Brave Creatures

The Cole Enquiry handed down its report yesterday and it was tabled in Parliament.

The gnashing of teeth from the opposition was audible here in Melbourne as the Government and its Ministers were exonerated of any criminal charges. AWB and it leadership on the other hand have been dealt a stinging rebuke which is (likely) going to result in ugly, painful, personally damaging legal action. 

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fellows far as I can see.

The report concludes that the employees of AWB knowingly paid money to Saddam Hussein's regime and actively sought ways to get around the UN Sanctions against Iraq and Australian Business and International law. They actively engaged in analysis to find ways to skate as close legal line as possible - and clearly they skated over it.

 As dreadful as this seems, even in with the hindsight provided by being at this end of the WMD-less Iraq war, why is this so surprising?

Does anyone really think that corporations are paragons of virtue? That they don't attempt to manipulate situations, the law and government to their advantage? That business wont do whatever it takes to make a profit?

It seems that the current business climate is more about what you can get away with, rather than what is right or honourable. And that for business the horizon for planning doesn't extend much further than the current financial year, or the next reporting period.

When there is so much money on the table, when senior executives stand to make such enormous personal profit, is it surprising to see corporate misconduct like Enron, Halliburton and Parmalat; and now like AWB?

I don't agree with it, I don't think it's right, but it just doesn't surprise me. The western capitalist system is set up to encourage greed, so lets not fool ourselves that results like this are anything other than expected. Not that I am suggesting that the alternative is any less intrinsically corrupting, that is if there is actually an alternative in play at the moment.

When piles of money are raining at you from on high, I suspect that its hard to resist. Even though, lets face it, there is actually only so much money needed to get you to happy. More money, doesn't make you more happy. Its just more money. Don't get me wrong, I like nice things, and I like to live well, but if two years as a (very) poor student taught me anything, it was that I could live and be happy on very little.

A lesson I suspect the folks from AWB are about to need to learn.

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Earlier this year our fearless Prime Minister, J'Ho, set up a panel of scientists, engineers and nuclear policy advisor's to look into the prospects of nuclear energy in Australia. Led by former nuclear physicist, and one time Government Employee/CEO of Telstra Dr Ziggy Switkowski the "Nuclear Task force" was charged with examining nuclear energy as a viable, safe and relatively clean alternative source of energy to the country’s heavily polluting, carbon-emitting coal industry.

The Switkowski report, a draft of which was released last week, found that it would be feasible to build 25 nuclear power stations around the country by 2050 with an estimated one third of Australia’s electricity derived from nuclear energy by this time.

The proviso was that this would only be economically viable if the government imposed a carbon "tax" through policies such as emissions trading schemes or green taxes. The report seemed to think that this was appropriate because

1. new industries, such as power generation, have been heavily subsidised by government in their early years to get them up and running and make them viable.
2. the underlying "cost" of carbon emissions, meaning climate change, was not being factored in to the cost of energy

Interesting.

Here is my problem with this - while pointing out that the long term costs of Carbon Energy, the report is not factored in the long term costs of Nuclear Energy. Those costs are difficult to calculate but include waste that can take thousands of years to stop being inimical to human life. Much more hostile than carbon emissions can ever be, and thats just the dangers that we KNOW about.

Who would have guessed how dangerous carbon emissions could be when, in 1663, Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester published designs for, and may have installed, a steam-powered engine for pumping water at Vauxhall House.

Jump ahead 323 years to  April 26 1986, when the central reactor at the nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine exploded and caught fire, killing dozens and inciting panic as plumes of radioactive smoke spread outward; the toxic fallout eventually killed thousands. A massive exodus saw 150,000 people abandoning their homes and workplaces; everything for a 30-km radius from the reactor was left behind in the evacuation, creating an instant ghost town.

20 years later the area is still contaminated, the areas is largely abandoned, people still suffering the effects of radiation poisoning and the long term effects on health are still unclear.

I am a huge fag, with little to no chance or interest in procreating - but I am really concerned. Is this the future we want for the next generations, one where the dangers of climate change have been exchanged to one of radiation poisoning?

It feels to me that this nuclear debate is moving the control of energy from one industrial complex to another, that the focus of the policy makers is the success of industry. While the economy is important, its the means, not the end in itself.

Renewable energy sources are cheap and have no consumables, so why would the oil barons be interested in them? And since there are no consumables, there is nothing for governments to gain tax revenues from, so why would they be interested in them?

Answer - they're not. What they appear to be interested in is the fact that Australia has an estimated 40% of the global reserve of uranium and so any nuclear boom is going to benefit this country enormously.

That self interest is more than a little embarrassing, even to watch. Even for a "faggot" who is too "selfish" to have kids.

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After a bit of a break, Wørd of the week returns, with a word that could have been crafted just for me:

Schizothemia

from. Gk schizo-, from schizein, to split + thema, theme]

A digression by means of a long reminiscence;
repeated interruptions of a conversation by the speaker
introducing other topics.

