Macántacht

Rosie's little soldier girl

2007-06-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I love Rosie O'Donnell. I am not ashamed to say it. I think she is fabulous, strong, a role model for all people.
And I am sick to death of the media jumping at every chance to criticise her instead of taking a moment to think and understand.

There is controversy at the moment about Rosie posting a photo of her 4 year old daughter, Vivi, dressed as a soldier with an ammunition belt. For a start, Rosie has always publicly talked about how she encourages her children to be kids, to explore different ideas, and their imagination. She has explained that Vivi chose the costume from buycostumes.com and that really isn't surprising considering she has two older brothers who no doubt play soldiers and guns and cowboys and robbers around the house. But more poignantly, when did it become politically incorrect to allow your kids to play war (which I am sure most of us did at age four), especially when the politicians who are running our countries are sending us to war?

And more to the point, as Rosie has said, why is a photo of her little girl in a costume on her blog international news (yep, it reached the Sydney Morning Herald this morning) when the over 3000 American lives lost in Iraq so far and the estimated 1 million Iraqi civilians who have died is not? Or we can even expand on this. Why is this little girl who is innocently dressing as a soldier and exploring her imagination news when there are REAL 4 yr olds and little kids in other countries who are REALLY being trained to be soldiers, with REAL guns and REAL ammunition and who have to kill REAL people. Where are these kids in the news? Where are their photos? Where is the outrage?

Rosie showed a powerful photo of her little girl. Eyes full of innocence. Ammunition belt slung over her shoulder. A powerful contrast that is all too real for thousands of children worldwide who really are made to fight. Or a just a photo of childhood innocence that is all too often stripped from kids by the media that has blown this out of proportion.

Peace out.

Labor got something right

2007-03-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

*dies of shock*

The Lane Cove Tunnel works!...don't faint or anything!

After their little criminal act of not even opening it until the day after the election so that if it didn't work it wouldn't affect the voting (its sad that the public really is that stupid), and even though it really wasn't all that needed, the darn thing is cutting 30 minutes off my commuting every morning and afternoon! Amazing.

Now they have 3 more years to fix up this state. Iemma, you were the premier we had to have. Try and redeem yourself and your party somewhat.

They missed the point completely

2007-03-27T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is to John Howard. This is to the arrogant dumb-arse, Luke McIlveen. This is to everyone that thinks that all the furore over David Hicks' incarceration at Guantanamo Bay was for nothing now that he is 'guilty'. You missed the point completely.

As an active protester in the streets of Sydney to bring David Hicks home, I can tell you that the matter of his innocence or guilt was never my reason for marching. If he is guilty, I believe that he should be punished to the full extent of Australian law and he should serve his time. But his guilt must be proved through a fair trial, in Australia, where I have faith that the premise of innocent until guilty rings true. This, I believe, is not the case in the USA for those currently residing at GB.
Furthermore, there is the fact that they waited almost 5 years to lay down charges. FIVE YEARS. If they had that much evidence against him, give me one good reason why they would wait an inexcusable amount of time to charge him. But even disregarding that, it is a basic right that everyone has the right to due process and a speedy trial, for otherwise it effects the nature of the trial and minimises the fairness of the proceedings. This is a rule common to both the US and Australia, so there is absolutely no excuse.
And Luke McIveen, how dare you assume that David Hicks supporters will say that his hand was pushed with the plea bargain. What a general comment to make to people who have many more valid points than you. All I have to say in response to that is US government supported torture. Torture is commonly used at GB, especially sleep deprivation. Not to mention that being stuck in isolation in a tiny cell for 5 years not knowing what is happening, what evidence they have or what they are charging you with will do to a person's mental health. I think that is reason enough to take a plea bargain, and I am sure that there is no Australian civilian around who would say that the thought of accepting it would have crossed their mind had they been through what Hicks has.
And then there is the case of "this is what they had", Mr McIlveen. You have no idea what they had. That is what they say they had. Michael Mori said many a time that the US government and military would not release what evidence they had against Hicks, making it near impossible for him to mount a defense for his client. Another thing that has decidedly affected his due process.

