New Hanson Hatred

Kay predicted this -



Full article at

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hanson-turns-on-diseased-africans/2006/12/06/1165081010724.html

Thanks, mum and dad

Kay's latest letter - Sydney Morning Herald 4 December 2006

"Society has always found ways to distinguish between people - by colour, class, wealth, birth. The divisions Michael Duffy describes ("Rich, smart and isolated: meet the new aristocrats", December 2-3) are just the latest variant.

Members of any group are there because of accidents of birth. Those born with IQs able to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them are accidental beneficiaries of their birth, just as those of the upper classes were in a previous generation.

So while individuals may consider they have an entitlement to their wealth because of hard work, we would all do well to reflect that our genetic inheritance is not a result of effort. It is good fortune.

Kay Kan
Cheltenham"

PM Howard to advise US on Iraq?

No doubt standing on a high rostrum looking down on the battered George W Bush, Howard has suddenly found his courage to tell his good friend what should have been done in Iraq.

But what was he doing before the disasterous (for Republicans) mid-term elections? Cheering Bush on while following a safe distance behind.

Fox News and the American Elections

Those of you who have had the misfortune of accidentally switching your cable TV to the Fox News Channel will be aware of how the Murdoch-owned news network adores George W Bush and his associates. It is amazing, if not nauseating, how spins are regularly dished out to denigrate any shades of opposition to the Bush Administration.

Needless to say we take care to avoid accidentally trespassing into this channel – except whenever there are news particularly bad for Bush and we want to enjoy a good laugh at the Channel's predicament in finding a good explanation for a dreadful situation.

Like the results of the US Mid-term elections held on Tuesday Nov 8th 2006 for instance.

As Bush's Republican Party Senators and Congressmen fell one by one to the Democrats, the spinners dug deep for a comment. One of the gems that came out was –

the situation was not as bad as it appeared because “the more liberal Republicans were being ditched by the voters in favour of more conservative Democrats”

I guess GWB should be claiming victory.

New Mobile Phone from Telstra

McDougall St at Kirribilli, beautiful at this time of the year being lined with Jacaranda trees in full bloom. This photo was taken today with my new Nokia mobile phone given to me free by Telstra when I agreed to sign on for another 2 years.

This new gadget is also an MP3 player, a radio, a video camera besides having email and web-surfing capabilities. And it even allows me to make phone calls. It runs on the 3G network, a network that is still being expanded and is not complete. I can also access the more advanced features, at addtional costs, in some places.

However, the Telstra staff told me that the 3G is fast becoming 0bsolete and was pushing me to get the alternate "free phone", a Samsung device capable of using the new Next G network.

And the advantage of the Next G? Faster data and ability to access Foxtel cable TV. I can't speak much faster and he did not know how bad my eyesight was. Point is, I told him I was not interested in watching TV on a small screen and hence I took the "obsolete" 3G mobile phone. Competition must be tough if they have to offer such high tech devices at apparently heavily subsidised prices.

I just hope that potential buyers of the Telstra T3 shares realise how vicious the competition is, how quickly technology is going obsolete and how much Telstra is hanging on the Next G to make them lots of money.

Another worry is how useless the new extras can be to people - like me!

Mr Brown

While on the subject of Singapore, this apparently is the article that "distorted the truth" and got blogger Mr Brown fired!

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/127762print.asp

Haze in Singapore

Time for an article that is not courtesy of Mr Fairfax or Murdoch, in fact this is a Straits Times opinion piece I found by search engine about haze in Singapore caused by Indonesian forest fires. - Yvonne!

