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Australia's children are victims of the new economy that has turned increasing numbers of men into casual or part-time workers Men out of work - why families are falling apart

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Police gunned down innocent man
A man shot dead on a London Underground train by police hunting attempted suicide bombers in the city has been named as a 27-year-old Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes.

He was formally identified in a brief statement from London's Metropolitan Police, who again confirmed that he was not linked to the four blasts on public transport in the city on Thursday. "He was not connected to incidents in central London on 21 July, 2005 in which four explosive devices were partly detonated," the statement said. Terrified onlookers described seeing plainclothes officers pursue the man through Stockwell Underground station in south London on Friday morning before cornering him in a train carriage where they shot him five times in the head at point-blank range.

• How Big Brother & Terrorists Won the War [Shoot to Kill Policy ; Unprecedented volumes of personal information on millions of ordinary Australians are being shared between federal government departments under dramatic extensions of a little-known "data matching" scheme Personal data 'being shared' ; Laws no real protection against malevolent acts ; Random-search powers studied]
• · When Kerry Packer was asked by close mate and business partner Warren Anderson to plough $50 million into struggling merchant bank Rothwells in March 1988, Australia's richest man spat back: "Tell them to f... off How the red Inc flowed in WA ; Read NSW Public Accounts Committee reports on Intrastructure dated 1996-2000 and cry Burst main causes flooding ; NSW, traditionally the engine room of the Australian economy, is spluttering. While its counterparts are firing, the Premier State is looking sickly. Sydney's in a place that it's never been in - behind the pack. No wonder the next political bear hunt will be in the economic forrest called GST E(l)ections have consequences: On shaky ground
• · · Alberstein confirmed the authenticity of the Cisco pamphlets promoting police surveillance equipment to the Chinese Public Security Bureau acquired by businessman and author Ethan Gutmann from a Chinese trade show. Technology Companies as Arms Suppliers ; John Howard can't forever ignore China's threat to his relationship with the US Riding the dragon
• · · · Lessons from the late boom: Sydney is suffering the consequences of a once-in-a-generation housing boom.Sydney is now paying the price for wasteful property speculation encouraged by federal tax policy. Capital Gains Tax and Sydney housing ; David Humphries: Like an ALP card to go with that, sir? ; New wages umpire strips holidays from contracts
• · · · · I have just seen the most horrible thing of my life Survivors tell of deadly crossing ; Tax Panel Wants to End Alternative Minimum Tax
• · · · · · Courier Mail. Page 14, 22/07/2005: I can see some merit in having a national identity card but I have almost no faith in the keepers of this information keeping it safe and not allowing it to be stolen by commercial or, worse, criminal elements. No matter how dedicated they are, I cannot see public servants on fairly modest salaries protecting my personal information in the way I would like it protected Fears of identity being stolen ; Ukrainian President Yuschchenko disbanded the national traffic police (DAI). The main reason – they are too corrupt and take too many bribes from drivers. Today is the first day of police free traffic extravaganza in Ukraine Traffic Police Corruption

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Politicians are like vacuum cleaners: you need them, but you rarely enjoy using them After Armageddon, wages monster rises

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Jeepers creepers
Few things unite the nation - rich and poor, male and female, young and old - like the belief that we pay too much tax.

The Australian taxation system is in need of drastic reform. The changes to income tax brackets introduced by the Australian Government in 2005 have merely distracted taxpayers from the real problems. While the Federal Government would like to claim that Australians are not highly taxed, the reality is that they are among the highest-taxed in the developed world. The Australian taxation system is complicated, and poorly structured. It unfairly taxes low income workers, and actively encourages high income workers to minimise their tax obligations. Bracket creep is another major problem, as unlike Great Britain, Australian tax rates are not set to rise in line with inflation

• Bracket creep [Will Melburnian poker champ Joseph Hachem have to hand over half his winnings to the taxman? Or can “professional” poker players keep the cash?
Tax issues for $10m poker champ ; Tax compliance costs: Cut or hidden? ; Taxman deals in on poker bounty ; Half of all borrowers using "low doc" loans have failed to lodge tax returns for an average of three years running Tax chief cracks down on loans that hide big income ]
• · Anika Gauja, University of Sydney Keeping the party under control: The legal regulation of Australia’s political parties ; Low doc loans
• · · The annual allowance for senators and members; In a paper delivered to the Fair Go or Anything Goes? conference this week in Sydney, George Williams argues that the federal government’s constitutional powers are not sufficient to enact a comprehensive national industrial relations scheme Federal powers not sufficient
• · · · Refugees and regional settlement: win-win? ; Australian Regulatory Review
• · · · · The G8: Hot air and high ground at Gleneagles ; Live8 ;
Nicolas Sarkozy has become the most popular French politician by diving headfirst into the country’s most explosive political issues. If he has his way, this hyperactive, pro-American, Gaullist, free marketer will transform French politics for good Solutions for Grandeur In the US Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas takes a wait-and-see approach, whereas MyDD's prolific Chris Bowers immediately deems him unacceptable. Moulitsas is not alone: many are resigned to the inevitability of Justice Roberts -- but they don't like it. Several admit that Roberts doesn't strike them as an extremist (although "partisan hack" quickly emerges as an epithet of choice) while others state the obvious explanation for their SCOTUS passivity: they want the focus to stay on WH dep. CoS Karl Rove (about which plenty more in the other Blogometer section) Divided Attention: Thinking Positively Negative About Roberts Confirmation
• · · · · · There can be no such thing as Catholic fundamentalism Relativism, Fundamentalism, Integrationism: Umberto Eco ; Europe’s Failure: A View From Germany

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Recent controversies in Queensland and Canberra have seen the 'parliamentary clerk' appearing more regularly in the news. Martin Leet looks at the role of clerks in our democratic processes Parliament and its clerk
This is how the Soviet bureaucracy worked. It is not the way the Westminster system worked or was ever supposed to work – we were supposed to have checks and balances. But we no longer have that system. We have a Soviet-style nomenclature, where the roles of politicians and administrators are indistinguishable, and blind loyalty is the performance criterion that matters above all else Soviet-style nomenclature

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Survey: Amerika
America is an extraordinarily dynamic country, says John Parker. But its very mobility may now be drawing people apart

On CHRISTMAS DAY 2004, Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback church in southern California, got a telephone call from Thailand. The caller, a pastor whom Mr Warren had trained, said a tsunami had just been reported and many people would need help. Before the tsunami had even struck Sri Lanka, Mr Warren was calling a vast network of churches in South-East Asia who got parishioners to safety, and e-mailing an even vaster network of clubs in southern California. Thousands of volunteers went into action overnight. Within a day, food and medicine worth millions of dollars were winging their way from a single church to the disaster-hit regions. This was American civic volunteerism in action, updated for the 21st century

