Refugees or Just Illegal Migrants

How any country deals with asylum seekers is a hot topic that arouses the righteous across both sides of the political fence. In the battle over border protection, our political leaders offer up quick fixes, stunts and slogans to prove that they are “right”.  This is a debate that splits a country.

On the one hand, we want to be compassionate and look after those who cannot look after themselves. On the other hand, we are perceived by many to be a soft touch. Is it fair that a group of people can land itself on a country with no papers and no money and expect to be granted permanent residency in a country whilst many others “do the right thing” and make sure that they apply for migration properly. Then when they arrive, they get a job and contribute their skills to their new country.

The boat refugees to Australia has certainly made this a hot topic for the forthcoming election.  On a personal note, I would have to question why some of these illegal boat refugees throw their paperwork overboard so that their identity cannot be proved. Do they have something to hide?  Tony Abbott’s suggestion of “no paperwork, no visa” would certainly put an end to this!

Another question – if these refugees are so desperate to leave their homeland because of persecution, why is it that when they arrive they insist that their host country must now conform to THEIR rules. As a migrant myself, my desire was to integrate into the way of life of my host country as quickly as is possible – to my mind, if I didn’t wish to integrate then I should not have migrated!

President Obama and Internet Censorship

The “Internet Kill Switch” bill, or its official name The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act in America moves to the floor after it was approved by a key Senate Committee yesterday. Under the guise of national security (and we’ve all heard this from China before), the US government is proposing to hand President Obama the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight! What it means is that President Obama would have absolute power to close down networks, and block incoming Internet traffic from certain countries under a declared national emergency.

I don’t know about you – but this smells of Big Brother wanting to curb freedom of speech. After all, it was the Internet that helped President get elected to the Presidency. It was the independent news portal Malaysia Today and the Malaysian government’s inability to control the Internet that helped the Opposition party break the UMNO stronghold in Malaysia. For more information on this, check out Prison Planet.

Many of domains are now hosted in USA. Should we be worried … ??

Yes Prime Minister

History was made in Australia today … Today Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia’s first female Prime Minister in a quick coup. What can we expect? The issues that brought down Kevin Rudd remains to be addressed – boat refugees, emissions trading system, the infamous mining super profits tax … to name but just a few.  It will no doubt affect every single Australian as policies are changed (or not) in terms of income tax, government welfare benefits, work choices, etc.  I’ll leave the politics to the political commentators.

What is fascinating to note is the obsession that some reporters appear to have with regard to Julia Gillard’s hair and fashion sense … Shouldn’t the focus be on her abilities and leadership rather than her hairstyle and dress sense? Would we have the same attention paid to this if Australia’s new Prime Minister is a man?? I’ll leave you to ponder that one!