The most progressive US president in a generation comes to the most important international meeting since the Second World War and delivers a speech so devoid of substance that he might as well have made it on speaker-phone from a beach in Hawaii.

His aides argue in private that he had no choice, such is the opposition on Capitol Hill to any action that could challenge the dominance of fossil fuels in American life.

And so the nation that put a man on the Moon can't summon the collective will to protect men and women back here on Earth from the consequences of an economic model and lifestyle choice that has taken on the mantle of a religion.

Barack Obama stepped into the chaotic final hours of the Copenhagen summit today saying he was convinced the world could act "boldly and decisively" on climate change.

But his speech offered no indication America was ready to embrace bold measures, after world leaders had been working desperately against the clock to try to paper over an agreement to prevent two years of wasted effort - and a 10-day meeting - from ending in total collapse.

from Crikey .....

Allies suspected of war crimes should not be above the law

Greg Barns writes:

In recent days we have all witnessed two vomitous eruptions of moral nullity that would tax the powers of a Voltaire or a Vidal to do them proper justice; they quite o'er-crow the meager gifts of a hack like me. But I will sketch a few observations here nonetheless, if only to add one more small voice to those few who bear witness to the evils perpetrated by our unaccountable leaders.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is going after the environmental votes that have traditionally gone to the left side of politics.

Mr Abbott will stake out his environmental credentials in a speech he will give at the New South Wales Liberal Party's Millennium Forum in Sydney this morning.

He also outlines some decidedly un-Liberal links in his past - one of his grandfathers was a unionist, and his father says he attended a communist Sunday school and sang The Red Flag instead of hymns.

There's a famous mermaid statue here on the waterfront in Copenhagen.

The Angry Mermaid website tells a great story on just why she is not happy with the practices of these corporate climate obstructionists. Voting is open until midnight December 13, and on the 15th our allies will present the deserving winner with their very own Angry Mermaid statue.

Please take a minute to cast your vote in the Angry Mermaid competition, calling out the worst of the oil & coal lobbyists that are buying off our politicians & using their heft to prevent effective action on climate change:

To many human rights advocates, however , Obama's high-minded declaration rang hollow in light of fresh reports that his administration continues to operate secret prisons in Afghanistan where detainees have allegedly been tortured and where the International Committee for the Red Cross has been denied access to the prisoners.

Once upon a time there was a big bank called Westpac. One day the beautiful fairy princess who ran the bank - her name was Goldilocks - called all her gnomes and elves to a meeting.

"How can we increase our profits?" cried Goldilocks. "We made only $4.627 billion last year, a slump of 8 per cent on the year before. We need more, much more, if I am to justify my $10 million salary package!"

The gnomes and elves furrowed their brows, scrolled through their spreadsheets, and sipped the banana smoothies that Goldilocks had thoughtfully provided.

From the BBC

It would have been "right to remove" Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein even without evidence that he had weapons of mass destruction, Tony Blair has said.

The former prime minister said it was the "notion of him as a threat to the region" which had tilted him in favour of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Without WMD claims it would have been necessary to "use and deploy different arguments," he told the BBC.

Mr Blair is expected to face the Iraq war inquiry early next year.

From Senator Minchin website:

"Ensuring energy security is one of the great challenges we face as a nation, but it also presents exciting new opportunities across the energy sector including in the field of renewable energy.

'Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe that the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war.

That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions.

tweedling

From The Sydney Morning Herald supported Barry O' Farrell...

"It would put the public back in control. In the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, it would again ensure in NSW ''that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth".

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Yes Barry... Good Barry... Sorry Barry... Bollocks Barry...

I read between the lines: