Team America -- Bill Clinton and Kim Jong Il

Is This A Sign?

Lewis Hamilton has become the youngest man and the first black man to win the F1 title.

Are we about to see another first in the US Presidential election with the first black man to assume the presidency of the US of A.

(setting aside the idea that Bill Clinton was the first black president of the US -- different post if I could be bothered -- I am sure black offends some but I have never heard the politically correct term of African-British like I have African-American so in this context I have chosen "black").

Drugs, Politicians, and the Rest of Us

Ever since Bill Clinton uttered those famous words that amounted to a confession to having indulged on only one occasion to the smoking of marijuana but not inhaling, people have undoubtedly been paying more attention to the youthful pasts of our politicians.

It seems that this has not escaped the Australian political scene. The new leader of the Federal Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull (photo Glen McCurtayne), has confessed to having indulged himself. He did not go so far as to say that unlike some others he in fact inhaled but that was clearly the gist on the confession.

Unfortunately, he went on to imply that it was a youthful indiscretion and that the drug is harmful and it was a mistake to smoke it. He was right in suggesting that many people have smoked it and many continue to do so.

He is not the first Australian politician to admit a youthful past that involved smoking a bit of wacky weed. It is fun to imagine Wayne Swan, Peter Garrett, and Tony Abbott, among others, to be sitting around passing the joint or bong around with their mates. It all seems so normal, they seem almost real and not just politicians in nice suits.

If the drug is damaging then the onus would apparently be on the government to ban all damaging drugs or at the very least restrict their access to the scientific labs of the world. In this sense the government should be moving swiftly to list tobacco and alcohol as restricted drugs and / or substances. If it does not then it makes a mockery of the prohibition on marijuana.

Marijuana needs to be legalized so that it can be better managed. The revenue boost from taxes would also be a benefit. The government could then divert a proportion of the marijuana revenue stream to scientific and medical research. Then we could get definitive answers to questions on whether there is any real medical benefit from smoking marijuana for those with long-term illness and suffering chronic pain.

I look forward to the day when a politician steps up to the plate and says something like this, "Yeah, I smoked marijuana in my youth! It really did not do anything for me, there was none of the famed munchies or anything else, so I gave it away!"

Then going on to say, "Now, that said, I have friends who swear by the benefits in terms of keeping them relaxed and happy".

And then finishing with, "I really don't see the need to keep the drug illegal! I would think that better controls over the drug would reduce drug crime related to marijuana and this has to be a good thing for us as a community. The additional revenue would also allow us to direct more money to research!"

The icing on the cake would be a party leader taking this to an election as part of the party platform.

I guess it is time for me to go home and reactivate my wanna be political career. I think I could make this part of my platform!

Oral Sex

The heading of this post reflects the content and is by no means a cynical attempt to boost visitor numbers to my humble abode. Then again maybe it is that too!

Let's face it oral sex is no longer taboo like it might once have been and it certainly is no longer solely practiced by members of the oldest profession in the world. The Australian Sexual Health Congress being held in Perth that some 90 per cent of those under 30 have partaken in what is conveniently named "going down under" seeing the congress is in Australia and all. It is interesting that so many people have now started to poke their collective heads around down stairs so to speak

Sex experts (I have always wondered whether or not this means you have had more practice than others and are therefore an expert?) suggest that the sharp rise in those prepared to try are doing so because of better hygiene standards and feminism. I am not sure how the feminism angle plays out but I am guessing more women are exercising the right to be pleasured and get pleasured (not sure that sounds right, but whatever).

Besides oral sex lost a lot of the taboo associated with it when good ol' Billy Clinton decided that oral sex was not really sex when he shook his finger at the assembled media and uttered those now famous words, "I did not have sexual relations with that women!" The rest they say is history. It certainly gave "that woman" aka Monica Lewinsky more than 15 minutes of fame, it did give us the now infamous blue dress with the seminal stains of a serving US president, and myriad of bit part players and their testimony.

