Thought for the day: As to the book called the Bible, it is blasphemy to call it the word of God. It is a book of lies and contradictions, and a history of bad times and bad men. There are but a few good characters in the whole book. Thomas Paine.
As to the mess in the middle east, there are no winners, except the notion of collective guilt, collective punishment and world war ...
Trust the bro, and so it's time yet again for the pond to drag out a red card, and, while at it, another bunch of red cards for this triptych ...
The pond refuses to bring the fight here - there's no choice to be made between rabid Jewish settlers and far right loons of the Netanyahu kind, and Islamic fundamentalists - and only had one genuine, technical question which someone might be able to resolve in the comments section.
The pond kept hearing over the last few days that Israel is now officially at war. Now the pond understands that, in a generic sense, you can be at war on many fronts - Tipper Gore's war on lyrics, the war on drugs, the lizard Oz war on the woke - but the pond always understood official war to be between two states.
Did the two state solution whiz past the pond? Is Palestine now a state in Israel's eyes? The pond had long thought the two state solution was dead, and the question was what would happen to the current approved apartheid policies and gulags as this came to be accepted ... but how is any of it an official state v. state war?
Never mind, anxious to avoid controversy, the pond turned to the comments section ...
Nothing to see there. Good old Shanners already resorting to former Chairman Rudd - what is it with the reptiles and women, why no evocation of Juliar and a call for chaff bags? Must women always be diminished in reptile examples? - and the usual faux controversy about the Voice, with ancient Troy pitted against some Monk fresh from the cloisters ... and lo, behold, there was the lizard Oz, doing a bromancer, and urging on a far wider war ...
It really only left Sims and the matter of free speech, and it was perhaps only a coincidence that Media Watch last night had a segment on a prize loon and people who attempt to do fact checks, incidentally a full time job for anyone looking at News Corp's work, most notably in the matter of climate science ..
That was a response to Sky News suing RMIT FactLab, after Facebook relied on it to brand Peta Credlin’s claims about the Uluru Statement from the Heart as false. With Sky:
… demanding the retraction of false fact-checking verdicts on the TV channel’s online content, and reimbursement for lost revenue. - The Australian, 11 September, 2023
None of these actions yet amounts to a war. But it may develop into one. And the more time the fact checkers are forced to spend fighting such actions, the less time, money and appetite they may have to do their job and battle the tide of falsehoods.
Always petulant Peta and the Sky News mob, so the pond was primed and ready to go ...
Despite the Bromancer being red-carded today, I think we can safely assume that his claim that events in the Middle East are “completely unpredictable” hasn’t prevented him from burning out several thousand words of hysterical speculation. Still, at least it’s a change from the War by Xmas and claiming not to be racist while bagging the Voice.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the latter - what might be the Reptiles’ next crusade after this weekend? Might yesterday’s “startling revelations” on EVs be a sign of them returning to that subject? After all they have a couple of months before the start of the silly season, and it’s certainly beyond them to actually address something fresh. Plus a return to relying on good old climate change denialism might not work too well when we’re already in bushfire season……
"...but how is any of it an official state v. state war?" Well there has been many a 'civil war' in history - the UK and the USA being prime examples. And I guess the Russkis would claim that Ukraine is really a part of Russia and not a state as such. And there have been conflicts between groups that are not 'states' and states - eg the 'wars' between Americans and the 'American Indians'.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess it's just a matter of who gets to make the call rather than any inherent property of conflicts - other than scale, of course. Mostly conflicts have to be somewhat sizable to be called a 'war'.
This 'free speech at any cost' nonsense prompts me to ask when the reptiles and wingnuts are going to campaign to have libel and slander fully legalised. After all, aren't they really just "strongly held yet widely divergent views" that people can have about each other.
ReplyDeleteBut in this case it's just the reptiles and wingnuts wanting to maintain their "right" to lie without ever being called out for it. And simply banning it won't work - the human race has managed mass propagation of "disinformation and misinformation" long before we ever had mass newspapers and mass online 'social media'. And in these days of almost universal (even amongst quite young kids) possession of 'smart phones' it's already too late, 'digital platforms' are all but universal now.
