Throwing stones from the glasshouse

At work the other day, an open question was aired in my staff room by an English member of staff. “Australians are quite racist aren’t they?” This was a response to the decision the other day by the council of the outer suburban Sydney area of Camden to reject an application for an Islamic school in the area.

Unfortunately this is not the first time Australians have been seen as racist, ignorant rednecks. Pauline Hanson, a two bit politician from Queensland made history when she made her maiden speech in Parliament:

On 10 September 1996 Hanson gave her first speech to the House of Representatives, which instantly made headlines and television news bulletins across Australia. She warned that Australia was “in danger of being swamped by Asians” due to high immigration, asserting that Asian immigrants “have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.” She also denounced the policy of multiculturalism and the “privileges Aboriginals enjoy over other Australians”, advocated the return of high-tariff protectionism and generally decried many other aspects of economic rationalism and what she perceived to be ‘political correctness‘.

However, what is more insidious about this is that the council say they rejected the application on planning grounds. When you try and cover up what is obvious racism, there is more chance that the world will react angrily. However, there is absolutley no justification for saying that Australians as a race are bigoted. There is unfortunately a small, very vocal minority that have way too much to say. But then again, visit any country in the world, and you’ll find pockets of people that are racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic.

Australia prides itself on being a very successful multicultural society, and by and large, it is. The majority of Australians have no issue with the diverse cultures they share their lives with. What is just as ignorant is outside people who look at isolated incidents, and tar everyone with the same brush. The fact that Australians have constantly supported a national apology for indigenous Australians, and that many members of local, state and the federal government are from lands beyond Australia’s shores,  demonstrates that an Aussie is an Aussie, regardless of race. We not only welcome those from other countries into Australia, but we encourage them to go even further and take up citizenship. We want, need and appreciate anyone’s input when looking at making Australia a great nation. So to say “Australian’s are quite racist, aren’t they?” is ill informed, and a gross generalisation.

To those in Camden who rejected the application for ‘planning reasons’, I express my disappointment. You have given those who love to criticise Australians, plenty of ammunition, as this was headline news both on CNN and BBC World. Islamic countries from Indonesia to Bahrain will be watching very closely and will not be pleased. You have demonised the Islamic community yet again, just when they were recovering from the emotional battering that they have received in so many ways since 9/11. It’s time for small country communities not only in Australia, but all across the world, to take their heads out of their collective arses and realise that we live in a global community, and not a village filled with ‘us’ and ‘them’.

Enjoy your day.

You have to wonder what the motivation is for a whistle blower. Is it financial reward? Do they simply want attention or revenge? Or are they really brave and want their truth to add to the common good? These are questions that I am sure former White House Press Secretary Scott McClelland alone knows the answer to.

You see, McClelland has been the latest high profile person to spill the beans on a powerful boss. He was George Bush’s Press Secretary from 2003-2006, and is now admitting that he lied for this administration.

“It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President’s chief of staff, and the president himself.”  -  What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2007/11/21/mcclellan/

Strong stuff. The word that I like being used here is ‘unknowingly’. Oh sure, everyone else is gulity, but not him. They all knew what they were doing, but he didn’t. He was just the dumb, naive patsy who thought that those who played in the Washington playground were nice children who played fair. Oh come on, Scott.

There are a number of observations here, possibly too many. But to go back to my original series of questions is a good place to start. Will he be financially rewarded? You bet your sweet bippy he will be. This man will never have to work again. Is he being brave? Possibly, although I would hate to get Dick Cheney on the wrong side. Scottie may end up at the bottom of the Potomac River. Is he seeking revenge? He was farewelled very nicely at the end of his time, at least publicly. But we don’t know what happened behind closed doors. I think the answer to McClelland’s motives lie in two areas.

One is connected to an observation that has been thrown around since the news of this book was released. It has been stated that Scott knows something is going to happen, hence his release of the book now, not after the Bush administration has left office. If he has knowledge about plans this administration is going to make that could damage the United States more than it already is, then it adds some weight to the argument that he is doing this for the common good.

