The Pencil Guy: Hourann's illogical blog

Some Timor links, take two

While I procrastinate, here’s an extra post on Timor-Leste. Even more bloggers are discussing the need to help in nation-building and the power struggles that were created after 1999, so maybe a consensus is developing that the root of the problem is poor handling of just about everything since independence. One blog even ponders whether the Timorese would have been better off sticking with the Indonesians, though I think the answer is ‘no’.

There’s also quite a bit of flak being thrown at the UN, particularly from over America way, because of their involvement in getting several Timorese police officers killed (see yesterday’s rather gruesome West Australian cover). Although I’m generally a UN supporter, the last person I spoke to who’d been to Dili did agree that the UN didn’t seem to be achieving much.

Over in Kiwi-land, debate centres on just what their troops are doing in Timor. My guess is the Clark government wanted to answer the Timorese call for help, which went out to Australia and NZ because we’re the local ‘Westerners’, as it were. By contrast, check out this view from the Philippines which reckons that country isn’t taking enough interest in the situation.

Also, more blogging from the streets of Dili can be found at Tumbleweed, Lookingglass View, and Dili-Dallying.

  1. Well you certainly found two of the most infantile isolationist its-not-my-problem-make-the-nasty-world-go-away-mummy assholes in New Zealand to link to for that one didn’t you.

    Peter Cresswell getting all fainty and suffering the vapors over Viet Nam agin (shit that NEVER gets old)seemingly an expert on modern low level warfare as all architects are these days and Elliot the Idiot who just plain hates the military and clearly hasn’t got the slightest fucking idea about the comparative skills and arms between professional kiwi soldiers and rebel militia.

    Clearly neither of these two ever considered putting anything or anyone ahead of themselves. Possible single child rasied and bottle fed till they were five although Elliot still seems to be in nappies as he just wet them.

    I’ve explained our presence here.

    I had to keep it simple for the learning impaired.

  2. Fair enough, I’ll give you that. But other than your posts, I couldn’t find much else on Timor coming out of blogs in NZ …!

  3. Yeah slack bunch of useless types.

    They’ll be all over me by this time tomorrow using the popular attack the messenger method of defending themselves that our socialist government has conditioned them to.

    Stick to SR for less fluffy comentary.

  4. I agree with Murray, those blogs are a complete misrepresentation of NZ public opinion. I’m a student, so the people I talk with are probably more left-wing and anti-military than average, and I’ve seen nothing but support for New Zealand’s intervention. There’s hardly any online debate or dissent because most people think the government is doing the right thing.

  5. [...] The last week has been better than usual for the orphanage kids, driven in no small way by recent unfortunate events. With Dili on fire through civil unrest, and Australian and NZ soldiers once again walking the streets, interest has been on the rise for anything Timor-related on the web. That includes the kids at Gleno…. [...]

Care to leave a comment?