in the aftermath of GOP’s embarrassing loss of the House and possibly the Senate, Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defense has decided to call it a quit! Only weeks ago, Bush offered his unrelenting support to the war’s architect by insisting that Rumsfeld will serve till the end.
this is a very smart move of Bush in a renewed call for bipartisan cooperation. will be interesting to see how his last two years pan out….
Virginia is still too close to call! GOP’s 49 vs DNC’s 50 (Cheney with Casting Vote)
now im really worried about my paper tomm… didnt study the entire nite… happy with DNC takin back the house… the Senate race is still on with 3 undecided – 3 were lost to DNC already!
now off to dinner and then lib for the final push on Get-Out-To-Study Machine (parody of GOP’s machine)!
i cant seem to get my priority right this time: (a) studyin for my paper or (b) transformin myself to be the couch potato for the midterm election.
i honestly prefer the latter but guilt trip and my hatred towards this subject is constantly fightin within me.
for the next 36 hours, option (b) i shall choose!
surprise surprise… Saddam Hussein was found guilty and sentenced to death earlier today – two days before the US midterm election. you wonder sometimes whether it’s just a coincidence. i dont want to analyse whether capital punishment is an appropriate punishment for him because you already know my stance on death penalty. he should have been left to rot in jail.
keeping with the theme, i recently succumbed to temptation of study’s procrastination and watched HBO’s Hacking Democracy which was released a week before the election. I really dont know what to say. I’m continually amazed that the so-called world’s greatest democracy could not even have a ‘proper’ voting/election system. Why cant they have an independent body created just to run the election. Australia has it. So does Indonesia. Instead they have partisan Secretary of State who is responsible for the election.
Check out black box voting – a not for profit organisation created by ordinary ‘grandma activist’ to bring awareness and address this electronic voting issue. R-E-S-P-E-C-T to her!
in the most astounding way possible, the failed-presidential candidate John ‘Flip-flopper’ Kerry gave the Republican party the ammunition it needs to fight back struggling poll numbers. His recent faux pas confirmed everyone’s worst fear – his ‘reporting for duty’ stunt act at the Democratic Convention in 2004 was just a flip-flop attempt at garnishing his terrible national security’s record.
You probably have heard the now famous botched-joke he gave to students in California:
“You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
While trying to duck the political ramification by issuing statement that the joke was intended for the Commander-in-Chief, any Tom Dick and Harry knows that this is a direct insult to the US military serving in Iraq.
Stupid..just plain stupid!
I was hoping for the return of the Democrats to both Houses and now one thing is certain, if this thing is not subdued quickly (and i doubt it will be), the Democrat will only be likely to return only to the House..not the Senate.
I prefer a divided Congress because they are good for the economy (less pork-barrel spending) and to some extent greater accountability & check-and-balance…
Thank you Mr. Flip-flopper…. you did it again… ‘brilliantly’ this time! URGH
He must now apologise sincerely to the troops and the families…. i read once, “Anyone who can’t admit when they are wrong, are usually wrong more than they can admit.”
update: while it’s a bit late, it’s good to see that the flip-flopper has recognised his failing and apologise.
Barack Obama, the US senator from Illinois, has been under my radar for several months. He is the only African American currently serving the US Senate. Recently, his popularity shoot up. Thanks to his much publicised upcoming book release – ‘The Audacity of Hope’ in October. He is currently on the cover of Time.
I have never been so energised about a Democrat since Wesley Clarke. This guy is beyond me. He is a man of character and when you see him speak, (i dont know about you), he blows my mind. He has an unbelievable savoir-faire that transcends party lines, racial tones, the rich and the poor.
He was the State Senator when he delivered the now infamous Democratic National Convention speech in 2004 (i like every bit except when he started to praise the flip-flopper). I have attached at the bottom, for your convenience, two parts of the full speech!
Finally… there is a real alternative from the Blue Land for the 2008 Presidential Election (Clinton-lovers, please do persuade the Lucifer from ‘occupying’ the White House again!).
I hope he runs. Because it will be an interesting match that i really want to see. Him vs McCain/Giuliani/Rice.
This might be premature as I have barely scratched the tip of the iceberg of his various political stands and policies, but what the hell…….Barack Obama for 2008!
