Lot's Wife Edition 1 2017

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Trump: A Nation Divided article by nick jarrett illustration by hugh brooks edition one lot’s wife Whether republican or democrat, libertarian or green, the Presidential Inauguration typically marks a new era and the steady progression of a global superpower. With the divisive inauguration of Donald Trump, the air surrounding the American people can only be described as tense and anxious. President Trump’s first few days has sparked mass protest, anger and debate unlike any other seen within the opening fortnight of a presidency. Trump’s executive orders have increased moral confusion and chaos; they have relieved women of bodily autonomy, isolated religious minorities and immigrants and increased xenophobia and racism to unprecedented levels. However, there still remains Trump’s faithful base; supporters who refuse to see the moral wrong in his actions and wish to see further moves to continue this ultra-conservative pattern of governance. Simply put, Trump is literally dividing the country as he strives towards implementing his policies. Trump seems driven to undo all of the work completed by the Obama administration, as within a few days he overruled laws on abortion, shut down sites associated with environmental sustainability and signalled his intent to repeal Obamacare. In doing so, he is continuing the election cycle divide. A new presidency is supposed to unify the nation, and yet these moves seem to exhibit that Trump has no desire to compromise with the people who voted Hillary, but instead undo all of the work which they wanted to see expanded. No greater example of this tension can be seen than that of the state of California. Prior to the inauguration, the popularity of secession was at 20%. After two weeks, it has risen to 34%. The state is petitioning for signatures allowing for a state-wide vote on the secession in 2018, a move which is almost certain to succeed. California, which has both a larger population and a stronger economy than Australia, has literally been so divided from the United States, there is a legitimate move to separate from their country. Given that under Trump they will be paying more federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits, that they have a large multi-cultural population and that they have increasing doubts over Trump’s ability to govern effectively, the reasons for separation is evident. People from all corners of the country are standing up in opposition to Trump, particularly in the wake of his immigration ban. The Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs) highlighted numerous celebrities using their platform to lampoon Trump’s executive order, in a similar vein to the Golden Globes ceremony. However, despite the seeming obvious immorality and cruelty of some of the policies, Trump’s supporters have grown more ardent than ever. Agreeing with the hysterics of Sean Spicer’s first press conference as Press Secretary, there is a popular sentiment that Trump has been treated unfairly by the media, and that his policies are for the benefit of the ‘Real American.’ In Southern states such as Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, radio stations are lauding Trump’s decisiveness even as the poverty-riddled cities of Mexico remain in sight just across the current fence-line. Nevermind that these people are a minority, they are vocal and persuasive. Refusing to focus on the racist immigration laws which they believe in but do not always vocalise; Trump’s followers focus on his ‘economic genius.’ Nevermind that he was voted into office to ‘drain the swamp’ and has since hired the Goldman-Sachs executives he condemned, or that more of his businesses have failed than succeeded, his commercial acumen is going to revitalise the country. Admittedly, Trump’s pressure on General Motors has led to their decision to invest $1billion into a new American factory – instead of the original Mexican alternative – and the subsequent 7,000 jobs that will result. However, his spectacular idea that America should tax all Mexican imports 20% to pay for ‘The Wall’ would also lead to major price inflations that would cause the poor of America – who Donald targeted in his campaign – to be priced out of ordinary goods. It is only a matter of time before even his most loyal supporters are either disenfranchised by his manoeuvres or left loyal through their support of his racist policies alone. What is escalating the divisiveness within the country, however, is the seeming lack of preparation that has characterised Trump’s administration thus far. The comparison between Barack Obama’s first agenda which consisted of over 25,000 words to Donald Trump’s 2,500-word equivalent was an initial sign that there may be disorganisation in the administration. Since then, not one of Trump’s executive orders has received legal counsel, let alone legal review, resulting in the federal courts having to question or attempt to overturn his policies. Similarly, Kelly-Anne Conway has drawn comparisons to George Orwell’s infamous 1984 dictatorship for her presentation of ‘alternative facts’, as has Sean Spicer with his consistent demand that Donald Trump had roughly one million more people attend his inauguration than independent bodies have estimated. The comparisons with 1984 do not end there, however, with Trump’s administration censoring the National Parks Department’s twitter feed in order to delete their pro-environment posts. The administration has tried to subtly influence what their government bodies publish and yet has done so poorly that it is public knowledge. This near-comedic circle of idiocy has confirmed the majority of the population’s opinions that this man is unfit to govern the country, and yet he is their president for the next four years. That is another 200 weeks of protests, racially targeted laws and outdated ultra-conservatism. What I can safely say after six weeks within this melting pot of anger, fear and confusion is that America is a nation on the verge of mass violence, unlawfulness and human rights breaches. By no means is Australia perfect – our refugee solution is barbaric, and our marriage equality stance archaic – but thank God I won’t have to live in America the next four years.
