425 people from NSW prefer Howard as PM

As everyone knows there are many ways to present statistical data.

There's a poll out today and it's been getting ridiculous headlines, like "Most Australians want Howard to stay as PM". But if you read the articles, you'll discover that my headline is equally valid.

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Return of the Living Dead

More on the Government tapping my phone.

"The issuing authority, that is the judge, has to be satisfied in relation to a number of other matters, that is that the privacy of a person won't be unduly interfered with," Mr Ruddock said.

"He has to take into account that the gravity of the seriousness of the offences being investigated, how much information will be likely to assist in the investigation by the agency, to what extent alternative methods of investigating it have been used and how much use of such methods would be likely to assist the investigation by the agency of the offence, and how much the uses of the methods would be likely to prejudice an investigation by the agency of an offence."

"So you can see these are very significant tests that have to be satisfied."

What seems to be missing is any test about whether they're tapping the phone of the wrong person.

Also, what about the government's ability to re-use the information gathered for things not related to an offense carrying a minimum term of seven years?

Now, you might think I'm paranoid; but, these people have done nothing to make me trust their competence, let alone earn my trust. The Zombie used to run Immigration. You can't tell me that there's no chance of mistaken identity.

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Aaaaarrrggghhh

So, the Living Dead believes that it is necessary to tap the phones of people not suspected of a crime. I'm just too tired to rant about this stuff anymore. Let this be a lesson to those who don't think we need a Bill of Rights.

We're living in a police state, the terrorists have won. I'm not sure when they won, but it had definitely happened by the time the 'Howard we've known about that?' Government started to abuse their senate majority.

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What music videos teach us

This story, that I really just skimmed through, brings to mind something I had forgotten about. Who is killing the women of the maquiladoras?

It was late one night and we were watching some music show and this video came on for a band that I can't remember the name of, but they were heavy (it was the 'indie' show). What is memorable is that their video was one of those that put captions up throughout the whole thing explaining some injustice, like that Rage Against The Machine video about Leonard Peltier.

This one told the story of these women who went missing and how all the murders were still unsolved (and mostly uninvestigated).

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Will the indignity never end?

Right, so now the Japanese 'scientific' whale harvest actually takes more whales than the Japanese people want to eat.

I'd heard something previously about the supply outstipping the demand: that it is only the older people who eat whale. The younger McDonalds'-bred generation think it's gross.

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Those evil-doers have gone too far...

Wildlife crews filming the BBC's latest natural history spectacular, Planet Earth, hit an unlikely obstacle in the Himalayas - al-Qaida.

Possibly stopping us getting the lastest David Attenborough series, that's going too far.

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Finally, years of effort pays off...

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Iraq seriously considering buying US wheat

Getting our wheat markets (and trying to get Kofi Annan) was the whole reason the U.S. started complaining about the oil-for-food program. It's funny how there's no U.S. Senate investigation of U.S. companies or politicians, only foreign ones.

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I'm sure they'll be handsomely rewarded

Yeah, right.

First, let's check back in five years and see if they still have employment:

U.K. call-centre staff go without pay to save firm

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We all have to put up with election results we don't like

Two interesting articles related to Hamas' not-unexpected election win:

Mr President, The Terrorists Have Won by Abhinav Aima from Common Dreams

Sample paragraph:

The larger issue here, of course, is of the inability of the U.S. government to respect a democratically elected government that is critical of American policies. This historical U.S. policy of Sulk-and-Destroy is amply substantiated by the history of American actions in Central and South America, where the U.S. has repeatedly preferred to do business with friendly drug dealers and dictators than conduct responsible policy with a democratically elected hostile government.

Israel Could Benefit From Hamas Victory by Ira Chernus from Common Dreams:

What you won’t hear, outside some left-wing Jewish circles (which continue to flourish, thankfully), is the story of how Israeli policies have sustained and promoted Hamas over the years. Israel started funding the fledgling Hamas nearly 30 years ago. Ever since, Israel has supported Hamas. The funding may have stopped (though maybe not; who knows?).

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