so you think you know how to ride a bike?

For those people who haven't seen it yet, this clip below of Danny Macaskill riding his mountain bike is (in my opinion) the coolest thing I've ever seen. Not just the best mountain biking clip, but the best clip ever!

And if you think that that's nothing, how about a bunch of chinese girls doing a stage show on bicycles, jumping from one to the other, human pyramids, standing on heads and all that good stuff? Quite amazing stuff, I think you should definitely check it out.

Harry out...

Because once is never enough...

Having put up a picture of Dita just to mix things up a bit, I realised that once just wasn't good enough. So, with no copyright permission I give you; more photos of Dita!

I fought Jude Law and Jude Law won...

You know, it's a pretty good gig being involved with "climate change". You can tell people to change their ways and live an earth friendly lifestyle, but you're allowed to fly around the world spewing carbon (and other things) into the atmosphere everywhere you go. This is because your message is so important that it justifies doing some of the "bad things" to spread it.

This is very machiavellian really, announcing that the ends justify the means (part of the reason I don't believe in anthroprogenic global warming).

Anyway, amongst the perks of international travel and first class accommodation, attendees at Hopenchangen now get free sex from prostitutes. Talk about a great metaphor for those people pushing the global warming bandwagon. Except of course in this case it's the prostitutes offering the free sex, not the hopeychangeys demanding it as some inalienable right associated with their saving the planet.

Dr Harry

and now for something completely different...

Sick of reading about politics and the ETS? Have a look at a beautiful woman instead...

It's getting hot in here, so hot, so take off all your clothes...

Is it getting hot in here? Apparently not, if the people of the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia are to be believed. And they probably should be believed since they're the people that have data from all over the world and have provided the majority of the data for the findings of the IPCC report.

Anyway, whether or not it's getting hotter is actually completely irrelevant to this particular post. However, I will outlay my own feelings, just so there's no misunderstanding.

I don't believe in anthroprogenic climate change.

The earth maybe warming. The earth maybe cooling. Both these things have happened many many times before. What's the difference? How can you believe computer models that can't even replicate what's happened in the past let alone look into the future? How can you ignore the role of sun spots, the fact that many measuring stations are now in built up areas, that changes to CO2 levels seem to historically occur AFTER major climate events, or the fact that the Mediaeval Warm Period was far warmer than current global temperatures?

Anyway.

My question for today is: Why do we need an Emissions Trading Scheme?

I do understand the basic idea, that the market will decide the price of carbon and by limiting the amount of the CO2 produced we get to utilise the benefits of the free market (possibly the only time many greenies would ever be interested in the benefits OF a free market). However, for me, the big problem is that any such scheme is impossible to administer without massive bureacracy and the invasion of government into many aspects of personal and business life, aspects that the government doesn't really need to be involved in.

Surely there is a simpler way?

If Australia wants to reduce the emissions of CO2, let's just whack a tax on all those things that produce it, or at least the main ones. A whacking big tax on coal and oil, basically. For good measure we could ban the export of coal as well, a good way to do our bit to cut global emissions. This will let the market decide the value of CO2, but it will be done in a much simpler, much cheaper way. If you burn coal, you pay more for it (do powerstations even pay for the coal they use at the moment?). You then pass on your costs to your customers, who will presumably use a bit less. Your customers then pass on their costs, and so on. Such a chain reduces overall use while not requiring any invasion of bureacracy, except into the start of the chain where you need to do the taxing.

For me, one of the big issues is this. If I truly believed (TRULY BELIEVED) that humans were causing the globe to warm and as a result everybody would die in fire and brimstone, I would be doing something about it. Not something like telling people to use 1 sheet of toilet paper or setting up some half arsed ETS that will have zero impact on global emissions, but will have the benefit of increasing govt (and therefore politican's) power and reach.

No I would be acting drastically to actually have a real and meaningful impact on emissions. Such a policy might be electorally unpopular, but if you can sell it as a life and death mission that you really believe in than it is not only possible, but mandatory to try.

What really gets me are those people who are fixated on climate change, but don't REALLY believe in it, they just use it as a way to exercise their own little hobby horse. Lots of greenies just believe that we should be leading simpler lives, growing our own food, recycling more, living in harmony with mother earth. Lots of other lefties just believe that they know better (symptomatic of their kind really) and this is a great excuse for telling people what to do. Not that they lead by example, (of course) but they're quite happy to tell you to have a short shower or not eat meat or not take holidays or not buy a new TV.

Hypocrisy people! I'm afraid I can't take hypocrites very seriously. If you tell me that global warming is the greatest threat to mankind in history and you arrived on a private jet to tell me that then I automaticall regard your opinion as being null and void. Don't like it? Don't be a hypocrite!

ps I'm not the biggest supporter of the Greens, but at least they put their money where their mouth is. They voted to defeat the ETS last time because it wasn't strong enough. The wishy-washy compromise hammered out by Gillard and MacFarlane is a steaming dog turd and the Greens are right to vote against that as well.

Is that a greenhouse in your pocket?

So, the Liberal Party.

There seem to be an awful lot of the commentariat making noises about how confused they are, how the Liberal party is fracturing itself, how it's the wets versus the drys, how it's power brokers doing their best to remove Turnbull because they hate Turnbull. I think that they're all wrong.

The Liberal party is in opposition. The opposition's role is to "oppose". They need to present an alternative government to the people, the key word there being "alternative".

For the past two years or so the Liberal Party hasn't actually stood up for anything. Nelson and Turnbull (both massive disappointments as far as I'm concerned) have been to busy agreeing with the ALP to come up with any realistic or useable policies. Agreeing with the government or nitpicking on minor but populist policies is no way to get elected.

To many people keep on insisting the lessons of the last election were that Howard lost because of work choices and climate change. Bullshit!

Voters wanted a change from Howard. Rudd offered that change, in a Howard-Lite package. Sure, people were worried by the scare campaign about work choices. Sure, lots of people were worried about climate change (not so many now). But basically, everything was going well and people wanted more of the same, just not from Howard. I sincerely believe that Costello would have had a real dip if he had led the Liberals to the last election, not because he was necessarily better, but because he was different while still providing more of the same.

So will the Liberals lose 20 seats in a climate change election? I doubt it. A few weeks ago the Liberals were looking at losing 12 to 20 seats in an election anyway. And worrying obsessively about polls and votes can cripple you so much that you do nothing and fail from inaction.

The current goings-on in the Liberal Party are not about Turnbull, at least not directly. They are about people in the party finally growing a backbone, standing up and saying that a policy direction is crap and that something needs to be done. If Turnbull could stand up and announce that the whole ETS is crap, that he is going to fight it because it's crap (which he should have done a long time ago) than none of this would have happened.

