Responsibilities and Privileges
When my application to become an Australian was being reviewed, I was required to recite two or three of my “responsibilities and privileges” under the law. It’s a responsibility for example, to vote and to keep my enrolment current. It’s a responsibility to defend the country, too, if called upon to do so (a nice mirror to my privilege of being eligible to join any of the branches of the military). It’s a privilege that, if I were to get in trouble with the law overseas, I could have recourse to ambassadorial assistance. So it’s surprising to me to hear the government now arguing before the High Court that the government has no obligation to assist David Hicks. It sounds like a losing argument to me, but then I take my civic responsibilities seriously and expect my privileges to be honored in the same spirit.

Twisted
We've had a second run at open inspection this weekend, and about the same amount of interest, if not the same dollars on offer. Everybody who's come up with an offer this time has come substantially lower than where we'd like them to, so, after a few chores, I took myself to the movies, Pan's Labyrinth, by Guillermo Del Toro. It was a bad choice, if what I was hoping for was to be cheered up. This has to be one of the saddest movies I've ever seen, aside from the ones with animals. Yes, it's beautiful, and it does things with mythology, like his earlier film, Cronos, that's become unexpected in mainstream cinema. It's brutal, in fact, which, I guess, is the political point it's trying to make, but beautiful, aside from that. I've come away from it saddened, but also angry. Set in facist Spain, in the period after the civil war there was effectively over and Franco's forces essentially just "mopping up," the sadism indicted is still present in our own time, and in places it shouldn't be. Do we hold ourselves so far above those evils, yet scuff and mumble over abuses in Iraq and Guantanamo? And who's harmed thereby? Not just the innocents, but our own selves, for every moment of silence, every second's delay in taking up our courage in both hands and changing the world however much we can. It's an awesome movie, which I mean in a non-slacker way. I'm gladdened by such artists, even as much as I'll probably be depressed for days.

Opinionated
One wonders upon what VP Cheney bases his declaration that David Hicks is at
“the head of the queue” and that his sentence, if found guilty, as is sure to happen, under the circumstances, will be reduced by time served, let alone the remainder to be spent in an Australian prison? What cynical impulse is it that suggests a deal’s been made?

Protestations
The Stop the War Coalition organized protests for yesterday and today against Dick Cheney, who’s visiting Sydney, and, of course, the usual cast of characters were out to join the fun, including, among those arrested, a couple of transvestites (apparently – ahem – busted for mocking the cops.

There seem always to be some trouble-makers at these events, although with only a dozen arrests in total, yesterday and today, it seems any attempt by Cheney supporters to denigrate the protestors as “the usual rabble” is just the usual sour grapes-level nonsense we’ve been getting from the Bush crowd ever since that gang got into office.

What’s more troubling is the attempts to shut down the protests at the last minute. The police filed for an injunction (which appears to have failed) because, after the Queen Mary 2’s arrival generated tremendous traffic snarls due to thousands of gaping onlookers driving in from all over Sydney (what? it’s big, but, c’mon: it’s a boat, people), the State government was embarrassed. Not the city, mind you, where Clover Moore seems more than happy to have civil civic participation of all kinds (perhaps especially when it brings on blushes over on Macquarie Street), but never mind. So the cops can’t handle a march down George Street? Or a rally in front of a hotel? Or trannies shaking their groove thangs at them? Weak.

When Life Imitates Economics
The white elephant apartment is all but sold now, contracts exchanged and the buyer on the hook after Monday, so in addition to pulling all the books and records out of the bookshelves and into boxes, I've begun the daily review of Domain.com for an over-priced one- to two-bedroom flat somewhere between "Sydney,", that is, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, the CBD, etc., and the Inner West, i.e, Newtown, Glebe, et al. No way am I going past Erskineville, though.

Meanwhile, I'd like to know what's really meant by a "New York style" apartment. I think it means a slightly-bigger-than-usual studio. Probably it just means a studio. I've also discovered that having two cats is going to put me out of the running for most apartments. Please note, however, that this seems largely due to the reluctance of real estate agents to bother the landlords for more details than whether or not they'd like to get $450 per week or $500 for a unit that hasn't seen fresh paint in better than five years or new carpet (let alone a steam-clean) in ten.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Cats: no. Mildew: I'll start finding out this weekend, when I start attending open inspections. Meanwhile, I'm running two parallel searches: one for any housing, and one for houses. The stand-alone rentals have fewer problems with pets.

