Pure Politics
bush speaks for once in his political career as an expert on the subject:
“I say it’s pure politics,” he said. “And that’s just the nature of democracy. Sometimes pure politics enters into the rhetoric.”
War on Terrorism
I Hate Thieves
Back from the road and I hate thieves.
Is that correct? Ah, yes, associate your emotion with of the act not the actor. Well, I hate theft and today I hate thieves.
Late last night, 30 minutes from home, returning from a perfectly wonderful few days away (my how the constant caress of near by surf soothes) we get a phone call telling us one of our cars had been burglarized.
I hate thieves.
Deal with the police, deal with insurance, everything takes time and eventually the damage will be fixed and the stolen items replaced. Low deductible helps for part of the loss. But we will be out of pocket several hundred dollars when all is said and done. This is probably triple what the jerk(s) will get when they fence their take. The out of pocket is nothing compared to the psychological loss. It is partially mended by time.
I still hate thieves.
In all their forms, catch them, try them and jail them: the murderers, the rapists, the beaters and abusers, the muggers, the robbers, the vandals. Take something that does not belong to you and pay the price.
And I still hate thieves.
Australia invades the Solomon Islands
This has been going on for a bit and I missed the headlines in US papers and haven’t been as diligent as I should be reading blogs from down under (up to them). July 22:
The first contingent of the biggest Australian force deployed in the Pacific since World War II left yesterday for a dangerous and uncertain mission in the Solomon Islands.
I’ll be the first to say that I don’t understand all the issues. Here is a bit of background:
The UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the most bitter fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society.���
It does, though, look like the Australian govm’t has been taking lessons from the bushies and learning them well. First, from Rob Schap on preemption:
It’s all there then. The raising of the possibility of terrorist bases later as justification for invasion now, and the implication that those brownish people just can’t be trusted to look after themselves.
Rob’s post provides some background on the invasion of the Solomon’s.
Second, lets get rid of their weapons:
Past firearms amnesties have had very limited success, but there are hopes the planned dispatch in mid-August of about 100 additional police will persuade more people to surrender weapons.
Ben McDevitt, a senior Australian Federal Police officer, said the extra officers would have special training and technical back-up to track down weapons.
Let’s see if midnight raids and body searches become part of the repertoire as well.
They have a lesson for the bushies as well: Why worry about a ‘coalition of the willing’ just do it.
Another consideration: perhaps the Australians have a mutual defence treaty with the dolphins and are coming to their defense:
The arrival of the force will complicate another issue which has been generating rising tensions – the export of dolphins from the Solomons to Mexico.
poindexter to resign
Read it here. This should be considered good news…both for the bushies (eleminate knee jerk responses whenever poindexters name is mentioned) and the rest of us (they could, of course, find someone worse.
Investing in the Future?
James Joyner, Outside the Beltway, thinks this “may be the strangest story of the year”:
The Pentagon is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.
Maybe not so strange when you consider the folks behind this. Just imagine the opportunities to line the pockets of selected investors. Of course, the current administration would never consider something like that.
Hmmmm, how much would someone need to bet invest before they were incented to hire lobbyists; make campaign contributions; or perhaps hire a hit squad? Just imagine the possibilities….