Rann gets results he wants in SA election

At yesterday's election Mr Rann and his party achieved probably even better results than they'd hoped for. For the latest figures see here. In my seat of Norwood for example the Labor sitting member converted a narrow margin into a comfortable majority. Congratulations to them.

Some observations

- The ALP's troubles at federal level seem to have had no discernable impact on its vote in SA (and Tasmania for that matter).

- The Legislative Council results showed massive support for Nick Xenophon and his No Pokies team. They attracted 21.5% of first preference votes (160k+) and have to date gained 2.58 quotas. Compare this to ALP 36.6% of the vote (4.39 quotas), Lib 25.5% (3.06), Dems 1.7% (0.21), Family First 4.9% (0.59) and Greens 4.1% (0.41) .

Voters have passed the "keep the b***s honest"/ people's tribune baton to Mr X. It will be interesting to see whether he and whoever else ends up being elected on his ticket will be able to develop some consistent and coherent policies . Already there is some uncertainty about whether he now is a party or "third force".

- Family First didn't do quite as well as they must have hoped even though their performance was not discreditable. They may still win an upper house seat.

- The Democrats now look like a spent force. On Insiders this morning there was speculation that Natasha Stott Despoja would run as an Independent when her Senate term comes up.

Media support Mr Rann or expect him to win

On the eve of the state election the local media all recommend to their audiences that Mr Rann (and his government, in case you've only seen material promoting him) should be re-elected.
The Advertiser heads its editorial "Return Labor then put them to the test", but does qualify its endorsement somewhat

THE State Government should be approaching tomorrow's election on the crest of a wave, carrying South Australia with it. This is not the case. A government which has performed consistently well in its four years of power has lost electoral momentum suddenly.

This will not deny Premier Mike Rann and his team a deserved second term. Nor should it deny Labor government in its own right.

It does raise pertinent questions. Have we seen the best of this administration and is it potentially a government in decline?

Time will tell.

The Australian (second editorial) begins by recycling his publicity: " Mike Rann's the man. Labor has earned a second term in South Australia."

In the last paragraph it takes a step back and makes some pertinent comments:

Inevitably, Mr Rann's regime has not been error-free. The health system is in trouble, demonstrated by the Premier's campaign commitment of an extra $400 million for hospitals. Some of his colleagues, notably Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, have made an art of unforced errors, especially in the way he handled an internal ALP dispute that came to involve the Government. And some members of Mr Rann's staff respond by attacking anybody who dares ask difficult questions [emphasis added]. These are all signs that too large a majority could encourage arrogance and inertia in a second-term Rann government. But on the form he has displayed in office, it is impossible to deny Mr Rann another go. Mr Kerin's half-hearted performance as Opposition Leader, and his inability to offer an alternative vision for the state, make Mr Rann the man to lead South Australia for the next four years.

Elsewhere the Tasmanian election seems to have captured more attention but there are interesting comments from Graham Young, who's been doing some research, on Ambit Gambit, while ABC News links to Antony Green's info. Other bloggers have varying opinions: one will vote for Mr Rann because of his haircut or the sexiness of his partner (you guess which), another boldly states (or states in bold) the Premier will win, while another shares my concern about his apparent double standard on environmental matters. The Independent Weekly daily email has a brief summary of some last minute stories while, to its discredit, Crikey has nothing on its public website about SA today , choosing to give the Tassie election a higher priority, though in the subscriber section Christian Kerr has some thoughtful comments, including one about the Premier's vanity.

Suzuki cranks up Labor's environment credentials

In the letterbox this morning were several, mostly Labor, letters and leaflets, including a very glossy one featuring David Suzuki (including a photo with his right arm draped around the member for Norwood Vini Ciccarello and his left hand holding a weighty Bob Ellis tome and some other papers) . The leaflet reprinted an Advertiser article from earlier this week.

Here is an extract:

My good friend, Premier Mike Rann, has shown particular vision on this issue. Echoing the world's top scientists, your Premier calls climate change a greater threat than terrorism. He understands the urgent need for a massive switch from polluting coal power to clean, renewable energy. And he's followed through with concrete action: your state now leads Australia in solar and wind power, and looks set to meet Mr Rann's clean energy target – 15 per cent by 2014 – about seven years early. And just last week, Mr Rann announced he intended to introduce legislation to back up his 60 per cent greenhouse cut target.

Good for Mike. I hope he lives for another hundred years, but even he won't be around to get the credit or blame for meeting or missing the goal. We need to have concrete targets that keep us on that road to 60 per cent. That's why environmental groups are demanding a legislated 25 per cent clean energy target by 2020, so the clean energy revolution is not held hostage to political whims.

I wonder how much Dr Suzuki's trip from Canada cost (including whether he flew business class), who paid for it, whether he was able to offset these expenses with other paid engagements.

