Phillips - Australians Are A Bunch Of Cowardly Fuckwits. Now Take Me Roughly Howard You Dirty Boy

So, John Howard gets the kicking he deserves and how does the reactionary right respond?? In typical fashion of course:

Now he is gone, knocked out by a man who copied to the letter the trick pulled by Tony Blair in persuading blue-collar workers who had previously abandoned Labour for the Liberals (the equivalent of the British Conservative party) that it was safe to return to Labour because he was a Howard wannabe in contrast to his rabble of a party. But just as with Blair, no-one really knows what Kevin Rudd actually stands for — and whether he will now move back towards the left. Whatever now happens, the fact that he ran on a platform of pulling troops out of Iraq and endorsing the ludicrous scam of man-made global warming are enough in themselves to tell the jihadis that Australia has now lost its (one-man) nerve. Australia just made itself (and the rest of us) a whole lot less safe.

Mmm, as last seen after the Spanish election. Good work Melanie. Why is it that as soon as an election result goes against them, they suggest that the people have put themselves at greater risk?? It's like a less subtle version of the games played by Blair and Bush in their prime. Looks like Phillips is as big an enemy of democracy as the so-called Islamists.

Oh, I wrote a comment at the end of Phillips' despicable rant, wonder if it gets posted??

Aussie mega Election Day spectacular!!!

Here is a cross-section of some of today's best articles, just to give you a feel for what's about to happen to George Bush's staunchest ally in the War on Intelligent Foreign Policy.

In 2001, John Howard, aided by Philip Ruddock, showed that it was good business. Howard’s vital sentence, uttered for the first time during that campaign during the Liberals’ formal launch at the Sydney Recital Hall, was: “We decide who comes into this country and the circumstances in which they come.” I was there and there were two moments during that event when the roof of that beautiful space just about lifted off due to the rapturous applause from Liberal supporters: when Howard made that statement and when Ruddock, the hero of the push against boat people, was introduced to the crowd.

Here is an astounding piece of news from this morning, about how our ex-Goldman Sachs investment banker Environment Minister has taken out a full page newspaper ad demanding that people vote for him or be forced to go through the whole election process again. And from the same dramatic electorate (y'all have heard of Bondi Beach, right?) here is the latest breaking bit of over-the-top 90210 hilarity-stoopid-melodrama:

Check this earlier post for background. Rupert Murdoch's red-cordial-nightmare Caroline Overington screamed abuse at Labor Party candidate for Wentworth, George Newhouse just over an hour ago.

With her skill for making a clumsy scene, she made sure to not only do this in front of a lot of people, but at a polling location..

"At first we thought who was this woman yelling at Newhouse, then she slapped him and we realised it was Caroline Overington," the witness said.

She was obviously just following the Electoral Commission's guidance - mark one box above the line, all the boxes below the line, or attack the candidate in person just to make sure that everyone knows how highly News Limited prizes quality journalism.

Actually, perhaps it is a News Limited ploy. Let's face it - that last minute poll they ran which put the Liberals closer to winning than in any other poll this year probably wouldn't have hurt their sales. And now they can run the Sunday headline "Bugger the election results - read today's Slappy Bitch Psycho column!! Exclusive!!"

just in --> Not wanting to miss out on the last minute negative publicity, Queensland Liberals have made sure to get caught up in another deceptive how-to-vote flyer scam. Nationally, that's the third reported for the Liberals this week, proving that they are indeed the party of private enterprise.



Whether you're a political animal or an apolitical animal, here is a kick-balls compilation of music videos I put together for this auspicious day and your enjoyment. I will bet Korova's left ovary that no MoA reader out there has seen every one of these clips. Here's a juicy taste:

Australian election blast - 5 days that John Howard would probably like to lock up in the desert, with some refugees, kids, and an airline hostess.

There's plenty of reasons why one means to blog but does not get to it - computer meltdowns, lack of closure, the desire for perfection, Al Qaeda in the Internet (new group, seriously). So I'm going to cut straight through the bullshit with a very quick and likely unlinked (visit Typing is not activism... by Friday if you NEED links) rantagious update. About what? The Australian election.

We're about 88 hours (who's counting?) from the close of polling booths on Saturday. That will hopefully be followed soon after by the sound of a door slamming shut on John Howard's burgerlicious haemorrhoids as he LEAVES THE BUILDING!! Everything, apart from the Murdoch-owned press, is pointing toward a change of government. There has been no flash in the pan swing away from Howard. Rather, as soon as there was a viable federal opposition leader in place late last year, the polls swung and have stuck in a range of between 42-46% support for the government, 54-58% for the opposition under Kevin Rudd.

