Fauna

Something about this sentence delights me:  Considering that the entire Australian fauna seems to have gone to school on the short bus,  even Neanderthal-class hunters would have caused a mass extinction.  Denisovians in Wallacea?

Tracking citizens

The US and Australia have a very different approach to identity and citizen tracking. In some ways, the system in the US promotes the activities it supposedly prevents.

In Australia, you have to verify your identity to obtain a cell phone number. The government isn't specifically tracking people, but requires telecommunications companies to retain two years of data, in case law enforcement does need the data. And of course with national health care, the government has access to everyone's health information - even addresses are linked to identity in this system.

In the US, on the other hand, because people are paranoid about the government tracking people, there is a paranoia about identity cards, databases, and the government being able to follow people. Anyone can get a cell phone number using whatever name they like. There are many different databases (most have been hacked by now). The social security number is used as a de facto national identity (making identity theft an amateur occupation). Health information has for the past 10+ years been used to deny people insurance coverage (new laws prohibit this, but everyone is still wary). And of course, we all know that in the absence of other means, the government has developed methods for recording every phone conversation.

And I'm wondering - have Australia's databases not been hacked (except by Rupert Murdoch), or have they just managed to not get the breaches in the news?

Have things changed?

I'd like to tag the guy in the tall hat with the names of a couple of Australian politicians, as well as a handful of people I've met who are associated with the university.

Bottom of the labor ladder

Taiwan is considered a developed nation, so it's surprising that jobs that would go to Mexicans in the US are taken by Taiwanese in Australia. --not exclusively -- there are young people from many nations who are on "working holiday" visas, and it's big business here. But at a hiring seminar, the person doing screening said there are many Taiwanese ex-military working in Australian housekeeping jobs. Meatworks whistleblower Amy Chang facing sacking from Teys Cargill abattoir after helping injured worker

Barnaby Joyce still defensive

Barnaby Joyce is still trying to defend himself in a recent editorial. Who has made a joke of Australia's biosecurity? Barnaby Joyce. The world now knows that those with private jets weren't being subjected to sniffer dogs and bag inspection. Or, at least they weren't until Barnaby Joyce needed to defend that two dogs got through. A dog wouldn't be able to smell another dog? Come on, Barnaby - someone wasn't doing their job. But instead of admitting there was a security breach, your answer is to jump on the world stage and threaten the death sentence for two Yorkshire terriers? Nice diversion, but yes, as they say, something about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted?

Your message about biosecurity might be taken a little more seriously if you'd just admit that someone screwed up and stop trying to defend your ridiculous bluster that the offending terriers needed to be put to death. - Barnaby Joyce: why I let fly at Johnny Depp

Aboriginal anti-hero

Not bad for a white fella? I got a "Distinction" on my Contemporary Indigenous Health and Wellbeing essay. But there is something that was never quite explained in the class. "WARNING: use caution viewing this film, as it may contain images or voices of dead persons."

I asked. I got an answer: the deceased needs to get on with their journey. When you use their name, you are calling them back. It is a sign of respect to not call them back and disturb their spirit by using their name.

Yet a big part of the class was learning about - "naming", if you will, deceased Aboriginal "heroes". In my mind, I developed an elaborate mental construct of a culture that didn't have heroes. What is a hero after all? It's making someone larger than human; it's the pinnacle of a hierarchical society - becoming a hero. In the hero culture, notable historical figures are no longer human, but shining, flawless creatures. I imagined a culture where there were no heroes, no hierarchy; only humans, with the elders representing the cultural wisdom - as humans, not heroes. And I imagined that the class needed to name Aboriginal "heroes" because white people needed the "hero version" to respect Aboriginal culture; they couldn't just respect people for being people. I imagined a culture where no matter how impressive or large someone was in life, once dead, they pass into the realm of The Dreaming, and the dreaming is everyone and everything; not just reserved for heroes. History books are filled with heroes; The Dreaming is the reflective moment in everyone's mind.

I imagined the strange irony of white culture posting images of Aboriginal "heroes" everywhere, as an attempt to generate respect, but at the same time, disrespecting by calling the deceased back from their journey.

It turns out my imagined culture was not quite right. I consulted with the spirits of my culture - Wikipedia - and they told me that after a couple of years, you can name the deceased. That the restriction on naming is not just about calling the deceased back from their journey, but it's also about the pain of the living, and to help the living get on with their journey out of sorry business. After a few years, the pain is not as intense, and the deceased are settled in The Dreaming, and the cycle goes on.

Is that right? Is the Bible right? Everybody's got their own interpretation and there are countless branches of religion. Hey, Wikipedia also says in Aboriginal culture, I don't have to talk to my mother-in-law?!

Barnaby Joyce, redux

I always wonder if I'm stating the obvious.  But Barnaby Joyce has sparked my imagination, so there's more...  The incident illustrates so many issues.

First: the true face of nationalism in the modern world.  People in
Australia have dogs for pets.  People in the US,  France,  and any
number of other developed nations not only have dogs for pets,  but also
nearly the exact same level of veterinary care for those dogs.  Any
international traveler,  even from an undeveloped country,  if they can
afford to bring their dog on an airplane,  likely has a high level of
veterinary oversight of that dog. Yet most nations likely have more
streamlined procedures for bulk shipping of carcasses than individual live
pets that have likely received a higher level of veterinary oversight.  Every
nation likes to pretend it's guarding its borders against foreign
pestilence,  but likely only has spot checks for the high volume of
commercial traffic in plants and animals.  Sure,  shippers get certified
or inspected.  Sure,  corruption and shortcuts exist in every country. 
Except on Barnaby Joyce's watch!*

*except private planes

The petty bureaucrat gets his moment in the spotlight. In this moment,
the unspoken hero guarding borders and keeping Australia safe from
pestilence becomes MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SEXIEST MAN ON EARTH. Just ask
him!  He can put these animals to death!  It's the law!  Power often
makes people,  especially men,  more sexy than their physical bodies
might suggest. But even though Barnaby Joyce is strutting his power and Australian might to the world, he would never be corrupted that way.  Nor would he
consider that the department of agriculture might potentially make some
really good income operating a high end quarantine "spa"  for pampered
jet-setting pets. Nope -  they must be put to death.  Because Australia
must set an example -  not just for the world of Johnny Depp fans who
may be tempted to smuggle small lap dogs,  but for poor asylum seekers
as well.  Pistol and Boo weren't even offered the Nauru or Papua New
Guinea option,  and if Barnaby Joyce were in charge of immigration, 
Australia could cut millions from its asylum seeker offshore prisons.*  Just think of the tax savings?!

*Australia's Guantanamo