A Odyssey into Shadows
• 24/5/2007 - First it was WMD; then it was regime change; now it is Al Qaeda. Must be an election soon....
Posted By Snowy
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21785843-1702,00.html
Bush has enormous courage: Downer
- From correspondents in Simi Valley, California
- May 24, 2007
AUSTRALIAN Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has come to the defence of US President George W. Bush, describing him as "a person of enormous courage".
Mr Downer's support came just days after former US President Jimmy Carter described the Bush administration as the "worst in history" for its impact around the world.
Mr Downer, speaking alongside US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, located on the north-west outskirts of Los Angeles, compared Mr Bush's war on terror to Reagan's Cold War victory over the Soviet Union.
"When I think about the war on terror and the decisions he has had to make, these have been tough decisions," Mr Downer told about 300 guests, including Reagan's widow, Nancy.
"The final judgments about his presidency in relation to some of those decisions will be made years and years off into the future.
"... Will people say of President George W. Bush that he ran away when the terrorists struck?"
"I don't think they will say that about him either. They will say that he confronted them and showed a lot of courage in doing so."
Mr Downer will spend today and tomorrow with Dr Rice in California, with a tour of the Camp Pendleton military base, south of LA, and visits to technology sites near San Francisco.
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• 23/5/2007 - After twelve months of the little liar denying the bleeding obvious, Hockey admits the truth.
Posted By Snowy
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1930352.htm
We got it wrong on AWA fairness, Hockey says
Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey says the Federal Government got it wrong when it failed to include a safety net for workers on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA).
The Government is currently undertaking a $4.1 million advertising blitz to explain the new fairness test for low and middle income workers on AWAs.
Mr Hockey says workers will now have better protection than when the legislation was first introduced.
"I wasn't the Minister for Workplace Relations but if you're saying to me that we got it wrong in the past, well we did," he said.
"We got it wrong. We underestimated what would have happened if we put in place a system that may lead to people trading away penality rates without fair compensation."
The Government has come under fire over its latest industrial relations advertising blitz and today it has been revealed the week-long campaign cost taxpayers $4.1 million.
Mr Hockey says the Government's call centre is receiving an extra 1,000 phone calls a day due to the advertising.
He says the increased call centre activity shows the ads are needed.
"We are also receiving over 1,200 AWAs as well as collective agreements and union collective agreements during the course of this period," he said.
"So obviously we are inviting people to find out where they can get information about their rights at work."
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• 22/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
He who allows oppression, shares the crime." : Erasmus Darwin
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A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself: Joseph Pulitzer
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Of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy" : John Pierpont Morgan
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We have got rid of the fetish of the divine right of kings, and that slavery is of divine origin and authority. But the divine right of property has taken its place. The tendency plainly is towards .. "a government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich." : Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893), U.S. president.
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,442
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$427,613,310,682 |
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• 21/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it: Woodrow Wilson
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The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same: Marie Beyle
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The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing: John Adams
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To change masters is not to be free: Jose Marti y Perez
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If men use their liberty in such a way as to surrender their liberty, are they thereafter any the less slaves? If people by a plebiscite elect a man despot over them, do they remain free because the despotism was of their own making?: Herbert Spencer.
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Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction: Blaise Pascal
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,422
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$427,338,215,837 |
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• 20/5/2007 - And that will leave just little lapdog, Johnny. And he won't be there much longer anyway. Sad that. Bring it on!!!
Posted By Snowy
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21763057-1702,00.html
Bush 'told British troops will leave Iraq'
US President George W. Bush has been told to prepare for a British U-turn on Iraq once Gordon Brown becomes prime minister, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said.
Mr Bush has been briefed by White House officials to expect an announcement on British troop withdrawals during Brown's first 100 days in office, the weekly said.
The president was advised on how to handle the aftermath of a British pullout and the end of steadfast support from London, said the broadsheet, citing senior officials.
Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to step down on June 27 after a decade in power, with finance minister Brown set to take over.
Under Mr Blair, Britain has been the United States' staunchest ally in the war in Iraq and its key partner in the decision to invade the country in March 2003.
Senior officials in the US National Security Council, the Pentagon and the State Department have expressed their fears about Brown, The Sunday Telegraph said.
