International news in the blogosphere this week was dominated by the Abu Ghraib and Queen�s Lancashire Regiment torture stories. Making Light collects the American perspectives and connects it to the siege of Fallujah that was, and wasn’t, and admits to being emotionally gutted:
I’ve taken down my flags and put them away until after the war is over. I love my flag and my country as much as ever, but I�m mourning actions that have been committed by our troops, under our banner.
Juan Cole, a Middle East expert, tracks the effect of the scandal on the Middle East and reports that Abdul Basit Turki, Iraq’s first Minister of Human Rights, has resigned:
In November I talked to Mr Bremer about human rights violations in general and in jails in particular. He listened but there was no answer. At the first meeting, I asked to be allowed to visit the security prisoners, but I failed,” he said. “I told him the news. He didn’t take care about the information I gave him.”
Whiskey Bar reports on Lebanese journalist Hisham Melhem, who calls for Abu Ghraib to be razed, an idea also defended trenchantly by John Quiggin.
In Australia, Bargarz provides a useful summary of the Right’s reaction.
Domestically, we writhed with hubristic delight before our humble keyboards at the antics of Lawsey, Jonesy, Flintsey and Howardsey.
Kick and Scream points out that Keating also hung around Laws before wandering off in 1996.Back Pages adds a survey of cartoons, and makes a small skipping run at the fundamental question: how should we appoint positions like head of the ABA anyway? roadtosurfdom points to the valuable collation of key documents of the Communications Law Centre,� rare in such a small society.
Leading the conga line of funsters, Soul Pacific has some animated snarkiness with the protagonists, while The Governor General anxiously diagnoses their Psittacosis.
Media Dragon doodles good links around the topic, particularly with the National Civic Council’sprerelease extract of David Flint’s book: “Twilight of the Elites”. Utterly without pretensions himself, he wrote from his humble cell:
There can be no doubt that the elites suffered a devastating defeat in the Australian Federal election on November 10, 2001. Concentrated mainly in those inner city electorates in the Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne triangle, they managed to attract no more than 10% of the national primary vote.
Failure hurts soooo much.
Backpages posts the results of the latest newspoll, and runs them through the distinctive Sheil analysis machine:
All up, this is virtually a status quo result. Reading the tea leaves, and leaving aside the possibility of some sort of left field circuit breaker, at this stage I would still think Jack’s best chance is to go visit the GG as soon as he can, maximising his milkshake bounce and minimising his Iraq bog … which again spells August 7.
Hot Buttered Death finds a nineteenth century treatise on burning cats, which is at least more dignified than Geoff Honnor’s discovery that this very publication is fascinated by penile girth.
Downtrodden as she undoubtedly is, Wendy James explores the exercise value of housework, the perils of childhood athsma and the pleasures of the pub. Perhaps she has caught some of the archaic diseases such as ‘Domestic Illness’ or ‘Humour Flux’ that Boynton has found.
Southerly Buster provides a rundown on the current state of play in the Indonesian elections as Bambang increases his lead over Megawati:
This is good news. Golkar seems to have backed the wrong horse, although presumably the Golkar endorsement will lift Wiranto above his current standing of 2.2%. Gus Dur is in severe difficulties because the KPU has issued a regulation excluding blind candidates. I plan on following the IFES standings through the campaign over the next month.
At the technical workshops out the back of the blogosphere (somewhere between Highway 69 and Desolation Row with a manhole that somehow leads to the corridors of power), the economists have been bashing out their positions. Starting here, Catallaxy has several analyses of the polls that suggest the public wants more services rather than less tax:
I’ve just finished a book chapter on opinion about taxing and spending, and I think the high numbers in these polls come from the assumption that there is a surplus to be distributed somehow. The surplus seems to be viewed as a sunk cost, so spending it on services will not create any extra tax pain. When the money is still in taxpayers’ pockets there is much more tax resistance.
John Quiggin, meanwhile, is looking at the highly technical economic benefits of the FTA.
After we anxiously waited over the weeks for a somnolent Gummo Trotsky to surface, he has posted a terrifyingly accurate rant about one small incident on a Melbourne tram:
I should have known you were going to be trouble – I did sense that you were going to be trouble – when you stood beside the aisle seat where I’d parked my bag and demanded that I move over. Like a damned fool I picked up my bag and dropped it my lap and went back to my book.�
It helps to explain why we (to be formal about it) Melburnians are the kind of people we are.
Last week, I asked for useful links on the Palestine-Israel conflict. You provided a large list – too large to transpose with all those fiddly codybits – so you can find the list in the comments atBarista.
NEXT WEEK: Who are the commenters you particularly like reading? Post suggestions to here.Just to start you going and off the top of my late night head, I really enjoy John Isbell, the Bahnisch mob (father and son), Gummo Trotsky, Dave Ricardo, Jill Rush, Jack Strocchi, Steve Edwards, Derrida Derider, Sedgwick and Geoff Honnor (among others)….
Google them and see what I mean.