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."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
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?
Friends in low places
Red all over: Bono makes poverty his story for a day - World - smh.com.au
So, Bono gets to play news editor for a day. This part of the story is interesting:
Among the paper's other big-name interviews of the day was Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez who told the Independent that the Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe, "is my friend. He has been demonised too much".
So, Bono gets to play news editor for a day. This part of the story is interesting:
Among the paper's other big-name interviews of the day was Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez who told the Independent that the Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe, "is my friend. He has been demonised too much".
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Mark Steyn on NSA and phone records
To connect the dots, you have to see the dots
From Steyn's article (which, as one would expect, questions the fuss over this) :
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) feels differently. "Look at this headline," huffed the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The secret collection of phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. Now, are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaida?"
No. But next time he's flying from D.C. to Burlington, Vt., on a Friday afternoon he might look at the security line: Tens of millions of Americans are having to take their coats and shoes off! Are you telling me that tens of millions of ordinary shoe-wearing Americans are involved with al-Qaida?
Steyn must have been first choice to have on your high school debating team.
From Steyn's article (which, as one would expect, questions the fuss over this) :
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) feels differently. "Look at this headline," huffed the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The secret collection of phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. Now, are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaida?"
No. But next time he's flying from D.C. to Burlington, Vt., on a Friday afternoon he might look at the security line: Tens of millions of Americans are having to take their coats and shoes off! Are you telling me that tens of millions of ordinary shoe-wearing Americans are involved with al-Qaida?
Steyn must have been first choice to have on your high school debating team.
Meanwhile out in the universe...
New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Biggest map of universe reveals colossal structures
From the story above:
Both studies confirm that the galaxy distribution and structures of the universe match best the models in which normal matter makes up only a few percent of the universe, with about one-quarter taken up by dark matter and the rest dark energy.
"With new measurements, our emerging picture of a universe dominated by dark matter and dark energy had a chance to fall on its face," says Uros Seljak, another Princeton. "Instead, it passed a new test with flying colours."
From the story above:
Both studies confirm that the galaxy distribution and structures of the universe match best the models in which normal matter makes up only a few percent of the universe, with about one-quarter taken up by dark matter and the rest dark energy.
"With new measurements, our emerging picture of a universe dominated by dark matter and dark energy had a chance to fall on its face," says Uros Seljak, another Princeton. "Instead, it passed a new test with flying colours."
HIV in Japan
The Japan Times Online
The editorial from the Japan Times above contains a few surprises:
Last year the total number of those infected with HIV in Japan hit a record 6,560 (of which 4,673 were Japanese nationals), following an unprecedented 1,165 (of which 698 were Japanese) new infections reported in 2004, the most recent data available.
Notice how seemingly important it is for this article to distinguish between foreigners and Japanese with HIV? Japanese suspicions of foreigners being more disease ridden than "pure" Japanese is confirmed again.
Anyway, the rate of new infections in Japan in 2004 is not too bad for its population. Australia had 818 new HIV diagnoses and 239 AIDS diagnoses in the same year, but with about one sixth of the population. The total Australian HIV cases seems to be about 20,000.
By the way, from that Australian link, notice how the HIV diagnoses rate has jumped around for the last 10 years? Quite a big leap from 2000 to 2001 (I wonder what the reason for that blip could be), but basically there is quite an intractable rate of a minimum of around 650 each and every year. Far too many still for what is an entirely preventable disease, hey.
Anyway, back to Japan:
The term "sexual intercourse" has reportedly been banned in classrooms through repeated directives issued by the education ministry. And yet, educational authorities appear blinded to the fact that, in today's Japan, children grow up in an environment awash with distorted images of sex in manga, in magazines, on the Internet and on television, all of which make some young people overly interested in sex.
The first sentence is a little surprising. The second is somewhat true, although I would not say that on television there seems to have much emphasis on sex.
Then the editorial has this:
On a positive note, professor Montagnier maintains that a strong immunity resulting from a healthy lifestyle minimizes the HIV infection risk as the virus is not highly contagious, unlike other sexually transmitted diseases. This is why the poor -- who often have low immunity resulting from under-nourishment -- are the most vulnerable. The unhealthy eating habits of today's youths could also put them at a greater risk."
Maybe eating McDonalds leaves you more open to catching HIV?
Sounds like a highly questionable thing to be saying in an article criticising HIV education.
The editorial from the Japan Times above contains a few surprises:
Last year the total number of those infected with HIV in Japan hit a record 6,560 (of which 4,673 were Japanese nationals), following an unprecedented 1,165 (of which 698 were Japanese) new infections reported in 2004, the most recent data available.
Notice how seemingly important it is for this article to distinguish between foreigners and Japanese with HIV? Japanese suspicions of foreigners being more disease ridden than "pure" Japanese is confirmed again.
Anyway, the rate of new infections in Japan in 2004 is not too bad for its population. Australia had 818 new HIV diagnoses and 239 AIDS diagnoses in the same year, but with about one sixth of the population. The total Australian HIV cases seems to be about 20,000.
By the way, from that Australian link, notice how the HIV diagnoses rate has jumped around for the last 10 years? Quite a big leap from 2000 to 2001 (I wonder what the reason for that blip could be), but basically there is quite an intractable rate of a minimum of around 650 each and every year. Far too many still for what is an entirely preventable disease, hey.
Anyway, back to Japan:
The term "sexual intercourse" has reportedly been banned in classrooms through repeated directives issued by the education ministry. And yet, educational authorities appear blinded to the fact that, in today's Japan, children grow up in an environment awash with distorted images of sex in manga, in magazines, on the Internet and on television, all of which make some young people overly interested in sex.
The first sentence is a little surprising. The second is somewhat true, although I would not say that on television there seems to have much emphasis on sex.
Then the editorial has this:
On a positive note, professor Montagnier maintains that a strong immunity resulting from a healthy lifestyle minimizes the HIV infection risk as the virus is not highly contagious, unlike other sexually transmitted diseases. This is why the poor -- who often have low immunity resulting from under-nourishment -- are the most vulnerable. The unhealthy eating habits of today's youths could also put them at a greater risk."
Maybe eating McDonalds leaves you more open to catching HIV?
Sounds like a highly questionable thing to be saying in an article criticising HIV education.
Watch out Mickey!
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Shadow over sunshine state as three women killed in a week
Imagine the publicity there would be here if there were 3 separate crocodile attacks around, say, Cairns, in a week.
Imagine the publicity there would be here if there were 3 separate crocodile attacks around, say, Cairns, in a week.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Back to black hole evaporation
0604196.pdf (application/pdf Object)
I do a quick search of the Arxiv site every month or so to see what is new on black holes. The very recent paper above concludes with this:
The primordial black holes in the early universe might have longer lifetime than the lifetime predicted by Hawking (2) because they were submerged in dense soup of matter. Those surviving primordial black holes may be part of the dark matter in our universe. Equations (4) and (6) also suggest that one may be able to exchange information with an observer inside the black hole (15) [if she or he is alive.] in principle by modulating HBC.
This seems potentially relevant to my earlier posts about proper risk assessment not (apparently) being done with respect to micro black holes at CERN. (As you may recall, the "risk assessment" paper that was done seemed to rely solely on such black holes evaporating via Hawking radiation before they could concieveably cause any trouble.)
Of course, I don't understand the paper in any detail at all. Perhaps if I understood it properly, the delay in evaporation the author talks about might not apply to micro black holes. Furthermore, I have no way of knowing whether the paper is fundamentally credible or not. (As I understand it, the people who run Arxiv do not have a perfect system to stop quasi-scientific nutter's papers from appearing there. As a rule of thumb, I trust papers with several authors more readily than those by single authors.)
Anyway, it still seems to support my basic concern about whether all possiblities have properly been looked into about the fate of micro black holes that might be created at CERN.
I do a quick search of the Arxiv site every month or so to see what is new on black holes. The very recent paper above concludes with this:
The primordial black holes in the early universe might have longer lifetime than the lifetime predicted by Hawking (2) because they were submerged in dense soup of matter. Those surviving primordial black holes may be part of the dark matter in our universe. Equations (4) and (6) also suggest that one may be able to exchange information with an observer inside the black hole (15) [if she or he is alive.] in principle by modulating HBC.
This seems potentially relevant to my earlier posts about proper risk assessment not (apparently) being done with respect to micro black holes at CERN. (As you may recall, the "risk assessment" paper that was done seemed to rely solely on such black holes evaporating via Hawking radiation before they could concieveably cause any trouble.)
Of course, I don't understand the paper in any detail at all. Perhaps if I understood it properly, the delay in evaporation the author talks about might not apply to micro black holes. Furthermore, I have no way of knowing whether the paper is fundamentally credible or not. (As I understand it, the people who run Arxiv do not have a perfect system to stop quasi-scientific nutter's papers from appearing there. As a rule of thumb, I trust papers with several authors more readily than those by single authors.)
Anyway, it still seems to support my basic concern about whether all possiblities have properly been looked into about the fate of micro black holes that might be created at CERN.
Where will Santa live?
Guardian Unlimited | Science | Meltdown fear as Arctic ice cover falls to record winter low
From the article:
The summer and winter ice levels are the lowest since satellite monitoring began in 1979, and almost certainly the lowest since local people began keeping records around 1900. The pace of decline since 2003, if continued, would see the Arctic totally ice-free in summer within 30 years - though few scientists would stake their reputations on a long-term trend drawn from only three years.
Oddly, I can't find other versions of this story on the internet yet. I guess they are coming.
From the article:
The summer and winter ice levels are the lowest since satellite monitoring began in 1979, and almost certainly the lowest since local people began keeping records around 1900. The pace of decline since 2003, if continued, would see the Arctic totally ice-free in summer within 30 years - though few scientists would stake their reputations on a long-term trend drawn from only three years.
Oddly, I can't find other versions of this story on the internet yet. I guess they are coming.
Edging closer to Tom (a sort of movie review)
I still didn't get to see Mission Impossible III this weekend just gone. But there was a Tom Cruise connection: I saw "The Interpreter" (with Nicole Kidman) on cable.
