Redirerction

I've been playing around with different online blog servers, and Wordpress comes highly regarded having features that Blogger unfortunately does not, nor is on their roadmap. So until that changes, I shall redirect you guys to my new page at
fnurgle.wordpress.com
(please click on the link if not redirected automagically)

Changing face of politics

The world watches the US political scene rather closely, and this week is no exception. From my limited understanding we are possibly looking at an election result that will shift the balance of power in the congress to the Democrats from the Republicans. Having the other majority party controlling the purse-strings can only be a good thing for the country, as this puts a "check and balance" on the laws being passed. Whilst it does restrict the governing party from passing laws and getting things done, it does limit the governing party pushing through anything that takes their whim at this point in time.

We have much the same situation here in Oz, where as the "Liberal" party (read: ultra conservative) are governing with a majority in the house of representatives and the senate. This enables them to push through any old guff, usually at a midnight sitting when no one else is looking. Laws touted as good for the country, but it is usually found out years down the track their private businesses made bucketloads of money out of the arrangement. The company providing the logistics for the Iraq troop support is a prime example in the US. Conflict of interest, or is it a case of being in the right place at the right time?

Having a shift in power in the US congress could mean a number of things to Australia, with one noticed in the reports yesterday being about Australian corporate involvement in the lead up to the Iraq war. This could be bothersome to the Howard government considering the timing.

edit: The verdict on Saddam Hussein has come in. Interestingly four days before it should have been announced. It seems rather convenient this be announced before the US election rather than after.

edit2: Have a look at this youtube video to see what the US administration think of their little war and the announcement GWB staged when it was "all over". Now GWB has announced Iraq was all about the oil... like that was news to anyone with half a brain? What's the next excuse?

Marley revisited

I finished the book, and it did finish on a positive note -- I guess you can't really leave a book on a negative note as it might tend to upset your reader-base. :) It did encourage me to not take my puppy for granted as much as I was, and it helped me see the positive things she brought into our lives. -- not just the wanton destruction (of which she is slowly growing out of).

For any of you who have read the book, or are thinking of it -- you can visit the Marley & Me website. It has a few more details and anecdotes that were not mentioned in the book.

Marley and John

I'm currently reading a book, "Marley & Me" by John Grogan. The book details the author and his new family's life and centres around their Labrador "Marley" and his antics. I can relate to it completely as my own Labrador is laying (and snoring) by my feet after a hard night of terrorising the kittens and chewing rawhide bones. Marley however has flaws that my lab does not possess, so for that I am grateful. Unfortunately Marley is not immune to the issues of aging and the book does become sad as he looses the spring he once had.

Because so many of the things he describes are so close to my experience, it's sad as he details Marley's later problematic years. I realise part of life is death, and we all like to hold on to what we hold dear. Unfortunately holding on is not always the right thing to do.

edit:
I'm not sure I can bring myself to reading the rest of the book. I have a vague idea of what the next chapter will be, but there must be more to it as there's more than the one chapter left.

Cole enquiry again

This continues to be in the mainstream media in Oz.

If the AWB execs are charged under the new anti-terror laws, will their defense not argue there is no evidence of a connection between terrorist activities and the Saddam Hussein regime? If so, does that mean the Australian courts will have to decide and rule on this matter? What implications does that have to the current Oz government and our involvement in Iraq?

Ok, you may say I'm obsessed with this, but it makes me angry that an Australian company (or any company for that matter) can get away with this...

AWB in the news again

The AWB is in the news again, this time the court case has been resolved about which documents can be used in the Cole enquiry. Interestingly, the judge made comment the AWB deceived the United Nations.

Of course, our politicians knew nothing of this...


What I can't understand is why GWB isn't pissed at Johnnie-boy for undermining his invasion of Iraq by supplying them cash before it all went down.

What has been accomplished in the five-year war?

I just found an interesting article on terrorism and what actually is being accomplished in the current climate. It's something I may have iterated previously, and I feel reassured that others have come to the same conclusions as I have.

It's now five years after 9/11 and since that event our respective governments have participated in (to varying degrees) a fear campaign to help keep this subject in the forefront, perpetuated in many cases by the media. In our case in Oz, our government sent us all a fridge magnet. (The link is a joke, the fridge magnet was not!)

The newsletter I mentioned earlier, for those of you who may not have read it, suggests the goal of terrorism is to create terror in the wider society it is targeting, and the deaths of the victims are just collateral damage. If this is correct, why should we be giving the terrorists what they desire? Why should *we* change what we do in our daily lives? Why should I feel like I am doing the wrong thing if I want to take a photograph outdoors?

Surely our political leaders and their advisers can see this? Is there not a better way to handle this threat?