is indeed surprising, because, I have tended to blame lefty atheists as they seem to be the only people making Australian cinema.
It has long seemed to me that modern Australia movies (since its 1970's revival) have always reflected the strong secular materialist view of the world of the arts community in this country, with any religious aspect of life either treated with disdain (such as showing clerics as being hypocrites) or, more commonly, being ignored entirely.
Of course, Phillip Adams takes great pride in his role in establishing the modern Australian cinema, and indeed it seems like everyone in the cinema community shares his (and Lane's) strident atheism, or at least a high degree of cynicism towards religion.
For me, this has always meant that an air of shallowness pervades the whole body of Australian cinema. The only supernaturalism that occasionally gets a look in might be of the aboriginal variety. For me (and, I expect, most Australians), this does not have much resonance.
It's not that many Hollywood movies have ever been overtly religious in theme. However, they are still capable of having characters who take religion seriously, and are not held up for ridicule or written as dislikeable because of it. Ghost stories or supernatural comedies can be made there; never here. What's worse, gruesome nihilistic earth-bound horror is the new genre some young Australian fim makers are getting into.
Hollywood today is not exactly a hot bed for conservative religion, but there is a sense in which I think that Hollywood cinema still treats the "big themes" of life, death and meaning in much greater depth. (Even an agnostic like Woody Allen dealt with it well in a small scale film like "Crimes and Misdemeanors") I expect that this is probably to do with the predominantly Jewish background of the American industry, even if most are now either non religious Jews, or follow the most liberal parts of Judaism.
Of course, as a nation the United States is so much more religious than Australia, so one might argue that naturally there will be writers and movie makers there who are interested in such material. None the less, it still surprises me how consistently Australian films have had this dogged lack of interest in whether there is something beyond the materialist world.
I don't have time to set out the many examples from Australian cinema that could illustrate this, but I assume that someone else has noticed this too.
Most of time, I read Terry Lane because there is an excellent chance that he will say something I strongly disagree with, and the flaws in his arguments are sometimes easily picked. (Especially when he writes an entire column based on a made up story.)
This week his Age column is a kind of defence of Steve Irwin, but is most notable because of his take on the state of Australian cinema:
All this is by way of putting it on record that the Lanes will not be parting with any more of their hard-earned to watch dismal Australian films. We endured the grim masterpiece Somersault. We were depressed by Look Both Ways and were shocked by the parched, unrelieved violence of The Proposition. We left half-way through the incredibly ugly Jindabyne. We didn't find a lot to laugh at in Kenny with its relentless portrayal of human nature. And we had to tie ourselves to the seat to see Last Train to Freo to the end.
We passed on the several celluloid entertainments to do with drug addiction and teenage suicide. It is all enough to make you leave the cinema desperate for the sunny optimism of Steve Irwin.
Barry Jones once observed that the characters in Australian films are typically regressive - they never make things happen, things happen to them. When was the last time that you saw a local film in which the principal characters seized control of their lives and made some good things happen and finished the film ahead of where they started? Is this how our creative elites who control the disbursement of production money see us? Is a happy ending anathema to the funding wallahs?
Gosh, even lefty atheists can dislike Australian film on the same grounds as I do. This is indeed surprising, because, I have tended to blame lefty atheists as they seem to be the only people making Australian cinema.
It has long seemed to me that modern Australia movies (since its 1970's revival) have always reflected the strong secular materialist view of the world of the arts community in this country, with any religious aspect of life either treated with disdain (such as showing clerics as being hypocrites) or, more commonly, being ignored entirely.
Of course, Phillip Adams takes great pride in his role in establishing the modern Australian cinema, and indeed it seems like everyone in the cinema community shares his (and Lane's) strident atheism, or at least a high degree of cynicism towards religion.
For me, this has always meant that an air of shallowness pervades the whole body of Australian cinema. The only supernaturalism that occasionally gets a look in might be of the aboriginal variety. For me (and, I expect, most Australians), this does not have much resonance.
It's not that many Hollywood movies have ever been overtly religious in theme. However, they are still capable of having characters who take religion seriously, and are not held up for ridicule or written as dislikeable because of it. Ghost stories or supernatural comedies can be made there; never here. What's worse, gruesome nihilistic earth-bound horror is the new genre some young Australian fim makers are getting into.
Hollywood today is not exactly a hot bed for conservative religion, but there is a sense in which I think that Hollywood cinema still treats the "big themes" of life, death and meaning in much greater depth. (Even an agnostic like Woody Allen dealt with it well in a small scale film like "Crimes and Misdemeanors") I expect that this is probably to do with the predominantly Jewish background of the American industry, even if most are now either non religious Jews, or follow the most liberal parts of Judaism.
Of course, as a nation the United States is so much more religious than Australia, so one might argue that naturally there will be writers and movie makers there who are interested in such material. None the less, it still surprises me how consistently Australian films have had this dogged lack of interest in whether there is something beyond the materialist world.
I don't have time to set out the many examples from Australian cinema that could illustrate this, but I assume that someone else has noticed this too.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Slate's Weisberg gives Bush credit
We haven't been attacked since 9/11. Does Bush deserve the credit? By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine
Surprisingly, for a Slate article, the answer pretty much is "yes". As you might expect, I don't agree with everything in it, but the basic arguments seem sound.
Surprisingly, for a Slate article, the answer pretty much is "yes". As you might expect, I don't agree with everything in it, but the basic arguments seem sound.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Atheists in America
Being an Atheist in America Isn't Easy - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com
This is a good read from Newsweek: a story about the new aggressive atheism promoted by new books by Dawkins and Sam Harris.
Some interesting extracts:
In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, Americans said they believed in God by a margin of 92 to 6% —only 2 percent answered "don't know" —and only 37 percent said they'd be willing to vote for an atheist for president. (That's down from 49 percent in a 1999 Gallup poll —which also found that more Americans would vote for a homosexual than an atheist.)
Now that really puts things in perspective!
And further down:
It is not just extremists who earn the wrath of Dawkins and Harris. Their books are attacks on religious "moderates" as well, —indeed, the very idea of moderation. The West is not at war with "terrorism," Harris asserts in "The End of Faith"; it is at war with Islam, a religion whose holy book, "on almost every page ... prepares the ground for religious conflict." Christian fundamentalists, he says, have a better handle on the problem than moderates: "They know what it's like to really believe that their holy book is the word of God, and there's a paradise you can get to if you die in the right circumstances. They're not left wondering what is the 'real' cause of terrorism."
Sort of a backhand compliment to fundamentalist Christians, I suppose.
How about this for a silly suggestion:
On the science Web site Edge.org, the astronomer Carolyn Porco offers the subversive suggestion that science itself should attempt to supplant God in Western culture, by providing the benefits and comforts people find in religion: community, ceremony and a sense of awe. "Imagine congregations raising their voices in tribute to gravity, the force that binds us all to the Earth, and the Earth to the Sun, and the Sun to the Milky Way," she writes.
Now that would be taking Nature worship to a level of meaninglessness I had never considered possible. (Surely the most ancient belief systems we know anything about at least had the good sense to praise or worship things believed to be sentient (such as the god or animating spirit behind all or part of Nature.) But praising a rock for being a rock doesn't seem a very "scientific" thing to do.
Maybe I will add more to this topic later..
This is a good read from Newsweek: a story about the new aggressive atheism promoted by new books by Dawkins and Sam Harris.
Some interesting extracts:
In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, Americans said they believed in God by a margin of 92 to 6% —only 2 percent answered "don't know" —and only 37 percent said they'd be willing to vote for an atheist for president. (That's down from 49 percent in a 1999 Gallup poll —which also found that more Americans would vote for a homosexual than an atheist.)
Now that really puts things in perspective!
And further down:
It is not just extremists who earn the wrath of Dawkins and Harris. Their books are attacks on religious "moderates" as well, —indeed, the very idea of moderation. The West is not at war with "terrorism," Harris asserts in "The End of Faith"; it is at war with Islam, a religion whose holy book, "on almost every page ... prepares the ground for religious conflict." Christian fundamentalists, he says, have a better handle on the problem than moderates: "They know what it's like to really believe that their holy book is the word of God, and there's a paradise you can get to if you die in the right circumstances. They're not left wondering what is the 'real' cause of terrorism."
Sort of a backhand compliment to fundamentalist Christians, I suppose.
How about this for a silly suggestion:
On the science Web site Edge.org, the astronomer Carolyn Porco offers the subversive suggestion that science itself should attempt to supplant God in Western culture, by providing the benefits and comforts people find in religion: community, ceremony and a sense of awe. "Imagine congregations raising their voices in tribute to gravity, the force that binds us all to the Earth, and the Earth to the Sun, and the Sun to the Milky Way," she writes.
Now that would be taking Nature worship to a level of meaninglessness I had never considered possible. (Surely the most ancient belief systems we know anything about at least had the good sense to praise or worship things believed to be sentient (such as the god or animating spirit behind all or part of Nature.) But praising a rock for being a rock doesn't seem a very "scientific" thing to do.
Maybe I will add more to this topic later..
Brian De Palma makes a good film again?
Independent Online Edition > Features
I have remarked before that Brian de Palma has had one of the most wildly uneven careers of any famous director. For the record, I think very highly of Blow Out, The Untouchables (which he is never likely to better) and Mission Impossible (silly, but so much fun.)
The Untouchables in particular was a stunningly good film, and even though I do not have a high tolerance for graphic violence, this was one of those few genuine cases where seeing it was "necessary for the story."
On the other hand, some of the scripts he has worked with have been very bad. I saw Snake Eyes in the cinema and had trouble staying awake. Mission to Mars had a bit of a hokey script, and spent quite a bit on special effects, except when it came to the alien at the end. (Although the title for "most unconvincing recent movie alien" was soon taken over by the man in a rubber suit in "Signs". I would actually like to write at length one day about how bad I thought "Signs" was.)
Anyway, let's hope this new movie is one of his better ones.
I have remarked before that Brian de Palma has had one of the most wildly uneven careers of any famous director. For the record, I think very highly of Blow Out, The Untouchables (which he is never likely to better) and Mission Impossible (silly, but so much fun.)
The Untouchables in particular was a stunningly good film, and even though I do not have a high tolerance for graphic violence, this was one of those few genuine cases where seeing it was "necessary for the story."
On the other hand, some of the scripts he has worked with have been very bad. I saw Snake Eyes in the cinema and had trouble staying awake. Mission to Mars had a bit of a hokey script, and spent quite a bit on special effects, except when it came to the alien at the end. (Although the title for "most unconvincing recent movie alien" was soon taken over by the man in a rubber suit in "Signs". I would actually like to write at length one day about how bad I thought "Signs" was.)
Anyway, let's hope this new movie is one of his better ones.
A useful brain scan for a change
Brain scan shows that vegetative patients can think - Britain - Times Online
I have recently criticised the type of research that MRI scans have used for (finding a "God spot" in the brain, for example.)
The story above shows a much more meaningful use - finding out whether a person in a vegatitive state has awareness or not.
Mind you, it may make withdrawal of life support decisions more difficult rather than less, but it's still worth looking into.
I have recently criticised the type of research that MRI scans have used for (finding a "God spot" in the brain, for example.)
The story above shows a much more meaningful use - finding out whether a person in a vegatitive state has awareness or not.
Mind you, it may make withdrawal of life support decisions more difficult rather than less, but it's still worth looking into.
Clive leaps into the fray
Death becomes an excuse to savage 'elites' - now that's nasty - Opinion
The ruckus over Steve Irwin's status within the Australian psyche gets kicked along further by Clive Hamilton today.
Let's make it clear: my personal cringe factor about Irwin was pretty high, and I initially assumed (like just about everyone) that his on-screen persona was an act. However, over the years, there were so many people who had worked with him who said that he was really like that in private, that I found there was no reason to disbelieve them.
That he went on about conservation for crocodiles, when in fact they seem to have been conserved to excess in far north Australia for many years now, always struck me as a bit phoney. But the fact that he had a genuine affection for animals and a general concern for conservation of wild life habitat seems beyond doubt. His zoo is well run and seems to have a high level of comfort for the animals. (And unlike older style zoos, pushes the importance of conservation continually.) On the other hand, his attempted justification at taking his baby into a crocodile enclosure was hard to watch, and definitely the low point of his public life.
You get the picture: I don't idealise him by any stretch of the imagination. But the nature of the criticism by Greer, and Clive Hamilton, really is just over the top.
Clive, for example, thinks that Australians feel bad about his death because we feel guilty for encouraging him!:
But, if we are honest, the vitriolic attacks on Irwin's real and imagined critics are rooted in guilt. Whenever Irwin provoked a croc to open its jaws and lunge we were all excited by the prospect that the beast would get him, just as we watch car races anticipating a crash. The filmmakers understand that it is the frisson of danger that makes these shows popular. The close call is the money shot and any real injury would be replayed over and over.