Particularly interesting has been the past 5 days. Typically, this would be the point when the Labor Party (opposition) would find a way to self-destruct. This time, however, the Liberal Coalition (conservative right wing government) has been utterly battered.

Late last week, an auditor-general's report was released detailing how a grants program designed to support regional projects had somehow been politically hijacked and distributed in a manner reflecting the need to insure and buy votes in key electorates. Grants adding up to millions of dollars were awarded to first-time applicants whose proposals were incomplete and whose projects had met with departmental criticism. They happened to be located in marginal electorates. This also led to a meltdown from Mark Vaile, the deputy Prime Minister, accusing the auditor-general of - funnily enough - inappropriately playing politics during an election.

The next headline was that John Howard had confirmed that Peter Costello, our even less popular treasurer, would definitely takeover from him about 18 months into the next term of government if they get back in.

This was followed by a lot of noise and finger-pointing over the possibility that cracks were appearing over internal loyalties and allegiances, as well as over the future leadership and direction of the party.

No sooner was a lid on this than the Supreme Court handed down a rejection of a Freedom of Information application that had been before the court for almost two and a half years. Local media had applied for details of governmental discussions about a second wave of industrial relations reforms. The current wave - WorkChoices - follows the American model of industrial relations and is driven by Howard's hatred of unions and Costello's love of a well-behaved work force. Oh yes. And money. They both love money.

WorkChoices is a critical issue in this election as it was introduced without ever having been voted on by the public. After the last election the Coalition government won an unanticipated Senate majority and realized they could rubber stamp everything they'd been wanting to do for the previous 8 years. This latest acceptance by the court that the discussions were internal cabinet materials and therefore not for the public is backfiring for Howard. They have blocked the release the way they wanted to, only to assure people that they are hiding a further wave of reforms - just as the Opposition has been insisting that they are.

And now, the government has truly got into desperation politics. One of their Senators, Andrew Robb, is the kind of douchebag who would fit perfectly into the Bush Administration. In the last 8 hours, he propagated a story that 13 of the Opposition's candidates were legally ineligible to stand for election because they hadn't fully resigned from publicly funded jobs at the time of their applications to be candidates for election.

One of Howard's satanic gifts has been to perfectly time announcements and statements in a way that capitalises on the news cycle. Robb, while equally - possibly more - satanic, lacks this gift. Before tomorrow's front pages went to press, journalists had time to ring the 13 Labor candidates and seek statements regarding this. While one was not contactable, twelve confirmed that their candidatures are indeed valid. Furthermore, both they and the journalists have gone on to point out that this kind of a desperate ploy by the Government is exactly that - desperate.

Reassuringly, Centrebet has Labor odds on to win at $1.28, with Howard's Government paying $3.80. Some lefties have apparently bet a bunch of money on Howard to win so that even if he does, they'll have something to smile about.

The smiliest thing that could possibly happen would be if a change of government is augmented by Howard being shown the door in his own electorate of Bennelong. There, a former ABC investigative journalist with a high public profile, Maxine McKew (rhymes with 'chuck glue') is running for the Labor Party. Despite holding the seat of Bennelong for over 30 years (since the 68-year old stopped living with his mum... to go live with his wife) Howard looks to have a fight on his hands that he is being tipped to lose. He would be the first Australian Prime Minister in almost 80 years to lose his own seat at a federal election - and he'll have bloody well earnt it.

Still... staying on as a backbencher in an opposition party for another three years might be even more punishing.... nah.



My hopes are for a Labor Party win in the Lower House with the balance of power in the Senate to be picked up by the Greens, just btw.

John Howard Attempts To Bribe Electorate

Cos that's the only way he'll get in:

HALF-A-MILLION families would pay less in advance for child care if the Coalition is re-elected.

The Government has announced a $652 million plan to pay the child care tax rebate before parents settle their bills, rather than after the tax year ends.

And in an about-face on previous Coalition policy, capital funds of up to $1 million apiece will be granted to help build or upgrade centres in up to 35 areas with no child care vacancies.

Unveiling the pre-payment plan at his election campaign launch in Brisbane yesterday, Prime Minister John Howard said it would provide more relief in the family budget.

