Month: December 2007

Spinning Girl
In which direction is the girl spinning, anti-clockwise or clockwise?

Can you make her spin in both directions?

This dichotomous animation seems analogous to the shameful assassination of Benazir Bhutto yesterday. Depending on the observer, she either died from banging her head on the car sunroof, or she was shot, whilst depending on the mouthpiece, her assassins were either Al Qaeda fanatics or Musharraf supporters.

Pakistan is certainly reeling at present. Benazir’s calm resolute attitude and determination to steer the country toward democracy in the midst of impoverishment and ignorance was an inspiration. Her sainthood just might do the trick.

Addendum:

Bilawal takes up the cudgels on behalf of his mum – ‘democracy is the best revenge’. Take that, you dictator Musharraf. Yet in a country with minimal availability of decent education unsoaked in religious twaddle, democracy has poor soil in which to flourish. Religious madrassahs are often the only option for non-city Pakistani youth to obtain any education whatsoever. The other essential components for democracy … a free parliament and judiciary are lacking, whilst the last, a free press, like education, is limited to city areas. Musharraf has kept an iron lid on the god botherers whilst benefiting from their implementation of primitive teachings to keep the people ignorant and impotent, and the country destabilised.

â€œI contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.â€

– Stephen Roberts

The poised, dry-witted Julia Gillard has made history, becoming the first woman in our country’s top job. She will be Acting PM for two whole days whilst Kevvie is at the Bali climate change conference.

Julia’s achievements represent a triumph of reason against far right losers who have in the past projected their perverted mental and social retardation in criticising Julia for being barren and single, i.e. an ‘unnatural’ being.

Taking their idiocies with a grain of salt, Julia says:

“I think that one of the problems for women is that historically there’s been no right answer – if you don’t have kids, then people say you can’t understand everyone else’s life experience, and if you do have kids, then people say who’s looking after the kids while you’re doing all of this.

I think what we’ve got to recognise is that whether it’s men or whether it’s women going into politics it brings a lifestyle strain … I’ve had people literally screech to a halt next to me in their car when I’ve been wandering along the street, women winding down windows screaming out of their car, ‘If you want some kids you can have mine’, and I’m not sure they were talking about a short-term lend.”

She has taken on the combined portfolio, Employment and Workplace Relations and Education in addition to her acting PM and Deputy PM roles.

We wouldn’t be at all surprised if Julia became the next Labor PM, she has the goods, and in our opinion would make a better job of it than anyone else with her down to earth common sense, decency and honesty.

After more than a century of determined effort by the first women suffragists and following activists, feminists and supporters working to elevate women’s opportunities in Oz, we can all pat ourselves on the back – and there’s no going back now. You’ve come a long way, baby!