Those people standing up have realised that you have to STAND for something. Not being Labour is not enough. The Liberal Party is never going to win an election by moving to the left of centre. That territory is already owned by Labor and in a time where maybe 10 percent of voters of genuine swing voters, Labor voters are not going to vote Liberal, no matter how many trees you save, no matter how sorry you are and no matter how many stupid and incomprehensibly complicated emissions trading schemes you enact.

This is definitely an issue worth fighting over, but if it hadn't been this it would have been something else.

That's why the commentariat are wrong, it is about the policy, not about Turnbull specifically.

Edit

So the votes are in and Tony Abbot won, 42 votes to 41. Joe Hockey totally shot himself in the foot, how on earth could the Liberals countenance getting a new leader and then seeing this legislation that caused all the problems get passed? People know where Tony Abbot stands, that's a good basis for rebuilding the party.

Link to article here.

Edit 2

Another point of view. Basicallyit's saying that Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard were all controversial and unlikeable in their own ways. You don't need to be a populist or universally popular to be the Prime Minister. Potentially means Abbot is a real threat as opposition leader, because he actually stands for something.

Fatty, fatty boombah....

So guess what?

Apparently exercise alone isn't enough to help you lose weight. You need to change your diet as well. A very interesting article here has facts and stuff. Apparently if you exercise you actually eat more to make up for it. Plus people don't really understand how many calories they're eating.

I have only anecdotal evidence, but I concur.

Basically, in my own experience and based on my reading, if you want to lose weight you need to modify your diet. How?

Firstly, eat less.

Secondly, transfer your eating so that you're eating more in the morning and less at night, and nothing late at night.

Thirdly, get rid of all the processed crap. The more heavily processed your food is, the easier it is for your body to absorb it and the less complex nutrients (that nobody really understands) remain. If you're eating lots of whole grains and similar things your body has to work much harder to unlock the nutrients from your food.

So there you go, Dr Harry's quick guide to weight loss. You can eat meat and eggs and chips and all the fatty crap you want, as long as you follow the above three steps. There is of course much more to it, but it's a pretty good start.

cheers

Harry

Do you collude?

I don't think anymore needs to be said about this cartoon really.



cheers

Harry

ps because my crappy blog is too narrow you really need to click on the cartoon so you get all three panels.

A great game of footy...

I'll come right out and say it now.  I'm an Essendon supporter.  "Go the Dons!"

That being said, Essendon kind of suck a bit at the moment, having to tried to import some of Richmond's winning culture to give them an edge and help create their next premiership.

Anyway, not coming from a traditional football family I've never really gotten into the whole tribalism of AFL, even with the "traditional" rivals for Essendon.  I actually quite like Collingwood, I enjoy watching them play and like their team first structure.  I don't mind Carlton, especially this year and last year, never had much time for them before that.  I don't really like St Kilda (supposedly everybody's second team) and don't really care if they have to wait another 43 years until they actually get a premiership.  

I don't like Port but I do like Adelaide (this year anyway, not really before now).  I don't like the Weagles but I do like Fremantle (don't know why, they suck.  Maybe because the Pav is the best forward in the competition but nobody knows about it because he's always playing in the midfield).  I don't particularly like the Lions, but it's got nothing to do with the 2001 Grand Final, I can't explain it.  I also don't like the Hawks very much.  I don't really like the Bulldogs, although I do like Jason Akermanis.

Anyway, I just saw the Essendon/Adelaide semi final.  What a great game of football!  The second half was fantastic.  As outlined above, I actually like both teams.  Andrew McLeod is one of my favourite players and I really like how both teams play the game.  At first I was thinking I'd like Adelaide to win but with Collingwood close so they weren't disgraced.  Then I decided I didn't care.  I'd be happy for either team to win, I was just there to enjoy the contest.  So I did.  If you want to explain Aussie Rules to someone, show them the second half of that match of football.  No more explanation will be needed.

As for the grannie, obviously the smart money is on Geelong and St Kilda to be there.  Personally I think St Kilda will probably win.  I'd kind of prefer Geelong to win because they're in the position of 1 premiership from 3 years of dominance and I feel sorry for them.

Let's hope it rains so we have a mud fest and something interesting to talk about.

Oh, and a big congratulations to the Pies, great victory!

cheers

harry

One of the funniest things I've ever read...

Most people have heard of Craigslist.  We even have it here, although the Tasmanian one has hardly anything on it.

I just read a list of 20 bizarre ads place on Craigslist that made me laugh out loud.  Repeatedly.

One sample:

13) Do you have a small, incontinent dog? 
"Or perhaps you work for a small dog rescue of some sort. Either way, I have a package of small doggy diapers. I don't want to throw them out coz they are pretty expensive. (as someone with a small, incontnent dog would already know). Please don't try to put them on a cat. It won't work. Trust me."

Check out the rest of the list here, although probably not at work.

cheers

Harry

LAWman

Steven Seagal, coming soon to a reality TV show near you.  That's right, Steven Seagal.  Read the following paragraph and try and deny that you won't want to watch the train wreck that will be this TV show.

Until now, Seagal has never sought publicity for his work with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. However, over a span of almost two decades, he has regularly gone out on patrol and worked major cases. The series will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress. Then, when Seagal goes off-duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures - including musical performances and philanthropic efforts - in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.

Another article about the show here, definitely rather "enthusiastic".

Steven Seagal has been fighting actual crime in Louisiana as an actual police officer (”under most people’s radar”) and now someone is going to point a camera at him and let him spew hot chunks of action madness all over my television screen. He’s above-the-law, and out for justice on deadly ground. He’s a hard-to-kill, pistol-whipping, executive-decision-making mercenary for urban justice, a one man attack force, and there’s a fire down below… in my pants! I can’t fucking wait for this show.

And while looking for a picture to accompany this post, I found Steve's IMDB page with the accompanying description:

Steven Seagal is a striking and somewhat boyishly handsome looking (often with ponytail) and usually impeccably dressed action star who burst onto the martial arts film scene in 1988...

I guess I can see where the author was coming from.  

cheers

Harry

The evolution of language

As we all know, language changes and evolves over the years.  The most extreme example of this is Dutch.  Apparently a few hundred years ago they changed the language so much (I believe officially) that a modern Dutch speaker is completely unable to understand Dutch writing from four hundred years ago.  An English speaker would have trouble with English from the same era, but at least would be able to gain some limited understanding.

As anyone who has ever used the internet, especially to play online games, a whole range of new languages has emerged, designed to baffle and confuse.  One of these is L33t speak (elite speak), where, as in the title, numbers and symbols are used to make up the written words.  This language is particularly useful for proclaiming one's awesomeness (I'm sure that word is wrong, it just looks wrong) while simultaneously bagging out or attacking your opponents. Unfortunately, I don't speak it.

The whole texting language is another such one.  While entirely appropriate, (although not always entirely legible) when used to compose a message of 160 characters or less, is it really needed when writing emails, posting to internet forums or writing blogs?  There is only one good thing to say about texting language.  If you ever look on an internet dating site, you can immediately pick out the retards by the fact that have no grammar, punctuation, capitols and in some cases, no real words!

