Saturday 30th of March 2024

tweedledumb & tweedledumber .....

tweedledumb & tweedledumber .....

‘The war in Iraq passed a significant but little remarked anniversary this summer. The conflict that President George Bush announced was in effect over on 1 May 2003 has now gone on longer than the First World War. Like that great conflict almost a century ago, the Iraqi war has been marked by repeated claims that progress is being made and that a final breakthrough is in the offing.

pork futures .....

pork futures .....

‘A dossier compiled by Liberal strategists Mark Textor and Lynton Crosby found voters had lost faith in Mr Howard, seeing him as dishonest while Mr Rudd was seen as genuine and accessible.’

Howard Has Given Up, Says Rudd

the lucky country .....

the lucky country .....

“I am aware and the government is aware that this decision will hurt some home buyers … and will have an effect on household budgets,” Mr Howard said.

The PM said he was thankful that the Government’s finances were in such a state that he was able to deliver tax cuts, increases to childcare payments and pension supplements in the May Budget.

Facing his fifth interest rate rise since the 20004 election, fought on a low interest rate pledge, Mr Howard said he had no hesitation in repeating his pledge of 2004 that interest rates “will always be lower under us than under a Labor government”.

old flathead .....

 

old flathead .....

from the Sydney Morning Herald

Rates, states and red herrings .....

Australians are entitled to blame their state premiers for many things, but rising interest rates are not among them. The Liberal Party's internet advertising blaming state borrowings for a widely anticipated rise in mortgage interest rates is both irresponsible and wrong.

Rates, States & Red Herrings

from the flustered feather duster .....

 

from the flustered feather duster .....

from the ABC …..

Labor's getting cocky: PM

The Prime Minister has told his backbenchers that federal Labor has become cocky and has started eyeing off the trappings of government.

With today's Newspoll showing Labor soaring ahead by nine points on the primary vote, one Liberal MP described the mood in today's joint party room meeting as "realistic".

I still call awstralya home .....

I still call awstralya home .....

from the Sydney Morning Herald …..

‘While homebuyers may be dreading another possible interest rate rise tomorrow, new research shows that almost half of mortgagees don't know what interest rate they are currently paying.

A report by accounting body CPA Australia also shows that almost one in four homebuyers didn't know what the interest rate was when they took out their loan.

a touch of class .....

a touch of class .....

from our ABC …..

'Kevin 07' just a media tart: Govt

Federal Government MPs have launched a ferocious attack on Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, as he launched his own 'Kevin 07' website.

A dozen Labor staff arrived at Parliament this morning wearing T-shirts with the slogan 'Kevin 07' to promote the new website.

all hat & no cattle .....

 

all hat & no cattle .....

‘Other, more pedestrian presidents have had as their goals freedom and prosperity for our country and peace on a single planet – ours, no less. But President Bush, has a grander vision, based perhaps on his father’s "thousand points of light." This president is committed to the defense of the moon and Mars.

When Bush first started talking about Mars, the joke was that maybe that’s where we would find those elusive "weapons of mass destruction" that we were unable to find in Iraq.

ready, fire, aim .....

ready, fire, aim .....

And back in 2006...

Audit finds many missing U.S. weapons in Iraq

Government report: About 14,000 weapons - 1 in 25 - unaccounted for

WASHINGTON - Nearly one of every 25 weapons the U.S. military bought for Iraqi security forces is missing and many others cannot be repaired because parts or technical manuals are lacking, a government audit said Sunday.

brough justice .....

brough justice ......

from Crikey …..

Brough's bills: 500 pages of pure insanity

Editor of The National Indigenous Times, Chris Graham, writes frmo Parliament House:

escalating wingnuttery .....

escalating wingnuttery .....

That was yesterday.

Today, Putin seeks to regain the influence Russia lost in previous years. He is skilfully playing the anti-America card across Europe while putting pressure on the Baltic states, a clear warning not to extend Nato any further.

In Ukraine, political forces resisting closer strategic links to the west have gained ground. And the Kremlin is aggressively portraying the planned establishment of a modest US missile defence installation in Poland and the Czech Republic as a threat to Russia's vital security interests.

bushit metrics .....

bushit metrics .....

‘The increasingly tyrannical Bush regime, when not arresting whistleblowers for warning citizens of their government's latest unconstitutional spying scheme, once again moved the 'surge' success metric goalpost.

be afraid, be very afraid .....

 

be afraid, be very afraid .....

 

‘The Howard Government repeatedly defended its anti-terror laws during the 25 days it detained Mohamed Haneef.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, for example, said: "The system is working as intended." In fact, key parts of the law did not operate as intended and, to the extent that they did, this only strengthens the case for reform.

Syndicate content