Should the Daily Telegraph have published the dead soldier’s family photo, lifted from his Facebook profile? I (and others) have been having an interesting discussion with Laurel Papworth with some surprising extracts from Facebook’s Terms of Use.
Dead cat waving
Go read John Birmingham’s angry rant about the government’s recent straight-up racist demonisation of Sudanese migrants. I was so angry with immigration minister Kevin Andrews last week I couldn’t actually write for fear my brain would explode. Birmingham has let his explode — and the world is a better place for it.
All Hail Malcolm the Second
“If we are fortunate, Malcolm Turnbull will be the next Liberal Prime Minister of Australia,” says Mercurius Goldstein at Online Opinion. I mentioned once that Turnbull would be the Liberals’ best leadership choice. Goldstein explains just why that’s the case — and along the way presents a magnificent essay on the nature of compromise in politics. Some of those whingeing about Peter Garrett this week should read and consider every word. Thanks to Larvartus Prodeo for the pointer.
Warning, I’m reading Clive James
Fair warning: Over the next few weeks my writing is likely to become more introspective, and I’m likely to use longer sentences. Because I’ve started reading Clive James’ book Cultural Amnesia.
I haven’t read any of James’ books before. His TV shows annoyed me, mostly because his slightly-too-clever scripting was delivered in that, flat deadpan style of someone implying “I’m cleverer than you, so I’ll speak slowly so you realise how clever I am.” Or so it felt to me. But when I read an interview about Cultural Amnesia back in March, it triggered so many wonderful thoughts that I was inspired — nay, forced to write Stay alert, ye nameless, toiling animals.
I still think it’s one of my better essays.
So when I finally saw Cultural Amnesia in paperback, I had to grab it. 35 pages in, I’m rapt.
“Worse than Abu Ghraib”
After lunch today, this is what my email inbox looked like. I know the folks at New Matilda wouldn’t be big fans of News Limited columnist Piers Ackerman, but this!
I’ve previously posted a similar faux pas.
Bennelong Time Since I Rock and Rolled
John Howard meets Led Zeppelin? This music video is actually rather well produced. The YouTube election campaign will be interesting, methinks!
This video — and the others by Cyrius01 — raise an interesting issue about “political advertising”. Note that there’s no “written and authorised by” blurb at the end. Does that matter? Or is this really just “a citizen expressing an opinion”, as he might over a pint at the local pub?
It used to be that producing and distributing “political advertising” took money, and plenty of it. Now, the means of production are in everyone’s hands, and the means of distribution, like YouTube, are there for the taking too. No longer is Davo’s incredibly amusing impersonation of George W Bush confined to the front bar — 15 minutes later it’s online for the world to see. And yet our rules on political advertising are still stuck in the 20th Century.
Clearly something needs to be changed, somehow — but how?
[Update 1200 midday: This is now Crikey‘s Video of the Day.]