What’s in Town
City Data offers demographic data about cities all over the U.S. Who would have guessed there was so much hazardous waste lying around in Bay Shore (but not as much as some places upstate)?

Downtown
I live just south and a bit east of Sydney’s central business district, but when I head for the harbour or the Opera House, I’m going “downtown.” That isn’t the way locals speak, but after so long in NYC, my sense of any city is predicated on direction. It’s all turned around, though, because “downtown” Sydney would be “uptown” if I oriented myself according to the cardinal points of the compass, which was certainly part of my thinking back in the States. I’m sure this is an idiosyncrasy; other cities’ residents probably orient themselves according to whatever physical features form directional landmarks. Because NYC, above 14th Street, anyway, is set out on a grid, north-south-east-west are relevant (essentially: the geophysical orientation isn’t precise). Still, north as “up” and south as “down” is a Eurocentric point of view, one that’s become commonly shared. Not by all, it appears, and I’d like to get one of these “upside down maps” (Metafilter, being fun and useful again) and reorient my mind.
Postscript: so-called upside down maps are available from the Map Centre in Parramatta by email. There are three: one small laminated version, and two paper wall maps, one with Steve Irwin but also a relief version on the reverse.

Water Purification
I love a sunburnt country as much as anyone, but the ongoing drought raises many concerns and causes much head-scratching over solutions. Grey water - the re-use of water from the shower, bath, or laundry, etc. - offers a good deal of potential for making more intelligent use of fresh water resources, so I was fairly excited to see this new toilet design on Beyond Brilliance, Beyond Stupidity. There are some ergonomic problems, but it's still good thinking.

Ballot Stuff
It’s times like this I’d like a scanner, but I’d probably go well overboard if I was putting pictures here as well as text. Anyway, I’ve now voted in the New York State Presidential Primary via absentee ballot, the instructions for which include (in English, Spanish, and Chinese) explicit examples of how to FILL IN THE OVAL on the electronically readable form. Why are the choices “Thomas Edison” and “Amelia Earhart” and why is the oval filled in for Edison? Is this an example of male bias in the political process or because Earhart was lost at sea and wouldn’t be able to serve anyway? Anyway, isn’t it fun that I get to vote for two sets of delegates? God only knows what will happen to the ¼ sent from Australia, but I’m sending Dean’s delegates in if my vote counts for anything. I am interested to know if I’ll automatically get sent a ballot for the November election, too, or if I have to request it specially: they appear to think I still live in NYC.

Death on Long Island
Oops, the movie is “Love and Death. . . .” But is it true that the Plum Island Research Center is the source of Lyme disease and West Nile virus in the United States? Did the ticks take the ferry? (From the Guerrilla News Network, whoever they are, via Follow Me Here.) Let’s spread rumors.

The Future Is Now
I hope you’ve got your stock portfolio in order and are following the recommendations on your 401(k), because if you’ve been counting on Social Security, you can stop now. Those of us twenty years or more from retirement who are paying in to the system cannot expect this program to survive long enough to see any of it back. Does that mean we’ll stop paying? Of course not. This is, essentially, an unfunded pension plan, and the money has to come from somewhere, and it surely won’t come from spending cuts on other programs, like going to war in Iraq. Bush’s stated position is an empty promise. Australia’s superannuation fund is likewise unfunded, but at least it’s also invested, so in a strong market there’s a chance for it to pay for itself. Not that it does.

Spheres of Influence
Unlike the last Haitian conflict, George II won’t send troops to assist the democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in quelling the civil disorder that now threatens his government, at least not until the rebels have been subdued by Aristide’s police or they are successful and have overthrown him. Once a political solution has been achieved, then the U.S. may send the Marines. We’ve been here before, and for the same Haitian President, but like the 1994 election, the results in 2000 are contested, this time, it appears, popularly and against Aristide, and four years is a long time to wait for the situation to be resolved. I suppose the U.S. has been busy elsewhere since the last election, and our troops are spread a bit thinly these days. Still, it’s rather ungracious of us to simply say “Don’t even think about coming here” to the inoffensive people stuck in the middle. American policy toward legitimate refugees from even its immediate neighbors has been harsh and doesn’t look to open up any time soon.

Art and the Built Environment
Last night we attended the opening of a new media art installations show, Spikes, which is meant to explore the relationships between humankind, technology, and the environment. Our friend Astrid Spielman was one of the artists, with two installations, and as has been my experience, hers were the centerpieces, even if the weather didn’t cooperate with the one projected on the university tower. That projection, of a life-size tree growing in the Tarquin Forest of Tasmania, is the kind of installation art I particularly enjoy: it engages its audience, offering participation without requiring it. We’ll have to go back when the rain clears off, but it’s only there for a week. We also scored one of the show posters, very high quality, and I’ll have to see about having it signed before we frame it. Now what I’d really like is an Astrid Spielman solo show.

Stupid
Maybe I shouldn’t have said “stupid,” as it seems to have put some people on the back foot. The proposal by Orrin Hatch now being promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger to allow a foreign-born President has at its root the desire to see a conservative Republican popularly elected (without the intervention of the Supreme Court, that is). My guess is that Senator Hatch doesn’t see George II lasting much longer and figures Arnie as having a good chance in 2008 (whether against Kerry/Edwards or Hilary Clinton, the latter of whom probably scares him very much indeed). That we have a clause in the Constitution prohibiting an alien President is really only there with the excuse that a generational commitment to citizenship is demonstrative of having the best interests of the Union in mind and so that no foreign prince could ascend the American “throne,” but I doubt Schwarzenegger would attempt to merge Austria and the U.S. or install a Hapsburg over us, so it may be that there are other, sufficient clauses in the Constitution to protect the nation from such eventualities. Godel may have formed a mathematical proof that the U.S. Constitution allows for the imposition of a fascist dictatorship, but again, despite his admiration for Kurt Waldheim, I don’t think Arnie’s going there, much as I suspect Hatch, Bush, Cheney, et al. of being desirous of such an alteration, in form if not in name. What I do think is pretty stupid, though, is that we continue to allow these things to happen. Schwarzenegger is a clever man – his political skills were honed in body-building competitions, where he was famous for being able to psychologically devastate his foes – but I doubt his skills as a chief executive. In fact, I think it gives him too much credit to suggest that he even had extensive input into his own campaign for governor. He is a tool: personable and willing, certainly, as is George II; but nothing more, as is the case with George II. Both men were elected and neither deserved it. Undermining the Constitution would continue the stupidity, whether by amending it to create a charismatic candidate from an Austrian actor or by the Supreme Court acting beyond the scope of its powers (let’s not even mention “activist judges,” o.k.?). Unfortunately – and this is the really stupid part – too many Americans don’t hold their representatives in government to a sufficiently high standard; they’re not even voting. The usual rule is that 10% of a population cause 90% of the problems, but we appear to be operating in the reverse. If only 20% vote, we can’t expect a worthwhile result. Davis may not have been much better in office than a carved block of wood and Gore may have exhibited campaigning skills of a similar order, but if we’re not more of us out there at every election and paying attention to what’s going on in between, we might as well have that dictatorship, fascist, Hapsburg, or Bush.

