verging_on_random

No more Mexican wave

Coming to a stadium near you soon … the Colombian wave.

Exit pursued by a bear

Hehe.

At least 30 hungry bears have trapped a team of geologists in their camp in Russia’s far east.

It follows a fatal bear attack on two workers at the same site last week.

Local emergency services workers say at least 30 bears have been roaming the camp on the Kamchatka peninsula, as they search for food.

As a result, scientists have been stuck in the camp and are too scared to move since two of their colleagues were killed by one of the bears last week.

Laying siege to camp: One bear killed two workers last week (www.sxc.hu: A Syed)

I bags the movie rights.

A precedent for Iraq?

The USA has been involved in so many major wars since its inception that it’s easy to forget the small ones. For example, few people would know much about the invasion and occupation of The Philippines that began in 1898.

It started almost by accident. The Philippines was a Spanish colony and the US got itself into a war with Spain over events half a world away in Cuba. A US fleet routed its Spanish counterpart in Manila Bay and eventually American troops landed, just as the locals were declaring independence and calling themselves a national government. The yanks quickly threw out the Spaniards and occupied their fortifications and a period of increasing tension ensued, during which the Filipinos kept saying “Thanks for that now will you please piss off and let us run our own country” or words to the effect, to which the US kept responding “Hang on, we’re still thinking about things.” Eventually an American started shooting and the next thing there was a full-scale conflict.

The yanks, having been ceded the place by Spain in the peace treaty, quickly decided that the Filipinos were incapable of looking after themselves and sent in more troops to pacify the place. A surge, you might call it. Having announced that they were the lawful government, they condemned any Filipino who tried to stand up for independence as an insurgent. More than 4,000 American troops lost their lives in the ensuing war, along with an unknown but much larger number of Filipino irregulars. Nobody knows for sure but it’s generally agreed that about 200,000 civilians lost their lives. Back home in Main Street USA, it was all justified as being for the Filipinos’ own good.

Sounding familiar?

Once peace was finally declared, the decision-makers in the USA spent years discussing what was to be done with the place. Naturally they professed nothing but altruistic motives based purely on the interests of the Filipino people, although strangely enough whenever an actual Filipino leader appeared in Washington to argue a case he was quickly told to shut up and go back to Manila. This was a Serious Matter that had to be decided by grown-ups.

A series of puppet administrations ensued under the control of American governors and generals. Eventually, after Macarthur had done his “I will return” schtick in the Second World War, and the yanks had secured the bases they wanted (or so they believed), they granted the republic independence, although they continued to dominate the islands’ commerce and interfered extensively in their politics. Within 20 years, The Philippines was under the control of the Marcos dictatorship.

To this day, The Philippines bears more resemblance to a feudal society than it does to any Western conception of a democracy, and the economic development that has occurred in most Asian countries has conspicuously passed the nation by.

John McCain and other apologists for the occupation of Iraq are fond of citing Japan and Germany and South Korea as precedents for what they hope will happen in Iraq.They might consider whether The Philippines provides a more informative case study for the effects of prolonged US occupation.

Gay marriage?

One of the many peculiar characteristics of politics in the USA is the amount of passion that the issue of gay marriage generates in the community. A recent court decision in California looks like it’s kicked the whole controversy off again:

PHILADELPHIA, July 11 (UPI) — Same-sex marriage is emerging once again as a divisive issue for the U.S. electorate, the Pew Research Center reports.As the presidential election approaches, more Republicans and white evangelicals say the issue is one that will be important when they decide whom to vote for.

Four years ago, when President George W. Bush defeated Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Supreme Court had recently made gay marriage legal in the state, and many states had referendums on the ballot opposing marriage for homosexuals. This year, a California ballot initiative seeks to reverse a state Supreme Court ruling that a legal ban on same-sex marriage violates the state constitution.

You might recall that Howard tried to get some mileage from the issue a couple of years ago. He introduced legislation declaring that marriage was the union of a man and a woman, which was thoroughly pointless because that was already the law. Maybe he just wanted to show solidarity with his best friend forever George Bush, who was canvassing at the time a constitutional amendment along the same lines; or more likely he hoped the Labor Party would get itself in a tangle trying to respond and he could do his usual snide trick of painting the opposition as crazy hippies who were trying to destroy the fabric of society. In many ways Howard spent his career preserved in the 1970s. He’s still there.

