Well, it has come to this. As we always knew, Kevin Rudd is a little twerp, a mini-me we had to elect to get rid of the big twerp and his coven. But he is exactly as awful as we had suspected and feared he would be.

In NSW we have what must be the most ego-driven, corrupt, inept, nauseating and anti-democratic politicians in the country: Iemma, Costa, Watkins and the rest of the mafiosi. So Iemma and Costa have cooked up a scheme to bypass parliament and put through energy privatisation without the vote they would lose. It’s not even that Iemma is anti-democratic, actually. He simply doesn’t understand the concept of democracy. What happens to politicians is that they tend to forget that they actually don’t own anything. We do. They don’t own energy. We do. They don’t own the schools. We do. They don’t own the hospitals. We do. They don’t own our rights and freedoms. We do. Easy to forget. But we own it all and we have a say.

What’s the alternative to Iemma or his surely imminent replacement as Premier? Fatty O’Barrell, the inept il-liberal party and the mad authoritarian christian right? Oh, please, give us a break. It’s an insult. Nobody, no state or nation, deserves the putrid choice that is available to NSW voters.

Anyway that’s not exactly what this is about. What it is about is that the problem with democracy is that the only people who are attracted to participate in it are … politicians. Mostly men. You can’t escape it. You vote and a politician gets elected. And that’s the problem. Democracy is good in theory, but in practice you end up with politicians. It’s inevitable.

So, you might say, why not replace them with idealists, or doctors, or businessmen, earnest (or wild-eyed) greenies, or school teachers, or farmers? How about economists or political scientists? Sadly, all of these people are shit at running countries. You want people who are compassionate but sensible, visionaries but pragmatists, who know how to balance a budget in tough times, put on a good spread in good times and who would never want to get involved in a war.

What does that leave? The answer is … women. Clearly, all politicians should be women. Mothers, probably. And no christians.

So you get the occasional but appalling Bronwyn, Amanda and the Julias, but there’s probably a test that could weed them out. Like how much hairspray they use.

It’s the only way.

Technorati Tags: politics, government, democracy, freedom, rights, NSW, Australia, Rudd, Kevin Rudd, Iemma, Costa, Watkins, mafia, Labor, christian right, politicians, greenies, farmers, businessmen, idealists, compassion, schoolteachers, pragmatists, doctors, values, Australian values, morals, ethics, standards, principles

As Whatever It Is I’m Against It seems to be pointing out today, John McCain is either really really stupid/blind/delusional/demented, or he is trying to be smart and position himself as the President of Let’s Pretend Land - “I promise to pretend that everything is all right and everyone loves us and no-one is getting tortured or losing their house. I promise to pretend that Dick Cheney going to Georgia with my wife, Cindy, will make Russia withdraw and stop being silly. And I promise to help you pretend that everything is all right, too. I have special powders I will put in the water. I have taken them for years and they never did me any ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…mmmm”

[From WIIIAI] John McCain told the American Legion annual convention today: “when people in the oppressed nations of the world need support, and solidarity, and hope, they look to America. When they talk about our country, it is not with distrust or disdain, but with respect and affection. They do not resent or resist America’s democratic influence in the world — they thank God for it.” Um, gosh, I don’t really… know… what to say about that particular, ah, view of the world. I guess he learned all about that respect and affection and stuff in Vietnam.

So you would have to ask, wasn’t Iraq one of those oppressed nations? Then why was the famous “surge” necessary, if not to stop the newly-liberated oppressed people from killing so many Americans?

It is just too mad to be even ironic. It is simply the denial of any reality, objective or otherwise, and all evidence. Does he truly believe that Americans are so stupid or so desperate that they will believe anything, even when the obvious falsehood is right in front of them, written in big flashing signs. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Technorati Tags: Bush, McCain, Iraq, Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia, WIIIAI, whatever it is I’m against it, Cheney, Cindy McCain, values, morals, worth, choice, dementia, stupid, stupidity, US, America, President, presidency, presidential election, US election, politics, government

This is what we meant to say…

Technorati Tags: Russia, Georgia, Daily Show, Jon Stewart, Bush, George Bush, Rice, Condi Rice, McCain, Obama, Liebermann, Rickles, politics, politics and government, government, invasion, sovereign nation, preemptive strike, South Ossetia, Tblisi, values, morality, ethics, spin, political values, world values

From the studio that brought you Fahrenheit 9/11 and the director of Borat….

