THE FUTURE
The Future Wall Five Dot Com
Things trailed away, the paths not taken. They were bold and they were deformed, shrieking in the dark past and bursting through tunnels into the present day. He lamented things he had not done. He couldn't believe the stupidity that sometimes overtook normal things. The gaps in the hours, the days. The liquid treacle that dripped from one place to another. The future and the past. Things that weren't contained. Thinking that wasn't done. Friends that were no longer there. Trailed away, trailed away, that's how it was.
We blanched over distant canals, leaped over them as if they were bush creeks, held a certain dread at both waking and sleeping, couldn't be seen for what we were, crushed, think of kindness and it will not be there, think of focus and it will have vanished, crush me through the domain of the soldier, the camera eyes that had largely disappeared, the exasperation that was upon him. Yes, the Thais lied. What did you expect?
In their nature, the old saying went, just as the Royal Thai Tourist Policeman who subsequently ripped him off had also declared, when he asked, why do they always steal from you? I don't know. It's in their nature. The only solution is short time rooms. I can show you some nice ones.
Michael didn't like short time rooms, cranking air conditioning, knowing staff. And so he let it slide; just for now. Five dollars for three hours. Phnom Penh. All hell broke loose and all happiness developed into a bitter smog; hounded from one place to another. They never stopped. They never let up. They just wouldn't, couldn't, leave him alone. They went on and on and on and on, pushing into the present of post traumatic stress disorder and occasional cages of distress. Just pushed and pushed and pushed, without mercy, with every wily way of theirs.
And oh how he learnt to hate them, his pursuers. Those without mercy, without conscience, without any ability to tell the truth. Desperate only to cover their own tracks, to expedite the death of a foreigner, because that was all they cared for.
To be rid of inconvenience. To be proven right. To cover their own tracks.
And it brought them glaring into their own face: "Dismiss the fools," their boss declared.
THE BIGGER STORY:\
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/how-obama-can-bypass-congress-on-syria-strike/
Bipartisan pressure is mounting for President Obama to seek congressional authorization for any military strike against Syria, but history has shown that presidents — including Obama — have been willing to forgo formal approval of lawmakers on Capitol Hill before taking military action.
The constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but Congress has not formally declared war since World War II. The U.S. operations in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya were all conducted without any formal declaration of war.
The decision to bypass Congress on military action started with President Harry Truman in 1950 when he sent U.S. forces into Korea. Truman defended his decision by saying it aligned with the recommendations of the United Nations.
When the U.S. intervened in Libya in 2011, the Obama administration justified its decision to not request congressional approval beforehand by citing the 1973 War Powers Act, which allows the administration to conduct military activities for 60 days without first seeking a declaration of war from Congress.
Obama informed Congress of his actions two days later in a letter, saying the decision was “pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive” and that he wanted “to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution.” When those 60 days expired, the president wrote a letter to Congress explaining that the U.S. was only playing a supportive role in Libya so he would not need congressional approval to move forward.
A new poll out today suggests Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's personal popularity with voters is faltering, less than one week from the election.
The Newspoll, published by News Corp, shows Mr Rudd's dissatisfaction rating has jumped six points to 58 per cent.
In another blow, Tony Abbott has overtaken Mr Rudd as preferred prime minister, leading 43 per cent to 41 per cent.
Labor's primary vote has slumped four points to 33 per cent, the lowest it has ever been under Mr Rudd as prime minister.
Meanwhile, the Coalition's primary support dropped one point to 46 per-cent.
Labor trails the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis, 54 per cent to 46 per cent.
The margin of error for the poll is 3 per cent.
The numbers were released just hours after Mr Rudd officially launched Labor's campaign where he delivered a speech urging voters to choose the ALP to save jobs and protect family budgets from Mr Abbott's cuts.
Warnings about the Opposition Leader featured heavily in the address, especially given there are just five days left in the campaign.
Preparing for a final-week "blitzkrieg" of key electorates, the Prime Minister headlined the slick campaign launch, which was held in an arena-style auditorium at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.