An open thread, where at your weekend leisure, you can discuss anything you like.
Life, Culture and Politics from BrisVegas
Larvatus Prodeo was an Australian group blog which discussed politics, sociology, culture, life, religion and science from a left of centre perspective. more»
I bet that the police officer in the UK who shagged the wife of the politician he was the bodyguard for will get punished much worse than the police officer who shagged the activists he was doing undercover spying on.
Have done another history post. This and part of the other post on James Proctor, somewhat edited is the opening of part 2 of ch. 6 of my book.
http://beingahistoryheadandotherthings.blogspot.com/2011/01/chasing-down-james-proctor-ii.html
I’m savouring the absurdity of a Dutchman who hates wind power and a rich git who thinks that a good way to defend the landscape from the “visual pollution” of a wind farm is to put up a billboard:
Some days I don’t think Australia is a real country at all – it’s actually a novel by Tom Sharpe.
Just listening to a discussion on whether to have a temporary flood levy or not. Seems the LNP have forgotten the various levies (milk,sugar,East Timor) imposed by the Howard government, not to mention Tone’s proposed levy on major businesses to fund his version of the parental leave scheme.
Should we have a national flood levy to rebuild infrastructure and is a temporary GST increase the most sensible way of collecting it?
Wantok @ 4,
Yes, we should have a national flood levy. No. It should not be funded through a temporary GST increse because any temporary GST increase would be permanent. It would never be decreased, and this time round it would be an increase without compensation for pensioners and the low-waged.
I liked an interview with James Fallows I caught on News 24 this morning. Not up yet for a link. On the other hand, how bad does Blair come across now? Reckons HE pushed Doubleya into Iraq and that his difference with the Attorney General was about politics not the law! ?? Also managed this time around to acknowledge deaths other than his soldiers. Sick prick.
It seems the issue of USA religious fundamentalism is proving to be the big subject for this year’s crop of independent films at Sundance. Now, why would that be?
http://gawker.com/5740060/
Yes Zorronsky,
Blair asked UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to make a report on the legality of going to war on the basis of Resolution 1441. Lord Goldsmith expressed doubts. Blair brushed aside these doubts as “provisional” and went ahead with the war anyway, saying now (in 2011) he believed “Lord Goldsmith would come around to his interpretation of the legal position once he knew the full history of the negotiations behind Resolution 1441.”
Here are some questions I hope Blair is asked:
1. Did Blair ever attempt to provide his own Attorney General with the “full history”?
2. If not, why not?
3. Did Blair rely on any other legal advice to justify war?
4. If so, what was it?
5. Were the providers of that alternative advice privy to the “full history” denied the Attorney General of the UK?
6. If so, who provided them with that “full history”?
7. If not, what were the bases upon which Blair accepted their “provisional” advice in preference to the “provisional” advice of the Attorney General of the UK?
8. Did that “full history” in fact come from US sources?
And one for the British:
Do the citizens of the UK not think it undemocratic that the UK Cabinet was being misled by Blair who did not take them into his confidence but instead conducted personal diplomacy by means of secret notes with GWB, the Head of State of a foreign power?
LOL. Today’s OZ has a story on the NBN being threatened in the wet. Duh!
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/national-broadband-vulnerable-to-the-wet/story-e6frg6nf-1225992611594
For those interested, Ive posted a contemporary report on the 1893 floods from The Brisbane Courier, 6 February 1893, over at my blog. You can scan for suburbs by their upper case subheading.
As opposed to what Blair is saying now re pushing GWB, I’m sure I can recall him, in the face of Labor anti-war criticisms, offering the [now exposed ]lie of being a moderator to W’s aggression. How can anyone believe a single word he says? And in view of his urgings for another war in the Middle East, this time against Iran, what exactly are his motives. Christian fundamentalist? The Crusades Mk 3? Zionist appeasement?
Not much debate on the flood levy. A pity that.
After five minutes of consideration I’m agin it. The suggestion we might have to have one is mediocre politics and really poor governance.
If it’s necessary for the Federal government to provide funds for recovery from the SEQ floods – as it is – then the Federal Gummint has to bite the bullet and provide the funds out of existing tax revenue. Hell, they could bite it even harder and declare that the budget surplus promised for 2014 (or whenever) obviously isn’t going to happen because we just had a national disaster and dealing with that means it’s break even at best or [cue creepy horror movie music] go into deficit.
