Australian media link Obama to Crack

The Sydney Morning Herald has reached a desperate new low today, and it is anybody’s guess why. This paper is on one hand trying to promote itself as cool and edgy, with colourful stroboscopic TV ads soundtracked by a theme plagiaristically close to Rage Against the Machine’s ‘I won’t do whatcha tell me!’ On the other hand, it also frequently runs conservative snootiness masquerading as irony and continues to question and even deny the very actual reality of devastating climate change.

So when they try to associate Barack Obama with crack cocaine is it because they think destructive drug references are edgy and cool (which they aren’t), or because their increasingly conservative editorial agenda finds something satisfying in making a racist slur against the new US President-elect?

What? Crack cocaine use is much more common amongst lower income brackets in America. Blacks in America are still more likely than white Americans to be economically disadvantaged. And American courts treat crack much more harshly than cocaine, which is generally used by people with a much higher disposable income.

Odds are that if you’re in America and your problem is crack, you’re black, and you’re going to get a harsher sentence than Wall Street when he gets caught with uncut Peruvian coming back from his Obama inauguration party. Statistically speaking.

The New York Times has been running this story for the past couple of days: Lose the Blackberry? Yes he can, maybe. It’s a very interesting article about how the US President is, in a way, locked in the watchtower. When Obama takes office on Jan. 20, he may well be denied his mobile phone and even email access because of laws relating to communications from the President of the United States.

Today (timely, as always) the Sydney Morning Herald is running exactly the same story, and the are attributing it to The New York Times. Except that they have changed the title to

Obama might have to kick his CrackBerry habit

and inexplicably altered the line

For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry.

to instead read

For years, like legions of other on-the-move professionals, Mr Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry – or CrackBerrys as they are sometimes called for exactly that reason..

As you can see, the sloppy Herald insert is evident by the appearance of two fullstops.

Now – and I’m just guessing here – writers in New York have seen a lot of the social problems and devastation of crack addiction across poorer areas of their city. They have seen that many black communities have been deeply affected by it in an almost cancerous manner. And they have seen a number of other American media outlets repeatedly tie black skin to crack addiction and drug abuse generally in a pervasive and decidedly racebaiting manner. So it would never even occur to them to use the term “Crackberry” in writing about anybody, let alone their President-elect.

The Sydney Morning Herald, on the other hand – just what the f#$% are they trying to say?

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Whaling: Peter Garrett’s most convenient problem looks like this…

The Australian government has just released these pictures of Japanese whaling in the waters of the Australian Whales Sanctuary off Antarctica. The federal opposition are opportunising the moment by proclaiming their intention to create a global whale utopia, through their Environmental Orifice, Greg Hunt. Of course, while in government the Liberals’ greatest contribution to whaling was to legally block all efforts to stop it, but that was weeks ago. Tossers.

Speaking of tossers, the land-loving chief of Japan’s Whale Kill Inc. has hit back by denying that the two whales in the picture aren’t related and that this is just Australian propaganda. Off course this is the same guy who claimed that Sea Shepherds‘ accusations that their crew members were tied to a pole aboard the Yushin Maru 2 were lies and Sea Shepherd propaganda… even as photos proving the accusations were fired around the world.

The Labor Party, and specifically the Attorney-General, have really moved in a (perhaps too) measured but dynamic manner on this issue. They removed legal blockages, allowing Humane Society International to test the matter of Japanese whaling in the Australian Antarctic Whale Sanctuary in Federal Court. Without this commitment from the government, HSI could not have succeeded, as they now have.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has forged ahead in discussions with Japan and under a siege of sorts from media as a result of the new paradigm, under which Australia is actively, rather than just conveniently, challenging and threatening Japan’s farcical, but vicious, ‘scientific whaling‘ program.

Of course, without the involvement of Sea Shepherd, and even Greenpeace, the government’s ‘effort’ in Antarctica would merely have meant three more weeks of photos like the one above, rather than whales actually having their endangered lives protected. Because the government’s greatest input at the moment seems to be all about getting out of everyone elses’ way.

