Monday, May 30, 2011

Michael Pascoe's views on the current state of Australian politics

I recommend anyone who's interested (or disgusted?) by the current state of Australian politik, to have a read of business commentator Michael Pascoe's latest article on the topic. I was struggling to find anything in it that I didn't agree with.
Have a read of it here .

Friday, May 27, 2011

Israel-Palestine, Obama....and The Australian newspaper

Following President Obama's speech suggesting that Israel-Palestine peace talks should be convened on the premise of a return to the 1967 borders sparked the expected horror in Israeli circles as if this was some sort of ground breaking game changer. And it even led to the remarkable spectacle of the Israeli Prime Minister giving his host (the US President) a public dressing down in the Oval Office see here .
But why should this be at all remarkable to anyone outside the deluded prism of the Israel lobby and its supporters? It's recognised by everyone that it is occupied land and Israeli settlements are clearly illegal by any one's definition.
But as I've argued elsewhere, America has always had within its power the ability to end the Israel-Palestine dispute, just not the political will to do it. Any type of staged withdrawal of their diplomatic (and financial)support will very quickly bring Israel to the table, as Israel is completely friendless without American backing (as the UK, Australia etc would very quickly follow suit). But what would be the political cost to any sitting US President? Can an American President who criticises Israel survive ?....probably not in normal circumstances, and especially not a Democrat. But this is a rare occasion where there is no credible alternative for 2012 so Obama is virtually guaranteed victory.
Despite everything that has been said about Obama, he is still very much an establishment figure who has not deviated greatly from the script of his predecessors, a little more nuanced perhaps, but I don't expect him to push Israel too far on settlements. And really, Obama has not gone that much further than Bush's proposal when he was President, but he should be congratulated nonetheless for at least stating the obvious (which Bush couldn't bring himself to actually say).
So all this now brings us to the pro Israel (and anti Muslim generally) The Australian newspaper, and today's ridiculous editorial read it here which parrots the usual tired rhetoric against the Palestinians (while ironically using the phrase "rhetoric" against them).
Netanyahu (and The Australian) demand that the Palestinians recognise a "Jewish State". Putting aside the blatant racism of endorsing a State based on religion and what that means for it's minorities within its borders, this argument has no legitimate basis when you analyse it more closely.
Does Israel "recognise" a real Palestine as a State? A State with real sovereignty, with legitimate borders, with a military, with its own air space, and the right to defend itself like every other sovereign country? The answer to those questions up to this point from Netanyahu are a resounding NO. So really his challenge to the Palestinians on recognition are nothing more than weasel words. "Recognition" on mutual borders and sovereignty are something to be negotiated between the protagonists, they're not going to the negotiating table as friends, but as mutually suspicious enemies. And it's at this table where these issues have to be decided, not BEFORE negotiations begin.




 

Monday, May 23, 2011

who's the best ever Opposition Leader?

I noticed this quirky article by Barrie Cassidy today which lamented the lack of great Opposition Leaders in recent memory see it here .
Well apart from the nature of the job which makes is hard enough to produce "great" leaders, it got me thinking that there's really only been one of note. That surely would have to be Kevin Rudd?
He came to the job in late 2006 with the next election less than a year away, and while he had a public profile as a quirky policy wonk nerd who appeared on morning television to discuss the politics of the day, this alone was surely not enough of a CV to wrestle the levers from a political animal like PM Howard?
So over the following six months he built his reputation up as a serious policy driven politician who was going to do something about climate change (an issue that Howard eventually faced up to kicking and screaming all the way), reduce cost of living pressures, get out of Iraq, yet keep the American alliance strong.....and of course rip up Workchoices.
So looking back over that time, he never really put a foot wrong, he often led the political agenda, addressed the Chinese Premier while on a State visit in Mandarin while Howard churlishly looked on, and much to Howard's frustration, offered bipartisan support every time he tried to wedge Labor.
So I would disagree with Cassidy, we HAVE had at least one great Opposition Leader in our time.