By connecting people to their neighbours and to the wider world, argued de Tocqueville, civic associations made Americans better informed, safer, richer and better able to govern themselves and create a just and stable society
• Degrees of separation [If domestic mobility is a centrifuge, immigration is a melting pot The Amerikano dream ; The glue of society ]
• · Despite the privacy advocates’ claims, public spaces are public—fortunately Cameras and Counterterrorism ; Terrorism can only be defeated by political compromise and negotiation Talking with the jihadists
• · · We were planning to survey our Slovak situation, where liberalism lacks tradition, and is often rather freely or superficially interpreted both by the admirers and the critics Public disagreement: The greatest contribution of liberal politics ; TaxAlmanac: The free online tax research resource and community; IMHO, ID card gives everyone a false sense of security, but again ID card help the Soviet block countries to disolve into the annals of history. Is it the right time for capitalism to turn to ashes? What kind of movement will replace current regimes? Identity cards can be forged, says Costello ; The Chinese defector Chen Yonglin flew out of Australia yesterday to give evidence to a US congressional human rights committee, in a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions between Australia and China. If half of Chen’ stories are true our current intelligence gathering mechanisms are set for a very rough ride Chen's pitch to Congress may fuel row with China
• · · · Boston and New York: Each city plays political hardball, but each in its own way - In Boston, some fathers still tell their sons how New Yorkers didn't want to go to war in 1776 because there was too much money at stake The Geopolitics of Two Cities in a Peanutshell ; The Counterterrorism Blog is following news and leads Political Crisis and the War on Terror
• · · · · From Counterpunch, a special report on The Making of Halliburton: Sticky fingers; Carr's wasteful water spending
• · · · · · But to describe plausible remedies is to explain why none are likely. The webs of mutual interests connecting government, corporate boardrooms and Wall Street are too deeply woven, as are habits of thought among policy makers and politicians. So I do not expect anything fundamental will be altered in time. We are going to find out if the dissenters are right Globalisation of Disaster ; Good background material, including info on the possible London bombing suspect at Terrorism Knowledge Base

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Would Martha Stewart, Bernie Ebbers, Nixon and Trotsky have stayed on top if they'd listened to Machiavelli? Reading The Prince

Eye on Politics & Economics: Cash vs. Assets
Herald reporters run the rule over the sectors to see which are looking strongest: from resources to transport to gambling to Telecommunications to building to property and more ...

Analysts predict strong results from the resources sector, thanks to record bulk commodity prices last financial year and continued high demand from China's economic revolution

• Cash in the coffers, an eye on the horizon [But the marvellous Melbourne of the late 19th century, cocooned in wealth and complacency, had declined by the 1950s into drab suburban mediocrity - to a point where its tired and stifling provincialism was ripe for caricature by Barry Humphries ... But even if NSW received back all the missing $3 billion it loses in GST contributions paid to other states, would this Government know what to do with it? Sydney v Brisbane ; Although IT unemployment fell markedly over the past three years - much faster than the national rate - IT workers generally still find it more difficult to get a job than workers in other industries This is your next job ]
• · It could be a Sydney first: a prime piece of harbour-front real estate that no one wants to touch with a barge pole. The reason? The property is a ferry wharf in serious need of repair A faded gem in Sydney's property market ; Sydney's infatuation with home improvements has abruptly ended, as evidence grows that the end of the housing boom is hitting the city's economy. Renovators' nightmare for builders ; Treetops to be limit for boom-town apartments
• · · Too shy to ask for a rise? Here's what two experts say How to get a pay rise ; The Tax Office has been warned it could be sued over its attempts to rein in fees charged by service entities to professional groups such as accountants and law firms Service fee audits could be tested
• · · · Move your Mercedes off the union lawn, it's not very left wing! The Australian Labor Party: incestuous, secretive, sclerotic ; Smile for the cameras: technology and the ID card debate
• · · · · The London bombs were made with military plastic explosive. My guess is that it'll turn out to be Czech-made Semtex Nerf War and Real War: IRA vs. Al Qaeda ; Is war won by bullets or beliefs? The rule of law, not invasion, is the key. We used to read our children a book, long since lost, called Six Men. It was about a little band of men seeking a country where they could live and work in peace Justice is best weapon in fight for peace; Allen Northwood: Engadine The sooner the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs starts tattooing barcodes on our bottoms the better Government swaps fridge magnets for ID cards
• · · · · · The Palmer inquiry lays bare an inept and cruel system Cornelia Rau: the verdict; One woman caught in the net illustrates how desperately the Immigration Department needs cultural change Purgatory in Baxter

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I must admit that Peter Beattie is onto something creative and the allegations at dinner parties that that I am on some kind of commission by Queensland Government are false ;-) Still most families and businesses in this internet age are looking for a sea change and Queensland is more than perfect most of the time. UP North everything seems cheaper and with better maintained infrastructure, even the trains run on time. We never received a huge electricity bills in Brissie as we seem to get in Sydney. To boot, today a very small number of local taxpayers can afford to buy a piece of dirt in Sydney. The four years I spent in the land of queens and toads were the highlight years of my two daughters’ lives. They discovered love for swimming and the squad culture was all about fun not just drills. Most schools have swimming pools and in fact we started swimming with Jan at the Wilson School, a stone-throw across the road from a church Heather and Peter attend with their three sons. Sydney certainly is great at producing wild men and political parties, but it is rare to come across a political family of the Beattie caliber ;-) While I loved Brissie, my better half who was born and bred in Sydney likes to invade other capitals, such Adelaide, only on temporary basis. I must admit in 2004 Brisbane was starting to get just as congested as Sydney and teenagers are bored more in Queensland than in Sydney. As the big smog still offers more opportunities... If Brissie ends up with a better transport despite the population explosion and if it attracts more private sector businesses such as IT or creates institutions like NIDA - well sky could be the limit ... From little things big things grow and Queensland might be showing the 21st century way of living and working:
While NSW Premier Bob Carr was in Dubai and London during the week, Mr Beattie was in Sydney spruiking his state's lower taxes. The move will pitch Labor's two most successful state leaders into the political equivalent of the State of Origin battle. "We are the fastest growing state in Australia," Mr Beattie said after a high-powered corporate lunch in Phillip It's State against State
If you have little children or grown up then run Hundreds make cross-border dash every week
While Queensland spends money to lure business to the state, the world's best city, Sydney, does not need to do likewise Street We don't need to advertise: Refshauge

Eye on Politics, Taxes & Planning: Spies who didn't love me
I've been asking ASIO to show me my file for almost 40 years. Having been a teenage Bolshevik, it seemed reasonable to assume one existed.

