The three unwise men

1) Seeking another recruit for his anti-American movement, Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez began a major international tour yesterday with a visit to the isolated former Soviet nation of Belarus, whose authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been dubbed Europe's last dictator.

He seems to be on a roll, Chavez. It's not good news for the rest of the peace-loving world. World war seems to be apparent with two sides already forming in the past year or so, and even more obvious now.

2) In spite of the unfolding catastrophe in Lebanon, US President George W. Bush (and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair) have agreed to give Israel at least until the end of the month to achieve its war aims. They have rejected demands for an immediate ceasefire from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, from European and Arab leaders, and from a rising groundswell of outraged international opinion.

These actions will undoubtedly be met with resistance and only produce more violence and chaos. Doesn't matter what the rest of the world says, such is the arrogance of the US and its puppets.

3) The Australian government is to consider boosting its defence force numbers, with Defence Minister Brendan Nelson indicating more soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan and possibly Lebanon.

This is another bad sign. When governments such as that of sleeping giants like Australia are considering this sort of moves, it tells a lot of what to expect in the near future.

I'm not sure if Australia's going to keep its "defensive" status in its military force in the time to come.