"There is a sense of foreboding,'' an unnamed senior official was quoted as saying.
"We don't know if he will be there when we need him. We expect a gesture that will greatly weaken the United States government's position.''
And Mark Kirk, a congressman in Bush's Republican party who discussed Iraq policy at the White House last week, said: "The American view is that's he's a much weaker political leader than Blair.
"There's the fear in Washington that he won't be as strong an ally.''
Mr Blair was in Washington this week for his last talks with Mr Bush, before jetting to Iraq for talks with political leaders in Baghdad and a visit to British troops in the main southern city of Basra.
"I have no doubt at all that Britain will remain steadfast in its support for Iraq,'' the prime minister said there.
"Even when I leave government I am sure that support will continue.''
A source close to Mr Brown said: "These fears are unfounded. Gordon is a committed Atlanticist who wants to strengthen and deepen our ties with America around our shared values, and who wants to persuade the rest of Europe to work in closer co-operation with America.''
British troop numbers in Iraq are being scaled down from 7,100 to 5,500 this year. |
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• 19/5/2007 - So, where did you pull your 30% figure from, Bob, if you have NO engineering proposal to support your claims? And your "solution" to the water crisis is to oppose the building of dams. It's time you came up with something better than this.
Posted By Snowy
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21758983-1702,00.html
Water shortage 'will lead to power cuts'
- By Paul Carter
- May 19, 2007
AUSTRALIA'S eastern seaboard faces electricity brownouts because coal-fired power stations are running out of water, the Greens say.
NSW Greens MP John Kaye said the NSW Government should abandon any idea of building another coal-fired power station, after it last week commissioned an inquiry into the construction of a new plant.
Dwindling dam levels were threatening power supplies, he said.
"NSW and the eastern seaboard of Australia faces brownouts, largely because many of the state's coal-fired power stations are running out of water," he said.
"Building another coal burner would only increase our vulnerability to droughts and increase the risk of electricity brownouts because of water shortages."
Some energy experts believe NSW will face power brownouts next year, because its main emergency generator, the water-powered turbines of the Snowy Hydro, may have to sit idle as dams drop to record lows.
The NSW Government is apparently contemplating how it can guarantee baseload capacity, without privatising the rest of the electricity industry.
Dr Kaye said renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency would continue to operate through droughts and reduce the risks of brownouts.
Wind generation, solar photo-voltaic panels and energy efficiency took almost no water to operate while hot rocks geothermal, biomass and solar thermal used some but could be designed to be less thirsty than coal, he said.
Greens leader Bob Brown said 30 per cent of the eastern seaboard's energy need could be met with better efficiencies and renewable energies that didn't need water.
"What we are seeing here is that the very core of the climate change problem, burning coal, is now being hit itself by climate change," Senator Brown said.
"It requires huge amounts of water, and yet both Labor and Liberal want to export more coal, and burn more coal in this country."
Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett said the possibility of brownouts showed how unprepared Australia was for the impact of climate change.
