And the Hits Keep A-Coming

So, my company was just purchased by another, larger company. Here's to hoping that I don't get laid off.

Thus, time to write about some worries:

• Abbas wants Palestine's borders redrawn - This goes to show that the old adage, "give an inch, they'll take a mile" is still accurate: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday laid out his most specific demands for the borders of a future independent state, calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war." Sure, Israel took the land during the 7 Days War, thus Palestine can make claims that they want the land back, but why should they get the land back? Selfishly, how does handing back land to a terrorist-producing state help Israel, and more importantly, the U.S.A.? The whole idea of sunshine policies used with rogue states (like the engagement of S.Korea with the N.Koreans) makes me nervous.
• Another private security company makes a mistake - Sad to use this rationalization, but no human organization is ever going to be mistake-free. I'm sure the heightened fear that clouds over Iraq doesn't help US security personnel with itchy trigger fingers. Yes, it is tragic that two women lost their lives in a security mistake, but at the same time, the US contractors over in Iraq would be sitting ducks without security. One cold, cold note, in response to this: ""What is the use of the word 'sorry?'" screamed Nora Jalal, Awanis' daughter and a student at Baghdad's Technology University." What is the use of the word sorry with all the US troops who have been killed by road side bombings and cars driven into troop areas. The fact is, you live in a war zone, and there will be tragedies. I'm no fan of the false War in Iraq, but at the same time, I don't think you can scrap an institution such as security firms due to fatal errors. There may have to be greater oversight, or even better, a pull out of all US contractors along with the military, but as long as Americans are in Iraq, they need any and all measures to prevent attack from justifiably bloodthirsty Iraqis.
• The Larry Craig Saga - The worst thing about modern politics is that there is absolutely no moral standard practiced by American politicians. There is such a wide gap between acceptable moral standards for the American public, yet an utter disregard for honor and integrity by the law makers who seek to pass legislation that governs Americans. How is it that a senator who belongs to a party that seeks to legally define marriage as well as insert christian morality into federal mandates gets ensnared in a controversial gay bathroom incident, claims that he will step down from his office if he doesn't get the charge overturned, then decides that he'll stay in office even after a federal judge decided that the charge will not be overturned. There are lies upon lies mounted on the head of Senator Craig, and yet he's going to vote on issues that may have moral dilemmas and he thinks he has any ability to discern? This guy is a joke and most politicians are jokes. I think it is disgusting that the immoral in Washington seek to legislate morality to the rest of the country.
• China Internet Controls??? - Of all the things to get worried about involving Red China, the Internet censorship is the most worrisome? What about the illegal imprisonment and torture of prisoners for a sundry of reasons? My father can attest that the Chinese government (the local police are autonomous of the bureaucratic reach of the so-called liberalized state government) regularly turns a blind eye on torture of non-Chinese citizens. He's got the scars on his back to prove it. They've successfully persecuted Falun Gong, are only a few decades removed from one of the most searing images of human rights violations (Tianemen Square), and continue to wield the might of their institutionalized communism to trample over individual rights for the greater good. Not only do we reward the barbarism of China with the Olympics, but we routinely turn a blind eye unless we're affected with shitty products and poisoned food. Ridiculous.
• Business as Usual Politics: Maryland had a Republican governor who tried to pass a slots referendum. The Democrats didn't want it. Now we have a Democrat governor...who wants a slots referendum.
• Myanmar dissident dies under questioning: The thing is, people, these atrocities happen every day. Darfur happens. Burma goes on. Don't believe that the U.S. government would ever help in these events unless the U.S. has a vested interest to stop the violence. Don't believe the false concern Mr. Bush (or Mr. Clinton during the days of Sarejevo) about the situation. The real pressure to contain the strife should be democratic countries near Burma. Where's the help, Australia? What are you doing about it India? How about some help, Russia?
• Wrongly imprisoned man freed in Texas: As I said, human institutions make mistakes. We need to be more vigilant in the US. How much do you want to bet that there is a correlation between race of convict and accuracy of the forensic evidence used in trial?
• Baseball's post season: is anyone on the East Coast going to watch the NLCS? Here's hoping the Red Sox make it back to the World Series, otherwise this will go down as one of the worst rated post seasons of all time.
• Football: It used to be that Mike Vick or Donovan McNabb or someone would be the face of the NFL. The league pushed Reggie Bush to be the next face of the league. Well, how about continuing probes into Bush's college days. This doesn't bode well for Bush.