Anyway, the point of this post was that I was thinking about some of the language I use which differs from the traditional meaning.  Some of these I have made up myself, some have come from pop culture or god knows where else.  But they all work.  Examples:

Bat shit insane:  As in "Those Colombian kayakers are bat shit insane.  They apparently just run drops completely blind, no idea what's at the bottom."

I think I made that one up, not sure.  It's for people who consciously do crazy things with no real idea of consequences.

Shocked and appalled.  As in "You ate my last yoplait out of the fridge.  I'm shocked and appalled."

This is used to indicate that you don't approve of someone's behaviour, but is used in an over the top way.  You wouldn't use it if someone told you they'd just killed their family with a hammer, for example.

Chunky.  As in "That rapid looks really chunky, there's lots of holes and rocks and a massive stopper at the bottom".

Again a kayaking reference.  Think I made this one up as well, but it's perfectly apt at describing a rapid that is big, scary and doesn't have a particularly clean line.

Shiny. As in "You give me the money you owe me and everything will be shiny."  This is actually stolen from Firefly and Serenity.  But it's still good.  

20/20 hindsight.  As in "Yeah, I have perfect 20/20 hindsight."

I think this is one of mine.  I like it, whether it is or not.

Interweb.  As in "I'll do a search on the interweb for that."

I definitely didn't make this one up, it's a tongue in cheek reference which annoys nerds.

I wish I could think of a few more, but they're just not coming at the moment.  Still, you get the idea.  And just to finish it off, thanks to the power of the interweb, here's the perfect illustration for this post. I actually cut this out of the newspaper many years ago and I still have it somewhere, taped into the front of a binder.  Of course I have no idea where exactly that binder is, but it doesn't matter.

Oh sweet irony...

Angus recently wrote a post describing the joys of post-modern irony.  Just as in southpark, you "can have your cake and eat it too".

So today I read this great little article (opinion piece) in the Age about Facebook and it's supposed evils.  It was good enough for me to go and find it to share with you.  Yes, Facebook enables you to stay at home and not talk to real people, but if you want to stay at home you'll find plenty of excuses, whether it's reading a book, playing computer games, cataloguing your stamp collection or planning to take over the world.

Here's one line I liked, talking about someone refusing to sign up to Facebook...

I met one such person at a party the other week. Every component of her outfit was ironic: the red kimono, the Audrey Hepburn-style kitten heels and the oversized pink-rimmed glasses. I'd put money on her belonging to a craft group in an inner-northern suburb. Had I rifled through her bag, I'm sure I would have found a tatty paperback novel by a mid-century beat poet and some rollie cigarettes.

What's being described above is not joyful irony, watching WWF and listening to Bon Jovi.  It's consciously being different, for the sake of being different.  To borrow another Southpark quote, everyone is non-conforming in the same way.

Facebook is just a website.  It's not the best thing in the world, but it's not exactly evil.  I think some people need to get a life.

cheers

Dr Harry

to bump or not to bump, that is the question...

So Matthew Lloyd laid a bump on the weekend.  Of course anyone who has seen any media that relates to football at all would know this.

It now seems he has been offered a 6 week ban (4 with an early plea) and has accepted the 4 week ban.  Essendon are apparently choosing not to fight the charge.

While the consequences of the bump are quite obvious for all to see, I believe that it was not an illegal bump and therefore he shouldn't be suspended for it.  He was going for the ball.  However, someone who can make the case much more clearly than me is Greg Baum, who actually gets paid to do such things.  Read his article on the whole case here.

Personally, for me the much more worrying situation is that Chance Bateman got offered a one week suspension for his attempted coathanger on Lloyd.  The coat hanger is a true blight on the game of AFL, much different to the front on bump.  For many years the coat hanger was employed with brutal effect and the league spent a lot of time removing it from the game.  You still see it occasionally in country football, but generally it seems to have died off.  So Bateman launched a full coat hanger at Lloyd, with obvious intent, and collected him in the throat.  It didn't do what he wanted but that's not the point, he still attempted it.

And then he gets offered one week?  For me personally, I think that the two crimes are similar.  One is last minute, unplanned and with high consequences.  One is measured, planned and has low consequences.  Give them both equal time I say.

One quick point.  I am an Essendon supporter.  That being said, I don't believe that my vision is being impaired in this matter, I think that Lloyd deserves to play next week.

cheers

Harry

ps If you look at the bump from a different angle, so that Matthew Lloyd is facing the camera, you can see how fast the whole thing happens and that Lloyd is actually going for the ball.  The view that is being shown most commonly puts him in a much worse light.

keep those dogies movin´

As everyone knows, the main bus terminal (Cumanda) in Quito has now been replaced by two brand new facilities, built to resemble airports.

Terminal Terrestre Norte (Carcelen) is to the north (surprisingly enough) and services those companies sending buses to Otavalo, Ibarra and that area, as well as those going through to the Colombian border.

Terminal Terrestre Sur (Quitumbe) is more to the west (maybe south west) and services the rest of the country. It is much bigger.

While the new terminals are nice and clean and feel much safer, they are also a massive pain in the arse, being much further away from the city and therefore much more expensive to get to. Not only that, if you want to connect from Otavalo through to somewhere else in the country you´re going to be faced with a massive logistical effort just to change buses.

Having been to both, I though I´d share some information on how to get out there.

If you´re travelling to the northern terminal, it is theoretically possible to get there by bus. From the Mariscal go to 6 de Deciembre (that´s a street name if you were wondering) and take the Ecovia bus all the way to the terminal at Rio Coca. From the Mariscal, that means you want to be heading LEFT. From Rio Coca you can then get another bus to go to the terminal at Carcelen. Unfortunately, when I tried this the buses were completely packed (people jammed in tightly) and going with my luggage was not a realistic option.


Ecoivia buses

Instead I took a taxi. Cost was $6, arranged in advance. On the way back with the meter on the cost was $4.50, although the traffic was light.I would suggest that $5 sounds like a realistic amount if you´re bargaining, if you get offered below that, take it. If above, negotiate, or maybe ask for the meter (although not with a young driver, they´ll drive in circles and rip you off. Possibly).

For the southern terminal it´s possible to take the Trole bus from 10 de Agosto (again a street name). The trole goes all the way to the Quitumbe terminal so that´s a good option. Only 25c! Again, from the Mariscal, you want to head LEFT. Unfortunately, again, when I tried to do it the buses were completely crowded. People without luggage were waiting for 3 or 4 buses before getting on or giving up. With a pack there was no way I was getting on. Instead I got a taxi for $6.50. While I first thought that this was expensive, it´s actually a long way to get out there, I think I probably got a bargain. I would not be surprised if you get charged a lot more, try and bargain down. $7 seems a realistic amount. At the terminal itself one driver quoted $11, no lower, so take your time.

