The Gods of Spinoza & Teilhard de Chardin | Issue 106 | Philosophy Now
This article notes that neither Spinoza nor Teilhard de Chardin happily accepted the title of "pantheist", despite the obvious, um, "pantheist friendly" sound of much of what they wrote.
It's a good read.
Sunday, February 01, 2015
Talk about constipation
How the Scorpion Lost Its Tail (And Its Anus) – Phenomena: Not Exactly Rocket Science
Amusing article here about how scorpions can lose their tail in self-defence, but it also means losing their anus and ability to defecate. Still, they can manage for up to another another 8 months.
Amusing article here about how scorpions can lose their tail in self-defence, but it also means losing their anus and ability to defecate. Still, they can manage for up to another another 8 months.
What's big in India
This Alien Comedy Is India's Biggest Movie Of All Time
As the first comment notes, there's a distinctly "Mr Bean" feel about the enterprise, but someone further down claims the movie is more profound (as a semi-satire on Indian culture and religions) that the dubious trailer indicates.
As the first comment notes, there's a distinctly "Mr Bean" feel about the enterprise, but someone further down claims the movie is more profound (as a semi-satire on Indian culture and religions) that the dubious trailer indicates.
More about the droughts
Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog : Brazil, California Face Specter of Worsening Drought | Weather Underground
The situation described with the drought affecting Sao Paulo sounds particularly dire, in this update yesterday at Jeff Master's blog.
The situation described with the drought affecting Sao Paulo sounds particularly dire, in this update yesterday at Jeff Master's blog.
The truth is out there - maybe?
Stories of some Coalition resentment with Peta Credlin's power and control in Tony Abbott's office began as soon as he had won the election, but it's fascinating watching a News Limited writer (Miranda Devine) giving Credlin both barrels mere days after Rupert Murdoch called for her resignation.
But the real point of the post is to note my surprise at some of the comments that are getting though after the story. These ones:
This is a long standing Canberra insider rumour about Abbott and Credlin, but it is rather remarkable that comments alluding to it are now appearing in Herald Sun comments, with (apparently) no concern about defamation action. Or is the explanation simply that the comments on a Sunday are not cleared by anyone, let alone a defamation lawyer?
I think the closest we ever got to this rumour being a mainstream media one* (and not just something that circulated on the internet) was when Chris Uhlmann in an interview with Tony Abbott once made reference to journalists knowing of rumours of personal matters on the Liberal side which would suggest they should be careful of personal rumour mongering of other politicians. I have read the theory, though, that the Credlin friendly profile of her in The Australian in 2011 was there to dampen speculation of the rumour which was already out there.
Now to be perfectly clear here: I don't know if the rumour is true or not. Politicians suffer continual rumours about their private life, a great many of which are bulldust.
But I would say this: if a journalist comes out to confirm it after Abbott loses his job (either in the next few weeks, or after an election), it would not only absolutely kill Abbott's reputation, given the shameless way he capitalised on his wife and daughters on the election trail, and made snide remarks about Gillard's not having a family; but also lead to serious questions about whether Australian journalistic reticence to publicise details of a politician's private life have actually gone too far.
Hence, it is (if true) by far the juiciest and most interesting bit of potential political scandal since at least the Morosi affair. (In fact, it is much, much more serious than that - which was really just about conservatives and the sexual revolution.) I am dead keen to know if it is true, and suspect that if there is any confirmation to come, it would likely be arriving soon.
Update: * some may argue that it would more likely be the kerfuffle about the joke at the Labor dinner, but the media refused to repeat the joke, even though it eventually surfaced on the 'net.
Also, as I made clearer in my comment to Homer, the thing I find interesting about it is the question of whether, in the current situation, with a wildly dysfunctional PM's office under the control of Credlin being alleged by journalists and unhappy MP's, doesn't the question of disclosure of an affair by journalists now become a matter of public interest, even if it hadn't previously?
But, the other possibility is that it is not true, or no one knows for sure. In which case, given that it is now appearing in the small print of Rupert's papers, mightn't Abbott be wise to publicly deny it and at least get that problem out of the way? Shorten took that approach when a rumour was getting out of control and was plainly false - I think Abbott would be wise to follow suit. If he feels he can....
But the real point of the post is to note my surprise at some of the comments that are getting though after the story. These ones:
This is a long standing Canberra insider rumour about Abbott and Credlin, but it is rather remarkable that comments alluding to it are now appearing in Herald Sun comments, with (apparently) no concern about defamation action. Or is the explanation simply that the comments on a Sunday are not cleared by anyone, let alone a defamation lawyer?