Clinton is upset! I have never seen him so animated and so red-faced in any of his public appearances. But it took Christ Wallace to set the fire burning…..Clinton was so upset that he accused Christ of doing ‘conservative hit job’!
You can get the transcript of the interview from Fox News by clicking here.
But obviously, nothing beat watching the interview directly to learn how angry Clinton was….just go to FoxNews.com and search for the most watched video!!! (hint: starts with ‘Heated Discussion’ and just let it runs several videos with ads in between – dont bother with Google Video or YouTube.. they are copyrighted)
I was re-watching The West Wing for the sixth times and in the ‘Game On’ episode, i was struck once again with Will Balley’s quote on poll:
Sixty percent is six of ten in a focus group. You change one mind, it’s a dead heat. You change two, it’s a landslide. This campaign’s a mechanism of persuasion. We’re not asking for a show of hands.
the recently launched Euston Manifesto (named after Euston pub in London, the birthplace of the manifesto) has created quite a stir in the blogosphere. I would stop short of calling it a new political movement, but it is definitely one in the making.
for those who can’t really fit into the great divide of Left and Right, this could be the real alternative – grass root movements finding reasonable common grounds with definitive yet persuasive and intellectual arguments.
the statement of principles contained in the manifesto are:
i am currently studying the text of the manifesto before signing up. it’s definitely a worth while document to read. i will post my analysis after the exam period (hopefully! if im not too burned out).
in the mean time, check it out from eustonmanifesto
I have followed with interest the recent development of Papua stand off between Indonesia and Australia. The granting of temporary visas to 42 out of 43 Papuan’s ‘refugees’ have infuriated Jakarta. As a result, it called its ambassador for Australia and sent the diplomatic protest note (this is the first time Indonesia has ever recalled its ambassador). The political furor from this incident is huge and must be contained.
I’m torn in between the issues. As Indonesians, i could understand the Jakarta’s position. In my humble analysis, by granting those visas, the Australia has formally:
In doing so, despite what Howard and Beazley and many other senior Australian politicians said, Australia has made it clear that while it supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia, Australia has ‘the right’ to intervene when it comes to human right issues.
A scan in major Indonesian newspapers’ articles and TV broadcasts will yield condemnation from various Indonesian politicians. The House of Rep supported Jakarta’s decision to recall the ambassador, and in the last meeting before its recess, it urged the government to cut diplomatic relation with Australia! Comments like Australia claiming a moral high ground (typical of any other Western nations), the double standard of Australian foreign policies, Australia’s desire to see the disintegration of Indonesia and many others can be easily found in those news sites.
On the other hand, I have always wondered, who really had betrayed who? Is it the Papuans’ ‘refugees’ who have betrayed their country? Is it Australia who has betrayed Indonesia? Or (which i think is more pragmatic in this instance), the fact that it is Jakarta who has betrayed Papuans, to the extent they have to seek refuge from another country?
Whatever the right question and the right answer should be, this has slapped many Indonesian elites right in the face. Then whatever follow is expected. Mounting with various domestic and economic problems, it is public secret that the only way the government and house of reps can remain popular, is through its nationalistic stance, which sounded well with many ordinary indonesians.
I don’t see Jakarta’s high temper is particularly useful in solving the Papuan issue. Clearly, when your countrymen and women, tried to run away to another country, risking their lives in the seas, in itself is a testament that there is a problem! While you might not want your neighbor to meddle in your internal affair, what can they do, if your household members seek refuge in their house?
After all, it is the Papuans to whom the Jakarta is responsible for and to that extent, all its resources should be channeled to the resolve of such issue.
Being mature politically and accepting what has happened and taking corrective actions acceptable are the only way to move forward. Australia’s reiterative stance on Indonesia’s territorial integrity should be taken at face value and Indonesian politicians and public in general should not try to read between the lines and dwell into unnecessary exercise of figuring Australian’s conspiracy.
Jakarta has to work hard in ensuring that Papuans get what they deserve politically, socially and economically within the territorial framework of NKRI (loose translation: the United Republic of Indonesia).
Otherwise, another East Timor is in the making.