(not to be confused with schizothymia)

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Things have been a little busy here lately, what with one thing and another, so I (clearly) haven't been writing.

My trusty N80 has a few partial blog entries in it but nothing is complete.

The concern my absence has caused has been palpable here at Brave Creatures where the phone has rung and a letter flooded in.

A concerned neighbour even popped past, although that was to ask me since the Eurovision Song Contest is now sadly past for the year, to stop playing Anna Sahlene. Or at the very least to stop singing along.

So now I am back writing - "fearlessly journaling unchampioned minutiae" is our catch cry‡ here at Brave Creatures and we don't want to disappoint our faithful reader(s?), or at least no more than normal.

So tonight its all about media players in the news. 

In a deal that smacks of about-time-ness and which will have teeth gnashing up at Kiamo Ko Castle, the Seattle lair of the evil empire, the relentless march of the iPod continues for the as the seemingly ubiquitous, byo entertainment device.

The story is that Apple is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to provide a hookup  between your iPod and their in-flight entertainment systems. These airlines are going to offer passengers an in-seat connection which will power and charge iPods during flight and allow the videos to be viewed on the seat back displays.

Woohoo!

For me the next step is kiosks that let you purchase video or music at the airport and sync it to you ipod without using your computer as an intermediate.

Now lets jut compare that little piece of marketing genius from Apple to their, well, "competitors" is a strong word in this case, lets just say "alternative".

Poor Microsoft, and the sadly names "Zune " - the self proclaimed iPod killer. They are managing to underwhelm whole continents of people - without even being released. Most of Europe appears to be getting in ahead of the Christmas rush, and  have started ignoring the Zune now before demand gets too high.

If you haven't heard anything about it yet, in short Zune is MS's new music player and online music service. Its big, its boxy, it not backwards compatible with MS's old music services, it comes in ugly brown, it has nearly pointless WiFi in it and the music store wont be available outside the US until late 2007 - which is basically forever in marketing terms.

The WiFi feature is particularly dumb, it smacks of Seattle bound geeks who have no social skills trying to design a sales channel and attempting to disguise it as a social networking tool. Like a giraffe in high heels - its fun about once, and then it wears completely thin.

And probably has PETA chasing you with a cease and desist order.

Another of its features-not-faults is that it doesn't work with Windows Vista or Windows Media Player 11.

Just pause to absorb that for a second.

It doesnt work with Microsofts own latest generation operating system and media player/management tool. But then why would it, they are only from the same company and are intended to be the hub of Microsofts new media strategy. You have to use the specific Zune software to sync with it - because we needed ANOTHER media management tool.

Oh, and the Zune is incompatible with Microsoft's own PlaysForSure digital rights management standard too.

And it doesn't support podcasts. 

Finally lets just talk about how you "purchase" music - if you ever make it that far. Just to prove that nothing can't be made unnecessarily complicated, the Zune "Marketplace†" doesn't use money. Well not directly.

First you need to buy Microsoft points, the very same ones I haven't managed to spend yet on XBox live yet. The Marketplace only accepts these Points, with an individual track typically costing the equivalent of the iTunes-standard 99 cents.

By forcing users to buy blocks of Points (with a $5 minimum), the Marketplace only has to pay one credit-card processing fee. Nice for them, but clouding the cost from us, since a point isnt worth exactly a dollar.

Points will also persumably make it easier for the Zune Marketplace to institute variable pricing. The music industry wants it desperately. The industry has been pressuring Apple to abandon its flat 99 cent pricing and start charging more for "hot" tracks, but apparently Job is standing firm against the high pitched whining of the media execs.

All up the Zune appears to have been exclusively designed by a committee of marketers from the record companies - and so underwhelming a product that even reviewers cant keep focused on it for more than a few seconds. 

‡ that or either - "what is she wearing" or "you can never have too many hats, gloves or shoes. We're still trying to decide.

†perhaps "Bizaar" would be a better term here than "Marketplace".

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Bee Movie is a new film by Jerry Seinfeld. Maybe I will get this one, cause I really didn't get the series.

Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), is a bee who has just graduated from college, and is disillusioned with his lone career choice: making honey. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry's life is saved by Vanessa (Renée Zellweger), a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans have been stealing and eating the honey, and subsequently decides to file a class action lawsuit against humans. Soon, Barry's actions raise a hectic war between humans and bees and he's caught right in the middle.

I caught the trailer on the Daily Show the other night and it REALLY got my attention - because its live action.

I shit you not!

Just watch it, its funny.

And keep your eye out for Eddie Izzard as the director - he is fan-tas-TIC.

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The media landscape in Australia has just changed, and to be honest I am not quite sure what it means yet. My gut is that its not going to be good for diversity of voices or the local industry.

One thing I am fairly certain about is that power will be concentrated - the media barons are going to be spending the next year or so carving up the available pot of outlets into ever decreasing bundles of "impartiality".

I know its probably cynical of me, and not at all in keeping with my recent resurgence of pollyannaism, but I really feel like Helen Coonan is a bit of a melon head†. Or she is sleeping with the ghost of Kerry Packer. Or something. I am not entirely sure how anyone could have looked at the changes she has rammed through and thought it was going to result in anything other than a merger frenzy.

