The unintended consequence of the Government's criticism of the Opposition on this issue has been to send out a message that Australia is now softer on border protection. In reality, Rudd's Indonesian solution may turn out to be tougher and crueller than Howard's Pacific solution. Australia had some say about how asylum seekers were handled in Nauru and Manus Island. We will have less influence about what goes on in Indonesian detention centres.As Andrew Bolt points out, this makes no difference to some Rudd supporters, who will praise him for exactly the same things they condemned Howard.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fair comment
Gerard Henderson today talks briefly and fairly about the political difficulty of dealing with unauthorised arrivals by boat. He ends with this point:
Monday, October 26, 2009
Kimchi Christianity
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Will South Korea become Christian?
An interesting article here on the success of Christianity in South Korea. Unfortunately, it would seem that the most successful church is one of the American style "prosperity gospel" churches. I wonder how Catholicism is doing there...
Incidentally, I recently saw the episode of King of the Hill called "Church Hopping", in which Hank and his family try going to a Megachurch. It was very funny while also giving (what I assume to be) a good insight to Texas style Christianity.
An interesting article here on the success of Christianity in South Korea. Unfortunately, it would seem that the most successful church is one of the American style "prosperity gospel" churches. I wonder how Catholicism is doing there...
Incidentally, I recently saw the episode of King of the Hill called "Church Hopping", in which Hank and his family try going to a Megachurch. It was very funny while also giving (what I assume to be) a good insight to Texas style Christianity.
Pretending the complicated is simple
Something Mad about refugee policies
Leslie Cannold is typical of the kind of commentator who belittles the humanitarian aspect of the Australian government trying to stop people smuggling via boat. Bob Ellis is the same.
They both decry a supposed "lowest common denominator" "hysteria" about boat people.
Yet, I can't see how it is "hysterical" to say that people smuggling in boats places vulnerable people in dangerous, life threatening situations. It is not a hypothetical danger. Surely it is difficult to argue against the proposition that aggressive action to deter future people smuggling via boat actually saves lives.
There is a legitimate argument to be had over how "tough" that action should or needs to be to stop people smuggling. I was one of those of the view that the processes used by the Howard government were in some respects too tough. But the basic idea of keeping boats from reaching our shores is surely an important way of trying to stop such attempts.
For someone like Ellis to say that support for "toughness" is all about ignorant racism is a facile response to a difficult issue. (Indeed, the evidence of increased African migration we can all see in Australian cities indicates the government is hardly motivated by the colour of the skin of those who want to live here.)
Even though the Rudd government has modified the processes (with support from the Coalition), refugee advocates seem to think they haven't really "won" unless all people turning up on boats are given an easy run through our system. But making the process too easy is going to result in more arrivals via that method, and more drownings.
What about Bob Ellis saying that if we are so concerned about their safety on boats, the government should just let them fly in:
How many people does Ellis want to migrate here that way, compared to the number of refuges who have been assessed already by the UN and been waiting in a camp for years for a country to take them?
There is nothing easy about the issue, despite what these commentators claim.
Leslie Cannold is typical of the kind of commentator who belittles the humanitarian aspect of the Australian government trying to stop people smuggling via boat. Bob Ellis is the same.
They both decry a supposed "lowest common denominator" "hysteria" about boat people.
Yet, I can't see how it is "hysterical" to say that people smuggling in boats places vulnerable people in dangerous, life threatening situations. It is not a hypothetical danger. Surely it is difficult to argue against the proposition that aggressive action to deter future people smuggling via boat actually saves lives.
There is a legitimate argument to be had over how "tough" that action should or needs to be to stop people smuggling. I was one of those of the view that the processes used by the Howard government were in some respects too tough. But the basic idea of keeping boats from reaching our shores is surely an important way of trying to stop such attempts.
For someone like Ellis to say that support for "toughness" is all about ignorant racism is a facile response to a difficult issue. (Indeed, the evidence of increased African migration we can all see in Australian cities indicates the government is hardly motivated by the colour of the skin of those who want to live here.)
Even though the Rudd government has modified the processes (with support from the Coalition), refugee advocates seem to think they haven't really "won" unless all people turning up on boats are given an easy run through our system. But making the process too easy is going to result in more arrivals via that method, and more drownings.
What about Bob Ellis saying that if we are so concerned about their safety on boats, the government should just let them fly in:
We put the people in physical danger by not letting them come here on aeroplanes and wait in Villawood for a month or so to have their claims assessed. We put them in danger by harassing the boats they were on, and at gunpoint ordering them to go back into stormy seas. We put them in danger by burning the boats others came in on the beach, which meant they had to buy new boats, cheaper and cheaper boats, to come here in. Does anyone have the right to burn another's boat? Isn't that piracy?Again, he can only afford to say this because he is not a position of responsibility. By what criteria would Ellis have the government decide to let asylum seekers (probably many without papers) get on a 747 to Australia? Those that sign an affidavit saying they will get on a boat if we don't do it?
