Last night SBS had a great documentary called “Intelligent Design - A War on Science”. It outlined the arguments of the proponents of “Intelligent Design”, which tries to dispel the random element of Darwinian evolution by arguing that some things are too complex to be the result of randomness and therefore must have been “designed”. (Of course, such proof falls foul of the Babelfish argument)
The proponents like to think that they are being scientific, but given that the theory is largely creationism via the back-door, and that the prime proponents are backed by right wing conservative Christian groups, it makes you think their motives are not purely scientific.
Now, I am not so blindly in favour of one scientific theory that I think there is no alternative to Darwinian evolution, but the alternative should present itself in a scientific way. To me the general concept of evolution makes sense, and is supported by quite a bit of evidence. However there are some things which it can’t quite explain properly. This does not nullify the entire theory, it merely means that our knowledge is incomplete. To replace that incomplete knowledge by concluding supernatural intervention is a big leap of faith. Faith being the operative word.

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A neighbour lent us a dodgy copy of the Da Vinci Code movie over the weekend. I had read the book and thought it was nothing to write home about. The gaping plot holes, inaccurate history, and surprisingly easy codes were carried on to the movie.

Many things didn’t make sense to me. At the start, the albino monk (apologies to the Society for the Fair Depiction of Pigment Challenged People in Popular Culture), intends to kill the old man. Despite having a clean almost point blank shot at his head, he decides to shoot him in the stomach, so he has time to run around the Louvre, writing graffiti near old masterpieces.
Just how did a GPS tracking system managed to track Robert Langdon while he was indoors, and was the mapping software really accurate enough to show the interior layout of buildings. I would love that sort of thing for Geocaching. Speaking of which I did a cache called “Play It Again Sam” by “The Odlids” which required much harder code breaking than it the Da Vinci Code. (Including reverse morse code sound files embedded in a word document using steganography software.)
Also, why did they take Silas on the plane? If someone broke into my house and tried to kill me, the last thing I would do if I managed to overpower them, would be to take them with me somewhere. Unless it was the nearest police station.
I can believe that Jesus was married, I can believe that he had kids, I can believe that this might change the story of the bible and the church might want to protect the power they have over the story, but I can’t believe that Tom Hanks would appear on screen with such a haircut.

The highlight of the movie was reading the sub titles. The copy we had was Russian, so the initial titles were over-titled in Russian, but then sub-titles came up in English. This was useful when the actors spoke French “merde!” but hilarious to read in English. My favourite was when a heavily accented voice said that Mary’s sarcophagus would be found under the “starry sky”. If he only had the sub-titles to go by, Langdon would be looking for her under the “storage guy”.
Oh, and not wanting to stereotype the French, but the three top billed French men in the film are all called Jean. The one saving grace of the movie is that Gerard Depardieu wasn’t included as one of the token Frenchmen.

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
This book is well worth reading and even though many of the fast food corporations will say they have improved their practices in the past few years, the fundamentals of cheap food, cheap labour, low labour stanadrds, high turnover and specific targetting of children has not changed.
There has been a movie made of the book, not as a documentary, but a fictionalised drama. I haven’t seen it, and not sure how well it would work, but (much like Super Size Me) I wonder how people had fast food immediately after seeing the film?

Blundstone, the Tasmanian manufacturer of the iconic Australian boot has decided to pack up shop and move its manufacturing plant to India and Taiwan Thailand, where “manufacturing costs” (read wages) are cheaper.

I have worn Blundstones in the past and they are a quality boot. There was also a sense of pride that I was wearing something that had been made in my country, and for that I was prepared to pay a little bit more. In fact the Australianess of the product was one of its biggest selling points.

Now the boots will be made in far away lands where the concepts of OH&S, workers rights and unionism are all fantasies.

The company is yet another victim of the economic rationalist approach of the current government who feels that tariffs on imported products are unfair and should be gradually lowered. Lowered to the point where it destroys our own textile and footwear industries.

I hope that the 300 workers who will now be looking for work elsewhere will realised the prime cause of there unemployment and help to vote out the current goverenment who like a Robin Hood in reverse continues to take from the poor and give to the rich.

Hegemony or Survival: America’s quest for global dominance by Noam Chomsky
America was born during a war and seems to have been at war ever since. The American psyche is such that self-interest rises above all, even if self-interest means the suppression of the rights, democracy and self interest of others. Noam Chomsky takes a critical analysis of the influence of US foreign policy, its continued support of terrorists and rogue states, and its overall quest for global domination.
The boldness with which the US is prepared to ignore international law has increased since the fall of the Soviet Union left it as the world’s only superpower and self appointed world policeman. Unfortunely, it is acting more like a Texas county sherrif who interprets the law to suit itself and turns a blind eye to lawbreaking if it is advantageous.
Chomsky is obviously from the left wing of politics, but the facts in this book are presented in a relatively balanced manner (some may disagree) and make you think that probably ever US president in the last 100 years could probably have been convicted as a war criminal. (Both Bushes should certainly be on the list.)
I highly recommend this book.

Victoria have introduced a web site to tell how much Greenhouse Gas is produced in the state each week.

