I just read this report on Somebody Think of the Children having just seen it commented on by Cameron Reilly on Twitter and shared by Alex in Google Reader. I’m speechless. Game over man, game over.
Tuesday 16th March 2010
Friday 23rd October 2009
It seems with each passing year since 2007 things have happened that have made me less optimistic and more cynical about the world. In an attempt to find the good in it, I’ve attributed this slide in my opinion of humanity to simply growing up and becoming more realistic. Well, another thing has happened -__-.
Sunday 20th September 2009
As you may have noticed if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’m somewhat of a public transport nut. Having lived in Singapore most of my life, moving back to Australia for part of the year made me realise just how much I’d taken the public transport there for granted.
Wednesday 09th September 2009
For those who don’t use Twitter and who aren’t following South Australian Legislative Council Greens member Mark Parnell, he had this to say earlier this afternoon:
Marine Policy 101: Kill seagrass with pollution = mobilised sand = eroded beaches = $$$ to pump more sand on shore to keep our beaches nice!
It’s funny (in a kind of tragic way) because it’s true. Welcome to the world of reactionary rather than preventative environmental politics, or as I see it, fixing the symptoms not the causes. It works so well for health, education and transport, might as well put it into practise for the environment too.
Wednesday 22nd April 2009
It seems that while we debate how to best address the real threat of climate change before it’s too late (some argue it’s too late and we should already be in disaster recovery mode), some are still not convinced it’s even happening.
South Australian Greens representative Mark Parnell (who’s state party I proudly voted for in 2006, and who I’ve blogged about before) posted a new blog entry today discussing one local professor’s new book that seems to take issue with climate change.
Adelaide University Prof. Ian Plimer is in Parliament House launching his book claiming that the science of climate change is not settled and that global warming and cooling are natural phenomena unrelated to human activity. I agree with the first bit – the science is never “settled”, but the trends are plain to see and the causes are overwhelmingly agreed by scientists to be anthropogenic. When faced with a choice between believing the good Professor and believing the thousands of scientists who have contributed to the International Panel on Climate Change’s comprehensive reports, then I think I’ll go with the consensus view. So yes, I guess that makes me one of Ian Plimer’s “rabid environmentalists”. If you seem me and I’m frothing at the mouth, (and not cleaning my teeth at the time) then stay away.
I know plenty of climate change denialists too, it seems to be a position that’s very much in vogue right now especially by those online who label anyone who base their views on evidence as "sheeple". It’d be hilarious if it didn’t have the potential to have such disastrous results.
The time for debating whether this is even happening has long passed; we should be spending our energy (no pun intended) coming up with solutions to this problem instead.
And hey, as I tell people who deny climate change is happening, if it turns out this isn’t true, our actions to protect our natural environment would still have been worth it. I want future generations of people to be able to visit unspoilt nature reserves, to drink clean water, to breathe clean air and to live in sustainable cities and clean, lush countryside. If that idea of the future makes me a "rabid environmentalist" too, I’ll join you Mark!
Saturday 18th April 2009
Sad news being reported by South Australia’s Greens senator Mark Parnell this month. It’s really sad this kind of discrimination is still legal in this day and age.
I’ve previously blogged about Mark Parnell here. We need more people like him in politics.
Critical amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act that will allow religious schools to continue to discriminate against gay teachers have passed the SA Upper House with the support of Liberals, Family First and No Pokies.
“The Greens were extremely disappointed that Labor had previously backed down on removing discrimination against teachers on the basis of sexuality. Now, this already compromised Bill has been compromised again.
“An individual’s sexuality or chosen gender has absolutely no impact on their ability to teach well. So why will schools be able to discriminate on that basis?
“Freedom from discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexuality is a basic human right. Our state used to have an enviable reputation for progressive social policy. Not any more” he said.
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Monday 30th March 2009
Monday, 30 March 2009
Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has called on the Australian Government to reveal the extent to which the alleged Chinese cyber-spy network has infiltrated Australia.
Overseas reports are that China has hacked into Tibet-related networks in 103 countries.
"It is extremely unlikely that China has not spied on the Tibetan representatives in Australia and New Zealand and the government should reveal what measures it will take to counter this type of espionage in Australia," Senator Brown said.
Senator Brown has written to the Attorney-General asking for reassurances on the security of the internet in Australia from Chinese government hackers.
"With the Dalai Lama due to visit Australia again later this year, it is important to know that we are not infiltrated by the so-called GhostNet network," Senator Brown said.
Senator Brown said that there are more than 20,000 internet police inside China.
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Wednesday 28th January 2009
Writing about the recent Frome by-election in South Australia made me remember the lower house state elections back in 2006 when I voted for Mark Parnell of the South Australian Greens. To date he’s been the only politician aside from Bob Brown who has ever returned a message I sent to them. The again, I suspect many members of parliament don’t use those blasted email intertube things :).
Hello Mr Parnell, congratulations to you and The Greens South Australia on your won seat following the March election!
I voted for the Greens because I’m a firm supporter of the principals of your party and am very pleased The Greens now have a voice in South Australian politics. You’ve all done an amazing job and I look foward to hearing about how The Greens are changing South Australia for the better in this term and in the future.
Yours Most Pleased,
Ruben Schade
His reply, less than a few hours later:
Thanks very much Ruben. I was sworn in today – so now it’s down to business.
Cheers,
MarkMark Parnell
Greens SA Member of Legislative Council
I really admire Mark, being the lone Green in the state must get pretty intimidating! I appreciate his sense of humour; his down to earth approach to interviews and voting; and surprising lack of hot air when discussing issues. We need more people like him.
Not to mention his website is pretty slick!
Thursday 15th January 2009
The changing Singapore and public transport episode!
Do more people know where Singapore is now? Sleeping with blinking lights; Asia changing every five minutes; gutting the Bishan MRT station; the Singapore Heartland; changing skylines; apartment buildings springing up from nowhere; the feared "en bloc sale" phenomena; the Adelaide Glenelg Tramline; the Sydney Cross City Tunnel; using the Internet Archive for Rubenerd Shows; rating shows with stars; Liberal and Labor guys; an extended rant on building roads instead of public transport; and don’t blame me I voted for The Greens!
Download MP3 to listen ↓ 21:15 9.9MiB
You can also stream this episode and view its Internet Archive page.
Saturday 12th April 2008
The ridiculous fun with a label printer episode!
ACT ONE: Roel247’s comments on electronic voting, compulsory voting in Australia, Senator Bob Brown of the Greens meeting the Dalai Lama.
ACT TWO: My label printing obsession! The Brother PT-80, labeling CDs, boxes, magazine holders and everything in my father’s home office, there’s no need to write anything anymore!
ACT THREE: The growing complexity of CMSs and why I’m moving over to home brew again using Ruby and SQlite, WordPress 2.5, loudly dropping aerosol cans, Elke’s gigantic honey sandwich.
ACT FOUR: Converting metric to imperial in Google, Russian mail order brides, Ruben’s idea for a standardised New World Order (patent pending), seeding torrent files, too many tabs in web browsers!
ACT FIVE: Why South Park is actually a great show to watch, being able to laugh at yourself, not taking life too seriously!
Download MP3 to listen ↓ 48:01, 22.0MiB
You can also stream this episode and view its Internet Archive page.
