our favourite bloggers.We will be adding to this page frequently as certain issues inspire creative bloggers (of which there are many). Dennis Shanahan 23/11/07 dennis shanahan 23/11/07We aren`t sure what Dennis is on about today, but he must be unhappy. Even he is starting to see the awful truth. Mind you, he does think that the Liberal anti-union ads are working. We`re not so sure. "There is a reason the ALP is complaining about the ostensible negativity of Liberal advertising on unions: it’s working.” Dennis, with the greatest of respect, your coverage of this campaign - especially your reading of the polls - has been desperate, inadequate, and slavishly pro-Liberal. Even if you are broadly correct here - and you may very well be - you are the last person that anyone wanting to know the Labor Party and Rudd’s thinking is going to consult. Some humility and gracefulness is now in order, I think, not more of the same…voterboy I cant believe the Australian led with this story in its Opinion section and as its headline the day after the libs get caught using racism again during a campaign. Why is it that you would find it suprising after a year of evading wedges that Rudd would do the same now a few days before the election? How desperate are you and your colleagues? Howards attack on so-called political correctness is really a dog-whistle to all the bigots, racists and rednecks that they can say what they want without regard to common human decency and compassion. piers akerman 22/11/07We didn`t have the energy to review Piers today. It is the usual right-wing tripe. Here`s how some bloggers see it.. Your comments are straight out of the Coalition handbook this election, fear, fear and in case you didn’t recognise it the first 50 times...yep, fear. That’s it, that is the entire sum of Howard’s campaign strategy from day one, and what a howling success it has been. Not long now till the voters out you out of your misery Piers. Your relentless campaign of bucketing Labor and Rudd in your pieces day after day, based on one sided arguments and historical falsehoods, has become mind-numbingly boring. Your writing this year says far more about you as a journalist than Rudd as a future PM. Your efforts to unashamedly promote the Liberal cause as you have, has cost you dearly in terms of journalistic credibility. I used to read your work with interest - not any more. Chris of Eastwood caroline overington 21/11/07Caroline is lauding Latham and questioning the polls. Meanwhile she covers all bases with .... "In The Australian Financial Review on the weekend, Latham said something quite clever: all those polls you’ve been reading that suggest a Labor landslide? They could be wrong. The bloggers reply.. I do find it interesting that many of the same columnists who spent so much time and energy attacking Mark Latham (quite personally at times) are now prepared to enthusiastically quote him because he is making comments which can be used to run a pro-govt line. Or maybe the polls are dead right and people are, amongst the well known domestic issues, just plain embarrassed by the Howard govt. Much of what Mark Latham says is sour grapes, since he went to the electorate with a BIg Picture only to have it bagged. Meanwhile, despite his erratic character, no one ever disputes any policy. Was George Bush not an idiot? Was the Iraq Invasion right? Isn’t the school funding program an outrage? Many will point to Medicare Gold and say “That one!” but is it right to leave pensioners out of the hospital system? dennis shanahan 16/11/07So much silly spin in one story Dennis. The ALP know the inflation effects of all these tax cuts but everytime they tried to stop them they were crucified, not least by you. How is it that in every recent article Dennis you manage to include “its one clear strength in the polling: economic management”, perpetuating this myth of the Coalition being the best economic trustees? The coalition have fooled the Australian public for years with smoke and mirrors, overtaxing us, seling off public assets etc, not returning it in infrastructre projects, dreclaring huge surpluses, porkbarrelling at election time and claiming the high ground on economic management. One things for sure, they wouldn’t want to try and claim the moral high ground, with their record of deception. Not long now Dennis and the suffering will be over. Bond, Bristol Unlike other elections, the chickens are coming home to roost before voting = such matters as pork-barreling of a 300 million grants program, Mersey Hospital beginning to show the debacle for what it, illegally-detained people appearing etc, etc. We are so used to feeling incredibly annoyed about being tricked and lied to, but discovering this after the event. And people largely seem to ignore Labor’s missteps. It may not be enough for Labor but this time