Wednesday, June 30, 2004



Ten years after a royal commission exposed the corruption extending to the heart of the NSW Police there has been no change in police culture, and any change would be difficult to bring about

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Let's Hear It for the Handover
It was a smart move to transfer sovereignty to Iraq, two days ahead of schedule. If the Bush administration keeps doing things this smart over the next several months, the transition to self-rule might go more smoothly than anyone has had reason to suspect.
Intelligence analysts expected new torrents of violence to erupt in the days leading up to the handover.
The distinction is not merely symbolic—or, to the extent it is, the symbolism might be sufficiently potent to alter popular attitudes and behavior. On one level, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi could order emergency measures—not on behalf of the occupiers but in the name of the new Iraqi national government. On another, more critical, level, the Iraqi people might view the insurgency in a different way—as a threat not to the occupiers but to themselves. To the extent that the insurgents are nationalists and not jihadists, the accelerated move to self-rule might even deter some from continuing to take up arms.

· Finally, Bush does something right in Iraq
· · Going: Man of Honour: Brian Harradine, the father of the Senate, announcing his retirement
· · · Coming: A massive manhood development day for Eric Roozendaal
· · · · See Also Too Many Secrets
· · · · · See Also Former opposition leader Kim Beazley was the subject of two separate plots by Australian spies to trash his chances of winning the 2001 election[ via Bulletin: Kim Beazley (Google is yet to archive this story)]
· · · · · · See Also Editorial ofInsecurity