Bite

Lightening the mood, here's Peter Watts reporting on a tick that gives victims of its bite an allergy to meat (though the flesh of birds and - ahem - primates would still be OK). Given what immediately occurred to me, I was pleased to discover on reading further through the post that I wasn't the only person who saw the potential for militant vegetarians to attempt a weaponisation. There would probably be unforeseen collateral effects, as in the mode of The Moral Virologist, although what exactly hasn't yet come to mind.

Woy Stanfer Strayer

I probably won't be doing a summary of Senate candidates for this election as I have done in the past, as it's likely to be too fucking depressing. Not only do we have a record number of parties running this time, we seem to have a record number of parties running with the word "Australia" in their title.

Rise Up Australia Party

Katter's Australian Party

Australian Voice

Australian Fishing and Lifestyle Party

Building Australia Party

Uniting Australia Party

Bullet Train For Australia*

Australian Protectionist Party

Australia First Party

Australian Independents

Australian Democrats*

The Australian Republicans*

Secular Party of Australia*

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party

Never a good sign.

Other preferred parties include the anti-Islamic Rise Up Australia Party, and the Australian Christians party, which wants to cut the intake of non-Christian migrants and take more African Christians.

And how about the Australian Protectionist Party, which favours a racially/religiously discriminatory migration policy, the rebuilding of tariff walls and freer access to firearms for those of approved “cultural background”. Really.

Poor bloody fellow, my sodding country.

Meanwhile the Wikileaks Party manages to shoot themselves in the foot, apparently with the same shotgun they're biting the barrel of while pulling the trigger with their big toe.

In official election tickets lodged with the Australian Electoral Commission, they have said they want the fascist Australia First Party, the pro-shooting-in-National-Parks Shooters and Fishers Party, and the “mens rights activist” Non-Custodial Parents Party to win a seat instead of the Australian Greens. In New South Wales, if you take the easy option and just tick the Wikileaks Party box in the Senate, and if they don’t win, your vote will go to those three right-wing parties before it goes to the Greens.

* Ok, to be fair, that's probably just to avoid confusion, a la UK Squeeze.

Hotel de Michelin

A private hell for Cayce Pollard, from the sculptures of Takanori Aiba, via, via.