Now Irwin has met the grisly end that excited us, we feel responsible.
In this turmoil of guilt and grief, what a relief it was to find a real target for bitterness in the form of Germaine Greer, whose only mistake was poor timing.
God Lord, how does anyone take Hamilton seriously.
Just maybe, Clive, people feel bad about attacks on him because absolutely everyone who had ever actually known him praised him as a nice guy, with a great enthusiasm for life, good intentions, and he leaves a young family behind.
On the other hand, Germaine (with, for example, her "I seek aboriginal consent whenever I want to return to Australia") presents as the genuine article when it comes to posturing dills.
UPDATE: Matt Price writes well about Irwin today. The Australian also talks about Irwin's land purchases here.
The ruckus over Steve Irwin's status within the Australian psyche gets kicked along further by Clive Hamilton today.
Let's make it clear: my personal cringe factor about Irwin was pretty high, and I initially assumed (like just about everyone) that his on-screen persona was an act. However, over the years, there were so many people who had worked with him who said that he was really like that in private, that I found there was no reason to disbelieve them.
That he went on about conservation for crocodiles, when in fact they seem to have been conserved to excess in far north Australia for many years now, always struck me as a bit phoney. But the fact that he had a genuine affection for animals and a general concern for conservation of wild life habitat seems beyond doubt. His zoo is well run and seems to have a high level of comfort for the animals. (And unlike older style zoos, pushes the importance of conservation continually.) On the other hand, his attempted justification at taking his baby into a crocodile enclosure was hard to watch, and definitely the low point of his public life.
You get the picture: I don't idealise him by any stretch of the imagination. But the nature of the criticism by Greer, and Clive Hamilton, really is just over the top.
Clive, for example, thinks that Australians feel bad about his death because we feel guilty for encouraging him!:
But, if we are honest, the vitriolic attacks on Irwin's real and imagined critics are rooted in guilt. Whenever Irwin provoked a croc to open its jaws and lunge we were all excited by the prospect that the beast would get him, just as we watch car races anticipating a crash. The filmmakers understand that it is the frisson of danger that makes these shows popular. The close call is the money shot and any real injury would be replayed over and over.
Now Irwin has met the grisly end that excited us, we feel responsible.
In this turmoil of guilt and grief, what a relief it was to find a real target for bitterness in the form of Germaine Greer, whose only mistake was poor timing.
God Lord, how does anyone take Hamilton seriously.
Just maybe, Clive, people feel bad about attacks on him because absolutely everyone who had ever actually known him praised him as a nice guy, with a great enthusiasm for life, good intentions, and he leaves a young family behind.
On the other hand, Germaine (with, for example, her "I seek aboriginal consent whenever I want to return to Australia") presents as the genuine article when it comes to posturing dills.
UPDATE: Matt Price writes well about Irwin today. The Australian also talks about Irwin's land purchases here.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Australian art house puzzle
At the Movies: The Book of Revelation
That Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton automatically increase any Australian movie's star rating by 1 is a given.
A further warning sign that a movie they review is not for me is when they start calling an art house style movie "challenging" or "brave". David Stratton's comments on the new film "The Book of Revelation" (which I was in no danger of rushing out to see anyway) are like a big warning sign saying "if you not an artiste, you will hate this":
DAVID: When I came out of this film I thought I've never seen a film like this before, a film that tackled these themes, a film that was so provocative, tantalising. And I was left in many ways puzzling, and I'm still in some ways puzzling, over what we were supposed to come away with from the film.
Margaret said:
I would have wished for just a little more grounding in reality in the look of the film, the power of the story comes from our ability to believe totally in Daniel’s journey, not as a dream, although that may be your ultimate interpretation.
What's it about?:
Daniel (Long) is a dancer who is kidnapped by three masked women. They chain him to a warehouse floor and sexually abuse him for roughly two weeks. This is graphically shown in the film and hence it’s R rating here in Australia.
The three women eventually release Daniel but the experience leaves him a changed man.
There would no odds given for my reaction being the same as this viewer's:
Generally, I thought this was convulated drivel.
Run away, people, run away!
That Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton automatically increase any Australian movie's star rating by 1 is a given.
A further warning sign that a movie they review is not for me is when they start calling an art house style movie "challenging" or "brave". David Stratton's comments on the new film "The Book of Revelation" (which I was in no danger of rushing out to see anyway) are like a big warning sign saying "if you not an artiste, you will hate this":
DAVID: When I came out of this film I thought I've never seen a film like this before, a film that tackled these themes, a film that was so provocative, tantalising. And I was left in many ways puzzling, and I'm still in some ways puzzling, over what we were supposed to come away with from the film.
Margaret said:
I would have wished for just a little more grounding in reality in the look of the film, the power of the story comes from our ability to believe totally in Daniel’s journey, not as a dream, although that may be your ultimate interpretation.
What's it about?:
Daniel (Long) is a dancer who is kidnapped by three masked women. They chain him to a warehouse floor and sexually abuse him for roughly two weeks. This is graphically shown in the film and hence it’s R rating here in Australia.
The three women eventually release Daniel but the experience leaves him a changed man.
There would no odds given for my reaction being the same as this viewer's:
Generally, I thought this was convulated drivel.
Run away, people, run away!
Iron fertilization and global warming
ScienceDaily: Iron Critical To Ocean Productivity, Carbon Uptake
The story above notes:
A new study has found that large segments of the Pacific Ocean lack sufficient iron to trigger healthy phytoplankton growth and the absence of the mineral stresses these microscopic ocean plants, triggering them to produce additional pigments that make ocean productivity appear more robust than it really is.
As a result, past interpretations of satellite chlorophyll data may be inaccurate, the researchers say, and the tropical Pacific Ocean may photosynthesize 1-2 billion tons less atmospheric carbon dioxide than was previously thought. Global ocean carbon uptake is estimated at 50 billion tons, so the reduction in the estimate of the uptake is significant -- about 2 to 4 percent.
It doesn't talk directly about the idea of fertilizing the ocean with iron as a way of decreasing CO2 in the atmosphere, but surely this possible anti global warming method should start attracting more serious attention again soon.
I thought I mentioned this idea before here, but can't find the post now. Anyway, I have found a detailed Wikipedia entry about it which (while apparently written from the "pro" side) does explain some of the possible "cons" too.
Certainly sounds worth serious consideration (more so than shooting sulfur into the high atmosphere.)
UPDATE: Blogger search is obviously not working well at the moment, for some reason. Here's my earlier post where iron fertilization got a mention.
The story above notes:
A new study has found that large segments of the Pacific Ocean lack sufficient iron to trigger healthy phytoplankton growth and the absence of the mineral stresses these microscopic ocean plants, triggering them to produce additional pigments that make ocean productivity appear more robust than it really is.
As a result, past interpretations of satellite chlorophyll data may be inaccurate, the researchers say, and the tropical Pacific Ocean may photosynthesize 1-2 billion tons less atmospheric carbon dioxide than was previously thought. Global ocean carbon uptake is estimated at 50 billion tons, so the reduction in the estimate of the uptake is significant -- about 2 to 4 percent.
It doesn't talk directly about the idea of fertilizing the ocean with iron as a way of decreasing CO2 in the atmosphere, but surely this possible anti global warming method should start attracting more serious attention again soon.
I thought I mentioned this idea before here, but can't find the post now. Anyway, I have found a detailed Wikipedia entry about it which (while apparently written from the "pro" side) does explain some of the possible "cons" too.
Certainly sounds worth serious consideration (more so than shooting sulfur into the high atmosphere.)
UPDATE: Blogger search is obviously not working well at the moment, for some reason. Here's my earlier post where iron fertilization got a mention.
Drinking and flying
The Age Blogs: The Daily Truth / Terror on flight 555 Archives
If you enjoy stories about urgent needs to go to the toilet (and who doesn't?) then you should find this quite funny.
If you enjoy stories about urgent needs to go to the toilet (and who doesn't?) then you should find this quite funny.
Yet another Google innovation
BBC NEWS | Business | Google opens up 200 years of news
Hey, their corporate behaviour may be problematic when it comes to dealing with China (and other regimes?), but for the most part it is quite a remarkable job they are doing for the world.
Hey, their corporate behaviour may be problematic when it comes to dealing with China (and other regimes?), but for the most part it is quite a remarkable job they are doing for the world.
Conservatism and Islam, again
It's a culture guaranteed to cause a clash - Opinion - smh.com.au
Miranda Devine makes pretty much the same point as someone in The Guardian recently. (I posted about it here.)
That is, Muslim reluctance to "blend in" to Australian society may be partly put down to Australian values (in terms of sexual behaviour, especially amongst the young) taking somewhat of a dive in recent years.
Given my revulsion of all things "Big Brother" (and the puzzling idea of "raunch culture" as being some semi-legitimate form of feminism,) I have some sympathy to the argument.
As I said in the previous post, one would think that the political consequence could be that conservative parties get the Muslim vote. But the conservatives don't seem to play the politics of it the right way. (Or they simply figure the Muslim vote is not worth worrying about given the population size here.)
All very interesting.
Miranda Devine makes pretty much the same point as someone in The Guardian recently. (I posted about it here.)
That is, Muslim reluctance to "blend in" to Australian society may be partly put down to Australian values (in terms of sexual behaviour, especially amongst the young) taking somewhat of a dive in recent years.
Given my revulsion of all things "Big Brother" (and the puzzling idea of "raunch culture" as being some semi-legitimate form of feminism,) I have some sympathy to the argument.
As I said in the previous post, one would think that the political consequence could be that conservative parties get the Muslim vote. But the conservatives don't seem to play the politics of it the right way. (Or they simply figure the Muslim vote is not worth worrying about given the population size here.)
All very interesting.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
The Empire staggers on
The Japan Times Online - Princess Kiko gives birth to a boy
So, finally there is a male grandchild for the Emperor in the Japanese royal family, so the pressure is off Crown Princess Masako to have to have another child. (Her story of stress caused by marrying into a suffocating royal lifestyle is a bit like that of Princess Diana; apart from Masako being academically very smart, successful at a challenging career before marriage, and having a husband who supports her still. OK, almost no resemblance at all really.)
A brief history of the problems caused by having only male heirs to the emperor is set out in this article. Some extracts:
Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) had no male heir with his wife but had 15 children, including five males, with five concubines. Of the five, four died before reaching adulthood, and the one who survived became emperor.
Here's a photo of Meiji. Doesn't look too happy; maybe choosing which concubine to sleep over with gets you down. (Or maybe it's just that it wasn't fashionable in that century to smile for photos.)
Back to the article:
But Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), known posthumously as Emperor Showa, refused to have a concubine, which led to the postwar abolition of the system. According to Otabe, Emperor Showa wanted to have a close family atmosphere such as might be found in a Western royal family.
And how's this for a let down in your status:
Soon after Japan's 1945 defeat in World War II, 11 families on the collateral line, which served as a safety net to produce male heirs for the Imperial family, lost their Imperial status and became ordinary citizens.
I wonder what happened to those families. Down to the unemployment office?
So, finally there is a male grandchild for the Emperor in the Japanese royal family, so the pressure is off Crown Princess Masako to have to have another child. (Her story of stress caused by marrying into a suffocating royal lifestyle is a bit like that of Princess Diana; apart from Masako being academically very smart, successful at a challenging career before marriage, and having a husband who supports her still. OK, almost no resemblance at all really.)
A brief history of the problems caused by having only male heirs to the emperor is set out in this article. Some extracts:
Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) had no male heir with his wife but had 15 children, including five males, with five concubines. Of the five, four died before reaching adulthood, and the one who survived became emperor.
Here's a photo of Meiji. Doesn't look too happy; maybe choosing which concubine to sleep over with gets you down. (Or maybe it's just that it wasn't fashionable in that century to smile for photos.)
Back to the article:
But Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), known posthumously as Emperor Showa, refused to have a concubine, which led to the postwar abolition of the system. According to Otabe, Emperor Showa wanted to have a close family atmosphere such as might be found in a Western royal family.
And how's this for a let down in your status:
Soon after Japan's 1945 defeat in World War II, 11 families on the collateral line, which served as a safety net to produce male heirs for the Imperial family, lost their Imperial status and became ordinary citizens.
I wonder what happened to those families. Down to the unemployment office?
Cosmology time
ScienceDaily: Big Bang's Afterglow Fails Intergalactic 'Shadow' Test
Interesting story with unclear implications. Do other scientists think it is a measurement problem? If not, what could explain it?