Daisk 5 – pro-whaling spammer douchebag

Wow. Why did I even bother being polite(ish)?

Daisk 5 posted a comment here in response to another contributor’s lovely insights about the intersection between Maori culture and whales. Unlike that particular contributor, Daisk 5 is not somebody making any kind of special effort or taking the time to make an original, thoughtful, or even intelligent comment.

Doucheaisk 5 has instead gone to almost every post on this blog that is tagged with ‘whales’ and cut’n’pasted the exact same comment.

Dickaisk 5, you can gargle my marbles. You enjoy seeing beautiful intelligent creatures killed because it is a piss-weak, braindead and ugly act, one which you, therefore, can relate to.

Anybody wishing to convey their thoughts to Dildoaisk 5 can try his (too stupid to be female, my guess) email address which has been given as aibu_saki@hotmail.co.jp , although I would guess that aibu_saki@hotmail.com would also be worth a try. Then again, the snivelling prat’s entire input is likely to be as fake as his allusions to culture so you may wish to just make your thoughts known here.

Unless of course you can digitally fist IP 203.160.31.234

A Beautiful Whale Tale from the Southern Seas

This sweet piece of writing comes from Paikea – originally as a comment here, but too good to leave tucked away.

I am Maori, the Whales are very special to my people. I have heard their song all my
life. Our people and our Polynesian cousins have followed this magnificent creature
all over the world. As the whale knows the safest time to cross the seas. The Whale is
in our dreaming and is a very strong gentle intelligent spirit. It is a teacher.

We (all humans) were given this planet with everything we needed on it. We are borrowing it from our children. Yet we are slow learners and still defacate in our own nests, we act
like spoilt children who scream Mine Mine All Mine, we show our immaturity by not
thinking of others around us. Animals included. We show our ignorance and
arrogance by our actions of torture and greed.

The Japanese as a whole are a sophisticated people, this has blinded some because of greed and a misplaced sense of pride. Their hunting methods are barbaric to extreme, i’ts as if they feel power when they can inflict the most pain to the vunerable. This is not the behaviour of a civilised people. I kill my own meat with the greatest of respect and thanks, but if I cannot kill a creature humanely it lives for I would not put that shame upon my spirit. Not all of my people are of the same mind, but that’s something for me to bear.

The barbaric nature of many of the Asian nations on the Ones Without a Human Tongue, shows their inability to move forward in life. On traditions, the Japanese never went whaling in the southern oceans, a tradition of some of my ancestors was to eat Asians. Sushi
japanese at my place lol. The Japanese are endangering the extremely lucrative whale
watch industry in Australia and New Zealand, what right do they have to jeopardise
this. They have admitted killing lactating whales, leaving the babies to die a slow
lonely painful death, these people (if you could call them that) are evil. A whale is too
big to kill humanely.

I bow to The People of The Sea Shepherd, they have my financial and spiritual support, hopefully my son will join them next year to help protect our Spiritual Teacher The Whale. In time may you all grow ears so you can hear the song of the Whale, for then you will be able to see your world in all its splendor.

Merry Christ mess.

So this is Christmas, and what have you done?

Another year o-ver, a noo one jus’ begu-u-un.

Nice work Band Aid. Let’s just ignore the crucified elephant in the room. Baby Jesus. Christians are about to perform a global Mexican Wave of celebration in the name of unlikely child birth – and that’s cool. But spare a thought for the Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Godless Cocksucking Republicans, and French President Monsieur Blahlahblah Sarkozy, aka Godless Shiteating French Piss Monkey. It’s at this time of year that they/we/I realize that I/we/they just don’t have a creation myth that stands up to the one dictated from Vatican City.

So powerful is this creation myth that even though Pope Benedict Whateverth is clearly the evil emperor from Star Wars, he is still believed by over a billion people to be the left hand of God on Earth. Obviously, God’s right hand has no idea what his/her left hand is doing. That’s understandable. If you’re meant to simultaneously exist at all points of the known and unknown universe, your hands are likely quite far apart. Distance between good movies featuring Ben Affleck far apart. And then some.

