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Free

Free
adj. fre•er, fre•est
1. Not imprisoned or enslaved; being at liberty.
2. Not controlled by obligation or the will of another.
3. Not affected or restricted by a given condition or circumstance.
4. Unconstrained; unconfined.

Setting: exit to Melbourne Central Station, January 28, 2010.

Spruiker one: Chocolate, free chocolate. Do you want a free chocolate? (holding it out to me with an enticing smile)
Me: Is this a dream?
Spruiker one: (Smiling) No
Me: Okay then, I’ll have some free chocolate please
Spruiker two: (holds out a leaflet)
Me: (holds out hand toward Spruiker one for the sweet chocolate treat)
Spruiker two: Would you like to take a pamphlet?
Me: No thanks
Spruiker one: Take a pamphlet
Me: I don’t want a pamphlet.
Spruiker two: C’mon, we’re almost out
Me: I thought you were giving away free chocolate
Spruiker one: (looking around nervously) We are
Me: Except I have to take a pamphlet to get one
Spruiker two: (looking relieved that I finally got it) Yeah
Me: I don’t want a pamphlet, I just want the chocolate thanks
Spruiker one: (starting to get defensive) Just take a pamphlet. You don’t even have to read it.
Me: (setting down my gym bag on the pavement and settling in for the argument) I don’t want a pamphlet.
Spruiker one: How do you know, you haven’t even looked at one
Me: I don’t have to look – I don’t like pamphlets.
Spruiker two: (irritated) Whatever.
Me: Sorry, you said you were giving away free chocolate. Now you’re telling me I only get a chocolate if I take one of those pamphlets.
Spruiker one: So?
Me: Well, it’s just that that’s not actually free, is it?
Spruiker two: It is free. You don’t have to pay for it.
Me: Well, no, that’s not free actually: it’s conditional. I have to do something you want me to do before I get a chocolate
Spruiker one: Are you serious? If you want a chocolate, just take a pamphlet. Otherwise go away.
Me: I don’t want a pamphlet. I want free chocolate. You just made my day by standing there yelling out that there was free chocolate available, and now I find out it was all a ploy to get me to take some kind of propaganda I don’t even want or need.
Spruiker one & two: (look at me, perplexed).
Me: Are you familiar at all with the Trade Practices Act?
Spruiker one: What are you talking about?
Me: Are you familiar with the dictionary? ... read more

Written by Maxine Clarke on 4-03-2010, 5 user comments

The power of art – does it move you?

If, as Duchamp said, art is the interaction between the object of scrutiny and the viewer, then what is our role in that interaction, as viewers? There’s been a lot of talk about our role and rights as creators, especially in the electronic age when the means of creative production and distribution are available to so many more of us. When we’re all creators in search of an audience.

But I’m interested in how we respond and act as that audience. Can art move us so deeply it makes us act? Can art change lives?

Reading Tolstoy changed the life of Mohandas Gandhi. Tolstoy – who in War and Peace calls war ‘the vilest thing in life’ – inspired Gandhi’s non-violent resistance to British rule in India and in his honour Gandhi founded the Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg, South Africa. And a poem from Victorian England by William Ernest Henley – ‘Invictus’ – scribbled on a scrap of paper sustained Nelson Mandela through his long imprisonment. Its last lines are: ... read more

Written by Jane Gleeson-White on 3-03-2010, 8 user comments

Or just plain advertising?

A few days after a woman struggled, Houdini style, to free herself from the back seat of her car, which had been driven by her ex-husband off the end of a jetty in Mordialloc, I happened to be running a group for survivors of domestic violence. All eight of us were impressed and glad to hear of her escape. None of us, however, were particularly shocked at what he’d done. After all, the atrocities the women in the room had experienced were, while not so spectacular in detail, often as cruel and terrifying.

One year previous, in June 2006, John Howard had launched an advertising blitz, the purpose of which was to stem domestic violence in Australia and encourage women to report its incidence and get help. There are similar efforts in response to other problems in our community such as depression, gambling and mental illness. Partly these campaigns hope to raise awareness and lower stigma, which, in broad strokes, I think they achieve. But my personal experience has been that this is where the good work of those campaigns usually stops. ... read more

Written by SJ Finn on 3-03-2010, 4 user comments

‘The use of the law as a weapon of war’

Next month, an organisation called The Lawfare Project (TLP) is putting on a conference about lawfare, which it defines as: the abuse of the law and legal systems for strategic ends.

The role of the organisation is set out on their website.

The scope of the Lawfare Project's focus is limited to lawfare as it is used to:
(1) Frustrate the West's ability to fight terrorism,
(2) De-legitimize the sovereignty of democratic states such as the U.S. and Israel, and
(3) Silence free speech about issues of national security and public concern.

Interestingly, David Schizer, Dean of Columbia Law School, is chairing the conference. The Dean is responsible for awarding the prestigious Medal of Excellence to a notable alumnus, which this year went to Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder. ... read more

Written by Lizzie O'Shea on 2-03-2010, 5 user comments

The Monday review – people are animals

Well, we’ve all thought it; here are some links exploring the idea.

1. On separating neurological pathways so mammals don’t feel pain when they’re factory farmed.

2. On rights and self-regulation: Apple learning from the factory farming industry.

At least eleven 15 year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories that supply Apple.

"When we investigated, we uncovered records and conducted worker interviews that revealed excessive working hours and seven days of continuous work," Apple said, adding that it had terminated all contracts with the factory.

Only 65 per cent of the factories were paying their staff the correct wages and benefits, and Apple found 24 factories where workers had not even been paid China's minimum wage of around 800 yuan (Pounds76) a month.

... read more

Written by Jacinda Woodhead on 1-03-2010, No comments

Listening in on the end of empire

'The Wire' box set A lot of ink, chemical and virtual, has been devoted to commentary on the HBO television drama series The Wire and rightly so because it is, without doubt, a unique and compelling production. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, the DVD boxed collection of all sixty episodes is available at good video rental outlets and I commend it to you. My wife and children are claiming neglect because I am now in my second consecutive viewing of the entire opus. ... read more

Written by Boris Kelly on 1-03-2010, 8 user comments