I knew that it had received reasonable but not ecstatic reviews, and I must say that I quite enjoyed it, even with the presence of Sean Penn and a script that was, shall we say, trying a little too hard to be earnest in places. But it did have the pleasures of a big Hollywood movie: a big scale (lots of filming inside the UN itself,) some sequences of genuine tension, and Nicole Kidman looking just gorgeous.
It does give the impression of the UN (particularly the General Assembly) being a useful forum, and in that sense it was well and truly dated even before the script was written. (Presumably they had to make the UN look good to get permission to film there.) Also, the interior of the UN looked very fresh and sparkly. I visited there as a tourist in about 1980, and it looked generally run down and in bad need of new carpet and fresh coats of paint. Have they actually spent money on refurbishing it in the the last 25 years? Or is it just good lighting in the movie?
I had also forgotten that, according to Mark Steyn, the script had initially had Islamists as the villains. This was changed to be more of a Rwandan type African crisis at the heart of the politics of the story.
Oh well, it still seemed to serve the plot well enough.
Not a perfect film, but enjoyable enough.
I knew that it had received reasonable but not ecstatic reviews, and I must say that I quite enjoyed it, even with the presence of Sean Penn and a script that was, shall we say, trying a little too hard to be earnest in places. But it did have the pleasures of a big Hollywood movie: a big scale (lots of filming inside the UN itself,) some sequences of genuine tension, and Nicole Kidman looking just gorgeous.
It does give the impression of the UN (particularly the General Assembly) being a useful forum, and in that sense it was well and truly dated even before the script was written. (Presumably they had to make the UN look good to get permission to film there.) Also, the interior of the UN looked very fresh and sparkly. I visited there as a tourist in about 1980, and it looked generally run down and in bad need of new carpet and fresh coats of paint. Have they actually spent money on refurbishing it in the the last 25 years? Or is it just good lighting in the movie?
I had also forgotten that, according to Mark Steyn, the script had initially had Islamists as the villains. This was changed to be more of a Rwandan type African crisis at the heart of the politics of the story.
Oh well, it still seemed to serve the plot well enough.
Not a perfect film, but enjoyable enough.
Sheehan on Shorten
Dollar signs turn survivors into heroes - Paul Sheehan - Opinion - smh.com.au
Paul Sheehan takes a very cynical look at the whole mines affair (he even seems to think it is rather distasteful of the rescued to be taking about money.)
What interests me, though, is Sheehan's take on the media savvy (and potential future Labor Party leader) Bill Shorten:
Shorten is entitled to take whatever the media will give him. He did his job well and may be a good bloke, but it needs to be pointed out that he harvested a massive amount of credulous treacle from the media and the normally feral letter-writers simply for spinning a public relations job on behalf of a union which is part of a larger power structure, the militant, trench-warfare Victorian union culture that Shorten has shown no signs of wanting to reform.
For this is the same Bill Shorten who comes out of the Victorian Labor Right faction led by Australia's political Frankenstein, Senator Stephen Conroy. The same Bill Shorten who recently engineered a safe, red-ribbon seat in Federal Parliament by the usual route of branch-stacking, factional deals and backstabbing, tipping out Bob Sercombe, the soon to be ex federal member for Maribyrnong. The same Bill Shorten backed by Victorian state MP, George Seitz, described in The Age on Saturday as "perhaps Victoria's worst, certainly its most crafty and long-lived, practitioner [of branch-stacking]". The same Bill Shorten supported by Sang Nguyen, long-time mobiliser of Vietnamese votes for Senator Conroy's factional wars.
I don't think Sheehan feels all that kindly towards him.
Paul Sheehan takes a very cynical look at the whole mines affair (he even seems to think it is rather distasteful of the rescued to be taking about money.)
What interests me, though, is Sheehan's take on the media savvy (and potential future Labor Party leader) Bill Shorten:
Shorten is entitled to take whatever the media will give him. He did his job well and may be a good bloke, but it needs to be pointed out that he harvested a massive amount of credulous treacle from the media and the normally feral letter-writers simply for spinning a public relations job on behalf of a union which is part of a larger power structure, the militant, trench-warfare Victorian union culture that Shorten has shown no signs of wanting to reform.
For this is the same Bill Shorten who comes out of the Victorian Labor Right faction led by Australia's political Frankenstein, Senator Stephen Conroy. The same Bill Shorten who recently engineered a safe, red-ribbon seat in Federal Parliament by the usual route of branch-stacking, factional deals and backstabbing, tipping out Bob Sercombe, the soon to be ex federal member for Maribyrnong. The same Bill Shorten backed by Victorian state MP, George Seitz, described in The Age on Saturday as "perhaps Victoria's worst, certainly its most crafty and long-lived, practitioner [of branch-stacking]". The same Bill Shorten supported by Sang Nguyen, long-time mobiliser of Vietnamese votes for Senator Conroy's factional wars.
I don't think Sheehan feels all that kindly towards him.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
How not to write an Australian film script
Quest to write the Great Australian Script - Film - Entertainment - smh.com.au
This article in the SMH today has lots of people offering lots of reasons as to why Australian films often seem to have bad scripts. All of these sound plausible to me, as there happens to be an enormous black spot in my cinematic tastes, called "Australian film."
I can't say that I have ever seen an Australian film that I would say has risen above mediocre. Of course, having established this taste by the time I was about 20, I haven't spent a lot of time seeking out Australian films. (But I am always interested in reviews of films whether I intend to see them or not, so I at least know a little bit about most films released.)
It is entirely possible that they have been ones made in the last 20 years that I might like, but then again that would cause a crisis in cinematic belief system. Anyway, it can be more fun to be cranky and unreasonable.
One thing about Australia films not really mentioned in the SMH article, and which bothers me, is their frequently claustrophobic physical scale. Even a "routine" relatively low budget American film will often have busy city street scenes, scenes at train stations, banks or somewhere with lots of actual people in the background. Which is what real life is actually like, for most of us.
It seems to me to be extremely common place that nearly all Australian movies (not counting American movies being made here), even if outdoors, will still not show busy outdoor scenes.
Of course, this is all part of the cost of making a film, and even the cheapest American product is much more expensive than your average Aussie one. So to the extent that it is hard to raise money for Aussie films, it can't be helped. (I wonder if it is hard to get unpaid extras for an Australian film?) It is still a reason why, more often than not, watching an Australian film puts me in mind of watching a play rather than watching cinema.
Finally, in the interests of balance, I have said before that Hollywood is going through a particularly barren number of years at the moment too. Still, I would have to say that mediocre Hollywood is more engaging than mediocre Australian.
This article in the SMH today has lots of people offering lots of reasons as to why Australian films often seem to have bad scripts. All of these sound plausible to me, as there happens to be an enormous black spot in my cinematic tastes, called "Australian film."
I can't say that I have ever seen an Australian film that I would say has risen above mediocre. Of course, having established this taste by the time I was about 20, I haven't spent a lot of time seeking out Australian films. (But I am always interested in reviews of films whether I intend to see them or not, so I at least know a little bit about most films released.)
It is entirely possible that they have been ones made in the last 20 years that I might like, but then again that would cause a crisis in cinematic belief system. Anyway, it can be more fun to be cranky and unreasonable.
One thing about Australia films not really mentioned in the SMH article, and which bothers me, is their frequently claustrophobic physical scale. Even a "routine" relatively low budget American film will often have busy city street scenes, scenes at train stations, banks or somewhere with lots of actual people in the background. Which is what real life is actually like, for most of us.
It seems to me to be extremely common place that nearly all Australian movies (not counting American movies being made here), even if outdoors, will still not show busy outdoor scenes.
Of course, this is all part of the cost of making a film, and even the cheapest American product is much more expensive than your average Aussie one. So to the extent that it is hard to raise money for Aussie films, it can't be helped. (I wonder if it is hard to get unpaid extras for an Australian film?) It is still a reason why, more often than not, watching an Australian film puts me in mind of watching a play rather than watching cinema.
Finally, in the interests of balance, I have said before that Hollywood is going through a particularly barren number of years at the moment too. Still, I would have to say that mediocre Hollywood is more engaging than mediocre Australian.
Friday, May 12, 2006
On the NSA listening in..
Much outrage in the US about the NSA potentially working out who rings who. I am sure someone else has probably said it already, but anyway:
Since Eschelon became known, (since about 1988, according to an article here,) it's been a fair assumption that just about anyone's call anywhere in the world could potentially be being listened to.
Why did Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton not wear any wave of criticism for this?
The fact that such intelligence stuff goes on doesn't matter much if it it is not being abused, although admittedly it will always have the potential for abuse.
Frankly, at least while ever the world retains the capacity to bomb itself back to the stone age, having really, really good intelligence seems a very good idea, and worth the risk of abuse.
And one good thing about democracies: there are lots of opportunity for actual abuse to be disclosed. No? Well at the moment, what we are seeing is plenty of leaking about the mere potential for abuse.
Since Eschelon became known, (since about 1988, according to an article here,) it's been a fair assumption that just about anyone's call anywhere in the world could potentially be being listened to.
Why did Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton not wear any wave of criticism for this?
The fact that such intelligence stuff goes on doesn't matter much if it it is not being abused, although admittedly it will always have the potential for abuse.
Frankly, at least while ever the world retains the capacity to bomb itself back to the stone age, having really, really good intelligence seems a very good idea, and worth the risk of abuse.
And one good thing about democracies: there are lots of opportunity for actual abuse to be disclosed. No? Well at the moment, what we are seeing is plenty of leaking about the mere potential for abuse.
Expensive, but handy
Skype offers interpreting service In 150 languages - Telco/ISP - www.itnews.com.au:
Skype has teamed up with two firms to provide an interpreters service in more than 150 languages for callers using the VoIP service...
The service is touted as being available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at a cost of US$2.99 a minute.
Skype has teamed up with two firms to provide an interpreters service in more than 150 languages for callers using the VoIP service...
The service is touted as being available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at a cost of US$2.99 a minute.
How is it relevant?
California okays lessons on gays in textbooks�|�Reuters.com
The above story (short version: California's state Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require textbooks in public schools to instruct students on contributions by gays and lesbians in the state's development) sounds too bizarre to be true.
How on earth is a person's sexual orientation relevant to what they have contributed to a state's development? But perhaps the bigger objection is to the compulsion to include it. Talk about going out of your way to upset your conservative constituents.