"We will see an intensification of droughts and an intensity in terms of increasing periods of hot weather, increasing periods of weather where there is not much rain as a consequence of failing to address climate change," he said. |
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• 19/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
It'll be a great day when education gets all the money it wants and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy bombers.: Author unknown, quoted in You Said a Mouthful edited by Ronald D. Fuchs
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A common and natural result of an undue respect for law is that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart. They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are concerned; they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they? Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?: Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
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"How is a military drilled and trained to defend freedom, peace and ahppiness? This is what Major General O'Ryan has to say of an efficiently trained generation: 'The soldier must be so trained that he becomes a mere automoton; he must be so trained that it will destroy his initiative; he must be so trained that he is turned into a machine. The soldier must be forced into the military noose; he must be jacked up; he must be ruled by his superiors with pistol in hand.' This was not said by a Prussian Junker; not by a German barbarian . . . but by an American major general. And he is right. You cannot conduct war with equals; you cannot have militarism with free born men; you must have slaves, automotons, machines, obedient disciplined creatures, who will move, act, shoot and kill at the command of their superiors. That is preparedness, and nothing else." :
Emma Goldman, Preparedness: The Road to Universal Slaughter
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Do not worry over the charge of treason to your masters, but be concerned about the treason that involves yourselves. Be true to yourself and you cannot be a traitor to any good cause on Earth. : Eugene V. Debs, Speech, June 16, 1918
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,404
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$426,493,076,498
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• 18/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
I have seen men march to the wars, and then I have watched their homeward tread, And they brought back bodies of living men, But their eyes were cold and dead: Edmund Vance Cooke
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Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder! Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings! Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction! : Helen Keller
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Don't be deceived when they tell you things are better now. Even if there's no poverty to be seen because the poverty's been hidden. Even if you ever got more wages and could afford to buy more of these new and useless goods which industries foist on you and even if it seems to you that you never had so much, that is only the slogan of those who still have much more than you. Don't be taken in when they paternally pat you on the shoulder and say that there's no inequality worth speaking of and no more reason to fight because if you believe them they will be completely in charge in their marble homes and granite banks from which they rob the people of the world under the pretence of bringing them culture. Watch out, for as soon as it pleases them they'll send you out to protect their gold in wars whose weapons, rapidly developed by servile scientists, will become more and more deadly until they can with a flick of the finger tear a million of you to pieces:
Jean Paul Marat
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"The National Security Act of '47 gave us the National Security Council. Never have we had a National Security Council so concerned about the nation's security that we're always looking for threats and looking how to orchestrate our society to oppose those threats. National Security was invented, almost, in 1947, and now it has become the prime mover of everything we do as measured against something we invented in 1947." -- U.S. Navy Admiral Gene La Rocque in PBS Documentary "The Secret Government"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17720.htm
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,403
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$426,493,076,498 |
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• 18/5/2007 - Want to post your opinion on the Federal Election?
Posted By Snowy
Thanks for completing our "What the people want" questionnaire on this year's Federal election. We've had the best response ever so far - 2,555.
My reason for writing to you is that the questionnaire will remain open for another 4 days and I'm hoping to get the number of responses up to 3,000.
Why 3000? Well, on average that will give us 20 voters from every electorate. That is the equivalent of two focus groups per electorate and means that there should be enough responses to say something sensible about most seats in Australia. Of course we won't get 20 from every seat, some seats will be much better represented, so I won't complain if we do better than 3,000.
It will also help us to form some tentative conclusions about the smaller parties, which will be the first time for one of our surveys.
I know many of you have already forwarded the address for the poll on, and if you are one of those, my apologies for bothering you. But if there are a few of your friends or contacts who you think might be interested and are unaware of the poll, please let them know about it and that the address is www.polling.nationalforum.com.au/index.php?sid=7.
If you are interested in results of our previous research, most of this is posted to http://whatthepeoplewant.net/ and on our blog, http://whatthepeoplewant.nationalforum.com.au/.
Thanks for being part of our online research projects. As always, if you want to be removed from our mailings, please email me by return with "Unsubscribe" or "Remove" in the subject line.
Regards,
GRAHAM YOUNG
CHIEF EDITOR
ON LINE OPINION |
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• 15/5/2007 - And the rich get rich.....
Posted By Snowy
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1923580.htm
Macquarie stands by $33.5m pay packet
Macquarie Bank has defended the multi-million-dollar salaries paid to its top executives, after it announced its chief executive, Allan Moss, would get $33.5 million this year, including bonuses.
Mr Moss was already Australia's highest-paid chief executive but his pay packet has risen by $12.3 million this financial year.
The announcement came as Macquarie posted a record annual profit of $1.46 billion, up 60 per cent from the previous year.
Shareholders will be rewarded with a final dividend of $1.90 per share.
In response to the announcement, Prime Minister John Howard has said some executive salaries are over the top.
"Thirty-three million dollars is a lot of money, isn't it? It's a lot more than most people... make," he said.
"I am in favour of the capitalist system, I really am, and I don't think it's the business of Government to put caps on peoples' salaries but if you ask me as a citizen, do I think that's a lot of money? You bet I do."
But Macquarie chairman David Clarke says the company's level of remuneration is in line with its competitors.
