Homes 'unfit for animals' | News | The Australian
It seems to rarely be mentioned in media reports about housing quality issues in aboriginal communities, but isn't one of the problems here (at least in some areas of Australia) the complicating cultural issue that a house in which a person has died will be abandoned for some time (months I think) before any person will re-occupy it? I actually forget who was telling me about this - I remember discussing it with a brother, but maybe I have read about it somewhere else.
I don't know how big a problem this really is, but with death rates in some communities being what they are, it certainly would mean you would have to have a hell of a lot of "spare" housing to deal with this issue.
I know I have heard from time to time of projects to create really rugged remote aboriginal housing that needs virtually no maintenance, as the care and maintenance of the housing is a very big issue. However, this does nothing to address the issue of abandonment. I remember suggesting to my (lefty) brother that maybe the solution would be a very sophisticated style of tent (with a portable solid floor?) that could be moved off the spot where someone had died. That I would suggest that they live in something less than solid house dismayed him. But honestly, some really creative solutions to the housing issue are needed, aren't they?
(Of course, how to stop tents catching alight if a fire is lit inside is another issue. But I think there must be a model of temporary housing from some indiginous community somewhere in the world that could be adapted.)
Monday, May 22, 2006
A standard response
The familiar echo of Aboriginal condemnation - Opinion - theage.com.au
The article above takes the "standard" old style aboriginal interest group response to the aboriginal abuse issues raised last week.
Rather than acknowledge the longstanding structural disadvantage experienced by remote Aboriginal communities, the complicity of the Australian Government in their creation and neglect, and a national responsibility to make real changes, Brough's immediate response to Rogers' revelations was to announce the existence of a pedophile ring of senior Aboriginal men. No evidence has been produced, and it seems clear that none exists.
Where did Brough's allegation come from? Such a "ring" would, of course, give the minister a convenient solution to his need to be seen to be doing something: an evil group of Aboriginal men, a target small enough to rapidly identify and punish, would serve as a scapegoat and provide a quick fix for his problem. But if we look further back into the long history of Aboriginal-white relations, it becomes clear that such claims have often helped governments to justify interventionist indigenous policies.
Is the writer suggesting that "non interventionist" policies have never been tried, even under the long reign of Labor and ATSIC? Does she really want the solution to this to be left up to the same bunch of aboriginal leaders and academics who have been around for the last 30 years worrying more about land rights, and whether Aboriginal cultures 200 years ago were abusive to women or not, than what's going on now?
The article above takes the "standard" old style aboriginal interest group response to the aboriginal abuse issues raised last week.
Rather than acknowledge the longstanding structural disadvantage experienced by remote Aboriginal communities, the complicity of the Australian Government in their creation and neglect, and a national responsibility to make real changes, Brough's immediate response to Rogers' revelations was to announce the existence of a pedophile ring of senior Aboriginal men. No evidence has been produced, and it seems clear that none exists.
Where did Brough's allegation come from? Such a "ring" would, of course, give the minister a convenient solution to his need to be seen to be doing something: an evil group of Aboriginal men, a target small enough to rapidly identify and punish, would serve as a scapegoat and provide a quick fix for his problem. But if we look further back into the long history of Aboriginal-white relations, it becomes clear that such claims have often helped governments to justify interventionist indigenous policies.
Is the writer suggesting that "non interventionist" policies have never been tried, even under the long reign of Labor and ATSIC? Does she really want the solution to this to be left up to the same bunch of aboriginal leaders and academics who have been around for the last 30 years worrying more about land rights, and whether Aboriginal cultures 200 years ago were abusive to women or not, than what's going on now?
About Marsden
Case for the damnation of Marsden - Opinion - smh.com.au
Paul Sheehan did not like John Marsden.
What Sheehan's brings up was already on the public record. I don't recall the part about witness intimidation though.
If what Sheehan says is a correct version of what the trial judge at the defamation action found [that Marsden had on the balance of probabilities - which is the standard of proof in a civil case - asked a prisoner to get a witness to change his position,] why was Marsden allowed to still practice as a solicitor at all?
I still predict some new, damaging, information about Marsden will come out soon.
Paul Sheehan did not like John Marsden.
What Sheehan's brings up was already on the public record. I don't recall the part about witness intimidation though.
If what Sheehan says is a correct version of what the trial judge at the defamation action found [that Marsden had on the balance of probabilities - which is the standard of proof in a civil case - asked a prisoner to get a witness to change his position,] why was Marsden allowed to still practice as a solicitor at all?
I still predict some new, damaging, information about Marsden will come out soon.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Scruton on Mills
OpinionJournal - Featured Article
If you missed it, Roger Scruton has an essay above on John Stuart Mill. Scruton is always worth reading (especially if you a conservative!)
If you missed it, Roger Scruton has an essay above on John Stuart Mill. Scruton is always worth reading (especially if you a conservative!)
Mountain coming through
LiveScience.com - Land Speed Record: Mountain Moves 62 Miles in 30 Minutes
A mountain near the Montana-Wyoming border once moved 62 miles in a half-hour in a catastrophic scenario that could be repeated elsewhere, scientists say...
