March 2, 2012

A pretty cool timelapse thing of the new Cotter Dam during the recent deluge...

It's only half finished, but it's already 11 metres higher than the old and now demolished dam that used to stand just in front of it, which makes me wonder how the old dam would have stood up to it if it'd still been there....

March 1, 2012

Posthumous baptisms. Why they're offensive...

I was catching up on some reading in GD and saw some threads on it, and was bothered by a lot of the 'It's harmless religious symbolism' type sentiments I saw. From what I've read of this baptising people after they're dead, it appears to have been done predominately to Jews, and that the Mormon church was posthumously baptising Holocaust victims up until 1995 when they agreed to stop it....

I'm an atheist, and if I can see so clearly that it's an offensive and hurtful thing to do, I don't understand why there's people who don't see it. Sure, it's some religious thing and the people being baptised are long-dead and can't be hurt anymore, but that's not what it's about. It's the families who get hurt by it, because they're here to see their family member's memory being disrespected and abused. When I see people like Anne Frank and other Holocaust victims being targeted by this stuff, I see it as an attempt to try to strip away their identity as Jews...

When it comes to symbolic gestures towards Holocaust victims, one I'd point out as being the complete opposite in intent and effect than the insensitive ones I've read about lately is one I read about a few years ago (I think it was in a book by Tom Segev) where one of the first actions after the declaration of independence for Israel was the posthumous citizenship granted to Holocaust victims. The difference between those two aren't that the latter wasn't religious, it's that the latter was a powerful and moving gesture that would have given some comfort to relatives of those who died...

February 28, 2012

Don't Tell My Mother I'm In Iran...

I posted this in the I/P group a while back, and it got a bit buried. so I thought I'd post it again. It shows a Iran that I think many people don't see, plus an added bonus is Diego Bunuel is pretty damn easy on the eye, imo. The whole series is awesome, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants an insight into other countries that people might not know much about...

February 14, 2012

Bullying and swarming at DU...

Nadin posted something earlier on in this forum that made a reference to it, and being someone who's never been bullied either in real life or online, I have seen it aimed at others at DU. How do other DUers react when they see it happening? Me, I usually look at the swarm and think to myself they're really doing it tough when it comes to impressing people who are onlookers. Do people think it's acceptable and somehow not bullying if the target is someone who's not one of the popular kids? And what advice is best to give someone who's being bullied at DU? I don't use the ignore feature myself, but I'd suggest it as one way to get rid of the buzzing of the swarm, coz engaging them is going to have the same result as poking a nest of bees. I'd also suggest just turning off the computer and walking away for a while. The suggestions put the onus on the person who's being bullied, but I figure if there's no way of controlling a swarm, the wisest thing to do is control yr own experience....

February 11, 2012

Does anyone else like Sebadoh/Folk Implosion?

I'm stuck in the 90's right now and can't stop listening to them....

&feature=BFa&list=AVGxdCwVVULXdTFFffO4OJhAX_auWibWJ-&lf=list_related

February 9, 2012

Where is the Bedouin Intifada?

In 2004, Israeli officials were up in arms about an impending Bedouin Intifada. But the Bedouin didn’t rebel and now, despite plans to expel tens of thousands of them from their homes in the West Bank and the Negev, things remain relatively quiet. Why?

Thursday, February 9 2012|Mya Guarnieri

As Israel steps up its expansionist policies both inside and outside the Green Line, the Bedouin community has come under particularly intense pressure.

Inside Israel, the state seeks to Judaize the Negev (Naqab) desert. This “development” includes last year’s Prawer plan, which recommends that Israel relocate between 30,000 and 40,000 Bedouin citizens, ripping them from their villages and sticking them in impoverished townships, to clear the area for Jewish-only settlements.

After the Israeli cabinet passed the Prawer plan in September 2011, Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel likened it to “a declaration of war.”

Al Arakib could be considered an opening battle. The state first demolished the unrecognized village in July 2010—destroying homes and tearing olive trees from the ground to make way for a forest to be planted by the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). After the Bedouin residents of Al Arakib rebuilt their village, Israeli forces returned and destroyed it again. Since then, Al Arakib has been demolished and rebuilt over 30 times.

Israel’s policies are just as inhumane on the other side of the Green Line, where the so-called “Civil Administration” seeks to remove 27,000 Bedouin from Area C in order to expand illegal Israeli settlements. The Civil Administration’s plans will be carried out over the next three to six years.


http://972mag.com/where-is-the-bedouin-intifada/35017/

February 3, 2012

Westpac staff brace for more pain

I'm betting Westpac will be the first of the big four not to pass next Tuesday's expected RBA rate cut. Banks bleating about higher funding costs really annoy me

Westpac employees are bracing for the loss of as many as triple the number of job losses already announced this week as the bank adjusts to a weak economy and higher funding costs.

BusinessDay understands that as many as 1500 more positions could be at risk, adding to the cuts of 560 announced yesterday.

Westpac denied that large-scale job cut announcements are in the works. "That information is speculative and incorrect," a spokesman said.

The bank said that yesterday's disclosure would be "the most significant for this year".

"For some time now we have said that staff numbers will be less by the end of the year as we adjust to a slower growth banking environment," Westpac media relations manager Supreet Gosal said.

However, BusinessDay understands staff have been asked to document their daily activities and achievements on a fortnightly basis so that management can identify priorities for retrenchments.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/westpac-staff-brace-for-more-pain-20120203-1qwxc.html#ixzz1lK2E3TEQ