Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iran mocks EU nuclear offer
From the above report:
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has rejected European plans to build his country a nuclear reactor in return for it giving up its uranium enrichment programme.
In a hardline speech in the city of Arak, where Iran's only existing nuclear reactor is being constructed, he mocked the plans being developed by the UK, France and Germany...
"Do you think you are dealing with a four-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?"
And this:
Iranian media reported yesterday that Mr Ahmadinejad was drafting a second letter to Mr Bush.
He seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands for letter writing.
Update: Slate's article about the sort of deals that are apparently being rejected before they are even made is very good.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Gone to the great tea party in the sky
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia
The article above is about concerns of non-Muslims in Malaysia that they are "feeling increasingly beleaguered". It's an interesting read on a serious topic.
However, there is an odd bit of information in the article:
Last year the compound of a cult known as the Sky Kingdom was levelled by the authorities, weeks after an attack by a Muslim mob. Many of the cultists are now on trial.
A photo caption refers to this as "the teapot cult". Which, of course, cries out for further investigation.
As usual, Wikipedia covers it. From its article:
Sky Kingdom attracted worldwide mass media attention in mid 2005, over concerns about efforts by the Malaysian government to suppress its followers as apostates from Islam. The controversy brought to light the issue of whether sharia superseded the right to religious freedom under the Malaysian constitution. This attention was coupled with considerable bemusement over followers’ central objects of veneration, which include a large cream-coloured teapot. The teapot is said to symbolise the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven." It is the earthly model of a celestial prototype.
From a different site, here's a photo of the (now demolished) holy teapot:
If this can make it as an object of veneration, why can't the Big Pineapple at Nambour?
Maybe the destruction of the teapot commune got some coverage here at the time it happened, but if so I missed it.
The article above is about concerns of non-Muslims in Malaysia that they are "feeling increasingly beleaguered". It's an interesting read on a serious topic.
However, there is an odd bit of information in the article:
Last year the compound of a cult known as the Sky Kingdom was levelled by the authorities, weeks after an attack by a Muslim mob. Many of the cultists are now on trial.
A photo caption refers to this as "the teapot cult". Which, of course, cries out for further investigation.
As usual, Wikipedia covers it. From its article:
Sky Kingdom attracted worldwide mass media attention in mid 2005, over concerns about efforts by the Malaysian government to suppress its followers as apostates from Islam. The controversy brought to light the issue of whether sharia superseded the right to religious freedom under the Malaysian constitution. This attention was coupled with considerable bemusement over followers’ central objects of veneration, which include a large cream-coloured teapot. The teapot is said to symbolise the purity of water and "love pouring from heaven." It is the earthly model of a celestial prototype.
From a different site, here's a photo of the (now demolished) holy teapot:
If this can make it as an object of veneration, why can't the Big Pineapple at Nambour?
Maybe the destruction of the teapot commune got some coverage here at the time it happened, but if so I missed it.
Some ideas on how to deal with Iran
OpinionJournal - From WSJ.com
The above article has some ideas, but they sound far from being assured of success.
Hitchen's most recent article on Iran (and that letter) is well worth reading too.
UPDATE: another very good article on the problem is at Tech Central Station. (No real solution offered, but it points out how, if Bin Laden is anything to go by, Iran will be emboldened and become more of a trouble maker if the US eventually gives up on this issue.)
The above article has some ideas, but they sound far from being assured of success.
Hitchen's most recent article on Iran (and that letter) is well worth reading too.
UPDATE: another very good article on the problem is at Tech Central Station. (No real solution offered, but it points out how, if Bin Laden is anything to go by, Iran will be emboldened and become more of a trouble maker if the US eventually gives up on this issue.)
Something on Huffington worth reading
The Blog | Eugene Volokh: Ward Churchill | The Huffington Post
Not often that I suggest that readers look at Huffington for purposes other than ridicule, but this post on an investigation into nutty professor Ward Churchill is worth reading. (Turns out he took sock puppetry to new heights.)
Not often that I suggest that readers look at Huffington for purposes other than ridicule, but this post on an investigation into nutty professor Ward Churchill is worth reading. (Turns out he took sock puppetry to new heights.)
What does the public think
USA Today Poll Omits Major Point: NSA Didn’t Listen to Calls | NewsBusters.org
An interesting post (and comments) at Newsbusters on how the NSA getting its hand on phone records is going over with the American public.
An interesting post (and comments) at Newsbusters on how the NSA getting its hand on phone records is going over with the American public.
Can't wait...
Robbie Williams' alien cult plans - Showbiz News - Life Style Extra
Robbie Williams wants to start his own mystical religion... dedicated to extra-terrestrials.
...
"I'm not going to start it right now because I'm too busy. But I want to do it. I think the cult will have to wait until next year. But it will be free and universal."
The religion would reportedly be aimed at people who share Robbie's long-running fixation with aliens.
Last year the singer claimed the world would soon be invaded by little green men.
