Kiwis For Obama

If New Zealanders has a say, Barack Obama would be the 44^th
president.

In a press release revealed on May 7, 2008, by UMR Research Ltd., Australasia's leading issues management research company, New Zealanders prefer Obama over Hillary Clinton, and both Democrats over Republican John McCain. According to the press release, 47 percent of New Zealanders are for Obama, 31 percent for Clinton, and 22 percent who offered no opinion. Following similar trends as in the United States, younger Kiwis are in favor of Obama, specifically those under 45 years of age. In addition, Maori and Pacific Island voters prefer Obama, while the blue collar voters prefer Clinton.

A liberal society itself, 62 percent of New Zealanders chose Obama compared to 14 percent for McCain, and 56 percent chose Clinton compared to 20 percent for McCain, with the release making special note that gender has nothing to do with the results.

On the brink of knowing who will represent the Democratic Party in the upcoming election, not only Americans are on edge wondering who will become our next president. Obama has New Zealand’s vote. Anyone know what candidate the country they researched would prefer?

A copy of the press release can be found here on Scoop, New Zealand's independent online source for covering politics: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0805/S00110.htm

$30 Million Tai-gone

After a loss of 29.8 million dollars in an attempt to get Papua New Guinea to officially recognize Taiwan, two senior officials of the Taiwanese government have resigned, according to this CNN article.

The two officials, Foreign Minister James Huang and Deputy Premier Chiou I-jen, resigned their positions after the million dollar attempt to have New Guinea favor Taiwan instead of China failed.

Foreign minister James Huang

Apparently, Both Taiwan and China have been struggling to win the backing of potential allies, and the $30 million to New Guinea was just another ploy to make a foreign fiend.

The money was supposed to be used as economic aid for Papua New Guinea under the condition that it would recognize Taiwan over long time rival China.

The plan was eventually dropped after only a few month when it became apparent that New Guinea was not going to recognize Taiwan's diplomacy over Beijing's.

Unfortunately, one of the middlemen assigned to the task of creating ties between Taiwan and New Guinea apparently disappeared along with the $30 peace offering.

Who knew it was that easy to make $30 million? All you have to do is get in the middle of two feuding nations who are desperate for friends. Sounds easy enough to me.

One thing I do know is that after reading this article, I'm changing my major from journalism to Middleman.

Myanmar bans foreign journalists after cyclone

The official death count estimate from a cyclone that hit Myanmar Saturday has risen to 22,500, and may continue to rise as millions have lost homes, according to the NY Times today.

41,000 people are still missing after Cyclone Nargis struck Yangon, Myanmar's main city. The cyclone struck just days before residents were set to vote on a new draft constitution. Voting has been delayed in Yangon, but will continue as planned outside of the Irrawaddy Delta area. The new constitution would strengthen the military's grip on power.

But locals report that the government response to the crisis has been slow. They say it lies in contrast to the speedy response a few months ago when police swept in to immediately stifle a non-violent uprising led by monks, where 31 were killed. Monks, on the other hand, have been seen in villages all over the area, cleaning up debris.

Just like after the riots over the protests, foreign journalists have been banned from Myanmar. The military junta favors a tight control over all media, and have put out a ban on all "unofficial" news -- that is, all news not coming from state-controlled radio.

Myanmar is accepting international relief, and the UN and China have both pledged to provide the ailing nation with food. But the disaster and the slow response of government officials have left the citizens angry and grim, according to reports.

Letting in aid programs is an important step for a nation like Myanmar. (Just think, what would happen if North Korea were hit with a disaster like this; would they allow foreign aid? And would anyone offer it?) But with the lackluster performance of their own government in providing relief, can officials really hope to get their constitution passed? If the people of Myanmar want a change to the shabby treatment they've been given in 2008, they have to reject the prospect of more government control. An important step in sparking the change -- let foreign journalists and "unofficial" news reports tell the citizens what is actually going on.

Morocco Blocks Al Jazeera

As of today, a news program from Al Jazeera TV has been banned by Moroccan broadcast media. Moroccan authorities gave no reason for the ban, and Al Jazeera TV seems to be equally as puzzled.

However, in my opinion and based on my own research of Moroccan media, this news program probably has potential to be critical of the Moroccan government. The government typically is extremely fearful of any criticism against their government, especially issues concerning Morocco's handling of the Western Sahara territory. Al Jazeera is known for its blunt and opinionated programs, typically featuring opposing sides arguing over an issue. This is not the first time Morocco has blocked a program from Al Jazeera. Although they can continue with these practices, I don't think they can block their citizens from seeing other points of views forever, especially with the rise of the Internet.

Scottish Referendum

BBC reported Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Labour party leader, may try to hurry a public vote on independence. However about a month ago, Alexander was opposed to even the option of independence from Britain.

The Scottish National Party (SNP), a political party that fights for Scottish independence, initiated the bill that was planned for 2010. Alexander's actions were called "erratic" and "extreme" by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a member of the SNP.

She received criticism from both the SNP and the Unionist Party. The SNP believes rushing the bill might hurt the campaign for independence, especially since current polls show only 40% of Scots in favor. The Unionist party wants Scotland to remain part of Britain, and therefore is opposed to the mere possibility of independence.

The Scottish Act of 1998, Tony Blair's plan for Scottish devolution, allowed the country to found its own parliament. However the plan didn't outline media freedom, which is currently centralized in Westminster. Thus, Scottish media is regulated by Britain and much of the content reflects Unionist and British opinions. 

This article for instance, written in Britain for primarily Scots, expresses the impossibility of Scottish independence, and criticizes Alexander's actions through selective quotations.

Scottish Referendum

Interpol releases pictures of pedophile

Interpol has released pictures of a man, who has been in over 100 photographs sexually abusing boys, in an attempt to discover his identity. The three boys featured are between six and ten years old.

This is the second time Interpol has publicly released pictures of a pedophile to learn his identity, previously successfully locating Christopher Neil who appeared in more than 200 acts of sex with children.

Should Interpol be able to use the media as a tool to apprehend criminals? Or since the press' main function is to serve and inform the public, is it doing so by cooperating with police?

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