The sexperts are also theorizing that people are looking for greater variety in their sexual experiences. Hence going where they have not gone before is perhaps an exciting challenge. It is also theorized that oral sex means that there is no need to think primarily of contraception. The list of theories continues with that oral sex is less likely to result in HIV infection. However, don't count your chickens before they hatch as it seems some other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as gonorrhea and herpes are on the increase in practitioners of oral sex.

So, if you are one of those people that have never been downstairs then you should be happy knowing that you are part of an ever-decreasing minority.

Anwar Ibrahim -- Arrested

The allegations are clear but the charges are not, at least according to Anwar's lawyer. Sankara Nair, Anwar's lawyer witnessed the arrest , and has stated that the police did not indicate what Anwar (pictured) was being charged with. Anwar was arrested as he arrived at home and was immediately taken to Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

The arrest sparked an SMS frenzy with all members of the Keadilan Party and the members of the opposition coalition receiving SMS messages to gather outside the police headquarters and rally for Anwar's release.

It is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out. The "victim" or the person making the claims here is Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a volunteer in Anwar's office. Saiful is 23 years old. It might be the cynic in me, but after the allegations were made several photos emerged showing Saiful posing all smiles at the Deputy Prime Ministers office. This in and of itself has no real significance except how does a 23-year-old with no real reason to be meeting with the Deputy PM get access to the DPM office? More to the point, why is a volunteer from Anwar's office meeting with the DPM?

For old conspiracy theorists like myself there is something to be made of all these coincidences.

Having been charged and convicted for sodomy before it seems that these would be the easiest allegations to be made. Yet, the previous charges were ultimately thrown out or overturned by Malaysia's highest court. This really is shaping up as a he said, he said show. Unless, young Saiful has some incriminating evidence then I am not sure where this goes. I am not an expert on Malaysian law so I cannot authoritatively say.

It must be noted that some Ministers have been suggesting that there is evidence and that Anwar will need to provide a reference DNA sample. I am not sure why he would need to do that. I would have thought that last time around the police would have required Anwar to submit DNA and his sample would be in the system. But if there is DNA evidence, I wonder whether it is of a similar kind that captivated US audiences during the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky caper and the President's semen stain on the good ol' blue dress.

Sodomy charges if proven see the perpetrator liable for a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years.

The question though is, are these trumped up charges that are aimed at subverting the opposition movement for democratic change and restoring some of the authoritarian practices of the past?

I will be watching as this will be quite a story for sure.

Obama and Clinton - Who Wins?

It is always fun to watch democracy in action and the pundits dissect and deconstruct every little piece of the puzzle. It is also fun to watch when there are a number of possible firsts at stake, including a former President with a shot at becoming First Gentleman.

The race for the White House and who can win is a pollster's dream. Right now in the head-to-head polls it seems that Clinton has the edge on McCain in the General Election and McCain has the edge on Obama. This assumes two things: First, the election is held today and, Second that Obama's number won't improve once the seemingly inevitable happens and Obama gets the Democratic Party nod.

The fun and games will continue for a little while yet as there are still a few more primary contests to be held and a Democratic Rules Committee meeting to determine what is to happen with those currently disenfranchised voters of Florida and Michigan. However, the never shy of the spotlight former President, William Jefferson Clinton, in support of his preferred candidate, who just happens to be his wife, has warned the Democratic party to get with the program and see that Obama just cannot take McCain in the General Election and Hillary can!

So, the slogan is "Hillary Can and Obama Can't!"

The dream ticket that some propose of Obama and Clinton cannot happen, it would never work! This is in spite of my tendencies to never say never! If the Clinton's truly believe Obama cannot take this thing this year then why bother getting onto the ticket? The idea that 2012 is but four years away seems to make better sense. You have the "I told you so" argument about 2008 that you would never have to mention. Maybe any jostling for the VP slot is tacit recognition that maybe, just maybe, Obama can and will pull this thing off and become the first African-American President of the United States of America.

I do not know about anyone else but I will keep watching the drama unfold. It is more exciting than an Indonesian sinetron anyway (personal choice and preference)!