We are the ALP, we are the alternative government of Australia, and frankly, right now, we are in a God-awful shambles.We need to patch this up straight away in order to lift ourselves out of the muck and become a viable alternative government for this country. This country deserves better than we are currently delivering.
Leadership aspirant and shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd didn't need a psychic to tell him this was not his time
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Tsunami Toll passes 280,000
Brat Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, get tons more coverage than the anonymous victims of tsunami these days ...
The tsunami that erased dozens of coastal communities in Aceh, Indonesia, killing more than 228,000 people in the country, may have taken a toll on another group that has dogged security officials in the region for years
Ghosts stalk Thai tsunami survivors. At such times religion is very important because there is nothing else ...
• Toll of Biblical Proportion [We can do nothing to ward off the spirits Tsunami Tragedy ; A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. Josef Stalin said callously For us, that's a tragedy. The rest is news]
• · Amid the media din about the tsunami, Dan Rather's implosion, and the usual grim news from Iraq, an amazing story has been unfolding - but has received scant appreciation from the chattering classes. Democracy is on the march. I would rather live in an undemocratic country with constitutional rights, fair courts, and a government that upholds the rule of law than live in a democratic country without those things. I'd also rather live in a republic where democracy is tempered and cooled through deliberation and debate. After all, direct democracy is little more than the rule of the mob with ballots instead of torches. Democracy has to be good -- not perfect; Lack of transparency in party funding, and the troublesome issue of internal party democracy. Australian political parties in the spotlight
• · · The Nation, here's a list of the Bush Administration's Ten Most Outrageous Scandals thus far uncovered by government investigators Annals of Outrage ; [Open parties? A map of 21st century democracy. The traditional political party is dying Can it reinvent itself in a way that matches transformations of society, technology, and personal identity?; Soros should revive the old liberalism]
• · · · Has America morphed into a nation of Tony Maneros, collectively dismissing the future? Nation is behaving as if the end is near
• · · · · Tim Dunlop is Not Happy: Suggests that in Politics You cannot be Partially Pregnant especially when it comes to Leadership Ironic, isn't it? Mark Latham is criticised for saying too little too late and Kim Beazley for saying too much too soon. How is your sense of timing, Kevin? (Letter to SMH 24 January 2005 by Peter Williams, Epping); Britain's struggling Conservative opposition struck new difficulties yesterday when it was reported that even its new campaign director, the Australian Liberal mastermind Lynton Crosby, believed the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to be unbeatable. Lynton Crosby ... helped engineer Australian Liberals' win ; How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Faceless Omnipotent Oppressors: I’m sure a psychiatrist would have a field day analysing the relationship between Premier Carr and public sector infrastructure. Or maybe it should be a marriage guidance counselor. Carr slams school funding report I've seen very silly arguments from time to time but that's the silliest one ]
• · · · · · A state-of-the art particle accelerator switched on at Lucas Heights yesterday by the federal Science Minister, Brendan Nelson, will play a vital role in the worldwide detection of clandestine nuclear testing. Minister aglow over new reactor ; [The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that in making a routine traffic stop, the police can permit a trained dog to sniff the car for drugs without the need for any particular reason to suspect the driver of a narcotics violation. I assume the judge susspects that if you are a successfull drug runner you are unlikely to be catching public transport ;-)]