The other is purely narcissistic. Is McClelland doing this because he is an opportunistic little weasel who has no care and concern for the anyone but himself, and could possibly have released the dirt whatever administration was in power? It’s just that this one has a hell of a lot of juice to spill. Is he releasing this book early to get ahead of the 1,001 other authors who will wish to throw in their two cents worth about Bush, and his team of happy ranchers? Again, if he is, then it’s all about Scott.

I don’t think anything in the book will surprise anyone. This has been a particularly evil administration with a circus clown fronting it. And that is exactly how Dick Cheney has liked it. While we have been laughing at the fool out front, he’s been in the backroom stealing the silverware, and shredding the files. McClelland is simply confirming all our darkest fears.

But, and it’s a big but, McClelland should not think that he will come away from this squeaky clean. Remember, he was the one fronting the press everyday, and feeding the press pariahs the lies. He was the one fudging the truth. He was the one covering up for this most crooked of administrations. Even if there has been no criminal activity, he helped to perpetuate a lie. Bill Clinton nearly got impeached for a lie.

However, if we find out many years from now that there was criminal activity happening under the Bush/Cheney leadership, then Scott may well regret blowing this whistle, or will risk being thrown into the lion’s den with the rest of them. I am sure he is hoping that either he will be dead and gone before that comes out, or the heat on the others will be enough to keep everyone warm.

Enjoy your day.

Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi follows in a long line of ‘freedom fighters’ who have suffered much for the sake of justice, fairness and democracy. Names like Mahatma Ghandi of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Xanana Gusmao of East Timor (Timor-Leste) and Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia are just some of those that have either come before, or are contemporaries of Suu Kyi.

As I have written much of these past few weeks, things are tough for the Burmese, and now Suu Kyi is being refused release from house arrest for another year. That may not surprise any of you, and it probably would have been even more surprising if she was released.

However, what makes this even more weird, peculiar, and a downright abuse of human rights is that, according to Burmese law, it is now officially illegal to have her detained. Under Burmese law, a person can be detained without charge. But as each year passes, the extension of that detention can only be for one more year. This can only be extended up to 5 years, no longer. Yesterday saw Suu Kyi come to the end of the house arrest 5 year deadline. She now must be either brought to trial on the charges they wish to bring against her, or simply be released.

There are two very disturbingly interesting things to notice here. One is that the Junta are showing a complete lack of know how when it comes to saving lives after Cyclone Nargis. On the other hand they seem to be completely efficient in not only making sure Suu Kyi remains detained, but also being on the ball enough to arrest her supporters as they made their way to Suu Kyi’s house.

They also have no problem in breaking their own laws to suit themselves. Why can’t the Junta be bluntly honest and say that they don’t obey any of the laws they make, because that’s exactly what they are doing now.

If the Junta had any care for democracy, then Suu Kyi would have been President in 1990. Under her leadership, and the leadership of those who succeeded her, Burma would be a different place than it is now. Not only would the ‘new capital’ of Naypidaw still be part of the jungle oasis of Burma, without being destroyed to make a home for the fat cats of the Burmese military, but the response to the cyclone would have resulted in many more lives saved, not the other way around.

I say all this with an immense sense of hopelessness. My voice, like the Burmese people, is not powerful enough. Let’s hope that someone, just someone, can bring about a series of events that will dissolve this hedious regime.

Enjoy your day.

When someone wants to pick a fight with us, or provoke us in any way, we are always told that the best thing to do is diffuse the situation; don’t give the enemy an excuse to do anything. In political circles, we could call it ‘being diplomatic’. With events in the Middle East getting quickly out of control, surely it is time to diffuse the situation in the most diplomatic way possible. 

In the latest copy of TIME magazine, journalist Joe Klein made this very interesting point:

“…the last thing Iran’s leaders want is an American President who doesn’t play the role of the Great Satan. They need the mirage of an implacable, saber-rattling foe to distract their population from the utter incompetence of their government. An American President who says “Let’s Talk”, would lead an awful lot of Iranians to as their leader, “Why aren’t you talking?”

