Quiz Update

To nobody’s surprise, Rob Corr is the leftmost of the left to take the Australian Political Quiz so far, with an economic score of 4. Tex is the furthest right, with an economic index of 19. Jason Soon not far away with 18.

Not many conservatives yet, with most Social indices between 11 and 16. I’m still looking forward to Niall and Steve posting results. A few naughty bloggers have been posting their scores in Jason Soon’s comments as well. Rob Schaap not far from his fellow Rob with an economic index of 5.

We Are All Infidels

I don’t believe in any sort of God and I don’t really care if my readers do or not.

I don’t believe Jesus Christ ever rose from the dead and I’m not 100% convinced that he ever really existed at all.

I don’t believe I should be banned from drinking beer on Good Friday, because I like beer a lot more than I like chocolate eggs.

I don’t believe in biblical prophecies about the Jews returning to their homeland or any such thing.

I do believe that Israel has a right to exist.

I do believe that the Israel Defence Force has the right to defend the innocent citizens of Israel from the murderous pieces of shit who believe that Democracy, Freedom, Science and Capitalism are crimes against “God”. By any means necessary.

I believe a great many strident atheists let their distaste of anything religious cloud their view of Israel. It’s not about God. It’s about freedom.

Jew, Christian, Hindu, Agnostic, Atheist, Wiccan, Whatever: We are all Infidels in the eyes of fundamentalist Islam.

I believe I’m going to stick this picture on my blog and leave it there. You can too if you want.

TATU Claims ABC Bias

Oops…

JUDITH TORZILLO: Harry Potter goes forward emotionally a lot but also learns a lot about what happens and why he is who he is. Definitely I think it’s an amazing book and anyone should read it, everyone should read it.

KERRY O’BRIEN: I don’t know how Harry scrubs up at 15 but Judith Torzillo isn’t bad for 11.

Let’s see David Marr explain this one. Tim Blair has more.

Job For Christopher Hitchens

Tim Blair may also be interested in applying to write a column for this excellent new publication:

In a market which already boasts a myriad of titles catering for minority interests, the Modern Drunkard has found a surprising niche. The motto of its 38-year-old editor, Frank Rich, is taken from the writer, Charles Bukowski: “When you were drunk, the world was still out there, but at least it didn’t have you by the throat.”

This is the consoling message that Mr Rich has decided to send from editorial offices, complete with bar, in downtown Denver, Colorado. Each month, readers can browse through a range of drink-related news stories, witty, intelligent reflections on the creative benefits of alcoholic excess, and uplifting celebrations of the lives of great drunks.

“A lot of the time, it is alcohol which helps us to function in difficult circumstances. Look at Churchill. He was more or less drinking all the way through the Second World War. If you took any list of the greatest politicians, writers and artists that the world has produced, you’d find it dominated by functioning alcoholics.”

Online Version

Legislation Required

With all the concern about Murdoch and Packer trying to rule the world, an even bigger threat has gotten under everyone’s radar:

EDDIE McGuire is in the running to become boss of Channel 9 Melbourne.

Nine executives in Sydney have been assessing McGuire’s suitability to take on the managing director role while still hosting The Footy Show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and footy commentating.

A well-placed Nine source said while the move would be unconventional, network chiefs were looking closely at McGuire.

“In a sense, he’s unique in this business,” the source said.

You know what else would be”unique”? If a GIANT MUTANT SPACE ALIEN TRIED TO EAT THE EARTH. That would be pretty unique.

French Army Almost Shoots Something

Obviously they didn’t check the receipt:

A SWISS air traffic controller jokingly put an “al-Qaeda” label on a French helicopter that strayed into restricted air space during the Group of Eight summit, nearly leading to a shootdown by the French air force, officials confirmed today.

The unidentified controller put the tag on his radar screen during the June 1-3 meeting in Evian, France, on Lake Geneva, said Patrick Herr, spokesman for the air traffic firm Skyguide.

Herr confirmed a report on a Swiss German television news program that the French military picked up the label on its own radar and immediately scrambled Mirage fighter jets.

Only at the last moment, when they were ready to shoot down the intruder, did the Mirage pilots realise that it was a French transportation helicopter, officials said.

Maybe I should have applied to be an ATC in Switzerland instead…

More Chance Of Seeing God

Somehow, I don’t think Fremantle footy fans are going to be as easy to convince as South Koreans. It’s hard enough getting some of us to wear shirts and shoes, let alone colour co-ordinated outfits:

Remember those great scenes from the 2002 World Cup soccer when South Korean fans dressed themselves in the national team colours and turned the stadium into a sea of red, creating a daunting scene to greet opposition teams.

The round 18 clash against Richmond at Subiaco is the day the Club wants its supporters to create a Subiaco Purple Haze. With the passion of Freo supporters well known, it is a day the Club wants to see the home crowd create a similar overwhelming scene to greet the Tigers as they run onto Subiaco Oval.

It’s probably banned at Subiaco Oval anyway.

Leech Like You’ve Never Leeched Before

Unlimited Download ADSL Broadband: $65 a month at Dodo. The name may prove eerily prophetic, after what happened to Dingo Blue.

Good News For Backpackers

The UK Government has decided to relax some of the restrictions on Working Holiday Visas for Australian tourists.

The changes are:

1) All work restrictions in the UK will be removed – Previously the rule was you couldn’t work in “an industry or occupation that you worked in for x time in Australia.” That is, you weren’t supposed to further your career under a working holiday visa – just earn a bit of cash for beer. If you were an Accountant at home, you have to work in a pub in England and vice versa.

2) The upper age limit for WHMs will be extended from 27 to 30 – This is especially good news for me, as it means I might actually still have time to do the London thing when I finish my degree.

3) WHMs will be permitted to switch to a work permit visa after one year in the UK – This is probably the most significant change of all. Previously, if you got a job in the UK and parlayed it into the beginning of a career, you had to leave the country and sit through a “cooling off” period before getting a proper work visa. The previous situation made employers very wary of employing backpackers in career-oriented positions, because they got the feeling they were just training them for someone else.

As I said, pretty good news. Also, they are probably too busy looking for terrorists nowadays to hassle us so much at Heathrow. Aussies used to get the very large and blunt end of stick of the profiling there.

(note, this post goes in “Unemployment” because I don’t have a category for “Employment”. Perhaps I should change that…)

Anti-Semitic Professor Forgets To Lie

Jew-hating Oxford professor Andrew Wilkie wrote the following email in response to an Israeli student’s application for a Doctoral position:

From: “Andrew Wilkie” awilkie@worf.molbiol.ox.ac.uk
To: “Amit Duvshani”
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: PhD application

Dear Amit Duvshani,

Thank you for contacting me, but I don’t think this would work. I have a huge problem with the way that the Israelis take the moral high ground from their appalling treatment in the Holocaust, and then inflict gross human rights abuses on the Palestinians because they (the Palestinians) wish to live in their own country.

I am sure that you are perfectly nice at a personal level, but no way would I take on somebody who had served in the Israeli army. As you may be aware, I am not the only UK scientist with these views but I’m sure you will find another suitable lab if you look around.

Yours sincerely,
Andrew Wilkie

>From Little Green Footballs, who have lots of comments.

Update: The Telegraph has picked up the story.