There are diplomats, academics, intellectuals and theologians. There are hardliners, conservatives, ultra-conservatives, moderates, mavericks and many who simply defy categorisation. When it comes to the conclave of 115 cardinals who will choose the next pope in the next few days, the phrase broad church is entirely appropriate.

You can feel an election coming on when Pauline Hanson sticks her addled head above the parapet. There she was in The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday, warmly endorsing the Prime Minister's sudden and impulsive war on the hordes of wicked foreigners on 457 work visas who are snatching the bread from the tables of modern Aussie families.

The ALP’s original purpose, the mass participation of working men and women in parliamentary democracy, has dissolved. Very few unionists are still active in the party. This is clear from statistics released by the former NSW assistant general secretary Luke Foley. Only 16 per cent of party members belong to a trade union affiliated to the ALP. By far the biggest category (55 per cent) is concessional membership, that is, people outside the workforce, mainly retirees.

Ten years ago, Bush made disastrous foreign policy decision that we will pay for for a long, long time.

Far from being a competitive market, the same few big players dominate Australia’s corporate landscape, reports Murray Hunter.

from Crikey ….

Tony’s own goal ….

from Crikey …..

Rundle: Chavez dies, and the West hates some more

A complaint about former federal treasurer Peter Costello lodged with Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission highlights potential conflicts of interest between his job overseeing the future of the state's finances and his ownership of a lobby group representing companies that could benefit from state asset sales.

Victims’ rights groups have called for a registry to be set up to alert residents when Members of Parliament enter their community. They argue the measures are necessary to protect children and other venerable members of society from the dangerous amounts of bullshit that certain politicians discharge.  

During the week following my 2011 Archibald win, one Melbourne radio announcer introduced me with the following: ''So if you can wear a horse suit and go 'neigh' you can call yourself an artist - on the line I have Ben Quilty''. I'd fired him up because I'd suggested in my Archibald acceptance speech that I felt it was time a Higher Education Contributions Scheme fee was implemented at the Australian Institute of Sport.

It’s a place where angels fear to tread; where criminals, frauds and mysterious corpses turn up as regularly as rats in the metro. The Institute for Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, was set up in 1942 by Pope Pius XII to manage the vast Vatican finances. Often referred to as the world’s most secret bank, the operation is run by a CEO and overseen by five cardinals who report directly to the Pope.