With McCain wanting to keep the status quo going, and Hillary poised to march on Tehran if it so much as looks at her the wrong way, Barack Obama could become the ultimate diffuser. The bully wants the victim to react. When there is no reaction, the bully doesn’t know what to do. We successfully put them on the back foot. They have to think of an alternate plan.

Iran, North Korea, and Syria are all but screaming for a war mongerer to replace the Texas cowboy. If they don’t get one, as Klein says, the leaders of these countries will be seen by their people as the uncooperative ones in the whole equation.

The same logic could have been used in dealing with Robert Mugabe, my favourite dictator from Zimbabwe. Listening to an interview recently with Heidi Holland, the author of ‘Dinner with Mugabe’, my eyes were opened to say the least. Mugabe has a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Science and Master of Laws, all from the University of London External Programme, and his relationship with Britain is the same as a child’s relationship with an estranged parent. Mugabe loves Britain, but Britain has never appreciated him, so he outwardly says he hates the British. Holland stated:

“I am sure that if the Queen asked Robert Mugabe for tea, he would be on the next plane.”

I say ‘could have been used’, as I think the time for this has well and truly past, as does Holland. Mugabe is now totally dillusional, but things may have been different if the UK administration extended a more supportive hand to the fledgling country after independence in 1980.

Down and out aggression is obviously not working. Former President Jimmy Carter was heavily criticised for his efforts to talk through the issues at hand earlier this year, as has Barack Obama for suggesting it. Dealing with the enemy needs to contain as much strategy as playing a game of Chess. When we ‘keep our enemies closer’, we can learn to ‘read’ them, see what makes them ‘tick’ and find their Achilles Heel.

Throwing stones from over the back fence while poking out one’s tongue is childish and incredibly unproductive. Over the last 5 years, it has added at least 3,000 young men and women to the over 3,000 men and women who died at the Word Trade Centre in 2001. Continued loss of life, increased hate, further misery and suffering.

How can talk make anything worse?

Enjoy your day.

I was all excited when I heard that today we were going to see pictures from Mars. For years, we always said that aliens from space were ‘martians’. There have been so many songs about Mars, TV shows about Mars, and even movies i.e ‘Mars Attacks’. The mystery of Mars has been forever with us, and now we finally get to see what all the fuss was about.

Well, you can just imagine my disappointment when I got online, and went straight to CNN to check out the pictures. When I left for work this morning, CNN was having this special report with excited journalists and scientists and everything. This was going to be big. However, as you can see above, all I saw was two pictures of…gravel. Shit, I could go out my back door and take a picture like that and wack it on the internet!

Now I realise that probes like the NASA Mars Phoenix Lander have been important techonological tools for us to discover the secrets of our solar system, and I am sure many scientists who happen to stumble across this blog will eat me alive. But I just cannot get excited over gravel and dirt! Show me a distinctly Martian mountain. Show me an unearthly formation that we have not seen ever before. But for God’s sake, if you’re going to simply show dirt, and stones, then at least doctor the photos with some unidentified shape in the distance to dress it up!

“It’s surprisingly close to what we expected and that’s what surprises me most,” said Peter Smith, the mission’s principal investigator. “I expected a bigger surprise.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/26/mars.lander/index.html

Now let’s be very clear here. This is the mission’s principal investigator. This man supposedly has scientific qualifications coming out of every hole in his body, and this is the best he could come up with when asked for his deep scientific analysis? Oh please. What he is telling us is that all along, we knew that this is what we would see when that day finally came. For this amount of financial outlay, I want suprises, and a hell of a lot of them! To simply sit back and say “its suprprisingly close to what we expected” must be the ultimate scientific let down. How can they all sit back at NASA and be thrilled at ‘what they expected?’

They’d better find something remarkable pretty soon, or I for one am going to wonder why they’ve spent US$420 Million.

Enjoy your day.

These four words are words that those of us in the teaching profession here a lot. They are usually heard spoken at dinner parties by some half drunken guest (usually male), when they find out that someone at the table belongs to the noble profession. However, the conversation that ensues is usually not so noble. It commonly consists of every sort of morale stripping, patronising, and critical collection of word phrases that one could ever hear.

