..... meanwhile (yes there's
more!
) an Australian citizen, now in his 5th year without trial at Guantanamo Bay, is currently in solitary confinement. Apparently he's been quite uppity with the guards, not cooperative about things like towels & food! This same Australian citizen recently had to apply for British citizenship (his mother is British) in a desperate attempt to free himself from Guantanamo Bay. The British inmates were all released after pressure from their government, you see, but the Australian government has forgotten that David Hicks exists, apparently.
Anything to please the US. Shame on him for not being a more cooperative prisoner!:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/justice-towelled-in-hicks-case/2006/05/02/1146335727953.html
That ^ was the 2000th post to this thread!
And not a bad one either.
... As Kim's popularity (as opposition leader) takes a further nose dive (with Julia & Kevin now more
"preferred" than him according to the polls), he's still slogging away on winning on some issue,
any issue will do! Poor old Beazles! How long before the inevitable?:
Hmmmm ... the
second! interest rate rise since the Libs won office by selling themselves as "better economic managers" than Labor at the last election. That's putting it politely:
Labor would ruin the economy & interest rates (on home mortgages <gasp!>) would go through the ceiling!! So, spare a thought for poor Peter Costello: He's spent the past few weeks preparing next week's budget ... which was
supposed to put money back into the pockets of the
right voters (& make him look very good as the next leader of the Libs), only to have the reserve bank's interest rate hike gobble it all up! Not fair!
:
... meanwhile in the new suburbs "Howard's battlers" (those swinging voters with hefty mortgages who voted for him last time), contemplate
another interest rate rise. (On top of the out-of-control, ever spiralling cost of petrol!) Everything's on credit, you see. Life is going to be very, very tough! (And don't even
think about Oz's balance of payments debt. That'll
really give you nightmares!)
:
And those Howard battlers will be the ones bearing the brunt of Howard's IR "reforms", too.
msolga wrote:And those Howard battlers will be the ones bearing the brunt of Howard's IR "reforms", too.
Oh? I thought Howard's battlers were at about the level of Kerry Packer?
I can't believe this! From the Labor Party! In any other country private individuals pay for a private school education. Here, we've subsidized them (even the wealthiest ones) to an incredible degree (at the expense of government schools) & now Labor is talking of tax breaks, too! That's it! Beazley & his lot have totally lost the plot & should go - now!:
Last Update: Friday, May 5, 2006. 8:00am (AEST)
Mundine seeks tax breaks on private school fees
Labor Party national president Warren Mundine says consideration should be given to tax breaks for parents who send their children to private schools. ... <cont>
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200605/s1631192.htm
Miners plan their first minutes of freedom
May 7, 2006/SMH
IT has been hailed as the miracle in the mine. Last night, as trapped miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb sat in their cramped underground cage waiting for rescuers, they were already planning the first hours of their freedom. .. <cont>
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/freedom-beckons-for-miners/2006/05/06/1146335964041.html
It's a long story! I never intended to be up this late!
And what's
your excuse, hmmmm?
After party for a local drama production. Just got home.
little bit of pissed posting
Well, night night if you're still there, dadpad. Don't forget to take the Berocca, will you? :wink:
No, I wasn't watching television last night, hinge. And I think it would have been more helpful or convincing to have watched, rather than just read the text of the interview here. I confess I tend to get a bit lost, more likely switched off, when economists/politicians talk about about these things in their own special language (designed to numb) ... though I certainly get the gist of what Keating is saying about the performance of his government, as opposed to the performance of Howard/Costello's government. He looks pretty good in retrospect ....But, of course, I don't think you can take economic strategies in isolation .... as unpopular as Keating's reforms were at the time (they could certainly have been explained with more a lot more clarity & conviction to rank & file Labor supporters) they didn't have anywhere near the crippling & demoralizing effects that the Liberals "reforms" are having on ordinary working people now. Sure, people were paying more (much more) on their mortgages, etc, under Keating than before, but there wasn't this sense of being under attack (everything from the IR laws, the proposed smart card to keep tabs on the strugglers, the assault on public sector services ($18 billion "surplus" to splurge on the budget today - no wonder - not a spending priority!). Yes, in retrospect, Keating does look a better financial manager. But at the time I think he got so caught up with being "the world's greatest treasurer" he failed to explain properly to Labor's rank & file what all the adjustments were all about & why they were necessary. That's why he lost government. Ordinary people felt betrayed.