Bill Maher talks to Larry King about his new movie, Religulous.

Here’s the trailer:

These deranged people influence the leadership of the most powerful country in the world. One of them became President.

Technorati Tags: Bill Maher, Larry King, Real Time, CNN, Religulous, religion, god, Obama, McCain, Fahrenheit 9/11, Borat, USA, Bush, George Bush, religious values

So untimely…

You had to watch that in order to see this…

Technorati Tags: whale, beached, animation, NZ, New Zealand, kiwi, plankton, youtube, wildlife

Godly Thoughts for Sunday

And now, today, we grieve for four young men [US Marines murdered in El Salvador] taken from us too soon. And we receive them in death as they were on the last night of their lives, together and following a radiant light — following it toward heaven, toward home. And if we reach — or when we reach heaven’s scenes, we truly will find it guarded by…

…wait for it…

…we truly will find it guarded by United States marines.
- [President Ronald Reagan, June 22, 1985]

So that’s something to look forward to.

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.

When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
- [Stephen Roberts]

“I do not pretend to be able to prove that there is no God. I equally cannot prove that Satan is a fiction. The Christian God may exist; so may the gods of Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But no one of these hypotheses is more probable than any other: they lie outside the region of even probable knowledge, and therefore there is no reason to consider any of them.

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more often likely to be foolish than sensible.”
- [Bertrand Russell]

“We have just enough religion to make us hate but not enough religion to make us love one another”
- [Jonathan Swift]

“When I think of all the harm the Bible has done, I despair of ever writing anything to equal it.”

- [Oscar Wilde]

Technorati Tags: religion, Oscar Wilde, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Roberts, Ronald Reagan, Jonathan Swift, Bible, belief, heaven, faith, values, religious values

From the one … the only … xkcd …

Technorati Tags: xkcd, web comic, comix, religion, ghost busters, pope, trinity, holy trinity, bill murray

Over to the left you will see a quotation by Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the USA.

Today it’s particularly appropriate that, amongst everything that he was, he was that.

The quotation is especially poignant:

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Values Australia, you could imagine, tries to play a small part in providing arms and ammunition to the lamb.
^{[Note to any obtuse, literal-minded ASIO, secret police and other spy agencies: we don’t mean this literally. It is a figure of speech we call a “metaphor”. Also, note to terrorists: we don’t actually provide real arms and ammunition. DO NOT write, email or knock on our door.]}

Until today we were thinking that the wolves - three of them, really - were Business, the Military/Industrial Complex and Politicians. But there is another: the Lobbyists.

This was made infuriatingly clear, with the proof that democracy is ‘two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch’, in the last few days by the impeccable, incomparable Bill Moyers in his report on developments in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Washington is awash with dirty cash, dirty tricks, bought politicians, ruthlessly greedy lobbyists and fleeced clients; no lobbyist more shameless than Abramoff; no cronies more vile than his friends Grover Norquist, Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed, a Chinese Communist sweat-shop operator in the Marianas, a gaggle of Russian gangsters, a slithering host of others. And Karl Rove.

This group, all Republicans, included the huckster’s hucksters, the carpetbagger’s carpetbaggers, the ultimate flim-flam men, consummate confidence tricksters who lied, schemed, scammed, manipulated, stole and cheated to achieve their end, which was money - although they claimed from time to time it was religion, family values, lower taxes, liberty, the defeat of Communism (or the Democrats which they thought/think was the same thing), and the Republican Cause. It was these men who, in their ideological masque, pursued the goal of eternal Republicanism. Their marks included not only Indian communities but also each other. The religious right was their eager ally, their tool and their victim

So all in all they are a not-unusual group of Republican-minded American business-folk and politicians.

And, lest we forget, it is people like this who helped John Howard fool himself into supporting the War in Iraq.