A new report from the Business Council of Australia, released today, has stated that the best teachers should receive an annual salary of up to AUD$130,000. The BCA’s Patrick Coleman, had this to say:

“[A pay rise is needed] to attract the best and brightest people into teaching careers in the first place [and] secondly to keep the very best people teaching in the classrooms longer,” he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255102.htm

Teachers are constantly criticised for ‘having it good’, working a ’sit down job’, and not to mention ‘all those holidays’. With all those supposed ‘benefits’, there seems to be no need for teachers to receive decent financial renumeration. They get it good enough.

However, when parents have children who are failing at school, have learning difficulties, behavioural problems, are not receiving the attention from the teacher they require, or are not having their child’s work monitored as much as it should be, then all hell usually breaks loose. Teachers are blamed for failing to do a good enough job.

So on the one hand they are ridiculed for having the ‘giveaway’ job, and without realising it, parents see just how difficult a teacher’s job is. But when it comes to paying teachers more, most people will still scoff. They simply don’t see how the education profession can justify teachers receiving any more money than the minimum, even though the evidence is right in front of them.

I have always said that teachers are not just teachers. They are social workers, nurses, scientists, mathematicians, literary experts, business administrators, and probably ever other job that you can think of. The profession has more twists and turns in it than a bendy road, and teachers are expected to be an expert in all these areas. But hey…no more money.

“We need to get the best and brightest into teaching and when we get them in we need to keep them in there,” he said.

“Putting computers in schools, the schools will welcome [that] but – as one teacher said to me recently – they’re not of much use if we don’t have the teachers there.

“The quality teachers will make the difference in the classroom.

“There’s nothing more important than the quality of our teachers and this is where the focus of any education revolution should be.”

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255102.htm

Paying someone a decent salary in any profession is saying to them that they are valued and worthwhile. What you put in is what you get back. You get peanuts for pay, you’ll give peanuts worth of effort. You get what you pay for. What you sow, you reap. Any other analogy or cliche you care to use, just slot it in here. The bottom line is, as a friend told me many years ago, whilst he was studying Law:

“Teachers should be in the highest wage earning bracket, like doctors and lawyers. The enormous responsibility that is in the hands of a teacher, as they hold a child’s future in the palm of his or her hands, is something that demands a decent pay.”

Just like surgeons holds someone’s physical life in their hands, so too do teachers hold each child’s physical, social, emotional, academic, and spiritual life in theirs.

The more we respect this profession, start rewarding it with decent salaries, and celebrating it like we celebrate other top class professionals, the more we will attract the finest minds of the present to educate the future of Australia. If we lead the way, we can be the model that encourages the rest of the world.

Enjoy your day.

I know I have written many blogs on the topic of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but can someone please tell me what in God’s name is Hillary Clinton trying to do? If there was ever a person who took the old saying ‘it’s not over till the fat lady sings’, it’s Hillary!

That fat lady is sure as hell warming up now, Obama is less than 100 delegates away from securing his party’s nomination, but Hillary is still ‘in it to win it.’ Win what? She has fought a valiant – albeit dirty – fight, but she is just not going to win this prize.

So what will she ‘win’ if she keeps going like this?  She is likely to lose a lot, and win very little if anything at all. She could poise herself to be the next solid progressive voice in the US Senate, with Senator Ted Kennedy, the democrat stalwart, recently diagnosed with a brain tumour.

There are many similarities between Hillary and Ted. Ted challenged Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic nomination, and fought it out till the bitter end; just like Hillary. But Ted realised that he could do a hell of a lot more good in the Senate, and he has been regarded from all sides of the political spectrum, as having a fantastic record in over 40 years in the job. Ted backed Obama. Even he knew back in January that the writing on the wall was as clear as crystal. Maybe he could see himself in the face of Hillary, and those 1980 images came flooding back. If there is anyone who knows when things have gone belly up, it’s a Kennedy; especially Ted.