Anyway I could have told him he was wasting his time. There are just as many poofter bashers amongst union officials as in Australian board rooms (metaphorically speaking of course) and Labor supported the legislation with scarcely a murmur.

I doubt that gay marriage is an issue that stirs people up in this country. Sure there are a few crazies who froth at the mouth about the fatal damage that such a move would inflict on our society but by and large I suspect Australians are distinctly underwhelmed by the whole argument. I reckon a large chunk of the population would say “Nah don’t agree with it but I’m not going to lose any sleep about it” and most of the remainder would say “Ummmm like I care” or words to that effect.

For my part I do not agree with the concept of same sex marriage, if by that it is meant that gays and lesbians should be able to enter a relationship that is regarded as identical to that which straight couples enter into. On any objective analysis it is not identical; marriage connotes notions like a husband and a wife that are simply inapplicable to gay relationships. I don’t see why straight people, who after all comprise the vast majority of our society, should have to accommodate a change in the longstanding concept of marriage just to satisfy the small minority of gays who have decided they want it altered.

I also have to say that i would find the idea of participating in a marriage unacceptable. Some uninformed writing might perpetuate the stereotypes of ‘male’ and ‘female’ personalities in gay relationships but that is a terrible over-simplification of the true situation. Some gays in permanent relationships might think of themselves as conventional married couples who just happen to be the same gender but I believe a larger number don’t think that way. They regard their relationships as sui generis and I believe that’s how the law should treat them.

These are examples of situations where I want the law to change:

• When I die I would want my partner to be my lawful presumptive heir and to be automatically delegated decisions about funeral arrangements and the like;

• If I were to become incapacitated, I would want my partner to be the lawful authoritative decision-maker on questions concerning my treatment including whether to turn off life support

• I would want my partner to be automatically regarded as my lawful next of kin whenever the nature of that relationship arises, for example in cases of accident and emergency or in financial matters including superannuation;

• If my partner is not an Australian citizen I would want him to have the same immigration rights to this country as my non-Australian wife would.
  

Some of these things can be done now but only after completing lots of wills and powers of attorney and the like. Others cannot be done at all.

I believe parliament should create a statutory relationship that incorporates these rights. I don’t see any point in calling it marriage; it’s not, and it would not carry any of the implications for the status of children that go with the idea of marriage. I don’t much care what they call it … just let them create it so same sex couples can attain the same security in their relationships as is available to everyone else through the institution of marriage.

Once the legal relationship exists, gays and lesbians will be able to sort out the ceremonial aspect of things involving white doves and tuxedos and whatever else takes their fancy. However unless it creates a concrete legal relationship, these ‘commitment ceremonies’ will remain largely meaningless. A unique legal relationship for same sex couples creating rights like the ones I listed would be a great boon for many gays and lesbians, provide comfort to their families who worry about the twilight legal world in which same sex couples are forced to live now, and tend to enhance the stability of relationships. Moreover, it would not cause one shred of damage to the institution of marriage or to society at large.

The Rudd Government apparently intends to amend all sorts of laws to accommodate some definition of same sex relationship, which will presumably be hedged about with legal uncertainty and require people to prove the nature of the relationship before they are entitled to the benefits of the law. It would be much better served to cut the crap and create a new legal relationship into which same sex couples can enter, and with that one administrative act, create a coherent set of mutual rights and obligations.

Our Aussie Nicole

Nicole Kidman is a true blue Aussie.

She’s named her new baby girl after a genuine Aussie icon. No not, Victa, not Hills Hoist, not Slim Dusty.

Her baby has been named Sunday Roast.

On ya Nic.

In praise of the thong

Thongs seem to spark intense emotions in a lot of people; I’m not sure why. Many enterprises think they are an unacceptable form of footwear, banning them along with singlets. Maybe that’s a clue to the distaste they inspire in some people: they reek of K Mart and the working class and are defiantly non-aspirational (despite occasional attempts by innovative manufacturers to take them up-market).

