Best elements of left and right make Danes great | theage.com.au
Looks like the European Union hosted Tim Colebatch in Denmark, and he came back swooning over how well it's odd combination of right-ish and left-ish (but mainly left-ish) policies work.
I see the population of that country is 5.5 million, it has an area about 2/3 the size of Tasmania, and is within spitting distance of most its major trading partners.
Governing that country is perhaps just a little different from managing Australia. More like running Sydney as a country.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Weird economics
Step right up for the $20b red-spot special - Annabel Crabb - Opinion
Annabel Crabb sums up my feelings about the current economic circumstances pretty well:
UPDATE: a Salon writer suggests caution on yesterday's surge:
Annabel Crabb sums up my feelings about the current economic circumstances pretty well:
COULD this crisis get any stranger? We're now in a state of confirmed international fiscal panic, but there's money everywhere.And so much for my suggestion that every government guaranteeing their banks is not really a guarantee at all. Couldn't they have held off the rally for just one more day of losses so that I could feel clever?
UPDATE: a Salon writer suggests caution on yesterday's surge:
Monday’s irrational exuberance does not mean that the underlying problems are anywhere near fixed, however. Far from it — all that can be said for sure is that for a few hours today market participants believed that a truly serious effort to grapple with the financial crisis was underway — a promise by world leaders to engage in the largest globally coordinated government intervention in the economy in human history....
It’s quite possible that a worldwide bank rescue could succeed, and we’d still be facing a serious recession.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Oregon Way
Katharine Whitehorn on assisted suicides in Oregon | World news | The Guardian
See above for an interesting report on how Oregon's assisted suicide laws have panned out.
Basically, the laws there seem to be much more tightly written than in some other places, and they presumably would not go far enough for many people. Although the doctor has to say that the patient has limited time left to live (not even necessary in Holland), in Oregon it need only be 6 months. Surely there would be a lot of rubbery estimates being made for those who are not clearly going to go within a week or two.
Even though it does not change my mind about euthanasia, it at least sounds to be a system which has worked in a less objectionable way than in other jurisdictions.
Interestingly, it is claimed that there is one unforeseen consequence:
See above for an interesting report on how Oregon's assisted suicide laws have panned out.
Basically, the laws there seem to be much more tightly written than in some other places, and they presumably would not go far enough for many people. Although the doctor has to say that the patient has limited time left to live (not even necessary in Holland), in Oregon it need only be 6 months. Surely there would be a lot of rubbery estimates being made for those who are not clearly going to go within a week or two.
Even though it does not change my mind about euthanasia, it at least sounds to be a system which has worked in a less objectionable way than in other jurisdictions.
Interestingly, it is claimed that there is one unforeseen consequence:
A survey of Oregon doctors also showed that, since PAS, they have actually taken more care with areas such as pain relief - presumably in the hope of making their patients content to stay alive.UPDATE: Our very own unhealthily-obsessed-with-suicide Dr Nitschke meanwhile evidently believes that information on easy suicide should be available over the internet to any person, whether terminally ill, neurotic, or just a teenager fed up with not being able to get a date on Saturday nights. He continues to be a disgrace to his profession and his cause's own worst advocate.
On guaranteeing banks
I heard Lindsay Tanner on Radio National this morning talking about the government's sudden decision to guarantee all bank deposits, as well as the banks' borrowings from overseas.
If I am not mistaken, he indicated the bank's borrowings side of it adds another potential $700 billion or so to the $700 billion the deposits guarantee could incur, in theory.
That "in theory" part was, of course, continually stressed by Tanner. But surely the danger of making it clear that "we are only saying this because other governments have done it, not because we will ever have to pay out on it" is that it makes it pretty clear that it's not a real guarantee in the sense that the government could not actually live up to its promise anyway, if the worldwide financial system does collapse. (Well, maybe they could if they simply legislate to nationalise all banks?)