Though only 16 years old when I became a card-carrying member of the Australian Communist Party, I hung around with many of the best-known comrades, wrote for the Commo newspaper, worked for various "front" organisations, signed all the angry petitions, marched on May Day, painted anti-war slogans in railway viaducts and often heard strange clicks on the phone. All this during the coldest years of the Cold War, when Prime Minister Robert Menzies had tried to ban the party

• Beware the Ides of March My brief flirtation with Marxism-Leninism far behind [Any reader with more than a cursory knowledge of intelligence has two choices with Robert Littell's new novel, Legends. Toss it across the room into the discard box for the next library sale, or, if you prefer, push reality away for a few hours and enjoy an interesting if very fantastical read. I suggest the American language needs a new word to describe such books, and so I just made one up: spy-fi Spy fiction, the true Red October hunt ; The United States should cut its losses, pull out of Iraq promptly and never again use its military might to build a nation according to its own values US should pull out of Iraq now: ex-CIA chief ; John Deutch writes in the New York Times that Iraq is a lost cause All is lost: Time to Pull Out. And Not Just From Iraq ; I have the honour of being the only Media Dragon who links to Tim Blair and Phillip Adams in the same commentariat Enlarging on the response to the London bombs ]
• · If their families did not know what they were planning, then how did the British secret service stand a chance? The London bombers have emerged as the West's worst nightmare, defying every stereotype and chilling the blood of those who thought they understood the psychology of the suicide bomber The Enemy within ; Could it happen here? Risks of abundant tolerance ; Londoners were joined by thousands around the world, from Bali to Bucharest and from Spain to Iraq and New York, who stood in solidarity and silence and defiance of the terrorists London united ; We're not promoting terrorism: bookshops
• · · The appointment of bureaucrat Paul O'Sullivan as head of ASIO was a rank insult to many well qualified people within the organisation ASIO appointment insulting: ex-spy ; French judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere Terror team's Sydney mission
• · · · AUSTRALIA is unlikely to ever see a corporate crook spend as much time behind bars as Bernie Ebbers. Here, the crimes are a bit smaller and the sentences are a lot shorter Doing the crime but not time ; Once he was a star, but fast-forward to today and all has changed Vizard 'shunned' by corporate world ; Adler reduced to cleaning jail toilets
• · · · · Interview: Senator Amanda Vanstone ; From the Parliament of Australia, E-Brief: The detention and removal of asylum seekers ; Residents rally Against desalination plant ; Salt, brine and bitterness were in the air at Kurnell as more than 1000 people gathered to protest against the Government's plan Salt in the wounds: an angry suburb fights back
• · · · · · Costello dinner to rally support ; When Peter Costello carries on about how NSW taxpayers are being ripped off on state taxes, he's dead right. But it's him that's doing the ripping, not the State Government Costello piles insult on top of NSW's injury

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…librarians are more freedom fighters than shushers.”
-Carla Hayden, Ms. Magazine online
Radical Reference is a collective of volunteer library workers who believe in social justice and equality Radical Reference

The state Treasurer, Andrew Refshauge, has written to NSW Coalition senators asking them to stand up for their state in his conflict with the Federal Government over the carve-up of GST funding Senators' support sought in GST fight

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Rest assured, gallivanting MPs are travelling strictly for work
The Premier, Bob Carr, travelled with his wife, Helena, his chief of staff, Graeme Wedderburn, and a press adviser, Amanda Lampe, to the United Arab Emirates and England to look at a desalination plant and explore business opportunities

With the state's parliamentary chambers empty for the 11-week winter break, at least 10 NSW MPs and their staffers have flocked to the northern summer for study tours and business meetings

Arbeit Macht Frei Interpol were in the background when Mr Carr made this statement - the best way to counter terrorism was for local Muslims to mobilise against those who preached fundamentalist hatred
• Exploring business and publishing opportunities [The defection of Chinese spies Chen Yonglin and Hao Fengjun has trained the spotlight on Australia's relationship with the world's seventh largest — and fastest growing — economy Behind Chinese walls; Some of our conservative politicians are giving a whole new meaning to Australian crawl on the global stage How about Pakistan: a shining light of democracy ; Pauline Arrillaga and Olga R. Rodriguez of the Associated Press reviewed court records from Mexico and the United States as part of an investigation into “the many pipelines in Central and South America, Mexico and Canada that have illegally channeled thousands of people into the United States from so-called ’special-interest’ countries - those identified by the U.S. government as sponsors or supporters of terrorism Pipelines Send Illegal Immigrants to US]
• · European Union officials agreed Thursday to begin storing phone and Internet records How far will Europe go to stop terror? ; The age of sousveillance Big Brother is "us", not "them"
• · · James Drew and Steve Eder of the Toledo Blade traced the path of former Ohio state aides-turned-lobbyists who “have traded their official titles for personal riches and the influence that comes with helping select a U.S. president ( links to other issues from the side bar) Potential conflicts of interest rife in S.C. Ex-state aides use old ties to make, raise cash: Jeff Stensland of The State reviewed financial disclosure forms from South Carolina state legislators to find that “about 20 lawmakers raked in more than $2.4 million in attorney fees by representing clients in front of state boards and commissions last year Lobbyists steered funds to Bush while they enriched themselves ; Karl Rove is turning out to be the real "whistleblower" in this whole sorry pseudo-scandal Karl Rove, Whistleblower
• · · · A series of articles on Srebrenica, ten years on ; After All These Years, Why Are We Still Besieged by the Search for Truth and Justice? Remembering Srebrenica ; What the genocide taught us about intervention From Srebrenica to Baghdad ; Israel The illusory Golden Age Susan Windybank speaks to Robert Kagan Americans don’t have a sense of how the rest of the world views us. We’re one of the most expansionist countries in the world. Expanding for over 400 years The Thoughtful Superhawk
• · · · · Parentalism and the fear of freedom Save Me From Myself! ; Charles Peters on how a little-known utilities executive saved civilization Axis of Civilisation ; Ulrich Beck Why full employment is an illusion
• · · · · · The aftermath of the housing boom, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, is seen as a global economic bellwether. If the US property boom ends with a crash we will probably all suffer Our obsession is the world's ; NSW is a state divided: the west is losing people and the coast is gaining them, but in Sydney the reverse is true Coastal explosion as NSW swells to 8.3m ; Timing of poverty in childhood critical to later outcomes ; Tennessee Lawmaker Spending: Michael Cass and Bonna de la Cruz of the Nashville Tennessean analyzed the expenditures of state legislators, finding that some of the money “goes to Tennessee Titans tickets, sorority memberships, car repairs and trips to political conventions far from Tennessee Campaign funds used on sports, tires, trips

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Political economy as usual in the land of the absurd. What makes some of us look out for each other, while others look out for themselves? Power brokers such as Jeff Kennett, Michael Kroger, Ron Walker, Don Argus, Steve Vizard, Eddie McGuire, Fraser Gehrig and even Paul Sheahan lucky recipients of the maximum priority retail allocation of 5,000 shares each Vizard a Tatts shares winner ... one of the biggest imbalances in supply and demand in Market history

Eye on Politics & Taxes: The Role of the Opposition
Parliament is the institution that embodies society in the diversity of its composition and its opinions and which channels this diversity into the political process

Its vocation is to regulate tensions and maintain equilibrium between diversity and uniformity, individuality and collectivity, to enhance social cohesion and solidarity. It is fundamentally about debate and the transacting of the people’s business in public. It is also about the right to dissent in a civilized manner. Genuine political opposition is a necessary attribute of democracy, tolerance, and trust in the ability of citizens to resolve differences by peaceful means