"People only get bonuses if they perform and they know that when they join us, that if they perform, they will be rewarded appropriately," he said.
"We don't believe in caps, we don't believe in floors.
"We have a system that produces good results if we deliver to the shareholders and that's what happened this year."
Macquarie Bank has recently been involved in two failed takeover bids.
It was part of the consortium that made an $11 billion bid for Qantas but the deal fell through because it did not get enough shareholder support.
The investment group's recent takeover offer for the utility Alinta was also rejected in favour of a rival bid by Babcock and Brown.
Mr Moss says he will examine the failed bids but not focus on them.
"These are two transactions which had the potential to be important transactions but nevertheless, our business is way bigger than two transactions in one country," he said.
Macquarie's income from international operations has meanwhile surged 70 per cent and now accounts for 55 per cent of total operating income. The bank maintains 50 offices in 23 countries.
Despite the proportion of international earnings, the group's board has resolved to keep the bank headquartered in Australia.
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• 15/5/2007 - So, Labor actually INCREASED its lead after Johnny handed out fistfuls of money....
Posted By Snowy
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1922813.htm
The latest opinion poll shows Kevin Rudd has increased his lead over John Howard as preferred PM. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Labor still ahead in poll despite Budget
The federal Budget has failed to provide a bounce for the Government in the latest opinion poll.
Today's Newspoll has Labor increasing its lead over the Coalition to 18 per cent on a two party preferred basis.
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has increased his lead over John Howard as the preferred prime minister to 12 points.
Education Minister Julie Bishop told ABC TV's Lateline the Government was not expecting the Budget to improve its standing straight away.
"No-one seriously believed that one single event, the Budget, would have an immediate effect on the polls," she said.
"That hasn't been the experience over the last few budgets and it was the experience this time - a budget takes some time to have an impact."
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• 14/5/2007 - Battle Therapy
Posted By Darwin
Synopsis: A group of Obsessive Compulsive patients think their charismatic psychologist's unorthodox group therapy is designed to kill them. Directors: Roland Haddad, Artur Kade Producers: Adrian Bertino-Clarke, Artur Kade Co-Producers: Don Fazio, Yasmine Semaan, Mentrik Tjen, Sophia Lee Assistant Producer: Elizabeth Cornwall Executive Producers: Adrian Bertino-Clarke, Artur Kade Writers: Adrian Bertino-Clarke, Patrick Golamco, John Connolly, Kieran Donovan, Firas Janabi,Angela Pezzano Cast: Ashur Shimon DOP: Tristan Velasco Production Design: Artur Kade Art Director: Matt Johnson Costume Design: Elizabeth Hamilton Sound: Corey Goldby, Garth Diggins SFX: Christophe Delhaze, Medeleine Wales, Andrew Tran, Neil Dryland Editors: Andrew Tran, Neil Dryland Production Coordinator: Mentrik Tjen Production Company: PartyCp8 Film School Finance: Private |
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• 13/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused. : Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, 1919
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"The civilized have created the wretched, quite coldly and deliberately, and do not intend to change the status quo; are responsible for their slaughter and enslavement; rain down bombs on defenseless children whenever and wherever they decide that their "vital interests" are menaced, and think nothing of torturing a man to death: these people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the "sanctity" of human life, or the "conscience" of the civilized world. " James Baldwin - page 489 of COLLECTED ESSAYS (1998), from chapter one of "The Devil Finds Work" (orig. pub. 1976)
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Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires, and for the ruled the abdication of human dignity, reason, conscience, and a slavish enthralment to those in power. : Leo Toystoy
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If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mis- ter you're a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death. What's noble about lying in the gound and rotting? What's noble about never seeing the sunshine again? What's noble about hav- ing your legs and arms blown off? What's noble about being an idiot? What's noble about being blind and deaf and dumb? What's noble about being dead? Because when you're dead mister it's all over. It's the end. You're less than a dog less than a rat less than a bee or an ant less than a maggot crawling around on a dungheap. You're dead mister and you died for nothing. You're dead mister. Dead. : Dalton Trumbo - Source: Johnny Got His Gun - I entered the quote directly as it is found in the text with the same line endings, and the same lack of punctuation. Possibly the greatest anti-war novel ever written.
