I came across an interesting article today which talked about McCain and his charming tendency to describe every international situation as Armageddon cometh. I had never really put it all together in my head previously, but news.com.au blogger Tim Dunlop (blogs.news.com.au/news/blogocracy/index.php/news/comments/foreign_policy_hyperbole_ah_mccain) has brought up an interesting point about America's favourite former POW/senator. As president, his authority and international capacity for actio...
Political nicknames are a popular pastime. Australians all know who Little Johnny, Mad Mark or Saint Kevin are. Americans are familiar with Clint-in and probably others I don't know straight away. But what's behind these names? I've recently noticed there seems to be a bit of a movement for opponents to refer to US presidential candidate Barack Obama as Hussein. In some ways it makes sense, as it is his middle name and lots of people are referred to by their middle name. I guess what bu...
The recent visit of the President of Iran brought all the rightwingers out of the woodwork. From between the rocks, from behind fetid toadstools, from the nightmare corners of the suburban landscapes, they came. And they came with one simple message "We come, and we want your babies." It's hard to know whether they're following the example of Mr Swift, or simply enjoy sauteed infant with their dollar bill milkshakes. More salubrious sources suggest people who traditionally lean towards...
Today I went and saw an advance screening for Michael Moore's latest vehicle, Sicko. As far as Moore movies go it wasn't a bad example of the genre - some melodrama, some sticking it to man yee-hah moments, a little additional pathos and some laughs. NOTE: For the hard of thinking I of course add on the obvious rider that he, like most people, believes in truth management. Far be it from me to fail in pointing out the flaws of everyone who considers themselves a mouthpiece. Now that th...
I've noticed an increasing tendency in JU circles to have rather strange beliefs about what, exactly, a WMD is. Some even appear to believe that any non-conventional weapon wielded against 'us' is a WMD. As you can probably tell I disagree. I do not consider a pistol to be a WMD. I do not consider a tank round with depleted uranium to be a WMD. I do not consider an artillery shell capable of firing small NBCs to be a WMD. To my mind a WMD must fulfill two main requirements. 1. I...
First of all for all the readers out there who somehow haven't chanced upon this fact, I'm not an American. I'm not even a Texan. I'm not going to be so condescending as to say that I'm from the proud country of Not America (anyone who doesn't understand what that means should stop reading here; I will continue to use words of three syllables or more, and frankly I doubt you should contribute even if you agree with me). I'm an Australian, and therefore in my country we don't speak in terms...
It's a common thing these days to hear various places thrown around as the first democracies. Greece, Rome, certain islander tribes, France, the US, they're all there. But really, can we consider any of them real democracies as we know them? Greece restricted voting rights to native males with property whose age lay within a set scale. Rome lumped the majority of its citizens into just four houses, leaving only the Tribunes as a source of vague democratic power. The islander tribes are...
Last week there was a terrorist event 15km from my home. I say event, because while apparently somewhere between 2 and 11 bombs exploded, it happened in the process of catching a terrorist, so realistically it doesn't count as an attack . The bomber and a handful of his servants, friends family and assorted other hangers-on were killed in the blasts. No one is entirely sure (at least no one I've spoken to) whether these blasts were accidents or deliberate attempts to destroy evidence a...
There seems to be an inordinate amount of worry amongst many Americans in particular about the axis of evil getting nuclear weapons. Why? The US president has recently restarted research into the use of nuclear arms on what would previously be considered conventional targets, in particular as bunker-busters. So to the US government an increase in the use of nuclear arms is merely good policy, and certainly not something that has to be stopped. Of course one could reply that Iran and Nor...
In recent times I think we've all grown aware that there seems to be a thriving trade in insults on the political pages of Joe User. From the Right's stock phrases "Go back and look at Clinton" and "loony loopy/lopopy luddite" (Drs. Guy et Miler, 2005) to the leftist's "shut up you ignorant moron" and vitriolbot (Myrrander et al, various), I think JU is seeing a renaissance in insults not seen since the height of the pre-election fervour. I for one applaud it. I think it's time for eve...
The political commentator (mindus numbingus) is a fairly common animal, and one that can be found throughout the known world. Split largely into two seperate strands (socialus and liberalus) the displays and posturing of these creatures has entertained many throughout known history. The species can be broken down into a number of sub-species or genus - both strands appear to be found in roughly equal amounts in all genii, and scientists are still working to unlock the hidden secrets of ...
In recent days a number of writers on this site have released their manifestos about patriotism. Conservatives like Draginol have argued that to be a critical leftist is to be unpatriotic. Liberals like Same Old Rat have plaintively asked, "Why?" In response it has been said that to believe that the US is anything but a force for the greater good in this world is to be unpatriotic. Fair enough - blind patriotism requires unending support in the face of any evidence, whether manufactured o...
Today I voted for the first time in my country's elections. There were five names on the house of reps ballot and 13 on the senate one. And while I spent a few minutes thinking about who I would rather have in power, I knew all along that what I voted was irrelevent, that I knew before voting that even if there was a change in the elected officials it would have no effect on my life. I am one of the forgotten people. As a young man with no children, moderately wealthy parents and in t...
Over the past few weeks this site has seen an upsurge in the number of articles attacking Islam for failing to police its more militant wings. Comparisons have been made with the failure of church leaders to condemn Nazism in the 1930s and the failure of American pastors to condemn racism in the 19th and 20th centuries. In nearly all cases Muslims are labelled wrong because they fail to condemn that which my ancestors (I make no claims about the courage/cowardice of yours) failed to condemn...
We're all familiar with the argument that police forces and the like profile because it's effective. People of a kind tend to commit more crimes than others, so they get focused on. This could be based on anything a 'lifetime of experience' has suggested - profiling black people for theft, gays for child molestation or women for shoplifting, middle-aged white men for fraud and corporate crimes. The results of a study by the British intelligence service (MI5) suggest this cannot be applied to ...