Jon Stewart nails the Democratic Party’s failure du jour on the Daily Show.
The Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse’s office because, once again, they glued their balls to their thighs.
Full segment video below.
Andrew Sullivan highlights reporting that seems otherwise ignored in the US media at the moment: The Deaths At “Camp No”
As usual, the foreign press cover the new and powerful evidence that the Bush administration was using torture methods so severe they killed prisoners in Gitmo as late as 2006 – and then covered it up with claims of a triple-simultaneous-suicide. Here’s the Guardian. And the Telegraph. And theIndependent. Here’s the Irish Times. And the Canadian Press. But the US papers?
Victorian Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky has resigned from politics, citing family health issues. More at The Age and The Herald Sun
Update: And now also an article from Paul Mees: Kosky was a transport apologist, not a reformer
Update II: A more detailed article from Clay Lucas in The Age: End of the line
A pretty nicely put together website that ‘scores’ a location based on what you can walk to from there (walkability? walk friendliness?): Walk Score
There’s a relatively brief but interesting article in today’s Age that features an interview with Metro Trains CEO: Train timetables ‘too complicated’
A simplified timetable was needed so customers could remember it, and so train controllers could recover the system when things went wrong, he said.
Mr Lezala said he deliberately did not own a car in Melbourne. ”I am an advocate of public transport. I like the tram network because the frequency is such that you do not need to understand the timetable.”
The train network needed that frequency, he said. The Public Transport Users Association campaigned in 2008 to get trains, trams and buses running every 10 minutes. He said this was the correct approach.
The contracts established Connex as train operator, another company, Mainco, as track maintainer and a third firm, United – now part of Metro Trains – as train repairer.
The new contracts bring responsibility for all of this into one company, Metro. Mr Lezala – who repeatedly apologised to the public this week for Monday’s problems – said people should expect excellent service from Metro. ”If it is not going right, we should apologise and let people know what we are doing about it.”
Flinders St Station, one of my favourite buildings in Melbourne (despite the bland modern station concourse), is turning 100. There is an exhibition on in the Degraves St subway to commemorate this. Apparently it will only be there until the 22nd of January (thanks to White Hat for reminding me).
From the Flinders St Station 100 website.
An exhibition celebrating the station’s history, decade by decade, will be available to the public in the Degraves Street Subway from Monday 4 January to Saturday 23 January 2010. This event is supported by Platform Artists. The exhibition, entitled The Station Turns 100, will be launched on Friday 8 January, 6 – 8 pm. No rsvp is required and everyone is welcome!
There is some brief introductory history on the website. There is also a book, by Jenny Davies: Beyond the Façade: Flinders Street
The website also features a call to lobby for refurbishment of the station and returning it to the public domain.
The exhibition is supported by Platform Artists Group Inc.
Update: Some positive noises at least from the new transport minister – At 100, grand old station in line for arts refit
Victoria’s new Public Transport Minister, Martin Pakula, said the Government was considering a proposal from the Centre for Adult Education ”for an arts and cultural hub with exhibition, classroom and studio space” for the building.
”We understand there’s a big community push to use Flinders Street and the department will further investigate the CAE proposal, and we will continue to work with the City of Melbourne, transport operators, arts, transport and other groups … to test this proposal and see if the station building can be returned to the community.”
It has been estimated refurbishing the station would cost more than $10 million. It has had many uses over its 100 years including holding concerts and acting as a sports venue.
A brief but interesting piece online at Human Rights Watch (originally published in The International Herald Tribune) by Bill Frelick: Refugees Are Not Bargaining Chips
A virus is sweeping Asia. The symptoms are heightened xenophobia and amnesia about fundamental refugee rights. Australia and Indonesia succumbed first, in October, when they stopped boats carrying Sri Lankans. Neither country would allow the Sri Lankans to disembark even though they came from a country experiencing massive violence and displacement.
The willingness to flout international refugee law and to ignore the entreaties of refugees not to be sent back to their home countries has become the mark of chummy bilateral relations between Asian states. Thailand sends back Hmong refugees – a group with a history of persecution at the hands of the Lao government dating back to the 1960s – citing a secret bilateral agreement and the Lao government’s assurances of their safe treatment. Cambodia forcibly repatriates Uighurs just as the Chinese vice president, Xi Jinping, arrives on a visit to Phnom Penh to announce a $1.2 billion aid package to Cambodia.
An interesting perspective from psychologist George Marshall (who can also be found at Carbon Detox and Climate Change Denial) in Yes magazine: Why We Find It So Hard to Act Against Climate Change
So why has so little happened? Why do people who claim to be very concerned about climate change continue their high-carbon lifestyles? And why, as the warnings become ever louder, do increasing numbers of people reject the arguments of scientists and the evidence of their own eyes?