If Hillary keeps going she is going to damage her party, and herself. Many people see her husband as one of the finest Presidents the US has seen. If she does not make a dignified exit soon, she is going to be seen as nothing but an egocentric obsessive, hell bent on getting her party’s nod at all costs. She will be unable to go back to the senate with any credibility, and for the most part her career could well be ruined.

John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, failed to retire when the time was right. He stayed on, and lost sight of what was good for his party. For this horrendous lack of political judgement, his party is now as close as it ever has been to being the laughing stock of Australian politics, following his party’s electoral thumping last year. His successor, Dr. Brendan Nelson, is languishing in single digit ‘popularity’; a position no leader of a political party, let alone a conservative leader, has ever had to wear.

If Hillary does not watch it, her beloved Democratic party may curse the day she ever put her hand up, and started her ‘Conversations with America.’

Enjoy your day.

Harrison Ford is 65. Kim Catrell’s character on Sex In The City, Samantha Jones, is somewhere on the wrong side of 50. What on earth do both of them have in common? They both want to let us know that ‘they still got it’, and they are going to flaunt it.

The two new hottest movie releases coming up are Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Sex In The City: The Movie. Both will be multi-million dollar box office hits, and it will be precisely to see if ‘Indiana’ is just as good as he was, and to confirm that Samantha is always as could as she was.

But what is it with us human beings and our search for the fountain of youth. Some of us don’t care, some of us care a little bit, and some of us care a hell of a lot. Harrison Ford, supposedly, was going through almost a mid life crisis at 65 in preparation for the role. Whereas, the temptress, Samantha, is clearly seeing if anyone is up to her standards, as she knows she is looking and feeling incredibly good.

Sean Connery has always seen himself as ‘a bit of alright’, and who can ever forget Jack Palance’s one armed pushups at the Academy Awards. Joan Collins has been the eternal sex kitten, as has Sophia Loren. My mother still goes weak at the knees for Robert Redford, who is sniffing very close to 70, if not over it.

It’s true, we don’t want to ’stop working at 65′, or be told that just because we’re 79, it’s time to sit in the chair and have the rug laid over our arthritic legs. Ronald Reagan was in his late 60’s when he went for the top job in the US, and now sprightly John McCain wants to be the oldest President on Inauguration Day at 72. The Thai Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej is 73 and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is 84. Even Pope Benedict XVI was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005, one of the oldest Pontiffs elected in a very long time.

Is 60 the new 40? Is 90 the new retirement age? People are living longer, and from what I am seeing, age is not a limit to doing anything. Whereas years ago, an 80 year old still working was seen as ‘an amazing inspiration’ and almost a freakshow. But I haven’t heard too many people seriously throwing around the suggestion that John McCain is just too damn old! He was asked once what he would do if someone told him he was too old to be running for President, and he said “I’d punch them in the nose”. That’s very ‘old grandpa fighter’, but it’s again not only just saying that one is still physically and mentally fit to do the job, but with a good dose of virility and sexual gumption.

It will remain to be seen whether Harrison Ford can pull it off as the action hero, or whether the only person turned on by his antics is his partner, Calista Flockhart, who is a baby at…43.

Enjoy your day…I’m off to stand in front of a mirror and flex.

I have been asked ever so gently and politely to provide something lighter on my blog. I have been told my topics, while informative, are about as light as a Vindaloo curry washed down with full fat chocolate milk. Yes, I realise my topics are heavy, and not light reading before one heads to bed, but that’s me. If you want fluffy blogs, go elsewhere. My initial blog outlined that very clearly. But, if its its something light and fluffy you want, let me endulge you with this little snippet of information I found swimming around the internet.

Gentlemen, remember those childhood days when we were in the toilet and we tried to see how high we could pee up the urinal? Or when we tried our best urinary calligraphy? Well, someone has finally come up with a game that satisfies the urge to do something while we are standing there emptying ourselves.