Coming into Quito I did take the Trole into the Old Town and that was quite good. It started to get full but nothing to bad. Unfortunately, more and more people get on as you get closer to town. I imagine that by the time you got to the Mariscal you wouldn´t be able to move, let alone carry a bag. Plus, imagine trying to prevent someone slashing your bag when you can´t move or see anything. A good option maybe to take the Trole to the Old Town, get off at the park with the observatory (or when things start to get crowded) and then take a taxi. From the observatory you´re looking at less than $3 (maybe 2) for a taxi.

For more information on the new terminals, try this link here. Otherwise, try asking travellers or locals about what the price should be. If the driver won´t lower the price to where it should be, get out of the cab. He´ll probably give in. Of course, this only works if your price is realistic.

Good luck!

Harry

Right again...

Seems maybe the Australian cricket team have relearned the value of line and length. Of course they haven´t actually won anything yet, but who knows?





Rebecca Wilson (she who used to be on the Fat) is quite scathing of the team as a whole. Apparently this English team that is giving us so much trouble was bowled out by the West Indies for 55 runs. Personally, I wasn´t even sure the windies still had a team!






It sounds like the Australians have some real issues with team unity at the moment. Who knows what will happen? At least it´s good to see Shane Watson actually play in a cricket match. Statistically speaking he´ll probably be injured tomorrow, but at least he´s there now.





cheers





Harry

The future is now...

Apparently Angus is the future of the entertainment and information industries.

Not surprising really.




ps when Angus grows a moustache he looks like Adolf Hitler. Coincidence? I´ll let you be the judge.

Gone but not forgotten

"I saw that Test match on television and had (Michael) Clarke not scored a century in the second innings the margin of defeat could have been over 250 runs," Qadir said.

Then he says we should bring Warne back if we want to win the Ashes.

Can´t disagree, although from the sounds of it replacing Johnson with Stuart Clarke and bowling line and length to the tail enders might be another sensible option.

I believe this is the first time England have won at Lords since 1934?

Harry

death and mayhem

How about this for a fantastic piece of writing?

When describing fatalities during Nascar, the author says:

There are rogue bands of mercenary desperadoes with nothing to lose who have lower casualty rates

Pithy.

Harry

Global Financial Crisis + 1

As I´m sure some of you may have heard, there´s a distinct possibility of the current problems in the US being extended even further. This is because of another class of loans that is about to begin causing big problems.

These are the alt-A loans. The barefoot investor says

If sub-prime loans have been referred to as toxic, then the Alt-As are like passing wind in an elevator—not exactly toxic, but still not pleasant.

People with less-than-stellar credit histories got these loans (liars took out sub-prime).

Just like with sub-prime loans, the honeymoon is ending for many people who took out these Alt-A loans in the boom years. They’re just starting to see their loans reset to higher rates—and the default rates are soaring.

The professionals who watch these things closely predict that over the next 12 to 18 months these loans will be the cause of another wave of mortgage defaults.

Basically, the further down the tube the US financial system goes, the more people get laid off and the more people get freaked out, stop ALL discretionary spending and start eating rice for every meal.

Now the success in recent times of China has been fueled to a large extent by the fact that there were lots of Americans spending lots of money (cash and credit) on crap that was made in China. Basically lots and lots of discretionary spending. Now, obviously crap from China is generally cheap, so there will continue to be some demand, but it is an absolute certainty that consumer spending has taken a big hit and will continue to do so as long as people are worried that they won´t have a job next week (a very real fear for many in the US).

So what does this mean for China? They have a developing home market to sell to, will continue to have some demand in the US and they still sell to markets around the world, both in the developed and developing world (definitely Chinese crap for sale in Ecuador). However, realistically they are going to experience a severe drop in demand. There current free-for-all attitude to capitalism will see an accompanying massive rise in unemployment as factories close or shed staff.

So, we have an oppressive, nationalistic and brutal dictatorship, with a young, male dominated population (some estimates suggest there maybe 40 million more young men than young women in China) and great unrest and dissatisfaction caused by unemployment and hardship.

What do dictatorships sometimes do in situations like this? They find a diversion to take the people´s minds off the problem. How?

Traditionally they start a war.

I don´t think it´s at all unrealistic to expect that a newly empowered China, with billions of dollars cash, a gradually modernising military and a range of domestic problems might see this as a good way to get people supporting the Government and forgetting about domestic issues.

So where?

Probably not Taiwan, although it is definitely possible. Obama seems to prefer talking to doing anything realistic (like deploying a carrier battlegroup) and there might be an opportunity to make some noise and score some points, even if nothing else.

China is basically next door to Russia´s possessions in the East, possessions that are both immensely wealthy and also often underutilised due to Russia´s population crisis. Such a target would be attractive but Russia a) supports China in the Security Council on various matters to do with oppressing human rights and has b) lots of tanks (better than the Chinese) and c) nukes.

India is another neighbour of China and the two have clashed in the past, mostly at brutally high altitudes where nobody is around to hear you scream. This would be a likely scenario, as the conflict could be contained, however there´s nothing very exciting about capturing a mountain or two, it doesn´t really mean anything.

Mongolia is right next door, but China already has shit loads of semi desert, do they really want more? Probably not.

So where than?

The three most likely options as I see them are:

A brutal crackdown of the Uighurs and other ethnic minority groups, under the guise of putting down a rebellion or averting a civil war.

Annexing the Spratley Islands would be another possible move. They are claimed by China, the Philipines, Vietnam and (I believe)Thailand. Apparently some Chinese ships sailed through the area many hundreds of years ago, so that seems a good reason for the Chinese to claim them. This would be a small scale conflict, characterised by sinking a few enemy ships and loudly declaiming that what was rightfully Chinese has been reclaimed.

Similarly, Vietnam for many hundreds of years was a Chinese possession and the two countries even clashed in the late 70´s (the Chinese were embarrassed rather dreadfully). While China is unlikely to want all of Vietnam, they might consider ädjusting¨ the border somewhat, getting a conflict, some land and lots of patriotic fervour, all together in one big package.

Another out there option?

China apparently has 1 million ethnic Chinese in Africa in various positions. The Chinese are the reason that Sudan continues to kill black people with impunity and why Robert Mugabe is still the man in Zimbabwe. While it´s extremely unlikely the Chinese would actually try and conquer anything, they might send in the troops to help an ally out and get some fighting happening.

Of course there´s lots of other possibilities, but I think the idea of China using it´s military as a way to divert attention from domestic issues is a very realistic one.

You heard it here first!

Harry

Triple J - Hottest 100

The Australian radio station Triple J (also known as JJJ) celebrated it´s vote of the hottest 100 songs of all time recently. As the entire blogging world no doubt knows, Angus commented on the result, suggesting that the listeners of said station were out of touch with popular culture (while simultaneously suggesting Stevie Wonder as his second favourite artist of all time!)