Any organisation that is against birth control and in favour of human domination of the planet as some kind of divine right, all things given, really should be getting scratched CDs and used undies from Santa this Xmas is all I’m saying. And what’s with “Xmas”? Total commercialisation somehow hasn’t taken the Christ sufficiently out of the concept, so somebody decided to take the Christ out of the whole word?

Personally, I agree with many people who think that Jesus was an amazing tuned in cat whose words and actions have been censored, twisted, and exploited in an agenda-driven manner that is in no small part responsible for the suffering and death of hundreds of millions of people throughout the ages.

Funny how some people who can believe in virgin birth and life after death have such a problem accepting the basics of photosynthesis; the deaths and suffering of the Inquisition and the Crusades will likely pale into insignificance beside the upheaval and misery directly attributable to global warming within the next century. Where’s the church on this? Down the back, competing with governments and corporations to be the last to speak or, more importantly, act decisively.

The story of Eden is in so many ways a parable for our daily lives, but for this: we have eaten the apple of knowledge and rather than being evicted from the garden we have stayed behind to fill it with oil-poison, toxic-filth, genetic modification, ebola and napalm.

Of course some think that the snake, the serpent, a creature which feeds on the sun and moves on the earth, is a symbol of nature. And that nature, therefore, must be treated as evil. Which might explain a lot –  not just of what has happened, but what is happening and what is to come.

Oh yeah. Merry Christmas.

US reading of Kevin Rudd’s victory

The New York Times has gone with an epitaph for George Bush’s best white English-as-a-first-language li’l buddy. They more or less say Bye John, Hi Kev. Apparently the main difference between the two is that Rudd wants to pull Aussie combat troops out of Iraq. And of course

Mr. Rudd, 18 years younger than Mr. Howard, has a reputation as a cerebral student of policy, as opposed to the Liberal leader’s image of a hardened and aggressive political animal.

Mr. Rudd’s rather dry image was if anything enhanced by the revelation which emerged shortly before the beginning of the campaign that he had got drunk and visited a strip club when he was on a visit to Scores New York in 2003.

Australian Election – 5 days that killed John Howard but couldn’t shut up Janet Albrechtsen.

I just posted this over at Mask of Anarchy as a rantagious election update for folk beyond Aussie shores or Aussies who have runaway and are deciding whether to book air tickets for the celebrations (please please please) on November 25th.

We’re about 88 hours (who’s counting?) from the close of polling booths on Saturday. That will hopefully be followed soon after by the sound of a door slamming shut on John Howard’s burgerlicious haemorrhoids as he LEAVES THE BUILDING!! Everything, apart from the Murdoch-owned press, is pointing toward a change of government. There has been no flash in the pan swing away from Howard. Rather, as soon as there was a viable federal opposition leader in place late last year, the polls swung and have stuck in a range of between 42-46% support for the government, 54-58% for the opposition under Kevin Rudd.

Particularly interesting has been the past 5 days. Typically, this would be the point when the Labor Party (centrist opposition) would find a way to self-destruct. This time, however, the Liberal Coalition (conservative right wing government) has been utterly battered – by their own hand as well, and not in that special way that they learnt at boarding school.

i got Muppet Wiki-ed!!!!

ohmagod ohmagod ohmagod!!!

An interview I did with Brian Henson has been used as referntial material for this Muppet Wiki entry. It’s no big deal and it’s very un-Zen to be getting excited but I DON’T CARE! Ha!!

Australian electile dysfunction – therapy: we needz it!

 

 

 

 

 

The LOL pols piksha pool is still happening over at Flickr groups, get belligerent – like these cunny funts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I luuuurve the Joe Hockey picture – perfect combination of an ICHC meme, an already funny photo, political sensibility, and a fat-joek. And wud ju luk at thee splelink! Iz shawking. Wee needz an edjumakashun rebolooshun fore shore!

