(no subject)
Well, for the first time in my entire life, I'm proud of the government of the country in which I live. Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australian Prime Minister yesterday. His first action? Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
As I was born in 1987, I was far too young to remember the Labour government of David Lange (and in its dying year, Geoffrey Palmer and Mike Moore). In my youth, New Zealand was led by Jim Bolger and the Nationals, who in my youthful political awareness did not appeal to me, and I left New Zealand months before Jenny Shipley took over from Bulger (a woman who repulses me) and over two years before Helen Clark became PM for Labour. While I've been in Australia, the Prime Minister has always been John Howard. Words cannot express my delight to finally have a Prime Minister I actually like. It's going to be interesting to see how Rudd's wave of support lasts. Given the absolute disarray within the Liberal Party, I think it's safe to say we've got a two-term Labour government on our hands. Here's hoping this means more funding for education and public transport. Maybe that Inland Australia Railway will finally happen.
In other news, I've noticed my friends list has been rather silent on the matter of LiveJournal's ownership passing from Six Apart to SUP. Meanwhile, the drama on the two news posts ( 1 and 2) has been beyond hilarious. Watch out, everybody! Dodgy Russian politicians are coming to read your friends-locked entries and use your credit card to buy vodka and AK-47 Kalashnikovs. People, calm down. It's an online blogging service. You might want to consider putting the energy of your righteous indignation and wild paranoia towards a good cause. Or, you know, you could continue to whine incessantly and create all kinds of conspiracy theories about the Russian mafia, Vladimir Putin, and LJ while the genocide in Darfur goes on, Burma remains thoroughly repressed, and millions live in such poverty that they could not even imagine a website like LJ. Now, I'm not going to present myself as a paragon of virtue, someone whose priorities are perfectly straight, but for goodness' sakes, there are bigger things to worry about. I can't say I've noticed much in the way of tangible change since I began using LJ 4.5 years ago, and none of it negative. Ah well, I suppose all this drama provides me with a handy source of amusement. The news posts contain page after page of comedic gold!
As I was born in 1987, I was far too young to remember the Labour government of David Lange (and in its dying year, Geoffrey Palmer and Mike Moore). In my youth, New Zealand was led by Jim Bolger and the Nationals, who in my youthful political awareness did not appeal to me, and I left New Zealand months before Jenny Shipley took over from Bulger (a woman who repulses me) and over two years before Helen Clark became PM for Labour. While I've been in Australia, the Prime Minister has always been John Howard. Words cannot express my delight to finally have a Prime Minister I actually like. It's going to be interesting to see how Rudd's wave of support lasts. Given the absolute disarray within the Liberal Party, I think it's safe to say we've got a two-term Labour government on our hands. Here's hoping this means more funding for education and public transport. Maybe that Inland Australia Railway will finally happen.
In other news, I've noticed my friends list has been rather silent on the matter of LiveJournal's ownership passing from Six Apart to SUP. Meanwhile, the drama on the two news posts ( 1 and 2) has been beyond hilarious. Watch out, everybody! Dodgy Russian politicians are coming to read your friends-locked entries and use your credit card to buy vodka and AK-47 Kalashnikovs. People, calm down. It's an online blogging service. You might want to consider putting the energy of your righteous indignation and wild paranoia towards a good cause. Or, you know, you could continue to whine incessantly and create all kinds of conspiracy theories about the Russian mafia, Vladimir Putin, and LJ while the genocide in Darfur goes on, Burma remains thoroughly repressed, and millions live in such poverty that they could not even imagine a website like LJ. Now, I'm not going to present myself as a paragon of virtue, someone whose priorities are perfectly straight, but for goodness' sakes, there are bigger things to worry about. I can't say I've noticed much in the way of tangible change since I began using LJ 4.5 years ago, and none of it negative. Ah well, I suppose all this drama provides me with a handy source of amusement. The news posts contain page after page of comedic gold!