Dennis Richardson must resign

A few weeks ago a story surfaced that added further weight to the seemingly now undeniable claim that the Howard Government turned a blind eye to an Australian citizen being tortured in Egypt see the story here .
But while Mamdouh Habib has (rightfully) received plenty of air play for his ill treatment at the hands of the State since, it appears that one person has suffered no sanction for his sorry role in this sordid little affair, that person being none other Dennis Richardson.
On February 15 2005 Richardson (the then head of ASIO) told a Senate Committee that ''we have no information as of fact about that,'' in relation to whether he knew if US terrorism suspects were sent to Egypt for interrogation. However his successor Paul O'Sullivan admitted that the Americans had indeed told Richardson about the rendition to Egypt.
Richardson is now the head of DFAT, and it seems has suffered no sanction for apparently lying under oath. Not only should he be terminated from his position, but the AFP should seriously consider charging him with perjury.
A despicable and sordid period in Australian political history in my view.

why Asia?

After reading this story on mysterious tourist deaths in Thailand see here it just helps to reinforce why I NEVER holiday in Asia. People ask me all the time, "why do you go to Greece every year?" and "what have you got against Asia?". Well I guess that there's a chance that they'll feed you rat poison is a disincentive for a start!
I'm sure I don't need to highlight the attractions of Europe here, but all I can say is that Asia just offers no incentive for me. The fact that its a poor region with high corruption and unforgiving law enforcement does not endear me it at all. Or perhaps it was Paul Keating's (alleged) remark back in 1990 that "Asia is the arse end of the world" and "somewhere you fly over on your way to Europe" that struck a cord?
In the meantime, you all can continue getting drunk in Bali, or visiting sex shows in Bangkok, but if you're looking for me, I'll be on a sandy beach somewhere in the southern Peloponnese.

State funerals for pedophiles?

Back in December I commented about awarding State funerals to celebrities see here , and it appears not much has changed since? Lionel Rose was recently awarded a taxpayer funded State funeral, and included in the mourners paying public tribute were none other than Premier Ted Baillieu.....as well as notorious thugs like Mick Gatto and Jeff Fenech.
While my views on  awarding State funerals to celebrities are well known, what is not so well known is that the current recipient had a terrible cloud hanging over him. In October 2004 he was alleged to have sexually abused an 11 year old girl read it here , his conduct was allegedly so bad that even the Herald-Sun chose not to publish the details.
While this matter never went to court, it surely was a big enough cloud over Rose's reputation that a Premier of the State would want nothing to do with him? It's a question of judgement (not guilt or innocence), and the Premier failed miserably on this occasion.
So no doubt we'll continue to memorialise celebrities and sports people, completely white washing their past evils. No doubt then that when one very famous ex footballer dies, no one will remember that he (for all intents and purposes) killed a girl in his hotel room, while I didn't see anyone mentioning the late Bob Davis' criminal activities either?
And I don't expect things to change anytime soon either?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Baillieu going down a dangerous path

I was bewildered recently when I read of the Transport Accident Commission's (TAC) plan to sponsor low alcohol beer from brewers see here . Not by the scheme itself, but by Premier Baillieu's extraordinary intervention to kill it as an issue, just because (shock horror) the Herald-Sun was going to run a front page story on the plan.
The Baillieu Government has been very slow in making decisions (on anything) since coming to power, in fact verging on paralysis on occasion, but this little saga is a dangerous precedent that Baillieu is setting for himself. You have to govern by conviction, not just kill off every out of the box idea because the News Ltd tabloids are going to write a beat up on it. Instead Baillieu should've praised it as an "innovative idea" that's worth trying in the road toll battle etc etc.
You know it just never ceases to amaze me that despite all the evidence to contrary, politicians keep thinking that pleasing the tabloids will bring electoral success. Well it won't, the electorate will reward conviction every time (assuming arrogance is kept in check?).

Gillard (finally) fires up

From the reported remarks at the Victorian ALP Conference today see here it appears that PM Gillard has finally found the right way to attack her conservative opponent. Instead of bland sloganeering and focus group tested catchphrases we finally saw here a Keatingesque line of attack, which was exactly what was required to deal with a political animal like Abbott.
I think she was channeling Keating when she came out with phrases like "acting like the love child of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump", and "the fight was not between right and left, but between right and wrong", while getting stuck into the self-important "shock jocks", and devastatingly, praising up Conservative Prime Ministers Cameron and Key. This is a key point for me, she's clearly showing that climate change is not some trendy lefty cause, but a REAL issue that needs REAL answers from serious people. And the recently released Australian Election Study see here clearly highlights that Abbott is generally reviled by the electorate, in fact rating lower than Keating at the disastrous 1996 election landslide.
So the lesson in all this is that it's all in Gillard's hands; she has to sell this tax, stand firm on her beliefs (assuming she has any?), and stare down and ridicule the Opposition's obstructionism.
The Australian electorate will usually reward conviction politics; they don't like Abbott, and they're scared of the Carbon Tax, so it's up to Gillard to explain to us why we need it....and why we don't need Abbott!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Australian women politicians

