‘A magical glow arises from the land. "Our economy is evolving," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao told CNN in September. "It's transitioning to a knowledge-based economy." Many liberals are dazzled by the light, imagining a new era in which poverty is curable by education and the highly educated know no limits. Those who go to college and work hard are set for life, while the clueless and the unprepared drift down into the working poor. Message to Americans in a competitive, globalized world: Sink or swim. It's up to you.

‘What I am arguing tonight is that our country is afflicted with a blindness that needs urgent repair given the magnitude of the problems now staring us in the eye.

By the end of the current bushfire season, I doubt many Australians will question the fact of climate change.

I am also arguing that this government can no longer claim to represent all Australians. It formally surrendered that claim, and also its claim to moral authority on the issue of our national values, when it appointed Keith Windschuttle to the board of the ABC.

 
20 October 2006

TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB, SYDNEY

JOURNALIST:

Mr Howard, General Cosgrove says there's been an energising of the jihadist movement through the protracted war in Iraq, that's a direct quote.  Do you agree with that?

‘"Friends speak together with complete freedom and frankness and listen to one another in trust. Neither seeks to dominate, neither acts like a vassal," asserted Michèle Alliot-Marie during the ceremony, before laying a spray of flowers at the foot of a monument celebrating the last battle of the American War of Independence. She added that, "friendship creates a duty of sincerity (...) in all independence, without excessive reverence, without beatific subservience."

"We each have our identities, our aspirations, our national interests to defend. They are sometimes contradictory," pleaded Michèle Alliot-Marie, before reminding that, "France is not and will never be a feeble friend to America."

from the SMH ...

Alan Ramsey

A few weeks ago, when John Howard and Kim Beazley, like schoolboys, were trying to outdo each other on "Australian values", a friend asked if I knew of the "must display" poster Brendan Nelson had been responsible for as John Howard's education tsar before Howard moved him, nine months ago, into Defence, to make life as miserable for the military as he had done for the nation's education industry. I didn't, so my friend mailed me one.

 
from the sydney morning herald ……

‘Richard Woolcott, a retired foreign affairs chief who advised seven prime ministers, launched a sweeping attack on the federal government, saying that Australian democracy was not functioning as it should.

"In 2006 our established ideals of decency, fairness, tolerance, justice and truth in government are under challenge," he said.

from the Centre for American Progress …..

Character Counts

President Bush declared this week "National Character Counts Week." Americans are supposed to remember our commitments to "values such as integrity, courage, honesty, and patriotism" that "sustain our democracy, make self-government possible, and help build a more hopeful future."

from today's Melbourne Age .....

No white cane required for our gang-gang. 

‘Question: If the federal court system and the Bill of Rights are good enough for two foreigners who committed terrorist acts against the World Trade Center – Ramzi Yousef and Zacarias Moussaoui – and an American accused of being an active member of al-Qaeda, then why isn’t it good enough for all persons accused of terrorism? Equally important, where are the rule of law and equal treatment under law when some terrorist suspects can be treated one way (ie: military custody and kangaroo courts) and others treated another way (ie: federal court jurisdiction and the Bill of Rights)?

‘The authority of Tony Blair was left battered last night as he attempted to play down a rift with the head of the British Army over his unprecedented warning that the presence of foreign troops was "exacerbating" the security situation in Iraq

The devastating assessment by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, infuriated ministers and caused alarm in Washington.

However there was widespread backing across the Army yesterday as soldiers of every rank praised General Dannatt for standing up to the Government.

The violence & chaos in Iraq are direct functions of its illegal invasion & occupation, along with the use of illegal tactics & weapons to support the occupation.

War Crimes Committed By The United States In Iraq & Mechanisms For Accountability documents these crimes & calls for the prosecution of military & civilian leaders for their clear & deliberate violations of International Law.

 
from the ABC …..

Howard urges calm as drought takes hold

Prime Minister John Howard says Australians need to keep a sense of perspective amid growing concerns about the drought.

The Federal Government today released the first stage of a national assessment of Australia's water resources, which found there is considerable room for improvement.

Given that Dhiren Barot's incarceration commenced with 12 days of solitary confinement, it's not surprising that he's told Coalition interrogators exactly what they want to hear.  Barot along with seven others was charged by British police with possessing reconnaissance plans of the Stock Exchange in New York, the International Monetary Fund in Washington, Citigroup in New York, and the Prudential Building in New Jersey, as well as having notebooks with information on explosives, poisons, chemicals and related matters.  

It seems that as the information would be useful to a terrorist planning a terrorist attack, the possession of the knowledge is illegal under U.K. law.   This, folks, is a scary precedent to set in the war on terror.  There's no doubt that unless the Wooden Tops scored a definitive "result" then Barot's imprisonment was going to look terrible on the history books.

‘Here is the great discovery of the little man who doesn’t read. America is not the land of the free, nor of the brave, nor of the politically sentient. Nor is it a country of laws or of principles. It is a country of those who just do as they want. A president can do anything he chooses. Who will tell him no? Nobody has.

Today there is speculation as to whether he will make war, perhaps nuclear war, on Iran. The universal assumption seems to be that if he wants to, he will just do it. The legislature, already having given up its authority to declare war, seems to regard the military as the private guard of the president. Is it not interesting that one dim, pugnacious, ignorant little man can bring on nuclear war all by himself?