The Premier spins once more before the election

On this morning's Radio National Breakfast Mr Rann attempted, as you'd expect from a man of his talents, to put the best spin possible on his election campaign. Fran Kelly tried hard to get a few straight answers but even she was baffled by time constraints and the Premier's ability to to deflect her questions and dispense his version of the truth.

Some points I noted

#When asked about his personal attacks on the opposition his justification was that they had done this to him in the two previous election campaigns. A modern version of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"?

#When asked whether his 30+ year career as a professional politician or political staffer was too narrow he replied that the Leader of the Opposition was in the same situation. This seems to be a significant bending of the truth: according to his website Mr Kerin has only been an MP for 12 years. Mr Rann's website tells us that he has been an MP since 1985.

#Answering the question about his career in politics he called the Leader of the Opposition "Bob" Kerin. How would he feel if someone called him "Mick" Rann? As today is St Patrick's Day perhaps he wouldn't mind because it might even win him a few votes, but any other time?

#He dodged a question about whether he would support the view of some sections of the ALP that the leader should be able to select his ministers rather than having them elected by Caucus.

I'm concerned that the personal abuse attack strategy which has been one of the cornerstones of the Rann/ ALP campaign strategy in this election will be carried over into post election political life and become increasingly legitimised. If, as seems likely, Mr Rann is re-elected and his party has a clear majority he will have fewer restraints on his use and potential abuse of power. His powers of patronage will be further expanded yet, as several commentators have mentioned about the current ALP, the pool of talent available to draw upon will be reduced. Is this how modern democracy functions?

Since when has Henley been part of Norwood?

Today's Advertiser reports"Liberals crunching back in key seats". The key seats are Hartley, where the Liberal sitting member has successfully defended a wafer thin margin for several elections by cultivating his constituents, and Norwood, where the incumbent Vini Ciccarello has responded by putting out an eleventh hour glossy leaflet enumerating all the "results" she "has delivered in Norwood as your voice in the Rann Government".

The leaflet lists 39 "results" and some additional "beneficiaries". Some of the beneficiaries, such as the Henley Water Polo Club ($2,500), are on the other side of town, while others such as the Eastside Business Enterprise Centre (a small business advisory group which has received $150,000 and is managed by Gullycorp, an affiliate of Tea Tree Gully Council) have a much lower profile in the electorate since their management and funding have been transferred elsewhere.

Ms Ciccarello in her rush to print seems to have misspelt Labor icon Don Dunstan's name: the map in her brochure lists no 30 as "Dunston Grove". Presumably this refers to the Dunstan Adventure Playground listed in the council's website. Perhaps none of the $15,000 she claims to have delivered there was allocated to checking the spelling on the signage.

She also claims to have delivered $510,440 to the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters Council . If this is correct I wonder why my rates have increased so much this year.

Bad hair day for Greens despite preloaded graffiti

The Greens, always on the lookout for innovative strategies to reduce waste and laughter, have come up with an election poster with what looks like preloaded graffiti.

Here's their number 1 candidate for the Legislative Council. Sporting a beard, wearing glasses and staring at the camera with that fixed smile seem to eliminate just about every opportunity for embellishment, right?




Wrong.

No advertising on ABC, says PM

The Prime Minister appears to have scotched the possibility of advertising on the ABC, even though Senator Coonan in an interview with the Bulletin didn't rule it out.

If the PM is right Paul Daley's article is already out of date, but is worth a read, as is the summary of the current situation regarding the ABC Board.

In last Thursday's Australian Media section David Salter and Mark Day also floated some views about the ABC, its board and how it might tap further into alternative sources of revenue. I don't agree with Day's suggestion of charging for program downloads, but will try to keep an open mind on other suggestions. The pace of technological change in media is now so rapid that today's no may be tomorrow's maybe or yes.

Not surprisingly, as reported in various ways by various sources including The Australian and The Guardian, Mr Murdoch has made some observations and predictions of his own.

I'll have more to say about these issues.

Our very own heart of darkness or the Premier's reading challenge?

This week's Bulletin runs an Adam Shand report hard on the heels of his Sunday TV piece about bikies and their SA connections. He's shone his torch into yet another dark side of Adelaide:
"the City of Churches but it’s also the city of brothels and kinky sex murderers, occultists, child molesters and psychopaths."

On this occasion he hasn't quoted any political figures apart from Ms Summers, who is a candidate for the Legislative Council at Saturday's election, which makes me wonder whether there is a cosy unstated agreement between the major parties to keep the topic under wraps. You might expect Family First to have something to say about it, but I've not found anything from them either.

