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In February 2011 we travelled to Malaysia. I was surprised to see modern housing estates in substantial numbers during our first cab ride from the Airport to Kuala Lumpur. It seemed more reminiscent of the United Arab Emirates than of the poorer Middle East or of other developing countries in SE Asia. Our hotel was similarly well appointed.
Israel Folau refuses to back down, tells Rugby Australia he’s prepared to quit code
(Headline - Weekend Australian - 13 April 2018)
Israel Folau is a fundamentalist Christian Rugby League footballer who was asked on Instagram: "what was God's plan for gay people??". He replied: "Hell... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God".
Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970)) has been a major influence on my life. I asked for and was given a copy of his collected Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell for my 21st birthday and although I never agreed entirely with every one of his opinions I have always respected them.
In 1950 Russell won the Nobel Prize in literature but remained a controversial figure. He was responsible for the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955. The signatories included Albert Einstein, just before his death, and ten other eminent intellectuals and scientists. They warned of the dangers of nuclear weapons and called on governments to find alternative ways of resolving conflict. Russell went on to become the first president of the campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND) and subsequently organised opposition to the Vietnam War. He could be seen in 50's news-reels at the head of CND demonstrations with his long divorced second wife Dora, for which he was jailed again at the age of 89.
In 1958 Gerald Holtom, created a logo for the movement by stylising, superimposing and circling the semaphore letters ND.
Some four years earlier I'd gained my semaphore badge in the Cubs, so like many children of my vintage, I already knew that: = N(uclear) = D(isarmament)
The logo soon became ubiquitous, graphitied onto walls and pavements, and widely used as a peace symbol in the 60s and 70s, particularly in hippie communes and crudely painted on VW camper-vans.
(otherwise known as the phallic Mercedes).