The end of the world?   © PJ Croft 2017

When I heard Malcolm Turnbull’s comment on President Dump’s executive order banning entry to the USA for those seven countries, my immediate thought was, “You weasel. You watery apology for an Australian prime minister.”

The whole world is standing up in protest against this foolish, mean order, yet you say we don’t comment on other countries’ affairs. Yes we do! We protested to Japan over their illegal whaling. We told China to respect the ruling of the Hague about China’s annexation and militarisation of the South China Sea islands. We criticised Russia over the shooting down of the Malaysian aircraft over Ukraine.

But when big Daddy USA and big Republican (ie conservative) president Donald does something, we run and hide in case he thinks we don’t support him, and he might not help us when we need it.

This damnable Liberal-National Party government. Bloody cowards. Torturers, child abusers, offenders against international law. They have trashed Australia’s good name. Canada is now the light on the hill.

____________________

Incredible. The Dump has only been in power for less than two weeks and already he’s brought the USA into international disrepute. This ban on Muslims will enrage the militants and increase the danger of terrorism.

He’s actually just continuing a long line of US atrocities. This from an article in The Guardian today:

In the period following the devastating 9/11 attacks, the US committed a number of acts that damaged the country’s global standing. They include

• the invasion of Iraq that was justified by the false claim that Saddam Hussein possessed an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction that endangered the US;
• the water-boarding, wall-slamming and other abuses of detainees from many countries at CIA “black sites”;  [i.e. torture PJC]
  
• the extremely prolonged detentions without charges or trial at Guantánamo;
• the poor administration of occupied Iraq that allowed the country to descend into chaos and helped to spawn terrorist movements in the region;
• and the torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib.

To that list I would add the drone bombing of terrorist sites in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, which has killed many innocent civilians; the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and the maiming and injury of hundreds of thousands more; and the forced displacement of millions of war refugees in the Middle East.

What a great record!

There’s an article in the Washington Post today written by Mikhail Gorbachev, who warns that with Trump and Putin in total power, we are in new danger of a world war, World War 3, and I think there’s no doubt it would go nuclear.

All this just in Dump’s first two weeks! What’s it going to be like after two months, or two years? This is frightening.

__________________

What strange weather. It started raining on Sunday night and it’s hardly stopped since. I could hear it during my period of wakefulness around 3am this morning, and it’s still raining now, at midday Tuesday. I heard yesterday was, at 24C, the coolest January day in ten years or something like that. My fingers are quite cold now.

I’ve had clothes out on the line since Sunday – forgot to bring ’em in. Too bad, they’ve had a wonderful rainwater rinse, and when they do get dry, they’re like they’ve been ironed.

_________________

I did 15 mins non-stop on the treadmill this morning, the last five minutes at slope 3. This thing is working. I’m finding it easier to do, and my walking in general feels easier these days. Bagus. I quite enjoy the treadmill, as well, watching the news on TV as I walk.

__________________

I continue to be crapped off with my Sony phone. It was only a $230 “cheapie”, and that’s the way it performs, cheaply.

OnePlus 3  – gee, it’s different, isn’t it?

I’ve decided on a replacement, the OnePlus Three. It wins top spot for mid-price smart phones, giving most of the performance of the top models at half the price, apparently. I think I’ll order it right now. My review will follow after some time.