Nevertheless I’ve always loved them and since I moved away from the cities I spend most of my time either barefoot or in thongs. It’s a real pain in the butt to have to put proper shoes on when I have to teach a class or go to a meeting. Having been comparatively shoe-less for 15 years now I can happily state that I have never suffered any of the dire health problems frequently predicted by those who want us to engage in the thoroughly unnatural practice of covering our feet with chunks of leather or plastic all the time, and I can only assume that these health warnings are covertly subsidised by the footwear industry.

As far as I know Australians are the only people who call them ‘thongs’, a name that inspires great hilarity in other countries. However I like the name; it’s punchier than the cutesie ‘flip-flops’ and less confusing than the Asian ’slippers’. For a long period in the 1990s they were practically unobtainable in Australia. A few surf shops used to stock outrageously overpriced Brazilian Reefs and I managed to find enough in my size (12) to see me through the drought.

Now of course they are ubiquitous, with souvenir shops and newsagents having racks and racks of the things and even chemists getting into the act with thongs that are allegedly better for your feet. Presumably we’re experiencing the end of the fashion cycle and in a few years time they’ll be hard to find once again, so I’m like a castaway rescued on the brink of starvation who compulsively hides food all over the place. I have a cupboard full of new thongs to see me through the lean times, although I can’t find any of the nice chunky ones that I used to be able to get. I think I’ll pick up another couple of pairs of the thin ones next time I’m at the shops, just to be on the safe side.

All this reflection was prompted by accidentally stumbling across a site with a vigorous discussion about the evils or otherwise of thongs. It was an American site, so it goes without saying that the comments thread was full of faux expert opinions about the alleged health problems. However, my favourite anti-thong flip-flop comment was along these lines:

You shouldn’t wear flip-flops because anyone who was wearing them in the World Trade Centre on 9/11 wouldn’t have been able to run fast enough to get away when the buildings collapsed.

Yes folks, even our choice of footwear has to be driven by our fear of an imminent terrorist attack. And the yanks wonder why so many people laugh at them as they huddle in their bunkers, clutching their Smith & Wessons and trembling at the thought of all the monsters in the closet who are just busting to do them harm.

Filipino fast food

$1A = 38 pesos.

All meals served with plenty of rice (there might be a shortage but not in any of the places I visited). I had the stuffed squid … mmmmm.

Unfortunately places like this are becoming rarer, their places taken by McDonald’s and Pizza hut and the local fast food chain, Jollibee. Why i don’t know; Filipinos don’t usually suffer from the Western world’s chronic obsession with doing things quickly so they can go do something else. Maybe it’s just a mild national inferiority complex that thinks anything ‘imported’ is better (although there’s nothing imported about Jollibee, so that theory’s not very persuasive). At least the Pinoys insist on getting a serve of rice with their Big Macs.

The best of the chains is Chow King, which has meals that are not only really tasty but also quite healthy. I wish some enterprising entrepreneur would open a franchise near here - I’d be a regular customer. The corn and beans in the halo halo might be an acquired taste but I think Australians would love it.

My favourite fast food outlet however is Goldilocks, which serves traditional Filipino food (somewhat typically, the Filipino link isn’t working ATM - ‘not available’ is something you soon get used to hearing in the Philippines, along with ‘no stock’). Enjoy it if you get a chance … McDonald’s or KFC will probably buy it out in a year or two.

No more skid marks

I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about toilet paper. Scientists have yet to find the ideal balance between strength and comfort and in certain circumstances it seems that no matter how many times one wipes, traces remain.

Visiting the Philippines was a bit of an eye-opener. My friends were too polite to say anything, but clearly they were a bit put off by the thought of someone relying on nothing more than a wipe with paper. A Filipino comfort room may not have hot water but it does have copious amounts of soap and water and is set up to splash it all around liberally. It only took me a couple of days to realise that it was a much cleaner and more comfortable system than anything Sorbent can manufacture.

Ive adopted the same method back home and recommend it strongly. Conserve the forests!

