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Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday Night Audio Meditation - Bjork, "All is Love."
Al Franken, politician or comedian?
Since posting this a few people have asked me; so who the hell is Al Franken?
He was a writer and comedian on Saturday Night Live, had his own radio show on Air America and is now the junior senator from Minnisota.
I never thought he was funny until he got into politics.
"Welcome to the ConDemNation"
This video is well, well worth a view. An edited snap shot of the recent political history of this nightmare government and the hypocrisy of its leadership.
Hat-tip to my new Facebook friend of 20 minutes Jase-deb Cridland – check out original on YouTube here.
I love the song of course!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Taking a Break
I'm leaving this wonderful tobacco leaf island-chain nation for r&r in Europe for a month. Wishing everyone a very happy August and see you soon.
ADL Takes Idiotic Stance (Again)
Today The New York Times is running this report on the stance taken by the Anti-Defamation League in opposition to plans for a "planned mosque and Islamic community center near ground zero" in NYC. And here is the blunt and entirely justified retort from the folks at The Economist. Abe Foxman and the ADL are becoming a caricature.
TUC Member Trustee Network Conference: Stronger Stewardship: Trustee Responsibilities in a Changing Pensions Landscape
"Date Tue, 16 Nov 2010: Time to from 09:30 to 16:30 Location Congress House, Great Russell Street, London
Cost: The cost for attending remains frozen at the level of earlier years and is £50 Unions, £75 Education, Public or Voluntary Sector; Commercial £250. Payments can be by cheque payable to ‘Trades Union Congress’ or by card.
Description: The theme of this year’s Member Trustee Network conference is ‘Stronger Stewardship’ and the conference will take place in Congress House. Delegates will be able to hear from a range of speakers, including the Pensions Minister Steve Webb, about the latest developments in pensions policy. There will also be a choice of workshops.
A buffet lunch will be provided. Please indicate any access or dietary requirements.
The conference will be followed by an early evening reception.
Accessibility Congress House is an accessible building.
Register interest or request more information
If you wish to attend please contact, trusteesATtucDOTorg.uk"
(Picture is of early trade union pension trustees)
Conservatives with Guns and their Fantasies of Revolution
"When American men talk like this, they are usually giving voice to fantasy. Only in fantasy, after all, are governments overthrown by men trained to do nothing more than shoot long-distance targets in a controlled environment. Some of these men seek out unlikely battlefields, where they can be warriors of the future, warriors of the imagination or reluctant warriors in waiting who are passing their time on the Internet. The power of a gun to take a life is not so much a threat as a talisman connecting these fantasies to the real world."In The New York Times you can find this article on the 'Appleseed Project' which is (despite the preposterous disavowals) a right wing project meant to prepare 'regular Americans' to take up guns in defense of liberty. I find the impulse to own guns pretty inscrutable, sort of like liking Lima Beans. As I've said here several times, I just don't get it. I also have said before that I find the conservative mind pretty much misguided. These folks are not just gun owners, they're paid up subscribers to the rigid, paranoid conservative style [1] [2] [3]. Combine that style with guns and things start to get worrying - even though the reporter from The Times has done his best to persuade us that it's all just magical thinking. Fantasies can be dangerous too.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Swans
Incase you're wondering why there is snow is this picture it's because I'm lazy. This was taken at Lasalle Park in February when tons of trumpeter and mute swans flock together along with mallards and geese.
Nick Clegg's strangeness to the truth
In this pre-election letter to electors in Kingston he claims that "Voting Labour will only help the Conservatives win".
I love the stuff about "most people remember the damage the last Conservative government did to our country. Record unemployment, cuts to front line services and politics riddled with sleaze...Today's Conservatives haven't changed...funded by billionaires and city bankers...helped cause the economic meltdown...Conservatives want to cut taxes for millionaires while giving the rest of us a VAT rise (yeah)..a vote for Lib Dems will mean lower taxes...investment in schools(!!!)...
The ironic thing is I think that there are many Liberal Democrats who are genuinely ashamed of their Party's alliance but "Orange Book" Clegg is of course clearly not one of them.
Hat-tip thingy Col. Roi
Is the Swastika a "Universal" Symbol of Hate?