Logged In developing among people in public. Similar to a robotic world, each individual is preoccupied with technology for his needs. We are gradually losing a spirit of human interaction, our most fundamental trait. Tech-industry veteran Linda Stone cautions against this trend geared towards fostering relationships with screens rather than people: article by devika pandit Technology has simplified our lives to a great extent. With a special focus on the Internet and social media, instant messaging, chat and regular… no, constant updates, these have made even the average Joe a walking encyclopedia. I however have mixed feelings about this development. I like reminiscing about a time when we weren’t so digitally busy maintaining virtual connections. In this article, I reminisce some more and draw attention to the ill effects of new technology. The Internet Boom with due credit to Google search has simplified matters since its inception. Today, one can be well informed about anything and everything right from the spelling of ‘multilingualism’ to causes of liver cirrhosis. However, over-reliance is my main concern. For example, my friend Tanish used Google to find out how old he’d be in 2054. He could’ve calculated the answer himself but wanted to be sure, ‘just in case’. To my mind, this incident talks volumes about extreme dependence created by technological devices. Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains echoes similar sentiments remarking that search dependence can indeed worsen our self-reasoning abilities. Although the Internet is a popular source of information, this information possesses a high risk of being biased and may lead users to treat obtained information as inherently correct. Thus, if Search tells 19 year-old Tanish that he’d be 71 in 2054, it must be true because of ‘the-Internet-is-never-wrong’ ideology. Carr exposes such thinking as the future of societal reasoning, indeed a worrying proposition. Digitalization is a pertinent issue in this discussion. I wrote in longhand at school, whether for homework, assignments or finals. Laptops were for project work that was submitted as hard copies. At my first semester in university, I learnt the struggle of submitting all work in typed format. While I don’t have issues with typing, I do miss writing. We don’t write anymore, we type – a written assignment is a precious ‘document’ for the student and feared by examiners owing to legibility issues. It saddens me to think that we might perhaps not need pens or paper in the future, in our pursuit of a paperless world. Digital note-taking fares poorly when compared to longhand writing. As proven by researchers at Princeton University, typing is not learning but ‘procuring’ information. Writing allows one to sift through a stack of information and separate grain from chaff, a process that constitutes a major part of learning as suggested by the Princeton study. Unfortunately, the allure of technological convenience is stronger than a horde of scientific findings. My daily commute on public transport convinces me that as a society, we are engaged in proving how tech-savvy we are. Be it work, music, relationship problems, self-admiration or killing time, my fellow commuters invariably turn to the device as a solution. I watch committed office-goers furiously typing away beside a lady pretending to read on her phone when her expressions clearly indicate finding the perfect selfie for Snapchat. Tech-fever has not spared seniors either. On a quest to not seem outmoded, many flip through different apps and idle away the ride re-seeing old photos or marking grandchildren’s photos as favorites. While there isn’t anything particularly troublesome about the aforementioned activities, I sense a certain disconnectedness “It ultimately can feed the development of a kind of sociopathy and psychopathy.” Surprisingly, technology (read: social media) may not be as useful as we take it to be. For example, Summer Fest 2016 at Monash was mainly publicised through social media, even Moodle. Large posters greeted students as they entered the Menzies and onward towards Campus Centre. Despite this, in a Moodle Poll, a majority of students said they had never heard of Summer Fest. This is the case with many individuals today – we have much information available but barely know about it. These apparent gaps in our information systems might be linked to an information overload. Avivah Litan, an analyst at Gartner says: “The problem is humans can't keep up with all the technology they have created… It's becoming unmanageable by the human brain.” I perceive that we are more connected through social networks than ever before but looking closely, the quality of these networks is poor. We are friends with people, but may not talk to them if seen at a cinema. A Facebook group cannot offer the warmth of strong friendship experienced on coffee dates. Or, pertaining to matters of the heart, Tinder swiping is no match for cultivating real time relationships. Netflix (with or without the ‘chill’) is the current rage, with memes poking fun at our ironic tendency to intentionally seek a solitary lifestyle despite multiple opportunities for socializing. To put it simply, we are losing the social bit of our description as social animals. Moreover, there exists a very real problem of social media addiction with its effects hampering relationships, costing people their education, jobs and marriages. This explains the rise of technological detox and rehabilitation and even a National Day of Unplugging on the first Friday of March. A close friend Anam narrates her experience of a psychological counseling for FB addiction, which explains the intensity with which social media exerts control over our lives: “Most people thought I was weak due to my addiction. It is a crippling reality but there isn’t much awareness about it… I didn’t want to check my Facebook notifications but I felt anxious if I didn’t… Behavioral therapy taught me that the mind is a meek follower as well as a headstrong dictator- --for complying with as well as rebelling against one’s wishes.” Technology, as illustrated above, is a double-edged sword with the power to benefit or disadvantage, uplift or ruin, enlighten or misguide. We cannot stop technological evolution but can modify our use of this development. The choice is ours. It has always been ours. politics/society 20-21
Page 2 and 3: SUMMER FIESTA INTERNATIONAL FOOD |
Page 4 and 5: Lot’s Wife Editors Emina Besirevi
Page 6 and 7: edition one Letters to the lot’s
Page 8 and 9: MONASH IS SMOKE-FREE Want to quit?
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Page 14 and 15: edition one lot’s wife Clubs & So
Page 16 and 17: A Medley Of Evil edition one In 197
Page 18 and 19: Unions Are Important: Analysing NUS
Page 20 and 21: MONASH SECURITY MONASH SECURITY INF
Page 24 and 25: “If You’re Australian, Why Aren
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Page 28 and 29: Public Health: The Effect of Dating
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Page 32 and 33: Healthy Skepticism edition one lot
Page 34 and 35: Tips for The Everyday Science Stude
Page 36 and 37: Science News Monash Research Finds
Page 38 and 39: The Tension Between Artistic And Mo
Page 40 and 41: Artists Should Be Punished, Not Cel
Page 42 and 43: The Price Of Gaming edition one lot
Page 44 and 45: Disrupting The ‘White Cube’: Tw
Page 46 and 47: Why We Love Migos And Other Songs A
Page 48 and 49: How To Be The Best ‘Modern Man’
Page 50 and 51: Love Affair With Cinque Terre editi
Page 52 and 53: Burnt In Bali edition one No moistu
Page 54 and 55: Going Home: A Cycle Of Self Discove
Page 56 and 57: MS Word Enjoys Itself Oh, oh, oh, o
Page 58 and 59: Wot’s Life? With Agony Aunt editi
Page 60: BBQ @ 12PM, buses @ 1pm Lemon Scent

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