Interesting story with unclear implications. Do other scientists think it is a measurement problem? If not, what could explain it?
Australian academics need not apply
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran's liberal lecturers targeted
From the above:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for liberal and secular university lecturers to be removed.
He told a group of students that they should organise campaigns to demand that the liberal teachers be sacked.
Mr Ahmadinejad said it was difficult to alter secular influences that had been in place in Iran for 150 years, but added that such a change had begun.
The move echoes campaigns of the 1980s, when hundreds of liberal university teachers and students were sacked....
Last year, an ayatollah was appointed to run Tehran University, sparking protests by students.
From the above:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for liberal and secular university lecturers to be removed.
He told a group of students that they should organise campaigns to demand that the liberal teachers be sacked.
Mr Ahmadinejad said it was difficult to alter secular influences that had been in place in Iran for 150 years, but added that such a change had begun.
The move echoes campaigns of the 1980s, when hundreds of liberal university teachers and students were sacked....
Last year, an ayatollah was appointed to run Tehran University, sparking protests by students.
Scaring the scientists
Scientists angered by telephone telepathy study - Britain - Times Online
A fascinating story from the Times about scientists being upset that pro telepathy research was presented at a science forum without adequate scepticism tagging along.
I like this bit in particular:
Sir Walter, a geneticist and cancer researcher, said: "I’m amazed that the BA has allowed it to happen in this way. You have got to be careful not to suppress ideas, even if they are beyond the pale, but it’s quite inappropriate to have a session like that without putting forward a more convincing view."
The "more convincing view" is presumably that telepathy is obviously impossible.
Read the article for details of the research. It's interesting.
A fascinating story from the Times about scientists being upset that pro telepathy research was presented at a science forum without adequate scepticism tagging along.
I like this bit in particular:
Sir Walter, a geneticist and cancer researcher, said: "I’m amazed that the BA has allowed it to happen in this way. You have got to be careful not to suppress ideas, even if they are beyond the pale, but it’s quite inappropriate to have a session like that without putting forward a more convincing view."
The "more convincing view" is presumably that telepathy is obviously impossible.
Read the article for details of the research. It's interesting.
More scepticism on emissions trading
Emissions trading is not the answer - Opinion - theage.com.au
Four Corners last week was all about this too, and there are many small "eco" companies in Australia making money out of trading schemes that critics say are of dubious efficiency.
As with wind power, I suspect that the true effect of such schemes is to give false confidence that something effective is being done.
Four Corners last week was all about this too, and there are many small "eco" companies in Australia making money out of trading schemes that critics say are of dubious efficiency.
As with wind power, I suspect that the true effect of such schemes is to give false confidence that something effective is being done.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
One question
BBC NEWS | Health | Autism risk linked to older dads
This article indicates that the rate of autism in children rises quite sharply when the father is over 40.
This seems an easily identified trend. Why is it only coming to attention now?
This article indicates that the rate of autism in children rises quite sharply when the father is over 40.
This seems an easily identified trend. Why is it only coming to attention now?
Some detail on the prisoners
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Who are the Mid-East prisoners?
I've been waiting some time for the details in this article. Surprisingly, there really are only a handful of Lebanese prisoners involved.
I've been waiting some time for the details in this article. Surprisingly, there really are only a handful of Lebanese prisoners involved.
On conservation and conservatism
Niall Ferguson: Conservative Doesn't Mean Anti-Conservationist - Los Angeles Times
This column makes some valid points:
The idea that there is something fundamentally unconservative about protecting the environment is, of course, a canard. At the very core of British conservatism since the time of Benjamin Disraeli has been a romantic reverence for the land and a desire to mitigate the damage done by industrialization. It was Marx and Engels who sneered at "the idiocy of rural life." It was Lenin and Stalin whose mania for smoke-belching steelworks turned huge tracts of Russia into toxic wastelands.
It's worth reading it all.
This column makes some valid points:
The idea that there is something fundamentally unconservative about protecting the environment is, of course, a canard. At the very core of British conservatism since the time of Benjamin Disraeli has been a romantic reverence for the land and a desire to mitigate the damage done by industrialization. It was Marx and Engels who sneered at "the idiocy of rural life." It was Lenin and Stalin whose mania for smoke-belching steelworks turned huge tracts of Russia into toxic wastelands.
It's worth reading it all.
More Adams rubbish
Hero to pols who were left right out | Phillip Adams | The Australian
Phillip Adams has yet another reality challenged column in the Australian today.
He has repeated the theme many times recently: that John Howard's Liberal Party has become solidly right wing, not the "broad church" of old. He also claims that, unlike in the 1960's, there is no cross party co-operation or friendships any more.
Nice theory, but only if you ignore the following examples:
* Howard withdrew his recent migration law changes to avoid the defeat they obviously faced because of the number of Libs (and probably National Barnaby Joyce) would made it clear they would not vote for it.
* Liberal women are not shy of supporting their own legislation for particular "womens' issues" such as the availability of the "abortion drug" and on stem cell research.
* Warren Entsch, of all people, speaks out on gay law reform all the time. (Although it is clear that there is no strong move to support gay marriage type laws in the Liberals.)
* It is clear that there still are cross party friendships, if you watch Sunrise and see the amiable exchanges every week between Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey. (They also did the Kokoda track together recently.) I get the feeling that Lindsay Tanner might have the respect and (possibly) friendship of a few on the other side as well. It was pretty clear that Christopher Pyne and Mark Latham were friendly enough at a personal level when they used to do their Lateline stuff. I recall Jacki Kelly talking recently of inviting Labor women to some private party of hers.
Actually, I have found it encouraging that polite and friendly personal contact across the parties appears to have been a feature of the current government.
Adams seems not only wrong about this, but quite hypocritical, in that his great political hero Paul Keating gave every appearance of a politician who could in no way tolerate having a personal friendship with someone from the other side. (And who from the Liberals would want to be be close to him, given the highly personal and nasty character of his parliamentary attacks.)
Give it up Phil, this is a stupid argument.
Phillip Adams has yet another reality challenged column in the Australian today.
He has repeated the theme many times recently: that John Howard's Liberal Party has become solidly right wing, not the "broad church" of old. He also claims that, unlike in the 1960's, there is no cross party co-operation or friendships any more.
Nice theory, but only if you ignore the following examples:
* Howard withdrew his recent migration law changes to avoid the defeat they obviously faced because of the number of Libs (and probably National Barnaby Joyce) would made it clear they would not vote for it.
* Liberal women are not shy of supporting their own legislation for particular "womens' issues" such as the availability of the "abortion drug" and on stem cell research.
* Warren Entsch, of all people, speaks out on gay law reform all the time. (Although it is clear that there is no strong move to support gay marriage type laws in the Liberals.)
* It is clear that there still are cross party friendships, if you watch Sunrise and see the amiable exchanges every week between Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey. (They also did the Kokoda track together recently.) I get the feeling that Lindsay Tanner might have the respect and (possibly) friendship of a few on the other side as well. It was pretty clear that Christopher Pyne and Mark Latham were friendly enough at a personal level when they used to do their Lateline stuff. I recall Jacki Kelly talking recently of inviting Labor women to some private party of hers.
Actually, I have found it encouraging that polite and friendly personal contact across the parties appears to have been a feature of the current government.
Adams seems not only wrong about this, but quite hypocritical, in that his great political hero Paul Keating gave every appearance of a politician who could in no way tolerate having a personal friendship with someone from the other side. (And who from the Liberals would want to be be close to him, given the highly personal and nasty character of his parliamentary attacks.)
Give it up Phil, this is a stupid argument.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Steve Irwin and the speed of Wiki
Steve Irwin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steve Irwin's unusual death was reported here (Brisbane) at around 2.30pm. It looks like Reuters and AP reported it after 4 pm. It is now 4.35 pm and his Wikipedia entry is up to date, referring to him in the past tense, and giving some detail about his death.
Looking at the history of his entry, there have been many people checking and posting today following news of his death.
History gets written very quickly these days.
As for his death, everyone's reaction on talkback radio here goes like this: "a stingray can kill you? I mean, I knew they could sting and hurt, but kill you?"
Steve Irwin's unusual death was reported here (Brisbane) at around 2.30pm. It looks like Reuters and AP reported it after 4 pm. It is now 4.35 pm and his Wikipedia entry is up to date, referring to him in the past tense, and giving some detail about his death.
Looking at the history of his entry, there have been many people checking and posting today following news of his death.
History gets written very quickly these days.
As for his death, everyone's reaction on talkback radio here goes like this: "a stingray can kill you? I mean, I knew they could sting and hurt, but kill you?"
Mao's reputation continues its dive
China | Big bad wolf | Economist.com
This is a short review of a new book that continues the revisionism of Mao's reputation (in a downwards direction.) This latest book sounds more scholarly and less obviously partisan than the recent one co-authored by Jung Chang. (Not that I have read it either.)
From the article:
The heart of the book is a detailed chronicle of how Mao cynically twisted ideology and manipulated those around him, setting off hysterical and murderous attacks on everything from Confucian morals and bourgeois culture to intellectuals, “capitalist roaders” and “class enemies”.
Using sources that range from official party and government documents to letters, diaries and interviews with surviving participants and victims, the authors document the orders that went out, the mayhem that resulted and the fear it all struck in the hearts of people across the country. And it is chilling stuff. In August and September of 1966, for example, as thousands were being murdered in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere, Mao put out the word that the police were not to interfere. Faithfully relaying Mao's instructions to the Beijing police force, the public security minister assured them that, “After all, bad persons are bad, so if they're beaten to death it is no big deal.”
This is a short review of a new book that continues the revisionism of Mao's reputation (in a downwards direction.) This latest book sounds more scholarly and less obviously partisan than the recent one co-authored by Jung Chang. (Not that I have read it either.)
From the article:
The heart of the book is a detailed chronicle of how Mao cynically twisted ideology and manipulated those around him, setting off hysterical and murderous attacks on everything from Confucian morals and bourgeois culture to intellectuals, “capitalist roaders” and “class enemies”.
Using sources that range from official party and government documents to letters, diaries and interviews with surviving participants and victims, the authors document the orders that went out, the mayhem that resulted and the fear it all struck in the hearts of people across the country. And it is chilling stuff. In August and September of 1966, for example, as thousands were being murdered in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere, Mao put out the word that the police were not to interfere. Faithfully relaying Mao's instructions to the Beijing police force, the public security minister assured them that, “After all, bad persons are bad, so if they're beaten to death it is no big deal.”
Medical marijuana wars
TCS Daily - The Straight Dope on 'Medical Marijuana'
Also from TCS, an article about the "medical marijuana" wars in the USA.
This tactic (of encouraging a limited legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes) has not been promoted strongly in any jurisdiction in Australia, as far as I can recall. This article confirms, from a medical point of view, why it is a dubious thing to do.
Also from TCS, an article about the "medical marijuana" wars in the USA.
This tactic (of encouraging a limited legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes) has not been promoted strongly in any jurisdiction in Australia, as far as I can recall. This article confirms, from a medical point of view, why it is a dubious thing to do.
IEDs in Iraq
TCS Daily - Roadside Bombs: The Hydra Effect
This article at Tech Central goes into technical detail about how roadside bombs in Iraq are made and why it is so hard to stop them. Interesting, even though pessimistic.
This article at Tech Central goes into technical detail about how roadside bombs in Iraq are made and why it is so hard to stop them. Interesting, even though pessimistic.
An odd comparison
Martyrs' widows wait outside doors to paradise - World - theage.com.au
This short story about how Hezbollah looks after the widows of "martyrs" in Lebanon contains this:
The community believes martyrs go directly to heaven and their wives are venerated because of their sacrifice. "The wife of a martyr is like Jennifer Lopez to us," said Mohammed Husseini, spokesman for Hezbollah's Martyrs' Association illustrating how widows are admired.
Well, perhaps "Paris Hilton" would have been a less apt comparison, but only just.
This short story about how Hezbollah looks after the widows of "martyrs" in Lebanon contains this:
The community believes martyrs go directly to heaven and their wives are venerated because of their sacrifice. "The wife of a martyr is like Jennifer Lopez to us," said Mohammed Husseini, spokesman for Hezbollah's Martyrs' Association illustrating how widows are admired.
Well, perhaps "Paris Hilton" would have been a less apt comparison, but only just.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
About Iran and Iraq
Crime boss brokered nuclear-delivery missile sale to Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online
Further to the concerns about Iran:
THE British government was warned more than two years ago that Iran had illegally acquired a missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
It has emerged that a foreign government delivered the warning to Britain in early 2004.