How many people does Ellis want to migrate here that way, compared to the number of refuges who have been assessed already by the UN and been waiting in a camp for years for a country to take them?
There is nothing easy about the issue, despite what these commentators claim.
It's complicated
Foreign capital | tax | Brazil | Australia | Kenneth Davidson
Ken Davidson talks about what's behind the rising Australian dollar, and to my uneducated in economics eye, appears to make some sense.
Certainly, it's a good time to be buying stuff from America, at least.
Ken Davidson talks about what's behind the rising Australian dollar, and to my uneducated in economics eye, appears to make some sense.
Certainly, it's a good time to be buying stuff from America, at least.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Moon cave found?
Found: first 'skylight' on the moon - New Scientist
A deep hole on the moon that could open into a vast underground tunnel has been found for the first time. The discovery strengthens evidence for subsurface, lava-carved channels that could shield future human colonists from space radiation and other hazards.
The moon seems to possess long, winding tunnels called lava tubes that are similar to structures seen on Earth. They are created when the top of a stream of molten rock solidifies and the lava inside drains away, leaving a hollow tube of rock.
Their existence on the moon is hinted at based on observations of sinuous rilles – long, winding depressions carved into the lunar surface by the flow of lava. Some sections of the rilles have collapsed, suggesting that hollow lava tubes hide beneath at least some of the rilles.
But until now, no one has found an opening into what appears to be an intact tube.
The problem of the floating space bowel
In The Museum: Toilet Training | Space Exploration | Air & Space Magazine
Having read quite a bit about the space program in my time, I knew most of the information in the above short article on the history of zero-g toilets, except this bit:
In fact, the ESA website has some good pages of school educational material, and I particularly like this page with its videos of such interesting things such as an astronaut brushing his teeth, showing you the bathroom (including the toilet), getting some exercise, etc. It' s interesting to see the interior of the ISS is somewhat humanised by photos and other stuff that the astronauts have obviously brought with them. Well worth a look.
Having read quite a bit about the space program in my time, I knew most of the information in the above short article on the history of zero-g toilets, except this bit:
The space shuttle’s toilets are based on the Skylab model, and also operate with a fan and a vacuum. “No matter how much training you’ve had on the ground in how to operate it,” says Neal, “it’s difficult to actually use the first time. So when you finally do succeed, there’s a bit of celebration; they announce to everybody, ‘Okay, I went!’ It’s an accomplishment to master it in microgravity.”On this ESA page about daily life in the International Space Station, the point is made that it is not just the contraption that is the problem:
Some crew members find the toilet difficult to get used to. As well as the device itself, they have to accustom themselves to the disconcerting fact that their bowels actually float inside their bodies - like the rest of their internal organs and of course everything else on board.Is this a subtle way of suggesting that constipation is a problem in space? Yes, it appears that it is. A Google search brings a link to a book which comments:
Because the GI tract requires gravity assistance to function optimally, some astronauts suffer constipation which resolves in several days.Apart from the always fascinating issue of space toilets, it did occur to me recently that we really don't see much on TV showing the interior of the ISS. It's usually just a short snippet on the news showing a bunch of astronauts greeting each other when there is a crew changeover.
In fact, the ESA website has some good pages of school educational material, and I particularly like this page with its videos of such interesting things such as an astronaut brushing his teeth, showing you the bathroom (including the toilet), getting some exercise, etc. It' s interesting to see the interior of the ISS is somewhat humanised by photos and other stuff that the astronauts have obviously brought with them. Well worth a look.
Don't inhale
How I Survived China - The Atlantic (November 2009)
James Fallows has a short but interesting comment on how bad pollution is in China.
James Fallows has a short but interesting comment on how bad pollution is in China.
Swiss cheese universe
Hey, who can resist an arXiv paper with an abstract that starts like this:
We present strong arguments that the deep structure of the quantum vacuum contains a web of microscopic wormholes or short-cuts. We develop the concept of wormhole spaces and show that this web of wormholes generate a peculiar array of long-range correlations in the patterns of vacuum fluctuations on the Planck scale.Well, I can't, even though I need to converted into a more pop science format.
Master of my neurons?
You can control your Marilyn Monroe neuron
All sort of odd sounding, and probably has some deep philosophical implications for mind/body stuff, but you can go read it yourself.
All sort of odd sounding, and probably has some deep philosophical implications for mind/body stuff, but you can go read it yourself.