Update: it's awful to say, mere hours from putting this post up, but the buyer's pulled out. While we keep a portion of his earnest money (which will defray some of our advertising costs), that he's done so as late as this leaves us little hope of a quick turn-around re-advertising and having another open inspection by the weekend. It cools my search off, too, although that could yet be a timing problem, since I know there's some nice stuff opening up in mid-March. I'm also sorry I packed up as many of the books and records as I did, since the built-in bookshelves look enormous without their stock. Maybe one of the other interesteds from Saturday will still want it, probably for a lot less than asking-price.

Micro-Manager and Commander
The President appears to have made a concession regarding his status as Commander-in-Chief, saying ”[Congress has] the right to try to use the power of the purse to determine policy.” Well, there’s two things about that statement that strike me. One, of course, is the word “try.” Congress can try to shape policy by tightening up on spending, although they may not succeed. The other element is more interpretive. If the President were to change tactics, or otherwise alter the conduct of policy in Iraq, as a result of spending measures enacted by Congress, then he’s off the hook for any failure as a result of that change. Now, that doesn’t mean he has to follow precisely any strategic conditions attached to a spending bill, but it does mean that the new Democratic majority could walk right into a giant bear trap of blame over whatever Bush does in accepting those conditions. And then nobody wins. Except maybe the GOP in ’08.

Verdict
I agree with Malcolm Fraser: David Hicks is guilty not because he’s guilty, but because he must be guilty. (Note, for example, the charge of spying, insofar as it largely amounts to having collected information on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan – which was closed at the time.)

So Much for the BBQ Invite
Remember Paul Hogan throwing another “shrimp” on the barbie for the hoards of US visitors? Maybe not after 21 February, when Biosecurity Australia rules on whether the white spot virus poses a threat, and blocks all those cheap, Thai prawns to reduce the supply.

Circular Reasoning
As I said yesterday, the PM’s free to make as much of an ass of himself as he pleases, but he ought to apologize when he’s been insulting, as he has to Barak Obama and the Democrats now in the majority in Congress. He has, however, committed himself to the Iraq debacle, committed Australia in the first instance to causing the problems there now and exacerbating them by “sticking by” his ally. (Unfortunately, as Tim Dunlop continues to point out, Mr. Howard’s ally isn’t the U.S., but George Bush, mistaking a personal friendship for a larger political position of mutual support.) Now Defense Minister Brendan Nelson weighs in, explaining that Howard is just standing up for Australia by committing the nation to an indefinite tour of duty in Iraq.

"Only when we get through the next six, 12 months or whatever period of time it takes will we be in a position to make any reasonable and responsible judgement about whether the United States, Britain or anyone else is in a position to withdraw."

Round and round we go, and where we stop, well, we’ll know in six months. Or twelve. Or someday long in the future. But that’s not what’s really at issue. What matters is that John Howard knows he made a mistake joining the “Coalition of the Willing”, that Iraq was a disaster from the start, but that more and more of his constituents have also reached that conclusion and will blame him and the Liberals at the next election. Mr. Howard’s sounding increasingly like Donald Duck with a limp.

(Oh, and in case anyone was wondering how the Howard government’s domestic policies have been working out, ”WorkChoices” is putting the bite on women, hard, as well as harming employment growth and productivity.)

Weekend Politics
On the train coming home from Ikea Saturday, we ran into two fresh American ex-pats, in Sydney for a year now, lately working on a rap video for Anthony Mundine, and started up a conversion to recruit them into Democrats Abroad. They seemed very enthusiastic, and I hope they’ll come to a meeting, but I mention it because, now that Barak Obama is officially in the race, it was somewhat notable to me that they were suggestive of their support for Hillary Clinton, Obama’s biggest rival for the nomination.

