(no subject)

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says the US Government's announcement that Guantanamo Bay detainees will receive Geneva Convention rights is simply a reiteration of existing practice.

The Bush administration has declared the Geneva Convention will apply to all detainees in military custody.

Mr Downer says to the best of his knowledge the US has always adhered to the convention in the treatment of Guantamo Bay detainees.

There really are two choices here. Either:

Downer thinks everyone else is unbelievably stupid; or
Downer himself shouldn't be allowed outside without a handler to stop him trying to eat sticks.

You choose.

As far as I'm aware, the US government has previously explicitly stated that they consider the Geneva conventions "quaint" and merely "guidelines" for people who they claim are terrorists, such as David Hicks. Did Downer not see that memo? Oh... wait. This is the same department of Foreign Affairs that completely failed to mention the whole AWB-bribing-Saddam thing, apparently. So possibly he didn't see the memo. Or maybe it used big words and he didn't understand it. Perhaps DFAT could deliver ministerial memos in picture book form for him?

And remember, Downer still thinks that he might have a chance of being Prime Minister one day. Aside from the problem that no-one in Australia will vote for a private school prefect from Adelaide called Alexander, there's a basic competency issue here. To use the language of the kids - he's a fucking tard. And he thinks we're all tards, too.

(no subject)

http://programmerstools.org/node/498 - flags as infographics.

(via strangehours)