Here is Bill Moyers’ introduction to the program:

while Jack Abramoff is in jail, the investigation into this epic scandal is expanding - with new revelations about the rot at the core of our government. A major new book to be published next week puts it all into context. Thomas Frank’s THE WRECKING CREW - excerpted in HARPERS’ Magazine, now on the newsstands-describes the rise of a ruling coalition dedicated to dismantling government by simply selling it off.

There are four videos in the program.

This is Part 1 (you might want to take a valium or something if you tend to hit things, or an anti-hypertensive if you tend to get high blood pressure, when you are angry):

Here are:

Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

You’ll find the transcript here.

Technorati Tags: Benjamin Franklin, Founding Fathers, USA, Democracy, Values Australia, arms, ammunition, Military/Industrial Complex, Politicians, Lobbyists, Bill Moyers, Jack Abramoff, Abramoff, Grover Norquist, Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed, Chinese, Communist, sweat-shop, Marianas, Russian, gangsters, Karl Rove, Republican, carpetbagger, flim-flam, confidence trickster, money, religion, family values, lower taxes, liberty, Communism, Democrats, Republicanism, Indian, religious right, Republican-minded, American, business-folk, John Howard, War, Iraq, Thomas Frank, WRECKING CREW, HARPERS, government, video, valium, hypertensive, high blood pressure, values, australian values, morals, immoral, ethics, unethical, amoral, principles, standards, greed, cost, price, buy, bought, bought politician, election, election fund, fundraising, politics and government, politics, Texas, Georgia, Washington, K Street

By some circuitous route [a comment on a WIIIAI post led to securingamerica.com/geneva.htm] we discovered this little gem.

So if you want to know what the rules about treatment of prisoners, and the US position on torture and the Geneva Conventions, were, during the Vietnam War when John McCain was held captive and tortured, and to compare and contrast this position with the Bush administration’s and the CIA’s position, check this out.

Appendix H
“THE ENEMY IN YOUR HANDS”
(Reproduction of 3×5 card of instructions issued to all troops.)

FRONT

THE ENEMY IN YOUR HANDS

HANDLE HIM FIRMLY, PROMPTLY, BUT HUMANELY
The captive in your hands must be disarmed, searched, secured and watched. But he must also be treated at all times as a human being. He must not be tortured, killed, mutilated, or degraded, even if he refuses to talk. If the captive is a woman, treat her with all respect due her sex.

TAKE THE CAPTIVE QUICKLY TO SECURITY
As soon as possible evacuate the captive to a place of safety and interrogation designated by your commander. Military documents taken from the captive are also sent to the interrogators, but the captive will keep his personal equipment except weapons.

MISTREATMENT OF ANY CAPTIVE IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. EVERY SOLDIER IS PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENEMY IN HIS HANDS.
It is both dishonorable and foolish to mistreat a captive. It is also a punishable offense. Not even a beaten enemy will surrender if he knows his captors will torture or kill him. He will resist and.make his capture more costly. Fair treatment of captives encourages the enemy to surrender.

TREAT THE SICK AND WOUNDED CAPTIVE AS BEST YOU CAN.
The captive saved may be an intelligence source. In any case he is a human being and must be treated like one. The soldier who ignores the sick and wounded degrades his uniform.

ALL PERSONS IN YOUR HANDS, WHETHER SUSPECTS, CIVILIANS, OR COMBAT CAPTIVES, MUST BE PROTECTED AGAINST VIOLENCE, INSULTS, CURIOSITY, AND REPRISALS OF ANY KIND.
Leave punishment to the courts and judges. The soldier shows his strength by his fairness, firmness, and humanity to the persons in his hands.