the Coalition are looking DECIDEDLY uncomfortable. fred, coldstream Dennis shanahan 15/11/07Every blogger`s favourite, Dennis accuses Rudd of me-tooism by turning a wealness into a strength, just like Howard did with trust in 2004. We didn`t fall for that but unfortunately the punters did. Apparently, according to Dennis, Labor is weak on the economy. Does he really believe the economic myth that Howard and Costello have been good economic managers?. Anyway, here`s the bloggers. Turning a weakness into a strength is the ultimate act of me-too-ism from Rudd? * 1989 ALP 17% interest rates which shattered the inflation demon vs 1982 liberal 22% interest rates which did NOTHING to stop inflation. At last - a Labor leader who has spelt it out straight to the voters...and stared down Howard’s culture of individual greed, cash before the common good, short term policies before national vision. Be gone forever John Winston Howard and your inept government. Martin Wood, Elizabeth Bay Paul kelly 14/11/07The Australian 14/11/07 We have never been enamoured with Kelly`s prognostications, finding him often caught up with technicalities, and feel he analyses in depth but has no idea what the punters feel about his topic. Here are some blogger`s on today`s page who feel much the same. This one`s for you, Jack! Um, sorry? Howard’s inability to constrain inflation and interest rates in the face of a growing economy has been a massive policy failure. It could turn out to be a massive political faiure as well. He has not led the economic debate over Labor, rather he believed his own hype that he actually was a good economic manager, when the opposite was true. ShowsOn, Adelaide On the contrary, it is wrong to see Howard’s pitch as ideology backed my money. It is simple bribery with an ideological sting in the tail. The test of how it should be viewed is the purpose which it seeks to serve. Is the purpose primarily to further Howard’s ideological beliefs? Or is it simply to get him re-elected? Gus, Lakemba Paul, I disagree with your summary. Howard is a disciple of the Menzies strategy of winning elections. This is based on the notion that the middle class (read swinging voter) are aspirational, and tax cuts to this group (in health insurance, child care, private schools and so on) will win votes. The ideology of “free enterprise” and “freedom of choice” are the sales pitch to make the policies seem respectable and aspirational to voters. Howard is a master of politics for which ideology is useful but dispensable. Like Menzies, Howard, the master of politics, alternatively uses the expert politics of division and fear, be it communism, unions, terrorists or hordes of boat people. mike steketee 13/11/07In the Australian Mike reviews the Howard give-aways. It made me laugh, to hear that Howard wants to finish off the welfare state and make us a fantasy land of opportunity. On what strange planet is he living on, where the state subsidises a third of all “private” health care costs, subsidises massively “private” education, and now, apparently doles out welfare to those who find it a bit tough to buy a house or get someone to look after their kids while at work? And no Means Tests! The poor will be subsidising the wealthy even further. The result will be more obscene Private Schools with huge playing fields, sumptuous auditoriums, libraries better than public ones and fatter, lazier children. The path that Howard has chosen is littered with landmines. No plans, no vision, no outcomes… just the tired worn out “Here’s more cash”. The stench of fear came directly from his mouth as he threw money around putting pressure on interest rates. But really, he doesn’t give a fig about the future, because he has none and we know that all he cares about is himself. Mudcrab FNQ dennis shanahan 9/11/07Dennis` article tries to spin the employment figures. Total rubbish as always, Dennis. Maybe you didn’t see today’s ABS figures, but unemployment is up by 0.1% in this last month but, what should disturb the Government even more is that Annual Employment Growth has shrunk by 0.4% since March 2007. In truth, employment growth has been slowing since around July of this year, with more than one month where unemployment rates have either risen or remained static-in spite of no major change to Participation Rates. This would suggest that the Mining & Hospitality components of the economy have reached near saturation point &-without REAL policies to create new jobs in new value adding industries-there is little hope that unemployment rates will fall below 4.2% any time soon. This makes Howard’s 3% target as believable as his pledge to keep Interest Rates at 30 year lows. It also highlights that WorkChoices was NEVER responsible for the strong employment growth, because 2004-05 & 2002-03 showed stronger & more sustained employment growth than what we have seen over the first 20 months of WorkChoices. Marcus, Adelaide Here is a Prime Minister who claims at one election that he will keep interest rates at record lows, and then, when he can’t, says: a) I didn’t say it, b) even if I did no one heard it, and c) it’s not my fault that my promise couldn’t be kept because it’s the RBA’s responsibility. "Jobs, Jobs Jobs”. for god’s sake will you writesome sense? Howard and Hockey trumpet that their serfchoices has risen wages by 20% then whine that Rudd won’t be able to prevent a wages breakout. dennis shanahan 6/11/07Dennis gets some of the best bloggers, maybe because he is often the most outlandish. Today he is on about a drop in the polls for Labor going to the greens. With Coalition voters favouring Garrett over Turnbull, might it be that he would have rocked in as Green or Independent Senator and been able to remain true to his values rather than trying to be part of a team? He is challenged being other than a lead man. Garrett was quite correct to say Labor would immediately ratify the current Kyoto Agreement. I believe that has been Labor’s policy position for several years now. It is correct because after ratifying we become part of the next round of negotiators - not just observers, which is what we are now. Where Rudd got it wrong was being unable to successfully clarify to a round of dumb reporters that as China and India were never part of the original main agreement but were always due to come on board in 2012, these countries were then also always to be involved in the post 2012 agreement, and at that stage Australia should be pressing those countries to sign (and ratify) - as we were always going to do (remember we signed, but did not ratify the current agreement under Howard). Dennis, Australia has not ratified, and has no place in future negotiations but China, India and others will have a role in these negotiations because they have not refused to sign anything, but being part of the original agreement, Australia must ratify before 2012 to have any role in these negotiations. Nothing has changed under Labor’s policy, but too many in the media still don’t understand that Australia must be part of the next round of negotiations to have any control over what form the next Kyoto Agreement takes. This is a major point of difference between the parties. Under Howard we are automatically disadvantaged by having no place and no influence at the table, under Rudd we will have both. Nice Vintage, Melbourne Dennis Shanahan 2/11/07In The Australian Dennis is on about renewable energy. The bloggers did not agree with him. The European Union HAS a fixed renewable energy target of 20% by 2020 excluding clean coal with interim targets which member States are implementing. Rudd’s 20% target by 2020 also excluding clean coal therefore is NOT ‘hot air’ as you suggest.These policys are REAL solutions to a REAL climate change problems the World faces.Consistent dis-information & vague comments about needed climate change policys on Kyoto , Renewable Energy etc. by you & other ‘oz’ journo’s suggests that the ‘oz’ journo’s just like John Howard are too old to understand current 21st Century World challenges.John Howard’s renewable target is 10% excluding clean coal and he will not sign Kyoto making Australia one of only 3 countries in the WHOLE world who have not. The ‘oz’ journo’s are even out of touch with the majority of their readers who consistently poll their agreement ot the above climate change policys...Ron Brown,Mitcham You are so wrong! Everyone knows that the Coalitions renewable energy plan is a big con....after all they’ve had 11 years to take a tiny first step yet they have produced absolutely nothing. Labor, on the other hand, has not had the opportunity and therefore have the benefit of the doubt. You are quite wrong to assert that nuclear power is part of the mix. Australians won’t swallow that unnecessary bitter pill, and that’s why Howard has done a u turn...MUDCRAB FNQ Dennis now an expert on energy economics. Exactly when did you acquire these skills. Renewable energy costs are falling every month. China will soon be churning our windmills, and PVs are getting very high tech as the silicon gets thinner and thinner. Dennis… in 50 years the only problem with energy will be what to do with it all...Golden Boy, Sunshine Land piers akerman 31/10/07Piers lists a number of headlines that went against Labor during the time of Hawke-Keating. Flicking through the files, it is impossible not to be assaulted by the headlines which Hawke and Keating created, such as “Home rates may hit 18 per cent”, above the byline of doughty Fairfax veteran Michelle Grattan, in The Age of May 29, 1989. What a cold winter that was. Two factors that need to be considered when reading Pier’s “unbiased” reporting of events past & present