Pirates. Goddamn pirates. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, pirates start hijacking luxury boats looking for “da loot”. “About 10 suspected pirates stormed the 288-foot Le Ponant on Friday as it was returning, without passengers, from the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.” Don’t be fooled. These aren’t some Peter Pan type pirates trying to kidnap your beloved fairy, these are brazen and angry land robbers, who have now adapted their robbing style to include the open water. Political instability over the last decade in Somalia has seen a rise in lawlessness. The navy-less country has been relatively powerless in regards to policing these modern day Blackbeardds, leaving it up to the US to coordinate patrols in the area. Despite their best efforts, global pirate attacks rose 10% in 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Now, I know that the Asian region has been prone to pirate attacks since forever, but those dudes are more ninjas than pirates. They show up in the middle of the night and silently take your freedom, leaving a ghost ship behind for the authorities to puzzle over. These Somalian guys though, they’re a different breed. In November 2005, pirates from the same region tried to hijack a cruise ship, in aluminum boats with rocket propelled grenades. You have to admire those sorts of balls.

Story taken from CNN.com

In yet another controversy envoloping the new Rudd government, KR himself has been caught trying to charge the cost of a babysitter to his taxpayer account. Apparently Kevin and his wife Therese "Megabucks" Rein have decided that their 14 year old son, Marcus, needs adult supervision while they are otherwise engaged funnelling public money into their own pockets, so one member of their house staff was also given babysitting responsibilities for any time when they may be away. Those crafty cats with their finger on the pulse of what the public will and won't tolerate, the small l liberal party, quickly pointed out this flagrant abuse of appropriated funds and forums and talkback radio shows in Sydney were flooded with outraged voters. Thank god we have New South Wales to keep a close eye on these important issues. Is it too late to change my vote?

What a horribly fair world we live in. Castro is retiring, Pakistan is successfully holding democratic elections and China's top think tank demands a push towards freedom.
In a move that makes me think he may already actually be dead, Cubas revolutionary "hero", Fidel Castro has announced he will not "aspire to nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander-in-chief". The man who had the world (maybe just America) by it's balls, who outlasted even the expectations of his supporters, has called it quits. By the time I reached consciousness, Castro had become a caricature of himself. A man in comical fatigues delivering 4 hour oratorys on the evils of the western world, while people spoke about how "great" he used to be. A man who was starving his country because he had been such a prick that the US refused to relax their trade embargos, many many years after he stopped being a threat. A charismatic man, who inspired a new generation of South American leaders with big mouths and a swagger in their step, like Hugo Chavez, early reports are that Castro will be spending his retirement tending to his flower bed and torturing political prisoners, claiming it's important to remain active in old age. Vive la revolución!
President Pervez Musharraf, formerly General Pervez Musharraf, has been dealt a serious political blow, with his allies in government being severely whipped in elections in Pakistan. With an outcome that will surely lead to impeachment, I bet he's regretting dropping the pretence that he is a fair and popular leader and actually trying to prove it.
Finally, China's top think tank has released a report calling for "systematic liberalisation, including greater media and religious freedom in the next 12 years" as part of a move towards becoming a "modern civil society. In what could be a canny piece of propaganda, the think tank; which is based at the academy for training all top officials of the communist party, has declared that the public is fed up with the corruption, human rights violations and unfair distribution of wealth. If they're so fed up with it, how come we never hear them complaining? Considering that this is happening in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics and with more international scrutiny on China as a world player than possibly ever before, this may all be a clever wind up from those evil commies.
A special mention to Angelita Pires, who tried to be Timor-Lestes "Bond girl" and got busted. It's not easy playing both sides of the fence.

"MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Out on DVD for Valentine's Day across Russia is a heartwarming drama about a man and a woman who love each other and their country -- and who bear an uncanny resemblance to Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila. Just when it seemed like the Russian president's public image had been burnished to a spotless shine by state television, along comes a film that appears to cast the steely former spy in a softer light -- as smitten suitor, loving husband and dedicated dad."

What. A. Crock. Just when it seems the world is realising that Putin is not the champion of democracy they were hoping for, out comes this seemingly "unrelated" movie about a "fictional" russian president who cares deeply about his family and his people. Now that all media in Russia that isn't controlled by the state is effectively silenced, Putin seems to have done away with trying very hard to present himself as the peoples champion. Gone are the grand old days of Russian presidents dancing on stage, blitzed out of their mind on high quality vodka, instead it seems they're slowly being smothered with a form of government control reminiscent of communism. A lot of russians are too poor to take notice, as they're currently in the grip of the worst food shortage in a very very long time and a re literally starving to death.
"My view of the president has changed," said Galina Makarova, a film company employee, after attending the showing. "It shows a new side of our president.""
The film company is denying that the Kremlin had nothing to do with the film. Nobody believes them.
Article sourced from cnn.com

"Master terrorist' killed by Damascus car bomb"
"HEZBOLLAH commander Imad Mughniyah, accused of masterminding a hijacking, suicide bombings and hostage takings of Western targets in the 1980s, was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, the Shiite Muslim group said last nightFormer CIA case officer and author Robert Baer once described Mughniyah as "probably the most intelligent, most capable operative we've ever run across, including the KGB or anybody else … he is the master terrorist, the grail that we have been after since 1983".

What a reputation, "Master terrorist". This is the guy that Arnie tried to kill repeatedly throughout the 80's, a real old-school villan. An Arab terrorist from the days before everyone was doing it. It's interesting to see who Hollywood is choosing to demonize. Now that the world is a little more educated on Islam, it's a little harder for them to to portray Muslims as savages. I suppose there's always those shining lights of evil, North Korea and Burma and Russia seems determined to work their way towards some kind of guest appearance as "shadowy mastermind #1".

In the beginning....

I grew up on a steady diet of fairytales and action movies. The good guys were righteous and the bad guys had beards. Life was simple, everyone knew the rules. Moral ambiguity amongst my role models was low and there weren't a lot of grey areas, so imagine my shock when I packed my bags and headed out into the real world. A world where the bastion of all that was good in my movie childhood, the President of the United States, is a "reformed" alcoholic and drug addict. A man who so obviously paid his way into the top job and who is such a puppet, sometimes you can see the strings! In the world I knew, this would be impossible. In the world that I lived in, no one would be letting power hungry (democratically elected) despots like Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin get away with these blatant attempts at placing themselves in charge for life. They would find out what their secret plans were, i.e; smuggling cocaine filled bananas through South America or the traditional buying of a suitcase bomb, and send a suitable hero in to bring them to justice!
Alas, the world does not operate the way Disney, Arnie, Sly, et al, would have had me believe. So this blog is dedicated to bringing to your attention world events that I feel are an abuse of power and an act of evil. Sometimes, I'll get it wrong. Sometimes, I'll make it up a little bit, but I'll always fight the good fight.