The only thing that’s preventing that is the now entrenched superstition that budget surpluses are necessarily a good thing and that’s just the sort of neoliberal ideological guff that people are discussing here.
As an aside, the idea of a levy is positively medieval. One-off levies imposed on the peasantry was the way the French aristocracy funded their interminable national and private wars during the 14th century.
Thank you, LE.
I wonder if people will start calling the site of GOMA “Walmsley’s Point” again?
Everybody rock out with The Go! Team’s “Buy Nothing Day”.(Play Loud)
@11
There must be a messianic element to it and if that is the case then the UK was lead by a borderline nutjob for the over a decade. It is such a pity, the situation post September 11 2001 has suffered from the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time. The people who flew those planes were wrong but the people who orchestrated the reaction were no better. Dog knows how this will play out. I think Adam Curtis’s documentaries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis) are definitely worth watching both from an aesthetic and historical point of view.
Sorry that should be “led” as in zeppelin.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/09/10/grogs-gamut-why-the-blair-book-leaves-me-cold/
Blair just comes across as a hollow man but perhaps his recent religious conversion has impaired his political judgement as well. I’m with Grog on this one.
Ah yes, the levy…
Deficit financing is now a political millstone in Australia. The Right would eat the ALP down to the bone were they to deficit finance a flood recovery. I’m sure I’m not the only person to notice that the Australian Right’s abhorrence of deficit financing does not extend to a critique of US Republican political economy since Reagan’s presidency.
In the absence of deficit finance, the “levy” arises from the impossibility or lack of desire to raise revenues in a more programmatic manner.
Thus, the levy is, in the hands of Howard and his ilk, a “time-out” in their plans to reduce the size of the state. Howard, of course, quickly recognised that he could not hang onto office without huge tax-funded bribes to politically important demographics. Thus, by dishonesty and stealth, Howard increased the size of the state.
For the ALP, the levy is a substitute for courage of social democratic convictions.
Let’s lead a move back to Walmsley’s, Terrangeree! Although there’s probably a much cooler Yuggera / Turrbal name.
@ 16
a great band, by the way.
LE @ 19.
It’s “Kurilpa”.
But “Walmsley’s Point” gives me images of Captain Mainwaring & company…
(BTW, there is a lake on North Stradbroke Island that shares its Aboriginal nomenclature with the capital of Afghanistan, although the lake is somewhat more peaceful)
How’s Obama’s Afghan War going? Not well according to Robert Greenwald
Next month will mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of President Obama’s escalated military campaign in Afghanistan. One year later, violence is still getting worse and costs are skyrocketing. After more than nine years, it’s time to end this war.
[...]
•Country-wide, 2010 was the most violent year of the war so far. Ten thousand people died in war-related violence, including roughly 500 U.S. troops, thousands of civilians and who knows how many insurgents.
•We spent roughly $20m on killing each enemy fighter in Afghanistan. Yet, Taliban growth is such that despite reportedly losing more than 5,000 fighters this year, NATO estimates their numbers remain steady across the country.
Of course, Kurilpa, place of the water rats.
Isnt blue lake actually ‘Karboora’?
Kaboora. I erred slightly.
Kaboora is the home of the Rainbow Serpent, who goes by the name of Kabul.
I’m not sure what prominence it was given in non-SthOzzie parts of the country but yesterday a poll was released by some property group (I think!) which polled 4000 people on there views on a number of social and infrastructure issues in their cities. These included housing affordability, public transport, traffic, entertainment etc. Adelaide polled the highest and Sydney the lowest. Channel Seven News here in Adelaide led with the poll complete with vox pops, a potted history of interstate snipery and some gloating by Premier MRann. ABC 7pm news made no mention whatsoever of the poll!
David Bartlett, Tasmanian Premier, has announced on Facebook that he will resign as leader of the ALP and Premier. Press conference at 3pm. ‘Family reasons’ is the explanation given.
Lara Giddings expected to become Premier.
Can’t wait to hear Giddings’ vision for Tasmania. She could call it “Lara’s Theme”.
BS maybe? But i still want a taste.