Monday was Adelaide Cup day, so Mr Rann's party political broadcast delivered on TV in Sam Kekowich style (complete with po face and machine gun delivery) , was most appropriate. At the end of a long list of achievements and promises he mentioned the Premier's Reading Challenge one of his (and several other state premiers') worthiest projects. The website suggests that it's only available to school students, but perhaps Adam Shand has assumed that anyone can enter, as he gave one of his sources ("a huge hirsute man mountain") a copy of Heart of Darkness, with an explanatory aside to his readers "Stormy’s is a place further up the river than Mr Kurtz could ever have imagined". Perhaps Shand attended last week's Writers' Week and assumed that most South Australians spend their time with their noses in books. If some of the things he's hinted at are true, maybe that's a good way to be.

AAA for credit rating, E for history?

The SA Libs have copped a bit of a beating in the media lately, sometimes over relatively trivial matters. Crikey (not online) has taken them to task for not being able to spell (or spellcheck) words such as "Labor" (not "Labour") .

Talking about casting the first stone....One of Labor's blue eyed boys Deputy Premier, Treasurer and architect of the restoration of the states's AAA credit rating Kevin Foley has slipped up on his website . Most South Australians except him and his staff would know that the site of Port Adelaide was not chosen by " Captain Light" : it was Colonel Light, as in the well-known Adelaide suburb Colonel Light Gardens. If Mr Foley can be so loose with his historical facts how can we believe him when he tells us about all the manna from heaven which has descended on the state during his stewardship?

Commonwealth Games fudging

The 7.30 Report tonight reported on a few isues about the Games, including allegations of cover ups about doping, where a spokesperson for the Australian Anti-Doping Authority fudged the issue with a chllling example of doublespeak:

"I'm not avoiding the question, but I'm not going to speculate on the answer."

With all this information available to him why can't he move things on?

Well done South Africa, and Poms struggle against India so blame Aussies

Congratulations South Africa!

Well done South Africa for revising the laws of probability , not to mention my expectations, and chasing down the record Australian total. I wrote the South Africans' chances off after I saw on the Internet that they'd lost an early wicket, so went to bed. As ABC Radio wasn't broadcasting the game (why not?) I didn't hear more until I heard Warwick Hadfield's characteristically pithy report on RN Breakfast. After that I didn't need a coffee to wake me up. It must have been a very good game: perhaps someone willone day produce a DVD for those like me who know that to subscribe to Foxtel will glue them to the couch and condemn them to a life of intellectual torpor.

Another thought: how will this game effect the Duckworth-Lewis method? Statisticians awake, the cricket world awaits your findings.

Whingeing Poms redux?

The London Daily Telegraph blames Australian umpires Hair and Taufel for England's sub-standard performance in the Second Test against India Their alleged fault(s): failing to refer close decisions to the TV umpire. In one instance, according to Derek Pringle, the Telegraph's man on the spot (or the couch?) " a combination of snickometer and super slow replay would have sent Pathan on his way". The Australian players may have an occasional disposition to abrasiveness but it's hardly fair to criticise our umpires. Mr Taufel has a good reputation in these parts (a New South Welshman, he stood in a recent SA - NSW limited overs game which I watched on TV and he struck me as being a model of impartiality, even though SA lost narrowly). As for Mr Hair, surely he's done his penance for no balling Murali Murilatharan sometime last century.

Who are Mr Pringle's ideal opponents? To him the Indian captain Rahul Dravid, is "a gentleman cricketer with a steely core". Gentleman and Captain of India? The concept and the office are incompatible , as anyone (except perhaps Mr Pringle) who knows anything about India and its cricket would confirm. If you'd like to find out more, start with Boria Majumdar's 2004 book Twenty Two Yards to Freedom: a Social History of Indian Cricket. "Steely core" is much more to the point: apart from being a standalone description of Dravid's talent it rhymes with both "a million crore" (rupees) and "Steve Waugh", two important influences on his life and cricket.

That said Rahul Dravid is indisputably a great cricketer. Not quite in the Ponting or Gilchrist class, but would probably get a place in a best World XI with them. I remember his innings in Adelaide in 2003 where he reached his century with a six which looked for a moment (as my heart sank) as if it would be caught, but fortunately for the match and the series, wasn't .

Bikie gangs

Today Sunday ran a story about bikie gangs. A transcript is available. Much of it has a South Australian flavour.

While the program was to my mind relatively even handed, perhaps even pro bikie, parts of the footage showed a gang refusing to stop at a police roadblock. I wonder what would happen to most of us if we tried that ?

One of the issues raised by the program was the lack of criminal convictions obtained by police against bikie gang members. I'll therefore be interested to see the consequences of the six arrests and 11 reports in the five day "Operation Cornerstone" as reported in today's Sunday Mail (p25 not online).

EM forbids long lens cameras while TM says "What better place for Womad?"

"Settlement here was based on people coming so they could freely practice their religion and other political views. What better place for Womad?" says our Tourism Minister Jane
Lomax-Smith in yesterday's Advertiser (p9, but not online)
What if my political views include a belief that I should be able to use a camera to photograph signs such as the one above? Anyway, what is a "long lens camera"? Where is it defined or is it just a loose concept left to the discretion of the "Event Manager" or his/her minions at the gates? Is the EM the new BB now that the Big Brother concept has been trivialised by reality TV?

