John Howard The ICC President-In-Waiting?

I heard recently that former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, had had his name put forward to become ICC (International Cricket Council) president. I found out today that the New Zealand and Australian cricket boards have, in fact, nominated him and he will become vice-president and assume the position of president in 2012 as it passes to an Australasian in that year.

I mean, John Howard? President? He hates the word. It is almost as offensive to him as the word "republic". With a republic in Australia and a president as head of state there would be no opportunity for a knighthood from his beloved Queen Elizabeth II.

Secondly, John Howard is a conservative to the core. He abhors radical change. Cricket has long been deemed a game for traditionalists but we've seen Kerry Packer's pyjama cricket change the face of the game with its one-day limited overs format and, more recently, the introduction of the hugely successful Indian Premier League (IPL) by Lalit Modi. The game has been turned on its head. I can't see John Howard having the foresight to change the game fundamentally. He's more likely to call for a return to the majority of cricket being the five day test format.

John Howard is a cricket tragic. Has anyone described him as a political tragic? Afterall, he didn't see the writing on the wall at the last election when his deputy, Peter Costello, should have been elevated up the batting order to the position of captain.

I can see Howard pushing to have the position of president changed to a more comfortable one of PM. Ok, I stand to be corrected but I don't see that he has the vision to offer anything to the game. Perhaps he'll bring back tea and jam scones at the tea interval.

My New Favourite Dictator - Park Chung Hee

Just finished reading another book. I'll give you a little bit of time to pick yourself up from the floor. Yes, another book. It's titled "Korean Phoenix - A Nation from the Ashes". It chronicles the rise of Korea and the rise of Park Chung Hee. Mostly.

Korean Phoenix by Michael Keon

Talk about a confusing book. It wasn't in chronological order although most of the time it was. Sometimes you could go for two chapters and it appeared that the storyline was lost. At times it spoke about Park, at other times it was about Korea. Sometimes the two subjects were intermingled.

And then there is the British prime ministerial-waffle. Honestly, it was like listening to Tony Blair. Try this sentence which was actually a paragraph.

"Within the part of the peninsula south of the 38th Parallel, which came to constitute itself the Republic of Korea, the years between 1945 and the early summer of 1961 can answer only to one description: "the mixture as before"-muddier than ever, unremittingly exacerbating, and almost wholly sterile of recovery and growth."

Try reading that whilst walking home from the bus. I did and had to reread a couple of times. It's difficult to enjoy a book when it's written in just such a manner.

The book does detail some of Park Chung Hee's greatest achievements - reconciliation with Japan (made the economy boom), building of the Seoul-Pusan Expressway (only Park made the decision to build it and he stood by it - the expressway was built rapidly and for probably the lowest cost and with the trade that it built up it was a huge success), creation of large worker-friendly industrial complexes, instilling a high regard for education within Korea, creating growth for farmers to build their wealth (providing steel and cement to townships and allowing them to manage their own affairs by empowering themselves) and for opening dialogue with the North.

My favourite quotation in the book - '... material or financial support must not be extended "to those who are not willing to help themselves. Equal distribution of government funds among the diligent and idle alike would be be simply unfair."'

Revisiting the provision of steel and cement to townships Park took notice of how well the township put the materials to use. If they built a wall, roads or a dam to better their economic situtation and for the betterment of their town then they received another government gift the following year. If not, they did not receive any such gift. And the private sector invested about five times as much as the government provided. It worked extremely well.

Park Chung Hee actually took office as a general in the army but then stood for two presidential elections, which he won, prior to having a referendum to rewrite the constitution so that he could run for a third term, which he also won. He was a man of his word and honour who did not act in a corrupt manner. I think that many successful businessmen could take a leaf out of his book. He made Korea what it is today - an economic, first-world powerhouse. He did everything for his country and not for himself.

There is very little in the book to detract from Park Chung Hee. Perhaps this is because the author, an Australian, was living there at the time and had been for a number of years. If Park was a brutal dictator, as others have stated, it isn't mentioned in this book.

Not a bad book for $2 but structurally wanting. And from a reporter no less.

Book Titles We're Likely To See

It'll be book reading season before you know it. Here's a couple of titles that may catch your eye.

Obama - The Audacity to Hope

George W Bush - Not a Hope

2008 United States Presidential Candidates

I'd like to give my opinion, for what it's worth, on the 2008 US Presidential candidates.

Barack Obama - He's a very charismatic and caring person. So what is he doing in politics you may ask? I don't care that he's an African-American (in the truest sense) or that he was a Muslim. You don't have a lot of choice when you are younger and your parents generally choose the religion you will follow. Personally I don't care that he is a Christian. I'm disappointed to hear that he's tried marijuana and cocaine but even moreso that he's a protectionist. His protectionist ideas stifle free trade and protect inefficient industries and the result is people paying too much for goods that are too expensive to create. Sure you protect your local manufacturers but at cost to the other countries of the world and to your own people. Bad idea. Other than that I think that he's a decent candidate for the presidency. Can't see him surviving an assassination attempt, actually.

John McCain - He's quite old and prone to bouts of cancer. That can't be good for someone who is responsible for arguably the most powerful country in the world for 24 hours a day for at least four years. The phrase, "Only a heartbeat away" springs to mind. He's a free trade advocate and I like that.

Joseph Biden - I'm sorry, who?

Sarah Palin - only last week I would have asked the same question as for Joe Biden. Who? But she's had a fair bit of publicity recently. America, are you serious? With an elderly president you'd seriously consider having a future president with only a few years of grounding in political goings on? How many tough decisions has she had to make as Governor of Alaska? Her first son is called Track - was she expecting twins so that the other could be called Field? Maybe that had something to do with the marijuana that she's admitted to using. I'm not enamoured with the fact that she attended six colleges in six years either. Perhaps that shows, in her early life at least, that she was a bit fussy and ill-advised and did too many things on a whim rather than utilising proper planning and sticking to it. Is she a pitbull or a pig? You don't have to be a bitch in politics if you are a woman and thankfully she doesn't come across as that. I do think that with a four month old son she should be spending more time looking after him than being second in charge of the country. Her boy would be neglected if that were the case.

Is America ready for a black (half) president? Or will they vote for the old war veteran? Obama will probably improve the lot of his own people more than anyone else so he would get the nod. At least he would from me. But I can't vote. And don't get me started on the shortcomings of the US presidential voting system.