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"Can we truly expect that those who aim to exploit us can be trusted to educate us?" : Eric Schaub - Individualist, activist, speaker, author
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,393
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$425,088,036,194 |
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• 13/5/2007 - It was only yesterday that the Little Liar was telling us that his constituents loved his budget. Seems as though bribes aren't even enough to save you now, short man.
Posted By Snowy
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21720793-1702,00.html
PM in line to lose seat
PRIME Minister John Howard would lose his seat in federal parliament to Labor candidate Maxine McKew if the election was held today, a new poll shows.
Primary support for Mr Howard in the seat of Bennelong has dropped to 44 per cent, down six per cent from the last election, according to the Galaxy poll.
In contrast, support for former ABC journalist Ms McKew is at 46 per cent, up 18 points from Labor's position in the 2004 election.
The poll, undertaken exclusively for News Ltd, showed that on a similar preference flow to the last election, Ms McKew would win a two-party preferred vote of 52 per cent compared to 48 per cent for Mr Howard.
That represents a six per cent swing against the Government, more than the four per cent needed for the seat to change hands, News Ltd reports.
If Mr Howard was voted out in Bennelong, he would be the first incumbent prime minister to lose his seat since 1929.
The poll of 800 voters was taken in the two days after the Budget, and also showed 18 per cent of people in Bennelong who voted Liberal at the last election were leaning towards Labor.
Most of the voters polled said the economy would be a key factor in their voting decision, followed by industrial relations.
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• 12/5/2007 - The King
Posted By Darwin
Synopsis: Based on the life of the late Graham Kennedy, whose show 'In Melbourne Tonight' was made in the GTV studios in the 1950s and '60s. Director: Matthew Saville Producers: Peter Hudson, Jason Stephens Writers: Jaime Browne, Kris Mrksa Cast: Stephen Curry, Stephen Hall, Jane Allsop, Shaun Micallef, Garry McDonald, Steve Bisley, Bernard Curry, Leo Taylor Production Company: Crackerjack Productions Production Office: VIC Format: 90 mins |
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• 12/5/2007 - ICH today
Posted By Snowy
"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." : Daniel Webster
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"The country is headed toward a single and splendid government of an aristocracy founded on banking institutions and monied corporations, and if this tendency continues it will be the end of freedom and democracy, the few will be ruling and riding over the plundered plowman and the beggar.... Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
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In the 435-member House of Representatives, 123 elected officials earned at least one million dollars last year, according to recently released financial records made public each year. Next door in the ornate Senate, whose blue-blooded pedigree includes a Kennedy and a Rockefeller, one in three people are millionaires. By comparison, less than one percent of Americans make seven-figure incomes.: Source: Millionaires Fill US Congress Halls, Agence France Press, June 30, 2004
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6418.htm
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Democracy [is] when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers: Aristotle
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"Let no man turn aside, ever so slightly, from the broad path of honour, on the plausible pretence that he is justified by the goodness of his end. All good ends can be worked out by good means." : Charles Dickens
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Number Of Iraqi Civilians Slaughtered In America's War On Iraq - At Least 655,000 + +
http://tinyurl.com/usq4x
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America'sWar On Iraq 3,382
http://icasualties.org/oif/
The War in Iraq Costs
$424,486,503,387 |
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• 11/5/2007 - Looking to the future with Labor
Posted By Snowy
Sign Labor's broadband petition
BROADBAND PETITION
Federal Labor will revolutionise Australia’s internet infrastructure by creating a new National Broadband Network. New services and benefits include:
- Connection times up to 40 times faster than current speeds
- Slashing telephone bills for small business
- Enhancing business services such as teleconferencing, video conferencing and virtual private networks
- Enhancing capacity for services like e-education and e-health
- Providing high definition, multi-channel and inter-active TV services
To sign the petition, click here.
 BUDGET REPLY SPEECH
"I am an optimist when it comes to our country’s future. Tonight I want to outline Labor's plan and vision for our nation.
"I believe budgets should not be about the next election. They should be about the next decade. They should reflect the ambition we have for our nation’s long-term future.
