Friday, July 28, 2006
NOT IN MY DAY
An older woman cannot understand the younger generation.
UPDATE. Old lady Jess recently appeared in the Age.
UPDATE II. Reveal your cluebat moment!
UPDATE III. SCD recalls a favourite early political victory:
It’s 1975, I’m 16yo, in the school library during a ‘study period’. Librarian appears, distraught. She calls everyone to listen; near tears (seriously).
We gathered round, thinking some-one must have died.
“The Governor General has sacked Gough Whitlam. He’s sacked the Prime Minister!”
Spontaneous whoops of delight and cheers & the 1975 equivalent of high 5s from all the school students. Look of horror and disgust from stupid kaftan-wearing librarian.
Even when just 16 we could tell she was a loser.
The students at my school were way more conservative than the teachers.
LET THERE BE GLOATING
In the Age, academic Tim Lindsey braces himself for yet more Australian bloodlust:
The announcement by Jakarta of the imminent execution of Bali bombers Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas poses a dilemma that will require careful handling by Canberra.
Given the Australian public’s record in the past few years, the likely popular response to the firing squad for these unapologetic terrorists will be another round of gloating and bloodthirsty celebration.
Excuse me … another round? When was the last time we enjoyed a “bloodthirsty celebration”? Is the volatile Australian street once again set to erupt? Will our troubled region never know peace?
Canberra needs to point out, quietly, but strongly and consistently, that although Indonesia may have a right to execute the bombers, Australia, in principle, opposes the death penalty and would always recommend imprisonment in its place, regardless of the crime involved.
Imperialist! Imperialist! How dare Lindsey impose his values on our northern neighbour.
Canberra needs to make this policy clear to Australians as well as Indonesians and it needs to do it fast, to overcome the damage already done.
What “damage” is this clown talking about? Then again, that idea for a bloodthirsty celebration is excellent. Let’s begin planning.
UPDATE. Speaking of the death penalty, a new documentary examines the case of 16-year-old Iranian girl Atefah Sahaaleh, hanged two years ago for “crimes against chastity”:
Previously arrested for attending a party and being alone in a car with a boy, Atefah received her first sentence for “crimes against chastity” when she was just 13.
Although the exact nature of the crime is unknown, she spent a short time in prison and received 100 lashes …
Circumstances surrounding Atefah’s fourth and final arrest were unusual.
When Atefah realised her case was hopeless, she shouted back at the judge and threw off her veil in protest.
It was a fatal outburst.
Judge Haji Rezai took Atefah’s documents to the Supreme Court himself.
And at six o’clock on the morning of her execution he put the noose around her neck, before she was hoisted on a crane to her death.
Just don’t go calling them evil. That would be simplistic.
UPDATE. Dan Lewis: “Aussie bloodlust? You know what that means ... Ute Swarm!”
FIVE ACRES OF PEACE
St. Mother is moving to Texas:
War protester Cindy Sheehan has purchased a 5-acre plot in Crawford with some of the insurance money she received after her son was killed in Iraq …
“We decided to buy property in Crawford to use until George’s resignation or impeachment, which we all hope is soon for the sake of the world,” Sheehan, whose oldest son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004, said in a newsletter set to be sent to supporters Thursday. “I can’t think of a better way to use Casey’s insurance money than for peace, and I am sure that Casey approves.”
Price paid: $52,500. At least she isn’t wasting the money on food.
(Via John S.)
Thursday, July 27, 2006
JOURNALISTS HASSLED, THREATENED
CJR’s Paul McLeary reports:
Writing on his blog Wednesday while reporting from southern Lebanon, freelance journalist and Time magazine contributor Christopher Allbritton, in what almost looked to be a throw-away line, relayed that “To the south, along the curve of the coast, Hezbollah is launching Katyushas, but I’m loathe to say too much about them. The Party of God has a copy of every journalist’s passport, and they’ve already hassled a number of us and threatened one.”
Interesting.
THIRTY MINUTES OF ME
... is probably about 29 minutes too much. Test your tolerance here.