Fossil Fuels Brewing Co. makes beer with an Eocene-era yeast, formerly encased in a 45 million year old chunk of amber! Incredible, but apparently true. Viable Bacillus spores were discovered first in 25-40 million year old amber by Raul Cano (these spores are so tough you can’t kill them with an autoclave). He then founded a startup (Ambergene) with the hopes of discovering ancient antibiotics (this was back during the natural products craze – when pharma companies sent explorers to coral reefs, rainforests and geothermal hot pools to find new biologically-active chemicals. Now, most just do combinatorial synthetic chemistry). The company failed, but when you can’t make money, make beer!
http://www.fossilfuelsbrewingco.com/
The State Of The Union, Obi Take #3, Roll ’Em
Hot on the heels of the inability of some of Hollywood’s thin-skinned Wankerati to laugh at themselves (nice one, Ricky), the profundity of American Seriousness will manifest itself at the annual set-piece SOTU on The Hill this Tuesday. One of the most endearing aspects of the SOTU ritual is its peppering with spontaneous bouts of quick-response standing ovations after Mister President has delivered grateful Americans his best bon mots straight from the heart of his autocue. Applause of the Pop Ups– surely no POTUS could wish for more. Terribly exciting in a pantomimish sort of way, such displays of unrestrained adulation are what modern politicians do when pogo-ing is not an option. The gesture of unbridled joy was nailed to perfection by Joey “The Weasel” Lieberman during The Imbecile’s 2006 SOTU performance. Joey, one helluva guy, was a Democratic Senator at the time. Such twitter-op moments (twoms) are nowadays pinged around the globe faster than David Helfgott can riff Rachmaninoff.
Despite the US being quagmired in South Asia, the economy still in the hands of the same folks who brayed the nation astray (“no,no, no, America will never be involved in a GFC”), infrastructure disintegrating, schools strangled for funds and a large number of the population dumbed-down to “rhetoric by slogan”……… during SOTU, Americans will be exhorted by their Commander-In-Chief to hang in there for the greatest little nation that ever had the courage to bestow God’s gift of Democracy upon a world of ingrates who happen to be born in locations rich in resources or are of hegemonic significance.
Talking heads will analyse every POTUS utterance with the same breathless anticipation the economic press once paid to each Greenspan sigh. Comparisons will be made with SOTUs past as pitched by Mt. Rushmore shortlistees, Kennedy, Clinton, and Reagan. In the land of the diminished attention span, by the weekend very few voters will remember what all the hoopla was about. Unless there is a wardrobe malfunction or some lawmaker cuts a stentorian fart at an inappropriate moment.
When SOTU 2011 is over and done, when all the confetti swept up and when the last legislator has exited The Hill, two unwinnable wars will grind on, 30 million Americans will continue to be spied upon by their govt., the Silent Spring will continue to scream, Gitmo and Abu Ghraib and the other non habeas corpus hell-holes will remain open for business, John Boehner will sport a more toned-down tan and a former once-great nation will discover that mah-jong can be every bit as fascinating as poker.
————–
( onya Keith O., he’ll land on his two left feet in no time)
It always intrigues me when politicians announce that they are quittingfor family reasons. I fall for it every time and wonder ‘Oh what will he do now’.
But of course they don’t actually quit, they stay on the payroll but do less work.
Their press gang at ABC Radio News reported the David Bartlett departure along the lines of… Mr B.. “who has had exceptionally low popularity in polling, since making a deal with The Greens…”.
Spare us Aunty! We know what you are doing.
EC 4 POTUS speechwriter b4 SOTU 2011.
And don’t forget to include somewhere, that their Chinese landlord has recently inspected the premises and a few major issues are still to be resolved.
Ootz, the premises do look a bit dodgy. Forfeiture of the bond(s) will cause great loss of face. Maybe America could work the rent out some other way.
Doing, now I git the Mah jong bit … been too hard at work for cyclone preparations today and harvsting more bananas and pineapples.
Just made my self a Lassi with the above produce and sat down and checked the Cyclone Anthony situation. At this stage with an eye on models the SST, la nina etc., it would be prude for all inhabitants along the Qld coast to familiarise themselves with cyclone preparations. If not Anthony, the probability for further action right along the whole coast has been a persistent feature of many of the models. And it could be either a cyclone or an other epic trenching. However, keep in mind it is an extremely large coastline, but start getting into the habit to be prepared as we have to up North for ‘The Wet’. This brings me to a rant I need to offload.