That aside, Obama’s in, and he’s getting a lot of notice, including this latest nonsense from John Howard, interjecting himself in American politics, in a way that if an American was doing it during one of his campaigns, we hear plenty of complaints about. Is he going to start calling Obama “Osama” next? Mr. Gibbs, the Obama campaign spokesman, is right, up to a point, about the commitment to Iraq; although I don’t intend any criticism of the soldiers, on a pro rata basis, Australia’s troop deployment is 15% of America’s, and faces apparently far less immediate danger. Mr. Howard should just butt out. Or, as Obama suggests, supply more troops (although my calculations suggest only an additional 7-8,000, not 20,000).

otter drinking
Originally uploaded by eilidhmacaskill.

Too Good to Let Pass
I found this over at Crazybrave, and it reminded me of someone: my younger brother at about age 2. Except for the whiskers. Although now he's got a full set, so they probably look even more alike. (Photo by "eilidhmacaskill, who's got more.)

Big Time
Ol’ shoot-from-the-hip Dick “dead-eye” Cheney’s on his way to Australia to say “thanks” for the Australian troops in Iraq. He’ll be visiting between 22 and 27 February, so get your placards out. Suggested themes for the protest would be Iraq (of course), global warming, and gay rights (particularly regarding adoption, a re-newly contentious issue here in Australia, and marriage). The trial, or lack thereof, of David Hicks is also more than worth mentioning, although I sincerely doubt John Howard will bring it up. He’s happy, now that a trial date’s been set, although Hicks will be held to a different juridical standard than would apply in his native land. No doubt, the VP will apologize for taking 5 years to bring the kid to trial, and then go on to thank all Australia for having kangaroos, the inspiration for the type of jurisprudence to be applied in this case.

Wetlands, Drylands
Foreshore development on Sydney harbour has been controlled for many years, although that hasn’t really stopped a lot of buildings going up, mostly of the hugely expensive kind, but including some public projects. The city’s commitment to extending greenways on the foreshore has seen some positive change along Blackwattle Bay and Glebe, and we might once have hoped for even more. Except the State government doesn’t want things that way: they prefer development.

It’s not so long ago that the harbour was so thoroughly polluted that we aren’t yet still feeling the effects. Commercial fishing was recently halted, due to PCB’s, for example. The idea that huge developments may go up, adding to the problem of sewerage, let alone that new and existing home owners and commercial operators could extend access and boat use, ought to concern the entire city, but probably doesn’t, much, at least not yet. As so often, it will become more of a concern only after the problem has occurred.

We need better environmental managers in government. Look, the UN just put out a huge report about global warming and there are predictions that Sydney’s going to cop it bad. We should be working on every element of the city to see to it that we’re better off, all of us, not just the property developers and the cabin cruiser set. There’s an election in March, and normally I’d be glad of the current Premier’s commanding lead in the polls, but right now, my vote is tending elsewhere.

Climatological Notes
I was wrong about the Parramatta River fish ladder project. It seems what they’re doing is letting the river “fill” overnight, then letting it drain again during the day, as seen in these two photos, the first from this morning, the second from yesterday afternoon.

This must be a relief for the carp (some large ones are visible from overhead when the water’s low, and can be seen to struggle over ridges and weed clumps, looking for deeper pools), although the water fowl appear to benefit both ways. Of course, the benefits of the work may only prove effective for now.

Sovietization
By Executive Fiat, W has installed a political officer in every federal agency, having oversight of policy-related undertakings and reports to Congress. How very totalitarian. Didn’t the USSR have such functionaries? Yes, they did. So who really won the Cold War?

The Sydney Obsession
There is no escape. Absolutely everyone in Sydney talks about real estate. If you’re renting, you’re talking about buying; if you’re buying, you’re talking about what you’ve seen; if you own, you talk about your mortgage. Every gathering of any size is an opportunity. Every minute consideration is exhaustively examined, every triumph savored, every set-back wallowed in for whatever comforting horror stories you can receive in exchange for your own. It’s endless.