Separately, it has been disclosed that the system was sold to Iran by a former senior member of the Ukrainian security service. The deal was brokered by an organised crime boss and, it is feared, contributed to the Iranian nuclear programme that is now the subject of an international confrontation.
The Times report also notes this:
It has also emerged that in 2004 the Ukrainian government was investigating the transport of weapons from Iraq to Syria and Iran before the war to topple Saddam Hussein.
I still suspect that the complete story of WMD in Iraq is not yet known.
Further to the concerns about Iran:
THE British government was warned more than two years ago that Iran had illegally acquired a missile system capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
It has emerged that a foreign government delivered the warning to Britain in early 2004.
Separately, it has been disclosed that the system was sold to Iran by a former senior member of the Ukrainian security service. The deal was brokered by an organised crime boss and, it is feared, contributed to the Iranian nuclear programme that is now the subject of an international confrontation.
The Times report also notes this:
It has also emerged that in 2004 the Ukrainian government was investigating the transport of weapons from Iraq to Syria and Iran before the war to topple Saddam Hussein.
I still suspect that the complete story of WMD in Iraq is not yet known.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Modern annoyances
Here's a few things I have been saving up to complain about:
* It seems impossible to buy a simple set of plain Lego blocks anymore. (Duplo, yes, but not older kids' basic Lego.) As anyone with children is probably aware, Lego seemingly went totally "themed" many years ago, as if a corporate decision was made that all kids' imaginations must come prepackaged. I'm sure I read somewhere in the last year or two how the Lego company was not doing well. Here's a tip: stop paying for movie tie-in's and overly specialised fiddly pieces and start selling basic sets again. I could live with the little figures (although they do sully the "purity" of the Lego of my childhood,) if basic kits could be found again.
* A pharmacy I was in recently was selling "Hopi ear candles". If I ruled the world, there would be some minimum standard of vague utility for what a pharmacy could sell, and Hopi ear candles would never reach that threshold.
* The twee obsession that ABC Radio National listeners have with fonts irritates me. The Saturday morning show recently did a segment on Microsoft changing the font for (I think) Outlook, and sure enough the following week the host noted how much response that segment received. Oh for God's sake. If you are 95 and live alone on a mountain, maybe an undue interest in default fonts is half justifiable. If you are under 50 and you are worrying about default fonts, you really, really need another interest in life.
* Talking about fonts reminds me: I still occasionally find people who still think Wordperfect stopped at DOS version 5.1. In fact, the Windows based versions are up to X3, which is what they named version 13 in order to avoid the unlucky number. Ironically (if that is the correct use of the word for this example), this latest version lets you run it in DOS 5.1 emulation.
It drives me crazy when I have to sometimes use Word instead of WP. My long held belief that formatting anything in WP is always easier than in Word (which continually tries to guess my intention and 9 times out of 10 gets it wrong) seemed to have been confirmed this week when I showed a Word only user how to do indents and edit codes in WP. He seemed genuinely surprised, and I am sure this could be true of many Word users if only they had exposure to WP.
By the way, I do not own shares in Corel.
* It seems impossible to buy a simple set of plain Lego blocks anymore. (Duplo, yes, but not older kids' basic Lego.) As anyone with children is probably aware, Lego seemingly went totally "themed" many years ago, as if a corporate decision was made that all kids' imaginations must come prepackaged. I'm sure I read somewhere in the last year or two how the Lego company was not doing well. Here's a tip: stop paying for movie tie-in's and overly specialised fiddly pieces and start selling basic sets again. I could live with the little figures (although they do sully the "purity" of the Lego of my childhood,) if basic kits could be found again.
* A pharmacy I was in recently was selling "Hopi ear candles". If I ruled the world, there would be some minimum standard of vague utility for what a pharmacy could sell, and Hopi ear candles would never reach that threshold.
* The twee obsession that ABC Radio National listeners have with fonts irritates me. The Saturday morning show recently did a segment on Microsoft changing the font for (I think) Outlook, and sure enough the following week the host noted how much response that segment received. Oh for God's sake. If you are 95 and live alone on a mountain, maybe an undue interest in default fonts is half justifiable. If you are under 50 and you are worrying about default fonts, you really, really need another interest in life.
* Talking about fonts reminds me: I still occasionally find people who still think Wordperfect stopped at DOS version 5.1. In fact, the Windows based versions are up to X3, which is what they named version 13 in order to avoid the unlucky number. Ironically (if that is the correct use of the word for this example), this latest version lets you run it in DOS 5.1 emulation.
It drives me crazy when I have to sometimes use Word instead of WP. My long held belief that formatting anything in WP is always easier than in Word (which continually tries to guess my intention and 9 times out of 10 gets it wrong) seemed to have been confirmed this week when I showed a Word only user how to do indents and edit codes in WP. He seemed genuinely surprised, and I am sure this could be true of many Word users if only they had exposure to WP.
By the way, I do not own shares in Corel.
Reasons to worry about Iran
Lateline - ABC
The link is to a transcript of an interview on last night's Lateline that was about particular intelligence from 2004 that indicates definite military involvement in Iran's nuclear program. (Iran claims it is a fabrication, but it would seem most European nations think it is genuine.)
Worth reading in full.
The link is to a transcript of an interview on last night's Lateline that was about particular intelligence from 2004 that indicates definite military involvement in Iran's nuclear program. (Iran claims it is a fabrication, but it would seem most European nations think it is genuine.)
Worth reading in full.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Move on, nothing to see here
Former weapons inspector disappointed with handling of concerns. 31/08/2006. ABC News Online
ABC's 7.30 Report and Lateline tonight both featured this story at some length. I see that Marion Wilkinson had the story in The Age this morning.
Former weapons inspector John Gee, who did not look all that well in the interview, resigned from the Iraq Survey Group in 2004 and wrote to the government saying that the search for WMD in Iraq (after the invasion) was not being well run, and that he did not think anything would be found.
Foreign Minister Downer met him at the time and said, "well let's wait and see." Gee says to him "I can assure you they won't find any."
Apparently, a subsequent sense of (relative) vindication by the ISG's report isn't enough for Gee. He now complains that his letter was not distributed outside of Foreign Affairs to the Defence Department.
Scandal!
What is significant about this story? Extremely little, it seems to me.
ABC's 7.30 Report and Lateline tonight both featured this story at some length. I see that Marion Wilkinson had the story in The Age this morning.
Former weapons inspector John Gee, who did not look all that well in the interview, resigned from the Iraq Survey Group in 2004 and wrote to the government saying that the search for WMD in Iraq (after the invasion) was not being well run, and that he did not think anything would be found.
Foreign Minister Downer met him at the time and said, "well let's wait and see." Gee says to him "I can assure you they won't find any."
Apparently, a subsequent sense of (relative) vindication by the ISG's report isn't enough for Gee. He now complains that his letter was not distributed outside of Foreign Affairs to the Defence Department.
Scandal!
What is significant about this story? Extremely little, it seems to me.
Researchers with too much time on their hands
ScienceDaily: Brain Scan Of Nuns Finds No Single 'God Spot' In The Brain, Study Finds
I'm sure I've commented before about the highly dubious priorities that neuroscience seems to have now, at least with regard to what they do with MRI scanners. This one for example:
Fifteen cloistered Carmelite nuns ranging from 23 to 64-years-old were subjected to an fMRI brain scan while asked to relive a mystical experience rather than actually try to achieve one. "I was obliged to do it this way seeing as the nuns are unable to call upon God at will," said Beauregard. This method was justified seeing as previous studies with actors asked to enter a particular emotional state activated the same brain regions as people actually living those emotions.
This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.
I find it hard to imagine that anyone would think that the essential nature of a mystical experience would be capable of being explained by watching such scans.
Psychologist Jerome Kagan was interviewed on ABC radio recently and made the point:
Well the brain is the foundation of all mental phenomenon but the vocabulary we use for the brain - neurons, circuits, transmitters - that's not the language of thought or feeling. And so mind got put in the background under the assumption that if - an assumption I disagree with - that if and when scientists can understand exactly what's going on in the brain then they'll be able to predict and know exactly what your thoughts, feelings and intentions are.
The rest of his interview, which covers quite a few areas of psychology, is interesting too.
I'm sure I've commented before about the highly dubious priorities that neuroscience seems to have now, at least with regard to what they do with MRI scanners. This one for example:
Fifteen cloistered Carmelite nuns ranging from 23 to 64-years-old were subjected to an fMRI brain scan while asked to relive a mystical experience rather than actually try to achieve one. "I was obliged to do it this way seeing as the nuns are unable to call upon God at will," said Beauregard. This method was justified seeing as previous studies with actors asked to enter a particular emotional state activated the same brain regions as people actually living those emotions.
This study demonstrated that a dozen different regions of the brain are activated during a mystical experience. This type of research became very popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Some researchers went as far as suggesting the possibility of a specific brain region designed for communication with God. This latest research discredits such theories.
I find it hard to imagine that anyone would think that the essential nature of a mystical experience would be capable of being explained by watching such scans.
Psychologist Jerome Kagan was interviewed on ABC radio recently and made the point:
Well the brain is the foundation of all mental phenomenon but the vocabulary we use for the brain - neurons, circuits, transmitters - that's not the language of thought or feeling. And so mind got put in the background under the assumption that if - an assumption I disagree with - that if and when scientists can understand exactly what's going on in the brain then they'll be able to predict and know exactly what your thoughts, feelings and intentions are.
The rest of his interview, which covers quite a few areas of psychology, is interesting too.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
A bad sign for Democrats
The Democrats and religious voters. By Amy Sullivan - Slate Magazine
Just recently I posted about how the Catholic vote for Bush in 2004 was higher than I expected. (Well, the white Catholic vote, anyway.)
Further along these lines is the above interesting article on how, despite attempts by the Democrats to paint a friendlier image to the religious, they have lost substantial ground in this over the last couple of years:
The Pew Research Center's annual poll on religion and politics, released last week, shows that while 85 percent of voters say religion is important to them, only 26 percent of Americans think the Democratic Party is "friendly" to religion. That's down from 40 percent in the summer of 2004 and 42 percent the year before that—in other words, a 16-point plunge over three years. The decline is especially troubling because it cuts across the political and religious spectra, encompassing liberals and conservatives, white and black evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Catholics, and Jews.
That seems a very bad sign indeed for the Democrats. Isn't it odd how, despite all the liberal fights in churches getting so much publicity, there still don't seem to be many (or enough) liberal churchgoers who can sway these figures more in favour of the Dems.
Just recently I posted about how the Catholic vote for Bush in 2004 was higher than I expected. (Well, the white Catholic vote, anyway.)
Further along these lines is the above interesting article on how, despite attempts by the Democrats to paint a friendlier image to the religious, they have lost substantial ground in this over the last couple of years:
The Pew Research Center's annual poll on religion and politics, released last week, shows that while 85 percent of voters say religion is important to them, only 26 percent of Americans think the Democratic Party is "friendly" to religion. That's down from 40 percent in the summer of 2004 and 42 percent the year before that—in other words, a 16-point plunge over three years. The decline is especially troubling because it cuts across the political and religious spectra, encompassing liberals and conservatives, white and black evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Catholics, and Jews.
That seems a very bad sign indeed for the Democrats. Isn't it odd how, despite all the liberal fights in churches getting so much publicity, there still don't seem to be many (or enough) liberal churchgoers who can sway these figures more in favour of the Dems.
Newsweek on the new childlessness
Why More Married Couples Are Going Childless - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com
Maybe it doesn't add much to what Mark Steyn's readers already knew, but it's interesting to see the topic being covered widely.
Maybe it doesn't add much to what Mark Steyn's readers already knew, but it's interesting to see the topic being covered widely.
So that's why we elect people to parliament
MP attacked on suicide speech | Herald Sun
It's obvious, isn't it. We elect politicians so they can promote methods of suicide from Parliament.
From the above story:
AUSTRALIAN Democrats MP Sandra Kanck's use of parliamentary privilege today to detail ways of committing suicide, has been widely attacked as provocative and a stunt.
Ms Kanck detailed ways to commit suicide in a speech to South Australian parliament this evening aimed at provoking a clash with the federal government.
In an hour-long address, Ms Kanck, a supporter of voluntary euthanasia, used the protection of parliamentary privilege to catalogue ways in which people could take their own lives.
Ms Kanck, who earlier this year sparked controversy by telling parliament there was no evidence the drug ecstasy was dangerous, said she wanted her speech to highlight "odious" federal laws.
What a class act: a politician who not only promotes a drug that is widely believed to lead to depression, but is also happy to advise on preferred methods of suicide. Well thought out, Sandra.
It's obvious, isn't it. We elect politicians so they can promote methods of suicide from Parliament.