The above story (short version: California's state Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would require textbooks in public schools to instruct students on contributions by gays and lesbians in the state's development) sounds too bizarre to be true.
How on earth is a person's sexual orientation relevant to what they have contributed to a state's development? But perhaps the bigger objection is to the compulsion to include it. Talk about going out of your way to upset your conservative constituents.
Own your own spaceship
Private spaceflight | Rocket renaissance | Economist.com
Interesting article on various plans for privately run sub-orbital spaceships. I wish it had more pictures, though.
Interesting article on various plans for privately run sub-orbital spaceships. I wish it had more pictures, though.
Still under investigation
Health experts say cause for concern over "abortion pill"�|�Reuters.com
As a post here noted before, (I am going by memory here because the newspaper article link is no longer working) the problem is that the abortion pill's normal effects can mask what is actually an infection.
As a post here noted before, (I am going by memory here because the newspaper article link is no longer working) the problem is that the abortion pill's normal effects can mask what is actually an infection.
Black holes and extra dimensions
New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - When is a black hole like a dripping faucet?
Perhaps this is relevant to my previous posts about the uncertainties involved in creating micro black holes in particle accelerators.
What worries me is that so much about how they would behave seems unknown or unclear, and that this seems likely to still be the case when they might start to pop into existence at CERN in a year or so.
Perhaps this is relevant to my previous posts about the uncertainties involved in creating micro black holes in particle accelerators.
What worries me is that so much about how they would behave seems unknown or unclear, and that this seems likely to still be the case when they might start to pop into existence at CERN in a year or so.
An economics question
Michael Costello: Taking us down with them | News | The Australian
In the article above, Laborite Michael Costello criticises the budget because:
First and foremost, there is no strategy to rein in the current account deficit, which is running regularly at more than 6 per cent of gross domestic product and which has led to a national debt of about $500billion, still rocketing upwards. That's $23,000 for every man, woman and child in Australia.
He then quickly moves on to talk about skills shortage and training not being addressed.
Hang on, back to the current account deficit. This is all to do with private sector debt and import/export imblances, isn't it? Everyone acknowledges that there is no government debt now. Quite the opposite.
My question is: what are the possible government strategies to deal with large private sector debt, and our fondness for overseas goods?
It seems to me that this is an issue much raised on the Labor side, but (as in Costello's column) with virtually nothing said about how the government could tackle it.
OK, I know that Ken Davidson in The Age had a whole column about this, in which he wrote:
Given the unprecedented size of the foreign debt, a prudent government would measure every proposed expenditure and revenue initiative in the budget against its impact on net exports (exports less imports) in order to minimise the size of the current account deficit, which has to be financed by foreign borrowings.
But no, the Government is sticking with its discredited "twin deficits" thesis, to the effect that eventually budget surpluses, which add to national savings, will be reflected in current account surpluses.
It seems to me that this is not really an answer at all. There is no detail as to what expenditure and revenue measures could be taken to improve the current account deficit. I am guessing that this means that there is no magic cure; it would likely be a very tough nut for any governing party to crack.
Am I wrong?
In the article above, Laborite Michael Costello criticises the budget because:
First and foremost, there is no strategy to rein in the current account deficit, which is running regularly at more than 6 per cent of gross domestic product and which has led to a national debt of about $500billion, still rocketing upwards. That's $23,000 for every man, woman and child in Australia.
He then quickly moves on to talk about skills shortage and training not being addressed.
Hang on, back to the current account deficit. This is all to do with private sector debt and import/export imblances, isn't it? Everyone acknowledges that there is no government debt now. Quite the opposite.
My question is: what are the possible government strategies to deal with large private sector debt, and our fondness for overseas goods?
It seems to me that this is an issue much raised on the Labor side, but (as in Costello's column) with virtually nothing said about how the government could tackle it.
OK, I know that Ken Davidson in The Age had a whole column about this, in which he wrote:
Given the unprecedented size of the foreign debt, a prudent government would measure every proposed expenditure and revenue initiative in the budget against its impact on net exports (exports less imports) in order to minimise the size of the current account deficit, which has to be financed by foreign borrowings.
But no, the Government is sticking with its discredited "twin deficits" thesis, to the effect that eventually budget surpluses, which add to national savings, will be reflected in current account surpluses.
It seems to me that this is not really an answer at all. There is no detail as to what expenditure and revenue measures could be taken to improve the current account deficit. I am guessing that this means that there is no magic cure; it would likely be a very tough nut for any governing party to crack.
Am I wrong?
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wasting technology
Why the World Doesn't Need Hi-Def DVD's - New York Times
This story (about the upcoming hi-def DVD wars) is a good read. Beta and VHS all over again....
This story (about the upcoming hi-def DVD wars) is a good read. Beta and VHS all over again....
A funny comment from The Age
Turning up the cringe factor - TV & Radio - Entertainment - theage.com.au
From the above review of the Logies (most of which I missed):
CSI's George Eads and Chris Non (sorry, Noth) were excruciating but not nearly as freaky as Bec and Lleyton's Epponnee Rae moment with baby Mia. She was kitted out in a miniature version of Bec's frock and sporting one of those baby headbands that look like they're covering up a manufacturing seam. Half Australia swooned, the other half threw up, though it did lead Rove McManus and Peter Helliar into one of the best lines of the night from Crown: "Sorry, we left our baby in the car."
My only comment about the show is that Bert Newton had a joke (and not just a passing one, he dwelt on it) about how everyone on Nine's Today show laughs too much. The audience laughed a lot at this.
I don't watch Today, but my mother and one TV reviewer I read have said the same thing. Now it seems that the entire TV industry agrees. Isn't that a bit embarrassing for the people on Today?
From the above review of the Logies (most of which I missed):
CSI's George Eads and Chris Non (sorry, Noth) were excruciating but not nearly as freaky as Bec and Lleyton's Epponnee Rae moment with baby Mia. She was kitted out in a miniature version of Bec's frock and sporting one of those baby headbands that look like they're covering up a manufacturing seam. Half Australia swooned, the other half threw up, though it did lead Rove McManus and Peter Helliar into one of the best lines of the night from Crown: "Sorry, we left our baby in the car."
My only comment about the show is that Bert Newton had a joke (and not just a passing one, he dwelt on it) about how everyone on Nine's Today show laughs too much. The audience laughed a lot at this.
I don't watch Today, but my mother and one TV reviewer I read have said the same thing. Now it seems that the entire TV industry agrees. Isn't that a bit embarrassing for the people on Today?
Checking out Japundit
Today's line up of articles on Japundit features 3 that you should see (permalinks here, with my own titles):
Proof that they are taking low child rate seriously
Shinto festival with a very big guest (probably workplace safe, it's cultural after all)
It doesn't take good looks to be an advertising star in Japan
Proof that they are taking low child rate seriously
Shinto festival with a very big guest (probably workplace safe, it's cultural after all)
It doesn't take good looks to be an advertising star in Japan
Angry Liberal guy
Boing Boing: Angry liberal guy rant
See this (sort of) funny post at Boing Boing (which has interesting stuff despite its politics).
Also at Boing Boing, a pic of a very cool design for a rotating kitchen.
See this (sort of) funny post at Boing Boing (which has interesting stuff despite its politics).
Also at Boing Boing, a pic of a very cool design for a rotating kitchen.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
In case you wondering what the letter said
Dr. Sanity
See the link above to Dr Sanity's take on the long, long lecture/letter the Iranian President wrote to George Bush. (You can get to the translation of the letter from there too.) Also, have a look at the way AP reported this, via LGF. Really appalling.
See the link above to Dr Sanity's take on the long, long lecture/letter the Iranian President wrote to George Bush. (You can get to the translation of the letter from there too.) Also, have a look at the way AP reported this, via LGF. Really appalling.
Sex on the brain
New Scientist Breaking News - Clue to sexual attraction found in lesbian brain
The study reported above strikes me as rather useless. The fact the lesbians brains seem to respond differently from those of straight women to a male armpit chemical doesn't tell us a hell of a lot, does it? As the report says:
"But our study can't answer questions of cause and effect," cautions lead researcher Ivanka Savic at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "We can't say whether the differences are because of pre-existing differences in their brains, or if past sexual experiences have conditioned their brains to respond differently."
I would have been surprised if their brains did respond the same way.
The article says:
Despite these issues, the scientists agree that mapping these differences in brain activity between heterosexual and homosexual women is an important step towards understanding how sexual orientation manifests in the brain.
Given this chicken and egg problem about sexual differences in brains, and that the cost of such studies can't be so cheap, haven't we got many better things for which to be scanning brains?
The study reported above strikes me as rather useless. The fact the lesbians brains seem to respond differently from those of straight women to a male armpit chemical doesn't tell us a hell of a lot, does it? As the report says:
"But our study can't answer questions of cause and effect," cautions lead researcher Ivanka Savic at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "We can't say whether the differences are because of pre-existing differences in their brains, or if past sexual experiences have conditioned their brains to respond differently."
I would have been surprised if their brains did respond the same way.
The article says:
Despite these issues, the scientists agree that mapping these differences in brain activity between heterosexual and homosexual women is an important step towards understanding how sexual orientation manifests in the brain.
Given this chicken and egg problem about sexual differences in brains, and that the cost of such studies can't be so cheap, haven't we got many better things for which to be scanning brains?
Take a Bex, Elizabeth
A tragic tale of a nation that drowned in greed and neglect - Opinion
Good Lord, Elizabeth Farrelly, the SMH's architecture and planning writer, gets very overwrought in her article in today's paper. It takes 3/4 of the article to get to the reason she's writing it: her objection to the New South Wales State government reviewing the Building Sustainability Index. (Which apparently requires energy and water efficiencies in new houses.)
She may be right; doing away with the index may well be short sighted. But to go on with a rant for the first page like this (talking from the point of view of explaining to our grandchildren what happened):
Instead, we chose to get richer, fatter and smugger. We had resources to burn and, my, we burnt them. What a fire it was. We let our fauna drift into extinction and our indigenes into indigence. Instead of harvesting wind, wave, hot-rock or sun energy, which we had in sparkling abundance, we sold our forests for toilet tissue, our rivers for cotton-farming, our space for radioactive waste, our military for oil. While old Europe poured her energies into sustaining big, dense populations on the few renewables she could muster, we, stuck in neutral, let the mining lobby draft our energy policy and the developers draft our urban plans. So, while the old world leapt forward we new worlders went on filling our air with fossil fuels and covering our remaining farmlands with fat, eaveless houses.