Haze: Why Jakarta should accept international help

By Janadas Devan, Senior Writer Nov 04, 2006 The Straits Times

THE Indonesia forest fires are, in the first instance, a health hazard. Asthmatics in five countries cannot breathe, the old and infirm cannot go out, and the young and healthy have to ration their time outdoors because Indonesia, without fail, belches smoke into the atmosphere every dry season.
In addition, the forest fires are also a staggering environmental disaster - for Indonesia itself, but also for the globe.
The 1997-98 fires, the worst on record, pumped 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, almost half of what the United States emitted that year fuelling the world's largest economy. This year's fires probably emitted more than one billion tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of 15 per cent of all emissions from burning fossil fuels worldwide.
What is the use of the world meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, next week to discuss further curbs on the emission of greenhouse gases if Indonesia's pyromaniacs are free to routinely evaporate the carbon stored in their forests and peatlands into the atmosphere?
According to the experts at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFR) in Bogor, Indonesia, the country's peatlands contain 21per cent of the earth's land-based carbon. Unless Kalimantan's annual peatland fires - which have accounted for 60 to 80 per cent of the haze since 1997-98, according to CIFR's experts - are brought to an end soon, all that carbon can end up as greenhouse gas.
A 2002 study in Nature estimated that Indonesia's annual fires 'launched enough carbon into the atmosphere to completely offset a year's worth of the planet's ability to control greenhouse emissions'. In other words, they cancel out all that humanity can hope to achieve by means of the Kyoto accord on global warming.
The annual fires are also a regional economic and strategic disaster. The 1997-98 fires, for instance, cost regional economies US$9 billion (S$14.1 billion), according to the Asean Secretariat's environment and disaster management centre. In addition to the immediate economic cost, there is also the long-term damage to the region's credibility.
What does it say of Asean's ability to compete effectively with China and India if it cannot prevent its territory from being periodically blanketed by smoke? What does it say of Asean as an attractive destination for investors if the largest country in the grouping, Indonesia, proves unable to prevent forest fires?
At bottom, the fires reflect a failure of governance. The longer Indonesia takes to resolve this issue, the more settled will the impression become that the region cannot deal effectively with its problems. And the more settled that impression becomes, the less credible will Asean as a whole seem.
Helping a neighbour
FOR all these reasons, Singapore has made a strong effort internationally to help Indonesia help itself.
Speaking before a United Nations committee on sustainable development last week, Singapore diplomat Kevin Cheok said Indonesia's annual forest fires have global as well as regional consequence, and thus 'require global action'.
'The scale and severity of the problem means Asean will require international assistance, including from the UN,' he said.
Ultimately, this is a problem that can be solved only if Indonesians wish to solve it. The fires, after all, contravene Indonesian law, and only the Indonesian government can enforce those laws. But that does not mean other Asean countries - especially Malaysia and Singapore, the two most affected by the haze, besides Indonesia itself - as well as international agencies do not have a role to play, as Mr Cheok noted.
If one neighbour's house is on fire, one would not hesitate to lend him one's hose. Similarly, because Indonesia is our largest close neighbour, and because it contains almost half of Asean's population, we would not hesitate to help it douse its forest fires. And neither would the rest of Asean or the UN.
The difficulty is persuading the Indonesian authorities to accept this help. Astonishingly, the Indonesian representative at the UN committee, Ms Adiyatwidi Adiwoso Asmady, characterised Singapore's call for international assistance as 'badgering'.
It 'is tantamount to interference in the domestic affairs of Indonesians', she claimed.
She went on to suggest that there might be 'some malice' behind Singapore's statement to the UN committee; that there were other 'issues related to environmental degradation that also need to be addressed - such as the export of hazardous waste, illegal logging and sand-mining'; and that Singapore should 'cease to give protection, safety and sanctuary for corruptors and their ill-gotten wealth'.
All this merely for suggesting that the haze is a staggering problem, that Indonesia and Asean cannot cope with it themselves, and that international assistance is urgently needed?
When Indonesia was struck by a tsunami in December 2004, the world responded generously, and Indonesia had no difficulty accepting the aid. It was obvious the disaster occurred through no fault of any Indonesian, and that its 'scale and severity' were such that the country's recovery depended on international assistance.
The haze is a man-made catastrophe, for which many Indonesians can be blamed. Though its 'scale and severity' are such that Jakarta cannot solve the problem without international help, some Indonesian officials find it difficult to accept that fact.
Unlike in the case of a natural disaster, asking for and accepting help for a man-made disaster seems to them to underline their culpability. This is an unproductive attitude.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself has acknowledged Indonesia's responsibility and has apologised to the country's neighbours for the haze.
Because of his intervention, regional environmental ministers have met to discuss the problem, plans have been drawn up for Asean countries to work directly with Indonesian districts where the fires occur, funds have been allocated for cloud-seeding and firefighting operations, and two Russian firefighting planes have been leased.
All these are positive steps, but more needs to be done. That 90 per cent of this year's fires have been put out is due more to the rains than to Jakarta's belated interventions.
Experts warn that next year's haze could be as bad as, or worse than, 1997-98's because of El Nino. To avoid that possibility, Jakarta should treat its annual forest fires as man-made tsunamis and allow the international community to help Indonesia help itself.
janadas@sph.com.sg
GLOBAL ACTION NEEDED
'The haze problem can be permanently resolved only if there is effective and sustained action on Indonesia's part. Indonesia will need help. Singapore, like other affected countries, is prepared to assist within our capabilities. Indeed Singapore and other affected Asean countries have already offered help and are now looking into what more we can do. But the scale and severity of the problem means that Asean will require international assistance, including from the UN... Annual forest fires on this scale have global and not just regional consequences. They require global action. But Indonesians themselves must muster the political will to take the crucial first steps and wholeheartedly support President Yudhoyono in his efforts to address this problem.'
SINGAPORE DIPLOMAT KEVIN CHEOK, speaking at the United Nations on Oct 25
NO SUBSTANTIVE COOPERATION
'My government remains open to any initiative that will maximise Asean cooperation, especially on vitally important aspects of this problem. Unfortunately, no substantive cooperation has been realised at this juncture. Hence, we find it difficult to understand the motives of Singapore in making that disparaging statement, unless there is some malice behind it.'
INDONESIAN DIPLOMAT ADIYATWIDI ADIWOSO ASMADY responding to Singapore at the UN