Yes, I am an evil totalitarian fuck monkey, but I'm a fuck monkey that can give you extra dough. Come dance with me my pretties while I slap you round the face with the promise of more money. Dance!! Dance I tell you!!! Hahahahahahaha!! You love it you slags!!!

David Hicks - Nothing More Than A Political Pawn For John Howard

Hot on the heels of the announcement of John Howard's day of reckoning with the Australian electorate, comes news that is a stark reminder of the what this man stands for. You may remember the case of David Hicks (if not, here is a clip developed by my good friend RickB at Ten Percent) and the appalling treatment he suffered at the hands of the American and Australian governments. It transpires that, what a surprise, his eventual release into Australian custody was a political stunt aimed at securing Howard another election victory. From The Age:

Hicks had been held by the US at Guantanamo Bay since January 2002, a month after his capture in Afghanistan, where he fought with the Taliban.

The father of two was sentenced to nine months jail and, under a plea bargain, was transferred to Adelaide to serve the remainder of the sentence at Yatala, where he remains in solitary confinement.

He is due for release on December 30.

A report in Harper's magazine said it was Mr Cheney and Mr Howard who cut the deal to release Hicks from Guantanamo Bay.

Quoting a military officer, it said a military staffer was present when Mr Cheney interfered directly to secure the plea deal.

"He did it, apparently, as part of a deal cut with Howard," the officer was quoted as saying.

"I kept thinking: this is the sort of thing that used to go on behind the Iron Curtain, not in America.

"And then it struck me how much this entire process had disintegrated into a political charade."

Mr Hicks said if the report was true it was further evidence of how political his son's case had become.

"I've said all along that David's issue was political," Mr Hicks said.

"You're not allowed to go through a court of justice, you've got to be dealt with by politicians."

A political charade indeed. What makes it all the more laughable is that this blatant emulation of Soviet tactics is being carried out by a right-wing administration backed by a highly vocal gaggle of right-wing foot soldiers (not to mention so-called members of the 'left'). This process has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with politics.

Bennelong lonely lonely lonely lonely.......TIME!!

John Howard's electoral region is Bennelong. The Federal Opposition (Labor) are running a highly respected investigative journalist against him and there's a real chance that she'll bump him. Of course, we want to see both him and his party gone so hopefully we don't choke at the election this year - because it will be the last chance to send a clear message of 'get f#$%ED!!!!'. The ultra-talented Cyrius01 on YouTube, however, has managed to get in early with this Dedly Ledly burn which pretty much covers 11 years in Australia's social and moral collapse - in case you missed it (you lucky, lucky bastards!).

Very rock, very funny, very replayable loud for housemates and co-workers.



I love that under 'interests & hobbies' Cyrius says he's into "preventing Armageddon-believing Christians from creating self-fulfilling prophecies and ruining the planet."

The dude is definitely onto something.

First spotted at the always worthwhile Homepage Daily

Racism, Beyonce, political convenience, and shitty pre-war coverage of Iran

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. . .

. . . like 'excessive', 'hair product', 'Iron Cross', 'sadist' and, uh,... 'shloop'.

This is Debra Cagan. She's a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to US Secretary for Defence Robert Gates. There is a great little newsbreak here in the Daily Mail about how she told a group of visiting British MPs that "I hate all Iranians". Strangely, this hasn't received the coverage and twisting that might happen if, say, an Iranian official commented that the current regime in charge of Israel should be removed from the pages of history.

"She seemed more keen on saying she didn't like Iranians than that the US had no plans to attack Iran," said one MP. "She did say there were no plans for an attack but the tone did not fit the words."

Another MP said: "I formed the impression that some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming."

Also amusing is the observation that

Tory Stuart Graham, who was on the ten-day trip, would not discuss Ms Cagan but said: "It was very sobering to hear from the horse's mouth how the US sees the situation."

I would suggest that he actually is discussing Ms Cagan, but he would have surely referred to 'the horse's ass'. . . and even then that would still be an insult to horses.

And although some people complain that mainstream media really have their priorities wrong, I'm glad that this time - in australia at least - that has not been the case.

Because it is far more important to damn Beyonce for 'snubbing' Malaysia by cancelling her concerts because of Islamic fundamentalists intent on regulating her clothing and choreography choices . . . than to report that US military operations on the Iranian border are being run by a sociopathic bigot.

And although I'll obviously be one of squillions of Australians voting in almost any manner likely to eject our current Board of Detractors and install a government more closely resembling a group of people with souls, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has really done damage to his credibility today for anybody willing to really think about it.

