Happy New Year

New years resolution: I'm thinking of joining the darkside.

Hong Kong movie subtitles

8 ) Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?

10) You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken.

and my personal favourite...

21) Greetings, large black person. Let us not forget to form a team up together and go into the country to inflict pain of our karate feets on some ass of the giant lizard person.

Damn straight baby...

A Merry Xmas Lolcat 4 u....

Going on holidays

Until early January sometime. So 'see' you all then...

Here's a bear while you wait...

Oz Gov't take note

A warning video of exactly what can happen if a workplace loses internet....

Office Apocalypse: When The Internet Goes Down at Work -- powered by Cracked.com

Get your hands off my Feed!

shot of crowd at the Anti Internet Censorship rally in Melbourne, Saturday 13th Dec

So on this rainy Saturday afternoon, the No Clean Feed people organized a protest against the Australian Government's proposed internet censorship scheme. About 200-300 people turned up and they had about half a dozen speakers from ISPs, Amnesty International, Electronic Frontiers Australia, "Internet professionals" (not quite sure what that guy did) and some 'random dude' (more about Mr random later).

some dude from an ISP (Sorry, I didn't catch his name - ed)

A couple of take-away points:

• The scheme will use a blacklist of web sites that every internet company will be forced to use.
• This blacklist will be decided by the government.
• This blacklist has been 'protected' by Freedom of Information laws (FoI) so that ordinary Australians will not know which websites have been banned, and therefore will have no recourse to protest the banning of certain websites
• Telstra and Internode (Australia's largest and 2nd largest ISPs respectively) have point blank refused to take part in the trial.
• The proposed scheme will only prevent people from accessing certain websites. Illicit material swapped via peer-to-peer (P2P... think Napster or Kazaa) or any other mechanism that doesn't involve a web browser will not be stopped. For those not technically minded, I can assure you that the "bad people" on the net rarely use webpages to trade in their stuff.
  
  

The speakers for the most part all made some good points, and the temptation to compare the proposed internet censorship scheme to Hitler's bookburning was there in full effect from some of the more politically aligned speakers.


The crowd composition was mixed; families, IT workers, socialist activists, turtles.

An Anti-Censorship turtle?

I saw one keffiyeh and Mr random, as part of his speech against censorship asked the crowd "Did you know that there has been a genocide going on in Palestine for 40 years?" with some mutterings of assent from the crowd.

Now, for Mr random to say that would rather suggest that his internet at home is already being filtered by his own very misguided views. Also he started his speech saying "My dear old mum had a saying: I might disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it." The more astute of you (or anyone who can use Google) may have noticed that Mr random's dear old mum did not invent this quote, it was the french philosopher Voltaire who said "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".

Now I'm all for using quotes, whether they be from Mr random's dear old mum or one of the Enlightenment philosophers, but if you do use a grandstanding quote, I would suggest you attribute it to the right person, otherwise you might look a little 'foolish' however he clearly had the crowd on his side and those that might resent his misappropriation of a quote (ie. me) kept quiet.

St George slaying the dragon of censorship

All in all, not a bad turn out. If the socialist group organising the rallies can realize this issue transcends the usual left/right perspectives, they will have a greater chance of success. If, on the other hand, they use it simply as a springboard to indoctrinate individuals into socialist activism (which, by my conversation with the earnest young lad where I signed the petition, seemed to be going) they will be battling against the usual political apathy of the average Aussie, which is legend.

The crowd about to start some chants on the steps of the State Library

Mumbai Media Analysis

One of the truly sad things about the Mumbai atrocities (apart from the appalling loss of life and injury) is the speed at which Western media agencies went out of their way to somehow point the finger at everyone and everything other than the actual perpetrators and their ideology.

The UK leader of the Green Party blamed Israel, and the New York Times perpetrated the gross fallacy that

"It is not known if the Jewish center was strategically chosen, or if it was an accidental hostage scene."

