Throwing stones from the glasshouse

I am about to make an incredibly bold statement here and say none of the three Presidential candidates will do a good job; we just have to pick the one that will do the least damage.

I personally do not think any one of them knows what they are getting into. They have no clue. Hillary is living in the 90’s, McCain is still hunting the Viet Cong in the jungles of Vietnam, and Obama is channelling Dr. Martin Luther King and JFK, while trying to play down the fact that he is a filthy rich high class lawyer who has no idea how the other half live.

Come on, you may say, you are 100% behind Obama! Absolutely, is my response back to that observation. But that doesn’t mean that I think he will be flawless. If he does not pick his team very, very carefully, he will cock this thing up BIG time. However, he has not made statements that show a distinct lack of awareness of the mistakes of the past and how we should learn from them. As my father always said “If you make a mistake once, it’s a mistake. If you make the same mistake a second time, you’re stupid.”

This week saw Senator Clinton declare that she would attack Iran if need be, as President. Good girl. Show some toughness. Show that you can be a nasty war mongerer like that mad Texan we have there now. It shows toughness, but has absolutely no intelligence. The war in Iraq is causing more people to hate politicians than any other issue. The United States military is going to find it difficult to get men and women to join after this little Middle East fiasco. It is a bloodbath, and the so called ‘liberation of Iraq’ has failed to ‘liberate’ one single Iraqi. So the answer to all that, is to declare war on another Middle Eastern country, completely destroy any military the United States has, and totally dessimate the American spirit?

With Hillary, you have a new war, and with John McCain, you are faced with the same war for ‘at least 100 years’, as he favours another loose end like in Korea.

Obama, needs to do some serious homework if he is to give the people of the US some real hope. He has to have a plan about North Korea, about Iran, about the Middle East, and not just ‘end the war in Iraq.’ The American people do not want more hostility, and bloodshed, but they will choose that over a young, naive man like Barack Obama, if push comes to shove.

To win the nomination is one thing. To then get down to the realism of what you’re going to do with this nightmarish world when you get the job is entirely different again.

Enjoy your day.

Yesterday, Australians and New Zealanders celebrated Anzac Day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and it has a number of major significances for these two countries.

Anzac Day is held on the 25th April, as this was the day the Australian and New Zealand troops stormed the beaches of Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915. It was a monumental military fiasco, and some would wonder why we use that event to remember. Surely, we would rather forget.

Well, it was the first time Australians and New Zealanders had fought alongside one another, and an amazing bond was formed that is summed up in one word; Anzac. As a child growing up, I was told of the Anzac spirit, and how we should be proud of those who fought in Gallipoli, as their pure guts and determination inspired those who fought in successive wars.

It is significant for another reason. It is the only ‘official’ day that we celebrate and remember our war dead. It is a public holiday, and marches are held in all parts of the country. Dawn Services are held to begin the day, and it has become one of the proudest days of the year for veterans, as they get to shine up the medals, meet old mates, and remember those mates who never came home. The illegal game of ‘Two-up’ is allowed only on this day of the year, as a token gesture to the veterans. This was a betting game played in the trenches and other war zones, and the only place you will ever see it played freely and openly is on Anzac Day. Otherwise, you’ll have to go to the many casinos dotted around the big brown land that is Australia.

Anzac Day has always meant a lot to me, as my Grandfather fought at Gallipoli. He was lucky enough to come home. According to my Mother, he always attended Anzac Day marches in his local country town. But he has been dead close on 40 years now, and I have always wanted to march in just one Anzac Day parade wearing his medals. Unfortunately, his more immediate, close family have pulled ranks around the medals, and try as I have for the last 20 years, the closest I have come to them is a photograph.

My desire to be the legs, mind and heart of my Grandfather and continue the Anzac spirit on his behalf, is also the desire of many. Children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces all over Australia and New Zealand want to march for their loved family member. But I know for a fact that in Australia, this practice has been heavily discouraged, both for Grandchildren marching with Grandfathers or relatives marching in place of deceased veterans. A part of me is simply sad, another part of me is furious. Those servicemen who returned want the Anzac spirit maintained, but do nothing to help facilitate it. One good thing, however. The old diggers who stop us now, cannot stop us forever.

So, as we say at each Anzac Day:

  They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old.

                 Age shall not weary them or the years condemn.

                             At the going down of the sun and in the morning.

                                    We will remember them.

                                  Lest we forget

 Enjoy your day.