The Oz reports that while campaigning in a heavily Jewish Sydney electorate, Rudd committed to trying to bring charges of incitement to genocide against the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if Labor is elected at the next election.

This is the most outstandingly stupid thing that Rudd has yet committed to.

1. it's obvious pandering to a boutique interest group

2. it displays a lazy attitude toward fact-gathering (maybe he should consider this reportage of what Ahmadinejad actually said about Israel, this Islamic discussion of what he said in Farsi, this detail of the use of bogus human rights groups to generate anti-Iranian propaganda, this detail of how America is gearing up for another slaughter, or even just Wiki it)

3. any serious legal action against Iran will undo much of the good work that Rudd could achieve through aggressive diplomacy with China because of the Iran - China oil relationship.

4. this legitimises rather than challenges the current US propaganda line which is in effect for no other reason than justifying another illegal attack that has already been planned.

5. it suggests that some important lessons made available by decades of globally disastrous Western policy on Middle Eastern affairs really haven't been learnt.

6. and the idea of Australia pointing the genocide stick at anybody is a stretch, but at somebody who hasn't actually committed or actively encouraged genocide is just tragic.

Perhaps the final wonderful words should go to Professor Gary Leupp in his clarifying discussion of US foreign policy, media, and political values.

If you hate all of them (and are grotesquely ignorant of their vast contribution to human civilization), why not nuke them, and their monuments and treasures, and destroy their 3000 year history, and "wipe them off the map"? Why not prepare public opinion for that shattering scenario, and grind those boot heels into the brains of any sympathizers of those you call "sand-niggers" as you try to spread Bush's gospel of hate?

Thank the Lord for our free trade deal with Uncle Spam - we get 'gospel of hate' at 22% off!

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Rejected By Usual Suspects

Finally, after 22 years of debate, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. According to the BBC:

The treaty sets down protections for the human rights of native peoples, and for their land and resources.

The General Assembly passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with 143 countries voting in favour and 11 abstaining.

Four countries voted against the measure, can you guess who? Well, unsurprisingly the opponents were Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. That these countries have large indigenous populations tells you all you need to know about their contemptuous regard for human rights. And who takes a large share of the blame? Why, our old friend John Howard of course. According to one report, Canada actually supported the declaration until Howard lobbied the Canadian government to reverse their position. Just another reason to give Howard a good kicking in the upcoming election. Mmmm, I feel a slideshow coming on.....

Read this, you ignorant bitches.

Do you sometimes feel that weblicated feature titles lack a bit of 'zazz? Yeah. Me too. In the latest instalment of 'Australia? Who gives a fuck?' (you're reading it) a whole bunch of the big funnies have happened and we might finally see He Who Would Be Furor (not a typo) out on his bitter little arse.

John Howard has to call a federal election some time in the next few months and everything that has kept him in power is fading like the last off-key screech in an ad for Australian Idol bloopers. It is funny to think that Britons, for example, complain about the British parliamentary process. Sure it's not transparent, sure the media let them get away with shit. But there is at least argument between and within parties and lying to Parliament is close to a hanging offence. Here? Forget about it.

Johnny-intolerant-bastard-climate-denialist-corporate-bumpuppet-Howard has kept his hold on power for the last 10 years with three main devices.

1. Strict party discipline - both in terms of message and public loyalties, and by using the Federal Police to track down anyone in his party who may have leaked policy documents to the press.

2. Nationalistic manipulation of fear and opportunity - hell, a boatload of refugees that could be denied asylum represented the best of both worlds and virtually won Johnny an election all by itself.

3. Tight media control and support - talkback radio empire Southern Cross Broadcasting is Johnny's one point of call each week. Radio, TV, and printed transcript all dispensed with in one go, without any tough questions. Oh, and advertising campaigns that run into the hundreds of millions of dollars funnelled into the print, radio, and tv stations which have mostly been so kind to his government for so long. . . .funny, that.

BUT WAIT!! THERE'S MORE!!

No there isn't. That's it. And it's all falling apart spectacularly right now.

See, after the last election Howard brought in "Work Choices". It's an ironically titled replica of an American serf-based industrial relations system. Only thing is that nobody got to vote on it. We only found out about it after he won. It is one of the main anvils around his neck right now. Big employers are mostly happy with it but the good news is that the majority of voters are employees, and not multinational CEOs.