The swastika now shows up so often as a generic symbol of hatred that the Anti-Defamation League, in its annual tally of hate crimes against Jews, will no longer automatically count its appearance as an act of anti-Semitism. “The swastika has morphed into a universal symbol of hate,” said Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy organization. “Today it’s used as an epithet against African-Americans, Hispanics and gays, as well as Jews, because it is a symbol which frightens.”James: There is no doubt that in the western hemisphere the swastika is seen as a symbol of hate and intolerance but what most westerners don't know is that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis stole it from the Hindu and Buddhist religions and perverted its meaning. Ironically svastika is Sanskrit for "all is well" and is seen throughout Asia today--including emblazoned upon Buddha statues around the world. Thus, it was intended to be a message of harmony and well-being to all those who gazed upon its satisfyingly balanced shape. In Buddhism it is almost always seen pointing left, whereas the Nazis used it facing right.
I understand the aversion toward the swastika in the West but to say it is universally a symbol of hate could create more intolerance, not less. That's because it is a statement based in ignorance, and ignorance always breeds suffering. Their statement branding the swastika as universal symbol of hate excludes an entire half of the world where it is seen positively. In doing so this organization could possibly cause misunderstanding between Westerners and Easterners. What are less informed Western tourists going to think when they see a swastika painted upon a Buddhist or Hindu statue? What kind of conspiracy theories or misinformed opinions will they hatch out of ignorance propagated by a well-meaning organization? And just imagine the suffering that could be stirred up because of an ignorant tourist clinging to the Anti-Defamation League's wrong perception that the swastika is a universal symbol of hate. Of course you can't control how anyone is going to interpret something; nor should we seek to control it but I think the ADL owes it to the seriousness of this subject to educate to help prevent fear based ignorance from causing unintended consequences.
They were fine to remind everyone of the swastika's hateful past and that people are still using it to terrorize others. However, their mistake was in stopping with that statement, which is clinging to the hateful side of it. This could have been handled as a "teaching moment" as we say in America today. They could have gone on to educate the public that the symbol also means harmony and well-being. Then they could have advised us to stay vigilant toward intolerance and hatred but to not forget the original meaning, which we should embody instead of hatred and intolerance. This reminds us that all symbols have many meanings that can be interpreted one way or another based on our perceptions.
It is a great reminder of how much suffering our perceptions are to our lives. In the end though we have to let go of all perceptions. Even the perception that we are justified in hating those who hate us. As distasteful as this sounds we have to come to the realization that even those who flash the swastika in hate are doing so because of fear, ignorance and delusion. Thus, they too are suffering immensely and if possible having some compassion for them might help us overcome our hatred for them, which is only causing us additional pain. Hanging onto that hatred is like reminding ourselves of how painful that razor blade cut was a few weeks back by slashing your arm with it again. Or as Buddha said, "Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; its you who gets burned."
I'm not anywhere near at a place where I have been able to let go of all my perceptions, fear and ignorance (delusions) but I know the path to freeing ourselves from their suffering resides in letting go of their power. It doesn't mean that we ignore hatred, justify hatred, or stop educating people of their reality but it does mean that we should remember that our perceptions aren't usually completely accurate; and they can be damaging despite a well-meaning motivation. When we realize how interconnected we are there is often a natural widening of our mind and a greater awareness of the world around us, which enriches our lives and brings a deeper understanding of how we all work together.
~Peace to all beings~
Obama on Race: Interview with The View
The View is a daytime talkshow on American TV. It features a panel of women discussing current events and conducting interviews. US President Barack Obama appeared on this show today. The Guardian's Richard Adams blogged on the episode as he watched. In the course of the interview with the panelists, President Obama made a number of statements concerning race that I find to be both bold and honest. Is that the sound of a little nuke going off in the offices of Fox I can hear?
Not sure about the reptilian reference though ...11.20am ET: "Your mother was white," asks Barbara, "why don't you describe yourself as bi-racial?" "When I was young, I wrote a whole book about this," says Obama, gently.
"The thing about African Americans in this country, we are actually a mongrel people," says Obama. "Yeah," says Whoopi in agreement. "And that's true of white people in this country too," says Obama.
11.16am: Sherri now raises racial problems in America, specifically the Shirley Sherrod controversy. "Do you think America is still racist?" she asks.Again, Obama blames the media for "generating a phony controversy. A lot of people overacted, including in my administration".
Whoopi now brings up a scene from Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and quotes a line. "Who are we?" asks Whoopi. "We are Americans," says Obama, "Everyone here is connected."
But "there's a reptilian side of our brain" says Obama, and we have to fight against that. "There's nobody in America who doesn't have to think about their own racial attitudes."
Vertical Farms: The Future of Inner-City High Rise Buildings?
A conceptual illustration of a vertical farm. Photograph: www.odesign.com.au /Oliver Foster
Chilkoot Trail
I decided i wanted to go follow the stream to it's source and see Chilkoot Valley on the other side.
Somehow, though, i couldn't see this lake from the road, so after i parked and walked this far i realized i would have to walk all the way around the lake before i could continue on.
Towards the final years of the gold rush the White Pass Railway was completed. The railway traveled from Skagway to Carcross via White Pass, one valley over from Chilkoot Pass. They say the Chilkoot Trail takes up to a week to complete, and most of that time is spent walking through the forest in the bottom of the valley. Since i was more interested in the lanscape above treeline, i decided to hike over to Chilkoot Pass from White Pass, just for the view.
There were two hanging valleys to choose from, and i chose the one that was more to the south. It looked like i might attract attention from the Canadian border patrol for getting to close to their water supply if i chose the north valley. The southern one was in no man's land in between the two U.S./Canadian customs offices. Technically, i think i was right on the edge of British Columbia the whole day.
One of several lakes with unclear outlets. The sound of running water was everywhere under the snow in this area.
The walk from the road to the higher pass i had chosen was generally easy but longer than i expected, until i hit an area of frozen lakes and snowfields. It was July 3rd, and i was burning up in the snow. Down the hill in Skagway they were having a record breaking 85 degree day and up in the mountains the snow was melting so fast that ponds were forming on top of the snowfields. I had to walk around numerous lakes and make use of a lot of snow bridges over the streams before reaching a high point. I don't know if it is common to get that hot down there, but up around Anchorage i've never been in that kind of heat at that altitude.
Above all the frozen lakes right up at the pass i found this moose carcass. It was sad to think it had made it up this high and then critically injured itself. It looked like it had a broken leg. I imagine it must have died late in the fall, maybe slipping on ice. I think it had just melted out of the snow, as it still had a lot of 'organic liquids' in the carcass.
Looking over at Chilkoot Pass.
I was also looking at a storm building up over the area i had come from.
I kept thinking it was going to blow by but at this point i decided i needed to leave quickly.
The view into Chilkoot Pass and it's glacier backdrop was impressive. I stayed up there for about 45 minutes. On one side i was listening to a glacier constantly crumble over a cliff, and on the other i was watching thunderstorms build up in the heat. Eventually i had to flee as the wind changed and blew the storms overhead. For a good 1/2 hour i had to move quickly over the snow, in pouring rain, while lightning struck the peaks around me. It was surreal to be in a lightning storm while navigating by frozen lakes. Likewise, i was baffled to be stripping off layers of clothing while trudging through snow in thick rain and wind. Again, I've never been in an alpine environment, moving through bad weather, with those kinds of warm temperatures.
The rain started to move on, then it got downright muggy.
This area was fun to navigate.
I realized eventually that the pass area is littered with fault lines and i had to walk through one to get back to the road. Here you can see the fault coming down from higher on the ridge...
....and continuing on down valley. The whole lake i had to cross initially is only there because of the fault. Farther down valley the road crosses over the fault on a bridge over a deep chasm. The bridge looks funny because it is connected to only one side of the fault. The idea is that in a major earthquake it won't be torn apart.
White Pass may be the most impressive car-accessible pass i've ever seen, other than Logan's Pass in Montana. It is by far the biggest. It covers many square miles of table lands dotted with sparse patches of trees scattered among an huge, intricate lake and canal system literally creating a maze. All those lakes make up the part of the headwaters of the Yukon River. From the pass it's only a 16 mile drive down to the ocean, but the Yukon River heads in the opposite direction for 1,980 miles until it hits the Bering Sea.
This looked like another interesting hike, but that would have to wait for another day.
War on Sucky Twitter: Part 2
Image via WikipediaI guess that I more or less expected them to block my accounts at some point on Twitter. I didn't try very hard to hide the fact that I had parallel accounts. I created them with sequential throwaway emails that I created in Yahoo (keithb006 - keithb015), "tweeted" to all of the accounts at the same time using "Multitweet" (or something like that), and even had a link to this blog on ALL of the accounts. Still, I didn't think that they would ban the account THAT fast.