It’s a video game called ‘Place To Pee’, and is hooked up to a urinal in the toilet, and allows two players to play (I can see your eyebrow raising). The idea is to aim at sensors at either side of the urinal, and through using your urine as ammunition, you do all the sorts of things you would normally do in a video game:

“…blowing up aliens in outer space or skiing down a virtual slope.”

Don’t worry ladies, there is a specially designed cone for you to join in the fun too. Although girls have far less fun with their urine. They just do silly things like get rid of it. We guys have this weird obsession about doing something with it as we are disposing of it.

This crafty little bit of stupidity was designed by the Belgians. Yes, the people who make fabulous chocolate, now also make a game for the public loo. How wonderful. The best part is the reason they made it:

“This thing had to be invented by Belgian people and that’s what we are,” they said.

Yes, of course you did and of course you are. Funny thing is, when men really are a bit tanked, the game would seriously be hard to play. When men are drunk, they have a hard time just aiming it in a generally suitable direction, let alone having any thought about accuracy.

So there, I hope you enjoyed my slice of mindless news for the day. Don’t expect this little break from serious hard hitting opinion too often. Heaven forbid that you see me as an old softy.

Enjoy your day

Israel has just turned sixty. In some quarters there is celebration, in others there is devastation. Whenever anyone talks about ‘homeland’, there will always be issues of possible invasion, displacement, resentment and even raw anger. Out of all the countries in the world, every one of these issues affects Israel the most.

At the 60th Anniversary celebrations, President George W Bush made a speech at the Knesset – the Jewish Parliament – and made references to ‘appeasement’. When one mentions appeasement, one always thinks of how Neville Chamberlain, then UK Prime Minister, appeased Hitler by allowing him to have a slice of Czechoslovakia in 1938. This is how some saw that action:

Unlike Chamberlain, Daladier (French PM) was under no illusions about Hitler’s ultimate goals. In fact, he told the British in a late April 1938 meeting that Hitler’s real aim was to eventually secure “a domination of the Continent in comparison with which the ambitions of Napoleon were feeble.” He went on to say “Today it is the turn of Czechoslovakia. Tomorrow it will be the turn of Poland and Romania. When Germany has obtained the oil and wheat it needs, she will turn on the West. Certainly we must multiply our efforts to avoid war. But that will not be obtained unless Great Britain and France stick together, intervening in Prague for new concessions but declaring at the same time that they will safeguard the independence of Czechoslovakia. If, on the contrary, the Western Powers capitulate again they will only precipitate the war they wish to avoid.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement

And this is what George W Bush said:

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before,” Bush said.

“As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history,” he added.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKN1524290920080515

This political race is getting dirty, we can all see that. But to use this sort of talk to a race of people whose history is totally wrapped up in ‘homeland’, ‘territory’ and ’statehood’ is simply underhanded. Linking these comments in a not too veiled way with Senator Barack Obama is nothing short of appalling. You don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to put the pieces of the George W Bush jigsaw together. Obama – Chamberlain, Ahmadinejad – Hitler.

Now I have no issue comparing Ahmadinejad to Hitler. This is one scary little guy. However, why is it when we want the Jewish people to come on board with us and our ideas, all we have to do is mention the Holocaust or Hitler? I am hoping that there were many Jews sitting in the Knesset who were thinking ” no, George, not the same.” Bush’s ultimate aim is not simply to paint Obama as an unsuitable candidate, but someone who will talk to terrorists, agree with terrorists, side with terrorists, and before you know it, the Jewish State is no more. In short, Obama is the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and the Jew will suffer again under his watch.

Some have said that this is the lowest one can go in order to woo voters. I agree. The Jewish population in the US is around 6 million. This is not at all big, around 2%.( Source: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/usjewpop.html). However, it holds a lot of sway, especially in important geographical parts of the United States (notably New York), and across influential sectors (entertainment and business).

If we are making comparisons, let’s hope the Jewish people treat Bush’s words with the same contempt as they do for Hitler. The worse thing we can do now is appease him.

Enjoy your day.

P.S. By pure coincidence, this happens to be my 60th blog post. Thank you to all who read my blog regularly, and thank you for all the comments I receive.