Archive for category Politics
What I Would Do With 1.6 Trillion Dollars
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics, Senseless Rants on March 15th, 2008
So the USA is up to $1.6 TRILLION dollars for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And that’s just the dollars that have been spent, to say nothing of the human toll that these wars have exacted – on all sides. And though we may mourn more deeply for those we have lost to this fight, we cannot forget the innocent lives that have needlessly been lost.
The object of fighting any War is to gain security. In this regard, I did and still do believe that we have done the right thing in Afghanistan. The right thing is not always the easy thing, but to deprive Al-Qaeda of their Taliban protectors and to attempt to return Afghanistan to the community of nations is a noble effort. We harbour no doubts that Afghanistan was the staging ground for numerous attacks, including those of September 11, 2001.
I also believe that the USA had to hit back after those attacks. To sit idle or to engage in protracted diplomacy would have sent the wrong message to those who would wish harm to the USA and its allies.
But Iraq, well, that’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
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Just Say No to Pennies
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics, Senseless Rants on January 9th, 2008
Recently there was a study released that 55% of Canadians want to keep the penny. Well, as one of that other 45%, I intend to vote with my pocket – my considerably lighter pocket – by not taking pennies any more.
That’s right. When I pay with cash, if my change is $1.59, I won’t take the four or nine pennies that will be foisted upon me.
It’s not like the “Take-a-Penny, Leave-a-Penny” tray you see in a lot of places, where you take your pennies and toss them in there. No, this is a more powerful statement than that, it’s “I say No to Pennies.”
So, say no to pennies. You can have a whole pocket full of the things and still not be able to buy a stick of gum, so let’s just ditch the things and move on with our lives. The more of us that don’t want pennies, the less pennies will be needed, and the less it will cost us all anyway.
The Haneef Case Heats Up
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics on July 20th, 2007
So, not only was the famous SIM card not in the truck that crashed into Glasgow Airport – as had been asserted by the Australian Federal Police – but the person found in possession of it (Sabeel Ahmed) has not been charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. He’s been charged with withholding information, but I sense that might be a tough case to make.
Either way, how can Mohamed Haneef be charged with the support of a terrorist organisation if he plainly did not do that? There’s no linkage here, and this case is getting weaker by the second.
On the one hand you’ve got a seemingly innocent young doctor that just wanted to go and visit his family, and on the other you have a government (and seemingly also a police service) that is absolutely hell-bent on getting someone for something, damnit!
I mean, the man even tried to telephone an investigator in the UK FOUR TIMES. Four times! Does that sound like a guy that wants to run away? Not to me, it doesn’t.
Even if Dr. Haneef’s visa were now reinstated, I doubt he’d want to stay in Australia. But it should be reinstated so he at least can get out on bail while this circus winds itself up. And, further to that, I believe that the Australian Government owes this man an apology. If he’s a terrorist, let’s see the evidence. But I don’t think giving a soon-to-expire SIM card to a family member should be an offence in any legal system.
And don’t even get me started on Ruddock announcing he was going to review the conditions of bail for terrorist suspects. How can you call yourself a free country when you can lock people up – indefinitely – for nothing? (Oh, wait, I guess you could call yourself the USA.)
Set the man free.
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Dr. Haneef’s SIM Card
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics, Senseless Rants on July 16th, 2007
So, the Indian-born and trained Muslim Doctor Mohammed Haneef has not only been charged with the offence of supporting terrorism, but he has also been summarily stripped of his Australian Visa and taken into Immigration Detention.
Update: It seems the news reports that Dr. Haneef was in immigration detention were incorrect. He’s still in jail in Queensland because he hasn’t posted bail yet. His lawyer thinks he might avoid detention by not posting bail (to trump the trump, as it were) so we’ll just have to see how this shakes out.
And all this over a SIM card that he left with his cousins in Britain when he came to work in Australia.
Faked in China
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics on July 10th, 2007
In the news lately there’s been a lot of coverage of “fake” products coming from China. First it was fake mobile phone batteries that can explode, then melamine (used to make plastics and fertiliser) in the dog food, then it was ethylene glycol (anti-freeze) in toothpaste. Now we hear about Chinese companies even cheating each other by supplying fake coal fly ash for use in concrete.
For those who don’t know, fly ash is produced when you burn coal. There are different parts to the ash and slag produced, and the fly ash is the part of the ash that floats up the flue (chimney) with the exhaust gases. And, apparently, it’s cheaper to make fake fly ash than it is to collect the real stuff. No country in the World uses all the fly ash it produces. The mind boggles.
Shit, it sounds like these guys should be running Pan Pharmaceuticals.
Lebanon Rising
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics on July 10th, 2007
It seems that the advertising industry in Lebanon has taken it upon itself to try and make Lebanon, and thus the World, a better place. There are currently campaigns running such as “When Will I Be Lebanese” which takes aim at sectarianism. (Why should you care what religion you are, you’re Lebanese.)
The best example I have seen of this rise in patriotic (jingoistic?) advertising is this one. It was done for free by the Beirut branches of H&C Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi. They donated their time for free. Everyone involved in the project donated their time and equipment for free. And it is being aired right now on Lebanese television for free.
Vladimir Putin. Despot?
Let there be no doubt – if there ever was any – Russia is on a backward slide. Maybe not to communism, but certainly to totalitarianism. Every day that passes sees President Putin further consolidate his power and his grip over The Russian Federation.
What About China?
Well, the US has started to make some more public pronouncements about China’s military capability, and how they see it expanding in years to come.
Truly, China is shaping up to be the next Superpower. What this should mean to all of us is that we are on the cusp of another arms race with a Communist country that is bent on our destuction – or at least our assimilation. And I’ll tell you why this arms race is going to be different from anything we’ve seen before.
Phased Withdrawal, or Cut and Run?
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics on April 24th, 2007
So, it seems the Mighty United States is getting closer and closer to admitting failure in Iraq. As one of the very many that was duped into believing it was a good war to fight, I suppose there is a part of me that feels like gloating it over Dubya. Not just Dubya, but Rumsfeld, Cheney and Wolfowitz as well. But I can’t do that.
Tomorrow is ANZAC Day here in Australia, so perhaps it is a time for reflection.
Is Iran Gagging For It?
Posted by Daryl in Deep Thoughts, Politics, Senseless Rants on April 5th, 2007
I don’t need any more convincing. Iran seems to have decided that it wants a showdown with the West, and it wants it sooner rather than later.
By “showdown”, I don’t mean a war – though that may eventuate – but I believe they really do want to see how far the West can be pushed before we threaten and/or use force.