Opposition to a politician creates stronger opinions: Any opinion can be formed in two ways. You can support someone because you like them or because you don't like their opponent
• Loyal Opposition [An axis of democracy; I am second to none in my admiration for what George Soros intended and achieved under this rubric, in the dark days of the Soviet empire The United States and the open society ; Labour should not follow Tory calls for smaller government, says Ann Rossiter: Size isn't everything ]
• · The development of democracy in South Korea is a miraculous achievement The dilemmas of democracy ; Why the country needs to choose its political model carefully Terestroika ; That's what legalizing undocumented immigrants would unleash, creating a win for everyone A Massive Economic Development Boom
• · · Radical Islam is spreading across Europe among descendants of Muslim immigrants. Disenfranchised and disillusioned by the failure of integration, some European Muslims have taken up jihad against the West. They are dangerous and committed -- and can enter the United States without a visa Europe's Angry Muslims ; Last week's attacks on London have once again stoked the fires of debate on the causes of terrorism So you want to stop the suicide bombers? ; Most Muslims abhor violence, yet the terrorists are a product of a specific mindset that has deep roots in Islamic history The struggle for Islam's soul ; War of the Worlds If the victory of liberalism is inevitable, do we need to fight in the Middle East? ; How can we tell if we’re winning the War on Terror? The Fog of War: The asymmetrical rhetoric of war and peace; Why is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security constantly telling every American to be afraid? Think Again: Homeland Security
• · · · Why Unions Are Like Typewriters ; That nocturnal strike against capitalism is emblematic of the soul of socialism What is the Soul of Socialism?; Black Rednecks and White Liberals: Who's a Redneck? ; Did the Founding Fathers Really Get Many of Their Ideas of Liberty from the Iroquois?
• · · · · It's a very interesting question, why a society doesn't even notice or doesn't successfully respond to problems that look obvious. Easter Island, C'est Moi: Jared Diamond ; Joseph Wilson: From the moment that what's now known as "Plamegate" emerged on the horizon, alternative media outlets have demanded accountability from the White House. Although the mainstream corporate media is now focusing on the legal issue of whether Karl Rove or other White House staffers will be indicted, the more preeminent issue is that the Bush White House committed treason by betraying the national security of the United States of America. It goes without saying that I found his comment to Chris Matthews, that Valerie was fair game, to be repugnant Bush's Culture of Unaccountability
• · · · · · In the law, predictability is usually important. People need to know the rules, and they cannot plan their lives unless they know the law in advance. Many conservatives expect a Supreme Court justice whose opinions they can predict. Predictability may be a virtue in a political leader. For judges, it’s a vice The Problem with Predictability ; With a Supreme Court Nomination on the Horizon, the Stakes Are High What Are the Rules and Standards In the Judicial Appointments Game?; How the Supreme Court sows moral anarchy Their Will Be Done ; To understand this Supreme Court, it's best to look at the justices themselves Under the Microscope Longer Than Most

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When two senior public servants clash in the testy atmosphere of Parliament House, the fallout can get ugly. Dr June Verrier is – or was, until this week – head of the parliamentary library. Hilary Penfold QC is parliament's top bureaucrat, secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services Quitting over parliamentary independence Strangely, I searched high and low and I only found one reference to this story. It is by Margo Kingston See the Reference in the Commentariat

Eye on Politics, Independence & Terrorism: The new Al Qaeda: local franchises
A decade ago Al Qaeda was an entrepreneurial jihadist start-up firm. Today it may have evolved into something bigger, and less tightly controlled: a worldwide franchiser of terrorist attacks.

That may be one lesson of last week's London bombings, say some terrorism experts. The British attacks were well-organized, low-tech, and prepared in great secrecy - all hallmarks of the now-decentralized Al Qaeda network. The Madrid subway attacks of 2004 were similar. So were the bombings carried out in Casablanca, Morocco, in 2003

• The lessons of London [Actions such as the war on Iraq have alienated many ordinary Muslims This is no way to wage the war on terror ; It is essential that the Muslim world wake up to the fact that it has a jihadist death cult in its midst The police's nightmare: home-grown terrorists ; These were acts of "sacred revenge" for British massacres in Afghanistan and Iraq: Blowback from Bush and Blair's incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London. When will the U.S. figure out how to fight smart? The time of revenge has come ]
• · Terrorism. No government, no population, is safe from indiscriminate terror ; Plot to scar London with 'burning cross'
• · · Rau, Alvarez force the PM to say sorry;Sweeping changes are needed to fix deep-seated problems in the Immigration Department and the detention system. A damning report
has found ; Alvarez case shows failure after failure; The Palmer report
• · · · Brian Ray was on a roll Developer's comeback after 'lost' years ; Missing: a mate with a loan for Packer In politics, hypocrisy will kill you. This is something Prime Minister John Howard should consider after identifying himself this week as either a hypocrite or not across the detail of his own department's activities. Rhetoric is out of step with reality: You only get one choice: sign the contract or don't get the job ; An open and shut case of insider trading?Steve Vizard - Insider trader
• · · · · James Cumes continues with his stimulating debate How to Deal with the Rise of China (2) ; Andrew Norton of good analysis fame Religion and politics ; US troops' direct fire or clashes have claimed 39,000 Iraqi civilians' lives
• · · · · · June Verrier's departure is a sad loss. Another vertebra removed from the backbone of parliamentary democracy Successful delivery of professional and non-partisan services ; Senator MURRAY Parliamentary Library ; Parliamentary Service Amendmentt Bill 2005 ; Parliamenatary Service Legislation

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You Know You've Made It as a Blogger When... Blog Relations... are made to grow up..
Bloggers this month will be introduced to the "King of Content" and the "King of Ping" as a new multi-tasking web software breathes fire into that internet jungle we call the blogosphere 100 Blogs in 100 Minutes: Are You Multi-blogging?

Taxing Times: The Blog, The Press, The Media mX: A new flower in Rupert's patch
This News Limited freebie already publishes a Melbourne edition, and will soon be seen in Brisbane.

But the Sydney launch last week was deemed worthy of a front-page plug in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph the following day. It’s young, free and taking Sydney by storm The Tele is also a News Limited publication, and their page 3 news story was brazen cross promotion. Launch of first new newspaper in 30 years Young, free and bursting with fun. It’s young and sexy, with a no nonsense ‘pick me up’ approach, but unlike the trains this Sydneysider promises to make your ride home enjoyable

• Foreign Investment Policy eXile Young and sexy
• · A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds US online users are getting more savvy about online security Online users becoming more Web savvy
• · · The Intuitive Life Business Blog ; It's one thing to fall in love with your iPod, but would you consider sleeping with it? iPod promiscuity?
• · · · In the days before Google, search engines like Excite, Hotbot, and Altavista larded themselves up with content in a desperate effort to delay users beyond the two pages of a search activity — search box and results. The goal was stickiness How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Relinquish Control ; Should Newspapers Sponsor Blogs Written by Reporters?
• · · · · A new edition to Blogovia, the liberal hemisphere of the blogospher : Liberal or radical economists with actual credentials in the field who blog I Feel A Change In The Force ; One of the best kept secrets (or maybe not so well-kept via fullcontext : I don't know his hit count) of the blogosphere is Jonathan Edelstein's. It's an indispensable resource for those interested in contemporary events in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific. Jonathan's analysis is refreshingly free from ideology or ax-grinding; I don't know how he manages to keep track of all this stuff, but I'm glad he's there Head Heeb
• · · · · · Blogging up the Ladder Better jobs to people with clever blogs?