Maybe someone in the media or on a blog has already made the observation, but it seems to me that if too many governments make the same guarantee, it in fact makes the exercise pretty worthless in terms of restoring confidence.
If I am not mistaken, he indicated the bank's borrowings side of it adds another potential $700 billion or so to the $700 billion the deposits guarantee could incur, in theory.
That "in theory" part was, of course, continually stressed by Tanner. But surely the danger of making it clear that "we are only saying this because other governments have done it, not because we will ever have to pay out on it" is that it makes it pretty clear that it's not a real guarantee in the sense that the government could not actually live up to its promise anyway, if the worldwide financial system does collapse. (Well, maybe they could if they simply legislate to nationalise all banks?)
Maybe someone in the media or on a blog has already made the observation, but it seems to me that if too many governments make the same guarantee, it in fact makes the exercise pretty worthless in terms of restoring confidence.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Am back...am tired
I'm back in the land of wide open spaces, big houses, and annoyingly long drives to get takeaway.
It's not just Japan; I guess any couple of weeks in an Asian city full of apartment dwellers and high population densities lead to a bit of culture shock on return. Things seem to be spaced so far apart here.
Anyway, more on my ever-so-slightly interesting personal experiences in Japan in some future posts.
Meanwhile, this article in the Japan Times gives some good background (in a short space) on the very peculiar role of the Yakuza in Japanese society:
1,500 fed-up Kyushu citizens sue to evict yakuza HQ
This section in particular is of surprise:
It's also funny to think that when organised crime is in a society which just generally doesn't "do" illegal drugs, they will nonetheless get into business, just the more legitimate ones. In fact, according to the Japan Times feature:
There was a somewhat interesting documentary on SBS earlier this year called "Young Yakuza". It was actually a bit slow moving, and I left it half way through, but from what I saw I agree with this blog's comments about it. One of the most notable things was how vain the local Yakuza boss appeared to be. You certainly would not want to be sitting anywhere near him at a dinner party.
It's not just Japan; I guess any couple of weeks in an Asian city full of apartment dwellers and high population densities lead to a bit of culture shock on return. Things seem to be spaced so far apart here.
Anyway, more on my ever-so-slightly interesting personal experiences in Japan in some future posts.
Meanwhile, this article in the Japan Times gives some good background (in a short space) on the very peculiar role of the Yakuza in Japanese society:
1,500 fed-up Kyushu citizens sue to evict yakuza HQ
This section in particular is of surprise:
And you thought New South Wales property development was corrupt!In March, Suruga Corp., a once listed company, was revealed to have paid over ¥15 billion to Koyo Jitsugyo, an Osaka firm linked to a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate. In return, from 2003 to 2007, Koyo gangsters removed tenants from five properties Suruga wished to acquire, taking on average 12 to 18 months to empty a building.
"We cannot make profits unless we sell land quickly," Takeo Okawa, director of Suruga's general affairs department, told the Asahi newspaper. "Speed is our lifeline. Koyo proved that it had the speed." Suruga reportedly made ¥27 billion in profit by selling the property.
It's also funny to think that when organised crime is in a society which just generally doesn't "do" illegal drugs, they will nonetheless get into business, just the more legitimate ones. In fact, according to the Japan Times feature:
A new police white paper warns that the yakuza have moved into securities trading and infected hundreds of Japan's listed companies, a "disease that will shake the foundations of the economy." Experts say Yamaguchi-gumi in particular has become a behemoth with resources to rival Japan's larger corporations.Maybe it's a coin toss as to what's worse for a society.
There was a somewhat interesting documentary on SBS earlier this year called "Young Yakuza". It was actually a bit slow moving, and I left it half way through, but from what I saw I agree with this blog's comments about it. One of the most notable things was how vain the local Yakuza boss appeared to be. You certainly would not want to be sitting anywhere near him at a dinner party.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Pearlstein`s comments
This column by Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post is a useful commentary on the various arguments surrounding the financial rescue package.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Misc advise for travel to Japan
I don`t think these have been mentioned here before:
# If you are prone to get indigestion, even only occasionally, make sure you bring your own antacid tablets. Although the Japanese are prone to worry about their digestive tract (with Yakult and other gut friendly products very common,) when it comes to simple antacids as found in every corner store in Australia, the Japanese just don`t seem to carry them. What products they do have seem to be heavily influenced still be Chinese herbal medicine. They do not provide immediate relief.
# If you are prone to getting the occasional cold sore, take your own tube of Zovirax, the only medicine which actually works against them. Trying to explain cold sores to a chemist, even when there is an obvious one sitting on your lip, will probably involve use of the term `herpes virus` and likely have the staff just thinking about genital herpes and how you are another foreigner bringing filthy disease into Japan. As far as I can tell, Zovirax is not available here (maybe it is by doctor`s prescription?) and the very concept of facial cold sores seems pretty unknown to them. I suspect few people get them here because parents don`t kiss children or babies, which is almost certainly how I got my lifetime infection.
# Never try shaving with a hotel razor. They seem particularly poor quality in this country.
# If you are prone to get indigestion, even only occasionally, make sure you bring your own antacid tablets. Although the Japanese are prone to worry about their digestive tract (with Yakult and other gut friendly products very common,) when it comes to simple antacids as found in every corner store in Australia, the Japanese just don`t seem to carry them. What products they do have seem to be heavily influenced still be Chinese herbal medicine. They do not provide immediate relief.
# If you are prone to getting the occasional cold sore, take your own tube of Zovirax, the only medicine which actually works against them. Trying to explain cold sores to a chemist, even when there is an obvious one sitting on your lip, will probably involve use of the term `herpes virus` and likely have the staff just thinking about genital herpes and how you are another foreigner bringing filthy disease into Japan. As far as I can tell, Zovirax is not available here (maybe it is by doctor`s prescription?) and the very concept of facial cold sores seems pretty unknown to them. I suspect few people get them here because parents don`t kiss children or babies, which is almost certainly how I got my lifetime infection.
# Never try shaving with a hotel razor. They seem particularly poor quality in this country.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Naked Japan
If you didn`t already guess from my reference to eating unusual seafood, I`m posting from Japan.
I continue to be working on an old laptop and an old version of Internet Explorer, so posting with links is still too much trouble at the moment.
I see that in April 2006 I had a travelogue post up about my last trip to Japan. (It`s a nice little post with decent photos, if I do say so myself. Now that I think about it, I get so little postive feedback to this blog I should take to making comments on my old posts praising how good they still are in retrospect.) Anyhow, if you want to see that old post yourself, just use the blog search above for `ryokan`.
I just spent a couple of nights at another onsen hotel, which Japanese people do to enjoy the hot baths and food. I have been to Japan often enough now that the nudity aspect of it (they are sex segregated anyway) is very passe, but it is hard to lose the capacity for surprise when a middle aged staff woman turns up while I am standing nude beside the bath, as happened last night. It was quiet, and me and my son were the only ones at this particular pool, and she suddenly was there, checking the termperature or something. She said sorry while I discretely dangled the washclothe in front of my, well, dangly bits. It was the least I could do.
Part of the problem with this surprise visit was that I knew that this particular bath was, at a certain hour, going to change over and become a female bath for the rest of the night. I had to trust that I had been informed of the change over hour correctly, as I did not have the skill to double check by asking the unannounced staff women such a question. Being caught in the baths after the changeover would presumably be quite a faux pas. But then again, women walk behind men at the urinal in mixed sex toilets here all the time; I am sure Japanese women can take a nude, pink bodied, embarrassed Westerner in their stride.
Anyway, I soon found Japanese men in the other parts of the baths which I couldn`t see from where I was when the staff women turned up, so it was all OK.