 

REVERSE

THE ENEMY IN YOUR HANDS

AS A MEMBER OF THE US MILITARY FORCES, YOU WILL COMPLY WITH THE GENEVA PRISONER OF WAR CONVENTIONS OF 1949 TO WHICH YOUR COUNTRY ADHERES. UNDER THESE CONVENTIONS:

YOU CAN AND WILL

DISARM YOUR PRISONER
IMMEDIATELY SEARCH HIM THOROUGHLY
REQUIRE HIM TO BE SILENT
SEGREGATE HIM FROM OTHER PRISONERS GUARD HIM CAREFULLY
TAKE HIM TO THE PLACE DESIGNATED BY YOUR COMMANDER

YOU CANNOT AND MUST NOT

MISTREAT YOUR PRISONER
HUMILIATE OR DEGRADE HIM
TAKE ANY OF HIS PERSONAL EFFECTS WHICH DO NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT MILITARY VALUE
REFUSE HIM MEDICAL TREATMENT IF REQUIRED AND AVAILABLE

ALWAYS TREAT YOUR PRISONER HUMANELY

KEY PHRASES
ENGLISH VIETNAMESE
Halt: Dung lai
Lay down your gun: Buong sung xuong
Put up your hands: Dua tay len
Keep your hands on your head: Dua tay len dau
I will search you: Tai kham ong
Do not talk: Dung noi chuyen
Walk there: Lai dang kia
Turn Right: Xay ben phai
Turn Left: Xay ben trai

“The courage and skill of our men in battle will be matched by their magnanimity when the battle ends. And all American military action in Vietnam will stop as soon as aggression by others is stopped ”
21 August 1965
Lyndon B. Johnson

Note that it makes clear that “It is both dishonorable and foolish to mistreat a captive. It is also a punishable offense.”

By extension, a President, or anyone in his administration, or any senior officer in the armed forces, who facilitates or permits contravention of the Geneva Conventions — say, by condoning torture, humiliation and degradation of prisoners and by approving, building and manning a facility such as Guantánamo for the express or actual purpose of torture, humiliation or degradation of prisoners — commits a criminal offence. They are also “dishonourable and foolish”. But we already knew that.

Technorati Tags: torture, geneva, geneva conventions, vietnam, war, prisoners, McCain, Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, Guantanamo, abu Ghraib, Bush, President Bush, John Yoo, Gonzalez, Rumsfeld, justice, values, morals, principles

From the fabulous Mr Fish:

Maybe you could start a blog….?

Technorati Tags: cartoons, joke, humour, humor, press, media, newspapers, MSM, mainstream media, internet, blog, blogging, journalist, journalism, writer, commerce, commercial, commercialism, advertising, ads, marketing, values, costs, principles, standards, broadsheet

We wish to note the news this week that:

ASIO has revealed it “consistently” advised the Howard government it had no evidence connecting Mohamed Haneef to a British terrorist plot, days before the government stripped the Indian doctor of his visa.

In a damning submission to the Clarke inquiry into the handling of the case, the head of the country’s main intelligence agency said it told the government there were no grounds to believe Dr Haneef was linked to, or even knew about, the botched June car bombings. It raises questions about the actions of the then immigration minister, Kevin Andrews, who cancelled the doctor’s visa, and of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, who has declared there were grounds to treat Dr Haneef as a security risk.

This was on top of similar advice to the AFP nearly three weeks ago:

The Queensland Police Service says it told Australia Federal Police (AFP) officers last year there was not enough evidence to charge Dr Mohamed Haneef with supporting a terrorist organisation.

There is now no doubt at all, if there ever was any, that the Haneef affair was Howard’s last ditch attempt at a Tampa Overboard for the 2007 election, aided and abetted by his lapdog, AFP Commissioner Keelty, and the Joke, Kevin Andrews.

More recently,

A senior counter-terrorism officer with the Australian Federal Police…testified that police were directed to charge “as many suspects as possible” with terrorism offences in order to test the new anti-terrorism laws introduced in 2003…“At the time we were directed, we were informed, to lay as many charges under the new terrorist legislation against as many suspects as possible because we wanted to use the new legislation,” Mr Lam Paktsun testified.

An AFP spokesperson was asked whether the ASIO statement made Keelty’s position untenable.

The answer is yes.

As we said here last November, “can there any longer possibly be any question that the appalling, scandal-ridden, utterly discredited and totally compromised Keelty is irredeemably politicised - in fact has offered himself up to the political game by his own choice?