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The Puzzling Story of NATO's Secret Armies During the Cold War: After the Cold War had ended, then Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti confirmed to the Italian Senate in August 1990 that Italy had had a secret stay-behind army, codenamed Gladio – the sword Just What Were They Up to? - Nato's Secret Armies

Eye on Politics & Taxes: The Liberal
In the early 19th century, Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley conspired to produce a magazine that would challenge the day’s conservative publications with a selection of original poetry, prose fiction and reviews. They called it The Liberal and brought together some of the foremost influences of the Romantic movement for its inaugural release.

But before the magazine would formally launch, Shelley died and the project ultimately dissolved after the fourth issue....
What I would say is, well – Zizek gave a brilliant lecture where he spoke against human rights and he railed against the culture of liberal interventionism. He’s interested in the real and the illusory and he spoke about how America would go into a country like Iraq with the illusory language of human rights. And in creating a human rights violation, would see the real varnish staring back at them. And it’s that sort of interesting mirror image.

• Human rights [Survivors remember Srebrenica; This New York Times story about "meth orphans" is enough to make you weep A Drug Scourge Creates Its Own Form of Orphan ; Here lies the body of Jonathan Swift, where savage indignation can no longer lacerate his heart ]
• · Rich Pervert Tax Code for Themselves ; The best-laid plans of mice and men, as Robbie Burns famously said, often go awry. $1 Mil That's what it now costs to raise a child in Australia's most expenisve city. We explore the implications of paying such a hefty price to have a family How families make ends meet
• · · The stirring tale of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, congressman and bon vivant, becomes more entertaining by the day, and it is far more instructive than another case of a missing white female. In 2003, he sold his house in Del Mar, a very upscale town north of San Diego. The buyer was Mitchell Wade, a defense contractor, who paid $1.675 million. Wade later resold the house at a $700,000 loss Eaten Alive by Corruption: the only person in recent history to lose money on a San Diego real estate deal ; This is an edited version of a speech to Australian Council for Infrastructure Development on March 21, 2005 Lindsay Tanner - Infrastructure ; A rush to build a $2 billion desalination plant at Kurnell has been widely condemned, from the Prime Minister to green groups, as an expensive and environmentally harmful response to Sydney's water shortage Cold water on the salt solution ; Desalination plant 'too important to debate' The options: Pros and cons
• · · · by Desmond Tutu Much Has Been Done, But... ; For Tobias Levkovich, chief US portfolio strategist at Citigroup Smith Barney in New York, the timing of last Thursday's terrorist attacks in London could hardly have been better Markets factor in acts of terror
• · · · · Extremist recruiters Leaked No 10 dossier reveals Al-Qaeda’s British recruits ; Evan F. Kohlman: The Afghan-Bosnian Network, argues that the key to understanding Al Qaida's European cells lies in the Bosnian war of the 1990s Bosnia: The Birthplace of Al-Qaeda
• · · · · · Follow the money - A Virginia man charged with illegally wiring millions of dollars to his native Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other nations pleaded guilty Thursday to operating an unlicensed money service business Vienna Man Pleads Guilty To Running Unlicensed Money Service ; Web Exclusive Another Lost Opportunity; Stephen E. Flynn - Interview Qaeda Attack in U.S. Likely to Be More Catastrophic Than London Bombings

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Come, woo me, woo me; for now I am in a holiday humor, and like enough to consent."
-Billy Shakespeare, As You Like It

Despite being well off by any objective standards, most Australians believe that their incomes are inadequate to meet their needs Why Australians will never be prosperous

Eye on Political Economy & Taxes: Hole in the Wall: Mountain of Debt Murmurs
A decade-long borrowing binge has left Australian families with more financial obligations than their US counterparts

Twenty years ago Australian households spent less than 11 per cent of their available income on meeting regular financial commitments, such as debt repayments, rents, council rates and insurance premiums. But this proportion has surged to 18.6 per cent, according to the financial obligations ratio. The results underscored how Australians were much more vulnerable to higher interest rates and rising unemployment than in the past

• Long shadows from the past Decade of debt eats family cash [Although ‘Super Choice’ arrived on 1 July, the overarching goal of superannuation is to constrain choice A super way to turn a vicious circle into a virtuous one ; The popular image of the welfare cheat as greedy and street-smart could not be further from the truth, new research shows. They are more likely to be poor, uninformed, "sad people" who are trying to survive Cheats turn out to be on the margins ; Over time, water prices need to move to their own level Going with the flow ; The government has control of the Senate but not of public opinion, writes John Spoehr. So the industrial relations debate is far from over Fightback revisited ]
• · In medieval art the rat symbolised evil and decay. At the Art Gallery of NSW the rat has come to symbolise either unfair dismissal or misconduct, depending on who's talking Gallery's sacked staff smell a rat ; Another long shadows from the past - Latham's former speechwriter Dennis Glover has some sound advice for the former ALP leader Second-rate rant will spoil the party
• · · As many as five Australians were on the bus that was blown apart by terrorists in London Aussies flee one blast to be caught in another ; Ruthless terrorists get their wish: public transport chaos across the globe - as planners assume attack is inevitable liberties to be thrown out of the window Security clampdown for Australian buses and trains ; State governments and public transport authorities ramped up security yesterday, deploying additional police and guards and conducting urgent reviews of counter-terrorism plans Transport security swoop
• · · · The former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin can stay in Australia and will be able to apply soon for citizenship after being granted permanent residency Chinese defector wins permanent residency ; Sex industry figures and brothel workers have been summonsed in an Australian Crime Commission investigation into sex slave trafficking Sex trafficking under the microscope ; The fairytale is definitely over for the Vizard of Oz - When the perfect storm engulfed Steve Vizard on Monday, the uncanny sixth sense that gives him his comic timing placed him overseas enjoying a European holiday with his family How funny money made joke of Vizard
• · · · · 137 people have signed up, 263 more needed www.pledgebank.com/justonepercent St. Francis - from tiny acorns and all... ; ICYE is an international non-profit youth exchange organisation promoting youth mobility ; Hundreds of Sydneysiders are raking in huge rents from phone companies by allowing their roofs and walls to be used for mobile phone base stations Tower to the people
• · · · · · Health Minister Gordon Nuttall has been embroiled in the so-called "Dr Death" scandal after a senior bureaucrat yesterday disputed his claim that he had never been warned about problems with overseas-trained doctors Dr Death scandal embroils minister; Immigration head Bill Farmer has been made the scapegoat for a host of monumental departmental blunders but rewarded with the high-profile job of Australian ambassador to Indonesia Immigration scapegoat given elite job ; Career public servant Paul O'Sullivan was named Dennis Richardson's successor as head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), with Mr Richardson now Australia's ambassador to the United States. PM's adviser appointed top spy

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Al Qaeda and their affiliated groups have declared war on our civilization, and we’ve responded by being feckless and distracted. Why, 4 years after 9/11, and just hours after 7/7, are we continuing to allow Pakistan’s borders to likely harbor Bin Laden - we allow the Saudis to finance terror How many more innocent human beings have to die because our leaders refuse to hunt down these killers and end them?

