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In Europe the Green political headquarters are now accepted as the balanced think tanks who are allowed to row and steer ideas in the mainstream policy forums. Rank and file members of the green movement are just ordinary men and women who are not seeking overnight revolutions, but thoughtful evolutions in terms of industrial and environmental issues. The Fairfax Digital profiles Bob Brown and his Green Agenda
Recently released research has shown that cigarettes cause the death of around 14 Australians each year, including several babies. A study has also found that introducing fire-safe cigarettes, which go out when not puffed, would prevent more than 4500 fires each year, which cost over $50 million in health, damage and fire service costs.
Why we must stamp on the burning butt

Eye on the Critical Political Hues: Colours of the Political Spectrum: From Gold through to Brown & at the (Rather) end of the rainbow is the Green
The risktaker of the ABC fame, Antony Green has a tendency to broadcast his political bets and predictions one and every way. Last week Antony was predicting Labour victory, but in politically-charged world of election fever there is nothing wrong for a man or a woman to change his or her mind. Provided credit is not claimed according to the selective, or fickle, memory of those predictions. As some of us know, we are unlikely to recall in two weeks time whether we took the confession at the monastry or east of the choir, presbytery ... or whether it was with Cardinal George Pell

Speaking of sobering confessions, the ABC circular election analyst Antony Green makes his prediction for October 9: John Howard will lose seats, win the election narrowly and announce his retirement at the first sign of economic downturn. Mark Latham will keep surging in popularity and lead Labor to victory - in three years.
• Whenever my wife leaves an umbrella at home it rains cats and dogs, just like today ... Election Results for 2007 ( Under Communism I used to predict results accurately in years to come ...bar 1989); [First Draft memory recorded by Counterpin]
• · The big switch has taken place in the Australian viewing taste. Mark Riley, ex-Fairfax apprentice, is certainly one of the soundest political analyst at the brekky time. Sunrise had this morning former John Fahey staffer, Joe Hockey, (who uses a political puk well) as well as Kevin Rudd are the future political hockey stars known for their perfect sense of timing and puntish punchlines. Every morning next week the Channel 7 will pepper the brekky time with in-depth interviews and policy analysis. Transcripts of interviews are available, if you are not on rain-blessed holidays Lucky Channel
• · · Tim Dunlop Election Questions of the Three Storey Skylight
• · · · David Marr There are no Pollyannas left. None of us expects too much would change if the government changed in late 2004
• · · · · Judy L. Thomas of the Kansas City Star reports that the auditor of the Missouri Conservation Department had business relationships with many of the employees he was charged with watching; [Cynthia Burton of the Philadelphia Inquirer examined the fundraising practices of politicians in New Jersey, where donations connected to casinos are banned in state races That prohibition hasn’t stopped more than $200,000 in gambling contributions from flowing into the coffers of four state officeholders over the last half-dozen years]
• · · · · · Suggestion for Kerry: Dump your advisers, read the pundits; Clearly, the candidate needs something. So every policy hobbyhorse, every campaigning scheme, can be recast as the thing that would finally send the electorate stampeding Mr. Kerry’s way, if he were only to try it Redstone to Chinese media execs: I'm Rather concerned about CBS flap