Cheney in Dispute on Oversight of His Office

By SCOTT SHANE

Published: June 22, 2007

For four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has resisted routine oversight of his office's handling of classified information, and when the office in charge of overseeing classification in the executive branch objected, the vice president's office suggested that the oversight office be shut down, according to documents released today by a Democratic congressman.

MPs defend 6.7% pay rise, but Greens condemn it

Surprise, surprise!!

Government & Opposition MPs are defending their 6.7% wage rise, but Greens Senator Bob Brown called on the Party leaders to refuse to accept it.

After the wage rise MPs will get an extra $150 a week, Prime Minister John Howard's salary will increase by about $21,000 to $330,000 a year, while Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd will get an extra $15,000.

Cross yourself before driving' Vatican tells motorists

By Barbara Miller

The Vatican is urging motorists not to use their vehicles as an expression of power.

The Vatican has taken a break from matters purely theological to issue a list of Ten Commandments on driving.

The document urges motorists to be charitable, not to use their vehicles as an expression of power and to cross themselves before setting off on their journey.

‘The sprawling $43 billion homeland security department (HSD) is known chiefly for being the agency in charge of America's color-coded terrorist-threat alarm system ("Good morning, Americans. Today is Yellow. Be vigilant. Report all suspicious people.")

Apparently in defence procurement there's no such thing as a fait accompli. It looked like the AWD deal was going to be the usual stich-up... then a minor Spanish Inquisition seems to have upset the apple-cart.

Here's how the US State Department perceives the whole thing:

 

from Crikey …..

Coonan's policy lacks byte (and other nerd jokes)

Crikey’s resident nerd and lapsed tech journalist Marcus Westbury writes…

Cuba's 'first lady' dies

Vilma Espin, one of the most powerful women in the Cuban revolution that brought her brother-in-law Fidel Castro to power, has died aged 77.

A key figure in advancing women's equality in communist Cuba, Espin was married to Fidel Castro's younger brother Raul, who took over as acting president in July 2006 after the Fidel underwent surgery.

Espin became Cuba's unofficial first lady because Fidel Castro's wife, Dalia Soto del Valle, never played an official role.

A trained chemical engineer, she became a senior figure in the communist regime, where she championed women's rights as president of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

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My mind's spinning around The Eureka Rebellion, Mahatma Ghandi, Easter 1916, Garry Kasparov, and Parkin (brutally thrown out of our country for no crime) floats around the edges.

In the eyes of those who believe themselves as defending against an imposed injustice, observance of the laws of a perceived oppressor may not be foremost amongst priorities.

There are many who share Bryan Law's concern of the use of U.S. military technology on our soil. I for one am dismayed at the successful U.S. sponsored scramjet launch at Woomera last Friday. Of course everyone's talking up the two-hour flight to London, but peaceful uses for such technologies never preceed the need to find newer and more efficient ways to kill each other.

The world became much smaller on Friday. How quickly do you think a scramjet-fitted Aegis will arrive from Australia to anywhere when it comes screaming down at Mach 10?

The media is finally being trickled "news" that the AWD's might be fitted with Aegis SM-3's ( like the ones the Japs bought so we can have a "national" missile shield. The public are being smokescreened from the knowledge that they're participating in an international Bush/Cheney program, first mooted in a defence paper spearheaded by the head of Halliburton Australia.

SM-3s,unlike SM-2s, don't need atmosphere in which to steer. They could still get to 500km above the surface and from there hurtle down on scramjets.

They reckon that a plane would make is from Australia to London in 2 hours... I bet you that a missile would do it faster.

We're going to be part of a U.S. led Coalition Of Missiles. Mark these words.

‘Richard Perle, the former head of the Defense Policy Board, known in the Beltway as the "Prince of Darkness," has been on TV a lot lately in a much-publicized public spat with former CIA director George Tenet, who recently accused Perle of targeting Iraq days after 9/11.

The US department of justice is preparing to open a corruption investigation into the arms company BAE, the Guardian has learned. It would cover the alleged £1bn arms deal payments to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia.