Saturday June 26: United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

The ad caught my attention simply through the conviction of the words of the victim: "I was gagged. Electrodes were inserted in my v@gin@. They told me to raise my finger when I was ready to speak". When I read the ad in its entirety, I was so shocked by the various testimonies. Stories of torture through beatings, rape, electrocution, stress positions, being put into a room with a dead person, being threatened with dogs. That kind of stuff makes me sick. These are stories of people from around the world. It kinda makes you think of what happened at the Abu Graib Prison in Iraq. Any form of torture is a violation of human rights , something that the U.S government has yet to learn. Awareness of these issues is important to us all. Human beings should not be subject to this kind of treatment.

On a different note, I don't think there is a doubt now that the abuse at Abu Graib prison was ordered from the very top and was systematic abuse designed to elicit info/break the will of prisoners. More info is coming out now that Donald Rumsfeld ordered these torture tactics and that the Australian government knew what was going on. The Geneva conventions relating to prisoners of war and the rights of human beings are to be respected, especially in times of war.

The influence of NGO's

I read this very interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Gregory Hywood a fews ago regarding the role of NGO's (non-governmental organisations). The article was pretty negative, pointing out that NGO's have evolved to the point that in some instances that their lobbying power is so great that they are able to influence government policy. The power bases of these groups mean that political parties have to deal with them and appease them if they want to get certain legislation through. Furthermore, these organisations only represent small segments of society and not the views of the community at large. By keeping these NGO parties onside, the political parties are ignoring the interests of greater society.

The writer argues that greater transparency is needed as to the role that NGO's play in shaping government policy and the dicussions that they have with them. I understand the need for greater disclosure and agree with this suggestion as this can only help in the democratic process. Openness, representative government, transparency, equality, and freedom are the basic building blocks of democracy. By improving the transparency, the public can see what is going on behind the scenes and the process can be scrutinzed. However such moves are unlikely to happen. Why?

Because there is a lot more power broking and secret deals that go on in Parliament that just with NGO's. The influence of the rich and the mega corporations also grease the wheels of government. The response by Andrew McCallum "NGO's deserve a voice" in the letters section accuarately points this out. NGO's do serve a vital role in giving a voice to those that may not otherwise be heard. Of course too much power in any arena can be abused, and we should welcome suggestions to make the exercise of political lobbying more transpareny.

Will this happen? I don't think so because NGO's aren't the only powerbrokers on the block. If you increase the disclosure of the role of NGO in public policy making, you have to increase the disclosure of corporations and influential individuals (eg. wealthy/powerful) as well. Frankly, I just dont see this happening.

Super size me !!

Just saw the documentary "super size me" by Morgan Spurlock. Have to say its a great feature film/doco that exposes a lot and shocks you about maccas's and fast food.

In case you weren't aware, the movie is an experiment by Spurlock about the effects of eating Macca's for 30 days. He eats everything on the golden arches menu, and only that for a month. The effects are shocking, besides getting sick he experiences a weight gain of 25 pounds (equivalent to 11 Kilos) , mood swings stemming from an addiction to the food, high cholestorol levels and reduced sex drive.

Throughout the 30 days where we watch him eat, the movie is interwoven with facts about obesity, comments from the various doctors that are monitoring his health, the junkfood that kids are eating at school canteens, and the big business dollars/lobbying that are driving kids into fastfood and other junkfood. Further comments from authority figures/academics/experts are added into the film and gives it a nice balance.

I have to say that I stay glued to the action the majority of the time - even where he vomited after eating too much. After seeing the film, I am very reluctant to eat fast food now and if given a choice between healthy food and fast food, I think I'd take the healthy option.

The film is hilarious yet also serious, a good balance to keep you engrossed - the stupid jokes and corny humour by Spurlock do add a lighter mood to the story.

All up though, I'm not sure if I agree with people suing macca's for making them become obese. What you eat is your choice. Advertisements and marketing strategies do target and influence people, however at the end of the day the customer makes the choice to consume the product. Everyone knows that eating fastfood is't good for your health and you don't need a documentary to tell you that. Should these corporations accept more responsibility for their actions? Should they warn people that consumption is dangerous to your health? Maybe greater warning is required - as in greater disclosure of nutritonal information at the stores. Ultimately at the end of the day, the consumer has to bear the cost of choosing to eat fast food.

