Alrighty, I'll do both. ;-)

"Read like a butterfly, write like a bee." - Philip Pullman

sure, mostly the media in the west servevs what people want to see, and what they want to be told. The same stuff they already like and believe.

What we already like is nice and pretty. What we agree with already is correct.

Spicy food that hurts our taste buds and our stomachs are pleasant.

Why ? Because we are told often enough that these things are pleasant. It is a simple thing - a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth. A very old concept.

Of course a problem is that the liars end up believing it, and that is why it becomes a positive feedback loop.

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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)

What isn't owned by Rupert Murdoch is owned by equally biased and conservative squillionaires. Traditionally a balanced and objective newspaper, Melbourne's The Age has degenerated into a conservative mouth-piece the last couple of years, with mind-blowingly biased pieces attacking everyone from Amnesty International ("professional troublemakers" -- yep, in a serious news article meant to be reporting facts, the churnalist spews biased bile) to PM Kevin Rudd (which is even more surprising considering The Age has always been left of Right but right of Left).

Instead of objective impartial news reporting we get incredibly biased, and conservative-leaning, opinion pieces. The Age website now has major headlines on Lindsay Lohan, half-naked models, celebrity news, etc., and is really aiming for the reality tv generation. I'm hearing more than a few people, of all ages, voicing their annoyance. Thank the gods for the internet, because Melbourne's other newspaper, the Herald-Sun, is a conservative tabloid. And most independent Leftist media is just as biased and full of crap.

And spare a thought for the mushrooms in China, kept in the dark and fed sh*t.

And don't get me started on television... ;-)

I like book reviews. Please do publish them.

It helps the author/publisher, and the reader.

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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)

Hi Rick,

'Pew! Pew! Pew!'?

What do fighters run on in Australia? Elastic bands? :-)

...

The balanced adult retains an inner child

Anthony North

Guess we should explain that we're talking about the caption for the last photo in the gallery...

I agree that it was magnificent of that couple, who'd listed their RV for sale on Craigslist, to sell it for 1 cent to the man who was evicted from his treehouse.

Also nice to see photos of all the neighbors who've befriended him over the two years he's been living in his treehouse, and who went to bat for him with the city.

Although it still worries me a bit, I suppose those neighbors who called about the ad for the RV wouldn't have done so if they hadn't already come up with a place for him park it, etc.

And btw, if you happen to know someone in Denver who'd be willing to sell their RV for a penny to someone in need, please have them give me a call.

I'm in the book.

Kat

The opposite of finally getting some programming code working is not that you can't get it to work.

The opposite happens when it works at the first attempt. It does happen, you know.

Now that is scary, you can't sleep right for weeks.

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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)