Bonjour
The Aussie lass is back in France, avec son chat.

Two Americas
Who’s right? Are globalization and the Bush tax cuts making Americans better off, or has the country put all its eggs in a 19th century basket only to have them whisked away to China and India? When telecommunications companies put their call centers in Calcutta and every toy on the market is manufactured in China, a pair of Rockports on sale probably isn’t enough to change my mind on the issue. Although I’m just as threatened by globalization as the next person, I also recognize it as inevitable. We can just allow it to happen as it will, or we can try to direct the course of economic events to benefit larger numbers of people. Bush won’t do the latter, because the former is more likely to work to his personal advantage, but maybe Kerry/Edwards will.

Comp. Lit.
Words Without Borders is making an effort at promoting literature of the non-English speaking world in translation, and there appears to be quite a lot here worth looking into (from Outside of a Dog, located via Outside Counsel. It’s surprising to me, though, that even with Chinua Achebe on the board, there’s nothing from Africa, despite all the Senegalese, Cameroonian, and other Francophone African authors. Perhaps it’s because Ousmane Sembene works in film these days, Camera Laye is dead, and Mr. Achebe writes in English to begin with?

Too Much Time Online
I’m not sure anymore how I found the Cassandra Pages, but I’ve been enjoying hearing about winter, among other things, the latest of which is a poetic rumination on the light in February. Very pretty, and a regular, now, as are (is?) the Coffee Sutras, which I enjoy as much for it’s name as for its contemplative entries.

Nickles & Dimes
Only 10 states out of 50 in the U.S. have a deposit bottle law on the books, a program not present in New South Wales, but one I’d like to see introduced here sooner rather than later. Bottlers are getting US$85 million in unclaimed deposits, so there’s probably enough to go around over and above the benefits to the environment and to consumers. The program is terrifically successful, by my assessment, and we’d surely benefit here, too, if I judge the number of empties lying around correctly. I’m surprised it isn’t more common in the U.S., for that matter. I remember when I went to Michigan, the first place I saw the recycling deposit law in action, the streets were cleaner, and once it was in place in NY, the entrepreneurial spirit that engaged so many of the city’s poor was nearly incredible. 5¢ doesn’t get you very far in many places, and twenty cans is only a dollar, so you need over 200 to get a pack of cigarettes. That’s a lot of bottles and cans, and you’ll need to spend some time and effort to amass that supplement to your dole check. Before bottlers and supermarkets cry poor, have another look at what’s required of them – they’ve adapted quite well, I’d say. Maybe it’s time to share.

The Golden City
Pictures of Sydney. My favorites vary in color and tone.

All the Cool Art Projects Are Taken
Why didn’t I think of this? Maybe because I don’t live in the Niagara-Mohawk area?

Bomb the Ionosphere
So now weather is a national security concern? Actually, I see the point here: environmental change will surely wreak havoc on areas already operating at a sufficiently marginal level in many respects, not least being agriculture, obviously, and people unable to feed themselves are going to want to go elsewhere, not to mention that there will always be those who seize wield power in order to benefit themselves alone, which will require despotism and will create even more refugees. The "Fortress Europe" problem will be exacerbated and expanded considerably, putting the more industrially developed on the receiving end of many, many poor and desperate people. It will also make those nations more likely targets of the wrath of the underpriveleged. Too bad about the Kyoto Accords now; I hear those Blackhawk helicoptors don't work so well in harsh conditions.

President Schwarzenegger Saves the Union
It makes me foam at the mouth when that body-builder steroid case opens his mouth, although I save most of my invective for the moronic Californians who put him in office, and now I have to listen to him push for a Constitutional amendment that could put him in the White House? Isn’t it bad enough to hear him compare gay marriage to assault guns and heroin? Is America getting stupider since George II or was this happening before?

Fact-Based Programming
I enjoy Queer Eye for the Straight Guy for the characters mostly, but I admit to getting at least one useful tip and one confirmation of an existing grooming practice. I’m not sure if we’re an entire season behind, in synch, or off by a shorter period (can I find out the winner of American Idol season 3? Do I care?), but our Kylie is the guest star on tonight’s episode. Kylie Minogue built her pop career on three things: pre-existing popularity from her stint on Neighbours, accepting the embrace of gay culture, and going to England to work with the music pros and where the previous two factors were already helping her. America may not be far off now, if QE popularity and a new Grammy can help. Advance Australia.

Hats in the Ring
I am disheartened to hear that Ralph Nader will run again, although I’m not particularly fearful he will siphon votes from the Democrats, just that he will disrupt the campaign overall, a problem in this election year because of the issue of “electability,” a point of analysis being applied to candidates I’d much rather see fade from view sooner than the July convention. Nader’s contention that Washington DC has been hijacked by corporate interests has particular validity with the present administration, but economic forces private and public have been driving government from the beginning, and I don’t see Nader as the man to change that even a little bit. I wanted to like Gore for President four years ago, but he did everything he could to make that difficult (and so did Lieberman, which is probably worse, since it amounted to sand-bagging his running mate). I may end up having to like Kerry over Edwards or Dean, but I think that will be easier to stomach, and Nader’s message this time around only serves to make the choice more palatable.

Part of my point of view this year is a development from having taken a more active part in the campaign than I ever have before. Political activism for me has always been that I have voted in every election since I turned eighteen, but this year M. and I travelled out to Annandale to attend the Democrats Abroad Australia caucus. There were only nineteen eligible Americans there (and a couple of Australian “observers”), but the organizers ran the session well and the participants were all committed individuals spanning the political viewpoints in the field from Kerry to Kuchinch (no Sharpton supporters, though). There were only enough members to generate ¼ of a vote at the international caucus to be held in Edinburgh in March, but the process was fascinating, much different than just voting in a primary, and our 0.25% goes to Kerry, although it was a pretty near thing. I’m not sure why the Kuchinch and Edwards voters (3 each) transferred en masse to Kerry instead of Dean, but I think it came down to “electability ” again. The perception of Kuchinich as too weird and of Edwards as too inexperienced or unseasoned was balanced against Dean’s anger without taking his message sufficiently into account to my mind, leaving the field to Kerry. My sense of the campaign is that it will come down to Kerry and Edwards for just these reasons and that this is why Kerry will walk away with the nomination. He might need a new theme song, though (Dean’s was better)

Mind Games
The Philosopher's Magazine has fun (Flash) games for you to play. "Shakespeare vs. Britney Spears" isn't what you think.