While sitting around and musing about the performance of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, I got to thinking about the standard of senior women politicians in recent political history, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a pretty embarrassing state of affairs.
I won't add any new polemics about Gillard, other than to repeat that she's not up to the job. But what of the others? Unfortunately the only word that readily comes to mind is failure!
So lets have a look at who else has made a name for themselves in the not too distant past;

  • Ros Kelly....of the famous whiteboard incident......enough said
  • Carmen Lawrence....the former WA Premier (allegedly) perjured herself on the stand, not to mention having the death of Penny Easton on her conscience for the rest of her life Easton affair
  • Bronwyn Bishop...the Minister for "kerosene baths" and other assorted embarrassments
  • Julie Bishop...the current Deputy Leader of the Federal Liberal Party, who seemingly can't be sacked from that position regardless of how many times she embarrasses herself, due to her power base in WA
  • Joan Kirner...the much ridiculed former Victorian Premier, who's probably better remembered for this performance on The Late Show
  • Cheryl Kernot...former Leader of the Democrats, who had delusions of grandeur of becoming PM and switched to the Labor Party, where she humiliated herself on a daily basis.....but at least she had the loving arms of the married Gareth Evans to help sooth the pain
  • Anna Bligh...the current QLD Premier....showed some leadership during the floods crisis, which did no more than disguise her other failings. But the polls are now back on track to show an humiliating defeat for Labor at the next election
So have I overlooked anyone? Unfortunately there is just not alot to show for 100 years of the suffrage movement in Australian politics. Other western democracies can seem to produce quality female politicians, so what's wrong with Australia?

Abbott's (quiet) embarrassment

A funny thing happened today when I opened up the News Ltd tabloid - The Herald-Sun - I flicked through pages of waffle before hitting page 10, where I saw what I would've thought was a hugely embarrassing headline of Malcolm Turnbull rubbishing and (essentially) ridiculing his leader's "direct action" climate change plan read the follow up here .
Make no mistake, to have a senior front bencher of substance come out and make those remarks is devastating for Abbott....or at least it should be? And what page of the newspaper do you think a similar contradiction by Labor would've ended up on?
Unfortunately this incompetent Prime Minister doesn't have the ability to take full advantage of the opportunity presented, and once again it's been left to Greg Combet to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the Government.
And perhaps Combet's star will really get a chance to shine when Gillard (eventually) gets around to actually releasing the Carbox Tax detail? Combet may even in fact be in the position to almost single handedly save the Government from defeat, getting the detail (and sales pitch) right are THAT important.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

more public transport shambles

I was interested to read about the rail chaos caused last Friday when an "unprecedented" amount of train drivers allegedly went off sick read it here .
My sources in the rail industry tell me however that while there were "sickies" on the Friday night, it was nothing far different from any other miserable cold winter's night. The issue is one of competent management (sadly lacking apparently?), like I've stated previously this antiquated rail system relies on the goodwill of it's staff to operate at a respectable level. For example, if train drivers choose to not work on their rostered day off, then that immediately increases the chances of a driver shortage on any given day.
And as has been explained to me, the way the rosters and pay structure works, if drivers have already had an additional shift during the pay fortnight, then many consider it not worth their while to work on the last Friday of the pay fortnight.
So it should be highlighted once again that it's not the drivers that create the roster scenarios, but management, which as I've stated, does not appear to be the greatest?

more Combet, less Gillard?

After reading this defence of the Carbon Tax see here by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, it left me wondering, what the hell is PM Gillard doing? Granted every time she opens her mouth you just want to cringe, but as the PM she should be articulating the arguments that Combet is making. Why isn't she out there saying things like;
  •  Australia risked long-term economic damage if the proposed reform was abandoned
  • If we let this chance pass us by, climate change policy will become the poisoned chalice of Australian politics for the next decade
  • The consequences of this would be profound for all Australians, especially for those businesses that are now so reluctant to take responsibility for their actions and refuse to see beyond next year's prospectus
  • The eventual cost of economic transformation would also become more expensive as Australia struggled to catch up with the rest of the world
  • We would not learn how to live in, let alone how to prosper in a carbon-constrained world, while our trading partners would increasingly see us as industrial dinosaurs
But instead of this type of reasoned argument, all we get out of Gillard are comments about her favourite football team, and speculation about marrying the First Bum....what's his name?
We do live in barbaric times I think.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

promoting torture

As I predicted see here following the death of bin Laden, the sadistic neo-con torture supporters have been out in force sickeningly trying to claim credit for bin Laden's entrapment. However The Nation magazine has written an excellent debunking of this sick notion of promoting torture, you can read the article here .

Murdoch's anti Aborigine bashing

I came across this opinion piece today read it here by one of my favourite rabble rousers, John Pilger, which pretty much negates the need for me to take another shot at News Ltd this week, Pilger has written a beautiful little polemic.
He makes some interesting claims, including that;
  • Murdoch controls 70 per cent of the capital city press
  • the first Australians have the shortest life expectancy of any of the world’s 90 indigenous peoples
  • Australia imprisons Aborigines at five times the rate South Africa during the apartheid years
  • Murdoch’s London tabloid, the Sun, once described Aborigines as “treacherous and brutal”
  • Out of 7,433 Aboriginal children examined by doctors, four possible cases of child abuse were identified, about the same rate of child abuse in white Australia
I don't know how accurate Pilger's figures are, but if true, they're a damning condemnation of Rupert Murdoch and his war on Aborigines.

Monday, May 16, 2011

worst MP ever?

While sitting around and thinking about the plight of the Australian Labor Party, I got diverted by the thought of who was the worst ever Member of the (Victorian) Parliament? And immediately two names came to mind; the branching stacking (alleged) wife beating Turk, Tayfun Eren, and the ex winter Olympian Kirstie (I don't know nothing about nothing) Marshall.
(Allegedly) beating his wife was actually the least of Eren's faults, he spent almost his entire Parliamentary career on "sick leave". I mean if sitting on the cushy red velvet Opposition benches of the Legislative Council wasn't an easy enough gig, he actually lost his pre-selection for the unforgivable sin of not showing up to "enough party functions".
And Kirstie Marshall's credentials for a Parliamentary career revolved around her skiing at the Winter Olympics or something?.....I mean who the hell cares about the "winter" Olympics?......and I don't care about the summer ones either admittedly.
If I remember correctly, at her first press conference alongside Steve Bracks, she made some embarrassing comment along the lines of "I don't know nothing about nothing", but of course in Australian politics that's no barrier to success. But if only it stopped there, this dimwit decided in this new age of equality and PC politics, she'd take her newborn into the Parliamentary chamber and breast feed the child there and then! The act of breast feeding in such a public place didn't offend me so much as the fact that there was another person in the Parliamentary chamber (where votes are cast). It's an appalling oversight that this idiot would commit the cardinal sin of (theoretically) increasing the Government's numbers, and then be so blase about it.
So there you have it, my top two contenders for the worst MP ever award.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

"planking" death the media's fault?

A week or so ago I had no idea what "planking" was, but thanks to the mainstream media I've since discovered that it's an internet fad involving photographing a person lying still in an awkward position....apparently this is amusing in some way? And now of course we read that a young person has accidentally died from this silly prank read it here . The police spokesman stated that "it is what we've been fearing". However my guess is that the victim (much like myself) had never heard of "planking", and only decided to do it because he read about it in the tabloids? For everyone knows, if you want youths to do something, tell them NOT to!
But as usual the media is never wrong (or responsible for anything), so now they can play up the "outraged" card.....and sell a few more newspapers!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

targeting sub-contractors...good!

