Archive for September, 2006
Imprisonment by executive order
This week I’ve found myself by turns angry and sad about politics for the first time since the Israeli bombardment of civilians in Lebanon. This time the reason, I think, is that I had begun to believe that the right wing assault on the foundations of democracy, freedom, and human rights had ground to a [...]
In: law, observations, society
Air force ordered to stand down on 9/11
Cheney seems to have ordered the US air force not to attack the commercial airliners hijacked on September 11. The link and discussion is here
In: observations, world
Techniques of rhetoric
Mark Kaplan, 18 months ago, presented the ultimate blog argument. Titled “Notes on Rhetoric” it was a list of the phrases and techniques used in dodgy comment thread debate. It’s hilarious and very much to the point. I’ll give you a couple of excerpts: A priori – your apriori supposition is that: “I operate by [...]
In: humour, net, observations
Final failure of the occupation
Andrew Bacevich writing in the Australian today says the chickens have come home to roost in Iraq: Historians of the global war on terror will likely recall September 2006 as a pivotal moment. Throughout this month, chickens have come home to roost. Each has arrived bearing bad news for the Bush administration. First came a [...]
In: observations, world
Carnival of the Liberals
Carnival of the Liberals has bulldozed my little shanty town and set up its tents on my metaphorical village green. Some Bloodthirsty Vegetarians even took time out from a glass of Shiraz and an attempt to discover which science fiction crew they belonged to (Firefly, of course!) to put a shout out on their podcast. [...]
In: net, observations
Rootlessness
A touching scene from a television documentary this evening: a family celebrates orthodox Easter in procession with candles. They stop at intervals, shielding the candles from wind, as the priest intones the ritual. The child’s face shows boredom but he’s comfortable in the traditional environment – the bosom of a hundred generations of his family. [...]
In: philosophy, society, theory
Top 10 stories which never made the news
MarketWatch reports on Project Censored’s annual list of stories the media has ignored. It points out that censorship in the US is usually more about what the MSM chooses not to report, either because it won’t help circulation figures or because it won’t help the proprietors. The Feds and the media muddy the debate over [...]
In: observations, world
Loss of ideals
From Comment is Free a summary of Bush’s true failure: America is dedicated to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Had Thomas Jefferson never written those words, it would be hard to invent better ideals to set against the philosophy of those who attacked America five years ago. Those seduced by terrorism believe in [...]
In: law, observations, world
Nemo sibi nascitur
Christopher Alexander was interviewed recently on radio in Australia. He mentioned that several years ago he had been appointed part of the planning approvals process for Pasadena housing units. His contribution was to insist that the developers show how their proposal would benefit the larger unit – the street, suburb, or the city of Pasadena. [...]
In: environment, observations, society, world
Stealing oil
Iraq currently exports 1.7 million barrels per day of oil. I notice today that the price of oil has hit a 5 month low of $67.50, so I want to do some ballpark style calculations. Iraqi oil is known to be cheap to extract, possibly around $5 per barrel. Add $3 per barrel for exploration [...]
Khartoum mounts new offensive
From Eric Reeves: On Thursday, August 31, 2006, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1706, ‘inviting’ the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum to allow a large and robust UN to enter Darfur with the primary goal of protecting acutely vulnerable civilians and humanitarians. This force (between 23,000 and 24,000 troops, police, and Formed Police [...]
In: observations, world
Keep off the grass
Australia is probably typical of the English speaking west in that it’s citizens are being buried in an avalanche of red tape. The litigious society meets the risk-averse society and the answer seems to be bureaucracy. We have occupational health and safety (OH&S); a whole raft of accounting related to the goods and services tax [...]
In: law, philosophy, society
