Swine Flu In Indonesia...

It seems that Indonesia has recorded its first cases of swine flu or the H1N1. Both cases have been detected in Bali and it seems that the infected individuals are tourists. At least one of them resides in Australia. This has given Indonesia cause for concern that Australians are bringing swine flu to Indonesia through Bali.

This might be one for the conspiracy theorists and those on the House of Representatives Commission I on Defense, Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Information, who might be inclined to do a little sabre rattling about how foreign interests are trying to undermine Indonesia.

As you can see, the US President is not taking any chances.

Cartoons and Racism

The New York Post has published a cartoon that compares the first black President of the United States to a crazy chimpanzee that was gunned down by police after it had attacked a woman and allegedly tearing off most of her face. The caption to the cartoon reads "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." Now, it is widely known that President Obama was instrumental in getting the version of the stimulus bill that was eventually passed into the form that was passed.

It would seem that the caption is a clear pot shot at the president. I do not really care all that much for US politics, but I am a follower of events. After all, the US is supposed to be the leader of the free world, right? So, it probably pays to be informed.

It does not really matter what your personal views are on the stimulus bill and the policies being adopted in order to give effect to the provisions of the bill. Like it or hate it, the bill that is, is not what this cartoon seems to be about. To the contrary, there is a clear reference to the President and the reference is also that he is a maniacal chimp.

I really cannot work out how the New York Post cannot see the racial over or undertones to the visual provided. It is pretty clear and has been for some time that comparing black people to monkeys is not on and when it is done it should be labeled for what it is, racist.

I am not a big fan of political correctness, the idea of calling a person who suffers from cerebral palsy, physically challenged or a dwarf a little person or for that matter a black American an African-American seems to protecting sensibilities that do not need that level of protection. Nevertheless, that said, I am rarely in a group that is so labeled. Although, for those of you readers who know Indonesia and the term "bule" you might understand how it is to be labeled for the colour of your skin.

My old man is a Welsh man and I cannot recall ever calling myself Welsh-Australian. That is not to suggest that I am trying to hide my Welsh heritage or that I am not proud of it. I was born and raised in Australia and that is how I identify myself. But I digress.

The New York Post's editor-in-chief, Col Allan, sort to justify the cartoon in this way, "The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy." However, judging by the several thousand comments uploaded to the story as it was noted in the Huffington Post would tend to suggest that most people are finding themselves offended at the connotation.

My guess is that the New York Post is courting controversy and it seems to have found a good formula to do that, incorporating race into anything, but particularly politics, and to run the gauntlet of comparing the first black president of the US to a monkey must be called for what it is.

Thus endeth another RAB sermon.

The Fate of the Free World and a Blackberry

I am sure that there are good reasons for President Obama to want to keep his Blackberry handy, like keeping in contact with his kids for example or texting Hillary Clinton that the bombing of Iran is an option or similar things. The mere fact that the President is going to continue to use it is tantamount to being a red rag to a bull. Every hacker worth their salt is going to be trying to crack the "big one". Fox News is referring to it as the Holy Grail.

The free world can rest assured that the device must have the best encryption available to human kind loaded onto it. Nevertheless, that is always the challenge that hackers face. So, why should hackers not go after the Presidential Blackberry?

I am sure if you crack the thing and then get found out you will be in for a world of hurt. Nevertheless, your reputation and legend will pretty much proceed you wherever you go. Kevin Mitnick, once acclaimed as the world's greatest hacker, did five years in prison for his hacking activities, but nevertheless seems to think it possible and that a sophisticated hacker is in with a shot at getting in.

According to Mitnick, the weakness might not be the President but rather the circle of people that he communicates with. They presumably will not be as encrypted as the President and therefore seeming more vulnerable to attack.

So, the innocuous SMS of "Dad, where is this secret service dude that is supposed to be picking me up from school" from one of his kids might be just the entry point a hacker needs.

The reality is that now that it has been publicly declared that the President is going to continue to use his Blackberry that there are armies of hackers and code breakers sitting in underground caves in China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, among other locales, all tasked with a solitary mission, hack into the Presidential Blackberry.

I wonder what the threat is like. Is it conceivable that the fate of the free world can be compromised by the use of a Blackberry?

The mind boggles.

Woodrow Wilson and Dreams

All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1925)
28th US President, 1913 - 1921

A Black Bond?

This past week or so has seen a few firsts, and first among these is the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the first black President of the United States of America. Obama showed the world what charisma, hope, and a disciplined message can achieve.

Just the weekend before the F1 world saw Lewis Hamilton become the first black F1 Champion of the World. In Hamilton's case it was all about someone giving him a shot, a shot that he had earned coming up through the ranks, and his driving skills took care of the rest.

This has led the current James Bond, Daniel Craig to suggest that it is about time there was a colored Bond.

Actually, what Craig said was, "After Barack Obama's victory I think we might have reached the moment for a coloured 007."

A black Bond would be not outside the realm of belief. I do not recall anyone saying that MI6 or whatever it is now being an exclusively Anglo or white employer.

Defacing the Currency

In most places that I know there are laws and regulations in place to stop people from defacing the currency. Usually, people are pretty proud of their currencies, I guess the money that you use is a source of national pride or something.

However, the fact that it is against the law does not mean that it will stop people from doing it, defacing their currency that is. The picture posted here is from a site that has lots of other pictures with all manner of examples of defaced currency.

Abraham Lincoln is one of my favourite US Presidents. I am not an American, so is there something wrong with me if I have a favourite US President. I am an Australian and I have a favourite Prime Minister of two as well.

This piece of art work I found interesting.

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.

This Day in Legal History

On 6 August 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, guaranteeing voting rights for black citizens.

A point worth considering seeing this election year sees the first black citizen of the United States garnering the nomination of a major political party in the US for President.