In 2006, the late Tom Bingham - then Britain's most senior judge - gave a seminal speech on the rule of law at Cambridge University. He divided the broad principle of the rule of law which underpins democracy into eight ''sub-rules'', many of which are being undermined by the Gillard government's extraordinary proposal to excise the whole of the Australian mainland from the migration zone.

Christian preacher says God is punishing US for supporting gay marriage, while others blame Obama

LABOR'S diluted poker machine reforms allowing punters to voluntarily set bet limits are poised to go before parliament today after the Greens last night declared their support.

from politicoz ….

Parliament resumed this week. The polls have shifted, giving the Gillard government breathing space, but if anyone was expecting that to alter the parliamentary dynamic they were sadly mistaken.

from Crikey …..

by my friend, Vacy Vlazna

The powers of Australia's domestic spy agency, ASIO, are rotten at their core, could be used against innocent Australians by an unscrupulous government and should be repealed, the law professor George Williams has warned.

And another thing...

Peter Reith who is so eager for the NSW Liberals (conservatives) to stop the small liberals (small L liberals [conservatives]) take over, is telling them that the central power-brokers like him know best... He considers himself of course as a "power-broker" not as part of the ugly "faceless men" that do the political deals in the Labor camp...

from Politicoz ….

David Marr put the cat amongst the pigeons with his Quarterly Essay on Tony Abbott.

from Crikey …..

The dead entertainer haunting the BBC and the UK government

from politicoz …..

Cabinet minister Craig Emerson said Prime Minister Julia Gillard was proving resilient.