So, my thoughts on Twitter so far: Twitter sucks royally! Basically, Twitter has taken the idea of a chat room from the old days of the internet and expanded it out so that, instead of you shouting things out to 200 people that don't care, you can now shout things to millions that they don't care about! Makes you feel special, huh? Sucky!
I'll keep my readers updated on how my war on Twitter is going. I think that I"m going to try a combination of "backdoor" and "obnoxious spamming" tactics for the next part of my war against Twitter.
Just remember: Twitter sucks and I hate Twitter.
Cute cowgirl :
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tea Leaves Round Up
What's causing a storm in a cup in the news today?
- China throws teddy out of the pram and argues that the other children in the sandpit are ganging up on it. I'd have some sympathy if they didn't claim to be playing harmoniously with the other kids whilst further moving the line in the sand that marks what part of the box is their sole concern and area of jurisdiction.
- DPP leader Tsai on the defensive and offensive against Presidential Office attempts to paint her as vacillating on ECFA.
- That NT$3600
vote-buying scameconomic stimulus measure? Verdict: Epic Fail. Except that it was also Epic Success in that it a) raised public confidence b) increased benefits to low-income families and c) generated a higher international visibility for the country. How to turn bad news into pseudo good news all in one quickly sidelined and forgotten piece of copy. - We all know its coming. ECFA to be rammed through the legislature likely on August 16th. So much for transparency, accountability and legislative oversight.
Quote of the Week: The Elephant in the Room
“The sad fact is that without China signing off on any of those agreements (FTAs), they would never get to the bargaining table — not without China’s tacit agreement. We all pretend that there is no elephant in the room, but there is an elephant in the room and if we ignore it, it will hit us with its trunk”Charles Freeman - academic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington contributing his own mixed signals to the general morass of non-policy on the Taiwan Strait situation.
“Clearly, the United States has for years been sending signals to Taiwan that it would prefer greater economic integration between [China] and Taiwan for reasons of its own”
Taiwan's Politicised Media: Case Study Central Daily News
A front page article in today's Taipei Times has found a legislative report warning about the growing self-censorship of Taiwan's media, which is in turn increasingly under the sway of influence from Chinese investors. In support of this argument I refer to article of evidence 'A', A-gu's blog post on a recent Central Daily News (an openly KMT supporting newspaper) editorial.
The report in question, which will not be publically released, is A Study on Mainland China’s Post-ECFA Political and Economic Strategy Toward Taiwan. MT has more on its findings.
The report in question, which will not be publically released, is A Study on Mainland China’s Post-ECFA Political and Economic Strategy Toward Taiwan. MT has more on its findings.
Reading Around
"If words fall into disrepair, what will substitute? They are all we have." ~ Tony Judt
That is an ironic observation for someone like me who is committed to the importance of photographic images as tools of communication. You can find the NYRB essay where Judt issues it here. And, for two examples of smart women masterfully using words to probe and decipher our political predicaments, you can find essays by Rebecca Solnit on Louisiana post-Deepwater Horizon here at the London Review of Books, and by Suzie Linfield on genocide and the agony of 'reconciliation' here in Guernica.
Beauty Salon In Prison Malaysia
This special beauty salon “Jail Spa” is located in the prison at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It offers head-to-toe beauty services such as facials, pedicures, foot reflexology and massages for as little as 30 Ringgit, about $8.5. But the services is not for the prisoners, it’s for people who live outside the prison, like you and me.
Malaysia Planted Forests Project
The Sarawak state government in Malaysia commissioned the Planted Forests Project in an attempt to have it all: economic development, wildlife protection, and land use by local people.
Nearly 1,900 square miles have been allocated for the planted forests zone. Slightly less than half the land is earmarked for the logging of acacia trees—a fast-growing species that can be harvested for paper. More than 30 percent of the land will be set aside for conservation. Indigenous people will continue to live on the remainder.
Biologist Robert Stuebing, who set up the conservation department of Grand Perfect (the government’s timber contractor), says the project was inspired by a map of the region showing where the government planned to plant acacia.
Some areas would be used for the logging plantations, while others would be left alone. Stuebing realized that the network of undisturbed patches could serve as a haven for native plant and animal life. “Even if less than the whole habitat is protected,” he explains, “as long as you have enough bits and pieces and these are connected, you might be able to maintain a good sample of biodiversity.” Working with the loggers and the state forest department, he created corridors of land linking the forest conservation areas so wildlife can travel among them.