One other feature of the Japanese attidude to nudity which Westerns may find surprising is that it is quite OK for girls up to the age of 8 or so to go into the men`s baths with their father. Also, on TV you will see much more young child nudity than you would in Australia. (A general interest show about a family will show the kids all having a bath together, with nothing hidden, for example.) By Hetty Johnson`s standards, Japan would count as a pedophile`s paradise, yet (as far as I can tell) there is little of that problem here at all, at least until the kids have reached puberty. When they do, then yes, I suppose Japan is a pedophiles gift, as young teenage girls are definitely the open target of lurid interest. It`s very easy to stumble across DVDs and magazines in Akihabara shops showing very young girls in provocactive poses, and these are not sleazy X rated porno shops of the Australian variety. It`s been a while since I have read about it, but every now and then the media will run stories about the problem of teenage school girls who make pocket money by having sex with mature age men. The market for such services is much stronger than in the West, it would seem.
I am told that there was some move to legislate about the exploitation of such youth、but it hasn`t happened yet.
By the way, I wonder if it is possible for the financial system of the West to collapse enough that I am stuck here forever?
UPDATE: just today, I read in the Japan Times about a man prosecuted for posting naked kid photos on a paedophile network. So the problem is clearly here, but still it seems that generally there is no sense of panic about it when most people think of child nudity as unremarkable and innocent.
UPDATE 2: it appears that this was reported at Boing Boing before, but I had missed it til now. Since I was last here a couple of years ago, men in Tokyo's famous Akihabara district can also get an ear picking service (done by young women dressed in yukarta while the men lay their heads on their lap.) The general idea is shown in the photo in this article here. I am told by a man who has actually done this that it is on a strictly "no touch" basis, and can also include shoulder massage and a cup of tea. As well as conversation. At 2000 or so Yen an hour (about $20), it's pretty cheap.
It is, I suppose, a not unreasonable thing for a lonely man to pay for conversation with an attractive and relatively intelligent young woman (they are often university students, apparently.) The thing that just makes it weird to a Western mind is the ear cleaning. I am told that there is a maternal love aspect to this, as it is the way mothers may clean their kid's ears. But that just adds another layer of Freudian ickiness to the whole thing, doesn't it?
I continue to be working on an old laptop and an old version of Internet Explorer, so posting with links is still too much trouble at the moment.
I see that in April 2006 I had a travelogue post up about my last trip to Japan. (It`s a nice little post with decent photos, if I do say so myself. Now that I think about it, I get so little postive feedback to this blog I should take to making comments on my old posts praising how good they still are in retrospect.) Anyhow, if you want to see that old post yourself, just use the blog search above for `ryokan`.
I just spent a couple of nights at another onsen hotel, which Japanese people do to enjoy the hot baths and food. I have been to Japan often enough now that the nudity aspect of it (they are sex segregated anyway) is very passe, but it is hard to lose the capacity for surprise when a middle aged staff woman turns up while I am standing nude beside the bath, as happened last night. It was quiet, and me and my son were the only ones at this particular pool, and she suddenly was there, checking the termperature or something. She said sorry while I discretely dangled the washclothe in front of my, well, dangly bits. It was the least I could do.
Part of the problem with this surprise visit was that I knew that this particular bath was, at a certain hour, going to change over and become a female bath for the rest of the night. I had to trust that I had been informed of the change over hour correctly, as I did not have the skill to double check by asking the unannounced staff women such a question. Being caught in the baths after the changeover would presumably be quite a faux pas. But then again, women walk behind men at the urinal in mixed sex toilets here all the time; I am sure Japanese women can take a nude, pink bodied, embarrassed Westerner in their stride.
Anyway, I soon found Japanese men in the other parts of the baths which I couldn`t see from where I was when the staff women turned up, so it was all OK.
