topicalhuman.com

Many people I talk to, regular people like myself, seem to be very dismissive of any imminent threat of a severe economic recession.

Now, I am not an economist by any stretch of the imagination, but to ignore the possibility to me seems foolish. I think one just needs to consider that here in Australia we are at the start of a major downturn in the mining sector. Alcoa is laying off staff in the midst of a declining market, and Macarthur Coal and Xstrata recently announced they are cutting coking coal production by 50%. Rio Tinto has announced it is cutting 14,000 jobs, many of which are expected to be in Australia. BHP Billiton is also cutting jobs. Additionally, any new developments and projects are being heavily scrutinised by the mining companies, with many new projects likely to be delayed until the markter recovers, and the credit-crunch eases.

Despite some experts predictions that this downturn may be short-lived, this is still going to impact heavily on ordinary Australians, either directly or indirectly. The stockmarket is certainly being affected.

Even seeing retailers are feeling the effects of the global economic situation, and laying off staff. Shoobiz looks like cutting about 200 jobs.

I don’t know what is going to happen, and I certainly don’t know how to fix it. I guess it just surprises me that so many people appear to have not considered the possibility that things could get tough soon for ordinary people in this country. Some I have spoken to have even argued that things are gettting better because the interest rates on their home loans has gone down. But this is a head in the sand response - interest rates have largely fallen because the Reserve Bank is trying to stave off recession by stimulating the economy through interest rate cuts. And the job cuts spoken about above have either only just happened or are yet to happen. It hasn’t hit the fan just yet.

I truly hope I am wrong on this one, but I can see things getting tough very soon.

I have been complaining for a couple of days that the water from my tap tastes worse than usual. Then I see this. I realise the timing may not be the same (the article states that the fluoridation only started today), but it seems like a hell of a co-incidence.

Can anybody tell me if the fluoride has a discernible taste in the water? I’d like to know what is going on, because I’m not imagining that the water is tasting worse.

[Update] - Just noticed in yesterday’s Courier Mail (the 30th Dec.) that a couple of the letters to the editor (p.19) are complaining of the same thing. It seems that it is the recent storms that are the cause of the foul tasting water.

[Totally unrelated bonus link: Bluegrass by 15 year olds on Mandolin and Guitars!]

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Now playing: Link Wray - Rumble
via FoxyTunes

Wired.com has a great article on Autism/Aspergers, and how some people with these conditions are challenging the scientific community to come up with a better categorization for these conditions, rather than it being a mental disorder or, worse, retardation.

It’s obviously a touchy subject for the people with this condition, and the scientific/medical types. I think this article also nicely touches on the concerns for the families of Autistic/Aspergers people. Worth a read if you’re interested in this subject.

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Now playing: Sonic Animation - Theophilius Thistler (… an excersise in vowels)
via FoxyTunes

This morning, I was looking through my RSS feeds, and in particular was looking at the BoingBoing feed. There was an article there about a leaked Pentagon document drafted for the President which stated that if the USA didn’t start taking Global warming seriously there was going to be major global upheaval by the year 2020 (this was the gist of it as I remember…you’ll see why I can’t link or be more specific below).

As this was something I was interested in, but didn’t have the time to read it immediately, I opened the link in a new tab, so I could read it later.

However when I went to read it, all I had was a ‘404′ error. But I knew I wasn’t imagining this, as the browser still had the address for the post: http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/23/pentagon-to-bush-cli.html (I am still getting the ‘404′ error).

So what happened? Was the post pulled? If so, why? Has big brother gotten involved? Perhaps it is something more benign, like BoingBoing’s CMS throwing up old articles (a Google search indicates that this has happened before, as recently as 2006), or am I just an idiot who has missed something really obvious? I’d love to know.

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Now playing: Jane’s Addiction - Been Caught Stealing (12″ Remix Version)
via FoxyTunes

Are you thinking of visiting the USA? Jules and I are thinking of going next year.

But then I see things like this, in which a 14 day old baby dies while being detained in customs in Honolulu after being flown there with the mother and a nurse for emergency heart surgery. Fingers are being pointed at the Dept. Homeland Security.

Stories relating to many problems travelers have had with the Transportation Security Administration are common, and I’m worried that such random mistakes may befall me, if I choose to visit.

And that is a real shame, because I really want to go - there are so many things I’d love to see and do in the States: The Smithsonian,  a Houston Rockets game, some real genuine Texas Blues, and much more. I especially want to visit my brother, who lives in Colorado.

I guess its just another sign of the times in which we are living.