"We think the slide motion was catastrophic," Aharonov told LiveScience. "According to our calculation, the motion took less than 30 minutes."
I guess being overtaken on a freeway by a mountain would be catastrophic.
A mountain near the Montana-Wyoming border once moved 62 miles in a half-hour in a catastrophic scenario that could be repeated elsewhere, scientists say...
"We think the slide motion was catastrophic," Aharonov told LiveScience. "According to our calculation, the motion took less than 30 minutes."
I guess being overtaken on a freeway by a mountain would be catastrophic.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
At last - Mission:Impossible 3
I finally got to see MI3 tonight. My comments:
Good points: script is quite good really. The acting is more even than in previous M:I movies, and in fact I would say Cruise and Phillip S Hoffman actually do very good acting, within the limits of this kind of material. Exotic locations are used (although shown very briefly - see my comments below,) and there is very seamless and unintrusive use of computer effects. (You know that certain things can't be being done "for real", but it is almost impossible to tell where the artifice begins. For example, one very cleverly done scene almost makes you believe those super realistic rubber masks could really work. There is also a jumping off a building sequence which - at least initially, before the editing starts cutting it up too much - looks as real as it possibly could.) The movie has some (limited) humour, and some scenes of human warmth, and in that sense is more "realistic" than M:I1. However, its tone is darker, with a genuinely sadistic villain, and as such ends up being not as much fun.
But, there is a lot to like.
Bad or distracting points: the direction. For the last few years, I have seen very few one hour shows on TV. I am therefore unfamiliar with the popular work of JJ Abrams. However, direction of M:I3 is claustrophobic, for want of a better term. It seems he is inordinately fond of close to medium length shots, where it looks like the camera is no more than a few meters from the actors.
This is fine for some sequences, where it can help rack up the tension, especially in the opening scene. But after 30 minutes or so, I really found myself wondering why this movie was shot so tight for so long. Especially during the action sequences, I longed for wider shots to make better sense of what was going on around Cruise.
There is also a quasi-handheld sort of style for all of the action sequences. It's not exactly jittery, but I did start longing for smoother camera movement in many sequences, and less choppy editing.
I hate overly fast editing. It is, to my mind, the major problem with younger action movie directors since the 1990's, and is the special "trademark" of directors who have come from an advertising or music video background. (I especially despise it in dance and musical numbers, where it takes away all sense of the quality of the dancing itself.) M:I3's action sequences are nearly all edited too quickly (especially parts of the Shanghai sequences,) but (fortunately) not so quickly as to ruin the movie.
I mentioned in an earlier post how well I thought Brian De Palma directed the first M:I movie, and it was this more "traditional" style of direction and editing that I missed.
I don't think I have (yet) read any reviewer who has mentioned the "tightness" of so many of the shots, which I find surprising. (To me, it seemed such an obvious and distracting feature of Abram's style.) Slate's review did say: "The action scenes are thrilling in the modern, quick-cut, disorienting way." I can agree with that.
Overall: I have lingered on the downside for too long. Many people don't notice this sort of thing anyway. And overall, I was happy to have seen it and would happily see another M:I installment. Still, M:I 1 stands clearly ahead as my favourite. The less said about M:I 2 the better, although it does help M:I 3 look very good by comparison.
UPDATE: It's not just me. Here's one reviewer (who really didn't like the movie at all):
It's filmed almost entirely in close-ups and medium shots, in extremely shallow focus with no depth of field. (It's something of a sick joke that Abrams elected to use the extra-wide CinemaScope aspect ratio, as he tends to obscure or blur out anything that isn't smack dab in the center of the frame.) There's no oomph to the images, and the monotonous, confusingly edited action scenes just lie there, dead.
I don't agree that the action sequences "lie dead"; I just thought they could have been better with a different director. But certainly, he seems to have almost no interest in the composition of shots.
Good points: script is quite good really. The acting is more even than in previous M:I movies, and in fact I would say Cruise and Phillip S Hoffman actually do very good acting, within the limits of this kind of material. Exotic locations are used (although shown very briefly - see my comments below,) and there is very seamless and unintrusive use of computer effects. (You know that certain things can't be being done "for real", but it is almost impossible to tell where the artifice begins. For example, one very cleverly done scene almost makes you believe those super realistic rubber masks could really work. There is also a jumping off a building sequence which - at least initially, before the editing starts cutting it up too much - looks as real as it possibly could.) The movie has some (limited) humour, and some scenes of human warmth, and in that sense is more "realistic" than M:I1. However, its tone is darker, with a genuinely sadistic villain, and as such ends up being not as much fun.
But, there is a lot to like.
Bad or distracting points: the direction. For the last few years, I have seen very few one hour shows on TV. I am therefore unfamiliar with the popular work of JJ Abrams. However, direction of M:I3 is claustrophobic, for want of a better term. It seems he is inordinately fond of close to medium length shots, where it looks like the camera is no more than a few meters from the actors.