And yet, as the icecaps started to melt and the earth to drown, we sank ever deeper into denial.
And so on.
Doesn't she realise that such hyperbole doesn't serve her cause well? Don't ruin a decent argument by claiming the end of the world if you lose the debate.
Good Lord, Elizabeth Farrelly, the SMH's architecture and planning writer, gets very overwrought in her article in today's paper. It takes 3/4 of the article to get to the reason she's writing it: her objection to the New South Wales State government reviewing the Building Sustainability Index. (Which apparently requires energy and water efficiencies in new houses.)
She may be right; doing away with the index may well be short sighted. But to go on with a rant for the first page like this (talking from the point of view of explaining to our grandchildren what happened):
Instead, we chose to get richer, fatter and smugger. We had resources to burn and, my, we burnt them. What a fire it was. We let our fauna drift into extinction and our indigenes into indigence. Instead of harvesting wind, wave, hot-rock or sun energy, which we had in sparkling abundance, we sold our forests for toilet tissue, our rivers for cotton-farming, our space for radioactive waste, our military for oil. While old Europe poured her energies into sustaining big, dense populations on the few renewables she could muster, we, stuck in neutral, let the mining lobby draft our energy policy and the developers draft our urban plans. So, while the old world leapt forward we new worlders went on filling our air with fossil fuels and covering our remaining farmlands with fat, eaveless houses.
And yet, as the icecaps started to melt and the earth to drown, we sank ever deeper into denial.
And so on.
Doesn't she realise that such hyperbole doesn't serve her cause well? Don't ruin a decent argument by claiming the end of the world if you lose the debate.
The budget response
A quick survey of the left leaning blogosphere this morning shows very, very little response to last night's budget. Seems they are sitting around scratching their heads about how to best attack it. When Labor immediately supports a lot of it, that makes the job pretty hard.
Really, this would have to be the best received budget I can ever remember.
But one thing I would suggest to the government for next year's pre-election sweetener. Go for a re-instatement of a reasonably funded dental health scheme for the pensioners. It is obvious that all of the States are just never going to fund this properly themselves (even though it is logically their responsibility.) It looks like a couple of hundred million dollars a year would replace the old scheme, which seems peanuts when the surplus is maybe $10 to $12 billion.
Really, this would have to be the best received budget I can ever remember.
But one thing I would suggest to the government for next year's pre-election sweetener. Go for a re-instatement of a reasonably funded dental health scheme for the pensioners. It is obvious that all of the States are just never going to fund this properly themselves (even though it is logically their responsibility.) It looks like a couple of hundred million dollars a year would replace the old scheme, which seems peanuts when the surplus is maybe $10 to $12 billion.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Panic over corporations power
Tearing up the constitution - Opinion - theage.com.au
Greg Craven, a professor of constitutional law (and the executive director of the John Curtin Institute) gets over-excited by the implications of a Commonwealth success on the current IR High Court case. He argues that, as most things are done by corporations, if the Commonwealth succeeds in controlling industrial relations this way, they will be able to control... everything.
There may be some point to some of his examples, although I am far from completely convinced about any of them. What I think is his most ridiculous example is this:
The school sector faces the same prospect. Numerous private schools are organised as corporations, and have nowhere to hide, yet even state schools should be feeling the cold breath of the Brindabellas on their necks. After all, what proportion of their students ultimately will work for corporations? Under an ascendant corporations power, a law regulating state school curriculums in the interests of their ultimate corporate employers is a tritely logical step.
So a power to govern corporations could be used to dictate to State governments the curriculum of non-corporate State schools? By no stretch of the imagination can I see that as plausible. (I guess that by signing up to some weird UN treaty it could happen under the external affairs power, but that is a different argument entirely. It is also an avenue more widely used on "progressive" issues than conservative one.)
Constitutional law professor or not, you need to a grip, Craven.
And as for Labor generally on this issue, the phrase "hoist on your own petard" seems most appropriate.
Greg Craven, a professor of constitutional law (and the executive director of the John Curtin Institute) gets over-excited by the implications of a Commonwealth success on the current IR High Court case. He argues that, as most things are done by corporations, if the Commonwealth succeeds in controlling industrial relations this way, they will be able to control... everything.
There may be some point to some of his examples, although I am far from completely convinced about any of them. What I think is his most ridiculous example is this:
The school sector faces the same prospect. Numerous private schools are organised as corporations, and have nowhere to hide, yet even state schools should be feeling the cold breath of the Brindabellas on their necks. After all, what proportion of their students ultimately will work for corporations? Under an ascendant corporations power, a law regulating state school curriculums in the interests of their ultimate corporate employers is a tritely logical step.
So a power to govern corporations could be used to dictate to State governments the curriculum of non-corporate State schools? By no stretch of the imagination can I see that as plausible. (I guess that by signing up to some weird UN treaty it could happen under the external affairs power, but that is a different argument entirely. It is also an avenue more widely used on "progressive" issues than conservative one.)
Constitutional law professor or not, you need to a grip, Craven.
And as for Labor generally on this issue, the phrase "hoist on your own petard" seems most appropriate.
From an MI3 review
in the New Yorker (Anthony Lane):
Returning from there, they don’t even make it to the office, having the misfortune, while crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, to run into a barrage of air-to-ground missiles fired by a pilotless drone. I hate it when that happens.
And from The Sunday Times review:
..Yes, there’s one reference to America blowing things up in the Middle East and cleaning up financially, but it’s so silly, not even Noam Chomsky could take it seriously.
I wouldn't bet on that!
I haven't seen it yet. Maybe this weekend.
Returning from there, they don’t even make it to the office, having the misfortune, while crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, to run into a barrage of air-to-ground missiles fired by a pilotless drone. I hate it when that happens.
And from The Sunday Times review:
..Yes, there’s one reference to America blowing things up in the Middle East and cleaning up financially, but it’s so silly, not even Noam Chomsky could take it seriously.
I wouldn't bet on that!
I haven't seen it yet. Maybe this weekend.
Real tough guys
The only original thing I can think to say about the release of the Tasmania miners is that they make David Blaine look like a goose.
Monday, May 08, 2006
On socialism
TCS Daily - Why Isn't Socialism Dead?
The article above on socialism, and its relationship to myth in particular, is interesting. I'm not sure if its explanation of Marx's views on revolution is entirely accurate, but certainly the idea that socialism serves the equivalent function of religion for many people does ring true.
The article above on socialism, and its relationship to myth in particular, is interesting. I'm not sure if its explanation of Marx's views on revolution is entirely accurate, but certainly the idea that socialism serves the equivalent function of religion for many people does ring true.
Don't hold back, Theodore
Theodore Dalrymple: From stiff upper lip to clenched jaws | Opinion | The Australian
Theodore Dalrymple really lets fly in this Spectator article, which seems to have appeared in The Australian on Saturday:
The doctrine of rights has borne putrid fruit. In the ward recently was a young woman of the now very extensive slut-babymother class, whose jaw was clenched in a habitual expression of world-destroying hatred. Her glittering saurian eyes swivelled mistrustingly, on the qui vive for infringements of her rights. She exuded grievance as a skunk exudes its odour.
I think Theo has retired recently (was this his last piece for The Spectator?) A pity in a way, but probably good for his blood pressure.
Theodore Dalrymple really lets fly in this Spectator article, which seems to have appeared in The Australian on Saturday:
The doctrine of rights has borne putrid fruit. In the ward recently was a young woman of the now very extensive slut-babymother class, whose jaw was clenched in a habitual expression of world-destroying hatred. Her glittering saurian eyes swivelled mistrustingly, on the qui vive for infringements of her rights. She exuded grievance as a skunk exudes its odour.
I think Theo has retired recently (was this his last piece for The Spectator?) A pity in a way, but probably good for his blood pressure.
Noel Pearson talks sense
Visions of brighter future can liberate camp dwellers - Opinion - theage.com.au
The article above is short, but again shows Noel Pearson's common sense on aboriginal issues. This part in particular rings true:
Welfare reform is only a part of the picture. True reconciliation would also mean that Aboriginal Australians could walk in two worlds; that they could seek work and education in places far away without losing the link to their homelands.
We must change the current system, because it does not provide incentives for young people and their parents to think about the future. There is no substitute for geographic mobility, education and work experience; without them, Aboriginal culture will collapse.
As I am sure I have said here before, the idea of all remote communities being able to be integrated into the national economy always seemed to be pie in the sky. (Sure, some might make it on art works or tourist ventures; but even those with mining employment available nearby have not always succeeded.) Lack of integration into the economy means poverty, hopelessness, and the vices that go along with those.
At least to the extent that it may have encouraged residents in remote and non-economically viable areas to stay there, the emphasis on land rights (with its talk of the spiritual need for "connection with the land") has actually worked against the interests of keeping a viable aboriginal culture alive.
Pearson seems to think that the land connection is still important to keep, and that is fair enough, as long as it does not encourage the kids actually stay there.
The article above is short, but again shows Noel Pearson's common sense on aboriginal issues. This part in particular rings true:
Welfare reform is only a part of the picture. True reconciliation would also mean that Aboriginal Australians could walk in two worlds; that they could seek work and education in places far away without losing the link to their homelands.
We must change the current system, because it does not provide incentives for young people and their parents to think about the future. There is no substitute for geographic mobility, education and work experience; without them, Aboriginal culture will collapse.
As I am sure I have said here before, the idea of all remote communities being able to be integrated into the national economy always seemed to be pie in the sky. (Sure, some might make it on art works or tourist ventures; but even those with mining employment available nearby have not always succeeded.) Lack of integration into the economy means poverty, hopelessness, and the vices that go along with those.
At least to the extent that it may have encouraged residents in remote and non-economically viable areas to stay there, the emphasis on land rights (with its talk of the spiritual need for "connection with the land") has actually worked against the interests of keeping a viable aboriginal culture alive.