Tough talk on Japanese men
The age of listless, wary, anxiety-ridden and insecure young men
A Japanese women's magazine notes:
But in comments, readers beg to differ:
A Japanese women's magazine notes:
The answer, apparently, is for women to offer:The term “soshoku danshi” (herbivorous male, as distinct from the carnivores of earlier generations) has grown widely current since being coined in 2006 to describe the timid, emotionally stunted specimens now on the threshold of the prime of life. It’s hard to blame them. As consultant Takao Maekawa points out, with salaries stagnant and jobs, if you’re lucky enough to have one, insecure, “it’s enough to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for their work.”
Herbivorous—more or less passive, that is to say—attitudes toward courtship are a direct result. “Young men don’t have the confidence their fathers had that they will be able to support a family,” says Ushikubo. “That tends to drain a man’s romantic impulses.”
Adding insult to injury, women, with less vested interest in the way things used to be, are adapting better than men to the way things now are. “Seeing women emerge stronger than themselves,” observes Maekawa, “has further undermined many men’s confidence.”
"...generous doses of praise, encouragement, and understanding."[I'm emailing the article to my wife now, as I figure what's good for the Japanese is good for me too.]
But in comments, readers beg to differ:
The listless, insecure young men of today are carbon copies of their fathers. Japanese men are as selfish, immature and emotionally underdeveloped as they have always been. That's simply the very nature of this beast.I say on behalf of my Japanese brothers: Ouch!
Fusion: the third way
A novel form of fusion power: Psst, kapow! | The Economist
Hadn't heard this one before, but who knows if it will lead anyway.
Hadn't heard this one before, but who knows if it will lead anyway.
Welcome back Annabel
I'm not sure why Annabel Crabb was missing from Fairfax for a month or two, but it's good to have her back. In today's column:
Rudd likes to portray his policies as tougher than they really are because, like most Labor MPs who were around in 2001, he clearly remembers the Atomic Wedgie that he and his colleagues copped back then over immigration.
His buttocks now flinch reflexively every time the subject comes up, which is why he keeps saying things like, "I make no apologies for my staring-eyed, extremist, hardline, definitely not soft or anything ideas about illegal immigrants."
And why he persists with describing his policy approach as "humane toughness", a deeply Ruddesque contradiction in terms that fits well with his scores policy (Responsible Drunkenness) and his fiscal policy (Conservative Recklessness).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Listen to your fellow doctors
Womb transplants 'within two years' - Science, News - The Independent
This is just silly:
But even so, Smith, who has been practising this on rabbits, notes:
This is just silly:
British scientists believe they will be able to carry out the first-ever successful womb transplant within two years. They have worked out how to transplant a womb with a good blood supply which could mean it lasts long enough to carry a pregnancy to term.Um, do we know how the immunosuppressants affect babies? (Maybe we do: I suppose it is possible some young women on them have fallen pregnant.)
But even so, Smith, who has been practising this on rabbits, notes:
...there was little interest in the studies in the medical profession but the demand from patients was huge. He said: "There's a lot of dismissal in the profession in terms of this being a step too far in fertility management. But for a woman who is desperate for a baby, this is incredibly important."Mr (I assume it should be "Dr") Smith should spend more time telling patients to be more realistic and that medical science can't appropriately remedy all of life's misfortunes, rather than working on disposable uteri.Mr Smith, who presented his findings at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Atlanta, Georgia, said the womb would only stay in place until the woman had had the children she wanted. "The plan is that once a woman has had her children, the uterus comes out and she can come off immunosuppressants."
Life is simpler here
Get set for next year's overhaul of official kanji | The Japan Times Online
You get a good idea of the complexity of Japanese (and, I guess, Chinese) language when you read this article about a forthcoming government revision of "official" kanji next year. For example:
You get a good idea of the complexity of Japanese (and, I guess, Chinese) language when you read this article about a forthcoming government revision of "official" kanji next year. For example:
Vigorous debate about the list has taken place in committee meetings in the past four years. Japanese language educators have objected in vain to inclusion of such adult-themed kanji as æ·« (IN, lewd), 艶 (EN, charming, voluptuous) and è³, (ka-keru, gamble). Two kanji much requested in a public-comment forum last spring were é·¹ (taka, hawk) and 柿 (kaki, persimmon), but the panel has decided not to include these. It has also elected not to axe forum participants’ least-popular kanji — 鬱 (UTSU, melancholy), written with an eye-popping 29 strokes.
Nearer but poorer
400,000 former Anglicans worldwide seek immediate unity with Rome
This seems all very complicated, this creation of a special branch of Catholicism to accommodate the conservative Anglicans who have lost the fight in their own church:
I have been told, however, that in Vietnam, being a priest can be quite a good earner, as the parishioners believe it is important to be very generous to their priests. (My source, himself a Vietnamese catholic, indicated that they usually are not shy about having girlfriends too.)