economic: 1) While interest rates certainly hit the 17% mark there is an important difference that Piers overlooks. Houses cost much less then & so the repayments were not as bad. And of course we NEVER mention that at the time of the high interest rates the Opposition was calling for an even tighter monetary policy that would have seen even higher rates under their rule. Then of course there is the mystery of Keating’s election win in 1993. Record interest rates, high unemployment, the sky falling, complete union control. Things were shocking, I remember it well, & yet Labor was re-elected in 1993. Perhaps the conservative commentariate is exaggerating a tad, but that would mean biased reporting wouldn’t it????? Feld Grau. janet albrechtsen 28/10/07Janet`s column in The Australian 28/10/07 is, as usual, unbelievable. She is bemoaning the fact that business success is not praised enough. She writes " It’s predictable that nostalgic left-wing think tanks still reading dog-eared copies of Das Capital will decry capitalism as a sign of a greedy society. Unfortunately, there is now a sense of widespread shame about capitalism." And lots more, but here are some bloggers thoughts. We review her column in Stoogewatch. ”...and yes, pursuing profit and self-interest” - Janet, thank you for making me laugh harder than I have for the whole year, indeed, harder than even the Chaser boys make me laugh. You are truly a philosophical giant! George, South Yarra. Janet your hipocrisy knows no bounds!...John(Crazy)Ilhan dies and Janet proceeds to beat the bejesus out of Muslims, the VERY NEXT DAY!!!...Now this schmultz!...Crazy John and Crazy Janet!...Good name for a movie! Roddy Rodent, North NSW So Janet, you went to a “fancy dinner” to discuss with people the issues affecting Australia and Australians. Will you be next going to attend a “non-fancy” dinner with any of the millions of struggling families out here in the real world? And then put some balance in your articles. it was not so long ago that you kept up the mantra that Muslims were evil. None of us heard you then speaking in defence of people like John Ilhan. Bit, oh no! He is suddenly in favour with your view of YOUR ideal world. How in god’s name you got a position on the ABC Board, yet you have complained many times of leftish bias of members of the board. Even worse tough, is your position as a member of the Foreign Affairs Council!! How the hall you got that positio with that body is a total mystery, as you are no better as an ultra Right Wing ideologist as most ultra Left Wing ideologists. Those two opposing forces are the types that set the world on the path to Armageddon. And you CLAIM to be highly educated? Show us the proof Janet of your independent thought and your mental intellect, otherwise you just may as well continue in your role of the voicepeace of Howards ideology. I mean, at least you should have the decency to take leave of all your positions, and act as Howards de facto speech writer and fanatisiscism of all things he says and does, until the election is over and done with. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds, and neither is your so-called “balance” as will bet my bottom dolar that this posting will not be published. Stephen Rogers, Wollongong. Janet, you might be able to fool some people with your “ pursuit of profit and self interest does not get in the way of behaving as good citizens” schtick, but those of us with a less partisan view know that if not for strong regulations and rules on business, we’d be much worse off letting corporations have a free reign. You are naive for thinking companies will simply “do the right thing”. They will not. They will earn a profit and gain for themselves no matter what the cost. Simply relying on a few CEO’s better nature will not stop the majority fleecing us and govt for all they’re worth. No, profit motive must be tempered by govt for the public good. It must be harnessed, not allowed to run rampant. That’s Enron territory, which you seem to like so much. Greed is good eh, Janet? How 1980s of you. Miki, Sawyers Valley WA. We could have run them all, they wer so brilliant. It seemsJanet Albrechtsen has no idea about a social conscience. dennis shanahan 23/10/07We didn`t review this column discussing Howard`s $4 billion bribe to the grey voters but have a look at these blogs and you can make up your mind if you want to read it. "One of the reasons the $4 billion has been directed to older voters is that they have been turning away from the Prime Minister and the Coalition in droves.” Is Howard’s response in the national interest? Perhaps. Naked desperation and pork-barrelling? You bet. And loyal old Dennis doesn’t bat an eyelid. Dennis, in all seriousness, if John Hyde were alive today, he’d cross the street and leave the country rather than be seen with this mob. Howard is no more a fiscal conservative than Rex Connor was, and the fact that you and the rest of the cheer squad are willing to overlook his habitual pork-barrelling to see him get over the line undermines any claims you have to being an impartial conservative commentator. Now I`ve heard everything .