Angus Houston seems like a nice enough bloke .... his quiet, calm demeanour almost suggests that he is a thinking man's soldier & not the big, bold warrior that we might normally expect in an Air Chief Marshall or the person of our Chief of Defence Forces.

But, as always, first appearances can be deceiving .....

The other night, on the SBS Dateline program, the benign facemask of military discipline, coupled with polished media relations training, slipped for a moment & we caught a glimpse of the steel warrior lurking beneath the soft appearance.

from Crikey .....

Allan Kessing: my side of the story

Whistleblower Allan Kessing writes:

I joined Customs in 1990 and retired in 2005. My first three years were on the wharves then two at Sydney airport. In January 1997 I was approached to join a new intelligence section analysing sea and air cargo where I remained until returning to the airport in 2001.

From the SMH

Senior Liberal Andrew Robb, one of the opposition's star performers, is to take three months' leave to undergo treatment for depression in a move his colleagues say will help others confront their own mental health problems.

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from Crikey .....

Ad self-regulator says 72% sugar is a simple serve of fruit

David Gillespie, lawyer and author of "Sweet Poison, why sugar makes us fat" writes:

Johann Hari: We must stop the 'vulture funds' that feed on the world's poor

The energy that drove Jubilee 2000 needs to be summoned again

Friday, 18 September 2009

September 18, 2009

White House Scraps Bush’s Approach to Missile Shield

By PETER BAKER

More than 50 years ago, Vance Packard shook the commercial world with the publication of his book The Hidden Persuaders. It was, as the book jacket claims, "A revealing, often shocking explanation of new techniques of research and methods of persuasion."

Packard revealed, "If people couldn't discriminate reasonably, marketers reasoned, they should be assisted in discriminating unreasonably, in some easy, warm, emotional way."

From the Washington post

So far, so anti-Republican.

From Annabel Crabb:

...

Tony Abbott, re-entering the chamber at 2.40pm after a 24-hour suspension, blew a lavish kiss to a surprised Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families.

Wilson Tuckey continued his one-man commentary on women in the workplace, a loose series of mutterings tentatively entitled: ''They Just Want a Job on the Weekends When Dad's Home to Look After the Kids.''

To be fair on the Libs, they have been trying.

Palestine is under an oppressive military occupation. At times of political tension, the IDF detains large numbers of Palestinians "because the regulations that govern Israeli military tribunals provide little procedural protection to detainees." From March - October 2000, over 15,000 West Bank Palestinians were arrested. Over 1,000 were held in administrative detention without charge.

from Crikey .....

Woolies donates $2m, spends $500,000 talking about it

Stephen Downes writes:

Motorists using busy major roads in Melbourne and Brisbane have recently noticed large billboards advertising a $5000 grant from Woolworths to the Somerton Park Sea Scouts.

Some, not recognising the name Somerton Park, have eventually found that it is neither in Queensland nor Victoria but in South Australia. It's likely that the same ad is gracing billboards around the country.

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida is under heavy pressure in its strongholds in Pakistan's remote tribal areas and is finding it difficult to attract recruits or carry out spectacular operations in western countries, according to government and independent experts monitoring the organisation.

Speaking to the Guardian in advance of tomorrow's eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, western counter-terrorism officials and specialists in the Muslim world said the organisation faced a crisis that was severely affecting its ability to find, inspire and train willing fighters.