But back to the issue of married priests: if ever there was a simple action that could make the priesthood a much more attractive option, it would be for the Pope to allow all priests to marry. This would be unassailable in terms of Biblical prohibition, almost certainly lead to less situations of sexual abuse, and mean a much less lonely life for most priests. (I suspect that, at least from their middle age onwards, it may be the companionship of married and family life that priests regret missing more than the sexual side.) It is a much less controversial issue than women's ordination (and, of course, gay marriage), as it is reverting to a state the Church formerly accepted, rather than a novel invention.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a compromise position: either get ordained single and commit to celibacy, or marry first and then get ordained. However, being ordained and married means no hope of being a bishop. But how many priests join for career progression anyway?
The Orthodox position sounds tough for those who fall in love after a "celibate" ordination, but at least it has the virtue of not encouraging priests to hang around single bars on a Friday night.
I reckon it's a good idea, with one additional benefit that it may well result in the average age of new priests being a bit older, but probably more mature, and less likely to drop out later.
Yes, the sooner the Pope goes Orthodox on this issue the better.
UPDATE: one of the reasons (I suspect) that the Church doesn't feel much pressure about this issue might be because it is obviously part and parcel of "progressive" Catholics' set of beliefs about sexuality. Of course if you want your neighbour's gay son to be able to have a wedding in the Church you are not going to have an issue with a priest having a wife. (Indeed, you would probably welcome your priest and his new boyfriend over for dinner too.) So, it's easy to dismiss it as part of a progressive agenda that just doesn't "get it".
Unfortunately, strong conservatives are inherently unlikely to have any reforming bent at all when it comes to the Church. They like things just the way there are (or were, in their childhood) thank you very much.
So, who are the Catholics who could effectively press for this reform? That is the problem.
This seems all very complicated, this creation of a special branch of Catholicism to accommodate the conservative Anglicans who have lost the fight in their own church:
The Pope has made it significantly more attractive for Anglicans to move over this time by offering a universal solution that allows them to retain crucial aspects of their identity and to set up seminaries that will, presumably, train married men for the Catholic priesthood. But any serving clergyman would face a marked loss of income. A job as a clergyman in the Church of England comes with a stipend of £22,250 and free accommodation. Catholic priests earn about £8,000, paid by their parish and topped up by a diocese where the parish cannot afford even that.That sounds a very small amount of money for a Catholic priest. Mind you, I have only the vaguest idea of how it all works in Australia. It's not something I have ever asked a priest about.
I have been told, however, that in Vietnam, being a priest can be quite a good earner, as the parishioners believe it is important to be very generous to their priests. (My source, himself a Vietnamese catholic, indicated that they usually are not shy about having girlfriends too.)
But back to the issue of married priests: if ever there was a simple action that could make the priesthood a much more attractive option, it would be for the Pope to allow all priests to marry. This would be unassailable in terms of Biblical prohibition, almost certainly lead to less situations of sexual abuse, and mean a much less lonely life for most priests. (I suspect that, at least from their middle age onwards, it may be the companionship of married and family life that priests regret missing more than the sexual side.) It is a much less controversial issue than women's ordination (and, of course, gay marriage), as it is reverting to a state the Church formerly accepted, rather than a novel invention.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a compromise position: either get ordained single and commit to celibacy, or marry first and then get ordained. However, being ordained and married means no hope of being a bishop. But how many priests join for career progression anyway?
The Orthodox position sounds tough for those who fall in love after a "celibate" ordination, but at least it has the virtue of not encouraging priests to hang around single bars on a Friday night.
I reckon it's a good idea, with one additional benefit that it may well result in the average age of new priests being a bit older, but probably more mature, and less likely to drop out later.
Yes, the sooner the Pope goes Orthodox on this issue the better.
UPDATE: one of the reasons (I suspect) that the Church doesn't feel much pressure about this issue might be because it is obviously part and parcel of "progressive" Catholics' set of beliefs about sexuality. Of course if you want your neighbour's gay son to be able to have a wedding in the Church you are not going to have an issue with a priest having a wife. (Indeed, you would probably welcome your priest and his new boyfriend over for dinner too.) So, it's easy to dismiss it as part of a progressive agenda that just doesn't "get it".
Unfortunately, strong conservatives are inherently unlikely to have any reforming bent at all when it comes to the Church. They like things just the way there are (or were, in their childhood) thank you very much.
So, who are the Catholics who could effectively press for this reform? That is the problem.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Warming up the Arctic
Arctic Lake Sediments Show Warming, Unique Ecological Changes In Recent Decades
I didn't know this:
I didn't know this:
....recent warming around the Arctic is overriding a cooling trend caused by Earth's periodic wobble. Earth is now about 0.6 million miles further from the sun during the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice than it was in 1 B.C. -- a trend that has caused overall cooling in the Arctic until recently.The study indicates marked increased warming since 1950. Although, I have to say, didn't we know that already from thermometers?
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