Howard Snubbed for the Status Quo?

It would seem that being a cricket tragic and the former Prime Minister of Australia for 10 or so years are not qualifications enough to be rubber-stamped as a vice president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The current format sees a rotational policy in operation where the vice-presidents rotate through the presidency of the ICC.

Unfortunately, for the former PM and self-declared cricket tragic, the powers that be aligned against him and have seemingly thwarted his attempt for a chair at the big table.

I am not sure that this should necessarily be seen as an insult to either John Howard or to Australia. The wash-up of this is likely to focus on a desire of some nations to keep the status quo, perhaps even some might want to discuss that the corrupting nature of power is at work here where vested interests are not going to allow the organisation to be cleaned up. There have been charges in the past that corruption is rampant in cricket and that the ICC does not have the desire or the power to clean it up.

There is one thing for sure, John Howard would be coming in all guns blazing. But, this is all hypothetical now as his nomination has hit the skids big time.

Too bad, but Ho Hum...

Foreign Students and Visa Fraud -- Australia

The Australian government is set to crack down on visa fraud by foreign students and those that assist them in getting the necessary visas to study in Australia. The visa fraud that the government is targeting relates to whether prospective students have sufficient financial reserves to support them through the course of their studies.

It is expected that prospective students will need at least AUD 12,000 for living expenses for each year they intend to study plus any applicable tuition fees.

The main targets of this crackdown are going to be prospective students from India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe, and Pakistan. The crackdown is to be launched immediately. In essence, the crackdown means that applications from prospective students from any of the listed countries are going to be subject to enhanced scrutiny and have restrictions placed on their ability to lodge applications online, according to Immigration Minister Chris Evans.

Applications by prospective students has increased by some 20% over the last 12 months and some 28,000 applications were rejected.

The most obvious signs of potential fraud are, apparently, large one-off transfers of cash to the bank account of the prospective student and enrollment in lesser known institutions. The government has been unequivocal in stating that legitimate students need not fear any additional scrutiny of their applications. A legitimate application will still be approved irrespective of where the applicant comes from.

The international student industry in Australia is worth some AUD 15.5 billion per year.

I wonder how much the increased scrutiny will impact the bottom line?

Bali Bombers, Eid ul-Fitr, and Remorse

The three Bali Bombers that are destined for the firing squad in the very near future, perhaps in just days, have expressed no remorse about their actions and the deaths of 202 innocent people. Amrozi, Samudra, and Muklhas have stated unequivocally that they have no regrets for the bombings of 12 October 2002.

The bombings were designed to punish the US and its allies. Seeing that the majority of those that died were allies of the US then the objective was achieved. Samudra is the most vocal of the three, always has been, and he added that he will never have any regrets. Unfortunately for him, he won't have too much longer to hold that thought. The three of them then offered their support and praise for the recent bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan.

The time is nigh and the end is ever-closer. You will soon know if Allah is pleased and has prepared the legendary 72 virgins for your eternal pleasure. Then again, if Islam is a religion of peace and abhors the slaying of the innocent then I cannot see your eternity being all that enjoyable!

I would still prefer that they rot in prison but it is not within my power to make that call. So, 'selamat jalan' and may God have mercy on your misguided and murderous souls (yes, the very mercy you did not show 202 innocent souls on 12 October 2002).

Marriott Hotel -- Pakistan

Look at the size of that crater! It is not surprising that more than 200 have been injured in this terrorist attack. However, what is surprising is that there have only been about 60 deaths.

What I fail to understand is how this kind of violence wins the "hearts and minds" of the people you want to convince of the justness of your cause? It might scare them but it certainly does not convince them!

Bombings like this one do not discriminate, they kill anything in their path. I find it hard to fathom that there was a legitimate target at the Marriott Hotel to warrant this kind of indiscriminate attack.

No one has claimed responsibility yet. However, if this is ultimately claimed by the Taliban or al-Qaeda, then it would be worth getting a breakdown of the victim's religions. To see how many Muslims were killed, this would in turn emphasize my earlier point of winning the 'hearts and minds'.

Yet, for me the abhorrence of such actions are that the victims are the innocent. I find it amazing that anyone can justify the killing of innocents in the name of independence, let alone in the name of religion.

This was a planned and premeditated attack on innocent civilians.

For me this is just plain wrong on all fronts.

Ahmadiyya in Pakistan

Ahmadiyya in Indonesia has sort off gone of the radar since the issue of a Ministerial Regulation that to all intents and purposes bans the Islamic sect by prohibiting the ritual practices of believers and the violence perpetrated against people rallying in support of religious pluralism. The propensity for violence exhibited by some towards Ahmadiyya certainly needs no encouragement.

At the time in Indonesia there were videos posted on you tube of calls to jihad (some might argue that Jihad is not about violence but rather it is a personal struggle designed to bring a person closer to God) in order to exterminate the Ahmadi. However, in Pakistan this has gone one step further with Aalim Online presenter Aamir Liaqat Hussain, the former Federal Minister for Religious Affairs in Pakistan, calling the Ahmadi's "kaffirs" and deserving of being killed.

Within days, two prominent Pakistani Ahmadi had been murdered.

Interestingly, the show also airs in the UK, the USA, and Canada. I wonder whether broadcasting standards in these countries are tolerant of such incitement to murder over the public airwaves.

I wonder how Indonesia would deal with a popular TV presenter issuing a call to violence and murder or even genocide?

The Hunt For Osama Bin Laden

It is nice to know that the experts all agree that Osama bin Laden is either Dead or Alive!

The Kalash

Check out the eyes on these two women! Absolutely beautiful and bizarre at the same time! Just not what one would expect...the world is a truly amazing place!

I am sure that I have seen the pictures before and I am sure I thought, wow! Yet, I had never been inspired to seek out any information about who the people in the pictures are and what their stories are. While wasting time surfing the Internet and instead of doing the work I should have been doing, I came across the pictures I have added here and a little bit of background on the Kalash people.

The Kalash consider themselves to be the direct descendants of Alexander the Great. Now, whether that is true is subject to some debate. What is not subject to debate is that they are the descendants of the men in the armies of Alexander the Great.

The tribe is an ancient one and is referred to as being pagan in nature. This is not that surprising when one considers they are living in some of the remotes areas of the world in the Hindu Kush and in a small area known as Birir in the North West Frontier of Pakistan. Kalash means "wearers of black"! However, by the look of the pictures, black is the base colour but there is plenty of bright colours on show in these outfits. The Kalash now number some 3,500 and the encroaching civilization and the pressure to convert to Islam is likely to reduce that number over time and slowly wear down their unique culture.

The post is not supposed to be an in depth analysis but rather just an eye-opener. If any one wants to learn more about the Kalash it is as simple as clicking on the links...the pictures were borrowed from here.