Bush sets us straight

President Bush has suggested that the Palestinians get themselves a new leader - obviously supporting the idea that the root of problem there is actually Arafat, and has nothing to do with the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The idea has some merit. Of course while we are at it, and to stay consistent, I'd say let's get rid of Ariel Sharon. Surely with the two of them out of the way, we might have a better chance than ever to get to a peaceful resolution. While we are at it, we could call for democracy in Saudi Arabia. And Pakistan. And Tibet. And Afghanistan.

Best of all, the USA could have an election and maybe next time get a president they actually voted for as well. So yes, let's get rid Arafat (via an election of course), but only on condition of getting rid of Sharon and Bush as well. Now that would be a day for rejoicing!

Military Madness

"I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism"

-- Martin Luther King

Pardon? ... who has hardened their hearts?

I hope Mike Sanders doesn't represent the views of the majority of Americans. In his recent blog he claims that the "Liberal Heart" is hardening, apparantly because liberals are trying to understand the motives of Palestinian suicide bombers. It seems liberals are not showing enough compassion (at least by whatever standard Mike Sanders uses) for Israeli suffering.

This is the usual category error made by those who hold views similar to Mike - he mistakes the desire and attempt to understand the motives of such people as the Al Qaeda and the Palestinian suicide bombers as agreement with their actions or condonement of their behaviour. Mike likes to portray himself as reasonable and rational (while still holding to his views with passion of course), but I see no attempt to understand the whole situation. Everything is so clear to him (eg his discussions on "moral clarity"). "They" are just murderers, simple, one dimensional murderers; the Israeli government is "simply" defending itself and its citizens. It never seems to occur to him that there might be reasons beyond such simplistic categorisations of "the muderers". For Mike Sanders, it seems, to explain and to understand is to say it is good and right.

It is often said (I at least I have heard it often enough, even from our own Prime Minister), that the world changed on September the 11th. This is a disappointing assessment. The world didn't change at all. The world behaved much as it always had. The citizens of America (and Australia) should not say the world changed, they should say "now we know how much of the rest of the world has suffered too. Now we understand better. Now lets do what we can to make the world experience better than this".

I just cannot see how more war, so called "pre-emptive strikes" and a refusal to understand why someone might attack you will help make the world a better place. I believe this will lead to even greater hatred and violence. This will be true in Israel and Palestine, and it will be true the world over.

I think that Mike Sanders is the one who has hardened his heart against the Palestinians.

Burning Coals, Motivation and Spirituality

David Weinberger's blog about Walking Over Hot BS reminded me of a radio program recently broadcast in Australia by the ABC, on their weekly background briefing program.

It was titled: The Colonel Cinders Syndrome: Motivation in the Workplace

It talks about how such techniques as walking on hot coals has become a common technique to get us all "motivated".

Here is an extract of the broadcast regarding an incident involving KFC:


"Gerald Tooth: There are also real, physical dangers involved in playing mind games with your workers.

Mark Colvin on PM: You may have seen those TV stunt programs where children are warned, �Don�t try this at home folks, we�re professionals.� It�s a warning that should perhaps have been heeded by people who attempted a fire walk at a resort near Newcastle in New South Wales. Thirty people had their feet burnt in a firewalking exercise that went wrong earlier today. Seven of them were so badly burnt they had to be taken to hospital. Rafael Epstein reports.

Rafael Epstein: This reporter hasn�t tried it, but I�m told the trick to firewalking is to let the coals burn for some time. But for some people on a motivational course in Salamander Bay near Newcastle, something clearly went wrong.

Lisa Taylor from Horizons Resort.

Lisa Taylor: At this stage, neither the organisers of the exercise or Horizons Golf Resort have an understanding of how the incident occurred. However all parties� first priority is to the health and safety of the delegates involved�

Gerald Tooth: Thirty of KFC�s managers, including Managing Director Roger Eaton were injured in the incident that occurred in late February. Twenty were in fact taken to hospital, seven with serious burns to their feet, while the rest were treated by ambulance officers at the scene.At the time, Roger Eaton was quoted as saying that despite the burns, the event had appeared to have some bonding effect, and that he was sure they�d all laugh about it afterwards. Now though, KFC, which is run by parent company Tricon Restaurants, is refusing to comment on the incident. "


This speaks for itself, I think. I am deeply suspicious of companies which try to motivate me with such techniques; I am even more suspicious of anyone trying to create spirituality by such means.

Soccer as a moral endeavour

Hmmm .... as I heard on the radio this morning.... in the aftermath of losing the game, the italians did what all good soccer players do, they blamed the referee!