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. He doesn’t know the law as it stands. Carers, for example, live with the people they care for who are invariably on a pension and the carers are only paid $49 a week. So will the electricity payment be for both of them in the same house? Why not pay the carer a full pension as they can’t work anyway? Janet albrechtsen 23/10/07Janet`s Article Oh lord. Not yet another Muslim bashing piece. I find it interesting that you talk about Islam when we are at war with extremists. We are NOT at war with the religion nor are we at war with moderates. You talk about England. There is NO multiculturalism in England. Furthermore, so what is so wrong with allowing people to opt out of doing things which offend their values. It has nothing to do with how ‘soft’ we are. Oh and by the way, I don’t see you attacking those parents for refusing to allow their daughters to take gardasil because they are afraid their daughters might be encouraged to have sex earlier. Oh, I forgot. These aren’t Muslims. But the most ridiculous part of this piece was ‘Instead, Islam has thrown into focus the need for the West to work out precisely which values it will not surrender - values such as the equality of the sexes, the rule of law, free speech and freedom of religion.’ Right. Does this calues include deserting Australian citizens (Hicks), the Anglican Church believing that women should be in servitude to men and your refusal to acknowledge that even al-Hilali has a right to freedom of speech! And when will you understand that we are NOT at war with Islam? But then I shouldn’t be surprised considering that at the end of the day you’re nothing more than an intellectually bankrupt Islamophobe! Jane ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Janet, I’m not sure I entirely understand your argument. Are you suggesting that the West needs to be strong and not surrender any of its values such as equality of the sexes, the rule of law, free speech and freedom of religion, or were you suggesting that the West may need to discard some of these values, such as freedom of religion and free speech, in order to deal with the potential threat of Islamic extremism? The DebateBBI: After the debate, when most people scored Rudd as a clear winner, it is interesting to read conservative journos who manage to see somehow that Howard was right up there. From Dennis Shanahan`s column. Dennis, you know that Rudd did very well last night, so why the reluctance to call it for Rudd? Howard just looked tired, grim, and bitter for the most part. He failed to answer a range of questions and his closing comments were woeful. Just when the audience were expecting to hear about Howard’s future plans, Howard was effectively saying that he wants to be re-elected so that he can teach his version of history to our children! The man is stuck in the past. Dennis, the fact is that Howard gave a very ordinary performance last night. And although Rudd was somewhat nervous at first (as Howard was too), he grew in stature as the night went on. He answered questions directly. He looked confident, easily dealing with tough questions. And frankly, he was convincing, positive, and even showed us a bit of that vision thing. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Dennis, you are well behind the breaking wave on this one. The Opposition Leader made ground in this debate not by default, which is your own baleful opinion, but because of a host of positive reasons, among them the following: he more often had the stronger arguments; had better command of the facts; was often more straightforward with the truth; was inclined to give credit where it was due; used simpler language; had less to hide and explain away; had more to say about future opportunities; displayed greater discipline; was less partriarchal in manner and approach; evinced greater respect for everyday people; and showed he has heard, understood and experienced the aspirations of ordinary voters for job security and a fair society, not merely a prosperous one. He also adroitly did not linger on differences any longer than it took to clearly distinguish his own stand from that of the Prime Minister. Your half-empty view of the Opposition performance puts you and other similar opinionisers way behind in grasping the enormity of the shift in public mood and indeed the significance of these past 11 years. Though I have no party affliations, should I be in the Liberal Party I would be gravely concerned about its future. Not merely on