This is fine for some sequences, where it can help rack up the tension, especially in the opening scene. But after 30 minutes or so, I really found myself wondering why this movie was shot so tight for so long. Especially during the action sequences, I longed for wider shots to make better sense of what was going on around Cruise.
There is also a quasi-handheld sort of style for all of the action sequences. It's not exactly jittery, but I did start longing for smoother camera movement in many sequences, and less choppy editing.
I hate overly fast editing. It is, to my mind, the major problem with younger action movie directors since the 1990's, and is the special "trademark" of directors who have come from an advertising or music video background. (I especially despise it in dance and musical numbers, where it takes away all sense of the quality of the dancing itself.) M:I3's action sequences are nearly all edited too quickly (especially parts of the Shanghai sequences,) but (fortunately) not so quickly as to ruin the movie.
I mentioned in an earlier post how well I thought Brian De Palma directed the first M:I movie, and it was this more "traditional" style of direction and editing that I missed.
I don't think I have (yet) read any reviewer who has mentioned the "tightness" of so many of the shots, which I find surprising. (To me, it seemed such an obvious and distracting feature of Abram's style.) Slate's review did say: "The action scenes are thrilling in the modern, quick-cut, disorienting way." I can agree with that.
Overall: I have lingered on the downside for too long. Many people don't notice this sort of thing anyway. And overall, I was happy to have seen it and would happily see another M:I installment. Still, M:I 1 stands clearly ahead as my favourite. The less said about M:I 2 the better, although it does help M:I 3 look very good by comparison.
UPDATE: It's not just me. Here's one reviewer (who really didn't like the movie at all):
It's filmed almost entirely in close-ups and medium shots, in extremely shallow focus with no depth of field. (It's something of a sick joke that Abrams elected to use the extra-wide CinemaScope aspect ratio, as he tends to obscure or blur out anything that isn't smack dab in the center of the frame.) There's no oomph to the images, and the monotonous, confusingly edited action scenes just lie there, dead.
I don't agree that the action sequences "lie dead"; I just thought they could have been better with a different director. But certainly, he seems to have almost no interest in the composition of shots.
In the Sydney Morning Herald today
A few items of note in the paper today:
Richard Glover, the lefty but sometimes amusing columnist/broadcaster (I quite like his writings about his family), has a very worthwhile column in which he points out that the media (and politicians) love to let accidents become the story. For example, in relation to the Private Kovco lost CD incident:
The lost CD is not a story about corruption. Or laziness. Or self-interest. Or malevolence. It is the story of an accident. That simple.
By leaving a CD in a computer drive, did the officer indicate disrespect for Private Kovco, or a lack of attention to her work? If anything, the opposite. She grabbed a few minutes before a flight to go over her report...
In ethical terms, who has behaved badly here? The defence officer who fell foul of an accident or the two people who made conscious decisions to make sure that accident had maximum impact?
And in relation to the the aboriginal stories of this week:
On Tuesday night, Mal Brough, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, said he believed that pedophile rings were operating in some Aboriginal communities.
Everyone agrees there are pedophiles in these communities, and that they turn a blind eye to each other's crimes. Yet some believed Brough had used the wrong word in describing this as a "ring". And so we spent the rest of the week on the topic of whether Brough had accidentally used the wrong word.
Here's what was notable: officials in the Northern Territory seemed more passionate and angry about Brough's verbal accident - variously described as "ignorant", "offensive" and "a disgrace" - than they were about the hideous crimes themselves.
And so we prefer trivia to substance; an accident to a complex debate. Heads must roll. Brough must apologise.
I agree with Richard, but I can't see that he would display the same generosity of spirit towards any errors in intelligence leading to the Iraq War.
Mike Carleton for once says something that is worthwhile, and which seems not to have been said elsewhere (although I haven't paid very close attention to the story). This is about the claims of LTCDR Robyn Fahy that the Navy has treated her very badly (and had a Navy reserve doctor find her mentally ill, when others could not):
But Fahy also claimed she had been beaten up "on a daily basis" while a student at the defence force academy. "I can't remember a day where I wasn't punched, or hit, or slapped, or spat upon," she said.
To my mind and experience, this doesn't ring true. Bashed every day for three years? It stretches credibility, suggesting there are two sides to this story. Which I understand is indeed the case.
But here the Defence Force is in a bind. While Fahy is able to go public - and fair enough - the navy is gagged by the privacy laws, which prevent any detailed response to her.
From what I saw of it, the 7.30 Report story on her expressed no scepticism of this. I also heard Fahy's father, after Labor had called for a full judicial inquiry, say that the family did not want this, they just wanted the Navy to admit a mistake had been made and apologise. This suggested to me that the father thought her daughter's obsession with vindication had become unhealthy. What Carlton says is exactly right; the defence force is in a bind in PR terms in these type of cases, and media attention does nothing to really help the "victim".