He said: "I've been dreaming every night about UFO's. I can't wait to go to sleep at night because those dreams have been so brilliant.
"I think they are definitely on their way, seriously. Mark my words. From now until 2012 - watch out kids."
Robbie Williams wants to start his own mystical religion... dedicated to extra-terrestrials.
...
"I'm not going to start it right now because I'm too busy. But I want to do it. I think the cult will have to wait until next year. But it will be free and universal."
The religion would reportedly be aimed at people who share Robbie's long-running fixation with aliens.
Last year the singer claimed the world would soon be invaded by little green men.
He said: "I've been dreaming every night about UFO's. I can't wait to go to sleep at night because those dreams have been so brilliant.
"I think they are definitely on their way, seriously. Mark my words. From now until 2012 - watch out kids."
Aboriginal problems
Dirty big secret | Features | The Australian
Of course the newly publicised stories of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities are appalling.
The article above has lots of complaining that this has been known for a long time, but not much is done. Or if something is done, it is not done well enough. Noel Pearson, for example, says:
...physical or sexual abuse of children is "totally reprehensible and not acceptable in any community". Parents who neglect their children and allow them to become targets of sexual predators are also culpable.
"We proposed this to government and got no response," Pearson says. "It transpired that police stop investigations into abuse when they talk to the families and are told they do not know anything about the incident. They are not persisted with. The police basically stop the investigation. Anybody who possesses information of an assault on a child should have to give that information."
Pearson says the Queensland Government had not assisted by appointing community justice groups comprising local elders but giving them no support. "We asked for laws to be changed so that members of the justice groups could not be abused or sworn at, but that never happened. Why should an old woman be sworn at when she is walking down the street, just because she is trying to do something for her community by being on the justice group? We sought to have them protected, but that just never happened."
But Noel, how do the police force a family to co-operate in interviews over how their kiddie got an STD? And how do you protect a local elder in such small communities from verbal abuse? A continous police escort?
I feel so sorry for the police who have to deal with these communities.
It certainly does seem that there is a reluctance to remove children from aboriginal parents in situations where there would be no hesitation at all if it was a white family.
The whole basic problem comes down to communities rendered dysfunctional by a combination of having no participation in an economy, rampant drug abuse, and unresolved cutural issues that are not helped by trying to keep one foot in the past and one in the present.
While there are no easy answers, surely it would help if there was renewed effort to make more communities alcohol free, free from petrol sniffing (with that petrol you can't sniff), no hesitation to removing children who are obviously being sexually abused (eg those who have an STD) into care (even if they have to be sent a great distance away,) and large incentive for all children to be educated away from these communities. The benefit of educating them away from home is that it might encourage the communities that can't be so easily just "shut down" might fade away gradually due to the kids realising there is a better world out there.
Even though I have no knowledge of aboriginal communities other than through the media, surely these ideas are just common sense?
Of course the newly publicised stories of sexual abuse in aboriginal communities are appalling.
The article above has lots of complaining that this has been known for a long time, but not much is done. Or if something is done, it is not done well enough. Noel Pearson, for example, says:
...physical or sexual abuse of children is "totally reprehensible and not acceptable in any community". Parents who neglect their children and allow them to become targets of sexual predators are also culpable.
"We proposed this to government and got no response," Pearson says. "It transpired that police stop investigations into abuse when they talk to the families and are told they do not know anything about the incident. They are not persisted with. The police basically stop the investigation. Anybody who possesses information of an assault on a child should have to give that information."
Pearson says the Queensland Government had not assisted by appointing community justice groups comprising local elders but giving them no support. "We asked for laws to be changed so that members of the justice groups could not be abused or sworn at, but that never happened. Why should an old woman be sworn at when she is walking down the street, just because she is trying to do something for her community by being on the justice group? We sought to have them protected, but that just never happened."
But Noel, how do the police force a family to co-operate in interviews over how their kiddie got an STD? And how do you protect a local elder in such small communities from verbal abuse? A continous police escort?
I feel so sorry for the police who have to deal with these communities.
It certainly does seem that there is a reluctance to remove children from aboriginal parents in situations where there would be no hesitation at all if it was a white family.
The whole basic problem comes down to communities rendered dysfunctional by a combination of having no participation in an economy, rampant drug abuse, and unresolved cutural issues that are not helped by trying to keep one foot in the past and one in the present.
While there are no easy answers, surely it would help if there was renewed effort to make more communities alcohol free, free from petrol sniffing (with that petrol you can't sniff), no hesitation to removing children who are obviously being sexually abused (eg those who have an STD) into care (even if they have to be sent a great distance away,) and large incentive for all children to be educated away from these communities. The benefit of educating them away from home is that it might encourage the communities that can't be so easily just "shut down" might fade away gradually due to the kids realising there is a better world out there.
Even though I have no knowledge of aboriginal communities other than through the media, surely these ideas are just common sense?
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.
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