E Pluribus Canis
Memo to Residents of Ruppert Towers, 90-92 Streets, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues. Please note: the Constitution of the United States does not guarantee your right to a pet. Dog owners vs. non-dog owners are seemingly in a perpetual state of dispute in NYC, but the levels sometimes jump a bit, as is happening now on the Upper East Side. City living is hard enough sometimes, without having to regard the sidewalks as a minefield of dog feces, cope with hours of barking from lonely pets (often enough the really annoying small yappy kind), or otherwise deal with dog owners who seem very often to forget that the city is not built to accommodate the needs of our animal pals without the active participation of their human companions. Every building has rules regarding cleaning expenses, notification to the landlord, and the living conditions of non-dog owners need to be balanced with those who want a pet. Dog-walkers? Have you ever seen them? One person harnessed to a dozen or more dogs with very little hope of controlling all of them all the time. Often enough these entrepreneurs do little more than gather their charges, rope them to a light pole, and go have a coffee. I think if you can’t afford the time to walk your own dog, you aren’t sufficiently responsible to own one. Get a cat. Or a fish. Or a picture of a dog. Spaying or neutering your animal is also an act of responsibility. Dog breeding is an archaic practice that lately seems to cause as much harm to the animal as benefit to, face it, your aesthetic sense. With the exception of a few working breeds, most are a half-assed form of genetic manipulation purely for the look, and if you’ve got a working dog in NYC, you’d better be on the K-9 squad of the NYPD. Otherwise, well, you’ll never win at Westminster, so off to the ASPCA, now. As for that Maltese divorce: I think it would be wise for those involved not to have children.

The Sacred & The Profane
Laura Bush is shocked that anyone other than heterosexuals would like to get married, but in light of what I’ve been reading in Mircea Eliade’s essays on religion in everyday life, both her lack of understanding and the desire on the part of gays and lesbians is entirely understandable: everyone has something they hold sacred in daily life, whether it is something contextualized in formal religious practice or something more like aesthetics. We seek out a connection to the world, a sense of centrality in the universe, because it makes us feel like part of creation, joined in the mysteries beyond our senses. Marriage is generally regarded as a sacrament, making holy the primary personal relationship in the lives of two people, and therefore it can easily be the very first thing chosen to bring a sense of connectedness to the cosmos into one’s life. We’ve established the relationship within society by means of the common acceptance of marriage as sacrament, so it’s natural enough for everyone, more or less, to pursue this status. On the other hand, for Mrs. Bush, her religious sensibilities are threatened by the participation of individuals and groups beyond her immediate institutional context. Her church says the sacrament can only be granted according to certain principles, and that’s as far as she’s willing to think. Gay marriage therefore profanes what she holds sacred. However, anyone giving the matter any thought would be able to understand that what is sacred is more extensible than any one sect’s tenets. Would Presbyterians deny marriage to Jews?

Good Night, Wisconsin
I’m sorry Dean’s race is over, not least because there was going to be a meet-up in Sydney on Friday. Maybe I’ll still go, if just for the post-mortem. (Meanwhile, There's good news, too.)

Food Wars
Anchovies are a matter of taste, but it would be nearly impossible for me to pass up either of green olives stuffed with anchovy paste or an anchovy filet wrapped around a caper.

Ozymandius
There’s a science-fiction story by Brian Aldiss is which the degenerate survivors in a post-apocalyptic world systematically kill off anyone exhibiting intelligence, because they are, after all, the kinds of people who put everyone into the present circumstances. Actually, there are a lot of stories like this: Fahrenheit 451, A Canticle for Leibowitz, etc. I’m reminded of this scenario by the latest outcry against George II’s performance in office: that he has systematically distorted real science into fiction. I don’t know why anyone should be surprised. This is the administration that created its own foreign intelligence to make the case for war with Iraq, not to mention the President whose very favorite book is “The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.”

Freedom of Association
Why should anyone in America be required to produce identification upon demand, even when requested by duly authorized members of law enforcement organizations? O.k., this is one of my pet peeves, but I truly love the story of Dudley Hiibel and his Supreme Court case. (Found on Boing Boing.)

Sydney Cinema
Filming in Sydney continues its frenetic pace, and I guess that was Bob Hoskins M. saw outside Wagamama on Saturday. (How gossip column.)

Long-Term Change
Sydney’s property market has been over-inflated for many years, and recent debate over the continued status of “working harbour” has indicated primarily the Carr government’s inclination toward Stamp Duty revenue. Paul Keating’s latest thoughts on the matter propose extending the city north and south, supported by the reduction of commercial shipping in Sydney towards more use of Newcastle and Botany. The Herald’s architecture columnist, Elizabeth Farrelly, has a point, though, that trucking in what used to be shipped isn’t logistically, economically, or necessarily environmentally sound, at least not without some forethought. Neither does the continued push west, however, and if the population shifted along the polar axis along with the shipping, the continued growth of the city could be more viable for everyone. I’m inclined to go with Keating on this.

Whatever Happened to Baby X
So now it’s not Yuppies or Gen X or whatever, it’s Challengers. I’m too old.

Pink Elephants
As described on Idle Type, these subway map constellations are mapped out on the London Underground in animal shapes, but am I the only one who sees the platypus?

World Press Photo Awards
Via Kottke: isn’t that one of the Nazgul flying in toward Chicago?

Why Are We Here
Thomas Friedman’s got an op-ed in the NY Times fantasizing a Tim Russert follow-up interview with John Kerry, describing the potential for Kerry to respond from his perspective as a Vietnam veteran in support of an on-going military presence in Iraq, a situation George II has made necessary for some time to come. Friedman makes a subtle point that I’d actually like to see taken up, one long past implementation: energy conservation as anti-terror methodology. If the U.S. and other western nations would pursue a rational course of conservation and the development of alternative energy sources, the effect would be similar to economic sanctions but without the punitive aspect, as it would take longer for the effects to be fully realized, giving the Islamo-fascist regimes time to reform, that being a valid goal in itself and one that would reduce the effectiveness of Islamist radicalization. A good first step in the U.S. would be to raise the per gallon tax on gasoline, already the lowest in the West. Of course, I admit I say that without even having so much as a driver’s license, but look: Australia’s paying over AU$1.00 per litre. Surely the States could afford a few pennies more.

HTML Tricks
Descriptive links with mouse roll-over (see "Community" section). I hate learning new tricks, especially if they require wit. Thanks, Kate.

New Voices in the Wilderness
Weblogging continues to be a contagious phenomenon, with Andy Loughlin's Vegas Blog crying out from the desert like the prophets of old. O.k., well, maybe just like a weblogger. I haven't seen much out of Vegas, not since I visited a couple of years ago and had the moisture evaporated off my eyeballs in the heat. This could be fun. Sorry about all the comments, but. Things seemed a little quiet so far. I'm sure they'll pick up.

Shh
Sometimes I think I talk too much.