But anyhow, when Rod avers that "...having this bill will help Australians understand better what is disinformation and what is simply divergent views..." much in the same way as having laws against and the right to sue has helped our understanding of libel and slander. But neither has disappeared, they are both still with us, it's just that we have a legal right to seek correction and redress. And that's probably all we'll ever get with respect to mis- and dis- information.
So, Rod: "Doing nothing is to give a free hit to those who would use social media to damage and fracture our society." And that's what they said about libel and slander and it's why they introduced laws and redress processes - and that's worked a treat in ending the behaviour, hasn't it.
Hmmm. Don;t reckon there's anything to be said about today's Mr Ed "contribution" as it's just misinformation and disinformation from start to finish. As one would expect.
ReplyDeleteGB - and others - to continue observations on the Nobel in physiology or medicine recognising mRNA research (and, yes, to continue to serve one up the nut jobs who opinionate for Rupert) - this in 'Crikey' for this day, reproduced here because 'Crikey' encourages its subscribers to pass items around, with suitable acknowledgement.
ReplyDelete'In 1997, immunologist Drew Weissman was photocopying documents at the University of Pennsylvania as his colleague Katalin Karikó waited at the machine. The pair started exchanging small talk, finding common ground about how underfunded RNA research was. Karikó was studying RNA therapy to treat strokes, and Weissman was delving into RNA use in vaccines. So what if we work together, they figured. So the pair started their painstaking journey in the field in the years that followed. It was hard — “We had to fight the entire way,” Weissman said. More than two decades later, in 2020, their fight paid off. The duo’s RNA research became the basis of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which would go on to save millions of lives.'
Makes one wonder, doesn't it, how many tales just like that have sadly remained untold. And just what the "science" of psychology might have to say about such irrational persistence in the face of so much well-meant "professional" opposition.
DeleteSide note -
ReplyDelete66 years ago today Ayn Rand published Atlas Shrugged.
“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life:
The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often
engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an
emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
The other, of course, involves orcs.”
–JOHN RODGERS
A mere 66 years ago ? When I was just barely a teenager. I did read a few Rand books of which Atlas Shrugged was one; and The Fountainhead (and saw the movies much later on tv) and Anthem, and the only one of hers actually worth reading, her first: We The Living. She has a very big Wikipedia entry so there's still some fans around.
DeleteBut like all teenage aberrations, they pass, never to be resuscitated.
Jersey Mike - thank you for that reminder. I was pretty much unaware of what 'Ayn Rand' was writing about, until, as a kid from the country, I went down to the big city university, hoping to discover the meaning of life. Mixing with many new acquaintances, some did enthuse over 'Atlas Shrugged' so much that I tried, I really tried, to read it. Neither the plot, nor the style, held my attention, and I did not finish it (a couple of times!).
DeleteIn retirement, I thought I would try 'The Fountainhead'. Managed to finish it, but that did not set off enthusiasm to try any of her other works.
For all that, I find much of the detail of her own life, and followers, more interesting than the books she produced.
The books that absolutely impressed me from high school time were 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. I still read '1984' every couple of years, and still find new ways of understanding life in it. Also interesting, because I now think of Eric Blair as having been so young when he died.
If you found the details of her life at all interesting, Chad, then why didn't you read We The Living of which Rand herself says "the closest she would ever come to writing an autobiography".
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_the_Living
So, Animal Farm and 1984, but not Fahrenheit 451 ?
Hi GB and Chadwick,
DeleteI tried reading Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead but gave up, life is too
short and there are far too many good reads I have yet to get to.
Chad, as for Animal Farm, I used to pack a paperback copy of both that
and A Moveable Feast in my suitcase whenever I traveled.
I might not have even turned a page but it felt good to know they were
there. Although Hemingway deserved a kick in the nads for his
portrayal in one chapter of Gertrude Stein and Alice B.Toklas's intimate
billing and cooing. It was unworthy, especially as Stein had done so
much to help him during his Paris years.