I couldn't help but chuckle the other day while reading this polemic against the poor old innocent "self-employed" sub-contractors read it here . They've come out with the usual tired lines that claim "we've reached a point of no return with this government...the Gillard government is deeply hostile to the self-employed...I have not seen such a blatant and intentional attack on the self-employed as this budget".
So while they're bleating, each and every comment along those lines just draws me a little bit closer to the Gillard Government (which as previous blogs indicate, I'm keeping at arm's length). For during the Howard years the one group I considered the most responsible for the awful direction that Australia was headed in, was the self-employed contractor. While it's unfair of me to lump everyone into the same boat, I just couldn't help but get frustrated by what these people represented, and was seething as to when was I going to see the day of their political destruction? While I guess that day has finally arrived?
This is the group that legitimised Howard's power and perfectly represented his anti humanitarian agenda. For your average sub-contractor - thanks to the skills shortage that became entrenched during the Howard years -  represented the country's nouveau riche, uneducated toothless moron types with the southern cross usually tattooed on their arms earning well over $100K living in McMansions in suburbs like Melbourne's Wantirna (and whatever its interstate equivalents are?). These people of course suddenly threw off their working class roots and considered themselves too good to join a union or vote for Labor anymore. Their existence revolved around the car, because they chose to live in areas without public transport (which they're also too good for), with three or four car families being the norm. A peoples whose existence outside of their work or family was extremely minimal, a peoples easily influenced by tabloid journalism and shock jock radio (and naturally climate change sceptics). But the common thread that linked all these people together, was an inherent underlying racism boiling below the surface, which thanks to Howard, was allowed to bubble over as acceptable in the mainstream.
The key defining moment of course was the Tampa and asylum seekers. Almost overnight you saw the political dynamics change, with seats like Richmond in NSW expected to be certain Labor gains, returning to their conservative roots (with the Labor candidate virtually getting spat on post Tampa). The politics of race had entered the mainstream for the first time since "Asian immigration" was the hot button issue of 1988, and ended up destroying Howard's leadership the first time around. But this time it was a very different story, Howard knew what he was doing, and a month later came September 11, almost like a gift from heaven (Allah in fact) which just cemented this inherent racism as acceptable.
Sadly this was the constituency that was deciding elections in the Howard era (and maybe the Abbott era?), and in my more idealistic days I just couldn't reconcile that with the Australia I wanted to live in.
But finally we've caught up with them, and the Labor party is ready to get its revenge on this tax avoiding, gas guzzling, climate change denying, hate filled constituency. And the only word that comes to mind to describe it is.....schadenfreude!

Overland the careerist

As I eluded to in a previous piece, the problem with Victoria Police Commissioner Simon Overland is that he appears to be nothing but a opportunistic careerist, as is mentioned in today's article in The Age read it here . Former Police Union head Paul Mullett was pretty much on the money when he stated ''there's seems to be a course of conduct, where instead of using good management practices, Simon Overland calls on his mates at the Office of Police Integrity to either defend his position or to further his own personal position''.
But as Overland is now finding out, when you play politics to get ahead in life and you use and manipulate the media for your own ends, eventually that creature will turn against and swallow you whole.

"proselytizing" in government schools?

 This story of proselytizing in government schools is an interesting pick up by the secular Fairfax media read it here , although I'm not sure it warrants front page banner headlines? Of course in some countries stories of alleged attempted conversions can result in riots and death, so the media needs to be careful how they handle stories like this. Having said that, I'm now naturally waiting for the News Ltd papers to pick up and run with it and try and provoke a reaction from the Muslim community with headlines along the lines of "Muslims seething with anger over conversions" etc, and from that point on, the script pretty much writes itself.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

when did Perth become so ugly?

And now for something a little more flippant, when prey tel, did the once lovely city of Perth become so damn ugly? I thought it was just me than thought that all this new found money and affluence had helped this once classy city turn ugly and sinister? But after reading this piece from the local social pages see here , I realised it's not just me.
When I first went to Perth in the early 2000s, I remember a quaint yet beautiful city with a Mediterranean climate, classy eateries and outdoor dining. But with each passing trip I've seen an increasing body of evidence that's unsettled me. All small things and trivial on their own, but added up they've left me in no hurry to return anytime soon.
But maybe I'm just a paleo-conservative at heart? Maybe it's just the nouveau riche that I don't like?

Stanhope a champion for human rights

Just a quick comment on the retirement of ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope. He appears to be unique in Australian political history as a major party leader (with the exception of Doc Evatt) leading from the front with a human rights agenda see here .
While leaders like Kevin Rudd squibbed it on a proposed human rights charter following a sustained attack from News Ltd, not helped either by internal opposition from the disgusting figure of Bob Carr (what did that sad weasel ever achieve?), Stanhope led with a moral authority lacking in this generation of political apparatchiks.
But most interesting of all for me was the comment of the (Croatian) Leader of the Opposition, Zed Seselja, who accused Stanhope of having a "personal obsession" with human rights. The question I'd ask however is why is your average Croatian so vehemently opposed to human rights? Curious indeed.