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Now playing: Celia Cruz - Mi Soncito
via FoxyTunes

My friend John Sanderson has written a book, called The Talking Gene. I read an early draft of this a few years ago, and really enjoyed it - I could identify with what John was writing about, which is essentially a cultural weakness in us Anglo-Saxons that tends to turn out people who lack conversational skills, and therefore an inability to connect with others and form meaningful relationships.

It is worth a read, and I’m keen to grab a copy when it comes out in hard-copy.

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Now playing: Muse - Plug In Baby
via FoxyTunes

Right now, I’m shuffling around the house and listening to Triple J broadcast (via the interweb) the 2007 Hottest 100. The stream cuts out for a few seconds every couple of minutes, but it’s better than a kick in the shins, especially given I don’t have a conventional radio at the moment.

If that isn’t enough to keep you entertained, check out that wacky Tom Cruise getting totally excited about Scientology. Kudos to Gawker for not bowing to legal bullying and continuing to host the video.

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Now playing: “triplej 2″
via FoxyTunes

Some quick links:

Mashups of recent chart music I want to check out here and here.

Basic Instructions advises how to prioritise your friends (I can relate to this, battling to get our wedding guest list to a manageable/affordable size). Seriously, I love Basic Instructions!

Informative and useful graphic that explains why high heels are evil.

Do you liked wood smoked meats? I do too! Check this out…

Podcasts of Watchtower and Awake magazines.

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Now playing: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of PA - JW: Awake! (gE M4B) 2008-03
via FoxyTunes

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a big Greenday fan. You can knock them if you want, but they delivered something that although not entirely original or unique, is honest, raw and fun. In my opinion, no band since has been able to beat them at their own game.

Lead singer and guitarist (and primary song-writer) Billie Joe Armstong was recently interviewed in Rolling Stone. I like this guy - he doesn’t pretend to be anything other then himself, and seems to place a premium on thinking for himself. I found one of his statements in particular particularly resonant:

…there is so much information out there with no power to it.

He was talking about how people have a hard time discerning between useful information and useless information, particularly in this modern and connected world. I reckon he is spot on.

Another thing he mentioned also struck a chord with me. The interviewer was seeking to find out what changed as he was getting older, and he responded with this:

Before Dookie, I wasn’t married and I didn’t have kids. I had a guitar, a bag of clothes and a four-track recorder. There are ways you don’t want to change. You don’t want to lose your spark. But I need silence more than I did before. I need to get away from the static and noise, whereas before, I thrived on it.

Amen.

And finally, one more thing I can relate to, and that I think is important to recognise with anything that some people can get truly passionate about:

We need music, and we need it good. I took it very seriously. There’s a side of me where music will always send chills up my spine, make me cry, make me want to get up and do Pete Townshend windmills. In a lot of ways, I was in a minority when I was young. There are people who go, “Oh, that’s a snappy tune.” I listen to it and go, “That’s the greatest f***ing song ever. That is the song I want played at my funeral.”

Some people would find that last statement morbid, but I totally know what he means - some music speaks a deeper truth, and it is sad when most people don’t recognise a masterpiece when they hear one. Alternatively, it is also a shame most people don’t recognise utter crap when they hear it either.

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Now playing: Sarah Blasko - {Explain}
via FoxyTunes

I had a ‘gut-feeling’ about the Mohamed Haneef case at a fairly early point that something wasn’t adding up. I wasn’t sure, and wasn’t even able to articulate why I felt that Mr Haneef seemed to be getting a raw deal. And I still can’t. It just smelt fishy to me.

But in a turn of events that seems to vindicate my completely inexplicable and unscientific method of opinion forming, it seems as though the poor bloke really was getting the rough end of the pineapple. Apparently, prior to his arrest and detention here in Australia, he made efforts to contact British police, in what could only be an attempt to assist with their inquiries. Hardly the actions of a terrorist in my opinion.

One scandal surrounds Mr Haneef’s unjust detention and subsequent cancellation of his working visa. However, the other scandal that has reared its head is the way this has been used as a political device in an election year. Various politicians, of all stripes, and in both the state and federal arena’s have used this situation to score political points, and to push various ‘ideological’ carts. In particular, the Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has inserted himself into a police matter, and made what was a criminal investigation a political campaign. I have little doubt that if the police had been able to do their job without political interference, this would have been resolved correctly, and quickly. Mr Haneef certainly had questions to answer, but the way his rights were trampled on is a shame, and it makes me wonder just how safe are the rights the rest of us Australians take for granted?