According to Norgaard, most people have tacitly agreed that it is socially inappropriate to pay attention to climate change. It does not come up in conversations, or as an issue in voting, consumption, or career choices. We are like a committee that has decided to avoid a thorny problem by conspiring to make sure that it never makes it onto the agenda of any meeting.
In opinion poll research the majority of people will define it as far away (“it’s a global problem, not a local problem”) or far in the future (“it’s a huge problem for future generations”). They embrace the tiny cluster of skeptics as evidence that “it’s only a theory,” and that “there is still a debate.” And they strategically shift the causes as far away as possible: “I’m not the problem—it’s the Chinese/rich people/corporations.” Here in Europe we routinely blame the Americans.
In all of these examples, people have selected, isolated, and then exaggerated the aspects of climate change that best enable their detachment. And, ironically, focus-group research suggests that people are able to create the most distance when climate change is categorized as an “environmental” problem.
How can we energize people and prevent them from passively standing by?
We must remember that people will only accept a challenging message if it speaks to their own language and values and comes from a trusted communicator.
We must recognize that the most trusted conveyors of new ideas are not experts or celebrities but the people we already know.
And finally we need to recognize that people are best motivated to start a journey by a positive vision of their destination—in this case by understanding the real and personal benefits that could come from a low-carbon world.
Not exactly news, as this was from October last year. But a very nicely done video. Found it via Imagethief while reading news about Google’s headline making statements about its China operations.
China’s 60th Anniversary national day – timelapse and slow motion – 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.
The federal government seems to be wandering away from commitments to political funding reform. Royce Millar in The Age: No reform for political funding
THE Rudd Government has abandoned its promise of a new, cleaner system of political funding before the next election, prompting Opposition claims it has caved in to union pressure.
The Age understands that broad agreement had been reached between the major and minor parties, including the Greens, about the need for key reforms, including controls on donations to political parties and campaign expenditure, regulation of third parties such as lobby groups and unions, and increased public funding for elections.
Victorian Labor wants to protect its income from both unions and corporations and is keen to ensure revenue continues to flow from controversial but successful fund-raising arm, Progressive Business, particularly as it faces both state and federal elections this year.
Google to reconsider their role in China, starting with a move to remove censorship from search results on google.cn, whilst contemplating the possibility of complete cessation of Google operations in China. Per the Official Google Blog: A new approach to China
Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties.
We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.
We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all.
Should make for an interesting debate. Hopefully it will be available online in some format. Per John Quiggin…
So, the only way to approach it is to address the underlying conspiracy theory directly. If Monckton and Plimer are right, all the major scientific bodies in the world are engaged in a conspiracy to introduce communist world government by (drumroll!) auctioning tradeable carbon emissions permits. The question is, can I convince an audience sympathetic to delusionism that this is a really silly thing to believe?
Update: Per JQ in Crikey, looks like he won’t be banging his head against the brick wall in this instance. Good luck to Barry Brook then!
I actually thought about taking part, announcing my role as a participant in the global conspiracy and pointing out to the assembled sceptics the futility of resisting plans that already had the backing of all major world leaders and the entire scientific community. But before I had time to make up my mind I discovered the institute had also offered the gig to Professor Barry Brook, who had accepted.
The summer concerts at Fitzroy Gardens are on again for 2010. Thanks to White Hat for the reminder. Per the Fitzroy Gardens Website…
Saturdays January 9th to 30th, 6.30pm to 9.30pm.
Fitzroy Gardens, Stage Lawn, Opposite Model Tudor Village, Melway ref: 2G C3.
9 January Pablo Discobar: Australia’s original soul/funk band continue to keep things current with a strong emphasis on fresh beats and rhythms.
16 January Custom Kings: A unique blend of folk, jazz, blues, reggae and hip-hop delivered both acoustically and as a full band.
23 January The Snappers: Performing a passionate and energetic mix of jazz, shuffle and rhythm and blues music, this spirited instrumental sextet shifts through a variety of styles from the 20s through to the modern day.
30 January Deborah Conway: From smash hits in the 80s through to her current work, Deborah will play an eclectic and wide range of material, showing why she is still one of Australia’s best loved pop and rock legends.
Update: This was post was for 2010. According to White Hat the concerts are not running in 2011!
Update 2: There will be music in the gardens in 2011 after all. It is called the Sunset Series. Details below:
Saturday 22 January
6.30pm – The Twoks
8pm – Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes
Sunday 23 January
6.30pm – Bollywood dance workshop with Rhythm and Spice
Saturday 29 January
6.30pm – Eagle and The Worm
8pm – Vika and Linda Bull
Sunday 30 January
6.30pm – African dance workshop with Afro Funk, King Marong and Afro Mandinko
Not surprising, per The Age: Hottest decade on record
Australia experienced its hottest decade on record from 2000 to 2009 due to global warming, the nation’s bureau of meteorology said today.
The average temperature in Australia over the past 10 years was 0.48 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its annual climate statement.
