So much to say
There's just too much stuff going on. Here's a few tidbits I found interesting. I interviewed a friend who's standing for the Family First Party (FF), a relatively new political group looking to get some senate seats and influence in the October 9 election. The media says FF are backed by the AOG (pentecostal) church, FF are trying to distance themselves from that, the Greens are calling them extreme right wing... and now they've gone and given their preferences to the Liberals. A not very level-headed assessment of the party's motives can be read at the Daily Flute, but there's an anonymous comment to one post that seems incredibly well-informed, and if true does make me start to question how much influence the AOG does have over the party.Family First is standing 23 candidates for lower house seats in NSW. Eleven of those candidates come from one Church alone.So the fair question is, what are their motivations to stand for an electorate they have no connection to? I'm not so keen on voting for the AOG...sorry AOG'ers.
...
Of these eleven lower house candidates, only one lives in the electorate he is standing for.
On to other news.
Greg Sheridan writes in The Weekend Australian today about Iran being next on the hit-list.
Iran is at the centre of a vortex of evil and dangerous linkages that spell strategic crisis for Washington.I suspect they'd like some sort of effective deterrant against would be invaders. I'm not defending their possible pursuit of nuclear weaponry, but to call them the 'centre of a vortex of evil' is a bit much. He also says strikes against suspected nuclear development sites are being considered, both by Israel and the US.
The better option [Ed. as opposed to strikes] is for the UN to act decisively, with comprehensive sanctions if necessary.Alright, well I think we can all agree sanctions - while being more destructive to Iraqi civlians than Saddam - and UN weapons inspectors did, indeed, help in some way end Iraq's capacity to produce WMDs, it didn't stop the US invading them did it? And the likelihood of the UN acting decisively and comprehensively, let alone swiftly, is duly recognised as nil.
Iran also calls Israel the "single greatest threat to regional and global peace and security". Not surprising after Israel just bought 5,000 smart bombs from the US. Iran says they will react "most severely" if Israel attacks Iran in any way. Not unforeseeable, given Israel's bombing of a nuclear facility in Iraq in 1981.
Related, Syria began pulling troops out of Lebanon on Thursday. They have 17,000 there, and have said 3,000 will leave by the time the move is completed, but "Lebanon's defense minister has said that Syria will pull out all its troops only when the Arab-Israeli conflict ends". Ohhhhh, you mean after Armageddon? Grand.
Speaking of Grand. It's Grand Final day today in the AFL (Australian Rules Football). The mighty Brisbane Lions are going for their fourth straight premiership and are about to kick off. C'arn the Lions!! See you all.
[Update: The not-so-mighty Brisbane Lions played a terrible game. Mal Michael probably had the best game of them all, and said it well: "A lot of our players showed a lack of respect for their players and those players cut us to ribbons." Coach Leigh Matthews said, "it may be the last time you see the team in a grand final in your lifetime." Definitely, if that's how they continue to play. Amateurish.]
the earley edition - Posted by Dave @ 9/25/2004 02:06:00 pm || ||
