from Crikey .....

A key element of Bob Katter's regional development wish-list presented to the major parties will directly benefit companies owned or controlled by Katter's brother-in-law, and was spruiked by the Member for Kennedy for months in 2009 before Katter acknowledged the conflict of interest.

read more

Conservative NSW MP Fred Nile has denied that he has been accessing pornographic websites on his parliamentary computer, saying someone else must have used his log-on.

Mr Nile, from the Christian Democrat party, says reports in today's Daily Telegraph that porn websites have been accessed from his office 200,000 times are impossible.

Mr Nile is well known in NSW for his conservative stance on social issues, having been a long-time opponent of things such as the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

read more

An extraordinary document has been sent to the BBC - a carefully detailed and forensic-like analysis of the transcript of the Panorama programme "Death on the Med", broadcast on 16 August 2010.

Below is the transcript of this programme, together with the resulting dissection and complaint of bias and lack of impartiality which is now in the hands of the BBC.

read more

Incoming independent MP Andrew Wilkie has described the justification for the war in Afghanistan as "one of the great lies of the election campaign".

Mr Wilkie has claimed victory in the Tasmanian seat of Denison, but he will wait a few more days before declaring who he will support in a hung parliament.

He met Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Melbourne yesterday and presented her with a list of 20 issues that are important to him.

While his stance on the Afghanistan war is not part of that list, Mr Wilkie has made it clear he is against troops staying there.

read more

War profiteering is defined by Stuart Brandes in his book "Warhogs, a History of War Profits in America," as "a gain in economic well-being obtained as a result of military conflict."

As he shows, there is a long history of war profiteering in the United States and an equally long history of public disgust for it. One of the most quoted expressions of this disgust came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II: "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster."

read more

from Crikey .....

Common sense from independents has conservatives deeply unhappy

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

read more

The Coalition has slapped down a threat by the family First Senator, Steve Fielding, to try to cripple a Labor government, by refusing to endorse him in blocking supply.

Senator Fielding appears to have lost his seat but will sit in the Senate until June 30.

He claims Labor does not deserve to govern the country and if it forms a minority government, he will use his crucial Senate vote to block all Labor legislation, including its next budget.

However, to be effective he would need the support of the Coalition.

A spokesman for the Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, said if the Coalition were in Opposition, it would not block supply.

read more

Former Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says all unions and corporations should be banned from making political donations.

Mr Turnbull was going to retire at this election but was convinced to recontest his Sydney seat of Wentworth, which he won with a swing of 11.5 percent.

He says while it is not Coalition policy, he thinks there needs to be major changes to the way campaigns are funded.

"We should get rid of unions, we should get rid of corporations, we should get rid of huge donations, level the playing field," he said.

read more

If you appreciate gazing into the darkness, that's all the more reason to gather around the fire. This is a story about ghosts and spooks that haunt the United States of America. When it's over, I'm going to suggest that we talk to the people in Washington who can help us make sure we can get the end of the story right. Some of the last chapters are written down and sitting in cold, unlit basements. And though this story is filled with ghosts, some of the spooks are still alive and can still talk.

read more

Phoney Tony spent a lot of time this week demanding to know which was the real Julia Gillard. We might ask the same of him. No current political leader can chop and change like he does. Here are four Abbott quotes from yesteryear.

read more

from Crikey .....

meet a 'queue jumper'

by Y Dr Tanya Ahmed, a psychiatry registrar

Her brown eyes are blank. Her face is expressionless, her body motionless. She has no thoughts, no feelings, no purpose. She huddles in the corner of a stark hospital ward. She does not respond when her children kiss her. She hasn't drunk today, and hasn't eaten for days. If only she had the energy, she would find a way to die.

read more

You have the right to remain silent, but only if you tell the police that you're remaining silent.

You have a right to a lawyer - before, during and after questioning, even though the police don't have to tell you exactly when the lawyer can be with you. If you can't afford a lawyer, one will be provided to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you, which, by the way, are only good for the next two weeks?

read more

from Crikey .....

This is all your fault

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

read more

Climate change and water management are in a woeful state in Australia.

Australia is more vulnerable to water shortage and the ravages of climate change than any other place on earth.

All too soon we will hand over this brown land to our children: they will pass the bundle to theirs. My prediction is coming generations will jump up and down on our graves if the country is handed over in its present state.

read more

Australia approved new sanctions against Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program.

The new sanctions, announced Thursday by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, follow similar restrictions issued by the United States, the European Union and Canada.

For the first time the sanctions include restricting business dealings with Iran's oil and gas sector.

"In adopting this package, Australia stands at the forefront of international community efforts to have Iran meet its international obligations in relation to its nuclear program, one of the most serious security challenges facing the international community," Smith said in a statement.

read more

Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

read more

Last night's episode of Q&A devoted a fair chunk of air time to the most extensive debate on climate change policy we've been treated to so far in this election. It was edifying to watch people getting agitated, raising their voices, arguing with each other.

read more

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed concern on Thursday about what she called the Vietnamese government's intolerance of dissent.