Tassie logger blogs on, but WTF??

This will be of most interest to people following the Tasmanian pulp mill issue which many people believe is heading towards being the next Eureka Stockade.

This chunk of… um…. well-considered logic? industry-endorsed bull$#!& ? waffling oddness? comes from the newborn pro-logging blog Forests Now Tasmania. Should really be Clearfell Now Tasmania, shouldn’t it? Or Clearfell Tasmania Now?

There’s so much wrong in here on so many levels… but why spoil the fun by pointing it out in detail.

See for yourself:

When the mill is built, Tasmania will be into the economic sunshine at last, joining pulp mill driven economies like Bolivia and Vietnam. I, for one, can’t wait.

There will be more anti-mill rallies in Tasmania and on the Tamar, but so what. The pathetic Green resistance will soon collapse as their supporters realise which side their bread is buttered on. Any more of their poncing around and we’ll have another rally for us workers. Makes a good day out on full pay I reckon.

Garrett has promised to make big changes to the Commonwealth’s environment laws that were used to approve the project and, our insiders tell us this must mean, slacken them to buggery to encourage more forestry related activity.

As is now the fashion, Garrett seems to want to include a “climate change trigger”, hopefully that links directly to increasing logging activity. So far he’s been silent on the future of MIS investments and subsidy levels but, if he has any sense (and that’s so far pretty debatable) he’ll increase both to the max!

So hard not to use italics and bold all over this thing, but it pretty much speaks for itself. Basically, if you’re opposed to the mill take heart. Once you get through the pollies that owe favours and the rich cronies that live or die by their lawyers, this is what you’re up against. My prediction is that the whole thing’s a shutdown by November ’08.

this One Blogpost for Burma.

Why a day of support briefly turning a bunch

of separated minds around the world

toward the Burmese people, crushed by

sudden and violent deadly oppressive force?

Check out Niknayman’s blog where he (she?) is somehow still managing to post very infrequently, from within Burma.

Read latest scattered and dwindling updates from within Burma HERE

Latest reports from within the regime indicate that thousands have already been killed and their bodies dumped.

The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: “Many more people have been killed in recent days than you’ve heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand.”

Mr Win, who spoke out as a Swedish diplomat predicted that the revolt has failed, said he fled when he was ordered to take part in a massacre of holy men. He has now reached the border with Thailand.

 

vid tribute by Angelina

And make sure to spend some time today at Ko-Htike’s blog, sending out all the pieces of info as he gathers them in London.

 

 

 

 

banner from Saffron Revolution Worldwide

If it’s your first visit, there’s a good collection of Burmese news links here, but please make sure to check in with the Free Burma online action and register your support for today’s blog-silence.

 

Is The Sydney Morning Herald the new Daily Telegraph?

It may be a strange question, considering that the old Daily Telegraph is still around. Nevertheless, what other possibility is there? For quite some time, SMH has been putting food on the tables of such self-contradicting wrong-wing nonces as Miranda Devine, Gerard Henderson, Michael Duffy, Alan Ramsey, etc. The justification is that the publication is pluralist and therefore provides comfort and staging to a number of different and potentially valid viewpoints. It’s an admirable goal but goes somewhat unachieved.

Yes, the paper certainly features reputable journalists and writers fluent and competent in a number of areas – Wendy Frew, Peter Hartcher, Philip Coorey, Mike Carlton, Ross Gittins, Annabel Crabb, the FOI Guy – to reel off a few from the top of my head. But that is not balance. That is the essential core of any worthwhile news publication.

But to balance Duffy et al the Herald would need to retain the services of rambling and irrational pseudo left wing quasi-intellectuals with a propensity for verbal diaorrhaea and monocular agenda-driven hateful nonsense poorly hidden behind tolerance for a cult of almost-personality. Maybe they should call me…

But why has my threshold been breached today of all days? Well, how about this – an Opinion piece from Bjorn Lomborg. It’s 2007 and a widely read publication is giving oxygen to Bjorn Lomborg. What reaction would be warranted if they gave similarly unqualified space to David Irving?