I'm still a bit skeptical about some of the aspects of the experiment - such as some of the effects he experienced and I felt he did play up a bit for the cameras, however I'm not suprised that he felt so terrible after eating so much Macca's. Sometimes after eating fastfood, I feel pretty lethargic and just don't feel to well in general. So why do we keep eating it? Because it's convenient, cheap, taste good, and has good marketing which attracts us to the food. BTW I think eating fastfood every now and then is ok -once a week or a fortnight, combined with regular exercise.

Movie rating - I'd give it thumbs up, 9 out of 10. Definetly something that kids should watch to show them about the effects of eating junk food.

NBA draft
Dwight Howard goes #1! wow that's telling u something - either the magic think Emeka has problems with his back (and are scared off and don't want another grant hill) or that they see real potential in dwight howard. On a side note, Dwight and Emeka thanked God for their selections and mentioned how God would guide them in their future careers. It's good to see these guys professing their faith in the public arena , cause I knew that Dwight was a devout Christian and there has been a bit of publicity about that but I didn't know that Emeka was a believer too.

Today's NBA draft reflects a growing trend of potential and upside. General Managers don't want to miss out on the next Kobe/KG/T-mac/JO and are willing to pick a kid who's 18/19 or is a foreigner with the view that down the line this kid can be an impact player in 3-4 years. I'm not sure if I'm down with this trend, cause i believe that the majority of these guys could vastly improve their game and fundamentals if they went to college.

On the other hand, I don't think we can deny these guys the right to play in the nba because they are young or haven't been to college. If you look at other sports, there are many superstar teenage athletes, like Martina Hingis/Ian Thorpe/Shahid Afridi/Anna Kournikova. The youngest age of many of these guys in the nba draft are 18, and at that age you can choose what you want to do with your life. They have the mental capacity to their own decisions - they can choose to join the armed forces, attend college, enter the workforce, and so on. Entering the NBA is basically a career choice for these guys and an easy one at that when the NBA throws millions of dollars at potential athletic ability.

Basketball news and rumors

T-Mac/Juwan Howard/Reece Gaines to the Rockets for Francis/Cato/Mobley? I think this deal is good for both teams. T-Mac wants out of the Orlando in the worst way - who can blame him when the team record is 21-61, and your teammates are Tyron Lue/Howard/Gooden/injured Grant Hill/Keith Bogans/Pachulia. The problem is T-Mac wants to win now however top management at Orlando want to go through a rebuilding phase. With what orlando has now, I don't think they can make the playoffs next season and if they did they wouldn't advance past the first round. They just don't have the team chemistry clicking and they are too weak in the middle. Furthermore, and more importantly Orlando doesn't want to lose him to free agency next season and have him walk away with nothing to show for it (ala Shaq in '96 to Lakers). Dealing him now is the right move. T-Mac gives his all for the magic, no doubt - recall his 61 points last season and is a spectacular player. However, I think another factor for this trade is his attitude - his reluctance to attend practice, whinging that he would retire mid season, trying to call the shots on who they should draft, etc....

I think bringing in new faces is good for the magic - they need a change in attitude and more depth and new personnel. Adding Francis/Mobley/Cato along with Emeka Okafor (with the first pick) along with Pat Garrity,Gooden,Tyron lue (as a backup to francis) should given them a decent starting 5. Who I really like in this trade is Cato - who has been dimissed by many in this trade. Orlando needs some toughness in the middle - Howard and Gooden weren't getting it done. Combine Cato with Okafor and there are gonna be a lot blocked shots, rebounds grabbed, and an intimidation factor. However the down side is that not a lot of points are gonna be scored in the post. Without Yao in the middle calling for touches, Francis and the Cat are gonna be given the go ahead to put up a ton of shots. If Orlando adds a couple of decent free agent reserves, I think they can be back in the playoffs this season.