Peter and the Sheik

Suddenly, the cause of the Cronulla riots has been made clear to all of us, thanks to Mr Peter Costello.

(http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sheik-falls-on-his-sword/2006/10/30/1162056926607.html)

It's all the fault of Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly.

Those beer-swilling drunks, can-throwing blondes and harrassers of young women of Middle Eastern appearances were all stirred by him.

And it was partly Paul Keating's fault too for letting him in twenty years ago. Anyone would have guessed what the Sheik was going to do in October 2006.

The cause of all our troubles are obvious. Especially when the Federal Elections are just round the corner and the polls are looking bad.

Sheikh Hilali

Three letters to think about regarding recent comments by Sheikh Hilali:

If Sheik Hilaly is saying that men are little better than animals, have no control over their basic urges and are at risk of violating others, surely it is they who should stay at home in their rooms.

Gillian Whalley Marrickville

Why he must go

DEAR Sheikh Hilali. As a young Muslim woman, I have had to deal with the ubiquitous news reports that misquote Islam. I avoid trying to "make people understand" because I find reassurance in the belief that negative comments come from those who do not understand Islam. However, I am deeply angered by your views, on one level because they are out of touch with even the most Neanderthal society; on another because they come from a man holding a high position. How sad that you used your platform to preach these ideas. How useless that you hid behind the Arabic language and used a translator to give a different meaning to your words. Those who speak Arabic cringed at this disgusting ploy. Muslims face enough discrimination and misunderstanding. They need positive role models. You are not such a leader, and must resign immediately.
Fatima Abdullatif, Balwyn North