or immediately after 24 November, but thereafter. Charles, London And numbers of others who pointed out that Howard was rude, going over allotted time and cranky. And these on Malcolm Farr`s page. What about Costello - was he on drugs? Every time they cut away to him he had a totally insane grin on his face that had nothing to do with what was going on in that room ....M.Spencer Howard looked shifty and nervous. His mouth was twitching a lot. I think he does that when he is lying. I said I would wait for the leaders debate, I am a swinging voter,there is no doubt now.After watching and listening to Howard and Rudd, it really was not a hard decision. I vote Labor. Howard is a tired, worn out, old man. I think the sick side of all this is that Costello is enjoying watching Howard slide into a pathetic wasted decrepid aged grumpy old man. He looks it, he sounds it he damn well is it. on union bashingUnions bad, Foreign Multi Nationals Good. ? Shop Steward, Iron Ore Mine WA, The Australian 19/10/07 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Australians have elected a popular PM who was a union leader (hawke). Unions provide real life skills in negotiating and gives a perspective missing from the Liberal front benches. June Just Walkerville The Australian 19/10/07 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. The ALP front bench currently has 5 teachers, 7 economists and 10 lawyers with many have dual degrees. Meanwhile her is a 10 step guide in how to avoid a unionist. 1. Never get sick and need a doctor or nurse - they will be in the union. Marilyn , The Australian 19/10/07 after apecFrom The Australian 11/9/07, George from Sydney wrote this blog under George Megalogenis` article entitled Heavyweight bout for Mandarin belt. "There are always defining moments in any election campaign that seem to be portents of the final result. Images that indelibly stick in the mind of the electorate crystallizing opinions all the way to the ballot box. In 2004, it was Latham’s monster handshake that scared the electorate, and rightly so. In 2007, we have the smooth poised performance of Kevin Rudd speaking in Mandarin with Hu Jintao, looking very statesmanlike, confident and self assured. Contrast that with the image of John Howardpacing the floor like an expectant groom waiting for his beloved George W. Bush. Looking anything but statesmanlike, and more like a grovelling sychophant(sic). Looking tired, worn, frazzled and ancient. His determination to stay on and fight exposes his monumental ego and, of late, poor political acumen. These images scream “GAME OVER”. On Current trends, Bennelong is looking like a lost cause for the Liberals, and if it goes, government will also go for them in a very big way. Howard’s crude attempt to “buy” the votes of his Chinese constituents will be seen for what it is. A desperate attempt by a desperate man without the conviction of the words he mutters.
|
caroline overington Our new favourite stooge, once a serious journalist, now a colour and puff journo.. "MORE evidence, if it were needed, that the ALP believes that it has already won the election. "Labor’s three living former Prime Ministers – Gough Whitlam, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke – attended the campaign launch in Brisbane yesterday. " "Forget for a minute that this election was supposed to be about new leadership, about Kevin Rudd’s leadership." "Think about the subtext. " The Australian 16/11/07 The bloggers give her heaps ............................................ andrew bolt Recently described by Mike Carlton as Melbourne`s village idiot is an avowed greenhouse sceptic but his latest attack is on hypocrisy. Shooting the messenger will make the difference, he feels. "THE telling thing about the global warming faith is that it's preached almost entirely by hypocrites. As you're about to see in tropical technicolour next month." "You see, more often than not a global warming prophet is a frequent flyer who's just stepped out of business class to demand you cut the very gases he's just blasted out the back of his jet. ".. "Kruszelnicki's coalition demands we "introduce energy efficiency standards for motor vehicles", yet Dr Karl chooses to drive a V8 Holden Monaro -- but only on the freeway, he insists. And no doubt he also feels properly guilty, so that's all right, too.".. "Mind you, our Alarmist of the Year, Tim Flannery, did come close for his consistent record of demanding we cut the emissions that "can threaten civilisation as we know it", while showing few signs of cutting his extravagant own. " "His more recent -- and best -- effort has been to release yet another doom-preaching book (sales please!) in which he describes his eager travels by jet to conferences, treks and luxury resorts on tropical islands. ".. "Hypocrisy is too small a word for so monstrous