"We are truly blessed to be Australians. We live in a stable democracy, when many in the world do not. We have enjoyed great prosperity – and have benefited from a time of unparalleled world economic growth.
"And to cap this off, we have prospered from the rise of China, the rise of India and the global resources boom.
"The benefits of this are washing through the economy, creating jobs, generating new businesses and boosting government revenues to an all time high.
"We are part of a world that is changing faster than ever before, and there is nothing to hold us back as a nation and as a people – except a lack of long-term vision..."
To read on, and to view Kevin Rudd's new television commercial, click here.
 TRADES IN SCHOOLS PLAN
Kevin Rudd and Labor's Education Shadow, Stephen Smith, have announced Labor’s 10-year, $2.5 billion Trades Training Centres in Schools Plan.
This would see new trade centres built in Australia’s 2,650 secondary schools.
There are around one million students in Government, Catholic and Independent Secondary schools who could benefit from the Plan.
Not every Australian kid wants to go to university and Labor's plan responds to their needs.
Labor will give these students the best possible education and training so they can develop the skills they need to secure the jobs they want in the future.
To read more, click here.
Encourage your friends to subscribe to ALP eNews by sending them this link: http://alp.org.au/action/enews/index.php
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• 11/5/2007 - The View From Greenhaven Drive
Posted By Darwin
Synopsis: A grumpy married couple who live in an idyllic south coast town have the perfect life - but they just can't see it. To snap them out of their misery, their adult children surprise them on their wedding anniversary with a mystery train tour. Directors: Kenn MacRae, Simon MacRae Producer: Martin Brown Associate Producer: Alex Mooney Executive Producers: Bob Campbell, Des Monaghan, Chris Berry Writers: Kenn MacRae, Simon MacRae Cast: Chris Haywood, Wendy Hughes, Susan Prior, Russell Dykstra, Geoff Morrell DOP: Mark Wareham Production Design : Michael Philips Costume Design: Pamela Bracher Sound: Garry Gleeson Editor: Tim Wellburn Music: Rajan Kamahl Production Manager: Belinda Mravivic Production Company: Screentime Finance: Movie Extra Format: Super 16mm |
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• 10/5/2007 - Hope Subway sales plummet.
Posted By Snowy
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Drink-share-worker-gets-a-reprieve/2007/05/10/1178390437924.html
Drink share worker gets a reprieve
Theft charges have been dropped against a New Zealand fast-food worker who shared a free soft drink with a friend.
Jackie Lang, a mildly autistic worker at a Subway restaurant in Dunedin, was sacked after sharing her complimentary drink with a friend.
Her story became international news when Lang, aged in her 30s, was charged by police with theft after management reviewed video surveillance that showed she had shared the drink, worth about $NZ4 ($A3.50).
Workers at the store are given drinks for free and Lang never denied sharing hers while on a break with a friend, who had entered the store upset.
Following a meeting with management Lang was suspended and after she filed a personal grievance claim the company went to police.
A statement from the Autonomous Workers Union (AWU) said charges against Lang have now been dropped at the Dunedin District Court.
Bill Clark, from the AWU, said Lang had now found a new job in a call centre and would not seek to be rehired by Subway.
He said mediation with the fast-food restaurant will begin on Monday and the union will seek financial compensation for Lang for lost income, stress and humiliation.
Placard-waving protesters targeted the store after her sacking and a rally in her support is planned for Auckland on Saturday.
Franchisee with the Dunedin Subway, Rob Nicol, did not immediately return phone calls on Wednesday. |
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• 10/5/2007 - Unfinished Sky
Posted By Darwin
Synopsis: Unfinished Sky is a powerful story of a love that grows between two people despite their resistance. With a thriller twist, this is a complex story of emotions, trust and betrayal, and of strength drawn from the land. Director: Peter Duncan Producers: Cathy Overett, Anton Smit Executive Producers: Mark Overett, Hanneke Niens, San Fu Maltha Writer: Peter Duncan Cast: William McInnes, Monic Hendrickx DOP: Robert Humpheys Production Design : Laurie Faen Production Company: New Holland Productions Sales/Distribution: A Film, Vara, Queen Imperial PTE Limited, Palace Films, Fortissimo |
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