Tag Archive for 'Obama'

Safety at Last

Published
by
cecilie
on January 5, 2010
in Government, Injustice, Media, Travel, politics and religion
. 4 Comments

I keep thinking about the, what I first of all thought was a thigh bomber because of a computer generated picture I saw in the Sunday Times. In it, this geezer seemed to be fiddling with something on his thigh, whereas we’ve later seen that it was in fact his testicles he was groping for. So you can say he’s a test bomber. 

(I didn’t add the talking bubble by the way - too crude)

After that, we’ve all seen photos of the ill-fated underwear - so parochial and unbecoming! Always wear boxers, people!

The US president, Barrack Hussein Obama, only spent a few days putting a statement together, and it didn’t even contain the words “not jump to conclusions,” or “this has nothing to do with islam,” just a new (?) and no less strongly worded sentence: ”… blah blah … acted alone …blah blah.”

(Yes, when I’m blown to smithereens coming in for landing at Oslo airport because a Norwegian once visited a Dane who lives in the same street as that evil Danish cartoonist, I’ll feel so much better knowing that the (Ear? Nasal Passage? Elbow?) Bomber was just a dispossessed son of some diplomat or president, acting alone.)

Now, only 11 days later, however, Obama has decided that the guy didn’t act alone, but on the contrary was influenced by some rather unsavoury characters down in Yemen.  Is that why he insists on continuing to send Guantanamo Bay terrorist suspects home to Yemen; so they can get a well-deserved stern talking-to from the authorities there?

Old Gordon Brown hasn’t been slow in jumping on the action bandwagon. As early as last Friday he was busy considering how to strengthen security at airports, and like the Americans, was all for taking people’s carry-on luggage from them, clearly in view of recent Shoe, Arse, and Crotch Bombers. 

Yes! Take people’s paperbacks away - that’ll learn’em.

Brown also said: “We all urgently need to work together on how we might further tighten security arrangements - in particular, at what point suspects … are deemed too risky to be allowed to fly.” 

At what point? Clearly the point at which the plane explodes. Because it couldn’t be at the point when a known terrorism suspect who has recently spent time in Yemen and whose own father has warned authorities about him being likely to carry out a terrorist attack buys a plane ticket to the US, could it?

This Week’s Weirdest Bribe?

Published
by
cecilie
on November 7, 2009
in China, communism and corruption
. 2 Comments

Obama, Obama, Obama day and night. Apart from getting a totally undeserved Nobel’s peace prize; I’m really ashamed of my fellow countrymen the Norwegians there (guess how many people on the committee are of “middle eastern descent” though) it seems all he’s done so far is not being George W. Bush.
As much as that will always be a good thing for which we should all be thankful, so many others aren’t, so not really a huge achievement.

When he was first elected I wrote in this forum that he was certainly not a Messiah, so we’d have to wait and see, and that when you put someone on the very top of the sky-high expectations pinnacle, there’s only one direction to go. Down. For this I was roundly criticised for being an idiot who “got up on my soap box and spouted about things I didn’t know anything about.”
I lost all respect for him when he didn’t refuse the Nobel prize, but I suppose a few weeks in the top dog chair will do a lot of things to a man’s dignity.

Now it seems that he might, if not be the Messiah, so at least have a thing in common with the geezer after all. For how does this strike you: China is offering to commit to military transparency and to co-operation on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament - if the ‘Bamster  would only find it in his heart to say publicly that Tibet is, has always been and will always be Chinese, and that the US opposes Tibetan independence. Where have we heard this one before? Oh yeah, in the Bible! “All this will be yours if you will fall on your knees and worship me.”

Open letter to Obama: Don’t do it, Barrie! Don’t do it! Jesus didn’t, so you can afford to let this one slide.

(Was it Julian Barnes who said: ” Who knows what would have happened if the devil had said: All this will be yours if you let me fall down on my knees and worship you?”)

Okay, I suppose I didn’t lose absolutely all respect for him over the Nobel rigmarole (it’s difficult for me to respect someone who wants to be president of the US in the first place) but I certainly will if he caves on this one.
And the Chinese - what are they ON? If they’re so bloody sure that Tibet is, has always, etc. and they certainly seem to be as they can speak of little else, why do they need arch enemy capitalist imperialist running dog whatever the US to say so? Who do they need to convince - the Tibetans? Themselves? Countries which seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people by having the Dalai Lama over for tea and a chat?

This is right up there with writing self criticism I reckon. Nobody cares if you really mean what you write, in fact everybody knows you don’t; it’s the old “I know that you know that I know that you know and so it goes round,” but as long as you’ve said it or written it, everything is fine. It becomes the truth. But then again with the Chinese government it was always thus.

But really, to drag Mister Wishy-washy Appeasement-monger Obbie into their sordid little games expecting to get some kind of result, knowing full well that if he says Yes! Tibetans should shut up and know their rightful place as ardently admiring subjects of the superior Chinese! he won’t mean it anyway - well that’s just too much even for them.