“To quote the only line of Gertrude Stein’s which I have ever been able to understand,
Delete‘It is wonderful how I am not interested.’” –Dorothy Parker on Gertrude Stein
(from her 1919 review of the play Tillie)
King Vidor turned The Fountainhead into a pile of stodge too JM, not helped by having Gary Cooper miscast in the lead role, but thanks for the Stein quote ... irresistible ...
DeleteSales of Rand's novel increased following release. She wrote, "The picture is more faithful to the novel than any other adaptation of a novel that Hollywood has ever produced" and "It was a real triumph."[ Rand conceded to friend DeWitt Emery that "I can see your point in feeling that Gary Cooper's performance should have been stronger", but concluded, "I would rather see the part underplayed than overdone by some phony-looking ham." In later years, she would state that she "... disliked the movie from beginning to end" and complained about the film's editing, acting and other elements.
Yeah, and she hated welfare until she went on it ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead_(film)#Rand's_response
Oh well, we've gotten 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 into the thread now, so all we need is Brave New World and The Machine Stops to complete the 'famous' great four 'future novels' of mid 1900s science fiction. Any takers ?
DeleteJersey Mike - much of the attraction of this site is that we don't fixate on the trivial trash that falls out of Limited News, but can swap observations on some of the great books. Always thanks to our lady host for indulging us.
DeleteAnonymous - apart from the delightful humour of the John Rodgers review that Jersey Mike gave us, I did pick up on books that influenced my teenaged thinking. I only found out about 'The Machine Stops' in my undergrad days, marvelled at how prescient E M Forster had been, but have really only appreciated how prescient of recent years, when we can fear a future that resembles the planet of which he wrote. No question it was also superbly written. I keep it on 'Kindle' now.
The one bit of The Machine Stops that appealed to me was the bit with the 'mature' lady flying over the Himalayas, looking out of the porthole at them, and declaring "no, no inspiration there". At the time I thought that was a bit off, but then many years later I came to agree with her: what is the least bit 'inspirational' about a big lump of stone being slowly thrust out of the crust ?
DeleteNow the utterly huge sum total of mathematics; that is truly inspirational.
Isn’t Tuesday normally Groaning Day? The Dame doesn’t appear to have submitted her usual sparkling contribution this week. So much for her brief boost in productivity. First the Caterist went MIA yesterday, today the Groaner’s little black cloud is nowhere to seen - surely they’re not already slacking off for the year?
ReplyDeleteThe Dame has been groaning steadily on Sky News, and on the bizarre 'ADH tv'. For the latter, she is doing what is usually called 'broadcasting' to numbers of viewers as low as 2 or 3 digit numbers. Those efforts can be mildly amusing, because she seems remarkably inept at setting up her home studio, so some of the lighting is from a 1930s horror movie. I don't watch for long, because her 'You know' quotient is close to 50% (that is, one 'You know' per sentence, average) and that particularly irritates me in any speaker. It is a sign that the speaker has not mentally composed what they are likely to say - hence the need for constant filler phrases while they grasp for more to say - and it has part of my brain saying to the screen 'if I knew - I wouldn't be watching you to find out!'
DeleteSheesh, Chadders you sometimes go too far, but the pond appreciates that you go there so that the pond never has to ...
DeleteAll we need to know of Ayn.
ReplyDelete1) no conservative or capitalist came to her rescue. Even on her deathbed.
2) welfare queen.
Ayn Rand
"... In 1976, she retired from her newsletter and, after her initial objections, allowed a social worker employed by her attorney to enroll her in Social Security and Medicare."
Wikipedia
End of.
Atlas just Shrugged.
At Ayn.
I think my earliest awareness of Ayn Rand came from then-PM (or possibly still Opposition Leader) Malcolm Fraser cited her as his favourite writer.
ReplyDeleteThat was enough - I’ve never read a word by her. I tried to watch the film of “The Fountainhead” but gave up part-way through - it was extremely turgid.
:)³ See above for her abilities as a film reviewer, and thanks for reminding the pond of why it once held the head prefect in contempt ...
Delete