Disgraced former NSW minister for energy Ian Macdonald is to face a new corruption inquiry into the granting of coal exploration licences.

"The Commission has been investigating allegations that corrupt conduct has occurred in connection with the granting of certain coalmining tenements in NSW," the Independent Commission Against Inquiry said in a statement.

NATO concluded its two-day summit in Chicago Monday with a formal ratification of the Obama administration's plans for a phased drawdown of occupation forces from Afghanistan over the next two and a half years, while laying the groundwork for a continued US-led military presence in the country through 2024 and beyond.

When Tony Abbott recently accused the Labor government's budget of being a foray into class warfare, he tried to make this sound like a dirty trick. But what's wrong with a little class warfare? Isn't it the job of an alleged workers' party to represent its less privileged constituents?

Labor was quick to deny the accusation, which tells us Abbott may have been on to something. The fact that Australia is a deeply divided nation is something most politicians are reluctant to admit publicly; for them, "class" is a dirty word.

Recent months have seen a flurry of headlines about cuts (often called "threats") to the U.S. defense budget. Last week, lawmakers in the House of Representatives even passed a bill that was meant to spare national security spending from future cuts by reducing school-lunch funding and other social programs.

Here, then, is a simple question that, for some curious reason, no one bothers to ask, no less answer: How much are we spending on national security these days? With major wars winding down, has Washington already cut such spending so close to the bone that further reductions would be perilous to our safety?

adaptation of a Rembrant painting by Gus Raphael...

from The Power Index .....

Suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson took to the floor of the parliament yesterday to defend himself against claims of misuse of union funds.

Speaking under parliamentary privilege, he made a series of allegations against key figures as being complicit in a prostitute conspiracy and for leading a lynch mob against him. Here's the line-up of who he named: 

Marco Bolano, HSU deputy secretary

This is the judgment levelled by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of Craig Thomson's explanation to parliament of claims he misused union funds for personal perks and pleasures.

It is clear there is no love lost between the Liberal leader and the exiled Labor MP with Mr Thomson describing Mr Abbott as unfit to be Prime Minister - and an MP - yesterday.

Mr Thomson told parliament yesterday he was innocent of fraud allegations arising from his time as a union leader, using the speech to hit out at the Opposition and the media for hounding him and his family and placing his mental health at risk.

Here is an excerpt from President Barack Obama's remarks on Sunday in Chicago after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai:

The Australian Labor Party could learn a lot from some of the greatest disasters in military history.

The flames of the eurozone crisis leapt higher yesterday, as fears spread about the state of the Continent's most vulnerable banks.