Of course words from the sole surviving terrorist contradict this vile piece of propaganda (via The Times of India)

"Kasab has told police that they were sent with a specific mission of targeting Israelis to avenge atrocities on Palestinians. This was why they targetted Nariman House, a complex meant for Israelis. Sources said Kasab's colleagues killed in the operation had stayed in Nariman House earlier. "

Doesn't quite sound like it was "an accidental hostage scene". I doubt a retraction of the article from America's "paper of record" is forthcoming.

The sole surviving Mumbai terrorist (Ajmal Amir Kasab, 21), pointing to the complete lack of halal snacks available
at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway kiosk, before gunning down 54 people in retaliation for this grievance.
(Picture source)

William Dalrymple, writing for The Observer in the UK blames the Mumbai atrocities on the US, UK, India, Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, blah blah blah and strawberry ice-cream (I may have added that last one):

"These were not poor, madrasah-educated Pakistanis from the villages, brainwashed by mullahs, but angry and well-educated, middle-class kids furious at the gross injustice they perceive being done to Muslims by Israel, the US, the UK and India in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir respectively."

There is not a grievance anywhere in the world (or time) that the Islamists will not fail to take offence to and that Western apologetics will not use as excuses for their atrocities. Read a cogent takedown of this git at Harry's Place.

William Kristol, writing for the New York Times, mentions a few other egregious incidents of "false finger pointing", such as Martha Nussbaums op-ed for the LA times who spends the whole column equivocating Islamic terrorism with anything but the actual cause:

"If, as now seems likely, last week's terrible events in Mumbai were the work of Islamic terrorists, that's more bad news for India's minority Muslim population."

I would have said it's actual bad news for those that got KILLED and their surviving relatives. But no, it's that "vulnerable minority" root cause again.

"Never mind that the perpetrators were probably funded from outside India, in connection with the ongoing conflict over Kashmir."

So absolutely nothing, NOTHING AT ALL to do with a particular barbaric ideology??

As Kristol writes in his column:

"So jihadists kill innocents in Mumbai and Nussbaum ends up decrying racial profiling here. Is it just that liberal academics are required to include some alleged ugly American phenomenon in everything they write? "

The Australian has a good column about the tendency of Western media agencies to give Islamic terrorists all the grievances they could possibly need:

"When it comes to terrorists and their grievances, nearly all the Western media have provided them with a rich diet on which to feed."

Another op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by Tom Gross details the disgraceful behaviour of Western media. The major point:

"But then the terrorists in Mumbai didn't need to make any public announcements. They knew that many deluded Western journalists and academics will do that job for them, explaining that the West is to blame, especially the Zionists."

I don't know what can be done to reverse this situation, but it would be nice occasionally for the mainstream media to, you know, maybe stand up for the ideas and values that make their existence possible. But once again, I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon.

Here is a spot-on segment from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart about the Mumbai terrorists. I hasten to add I doubt Jon Stewart and his Daily show would do anything that would require real risk, like standing up for free speech (for example displaying those Mohammed cartoons), however their take on this particular issue matches my own...almost to the letter.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mumbai Tragedy

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Arab Money

(via FiveFeetofFury)

I always had a bit of a soft spot for Busta Rhymes, so without further ado let me introduce his newest single "Arab Money" that of course has raised protests and a radio station in the UK has suspended two broadcasters for playing it.




Here's a page with the lyrics. Make your own mind up if it's offensive. Of course the arab sounds (words?) might be saying some really bad shit, but somehow I doubt it.

Of course, these "protests" are curiously silent on real atrocities (see Mumbai) perpetrated by types believeing in a certain ideology, as are other major groups and countries that you know, should probably say something about it. But hey, what's the death of 188 people compared to the Massive Destructive and Offensive power of a .... rap song.

Keep it real people. Peace out!

Wood on Mars?

From this story in the Daily Mail.

Is this a picture of a piece of timber...on Mars?