One other feature of the Japanese attidude to nudity which Westerns may find surprising is that it is quite OK for girls up to the age of 8 or so to go into the men`s baths with their father. Also, on TV you will see much more young child nudity than you would in Australia. (A general interest show about a family will show the kids all having a bath together, with nothing hidden, for example.) By Hetty Johnson`s standards, Japan would count as a pedophile`s paradise, yet (as far as I can tell) there is little of that problem here at all, at least until the kids have reached puberty. When they do, then yes, I suppose Japan is a pedophiles gift, as young teenage girls are definitely the open target of lurid interest. It`s very easy to stumble across DVDs and magazines in Akihabara shops showing very young girls in provocactive poses, and these are not sleazy X rated porno shops of the Australian variety. It`s been a while since I have read about it, but every now and then the media will run stories about the problem of teenage school girls who make pocket money by having sex with mature age men. The market for such services is much stronger than in the West, it would seem.
I am told that there was some move to legislate about the exploitation of such youth、but it hasn`t happened yet.
By the way, I wonder if it is possible for the financial system of the West to collapse enough that I am stuck here forever?
UPDATE: just today, I read in the Japan Times about a man prosecuted for posting naked kid photos on a paedophile network. So the problem is clearly here, but still it seems that generally there is no sense of panic about it when most people think of child nudity as unremarkable and innocent.
UPDATE 2: it appears that this was reported at Boing Boing before, but I had missed it til now. Since I was last here a couple of years ago, men in Tokyo's famous Akihabara district can also get an ear picking service (done by young women dressed in yukarta while the men lay their heads on their lap.) The general idea is shown in the photo in this article here. I am told by a man who has actually done this that it is on a strictly "no touch" basis, and can also include shoulder massage and a cup of tea. As well as conversation. At 2000 or so Yen an hour (about $20), it's pretty cheap.
It is, I suppose, a not unreasonable thing for a lonely man to pay for conversation with an attractive and relatively intelligent young woman (they are often university students, apparently.) The thing that just makes it weird to a Western mind is the ear cleaning. I am told that there is a maternal love aspect to this, as it is the way mothers may clean their kid's ears. But that just adds another layer of Freudian ickiness to the whole thing, doesn't it?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Absence explained
This post is being made from a Windows 98 computer which rarely is used for English, so the formatting might be out.
I'm off drinking new and interesting forms of alcohol, munching on some pretty strange seafood, taking photos of curious signs, and occasionally talking to the children more often than I do at home. Yes, it's a holiday, and that awful Madonna song just came into my mind. (Gaa. Is there some sort of award for being an embarrassment in every decade of your life?)
One curious thing I have learnt so far is that not having deep REM sleep for 40 hours does not send me insane. I was expecting at least an hallucination, but nothing. Just bleary eyes. Then again, I did have a dream last night about Kevin Rudd having a scandalous affair with a prostitute. That is so unreal I don't expect that even the shamanic loco juice drinkers of the Amazon go that far.
Posting will be irregular for quite a while yet.
I'm off drinking new and interesting forms of alcohol, munching on some pretty strange seafood, taking photos of curious signs, and occasionally talking to the children more often than I do at home. Yes, it's a holiday, and that awful Madonna song just came into my mind. (Gaa. Is there some sort of award for being an embarrassment in every decade of your life?)
One curious thing I have learnt so far is that not having deep REM sleep for 40 hours does not send me insane. I was expecting at least an hallucination, but nothing. Just bleary eyes. Then again, I did have a dream last night about Kevin Rudd having a scandalous affair with a prostitute. That is so unreal I don't expect that even the shamanic loco juice drinkers of the Amazon go that far.
Posting will be irregular for quite a while yet.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Asparagus report 2008
Almost exactly a year ago, I commented on the tasteless quality of imported asparagus. Just buy Australian asparagus in season, I suggested.
Well, I don't know what's going on, but I just ate some (apparently) Queensland grown spring asparagus, and what a disappointment. Very tasteless (although the famous toilet after effects still comes through.)
What have they done? Developed a particularly fast growing but tasteless variety for farmers? I'm going to have to look at growing my own soon.
Well, I don't know what's going on, but I just ate some (apparently) Queensland grown spring asparagus, and what a disappointment. Very tasteless (although the famous toilet after effects still comes through.)
