I personally hate elections as my preference for candidates is like the kiss of death since I always call the person who is likely to lose. Of course, not being able to vote in any of the places where I would like to vote (UK, US, HK, SG), I console myself with the idea that had I actually been able to vote, it would have made all the difference.
I so wanted Hillary to win the nomination from her party and alas, it came true - she received my very own kiss of death and Barack Obama is the Democratic nominated candidate for the upcoming 2008 US elections. But is it all over? Perhaps not…
I stumbled upon this blog post that alleges that Obama is actually Indonesian and a Muslim. It claims that Obama is still possibly a citizen of Indonesia and a Muslim based on his time living there under his step-father where he was enrolled into local schools as such. For obvious reasons, dual citizenship disqualifies you from running for the highest post in the US and being Muslim, well, I reasonably sure you won’t be getting the popular vote either.
What is more curious to me is the divisiveness in the Democratic camp with blogs like these. This definitely seems like a last ditch effort to disqualify Barack Obama from the presidential race, even if it smacks as little as a conspiracy theory. It’s just odd but it seems like this dissension is doing the job for the Republicans - they questioned John Kerry’s war record at the last election so they’ll love Democrats who help them with their research at this election.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I know most of the world outside the US is enamored with Obama but I personally am not all that hot about him. He strikes me as a grade school teacher, part-time teen counsellor who is your “best friend” and someone who just reeks of positive naivety. If it wasn’t going to be Hillary Clinton then John McCain might not be that bad since at least he’s a war hero.
It really doesn’t matter so long as we remember the important point that Furious George is finally out of power.
Democracy in Asian countries works as long as the economy is booming. The number of dissenting voices is generally kept to a minimum as people enjoy the lifestyle that comes with economic prosperity, and the various governments have a fairly easy ride legislating the lives of their citizens. It works less well when the economic situation isn’t as rosy and its often those without voices or lesser rights that are affected.
So, shame on Donald Tsang and his government for its latest proposed levy on the Hong Kong’s domestic helpers. A proposal to suspend the monthly fee that employers have to pay to employ domestic is being suspended in the name of reducing inflation. Sounds good except that it doesn’t apply to all the domestic workers employed already, only to maids that are newly employed after Sept. 1.
I am relatively sure that Hong Kong employers of domestic maids wouldn’t be as callous to terminate their maids to save on HKD400, barely the cost of a good night out (while your maid cleans up at home). I have faith in human beings to do the right thing.
Of course, it’s hard to do the right thing when Donald Tsang waves a big waiver like HKD400 in front of inflation-hit Hong Kongers. Really, he should be ashamed to be targeting a group that has barely enough rights to qualify out of the category of slave labour.
Perhaps Hong Kong should remember that much of its prosperity is owed to the backs of those less privileged looking after their children and households while they could double their earning power by having two parents working and being able to extend their working hours to ridiculously late.
The recent Miss USA falling down twice in two successive years is no cause for joy. Just because it involves the US and falling down. The only joy should be in November when Furious George finally leaves office.
The release of a convicted child murderer should be morally distasteful to anyone and one suspects that it is to the majority of people. What is a shame is that people like Sheikh Nasrallah perpetuate the incorrect notion in the West that those of Islam have no moral compass to judge right from wrong, as witnessed by the huge rallies in Beirut celebrating the return of five militants.
Okay, so perhaps some of the militants can be considered to be freedom fighters depending on how you cut your view but celebrating or even asking for the return of convicted child murdered should be distasteful. This was not some accidental killing where the perpetrator can claim collateral damage but was one where he actively kidnapped and shot the girl. He knew what he was doing. If Lebanon really wants to be part of the international community, it should never have even asked for such a controversial figure back. Can they be surprised if we in the West think them barbarians for condoning such an act by asking for his earlier release?
Even hardened in-mates at penitentiaries are known to distance and persecute in their own way known sex offenders of children.
No, I think Lebanon can split hairs over the return of the four other militants with Israel but to celebrate a criminal such as Samir Qantar so publicly, how on earth do you expect anyone to give serious thought to your cause? Shouldn’t you be mourning the loss of your own people - 1191 civilians and 250 combatants dead?
In any case, it seems that the mother of the girl murdered gave her consent to the release in order to bring home the remains of the two Israeli soldiers to give closure to the families. Noble but perhaps the widow can find closure courtesy of the Israeli secret service, Mossad?
I don’t suppose that the reason why it took so long for George W. to reach the mid-east has anything to do with him getting lost along the way? Saudi nationals bomb the US mainland and he hits Afghanistan. He’s looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction and you’d think that all along he meant Iran rather than Iraq (btw, did we ever find those pesky WMD that we were supposed to go in and find?). Don’t get me wrong, but Iran might very well be hotbed of terror and apocalyptic potential he’s telling us now but you’d think he’d give us a little more credit and not expect us to fall for that trick again.
By the way, did anyone notice that when he went for a three way photo shoot with Olmert, Abbas and himself, Olmert actually refused Bush’s hand when all George W. wanted was to have a hand holding session between old friends? Was quite funny since you could almost forgive Furious George for naively trying to accomplish peace in the last year of his term. But hey, if you can’t make ‘em love each other, everyone loves a good war. Going for three wars in two terms Bush?
One almost feels sorry for George W. In just over year’s time, his toys are being taken away and he’s going to have to learn to be the naughty boy in the corner that no-one really wants to talk to.
