Australia's Old South

Speaking of the Old South, reports suggest Australia's looking a bit Jim Crow as of late, with relatively affluent whites shifting their kids out of public schools into more elite private schools. One of the alleged impetuses - the influx of refugees from overseas into Australia's suburbs and public education systems. Funny how Australia strives to be seen as a worldly entity worthy of the a place on the global main stage, yet it's people seem to have a fairly narrow comfort range for those other people with whom they share the planet.

Free Speech under Fire in the U.S.'s Former Capital

Williamsburg, Virginia was once the heart of America, the capital of Britain's colony across the Atlantic, and one of the key birthplaces of the American revolution that established the United States as an independent nation governed under the world's longest lasting Constitution.

The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg is the second oldest university in the nation. It's educated a plethora of American greats including many of the nation's so-called fore-fathers (Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Richard Bland, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Harrison, John Marshall and John Tyler), with George Washington serving as the university's first chancellor. In the modern era, folks such as the current U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Glenn Close and John Stewart, as well as many offspring of Washington players have attended. And then there are clowns such as myself (class of '96).

Despite this illustrious history of progressive education and leadership, the latest President of the university, Gene Nichol, was recently ousted, allegedly due to his liberal leanings which led to his attempts to make the campus chapel more open to multiple faiths, expand a program to enable low-income state residents attend university without being burned by debt, and (the final straw) permitting the student body association to allow the Sex Workers' Art Show to perform on campus. Nichols (a constitutional lawyer) defended his actions on the ground of free speech, separation of church and state, and the responsibilities of a public university. These acts were generally supported by the campus community, and by all accounts Nichol was well-loved. However, the Board of Visitors appears to be a lot cut from a different cloth, viewing the values of the Old South (and conservatives throughout the nation) as more important than the values of the university.

Melbourne Rules (sort of)!

Interesting polling results shed some new insight into the age old Melbourne and Sydney rivalry.

"The survey of 1,327 respondents, and based on the quality of life
attainable in Australian cities, found 29 per cent would prefer to work in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast, 26.2 per cent liked the look of Melbourne, while only 18.2 per cent backed Sydney."

While the press have played this up as Melbourne beating out Sydney, it's worth noting that southeast Queensland beats them both.

Garnaut & Carbon Trading

Against the appropriate back-drop of a record heat wavee in southern Australia (in March of all months, with Adelaide experiencing 15 consecutive days>35 degrees)Ross Garnaut released another interim report. This one, with thoughts on emissions trading, broke the news that carbon trading would bring higher energy prices (duh!, after all that's the point right). However, he also indicated that the big emitters and energy utilities shouldn't receive a free lunch in the way of carbon permit hand-outs (as suggested by the last government).

Stuff White People Like

So true. . .

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Let the Games Begin

The South Australia Supreme Court has fired an opening volley in what is likely to be come a common legal battleground in coming years: what are local governments legally entitled (or obligated) to do to control coastal development in light of climate change and sea-level rise?

"'The rejection of a subdivision on Yorke Peninsula, west of Adelaide, is likely to be repeated across the country as councils progressively write climate change provisions into their planning regulations. The South Australian Supreme Court cited local sea level rises of 30cm over the next 50 years in ruling yesterday against Northcape Properties' plans for 80 holiday homes at Marion Bay, 150km west of Adelaide. The changes - which the court ruled was expected, not merely a probability - would encroach on the proposal's "erosion buffer and coastal reserve'."

This decision represents one of the first of its kind in Australia, but certainly not the last.

Will Comply

Today's Australian has a write-up of Wilco and their up-coming return to Australia. While capturing some of the more pedestrian history of the band, the article has some amusing quotes from Jeff Tweedy on Billy Bragg and the Mermaid Avenue affair as well as the growth in Internet-based music sharing.

Beyond Kyoto, Oi, Oi, Oi

Climate change policy in Australia continues to be led from the bottom-up with the latest polling from the Climate Institute indicating 73% of Australians are ready to move beyond Kyoto Protocol commitments for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. However, those 73% weren't asked how much they'd be wiling to pay for those reductions. In fact, when asked whether they'd support action even if people's jobs were on the line, the number dropped to 38%. So as with most purchasing decisions, there is a difference between what people want and what they think they can afford. . .

Return to Wilson's Promontory

We were there in 2007, but this past weekend, we took advantage of the Labour Day holiday to take the Dittmer elders to Wilson's Promontory. The traffic getting out of Melbourne was wilder than anything we saw at the Prom, although we did have to contend with the usual assortment of precocious wombats, possums and seagulls.

We lounged on the beach at Tidal River, climbed Mt Bishop, met some nice Gippsland boys at the barbie, and caught what can only be described as a chick flick at the outdoor cinema (where the wombats come around at intermission to nibble on your shoelaces). The highlight was the opportunity to get out from behind the wheel of the Getz for a weekend and cruise around in the relative luxury of a Nissan X-Trail. The low point was the weather change that rolled in around 3am Monday morning, bringing hot northerly winds that turned an otherwise pleasant night into a sweltering, and at times hair-raising, ordeal.

Photos here.

Taronga Zoo

Some scenes from a trip over the weekend to Sydney's Taronga Zoo are posted here.

Red Dragon Fury

At long last, the fabled Red Dragon Fury has finally made it to Australia. The hottest cocktail to hit the USA in years, RDF was recently introduced down under as amateur mixologists David and Mike made an Australian tour.

The boys briefed bartenders in both Melbourne (e.g., The Bar with No Name) and Sydney (e.g., Ravesi’s at Bondi Beach) on the appropriate preparation of RDF. There were some hiccups due to lack of appropriate components in some venues, but I'm sure they'll get it sorted as RDF fever spreads throughout the nation.

Phillip Island 2008

Check out the write-up on last month's 10th annual Phillip Island Instructor's Gasshuku.

The Good Life

Lot's of stuff on the quality of life in Australian cities lately:

Sydney apparently rules the world, declared the best city on Earth for the second year running (Melbourne came in sixth). . .

However, not all who live in Sydney are convinced, with approximately one-in-five contemplating a move elsewhere (probably similar to the rate for every other city in the world). . .

But among Asian ex-pats, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra are tops for quality of life (given the nod for Canberra, clearly this subpopulation isn't too informed - maybe they just mean better than where they came from). . .