And 2010 is forecast to be even hotter, with temperatures likely to be between 0.5 and 1 degrees above average.
I just discovered wikimapia. A great resource for helping to remember what on earth the name was of that building you took a photo of.
Artist Franke James has an excellent series of illustrated visual essays on her website. Thanks to 350.org for tweeting her excellent piece on Fat Cat Canada, which is how I found her website.
Her website is full of interesting stuff. Including a CO2 Toaster Widget, below…
A somewhat concerning piece from Reid Sexton in The Age: Train drivers put lives on the line
Sources say the incidents had increased markedly in the past 20 years, and they blame poor driver training, decaying infrastructure and lighter penalties for drivers who breach red lights.
The July incident is one of 141 red light breaches recorded in the first 10 months of 2009.
While all Metro trains brake automatically if they run a red light, a train travelling at top speed needs at least 500 metres to stop in time. ”Even one signal passed at danger is too many,” said a Metro source. ”This is going to end in disaster at a level crossing.”
An interesting article in The Age by recently retired teacher Nigel Jackson: Best to let teachers wander once more
This task is to lead or guide each individual student out of the relative ignorance and incapacity of childhood and youth so that he or she will more and more readily find a suitable path through life in which to find unique fulfilment. There are no fixed rules for completing this task. This makes teaching open-ended, challenging and glorious.
Really, this view of good teaching that I am proposing is just the incarnation of the wisdom contained in the Chinese Tao Te Ching’s ”the way that is a way is not the way” and the Bible’s similar reminder that ”the spirit blows where it chooses to blow”.
This means that much of the very best teaching and learning that occurs in schools and in classrooms is informal, unexpected and illuminating. And for this to happen often, the educational structure must not become too regimented and fixed. My great fear is that school-teaching in Victoria is threatened with a kind of stifling.
Since then I have observed a gradual but ever-continuing bureaucratisation of education in Victoria, with various inappropriate exaggerations of the importance of assessment, fixation on state-mandated curriculums, the ”latest educational research”, ideological indoctrination or career preparation.
Skeptical Science is a great resource for responding (with science) to common arguments put forward to dismiss the seriousness of climate change.
Seems that the tone is beginning to be set for the next election. No surprises really. Paul Austin at The Age: Labor MPs take aim at Greens
Labor member for Albert Park, Martin Foley, has sent his constituents a pamphlet condemning the Greens for voting with the Liberals, Nationals and Family First against the Rudd Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) before Christmas.
Greens leader Bob Brown is unapologetic about his party’s decision to vote against the Rudd scheme, saying it set emission reduction targets “way too low” to fix the climate crisis and offered $16 billion in compensation to polluters.
Labor Treasurer John Lenders, has widened the attack, telling The Age: “People are starting to realise that the Greens are now a wheeling-dealing political party and they are voting against what they say they believe in.”
But Ms Hartland hit back last night, saying Labor refused to negotiate with the Greens on legislation, “and then, they often get shocked when we vote against a bill”.
An interesting piece by Joshua Kucera at Slate: Where Russia Meets China
IRKUTSK, Russia—When you’re the leader of a fringe political group, a cafe called “I’m Waiting for a UFO” may not be the best place to take a visiting journalist. But it’s possible that alien abduction is more likely than what Mikheil Kulekhov is working for: Siberian independence.
Kulekhov claims solidarity with other secessionist movements, which, he says, are everywhere in Russia. But at least for now, Russia is heading in the opposite direction. Regional governors used to be elected by local voters, but in 2004, then-President Vladimir Putin changed the law and decided to appoint the governors directly, greatly increasing the Kremlin’s authority over Russia’s far-flung regions. This would become a running theme throughout my trip: how distant Moscow rules Siberia imperiously, with little regard for the wishes of the people here. The word colony came up again and again in conversation.
The first of Melbourne’s new X’Trapolis trains was rolled out yesterday. Then promptly rolled back. Per Clay Lucas at The Age: New train: catch it if you can
But immediately after the Alstom X’Trapolis train had finished two runs on the suburban network – one to Glen Waverley and back, and another to Epping – it was returned to the Newport rail repair yards.
Thirteen new trains are scheduled to be introduced in the lead-up to next year’s state election in November, as the Government tries to relieve commuters from severe overcrowding at peak times.
Just remembered about this fantastic (Australian) book price comparison site: Booko
The famed myki is off and running, or something, well, at least if you’re catching trains only.
The official website is myki.com.au. They didn’t take care of myki.org.au though, which belongs to the Myki Users Group.
There’s a bit of coverage in the local media.
The Age: Myki rolls out – but only on city trains and Kosky takes the myki: no trams, buses, tickets
ABC: Myki rollout leaves trams, buses behind
There’s free registered myki cards to be had from their website. Think it is for registered cards only though. Normally they’ll cost $7 concession or $10 full fare (if I’m remembering correctly).