I think the closest we ever got to this rumour being a mainstream media one* (and not just something that circulated on the internet) was when Chris Uhlmann in an interview with Tony Abbott once made reference to journalists knowing of rumours of personal matters on the Liberal side which would suggest they should be careful of personal rumour mongering of other politicians. I have read the theory, though, that the Credlin friendly profile of her in The Australian in 2011 was there to dampen speculation of the rumour which was already out there.
Now to be perfectly clear here: I don't know if the rumour is true or not. Politicians suffer continual rumours about their private life, a great many of which are bulldust.
But I would say this: if a journalist comes out to confirm it after Abbott loses his job (either in the next few weeks, or after an election), it would not only absolutely kill Abbott's reputation, given the shameless way he capitalised on his wife and daughters on the election trail, and made snide remarks about Gillard's not having a family; but also lead to serious questions about whether Australian journalistic reticence to publicise details of a politician's private life have actually gone too far.
Hence, it is (if true) by far the juiciest and most interesting bit of potential political scandal since at least the Morosi affair. (In fact, it is much, much more serious than that - which was really just about conservatives and the sexual revolution.) I am dead keen to know if it is true, and suspect that if there is any confirmation to come, it would likely be arriving soon.
Update: * some may argue that it would more likely be the kerfuffle about the joke at the Labor dinner, but the media refused to repeat the joke, even though it eventually surfaced on the 'net.
Also, as I made clearer in my comment to Homer, the thing I find interesting about it is the question of whether, in the current situation, with a wildly dysfunctional PM's office under the control of Credlin being alleged by journalists and unhappy MP's, doesn't the question of disclosure of an affair by journalists now become a matter of public interest, even if it hadn't previously?
But, the other possibility is that it is not true, or no one knows for sure. In which case, given that it is now appearing in the small print of Rupert's papers, mightn't Abbott be wise to publicly deny it and at least get that problem out of the way? Shorten took that approach when a rumour was getting out of control and was plainly false - I think Abbott would be wise to follow suit. If he feels he can....
Saturday, January 31, 2015
An observation
One of the funniest things to read on an election night when Labor is doing well (as it is in Queensland tonight where, in what is surely the most extraordinary reversal of fortune in Australian electoral history, it looks to have a chance of forming government after being in Opposition with a number of MPs you could count on two hands) is the Catallaxy blog. Especially when that bunch of climate change denying numbskulls - it's a prerequisite to be part of the club there - start saying the only explanation is that Australians are too dumb.
Update: While he's not the only economist who seems to have too much faith in election betting markets (Kouk loves quoting them all the time too,) Sinclair Davidson's dedication to them should surely be tested after this election.
Also - I see that Adam Creighton had a tweet last night claiming its all due to the electorate's economic illiteracy. This from a man whose ideologically anti-Keynesian pals in the US have been predicting runaway inflation as the big worry for the last 6 years. And, of course, his pals here include a certain blog master who warned about stagflation in Australia 3 years ago.
Creighton's latest persistent line is that the drop in the Australian dollar is not really a good thing - I suspect because it makes his internet overseas purchases more expensive, which trumps its obvious benefits to just about anything being exported from here, as well as the tourism industry.
Update 2: The election result seems to confirm that the Newman campaign to drum up support for asset sales by calling them 99 year leases was too slick by half. The campaign was so obviously advertising agency manipulation to get the result Newman wanted, it backfired. Mark this one as a Crosby Textor fail. Couldn't happen to a better jerk, as Mark Textor clearly is.
Update 3: Good Lord. Judith Sloan has a post about the apparently leaked replacement policy to Abbott's to-be-abandoned-tomorrow parental leave plan with which I agree. The thing is, though, people like me always said Abbott was a policy flim flam man and a mere opportunistic flake. That's how he got the leadership, for God's sake; but because the ideologically driven to not believe science were so excited that he was their man for carbon tax removal, they weren't worried about him then.
Update: While he's not the only economist who seems to have too much faith in election betting markets (Kouk loves quoting them all the time too,) Sinclair Davidson's dedication to them should surely be tested after this election.
Also - I see that Adam Creighton had a tweet last night claiming its all due to the electorate's economic illiteracy. This from a man whose ideologically anti-Keynesian pals in the US have been predicting runaway inflation as the big worry for the last 6 years. And, of course, his pals here include a certain blog master who warned about stagflation in Australia 3 years ago.