The sign above (which, in the absence of further and better particulars, I may have breached the EM's rules by photographing) is balderdash since some of the listed items are not forbidden. Alcohol is definitely allowed for paying customers who don't mind drinking out of plastic cups (and I can confirm that the beer and cider are cold) , and glass containers are available for those who are prepared to pay a $10 deposit for a bottle of entry level Fox Creek (to be drunk only from plastic glasses unless you're in the VIP zone, which seems to be modelled on a bikie fortress).

Who is the "Event Manager"? According to the official website the event is

Produced and presented by the WOMADelaide Foundation and managed by Arts Projects Australia and WOMAD Ltd. Presented in association with the Government of South Australia.

Is this doublespeak the price we have to pay to stand in the sun and watch some good musicians (with the VIPs seated under cover at the side of the stage?) ? Does it also enable the EM to wash its hands of any dissent? Would, as a post an a previous posting asked, all the performers agree to appear if their names were to be associated with such restraints ? Are the bannings on long lens cameras etc merely kite flying for Mr Rann to come back and say "well we've had the power for years, nobody has objected, so I'm surprised that there's concern now that, in the interests of public safety, we've decided to enforce it".

I'm not alone in my concern about VIPs. In his column in today's Sunday Mail (not online) Peter Goers ("The People's Voice") really got stuck into the "Festival Freeloaders", as he calls them:

"The chattering class gathered to freeload on the concourse in front of the Convention Centre above the seductive Persian Gardens which pulsated with Arabic wails, brightly lit pagodas and oversstuffed poufs

Here were all the enamalled drunks, fat captains of industry charging the bar like Billy Bunter looking for sticky buns, sybaritic socialists, obese oligarchs and their frizzled face-lifted wives in designer Boho clothers their daughters would laugh at, bombastic bureaucrats and public service poohbahs and the bimbos and himbos.

There were long lizard stares, weak smiles, air kisses and wan greetings. These people know how to put the "hell" into hello. It was a freak show of high society."

I wasn't as up close to the Womad freeloaders as he was to the Festival ones so I can't be as personal, so will pass no further comment.

Womadelaide opening marred by bumbling ineptitude

Botanic Park 5.40pm tonight. A long, slow moving queue which I apparently need to join, even though I've got a prepaid ticket. Such are the regulations.

Another SCWH (Second Class Wait Here) event. It doesn't have to be like this. The people on the left (of the photo) must have had media or VIP marquee passes which give them fasttrack entry.

To get in most people needed to

1. Buy a ticket, either (a) in person at the gate on the day, (b) over the internet or (c) from an external ticket seller (VenueTix or Australia Post).

2. If you chose option (a) you didn't have to wait in a long queue and could jump to step 5.

3. If you chose options (b) or (c) you had to join the queue on the right of the photo and wait (I estimate that the people in the photo would have had to wait up to an hour to complete all steps). I gave up and came back after 7pm when it took only (!) half an hour.

4. At the head of the queue you produced your receipt and "event key" (a kind of smart card - why is this necessary?) and waited for this to be scanned into a computer and generate a barcoded wristband. People who'd booked over the internet had to wait for an event key to be manufactured, then scanned to produce their wristband. In my case the salesperson disappeared for about 5 minutes before returning with the wristband.

5. Join another (thankfully shorter) queue for a bag search (many things are forbidden including glass, alcohol and "long lenses")

6. Have your wristband validated by a scanner. You could then enter the venue.

Womadelaide is a longstanding and successful "community event" (as the signs on Hackney Rd state). The average age of the audience might have increased over time but people still appear to be extremely tolerant of organisational shortcomings such as queuing delays, poor facilities (eg insufficient toilets to cater for the ageing audience), limited shade, and nannystate rules for the paying customers (eg no "long lenses" or glass bottles unless you pay for the latter over the top + $10 deposit), and wristbands "void if removed". The only disputes which cause a ripple of discontent are those over where to draw the line between the seated and the standing to see the performances. These are invariably resolved by a pragmatic consensus along the lines of I want to sit and hear: you want to stand, see and hear; but we both want to hear (so sit down, or stand up, and shut up). Police or security never need to intervene. I reckon it would have to be one of the cushiest police postings available (and is paid overtime too).

All the administrative bumbling has further dented SA's reputation. Many of the people queueing with me were interstate or overseas visitors who had bought their tickets over the internet. They must think that Adelaide is a real hick town if we can't make access easier than this (or perhaps the English among them think this is a practice run for making it difficult for their cricket supporters for the test match later this year). The staff on duty tonight were superficially civil but most of those I came in contact with had no idea of what they were supposed to do. Who trained them? Their task was made far more difficult by the need to generate wristbands and sometimes event keys on the spot, which added to the delays.