I also heard that the coach claimed that in any case, Italy had the "moral" victory!!!

I am starting to think that perhaps the UN should design a series of soccer games to resolves key problems between nations - so that war would be possible, and legitmate, only if the loser refused to abide by the refs decision.

The ref would, of course, have to be a committee consisting of Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha.

The Meaning of Life

Why don't you have no brushes any more,
I used to like your style.
I see no paintings anywhere
and there's no smell of turpentine.
Did it really have no meaning?
Well I never thought I'd hear those words from you.
Who needs a meaning anyway,
I'd settle any day
for a very fine view.

by Sandy Denny,
from her song "No End",
on the Album "Like an Old Fashioned Waltz"
about 1977, Island records
(In my old vinyl record collection)

Its funny how you just don't get tired of some music.

Truth, Justice and the American Way

American philosopher Richard Rorty has a paper on his web site (at Stanford University) titled The decline of redemptive truth and the rise of literary culture. This is brilliant article expressing simply and clearly a view of truth and enquiry which I find refreshing and well, encouraging. Questions like "Does truth exist?" he says seem fatuous and pointless. He points out that the question isn't asking if there are true things or not, but rather the question is shorthand for "do you think that there is a natural terminus to enquiry, a way things really are, and that understanding what that way is will tell us what to do with ourselves?"

He does not believe there is, and instead puts the idea that inquiry is another name for problem solving and that it will never come to an end. His thesis in the paper is that "Western intellectual life may usefully be thought of first as progress from� religion to philosophy, and then from philosophy to literature."

One conclusion he draws toward the end is "that the only point of getting rid of the priests and the kings, of setting up democratic governments, of taking from each according to her abilities and giving to each according to her needs, and of thereby creating the Good Global Society, is to make it possible for people to lead the sort of lives they prefer, as long as their doing so does not diminish the opportunities of other humans to do the same thing."

He sums up by saying "in utopia the intellectuals will have given up the idea that there is a standard against which the products of the human imagination can be measured other than their social utility, as this utility is judged by a maximally free, leisured and tolerant global community.� They will have stopped thinking that the human imagination is getting somewhere, that there is one far off cultural event toward which all cultural creation moves. They will have given up the identification of redemption with the attainment of perfection. They will have taken fully to heart the maxim that it is the journey that matters. "

In these days when the most powerful country on the planet seems all too willing to lead us devastating war and conflict, and where we all seem so eager to follow, and where so many people are calling on "moral clarity" to justify creating even more misery on certain parts of the world they don't approve of, it is heartening to see not everyone is fooled.

Pity no-one is listening.

Beautiful Photographs on the Edge

At The Edge there is a wonderful set of images called "Twelve Flowers" by Katinka Matson. What is different is that these are produced via a flatbed scanner, not a camera. The images are quite beautiful - they are of flowers - with a kind of depth and colour that is remarkable. I'm viewing them on a modern high resolution LCD screen, and they are breathtaking!

Project Management

The secret of good (software) project management is:

"Ready ... Fire ... Aim ... Aim ... Aim ..."

This is good advice from the book "Planning Extreme Programming" by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler.
I think it applies to life in general too. Face the general direction, get moving, and then make constant course adjustment as you go along!

The Internet as Therapy?

I am a member of an Internet discussion group/mailing list which likes to solve the problems of the world, philosophy and the meaning of life. (The group is called MOLES - the Meaning Of Life and Everything Society). Usually we are arguing about things like "what is consciousness"; "Is there a God" and similar problems guaranteed to provide more opinions than there are members. Occasionally, some thing different pops up. Today, someone whose relationship had just broken up, and painfully, decided to post his anguish to the group, and asked for advice. We are putting some thoughts down, hopefully he will find some help there. He says that because we seem like intelligent people, we might be able to help. But of course, the ability to argue philosophically or logically about topics we like does not mean we have a clue about how to have a good relationship! But we can reach out anyway.

This is the thing I find amazing - people communicating with strangers, people they have never met, except through the words written on a screen. From all over the world. Almost instantaneously. There is definitely something different about this communication network. We connect in more ways than the obvious.

Simple Business Web Site Design

I like HTMinimalism. I'm sick of of busy, complicated, heavy, hard to find your way around business web designs. I've gone through the details of a particular site which shall remain nameless. I can hardly get over how complicated things are on it. Full of distractions like annoying advertising, useless news links, links to things you can't have access to, yet that was only the log-on page. Oh for simplicity in design, yet richness in usefulness. Sorry. I'm just ranting.