Kerry's Finished

Certainly was a good speech.

In reality I don't think there is that much difference between Kerry and Bush. I think there is a misjudged perception outside the US that if Kerry gets in world order will suddenly be resumed.

The people who think this, are the same people who think for example it was Bush that scuttled Keyoto, ignoring the fact that while Clinton was President the Senate passed a bi-partisan motion that Keyoto would never be ratified by the US. Clinton signed it, knowing full well it would never be passed, Bush merely acknowledged this and to this day takes the blame.

Kerry won't be ratifying Keyoto either. Get over it.

Kerry...Bush....much of a muchness, so I don't really care. Won't have any noticeable impact. I think either would do a reasonable job. Still, it would be interesting to have a President Hillary Clinton with Bill the first lady. That's only going to happen if Bush wins. 2012 is too long to wait for Hillary. Hillary in 2008!

Speech Continues

Kerry's giving a good speech.

I did chuckle though at his slip of the tongue

"We will double our special forces to conduct terrorist operations"

He then quickly corrected it, "anti-terrorist operations".

Good Start

Listening to John Kerry's acceptance speech right now.

"I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty".

Excellent start.

Oh Joy

Heard this morning on the radio that the UN resolution on Sudan has had to drop the threat of sanctions against the government.

If you hear anyone supporting doing anything to save lives (over 30,000 dead already) you must respond, "No we must only act when we have UN approval, otherwise it will be illegal".

While the Bush administration is far from perfect, the left are even worse. So blinded by their hatred of the right they can't see the flaws of a UN system where North Korea and Zimbabwee have equal voting rights with Canada and the United Kingdom. Where coutries don't act in the greater good, they act in their domestic political interests. Where dictators and democratically elected rulers are afforded equal status.

Of course anyone supporting military intervention should be charged with war crimes.

The left don't care about the lives of the people in Sudan. The Dimocrats and Greens never said anything about it until the US senate passed a resolution calling it a genocide. They suddenly found time to comment once the press became interested.

One sentiment I agree with entirely: "Democracy thrives though conflict. Without a serious left, able to structure a coherent argument, the right will only atrophy".

Have they learnt nothing?

There is a crisis in Sudan. Something needs to be done, I called for this days ago. Suddenly (finally) all sides of politics in Australia are calling for action.

"Let's get the UN to take action", they cry. "This could be another Rwanda", they cry. Thank you dimocrats and tree-huggers for pointing out the obvious.

Here's a question to ponder..... What if the UN does not take action?

That leads to my point:
"We must not take unilateral action!", they cry. "We must work within the UN multilateral framework".

Which is more important to the humanitarian? The legalistic process or human lives? I suspect the former. Let's hope the UN approves action.

ABC Lateline

Have a read of Monday night's lateline debate between a F911 applauder and a F911 critic.

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2004/s1162379.htm

 

Bit of a worry

You know things are bad when your IT person sends you this email at work.

Ah crap, it's one of those days; I've accidentally deleted most of the ******** website. I am restoring it now but it may take a couple of hours to complete.

Julie Shines

A great radio moment this morning on the way to work. As I've stated before I listen to Radio National, the ABC's current affairs flagship - home of the great communards. Why? Challenging your own views is critical to wisdom (see yesterday's post).

Julie McCrossin was interviewing Professor Keith Tester, Chair of Cultural Sociology at the University of Portsmouth. At one point she slipped into a fantastic polemic, the Professor was rattled and quickly modified his position conceding the point to her. I must say I was very impressed, and I am rarely thus. Challenging academics (like myself) is vital.

Challenge me with argument, and we will both learn from the experience. Never dismiss positions out of hand - rebut them.

Day in Sudan

Here's a great read, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10243833%5E7583,00.html in today's Australian.

I like this quote:

But right now it is happening, and you can't help wondering where all the great humanitarians are. Alas, Sudan doesn't seem to have much appeal to them, lacking as it does the crucial Bush angle and affording little opportunity for use of words such as "neocons" and "Halliburton".

Personally I think the US are happy to stay out of the Sudan in the run up to an election. This is unfortunate, but at least they are trying to get sactions imposed. What about the rest of the Western World, shouldn't we do something? I'm wondering if the countries / groups / pinkos opposing this will have the courage to go to Sudan and apologise in 10 years time (Clinton style).

B5

Something is coming in the B5 universe.

All I know at the moment is that it is called "The Memory of Shadows"

Whatever it is I'm happy.

Details Found

It turns out that Richard Clarke (Former White House counterterrorism adviser, if you remember he resigned - critical of the Administration) claimed back in May

"I take responsibility for it. I don't think it was a mistake, and I'd do it again."
"It didn't get any higher than me," he said. "On 9-11, 9-12 and 9-13, many things didn't get any higher than me. I decided it in consultation with the FBI."

Now everything is not always what it seems, but this time a Bush critic claims that he was responsible. This I guess adds extra credibility to his story.

Anyway, the point of all of this was to demonstrate the general principle.

Always question what you hear, especially when it agrees with your preconceptions.
 
I've fallen into this trap many times in my life - with appropriate levels of embarrassment. It's now a life long motto.

Star Wars Ep. 3

Mmmmmm, Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith.

Great Title - I love the Symmetry.

(Unlike the previous two films I promise I won't read spoilers!!!)

An interesting question

Several senators have sent the administration a letter querying why a single plane was allowed to leave the U.S. on Sept 13th (remember air flights resumed on the 14th). While this is not strictly consistent with the Moore version, it is still a very interesting question.

We await the response.
It's also interesting that it appears that Richard Clarke was the person who approved this flight.