"Vietnam, ... is on the path to becoming a great nation ..." Mrs. Clinton said in her opening statement at a news conference, as Mr. Khiem stood stone-faced next to her.

Mr. Khiem replied that human rights were rooted in unique cultural and historical circumstances. He cited what he claimed was an observation by President Obama that countries be allowed to choose their own path and that human rights not be imposed from outside.

read more

How stupid do our political leaders think we are?

Judging from the election campaign so far, pretty stupid. It's not the Hey Hey It's Saturday-style stunts that are the problem. You always get some of those in a campaign. Watching how politicians react in slightly whacky circumstances can be fun and sometimes quite revealing. Kevin Rudd went on Rove Live, Paul Keating posed for that picture in Rolling Stone wearing shades and John Hewson once wore six silly hats in a single day of campaigning - my personal favourite being the one shaped like a hot dog.

read more

A completely discredited right-wing blogger posts an edited video which seems to convict a black Agriculture department official of racism. Fox News runs the distorted clip continuously on all of its shows Monday. Before giving Shirley Sherrod a chance to tell her side of the story, the Agriculture department demands and receives the resignation of the head of its rural development office in Georgia.

read more

An April 2010 Pew Research Center (PRC) for the People & Press study and others report growing public anger, distrust, and hostility toward business and government because of a "perfect storm of conditions" - wrecked economies, fueling "epic discontent" toward responsible officials.

New People for the American Way (PFAW) Survey

Conducted in June, it showed:

- deep dissatisfaction with the political system;

- voters believing corporate influence on government policies is a "serious problem;"

read more

The Washington Post published yesterday the first of three large reports by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin on the dimensions of the gigantic U.S. apparatus of "intelligence" activities being undertaken to combat terrorist acts against the United States, such as the 9/11 attacks. To say that this activity amounts to mobilizing every police officer in the country to stop street fights in Camden only begins to suggest its almost unbelievable disproportion to the alleged threat.

Among Priest and Arkin's findings from a two-year study are the following:

read more

Buckets (as in Hyacinth Bucket — pronounced bouquet) are the cheap blooms (all stalks and thorns) that Tony is giving to the media while trying hard to be flip-floppingly interesting... But I was amazed this morning at Julia being accused of "flirting with the media" in a letter written to the Sydney Morning Herald (22/07/10) by a female reader... Blimey, if we're going to vote for the best legs in this boring knife-edged election, Tony has done more of his fair share off leg-up can-cans in budgie-smuggling apparatus to distract us from his shifty eyes.

read more

They're tricky; they're sneaky; and they're all together freaky; they're the Abbott Family.

The Australian Workers' Union has just launched a new television advertisement, and put the ad out on YouTube, explaining that Tony Abbott and his family of political mates belong in a museum - they are throw backs to the weird world of the early 60s.

"Just like in the 60s television series this wealthy clan just don't understand how bizarre and frightening their policies are - and how badly they would hurt the working families which my union represents," Paul Howes said.

They're The Abbott Family

from Crikey .....

Cox: vote 1, trust, seems to be the order of the day

Eva Cox writes:

read more

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has given a guarantee he would keep interest rates lower than a Labor government in a move that could backfire on him as it did for former prime minister John Howard.

Mr Abbott on Sunday said Labor policies and the size of the government's debt were pushing up living costs and putting upward pressure on interest rates.

But in comments reminiscent of a promise made by Mr Howard during the 2004 election campaign, Mr Abbott suggested a coalition government would be able to keep interest rates lower.

read more

Rushing like lemmings to the cliff, this rotten state government mounts yet another attack on the ordinary punter. From Monday, six mobile speed cameras will be prowling the roads, concealed in nondescript white vans, each one of them able to fine six drivers every second.

This is yet another arm of the government's long established policy of bullying and punishing motorists. I can't remember the name of this week's roads minister and nor can I be bothered to find out, but whoever it is was on TV the other day, po-faced, bleating that he would be delighted if not one extra dollar was raised.

read more

from Crikey .....

Our wealthy getting a free ride: time to start giving back

Daniel Petre, entrepreneur, philanthropist and former vice-president of Microsoft, writes:

read more

This month marks the 154th anniversary of Nikola Tesla's birth.

What's that - you didn't know?

Tsk tsk. Time to freshen up on all things Tesla with this short cradle to the grave animation.

http://www.crikey.com.au/video/

NSW Origin great Steve Mortimer has nominated former prime minister John Howard for preselection as the inaugural leader of rugby league's independent commission.

Howard had previously been mentioned as a candidate for league's soon-to-be top job, but he was nominated by Cricket Australia and its New Zealand counterpart as their choice to ultimately head the International Cricket Council.

That, however, has turned into a diplomatic nightmare after the sport's dominant Afro-Asia bloc ambushed his nomination for reasons it has refused to divulge. One theory is that he would shine an unwelcome light on the sport's murky areas. Howard has refused to withdraw his candidature.

read more