The Herald says that

Bjorn Lomborg is head of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School, and author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It.

The Herald does not say that Lomborg is a statistician parading as a climatologist, nor does it mention that The Skeptical Environmentalist was thoroughly eviscerated and buried by specialists and experts when it surfaced like a turd at a pool party in 2001.

Trees Not Tantrums: bitchy whining and the Gunns pulp mill

or

The Poncey Sulks of John Gay & the new green propaganda.

This will not be a long and detailed analysis, this doesn’t proffer intriguing new interview insights, this is simply a short piece to draw attention to a tendency gone too far and a future newly mapped.

Even if we don’t consider Gunns’ action of directly trying to target 20…15…14 protesters with massive financial penalties, and even if we don’t go digging into the murky background of the decision to chase the Weld Angel for buck$ – even if we just consider John Gay’s pulp and whinery projects (not a typo, btw) then there is an alarming tendency to tantrum on the part of Tasmania’s biggest splinter-maker.

Hell, I can only take so much of thinking about this because it really pisses me off – let’s even limit the discussion to this year.

Too Damned Funny. Expanded Vocab Anybody?

Just got sent these by a mate. Guessing the original was written by a British male backpacking in Australia while reconciling self with homophobic tendencies BUT is still pretty damned funny. Please feel free to use in a sentence or leave your own. My own word for the week is Calenged (adj): dysfunctional relationship with calendar, may extend to diaries and clocks.

New Words for 2007

SALAD DODGER: An overweight person.
BLAMESTORMING: Sitting round in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a
Project failed, and who was responsible.
SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn
into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a “home business”.

Video Party to Celebrate 10 000th hit – bring popcorn!!

The last thing we need to do is revalidate the obsession with decimal milestones. . . but I also figure 666 666 hits is a pipedream so please enjoy this passing moment in blogging hysteri-er-history.

It’s a good excuse to share one of the most beautiful bits of longform music video I’ve ever seen. Although you no doubt share my disdain for decimophilia, please oblige your ears, eyes, brain and soul with this little celebration feast.

Turn the lights right down, turn the volume way up, and set faces to stunned.

This is “We”.

A racist and politically convenient land grab? In Australia?

First posted this with Mask of Anarchy a couple of days ago, as part of the ongoing grouse bonzer kulcherool exchange blogram.

However Australia is perceived globally at the moment I can only guess. I would assume that our identity is something in the order of cricket, racism, rugby, climate change denial, shane warne, big eyebrowed dickhead little sycophant Prime Minister mopping up White House jism, more rugby, kangaroos, beer, and cricket. Did I mention racism?

What we have going on right now is quite astounding. The quality of our domestic racism has really taken a battering. We have been shipping it, or intercepting shipping with it, globally but we’re finally getting back to basics at home. Thank goodness! I’d hate to think that yellow, black, and brown people outside Australia are feeling more persecuted or stereotyped than our own people of colour. The poor ones, that is. We’d never consider Ehud Olmert a murderer any more than we’d consider Mumia Abu Jamahl a scholar or Alberto Gonzales the bit his mama should have thrown away.

Quick Australian history – White Australia policy in effect until late 1960s. Aware of Aboriginal family groups and nations being connected by relationship to blood and to land, children are separated from families and brought up as servants or on missions hundreds or thousands of kilometres from both. A national referendum in 1967 sees Australians vote in favour of changing the Constitution to recognize Aboriginal Australians as human, rather than fauna. Seriously. Revolutions of sorts through the 70s – land rights, womens rights, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, all that good stuff.

As we moved through the ’80s toward the Bicentennial in 1988, more and more questions were asked about national identity, values, direction. Unfortunately a lot of unquestioning flag waving and firework shows drowned most of this out. Still, the idea of a Treaty was finally before the nation – acknowledgment that wrongs had been done, war had been waged, and healing and recognition could only happen through real commitment to make them happen. At this time, the leader of the federal opposition in Parliament kicked up quite a stink.