Other conservation and development projects are also using protected passageways as a way to save native species. The question for all these initiatives is whether the corridors will actually allow enough movement to preserve populations of wildlife.
Stuebing’s first priority was to begin an inventory of what was living in the forest zone. Researchers have counted bearded pigs, deer, small mammals, birds, frogs, fish, and dragonflies and are now in the process of surveying fungi.
The department keeps a log of every species identified, where it was sighted, whether it is endemic (exclusive to the region), and what its international and local protection status is. Despite previous logging and farming in the planted forests zone, more than 400 vertebrate species, including bears, civets, macaques, leopard cats, mongooses, pangolins, and porcupines, have been spotted there. Researchers have even discovered 18 snails that have never been seen anywhere else on Earth. “The beauty of the project was to see that there was such resilience and survivability of the fauna,” Stuebing says.
How the giant new acacia plantations will affect this diversity remains uncertain. Some carnivores, frogs, and squirrels seem to have taken to the planted areas more quickly than birds, bats, and snakes.
With a considerable financial stake in the logging project, the government is unlikely to give up on the acacia stands, even if monitoring shows that they are harming biodiversity. But in a part of the world where human livelihood depends on the forest, this experiment at integrating wildlife protection into the mix is a big step in the right direction, Stuebing says: “It looks sustainable, and biologically, I really think this model will work well.”
If he’s right, sustainable developers around the world may copy his strategy as they struggle to balance the needs of humans and wildlife.
Jennifer Barone
Related Posts:
William Cuffay - "Britain's Black Revolutionary"
Yet over 160 years ago William Cuffay (another Bill) who was the son of slaves (and also physically disabled) was a leading trade union and national political activist.
But Cuffay is now as Bill explained almost “entirely forgotten” yet at the time of the Great Chartist petition of 1848 he was one of their foremost organisers and orators. After the (relative) failure of the “moral force” Chartists in 1848 Cuffay became disillusioned with such protest and became involved in a “physical force” plot to overthrow the government. He was betrayed, arrested and transported to Tasmania. He was later pardoned but chose to remain in the colony and died there still fighting for social justice aged 82.
The early 19th century chartist campaign was described in the programme as the British civil rights movement. There was immense opposition and repression towards the Chartists at the time by the rich and the powerful. Nowadays nearly all their demands for Parliamentary reform are now fully accepted as being the democratic norm.
This is a great story and you can listen to it here again for the next 7 days on BBC IPlayer. Picture is of William in jail before he was transported which was probably used to make prints and raise funds for his wife to later join him in Tasmania.
You Left Hand Isn't Superior to Your Right.
The sound in this video is of poor quality so you'll want to turn up the volume.
~Peace to all beings~
Happy Birthday Bugs
Yesterday was Bugs Bunny's birthday and I forgot. Sorry Bugs. So here's an old drawing I cleaned up for Amby Palowoda back in the seventies when I worked for Filmation. I think this was for an advertisement for Warners.
Bugs's first appearance was in "A Wild Hare" released June 27, 1940. It wass also the first time we saw Elmer Fudd. It was also the first time Mel Blanc used his recognizable version of Bugs' voice that soon became the standard "What's up Doc?"
DPP leader Tsai Demonstrates Intelligence and Foresight
Tsai Ying-wen's speech to the Taiwan Brain Trust & Project 2049 Conference
July 19, 2010 here.
July 19, 2010 here.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Standing Up To The Dragon
This excellent article shows some people can envision a world in which dealing with China does not have to entail sacrificing the core values of democracy, freedom and human rights.
Greenpeace Turning Off BP Petrol Pumps in London
Live News. This just in. Greenpeace has launched an action today against BP by picketing 46 BP petrol stations in London and forcing them to (temporarily) turn off their pumps:Forty-six BP petrol station's in central London were shut down today and re-branded with signs announcing: 'Closed. Moving beyond petroleum' and featuring the new, 'oilier' BP logo.
It's time for BP to make a real move beyond petroleum and end their involvement in environmentally destructive oil sources like Arctic oil exploration, deepwater drilling and the Canadian tar sands.
Let's make it clear that the time to move towards clean, renewable energy is now.
Our activists are literally turning off the pumps at BP's stations to make it clear that the risks of exploiting dangerous oil sources are too high - as the Deepwater Horizon disaster has made clear. Join them in demanding an Energy [R]evolution now!