Eye on Politics & Taxes: A Radical Way to Be: Full-focus attention is the next aphrodisiac
Attention captured by marketing messages and leaders who give us a sense of trust, belonging in a meaningful way.

Now we long for a quality of life that comes in meaningful connections to friends, colleagues, family that we experience with full-focus attention on relationships, etc. The next aphrodisiac is committed full-attention focus. In this new area, experiencing this engaged attention is to feel alive. Trusted filters, trusted protectors, trusted concierge, human or technical, removing distractions and managing boundaries, filtering signal from noise, enabling meaningful connections, that make us feel secure, are the opportunity for the next generation. Opportunity will be the tools and technologies to take our power back

• We Contain Multitudes [War Made Easy How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death Harsh insight into how we make war ; Tolstoy used fewer pages to sketch Napoleon's invasion of Czarist Russia - Writers of many stripes grapple with a country going off the rail Shock and awe - Five books on the war in Iraq ; Can We Fight The War On Terror Now? ]
• · Australian millionaires are reluctant to recognise themselves as well-to-do, and even the very rich still cry poor. Newly Rich: First Class, Upper Crust, Cream of Society Poor little millionaires ; History teaches us that there are two types of tyrants. Those who preserve the structures and forces that carry them to power - and those who, once they have attained their goal of unbridled domination, seek to destroy the organizations and people they had used to get to where they are Purging vs. Co-opting Tyrants
• · · The struggle against terrorism cannot be won by military means ; If the era of the Cold War is over it is, perhaps, less because one side has 'won' than because the legitimation of each political discourse found itself fundamentally challenged by material developments themselves The Betrayal of History: Dreamworld and Catastrophe ; The dumbing-down of audiences is as dangerous to newfound political and economic freedoms as are more explicit forms of repression. Both democracy and the free market will not survive long in the absence of an informed, alert, intellectually agile public. It is hard to retain one's critical faculties under the onslaught of televised conspicuous consumption and the unmitigated folly of mass entertainers Garbage in, money out
• · · · Focus groups? I thought we elected politicians to make big decisions Focus groups were almost as controversial within the Conservative Party as taxation ; The alliance between the NGO coalition Make Poverty History and the spectacular global Live8 concerts may seem a formidable challenge to the G8, but Tom Burgis in Edinburgh hears radical NGO campaigners who think it is far too close to power Insider-outsider: the NGO fracture zone ; Over the past 15 years, 'street politics' has lost its critical edge Live 8: How did protests become love-ins? ;
• · · · · Wes Boyd and Joan Blades and the formation of MoveOn.org The Internet And Democrats ; For the sake of party unity, many Democrats last year put aside their differences with John Kerry's foreign policy positions, in particular his tortured support for the war in Ira Reconnecting to the World
• · · · · · An op-ed on activist judges So Who Are the Activists? ; The libertarian case for judicial activism Unleash the Judges ; 'Electing Justice': The People's Court

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A Sad Day for London & Liberty
O THE sad day! A series of explosions ripped through London's underground system on Thursday morning. 6 Blasts Rock London, Killing at Least 30 ... At least 90 casualties in London explosions, subway closed Terrorist Explosions rock London
The world's most powerful leaders got down to talks in Gleneagles, Scotland, on Thursday on aid to Africa and climate change, but the summit was brutally overshadowed by a series of explosions that caused casualties and at least two deaths in London London blasts upstage G8 summit - Olympic bid team devastated by London blasts news
United States: September 11, 2001
Spain: March 11, 2004
England: July 7, 2005
Today, we are all Britons

Matters Arising from the Terrorist Bombing: After the joy of winning the Olympics, Evil came swiftly , however, How to verify a terrorist group's claim of responsibility

CODA: James Bond once said, ‘You only live twice.’ Once when you are born and again when you face death. He may well have been referring to my life ... My life, all of it, comes down to 7/7

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Carr's $1 billion deal to break GST deadlock

Eye on Tax & Politics: Aspirational Voters
In the lead-up to the 2004 election, Mark Latham talked much about Labor’s need to appeal to voters he called ‘aspirational’.

A Google search using the term ‘aspirational voter’ produces dozens of hits, as political commentators, pundits, and leaders grapple with explaining voters’ changing party preferences. During the election campaign, a consensus emerged that these ‘aspirationals’ would play a crucial role in determining the election outcome, especially in outer metropolitan electorates, where the Howard government held eleven seats by a margin of less than six per cent (Davies & Noonan 2004). So should we believe that those deemed ‘aspirational’ played a role in shaping the outcome of the 2004 poll?

• The Rise Of The Aspirational Voter [Red River Democracy Project ; ReCollection: a few things picked up along the way; How did I miss reading this editorial last week? The dilemmas of democracy ; With the changeover of senators on 1 July 2005, Marian Sawer looks at democratic issues posed by government control of both houses of the Australian Parliament, particularly in relation to legislative review and executive scrutiny The Senate changeover: implications for democracy ]
• · The immigration department has a cowboy culture and a contempt for human life, a lawyer for Vivian Alvarez says Cowboy culture' rules immigration department ; Cornelia Rau should have been held in jail for a week at most but instead spent six months in prison because an uninterested Immigration Department ignored its own rules for handling detainees Locked up against the rules - the Rau verdict ; In the Cornelia Rau case it looks like Immigration officials used the work of Alexander Solzhenitsyn as a guide, when they were not following Franz Kafka Cornelia Rau case a national disgrace
• · · The decision to pursue civil, rather than criminal, proceedings against Steve Vizard showed there was one law for members of the Melbourne establishment and another for Sydney eccentrics Vizard 'a true insider', says Rivkin lawyer ; The inflated rent paid by the Australian National Audit Office had probably pushed up the sale price of Labor's national headquarters in Canberra ALP sells HQ for $30m
• · · · Ian Thorpe said of the New York Olympic bid: "It is my baby." Five go to town for Olympic glory ; Anglo-French tensions heightened this week after French President Jacques Chirac delivered a series of insults to Britain as London and Paris fought to secure the 2012 Olympic Games Chirac's mad jokes sour relations ; It was intended to be a house party for well-heeled, fashion-conscious ladies in the eastern suburbs, eating nibblies, gossiping and perusing fake luxury handbags that were to be sold for cash Sale of fakes leaves heavy baggage
• · · · · Martyn Stuart Mendelsohn, an ear, nose and throat surgeon and former visiting medical officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault Celebrity doctor on rape charge ; Bagless ladies: the powerful new breed of politician; The escape of a billionaire suspect prompts police chief's resignation but critics say more change needed Law and Disorder
• · · · · · John and Janette Howard go overseas next week for 10 days in Washington and London. Wish them well These days it's more like a gravy plane ; Commonwealth Bank's new chief executive, Ralph Norris, left his last IT management position behind 14 years ago. But he readily acknowledges the job laid the groundwork for the success that led him to take on one of Australia's most demanding executive jobs IT helped launch CBA's new chief

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Time to worship at Hillsong Church … the Premier, Bob Carr, and pastor Brian Houston address the crowd at the SuperDome last night Politicians make a joyful noise, too

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Gang of Four
Here we go again, back to the NME's glory days.