It was actually a very good post, you should go and check it out here.

I have to agree with his general view on things, a lot of the songs (or at least the artists) on that list are ones I enjoy, but certainly not ones that I listen to regularly. Nirvana, Queen and the Foofighters are definitely in this category.

So I´ve been thinking about it and about my favourite songs and I´ve come up with some lists of my own. The following are all artists I listen to regularly and really love their music, not just the songs listed, but these are probably my favourites. Listed in no particular order(and I could easily list a dozen for each artist)...

Blackalicious - Feel the way

Johny Cash - Four Strong Winds

Van Morrison - Moondance

Hilltop Hoods - Nosebleed Section

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Nick Cave - Ship Song

If I had nothing but the music of thes 6 artists for the rest of my life I could deal with that. Special mention must go to

Sir Mix-a-lot - Baby got back

Try and find a (youngish) person who doesn´t like this song! Also, one of all my all time favourites, even though I don´t know any of their other songs, is

the Choirboys - Run to Paradise

I love that song, and have done for a long time.

The following are songs and artists which would definitely fit into my top 100 (no problem at all). Some have many great songs, some only have one song worth listening to (Funky Cold Medina anyone?)

Kanye West - Golddigger
Guns and Roses - Cold november rain
Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory
Fujees - Killing me softly
Roxette - Listen to your heart
Grandmaster Flash - The Message
Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldiers
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
Michael Jackson - Billy Jean
Foofighters - All my life
Grinspoon - Bad Funk Stripe
Public Enemy - Fight the Power
Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push
Bliss n Esso - Up jumped the boogie
Greenday - Time of your life

Special mention must go to the last song. Yes it´s cheesy and massively overused, but it´s actually a fantastic song and very effective at getting people emotional at graduations and similar events.

And the following three songs should be on every Australians top ten list of all time, at least in my personal opinion. They sum up Australia in music. The only possible addition is Tenterfield Saddler, by Peter Allen, but I´ve very rarely heard it.

Icehouse - Great Southern Land
Gangajang - Sounds of Then (that´s the one with the lyrics - out on the patio we sit...)
Men at Work - Land Downunder

So that´s some of the music that I like and that I think has stood the test of time.

I can´t really comment on the rest of the Australian public. I think there´s a still a general dislike or antipathy towards rap music in Australia, especially because many people still automatically associate it with ¨gangsta rap¨and all the negative connotations that brings up. The Hilltop Hoods (and to a lesser extent Eminem) are probably the real breakthrough artists for rap in Australia, they definitely were for me, no doubt at all.

And Angus listed ¨The Boxer¨by Simon and Garfunkel. I haven´t heard that song in years and years, I used to really love it. If I had it on my MP3 player I think it might have made my list as well.

And since my non-existent readers are probably singing to themselves ¨when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face....¨here´s some music for you!

cheers

Harry



ps not much posting lately because of travel and crappy internet cafes. Definitely lots to share though.

There´s something weird in the fridge today, don´t know what it is...

something I can´t recognise.....

Maybe I´m a bad person, but I feel absolutely nothing in relation to the death of Michael Jackson. Maybe a slight annoyance at the excessive and gratuitous coverage, but since I´m in a foreign country and without a TV or enough Spanish to read a newspaper, that´s not really a big deal. Probably my biggest exposure has been nightclubs playing lots of Michael Jackson songs and that´s probably a good thing anyway.

Now I like Jackson´s music, especially if I´m out somewhere. I´ve never really cared for the man himself and like most people have been horrified by his various antics over the years.

However, I really feel neither happiness nor sadness, elation or despair, or anything else for that matter, at news of his passing. I really couldn´t care less.

I just read the following article about the death of John F Kennedy junior showing the similarities between the two situations. I highly recommend it, I laughed out loud as I read it.

Click here, go on, do yourself a favour.

cheers

Harry

Is it because I am fat?

the second funniest video of all time...

A Very Special F*#king Valentine -- powered by Cracked.com

Cheers

Harry

No need for training wheels...

This is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen on video and it has absolutely nothing to do with whitewater kayaking. I can´t recommend it highly enough, you should check it out.



cheers

Harry

Sarah Conner?

What is the world going to be like in 4 years time? What will the post Obama landscape look like?

Read this article for one possible scenario advising the Republican party in how to rebuild.

Best paragraph:


So as you hear from different pundits on what the Republicans need to do to regain power, remember that the key is that any workable idea must start with a realistic look at what challenges lie before us. That means it must account for radiation, killing each other over food and gasoline, flesh-eating mutants, ape-men, and deadly robots. It’s a hard reality to face, but it can be a good time for Republican gains if we’re prepared and properly armed. And if the ape-men and robots join forces, causing us to face cybernetic monkey-men, then let’s just say we better have found the next Reagan by then or we’re all done for.

cheers

Harry

Here come the clog wogs...

I think the headline says it all.

Dutch humiliate England in T20 opener.

I think this is absolutely fantastic. Firstly, because nobody really likes the English, so it´s nice to have something to rub their noses in.

But the main reason is because 20-20 is just not cricket. Sure, it has a bat and a ball, but it´s not cricket in any traditional sense of the game. Having a super power such as England lose to a minnow such as Holland illustrates this in a way that nothing else does.

Personally I think it´s great that the Dutch have done so well, but we shouldn´t gloat too much, after all, it´s happened once, the next time Canada will probably beat Australia!

cheers

Harry

Crossing from Ecuador to Peru via Zumba and La Balsa

Crossing from Ecuador to Peru via Zumba and La Balsa (south of Vilcabamba)? Well, I´ve just done it, let me share my knowledge!

From Vilcabamba your best bet is to catch the 0630 bus that goes to Zumba. This leaves from halfway between the plaza and the highway (roughly). It´s pretty easy to find, especially if you ask the day before.

From here you have quite a long ride until you get to Zumba. The best views are on the left hand side. There´s a couple of nice towns along the way, in fact they´re probably nicer than Vilcabamba since they´re not full of stinking hippies trying to sell you jewellery!

From Zumba the bus deposits you in a muddy bus park. There´s some little restaurants here. Wait around for a bit and a collectivo/ranchero (truck with seats in the back) will show up. The ride takes maybe 2 hours and is VERY uncomfortable. If you´ve got money to burn, take a taxi instead (4wd twin cab ute), more expensive but much more comfortable. The rancheros go all day not twice a day as listed in some guidebooks.

On the way to the border the police checked our documents, have your passport ready.

Once at the border, the immigration office is on your left, it´s extremely obvious. The official was helpful, quick and spoke no english at all. There´s a couple of places you can swap dollars for soles (rate was 2.8 soles per dollar, while the actual rate is more like 3.08 soles per dollar, so not too bad).

