liam getreu

Last week, with my chanichim, we took part in an event to try and bring the issue of poverty more to the fore-front of people’s minds. At Habo we love a good social action event, and the opportunity to take part in The Oaktree’s Knock Out Poverty initiative was an exciting one.

Pretty much what we did is went around the electorate of Deakin in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to try and encourage people to think about, and understand the issues that MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY are attempting to address (the Millennium Development Goals and things like that). And because we took our year 11 chanichim it gave them an opportunity to really change the world (rather than just talk about it), as well as us.

And these issues are important, which is why I’ve put the ‘Make Poverty History’ silly-Javascript-thing-that-could-be-easily-done-with-CSS-instead banner on my blog. It’s also why I’ve put an MPH sticker on my (very, very) dirty car. Everyone can help. Everyone can be involved. It’s exactly like in Al Gore’s movie: there are a few things that everyone can do to help the environment (also the seventh Goal, as it turns out), and there are a few things that everyone can do to knock out poverty. Raise awareness: go out, talk to people about what’s going on. Lobby: talk to your local MP, the Prime Minister, write a letter to the Secretary-General of the UN, write a letter to George Bush, write a letter to Tony Blair or the Queen. Small things that may seem insignificant will help.

We can have an impact if we want to. It’s up to us, our generation, to wipe out extreme poverty by 2025.

… let’s give Iran the bomb. It may actually solve all our problems. It may seem weird, it may seem wacky, but that’s the conclusion that Tory MP Boris Johnson has come to on his blog (reproduced in the Telegraph and The Sunday Age, among many others).

It does have merit, that’s for sure. As Johnson says, without Iran scrambling to join the recently-expanded Nuclear Club, it may free up the country to do a lot of good. Israel would be safe, he claims, because of the wonderful MAD theory.

It may be the option we have, Johnson says. In exchange for safety guarantees to Israel and the region, (maybe even a guarantee regarding the removal of Hizbollah, I’m speculating,) and a movement towards democracy, this might even be the better choice. Johnson reckons that Israel can’t destroy the reactors like it did at Osirak, Iraq in 1986, because all the reactors are underground and scattered all over the place (they learnt from their enemies across the border, it seems).

It’s certainly an interesting perspective, a radical perspective, and possibly one worth listening to. If not just for a moment of fleeting humour. One thing’s for sure: it’s worth a read.

I decided it would be best if I changed my theme. I don’t really know why. Actually, that’s a lie: I do. I saw a great ‘minimalist’ theme at plaintxt.org, loved it, and thought it would be worth using (see also: credits, below). I love it. It’s fantastic.

And it’s also a great way to celebrate almost two years of blogging at this domain. Like it? Comment here, comment at plaintxt.org, comment anywhere! Just celebrate!

From the Colbert Report:

ps — thanks to Stefan for SMS’ing me about the broken blog; it’s good to know I have dedicated readers. :)

Even though the press has been reporting for weeks that Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt is bound for Sydney (bad), it now looks like St Kilda might be in the race (good).

Give the hectic pace associated with trade week, it’s a given that things will change a lot. It looks like deals have been done, and then they fall through at the last moment. Or, in the case of Aker today, some deals can be done (seemingly) quickly. What an odd time.

Things will be good at St Kilda if we can snag Spida, and maybe a key position play, someone who can play at both ends, to fill the void that is still there since Barry Brooks left at the end of 2004. That play could definitely come from the draft though. Another Kosi or Roo, just without Kosi’s injuries, of course.

So here I am, launching the “Bring Back ‘Spida’ Campaign”. Sainters!