I did go to the information booth and put my issues in writing (in an exercise book) , together with my name and contact details . I won't expect a response but I'd like to know if others have had similar experiences at Womadelaide or other events. I believe that too many people have been too passive for too long about being treated like cattle at events and processing points such as airports. There may be a last be a little more hope for the second class citizens who stoically stand and wait: the issue now being picked up by pro-democracy groups such as Open Democracy : see this for an example.

But will anyone be held accountable and, more important, will changes be made to give those who wait a fairer go?

Robert Fisk at Writers Week

This week I've been very fortunate to hear two different but complementary presentations by Robert Fisk at Writers Week.

On Wednesday the fire in his belly was evident as he spoke of his experiences spanning almost 30 years as a journalist covering the Middle East. On Thursday his tone was more reflective as he read from his book The Great War for Civilisation, beginning with a piece about his father from chapter 9. What seems at first to be an island of personal reflection in an ocean of political analysis soon brings the two together into one theme: the roots of the current Middle East troubles extend back to the "great war for civilisation", aka World War 1. The spine of the bulky (see photo) and sometimes labyrinthine book depicts those words on the back of one of his father's medals.

I was most taken by RF's "equation" ,as he described it in one of his presentations, about the US presence in Iraq. It's mathematically incorrect but has a kind of doublespeak logic to it:

- The US should not have gone into Iraq

- The US must get out

- The US can't get out.

The questions for the Thursday presentation were generally much more focused than those for the Wednesday one. The Thursday presenter, Roy Eccleston of The Australian, set the ball rolling by asking whether RF ever had nightmares about some of the gruesome scenes he'd witnessed (the answer was only once). Other questions asked whether RF thought he'd been in the job too long to retain a reasonably balanced albeit pro-Palestinian perspective (he didn't), and whether his pessismistic vision allowed any scope for hope that things might somehow become less bloody (only subject to some unlikely but not impossible conditions being met).

Update Friday 10 March

Today's Canberra Times reports on a public lecture RF delivered last night on the topic "9/11: ask who did it but for heaven's sake don't ask why".

Varanasi bombings

I was shocked to hear about the Varanasi bombings, not only for the loss of life, but also because last year I entered and left the city via the station where one of the bombs exploded. Until now my principal recollection was of cows wandering around even more freely than elsewhere in India, including up and down the steps which descend from the overpass to the island platforms.

The BBC's website has a report (with photos) of the devastation at the station. I hope that, given Indian resilience, and assuming heightened security arrangements, it will be a long time before anyone else will be able to take a photo of the deserted waiting room.

If the Brits can say it why can't our government?

Today the London Independent reports that Kim Howells, the minister in charge of British middle east policy, has called for the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be closed:

"Our alliance with America is based on shared values. If those shared values are seen by the rest of the world to be terribly flawed that actually undermines the cause of democracy. If Guantanamo is undermining those shared values then it should go, it should close."

This view is not confined to the Labour Party. William Hague, the shadow Foreign Secretary, says much the same thing:

"Reports of prisoner abuse by British and American troops - however isolated - and accounts, accurate or not, of the mistreatment of detainees at Guantanamo and extraordinary rendition flights leading to the torture of suspects, have led to a critical erosion in our moral authority. In standing up for the rule of law, we must be careful not to employ methods that undermine it."

If a British Conservative believes this can we expect to see Mr Howard or Mr Downer reviewing their positions?

I'm not expecting anything, but will keep an eye on the local media to see whether and how it reports the story.

The ABC has reported

Speaking on a visit to Britain, US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales insists the camp is consistent with the Geneva Convention, but he questions the relevance of the Convention in today's world.

"I think it's always appropriate to look to see whether or not in this new kind of war against ... this new kind of enemy, are the conventions, are all the provisions of the conventions [relevant]," he said.

Oscars

The Oscar results are posted all over the web but try the old faithful IMDb for a full list.

I didn't think that Crash was Oscar material, as the plot with so many characters was hard to follow (maybe I shouldn't have missed the first few minutes). Nevertheless I congratulate all those involved in its production for a magnificent team effort: a large team at that. Philip Seymour Hoffman was outstanding as Capote as was Reese Witerspoon in Walk The Line (Joaquin Phoenix was also v good). Paul Giametti (Cinderella Man) and Catherine Keener (Capote) were unlucky to miss out on best supporting actor/actress awards but their turns may yet come.

US cricket pitch in Pakistan

I may need to revise my previous opinion after seeing the TV footage and photos of President Bush batting and bowling in Pakistan. The BBC and the Washington Post online edition have some photos of the President in the nets, while the latter offers a brief explanation for US readers:

"In the afternoon, Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, took a swing at cricket, hitting a few balls and bowling -- akin to pitching -- with about two dozen children. He presented them with autographed baseballs."