Urban Renewal
Once the Projects were built and the underprivileged housed, these examples of urban blight pretty quickly became festering sores of crime and misery, leading many to propose bulldozers and wrecking balls as the only solution. What had started in altruism ended in ineffective hand-wringing. Chicago has at least moved toward redevelopment, tearing down some of the slums they’d misguidedly built in favor of low-rise, condo-style units, giving residents more of a feel for having a stake in their homes, and it appears to have been a successful strategy thus far. It’s not an easy thing to start, but once begun is half done, as the saying goes. Still, there’s that other adage: measure twice, cut once. Great care needs to be taken, and even more important is foresight. Think before you speak, and certainly before you act. Cities suffering economic and social decay – Detroit is an example that springs to mind – can dig themselves in deep and end up well beyond the kind of reformations that bring them back from the brink. Philadelphia has had its reforms, though, and they’ve been doing good work. Many more cities need much more work. Sydney has its problems, too, and one of them is Redfern, the traditionally Aboriginal suburb. Prior to last week’s dissolution of the South Sydney City Council, that body had relocated its offices into the heart of that suburb, perhaps making its most pointed effort to engage the population there and the people moving in as the property values rose in the kind of tidal boat-raising such economic booms can effect. Still, it’s a touchy subject, and the calamitous relations between the dispossessed Aborigines and the majority population of the city are nothing if not difficult. Potentially, and probably more often than anyone would really like, the situation reflects race-relations at their worst, more gesture of despair than even gesture, let alone effective effort. Last night’s events tell a bad story, but there’s no point in John Brogden making things worse. His remarks represent the worst aspects of Liberal Party politics.

Wild West Meets East (Beware: long post)
The Europeans who travelled to the New World to start a new life had various motivations: religious freedom, escape from class-based restrictions on status or prosperity, the accumulation of wealth, and so forth. From the very earliest days of settlement, the country was built up into a land of opportunity, but for the most part emigration was restricted from the Old World, so few enough were able to make the trip anyway, not to mention that immigration has never been without restrictions of its own, a condition that began to change as the full scope of the resources available came to be understood. Of the 13 original English colonies, Georgia stayed in the game longest as a settlement purposed toward indentured servitude, but the overall population of what became the U.S. Eastern seaboard was never particularly devoted to being a “dumping ground,” a place where the undesirables of the Empire could be relocated to relieve the homeland of poverty, criminality, and political insurgents, not to mention its responsibilities in those regards. The far reach and daring of the English on the high seas soon provided a place sufficiently removed from commercial traffic to serve these purposes: Australia. Even with the development of high-speed clipper ships, Australia was so far away, that those relocated appear to have been more inclined to maintain their connection to the home isles, and their “administrators” sufficiently empowered to ensure the maintenance of a kind of status quo, even while allowing colonization and exploration to proceed. It also turned out that environmentally the new continent was encouraging of such attitudes, the vast interior being largely inhospitable, forcing the new residents to cling to the outer edges even as they clung to their support lines back up across the equator. There are points of divergence as well as convergence therefore between the two former colonies as their histories have respectively played out ever since. America, settled earlier, and having achieved revolutionary independence, was able to easily tap its natural resources and favored geographical position to grow into a commercial empire of considerable strength. The entrepreneurial spirit that drove its population could upon necessity be engaged in a collective effort that eventually gave it miliary pre-eminence as well. Although Australia followed a similar developmental pattern, its isolation as a western state in the Asian region, its inhospitable interior, and the dominance of Empire over it politically conspired to nurture a culture distinct from Britain’s and from America’s in ways the Australian’s have been contending with for the last hundred years as a matter of psychology to be overcome, a kind of middle-child syndrome. The U.S. struggled with a similar problem for many decades, and still does to some extent, but insofar as it attempts to distinguish itself, to be the first among equals. America seeks to reconcile its composite parts into a whole, to define a culture and achieve the recognition of its parents for its accomplishments, but like any eldest child, those distinctions it wins do not come without some admonishment for being too proud and even some resentment for being too successful. The struggle has, however, produced a remarkable character, worthy of admiration and emulation, and this is evidenced in America’s continuing status as a destination from which to launch oneself into grand dreams and glories. This is the sensibility that drives many millions in the U.S., and they have much to thank that it can be so, not least all those who came before them and that the land itself is so supportive of them. Australia has not been without political will, enterprise, or resources, of course, although a number of factors have together forged a different character from that of the U.S., some of which I’ve already mentioned. Being as remote as Australia has been in its development, confronted with the East as “other,” a condition which by-and-large prevails even now, its settlements encircling a vast, blank desert, the country has been inclined and supported in its inclination to rely on an ever-less tenuous technological while ever-increasingly febrile political connection to the social mores that populated the land in the first place. Non-Anglo immigration was not a source of diversity for Australia for the majority of its early life, World War II putting a final end to that, as it did for much of the rest of the world for that matter. Now, Africa, Asia, South America, Southern and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, as well as the more usual WASPish immigrants of the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain, stream in as best they can. Australia’s immigration policy has always been very strict – I couldn’t have gotten in without having married M. – but that doesn’t stop them, and the society’s liberal core is finally very open indeed to the plight of refugees (despite the Howard government’s disreputable exclusion zones and detention camps). Still, this has all come a bit late here, and the society of Australia grew up more in line with its paternity than did the U.S., again the classic pattern of eldest vs. middle child. Modern Australia moves further away from its European origins and further towards the path taken by the U.S., but having taken these steps more in the post-industrial age, has been able to stand apart from the perceived flaws of that capitalist society to pursue a more egalitarian result. The Menzies and Whitlam governments have done more to create a sustainable socialism than France, Canada, or Britain, while maintaining the economic opportunism characteristic of the best vitalism in the U.S. It’s a very difficult balance to maintain, and various pressures have been brought to bear in this era of globalization that could end in having seriously undermined Australia’s ability to continue in this line (not least is the continued military and economic dominance of the U.S., now thoroughly unbalanced following the end of the Cold War and the “someday all this will be mine” mentality of the present Bush administration), but the country continues to do so, and this is because of the Australian character, forged across its history. These are tough people. They carry with them a spirit similar to that which populated America’s western states, not so much pioneering, though, as homesteading. These are people who land and stick, who fight to hold on and make it work come hail or no water. This has its paradoxes. Australians are committed to the “fair go,” the idea that everyone deserves a chance to make their way in the world, but they can also be strangely taciturn about it, at least until someone comes along who takes things a little too far, who takes advantage – an unfair go, if you will – which sets them out as a “tall poppy” whose head needs shortening. Sometimes this gets taken a bit far, which causes some resentment, Germaine Greer offering a recent example, Robert Hughes as well, and generally a number of others among the intellectual ex-pats. This may not be surprising in the comparison between Australia and the U.S., insofar as the states most like in character to Australia are those of the middle and far west, where the U.S. often exhibits its most conservative character as well as its most desperate strivers, those whose sense of difference drives them to the margins: NY, L.A., etc., where they can, strangely, have less room but more chances. Australia exerts a similar push, but its population is largely already out at the edges, so the noisier ones tend to head overseas. Somehow, Australia being so far “out there” makes it seem that the best place to achieve the most is itself “out there,” so the country as a whole ends up pushing its developmental boundaries socially, culturally, politically, scientifically . . . even while it suffers from a perpetual sense of undeserved inadequacy. I understand this feeling, a middle child myself. Nothing delights me more than the achievements of my older brother, unless its seeing his pride take an occasional licking, but my own success is forever overshadowed by the sense I am never successful enough. I am carried forward with my sibling, even while a chafe to break away on my own. Well, moving to Australia ought to help in that respect, someday.

