Friday, January 30, 2009

A Chill Down The Spine


I saw


this photo
in the Bangkok Post this morning. This evening, on BBC World News, there was a report on the Rohingya refugees that the Thai Navy claimed it had not "treated cruelly". The BBC report included film clips showing images like




These...


When I realized that some, or many, or most of the men in the first photo were now dead... drowned... lost at sea; it sent a chill down my spine. Seeing them looking stoically at the camera, knowing their powerlessness, waiting for an unforgiving Guardian Force to determine their life-or-death, was spooky. I don't really have an adequate word for the feeling - spooky will just have to do. Having been lost at sea myself (entirely my own doing, for sure), I can attest to the fear factor. And also a kind of fatalism that takes over and seems to be almost paralytic in its effect.


Around the world, of course, there are people on the move, running from circumstances ranging from bleak to intolerable. In every case, in this crowded world, migrants (generally referred to as Illegal Immigrants) come crashing up against the Guardians of the Border. Wherever the migrants try to go, there are already people living there! Of course there are. That's because it's a livable area. Thats why people try to go there. Just like these Rohingya, there are migrants trying to enter the United States; some (generally referred to as "Hispanics") across the land border to the south; others (mostly from Mainland China by ship across the Pacific. We generally don't see the results of our Border Guardian's efforts. We read occasionally about the dead (but HEY! What Part Of Illegal Don't You Get?) turning up in the deserts of the Southwest. But it seems a small price to pay for Our Security. Of course, we aren't paying the price now, are we?

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

The Mumbai Maneuver


India; AKA The World's Largest Democracy - An assertion that has little basis in observed fact, is maneuvering to deflect any possible blame for the too-little-too-late-too-confused response to the terrorist attack on the five-star hotels of Mumbai. By pointing the finger at Pakistan:

India: Pakistan officials had hand in attacks

In essence accusing the perpetually failing (but not failed - no!) state of Pakistan of being competent - Another assertion that has little basis in observed fact - going back to the inception of the state of Pakistan.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year!


And Especially Good Wishes to California, where the state employees and state contractors will soon be getting paid with IOUs.
This kind of State Budget Brinksmanship is endemic to the state, so the residents are accustomed, if not inured, to the whole thing. There are those who, when they find themselves paid for services to the state with state-issued IOUs return the favor by paying their taxes with personal IOUs - a fine way to respond, to my mind, even though (or especially though) it causes the governing angencies great anguish. It's also illegal, but then again, it's illegal (as in Unconstitutional) for the State of California to have either no budget, or a budget not in balance. For the most part the California Legislature does not give a fig, since the members of that dysfunctional body spend their days primarily in search of the next job, as they are always about to be Termed Out of their current position. The Voters, having passed a law limiting the terms of all elected officials, including legislators, are now reflecting on the wisdom of the old adage: Be Careful What You Wish For.
But for everyone, not just the indigenes of the mystical state of California, HAPPY NEW YEAR. Let's hope it lasts the full 365 days.