A cricket pitch in a US Embassy and a President giving autographed baseballs as gifts? What are we to make of these? A none too subtle attempt to win hearts and minds or, shock horror, the beginnings of a promotion of a baseball-cricket hybrid (a further development of 20/20 "cricket")? We cricket purists will need to watch this carefully. Will Mr Howard support us or will he continue to follow in the President's footsteps whereever he walks ?

Update 7 March

The blog A Yobbo's View has three photos comparing the bowling actions of Messrs Howard, Bush and Murilitharan. Comments posted so far have focused on the legality or otherwise of the actions; I'm also interested in the immediate consequences. The PM's delivery, the video of which was repeated on Offsiders on ABC TV last Sunday, landed near his feet, whereas the President's was short but did hit the pitch.

Further update (with link to video) 11 March

To check out the video of Mr Howard's delivery see here. In fairness to him (I am not a Howard hater, only a critic of many of his policies and his bowling style) remember that this was taken a year or so ago. On this week's visit to India, according to some coy references buried in media reports, he wisely refused to chance his arm again.

Jordanhill Railway Station

Why a post about a 118 year old Scottish railway station? Because it's the one millionth English language article posted on Wikipedia . A considerable achievement by any standard. Even in these times it's hard to believe that so much data, information, knowledge and even wisdom has been put on line and into the public domain.

John Quiggin , who at last year's Adelaide Festival of Ideas presented a session at which he composed a Wikipedia entry for the event anticipated the million article milestone with a blog posting.

Loose canon

I've just come across an Andrew Bolt rant from last week in which he, in the process of firing a few shots in the direction of a few well known (but maybe not to his readers) cultural figures, reveals his own canon (or selection thereof).

"Love the higher arts though I do – murmur sweet things to me of Dickens, Conrad, Parmuk, Borges and van Gogh". What a group; but just a moment, who is "Parmuk"? Surely not the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. If this is the person about whom Mr Bolt invites us to murmur sweet things to him I'd like to know which of his novels he's read, and why he rates him so highly. I've just finished reading Snow. It's a bleak and challenging work, with few "sweet things" which lingered in my mind. This is not to condemn it, quite the contrary, but I wonder whether Mr Bolt admires, as I do, the man for speaking out about the hypocrisies of his native land or whether he genuinely discerns any "higher art" in his work.

On the same wavelength as our outback brethren

In today's Australian Ashleigh Wilson (or should it be Wison - as the online edition spells it?) contributes a Wry Side piece which will resonate with anyone who's ever undertaken a long drive in the outback (or even between the south-eastern capitals). I can't challenge his stats of percentages of drivers who wave and how they do it though I was surprised that so many truck drivers responded to his waves. Last year when I drove down the Stuart Highway my priorities when approaching trucks were to make sure I avoided them and to slow down to avoid being buffeted too vigorously by their slipstream (? is that the right word?). Cars, even those travelling rapidly, generally don't have the same buffeting potential.

How much to we pay MPs (to speak to them)?

In yesterday's Advertiser Rex Jory has a good piece "Milking the lunch circuit for party funds". The title sums up the issue and his views well.

Green light for Tim Flannery; and another endangered species identified

Prof Flannery has been under the (parish) pump lately for speaking his mind in a TV commercial about the perils of global warming. Today's Advertiser has a brief report (not online) saying that the allegedly offensive commercial has now been approved for screening.

Now that one battle has been won the next one looms: the Sunday Times reports that an impressive coalition of (the willing?) researchers have identified another endangered species. The head honcho Prof Manning is described as "a specialist in evolutionary psychology at the University of Central Lancashire": how long does it take for university staff to produce enough inbred progeny to sustain a chair?

Decide for yourself.

President spins as pitch crumbles

The Pakistan Daily Times reports that President Bush, when asked in an interview with Indian journalists how he would choose between a cricket match and a Bollywood movie, replied "I'm a cricket match person...I appreciate it. As I understand it, I may have a little chance [presumably on his forthcoming visit to the sub-continent] to learn something about cricket. It's a great pass-time."

It's odd that Mr Howard, our self-confessed cricket tragic, doesn't seem to have mentioned, let alone encouraged, the President's interest.

Update 1 March: The London Daily Telegraph reveals more about the President's reported preference for cricket. He apparently knows what cricket is but isn't aware of what Bollywood movies are.

Big day on Parade

Photos of Parade food,wine and music festival.




Clockwise from top left

1. Visible police presence #1: Mounted police (horses and cycles) patrol the side streets.

2. Keeping up appearances: Bob Ellis (is he writing speeches for someone?) in coat, tie and VIP marquee.

3. VIP marquee: council CEO Mario Barone in black shirt : elected councillor (on right of picture) waits patiently to speak to him.

4. Visible police presence #2 Voluntary breath testing (advisory only). Does this mean that the real breath testers are advisory only?

Zimbabwe win again (or at last) but against....?

Zimbabwe have defeated Kenya . So what? It was hardly a crushing defeat and looks from the scorecard as if they struggled to get there.