Anyway, Howard has taken so many kicks in the nuts over Work Choices that the name has been dropped, some of the harshest legislation had to be 'postponed', and the wonderfully caring system of 'Workplace Relations', with accompanying mega million$ ad campaign was born.

But here's the funny. The ad campaign has just been pulled from national tv after only 2 weeks. Turns out that one of the actors is also a boss. A boss whose former staff - including his own son - have claimed that they weren't paid, that they were treated horribly and taken advantage of.

"Once I started working with him it turned out he wasn't paying me … according to him it was a new business that was waiting for money to come in — that was the story that just kept coming and coming," Mr Moore said.

"There was one time I did get some money, and that was after, I'd say, six weeks of working there … I asked him for some money, and he took me to the pub and bought me a few drinks and gave me $100 out of his wallet."

Oops!

But Johnny hasn't put all his eggs in one megacorp-suck-up-basket. Realizing that he's seen as indecisive, visionless, and poll-driven he has taken a new tough position - doggy-style. That's right - all of a sudden in the last month or two, Howard has been meddling in state affairs left, right, and centre. The new confrontational, no-nonsense, get-it-done for his peeps coz that's-how-he-rolls Johnny has been on fire.

Never mind that all the State governments are Labor, he has been busting their balls for the good of Australians. He tried to seize control of the country's biggest overground water system, the Murray-Darling, from four states with an emergency grand-sounding $10 billion water plan - apparently drafted on a napkin during a power-lunch. That's not working out for him.

He has declared a national emergency as an excuse to further patronis and displace Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. But a lot of generally reserved mainstream media have actually been calling that for what it is - wrong, insincere, and part of a different agenda.

In Tasmania, he has just interjected to seize control of financing for a threatened hospital from the state Labor government. Oh, what's that? It's in one of the most marginal electorates in Australia? Geez, that's a bit obvious. Well how about Queensland, where he is going the whole way and telling the State Government how to run local councils. That's just visionary!

Normally, that is where it would end. People would voice their expressions and cynicism. They'd identify a pattern but find nothin harder than their observations to support their suspicions.

But what's this? Someone, as yet unidentified, within Howard's machinery has leaked a high-level internal advisory?

Howard's polling guru, and preferred independent advocate for businesses Mark Textor prepared a document for the Liberal Party detailing how Howard is generally seen now as out of touch, dishonest, and about as popular as a death on a holiday cruise. And he recommended that Howard play wedge politics with the state Labor governments, depicting them as inefficient and in need of federal intervention. And he made these poll-based recommendations just about the same day that Howard declared a State of Emergency over the Northern Territory.

KEVIN RUDD: Well, Mr Howard's pollsters have let the cat out of the bag because they've said to Mr Howard, don't bother about governing the country, just blame the states for everything. This document which has been released from the Liberal Party is a devastating indictment of Mr Howard's decision now to govern purely in terms of short-term politics, not long-term policy, in terms of what the nation needs for the future.

So now we not only think that he is a full-of-shit, mean-spirited, poll-driven little bastard, but we have leaked internal documents to prove it. It's all taken a little of the shine off his campaign which was meant to take a little shine off everybody else.

Poor little guy, 12% behind in the polls and baffled. The facade of party strength, the foundation of media support, and the illusion of public faith are all collapsing at about the same time. Apparently the state governments are also responsible for the nonth consecutive rise in inflation but nobody apart from, you guessed it - Southern Cross Broadcasting - seems interested.

Finally, fifth time lucky and fingers crossed, Australian voters might see this Mr. Sheen-made-flesh for what he is - a wee bigoted bell-end who puts the 'spare' in transparent.

John Howard - Never One for a Racist & Politically Convenient Landgrab

Long story short - spraypainted cow meets an Australian journo-ecofascist-hypocrite-bastard and asks for a Southern contribution to Mask of Anarchy. Regularity will vary from predictable to unexpected and back to unlikely until the tragic day that Korova stabs me in the heart for going a Steve Irwin gag too far.

However Australia is perceived globally at the moment I can only guess. I would assume that our identity is something in the order of cricket, racism, rugby, climate change denial, shane warne, big eyebrowed dickhead little sycophant Prime Minister mopping up White House jism, more rugby, kangaroos, beer, and cricket. Did I mention racism?

