Archive for the ‘World’ Category

Random Quotage

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

“Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.” — Commissioner Pravin Lal

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own — a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

You don’t seem to realize that a poor person who is unhappy is in a better position than a rich person who is unhappy. Because the poor person has hope. He thinks money would help. – Jean Kerr

When the rich wage war it is the poor who die. – Jean-Paul Sartre

Being Poor means sitting on your rooftop while your house is submerged, seeing helicopters rescuing those around you and knowing that you “cannot afford” to be rescued by one. A lady said that in NO two weeks ago, and that made me cry. – blog commenter on John Scalzi’s Being Poor

It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power. -Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE)

The King is Dead

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

This morning Triple J were playing “The King is Dead” by The Herd, a song celebrating the downfall of John Howard. Highly recommended. IIRC “We partied like it was new years’ eve”

Iranian fridge magnets

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Fabulous last paragraph in this article about the new Iranian “Be alert, not alarmed” national security hotline. Or watch the video (requires Windows Media or Flip4Mac WMV plugins)

A Teddy named Mohammed

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

… could get you 40 lashes and up to 6 months in jail in Sudan.

You’re with them, or you’re against them

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Saudi Arabia, our partners in peace.

Amnesty International or the Catholic Church

Monday, November 12th, 2007

Since Amnesty International has announced it is not anti-abortion it seems that the Catholic Church is not particularly happy with Catholics joining Amnesty.

UWA Public Lecture: Growing up in a Risk Averse Society

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

Thought some of you out there might be interested in this:

In his lecture, Tim will outline the dangers in pursuing a zero-risk childhood. The zero-tolerance approach to childhood risk is growing across the developed world. It can be seen in almost every domain of children’s lives, from playground accidents to child protection, anti-bullying initiatives and internet safety. Yet paradoxically, eliminating or minimising the risks to children may well leave them struggling to cope with life as they grow up.
Tim will reveal why risk elimination is becoming so prevalent, and how we can resist it. He will argue that parents, professionals and decision makers all need to become more tolerant of adversity: to accept that upsets, misfortune, uncertainty and even a little danger are all essential ingredients of a healthy, happy childhood.

On in the Octagon at 6pm on the 27th of September. Check the UWA events page for more details.

Rites of Passage

Monday, September 17th, 2007

It would seem that the Northwest Passage is now open to shipping, thanks to a greater extent of summer ice meltage than in the last 30 years of satellite records.

Days until George Bush leaves Sydney: 3

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

Crikey has published a “cut out and keep” guide to APEC protest groups.

Days until George Bush leaves Sydney: 4

Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

Not sure if anyone can get him charged for war crimes and have his passport removed before Saturday :) Would result in lots of extra business as his 650+ person retinue has to stay a bit longer.