It's also worth noting how many of the Zimbabwean cricketers seem to be of European descent: even the new, hastily appointed captain Duffin (who did vindicate his selection by making some runs in his first one day international).

Gentlemen callers

The one day interstate cricket final was played today in Adelaide and it turned out to be as good an advertisement as you could wish for for 50 overs a side cricket. NSW crept over the line to win by one wicket, after it looked as if SA had surrendered to some tight NSW bowling but had got back into the game thanks to Shaun Tait. For the full score see here.

It was also the last match of the season televised by Channel 9, so it gives me a reason (not that I really needed one) to give my opinions on some of the TV and radio cricket commentary this season.

Channel 9 TV: comments on the best three

# Mark Nicholas

Gradually easing into the role of Channel 9 front man, and rightly so. He is extremely polished in his presentation and, as I noticed during both test and one day internationals when I was present at the ground, is able to run an al fresco (ie with music and ads blaring in the foreground) discussion with three or four of his colleagues and to keep them focused. Appearance isn't everything, but he could do with a new hairstyle (or hairdresser) so that the gentlest zephyr doesn't ruffle his hair and distract his audience from what he is saying.


# Richie Benaud

Remains a very perceptive commentator who is able to read a game well and communicate his reading succinctly. Gradually becoming commentator emeritus, though I'd like to see him around for a while yet.

# Simon O'Donnell

Wasted on the lunch show during the tests; constructively forthright when he gets a chance to comment on matches being played. Today he gave two examples of this:

(1) Criticised Brad Haddin (NSW Captain) for ostentatiously spitting the dummy when a player dropped a difficult outfield catch. Anyone who has played cricket at any level knows that if a catch is dropped you shouldn't abuse them but say "don't worry, catch the next one" to the erring fielder.

(2) Stated that Jason Gillespie has lost a metre of pace even though he's still bowling quite well.

The others are all in their way competent, as you'd expect from people who've been doing the job for many summers.

ABC Radio

Jim Maxwell and Glenn Mitchell are sound but not flashy and are supported by generally good comments from Peter Roebuck and, in his folksy way, Geoff Lawson. Kerry O'Keefe is sui generis though some of the other "experts" tend to see the game through spectacles of their own tinting eg Damien Fleming is apt to recall his test hat trick every time a wicket falls. Peter Walsh is able to call and comment on several sports knowledgeably and is invariably enthusiastic and his dress flamboyant, as the photo of him above dashing onto the field at the end of the first one day final shows.

He, Maxwell and Mitchell are quintessential ABC people, and there's not the slightest hint of left wing bias about them (unless they are calling one of the football codes and the play moves in that direction). Even Piers Akerman last week described Jim Maxwell as "sagacious".




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A demonstration in support of free speech or a reminder that some things don't change as rapidly as we might wish?

Yesterday's Guardian and today's Observer report on a march of unionists (of the Ulster variety) in Dublin which apparently didn't meet with the approval of all the local citizenry.

Read my lips

Jack Schafer in Slate has produced a "slide-show essay" on US TV newscasters , or the "Aryan sisterhood" as he calls them (somewhat inaccurately, as he does discuss "male outliers"). Worth a look and a read of his snappy text.


Update 27 February

Today The Independent publishes a piece by Arifa Akbar which may shed a little more light on the above.

Second class wait here

What have airport queues got to do with democracy and citizenship? Everything, says Mary Dejevsky in an Open Democracy piece.

A moment of happiness captured

Original post 24 January

Today's Australian has a magnificent photo which captures a moment of happiness shared by some Aboriginal children in a pool at Jigalong in Western Australia with Shane Gould and Fiona Stanley. It would be nice to think that such scenes could be replicated, or might in the near future be replicated, elsewhere in Australia

Update 25 January:

When I went to check the link to the photo today I was surprised to see a picture of the PM, also captured in a moment of happiness, looking relaxed and comfortable. I can't find the photo on the Australian's website though it must be somewhere as they're selling copies for 40 bucks, but the story in words is here.

How to be pukka: a prominent Australian's advice

Original post 23 February: Should someone have saved our gracious queen?





The front page of today's Australian has a photo of Germaine Greer addressing the Queen of Australia, who seems to be taking what looks like an earbashing with very good grace. Any suggestions for a caption? And who is the woman in the middle? And one more: is the male in the background facing the camera Clive James?

Recently, in its report of the Kerry Packer memorial service, The Australian listed all those who attended. Can we have the same for Her Majesty's reception or does new money trump always trump old in these matters?


Update 24 February:

Ms Greer has given her version of her visit to Buckingham Palace in The Guardian . Some of this is reprinted in The Australian's "Cut & Paste" section though for some reason it is omitted from the online version.