It doesn’t help that many of us take on mortgages that leave our disposable income in need of such tight controls that a weekend at the movies can nearly mean missing a payment, let alone that those on variable rates are subject to the inflationary measures of the Reserve Bank, pushing their repayments up and up to the breaking point. There are many mortgagee sales around the greater Sydney area, and an expectation of yet more to come. This would be a great time to buy, but the fact is that clearance rates have also fallen, whether for private treaty sales or auctions.

Meanwhile, somehow this has also meant that rental units are at an all-time low in availability, a situation exacerbated by the return of the university students, all in search of a cheap unit somewhere not too far from campus, preferably in Newtown, a suburb seemingly devoted to youth culture, but also Glebe and much of the rest of the Inner West. Competition is fierce. Renters line up at open viewings, and it’s pretty much first-come, first-served thereafter. Agents can’t be bothered to show units privately or to show up at showings on time, often enough. They’re rude, curt, dismissive of the concerns of people desperate for housing, especially at the “lower” end of the market – anything under $300 per week. Mind you, even $250 per week is over $1000 per month ($13000 annually), and to afford that you’re going to need a decent job. You will, after all, pay for electricity, food, transportation, and a phone, as well as an internet connection, potentially, and clothes, or laundry at least, various grooming requirements, and some relief in terms of entertainment. It all adds up pretty quickly, and taxes take a fair whack off the top of your wage, leaving little enough to begin with. Thank goodness there are still doctors who bulk-bill, but dentistry isn’t covered, and if you need a filling or crowns or a medical procedure that really can’t wait, some private health insurance isn’t a luxury.

So what can you get? Moldy carpets, chipped paint, plastic plumbing fixtures, and a kitchen that hasn’t been cleaned in a year or more (let alone windows that have), in a walk-up block of flats where the unit door doesn’t fit snugly in the jamb. We saw an amazing number of those when we were looking for our interim rental after we first moved to Sydney, and we were looking at the higher end of things. Units with no divider between the kitchen and the garage, like some new version of a peasant’s hovel, an automobile in place of the cow. Units where the investor-owner has bought the place purely for the negative-gearing, and so puts in no effort whatsoever to ensure a rental income, allowing the place to become run-down. Units where the developer has put no foresight into the design. I remember one place where renovations were made to add a bedroom in the space between the ceiling and the roof. This attic room would have been a valuable addition, except the stairs up to it took up three-quarters of the living room.

Will the unit be cleaned? No. Will it be painted? You can paint it if you want. Will something be done about the stain on the carpet that looks like the previous tenant brought their car engine in to rebuild it? It’s new. (Huh?)

Here’s my favorite: New York-style loft. It means small, with especially low ceilings, so a second level could be crammed in. (It’s like when you’re travelling outside New York City and see “New York-style pizza,” which just means nasty, lowest common denominator ingredients, and with a crust like cardboard.)

The thing is, however, that right now, renting is cheaper than buying. Short- and long-term. Right now, your money’s better off anywhere but in real estate, at least if what you’re trying to accomplish is having a place to live. If you’re capable of investing, it’s still worthwhile to have a unit or two, even if just to claim the negative gearing, let alone hanging on to it to sell when the market takes off again. The rich get richer, and the rest of us live in Ashfield.

Third Way
I read about Unity08 in this month’s Atlantic, and I’m thinking about signing up. Third parties have an interesting history in America, and not just because of Ralph Nader in 2000 or John Anderson (technically not a third party, just independent). There’s Teddy Roosevelt, of course, and H. Ross Perot, too. The idea of Unity08 – creating a centrist ticket by combining candidates from the two majors – is perhaps more akin to Anderson’s candidacy than it is to that of the others. And that’s the point where it falls apart for me. I don’t regard myself as committed to two-party politics. In Australia, where we’ve got a state election coming up in March, I’m more than a little open to voting Greens or Democrats rather than Labor (Liberal’s just right out). But they’re viable, established parties with a federal presence. While the Democrats have seen support shrink to nearly nothing, they’re still in there, and the Greens are doing pretty well, too, even if Peter Garrett took up Labor’s preselection offer in the last federal election. If I am going to vote for a third party candidate in the U.S., it’s because the candidate has the political appeal, the policies I support. Unity08 seems like more of the kind of nonsense that had Democrats in the U.S. trying to draft John McCain. Bipartisanship is all well and good, but a bipartisan ticket? Sounds like somebody’s been watching too much ”West Wing” (or, worse, ”Commander in Chief). Nevertheless, I like the process, I like the possible effects, and I especially like the participatory intentions. Maybe I’ll try out for delegate from Australia.

