not the motorcycle diaries

Whilst procrastinating on marking this morning, I discovered the Database of Virtual Art. And Civiblog.

Whilst doing *that*, I heard on the news that the Greens and Democrats are going to try and block the changes to Australia’s asylum seeker policies announced by John Howard on Friday.

Apart from the potential outcome of making life slightly more liveable for people who have been monumentously fucked over, both the changes and the planned blockage strike me as an unusually dynamic exercise of parliamentary democracy in Australia. A few backbenchers (on behalf of many a proudly bleeding heart) seeking some moderate, merciful changes to a draconian system succeed in using the institutional mechanisms to do so. The minority opposition, knowing that it’s still not enough (mandatory and indefinite detention as well as temporary protection status still strangles the life out of basic human rights), do *their* bit in the democratic machine to push this forward. Interesting, and hopefully nothing but good news for people in immigration detention and on temporary protection visas, whose experiences are inscribed here, here, here and here. And in many other places.