News thread

I'm sure you've all heard about it the siege in Sydney by now..

...I have now. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-australia-30475711

I'm normally a peaceful man, but the whole Islamic militant thing makes my blood temperature surge.

Really sad news yesterday out of Paris. I find it difficult to understand how a satirical cartoon can incite such hatred in people.

#JeSuisCharlie

Historical sidenote: called that because they used to print the French translations of Charlie Brown comics. I say this to avoid thinking about the horror of being killed simply because you were good at your job. Satire is much deeper and more savage in France...

Yeah the news is pretty horrific, I was up when it was breaking on abc news24 and it was pretty shocking stuff to hear as more and more information about it broke.  What worries me most is that they got away and are still on the loose, even though I couldn't be further away from France I won't feel comfortable until they catch the assailants, as I imagine most people won't be.  Now they've done this there's no telling how far they'll go, although I have a few ideas what might occur and I pray it doesn't.

I've heard that they were probably professional assassins. Scary stuff indeed. Thoughts and prayers etc.

Thoughts and prayers also with France's moderate Muslim community, as these things usually come back to bite them.

DoPo: I don't know how many of you live in London, or have come to the Natural History Museum while in London.  Me, it was as much a part of my childhood as Sesame Street and Mario games.  

I watched a very ropey cartoon on artiodactyls again and again, could recite verbatim the speech that played at the beginning of the arthropods exhibit, and the giant diplodocus skeleton in the main hall inspired me to make the diplodocus my favourite dinosaur.

And now it's gone.  Whale?  I'll whale, all right.

I absolutely love the NHM, it's one of my favourite places in the world and I make a point to visit every time I go to London, if I can. Dippy was incredible but change is good, and the whale skeleton is pretty imposing as well. I actually find the whale room, just the size of these things and the fact that there are some swimming around somewhere right now, quite overwhelming.

I really want to go watch some documentaries about oceanic life now.

Wow - I was worried that the whole museum was closing for a few seconds! I'm not so invested in the Natural History Museum, but I do like going to the National Gallery. The skill, effort and time hanging on every wall is breathtaking and inspiring.

I thought that when I first saw Balla's thread as well.

Funny, I've never been big on art galleries. I can appreciate good work and what's gone into it, but I'm just not personally very artistic. I look at something, think "yep, that's good" and move on.

That's about what I do, as well. Every time I go, though, there is at least one thing that catches my eye, makes me stop and makes me happy.

I'm in the ZJ camp: not the biggest fan of the old art gallery, but I'll take time to appreciate some of the better works.

I can do without portraits and featureless landscapes, though, and at the other end of the spectrum I'm not fond of "throw some random objects up in the air, glue them where they land, call it art" school of modern art. Give me a rampaging tiger or a dreamscape (preferably one that make sense) any day.

I'll always have time for the impressionists, though. Monet and Seurat did wonderful things with colour and light.

And my earlier post was poorly worded, until you click on the link: apologies!

Aw, man... there's a bit of me that's still an inner 9-year-old, and thinks that dinosaurs are the awesomest things on the planet.
(or not on the planet)

I haven't been to the Natural History Museum in years, but it's always interesting.

The last museum I went to was the Victoria and Albert Museum. You like 10000 different pieces of cloth from throughout the ages? Here you go. (Sorry, I know that negative attitude probably makes me a philistine, but I'm trying to counteract that with love for the Natural History / Science museums)

I never really got the appeal of the V&A, to be honest. I'm sure there are plenty of people who love it, though, and find the Natural History Museum. Those people are wrong, though. Dinosaurs and Whales are the bomb.

Damn straight.

Looks like the Conservatives in Australia are tearing themselves apart and there is a slim possibility we could have a new Prime Minister next Tuesday.  There might be a spill in the Liberal Party and consequently, a vote for leader and Prime Minister.  Personally, I think that Tony Abbott will hang on, but he will be mortally wounded and limp on until they finally instal a new leader.  I am thoroughly enjoying all of this as Tony Abbott easily the worst leader we have ever had in my lifetime, worse than Howard and Fraser.  I don't hate the Liberal Party, but currently they are very far to the right and trying to destroy things like universal healthcare and university (deregulating fees).  Over here they are called wets (centre) and dries (right) or small 'l' and big 'L' and I can live with the wet, small 'l'.

I'm just relishing in the amazing poetic justice that is the current fate of the liberals.  They spend four years carrying on about trust being paramount, lies being pure evil, leadership being chosen by anyone besides the public being wrong, and how the budget needs to be fixed tomorrow lest the continent explode, and now they're reaping the well deserved punishments for spouting all of that nonsense in the first place by being in the exact same situation labor was.

As for what happens next tuesday?  They're effed whatever happens now in my humble opinion.  The public won't forgive them if they keep abbott, and I honestly don't think they have the stones to call the vote right now because unless a candidate steps forward they won't pull the trigger and Turnbull isn't politically suicidal and won't step forward unless he has effectively already won.  I agree with the general consensus I've been hearing, that Abbott will win the current struggle and die a slow political death and be out later this year, in what is turning out to be a rerun of the Gillard government's chain of events on fast forward.

Woohoo, Abbott survived the spill motion!  I was worried for a while that we'd have another prime minister.  

Yeah, my reasons for wanting abbott to win aren't exactly pure, but I am a little sick of this farce in canberra. I honestly don't care whether it's under Abbott or someone else, I just want to see them sort their absolutely terrible policies out and start actually fixing the problems they claim to be fixing, because so far their absolutely incompetence has simply made Labors mess even bigger, and while Labor were somewhat incompetent they at least weren't trying to ruin the lives of the sick and the elderly, until the Liberals sort out their attacks on the disability and aged pensions and their awful attempt at "reforming" medicare they have nothing but my distrust and dislike, and a bit of my ill will as well.

Which is a shame because if they were more moderated and logical about things I could actually see myself buying in to some of their ideologies such as beginning to repair the budget, but at the price they're asking? Eff that, I don't see why the bottom of society need to be shoved even further below the poverty line just to fix a completely fictional budget crisis when the biggest wealthiest of the country aren't even going to tip in. That's both unfair and unnecessary, and ruins some of the unique things that make Australia one of the nicer nations to live in.

Big ol' science nerd here, with something that is pretty cool.

Highlights how much we still don't know about our planet, which to my mind is a great thing - as long as we can not destroy ourselves before finding it out.

Um....

That is a strange one but if you read it, it makes sense and as we know Australia is kinda weird being a PAL / EU region in terms of games and tech but take the national football team they now play in Asia (current champs) not Oceania anymore plus it's on continent as well.

Well this is kinda big.

That article, Balla, serves to amaze me and remind me of the following quote (or paraphrasing, given my memory) from Professors Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw: "The entirety of science, including now, is made up of all the theories that have yet to be disproved".

Could someone with a better grasp of physics explain that article to me in plainer terms? I get the gist but I don't understand the finer points of it.

JayMoyles wrote:

Could someone with a better grasp of physics explain that article to me in plainer terms? I get the gist but I don't understand the finer points of it.

I don't get the finer points myself, but I am good with that. I never felt the need to understand things which I know to be beyond my mental abilities. It doesn't answer the same question of the Big Bang though; what existed before? How can something exist forever? Everything surely starts somewhere at some time with something right? Oh well, it is all too hard, I will just have to give up my intelligent, scientific ways and find religion, that has all the answers wrapped up neatly.