Pearson seems to think that the land connection is still important to keep, and that is fair enough, as long as it does not encourage the kids actually stay there.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Aspartame cleared - again
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Sweetener 'not linked to cancer'
The Europeans have decided that an earlier study that raised a question about the safety of aspartame (as found in diet drinks) was flawed. (I had posted about the previous study before.)
So how much Diet Coke (or Pepsi Max) can you drink and be OK?:
"On the basis of the evidence," said Dr Pratt, "there is no reason to revise the previously established Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) or to undertake any further revisions of the safety of aspartame."
The ADI is the level of additive considered to be safe if consumed every day over a lifetime without risk to health.
For aspartame, the ADI is set by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) at 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
An adult would have to drink about 14 cans a day of diet soft drink, or consume about 80 sachets of sweetener to reach this amount.
Drink up.
The Europeans have decided that an earlier study that raised a question about the safety of aspartame (as found in diet drinks) was flawed. (I had posted about the previous study before.)
So how much Diet Coke (or Pepsi Max) can you drink and be OK?:
"On the basis of the evidence," said Dr Pratt, "there is no reason to revise the previously established Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) or to undertake any further revisions of the safety of aspartame."
The ADI is the level of additive considered to be safe if consumed every day over a lifetime without risk to health.
For aspartame, the ADI is set by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) at 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
An adult would have to drink about 14 cans a day of diet soft drink, or consume about 80 sachets of sweetener to reach this amount.
Drink up.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Nasty Surfdom
It's been noted by Currency Lad and his readers recently that Road to Surfdom has become a nasty place of late. Have a look at this post and in particular the comment from Aussie Bob, which argues that as Australia is a "religious monarchy" it's not a real democracy anyway, and who are we to question the legitimacy of the Iranian "democracy", which is a little different in style, but (just like ours) allows for religious figures to intervene in government. (I don't think that is an unfair summary of his argument.)
There are some arguments not even worth wasting your breath with, and I made a post to that effect. (Yes, I am the Steve. I did not put my url on the post, as there seems to be little here that its readers would agree with.) The post was meant to be slightly tongue in cheek, and of course I could expect some response to the effect of challenging me to argue against AB instead.
AB does do that, but in a style I find snide and overly personal, as indeed are comments below that. They then got onto the Cole response to the Hitchens article, the links to which are well worth reading. The Surfdom readers - well, the couple who referred to it - think Cole got the better of the argument. This I similarly find hard to believe, when Cole comes across to me as barely keeping it together.
No one has yet taken up my proposal that some one on the left should state the bleeding obvious responses to Aussie Bob.
Anyway, you can see why I consider Surfdom has become a very unpleasant place to post, or even visit much for that matter. It's rather reminiscent of posting at Webdiary in its heyday.
Update: Dunlop's pun obviously stuck in my brain. I originally referred to "Serfdom" in this post. Sorry.
There are some arguments not even worth wasting your breath with, and I made a post to that effect. (Yes, I am the Steve. I did not put my url on the post, as there seems to be little here that its readers would agree with.) The post was meant to be slightly tongue in cheek, and of course I could expect some response to the effect of challenging me to argue against AB instead.
AB does do that, but in a style I find snide and overly personal, as indeed are comments below that. They then got onto the Cole response to the Hitchens article, the links to which are well worth reading. The Surfdom readers - well, the couple who referred to it - think Cole got the better of the argument. This I similarly find hard to believe, when Cole comes across to me as barely keeping it together.
No one has yet taken up my proposal that some one on the left should state the bleeding obvious responses to Aussie Bob.
Anyway, you can see why I consider Surfdom has become a very unpleasant place to post, or even visit much for that matter. It's rather reminiscent of posting at Webdiary in its heyday.
Update: Dunlop's pun obviously stuck in my brain. I originally referred to "Serfdom" in this post. Sorry.
The only option ?
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Give Iran Enough Rope
Found via LGF was the above article that suggests waiting on the Iranian issue at the moment. Given the apparent difficulties of "surgical" military action in this case, and the possible regional consequences as well, this seems to be the only option at the moment. (Maybe Israel has nothing to lose if it embarks on some limited operation, but no one seems to think it can do it on its own.)
Found via LGF was the above article that suggests waiting on the Iranian issue at the moment. Given the apparent difficulties of "surgical" military action in this case, and the possible regional consequences as well, this seems to be the only option at the moment. (Maybe Israel has nothing to lose if it embarks on some limited operation, but no one seems to think it can do it on its own.)
It's all about fun
BBC NEWS | Health | Britons 'put fun before babies'
Meanwhile in Britain:
The Guardian poll suggested that those quizzed were aware of women's declining fertility, but that they had to balance financial and work pressures against this.
However, most men (64%) and most women (51%) said it was more important for women to enjoy themselves than have children.
A majority also said they believed doing well at work and earning money can count for more than bringing up children.
The report says nothing about how this poll was taken. I suspect that if it was of readers of the left leaning newspaper, the results would be skewed against having children.
The Family Planning Association seems to downplay the fact that people waiting too long means not many people at all soon enough:
A spokeswoman for the Family Planning Association said things had changed both for women and men, with more choices and opportunities open to both.
"There are more things you can do in life, such as going off travelling and going to university.
"But it's actually quite a responsible thing to do, to wait until you are financially secure before having a family so that you can provide for your children."
This may be a reason for delaying children until you are able to work, but otherwise this line of thinking ("we can't start yet, we would have to put off that 3 month holiday in France") is really what fertility experts are trying to warn against.
Meanwhile in Britain:
The Guardian poll suggested that those quizzed were aware of women's declining fertility, but that they had to balance financial and work pressures against this.
However, most men (64%) and most women (51%) said it was more important for women to enjoy themselves than have children.
A majority also said they believed doing well at work and earning money can count for more than bringing up children.
The report says nothing about how this poll was taken. I suspect that if it was of readers of the left leaning newspaper, the results would be skewed against having children.
The Family Planning Association seems to downplay the fact that people waiting too long means not many people at all soon enough:
A spokeswoman for the Family Planning Association said things had changed both for women and men, with more choices and opportunities open to both.
"There are more things you can do in life, such as going off travelling and going to university.
"But it's actually quite a responsible thing to do, to wait until you are financially secure before having a family so that you can provide for your children."
This may be a reason for delaying children until you are able to work, but otherwise this line of thinking ("we can't start yet, we would have to put off that 3 month holiday in France") is really what fertility experts are trying to warn against.
The vanishing children of Japan
The Japan Times Online - Advanced Search
From the above:
The number of children in Japan has been falling for 25 years straight, highlighting the country's aging population and declining birthrate, an annual government survey showed Thursday....
Children 14 and under now make up 13.7 percent the population, down from 13.8 percent a year ago, hitting a record low and declining for the 32nd year in a row. Meanwhile, people aged over 65 account for a record-high 20.4 percent....
The percentage of young children to the overall population in Japan ranks even lower than other aging societies, including Italy, where such children make up 14.2 percent of the population, and Germany and Spain, both of which stand at 14.5 percent, according to the most recent figures.
Must be less and less need for primary school teachers every year.
These are awful figures, which the government will have to deal with in a serious way soon.
From the above:
The number of children in Japan has been falling for 25 years straight, highlighting the country's aging population and declining birthrate, an annual government survey showed Thursday....
Children 14 and under now make up 13.7 percent the population, down from 13.8 percent a year ago, hitting a record low and declining for the 32nd year in a row. Meanwhile, people aged over 65 account for a record-high 20.4 percent....
The percentage of young children to the overall population in Japan ranks even lower than other aging societies, including Italy, where such children make up 14.2 percent of the population, and Germany and Spain, both of which stand at 14.5 percent, according to the most recent figures.
Must be less and less need for primary school teachers every year.
These are awful figures, which the government will have to deal with in a serious way soon.
It's turtle's all the way down
New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - 'Cyclic universe' can explain cosmological constant
I will expand on this post later.
Update: I think that the news@nature version of this story is much clearer than the New Sdientist one above. (It's a pity that news@nature links are not good for very long.) From the Nature story:
A bouncing universe that expands and then shrinks every trillion years or so could explain one of the most puzzling problems in cosmology: how we can exist at all...
In Steinhardt and Turok's cyclic model of the Universe, it expands and contracts repeatedly over timescales that make the 13.7 billion years that have passed since the Big Bang seem a mere blink. This makes the Universe vastly old. And that in turn means that the mysterious 'cosmological constant', which describes how empty space appears to repel itself, has had time to shrink into the strangely small number that we observe today.
In 1996, it was discovered that the universe is not only expanding but is also speeding up. The cosmological constant was used to describe a force of repulsion that might cause this acceleration. But physicists were baffled as to why the cosmological constant was so small.
Quantum theory suggests that 'empty' space is in fact buzzing with subatomic particles that constantly pop in and out of existence. This produces a 'vacuum energy', which makes space repel itself, providing a physical explanation for the cosmological constant.
But the theoretically calculated value of vacuum energy is enormous, making space far too repulsive for particles to come together and form atoms, stars, planets, or life. The observed vacuum energy, in contrast, is smaller by a factor of 10120 - 1 followed by 120 zeros. "It is a huge problem why the vacuum energy is so much smaller than its natural value," says Carroll.
The "cyclic universe" idea gives lots of time for the vacuum energy to have decayed to its current strength.
What I don't understand is how the collapse of the universe starts in this theory.
I still have a soft spot for Frank Tipler's Omega Point theory, expounded in detail in "The Physics of Immortality." How the cyclic universe idea fits into that, I am not sure. Tipler has not given up on his ideas either, as this relatively recent interview shows. Tipler believes that it is life itself that will cause the slow down in the current acceleration of the expansion of the universe:
So, if the observed acceleration were to continue forever, the Omega Point Theory would be refuted. But the expansion of life to engulf the universe is EXACTLY what is required to cancel the positive cosmological constant (a.k.a. the Dark Energy): as life expands outward, life willl require energy, and before the collapse of the universe provides gravitational collapse energy, the energy source will be the conversion of baryons and leptons into energy via electroweak quantum tunnelling, a process I describe in Section N (relativistic spacecraft) of the Appendix for Scientists. What I did not realize when I wrote my book a decade ago is that this electroweak process would also act to cancel any positive cosmological constant today, and that the net baryon number in the universe would REQUIRE such Dark Energy today.
