An array of bright, zesty flavours at Chin Chin, where the only problem was having to choose only some of the items from what looks to be a menu that is all hits, no filler.
The always interesting New York Times “Lens” blog features On Assignment: Covering Tehran, work by Iranian photojournalist Newsha Tavakolian. The interview is engaging, but it is the images that really speak.
As demonstrations continue in Iran, more information is emerging about the legitimacy of the election, including reports from some districts where voter turnout was greater than 100%. Protests in support of disenfranchised Iranians continue around the world – #iranelection on Twittersearch is a good place to find local action.
Christopher Hitchens came to the ABC election coverage with a big bucket of cold water to throw over those panellists who wanted to take a moment just to enjoy the election result. This wouldn’t have mattered so much had he not misinterpreted Bob Carr’s reaction to the Obama election (I’ll be generous and leave out the adverb “wilfully”) in order to start his wake-up treatment.
I had managed to decipher the figurative “Joe Sixpack” all by myself, but thanks anyway, BBC, for this helpful guide: A six-pack of Joes.
Joe Six-Pack is a close relative of Regular Joe, Average Joe, Ordinary Joe, Joe Schmo, Joe Blow and others. The name “Six-Pack” refers to his favourite drink rather than a well-sculpted washboard stomach.
Including Shoeless Joe Jackson on the basis of Palin’s plaintive “say it ain’t so, Joe” indicates that this was a snappy headline in search of a story.
ABC1 continues its coverage of the US Presidential race with a live broadcast of the final debate. I’m not expecting that this will provide the giggles that the VP debate did, but I’ll be watching. After last night’s episode of Battlestar Galactica (we’re way behind in viewing – “last night’s” was Ep 4 of S2, Resistance) I won’t be surprised if Col. Tigh John McCain declares martial law.
Surely that’s what Malcolm Turnbull meant when he told Kerry O’Brien that it was Liberal Party policy that “marriage is a permanent union between a man and a woman”.
As I posted earlier, the “culture wars” seem to consist of conservatives labelling things they don’t like as “liberal”, safe in the belief that “liberal” equals “evil” and “dangerous”. Whenever I see the phrase “culture wars” used in an editorial, it’s usually a conservative writer leading up to a diatribe on the dangers of recognising same-sex relationships, or the evils of enabling women to make decisions about their fertility, or some other issue designed to attract emotional responses and divert attention to the reeking mess of the world that has been wrought by … conservatives.
Anyway, in his Guardian column, Timothy Garton Ash presents a far more articulate explanation of why the “culture wars” are dangerous than I am able to do.
Palin: “Now, what I’ve done as a governor and as a mayor is (inaudible)…” Or, perhaps, a void is indescribable.
And what does this mean? “…we need to be appreciative of John McCain’s call for reform with Fannie Mae, with Freddie Mac, with the mortgage-lenders, too, who were starting to really kind of rear that head of abuse.” (R)ear that head of abuse? Is that what happens when Putin “rears” up and crosses into Alaskan airspace?
I think this might be what’s called a Freudian slip: “It’s a toxic mess, really, on Main Street that’s affecting Wall Street.”
During the debate, I was confused when I heard this line: “John McCain is right there with an “all of the above” approach to deal with climate change impacts.” Having read through the transcript, and seen that the “all of the above approach” is mentioned three times by Palin, I am not much clearer. I’m guessing, though, that she likes multiple choice tests.
There’s more, but to finish: “Oh, yeah, it’s so obvious I’m a Washington outsider.” Please, American voters, keep it that way.