Not than anyone in their right mind would want to, but it may shortly be harder to become a US citizen if a new citizenship exam is introduced. The people wishing to apply for citizenship would have to pass this test before becoming a citizen.
However, one has to wonder what the point of such a test is. Is it merely to ensure that new citizens know how the country works? Fair enough, however many of the questions would not even be able to be answered by people who had been born in the US.
For example,

• What is the rule of law?
• How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
• What did Susan B. Anthony do?

Perhaps the test is meant to weed out would-be terrorists or traitors, by analysing their answers.

For example:

Question: What do the 13 stripes on the US flag represent?

Correct Answer: The original 13 colonies

Terrorist Answer: The red and white stripes depict the blood soaked desert sand of the Middle East resulting from US imperialist aggression.

Question: What do the 50 stars on the US flag represent?

Correct Answer: There is one star for each state of the United States.

Terrorist Answer: The stars represent the bursting shells of the shock and awe attacks that have characterised the militaristic expansion of the United States from the original 13 colonies.

But of course, all of the questions on the test show the USA in a good light, as you would expect, but this ignores a vast part of the history of the USA.

Here are some other questions they should include in the test.

Question: The eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment”. Is punishment allowed if it is cruel but not unusual or unusual but not cruel?

Answer: Yes

Question: Abraham Lincoln supported the abolition of slavery. Was it his intention that blacks should become citizens and be given the same rights in law as whites?

Answer: No

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I have just finished reading Resetting the Compass - Australia’s Journey Towards Sustainability. According to the blurb it sets out Australia’s environmental problems in their global context and explains what is now needed to fix them. It also illustrates how ecological sustainability can be achieved together with economic, social and cultural sustainability.
The book examines the pressures on our environment from population growth, consumption patterns and technological change. It looks at the impacts on human settlements, atmosphere, biodiversity, land and inland waters and the marine environment. The specific actions needed to deal with each of the problems identified are described in detail. With a provocative forward by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty, this book is essential reading for politicians and public servants; business leaders and managers; environmentalists; academics and students in environmental courses; and all those interested in environmental issues.
I found the book interesting, but somewhat depressing. The book is six years old now and it still seems as if those in power are ignoring most of the suggestions. The environmental problems described are still there, and for the most part getting worse, and the world continues on a “business as usual” path where unlimited growth is not only a possibility, but a necessity. With the amount of political interference being suffered by scientists at the CSIRO it is a wonder such a book was even published, although it was before Howard had a majority in both houses.
It is well worth a read and hopefully will spur you into action.
“Resetting the Compass - Australia’s Journey Towards Sustainability.” is written by David Yencken and Debra Wilkinson and published by CSIRO Publishing 2000
Similar books worth reading include:

• Economia by Geoff Davis
• The Natural Advantage of Nations by Hargroves and Smith
• The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken

So Saddam Hussein has been hanged for committing “crimes against humanity”. This arises from the murder of 148 people in Dujail in 1982 following an assassination attempt on Saddam.

I am opposed to the death penalty, and even for people as nasty as Saddam is said to have been. To me this form of state-sanctioned murder is no different to the state-sanctioned murder carried out in Dujail. Well, there is a slight difference, Saddam Hussein did get a trial before execution, but the fairness and legality of such a trial is always going to be under question. After all, he was being tried by a governement installed after an illegal invasion looking for weapons of mass destruction that offered no threat to the US even if they had of existed.

But if we are looking at Saddam’s crimes wouldn’t you pick one of the worst crimes to try him on such as the gassing of the Kurds in 1988? Well, probably not. Since the chemical weapons were supplied by Western companies with the full knowledge and support of the USA, it would have given Saddam an opportunity to call former US government officals as witnesses for the defence. This would not have been for the yanks.

But of course, when it comes to war criminals, it must be time to indict George W Bush for crimes against humanity for the 650,000 Iraqi civilians killed during his illegal invasion. Add John Hoawrd and Tony Blair to the list while you are at it. But they should not be put to death when they are found guilty, it would be sufficient to lock them up in little cages in Guantánamo Bay for an indeterminant amount of time.

Perhaps I am just getting more cynical in my old age, but I am still not sure what to think of the Community Calendar that landed in my letterbox just before Christmas. The calendar is put out by Orica, a chemical company whose main work in Botany seems to be cleaning up the environmental mess it has made over the last 50 years.

The calendar was full of pictures of smiling children benefitting from the operations of the chemical company, and April features a map of the Groundwater Exclusion Zone, where the use of bore water is prohibited due to Orica’s pollution.

My favourite picture however is May, which shows Tom Carpenter and his wife, smiling happily as their bore water is sampled. Although Orica says there is no need for alarm, take a look at what the company rep is wearing. She has rubber gloves and safety goggles!

It also fails to mention that the bore being sampled also has among the highest concentrations of pollutants in the area. Although the calendar says the residents living in the area can have their bores tested, it fails to mention that the offer doesn’t apply to those who take up the rainwater tank rebate.

Keep smiling Tom, and lets hope Orica is not going to be the next James Hardie.