Politics Political oxymorons 4 Nov 2007 I have a rule: a political party is usually the exact opposite of its name. Hence, the Liberal Party of Australia is not liberal, the National Party is not national, the Labor Party does not represent those who work, and Family First… well, what can one say? Continue Reading
Politics The worst government on earth behaved well 29 Oct 2007 Here is a wonderful (and for us old fogeys, resonant) essay by Chris Kelly at The Huffington Post on the use of the Geneva Convention by both Nazis and Allies during the second world war. The money quote: In real life, bombing Germany killed a half million civilians, but interned… Continue Reading
Humor The Great Leader speaks (Mandarin) 29 Oct 2007 I actually don’t dislike the guy, but this is one of the funniest political ads I’ve ever seen. For forners (not from Orstraya), it helps to know that Rudd leads the erstwhile socialist party, speaks Mandarin, and is likely to win the next federal election. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptccZze7VxQ&rel=1] Continue Reading
Politics So, Dumbledore was gay, so what? 23 Oct 2007 Much to do about the sexual inclinations of a fictional character in the most successful (and I still think, despite the lack of editorial control, one of the classic) children’s stories. PZ Mungle has this to say: I really, honestly, truly do not give a good goddamn if Dumbledore is… Continue Reading
Politics Another reason why the Howard government must go 15 Oct 2007 They are now toadies of the Exclusive Brethren, who fund campaign advertisements for the Liberal Party. Add to this Cardinal George Pell’s support, Catholic minister Tony Abbott’s attempts to control who can use RU486 on an individual basis (i.e., never), Peter Costello’s links with Hillsong, the Assemblies of God megachurch… Continue Reading
Politics Revisiting Haneef 14 Oct 2007 So, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has admitted that Haneef, the Indian muslim doctor who was deported for being of “bad character” because he was related to someone who had peripheral involvement in the London and Glasgow bombings, was wrongly charged on the basis of bad evidence. Quelle suprise!… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity Gore, peace and the “errors” 12 Oct 2007 The International Herald Tribune worries that Gore’s receiving the Peace Prize is going to denigrate the award because it “strays from traditional Nobel definitions of peace work”. Huh. As Tom Lehrer said, when Henry Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, the time for political satire is long past. If anything,… Continue Reading
Politics People or classes? 10 Oct 2007 It seems that almost nobody can mention Jews without making an inadvertent or deliberate ass of themselves. Most recently, Richard Dawkins put his foot in it in this Guardian article. He said: When you think about how fantastically successful the Jewish lobby has been, though, in fact, they are less… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity How not to Feyerabend 5 Oct 2007 On Monday night last, Jason Grossman, a philosopher form the Australian National University rang me with an idea. He was coming to my university to give a talk entitled “How to Feyerabend”, arguing that Feyerabend was a dadaist rather than an anarchist. I’d tell you more about his talk, but… Continue Reading
History How to fix Iraq, and not invade Iran 28 Sep 200718 Sep 2017 There’s been a lot of media spin and unthinking objections to the visit of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the US. He was called the “modern Hitler”, for example. This strikes me as both unthinking and dangerous. Ahmadinejad is his own kind of threat and problem, and comparisons to past dangerous… Continue Reading