The weakest part of Tipler's ideas is his suggested method of "resurrection" which (as I recall it) requires every possible version of every person in all of the "many worlds" being re-created by the super advanced computing thing-y that is God at the end of the universe. I had a thought while having a shower recently which seemed a better idea, but it is only a rough idea which I don't want to reveal for now.
I don't always have deep thoughts in the shower.
By the way, for those who may not know, the title of this post is explained at Wikipedia. (I am amazed at what you can find there now.)
UPDATE: The Nature article has links to some more detailed papers about the cyclic model. One I have read quickly is here. It does explain the model more clearly, even though there is much terminology there that is way above my head. Importantly, it seems that the model does not mean the universe shrinks to anything like an Omega Point (a total "Big Crunch") before the next bang happens. (There's some confusing stuff about black holes mentioned in the paper too.) Having read this, it made me realise I had something about this model some time ago in New Scientist.
It's all speculative fun, but at least does seem capable of some testing.
I will expand on this post later.
Update: I think that the news@nature version of this story is much clearer than the New Sdientist one above. (It's a pity that news@nature links are not good for very long.) From the Nature story:
A bouncing universe that expands and then shrinks every trillion years or so could explain one of the most puzzling problems in cosmology: how we can exist at all...
In Steinhardt and Turok's cyclic model of the Universe, it expands and contracts repeatedly over timescales that make the 13.7 billion years that have passed since the Big Bang seem a mere blink. This makes the Universe vastly old. And that in turn means that the mysterious 'cosmological constant', which describes how empty space appears to repel itself, has had time to shrink into the strangely small number that we observe today.
In 1996, it was discovered that the universe is not only expanding but is also speeding up. The cosmological constant was used to describe a force of repulsion that might cause this acceleration. But physicists were baffled as to why the cosmological constant was so small.
Quantum theory suggests that 'empty' space is in fact buzzing with subatomic particles that constantly pop in and out of existence. This produces a 'vacuum energy', which makes space repel itself, providing a physical explanation for the cosmological constant.
But the theoretically calculated value of vacuum energy is enormous, making space far too repulsive for particles to come together and form atoms, stars, planets, or life. The observed vacuum energy, in contrast, is smaller by a factor of 10120 - 1 followed by 120 zeros. "It is a huge problem why the vacuum energy is so much smaller than its natural value," says Carroll.
The "cyclic universe" idea gives lots of time for the vacuum energy to have decayed to its current strength.
What I don't understand is how the collapse of the universe starts in this theory.
I still have a soft spot for Frank Tipler's Omega Point theory, expounded in detail in "The Physics of Immortality." How the cyclic universe idea fits into that, I am not sure. Tipler has not given up on his ideas either, as this relatively recent interview shows. Tipler believes that it is life itself that will cause the slow down in the current acceleration of the expansion of the universe:
So, if the observed acceleration were to continue forever, the Omega Point Theory would be refuted. But the expansion of life to engulf the universe is EXACTLY what is required to cancel the positive cosmological constant (a.k.a. the Dark Energy): as life expands outward, life willl require energy, and before the collapse of the universe provides gravitational collapse energy, the energy source will be the conversion of baryons and leptons into energy via electroweak quantum tunnelling, a process I describe in Section N (relativistic spacecraft) of the Appendix for Scientists. What I did not realize when I wrote my book a decade ago is that this electroweak process would also act to cancel any positive cosmological constant today, and that the net baryon number in the universe would REQUIRE such Dark Energy today.
The weakest part of Tipler's ideas is his suggested method of "resurrection" which (as I recall it) requires every possible version of every person in all of the "many worlds" being re-created by the super advanced computing thing-y that is God at the end of the universe. I had a thought while having a shower recently which seemed a better idea, but it is only a rough idea which I don't want to reveal for now.
I don't always have deep thoughts in the shower.
By the way, for those who may not know, the title of this post is explained at Wikipedia. (I am amazed at what you can find there now.)
UPDATE: The Nature article has links to some more detailed papers about the cyclic model. One I have read quickly is here. It does explain the model more clearly, even though there is much terminology there that is way above my head. Importantly, it seems that the model does not mean the universe shrinks to anything like an Omega Point (a total "Big Crunch") before the next bang happens. (There's some confusing stuff about black holes mentioned in the paper too.) Having read this, it made me realise I had something about this model some time ago in New Scientist.
It's all speculative fun, but at least does seem capable of some testing.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
A good fisking required
Guardian Unlimited - This high-octane rocket-rattling against Tehran is unlikely to succeed
The above article is by Tariq Ali, who (as one would expect from his past writing) naturally springs to the defence of Iran in the current atomic programme confrontation.
It seems very likely that this could be the subject of a very good fisking, but I don't have the detailed knowledge or time to undertake it. Christopher Hitchens would be the obvious journalist to do it.
Ali seems to deal with one issue - Iran's hope for the obliteration of Israel - in a confusing way. This is the paragraph:
Nor is fundamentalist backwardness exhibited in the denial of the Nazi genocide against the Jews and the threat to obliterate Israel, a basis for any foreign policy. To face up to the enemies ranged against Iran requires an intelligent and far-sighted strategy - not the current rag-bag of opportunism and manoeuvre, determined by the immediate interests of the clerics.
Maybe it is just me, but I have read that first sentence several times and its meaning is still not clear. I think (from the second sentence) that Ali does not agree that Iran should be making such threats, but why does he not give these statements the importance they deserve in relation to the world's strong reaction to the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran?
Ali talks of Washington having "manufactured this crisis". Sure, and Iranian hopes to see Israel wiped off the map have nothing to do with it.
In the bigger picture, how has America helped make the Iranians feel insecure lately? By giving their fellow Shia the major role in the government of Iraq? From the Washington Post:
Iraq's president appealed for national unity and the renunciation of sectarian violence ahead of a parliament meeting set for Wednesday, saying he had met with Sunni Arab insurgent leaders and observed a "great change" in their war aims.
The insurgents "do not think that the Americans are the main enemy," President Jalal Talabani said in an interview on al-Hurra television Tuesday night. "They feel threatened by what they call the 'Iranian threat.'
He referred to the insurgents' fear of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, which many Sunnis believe is dominated by the neighboring Shiite theocracy in Iran.
I would also be happy to see if anyone can come up with any credible Israeli politician who has ever talked of the elimination of the state of Iran.
A link that gives some more background as to this problem (from the Israeli perspective) is here.
That's as much as I have time for now.
The above article is by Tariq Ali, who (as one would expect from his past writing) naturally springs to the defence of Iran in the current atomic programme confrontation.
It seems very likely that this could be the subject of a very good fisking, but I don't have the detailed knowledge or time to undertake it. Christopher Hitchens would be the obvious journalist to do it.
Ali seems to deal with one issue - Iran's hope for the obliteration of Israel - in a confusing way. This is the paragraph:
Nor is fundamentalist backwardness exhibited in the denial of the Nazi genocide against the Jews and the threat to obliterate Israel, a basis for any foreign policy. To face up to the enemies ranged against Iran requires an intelligent and far-sighted strategy - not the current rag-bag of opportunism and manoeuvre, determined by the immediate interests of the clerics.
Maybe it is just me, but I have read that first sentence several times and its meaning is still not clear. I think (from the second sentence) that Ali does not agree that Iran should be making such threats, but why does he not give these statements the importance they deserve in relation to the world's strong reaction to the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran?
Ali talks of Washington having "manufactured this crisis". Sure, and Iranian hopes to see Israel wiped off the map have nothing to do with it.
In the bigger picture, how has America helped make the Iranians feel insecure lately? By giving their fellow Shia the major role in the government of Iraq? From the Washington Post:
Iraq's president appealed for national unity and the renunciation of sectarian violence ahead of a parliament meeting set for Wednesday, saying he had met with Sunni Arab insurgent leaders and observed a "great change" in their war aims.
The insurgents "do not think that the Americans are the main enemy," President Jalal Talabani said in an interview on al-Hurra television Tuesday night. "They feel threatened by what they call the 'Iranian threat.'
He referred to the insurgents' fear of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, which many Sunnis believe is dominated by the neighboring Shiite theocracy in Iran.
I would also be happy to see if anyone can come up with any credible Israeli politician who has ever talked of the elimination of the state of Iran.
A link that gives some more background as to this problem (from the Israeli perspective) is here.
That's as much as I have time for now.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Nutty actor makes decent movies
Mission: Impossible III
Early reviews for MI 3 are good. Yay.
I really liked the first MI, but it was a sort of guilty pleasure. Uneven acting, a plot that was hard to follow, but great direction. (Has any other director had a career as wildly uneven as De Palma?)
MI2 - just awful. In every respect.
Tom Cruise: sometimes acts well, sometimes not. A bit of a nut in his private life. But he usually chooses interesting films, and despite it all, I find him kinda likeable.
Early reviews for MI 3 are good. Yay.
I really liked the first MI, but it was a sort of guilty pleasure. Uneven acting, a plot that was hard to follow, but great direction. (Has any other director had a career as wildly uneven as De Palma?)
MI2 - just awful. In every respect.
Tom Cruise: sometimes acts well, sometimes not. A bit of a nut in his private life. But he usually chooses interesting films, and despite it all, I find him kinda likeable.
On Hamas and history
Hamas is new name for old desire to eliminate Israel - Opinion - theage.com.au
The Age runs a very pro-Jewish column today, which (I predict) will soon be followed by a pro-Arab rebuttal. It's a good read anyway.
The Age runs a very pro-Jewish column today, which (I predict) will soon be followed by a pro-Arab rebuttal. It's a good read anyway.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
An unusual diversion in Japan
For those following the travelogue of my recent Japan jaunt, I did not get to the third "must see" as recommended by our friends (it was Hiroshima), but a visit to other friends to the north of Tokyo happened to be near a place I would not normally visit - the Twin Ring Motegi motor racing/amusement complex.
Less than a decade old, and built by Honda, it's a pretty impressive place even for the uninterested in motor sports person, such as me. Here's a pic of part of the racetrack, where they have Indy races:
It's a big complex, with a hotel and camp area, go cart track, kiddie rides and technology centre.