The fact that you seem to believe the US administration and the Australian government so strongly is a serious blemish of your character in my opinion. Bush has enough against him to be impeached and charged with war crimes. Howard lies through his teeth at every possible opportunity and is the number one spin doctor. Exhibit A- weapons of mass destruction. And then delve a little deeper and do your research. Heard of WTC #7? That was the 3rd building to come down on Sept 11. Have a look- www.wtc7.net. Have a look at some of the affiliated sites such as http://911research.wtc7.net/. Take notice of all the inconsistencies, all the red flags, the myriad of unlikely coincidences that all happened on the same day. Look at the Scooter Libby affair. Look at the corruption. And then tell me why you place so much faith in what the governments tell you is true.

The point is that Hicks' innocence or guilt isn't a factor in my protests for him. It was his right to a fair trial, his right to be innocent until proven guilty and the fact that he was kept in a well known torture prison in terrible conditions for five years before charges were brought against him. It is all this that puts any result into question.

2007-03-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

The religious right are closing in, engulfing the State Liberals. I don't want them to win.

The corruption is rife, tearing apart the State ALP. I don't want them to win.

Debnam has no policies, he wants to close the injecting room. Can't have that.

Iemma has done nothing but screw things up. NSW is a mess. We need infrastructure, we need mental health facilities- make that, we need a total health overhall. We can't have that.

Where is the debate NSW? Where is the protest and questioning? What has it come to when it is a battle of who has the lowest disapproval rating? 59% or 67% disapproval...looks like we have another term of Iemma.

This is a democracy, lets tell them what we want.

Me

2007-03-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

It is weird how we judge people based on so many superficial things- hair colour, skin colour, height, whether they are loud or quiet, rich or poor, gay or straight, male or female. I don't want to be judged by any of these things and nor do I ever want to be accused of judging anyone else on the basis of these things. I want to know people and to love people. I want me to know me for what is on the inside. Here it is.

I love to learn, it is the love that almost sums up every other aspect of my being, and one of the first true realisations I ever made about myself. I love to know things, to recognise things, to have that huge amount of power that comes with knowledge all stored within me. My thirst for knowledge is insatiable and I hate chosen ignorance. I lose respect for people who have the opportunity to know so much, yet apathy riddles them. I want to help people who don't have the opportunity to be educated. They have a certain knowledge, a knowledge of instinctual survival that I have not known.

I love the people close to me. I love to laugh with these people, talk with these people, challenge them, love them, support them. I love the people far from me, the people I do not know, for there is so much to learn from every person in this world.

I love hugs, long embraces. I love kisses and I love the security of knowing that there is someone there for me.

I am not religious. I hate organised religion. I am a very spiritual and intuitive person. I see ghosts, I do not mess with the Occult or tarot, I believe in something although I am not sure what. I believe in challenging everything you and others think. I believe in a truth. I believe in freedom. I believe in democracy and a free market economy. I am liberal and believe that all people are equal and perfect- no person is more or less perfect than anyone else. I believe in welfare for those who need it and believe that it is a responsibility of every citizen to support their fellow human beings who struggle.

I believe in choice. I believe that every life has a worth, but I do support legal euthanasia and abortion. I do not support the death penalty under any circumstance. True suffering is living with no freedom, with no priveleges and no hope for the remainder of the natural life. I believe in this with every ounce of my being. That is not to say that if someone hurt someone I loved I wouldn't want to kill them with my own hands- but I would regret it later. I do not believe in violence or physical harm under any circumstance, unless it is in self-defence.

I believe that words, both spoken and written, can change the world and one person can make a difference. I have an opinion on everything and am not afraid to voice it.

I would die for my right to free speech, my right to be free, my country if it was under threat and for my family and friends.

I know pain. I know what it is like to be hurt so deeply and irrevocably that the scabs will never become scars and never heal. The scab will always be knocked off. I know what it is to feel the world is hopeless, to be alone, to have no where to turn. I know what it is to feel your life has no worth. I also know that there is a light shining even in the darkest place. I believe you can survive.

I want to change the world. I want to help people, to be enlightened and to enlighten. I want to make a difference and show the truth.

This is me. I have weaknesses and faults, I have had celebrations and commiserations. I have lost and I have found. I have felt pain, seen pain, felt warmth and love, seen warmth and love. I constantly struggle to reconcile myself with the fact that I am me and this is it, this is all of me, just as I am.