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tcpipCocktail party on Friday night was a smashing success. Special kudos to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
casca_2u whom I met in RL for the first time, Sydney-visitor v3nu5 and, of course, imajica_lj for provision of music. Many, many martinis were drunk, "the breakfast of champions". First toast of the evening was valedictions to the very recently deceased Kurt Vonnegut Jnr. My personal favourite of his books is Mother Night; his 2004 essay "Cold Turkey" pretty much explains his left-humanist point-of-view.
East Timor has had a Presidential election. Based on the first round results, it is indeed difficult to determine who will win the overall majority, although Ramos-Horta must be the favourite. The three front runners (Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, Jose Ramos Horta, Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo) are all good candidates; especially compared to the calibre we seem to have in Australia (Alan Jones wins support of Rudd and Howard).
Religious fundamentalists, once again, are breaking my brain. Apart from the musueum in Kentucky, where "Tyrannosaurus rex was a strict vegetarian, and lived with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden".usekh reports that Jerry Falwell claims that global warming is a lie spread by Satan!. With more Fawell goodness watch Bill Nye engage in a bit of education on the origin of species. Turkey's secular state is being challenged by a leading presidential candidate; socialists led the nation's largest protests in history.
casca_2u whom I met in RL for the first time, Sydney-visitor v3nu5 and, of course, imajica_lj for provision of music. Many, many martinis were drunk, "the breakfast of champions". First toast of the evening was valedictions to the very recently deceased Kurt Vonnegut Jnr. My personal favourite of his books is Mother Night; his 2004 essay "Cold Turkey" pretty much explains his left-humanist point-of-view.East Timor has had a Presidential election. Based on the first round results, it is indeed difficult to determine who will win the overall majority, although Ramos-Horta must be the favourite. The three front runners (Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, Jose Ramos Horta, Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo) are all good candidates; especially compared to the calibre we seem to have in Australia (Alan Jones wins support of Rudd and Howard).
Religious fundamentalists, once again, are breaking my brain. Apart from the musueum in Kentucky, where "Tyrannosaurus rex was a strict vegetarian, and lived with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden".
usekh reports that Jerry Falwell claims that global warming is a lie spread by Satan!. With more Fawell goodness watch Bill Nye engage in a bit of education on the origin of species. Turkey's secular state is being challenged by a leading presidential candidate; socialists led the nation's largest protests in history.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 03:34 am (UTC)Nothing but propaganda to discredit Darwin and Science in general.
It's actually run and owned by an ex-Queenslander.
That is scary enough.
As for Falwell:
Is he actually still around?
Thought that he fell from Grace a long time ago.
Oh, well.
If not, he's about due. :)
Cheers for the links. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 03:40 am (UTC)I am sorely tempted to help build a museum of evolution as a direct counter to such stupidity.
Yep, Falwell's still around and as kooky as ever.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 03:50 am (UTC)Have to find you a copy of the Darwin computer Role Playing Game.
Where you play as Charles Darwin, battling his way through the Bible Belt/Middle America, fighting red necks, Zealots and Extreme Fundamentalists to reach Washington DC so you can makes The Origin Of The Species recognised by law as fact.
Very fun but ultimately hard to find. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 04:53 am (UTC)Very funny. Of course, scientific facts don't need to be recognised as laws (which should only deal with morals, anyway). Otherwise you end up with weird things like the Indiana Pi Bill, one of the craziest moments in scientific history, imo..
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 05:27 am (UTC)And just one of many examples of reason over logic that they used in those days. :)
Look to the history of Longitude for other great ones. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 05:52 am (UTC)Oh, thank you for that longitude hint. Good to see the Scilly Isles were keeping up with their fearsome reputation.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 05:13 am (UTC)Have to catch up soon :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 05:48 am (UTC)You were missed!
We will indeed make amends asap.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 06:08 am (UTC)My remaining brain cells thank you for the wonderful party.
Are you guys doing anything Tuesday night?
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 08:35 am (UTC)Don't have any plans afiak. What are you suggesting?
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 08:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 08:52 am (UTC)Mmmm.. The prince of Denmark, eh? Let's see what the boss says..
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 03:00 pm (UTC)Assuming that there is a run-off between Lu Olo and Horta, which way do you think the Araujo supporters will go?
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 11:04 pm (UTC)WRT the ACMA ruling, it is quite clear that the context of speech is important - the ACLU recognises the same in the US.
I have little doubt that the majority of Araujo voters will support Horta over Lu Olo.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-17 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-17 01:20 am (UTC)Quite true; I expect the final result will be around 60/40 in Horta's favour; and that includes a number of FRETILIN supporters, including the current foreign minister, Jose Luis Gutteres, who acknowledge Horta as the founder of FRETILIN.
Of course, in terms of power, he's taking a step "down" from Prime Minister to President, and the aim is to replace Horta with Xanana as PM.
FRETILIN have, unfortunately, really mismanaged public affairs in East Timor and is mostly due to the ex-patriates imposing their will; Lu-Olo was certainly their best candidate with the popular recognition as a former guerilla fighter during the occupation.
However I do not think this will necessarily translate into significant differences in parliamentary elections. The PD should pick up seats, but the majority will remain in FRETILIN's hands. The simply have the best connections and history in the districts.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-16 06:25 pm (UTC)I lurve Bill Nye. I think I learned more from him than I did from grade school.
Lynchburg
Date: 2007-04-17 12:09 am (UTC)Sadly, it was named after a person rather than an action. But it does have quite a reputation!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynchburg%2C_Virginia
I think I learned more from him than I did from grade school.
Ah yes, but he was on PBS so one could argue it was the same thing, but a different media ;-)
Re: Lynchburg
Date: 2007-04-17 03:59 pm (UTC)Also, PBS is part of a semi-private corporation (CBP). It's mostly (although just barely - 56% in 2005) supported by "viewers like you" rather than taxes.
Re: Lynchburg
Date: 2007-04-17 10:37 pm (UTC)Yeah, they don't love it tho'. One of the best things about PBS is its relative independence... It really does produce the best news material out the US; we even have the News Hour shown here in Australia...
no subject
Date: 2007-04-23 05:59 pm (UTC)Fundies are idiots! enough said.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-23 11:26 pm (UTC)Indeed! I particularly liked the argument of why not the NT Beatitudes rather than the OT Commandments. I certainly will be using that next time I encounter a fundie pushing such a line.