The Papers

So many interesting stuff is reported in the daily newspapers these days that you can be forgiven in mistaking them for tabloids. Some of the more sensational/controversial issues are as follows:

1. If you read the preceding post, you will know that we recently had an issue where a man was hoarding dogs. 'Every action brings a reaction' or so does the saying goes. To this action, the local authorities' reaction was to force their way into the man's property and to shoot his dogs. Well, everyone agrees that the owner of these dogs was going a bit too far with his liking for dogs, however, does the local authority really need to go about shooting people's pets in their own compound without exploring other avenues of redress? Hmm... Fishtail brought up quite a dramatic but ironic analogy. If a person's own neighbour is a nuisance can he be shot? The answer is RIGHTLY NO. BUT, that nuisance can be and should be abated either through some form of injunction (restrain) or fine to the perpetrator. It seems the only reason the authorities were so trigger happy was because it involved animals rather then human beings. In that case, we can see the relevance of this dismissive attitude towards animal welfare when we read about cases where people shoot other human beings when the victim of this shooting is mistaken for an animal. If you think something is moving in the bush, it must be a PIG...SHOOT IT. If you see something moving among the trees....SHOOT IT..It must be a MONKEY. Well, perhaps the shooters were not that wrong. They did shoot an animal afterall!

2. Another interesting issue brewing is the longstanding fiasco between an MP and the Customs and Excise Department (CE). CE claims that the MP asked them to 'close one eye' to a logging transaction. In return, the MP retaliates by saying that the CE has problems with confiscated vehicles by alleging that he was not given a MERCEDES for purchase. To this answer, the CE mitigates that although the MP was NOT given a car with a model of his description, he was still offered another Benz nonetheless. EVERYTHING SOLVED??

-->HANG ON...WAIT A MINUTE....ARE WE FOOLS HERE? WHY IN THE WORLD DOES THE MP DESERVE TO BE OFFERED A BENZ IN THE FIRST PLACE? IS HE GIVEN THIS OFFER FOR HIS SERVICE TO COMMUNITY?

-->INTERESTINLY, THE CE SEEMS SO HAPPY TO OFFER HIM ANOTHER BENZ AS THOUGH IT WAS HIS BIRTHRIGHT AS AN MP.

Damn, I don't want to be a lawyer anymore. Let's all be an MP.

3. The World Cup brought much joy to some fans (mainly Italian) and much agony (the rest of the world) to others. However, while we were treated to the sublime skills of Zinedine Zidane (Zizou) for the last time, the final will probably be remembered for Zizou's ferocious headbutt and Materazzi groaning on the floor then Zizou's exquisite penalty chip.Zizou allege that Materazzi is the villain by insulting his mother and his sister. At this moment, it is being speculated that Zizou was called a 'terrorist' while his mother and/or sister was referred to as a 'whore'. So who is the bigger villain? Zizou who headbutted and physically injured the rather bad guy looking Materazzi or Materazzi himself who was the agent provocateur of the fracas? While I agree that Zizou was correctly sent off (although he really should have done better with controlling his volatile temper), I feel Materazzi should not escape unpunished. If you walk on the street and someone spits at you, how will you react? If someone insults your family, how will you react? I remember not so long ago a law student getting killed because he got involved in a fight with people who teased his girlfriend! Of course, the person who responds is not entirely innocent but then the percent who is the cause of the problem must be punished as well or he will forever be out to instigate some new problem!