Creighton's latest persistent line is that the drop in the Australian dollar is not really a good thing - I suspect because it makes his internet overseas purchases more expensive, which trumps its obvious benefits to just about anything being exported from here, as well as the tourism industry.
Update 2: The election result seems to confirm that the Newman campaign to drum up support for asset sales by calling them 99 year leases was too slick by half. The campaign was so obviously advertising agency manipulation to get the result Newman wanted, it backfired. Mark this one as a Crosby Textor fail. Couldn't happen to a better jerk, as Mark Textor clearly is.
Update 3: Good Lord. Judith Sloan has a post about the apparently leaked replacement policy to Abbott's to-be-abandoned-tomorrow parental leave plan with which I agree. The thing is, though, people like me always said Abbott was a policy flim flam man and a mere opportunistic flake. That's how he got the leadership, for God's sake; but because the ideologically driven to not believe science were so excited that he was their man for carbon tax removal, they weren't worried about him then.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Lost for choice
Tony is out and about, being a proud captain of Team Australia with his happy team players.
Honestly, there are more potential funny captions for what could be coming out of this guy's mouth than there are stars in the galaxy:
Honestly, there are more potential funny captions for what could be coming out of this guy's mouth than there are stars in the galaxy:
Remarkable droughts remarked upon
California's drought is now even more horrible.
Looks like San Francisco is definitely set to have its first completely dry January since continuous records started in 1850. Snowpack in the Sierras (which supplies a lot of drinking water) down to 25% of normal.
As for Brazil, even the WSJ is reporting on how dire its drought is.
All with barely a degree of warming, hey Lukewarmists?
Looks like San Francisco is definitely set to have its first completely dry January since continuous records started in 1850. Snowpack in the Sierras (which supplies a lot of drinking water) down to 25% of normal.
As for Brazil, even the WSJ is reporting on how dire its drought is.
All with barely a degree of warming, hey Lukewarmists?
Good work Waleed
The PM's woes started earlier than you think
Truth be told, I think lots of journalists have been telling this exact same story over the last 12 months, but Waleed does sum it up all rather well.
Update: well I barely got that out, and I see that Twitter is bent over in stitches because Tony Abbott has apparently just said that Turnbull and Bishop are excelling because "they have a good captain".
On current indications, his press club performance on Monday will, one suspects, likely see him out of the job....
Truth be told, I think lots of journalists have been telling this exact same story over the last 12 months, but Waleed does sum it up all rather well.
Update: well I barely got that out, and I see that Twitter is bent over in stitches because Tony Abbott has apparently just said that Turnbull and Bishop are excelling because "they have a good captain".
On current indications, his press club performance on Monday will, one suspects, likely see him out of the job....
The tedious world of Moffat
This summer, the ABC has been running that re-invented Sherlock show from the BBC from the start. I had not seen it before.
There is quite a bit to like: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are both good in their roles, and the (novel, as far as I can recall) method of showing internal thoughts or other information simply by having the floating words in the air near the character is neat. On the downside, I have always found the 90 minute format for character based, slightly comedic, detective stories is just a bit too long. I remember my interest in episodes of Columbo, for example, always started petering out at the 60 to 70 minute mark, and that was with commercials.
But my main reason for the post is to make the observation that, just as Graham Greene's output seemed permanently stuck in a "Greeneland" [depressed males, often with a crisis of faith, seeking solace in sex,] co-creator and sometimes writer Steven Moffat seems absolutely stuck in pan or omni-sexual Moffatland.
It was an obvious modern joke to make in the first episode: people wondering if Sherlock and Watson are a gay couple. Maybe even the second episode. But last week, I think 4 shows in, and we have the lesbian dominatrix story. And Watson still talking about how he is not gay. And everyone wondering if Sherlock has ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Really, who cares? It is tediously like modern Dr Who of the last 5 or so (possibly 8 or so - I lose track) years, where it seemed an episode which did not feature some jokey reference to queer sexuality or practice of some kind or other was a real rarity (in what is basically a kids' show.)
I have no idea why this obsesses Moffat so much. Amusingly, it seems that even gay or "queer" theorists find fault with how he deals with it. It also appears that some feminists find Moffat very objectionable. Maybe he is rather like Tony Abbott - can't keep anyone on any side of the spectrum happy.
But the main thing is - it's just such a bore to see a personal obsession keep on appearing with such regularity in shows which are not about sexuality. It sticks out like a sore thumb, from a man who seems to have issues.