Greenpeace on Facebook.
The Stench of Land Grabbing Expands
Taiwan News has two articles related to land grabs for economic development.
In the first, Changhua farmers are set to protest against being forced to sell their land to allow the construction of a road for the a new science park.
In the second, now utterly discredited KMT Miaoli Magistrate Liu Cheng-hung is under suspicion of profiting illegally from land speculation and avoiding taxes top pay off family debt. Interestingly, his house is in the area of the proposed HSR Miaoli station in which priceless historic pottery kilns were destroyed extra-legally, thus eradicating a superb potential tourist revenue generator. That destruction was also quite politically sensitive at the time. Never mind that the kilns were an important part of Hakka culture in the area and featured in the 2004 Kilns and More Kilns Art Festival—Miaoli History of Ceramic Kilns and Modern Art Exhibition in which "The Kiln Culture Civic Center, Classroom and Theater (Huataoyao) Dirctor-General Jhang Yunhui has said that the theme of this festival is “five historic kilns and five painters".
Extra: Is it me, or is there a little trend going on of those people rounded up along with former president Chen in a 'crack down on corruption' finding that the cases against them weren't so airtight after all? Could it be that the slew of prosecutions against Chen and his associates may have been motivated by something other than combating crime and cleaning politics?
Meanwhile, yet another pan-blue politician has lost his seat to vote-buying. Lin Cheng-er, the only remaining Legislator for James Soong's People First Party (Taoyuan district), lost his seat Tuesday as the Taiwan High Court declared his election invalid. Lin was a member of the KMT legislative caucus, which will be reduced to 74 seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan after his departure. I don't expect the DPP to win the by-election but this news is not going to please KMT election maverik King who must be praying for local factions and pan blue politicians to stop getting caught before the KMT end up losing 3 or maybe 4 mayoral elections.
A little thought: Would it make more sense for the DPP to throw all their effort into winning as many mayor-ships and legislative seats as possible rather than spend valuable cash trying to win the presidency? If Ma gets reelected, something China will surely try their best to manifest, he would be a lame duck without a legislative majority and surrounded by mayors run by the opposition. Better than the DPP winning another presidency only to be scuppered by another KMT legislative / mayoral majority?
In the first, Changhua farmers are set to protest against being forced to sell their land to allow the construction of a road for the a new science park.
In the second, now utterly discredited KMT Miaoli Magistrate Liu Cheng-hung is under suspicion of profiting illegally from land speculation and avoiding taxes top pay off family debt. Interestingly, his house is in the area of the proposed HSR Miaoli station in which priceless historic pottery kilns were destroyed extra-legally, thus eradicating a superb potential tourist revenue generator. That destruction was also quite politically sensitive at the time. Never mind that the kilns were an important part of Hakka culture in the area and featured in the 2004 Kilns and More Kilns Art Festival—Miaoli History of Ceramic Kilns and Modern Art Exhibition in which "The Kiln Culture Civic Center, Classroom and Theater (Huataoyao) Dirctor-General Jhang Yunhui has said that the theme of this festival is “five historic kilns and five painters".
Extra: Is it me, or is there a little trend going on of those people rounded up along with former president Chen in a 'crack down on corruption' finding that the cases against them weren't so airtight after all? Could it be that the slew of prosecutions against Chen and his associates may have been motivated by something other than combating crime and cleaning politics?
Meanwhile, yet another pan-blue politician has lost his seat to vote-buying. Lin Cheng-er, the only remaining Legislator for James Soong's People First Party (Taoyuan district), lost his seat Tuesday as the Taiwan High Court declared his election invalid. Lin was a member of the KMT legislative caucus, which will be reduced to 74 seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan after his departure. I don't expect the DPP to win the by-election but this news is not going to please KMT election maverik King who must be praying for local factions and pan blue politicians to stop getting caught before the KMT end up losing 3 or maybe 4 mayoral elections.
A little thought: Would it make more sense for the DPP to throw all their effort into winning as many mayor-ships and legislative seats as possible rather than spend valuable cash trying to win the presidency? If Ma gets reelected, something China will surely try their best to manifest, he would be a lame duck without a legislative majority and surrounded by mayors run by the opposition. Better than the DPP winning another presidency only to be scuppered by another KMT legislative / mayoral majority?
The word 'ALLAH' on Ant Nest
I got this picture on morning patrol at Sepang Estate on 2008.. Subhanallah..
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