From the above story:
AUSTRALIAN Democrats MP Sandra Kanck's use of parliamentary privilege today to detail ways of committing suicide, has been widely attacked as provocative and a stunt.
Ms Kanck detailed ways to commit suicide in a speech to South Australian parliament this evening aimed at provoking a clash with the federal government.
In an hour-long address, Ms Kanck, a supporter of voluntary euthanasia, used the protection of parliamentary privilege to catalogue ways in which people could take their own lives.
Ms Kanck, who earlier this year sparked controversy by telling parliament there was no evidence the drug ecstasy was dangerous, said she wanted her speech to highlight "odious" federal laws.
What a class act: a politician who not only promotes a drug that is widely believed to lead to depression, but is also happy to advise on preferred methods of suicide. Well thought out, Sandra.
Communist monk victory
The Japan Times Online - Monk with JCP fliers ruled not trespassing
This story highlights some odd things about Japan:
* Buddhist monks can be politically active (for the communist party)
* going into a condo complex to put flyers in letterboxes could be much more trouble than it is worth. (This monk was detained for 23 days for this, presumably after his arrest.)
* the lesson (especially for foreigners): try to avoid being arrested for anything in Japan!
This story highlights some odd things about Japan:
* Buddhist monks can be politically active (for the communist party)
* going into a condo complex to put flyers in letterboxes could be much more trouble than it is worth. (This monk was detained for 23 days for this, presumably after his arrest.)
* the lesson (especially for foreigners): try to avoid being arrested for anything in Japan!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Japan needs babies
Rural Japan | Where have all the young men gone? | Economist.com
For more on the almost certain demographic decline of Japan, have a read of the above article.
An extract:
Over the next half century, demographers expect Japan's population to fall to from 128m to 100m. The process began last year, the first peacetime fall in population since records were kept. Yet in the countryside numbers have been falling for decades—and rural Japan will bear a disproportionate share of the future reduction in population. Already, more than two out of five people living in rural communities are 65 or over.
The only good thing I can see out of this is that maybe Japan has a built in way of reducing green house gas emissions over the next 50 years!
For more on the almost certain demographic decline of Japan, have a read of the above article.
An extract:
Over the next half century, demographers expect Japan's population to fall to from 128m to 100m. The process began last year, the first peacetime fall in population since records were kept. Yet in the countryside numbers have been falling for decades—and rural Japan will bear a disproportionate share of the future reduction in population. Already, more than two out of five people living in rural communities are 65 or over.
The only good thing I can see out of this is that maybe Japan has a built in way of reducing green house gas emissions over the next 50 years!
Ghosts in the Salon
Ghost world | Salon Books
Its politics are always predictable, but some of the reviews and cultural articles in Salon can be OK.
This article, a review of a book about the founders of the Society for Psychical Research (in England in the late 19th Century), is a good one.
Years ago, I read some other accounts of the Society and its early investigations, and have always felt that it is a story that could make good movie material. The founders of the society were well intentioned scientists and academics, and it was really the first attempt to take science to the issue.
The results were ambiguous, but I admire the open mindedness displayed. As for at least one Salon reader, his reaction to the review was:
What a crock of shit.
And that's just Laura Miller's writing. The SPR's particular brand of excrement deserves its own scatalogical label.
Please stop publishing intelligent interviews with people such as Michael Shermer if all you're going to do a few days later is "balance" fact with this pathetic fiction.
As a local sidenote: Many people know that Arthur Conan Doyle became a (rather loopy) believer in spiritualism and all things mystical. In fact, there is a spiritualist church in Brisbane that was opened by ACD during a visit here. This is recorded on a plaque on the church. (Perhaps he just laid the foundation stone, I can't remember for sure, and Google has come up a blank.)
Its politics are always predictable, but some of the reviews and cultural articles in Salon can be OK.
This article, a review of a book about the founders of the Society for Psychical Research (in England in the late 19th Century), is a good one.
Years ago, I read some other accounts of the Society and its early investigations, and have always felt that it is a story that could make good movie material. The founders of the society were well intentioned scientists and academics, and it was really the first attempt to take science to the issue.
The results were ambiguous, but I admire the open mindedness displayed. As for at least one Salon reader, his reaction to the review was:
What a crock of shit.
And that's just Laura Miller's writing. The SPR's particular brand of excrement deserves its own scatalogical label.
Please stop publishing intelligent interviews with people such as Michael Shermer if all you're going to do a few days later is "balance" fact with this pathetic fiction.
As a local sidenote: Many people know that Arthur Conan Doyle became a (rather loopy) believer in spiritualism and all things mystical. In fact, there is a spiritualist church in Brisbane that was opened by ACD during a visit here. This is recorded on a plaque on the church. (Perhaps he just laid the foundation stone, I can't remember for sure, and Google has come up a blank.)
Nuttiest theory ever?
CIA behind Bali attack: Bashir | NEWS.com.au
Indonesian Muslim cleric Bashir comes up with his very own theory as to what exactly blew up the Bali night club (and 202 people):
In an interview tonight on ABC television's Foreign Correspondent, Bashir claims the device that killed most people in the Bali attack was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) "micro-nuclear" bomb.
"The micro-nuclear bomb that did so much damage was a CIA bomb, not Amrozi's bomb," Bashir told the ABC.
"The Bali bombing was actually masterminded by America. Well, not masterminded, but hijacked. They planned it, but their plan was hijacked by America."
Just nuts.
By the way: I just saw the Foreign Correspondent episode. This program is consistently interesting and enjoyable. Tonight's episode is typical of its eclectic mix of topics: the problems of Indonesian maid abuse in Malaysia; Star Trek fans who makes their own Star Trek shows, and then the nutty Bashir interview.
The Indonesian maid story was good. (A transcript and video of it will be up later.) Malaysia has 300,000 odd Indonesian maids. Filipino ones are protected by Filipino laws which mean that Malaysia must ensure that they are paid a basic wage and have one day off a week. Indonesia does not have such laws, and says they won't be coming soon, because there are too many maids already there, and it would cause too much trouble to force their salary up. Not only that, maids don't deserve a day off (said one Indonesia government figure.) Then there is the physical abuse many suffer.
What a life they have. And the big question is: Malaysia, what's to stop you making your own laws to improve the lot of your fellow Muslim maids?
Indonesian Muslim cleric Bashir comes up with his very own theory as to what exactly blew up the Bali night club (and 202 people):
In an interview tonight on ABC television's Foreign Correspondent, Bashir claims the device that killed most people in the Bali attack was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) "micro-nuclear" bomb.
"The micro-nuclear bomb that did so much damage was a CIA bomb, not Amrozi's bomb," Bashir told the ABC.
"The Bali bombing was actually masterminded by America. Well, not masterminded, but hijacked. They planned it, but their plan was hijacked by America."
Just nuts.
By the way: I just saw the Foreign Correspondent episode. This program is consistently interesting and enjoyable. Tonight's episode is typical of its eclectic mix of topics: the problems of Indonesian maid abuse in Malaysia; Star Trek fans who makes their own Star Trek shows, and then the nutty Bashir interview.
The Indonesian maid story was good. (A transcript and video of it will be up later.) Malaysia has 300,000 odd Indonesian maids. Filipino ones are protected by Filipino laws which mean that Malaysia must ensure that they are paid a basic wage and have one day off a week. Indonesia does not have such laws, and says they won't be coming soon, because there are too many maids already there, and it would cause too much trouble to force their salary up. Not only that, maids don't deserve a day off (said one Indonesia government figure.) Then there is the physical abuse many suffer.
What a life they have. And the big question is: Malaysia, what's to stop you making your own laws to improve the lot of your fellow Muslim maids?
About Lindzen
Seed: The Contrarian
An interesting story on Richard Lindzen, the global warming skeptic. (Although to what degree this remains a fair title remains a little unclear when you read the article.)
An interesting story on Richard Lindzen, the global warming skeptic. (Although to what degree this remains a fair title remains a little unclear when you read the article.)
Cars for the future
The Race to 100 MPG - Popular Science
See the article above for a few ideas about how to make cars that can do 100 miles per gallon (to go back to Imperial for the moment.)
Interestingly, the X Prize people are going to get involved in this too:
The race should heat up further when the X Prize Foundation—the group that kick-started the space-tourism industry with its $10-million competition to produce a reusable private spacecraft—announces in the next few months a competition for the first car to break 100 miles per gallon and sell a yet-to-be-decided number of units. The prize money hadn'’t been finalized at press time, but X Prize officials are discussing figures in the $25-million range as an appropriate incentive. They hope the prize will urge people to completely reconsider what a car should look like and how it should function. '“We need a paradigm shift,'” says Mark Goodstein, the executive director for the automotive X Prize. '“We need to change the way people think about automobiles.'”
The photo of a prototype super lightweight and aerodynamic car at the top of the article gives an idea of how odd such a vehicle may look. One thing that crosses my mind as soon as I see that picture is how it looks like it could double as a pizza oven if it was parked in the Brisbane summer sun for more than 5 minutes. Look at that big oblique windscreen that seems designed to let as much heat as possible.
Don't forget such obvious practicalities, bug car designers...
See the article above for a few ideas about how to make cars that can do 100 miles per gallon (to go back to Imperial for the moment.)
Interestingly, the X Prize people are going to get involved in this too:
The race should heat up further when the X Prize Foundation—the group that kick-started the space-tourism industry with its $10-million competition to produce a reusable private spacecraft—announces in the next few months a competition for the first car to break 100 miles per gallon and sell a yet-to-be-decided number of units. The prize money hadn'’t been finalized at press time, but X Prize officials are discussing figures in the $25-million range as an appropriate incentive. They hope the prize will urge people to completely reconsider what a car should look like and how it should function. '“We need a paradigm shift,'” says Mark Goodstein, the executive director for the automotive X Prize. '“We need to change the way people think about automobiles.'”
The photo of a prototype super lightweight and aerodynamic car at the top of the article gives an idea of how odd such a vehicle may look. One thing that crosses my mind as soon as I see that picture is how it looks like it could double as a pizza oven if it was parked in the Brisbane summer sun for more than 5 minutes. Look at that big oblique windscreen that seems designed to let as much heat as possible.
Don't forget such obvious practicalities, bug car designers...
Monday, August 28, 2006
Plame case continues to shrink into insignificance
Eat The Press | David Corn: The Meaning of the Armitage Leak News (from the Book I Co-Wrote) | The Huffington Post
David Corn, who is no shrinking violet when it comes to criticism of Bush, explains how it appears very clear now that the initial leak in the Plame case was almost certainly an accident ( my words, not Corn's.)
I recall that there was speculation along these lines from some calmer parts of the press at the time.
Corn still manages to criticise the White House for taking advantage of the leak (see his post for details.) However, the fundamental character of the initial leak appears vastly different from what Bush critics expected.
David Corn, who is no shrinking violet when it comes to criticism of Bush, explains how it appears very clear now that the initial leak in the Plame case was almost certainly an accident ( my words, not Corn's.)
I recall that there was speculation along these lines from some calmer parts of the press at the time.
Corn still manages to criticise the White House for taking advantage of the leak (see his post for details.) However, the fundamental character of the initial leak appears vastly different from what Bush critics expected.
Not a good sign
USATODAY.com
From the above article about Iran in USA Today:
Until recently, Ahmadinejad's hard-line ideology had little impact upon Iranians' daily existence. The tight social strictures imposed in the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution, when morals police roamed the streets chastising women for insufficiently modest clothing, have long since eased. Iranians, especially in cities, take for granted the ability to hear Western music, read foreign news on the Internet and dress with a little flair.
In recent weeks, though, officials began confiscating home satellite dishes, which Iranians use to watch the British Broadcasting Corp. and Western entertainment. The sudden enforcement of this long-ignored regulation has been coupled with a heavy hand on the media and intellectuals.
From the above article about Iran in USA Today:
Until recently, Ahmadinejad's hard-line ideology had little impact upon Iranians' daily existence. The tight social strictures imposed in the early days of Iran's Islamic revolution, when morals police roamed the streets chastising women for insufficiently modest clothing, have long since eased. Iranians, especially in cities, take for granted the ability to hear Western music, read foreign news on the Internet and dress with a little flair.
In recent weeks, though, officials began confiscating home satellite dishes, which Iranians use to watch the British Broadcasting Corp. and Western entertainment. The sudden enforcement of this long-ignored regulation has been coupled with a heavy hand on the media and intellectuals.
Men and fidelity
Spare us men's natural urges - Comment - Times Online
Caitlin Moore's commentary on a new book on the (alleged) impossibility of men being faithful to one partner is pretty funny, and accurate.