There is quite a bit to like: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are both good in their roles, and the (novel, as far as I can recall) method of showing internal thoughts or other information simply by having the floating words in the air near the character is neat. On the downside, I have always found the 90 minute format for character based, slightly comedic, detective stories is just a bit too long. I remember my interest in episodes of Columbo, for example, always started petering out at the 60 to 70 minute mark, and that was with commercials.
But my main reason for the post is to make the observation that, just as Graham Greene's output seemed permanently stuck in a "Greeneland" [depressed males, often with a crisis of faith, seeking solace in sex,] co-creator and sometimes writer Steven Moffat seems absolutely stuck in pan or omni-sexual Moffatland.
It was an obvious modern joke to make in the first episode: people wondering if Sherlock and Watson are a gay couple. Maybe even the second episode. But last week, I think 4 shows in, and we have the lesbian dominatrix story. And Watson still talking about how he is not gay. And everyone wondering if Sherlock has ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Really, who cares? It is tediously like modern Dr Who of the last 5 or so (possibly 8 or so - I lose track) years, where it seemed an episode which did not feature some jokey reference to queer sexuality or practice of some kind or other was a real rarity (in what is basically a kids' show.)
I have no idea why this obsesses Moffat so much. Amusingly, it seems that even gay or "queer" theorists find fault with how he deals with it. It also appears that some feminists find Moffat very objectionable. Maybe he is rather like Tony Abbott - can't keep anyone on any side of the spectrum happy.
But the main thing is - it's just such a bore to see a personal obsession keep on appearing with such regularity in shows which are not about sexuality. It sticks out like a sore thumb, from a man who seems to have issues.
Tracking down the cause
Mystery childhood paralysis stumps researchers : Nature News & Comment
I don't like hearing that there are cases of childhood paralysis that don't have a clear cause, but there you have it.
I don't like hearing that there are cases of childhood paralysis that don't have a clear cause, but there you have it.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Meanwhile, in New York...
PS: my theory is that Rupert lives on by taking a daily infusion of more youthful blood compulsorily donated by editors and staff at News Limited papers. Hard to explain that in one box, though...
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Julie's loss noted
For those of my vast international readership who are wondering what this is about.... http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-19/julie-bishop-tweets-in-search-of-lost-earring/6024594
Musing about the PC, 28 years ago
I'm under pressure again to dispose of my old magazine collection - many of them Omni's from the 1980s. (By the way, they were printed on quality paper - there's really not that much page yellowing in my carelessly stored editions.)
But just glancing through these still quite appealingly designed magazines, I come across articles that remind me how the world has changed, and it's sort of charming, even if it makes me feel old. Here's a scan of an article written by someone in the PC business in April 1987, who was asked by Omni "Is the Computer Business Dying?":
But just glancing through these still quite appealingly designed magazines, I come across articles that remind me how the world has changed, and it's sort of charming, even if it makes me feel old. Here's a scan of an article written by someone in the PC business in April 1987, who was asked by Omni "Is the Computer Business Dying?":
Cute design
Cubitat from Urban Capital and Nichetto Studios is a compact home in a box.
I like this a lot. Of course, as a home, all it lacks is exterior walls. But no design is perfect...
Maybe if I could just have one installed in an appropriate sized yurt...
I like this a lot. Of course, as a home, all it lacks is exterior walls. But no design is perfect...
Maybe if I could just have one installed in an appropriate sized yurt...
Rupert now directing Prime Ministerial staff arrangments...
Hilarious to watch Rupert directing the show from New York:
Especially funny if Abbott really is personally responsible for the Prince Phil knighthood and didn't even run it past her...
Especially funny if Abbott really is personally responsible for the Prince Phil knighthood and didn't even run it past her...
A bunch of studies American's don't believe
Good guy with a gun myth: Guns increase the risk of homicide, accidents, suicide.
The most surprising thing, as this article points out early, is that a significant majority of Americans actually believe the NRA line that gun ownership is a good idea for personal safety.
The most surprising thing, as this article points out early, is that a significant majority of Americans actually believe the NRA line that gun ownership is a good idea for personal safety.
More common than you think
BBC - Earth - Spectacular real virgin births
A good read about virgin births in the animal kingdom. (Quaint term - "animal kingdom" - isn't it?)
A good read about virgin births in the animal kingdom. (Quaint term - "animal kingdom" - isn't it?)
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