Back to a mythology of office fist fights (true), typewriters thrown from tower blocks (untrue), drug ODs (a couple), hip young gunslingers (more than a few) and counter-cultural cool (we tried).
In the past few years, we've had Nick Hornby confessing that NME hack was the dream job he never had, Jonathan Coe featuring the paper in The Rotters' Club, obligatory mentions in every profile of those reluctant NME twins Tony (Parsons) and Julie (Burchill). Now comes an hour-long BBC documentary ostensibly covering the paper's entire 50-year history but focused on the Seventies and early Eighties, years which contain NME's so-called Golden Age when, to quote Ovid, 'men of their own accord, without laws, did what was right... a season of everlasting spring'.

• On remembering a golden age when politics and philosophy rubbed shoulders with Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll [ Open Letters, Closed Minds ; Predictions are difficult to make—especially when they’re about the future Are We at a Turning Point in History? ]
• · From the sick man of Europe to its richest, Ireland has made a remarkable transformation, writes Thomas Friedman
The luck of the Irish? No, it's just hard work and a grand plan ; Elisabeth Sexton examines this difficult question in the light of the James Hardie cas e Directors: to whom do they owe care? ; True Patriots Act You shouldn't have to surrender your liberties to prove you love the red, white and blue
• · · The office crawler would be rewarded under the Howard Government's planned industrial relations laws changes while quiet hard workers would miss out Beware the crawler: Beazley ; NSW Premier Bob Carr wants the federal government to abolish the Commonwealth Grants Commission and to stop what he says is the redistribution of NSW GST revenue to Queensland and Western Australia Carr tax cut if grants commission dumped
• · · · By Brian Toohey. 2 Jyly 2005 The Australian Financial Review: When the Howard government was elected in 1996, the Income Tax Act was about 3000 pages. It is now more than 10,000 pages. There are also innumerable interpretive guidelines and rulings issued by the Australian Taxation Office and thousands of extra pages associated with GST legislation and associated interpretations. Much of this added complexity stems from changes flowing from the 1999 Ralph report on business taxes Tax laws beg for clarity ; When the rate of capital gains tax was halved in 1999, the Prime Minister, John Howard, the Treasurer, Peter Costello, and their tax reviewer, John Ralph, promised a boon in economic benefit and efficiency. Instead, they contributed to a perilous property bubble, directed a generous tax break to the wealthiest and delivered, at best, a piddling addition to productive investment Falling short of a capital idea
• · · · · Recycling is the cheapest way to respond to Sydney's water crisis, writes Malcolm Turnbull Recycling is the cheapest way to respond to Sydney's water crisis

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As always Peter Fitzsimons in his Fitz Files on Sunday digs deep into the memories and gives us another catchy headline: Carr Bonfire Mystery I too recall how a certain fevour swept the Parliament House when Terry Metherell gave his diary to public servant at our ABC, Quentin Dempster, so no one was surprised to learn that a number of pollies caught a disease called pyromania (an irresistible impulse to set things on fire) For a footfaller, Peter Fitzsimons, has a memory of an elephant who is able to weaves together many extraordinary stories: ‘Something is not sitting quite right. In 1992, the Herald’s Stay in Touch column reported: ‘In an orgy of pyromania, Bob Carr fed eight volumes of his secret diaries into a backyard barbie on Saturday night, cheered on by close mates. One of the politics’ most prolific diarists, Carr’s ceremonial burning resulted from a fear that hiss diaries may be subpoenaed and published by newspapers.’ Although the then Opposition Leader did not believe at the time his scratchings would have ‘induced heart failure, mass arrests, isolated suicides or hastily booked flights to Paraquay,’ they did record ‘day-to-day political comments and throw-away comments’ by political personalities. Yet now, with the Latham book, we have the second example in recent years of Bob Carr selectively planting extracts from his most recent diaries with the biographers. What gives? Was there a bonfire? Does he have a complete dairy? How big is it now? Will we ever see it in full?' (my emphassis ;-) [Ach, my spies report recent sightings of Mike Egan in Praha the city of thousand spires ;-]

Eye on Tax & Politics: Bob the Builder
Anyone who has breezed through the diaries of our Premier, Bob Carr, knows he has a healthy ego and is susceptible to a few soaring vanities that occasionally hit the middle-aged man.

And the ego was well and truly on display at the Park Hyatt 15th anniversary bash this week. Guests feasting on the spread from chief chef Danny Drinkwater could have been forgiven for thinking Emperor Carr was responsible for the swank hotel. Indeed, during his speech, Mr Carr pulled out a dog-eared sheet of paper dating back to his days as Planning Minister in 1987, showing the crowd an original concept for the waterfront site. With the stroke of a pen, Mr Carr said, with suitable theatrics, adding that he oversaw the development of the top end of town which paid for heritage restoration of the Rocks.

• What a single-handed mastermind he is! [ The Limits of 'Live 8' and the G8 in Making Poverty History ; Whenever public officials and community leaders propose a policy to make business act more responsibly — such as reduce pollution or improve working conditions — some business leaders react in horror that it will destroy the incentive to invest and hurt the business climate Call it the Chicken Little syndrome ]
• · The end of democracy? Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk talks with Marius Meller about Europe's crisis and authoritarian capitalism Damned to expertocracy ; Is That a Pool Cue in Corporate America's Pocket, Or Are They Just Excited About the Supreme Court? Story about how Corporate America is already scheming
• · · It looks more like a convention centre for God's delegates than a church, but Hillsong, with 18,000 Pentecostal Christians, represents the largest single congregation in Australia Hillsong: Songs of praise — and politics ; "The pursuit of happiness" is about more than private pleasures A Right, From the Start ; I am willing to love all mankind, except an American. They are a race of convicts, and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging Dr. Johnson's Revolution
• · · · Decaying state of teeth in children ; $100M RSS Fund Launched ; Pliant American Press Behaving Like Pravda in Coverage of the U.S. President Replow it further? How about plowing it once?
• · · · · Some Republican lawmakers don't think George Soros should be permitted to purchase a Major League Baseball team because he's too liberal and he has some wacky notions. Political football: Taking Aim At Soros Is Hardly Politic ; Perhaps the first thing that should be said about the new edition of Main Currents of Marxism concerns the peril it presents to those with weak backs or delicate wrists. Marxism, says Leszek Kolakowski, was a stupendous fantasy: at once scientific, prophetic, fantastic, utopian, and irrational – a caricature and a bogus form of religion The anatomy of totalitarianism
• · · · · · James Cumes on VOW and Direct Democracy ; James also remembers Ray Parkin: The flowers in that area are among the most beautiful I've ever seen A Fortunate Life

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Today we hold this truth to be self-evident: We are all in this together. Are you ready, are you ready to make poverty history! We're not looking for charity, we're looking for justice. We cannot fix every problem but the ones we can, we must. Annihilating poverty is Live 8’s signature tune Rockin' all over the world: Making history to end poverty - Indeed, this was the night when the world rocked for justice. No Escape as Live 8 Saturates Google: No more excuses, cry concerts

Eye on Tax & Rock-n-Roll: Mourn on the Fourth of July
Am I the only U.S. citizen who finds the annual Fourth rituals to be cloying and deceptive? Yeah -- just me and probably tens of millions of other people.