It is not that you have not been warned about these recent weather events in SEQ. The Courier printed this just before Christmas. What a piece of $#|^, no info on preparations, references to where to get such or local government and SES blurps. I mean, dont Newspapers have some responsibilities in the carnage that occurred by not informing their readers? Should be brought up in the inquiry. As for the obligatory ‘obstructionists’ comments below it, they speak for themselves really.
Wise counsel, Ootz. There’s some cyclone advice at BOM :http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/about/checklist.shtml
We always filled the bath with water as well as using jerry cans – I think that may have been in case of fires. And of course, dolly pegs were used to wedge the windows shut, but casement windows and dolly pegs must both be extinct by now.
Oi! Where’s “Lazy Sunday” then? here I am, having a lazy-ish Sunday for once and nowhere to boast about it.
Done, ya whinging drongo.
Thought I’d share this followed by this. (Thanks to http://twitter.com/megcevans).
Speaking of whinging drongos, there is a massive Channel- billed cuckoo chick outside, being fed (or not) by a very bedraggled and exhausted Kurrawong. The noise is completely unhinging. The most unsympathetic bird in existence.
Hey Ootz
I was watching that low yesterday and thought it had potential.
Its a “maybe yes, maybe no” of coming back this way.
Its moving fast to the east.but iv’e heard that before.
They can go anywhere.
Be safe.
@37
That’s “whinging bastard” to you Tigtog. And please spare me the politically correct screed about how “whingeing bastard” is a classic example of patriarchal heteronormativity.
Well, hark at you!
Kuke, did you see the recent kerfuffle as Reagan’s youngest son said he thought his father was showing obvious signs of Alzheimer’s in his first term? A family member met him in ’92 and was embarrassed that she could not make any sense of his remarks, she was sure then that he had advanced Alzheimer’s and yet he was only officially diagnosed in ’94. Puts a different complexion upon the events of ’83.
For foodies.
http://www.vagazette.com/articles/2011/01/17/news/doc4d339a751e4c4830862779.txt
tigtog,
I haven’t heard that expression in years – and me a born Mancunian too!
Dunno that there was that much stoushing DInr. Just a lot of poor comments (from me) that failed to reach the right tongue-in-cheek tone. Mostly written as a way of shirking the task of packing all my stuff into cardboard boxes for a coming move.
Understood, Gummo. I’m involved in a similar sort of avoidance.
WTF!?
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/white-house-to-establish-internet-ids-20110121-19zym.html
I’m not an American so how can they do this to us?
That’s a bit knee-jerk Paul – I actually like the proposal:
Years ago, I used to daydream about a perfect digital world where you, as an individual owned all the on-line data about you. One where your privacy protection wasn’t just a late bolt-on addition to information systems designed for corporate purposes but the first thing built into the system. This is a move in that direction, I reckon.
Plus it’s positively benign compared to some of the shit that happens on and through Facebook.
GT,
True. Its a knee-jerk. As I am generally not anti-American,some Republican/Fox News dingbats aside. Remiss of me. However, I do not like any foreign government making laws that affect me in Australia. Not just Americans.And I might add I don’t like quite a few of the laws Australian governments make either.
su – no I hadn’t heard that. Perhaps Cheney lent a hand at the time.
The importance of being earnestly French:
In a dive on the Boulevarde of Wayward Standards, l’homme draws deeply on a Gauloise between sips of his Casbah-au-lait. Complementing the joint’s retro ambience, Plastic Bertrand blares from the juke-box. Steeped in Satre and sensibly compartmentalised, Monsieur is both a football patriot and a political anarchist.
L’homme is reading Le Monde…..
“Sacre Bleu!…..maintenant il faut defendre l’honneur de la gravite Francaise!
http://www.watoday.com.au/world/science/scientists-left-baffled-as-the-official-kilo-loses-weight-20110124-1a2cv.html?from=smh_ft
thank you Kuke, did you ever see this
For those interested in such things, Marxism 2011 Conference, April 21-24, Union House at the University of Melbourne
18C Foodfest – pink pancake recipe.
http://recipes.history.org/2011/01/pink-pancakes/
(I was hoping for saomething a little more classy first time round. Ah, well.
Thank you Nelson Mandela, for your humanity, humility and leadership.