Victoria Police is a shambles

I must admit I've been enjoying the spectacle that Victoria Police Commissioner Simon Overland has thrust upon us in the last few days. While News Ltd's campaign to remove a public official who they don't like from office would normally have me cheering for the other side, in this case I've got the popcorn out and enjoying the show see here .
Overland is a lightweight careerist who's played for the tv cameras his whole senior policing career, always saying the right things to the right people (radio host Neil Mitchell even once labelled him "Simon the likable") in order to increase his chances for promotion. Appointing the "plastic fantastic" (formerly from the AFP) Overland was always a recipe for disaster considering his new offsider (and unsuccessful candidate) was none other than the experienced and respected Sir Ken Jones. You don't have imported knighted commanders sitting around as numbers twos....especially when they're smarter than their boss. Overland almost certainly was jealous of Jones and saw him as a threat, so when the opportunity arose, he couldn't wait to stick the knife in.
And the Bailieu Government - no supporter of Overland - was caught completely off guard by Overland's churlish display. And to further show you the type of personality Overland is, instead of seeing the writing on the wall that the Government would like him to quietly disappear, took to the airwaves like a Treasurer selling the national accounts on Budget day. And to make matters worse, he didn't actually have anything substantial to say, while accusing Sir Ken of leaking to the media. He really is a piece of work this guy!
So it looks like now the ever cautious Bailieu, doesn't have the stomach for the fight, and has created an inquiry with surely the intention of finding fault in Overland's performance so he can sack him.....but no doubt hoping he'll have the decency to fall on his sword......which I predict he won't!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

a nutter for Baillieu to keep an eye on

While the Liberal Baillieu Government has come across as a pretty moderate outfit (which is why I supported them over Brumby) during its first 6 months in office, it should be remembered that they are still a "conservative" Government, and eternal vigilance is required.
And as an example, it looks like they've got a real right royal wiredo on the back benches by the name of Geoff Shaw see here . This bloke belongs to those God awful pentecostals (who are the worst of the worst), and while the angle of the story has focused on his gay/child molester jibe, I think equally insulting have been his comments in his maiden Parliamentary speech where he acknowledged ''the original owner of the land on which we stand - God, the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible''. This was nothing but a deliberate slap in the face directed towards Aborigines, a not so pleasant reminder that there's still plenty of people in the Liberal Party (and not just in West Australia) who don't go for this land rights justice mumbo jumbo for the "original owners", and that they'll need to take second place to God.
Of course while the Aborigines were the original peoples of this "Terra Nova", for a Member of Parliament to go into the chamber and make a speech to essentially claim ownership of the land to an abstract being, is plainly ridiculous.....but perhaps fitting for a pentecostal.
But to give you an example of how these pentecostals operate (and going back to the original story), instead of replying to his constituent with something along the lines of "thank you for your feedback etc etc", he just got nasty, in fact brutally nasty. From the reported remarks, what way is that to speak to a 20 year old constituent? But no doubt the "red rag to a bull" was the fact that this kid was gay, so immediately in the eyes of your average hate filled pentecostal he's "evil" and no longer needs to be treated with the respect deserving of a constituent.
A nutter for Baillieu to keep an eye on indeed.

Gillard out of her depth.....again

While having a read of this opinion piece on Gillard the other day see it here , I just couldn't help but shake my head at how incompetent and out of her depth she is in relation to foreign affairs (and generally for that matter).
After her embarrassing performance in Washington while addressing Congress, she then goes and makes a (diplomatic) fool of herself in Beijing, as was perfectly summed up by the correspondent, "if she was serious about improving human rights in China and the defence co-operation proposal was on the agenda she should have made it conditional on verifiable improvement in China’s human rights record".
The Gillard Government really is an amateur hour operation, and the really sad thing is that hiding in the shadows to take full advantage is none other than the dark lord himself - Tony Abbott......sad indeed.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