Finally, Alan Ramsey continues to earn a pay cheque by writing an opinion piece comprised of enormous slabs of other people's words, and some really clever name calling of politicians (John Howards gets called "toad" today, in what is such a ridiculous introduction I can't be bothered re-printing it.)
Of more interest to me is Ramsey's take on the aboriginal issues. His political analysis is highly nuanced:
The multiplicity of official reports in the last 15 to 20 years dealing specifically or in part with the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children would make you weep. They are there, in government files and on the public record, by the number. What have the politicians done about them? Not a bloody thing, really.
This is "talkback radio" analysis. The point is not that nothing has been attempted in this area at all, just that what has been done has not been working, or (for any programs that have worked, such as the improvements in communities that have gone "dry") they have not been applied widely enough across all States and territories.
No, it's always much more gratifying for Alan to call a politician a name:
And all the ignorant chest-beating that went on this week from John Howard's young Brisbane cabinet minister, Malcolm Brough - who is known behind his back as "Mal-Bro", after the macho cigarette commercial of 25 years ago - disregards the mass of evidence available to government that institutionalised neglect is destroying Aboriginal families and reducing its people to exploited drunks, layabouts and sexual predators. It's not a failure of "law and order", always the easy fallback of lazy politicians with not a clue what else to do.
He's right to the extent that the problems are complex; but he's wrong to pander to lefty activists by suggesting it is all government's fault because not enough is spent on aborigines generally.
And despite this childish swipe a Brough, Ramsey goes on to quote (with approval) an old report that does claim there are pedophile rings in parts of aboriginal Australia:
"The existence of pedophile rings operating in a number of country areas of NSW is a major concern. (One Aboriginal-family-violence worker interviewed, stated she knew of children who had 'disappeared' with men who had driven into towns and taken them away with them.) This problem of predatory behaviour is not just confined to rural NSW, but has been identified as being prevalent nationwide."
Does Ramsay give Brough any credit for bravely saying something that the (Labor) Northern Territory government denies vehemently? Not at all.
Why is he still employed? He has been Australia's most embarrassing "serious" political commentator for so long.
Richard Glover, the lefty but sometimes amusing columnist/broadcaster (I quite like his writings about his family), has a very worthwhile column in which he points out that the media (and politicians) love to let accidents become the story. For example, in relation to the Private Kovco lost CD incident:
The lost CD is not a story about corruption. Or laziness. Or self-interest. Or malevolence. It is the story of an accident. That simple.
By leaving a CD in a computer drive, did the officer indicate disrespect for Private Kovco, or a lack of attention to her work? If anything, the opposite. She grabbed a few minutes before a flight to go over her report...
In ethical terms, who has behaved badly here? The defence officer who fell foul of an accident or the two people who made conscious decisions to make sure that accident had maximum impact?
And in relation to the the aboriginal stories of this week:
On Tuesday night, Mal Brough, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, said he believed that pedophile rings were operating in some Aboriginal communities.
Everyone agrees there are pedophiles in these communities, and that they turn a blind eye to each other's crimes. Yet some believed Brough had used the wrong word in describing this as a "ring". And so we spent the rest of the week on the topic of whether Brough had accidentally used the wrong word.
Here's what was notable: officials in the Northern Territory seemed more passionate and angry about Brough's verbal accident - variously described as "ignorant", "offensive" and "a disgrace" - than they were about the hideous crimes themselves.
And so we prefer trivia to substance; an accident to a complex debate. Heads must roll. Brough must apologise.
I agree with Richard, but I can't see that he would display the same generosity of spirit towards any errors in intelligence leading to the Iraq War.
Mike Carleton for once says something that is worthwhile, and which seems not to have been said elsewhere (although I haven't paid very close attention to the story). This is about the claims of LTCDR Robyn Fahy that the Navy has treated her very badly (and had a Navy reserve doctor find her mentally ill, when others could not):
But Fahy also claimed she had been beaten up "on a daily basis" while a student at the defence force academy. "I can't remember a day where I wasn't punched, or hit, or slapped, or spat upon," she said.
To my mind and experience, this doesn't ring true. Bashed every day for three years? It stretches credibility, suggesting there are two sides to this story. Which I understand is indeed the case.
But here the Defence Force is in a bind. While Fahy is able to go public - and fair enough - the navy is gagged by the privacy laws, which prevent any detailed response to her.
From what I saw of it, the 7.30 Report story on her expressed no scepticism of this. I also heard Fahy's father, after Labor had called for a full judicial inquiry, say that the family did not want this, they just wanted the Navy to admit a mistake had been made and apologise. This suggested to me that the father thought her daughter's obsession with vindication had become unhealthy. What Carlton says is exactly right; the defence force is in a bind in PR terms in these type of cases, and media attention does nothing to really help the "victim".
Finally, Alan Ramsey continues to earn a pay cheque by writing an opinion piece comprised of enormous slabs of other people's words, and some really clever name calling of politicians (John Howards gets called "toad" today, in what is such a ridiculous introduction I can't be bothered re-printing it.)
