The decision to depose Rudd without destroying him showed decent restraint in the bloody context of those days.

Kevin Rudd's wife Therese Rein joined the Labor leadership war today, urging "ordinary people" to back her husband in the campaign against Julia Gillard.

Mr Rudd consistently outpolls Ms Gillard as preferred Labor leader but has been savagely criticised by Labor ministers who worked closely with him as prime minister for having a chaotic and dysfunctional leadership style.

As if noting a change of seasons, many Israelis are talking about a possible war come summer, or later this year, with an air of inevitability born of years of festering conflict that has periodically flared up into full-blown hostilities. The prospect of devastating counter-strikes and possible mass casualties seems to be taken in stride, seen as a lesser evil than facing a nuclear-armed Iran.

picture by Gus Leonisky (2011)

Quickly both sides of politics were trying to show off the size of their hearts.