Of particular rev-head interest is the Honda Collection Hall. It seems to contain examples of just about every model car, cycle or doo-dad that Honda has built. Also included is this replica of the first motor cycle ever built (by a Mr Daimler in 1885):
[Have a look at that seat. I guess they figured they were building a horse replacement, so why not have a seat that is just like a saddle.]
There is also this:
The caption says that this bicycle engine produced in 1947 was the first product to bear the Honda name.
At the other end of the scale is this shiny metal monster:
[Sorry but I seem to have missed taking a pic of the sign, so I am not sure what recent model it is.]
But for a nerdy person like me, the favourite part of the complex is that it is a home to this:
Asimo, the Honda robot, which puts on a demo a couple of times a day. He walks up the stairs, waves a lot, follows the cute human around etc. It's interesting, but also shows how we're a long, long way from Astroboy or I Robot. (Technology really evolves in unexpected ways, doesn't it? Robots, artificial intelligence and human space exploration are so far behind where the 1960's seemed to indicate we would be. On the other hand, the way everyone, even my 82 year old mother, uses the internet was hardly seen coming. Heinlein in the 40's and 50's had it nearly perfectly wrong when he had highly reliable rocketships that were navigated using slide rules. Anyway, I digress.)
This pic shows the evolution of Asimo. I like the earlier versions which are like a microwave on legs:
Once again, I refer readers to Wikipedia for more detail about this complex. Seems from that article that the design of the track has met with some complaint. Here's the official (English) website too.
Less than a decade old, and built by Honda, it's a pretty impressive place even for the uninterested in motor sports person, such as me. Here's a pic of part of the racetrack, where they have Indy races:
It's a big complex, with a hotel and camp area, go cart track, kiddie rides and technology centre.
Of particular rev-head interest is the Honda Collection Hall. It seems to contain examples of just about every model car, cycle or doo-dad that Honda has built. Also included is this replica of the first motor cycle ever built (by a Mr Daimler in 1885):
[Have a look at that seat. I guess they figured they were building a horse replacement, so why not have a seat that is just like a saddle.]
There is also this:
The caption says that this bicycle engine produced in 1947 was the first product to bear the Honda name.
At the other end of the scale is this shiny metal monster:
[Sorry but I seem to have missed taking a pic of the sign, so I am not sure what recent model it is.]
But for a nerdy person like me, the favourite part of the complex is that it is a home to this:
Asimo, the Honda robot, which puts on a demo a couple of times a day. He walks up the stairs, waves a lot, follows the cute human around etc. It's interesting, but also shows how we're a long, long way from Astroboy or I Robot. (Technology really evolves in unexpected ways, doesn't it? Robots, artificial intelligence and human space exploration are so far behind where the 1960's seemed to indicate we would be. On the other hand, the way everyone, even my 82 year old mother, uses the internet was hardly seen coming. Heinlein in the 40's and 50's had it nearly perfectly wrong when he had highly reliable rocketships that were navigated using slide rules. Anyway, I digress.)
This pic shows the evolution of Asimo. I like the earlier versions which are like a microwave on legs:
Once again, I refer readers to Wikipedia for more detail about this complex. Seems from that article that the design of the track has met with some complaint. Here's the official (English) website too.
Those sensitive muslims at it again
World Cup Row: German Brothel Removes Muslim Flags Amid Threats - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
I missed this story from last week:
A giant poster covering the side of the seven-story, 126-apartment building showed a friendly-looking blonde woman lifting up her bra.... Right beneath her pink panties were posters of the flags, including those of strictly Islamic Saudi Arabia and Iran...
The campaign provoked excitement, but not the kind the management was hoping for. Men from the Muslim community came to the door complaining that showing the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran was an insult to the Prophet Muhammad. Later, some returned in masks.
"On Friday evening we were threatened by 11 masked men who demand that we take down the Saudi Arabian flag." ....
"On Saturday night there were 20 masked men armed with knives and sticks. They threatened to get violent and even bomb the place unless we black out the Iranian and Saudia Arabian flags on the poster as well," said Lobscheid.
Far be it for me to defend brothel owners, but surely these Muslim guys should have better things to worry about than where certain national flags appear.
The brothel, by the way, is said to be:
Europe's largest brothel, which incidentally claims to be the world's only brothel with a money-back guarantee for dissatisfied customers...
The local Small Claims Tribunal equivalent might have had some interesting cases.
I missed this story from last week:
A giant poster covering the side of the seven-story, 126-apartment building showed a friendly-looking blonde woman lifting up her bra.... Right beneath her pink panties were posters of the flags, including those of strictly Islamic Saudi Arabia and Iran...
The campaign provoked excitement, but not the kind the management was hoping for. Men from the Muslim community came to the door complaining that showing the flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran was an insult to the Prophet Muhammad. Later, some returned in masks.
"On Friday evening we were threatened by 11 masked men who demand that we take down the Saudi Arabian flag." ....
"On Saturday night there were 20 masked men armed with knives and sticks. They threatened to get violent and even bomb the place unless we black out the Iranian and Saudia Arabian flags on the poster as well," said Lobscheid.
Far be it for me to defend brothel owners, but surely these Muslim guys should have better things to worry about than where certain national flags appear.
The brothel, by the way, is said to be:
Europe's largest brothel, which incidentally claims to be the world's only brothel with a money-back guarantee for dissatisfied customers...
The local Small Claims Tribunal equivalent might have had some interesting cases.
Something's wrong with those kiddies
Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Tough on crime, to hell with the causes of crime if they make money
George Monbiot refers to an old study in England, which I have read about elsewhere, indicating that rectifying bad diet has a clear effect on reducing violent crime. Of course, for Monbiot, this means that the government should be heavily regulating fast food advertising.
But this little part of his article is especially odd:
Which? reports that the most popular ITV programmes among two- to nine-year-olds are Dancing on Ice, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, but Ofcom plans to regulate only the programmes made specifically for the under-nines.
Coronation Street is popular with under 9 year olds??
I have never heard of Emmerdale before, but it is described on one Google link as "a popular TV soap opera set in the Yorkshire Dales." The ITV website provides this synopsis of an upcoming episode (note the title, and visit the website for a pic from the show):
Dominatricks
Tues 2nd May, 7.00pm
When Pollard hears that he may have some information on rival Irvin Ward, he heads off to meet Shirley Walsh in a local layby.
But instead of giving Pollard the information, she turns frisky and tries to give him something else!
It is all of course a set-up, which Pollard realises when the courier photographer snaps him in the act!
Back in the village and another prominent local is in danger of being caught out when Hari lies to Paddy and arranges to meet with passionate Perdy.
And finally, Jean comes up with a plan for her and Terry to stay together, in secret. What’s her idea?
Poor diet amongst kids may be a serious issue, but how about a column on the dangers of little ones watching soaps?
George Monbiot refers to an old study in England, which I have read about elsewhere, indicating that rectifying bad diet has a clear effect on reducing violent crime. Of course, for Monbiot, this means that the government should be heavily regulating fast food advertising.
But this little part of his article is especially odd:
Which? reports that the most popular ITV programmes among two- to nine-year-olds are Dancing on Ice, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, but Ofcom plans to regulate only the programmes made specifically for the under-nines.
Coronation Street is popular with under 9 year olds??
I have never heard of Emmerdale before, but it is described on one Google link as "a popular TV soap opera set in the Yorkshire Dales." The ITV website provides this synopsis of an upcoming episode (note the title, and visit the website for a pic from the show):
Dominatricks
Tues 2nd May, 7.00pm
When Pollard hears that he may have some information on rival Irvin Ward, he heads off to meet Shirley Walsh in a local layby.
But instead of giving Pollard the information, she turns frisky and tries to give him something else!
It is all of course a set-up, which Pollard realises when the courier photographer snaps him in the act!
Back in the village and another prominent local is in danger of being caught out when Hari lies to Paddy and arranges to meet with passionate Perdy.
And finally, Jean comes up with a plan for her and Terry to stay together, in secret. What’s her idea?
Poor diet amongst kids may be a serious issue, but how about a column on the dangers of little ones watching soaps?
Adams on a downer
Phillip Adams seems to have been on rather a big downer lately. A couple of weeks ago, readers discovered that snakes and him seem to have a special affinity. Next, he seemed to admit to getting depressed by running Late Night Live because of all the worldly troubles that it covers. (Here's a hint Phillip: you wouldn't get so depressed if you made more of an attempt to have right leaning optimists as guests rather than the endless line of lefty pessimists.)
Today, he seems to have taken some political heart from the death of Private Kovco:
Paul Keating was hounded to his political grave by "the recession we had to have". Howard should be hounded to his by the war we had to have. For all the PM's skills in having our troops kept comparatively safe in Iraq, he put the entire country in harm's way by upping the terrorism temperature, by helping recruit a myriad more and by greatly increasing our status as a prospective target.
Now Bush's presidency is in the toilet, yet Howard has, on Iraq, remained flushed with success despite all the lies, death and destruction. But not any more. The sad death of this young man, no matter how it came about, forces attention to be paid to Howard's greatest blunder. And the fiasco of the young man's coffin is a perfect symbol for the greater fiasco of the war. The one we had to have.
I think he's clutching at straws here.I can't see that an accidental death, suicide or even murder of a soldier will have any particular resonance with the public the issue of the Iraq war generally. Accidents or mistfortune happen to soldiers all the time in training or operations; doesn't make much difference where they are.
You never know Phillip, maybe you will strike it really lucky and there will be a terrorist attack on Australian soil so you see (some) public backlash against Howard. The trouble for you will be that the other half of the population will instead see vindication of the anti-terrorism laws, and feel that the warnings about the seriousness of the terrorist threat was justified all along.
Today, he seems to have taken some political heart from the death of Private Kovco:
Paul Keating was hounded to his political grave by "the recession we had to have". Howard should be hounded to his by the war we had to have. For all the PM's skills in having our troops kept comparatively safe in Iraq, he put the entire country in harm's way by upping the terrorism temperature, by helping recruit a myriad more and by greatly increasing our status as a prospective target.
Now Bush's presidency is in the toilet, yet Howard has, on Iraq, remained flushed with success despite all the lies, death and destruction. But not any more. The sad death of this young man, no matter how it came about, forces attention to be paid to Howard's greatest blunder. And the fiasco of the young man's coffin is a perfect symbol for the greater fiasco of the war. The one we had to have.