Of more interest to me is Ramsey's take on the aboriginal issues. His political analysis is highly nuanced:
The multiplicity of official reports in the last 15 to 20 years dealing specifically or in part with the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children would make you weep. They are there, in government files and on the public record, by the number. What have the politicians done about them? Not a bloody thing, really.
This is "talkback radio" analysis. The point is not that nothing has been attempted in this area at all, just that what has been done has not been working, or (for any programs that have worked, such as the improvements in communities that have gone "dry") they have not been applied widely enough across all States and territories.
No, it's always much more gratifying for Alan to call a politician a name:
And all the ignorant chest-beating that went on this week from John Howard's young Brisbane cabinet minister, Malcolm Brough - who is known behind his back as "Mal-Bro", after the macho cigarette commercial of 25 years ago - disregards the mass of evidence available to government that institutionalised neglect is destroying Aboriginal families and reducing its people to exploited drunks, layabouts and sexual predators. It's not a failure of "law and order", always the easy fallback of lazy politicians with not a clue what else to do.
He's right to the extent that the problems are complex; but he's wrong to pander to lefty activists by suggesting it is all government's fault because not enough is spent on aborigines generally.
And despite this childish swipe a Brough, Ramsey goes on to quote (with approval) an old report that does claim there are pedophile rings in parts of aboriginal Australia:
"The existence of pedophile rings operating in a number of country areas of NSW is a major concern. (One Aboriginal-family-violence worker interviewed, stated she knew of children who had 'disappeared' with men who had driven into towns and taken them away with them.) This problem of predatory behaviour is not just confined to rural NSW, but has been identified as being prevalent nationwide."
Does Ramsay give Brough any credit for bravely saying something that the (Labor) Northern Territory government denies vehemently? Not at all.
Why is he still employed? He has been Australia's most embarrassing "serious" political commentator for so long.
Humour
Canadian culture in heavyweight division | Matt Price | The Australian
Matt Price makes me laugh. From this morning's column:
Absurd talk about Bill Shorten being parachuted in to replace Kim Beazley. Why can't people believe the union leader's earnest denials as revealed in interviews with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS, the ABC, community television, Southern Cross radio, Hello, GQ, Better Homes and Gardens, Vanity Fair, Tattoo Monthly, the Beaconsfield Bugle, CNN and anybody else who bothers to ask.
Matt Price makes me laugh. From this morning's column:
Absurd talk about Bill Shorten being parachuted in to replace Kim Beazley. Why can't people believe the union leader's earnest denials as revealed in interviews with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, SBS, the ABC, community television, Southern Cross radio, Hello, GQ, Better Homes and Gardens, Vanity Fair, Tattoo Monthly, the Beaconsfield Bugle, CNN and anybody else who bothers to ask.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Reading the noosphere
RedOrbit - Science - Can This Black Box See Into the Future?
The Global Consciousness Project does not seem to have attracted much publicity. However, it is the sort of highly speculative science project that appeals to me.
Above is a very non-critical article about it, which quotes quite a few scientist sounding types who are (apparently) believers.
I would not take the article on face value at all, but have a look at the site for the project itself, which is more cautious in its claims.
(The term "noosphere" is explained here.)
The Global Consciousness Project does not seem to have attracted much publicity. However, it is the sort of highly speculative science project that appeals to me.
Above is a very non-critical article about it, which quotes quite a few scientist sounding types who are (apparently) believers.
I would not take the article on face value at all, but have a look at the site for the project itself, which is more cautious in its claims.
(The term "noosphere" is explained here.)
A strange one
Turkey is as good a place as any to die: solicitor's journey ends abroad
Controversial gay and drug taking Sydney lawyer John Marsden has died.
I have only ever seen media stories about him, which included some interviews. To me, his character seemed grating in the extreme, yet he had a significant circle of supporters in high places.
I see that High Court judge Michael Kirby will speak at his funeral. Of course, the matter of their sexuality will feature highly.
Now that he is gone, I half expect that with a personal life as hedonistic as Marsden's, there will be some further revelations about his personal affairs.
Controversial gay and drug taking Sydney lawyer John Marsden has died.
I have only ever seen media stories about him, which included some interviews. To me, his character seemed grating in the extreme, yet he had a significant circle of supporters in high places.
I see that High Court judge Michael Kirby will speak at his funeral. Of course, the matter of their sexuality will feature highly.
Now that he is gone, I half expect that with a personal life as hedonistic as Marsden's, there will be some further revelations about his personal affairs.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Get on with it!
Iraq: Dijail Attacks Linked to Saddam Trial
It would appear from the above article that the residents of Dijail are now being terrorised by Saddam loyalists because they are potential witnesses against him:
Dozens of residents of Dijail, about 65 kilometres north of Baghdad in the Salaheddin province, have been abducted or killed in the last two months while travelling along the road to the capital.
The attacks are widely believed to be connected to the case against Saddam and seven of his associates, who are charged with killing 148 people in the town in 1982 following a failed assassination attempt against the former dictator.
