Category: Politics (Page 37 of 43)

With sometimes tragic results.

A boat carrying illegal immigrants exploded this morning as it was being escorted to Christmas Island by Australian naval ship HMAS Albany. It is not clear yet whether the boat was deliberately set on fire by the illegal immigrants, who had reportedly doused the small wooden boat with petrol.

Three are dead, two are missing, and most of the others on the boat at the time are injured, including four Australian navy personnel.

I’m not going to call these people asylum seekers – they are (apparently) from Afghanistan which means they have travelled half way round the world and through at least half a dozen countries to get to Australia. They are illegal immigrants, people who had enough money to try to push their way ahead of other refugees.

People who jump the queue take resources from those who don’t, because immigration, customs, naval and medical staff have to be diverted to take care of them.

There has been a substantial jump in people-smuggling into Australia over the last six months. Malcolm Turnbull says this is because the Federal Labor Government has quite consciously and deliberately given the impression that it is kinder and more accommodating than the former Liberal (conservative) government.

The end result is a government that feels virtuous, but causes more suffering for those who jump the queue and are still turned back. And because of the need to divert resources to process the queue jumpers, more delays and therefore more suffering for people who are in equal if not greater need, but do the right thing and go through proper refugee channels.

That seems to be the message from some liberal commentators on the protests about Obama’s spending-spree and high-tax policies, which are occurring around the US as I write.

Nope. Not grassroots. Nope. They’ve been organised. Those tea party protests aren’t real protests at all.

It is certainly true that, in general, for things to be organised, some sort of organisation needs to take place. When things are not organised that should be organised, a level of disorganisation tends to occur. This can cause confusion and inconvenience. The mayhem at the Monarto music festival is a perfect example of not organising something that should have been organised.

Besides, Obama used to be a community organisor. So some organisation must be OK. Maybe even a little grass-rooty. As long as it’s not, you know, too well organised. Cause then it’s not. And stuff.

But in any case, not when anything at all is being organised by people who are concerned about just how well organised the current US administration is. And just how much more into debt they plan to take the US and the world. And why alternatives are not being considered, and, and ….

Well, that’s not quite what he said. Jesus said that people had a choice about building their lives on the rock foundation of truth, or on the shifting sands of fashion and desire.

Obama said people had a similar choice about building a new economy on the rock of his wisdom, including, for example, higher taxes, discouraging business, and record debt, or continuing with the unstable sands of a market economy which has brought unprecedented wealth and opportunity around the globe. Although he didn’t put it quite that clearly.

“It’s more than most Congresses and most presidents have to deal with in a lifetime,” Mr. Obama said, speaking of the financial crisis.  Really?

“I know there’s a criticism out there that my administration has been spending with reckless abandon, pushing a liberal social agenda while mortgaging our children’s future,” Mr. Obama said.

Yep. That’s pretty much it.

The Prime Minister of England. But he seems a decent enough bloke. I find it difficult to believe he would ever have countenanced the kind of deliberate and malicious smearing of poltical opponents that one of his advisors seems to have suggested to another Labour figure.

Damian McBride, who has now resigned as one of Brown’s senior advisors, sent emails containing gossip and fabricated stories to Derek Draper. Draper is a Labour party publicist and blogger, who had proposed setting up a website called ‘Red Rag’ dedicated to gossip about Conservative MPs. Draper originally described McBride’s ideas as ‘brilliant.’

But the idea came to nothing. It was, as Draper points out, a few juvenile ideas tossed about by a couple of mates. They decided, after a few laughs, that it would be wrong to proceed in that way, and they didn’t.

The harm seems to have been done by British blogger Guido Fawkes, who somehow got hold of those emails and made them public, causing embarrassment not only to McBride, Draper, and now to Gordon Brown, but to the people mentioned in the stories. Without Guido, those bits of gossip and baseless stories would never have become public knowledge.

Guido’s allegations about Brown’s likely knowledge and approval of the plan seem to me to be just as baseless and malicious as any of the ideas McBride and Draper emailed to each other.

The difference is that McBride and Draper told no one else about their silly stories. Guido did. And now he’s making up some of his own, with the intention of doing exactly what McBride and Draper talked about doing. But didn’t.

Guido’s a right-winger and so am I. And as I said, I am no supporter of Brown or Labour. But fair is fair.

Is this guy out of his mind?

Unemployment is at its highest levels for twenty years. People are being forced out their homes, soup kitchens are struggling to meet the demand.

And President Barack Obama, community organiser, wealth redistributor, has a pizza chef flown 860 miles to make 20 pizzas for he and his family and mates.

I guess it was someone else’s pizza Michelle Obama had in mind when she said that in order to get universal health care and a better education system, some people were going to have give up a piece of their pie.

Nearly 300 killed in the Abruzzo earthquake including children, others still missing, and this is a cause for rejoicing?