Christmas Planning
I read Independent People, by Halldor Laxness, some few years ago and believe it to be one of the most beautiful pieces of (translated, but excellently) writing I’ve ever read. So if anyone’s interested, the latest volume in English is on my list.

Pond Life
Having just returned from seeing Big Fish, I’ll agree with Outside Counsel’s assessment of the film. There are two aspects I’d like to address of what made the movie work for me, which I guess amounts to criticism, although it doesn’t feel that way, putting me in line with the television pundits more than I’d like, I suppose. The first thing that struck me was in the father-son relationship, which had its surface “factuality” in the son’s dispute with his father’s fabulism: who is his father, if his stories are unreliable. I don’t buy this entirely, but I’m bringing a bit of baggage with me. My father’s stories were undervalued by me as a child, and he didn’t tell a lot of them, to my recollection, until lately, and now I’m a bit further off in the world than makes hearing the story of his life particularly feasible. M. had the inspiration from her brief talks with Dad to offer him a leather-bound diary one year for his birthday, but I left the movie feeling rather sad, not to mention fairly desperate, at the thought that this might be my best hope of getting his version of events. I’m not sure what else I can do, but I know I need to hear a lot more. Everything so far has been gold: sometimes ore, sometimes refined, sometimes tarnished, but always worth its weight.

After I’d thought about this for a while, it also struck me that this is a particularly American movie, not the way some movies are – horror films are the most peculiarly American; gangsters and westerns quintessential forms, along with musicals – but in that it was expressive of something that in the last hundred years, certainly in the years since the invention of cinema, something that is characteristic, idiosyncratic of America itself: it is a country founded and grown up on the absolute belief in the infinite possibilities of life. America recognizes no boundary to what can be achieved or what might yet happen, and I cannot recall a movie I’ve seen that is so thoroughly in itself expressive of this, Gone with the Wind’s “After all, tomorrow is another day” philosophy notwithstanding. I say this even knowing that I am now living in one of the few places on earth where this sensibility may be equally applied, and once I’m over being homesick right now, I’ll have to give the comparison some time.

Meltdown
What is it about commuter trains and summer? CityRail is falling apart, and I can’t get a train that isn’t 30 minutes late. Officially, none of the trains I ride are affected, but then I get to the platform to hear that city services trains are “not running in order or according to schedule. Please listen for announcements.” All week, and it’s hotter this week than it’s been at any time all summer, not to mention more humid. The problem appears to have started last year when a rail accident saw a commuter train derail and many people ended up killed or injured. An investigation followed, and there was plenty of blame to go around. State government, CityRail, train drivers (funny, they’re not engineers anymore; I guess that’s so we can call the university-degree-holders by that designation). The drivers were found to be at fault because they engaged in unsafe practices (including some who showed up to work without being able to pass a breath test, and not because they didn’t brush). CityRail was at fault for not managing their people and their equipment better. State government was at fault for not spending enough money to upgrade the system and for allowing CityRail to get away with cutting corners. So what’s happened? Government cracks down on CityRail who cracks down on drivers who then proceed to spit the dummy and go on a work slowdown. Bob Carr has responded to commuters’ frustrations by offering us a free weekly pass (or a free day next month if we aren’t regular commuters), but I’m not satisfied yet. First thing I want to know: if you’re cutting back on the number of trains running, shouldn’t there be more equipment available to run, in which case, why am I riding in un-air conditioned carriages? The workers were out in force today handing out postcards with the phone number of the Transport Minister, Michael Costa, and proclaiming their innocence in all this, but it won’t wash. It almost makes me homesick.

Anywhere But Here
(Yes, I appropriated the title from Monica Simpson’s novel. Sue me.)
Long Island is in trouble. A new study cites a number of factors contributing to the decline in living standards, but of the factors they cite, I seem to recall seeing every one of them in operation while I was growing up there. Lower pay? Industry was moving out fast, even the military contractors at the height of the Cold War. A decrease in development? Well, once the east end filled up with aging pop stars, Yuppies and the lifestyle purveyors they rely on, what did anyone expect? Even where redevelopment was possible, nobody was investing in it, because there was no percentage in doing so. Main Street died on Long Island, and no attempts at resuscitation were ever successful. What’s the biggest problem: the decline in numbers of a younger generation. It’s getting old and tired out there. The effect is an increased marginalization, a growing discrepancy between rich and poor, as usual coinciding in expression with a disparity in ethnic groups. But the evidence of this trend existed there when I was a kid. The study also cites a “brain drain,” but that’s been going on a long time, too (hey, I got out; I think it’s a sign). The major difference, I suppose, is that now there’s a study, and a sense that something ought to be done, that Long Island can be a case study for other suburban areas around the country. Best of luck, but look at it: it’s an island. A long one, with only one way out. Granted, if you never make it further than NYC, you’ve done well, but you’ve got to make your way to the front of the pack if you don’t want to get left behind.

Ignatius of Loyola
The Jesuits are a fascinating group, the only remaining viable church organization left from the Renaissance. They have a deserved reputation as a scholarly order, in addition to the political sensibilities and machinations ascribed to them, so I’m very tempted to head over to the other side of the harbour to hear them discuss the refugee crisis in Australia. The principle of giving everyone a “fair go” is one of the characteristics of Australian society that make it one of the most truly democratic societies on the planet, but short-sighted politicians can get bound up in the need for an immediate response to events, acting against higher principles, such as has happened here and in the States with various laws granting extraordinary powers to the police following September 11. Although I’m sure there are those who would argue otherwise, I’d prefer not to see a return to the fear-mongering of McCarthyism or the re-institutionalization of “White Australia.” Even if I don’t make it to the lecture, then, I’d like to think John Howard or Mark Latham might make the trip.

Humane Research Tools
Back in high school we learned Cruelty to Animals. I mean sophomore biology. It involved dissecting “lower order” creatures. There were always those who rejected participation, but now it’s no longer necessary to object: the frog is online and interactive. Honestly, I never learned anything from the exercise I couldn’t have gotten from a lecture and diagrams, so what was the point? Meanwhile, for those of us who are most thoroughly enlightened – or just Hindu – Edward Doughney has invented the spider ladder, a device that let’s the bug do the rescue work for itself. (All links kindly supplied by Troy at Idle Type.)