The kidnappings and murders began in late March at makeshift roadblocks set up by insurgents near al-Mishahida, a village about 45 kilometres away which is a known centre of the Sunni Arab insurgency....
Some in the town are now regretting their insistence that Saddam stand trial for the 1982 killings.
"If we would have known that this would have happened to us, we would never filed a complaint against Saddam and his deputies," said one man, Ali Essa.
"We've paid the price twice - first in the Eighties and again today."
Read the article for more detail.
This is terrible. I have said before that the longer his trial and execution take (is there anyone who thinks the trial process won't end in that?) the more mayhem there will be from mad loyalists who think there is some hope while ever their leader is alive.
It never seems to be suggested that there is anyone else to fill the vacuum that Saddam's death will create for his followers, so hopefully their motivation for taking revenge attacks will fade quickly.
So - they just have to get with the trial with greater haste than that displayed so far.
It would appear from the above article that the residents of Dijail are now being terrorised by Saddam loyalists because they are potential witnesses against him:
Dozens of residents of Dijail, about 65 kilometres north of Baghdad in the Salaheddin province, have been abducted or killed in the last two months while travelling along the road to the capital.
The attacks are widely believed to be connected to the case against Saddam and seven of his associates, who are charged with killing 148 people in the town in 1982 following a failed assassination attempt against the former dictator.
The kidnappings and murders began in late March at makeshift roadblocks set up by insurgents near al-Mishahida, a village about 45 kilometres away which is a known centre of the Sunni Arab insurgency....
Some in the town are now regretting their insistence that Saddam stand trial for the 1982 killings.
"If we would have known that this would have happened to us, we would never filed a complaint against Saddam and his deputies," said one man, Ali Essa.
"We've paid the price twice - first in the Eighties and again today."
Read the article for more detail.
This is terrible. I have said before that the longer his trial and execution take (is there anyone who thinks the trial process won't end in that?) the more mayhem there will be from mad loyalists who think there is some hope while ever their leader is alive.
It never seems to be suggested that there is anyone else to fill the vacuum that Saddam's death will create for his followers, so hopefully their motivation for taking revenge attacks will fade quickly.
So - they just have to get with the trial with greater haste than that displayed so far.
Surprising fertility finding
ScienceDaily: Unexpected Results Of Biopsies Performed On Women With Fertility Problems May Hold Hope For Those Trying To Conceive
A very odd unintended result from a medical study:
The team took biopsies at several stages in the menstrual cycles of 12 women with long histories of fertility problems and unsuccessful IVF treatments to see if levels of this protein changed over the course of the cycle.
Indeed, the team's research went according to plan and they found evidence pointing to the protein's role. The surprise came soon after: Of the 12 women participating in the study, 11 became pregnant during the next round of IVF. The idea of biopsy incisions, basically small wounds, leading to such a positive outcome was counterintuitive, and Dekel realized something interesting was happening. She and her team repeated the biopsies, this time on a group of 45 volunteers, and compared the results to a control group of 89 women who did not undergo biopsy. The results were clear: The procedure doubled a woman's chances of becoming pregnant.
A very odd unintended result from a medical study:
The team took biopsies at several stages in the menstrual cycles of 12 women with long histories of fertility problems and unsuccessful IVF treatments to see if levels of this protein changed over the course of the cycle.
Indeed, the team's research went according to plan and they found evidence pointing to the protein's role. The surprise came soon after: Of the 12 women participating in the study, 11 became pregnant during the next round of IVF. The idea of biopsy incisions, basically small wounds, leading to such a positive outcome was counterintuitive, and Dekel realized something interesting was happening. She and her team repeated the biopsies, this time on a group of 45 volunteers, and compared the results to a control group of 89 women who did not undergo biopsy. The results were clear: The procedure doubled a woman's chances of becoming pregnant.
Headscarf causes death
CNN.com - Judge shot dead in Turkish court - May 17, 2006
A gunman has killed a prominent judge and wounded four others in Turkey's highest administrative court in an attack he said was in retaliation for a recent ruling against a teacher who wore an Islamic-style headscarf, officials said.
...
According to witnesses, the lawyer shouted, "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest). His anger will be upon you!"
Tansel Colasan, deputy head of the administrative court, the Council of State, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying the attacker shouted, "I am the soldier of God," and said he was carrying out the attack to protest the court decision on headscarves.
A gunman has killed a prominent judge and wounded four others in Turkey's highest administrative court in an attack he said was in retaliation for a recent ruling against a teacher who wore an Islamic-style headscarf, officials said.
...
According to witnesses, the lawyer shouted, "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest). His anger will be upon you!"
Tansel Colasan, deputy head of the administrative court, the Council of State, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying the attacker shouted, "I am the soldier of God," and said he was carrying out the attack to protest the court decision on headscarves.
Another lecture coming
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iran mocks EU nuclear offer
From the above report:
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has rejected European plans to build his country a nuclear reactor in return for it giving up its uranium enrichment programme.
In a hardline speech in the city of Arak, where Iran's only existing nuclear reactor is being constructed, he mocked the plans being developed by the UK, France and Germany...