What we have going on right now is quite astounding. The quality of our domestic racism has really taken a battering. We have been shipping it, or intercepting shipping with it, globally but we're finally getting back to basics at home. Thank goodness! I'd hate to think that yellow, black, and brown people outside Australia are feeling more persecuted or stereotyped than our own people of colour. The poor ones, that is. We'd never consider Ehud Olmert a murderer any more than we'd consider Mumia Abu Jamahl a scholar or Alberto Gonzales the bit his mama should have thrown away.

Quick Australian history - White Australia policy in effect until late 1960s. Aware of Aboriginal family groups and nations being connected by relationship to blood and to land, children are separated from families and brought up as servants or on missions hundreds or thousands of kilometres from both. A national referendum in 1967 sees Australians vote in favour of changing the Constitution to recognize Aboriginal Australians as human, rather than fauna. Seriously. Revolutions of sorts through the 70s - land rights, womens rights, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, all that good stuff.

As we moved through the '80s toward the Bicentennial in 1988, more and more questions were asked about national identity, values, direction. Unfortunately a lot of unquestioning flag waving and firework shows drowned most of this out. Still, the idea of a Treaty was finally before the nation - acknowledgment that wrongs had been done, war had been waged, and healing and recognition could only happen through real commitment to make them happen. At this time, the leader of the federal opposition in Parliament kicked up quite a stink.

In fact, when the issue of a Treaty was raised he made a vow - a vow that if such a Treaty was ever made between the indigenous and non-indigenous people of Australia, the first thing that he would do if elected would be to tear it up. His name was John Howard. Yes. That one.

When he was eventually elected, he really delivered. Native Title legislation was amended to offset the pro-indigenous impacts of a significant court ruling. Howard attended the landmark national summit on reconciliation in 1997. Before the most significant gathering of indigenous leaders in Australia in well over a hundred years he praised Australia's history. He acknowledged the 'blemish' of genocide, but made it clear that there would be no 'Sorry' - the one word for which so many people had campaigned. And just to rub glass in the haemorrhage, ATSIC - the only directly elected representation for indigenous Australians - has also been disbanded and abolished under Howard.

Bringing Them Home - the report on The Stolen Generation - was an amazing moment of potential in modern Australia. Did anything happen under Howard to acknowledge its significance? Not really. The recommendations of the report on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - was there an overhauling of the treatment of Aboriginals in confinement? Not really. The report on child abuse in remote indigenous communities, Little Children Are Sacred - has that been acted upon?

Yes. The army and the police have been sent in as election-year Johnny has ignored the report's recommendation that authorities and services work with communities. Social security and benefits for children are now paid as vouchers or under coercive conditions. The report specifically recommended against cutting welfare to women in abusive relationships as this could provoke further violence from their dependent partner. Legislation has been changed in such a way that communities must now rent land they used to freehold.

They no longer have rights to say who comes in or stays out. Sounds a bit heavy handed, but it can easily be done with the public relations lubricant of consent. Find the right couple of blackfellas and for a bunch of money or a bit of respect (or both) it can all be official. They'll sign away control and rights which aren't theirs to sign away. But their signatures look and sound impressive.

And that is what is happening now. The patriarchal hand of systemic racism has wound the clock back many more decades than seemed possible even five years ago. Not saying it's a sure thing, but if I was a uranium mining company, or a land developer, or a nuclear waste dump without a home - I'd be quite excited by the latest action in Australia's Northern Territory.

So what is happening here in Australia right now is disastrous - for communities, for human rights, for understanding, for the future environment, but most particularly for the kids of the most disadvantaged cross-section of Australian society. Once again, it's an election year and the incumbent Prime Minister appears to be demonstrating a sudden and forceful concern for the children of brown people to whom he has previously shown little to no positive regard.

It's a veritable Aboriginal Children Overboard. Election polling indicates a readiness for change in Australia. Howard's manipulation of public fear and ignorance on matters of the economy, law, environment, human rights, global politics, reality and terror seem to have finally worn thin. But that can flip in next to no time, as has repeatedly happened in the past. Still, a federal opposition party holding a 10+% lead for eight straight months. . . . fingers crossed.

Although that's a totally different topic for another time, that is the point it is getting to in Australia, imho. Finally the federal opposition seems competent, and that's more than enough reason to switch. Even some stuffy conservatives and well-financed business types think Howard has gone off the deep end. Unfortunately, APEC is coming to Sydney. The best thing that could happen to his reelection chances would be an almighty terrorist attack - one day to disprove 5 years of accusations that he's a politically motivated fearmonger could definitely boost the ratings.

Nooooooooo.