Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Various from the world

Russia, unsurprisingly for all but the western foreign ministers it seems, officially recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Protests and shrieks followed from the western capitals, calling the move illegal and unacceptable, proclaiming the territorial integrity of Georgia untouchable and vowing that the two small breakaway regions will never ever be independant.

Yet, not a single politician or analyst who dared to draw a comparison between the case for Kossovo's independence and South Ossetia's and Abhkazia's ones to demonstrate the differences advocating for a different treatment.

In South Africa, a land reform bill which effectively gave major powers to the government to exporpriate the white ladowners to redistribute their properties to the black people was, at least for the time being, shelved. Considering that was the very move that precipitated Zimbabwe from being a relatively wealthy african country and a breadbasket for the continent to a eight (nine? ten?) zeroes inflation rate and economic disintegration, perhaps that's not a bad news at all.

In the meanwhile, in the States, the democratic convention is going on. Considering I didn't join an investment program because I didn't trust a banker with decades of experience to administer my money, it is still beyond me how the democrats could trust so much part of their life in the hands of a nearly-zero-experience orator. Hillary Clinton had sum it up as no repubblican could with her famous statement "I know Sen. McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Sen. Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.". Even now, I feel Hillary doesn't regret saying that a bit.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I for one am FAR more afraid of yet another Republican government than of any lack of experience on Obama's or anyone else's part. Lack of experience can be remedied; backwardness seldom can. And unwillingness to look forward instead of backwards, to accept and to welcome change is one the things that scares me the most in this world...

GC said...

Unfortunately, as it has been already said by many, I do not believe that being the president of the United States is one of those jobs where you can go for on the job training.

It's like the captain of a ship: put someone with not enough experience of navigation and it will collide with the first rock, sinking with all the passengers. Obviously, also experience captains can make mistakes (see the titanic), but odds are at least better.

Besides, I suppose what you call backwardness I would often call reasonable customs. Not to mention that McCain is such an atypical conservatives that his own base has some problems with its too liberal vote record.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you mean reasonable customs such as no sex before marriage (let's not mention Palin's daughter as an example, please), hunting, drilling holes in Alaska for oil? Ah, OK.

You also mean "experienced" as in Sarah Palin's an experienced administrator because she was the mayor of a tiny town in the least influential state of the country? Because you DO know that it's very very likely that McCain won't finish his time as president if he gets elected, don't you. And then we'd have this hypocrite of a woman who hunts for sport up in the Oval House. A woman who's been exorcized? Who's against abortion? I find it hard to believe there are still people against abortion walking on this planet. Who's for abstinence as a birth control method, I mean how backwards can THAT be, for crying out loud? If that's not scary for you, then I'm kinda scared of you too. Honestly, Guido.

GC said...

Leticia, at risk of sounding very backward:

a) I don't have anything against the no sex before marriage idea. I do not follow it, but honestly is the one and only 100% sure method against unwanted pregnancies and STDs. I'm not even against a school system teaching it as number one and favourite method to follow.. as long as the others are explained as well.

b) within reasonable limits, I've nothing against hunting for sport. Definitely nothing against hunting to preserve ecological balance like wolves in Alaska and Deers (and please, STORNI!) in Italy.

c) with reasonable safeguards, I've nothing against drilling in that bare wasteland that is Alaska. It would definitely make sense for americans to use their own oil than keep transfering money to arab governments.

d) I'm actually pretty confident that McCain would end his term, if elected (obviously, he shouldn't try to be re-elected). Just to say one, his mother looks more alive and kicking at 90something that Obama does when he is missing a teleprompter. Maybe that's because, as an Italian, I'm used to politicians in their late 60s or early 70s running the country, but still...

e) Some of the best presidents of the US did hunt for sport (Roosvelt, to name but one, and wouldn't be surprised if Kennedy did too), so what?

f) I'm against generalized abortions as well. Malformations, rape cases, minors and mother's healt risks, ok... but for the rest, I'd rather see adoptions than abortions, thanks. And the point is moot in the US really... what could be done is giving the matter in the hand of state legislature, which means at worst women wonting an abortion would have to go to New York or California.

If all of that makes you being worried about me.. well, sorry.