"Do you think you are dealing with a four-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?"
And this:
Iranian media reported yesterday that Mr Ahmadinejad was drafting a second letter to Mr Bush.
He seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands for letter writing.
Update: Slate's article about the sort of deals that are apparently being rejected before they are even made is very good.
From the above report:
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has rejected European plans to build his country a nuclear reactor in return for it giving up its uranium enrichment programme.
In a hardline speech in the city of Arak, where Iran's only existing nuclear reactor is being constructed, he mocked the plans being developed by the UK, France and Germany...
"Do you think you are dealing with a four-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?"
And this:
Iranian media reported yesterday that Mr Ahmadinejad was drafting a second letter to Mr Bush.
He seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands for letter writing.
Update: Slate's article about the sort of deals that are apparently being rejected before they are even made is very good.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Gone to the great tea party in the sky
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia
The article above is about concerns of non-Muslims in Malaysia that they are "feeling increasingly beleaguered". It's an interesting read on a serious topic.
However, there is an odd bit of information in the article:
Last year the compound of a cult known as the Sky Kingdom was levelled by the authorities, weeks after an attack by a Muslim mob. Many of the cultists are now on trial.
A photo caption refers to this as "the teapot cult". Which, of course, cries out for further investigation.
As usual, Wikipedia covers it. From its article:
Sky Kingdom attracted worldwide mass media attention in mid 2005, over concerns about efforts by the Malaysian government to suppress its followers as apostates from Islam. The controversy brought to light the issue of whether sharia superseded the right to religious freedom under the Malaysian constitution. This attention was coupled with considerable bemusement over followers’ central objects of veneration, which include a large cream-coloured teapot. The teapot is said to symbolise the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven." It is the earthly model of a celestial prototype.
From a different site, here's a photo of the (now demolished) holy teapot:
If this can make it as an object of veneration, why can't the Big Pineapple at Nambour?
Maybe the destruction of the teapot commune got some coverage here at the time it happened, but if so I missed it.
The article above is about concerns of non-Muslims in Malaysia that they are "feeling increasingly beleaguered". It's an interesting read on a serious topic.
However, there is an odd bit of information in the article:
Last year the compound of a cult known as the Sky Kingdom was levelled by the authorities, weeks after an attack by a Muslim mob. Many of the cultists are now on trial.
A photo caption refers to this as "the teapot cult". Which, of course, cries out for further investigation.
As usual, Wikipedia covers it. From its article:
Sky Kingdom attracted worldwide mass media attention in mid 2005, over concerns about efforts by the Malaysian government to suppress its followers as apostates from Islam. The controversy brought to light the issue of whether sharia superseded the right to religious freedom under the Malaysian constitution. This attention was coupled with considerable bemusement over followers’ central objects of veneration, which include a large cream-coloured teapot. The teapot is said to symbolise the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven." It is the earthly model of a celestial prototype.
From a different site, here's a photo of the (now demolished) holy teapot:
If this can make it as an object of veneration, why can't the Big Pineapple at Nambour?
Maybe the destruction of the teapot commune got some coverage here at the time it happened, but if so I missed it.
Some ideas on how to deal with Iran
OpinionJournal - From WSJ.com
The above article has some ideas, but they sound far from being assured of success.
Hitchen's most recent article on Iran (and that letter) is well worth reading too.
UPDATE: another very good article on the problem is at Tech Central Station. (No real solution offered, but it points out how, if Bin Laden is anything to go by, Iran will be emboldened and become more of a trouble maker if the US eventually gives up on this issue.)
The above article has some ideas, but they sound far from being assured of success.
Hitchen's most recent article on Iran (and that letter) is well worth reading too.
UPDATE: another very good article on the problem is at Tech Central Station. (No real solution offered, but it points out how, if Bin Laden is anything to go by, Iran will be emboldened and become more of a trouble maker if the US eventually gives up on this issue.)
Something on Huffington worth reading
The Blog | Eugene Volokh: Ward Churchill | The Huffington Post
Not often that I suggest that readers look at Huffington for purposes other than ridicule, but this post on an investigation into nutty professor Ward Churchill is worth reading. (Turns out he took sock puppetry to new heights.)
Not often that I suggest that readers look at Huffington for purposes other than ridicule, but this post on an investigation into nutty professor Ward Churchill is worth reading. (Turns out he took sock puppetry to new heights.)
What does the public think
USA Today Poll Omits Major Point: NSA Didn’t Listen to Calls | NewsBusters.org
An interesting post (and comments) at Newsbusters on how the NSA getting its hand on phone records is going over with the American public.
An interesting post (and comments) at Newsbusters on how the NSA getting its hand on phone records is going over with the American public.
Can't wait...
Robbie Williams' alien cult plans - Showbiz News - Life Style Extra
Robbie Williams wants to start his own mystical religion... dedicated to extra-terrestrials.
...
"I'm not going to start it right now because I'm too busy. But I want to do it. I think the cult will have to wait until next year. But it will be free and universal."