Comments on what this could be from any current or former geologists reading this blog would be appreciated...

Human Wrongs III - The junkie edition

Actual headline from the Daily Mail:

"Drug addicted prisoners receive compensation for being forced to go cold turkey."


From the article:

"Around £11,400 was paid to three inmates at Winchester Prison in Hampshire after a court ruled that it was a breach of their human rights to deny them drugs such as heroin and substitute substances."

Seriously, WTF? These guys are in PRISON. It's not supposed to be a !@#ing cakewalk. It's supposed to be unpleasant. That's what prison is. Most law abiding citizens of any country get that.

"Really sorry Snake, but you're not supposed to be taking heroin or any other illegal drug whilst your doing time. You want to do drugs? THEN STAY OUT OF JAIL YOU FUCKING MORON!!!!!"

The revolution will come, but not as neo/crypto Marxists believe. It won't be lefty sympathising 'underclasses' rising up against the White Male Patriarchy. It will be lynch mobs of outraged citizens with pitchforks and torches wanting to take the frankenstein monster of activist judiciaries to task for yet another outrageous judgement.

"Human Rights" my ass.....

Friday afternoon Lego

Why? Because it's cool that's why. And everyone loves lego.




Related: BrickArms is a company that makes custom lego minifigures and weapons. So just in case you are all still wondering what to get me for Christmas, a Lego terrorist with a Lego sniper to shoot his yella' plastic ass would be perfect.

Here's a small selection of what is available:

Censoring the Internet

The Australian Federal Government is attempting to mandate internet filtering at the ISP level. Ie. they want to force ISPs to implementing filtering technologies to restrict access to certain websites based what the government decides Australian citizens shouldn't see.

This is being advanced primarily on the platform of "saving the children", specifically from child pornorgraphy. However the legislation as it's worded does not explain exactly how the Government will decide certain web sites are unacceptable for ALL Australian citizens (not just those involving child pornography). Of course, Australians won't be able to know which sites are blocked, because as in all censorship schemes, this kind of transparency is unlikely for obvious reasons. If the government succeeds, Australia will be joining such esteemed champions of free speech such as China, Saudia Arabia and Iran.

There are simultaneous protests being held around the country on Saturday 13th December. Details available from http://www.nocleanfeedforum.com/. The Melbourne protest details are available from here and here. Facebook event here.

When a student union collides with reality

A happy resolution to my previous post about the Cystic Fibrosis charity shmozzle from Carleton University, Canada.

It appears that the voices of outrage and protest on this patently ridiculous motion were heard (via FiveFeetofFury). Two student councillors resigned (including the idiot that crafted the motion) and students at the university are wanting to impeach the student president.

Political Correctness 0 Reality 1

The fisk to end all fisks

The ultimate internet smackdown courtesy of Mark Steyn. You don't really need to know of the details of the debate to be awed by the point by point take down, with trademark humour and wit.

His mastery of english from internet slang-1337 speak, to properly constructed Queens English witticisms puts everyone to shame, not least the journalism professor who is the target of this particular column.

Read it all. It's an education....

(oh and don't send your kids to study journalism at Ryerson University, Canada)

Law & Enforcement

A firebrand, a "radical right-wing extremist", an agent provocateur, someone who regularly gets death threats for her columns, one of the few people the left hate more than Dubya, I am of course talking about Ann Coulter.

My post here talked about the ethical and judicial difficulties of exactly what we should do with non-state, non-uniformed combatants today. In her latest column, she demonstrates quite well the difficulties of closing Guantanamo and the problems of recidivism from at least one of the ex-inmates.

The crux of the column:

"After being captured fighting with Taliban forces against Americans in 2001, Abdullah Massoud was sent to Guantanamo, where the one-legged terrorist was fitted with a special prosthetic leg, at a cost of $50,000-$75,000 to the U.S. taxpayer."

Go read it all. It's worth it.