For here, you now walk across to Peru.

As you walk along the bridge, directly in front and very slightly to your left is a restaurant. Very slightly to your right are some government offices. The last door to the right is the one you want, it has a sign saying ¨Migraciones¨.

The first thing you need to do is get a swine flu form filled out by a doctor. If you are in luck she´ll be in the migration office, otherwise you´ll have to walk further down to your right and look for the post office.

If she is there proffer your passport and deny all knowledge of any flu like symptoms. Then give your passport to the migration guy. After he´s finished you have to see the police. Their office is to the left of the bridge (the left as you walked over it from Ecuador) and down a slope. Go round a corner where there is an office and a computer. Once the cops have looked at your paperwork and given you a stamp go back to the migration office where your passport will be stamped. You´re now free to go.

From here you need to escape.

Taxis will be parked next to the bridge. When negotiating, find out how many passengers will be travelling. For 5 to 6 passengers you will probably pay 10-12 soles per person to get to San Ignacio. If you´re paying more and they try and squash you in than jack up and refuse (that´s what I did!) It would be much more comfortable with less people. You could also hire a motor trike (tuk tuk) but they are slow, open and poorly suspended, not much of a ride.

From San Ignacio you can get a collectivo (mini van) to Jaen. We payed 10 soles each. They squeeze them in, so don´t expect too much comfort.

From Jaen normally you could then catch a bus to Chachapoyas.



Unfortunately, the road is currently blocked by local indigenous people unhappy about it´s existence (or something).

We took a taxi to Bellavista (6 soles each), a trike from Bellavista to the river (2 soles each), a boat across the river (2 soles each and very dodgy!) and then a taxi to Bagua Grande (6 soles each).

Normally there should be buses from Bagua Grande, but they were running taxis instead (set price of 22 soles to Chachapoyas). If you can negotiate at the river to get to Chachapoyas for less than 25 soles each I´d take that. Also, the suspension on a lot of these vehicles is shot and they´re VERY uncomfortable. Look around for a good one.

A friend told me (after meeting very coincidentally in Chachapoyas) that they simply walked through the blockade and then took a trike to Bagua Grande and then a taxi to Chachapoyas. That would be easier, although a similar price.


Also, but incidentally, I managed to miss the 0630 bus from Vilcabamba (I can´t work out how to make my alarm go on my watch) and so took the 1030 bus instead. This was fine except that the Peruvian immigration didn´t want anything to do with us and told us to come back in the morning (he was cock deep and rooting when we walked past his window). Luckily another official was more helpful and put us up in an official building with nice beds (used my sleeping bag) and cable TV! The only downside was the complete absence of toilet paper anywhere in the building :(

There is also a sign for a hostal in La Balsa, but no indications if it´s actually open.

If going back the other way the collectivos run from the border through to Zumba for most of the day, so you should have no worries finding one.

Hope someone finds this useful, I found it very hard to find info on the subject!

cheers

Harry

EDIT

As of 05 June, the police have moved in and broken up the blockade. Possibly shooting protestors. In response the protestors have been rioting through Bagua, destroying buildings and killing and kidnapping a number of police. As such, I would not recommend the Zumba crossing, as it´s necessary to get through Bagua Grande to use it. Also, any travel in the area is probably not recommended, as thousands of fired up Indians with spears and lots of angry cops with machine guns looking for retribution do not make a good combination for those in the middle!

you're crazier than a coconut

On Friday night, in the town square in Vilcabamba, I hung out with some girls who turned out to be totally, certifiably, insane.

Not insane in a boil your bunny kind of way mind.

One of them was from California, a lovely and charming person who was very easy to talk to. However, some of the beliefs that she enunciated were as follows:

• We're currently in Biblical "end times" as evidenced by people moving into the wilderness
• The world is going to end (she wasn't exactly specific on what would happen) in 2012 because that's when the mayan calender runs out and those old Mayans obviously knew more than we do
• If you want something badly enough you just have to believe and it will come to you (a la the secret), whether that's money or anything else
• The United States is run by a fascist regime who are going to declare martial law at any minute
• Russia is not actually run by corrupt, autocratic ex KGB agents. Instead, Russia is controlled by it's people, who have wisdom and spirituality and Russia is the centre of the saving of the world (didn't quite get this one, but it's all based upon the Anastascia books apparently, don't know what they are)

The other girl talked about

• her healing hands and how if you believe your body can heal itself (I'm not quite sure how my body will grow back the snapped tendon in my knee, but it sounds nice)
• how the earth has power, including every tree and leaf
• how we need to support the earth and help it heal itself (the ideal way to do this is to have a little ceremony where everyone holds hands and tries to help the earth heal)
• how Vilcabamba is this amazing, energised place and she is so excited to be here and the earth's spiritual forces are so strong here (Vilcabamba is supposedly the site of extremely long lived individuals, however it's nothing special, surrounded by hills that are pretty but deforested with some erosion and full of little shops selling soft drink and packaged foods)

So anyway, I hung out with them for quite a while, it was an extremely educational experience. I bit my tongue for the most part, rather than share my opinions of their opinions! I have to say, of all the cranks and crazies I've met,these two girls were quite up there in terms of their self deluded world beliefs.

Now I might have opinions that many people disagree with, but I should imagine they can see how I arrive at those opinions. They disagree with my analysis, not my basic information. These two had opinions that were so crazy that it was impossible to debate adequately.

cheers

Harry

Cuenca

Cuenca is a very old and historical city, supposedly the prettiest in Ecuador. It is a good place to buy Panama hats (more correctly known as Montecristi hats).

I saw more attractive women in the bus station in Loja than I saw in 2 days in Cuenca!

Oh the horror

For all those planning a holiday to a tropical paradise, I´m not sure I could recommend Cuba. After all, journalists keep on telling us that Guantanamo Bay is a hell on earth, with searing temperatures that would fry the toughest peace loving Islamic aid worker who was mistakenly arrested while innocently trying to help his fellow man.

The Democratic Party apparently agree, with news that they´re planning not to resume funding for the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.

Now while it has been suggested (by fools and the criminally insane) that all the detainees should simply be sent home, there are problems with such a plan. One is recidivism. A high percentage of detainees released earlier have been recaptured in combat or in other actions associated with terrorism.

The second is home itself. Most countries don´t actually want these nut jobs back and will refuse to take them!

I have a solution, why doesn´t Australia take them? We could build a camp in the middle of the Woomera range (the middle, not the edge) and put them all to hard labour. In fact they could build the camp themselves. And good luck trying to run away when it´s hundreds of kilometres of nothingness all around.

We won´t have to worry about journalists either. The only reason they bang on about Gitmo is because of the mojitos they´re drinking in the bar while writing up their fevered imaginings of what goes on there.