FISK: “I AM A NORMAL PERSON”
Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat interviews Robert Fisk, whose answers may have been altered during an English-Arabic-English translation process:
Fisk: The Palestinian state is a corpse that isn’t permitted to live.
Few corpses are. One of the main rules of corpses is that they are not permitted to live; it’s in the corpse code. Discussion continues:
Asharq Alawsat: Before we started the interview, you said you had a bad relationship with the internet. Why? Do you consider that journalism is restricted to being in close contact with people away from technology?
Fisk: I think the internet steals the journalist’s time and deprives him of working with people and books that give clear information that is easily archived. Many times, they call me from the newspaper’s library to ask me about information that might be available in my archive. The internet lacks this precision and the person searching can be submerged with detrimental information that might result in mistakes. This is why I tell those gathering information about me in the internet: it’s not me. This is an internet man who bears no relation to the real me. Instead of searching the internet for information or references, I prefer to go to the field and speak to people and obtain my information from them.
Resulting in Fisk’s famous accuracy.
Asharq Alawsat: Your books are taught in Lebanese schools. How did you become a reference on the region?
Fisk: As for why my books are taught, it’s because I am a Middle East specialist. Other than that, I am a normal person doing their job.
But not really normal, because Robert has important friends:
Asharq Alawsat: You interviewed Osama bin Laden three times between 1994 and 1997. How do you remember him?
Fisk: It’s true and he asked to meet me after the September 11 attacks but I was unable to reach him in Afghanistan because of the US raids at the time. He mentioned me in one of his interviews before the US presidential elections.
Swoon!
Fisk: Like all people, he has changed over the years. He matured a bit but didn’t have any experience of world politics. Imagine that he told me he expected a civil war in the United States. I laughed at the time.
Ha ha ha! Reminder: we’re obviously looking at a clumsy translation here. Even so, the following is intriguing:
Fisk: Nowadays, the problem is no longer bin Laden but al Qaeda, an organization bigger that can’t be summed up in one person. I met, once, Palestinians from al Qaeda. They were on their way to Iraq . One of them told me his family didn’t like bin Laden but did not object to him going to defend Islam. This is why it’s not important if bin Laden is loved or not; he is no longer a person or the president of a party for them. He is an ideology in itself. The cause is the absence of democracy. If there was democracy in the Arab world, Osama bin Laden would not have continued to exist.
ACADEMICS, ELDERLY ENTERTAINED
Disaster! An Inconvenient Truth is almost sunk! Still, Al Gore’s enviroterror crockumentary is doing great business in Texas:
In the audience on the day I saw his movie were three college English teachers and four senior citizens, the kinds of people who are already inclined to pay attention to issues like this. A couple of days after we saw the movie, the theater re-scheduled it for a single nightly showing, at 10:05 p.m., a time which guarantees almost no audience at all.
Suggestion: show a good movie. People might watch.
KYOTO SCAM NOTED
“More proof,” notes the Environmental Republican, that “Kyoto is a scam.”
UPDATE. Pluto is heating up! I blame Plutonoid SUV addiction.
(Via Colin N.)
FIREARMS HOBBYISTS IN COURT
There are two terrorist trials underway in Australia at the moment, one in Melbourne, and this one in Sydney:
Court documents allege that as well as planning to construct improvised explosive devices, a massive arsenal was part of the group’s plans for an attack.
They show that a search in June last year of the home of one of the accused, Mohamed Ali Elomar, unearthed a cache of 12 rifles and pistols and 28,198 rounds of ammunition including 11,765 rounds of 7.62-calibre ammunition ...
Two more of the accused, Bradley Umar Baladjam and Mazen Touma were observed in June last year loading 7500 rounds of the same 7.62-calibre ammunition into a truck, which police later seized.
Baladjam also tried to purchase a further 20,000 rounds of the 7.62 ammunition between July and August last year.
Among leftoid responses when these boys were arrested last year:
Larvatus Prodeo: “I suppose the PM and Minister Ruddock had to produce something to justify the surprise railroading of the ‘just one little word’ amendment.”
wsacaucus.org: “I think it’s too early to say just yet what this all means.”