Iloilo woes

Remember Rex? I wrote about him a while back. Here I am with him and his parents:

Rex and his family live in Iloilo, which copped the full force of Typhoon Frank that ripped through the Philippines over the weekend. They have an apartment in Iloilo City, which is on the coast. They are in Jaro - this was it on Saturday:

I’ve only had this message from Rex since then, left offline on Yahoo instant messenger:

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:25 PM): have a flood here in aprtment

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:48 PM): my computeris broken right now

rex (23/06/2008 7:34:51 PM): im here in cafe

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:04 PM): i dont have any dreass

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:15 PM): all my dreass is wet

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:36 PM): and my parents house house in province borken already

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:42 PM): dont have roof

rex (23/06/2008 7:35:53 PM): becos of typhoon

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:07 PM): i relly need your help

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:11 PM): plsss help me

rex (23/06/2008 7:36:38 PM): pls send me some message if read my message

rex (23/06/2008 7:38:45 PM): my computer broken have block out here

rex (23/06/2008 7:38:52 PM): im here in caffe

rex (23/06/2008 7:39:08 PM): ill talk to you soon

rex (23/06/2008 7:39:21 PM): if i can go to caffe

The ironic thing is that Rex was supposed to be here in Australia this week, sussing out study options for next year. Our embassy in Manila refused to give him a visa on the grounds that he couldn’t convince them he would not overstay his visa. Apparently the only way you can get a tourist visa if you are a Filipino is to be married, own your own home and have a few million pesos in term deposits in the Philippines.

Anyway that’s all by the bye for the moment. You’ll see Rex says his parents’ house has lost its roof. The house is directly opposite the school that we gave some help to earlier this year, so I fear the school might be a bit of a mess too. This was no ordinary typhoon damage:

At least 59 people have been killed in the central Philippine province of Iloilo and the death toll could rise further after flash flooding from Typhoon Frank (international codename Fengshen) washed out communities, the local governor said on Sunday.

“Iloilo is like an ocean. This is the worst disaster we have had in our history,” Neil Tupaz told local radio.

Needless to say I’ll be sending as much help as I can, first to my friends and then to the school. If anybody wants to kick in a few dollars that would be much appreciated. I guarantee every cent will get to people who are in desperate need. Send to a St George Bank account, branch number 112-879, account number 057536543, in the name of Kenneth Alan Lovell Raxos Elementary.

UPDATE:

This today (24/6) from Yahoo group LivingInThePhilippines:

14a.

Re: How bad is the damage in Iloilo?

Posted by: “Paul Agey” oneiloilojeepney@yahoo.com.ph   oneiloilojeepney

Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:23 am (PDT)

List website and to Join this List, Livinginthephilippi nes3
http://www.livingin thephilippines. com our website

Join out new Forum at
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The Living in the Philippines Community

Over 70% of the baranguays flooded. It was a flash flood that hit us in the middle of the night with no warning. Over 120 dead as of last report on the radio. 1 of my houses flooded about 2 ft worth and left behind 6 inches of mud for me to clean up, but otherwise undamged thank god. The other house I live in in Lapaz was one of the fortunate few spared this time. Just got power back after 4 days 30 minutes ago. City watermains busted in 2 places with no etr. Bottled drinking water in short supply and supermarket shelves picked bare. My jeepney in lewdesco was flooded to the roof along with many other cars. State of Calamity is how I describe Iloilo right now. Latest estimate is 1,800 familiys displaced and over 500 homes lost that were completely destroyed and about the same number partially damaged. I just hope things get better soon.

Paul in Iloilo

Better than Nintendo

Here are some new friends of mine.

They’re in a little road side eatery in Navotas City, Metro Manila, Philippines. That’s a microphone, because they’re singing to a videoke machine.

Here’s another view.

See the television thingie? It’s like a jukebox … put in one peso (about three cents) and it plays a song you pick from hundreds of popular songs - music minus the words - while the lyrics track across the screen.

These things are HUGE in the Philippines. In some neighbourhoods (not the one I stayed in, fortunately) people stay up until 4 or 5 am singing along. Moreover, they do it without the assistance of intoxicating liquor, believe it or not. Maybe that’s why they usually sing in tune (these kids were just awesome).

It’s a pretty childish past-time of course, not something that serious Western grown-ups would bother with.

Still … my version of ‘That’s Why the Lady Is a Tramp’ blew them away … and I hadn’t even had breakfast. That came next … fried noodles with bacon and egg, with extra egg on top and a glass of water. 27 pesos (70 cents) please .