USA Patriot in Action
Is the grand jury investigation of the Catholic Peace Ministry a result of John Ashcroft being anti-papist or anti-terrorist? (From The Daily Kos, via the Famous Buffalo Blogger.)

Presentation Preparation
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:28-34)
It’s my new context, I suppose, that makes me think this way (nothing to do with tricks for speaking in front of an audience), but I’ll be leading a reluctant group for over 4 hours in “process mapping.” What have I got prepared? The opening prayer.

On the Job
I’ve completed three weeks at my new job and thought I’d make a bit of an assessment of the experience so far. (Actually, Mom wanted to know, and specific questions she had led me to the idea that this might be interesting.) First, the work here is very much the same as what I’ve been doing for the last 15 years, but I do and have been facing increasing levels of “professionalism” in the conduct of selecting, installing, and supporting a Human Resources Information System. This has required me to learn new business techniques – negotiations with IT and Finance, project planning, process mapping – and new business philosophies – Human Resources vs. Personnel, Enterprise Resource Planning vs. “my, what a big database you have,” etc. This has been accomplished by changing jobs. When I left the law firm and re-entered a corporate environment, I entered a realm where I was accountable to vast numbers of people – executives, staff, and shareholders - and where what I did was fully visible to the organization for its effect on the bottom line but recognized as well for its contribution to the effective operation of the company overall, instead of an office where nobody knew what I did but since they were fully devoted to achieving partnership status and thereafter to grinding every speck of money they could out of the firm’s income it had to be costing them a sailboat. We used project plans and we wrote technical specifications and we talked about process change. Then I came to Australia and the company formerly known as Chubb (o.k., yes, they still are, but now they’re just a subsidiary of UTC), and the game was at a whole new level, with flow charts and interactive learning tools and consultants and much, much more. And now I’m with the Catholics in the closer reaches of Sydney’s outer west, and the game is being played at a new level, both higher and lower at the same time. In some respects, it’s like going back to the law firm, in others it’s more like my days at Scholastic, although I’m expected to bring what I learned from playing with the big boys at Chubb to the project here. Finally, in a little added twist, it is a religious-based organization, much as my very first job was, at the American Bible Society. (I used to joke that I’d started in publishing, moved to IT, then to HR, and then combined my experience, but that was when I thought I’d be at Scholastic for years to come. Nevertheless, the joke still works – I started with the Bible, then IT, HR, IT & HR, and now IT, HR, & Jesus.) What’s the real difference between the Catholic Education Office and previous jobs (including the Bible Society)? First, there are prayers. Not all the time, mind you, but there weren’t any at the Bible Society (too sectarian) and everybody else was, well, non-denominational. When we have a meeting, there is always a prayer to lead off, and it is always antiphonal. Sometimes there’s a hymn, too, although the last one turned out to also be the recent Rugby Union World Cup theme song, too, which caused a bit of tittering among the footie fans. This is quite a change for me, as it’s been some time since I was a participatory Catholic. There’s good-natured joking about it sometimes, and I’m not the only one more roaming than Roman, so it doesn’t cause any particular stress. There is also a chapel and a brief service on Thursday mornings for those who would like to attend. I’ve seen the chapel but not the services; there’s a big evening Mass in March out in Blacktown to welcome all the new staff in the office and the schools, and I’m expected to attend, and that will be sufficient, I think. There are also small displays at all the entrances: an illustrated bible or (when I was interviewed) an Advent wreath, and there are portraits of the Madonna and Child everywhere you look, not to mention the crucifixes, luckily not of the extreme gore variety. An interesting factor particularly present in my interactions from within the Human Resources department is the focus on “pastoral care.” Because much of the office staff come from within the schools or are otherwise affiliated with the Church as a community of believers, there is a significant focus on making work here part of one’s spiritual life, that your faith as a Catholic should be enhanced. An example of this is the elimination of the standard 3-month probation period. Most companies give themselves this escape clause, although it’s probably unnecessary in some measure, so that a hiring decision can be unmade before it costs too much (agency placements generally have to complete 90 days before the fee is payable). Not here, because it would go against the office’s pastoral commitment to its employees. I think they’re being silly about this, especially since nearly all the staff are employed under a contract anyway, which doesn’t seem particularly expressive of the pastoral duty, does it? Never mind, these things don’t bother me or change what I’m here to do particularly. Besides, I like very much being able to use Bible verses and lessons from the catechism in conversation and have people around who get the joke. It’s not every day you work in a place where you can refer to cakes and snacks brought into the office as an “occasion of sin” and get a laugh instead of a blank look.

Literature and Diaspora
African literature is a subject that’s had considerable interest for me for many years now, and every now and then a new book or a new author will turn up, although it’s more usual to find only the usual shelf contents or nothing at all. Nigerian author, Chris Abani, who is new to me, has turned up in the news because one of his books has finally been published in the U.S., although he’s been serially imprisoned and exiled since the 1980’s for his activities as a writer. Nigeria has a long post-colonial literary tradition, Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka being the most notable of those with a visible presence outside their continent, Achebe because Things Fall Apart is on pretty much every high school or college freshman introduction to literature syllabus in the U.S., and Soyinka because he won the Nobel. It’s very good to see someone else getting notice – and getting published – although I do wish there was more notice taken sometimes. Ayi Kwei Armah from Ghana, Ngugi Wa Thiongo from Kenya, Mongo Beti from Cameroon . . . there are a host of others, some more or less notable, but most only published in France or England and then only in marginal press runs, limiting their availability. The “African Writers Series” published by Heinemann is a resource worth reviewing for anyone who’s interested.

Holy Super Lawsuit!
It?s hardly worth posting about the claim that DC and Marvel own the trademark on the word "superhero." I?d really like to see that enforced.

(Editorial Note: I meant superhero™.)

Evil Empire Status Averted
The resemblance of Joe Lieberman to Galactic Senator Palpatine is one of those internet memes that only a certain few are likely to enjoy, but doesn’t reduce my relief that he’s finally dropped out. Now he won’t develop those terrible powers and turn Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. No, I mean, now he’s gotten at least some of the comeuppance I think he deserved for his behavior as Gore’s running mate.