a circus. If it wasn't for the fact the planet actually hasn't warmed for nine years now, I'd cry." See, it doesn`t matter because there is no warming, he thinks. And then in the NASA news. Melting Arctic sea ice has shrunk to a 29-year low, significantly below the minimum set in 2005, according to preliminary figures from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, part of the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA scientists, who have been observing the declining Arctic sea ice cover since the earliest measurements in 1979, are working to understand this sudden speed-up of sea ice decline and what it means for the future of Earth's northern polar region. According to Dr. Graeme Pearman`s (the former head of CSIRO's atmospheric research unit and the Climate Adaptation Science and Policy Initiative at the University of Melbourne) estimate, the world only has 5-10 years to take drastic action. .................................... David MacCormack Commenting on the Liberal Campaign Opening in Crikey 13/11/07 The Government needed to radically change the story of the 2007 election campaign yesterday. The approach that has served the Government well since 1998 – pork-barrelling and scare campaigns – has lost its potency. It hasn't helped that the Government, and particularly Howard and Abbott, have put in shockers in this campaign, but you get the impression even if they were firing on all cylinders the Government would still be struggling. ................................... Road to Damascus Take a look at John Howard`s conversions. From Nicholson. ..................................... did you know? Australia originally signed Kyoto. As John Watson points out in today's Age, Australia only refused to ratify Kyoto after the US refused. Everything the government says on Kyoto should be viewed through the prism of this very pertinent fact. ................................... The very largest elephant in Australia’s electoral room is the nuclear one -- and it is accompanied by an equally large question: why is everyone, the media included, avoiding mentioning it? Dr Helen Caldicott ............................ tony abbott 31/10/07 A Bad Day From Latline TONY ABBOTT: It was an error of judgement on my part, I shouldn't have done it, and as soon as I realised what I had done, I rang him this morning and I apologised. ............................... During the last election campaign, John Howard said nothing – not one word – about introducing Work Choices. But he did unleash them, stripping away penalty rates, overtime, protection from unfair dismissal and lowering the take home pay of many working families. If Mr Howard is re-elected, he and Mr Costello will believe they have a mandate to go even further. ALP Press Release .................................. david hicks "Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday Hicks's plea bargain had been accepted by the US Defence Department and prosecution. However, Colonel Davis said the deal was brokered by Hicks's lawyers and the Convening Authority head Susan Crawford, who is appointed by the Defence Secretary, without his knowledge or approval." The Australian 24/10/07 ............................................ "THE stubborn refusal of the polls to tighten will inevitably direct the campaign spotlight towards one of the core promises of John Howard's bid for re-election — that, if returned, he will hand over to Peter Costello well into his fifth term." The Age 25/10/07 'Well' into his term. He can`t let go of the golden ring. .................................... Dennis Shanahan The Australian 22/10/07 "On a policy level, both sides scored for their own team and against the other’s. On a personal level, neither gave an inch, although Howard’s experience seemed to give him more air time and presence. " "But in the end, given that the Opposition Leader was guaranteed to make ground as long as he didn’t make a horrendous error, the debate went his way. That’s why we’ll only see one debate in this campaign. " Somehow, Shanahan saw it as almost a win for Howard. We didn`t. ............................................. "JOHN Howard has had another memory jam and forgotten the name of a Liberal candidate - the one he's hoping can knock off Kevin Rudd in his own Queensland seat." "Craig Thomas will not defeat Labor's Kevin Rudd in his Brisbane seat of Griffith, but that hasn't stopped him campaigning hard. And today he had his Prime Minister beside him." The Daily Telegraph 18/10/07 .......................................... See section on left after apec And read George`s blog SYCOPHANT: Servile flatterer, toady, parasitic person.- Concise Oxford.
.................................... Politicians have strange effects on different people. And here are John`s supporters, The Jo Hos . Crikey looks at the half-way mark
|