In fact, when the issue of a Treaty was raised he made a vow – a vow that if such a Treaty was ever made between the indigenous and non-indigenous people of Australia, the first thing that he would do if elected would be to tear it up. His name was John Howard. Yes. That one.

When he was eventually elected, he really delivered. Native Title legislation was amended to offset the pro-indigenous impacts of a significant court ruling. Howard attended the landmark national summit on reconciliation in 1997. Before the most significant gathering of indigenous leaders in Australia in well over a hundred years he praised Australia’s history. He acknowledged the ‘blemish’ of genocide, but made it clear that there would be no ‘Sorry’ – the one word for which so many people had campaigned. And just to rub glass in the haemorrhage, ATSIC – the only directly elected representation for indigenous Australians – has also been disbanded and abolished under Howard.

Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon, you are a complete dick.

Let’s face it – you’re red, easily excited, unpleasant to look at, have little visible hair, carry hefty baggage wherever you go, and have limited powers of responsible decisionmaking.

US Newsreader shreds, burns & bans Paris Hilton story

Would have been better if she’d actually shredded, burned and banned Paris Hilton, but it’s a good start. The newsreader is Mika Brzezinski, the show is….ah who cares what the show is.

Breaking News – Exxon reps ‘arrested’ in Canada over latest climate policy

Thursday June 14, Alberta, Calgary:

The 2007 Gas & Oil Exposition (GO Expo) was rocked today by the forward-looking keynote address delivered by Shepard Wolffe – spokesman for George Bush’s key advisory, the National Petroleum Council (NPC), and mouthpiece for its Chief, former ExxonMobil CEO, Lee Raymond. Wolffe was accompanied by current Exxon rep Florian Osenberg.

It was expected that Wolffe would announce the long-awaited, though undoubtedly industry-biased and ignorantly conservative, findings of the US Department of Energy commisioned study into climate change and possible impacts on energy policy.

Chance for Aussie bloggers to score 3!!!! extra readers!

YAAAARGH!!

Under Southern Scars – Australia’s new National Vanthem. by “Um” and “er” Vanstone.

under southern star – visit this link, it’s worse than Barry Mannilow.

OH MY F#%K!!!!!! AAAAAAAGH!!!! Torn between laughter and suicide. We all know that Amanda Vanstone, former minister for indigenous affairs, immigration, and language lessons penned a little ditty before she got ruthlessly Ian Campbelled by John Howard. But now she has put up a patriotic website with the full mix, piano mix and vocal mix. Whoever does the first mash-up PLEASE send me the link.

A Tasmanian logging company, John Howard & Kevin Rudd walk into a bar…

Some Readommended Recconing

David Hicks: Habeas Corpus as Habeas Corpse (or The Blatant Packaging of Self-fulfilling Bulls$%t as Truth)

So David Hicks has now been crucified on words forced from his mouth. Senior politicians say this is proof that they were right all along. The outcome of ‘the Hicks’ dilemma’ (and no, that doesn’t mean George Bush’s presidency – well, not entirely) might be best considered through the lens of other works of creative fiction – The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is certainly instructive on the matter of spin-based, unchallengeable and politically-motivated detention.

Iran all night

this pic from AP is a liiiittle freaky…….
In America, media like the Washington Post (think Daily Telegraph for rich people) is confidently writing about Iran’s nuclear weapons, which is a bit like talking about John Howard’s charisma – both spurious and misdirected. All Middle East analysis not born of comfortable disregard points out that President Ahmadinejad is not the real power in Iran. He’s more than a Minchin, but less than a Packer – figuratively speaking.

The real power is Ayatollah Khameini, who has declared a fatwa on nuclear weapons – a religious edict, a death sentence. What? You heard about the one against Salman Rushdie but nobody has mentioned this one? Well, would you believe that religious fundamentalists could be a nuclear threat if they’re fundamentally opposed to nuclear weapons?