January, 2010

As usual, the locals have the last laugh – and the best eyes for a bird. Just before I left Saibai I had a yarn with Saul Aniba about this most beautiful bird. He told me that he had seen one a few months before – also dead – not far from where we found this latest specimen.

Right now it seems that the meaning of “philanthropic”, in South Australia corporate and government circles at least, is a work in progress.

With the Texan backing Rann in his re-election bid cycling in Australia has now become entwined with local politics in a way not seen before. Cycling in Australia is now more than just circos y pan, now it is very much about marking out valuable commercial territory, about selling South Australia to itself and putting a very powerful spin on a very local political style.

David Winderlich: I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t disclose how much they are spending on sportsmen like Lance Armstrong – unless of course they are ashamed of it. But there is also the fundamental question that is paramount in any democracy – which is transparency – why shouldn’t people know these things – what is secret about it? I think the general default position is that everything should be open unless there is a good reason for it not to be.

Lazhar Chraiti and other Moujahidin were executed in 1962 and buried in an unknown mass grave. Chraiti and other Moujahidin are heroes in the eyes of Abdelwahab and he has produced a documentary DVD (in Arabic) honouring the Chraiti family in particular, and their contribution to the Tunisian struggle for liberation. Chraiti is known in Tunisian folklore as “the Lion of Orbat”. This DVD can be viewed along with other information at: www.lazharchraiti.org

Maybe the last word on what “fake”, “authentic” and “genuine” all mean should be left to ADC’s Tony Athaniou. Athaniou told Yuko Narushima and Joel Gibson of The Age that: “The thing is there’s various interpretations of authentic. Authentic to me means that it is hand-painted.” “Ubanoo is not a real name, it’s a pseudonym for the artist to paint that style.” “The fake or misleading advertising I’ve been doing is for an artist who doesn’t even exist.”

Will, as Penenberg suggests, groups like “Speak English or Piss Off”, “Fuck Off, We’re Full” and “Mate speak English, you’re in Australia now” continue to grow like virtual weeds across the internet? This rapid growth may well be an accident of science or nature, may have been a total surprise to those behind these Facebook pages or may just be an incident of either the inherent virality of Facebook or of the content at these sites.