Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

It was all based on a confused mixture of imperialism and delusion.  The Taliban are a creation of the United States whose objective was to destroy the secular society established by a socialist or communist government with the support of the USSR.

What I'm wondering might be of particular interest is the fact that Labor's first two motions against the Libs (that Pyne and Bishop not be heard) were beaten by five votes at Division

This is a strange game of poker, in which the slightly dodgy reputations of both these men have been the fulcrum of a Gillard parliamentary majority, and many cards played in attempting to bluff both into "folding".

The weird thing is that Abbott opposes the company tax cut, but opposes the mining tax. Apart from the weirdness of the ideological implications here, how is right to keep taxes high for struggling employers, yet not tax a an industry rolling in money?

" Bob Carr will join the Senate, and will take on the role of Minister for Foreign Affairs. Until he takes his place in the Senate, Craig Emerson will continue to act as Minister for Foreign Affairs." - PM Gillard

And as for the aforementioned "small 'l's" who hoped Turnbull could step into the fray and save their ideology.. forget it!  With Labor destroying itself, Tony's numbers will be quite secure.. why replace him when his opposition is imploding?

It does sound like some of the measures PM Gillard's been announcing will be  of help, and a long way ahead of when Nick X campaigned for clocks in SA Pokie rooms so people could keep track of time.  However,that the $1.5 billion  (a driop in the ocean of accrued profits and taxes) cost of implementation is being used by the Government as its primary vindication for reneging suggests they've been bought by the lobbyists.

Tony, who knows a few mongrel tricks himself, apparently didn't see this one coming, and it puts him in a quandary:  if he sacks Slipper from the LNP they won't even have the advantage of his vote in a tied poll.  

If many of us had heard Bush and Howard explain how America was boosting itself in the Pacific, planting more troops and bases on our soil, basically actively taking over South East Asia (did someone say "Deputy Sheriff"?) the street protests would've been strong and loud. But seeing that it's not the baddies but the goodies moving their lips, we're supposed to be happy.  That inference in itself makes me feel ill.

The passing of the carbon tax bill today is a victory for future generations and for the planet. The money raised will be used to fund alternative energy and new industries for Australia. We can all stand proud today.

With challenges like these confronting mankind, can we continue with a business as usual approach? Are the current institutions capable of addressing these challenges? I think not. To fix these problems governments will need to raise a lot more revenue.

...even science fiction writers such as George Orwell, Aldous Huxley or Doris Lessing did not envisage a civilisation that would knowingly, against the best scientific evidence, devastate its own atmosphere and ocean system as comprehensively as has been and continues to be done through anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, on how our democracy is working.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

We have been conditioned to think that governments that raise taxes are bad, and those that cut taxes are good. But that is not true. The real question is how wisely the government is using the money it raises, is the money used more wisely than we would or could?

Proud to call ourselves a Labor Government and proud of our union heritage and union links, always ready to fight against conservative forces, who simply don't accept our core values and who represent the interests of the privileged and the powerful and friends, they are circling again, as the Liberal Party prepares to launch another attack on the rights of Australians at work. 

Here in SA our Premier Mike Rann's career never recovered from the Michelle Chantelois affair.. not because of whether or not anything happened but because our Premier's evasive responses only served to reinforce a perception of deceit. Julia has a similar albatross round her neck.

Sadly for our politicians and media we do have a nation run on the rule of law, therefore appeals to the highest court are legal and binding and it would be hard to see how our High Court would consider it legal to break the law the High Court handed down in November last year that says the law applies to all in our territory and natural justice applies even to those we jail on Christmas Island.

This is what Chris Bowen said in 2006. What a contrast to the ALP Government's current behaviour.

It is strategically important for the Liberals to put the Greens candidate last at least in Melbourne and explain why. It is because this party has become a carrier of extremist policies many of which have nothing to do with the environment.

There's something especially contemptible about attacking scientific research. Messing around with the genes of wheat is hardly vivisection so this is straightout rank and irrational fear of the unknown. Next thing the Greens will be baying at an eclipse.  A good thing Halley's comet is decades away. With this bunch it would spark a leadership spill.

It's to be hoped that Julia willl vindicate the need today, and that the propoganda war being fought on the issue will be assuaged and mollified.. but don't count on it!

"The simple systems which sustained people in monetary poverty but in reasonable harmony with nature and the seasons and with what was sustainable and what was not have only been suborned and abandoned on a global scale in the last 100 years or so."-   Rob Scott

Surely it is time to get on with the job. Rather than debating carbon tax we should be investing in alternative energy, instead of a two speed economy (miners doing well everyone else struggling) we should be rolling out technology such as this. Projects like this create jobs in regional areas and massively reduce our use of fossil fuels.

We are really struggling for good leaders when we end up with the likes of Abbott and Gillard as our only choice of Prime Minister, too much bullshit from these two. As many of us do not attend church regularly where are we getting our leadership? We certainly do need a bullshit detector!

Richard Koo says that if government stimulus stops now we will face another downturn in the global economy. He says governments should continue with their fiscal stimulus until private sector borrowing reaches more normal levels.

During a time of war a leader who wanted to appease the enemy would be called a traitor. It is about time we asked who is paying these people when the scientific evidence is so overwhelming. Whose interests are they supporting?

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, on how our democracy is working.

What becomes immediately obvious is that there is more agreement than disagreement. Nevertheless, it has been said that a chain is as strong as its weakest link, and laying the issues out clearly explains why so many people are so cautious about the emissions trading bill.