Ramsay Street Neighbours
Germaine Greer is a name to conjure with, but that doesn’t make her infallible. Actually, like most storied talismans, Ms. Greer lately appears to offer the good right along with the bad, a sort of sociopolitical Monkey’s Paw. For Australia Day, Ms. Greer offered her assessment of Australia, but insofar as what she says has any validity, it is well outweighed by the injustices she perpetrates (and perpetuates from her own life for that matter). So when the headline on her recent opinion piece is “Slack and Insufferable,” I have to wonder if she recognizes the irony. Her piece is itself as insufferable as its research is slack. By the end, I’m left wondering if she wouldn’t rather live in Iceland than England. First of all, England is where Australia gets most of what she complains about. Second, Iceland is the only country I can think of that didn’t decimate a native population, has a robust political and intellectual life, where urban or rural life dominates over suburban, and where the economy’s development doesn’t rely on the decimation of natural resources but harnessing them instead. Since summer in Iceland is mercifully brief, the kinds of relaxation that offend Ms. Greer are less available to the population, so although they, too, rely heavily on imported manufactured goods, at least they’re probably pretty wound up over it.

Making Ends Meet
Based on a Metafilter item I did a little look-up to discover what’s minimum wage in Australia. It’s AU$11.35 per hour, based on a 38-hour week. Don’t ask me how they get a 38-hour week, though, since that’s 7.6 hours per day. 0.6 hours is 36 minutes. I guess that’s lunch. Meanwhile, back in the States, minimum wage varies, with US$8.50 in San Francisco vs. US$5.15 in NYC. A Federal standard seems worthwhile, so long as it raises the bar for everyone, but then Australia’s workforce is much smaller and more easily administered, perhaps. Oh, and at the current exchange rate, AU$11.35 is US$8.63. (Adjusting for a 40-hour week, the wage would be approximately US$8.20. I’d say our waitresses can outspend service personnel in the U.S., by and large.)

Who’s That Man?
I have had to travel for business with some considerable frequency in the past, a bit less for personal reasons, but the experience of checking in at the gate for a flight I booked was always the same: show your ticket and show some airline clerk an ID. I was once told that I could have my ticket dishonored, be thrown out, or even arrested if I failed to produce a valid driver’s license. Corporate ID has been rejected in my experience if the clerk didn’t recognize the company. I actually spent a couple of months traveling on the same flight once every two weeks, checking in with the same clerk every time, only to have my ID rejected after about three months without any explanation. Presumably the clerk had gotten in trouble for accepting as ID something other than a driver’s license or passport. In any event, the following trip everything was back to normal. The FAA issues regulations and recommendations to the airlines regarding the administration of their passengers. The safety demonstration is an example of a regulation. The ID check is a recommendation. Airlines treat them both as mandatory. It’s easier that way. For them. It doesn’t do any good at all. The airlines are happy to require an ID check because it enforces their policy that tickets are non-transferable. It makes sense to say that the luggage stowed in cargo and the passengers match up, but what about mail? Who’s checking that? Besides, why would a suicide bomber tag his luggage under a pseudonym anyway? Look, if you don’t want me to fly, don’t sell me the ticket. Up until the point when you take my money, you can refuse me service. After that, you’d better get me on the plane even if I did have a beard when I had my ID photo taken. Want real safety? Impose realistic safety measures.

Three Years On
M. and I have been married for three years today, two in NYC and one in Sydney. We’ve done quite well, if I say so myself, having survived a move across the planet; finding, buying, and furnishing a new home; four months of unemployment; and the continuing trials daily met by any couple anywhere. Tonight we’ll celebrate with a fine dining experience, as it is our tradition to meet the anniversary with as posh an event as we can devise, although we may have to save up for milestone years before trying to match the night at the Waldorf with which we instituted that ritual. We’ve got great hopes for the future, and I know I couldn’t have chosen a better partner with whom to meet the years ahead.

Morning into Evening and Again
As I stood on the platform the other day, dazed with sleeplessness from a later night than expected due to a fire alarm that brought the fire department (just smoke; somebody cooking something that got out of hand or some such) and an earlier awakening than usual (the cat punishing me for helping stuff her into her carrier and haul her out to the street: but we were saving your life!), I was considering the necessity of familiarity and what my present situation provides in that regard. Beyond the cultural divergences and geographical reversals, much remains the same in kind while distinct in the details. Business is business, I’d say while we were planning our relocation, speaking of the kinds of change I’d face in seeking employment here, and that’s been true overall, even though I’ve come to discover just how untrue it is at the same time. Take contracts, for example, a very common employment condition here, whereas “employment at will” is much more the rule back home. My duties under contract are no more explicit nor my performance of them any more measurable than when I toiled under the vague conventions of the U.S. system, although I’d guess that’s really only because individual contracts are simply a legal mechanism, a formality, setting out the “at will” condition of the employment. The same late nights and lunch-at-your-desk assumptions appear to be at operation here as anywhere else I’ve worked, and will probably only spread to exert influence on increasing numbers of workers as more and more categories are reclassified as “professional” and therefore exempt from overtime. (There is more than one reason secretaries are more often Administrative Assistants these days, and it won’t be long before most of them are Administrative Officers, at which point they might as well just set up a cot next to their desks and sign up for child care services.) But I like routine, knowing when I will do something and where I will be day-to-day, even as much as I enjoy breaking out of the routine to do something, go somewhere different. “Different” is, however, a relative term. Different is going to the movies when you haven’t been in a while, or even just going to see something with subtitles (that aren’t translating from the Klingon). Different is going to a restaurant you haven’t tried, having the green curry instead of the red. Different is familiar – most of the time. I would like something truly different, which is pretty remarkable considering that I am on the other side of the world, living in a distinct cultural milieu, amid a unique set of environmental conditions (no koalas or kangaroos, but there have been kookaburras sittin’ in the ol’ gum trees, but that’s beside the point; think heat, drought, desert, serious UV exposure, and the eucalyptus scent of the trees), under unrecognizable constellations. The language is different, too: colors are coloured, authorizations are authorised. . . . It’s the little things. And the big ones. But every morning during the week, I get on a train to travel west for work and for the first twenty minutes of my ride I’m travelling on the same line I did to get to my last job. The train leaves from the same platform to go to Parramatta as it did to go to Epping. When we travel to Windsor, we’re still on platform 18. Reliable and efficient. At the office, I have the same job I did in NYC, although the larger context is quite different from that in which I have previously operated. As Kath ‘n’ Kim say: Nice, different, unusual. What’s it all about? After four months of unemployment, I find myself more than ready to retire, except for the part about the money. Damn.

