Category: Politics & government

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Economics Environment Humor Politics & government

[444] Of moral value…

… is never objective.

So much for moral value, eh?

p/s – for a cleaner environment! This is our next goal after Kyoto is done!

pp/s – hunting with hounds has been banned in Britain. Hunting ban is probably the biggest environmental issue in Britain at the moment.

The most interesting point on this issue is that, the House of Commons is in favor (or in favour, depending on how messed up your head is) of the ban while the House of Lords is saying nay. While this happens, the House of Commons is pushing the ban forward, regardless of what the Lords thinks. Class war in the making, probably.

ppp/s – this might be a little bit sadistic, but a twin .50 calibre machine gun is the right way to fight poaching. Let the poachers be hunted.

p4/s – Kmart and Sears are merging into a single, bigger, giant entity.

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Politics & government

[440] Of Yasser Arafat

One of the great figures of our times, for better or for worse, passes away in Paris, France. And it is said, to pass away in Ramadan is truly a blessing by God.

Yasser Arafat was a good man but he was never effective in reaching the much needed peace. Now, perhaps peace can be achieved, if the PLO doesn’t crumble under its own weight. And hopefully, somebody with the right kind of mind, probably Prime Minister Qurei, will pursue a peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine. Peaceful coexistence between these two states is the only solution to this age old conflict.

With Israel is currently voluntarily withdrawing from a number of areas, the Palestinians and the Arabs need to emulate such gesture. War cannot possibly go on forever. The killing must stop, the hatred must end.

All other Muslim nations need to realize this, regardless the history of the creation of Israel. What has passed has passed. We need to move on and build a new future.

May God bless him.

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Politics & government

[438] Of Florida and the Presidential Election 2004

I received an email through some organization that I am affiliated with that points to a study that was done by ustogether.org. The study is at “Surprising Pattern of Florida’s Election Results“.

The result seems odd though I must admit, I don’t know the credibility of the website simply because I haven’t heard of it before. Furthermore, the website certainly takes a biased position. At the same time, I’m not trying to be a sore loser but the finding of the study does raise some questions that need to be answered.

I highly doubt this would change the result of the recent election but it would be interesting if somebody prominent takes the issue up and rolling.

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Politics & government

[437] Of depressed sentences

The days after November 2 feel different. There seems to be a lack of something but still, everything that I wanted to change, from the person that is sitting in the Oval Office to the policies regarding the environment, is still in place. That lack of something is seeing Kerry talking, hearing his boring voice. It pains me to see Kerry going into oblivion while Bush and the rightist fundamentalists are rising higher still.

I still can’t believe that Kerry lost, even though before Ohio started calling, even before Florida stays red, even before half of the result was announced, there was hunch that was as clear as the Tahitian waters, that Kerry was fighting a losing battle. It is the feeling of seeing the Netherlands being beaten through penalty shootouts by the Italian after all the possession and flair two European Championships ago. It is feeling of a great injustice after all that had been said and done.

Despite blunder in Iraq, regardless of the fallout from the world community, in the face of lies imitating the truth and the truth continues to be pushed aside, there are still millions of people siding with the current administration. It is a great frustration that transcends far beyond words. Perhaps this is what Voltaire had forseen long ago.

I trust that nearly half of the American people feel the same along with, perhaps, majority of the citizens of the world as it is evident with the Mirror’s “How can 59,017,382 people be so dumb?” front page and so many others. That feeling could not be more pronounced than the words written in the New York Times. Its editorial columns are filled with angry paragraphs and depressed sentences save anything that comes from Mr. Safire and Mr. Brooks and their fans.

Four more years of Bush sounds too harsh for many. I know it is too harsh for me.

America is supposed to be the bastion of secularism but regretfully, the rightist fundamentalists, which are no better than those Islamic extremists, are gaining ground. It is funny and ironic as well that wherever we may be, two species of the same class are there to be fought. Both species of fundamentalist are trying to crush each other while we are in a quagmire, continuously shouting and telling them to stop and think.

p/s – And, some of you better memorize “O Canada”, eh?

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ASEAN Politics & government

[435] Of case for a Malaysian intervention in southern Thailand

Things seem to be heading for the worse close to home.

A few days ago, a few Buddhists were killed as revenge to the unnecessary death of roughly 80 Muslims in southern Thailand. I don’t see the problem subsiding as everyday since the trouble was aggravated has been marred with death related to the issue.

Some in Malaysia have voiced outrage over this. There were a few protests here and there and the most notable was recently held in front of the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur. No unwanted incident happened there but it does reveal that part of Malaysians, the Malay Muslims at least, are quite concerned with the development there. And it is not just Malaysia. Practically, every other Muslim nations have somewhat voiced their regret on Thailand’s mishandling of the issue. Even the United States expressed concerns.

What bothers me the most is not the mishandling per se but rather, I am worried with the nearness of the conflict to the Malaysian border and history. So far, most of regional conflicts have occurred well off Malaysian soil. Even when a conflict spilt into Malaysia as what had happened in Sabah a few years ago, it happens at a place where the population density is very low and the effect on Malaysia is negligible. If it gets worse, the worst thing that could happen is a diplomatic row, of which is kind of fun to participate in whenever it concerns Singapore. And whenever all that occur, I may only care for an issue without the fear of knowing Malaysia might become too entangled in it. To say the least, all the diplomatic issues that had risen in the past were much less of an issue when compared to the outbreak of the recent avian flu or the infamous Coxsackie virus.

But the resurfacing issue in southern Thailand brings a different kind of feeling to me. This is simply because the southern Thai states are more culturally similar to Malaysia than to Thailand. And in many ways, the issue affects Malaysia.

Mahathir on the other day suggested autonomy power being granted to the troubled states. It is a sensible option but the administration in Thailand quickly brushed the idea off the table and accused Mahathir of interfering with Thailand’s internal problem.

This is no doubt part of Thailand’s internal issue but it does concern Malaysia. It is similar to the situation when Russia had to drop its paratroopers into Belgrade during the NATO bombing in order to help the people that shared a trait of Russian culture. Malaysia can’t stand quiet while the undercurrent occurs. Malaysia must actively participate in this issue.

At the same time, with the mercury rising in southern Thailand. It is only comprehensible to expect the tension between the Muslims and the Buddhists there to be rather high. Muslims in Malaysia have expressed their opinion but the Malaysian Buddhists haven’t but I in no way expect the Buddhists to stay quiet if the Muslims overreact. However, I trust rationality will overcome any discomfort between Malaysian Muslims and Buddhists. But this possible misunderstanding in Malaysia provides the more reason for Malaysia to lend Thailand a hand.

Of course, Thailand will be outraged by this notion but Thailand must understand that the world is a continuous system. Something that happened somewhere, will affect something else somewhere else, regardless of the magnitude. Whatever Thailand chooses to do, Malaysia will be affected. Furthermore, local trade in the vicinity of the Malaysian and Thai border will hurt if things get worse. Without trade, development along the border will suffer. Local trade must flourish for the benefit of both Malaysians and Thais and for healthy trade to occur, cooperation towards peace is a must. Therefore, it is only acceptable for Thailand to allow a Malaysian intervention. Thailand cannot deny that.

In the near past, Malaysia has acted as a mediator in the region. Malaysia was the one that brokered a ceasefire between the Mindanao rebel and the Philippines government. Malaysia has also been of a help in Aceh and Myanmar. It would be uncharacteristic of Malaysia to not assist Thailand in this issue.

p/s – Totti is an arse.