I think he's clutching at straws here.I can't see that an accidental death, suicide or even murder of a soldier will have any particular resonance with the public the issue of the Iraq war generally. Accidents or mistfortune happen to soldiers all the time in training or operations; doesn't make much difference where they are.
You never know Phillip, maybe you will strike it really lucky and there will be a terrorist attack on Australian soil so you see (some) public backlash against Howard. The trouble for you will be that the other half of the population will instead see vindication of the anti-terrorism laws, and feel that the warnings about the seriousness of the terrorist threat was justified all along.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Must try harder
Warning over use of wrong antibiotics - National - theage.com.au
I didn't even know that pre-operation antibiotics were used. Well they are, but often not properly, it seems:
Patients are being placed at greater risk of acquiring harmful infections because doctors are giving them the wrong antibiotic before surgery, according to infectious disease experts.
An analysis of almost 18,000 surgical procedures in 27 Victorian hospitals, by the body that collects information for the State Government about hospital infections, shows the proportion in which the choice of antibiotic is described as "inadequate" ranges from 2.3 per cent for cardiac surgery to 56.7 per cent for hysterectomies.
The timing of antibiotic administration is also crucial. A patient should be given a shot of antibiotics ideally in the hour before the surgeon makes the first incision, and no more than two hours before. But too much antibiotic use can build resistance.
Many posts back, when I was reading about hospital doctors and hand washing, I think I read the suggestion somewhere that patients should pin a sign on their chest saying "have you washed your hands yet." (Probably a good way to get rougher treatment, I am guessing.) Anyway, seems it wouldn't hurt to ask questions of your surgeon about your antibiotic too.
I didn't even know that pre-operation antibiotics were used. Well they are, but often not properly, it seems:
Patients are being placed at greater risk of acquiring harmful infections because doctors are giving them the wrong antibiotic before surgery, according to infectious disease experts.
An analysis of almost 18,000 surgical procedures in 27 Victorian hospitals, by the body that collects information for the State Government about hospital infections, shows the proportion in which the choice of antibiotic is described as "inadequate" ranges from 2.3 per cent for cardiac surgery to 56.7 per cent for hysterectomies.
The timing of antibiotic administration is also crucial. A patient should be given a shot of antibiotics ideally in the hour before the surgeon makes the first incision, and no more than two hours before. But too much antibiotic use can build resistance.
Many posts back, when I was reading about hospital doctors and hand washing, I think I read the suggestion somewhere that patients should pin a sign on their chest saying "have you washed your hands yet." (Probably a good way to get rougher treatment, I am guessing.) Anyway, seems it wouldn't hurt to ask questions of your surgeon about your antibiotic too.
Houses and power lines - an issue here soon?
Telegraph | News | Pylon cancer fears puts 7 bn blight on house prices
I don't think I have seen this story in the Aussie press.
It interests me because I happen to live in an area where a couple of new estates have been built with allotments very, very close to high voltage powerlines. (Certainly well within the 230 foot limit refered to in the above story I am sure.)
If this gets some publicity, it will do nothing for the value of houses built in those estates.
I don't think I have seen this story in the Aussie press.
It interests me because I happen to live in an area where a couple of new estates have been built with allotments very, very close to high voltage powerlines. (Certainly well within the 230 foot limit refered to in the above story I am sure.)
If this gets some publicity, it will do nothing for the value of houses built in those estates.
More on women in Saudi Arabia
BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Saudi Arabia's unseen reform
Back in February, I pointed readers towards a Guardian article on the glacial pace of reform for women in Saudi Arabia.
The BBC shorter article above covers similar ground, but it is such a bizarre society that I find these reports irresistable. In part:
Saudi universities are segregated, separate campuses for men and women, to the extent that male lecturers as a rule only interact with female students via videophone linkups....
Relating to a visit to a shopping centre:
There is a steady trade at the abaya shop. Next door a display of lingerie is far sexier than anything I have seen in London.
The newest move is to introduce female shop assistants here, so Saudi women no longer need to buy their underwear from male attendants.
Why on earth are men not generally allowed to stand in front of a classroom of women, but can sell them sexy underwear? Just how turned on can a man get by looking at a roomfull of black cloth bags?
And generally:
But all those I spoke to agreed, any new reforms must go slowly to avoid a backlash.
The protest by Saudi women who dared flout the ban on driving during the first Iraq war in 1991 had been disastrous, prompting a wave of conservative anger. That mistake must not be repeated this time.
Back in February, I pointed readers towards a Guardian article on the glacial pace of reform for women in Saudi Arabia.
The BBC shorter article above covers similar ground, but it is such a bizarre society that I find these reports irresistable. In part:
Saudi universities are segregated, separate campuses for men and women, to the extent that male lecturers as a rule only interact with female students via videophone linkups....
Relating to a visit to a shopping centre:
There is a steady trade at the abaya shop. Next door a display of lingerie is far sexier than anything I have seen in London.
The newest move is to introduce female shop assistants here, so Saudi women no longer need to buy their underwear from male attendants.
Why on earth are men not generally allowed to stand in front of a classroom of women, but can sell them sexy underwear? Just how turned on can a man get by looking at a roomfull of black cloth bags?
And generally:
But all those I spoke to agreed, any new reforms must go slowly to avoid a backlash.
The protest by Saudi women who dared flout the ban on driving during the first Iraq war in 1991 had been disastrous, prompting a wave of conservative anger. That mistake must not be repeated this time.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Toilets in Japan
It's not clear whether anyone is appreciating the posts I am making about my recent trip to Japan, as comments have been non-existent. Oh well, only a couple of posts to go before I have had enough too.
I thought I would mention the Japanese "washlet" toilet, as they are extremely popular there, and a little intimidating to the western visitor. There is actually an extremely detailed entry on Japanese toilets on Wikipedia, which is genuinely interesting and informative, and gives much more information than I can. Nevertheless, I will give my briefer guide here.
I took a photo of the "control panel " on a typical household "washlet" toilet:
The diagrams are relatively self explanatory; even if the symbol for "butt" is a little amusing. Pressing the second or third button from the left would start a whirring sound as a little arm under the seat protrudes and water starts to squirt out, aimed with surprising accuracy to the area in question. Of course, while you are sitting there, until the water starts, you have to take it on trust that the thing is operating correctly. Standing up and checking is, presumably, a good way to get wet. (Actually, the Wikipedia entry says a pressure switch on modern ones stops the spray if you are not sitting on it. Gosh, they think of everything! However, this is not something I would want to test.)
The important thing to know is that the square "stop" button on the left ends the wash. (I am not sure if there is a time limit on the length of the spray if you don't press the stop button; I have personally never let it go on that long.) The water is warmed in the machine, and the spray pressure is adjustable, from "gentle" to "close to enema". Take my advice and pick a middle setting. (On some models it is a round dial that adjusts this, I think on this model it is the bar on the bottom left. Japanese readers feel free to correct me.) Some models have air blowing dryers in them too, but air being blown around a pre-flushed toilet tends to be smelly. I would not take that option if I were buying one.
These type of toilets are not only extremely common in homes, but also department store and restaurant restrooms. Automatic water taps and soap dispensers are also quite common in more recent public toilets.
While older public toilets in parks and subways can be pretty basic (and without a western toilet at all,) newer ones are very nice and high tech indeed. The best one I recall from this trip was upstairs in Tokyo (Train) Station in the restaurant alley area. The whole layout was nice, and with a new model of air hand dryer that actually did work. No chance to take a photo there, though...
One thing a Westerner notices about mens toilets in Japan is how there is very little care taken about whether the urinals can be seen from outside. In fact, on the bullet train, there is a urinal which has a door and a long window on it so that you just look in to see some guy's back if it is being used. I guess this is not unusual for the Europeans, with their old less than full height street pissoirs, but it strikes an Australian as odd.
I now use washlet toilets without fear, and trust that with the advantage of the ever-educational Dominion, you can too...
I thought I would mention the Japanese "washlet" toilet, as they are extremely popular there, and a little intimidating to the western visitor. There is actually an extremely detailed entry on Japanese toilets on Wikipedia, which is genuinely interesting and informative, and gives much more information than I can. Nevertheless, I will give my briefer guide here.
I took a photo of the "control panel " on a typical household "washlet" toilet:
The diagrams are relatively self explanatory; even if the symbol for "butt" is a little amusing. Pressing the second or third button from the left would start a whirring sound as a little arm under the seat protrudes and water starts to squirt out, aimed with surprising accuracy to the area in question. Of course, while you are sitting there, until the water starts, you have to take it on trust that the thing is operating correctly. Standing up and checking is, presumably, a good way to get wet. (Actually, the Wikipedia entry says a pressure switch on modern ones stops the spray if you are not sitting on it. Gosh, they think of everything! However, this is not something I would want to test.)
The important thing to know is that the square "stop" button on the left ends the wash. (I am not sure if there is a time limit on the length of the spray if you don't press the stop button; I have personally never let it go on that long.) The water is warmed in the machine, and the spray pressure is adjustable, from "gentle" to "close to enema". Take my advice and pick a middle setting. (On some models it is a round dial that adjusts this, I think on this model it is the bar on the bottom left. Japanese readers feel free to correct me.) Some models have air blowing dryers in them too, but air being blown around a pre-flushed toilet tends to be smelly. I would not take that option if I were buying one.
These type of toilets are not only extremely common in homes, but also department store and restaurant restrooms. Automatic water taps and soap dispensers are also quite common in more recent public toilets.
While older public toilets in parks and subways can be pretty basic (and without a western toilet at all,) newer ones are very nice and high tech indeed. The best one I recall from this trip was upstairs in Tokyo (Train) Station in the restaurant alley area. The whole layout was nice, and with a new model of air hand dryer that actually did work. No chance to take a photo there, though...
One thing a Westerner notices about mens toilets in Japan is how there is very little care taken about whether the urinals can be seen from outside. In fact, on the bullet train, there is a urinal which has a door and a long window on it so that you just look in to see some guy's back if it is being used. I guess this is not unusual for the Europeans, with their old less than full height street pissoirs, but it strikes an Australian as odd.
I now use washlet toilets without fear, and trust that with the advantage of the ever-educational Dominion, you can too...
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