Social Deconstruction
George II has been going on quite a bit lately on the topic of gay marriage, without of course addressing marriage itself except to say that it must be preserved. There have been a couple of ‘blogs I track to one degree or another where the subject has come up from a self-interested point of view. Since the topic came up in public debate, I’ve always taken the liberal line: everybody should have the right to get married if that’s what they want, regardless of sexuality. Follow Me Here posts a report on the decline of marriage in Scandinavia, tying the situation to the rise in the acceptance of gay marriage in Sweden and across Europe. I wonder how much of a relationship there really is, but even before I get to that question, I wonder if I shouldn’t have reservations about expanding the institution of marriage to same-sex couples? In the end, there isn’t much of a debate for me. The distinction between marriage and “civil union” seems like splitting hairs: except in a religious context, it’s all “civil union.” Government is involved in registering marriages to ensure that some level of social equity is maintained regarding responsibility towards one’s partner and towards any children resulting from the partnership, as well as to take advantage of the taxation situation. To be fair, “take advantage” is a relatively modern development, I expect. The “marriage penalty” many couples encounter paying taxes is a development of the increased number of dual-income households. It was much more the case that getting married improved one’s tax situation, albeit at the same time as imposing an increased financial responsibility at home to offset it. So why should government perceive a need to “defend” marriage? The institutionalization of relationships has been in decline for a very long time now, particularly as the benefits of stamping your commitment “official” have declined. There are only two reasons I see for government to insert itself into the debate: tax revenue implications and political expediency. If allowing gays and lesbians to marry causes heterosexuals to stop marrying, this could have a negative impact on taxes. Couples would be able to file singly, at least one of them claiming any children as deductions, and millions upon millions of dollars would stop flowing into the coffers of the IRS. Society would crumble. Democracy would fail. O.k., the rationale isn’t reasonable, and no sane politician would argue this way, because it would just admit to the greedy nature of governments. Political expediency, however, is meat and potatoes to those in or seeking public office. What is the perception, the opinion (regardless of whether it’s informed or not) of the public, and what stance will ensure I get (or don’t lose) votes? Does allowing gays to participate cheapen the social imprimatur of marriage? Is the average married man or woman (non-gay, obviously) offended by those dirty gays signing up at the courthouse? The only thing I find offensive is that straight and gay don’t sign up under the same laws. I’d rather see laws regarding marriage amended to include gays and lesbians than distinct (not to say “special,” which implies unique entitlements that aren’t really being enacted) legislation. On the other hand, a special law had to be passed to give women the vote, and nobody much minds that anymore. Some step has to be taken to provide equitable treatment under law, and enacting gay marriage rights may be a clumsy move, but inevitable as our perceptions and understanding of the human condition expand. Watching the first instalment of Michael Apted’s Marriage in America last night, we heard a lesbian couple explain their decision to go to Vermont as a way of demonstrating to their families and friends the seriousness of their commitment. The civil union was merely a step towards encouraging participation in a subsequent ceremony enacted with the more traditional appurtenances. If the churches don’t want to permit homosexuals to marry, that’s up to them. Such bodies have long operated separately from civil institutions, one of the benefits we got from the schism caused by Henry VIII wanting a new wife. George II and others who would seek to prevent everyone from marrying really ought to look to their roots: unless you’re a Roman Catholic, your principles are the result of the Protestant Reformation, the Medieval course of events that led to the separation of church and state, in which case you should probably mind your own business and let others mind theirs. As for the Catholics, well, I think the Paulian doctrine would say that living in a society where the state constitutionally operates without regard to the tenets of any church doctrine obliges you to honor the separation regardless of your religious principles.

Going to Bat
The parallels are fascinating, but it does leave you wondering how we’ve come to this pretty pass, that the Democrats are turning the next election into a battle between what John Edwards calls the “two Americas,” highlighting George II’s kleptocratic assertion of the privilege of the privileged in the U.S. economy, and that here in Australia, Mark Latham is asserting a similar agenda, describing that the Howard government has done more in Australia to create “battlers” while doing less than any previous administration for them. The anger and activism of the Left in both countries is a great relief – in the U.S. after less than four years of blatant pandering to corporate interests over those of the lower and middle classes, while Australia has suffered John Howard for nearly a decade longer. But that’s the worry: can the U.S. unseat Bush on the present Democratic agenda? Is the example of Howard getting in time and again an augury of how easy it may yet turn out for the Bush-Cheney ticket to renew its presence in Washington D.C.? Perhaps it’s wrong to allow my fear of November back in the States to color my expectations in my new home, and vice versa. I’d like Mark Latham to get the top spot here and to be able to hold on to it for long enough to put a halt to some of the present tendencies of the Federal government, just as I’d like to see Dean or Edwards or Kerry or, well, no, maybe not Kucinich, but a Democrat get the White House back, but it’s tough to unseat an incumbent, especially when there’s so much fear and it’s so easy for them to keep us alert if not alarmed.

Dr. Dolittle Resources
I once saw a diagram of a group of European dogs greeting one another, the French Poodle saying “ouah” to the German Shepard, who responded “wau,” triggering the Puli to say “vau,” etc. The idea that animals were also affected by the curse of Babel was a source of some amusement to me at the time. In case you’re going overseas, this online animal dictionary offers a way for you to talk to the animals. No giant Luna Moth, though, and no Pushmi-Pullyu.

Get Into the Groove
Baby, you got to prove you want to loose weight. Probably Dance Dance Revolution takes up less room even than a fold-up treadmill.

Food Good, Monsanto Bad
Mendocino County is pushing a referendum to ban cultivation of genetically modified organisims, and as the chef of the first fully-certified fully-organic restaurant in California, younger brother endorses the effort, naturally enough. I see his point, and the County’s, but I’m afraid the genie is well and truly out of the bottle on this one. Aside from the glow-in-the-dark fish, there’s the corn and the rice, and soy is reportedly one of the most extensively modified foods on the planet, although I don’t think that involved direct genetic manipulation. On the other hand, those who would argue that these things can be controlled should probably know that there are organic farms in Canada currently being sued for infringement of Monsanto’s patents. How? Well, pollen is pollen, and I wouldn’t trust anyone who tells me they can prevent bees from travelling from one field to another. So for the privilege of no longer being able to claim organic status, these farmers are in court and the businesses they supplied have to go elsewhere. Vote Yes on H: you are what you eat.

All the Way with JFK?
That’s John F. Kerry, of course. Anyway, more to the point, the perennial question during the primaries is: which front-runner will choose which also-ran for Vice President? This round, the answer is: not Kerry-Edwards. It is a tradition of long standing that a candidate for President cannot win unless he can deliver the South, and that to do so, there needs to be some ticket-balancing. Kennedy is supposed to have tapped Lyndon Johnson because Texas is technically a southern state, but sufficiently maverick that he’d owe nothing to the Deep South that might otherwise preclude social change in respect to civil rights for blacks. George II, of course, is “from” Texas, giving him southern credentials that he balanced with Cheney, who is “from” Wisconsin. (They’re really from Maine and Texas, respectively, aren’t they? Still, North & South, isn’t it?) That Kerry, a Boston Brahmin, would tap Edwards, makes sense. Earlier, everyone wondered who would grab Wesley Clark. I’m not even sure where Clark’s from, but as career military, he’s honorarily southern, at least. There have been those who have said Dean ought to match with Clark, and I can see some anti-war benefit there, but Kerry’s got the momentum right now, so the ticket questions are being lobbed his way. A bit early.