understanding of justice as a right directed at all human beings, no matter who they are. Only then can we feel a pride that comes not from flags and war and silence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Good_Samaritan

News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is more outspoken in criticising the media than his predecessors.

Mr Rudd has not been shy about suggesting News Limited is running a vendetta against him.

In the past he has criticised the media organisation's coverage in several stories, including scrutiny of the Education Revolution and the OzCar affair.

But Mr Murdoch has told Sky news the Prime Minister is not necessarily more thin-skinned than any of his predecessors.

"He expresses his complaints more vociferously and faster but no I think they're all pretty much the same," he said.

The media mogul also weighed into the recently-revived debate on immigration, saying that Australia needs to be more welcoming of asylum seekers.

----------------------

Yes, Mr Murdoch you are quite right to say Rudd is more vociferous about the media — if one discounts the ABC (john Howard used to bag the ABC more often than you care to remember) and also you try to trick us into forgetting that the mainstream commercial media was brown-nosing John Howard little wars and applauded most of his antics.

But all's forgiven as you prod Mr Rudd on the refugee issue... Yet, I have this nigling feeeling that you are encouraging him to be more generous... so he will tank faster in the polls, giving your mates the Libs a better chance... Aren't I cynical...

...And suddenly, on the front of the Sunday Telegraph (Murdoch paper) his majesty Rattus the Turd claims with a sour smile on his lips: "I'd stop the boats!". Yes your professorship of gunboat diplomacy. And I believe should you have been on the slopes of Gallipoli, Victory to the invaders, the Poms and the Aussies, was assured. Same... would you have been commander of the troops in Vietnam we would have won this ugly war with flying colours... and of course, should you still be in charge of the English hegemony, Iraq would smell of roses while Afghanistan would already have been "liberated" and reconstructed with oil pipelines criss-crossing the country side... And for those who see conspiracy everywhere, read comment above re Mr Murdoch... playing the cat gut strings of your uncertainty with hot and cold showers...

And Mr Howard said Australia should go the distance in Afghanistan.

Of the Rudd Government, he said: "It is now almost two years since they were elected and I think it is fair to have a look at what they have done.

David Sheppard of Canberra

"The Rudd Government comes up very short. I can't think of a major thing it has done - except spend the bank balance that Costello and I left behind. Nothing else.

"In our first two years we put our funds into surplus after a huge deficit, radically changed our gun laws and we got ready for the huge reform of the waterfront.

"We changed our industrial relations system and brought in individual contracts. We privatised 30 per cent of Telstra and we had announced a comprehensive review of the tax system.

"The Rudd Government has done a couple of symbolic things, like signing Kyoto, but Kyoto runs out in 2012 so it is a piece of symbolism.

"The apology - some people regarded that as very important, but it was a symbolic thing, not a challenging reform.

"So I'm scratching ... even with the emissions trading system, what Mr Rudd is proposing is not all that different from what I took to the last election."

He also lashed the Rudd Government for throwing away money.

"I wouldn't have sent out those $900 cheques," he said.

-------------------------------

Well, well well, all's well in hell, said the coal merchant...

Dear Mr Howard, these $900 cheques saved many poor sod's bacon. Far more than you can realise they saved this country from falling into destitution. Yes, we know, in the same circumstances you may have given tax cuts... and we all know that tax cuts always favour the rich and leave the poorest sods in the lurch... So from my point of view you can take a hike. The $900 was the most ever democratic lot of money a government ever spent.

And as far as your surplus budgets, they were achieved on the back of screwing the workers in boom times — boom times that took the plunge at the speed of light, because they were inflated way beyond reality and your mates, the Yanks, mucked up their banking regulations by not having any.

And your glorious party, the Libs are doing as much as they can to sabotage "your" so-called ETS, as you claim...

And while your government was saving a bit of money, the people of this country were going to the dogs with huge debts, were forced to pay for services they already owned, had to pay twice the price for housing... and you sabotaged the chance for this country to become a flully fledged republic...

Not to mention all the lies on the war in Iraq and other porkies...

It is now common knowledge that Howard consistently undermined his Liberal Party leaders and openly courted the most influential in the Media to paint his wagon.

The lies he told before, during and after his all too long term in office was as offensive to democracy as any of the world’s dictators.  His regime was to me similar to a “New Order” and he governed the people, by the Corporations and for the Corporations.

While the media is still trying to find some serious and meaningful matter to crucify Kevin Rudd, they did the opposite during Howard’s time and protected him along with his often “un-Ministerial” Cabinet.

Both Howard and Costello argued that foreign debt was a “killer” to any economy but, that was when they were in opposition.  When they took over in 1996 the foreign debt was less than $200 billion and when they left it was over $700 billion!  But the media was silent while they did a “Menzies” and sold everything they could to build up a false impression of a $20 billion surplus.

It couldn’t have been too hard for that capitalist government to raise a surplus by selling public assets and using a traitor in the Democrat ranks to bring in the biggest single tax in Australia’s history – the GST.

Even in this ridiculous debate on asylum seekers no one has mentioned SIEV X where Howard, Reith and others “took the tough line” to allow 365 men women and children to drown – even though an Australian war ship was close enough to save them.  Now we have a government who cares and no amount of media beatups should deny that fact at least.

Now “the Tampa incident” is being played down even though it too was a blatant crime against the ancient Maritime Law and a media applauded political stunt.

The so-called “wharfies” dispute was also a blatant breach of law and if the ACCC had not warned the Union not to pursue the matter in Court the real conspiracy would have been learned long before “The Bastard Boys”.

The disgusting behavior of Howard to the G.W. Bush regime even forced Malcolm Frazer to rebel against that sort of servile attitude.  This, along with his government’s loss of prestige overseas eventually forced his benefactor Rupert Murdoch to meet with him in 2007 and it was reported that Rupert said “you have had your time”?

And do you know what Gus – I object to any person running my country who I can't change by voting.  Like in the U.N. democracy is now a marketing phrase and they only have the power that a selective veto will allow.

Cheers mate.

No Howard – WE sing God Bless AUSTRALIA.  NE OUBLIE.