Some examples:
On how the author is hardly qualified to write about successful relationships:
His parents were locked in a loveless marriage, which he was able to observe only during the summer holidays from his boarding school.
Subsequently, when Blews attained his majority, his first lover became so agonised in the final stages of her multiple sclerosis that she blew her head off with a shotgun. In any other age, Blews would probably have abandoned any further attempt at trying to deal with human relationships. He would simply have become a sad-eyed and slightly bitter monk, tending a vat of hyssop liqueur and kicking the priory’s chickens out of the way.
However, in the 21st century, the coping mechanism of the troubled middle classes is slightly different: they come up with a theory about how awful people are and then get a publishing deal. And, so, here we are with Marriage & How To Avoid It, which some cultural commentators (primarily the men’s magazines Nuts and Zoo, albeit that their commentary consists predominantly of “phwoar!”), have hailed as a great truth.
Caitlin Moore's commentary on a new book on the (alleged) impossibility of men being faithful to one partner is pretty funny, and accurate.
Some examples:
On how the author is hardly qualified to write about successful relationships:
His parents were locked in a loveless marriage, which he was able to observe only during the summer holidays from his boarding school.
Subsequently, when Blews attained his majority, his first lover became so agonised in the final stages of her multiple sclerosis that she blew her head off with a shotgun. In any other age, Blews would probably have abandoned any further attempt at trying to deal with human relationships. He would simply have become a sad-eyed and slightly bitter monk, tending a vat of hyssop liqueur and kicking the priory’s chickens out of the way.
However, in the 21st century, the coping mechanism of the troubled middle classes is slightly different: they come up with a theory about how awful people are and then get a publishing deal. And, so, here we are with Marriage & How To Avoid It, which some cultural commentators (primarily the men’s magazines Nuts and Zoo, albeit that their commentary consists predominantly of “phwoar!”), have hailed as a great truth.
Steyn attack
Warrior of the Right | Herald Sun
Oh dear, lefty favourites Jill Singer and Jon Faine "stared at each other with incredulity" after interviewing Mark Steyn on his recent Australian visit.
Singer tries to put the boot into Steyn in her article above, and I don't have time to do a full "fisk" as it thoroughly deserves.
The fact that Steyn can use humour in his commentary upsets them. Funny how the Left worried so much that anti terrorism legislation might make satire illegal. The importance of the "right" to use humour only exists when the "Right" is the target, obviously.
Singer criticises Steyn for "exaggerating" the Muslim population of the town of Malmo in Sweden. She claims his source is a 2 year old Fox News report, which put it at 25%. She does not say what Sweden's "official statistics department" says the current figure is. One suspects it must be between 25 and 40% by now.
Anyway, Singer suggests that Steyn's main source is the right leaning Fox News. A quick Google of "Malmo Muslim population" shows that the bad situation in that town has been the subject of stories by the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and other far from right wing sources. Furthermore, the 2004 Washington Post story notes:
About 40 percent of Malmo's population is foreign-born or has at least one foreign-born parent. The bulk of foreign-born people come from the former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.
As I said, this suggests to me the correct figure is probably between 25 and 40% Muslim. Steyn's website published a letter questioning this figure, to which Steyn replies:
As to the 40 per cent, that'’s the figure I was given by the late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in 2003. I don'’t know whether she was talking about the '“greater Malmo'” area, or adding in non-Swedish Muslims plus Swedish Muslims. But certainly the youth population in Malmo is already 50-50.
Does it matter much how accurate this figure is? Whether it is 25 or 40%, the more important issue is what effect this is having on the town itself, and Steyn is big enough to publish a letter that even questions that. (It's the same one that questions the 40%). Looking at the ways the mainstream press has covered this story, it is not a trivial issue.
Singer then claims that:
Now, I am as scared as Steyn is about Islamist terrorists, but a faith-based US President also scares the bejesus out of me.
This is based on Bruce Bartlett's analysis that Bush thinks "he is on a mission from God." Someone else can analyse Bartlett's views, I don't have time right now. But the point is not whether someone thinks that they are trying to do God's will, but whether they are crazy enough to think that they are infallible in understanding God's will. Is there convincing evidence that Bush thinks he is infallible on religious grounds? Maybe some would argue that he is overconfident. Can't any politician suffer from this?
Let's face it, for Faine and Singer, any right wing politician of serious religious inclination is always going to be criticised because of the possible role of their religion in helping form their views. As I have written before, there are so many involved in the American political system that I find it hard to believe that any megalomaniacanic President with delusions of infallibility will ever get to push the red button.
With a system such as that in Iran, for example, you could hardly have the same confidence.
Finally, of course I can concede that Steyn may not always have every fact correct. It's also fair enough to not agree 100% with all of his opinions. But this sort of snide criticism of him from the Left misses the mark by a country mile.
UPDATE: I previously forgot to link to the Steyn on line mailbox for the letter about Malmo. (You have to scroll down to find it.) And welcome all Mark Steyn readers; it's somewhat of a surprise to find he's linked to this post.
Oh dear, lefty favourites Jill Singer and Jon Faine "stared at each other with incredulity" after interviewing Mark Steyn on his recent Australian visit.
Singer tries to put the boot into Steyn in her article above, and I don't have time to do a full "fisk" as it thoroughly deserves.
The fact that Steyn can use humour in his commentary upsets them. Funny how the Left worried so much that anti terrorism legislation might make satire illegal. The importance of the "right" to use humour only exists when the "Right" is the target, obviously.
Singer criticises Steyn for "exaggerating" the Muslim population of the town of Malmo in Sweden. She claims his source is a 2 year old Fox News report, which put it at 25%. She does not say what Sweden's "official statistics department" says the current figure is. One suspects it must be between 25 and 40% by now.
Anyway, Singer suggests that Steyn's main source is the right leaning Fox News. A quick Google of "Malmo Muslim population" shows that the bad situation in that town has been the subject of stories by the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and other far from right wing sources. Furthermore, the 2004 Washington Post story notes:
About 40 percent of Malmo's population is foreign-born or has at least one foreign-born parent. The bulk of foreign-born people come from the former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.
As I said, this suggests to me the correct figure is probably between 25 and 40% Muslim. Steyn's website published a letter questioning this figure, to which Steyn replies:
As to the 40 per cent, that'’s the figure I was given by the late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in 2003. I don'’t know whether she was talking about the '“greater Malmo'” area, or adding in non-Swedish Muslims plus Swedish Muslims. But certainly the youth population in Malmo is already 50-50.
Does it matter much how accurate this figure is? Whether it is 25 or 40%, the more important issue is what effect this is having on the town itself, and Steyn is big enough to publish a letter that even questions that. (It's the same one that questions the 40%). Looking at the ways the mainstream press has covered this story, it is not a trivial issue.
Singer then claims that:
Now, I am as scared as Steyn is about Islamist terrorists, but a faith-based US President also scares the bejesus out of me.
This is based on Bruce Bartlett's analysis that Bush thinks "he is on a mission from God." Someone else can analyse Bartlett's views, I don't have time right now. But the point is not whether someone thinks that they are trying to do God's will, but whether they are crazy enough to think that they are infallible in understanding God's will. Is there convincing evidence that Bush thinks he is infallible on religious grounds? Maybe some would argue that he is overconfident. Can't any politician suffer from this?
Let's face it, for Faine and Singer, any right wing politician of serious religious inclination is always going to be criticised because of the possible role of their religion in helping form their views. As I have written before, there are so many involved in the American political system that I find it hard to believe that any megalomaniacanic President with delusions of infallibility will ever get to push the red button.
With a system such as that in Iran, for example, you could hardly have the same confidence.
Finally, of course I can concede that Steyn may not always have every fact correct. It's also fair enough to not agree 100% with all of his opinions. But this sort of snide criticism of him from the Left misses the mark by a country mile.
UPDATE: I previously forgot to link to the Steyn on line mailbox for the letter about Malmo. (You have to scroll down to find it.) And welcome all Mark Steyn readers; it's somewhat of a surprise to find he's linked to this post.
Time for colour
Not sure that it was worth the effort, but this is done from a photo with some "painter" style software that came with a cheap tablet. (Graphics tablets are a lot of fun if you enjoy doodling.)
I just like to add some colour here occasionally anyway.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Oh great...
Iran takes new nuclear step - Sunday Times - Times Online
From The Times story:
IN A show of defiance against western efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the new phase of a heavy water reactor project yesterday, prompting an Israeli warning that Tehran had taken another step towards producing a bomb.
The Arak plant in central Iran can now make eight tons of heavy water a year, with output expected to rise tenfold.
Heavy water aids nuclear fission and the plutonium by- product could be used to make warheads. But the reactor to produce plutonium is still under construction. ...
Arak’s construction was kept secret until the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran revealed its existence along with the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in 2002.
An Iranian nuclear official claimed there was no need for the International Atomic Energy Agency to supervise Arak as it did not have a military purpose. But experts warned plutonium production could pose a greater threat than uranium enrichment.
“With uranium it’s much easier to put in safeguards to monitor the atmosphere and instruments,” said Paul Ingram, a nuclear analyst with the British American Security Information Council. Arak could produce enough plutonium for one or two nuclear weapons a year.
For a look at this facility, see here. It appears to be an easy target. I therefore wouldn't be bragging about such advances if I were the Iranian President.
From The Times story:
IN A show of defiance against western efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the new phase of a heavy water reactor project yesterday, prompting an Israeli warning that Tehran had taken another step towards producing a bomb.
The Arak plant in central Iran can now make eight tons of heavy water a year, with output expected to rise tenfold.
Heavy water aids nuclear fission and the plutonium by- product could be used to make warheads. But the reactor to produce plutonium is still under construction. ...
Arak’s construction was kept secret until the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran revealed its existence along with the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in 2002.
An Iranian nuclear official claimed there was no need for the International Atomic Energy Agency to supervise Arak as it did not have a military purpose. But experts warned plutonium production could pose a greater threat than uranium enrichment.
“With uranium it’s much easier to put in safeguards to monitor the atmosphere and instruments,” said Paul Ingram, a nuclear analyst with the British American Security Information Council. Arak could produce enough plutonium for one or two nuclear weapons a year.
For a look at this facility, see here. It appears to be an easy target. I therefore wouldn't be bragging about such advances if I were the Iranian President.
Hard to believe
The Observer | UK News | Offset your carbon emissions with a text
This short story from the Guardian relates a very hard to believe scheme:
Mobile phone users will be able to offset their carbon emissions by sending a text message using a scheme launched by conservation charity the World Land Trust.
For each text received, the WLT will offset 140kg of C02 through various reforestation projects worldwide. This is the equivalent of the amount of C02 produced by a return flight from London to Paris, 16 people sitting down for a restaurant meal, eight nights in a hotel, two nights on a cruise ship or 120 school runs in a 4x4.
The texts will cost £1.50 plus network charges.
Something is wrong with those figures, surely!
This short story from the Guardian relates a very hard to believe scheme:
Mobile phone users will be able to offset their carbon emissions by sending a text message using a scheme launched by conservation charity the World Land Trust.
For each text received, the WLT will offset 140kg of C02 through various reforestation projects worldwide. This is the equivalent of the amount of C02 produced by a return flight from London to Paris, 16 people sitting down for a restaurant meal, eight nights in a hotel, two nights on a cruise ship or 120 school runs in a 4x4.
The texts will cost £1.50 plus network charges.
Something is wrong with those figures, surely!
Grumpy parenting advice
Booze, boys and other headaches - Opinion - theage.com.au
Parents and teenagers today, I dunno. The article above (from The Age) relates a mother's attempt to "do the right thing" in the way she manages her daughter's party for a bunch of 15 year olds (some 14).
Maybe I will regret some of these comments when the time comes that my children are teenagers, but at the moment, here's how I feel:
1. There are 57 year nine students invited to this party. Seems quite a lot of invitees, doesn't it? Why do school kids, or their parents hosting, want to have a party at which (surely) they don't know a significant proportion of the invitees very well at all? A smaller party is a more controllable party, and 60 people over is pushing the limits.
2. The mother gives up on the idea of banning alcohol entirely, because she has learnt from experience that it will be smuggled in anyway. (And the effort to police a ban is too overbearing.) The end result was allowing each guest to bring "2 or 3" drinks.
She seems well intentioned, but isn't this attitude just waving the white flag of parental responsibility way too early? There are 14 year olds at this party. What parent should care that a 14 or 15 year old resents going to an alcohol free party? What 14 year old should expect to be able to drink at a party?
3. The limited alcohol option fails anyway, with a few impostors getting drunk, a fight (apparently not alcohol related) and some damage to the house.
What is it with this teenage party gatecrashing phenomena? It puzzles me in several respects. What's the typical reason the gatecrashers want "in"? Because they were not invited and they want to prove a point? What sort of point would that be usually - fail to invite me and I'll come and smash up your house (or your friends)? Is it that they don't want to go to the party at all, but are just out to pick fights with someone they know there? Or is it that it is because some parties are alcohol free-for-alls that is the attraction?
Anyway, it's a disturbing thing that parents these days live in fear of gatecrashing teens. I expect, however, that parents allowing consumption of alcohol is not the way to reduce the likelihood of it happening.
Teenagers: you don't run the world. You have decades ahead of you to drink. You can wait.
Parents: when did you start letting teenagers set the rules? You don't have to be buddies with them. Make yourself unpopular for a change.
Parents and teenagers today, I dunno. The article above (from The Age) relates a mother's attempt to "do the right thing" in the way she manages her daughter's party for a bunch of 15 year olds (some 14).
Maybe I will regret some of these comments when the time comes that my children are teenagers, but at the moment, here's how I feel:
1. There are 57 year nine students invited to this party. Seems quite a lot of invitees, doesn't it? Why do school kids, or their parents hosting, want to have a party at which (surely) they don't know a significant proportion of the invitees very well at all? A smaller party is a more controllable party, and 60 people over is pushing the limits.
2. The mother gives up on the idea of banning alcohol entirely, because she has learnt from experience that it will be smuggled in anyway. (And the effort to police a ban is too overbearing.) The end result was allowing each guest to bring "2 or 3" drinks.
She seems well intentioned, but isn't this attitude just waving the white flag of parental responsibility way too early? There are 14 year olds at this party. What parent should care that a 14 or 15 year old resents going to an alcohol free party? What 14 year old should expect to be able to drink at a party?
3. The limited alcohol option fails anyway, with a few impostors getting drunk, a fight (apparently not alcohol related) and some damage to the house.
What is it with this teenage party gatecrashing phenomena? It puzzles me in several respects. What's the typical reason the gatecrashers want "in"? Because they were not invited and they want to prove a point? What sort of point would that be usually - fail to invite me and I'll come and smash up your house (or your friends)? Is it that they don't want to go to the party at all, but are just out to pick fights with someone they know there? Or is it that it is because some parties are alcohol free-for-alls that is the attraction?
Anyway, it's a disturbing thing that parents these days live in fear of gatecrashing teens. I expect, however, that parents allowing consumption of alcohol is not the way to reduce the likelihood of it happening.
Teenagers: you don't run the world. You have decades ahead of you to drink. You can wait.
Parents: when did you start letting teenagers set the rules? You don't have to be buddies with them. Make yourself unpopular for a change.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Pull the other one, Tim
Braving the cold for a talk on warming | Science & nature | The Australian
Environmentalist and global warming author Tim Flannery spoke at the Melbourne Writers Festival and claims this:
"Writers' festivals are a really good opportunity to talk to a great number of people who might not usually be exposed to this issue, and this kind of discussion," said Dr Flannery, who won this year's NSW Premier's Book of the Year award.
Oh come on. As if the typical person who attends a writers' festival would not be interested and well versed in this already.
Environmentalist and global warming author Tim Flannery spoke at the Melbourne Writers Festival and claims this:
"Writers' festivals are a really good opportunity to talk to a great number of people who might not usually be exposed to this issue, and this kind of discussion," said Dr Flannery, who won this year's NSW Premier's Book of the Year award.
Oh come on. As if the typical person who attends a writers' festival would not be interested and well versed in this already.
Caroline does Cuba
Caroline Overington: Land of rum and rumba blighted by communism | Opinion | The Australian
Pamela Bone used to write for the age, as did Caroline Overington. Funny how they now appear in The Australia, both sounding rather right wing.
Caroline short article on how bad she found Cuba just a couple of years ago is worth a read.
Pamela Bone used to write for the age, as did Caroline Overington. Funny how they now appear in The Australia, both sounding rather right wing.
Caroline short article on how bad she found Cuba just a couple of years ago is worth a read.
Friday, August 25, 2006
US Catholics not so wussy after all
GOP dips in religion poll - Yahoo! News
This snippet from the above report is interesting:
Bush got 78 percent of the white evangelical vote and 56 percent of the white Catholic vote in 2004, according to exit polls.
I kind of expected the Catholic vote to be significantly less than that for Bush in 2004. Certainly, the liberal side of the church is the one that gets all the publicity.
This snippet from the above report is interesting:
Bush got 78 percent of the white evangelical vote and 56 percent of the white Catholic vote in 2004, according to exit polls.
I kind of expected the Catholic vote to be significantly less than that for Bush in 2004. Certainly, the liberal side of the church is the one that gets all the publicity.
Next year's Survivor format predicted
NYC officials want new 'Survivor' pulled - Yahoo! News
Not that I have ever watched it for more than 10 minutes, but it's interesting to note that a decision by the makers of "Survivor" to use racially based competing teams is controversial.
Of course, if they really want controversy, next year's teams will be based on religion/philosophy: The Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhist, and Hindu teams.
I would then have a few secular humanists to be added into the teams at random. Have one of them gay, and watch the tension in the first episode as they draw straws for who will get into the Muslim team.
I could go on, but readers can supply their own fantasies of this scenario.
Not that I have ever watched it for more than 10 minutes, but it's interesting to note that a decision by the makers of "Survivor" to use racially based competing teams is controversial.
Of course, if they really want controversy, next year's teams will be based on religion/philosophy: The Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhist, and Hindu teams.
I would then have a few secular humanists to be added into the teams at random. Have one of them gay, and watch the tension in the first episode as they draw straws for who will get into the Muslim team.
I could go on, but readers can supply their own fantasies of this scenario.
Some interpretation needed
This paper on arxiv seems important. (It talks about the very nature of space, gravity, black holes and dark matter.) Beyond sensing its possible importance (and that it is not written by a complete nutter, unless they are still allowed in the physics department of Flinders University,) it is otherwise very difficult to understand.
I need a science journalist to do an interpretation of it.
UPDATE: OK, here's a page that explains more about what Cahill is on about. Can't say I have heard about "process physics" before.
I need a science journalist to do an interpretation of it.
UPDATE: OK, here's a page that explains more about what Cahill is on about. Can't say I have heard about "process physics" before.
Pamela goes right
Pamela Bone: Muslim sisters need our help | Opinion | The Australian
Pamela Bone writes on the Western feminists' general silence on the plight of Muslim women in Iran and other rabidly Islamic nations. Good reading.
Pamela Bone writes on the Western feminists' general silence on the plight of Muslim women in Iran and other rabidly Islamic nations. Good reading.
Drink your tea
BBC NEWS | Health | Tea 'healthier' drink than water
More research (even if it is paid for by the "Tea Council") seems to show how tea is very good for you.
On a personal note, by working with a Chinese guy who is very fond of good quality green tea, my green tea consumption for many years now has been perhaps 2 cups a day average. This should ensure I live to 110.
More research (even if it is paid for by the "Tea Council") seems to show how tea is very good for you.
On a personal note, by working with a Chinese guy who is very fond of good quality green tea, my green tea consumption for many years now has been perhaps 2 cups a day average. This should ensure I live to 110.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
A strange China story
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China acts on funeral strippers
More fun via the BBC:
Five people have been detained in China for running striptease send-offs at funerals, state media say....
"Striptease used to be a common practice at funerals in Donghai's rural areas to allure viewers," Xinhua agency said.
"Local villagers believe that the more people who attend the funeral, the more the dead person is honoured."
As well as ordering an end to the practice, officials have also said residents can report "funeral misdeeds" on a hotline, earning a reward for information.
If I had a readership, I would invite nominations for the worst "funeral misdeed" you would have liked to be able to report.
More fun via the BBC:
Five people have been detained in China for running striptease send-offs at funerals, state media say....
"Striptease used to be a common practice at funerals in Donghai's rural areas to allure viewers," Xinhua agency said.
"Local villagers believe that the more people who attend the funeral, the more the dead person is honoured."
As well as ordering an end to the practice, officials have also said residents can report "funeral misdeeds" on a hotline, earning a reward for information.
If I had a readership, I would invite nominations for the worst "funeral misdeed" you would have liked to be able to report.
And that would be a bad thing?
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Syria warns over UN peacekeepers
From the link:
Syria has reportedly threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers are deployed there.
Finland's foreign minister made the claim after meeting his Syrian counterpart in Helsinki.
"They will close their borders for all traffic in the event that UN troops are deployed..." Erkki Tuomioja said.
Earlier, the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, said the stationing of UN troops in the border area of Lebanon would be a hostile move against Syria.
"This is an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and a hostile position," President Bashar Assad told Arab TV.
From the link:
Syria has reportedly threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers are deployed there.
Finland's foreign minister made the claim after meeting his Syrian counterpart in Helsinki.
"They will close their borders for all traffic in the event that UN troops are deployed..." Erkki Tuomioja said.
Earlier, the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, said the stationing of UN troops in the border area of Lebanon would be a hostile move against Syria.
"This is an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty and a hostile position," President Bashar Assad told Arab TV.
Go Nuclear
The Nuclear Option
See above for a lengthy, optimistic, article on the expansion of nuclear power as a way of helping reduce CO2.
My favourite under-discussed type of reactor, the Pebble bed, gets a favourable mention too:
The pebble-bed modular reactor introduces the interesting prospect of modular nuclear plants. Instead of building a massive 1,000-megawatt plant, modules each producing around 100 megawatts can be built. This approach may be particularly attractive, both in developing countries and in deregulated industrial countries, because of the much lower capital costs involved. The traditional large plants do have the advantage of economy of scale, most likely resulting in lower cost per kilowatt of capacity, but this edge could be challenged if efficient factory-style production of large numbers of modules could be implemented. South Africa is scheduled to begin construction of a 110-megawatt demonstration pebble-bed plant in 2007, to be completed by 2011, with commercial modules of about 165 megawatts planned for 2013. The hope is to sell modules internationally, in particular throughout Africa.
(By comparison, here's a list of Queensland power stations giving their generating capacity. It's clear that an indivdual module generating 165 megawatts is fairly modest in size, but it looks as if the big power stations here are comprised of smaller units anyway - eg Tarong's power is listed as 4 x 360 MW. I guess if there is a natural limit to the size of a pebble bed module, you just add more modules on site as required.)
Anyway, the whole article is good and interesting as a review of where nuclear power is likely to go. The problems are not ignored, but if Greenies want us to believe the worst global warming scenarios, then they should also figure that they are making nuclear look more attractive as part of the solution.
See above for a lengthy, optimistic, article on the expansion of nuclear power as a way of helping reduce CO2.
My favourite under-discussed type of reactor, the Pebble bed, gets a favourable mention too:
The pebble-bed modular reactor introduces the interesting prospect of modular nuclear plants. Instead of building a massive 1,000-megawatt plant, modules each producing around 100 megawatts can be built. This approach may be particularly attractive, both in developing countries and in deregulated industrial countries, because of the much lower capital costs involved. The traditional large plants do have the advantage of economy of scale, most likely resulting in lower cost per kilowatt of capacity, but this edge could be challenged if efficient factory-style production of large numbers of modules could be implemented. South Africa is scheduled to begin construction of a 110-megawatt demonstration pebble-bed plant in 2007, to be completed by 2011, with commercial modules of about 165 megawatts planned for 2013. The hope is to sell modules internationally, in particular throughout Africa.
(By comparison, here's a list of Queensland power stations giving their generating capacity. It's clear that an indivdual module generating 165 megawatts is fairly modest in size, but it looks as if the big power stations here are comprised of smaller units anyway - eg Tarong's power is listed as 4 x 360 MW. I guess if there is a natural limit to the size of a pebble bed module, you just add more modules on site as required.)
Anyway, the whole article is good and interesting as a review of where nuclear power is likely to go. The problems are not ignored, but if Greenies want us to believe the worst global warming scenarios, then they should also figure that they are making nuclear look more attractive as part of the solution.
The happiest mice on Earth
ScienceDaily: Ever-happy Mice May Hold Key To New Treatment Of Depression
Interesting story on genetic manipulation leading to very happy mice.
As usual, I wonder about this:
Mice without the TREK-1 gene ('knock-out' mice) were created and bred in collaboration with Dr. Michel Lazdunski, co-author of the research, in his laboratory at the University of Nice, France. "These 'knock-out' mice were then tested using separate behavioral, electrophysiological and biochemical measures known to gauge 'depression' in animals," says Dr. Debonnel. "The results really surprised us; our 'knock-out' mice acted as if they had been treated with antidepressants for at least three weeks."
Just how closely does depression in a mouse represent depression in a human?
Anyway, apart from the drug development implications, it does raise the question as to whether "designer babies" in the future could be tailored to never suffer depression. What unknown effects would this have on personality or culture if it ever became widespread? Just wondering.
Interesting story on genetic manipulation leading to very happy mice.
As usual, I wonder about this:
Mice without the TREK-1 gene ('knock-out' mice) were created and bred in collaboration with Dr. Michel Lazdunski, co-author of the research, in his laboratory at the University of Nice, France. "These 'knock-out' mice were then tested using separate behavioral, electrophysiological and biochemical measures known to gauge 'depression' in animals," says Dr. Debonnel. "The results really surprised us; our 'knock-out' mice acted as if they had been treated with antidepressants for at least three weeks."
Just how closely does depression in a mouse represent depression in a human?
Anyway, apart from the drug development implications, it does raise the question as to whether "designer babies" in the future could be tailored to never suffer depression. What unknown effects would this have on personality or culture if it ever became widespread? Just wondering.
Slow blogging
Work busy, staff on holidays, children sick, now father sick. All reasons why blogging has slowed to a crawl. Sorry.
Monday, August 21, 2006
A strange Japan story
The Japan Times Online - Straight girls look to gays for a little fun
According to this article (perhaps of dubious reliability), some straight Japanese women are spending time in gay bars to "buy" male prostitutes ("urisen"). Isn't there something wrong with this picture?:
"My husband thinks it's OK to buy these urisen boys," she tells the other women, after explaining that the couple has an open and very liberal relationship.
And why the preference for young gay men, instead of, say, hosts? "Because hosts reek of alcohol and their skin is leathery," she giggles.
More importantly, though, she appreciates the more laid-back style of gay bars as opposed to host bars. "I was surprised when I first went to an urisen bar. Although there were a lot of guys, none of them were trying to push themselves onto me."
The expression "duh" comes to mind.
According to this article (perhaps of dubious reliability), some straight Japanese women are spending time in gay bars to "buy" male prostitutes ("urisen"). Isn't there something wrong with this picture?:
"My husband thinks it's OK to buy these urisen boys," she tells the other women, after explaining that the couple has an open and very liberal relationship.
And why the preference for young gay men, instead of, say, hosts? "Because hosts reek of alcohol and their skin is leathery," she giggles.
More importantly, though, she appreciates the more laid-back style of gay bars as opposed to host bars. "I was surprised when I first went to an urisen bar. Although there were a lot of guys, none of them were trying to push themselves onto me."
The expression "duh" comes to mind.
Italians and TV
BBC NEWS | Europe | Too sexy for Italian television
A couple of odd things from this story about Italian TV: until recently, the weather report was done by military forecasters. (Scroll down the report to see a picture.) More surprisingly, Italians may be getting tired of the gratuitously semi-dressed female form popping up on TV all the time:
Men in many countries would surely be more than happy to see so much flesh on show on their screens - but why do Italian channels offer so much more than those in other countries?
There are two reasons, according to Professor Michele Sorice, who teaches History of Radio and Television at Rome's main university.
"On one hand the TV variety programmes come largely from Italy's show tradition, which has always featured half-naked dancers," he said.
"On the other hand it comes from a terrible lack of ideas," he added.
But things could soon start to change.
Mr Sorice believes viewers are already sick of these programmes. Surveys show they watch, but criticise them harshly.
"I think even Italians are a bit bored with always seeing undressed women on the television," Mr Sorice said.
"The proof of this is in the fact that the biggest hits on Italian TV in recent months have actually been the period dramas."
Speaking of such things, has anyone else noticed how the most sexually explicit European cinema (by far) now seems to come from Spain? Yet they still have a low birthrate. Strange world.
A couple of odd things from this story about Italian TV: until recently, the weather report was done by military forecasters. (Scroll down the report to see a picture.) More surprisingly, Italians may be getting tired of the gratuitously semi-dressed female form popping up on TV all the time:
Men in many countries would surely be more than happy to see so much flesh on show on their screens - but why do Italian channels offer so much more than those in other countries?
There are two reasons, according to Professor Michele Sorice, who teaches History of Radio and Television at Rome's main university.
"On one hand the TV variety programmes come largely from Italy's show tradition, which has always featured half-naked dancers," he said.
"On the other hand it comes from a terrible lack of ideas," he added.
But things could soon start to change.
Mr Sorice believes viewers are already sick of these programmes. Surveys show they watch, but criticise them harshly.
"I think even Italians are a bit bored with always seeing undressed women on the television," Mr Sorice said.
"The proof of this is in the fact that the biggest hits on Italian TV in recent months have actually been the period dramas."
Speaking of such things, has anyone else noticed how the most sexually explicit European cinema (by far) now seems to come from Spain? Yet they still have a low birthrate. Strange world.
Copycat death
A sad history of life — and death — imitating art - Opinion
This is an interesting commentary piece from The Age about the history of copycat suicides (that follow fictional ones.) I did not know that this had such a well established history.
The story is in reponse to the call for a new Australian film, about teenage angst, to have its "R" rating reduced. (I guess because some adults think that teens undergoing teen angst really want to watch other teens having the same problems. Well, that's a little unfair, I suppose they think it has an educative effect. But isn't it a fair bet that the great majority of teenagers who would be interested in seeing it would be the type who are already sympathetic to the type of issues portrayed and don't need to learn more about it?)
This is an interesting commentary piece from The Age about the history of copycat suicides (that follow fictional ones.) I did not know that this had such a well established history.
The story is in reponse to the call for a new Australian film, about teenage angst, to have its "R" rating reduced. (I guess because some adults think that teens undergoing teen angst really want to watch other teens having the same problems. Well, that's a little unfair, I suppose they think it has an educative effect. But isn't it a fair bet that the great majority of teenagers who would be interested in seeing it would be the type who are already sympathetic to the type of issues portrayed and don't need to learn more about it?)
Sheehan on Einfeld
The Einfeld Follies: a study in ego - Opinion - smh.com.au
Einfeld does not come out smelling of roses, as you may expect when Sheehan is getting stuck into a lawyer.
Einfeld does not come out smelling of roses, as you may expect when Sheehan is getting stuck into a lawyer.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
This won't hurt a bit
The case for genital mutilation. By William Saletan - Slate Magazine
I've mentioned before the weird zealotry and obsessiveness that is on display in most of the anti-circumcision websites. "Foreskin restoration" strikes me as just about the funniest thing that could have a support group.
The Slate article above gives a good survey of it all, including the somewhat uncomfortable fact (for the anti-cutting movement) that widespread use of circumcision in Africa would have helped a lot of people (and not just men) avoid HIV.
I've mentioned before the weird zealotry and obsessiveness that is on display in most of the anti-circumcision websites. "Foreskin restoration" strikes me as just about the funniest thing that could have a support group.
The Slate article above gives a good survey of it all, including the somewhat uncomfortable fact (for the anti-cutting movement) that widespread use of circumcision in Africa would have helped a lot of people (and not just men) avoid HIV.
Anywhere near Uranus?
Hey, a juvenile pun for a title is well deserved when you see what some people spend their time thinking about:
"...I’m writing an article on what I’m calling “spaces of utopia”. I’ve been thinking about festivals, dance parties, raves, protests, political marches/parties like Mardis Gras as the sorts of spaces that have a certain potential to embody the lived experience of a different social order. I think time has a lot to do with this, because like sacralised time, the experience of time at events like this is somewhat out of the ordinary, and their effects are felt throughout ordinary time as well."
Yeah, well, here's my potted version of the article (I recommend hearing it in the voice of Neil from "The Young Ones"):
"Some people, usually young, think that it would be really, really cool if their whole life was just one big rave/ dance party/ political march/protest. Sometimes they find time seems to pass really slooowly at these events, 'cos of the drugs and drinks that they took, either that or the speech that Kim Beazley just gave. But suddenly it's time to go home, grow up and have kids. Or not, in which case they will soon be too old for raves and dance parties, unless they start a movement for raves for the over 50's (wow, what an idea). But remember, you can never be too old or strange for a protest march."
That's about it, really.
"...I’m writing an article on what I’m calling “spaces of utopia”. I’ve been thinking about festivals, dance parties, raves, protests, political marches/parties like Mardis Gras as the sorts of spaces that have a certain potential to embody the lived experience of a different social order. I think time has a lot to do with this, because like sacralised time, the experience of time at events like this is somewhat out of the ordinary, and their effects are felt throughout ordinary time as well."
Yeah, well, here's my potted version of the article (I recommend hearing it in the voice of Neil from "The Young Ones"):
"Some people, usually young, think that it would be really, really cool if their whole life was just one big rave/ dance party/ political march/protest. Sometimes they find time seems to pass really slooowly at these events, 'cos of the drugs and drinks that they took, either that or the speech that Kim Beazley just gave. But suddenly it's time to go home, grow up and have kids. Or not, in which case they will soon be too old for raves and dance parties, unless they start a movement for raves for the over 50's (wow, what an idea). But remember, you can never be too old or strange for a protest march."
That's about it, really.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Too good to be true
Steorn’s Free Energy Technology Challenge | Technology News Daily
Sort of hard to see what benefit nutters would have in advertising in The Economist about this. Influx of capital? A desire to see your name bandied about a lot?
Anyway, everyone should allow a little, tiny hope somewhere in their brain that a "free energy" device may be true.
UPDATE: The Guardian has a story on this. Very curious indeed.
Sort of hard to see what benefit nutters would have in advertising in The Economist about this. Influx of capital? A desire to see your name bandied about a lot?
Anyway, everyone should allow a little, tiny hope somewhere in their brain that a "free energy" device may be true.
UPDATE: The Guardian has a story on this. Very curious indeed.
Depressing stories from Lebanon
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Stand alongside Hizbullah, Lebanon's army tells troops
It would appear from the above story that the Lebanese army will effectively turn a blind eye to Hezbollah weapons that remain in Southern Lebanon:
An internal Lebanese army statement, circulated among forces in the past week, has called for troops to stand "alongside your resistance and your people who astonished the world with its steadfastness and destroyed the prestige of the so-called invincible army after it was defeated".
The circular has alarmed ministers in the Lebanese cabinet who had been calling for the army to disarm Hizbullah.
It will also fuel the concerns of Israel, the US and the UN security council that the Lebanese army is incapable of securing the south of the country, adding increased urgency to the calls for a multinational force to be swiftly deployed.
What of the multinational force? Europe is not exactly rushing to help, and other offers are (rightly) viewed with some scepticism:
"France - leadership and 200 troops
Bangladesh - two battalions (up to 2,000 troops)
Malaysia - one battalion (up to 1,000 troops)
Indonesia - one battalion, an engineering company
Nepal - one battalion
Denmark - at least two ships
Germany - maritime and border patrols"
...Israeli UN envoy Dan Gillerman said it would be "difficult if not inconceivable" to accept nations that did not recognise its right to exist.
Mr Gillerman said Israel would be "very happy" to accept troops from Muslim countries they have friendly relations with.
"But to expect countries who don't even recognise Israel to guard Israel's safety I think would be a bit naive," he said.
Malaysia said Israel should have no say in the make-up of the force.
It is so hard to see the possibility of any good resolutions for the various problems in the Middle East at the moment.
It would appear from the above story that the Lebanese army will effectively turn a blind eye to Hezbollah weapons that remain in Southern Lebanon:
An internal Lebanese army statement, circulated among forces in the past week, has called for troops to stand "alongside your resistance and your people who astonished the world with its steadfastness and destroyed the prestige of the so-called invincible army after it was defeated".
The circular has alarmed ministers in the Lebanese cabinet who had been calling for the army to disarm Hizbullah.
It will also fuel the concerns of Israel, the US and the UN security council that the Lebanese army is incapable of securing the south of the country, adding increased urgency to the calls for a multinational force to be swiftly deployed.
What of the multinational force? Europe is not exactly rushing to help, and other offers are (rightly) viewed with some scepticism:
"France - leadership and 200 troops
Bangladesh - two battalions (up to 2,000 troops)
Malaysia - one battalion (up to 1,000 troops)
Indonesia - one battalion, an engineering company
Nepal - one battalion
Denmark - at least two ships
Germany - maritime and border patrols"
...Israeli UN envoy Dan Gillerman said it would be "difficult if not inconceivable" to accept nations that did not recognise its right to exist.
Mr Gillerman said Israel would be "very happy" to accept troops from Muslim countries they have friendly relations with.
"But to expect countries who don't even recognise Israel to guard Israel's safety I think would be a bit naive," he said.
Malaysia said Israel should have no say in the make-up of the force.
It is so hard to see the possibility of any good resolutions for the various problems in the Middle East at the moment.
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