So its something else the next generation is going to have to struggle with, but at least we have Canada to compare ourselves to. It appears that given the same pressures, population size and problems, Canada has come up with the EXACT OPPOSITE solution. So we are going to get to see who is right - although not in a time frame that will mean that La Coonan will have to face the (DRM protected) music if she is wrong.

Meanwhile all of this kuffuffle reminds me of an appearance that Jon Stewart, host of the wonderful "Daily Show", made on Crossfire. An appearance that apparently resulted in Crossfire being taken off the air.

Maybe there is hope of reclaiming the media landscape.

Enjoy. 

† No offence to Helen. Her head really doesnt look at all like a Melon.

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The god botherers in the US seem to be tearing themselves apart, and from a distance its actually kind of sad to watch. Up close its probably a little more scary.

After the whole Foley debacle, now comes Rev. Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and arguably one of the State's most influential Christian leaders. 

Lets recap for those of you that have missed it;

Long term anti same-sex marriage advocate, Ted Haggard, has been accused by male prostitute, Mike Jones†, of carrying on a three year sex-for-cash relationship that included the use, or at least purchase, of the drug methanphetamine.

Mr Haggard has fought long and hard to oppose same sex marriage in the United States, both politically and from his Colorado Mega Church pulpit. He has been actively engaged in promoting Amendment 43, a proposal on Colorado's election ballot that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Mr. Haggard, 50, who is married and has five children, has consistently denied the sex accusation, saying in a television interview: "I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife." 

Lets be clear here, as far as Google News and I can find, there is no evidence one way or another in this case. There is no smoking gun, no DNA covered little blue dress, no IM Chat logs. Its just finger pointing.

Ted is just being hoisted on the cross of media fueled innuendo.

In a country where  you are supposedly innocent unproven guilty, the irony is not lost on me that the tables are fast turning on the Christian Right who have, for the last 12  years, taken power by denouncing from their pulpits those they perceive as "immoral".

Not that any of this is new  in the US, this behaviour just keeps turning up - look back to the 50's and you have the McCarthy trials or back to the 1800's for the Salem witch trials. There is no substantive difference - apart from how fast the media can broadcast it all.

So here is the thing for me Ted, can I call you Ted? I am happy for you if you are "steady" with your wife. I hope that you two have a strong, happy marriage. I hope that the two of you go on to have a really wonderful life together into ripe old age and that the current drama you are embroiled in doesn't adversely effect your relationship. I don't think that dabbling with a prostitute, or even using meth* NECESSARILY makes you a bad person, a bad husband or a bad father.

I am not going to judge you for the things you have done, I have not walked in your shoes, I don't know why you may have done any of this - as long as you own them, take responsibility and make amends where necessary. I have no problem with you getting a little back door action from Mr Jones if that was the case.

Where I do have a problem is you getting up and denouncing me and mine. Saying that my life, the loves that I have found, are not of equal value to yours is not your place or your right. Particularly if its a cover for your own guilt as it appears to be.

Time and again it seems the most rabid fag haters turn out to actually be hiding some inclinations of their own; Mr Foley, the onetime chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children and accused peadophile, is a sad case in point; and as you appear to be Ted.

Is it any surprise that Ted's impression of the gay world is that it is furtive, seamy and loveless if all of his experience has been in darkened hotel rooms and with prostitutes.

For those of us who embrace our sexuality, things are a whole lot sunnier. 

If these allegations are true, Mr Haggard has some serious soul searching to do as to WHY he is so publically opposed to gay marriage. If they are not maybe he is going to have an incling of what its like to be persecuted, the way he has been persecuting people.

So Ted, go back to your wife and apologise if thats necessary - or invite her along next time, you never know she might like to join in - but stop with the bible bashing when it comes to gay relationships and gay marriage. 

†Mike Jones is totally hot 

*Don't get me wrong, meth is a highly addictive and dangerous drug

‡Not dissing sex workers here - only that Ted has denounced publicly gay sex, gay relationships, prostitution and drug use while apparently keeping this part of his life in shadows

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 So I get this spam the other day - weird, just weird

Does anyone have ANY idea what this is supposed to mean? 

-----Original Message-----From: Eduardo Tobin [mailto:EduardoTobin@gotompi.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 29 November 2006 1:54 AM
To: robert
Subject: muzzle-loading nipple cactus

upon my word, sir," cried elizabeth, "your hope is a rather extraordinary one after myconvinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly-which perhaps i ought to have

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FRACK ME

Finally I have gotten the mail to doodad working. Its been firing messages off into godknows where for ages. And now it seems to be workiNG.

I was looking at it partially because I am working to get Bill In Exile migrated off Blogger and into his own domain using Wordpress. I know he will want this functionality so I should try and get it working.

I am also trialling a new image authorisation for my comments system. If there are problems with it do email me so I know. the images are a little small, but the audio reader is great.

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