Sve za ostanak na vlasti

Keine Zeitung piše o planovima za produljenje Jadranske autoceste do Dubrovnika, i kako su Dubrovčani protiv toga (oni bi da im gosti dolaze čarterima ako već ne vlastitim avionima, a još bolje da pošalju novce iz Zagreba ili veće daljine; most preko Rijeke Dubrovačke im ipak dobro dođe za šoping u Neumu - neće valjda plaćati PDV!). KZ dalje nastavlje da vladajuća garnitura gradi ceste iz političkih razloga. Pretpostavljam da je tako i sa smanjenjem nezaposlenosti, povećanjem industrijske proizvodnje, poboljšanjem kupovne moći.... Prokleti političari, sve će učiniti da ostanu na vlasti!

Mafiozi svih zemalja

Nedavno smo čuli da je jedan od sudionika u atentatu na premijera Srbije i Crne Gore (ili kako se to već sad zove) Đinđića imao hrvatsku putovnicu, jednu od oko 930 "nestalih" iz našeg konzulata u Mostaru. Zašto me to ne čudi?

Rad!?

Čini se da je nadbiskupu Bozaniću, nekim sindikalnim "čelnicima" i drugim ovisnicima o tuđem radu nesvatljivo da ima ljudi koji doista rade tokom tjedna (g. Bozaniću je također, čini se, strana ideja da je Hrvatska sekularna demokracija kojoj se trenutni poglavar zove Mesić, a ne Wojtyla). Keine Zeitung je nedavno posvetio gotovo cijelu treću stranicu peticiji koju su pokrenuli spomenuti, a kojom se od vlade traži zabranu rada nedjeljom (na svoj uobičajeno nesuvisli način KZ donosi "anketu" iz koje se ne vidi ništa, osim da građani kupuju nedjeljom i da su glavna meta akcije veliki maloprodajni lanci, tj. oni s najbolje uređenim radnim odnosima, najnižim cijenama i najboljom ponudom).

Ja kupujem gotovo svake nedjelje, najčešće u dva velika supermarketa i nekoliko malih "dućana na ćošku", uglavnom zato što preko tjedna ne stignem. Ne znam (a čini se, ne znaju ni organizatori peticije) provjera li dovoljno nadležna inspekcija jesu li radnici za svoj rad plaćeni prema zakonu i kolektivnom ugovoru, imaju li odgovarajuće slobodne dane i sl, ali to ne znam ni za rad, recimo, četvrtkom u podne. Meni su mali dućani dragi i često odem u nekog od njih i kad je u susjednom supermarketu roba nešto jeftinija, ali, shvatit ćete, od interesa trgovaca, velikih i malih, važniji mi je interes potrošača, tj. mene.

Ako predlagačima glavni motiv nije briga za korektno plaćanje radnika, nego za pridržavanje kršćanskih običaja, što ćemo sa židovskom subotom i muslimanskim petkom? Ponavljam, u Hrvatskoj je vjera odvojena od države i, bar prema Ustavu, nijedna nema privilegirani položaj (premda rimska Katolička crkva (Darko, kako tu idu velika slova?) stvarno jest privilegirana, protiv moje volje). Nemam, dakako, ništa protiv da nadbiskup Bozanić apelira ili čak traži od svoga stada da nedjeljom ide samo u crkvu, ali neka, molim lijepo, u to ne petlja moju državu.

Family Values

I recently found this article on Bush administration health information policy that is (policy, not article) either formulated by utter morons or intended to facilitate spread of AIDS and other STDs, teenage pregnancies and abortions. While this is something to be expected by Dubya and his handlers, the source of the article is surprising: CONSCIENCE, A Newsjournal of Catholic Opinion. I would certainly be glad to find similar open-minded publication by Croatian Catholics, but I am not holding my breath....

CRM SW Makes Great Strides

It was my bithday a few days ago. More then half of cards in my mailbox and SMS messages waking me up in the middle of the night with congratulations are from my cell phone operator, bank, insurer, the guys from whom I bought my car....

(Note to myself: I must stop using my GSM phone as alarm clock, so that I can switch it off at night.)

Bad News All Over (but we expected them, didn't we?)

In Israel/Palestine fanatical Moslem suicide bombers (whose victims are mostly those who have nothing to do with Israeli occupation forces except perhaps by voting for Mr. Sharon) and IDF 'surgical strike' helicopters, bulldozers and demolition squads (who also mostly target civilians and an occasional Western peace activist) are joined by an oldfashioned Jewish terrorist group.

India borrows from US book: Defence Minister George Fernandes said he endorsed Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha's recent comments that India had "a much better case to go for pre-emptive action against Pakistan than the United States has in Iraq."

US occupation troops in Iraq seem to guard only weapons caches and oil production facilities and infrastructure need to operate them (like power plants). Meanwhile, looters have moved from palaces and villas to government offices, shops, museums, schools and hospitals. The Fourth Geneva Convention makes it responsibility of occupying power to ensure some resemblance of normal life to civilian population under its control. See here for a particularly vitriolic view on how 'The Coalition of Willing' is faring in sticking to the Convention.
In the meantime, Secretary Powell repeats 'warnings' to Syria (and handwaving about missing WMD), while infighting within southern Iraqi Shiite community continues.

US administration keeps busy trying to strip Americans of as much of their civil liberties as they can get away with (see here, here, here....).

Is It Vietnam Yet?

Although I stole this title from a cartoon by Slate's political cartoonist Daryl Cagle, there is nothing to laugh about. GWII is transforming from a three-day cakewalk to another Vietnam, one bridge at a time (an article by Mark Franchetti of The Times; not for faint of heart or stomach). Everybody except Cheney/Wolfowitz/Perle cabal and their imbecile puppet expected (or at least feared) that, of course, but there is little satisfaction in 'I told you so' at the price like this.

If I happened to be religious, I would say 'God help us all!'.