“At last they have had their dark days too. O Allah, kill them and leave them destitute vagabonds,” said one of a series of comments that have appeared on various jihadist websites this week. “O Allah, keep the earthquakes and tragedies coming – cursed be Europe, Israel and the United States,” wrote ‘Ashiq al-Irhab’, which in Arabic means ‘desirous of terrorism.’

Charming.

Islamic leaders are not to blame for the rantings of a few. But if they want to be taken seriously, and if they want the West to believe Islam is a religion of peace, Islamic leaders must condemn these outbursts.

Anyone want to put money on it?

Opposition Finance spokesperson Helen Coonan says the government ought to be harder on the banks, taking steps to make them pass on the full amount of Reserve Bank cuts in official rates.

A perennially popular move.

But is this really the best the opposition can up with? This is not offering new options. It is simply repeating what the government has said, just a bit louder. A few days ago Wayne Swan said the banks deserved a kick up the bum for not passing on the rate cuts.

There are two things wrong with the apparently united view of Wayne and Helen on this.

Firstly, official rates are not the only factor in the cost of money to banks. Expecting them instantly to be able to pass on the full amount of any Reserve Bank rate reduction is naive. Such a suggestion does not inspire confidence in the knowledge and competence of either government or opposition.

Secondly, the banks are not charities. Nor are they in business to please their chums in government. They are in business to make a return on investment for their shareholders. That is their primary responsibility. That does not mean that can or do charge what they like.

The home and business loan markets in Australia in are highly competitive. It is easy for consumers to check rates. Market competition is the most effective way of ensuring the best possible terms to bank customers. Pouting and posturing by members of parliament may make good headlines. It may even win a few votes, or it might if government and opposition were saying anything different. But it won’t make any difference to the banks.

While Queen Elizabeth gets a nod. This is all over the internet, I know. Perhaps because it seems to say something important.

I wasn’t going to comment, but this YouTube video makes it clear just how different Barack Obama’s behaviour to each of the two monarchs was.

Behaviour sends a message. You can’t act with such obsequiousness to someone like Abdullah and with so little apparent respect for Queen Elizabeth, and not expect people to notice and to comment and ask questions about the difference.

Maybe Obama in all honesty thought that a nod was what was expected in England, while a deep bow was expected in Saudi Arabia. But in that case, why not just say so? Instead the White House is denying Obama bowed at all, saying it was just that he is taller than King Abdullah, and bent down to be at his level. There are only two problems with this. First, it isn’t true – Obama did bow to Abdullah. And second, Queen Elizabeth is shorter than Abdullah, so if difference in height was the issue, she should have got an even deeper bow.

If you think you’ve done the right thing, you don’t need to lie about it.

Kevin Rudd admitted today that the Federal Government had no business plan to confirm the new broadband plan’s viability or cost effectiveness compared with other options.

Malcolm Turnbull said: “This is the most reckless statement about a financial matter I’ve seen from an Australian government. This makes the Whitlam era look modest and unassuming.”

What the heck does Rudd’s government they think they are doing? I don’t spend $50 in business unless I think spending $50 will earn me more back. That’s just common sense. The more I plan to spend the more care I take in thinking about options and the cost effectiveness and efficiency of each.

Malcolm Turnbull is right to complain about this – it’s a turkey with a captital T. And apart from that it is the job of the opposition to probe, question, and oppose. He’s doing his job. Why aren’t the state libs? Why would they agree with Labor on such a pointless and expensive proposal?

Because they are spineless nitwits. I don’t know why, but the state Libs either have no idea at all of Liberal values, or no idea how to explain and sell them. And because they have lost their moorings, they’ve got nothing to offer except picking up popular causes. So they seem not to stand for anything, and no one votes for them.

A bit like the Anglican Church really.

Having made millions from ransoms in recent years, Somali pirate gangs are using increasingly sophisticated boats and radar equipments to spot, chase and capture other vessels. On average a ship is attacked every day. About one attack in seven in successful. That’s a ship seized every week. Payment of ransoms has changed a few ratbags in fishing boats to highly trained and well equipped mega-ratbags.

Good luck to this US crew who recaptured their vessel. Their captain is still being held, and US and other warships are on their way to try make sure he is returned safely.

Money paid in ransoms to Abu Sayyaf in the Southern Phillipines has helped them build up arms. Even more importantly it has helped them build support. They are able to give food, medicines, etc to villagers and make themselves look like the good guys. They are not the good guys.

The two remaining Red Cross hostages are still being held. The Red Cross has refused to consider a $5 million ransom demand – a terribly hard choice, but the right choice – and the military is refusing to pull back further, saying to do so will enable the kidnappers to escape or to obtain reinforcements or supplies.

It’s a dangerous time for the hostages, and a sad and worrying time for their friends and families. If no ransoms had ever been paid to Abu Sayyaf, it might also never have happened.