public transport causing early grief for Baillieu

Franchised train operator Metro Trains, through its incompetence, is causing some early grief for the Bailleu State Government. As I've mentioned previously, to divert attention from their own poor management practices, they tried to blame the driver's union for their appalling train performance figures, and now they're taking a caning over their new timetable which starts next week read here .
A suburban train timetable is a very complex beast, and by untangling it there's bound to be "winners and losers" out of it. But they (and the Government) seem to be like rabbits in the spotlight, totally gobsmacked for a response. Take this quote from the newly elected Liberal MP for the area covering Laburnum station which is losing 10 morning peak services; ''there is a reduction [in train services at Laburnum], but … we have to look at the future and how can we improve the problems on that line if we don't deal with the fundamental problems?''. Now I know she's only new to the game, but this has to be just about the most  nonsensical response to an issue that I've ever heard. At least the Brumbles.....sorry....Brumby media machine woud've spewed out all sorts of distracting data to back up their decision. Whereas all we get here is some sort of mumbling about the future from the local MP, and a "our hands are tied" response from the Minister.
So if they're having trouble selling that, lets see what their response will be when the media get a sniff that in the new timetable travel times have been lengthened on the Caufield group lines to make them more "realistic", ie. poor punctuality figures are covered up by adding more minutes to the journey. I wonder if we'll get any more babbling about the"future" on this one?
But the Baillieu Government's troubles are just starting if my sources are correct, apparently this Monday (to coincide with the new timetable) there's going to be a train driver's sickie boycott. So there'll be plenty of media there to film angry commuters screaming obscenities at Metro and the Government. Indeed plenty of uncomfortable days ahead me thinks?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Canadian election lesson for the ALP?

I notice that the reviled arch conservative Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper has been returned to power with an outright majority see here .
The natural party of government (or Opposition), the Liberals, have suffered the ignominy of losing Opposition status to the New Democratic Party, a leftist party on the rise.
While I'm no expert on Canadians politics, the parallels with Gillard Labor couldn't be more ominous. As I've stated previously, the days of Labor being able to command a one party government may be over, as they alienate progressives and follow the script of the corporate elites, they're finding out that there'll be other progressive parties out there ready to fill the void.
So if I was Gillard right now, I'd be taking up a crash course in Canadian politics.

the death of bin Laden, American gloating....and "enhanced interrogation"

One of the most frustrating things upon learning about Osama bin Laden's death was that it coincided with my busiest period at work, making it difficult to read all the available information and analyse it properly.
So while Americans are (not unsurprisingly) gloating over the news, and the Democrats in particular scoring points that their man Obama got him instead of Bush. In fact, no sooner was Obama flashing his birth certificate, he was then flashing Bin-Laden's death certificate around (as so eloquently described by Robert Fisk), the Democrats should probably temper their enthusiasm as we're already seeing reports emerge claiming that Guantánamo captives provided information that led to the eventual tracking down of bin Laden.
First of all we have no way of knowing if any of these claims are correct, but you can be certain that Republicans will try to claim that torture....sorry....enhanced interrogation led to his killing, thereby justifying the brutal technique.
But before we put this manhunt down to the success of torture techniques, a little perspective is required;
  • the location, Abbottabad, is a Pakistani military garrison town.
  • is 100 yards away from a Pakistani military academy.
  • The house was much larger than others in the area.
  • It had a 18 foot wall in front, topped by barbed wire.
  • The third floor had an 8 foot privacy wall.
  • All garbage was burned on site, not placed outside for collection. 
  • Entrance was controlled by two stainless steel gates. 
  • The house had no phone lines or internet attached to it, unusual for such an expensive home
The most basic of intelligence and investigation techniques should've led the Americans to this location, apparently bin-Laden had been there for years? So as I've mentioned before, torture and "anti terror" laws are no substitute for decent investigating, almost without exception you'll have a better chance of success, instead of chasing down false leads from a person who'll say anything to make the pain stop.
It should not be forgotten that we've been in the midst of a Muslim awakening in the middle east in recent times, ordinary people wanting to throw off autocracy, not institute an Arab caliphate which was the aim of  Bin-Laden. What he represented was rapidly diminishing in the eyes of those who count, Muslims. In fact up until the recent bombing in Morocco targeting tourists, Al Qaeda appeared to be rattled by the Arab uprisings.
So while the world's headlines are dominated by the death of bin Laden, I'm of the opinion that the Al Qaeda brand was on the slide, yet it remains to be seen whether the American military and policy makers turn a positive into a fiasco.......an option that can't be ruled out?