And that nasty little bribe bargaining chip of theirs, “military transparency” - hello! That’s what they should be doing anyway, voluntarily, if they want to be up there with the civilised nations to whose club they so dearly want to belong by doing absolutely zero in return.

What the article didn’t mention, of course, was the implied “or else.”

Don’t do it, Obbie! I so want to know what the “or else” is. And I so want to keep that tiny little smidgeon of respect I still have left for you - and yes, it is based on your not being George W. Bush.

China and US Agree On Letting Each Other Off The Hook

Published
by
cecilie
on July 29, 2009
in Government, Media and language
. 2 Comments

Whoops, did I say that? Naw, it was just my first reaction to today’s big front page news about China and US signing “pact to reverse climate change.” Wah, incredible! And so great! I initially thought. Now we can soon breathe easily again!

Reading the article though, was a bit of a downer: The pact merely “highlighted the importance of climate change in [their] bilateral relationship by creating a platform for climate policy, dialogue and co-operation. ” What does that even mean?

Further into the paper was a much more interesting sniplet: People have been questioning the actual birthplace of Messiah Obama. Wasn’t he actually born in Kenya, not Hawaii?

NO! Was the answer from put-upon White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who went on to explain that “The president was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 50th state of the greatest country on the face of the earth. ”

Presumably … the US? The greatest country on the face of … what? Could we have some proof, please?

A Sign Of Madness

Published
by
cecilie
on May 27, 2009
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Einstein said that a sign of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, expecting a different result. Anyone who’s ever had a hangover (more than once) can drink to that, as can the people who keep believing what the HK government says.

I suppose it’s human nature both to hang on to illusions and to will other people to be decent and good. Instead of “the thief thinks every man a thief” I think the case is: “the thief is surprised (and hurt/disappointed) when somebody steals his loot.”

So it’s probably human nature at work when the countries of the world now join together in a mighty roar against North Korea’s antics. “We strongly condemn your actions!” they thunder, and “we will take steps!”
Although the North Koreans aren’t famous for their humour, (but who knows what goes on inside the country, humour-wise?) I can hear their giggles all the way to Macau and back. “They condemn us! Like, we’re so scared!”

Is it yearly or once every two years that the N-Ks do something outrageous and the world “condemns” them? Whatever it is, it’s the same actions (stern admonitions from the US et al) getting the same results (nothing.)

Do the Americans, South Koreans and Japanese - China, North Korea’s “staunchest ally” doesn’t say much as usual seeing the nuclear tests and firing off of short range missiles didn’t hurt the feelings of the Chinese people by involving the Dalai Lama - really think that saying “when you carried out those tests we were really pissed off” is going to make the N-Ks change their behaviour?

Do they think that old Kim is going to call up Obama and say: “Now I see clearly; I have been bad. Why don’t you come over to Pyongyang and help me oversee free elections and the scrapping of all our weapons while we share a bottle of Armagnac and a truffle pizza!” ?
My bet is: the day he does that is the day all the other laws of nature stop working too.

Maybe doing outrageous things (but why can the Americans, Russians and Chinese carry out as many nuclear tests as they want?) and then laughing at the reactions of the “powerful” nations is actually the very essence of North Korean humour. Maybe it’s the only thing they find funny at all.

This thing has been going on since 1953 so there’s no point in stopping now. And look, I don’t have the answer to what’s the right thing to do about these people, who at first glance seem a little unhinged but who have actually always followed the same logic, predictable in its unpredictability, brinkmanship, posturing and outrageous behaviour to get a reaction. Remind you of anything? Naughty five year-old?

I wonder what would happen if they were ignored. Would they go into a sulk or try something new? Or, if they were actively encouraged to do what they’re doing: “Wah, when you sent that missile right across Japan, the Americans LOVED it! The whole capitalist world is behind you!” I think it’s a safe bet that they would start doing the opposite post-haste.

Then again, one should never under estimate a naughty five year-old. Especially one that lives solely off the earnings others pays it out of fear.

Home, Home And Arrange

Published
by
cecilie
on January 31, 2009
in Beauty, Home, Hong Kong and Travel
. 9 Comments

Ah! Back in Pui O where the deer and the … buffalo …? I keep forgetting those songs from primary school. There’s a reason for that. Yes it’s good to be home for one reason: In Hong Kong I never have to wear tights under my trousers, and in Beijing I have to wrap my whole body in tights and worse, before struggling into the long and impractical overgarments.

Having said that: In Beijing there’s indoor heating. Here’s how it works, for people who have grown up in or lived in HK for a long time: Outside it’s very cold. Either really very cold or what for example RTHK sends out “cold weather warnings” over: 15 degrees. Not hot, in other words. Maybe it’s cold and with a light drizzle, even. You get inside and: It’s warmer than outside by up to 7 degrees!!! You can take off your jacket instead of having to put on another one! Call me Norwegian but I think that is the correct way. Not the HK way: 14 degrees outside and 9 inside.

Meanwhile Pui O is showing its most charming face instead of dismal rain as normally is during and after Chinese New Year. Could it be global warming? Obama? Our dear leader Donald F. Tsang or all of the above?