The religion would reportedly be aimed at people who share Robbie's long-running fixation with aliens.
Last year the singer claimed the world would soon be invaded by little green men.
He said: "I've been dreaming every night about UFO's. I can't wait to go to sleep at night because those dreams have been so brilliant.
"I think they are definitely on their way, seriously. Mark my words. From now until 2012 - watch out kids."
Robbie Williams wants to start his own mystical religion... dedicated to extra-terrestrials.
...
"I'm not going to start it right now because I'm too busy. But I want to do it. I think the cult will have to wait until next year. But it will be free and universal."
The religion would reportedly be aimed at people who share Robbie's long-running fixation with aliens.
Last year the singer claimed the world would soon be invaded by little green men.
He said: "I've been dreaming every night about UFO's. I can't wait to go to sleep at night because those dreams have been so brilliant.
"I think they are definitely on their way, seriously. Mark my words. From now until 2012 - watch out kids."
Aboriginal problems
Dirty big secret | Features | The Australian
Of course the newly publicised stories of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities are appalling.
The article above has lots of complaining that this has been known for a long time, but not much is done. Or if something is done, it is not done well enough. Noel Pearson, for example, says:
...physical or sexual abuse of children is "totally reprehensible and not acceptable in any community". Parents who neglect their children and allow them to become targets of sexual predators are also culpable.
"We proposed this to government and got no response," Pearson says. "It transpired that police stop investigations into abuse when they talk to the families and are told they do not know anything about the incident. They are not persisted with. The police basically stop the investigation. Anybody who possesses information of an assault on a child should have to give that information."
Pearson says the Queensland Government had not assisted by appointing community justice groups comprising local elders but giving them no support. "We asked for laws to be changed so that members of the justice groups could not be abused or sworn at, but that never happened. Why should an old woman be sworn at when she is walking down the street, just because she is trying to do something for her community by being on the justice group? We sought to have them protected, but that just never happened."
But Noel, how do the police force a family to co-operate in interviews over how their kiddie got an STD? And how do you protect a local elder in such small communities from verbal abuse? A continous police escort?
I feel so sorry for the police who have to deal with these communities.
It certainly does seem that there is a reluctance to remove children from aboriginal parents in situations where there would be no hesitation at all if it was a white family.
The whole basic problem comes down to communities rendered dysfunctional by a combination of having no participation in an economy, rampant drug abuse, and unresolved cutural issues that are not helped by trying to keep one foot in the past and one in the present.
While there are no easy answers, surely it would help if there was renewed effort to make more communities alcohol free, free from petrol sniffing (with that petrol you can't sniff), no hesitation to removing children who are obviously being sexually abused (eg those who have an STD) into care (even if they have to be sent a great distance away,) and large incentive for all children to be educated away from these communities. The benefit of educating them away from home is that it might encourage the communities that can't be so easily just "shut down" might fade away gradually due to the kids realising there is a better world out there.
Even though I have no knowledge of aboriginal communities other than through the media, surely these ideas are just common sense?
Of course the newly publicised stories of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities are appalling.
The article above has lots of complaining that this has been known for a long time, but not much is done. Or if something is done, it is not done well enough. Noel Pearson, for example, says:
...physical or sexual abuse of children is "totally reprehensible and not acceptable in any community". Parents who neglect their children and allow them to become targets of sexual predators are also culpable.
"We proposed this to government and got no response," Pearson says. "It transpired that police stop investigations into abuse when they talk to the families and are told they do not know anything about the incident. They are not persisted with. The police basically stop the investigation. Anybody who possesses information of an assault on a child should have to give that information."
Pearson says the Queensland Government had not assisted by appointing community justice groups comprising local elders but giving them no support. "We asked for laws to be changed so that members of the justice groups could not be abused or sworn at, but that never happened. Why should an old woman be sworn at when she is walking down the street, just because she is trying to do something for her community by being on the justice group? We sought to have them protected, but that just never happened."
But Noel, how do the police force a family to co-operate in interviews over how their kiddie got an STD? And how do you protect a local elder in such small communities from verbal abuse? A continous police escort?
I feel so sorry for the police who have to deal with these communities.
It certainly does seem that there is a reluctance to remove children from aboriginal parents in situations where there would be no hesitation at all if it was a white family.
The whole basic problem comes down to communities rendered dysfunctional by a combination of having no participation in an economy, rampant drug abuse, and unresolved cutural issues that are not helped by trying to keep one foot in the past and one in the present.
While there are no easy answers, surely it would help if there was renewed effort to make more communities alcohol free, free from petrol sniffing (with that petrol you can't sniff), no hesitation to removing children who are obviously being sexually abused (eg those who have an STD) into care (even if they have to be sent a great distance away,) and large incentive for all children to be educated away from these communities. The benefit of educating them away from home is that it might encourage the communities that can't be so easily just "shut down" might fade away gradually due to the kids realising there is a better world out there.
Even though I have no knowledge of aboriginal communities other than through the media, surely these ideas are just common sense?
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