What have they done? Developed a particularly fast growing but tasteless variety for farmers? I'm going to have to look at growing my own soon.
Teh complaint
Over at teh blog with the teh crook name, teh use of teh "teh", formerly teh speciality of teh blogger Kim, has now become increasingly popular with teh academic. Teh repetition is so annoying that teh magistrate would acquit anyone who slapped teh culprits in teh street and told them "for God's sake, give up teh wankily lefty pretentious habit. It makes teh writing look as sophisticated as that in a high school newspaper."
Monday, September 22, 2008
To keep you going
Readers are free to chose one of the following explanations for a lack of posts here for a few days:
a. my secret mission involving leading a crack team of French commando rabbits was a success;
b. Friday night's proof of toilet-cubicle-sex-and-"no that wasn't me, er, yes it was"-karma meant I became a Buddhist for a weekend;
c. have been at the beach trying to convince Andrew Bolt of the error of his global warming ways.
d. just been busy with, well, stuff.
Busyness is likely to continue, perhaps for this week.
In the meantime, here's some worthwhile reading:
* a Guardian opinion piece (surprise) reminds us in an amusing fashion just how often communists have been predicting the end of capitalism. This naturally upsets a lot of Guardian readers in the comments that follow.
* someone at The Times gives a list of 10 books just not worth reading. As it includes Lord of the Rings, I think he's onto something. (The reasons given for each book are pretty funny.)
* Bill Shorten evidently thinks that the fastest way to depose Kevin Rudd is to marry into the monarchy.
a. my secret mission involving leading a crack team of French commando rabbits was a success;
b. Friday night's proof of toilet-cubicle-sex-and-"no that wasn't me, er, yes it was"-karma meant I became a Buddhist for a weekend;
c. have been at the beach trying to convince Andrew Bolt of the error of his global warming ways.
d. just been busy with, well, stuff.
Busyness is likely to continue, perhaps for this week.
In the meantime, here's some worthwhile reading:
* a Guardian opinion piece (surprise) reminds us in an amusing fashion just how often communists have been predicting the end of capitalism. This naturally upsets a lot of Guardian readers in the comments that follow.
* someone at The Times gives a list of 10 books just not worth reading. As it includes Lord of the Rings, I think he's onto something. (The reasons given for each book are pretty funny.)
* Bill Shorten evidently thinks that the fastest way to depose Kevin Rudd is to marry into the monarchy.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The double edged sword of the internet
Obama mobilizes rapid response on Web -- chicagotribune.com
Found via Instapundit, this is just a little bit creepy:
Found via Instapundit, this is just a little bit creepy:
Much of Barack Obama's political success can be traced to a database listing contact information for millions of people, a tool that has proved invaluable in raising record sums of money and organizing a national volunteer network.
Now Obama's presidential campaign is increasingly using the list to beat back media messages it does not like, calling on supporters to flood radio and television stations when those opposed to him run anti-Obama ads or appear on talk shows.
It did so as recently as Monday night, when it orchestrated a massive stream of complaints on the phone lines of Tribune Co.-owned WGN-AM in Chicago when the radio station hosted author David Freddoso, who has written a controversial book about the Illinois Democrat.
Some posts about the Crash
Just for my benefit as well as yours, here are some useful pieces on the current financial crash:
Roger Altman in the Financial Times
John Gapper in the Financial Times (who believes AIG should not have been bailed out)
A New York Times column here.
What I want to know is this: if Australia's financial position is so much better, how come our dollar is dropping so much against the US dollar (and Japanese yen?)
Roger Altman in the Financial Times
John Gapper in the Financial Times (who believes AIG should not have been bailed out)
A New York Times column here.
What I want to know is this: if Australia's financial position is so much better, how come our dollar is dropping so much against the US dollar (and Japanese yen?)