Once you have decided to go, you are honour-bound to accept the house rules. Or so it seems to me. So once I crossed the gilded threshold of Buckingham Palace I didn't kick off my shoes, sit on the floor, light up a cigar or complain about the stinginess of the hospitality. I didn't buttonhole the Queen and ask her what she meant by serving wine from Chile and New Zealand at a reception for Australians working in Britain. And I did curtsy. Sort of. More of a bob really.

And later

Before entering mosques, mandirs and gurdwaras I take off my shoes. This is not because I believe in the God of the Muslims, the Hindus or the Sikhs, or any God, but because my hosts will be offended if I don't.

There have been occasions when I have been taken as a VIP visitor to holy shrines, and nothing but arrogance was expected of me, but I have offered reverence just the same. And I fancy the priests and the faithful have both appreciated it. When I went at dawn to the burning ghats in Varanasi I didn't take a camera; because I sat silent and still in my little boat, it was allowed to drift right up into the lee of the ghat, which was where I saw death full-face for the first time. I don't go into cathedrals in shorts and, if I remember, I wear a long skirt to Henley. Part of it is me wanting to show that though I am a hick from the sticks, I do know how to behave.

Like Ms Greer I've always removed my footwear before entering mosques and temples (on one occasion embarrassing myself by revealing a holey sock). My experience last year at Varanasi was however different to hers. When I went on a boat before the sun rose over the Ganga I did take a camera and used it (without flash). I didn't ask for the boat to go near the burning ghats (which are a relatively small proportion of the total) nor did I approach close to them later on foot,as I felt that to do so was to intrude too far into the religious practices of the Hindus. I was merely following my instincts: perhaps Ms Greer has received guidance from a power higher than herself?

Greens reign on Parade, or worst cask scenario?

This Sunday the Parade food, wine and music festival will be held in Norwood . In previous years the council's attempts to micromanage the event, eg by banning beer sales on the grounds that a beverage with plebeian connotations is not appropriate for such a hi-falutin' event, have ruffled more than a few feathers. This year, according to the official brochure "The Festival is a Green Event". Does this mean that it is part of the Greens election campaign, or merely that the peacekeeping authorities , presumably including some of the additional police promised by local resident Premier Rann in his electioneering, will remove bottles with the utmost rigour? As the brochure says:

The Parade is a 'GLASS FREE ZONE'. Due to licensing restrictions, no alcoholic drinks are to be served in glass bottles. Any glass bottles, whether purchased at the event or not, may be confiscated. This restriction will be enforced by police, liquor licensing and security personnel.

Taken literally, this edict limits wine sales to cask wines, which may come as a surprise to many of the winemakers whose products are on offer, unless they're using the event as a test marketing exercise for new varieties of container. I must say that the prospect of having sparkling wine poured from a cask (or a plastic container for that matter) doesn't appeal to me. But then everyone who's attended the event in the past will know that the gastronomic delights available are served on paper plates with, if you're lucky, plastic cutlery.

The "Master Glass Artist" who is programmed to give demonstrations of glass blowing must also be concerned about having the fruits of his labours confiscated.

David Irving given prison sentence

Although today's Australian reports that holocaust denier David Irving's defence lawyer was hoping for a suspended sentence in consideration for a guilty plea, the BBC reports that Irving has been sentenced to three years in prison.

The Australian's story has some interesting background information, including that in 2004 724 people were charged in Austria with holocaust denial or related offences (though apparently few were imprisoned). The BBC site contains some good links to other media reports.

No doubt there'll be a lot of comment about the decision, which Irving has said he'll appeal against. IMO Irving is a disingenuous ranter but imprisoning him, while unlikely to make him a martyr as some are claiming, will keep him on the margins of fame (celebrity?) instead of letting him slip out of the public mind.

Racist abuse closes cricket chat channel

The Age reports that a BBC chat cricket channel has had to be closed because of racist abuse. Yet another reminder of Orwell's description of international sport as war without the shooting.

Great performances as Australia wins series 2-1

The Australian has printed a picture of Ricky Ponting's catch in the cricket final last night. It is one of the greatest catches I've ever seen.

Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich's centuries were also pretty good in their different yet complementary ways.

Blue over Curly

Today's print media devote a fair bit of space to the Michael Leunig cartoon hoax. The Australian and The Age as you'd expect adopt different positions which are reflected in the headlines of the former's first editorial "Poison Pen's Perils: Who knew Curly Pyjama was so big in Tehran?" and the latter's story "Caught in a hoax, Leunig finds it no laughing matter." Not unexpectedly some elements of the international media including the BBC have picked up the story.

Some interesting points have emerged from the affair to date:

1. The allegedly offensive cartoon was published in 2002 on the ABC's Media Watch website, where as I post it is still available. It would be interesting to hear Mr Balding's attempt to reconcile this with his banning of the Danish cartoons.

2. Today's Crikey suggests that the hoax was the work of persons connected (or with access to) Chaser. The SMH (but not The Age) has updated its online story to reflect this.