From the comments on an earlier post of mine comes this incisive observation by John64: As per usual, Labor’s obsession with Abbott does them more harm and not a spot of good. And this one too from Kevin Rennie: Perhaps modern politics is more about image than about reality. And a contest amongst both media [...]
READ MOREJanuary, 2012
Spun out of control
In one sense there was nothing unusual about how Prime Ministerial press secretary Tony Hodges acted on Australia Day. Getting unfavourable publicity for your opponent is as much a part of the spinning game as getting your own boss seen in the best light. The difference this time was that the inspiration for the incident [...]
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A volatile Florida Republican primary market
Well it looks like Mitt Romney will start a short priced favourite to win the Republican Florida primary but it has been an up and down ride to get there. The fluctuations on Intrade over the last month The market has closely followed the polls.
READ MORE40 years of Friends of the Earth
From a London Daily Telegraph look at the 40th anniversary celebrations of Friends of the Earth: Last year, a former executive director, Charles Secrett, accurately accused it and other green groups of being “out of touch, ineffective and bureaucratic”, adding: “Interminable meetings, not action, are the order of most days.” FoE’s present leadership, however, does recognise [...]
READ MOREDeath of Jack Idema.
The US media has reported the death of Jonathon (“Jack”) Idema, the former Special Forces soldier and convicted fraudster who was sentenced in 2004 to ten years imprisonment in after being found guilty of kidnapping and torturing Afghan citizens in his own private prison in Kabul. Following his release, Idema left Afghanistan for Dubai and [...]
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A headline I never thought I’d see – Up to China to save capitalism
From that bastion of British conservatism: Reporting from Davos Jeremy Warner writes: Asked what he thought the future held, Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, cited research that historically crises of this magnitude last at least ten years. Dating the start of the financial crisis, to August 2007, that would imply another five [...]
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Albo, you’re no Michael Douglas
Courtesy of Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane. From the appearance of Anthony Albanese, at the National Press Club today followed by Michael Douglas starring in the film The President: The transcripts: Anthony Albanese, National Press Club, 25th Jan 2012: “In Australia we have serious challenges to solve and we need serious people to solve [...]
READ MOREBienvenue, Croatia
Croatia may have just become that one party guest who turned up when all the booze had run out and the cops were on their way. Last weekend, Croats took to the polls to vote on a referendum determining whether or not the country could proceed towards accession into the European Union (E.U). With almost [...]
READ MOREContrasting reactions to having soldiers shot by Afghan allies.
France has suspended all operations with the Afghan army and threatened to withdraw its forces early from the country after an Afghan soldier shot dead four French troops, reports the Daily Telegraph. Speaking to French diplomats Friday, President Nicolas Sarkozy said, reports the Washington Post, that if security conditions for the country’s troops in Afghanistan [...]
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Musical US presidents – singer, saxophonist and pianists
Barack Obama breaks into song. Richard Nixon plays the piano: And so did Harry Truman: Sometimes as an accopanist: Bill Clinton plays the saxophone
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