Of interest
'Calm before storm' may foreshadow climatic tipping point
This study sounds very interesting, but it is still not at all clear what they think could constitute a sign of the climate "slowing down". (I would have thought that temperatures not rising as expected might have been an example, but that is not mentioned, so maybe it isn't?)
This study sounds very interesting, but it is still not at all clear what they think could constitute a sign of the climate "slowing down". (I would have thought that temperatures not rising as expected might have been an example, but that is not mentioned, so maybe it isn't?)
Backfire again
Palin's Yahoo! Account Hacked | The Trail | washingtonpost.com
I like this comment that follows the story:
"Now, American People, don't worry, us democrats will not invade YOUR privacy, just our enemies!"
I like this comment that follows the story:
"Now, American People, don't worry, us democrats will not invade YOUR privacy, just our enemies!"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Anything but less sex
HIV rates climbing: new figures - Yahoo!7 News
The story covers not just HIV, but an increase in all STDs across Australia.
Most surprising is this:
The report also notes this:
The story covers not just HIV, but an increase in all STDs across Australia.
Most surprising is this:
So, just give up on any concept of responsible sexual behaviour, and just treat any gay man who is having a new partner every week with antibiotics?Plans are afoot to introduce a radical plan to control syphilis by mass treating the highest-risk gay men regardless of whether they have contracted the infection.
"We think that's the best chance we have of taking the wind out of the outbreak," Prof Donovan said.
The report also notes this:
Most Asian cities, I note, are not Catholic, yet the condom message is not working so well. The magic power of the condom has been greatly exaggerated, it would seem.He said he was also concerned by a new trend of HIV infections arising among heterosexual businessmen and miners from WA, Queensland and the Northern Territory who travel to Papua New Guinea for work.
"Gay tourists also need to be more vigilant than ever as it has recently become very clear that in most Asian cities HIV epidemics among gay and bisexual men are now raging virtually unchecked," Mr Baxter said.
Conspiracy of the day
Can icy fuel bring down an airliner? - tech - 16 September 2008 - New Scientist Tech
New Scientist seems to have opened up every story to comments. This'll be an interesting experiment.
Anyhow, see the link above for their short story on the reason for that odd malfunction of a B777 at Heathrow earlier this year. The investigation is blaming ice build up in the fuel system, but the circumstances still seem rather odd.
Of most interest is a comment that follows that suggests that Prime Minister Gordon Brown may be to blame (well, indirectly.) The idea that a PM could be so hapless as to cause a plane crash has such appeal that I sort of hope it is true.
New Scientist seems to have opened up every story to comments. This'll be an interesting experiment.
Anyhow, see the link above for their short story on the reason for that odd malfunction of a B777 at Heathrow earlier this year. The investigation is blaming ice build up in the fuel system, but the circumstances still seem rather odd.
Of most interest is a comment that follows that suggests that Prime Minister Gordon Brown may be to blame (well, indirectly.) The idea that a PM could be so hapless as to cause a plane crash has such appeal that I sort of hope it is true.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PDS worse than BDS
Anne Lamott on grief, despair, and the 2008 presidential election | Salon Life
Gosh. So you thought during the election campaign of 2004 that the prospect of George W winning a second term was driving progressives crazy? It's really shaping up as nothing compared to the tearing of garments and wearing of sackcloth being threatened if McCain/Palin win. (I am not sure if a string of celebrities have started threatening to leave the country yet, but it will be bound to come if McCain continues to poll well.)
Also, as this attempt at humour linked above makes pretty clear, it's mainly because of the Palin element.
Gosh. So you thought during the election campaign of 2004 that the prospect of George W winning a second term was driving progressives crazy? It's really shaping up as nothing compared to the tearing of garments and wearing of sackcloth being threatened if McCain/Palin win. (I am not sure if a string of celebrities have started threatening to leave the country yet, but it will be bound to come if McCain continues to poll well.)
Also, as this attempt at humour linked above makes pretty clear, it's mainly because of the Palin element.
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