Diplomatic Incident
I think it can be safely assumed that Amanda Vanstone won’t be posted to Indonesia or any other country from which refugees come to Australia.

I Pledge Allegiance
Growing up in “love it or leave it” America, I always found the zealotry around the U.S. flag rather excessive, although I was thoroughly imbued with the principles of respect embodied in law: don’t let the flag touch the ground, don’t burn the flag, don’t mutilate the flag, don’t fly the flag upside-down except as a distress signal, take your hat off and put your hand over your heart when saluting the flag or reciting the pledge of allegiance or singing the national anthem. . . . It’s still all a little excessive, but patriotism is very important to Americans. At university, I took a course studying the First Amendment, the one about freedom of speech, and had to read excepts of Supreme Court decisions overturning arrests, prosecutions, and laws regarding the misuse of the flag: protestors wearing a flag patch over their crotch or burning a flag on the steps of one courthouse or another or in front of their draft board’s offices. As a result, a lot of the 1960’s-70’s jingoism the flag had come to embody was lost, watering down the flag’s iconic status, not wholly, but enough. The flag was something you saw at civic assemblies and sporting events and didn’t pay much attention to. Then we had September 11 and the flag was everywhere. M. and I both remember this one tow truck we’d often see, cruising up and down the avenues, covered with flags, large and small, whipping out behind the truck as it went by. We also remember the Sikh cab drivers who found themselves so fearful of being mistaken for Muslims they’d put a flag decal or sticker up in the cab, visible to their passengers, hoping to deflect a conversation or confrontation over what should be done to terrorists.

M. tells me the Australian flag was never so ubiquitous as it was after we moved here, post-Bali, and I well remember the high visibility it gained during the Cronulla riots. That was pretty scary, but what was worse was how the government dog-whistled their support for the bigots abusing their flag. And now they’re at it again.

The Big Day Out is a music festival. It travels around the capital cities during the summer, including the Sydney Australia Day weekend concert. Name acts from around the world participate, as well as local bands getting a bit of exposure. It’s not quite the same thing as Homebake, a multi-band concert devoted to promoting Australian performers, but it’s very popular. Last year, the Big Day Out took place not long after the Cronulla riots and there was some trouble with drunken Neanderthals promoting their own violent version of patriotism. This year, BDO has, in effect banned the flag.

Well, not really, unless you’re a politician and can’t read, or a patriotic zealot and can’t be bothered to read, or a bigot intent on promoting hate and violence.

It isn’t a government-sponsored event, and flying the flag isn’t a prerequisite for staging the shows, and if trouble-makers made the flag a security issue last year, the organizers are within their rights to request that concert attendees don’t cause a similar problem again this year. If you want to bring a flag to a gathering, stage it yourself or go to a patriotic event.

Maybe we need a nice Jimi Hendrix version of “Advance, Australia Fair” to lighten things up.

Cleaned Water
When I started back to work after our holiday on the Central Coast, I immediately made a note to bring my digital camera along the next day, after seeing the Parramatta River from the Church Street bridge. I’d seen the river over its banks many times since starting this job, but that Tuesday, there suddenly wasn’t much water, the flood-control embankments visible, the weeds drying in the sun, and fish visible in the center, circling in remaining pools where there remained some depth. Also, unretrieved shopping trolleys, a bit weedier than this one. It took a couple of days before I found out that the upper reaches had been drained to allow new fish ladders to be built, since there was no sign of construction. Too late, as it turns out, because today, the water’s back, even though the ladders aren’t due for completion for two more months yet. It’s just as well, though; the fish didn’t seem happy. I’m not certain if the clean-up mentioned in the Council’s website was particularly complete, but I’ll assume they pulled the trash they could reach.