Ms Fits: “I think they’re going to explode something non-specific in a fashion that is an affront to freedom and the Australian way of life!”
Anonymous Lefty: “Look! A shiny penny!”
Antony Loewenstein: “America and its allies, including Australia, are about to suffer a horrendous case of ‘blowback.’”
And my favourite ...
Rex Ringschott: “Let’s hope this doesn’t radicalise our Muslim community any further.”
ASSAF NAMER
Israel-born Australian citizen Assaf Namer, a sergeant in the Israeli army, has been killed in a Hezbollah ambush. Namer’s family lives in Sydney.
RICH COUNTRY REPRESENTED
“We don’t want Australian kids to grow up with American accents,” actress Toni Collette declared a year or so ago, adding that “working in Australia on films that speak directly to my heart and represent who we intrinsically are has allowed me to perform on an international stage and represent our rich country.”
Collette’s latest film opens this week in the US. Her character? An American housewife. Further vintage Collette from 2004:
When she won an Australian Film Institute award for Japanese Story in November Collette called on the Prime Minister, John Howard, not to jeopardise the country’s cultural future by supporting the free trade agreement with the United States. Still upset by the lack of support for Australian content, she believes Labor should block the agreement ...
“It’s so pro-American. It really doesn’t benefit Australia in any way - certainly not the cultural aspects of it or the arts.
“I just hope Mark Latham has the balls to stand up and be the visionary we all want him to be and say no. But who knows - he’s certainly pinned against the wall.”
What’s stopping Toni from saying no to all her US job offers? Be a visionary, woman! Do something that benefits Australia!
Collette said she had to feel optimistic about Latham.
“Because I think I’ll slit my wrists if Howard gets in again.”
Now you’re talking.
WORKERS EXPLOITED IN BOGUS CAMPAIGN
Currency Lad on the ALP/ACTU industrial relations debacle:
Nothing says credibility quite like censorship and a bogus law suit.
At issue are a bunch of tragic worker-exploitation ads now shown to be exaggerated:
In the ads, eight workers say they were unfairly targeted by bosses using the Government’s new workplace laws.
RSL club worker Lynne Barnes, 58, says her 25 years’ service meant nothing to the company, which she says forced her to sign a resignation letter.
But the OWS found she did not perform the duties required in her job and she was given the option of resigning with a generous payout.
Food company manager Stephen Dungey, 45, claimed he was sacked without redundancy pay. But he did not mention he had signed a contract ruling out a redundancy entitlement.
Click over to Currency Lad for more.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
NICE GUYS
Jules Crittenden reviews the tragic and deadly record of the UN’s peacekeeping missions. They ought to hire some kind and helpful Beirut taxi drivers to run those deals.
TAR BABE
Some sites lure eyeballs with cheesecake or beefcake, but only here will you find delectable tarcake:
Our overbitey brunette—shown in 1971 with Republican Clarence “Cool Specs” Brown—is wearing a bikini made from hundreds of anti-smoking buttons. More smokin’ hot images here.
BAN THE BIBLE
More from Abu Hamza, sworn Bible foe:
Islamic Information and Services Network president Abu Hamza, of Coburg, wants the Bible banned because it incites violence.
He called Archbishop George Pell a “clown” for his comments this year that the Koran was full of “invocations to violence”.
Mr Hamza told his followers the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, was full of murder and seemed to condone rape.
Dr Pell replied from the Vatican this week: “I am not sure how much Mr Hamza’s comments improve the situation, but there are no teachings of Jesus, unlike Mohammed, which advocate violence against followers of other religions.”
In the sermon, Mr Hamza told his assembly that the Bible’s Old Testament said rape was punishable only by demands for financial compensation of “50 silver pieces” and marriage. He said Dr Pell should be ashamed of his ignorant attack on Islam ...
Mr Hamza, at times shouting during the taped sermon, said the Bible was filled with lechery and drunkenness and he would not want his enemies, let alone his children, to read certain parts of it.
Lechery and drunkeness, you say? I gots to take me a closer look at this here Ol’ Testament.