Ever since the Vietnam War, the Fourth of July has seemed to be a celebration of the past in the midst of a distinctly un-glorious present. In 2005, as in 1965, lyrical appreciation of "bombs bursting in air" is chilling in the context of current realities ... The nation is defined as a way of life that externalizes enemies and asserts that its survival—whether economic, social or political—must expand lest the nation contract and die

A July 4th Covenant: After more than two centuries, you'd hope that more journalists would be willing to set aside fawning myths about the founding fathers. If that ever happens, the emergence of candor might even help shed some light on the ruling fathers of today
• Democracy for the Few Protecting the haves from the have-nots [Are We There Yet? 1984: The Two Georges, Orwell And Bush ; Public TV is already sinking, so why not rock the boat?Rocking Mainstream ]
• · A nation's success or failure in achieving democracy is judged in part by how well it responds to those at the bottom and the margins of the social order... The very problems that democratic change brings -- social tension, heightened expectations, political unrest -- are also strengths. Discord is a sign of progress afoot; unease is an indication that a society has let go of what it knows and is working out something better and new Court Fight: It's More Than Left-v-Right ; Was there ever a time when Congressional tax cuts for multi-millionaires were more unseemly? Millionaires and War
• · · The US war in Iraq increasingly mirrors the Vietnam tragedy Waist Deep in the Big Muddy ; The fifties were the height of the Cold War. Cold War thinking shaped the debate on and contours of even such seemingly “domestic” matters as urban and intercity transportation Cold War at a deeper cultural level
• · · · For political observers and operatives, a key benefit of blogwatching is the capacity to spot trends days, weeks, or even months in advance. One theme beginning a slow ascent to the upper echelons of the 'sphere is the invocation of the 'I' word O'Connor Retires From Supreme Court ; via Peter Daou
• · · · · The Australian economy has had an unprecedented period of uninterrupted growth since 1992, surviving disruptions from the Asian crisis of 1997, the stock market collapse of 1999, and the war in Iraq. Who is better at managing the Australian economy: Labor or the Coalition? ; Carr stands firm against Costello's GST threats ; Dreading return time? At least you don't have to factor sex into your equations Tax antics laid bare ; Editorial. 30/06/2005. The Australian Financial Review. The Australian Taxation Office doesn't know when it's onto a good thing. The new tax system took about two years to bed down but in the three years since 2002, federal tax receipts have risen by one-quarter to $203 billion, not counting the swelling goods and services tax revenue. Taxpayers have rights as well
• · · · · · Amid the vitriol there’s a potent message for Labor. If only Shakespeare had lived in the age of emai Method in his madness ; In many ways, Mark Latham was seen as a potential Messiah who would lead the Australian Labor Party out of the political wilderness and to victory in the 2004 Federal election
Mark Latham: Labor’s loner ; Beazley handing junkets to mates ; A lesson we should relearn - Stephen Loosley

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Remind me: who was the greater mass murderer, Stalin or Hitler? Well, Stalin is thought to have been responsible for about 50 million deaths, and Hitler for a mere 25 million ... That is why the servants of communist tyranny get sympathetic obits, and modern British girls wear CCCP T-shirts, and that is why a Labour Government can enact a series of authoritarian measures that a Conservative government could not contemplate. Tales of hammer and sickle T-shirts laden with badges of the foremost commie creeps of history. I cannot explain this injustice: Boris Johnson merely points it out: The stuff of Kafka-esque nightmare

Eye on Taxes & Jobs: Game, set and match: a loner but not a loser
Mark Latham ended his political career by resigning on January 18. The journalist Bernie Lagan emailed Latham 17 days later:

"Dear Mark, I guess you've seen the letter I sent via Jody [Latham's sister]. It's a great shame things have ended this way, but I reckon you could make only one call for Janine and those boys, given your future health. The rubber will soon hit the road with our book. It's coming out around late May. Deadline for the words is the end of next month. At least we should set down your legacy to the Labor Party

• End of tennis match [ The problem identified - deafness ; Another field, another grasshopper Latham: my part in his downfall ]
• · Conservative Catholic leader Cardinal George Pell's concerns about the Government's workplace changes reflect widespread community concern about their impact. Pell urges caution over Senate power Pell comments reflect wider IR concerns: Labor ; Unions promise fast, loud action
• · · A memo to managers of the world: you are not paranoid. Your staff really are out to get you Bullied bosses: look out below ; A workforce revolution is on its way, as many new employees are about to find out What do we want … and does it matter? ; GST is a difficult child Businesses still adjusting to GST
• · · · The number of new homes and flats approved in Sydney has fallen to levels not seen since the last recession Property plunge exposes weak state ; The State Government has racked up $23 million of insurance claims from government vehicles since the 2003 election, according to the Opposition's latest waste watch report Money frittered away, says Coalition ; No matter what good fortune comes their way a history of conflict haunts Redfern's children Black and blue ; Since over a week has elapsed since the High Court handed down its decision, much of the initial fervour has lapsed The Fingleton result
• · · · · Why is it an American or an Australian can go and fight in the Israeli army and will not be called a terrorist when he comes back, but a Muslim who goes and fights is called a terrorist? Raided men defend their part in jihad ; Police who conduct their activity in secret, who by law force all involved to keep it a secret and don't allow journalists to talk about said secret are indeed "secret police" Second terrorism charge for handler ; On February 27th 1933, the immense Reichstag building, the focal point of Berlin’s imperial district, was set on fire and destroyed. Only the shell remained. It was a shocking act of terrorism Be alarmed, not just alert, on ASIO power extension ; Derek Maul, CS Monitor The real meaning of July 4: Power belongs to the people Are We Moving Away From The Meaning of July 4th?; Robert Pape, Chicago Tribune When death is an option The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism
• · · · · · No self-respecting politician would miss the chance these days to big-note themselves at a major extension of a beleaguered railway system, but when the western line reached Rydal in 1870, there was no pageantry All is in train, now where is the transport minister? ; Scoop: An interesting twist from the San Francisco Chronicle: Todd Wallack used state records to show that despite Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s talk of reducing state spending the Schwarzenegger administration proposes creating 6,288 jobs California State Employees - and More