For the Rockets, Francis wasn't getting it done. Sure he changed his game to suit the defensive minded Van Gundy, but you've got to get the ball to Yao. The offense has got to revolve around Yao Ming and Franchise couldn't cope with that. Francis and Mobley were taking the majority of the shots in their offense and at times were ignoring Yao. I don't see Francis defeering to Yao. Similary, I'm not sure if T-Mac is gonna defer to Yao either. However, 1-2 combo of Yao and T-Mac is much more of a threat than last season's lineup. It kinda reminds me of Kobe - Shaq, however Yao is not at the stage where he is as dominant as Shaq.

However all the above trade rumor could be blown apart if Orlando decides to veto the trade and deal with Suns/Pacers. Both offers are attractive but i'd deal with the pacers for potentally ron artest/al harrington/bender.

What's happening to the USA basketball team? It seems that Rip and Ben Wallace have declined invitations to join the team and Carmello Anthony has been added. I don't agree with Melo joining the team simply that they need a shooter like Rip to combat the zone defense which is going to be employed by the majority of teams. They should have added Michael Redd, who is an excellent outside shooter and can heat up in a hurry.

As the team currently stands they have the following guys:
- guards - Marbury, Iverson, Lebron, Dwyane Wade
- forwards - Duncan, Stoudemire, Matrix, Jefferson, Carmello, Boozer, Lamar Odom
- centers - none

Team USA doesn't have a center right now although sources indicate that Okafor has been added to the team.

The team should have added Michael Redd and Brad Miller (to play center). Brad Miller was having a killer first half of the season and is a versatile big man that would have added some interior toughness to the team.

Second day of the holidays

Random points of the day:

How much does it cost to have a car these days? My family has spent several thousand dollars in the last few days getting greenslip insurance with the NRMA, pink slip, car rego, and on car service. Cars are expensive stuff, kinda makes you appreciate public transport a bit more! Very cheap, not always on time or dependable (especially the trains),slightly more environmentally friendly.

Going out with some uni frens tonite cause Gene is going to Europe for 3-4 months after finishing her studies. She'll have the time of her life. Have to admit i'm a little jealous cause i'll be stuck at uni studying PLT (professional legal training) for the next 6 months while she's shopping in France, eating sausages in germany, skiing on the slopes in Switzerland, meeting new people and just having a cool time. Hope you have a safe and fun trip Gene!

Also just checked out what Caroline's been up to, on her one year exchange in italy as well as Hoi's photo on his 2 week exchange to Japan. Going on exchange study seems like great fun. Being immersed in another culture, learning a new language and meeting students from other parts of the world is definetly something worth doing if you get the chance. On a related note, I recently I read this article in the Sydney Morning Herald saying how Harvard University believes that students need to experience some sort of international exchange/work experience/volunteer work overseas for a short period of time to complement their studies. As we are living in a global society, I think it is important for young people to learn about different cultures, societies, meet people from various background to develop ourselves personally and to get out of our comfort zone.

These kind of experiences have great benefits to not only the individual that goes overseas, but also to the community at large. After all, your assisting different societies to meld together and bringing back knowledge/experiences of other cultures which you can share with other people.

Plans for weblog

Not exactly sure what I am going to put on this website, but I wanted a medium/forum to express my views, frustrations, opinons, insights about the world around me. Also, I figure it be useful for friends/family to see what I am up to these days, especially those that I don't see that often. Other motivators for setting up this website was because a couple of my frens have weblogs too, and it's interesting to see what they are up to (hopefully you'll find this interesting too! lol)

Right now, I've just finished my exams (what a relief) and don't have any real plans at the moment. Couple of things spring into mind like helping my parents out doing odd jobs, planning a trip with Tim and Ashby to the blue mountains, another trip with Dawen to Melbourne perhaps ?. But right now, the only thing on my mind is basically to chill out and just get some r&r after going through another grueling exam period. Definetly planning to catch up with frens and to play a lot of basketball!

Ediary Launch!

Wow, finally after several years of thinking about using a weblog, i've done it! I've made the effort (albit very minimal effort required) to set it up.