As an added bonus, such a plan could be used for all of Australia´s high security prisoners as well. They wouldn´t have time to stab each other in the showers when they´re doing 12 hours per day of manual labour in the middle of desert. They probably wouldn´t get showers anyway, not much water out there!

cheers

Harry

Back to the future 2

While I don´t actually remember the various arms limitations talks that went on during the cold war, I have read about them since. Ineffectual would be a nice way to put things. Arguing over the finer details and both sides trying to cheat each other or gain some kind of advantage.

Well I´m sure everyone will be glad to know that we´re going back to the past.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124268963178032407.html#mod=djemEditorialPage

George Bush achieved, Obama talks.

Cheers

Harry

I was for torture before I was against torture...

Anyone heard about the vast conspiracy engulfing Washington at the moment? Apparently the CIA lied to Nancy Pelosi about waterboarding!

Click here for a very interesting article about the whole subject, excerpt below.

A disturbing epidemic of amnesia seems to be plaguing my former colleagues on Capitol Hill. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, members of the committees charged with overseeing our nation’s intelligence services had no higher priority than stopping al-Qaeda. In the autumn of 2002, while I was chairman of the House of Representatives’ intelligence committee, senior members of Congress were briefed on the CIA’s “High Value Terrorist Program,” including the development of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and what those techniques were…

For all those people who recall the atmosphere back then, this was a time when terrorist attacks seemed imminent. There was the shoe bomber and those pricks who ensured that we can no longer take liquids onboard planes. The Democratic Party was attacking Bush hysterically for not doing ENOUGH about national security. Almost all of Congress voted for war with Iraq. One of Al Queda´s most senior people, who had helped to organise a majority of their attacks, was in captivity and refusing to talk, because he knew the US wouldn´t torture him.

The CIA came up with a series of proposals for dealing with such situations. They put forward these proposals. These proposals were vetted thoroughly by lawyers who assessed them against US and international law. Congressional and Senate leaders (of both parties) were briefed thoroughly about this whole process.

And then, after all this, three people were waterboarded. Now I¨m sure it wouldn´t be a very pleasant experience, I´m certainy not going to volunteer for it. But the fact is that it had been done on US military personnel to prepare them for interrogation. It was done within strict guidelines and under medical supervision.

No toe nails were pulled out, no blood was let, no red hot metal was applied to the body. Compared to such things waterboarding is not torture. Yes it´s unpleasant, but so is doing the dishes, or listening to country music.

Now that a sense of proportion has been established, let´s have those Democrats who were briefed about and agreed to such operations come forward and stop being hypocrites. It was the right thing to do, it gained valuable information at an important time and we should be prepared to do it again if need be.

For another POV on the subject, I highly recommend this link here to a Pelosi press release on the matter.

cheers

Harry

edit - stupid blogspot! In previews this all looks good, but when I publish everything goes to italics. Arrrgh!

Is it just me or is the swine flu scare a crock of shit?

I may post more about this later

cheers

Harry

If you only read one opinion article this year...

make it this one....

Greg Sheridan writing in The Australian about Israel and the Palestinian questions.

For me, the key points are this (without looking to remove blame from Israel for things theymight have done).

Why is Israel the only country condemned by the UN and the media for human rights violations?  Fine, if Israel does the wrong thing, have at them.  But then you should also have at everybody else.  Can you really compare a couple of hundred civilian deaths in Gaza (not counting Hamas combatants here) against the 300,000 or more deaths in Sudan?  Why does no-one ever mention the huge numbers of Palestinians killed by other Palestinians?

Why does no-one ever mention the economic failings (massive economic failings) of the Arab states that surround Israel?  Oh no, it´s all the Jew´s fault (most things are apparently).

Why on earth do people who would be put to death in brutal and horrific ways (homosexuals), locked up without trial for indefinite periods (various academics and so-called intellectuals) or subjected to a lifetime of oppression and sujugation (women) think that´s it a great idea to support Islamic fundamentalists (islamo fascists) and the various loony Arab regimes?

Now I´m not going to argue about the truth or otherwise of Israel´s crimes (although I would be happy to), but even if everything that has ever been said about Israel is true, surely the above points are still valid?  Attack Israel for its failings, but make sure you look properly at everyone else´s failings as well.

Read the article, it´s rather excellent.

cheers

Harry

ps, if you read the comments there´s some quite interesting stuff in there.  My favourite - 

Anti Semitism is not only one of Europe's oldest religions, a "faith" consoling many nice people to this day, it has outlived Christianity there. Now the failing Arab states embrace it too. Like other consoling faiths, it can't be destroyed by rational arguments like this essay, I'm sorry to say.

Do you know who I am?

I don´t know about you, but I am blessed with 20/20 hindsight. I can always see what could have been done better, after the fact of course.

However, just so there can be no doubt, let me put a few personal views out there.

1) Global Warming is a crock (I´ll let you decide what of) - maybe the earth is warming, maybe it isn´t, but I am extremely sceptical that atmospheric carbon dioxide (or if you prefer - carbon pollution) is the problem

2) Iraq was the right war to fight, we were justified in doing so and the only difference is that Australia should have done more. We should also be doing a lot more in Afghanistan.

3) The response to the global financial crisis, especially in the US and Australia, is stupid and irresponsible. We are rewarding people who fucked up by letting them continue to do the things they did before, giving them lots of government money and creating lots of debt for my and younger generations to pay off.

4) Kevin Rudd is a terrible Prime Minister, right up there with Gough and Malcom Fraser. Let me clarify. A TERRIBLE Prime Minister.

5) Obama is no great shakes as President, in fact he might even be a terrible President. He´s certainly no where near as good as George Bush (for all his failings). Trying to recreate a European welfare state in the US, after such a policy has obviously failed miserably and continues to fail in Europe seems to me to be nothing short of ideologically blinded stupidity.

And, if you´re still reading, here´s a link to a fantastic article in the Australian today, explaining in much clearer terms than I can manage why huge deficits and overspending are the wrong responses to the current financial problems.

cheers

Harry

don´t mock the power of the goat...

This may come as news to some people, but apparently John Howard is still running Australia.  Obviously he doesn´t have his actual ¨hands on the wheel¨ so to speak, but still, his ominous presence hovers menacingly above us all, kind of like the dead King in Macbeth.

Or at least that´s what Wayne Swan wants us to believe.  

Budget blowout is John Howard's fault - Wayne Swan   is the headline in the Herald Sun.  Apparently the Liberals relied upon the continuance of the mining boom so much that they overspent and now that the mining boom has ended we´ve gone from being in budget surplus to being in deficit.  $60 billion in deficit according to leaks which may or may not be accurate and probably $200 billion in deficit over the next couple of years.

But even though the Ruddster has been around for a while this massive problem is still Howard´s fault.  No mention of money given to people to spend on booze or pokies, or to insulate their ceilings or buy more holdens.  No mention of the idea of maybe sacking a few public servants.  No the Labor Government has been condemned by circumstance outside their control.  Hardly seems fair that we´re actually paying them if they can´t do anything does it?

cheers

Harry

Do what I say, don´t do what I do...

