Snooper’s Charter: 19,000 Emails Against, 0 In Favour

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14 October 2012
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Back in August, I urged people to respond to the consultation on the truly dreadful Draft Communications Bill, aka Snooper’s Charter. Obviously, I wasn’t alone in doing that: many organisations concerned about the impact on civil liberties in this country have done the same. For example, both 38 Degrees and Open Rights Group (ORG) provided suggested texts and asked people to contact the Joint Parliamentary Committee that has been considering the Bill – and doing rather a good job of it, I must say.

Out of 19,000 emails received by the Committee on the subject of the proposed Draft Communications Bill, not a single one was in favour of it, or even agreed with its premise. Has there ever been a bill so universally rejected by the public in a consultation? Clearly, it must be thrown out completely — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Mysterious elk-shaped structure discovered in Russia

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14 October 2012
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In History, Science
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A huge geoglyph in the shape of an elk or deer discovered in Russia may predate Peru’s famous Nazca Lines by thousands of years.

The animal-shaped stone structure, located near Lake Zjuratkul in the Ural Mountains, north of Kazakhstan, has an elongated muzzle, four legs and two antlers. A historical Google Earth satellite image from 2007 shows what may be a tail, but this is less clear in more recent imagery.

Excluding the possible tail, the animal stretches for about 900 feet (275 meters) at its farthest points (northwest to southeast), the researchers estimate, equivalent to two American football fields. The figure faces north and would have been visible from a nearby ridge — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Gerhard Richter painting sells for record £21m

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14 October 2012
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An oil painting by the German artist Gerhard Richter has sold for £21m ($34m) — an auction record for a work by a living artist.

Abstraktes Bild, painted in 1994 , which was owned by rock star Eric Clapton, has been described as a masterpiece of calculated chaos.

The artwork, expected to fetch £9-12m, was sold to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby’s in London on Friday.

A round of applause broke out as the painting went under the hammer.

Gerhard Richter, 80, who lives in Cologne, is considered by some to be the world’s greatest living painter — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Scientists uncover mystery of ball lightning

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14 October 2012
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A team of Australian scientists believe they have uncovered the cause of one of nature’s most bizarre phenomenon — ball lightning.

Ball lightning is typically the size of a grapefruit and lasts up to 20 seconds.

Ball lightning has been reported by hundreds of people, for hundreds of years and it has been a mystery, said CSIRO scientist John Lowke, lead author of a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres — via redwolf.newsvine.com

DeLorean DNA / Romain Jerome

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14 October 2012
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In Design
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Fittingly the DeLorean DNA watch case is made of brushed stainless steel, while the bezel of the watch is made using metal from an original DeLorean DMC-12. A total of 23 jewels have been used for the watch which houses a Swiss mechanical automatic calibre RJ001-CH movement. The watch is water resistant up to 30 metres with a power reserve of 48 hours.

Romain Jerome wanted DeLorean DNA to remain true to the car’s aesthetic appeal and, as with all watches in the DNA series, certain elements have been melted together with the steel of the bezel. The dial is engraved with cross-strut traverses picking up the iconic X-shaped design that has become a Romain Jerome brand signature — via Watchuseek

Weight Watcher / Santiago Chopper

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13 October 2012
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In Design
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This classic-looking Guzzi cafe racer is based on a 1996 V1100 Daytona — an altogether more powerful bike, with 102 bhp from its 1064cc motor. It’s the latest build from Alain Bernard ofSantiago Chopper, and Bernard has nicknamed the machine Weight Watcher because he’s stripped all the fat from the stock bike — both visually and literally — via Bike EXIF

Branco / Obris Morgan

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13 October 2012
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The Branco from Hong Kong outfit Obris Morgan looks like amazing value for money: you get a titanium case, AR sapphire, 200m of water resistance, and not one, but three decent quality straps, all packaged in a Pelican-style case for $230 ($240 for PVD) including shipping — via HODINKEE

Abbots Way / AR Design Studio

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12 October 2012
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Abbots Way, the latest creation by AR Design Studio, is a stunning five bedroom house. Bordered by mature trees and a small lake, this spectacular house creates feelings of ultimate relaxation and privacy, whilst its contemporary design juxtaposes superbly with its beautifully rural location, on the south coast of England — via ArchDaily

Abbott guilty of sexism: Milne

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11 October 2012
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Greens leader Christine Milne has accused Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of being a hyper-masculine perpetrator of sexism in Parliament, even though she says he doesn’t realise it half the time.

Senator Milne told The National Times that all female parliamentarians experience sexism, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard and herself: That’s the reality.

She said Mr Abbott specifically was part of the problem, along with people such as shock-jocks, but that his comments were deliberate only some of the time.

Half the time I don’t think he even realises it, she said.

Senator Milne said: He [Mr Abbott] very much epitomises the hyper-masculine style of male politician … and he trades on that.

His attitude to women is very much of the male dominated, male protection, the father looking after the women as very much the secondary players … and no amount of bringing his wife into the public arena is going to change people’s perception of the kinds of remarks he makes — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Police slam Catholic Church

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11 October 2012
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In Rights, World
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Victoria Police has launched a scathing attack on the Catholic Church, accusing it of deliberately impeding its investigations into child abuse.

In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by churches, signed by Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, police recommend that some of the church’s actions to hinder investigations be criminalised.

The submission lists a number of ways in which the church has hindered the criminal justice process, including dissuading victims of sexual crimes from reporting them to police, failing to engage with police and alerting suspects of allegations against them, which may have resulted in loss of evidence — via redwolf.newsvine.com

No, you’re not entitled to your opinion

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10 October 2012
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In Rights, Science
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Every year, I try to do at least two things with my students at least once. First, I make a point of addressing them as philosophers — a bit cheesy, but hopefully it encourages active learning.

Secondly, I say something like this: I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion’. Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself, maybe to head off an argument or bring one to a close. Well, as soon as you walk into this room, it’s no longer true. You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to what you can argue for.

A bit harsh? Perhaps, but philosophy teachers owe it to our students to teach them how to construct and defend an argument — and to recognize when a belief has become indefensible.

The problem with I’m entitled to my opinion is that, all too often, it’s used to shelter beliefs that should have been abandoned. It becomes shorthand for I can say or think whatever I like — and by extension, continuing to argue is somehow disrespectful. And this attitude feeds, I suggest, into the false equivalence between experts and non-experts that is an increasingly pernicious feature of our public discourse — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Governments Seek Control Of Internet

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10 October 2012
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It is the most important meeting you’ve never heard of — a behind-closed-doors battle for control of the internet that one of the web’s founders fears may put government handcuffs on the net.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations organisation representing 193 countries, is reviewing international agreements governing telecommunications with a view to expanding its regulatory authority over the internet.

The ITU will hold a summit in Dubai in December where member countries will negotiate a treaty (last updated 24 years ago in Melbourne) that sets out regulations on how international voice, data and video traffic is handled — via redwolf.newsvine.com

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