Rape's sad facts

SHEIKH Hilali, I recently completed a subject, Crime and Gender, as part of my law degree. It taught me that most people in Australia agree with you about rape. Even "free" Western democracies blame victims for the attacks. This is evident in the statistics (only one in 10 rapes is reported, only 2 per cent of reported rapes result in conviction). Perhaps you don't know that most females who are raped are aged 10 to 24, with most aged under 14. These young girls do not have big breasts in low-cut tops, they are not pieces of meat on display. Rape is a crime of power. Victims are chosen, based not on how attractive they are but on how easy the attack will be. I suggest you don't talk about things you do not understand.
Elizabeth Gharghori, Ferntree Gully

Water

Front page in the Sydney Morning Herald today was the rather alarming statement that consumption of water in Australia was more than 1.2 million cubic metres per head population.

Fortunately there was a mistake. It should be 1.2 million cubic litres of water. (see Australian Bureau of Statistics www.abs.gov.au , search for water consumption).

By coincidence, we received our Sydney Water bill today. We are always somewhat self concious by our lack of participation in the water saving exercise being encouraged by right-minded people. We do not reuse our laundry water and do not have a water tank for our garden. A quick calculation revealed that our usage was 110 kilolitres per head last year, which turned out to be the average household water use.

Importantly, the figures show that household use is only 10% of the total water use. If the authorities want to get over the current serious drought, they should be looking elsewhere. Even if we can drastically cut down water usage in the households, we would make only a small dent in the total water consumption.

Education and Election Swings

My friend Bruce Mills analysed the results of ANU's Australian Election Study 2004 and found a whole lot of interesting correlations regarding demography and voting patterns in the last Federal Elections.

One particularly interesting conclusion was that of the 20 most-educated seats, 14 swung to Labor whereas of the 20 least educated seats, only 2 swung to Labor.

Perhaps it explains why the Howard government is reluctant to spend on education.

Cronulla Aftermath

It's too easy to be negative and critical, we see it everywhere including elsewhere in this blog.

Today I have been impressed by the front page article in, of all places, the tabloid Daily Telegraph, on the progress Cronulla and the surf club in particular, have made since last December's riots. Significantly, the surf club has recruited and trained life guards of Middle Eastern background.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20576331-5006009,00.html

Coincidentally, few hours later, I heard on the radio an interview of a Lebanese lady regarding a service in memory of lives lost and sufferings of the Lebanese people in the recent war. The lady organiser commented that they have received numerous messages of condolence including, she pointedly added, one from the Cronulla Surf Club.

Goodonya!

Death Sentence in North Queensland

Anyone who thinks the death sentence only takes place in "barbaric" countries should read Alan Ramsey's article today in the Sydney Morning Herald on the case of the death of Mulruni, an aboriginal man, while in police custody (http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/political-inaction-endorses-brute-force/2006/09/29/1159337342017.html)

It seems that the police officer was witness, accuser, judge and executioner all in one. Very efficient justice system which many "barbaric" countries would envy !

Still on the subject of Aussie values ....

Kay's letter, recently published in the Sydney Morning Herald (4 Sep 2006) :

Courage and Passion

I feel odd that I should begin this blog with a mention about a National Party member of NSW State Parliament for I had always thought that National Party members were just different shades of Pauline Hanson who would go away if ignored.

Today I read about Adrian Piccoli, Member for Murrumbidgee and Shadow Minister for Natural Resources, who had the courage to tell the world including John Howard that the current push for "Australian values" stirs racism. (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/values-push-stirs-racism-national/2006/09/28/1159337280525.html)

Then I googled him and found another gem - a letter he wrote to a local paper on how he changed his traditional view of gays after he attended a funeral of a gay person. (http://www.rodneycroome.id.au/other_more?id=1566_0_2_0_M18)

What impressed me was the courage and passion he had in expressing those views.

I hope Kim Beazley will find courage and passion just like Adrian Piccoli the next time he stands up against John Howard.