What is bipartisanship?  I would have imagined that if someone was talking about trying to take a ¨bipartisan¨approach to politics, it would involve the different sides putting forward their opinions and coming up with some kind of consensus solution, an outcome that isn´t the first choice but is accepted by all.

Apparently that´s just crazy talk Dr Harry!

How about this little gem from Yahoo News.  It has a segment on some of Obama´s campaign promises and then looks at how well he has succeeded.  The intro is this:

CANDIDATE OBAMA ON BIPARTISANSHIP – “I don’t want to pit Red America against Blue America. I want to be President of the United States of America.”

And the assessment on how well he went is this:

PRESIDENT OBAMA ON BIPARTISANSHIP – He has made gestures to his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill and has invited them into his administration. But turning politics into a less divisive, less partisan affair has proved difficult. Only three Republicans voted for Obama’s stimulus legislation in February.

Now I might be wrong here, but from memory the stimulus bill was some 1000 pages long and members of the two houses were given less than a day to read it?  So the fact that any Republicans at all voted for the bill is a wonder, not a mystery.

Yahoo are shamelessly attacking the Republicans and cheering for Obama over his efforts to be bipartisan, but the basic truth is that Obama has negotiated nothing at all.  He has asked for his programs to be supported but he hasn´t asked for input or held negotiations so that the other side can put forward their point of view.

With a Pauline Hanson voice..... ¨Shame Yahoo, shame on you!¨ (and Barry for that matter).

cheers

Harry

Here´s something a bit more interesting to look at!

who will survive the bloody carnage of this particular war?

Apparently we now have a swimsuit war.  Who knew?

Bohl has recently returned from Europe where he witnessed the hysteria that has grown there with the emergence of a new player in the market, the Italian-designed polyurethane Jaked suit, which has sparked a flurry of world records. 

"If the Jaked is allowed for the world titles every world record will be broken. And I'm not sure that our kids will have access to it (the suit)," Bohl said.

I think the concept is ridiculous.  I propose that all swimmers in all meets should swim in nothing more than budgie smugglers (guys) and minimal one pieces (girls).  I´d be happy with bikinis as well.  The sport is called SWIMMING not SWIMWEAR DESIGNING.

I wholeheartedly believe in the advancement of science and technology and think these new innovations are fantastic, I just don´t believe that they have a place in a sport where an athlete can win or lose depending on which company´s swim suit they wear.

To be an aborigine or not to be an aborigine? That is the question...

So it seems that someone has finally kicked up a stink about the Tasmanian Government and how they define aboriginality.

For those who don´t know, Michael Mansell and all his white friends at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre are aboriginal, because they share a half dozen surnames of families that emerged from the sealing communities in Bass Strait.  All the other white people who aren´t friends with Michael DON¨T get to play aborigines and have to do their own thing.

Opening lines of the article:

Alan Wolf was an ATSIC regional councillor for six years and is currently a board member of federal Aboriginal languages body, Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages.  However, the State Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OOA) has denied Mr Wolf indigenous fishing rights on the grounds he is not an Aborigine. 

Mr Wolf is one of 440 people regarded as Aborigines by the Federal Government and federal courts, but not by the Tasmanian Government for the purpose of state programs. 

The State applies the same Aboriginality test as the Commonwealth but differently, making it harder for people without links to certain families and archival evidence to prove their ancestry.

What does all this mean?  Besides the good news that Michael Mansell and his white friends at the TAC will finally have to let other people play in their little ¨club¨ besides themselves?

Well the key part for me of all this is the concept of  ¨indigenous fishing rights¨.  Now in the Northern Territory that means that aborigines are able to kill turtles and dugongs (even when they´re severely endangered).  In Canada that means that the Inuit are able to kill bears and seals and whales (little ones) and baby fur seals.

What does this mean in Tasmania?  I don´t really have any idea, but I´m guessing it means much greater access to abalone and rock lobster fisheries, maybe to kill seals as well, although I haven´t heard of this actually happening.  And what do I think about the whole situation?

Well I´ve actually got no problem with it at all.  I think the Tasmanian aboriginal community should be allowed to access as much traditional lifestyle opportunities (whether fishing or hunting) as they want.

BUT

They should have to exercise their traditional fishing rights in their traditional manner.  No wetsuits, no masks, no snorkels, no scuba, no nets, no outboard motors, no rifles.

Go smother yourself in seal fat and go diving for abalone.  Or do the same thing as you swim out to sneak up on a seal lying in the sun and beat it´s head in with a club.  I´m cool with that.  

Just don´t use all the advantages of modern technology and then claim you´re exercising your indigenous rights, while fishing out of season, in protected areas or with fish that aren´t size.

cheers

Harry

Remember: every time you click on the internet, a professional journalist cries

Top stories: Our "Cathode Ray of Death" series showed how excessive blog reading is linked to leukemia and the ebola virus.

click here

Every cloud has a silver lining...

I believe that this is the funniest post about meat ever.

enjoy

Harry

You have freedom of speech, just choose to remain silent

Did you know that the UK Government has now banned homophobic jokes? I didn´t.

How is this not a matter that completely attacks the very notion of free speech? What happened to the idea of

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it

What about the episode of Seinfeld when a comedian converted to Judaism just so he could make Jewish jokes? Is it then alright to make a poof joke if you happen to bat both ways or like exploring the chocolate mudslide? Or are all queer jokes banned?

As Mark Steyn wonders, does this mean that Little Britain will be breaking the law? (Check out Steyn´s article by the way, he´s an excellent writer, although probably a bit too small government/personal freedom for many people)

For an alternative point of view on the subject, check out Iowahawk´s post on gay joke smuggling. For me, the punch line is the very last line.

Who decides what should be allowed and what should be banned? Why is it ok to take a statue of Jesus and immerse it in a jar of urine but it´s not so cool to draw a cartoon featuring the prophet Mohammed (who isn´t actually divine, just a prophet for the divine)?

Why is it ok to promote the killing of old people through Euthanasia, but not ok to promote the killing of rapists and murderers through the death penalty?

As Steyn says, this is basically a way for the Government to gather more power and in my opinion that is almost always a BAD THING.

This is all very interesting and I could write a lot more about it, but basically I think you should be able to say whatever you want. If you post something as fact you need to be able to prove it (so those newspapers posting opinion as front page news, sort your shit out!). If you libel someone, you should be accountable. And if you post opinion, it should be properly advertised as such.

cheers

Harry

ps if you do tell people what you actually think, then everyone will know you´re a retard hating, communist loving, mediaeval and brutal monarchy bowing, nuclear proliferation appeasing, Chicago political whore, because your opinions are out in the open for everyone to see. Rather than pretending otherwise until it´s too late.