The elephant that American's don't want to talk about

Today we saw another mass shooting in an American school. Senseless murder was committed against children in the most depraved and disgraceful manner. It brought tears to my eye watching the news.

This comes only a few months after the batman cinema shooting and only a few years after the murder of many at a political rally where a then-Senator was targeted and nearly killed. I could go on and on and on.

While these acts are horrible in the extreme it is even more disgusting the lack of political will to take on the gun reform battle.  Even when one of their own is the subject of a mass murder plot.  The affinity America has with its guns in the face of these continuous tragedies is truly mindboggling.

Now is the time to say enough is enough. Massive reform is needed now.  I just hope I'm not saying "enough is enough" again in another six months!

Queensland health payroll enquiry: A political witchhunt

Today (13/12/12) the Queensland government announced an enquiry into the Queensland health payroll debacle.  While this is truly a disgraceful series of events and probably led , inter alia, to the downfall of the Bligh government do we really want a $5 million dollar political slogfest.  How many public servants would that money have kept in a job?

This enquiry will only provide the government ample fodder with which to fire at the severely depleted opposition.  This isn't about seeing if they can recover money. The legal advice says as much.

This is politics pure and simple.

You won the election Premier. Move on and govern!

* The title in no way suggests that the Honourable Justice Richard Chesterman will conduct this enquiry in any way other than with propriety.  He is a respected jurist.  The motives are all that I question.

Julian Assange: striving for continued relevance

Julian Assange, founder of the infamous website Wikileaks, has announced plans to run fir the Australian Senate at the next election. 

My feelings on him are somewhat mixed. I think he is a self-aggrandizing megalomaniac interested primarily in self promotion. Although I don't know him so he may have pure intentions.

His website has released some state secrets that show indifference to human rights on the part of some elements of the US military.  Yet most of the controversy surrounds millions of cables that frankly have no need of being in the public domain.  They only seek to embarrass public officials. 

There is also the issue of the sexual assault complaint from Sweden. I have problems with his extradition being sought and approved in circumstances where no changes have been laid and it is for the purpose of questioning him.  Here in Australia there must be an arrest warrant prior to extradition being approved.  We have no arrest warrant for questioning.  If the Swede's wanted to charge him they should say so. If they only wanted to question chin they could have done it in England or via Skype or some other include medium. There is certainly some fears that fear he will be extradicted grin Sweden. How rational that is no one will know until it is too late for Julian Assange.

Overall, I believe that in life you reap what you sow. Assange wanted notoriety.  He certainly got it.

Qld LNP views on women

#auspol

It is disgusting generalisation that women only care about what clothes their female leaders wear.  Does this show the LNP attitude towards women in general?

The Liberal National Party's former state secretary says women need to change their attitudes if they want to be taken seriously in politics.

Michael O'Dwyer made the comments during a Queensland University of Technology seminar about campaign strategies used during the state election campaign, which gave his party a landslide win.

Mr O'Dwyer said the LNP had mainly male candidates because they were chosen on merit rather than a gender quota system.

He said women were often their own worst enemy when it came to politics because they were more concerned about what shoes leaders wore than what their policies and issues were.

"So something, I'm sorry ladies, needs to be done from your perspective to try to build women up to look and sound like leaders and talk about the attributes of a female being a leader rather than talking about their appearance," he told the crowd about 100 people.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/women-their-own-worst-enemy-odwyer-20120622-20ryh.html#ixzz1yUCJuDYV

Qld LNP mounting right wing social change after years in the wilderness

#auspol

In 2012 the Liberal National Party took to the Government Benches after a comprehensive election defeat of the longstanding Labor Government. 

So far the major issues being handled by the new Government appear to be driven by an extreme Right Wing agenda.  The issues that seem to be taking up most of the focus are civil unions and surrogacy.

Premier Campbell Newman removed a State Sanctioned ceremony for Civil Unions and after great backlash from the right wing loonies in his party it is now to be called the Relationship Registration Act.  As if it wasn’t degrading enough for same sex couples to have to attend the registry, presumably during business hours, to register their union like they were attending Queensland Transport or registering their dog.  Now the symbolic step towards gay marriage was taken back with a symbolic name change in the Act.

Now the Government has removed the ability of same sex or single persons to access altruistic surrogacy.  Is it to be removed for hetero-sexual couples?  Oh no, just the gays and singles!  Because gay people and singles couldn’t be good parents. 

After years in this wilderness the LNP is clearly spewing out legislation to fix all those social policy changes they didn’t like over their years in opposition.  They now feel the need to instil their right wing religious orthodoxy on Queensland. 

And what of the pressing issues such as cost of living pressures --- ah they’re working on it. Apparently.  Not sure how they have time.