I paused the video I was playing on the home theatre PC in the loungeroom.

Counts, right?

What a tug.

-weez

Back on 22 November 2007, 2 days before the Blessed Election:

Don’t vote Labor: Rudd’s uncle

Some of Kevin Rudd’s relatives are speaking out against voting for the Labor Party at Saturday’s federal election. (more…)

Lib charges over leaflet

Heath Gilmore and Lisa Carty
March 23, 2008
EXCLUSIVE

FIVE men will be charged over the Lindsay leaflet scandal which sent the Liberal Party into crisis just days before November’s federal election.

[…] (more…)

Iemma plan to ban political donations

Andrew Clennell
State Political Editor
March 22, 2008

POLITICAL donations could be banned in NSW and replaced by public funding of election campaigns to dispel public perceptions that giving money buys access and influence.

The suggestion by the Premier, Morris Iemma, shows how deeply the Government has been hurt by the fall-out from the Wollongong bribery scandal and a series of Herald reports on the extent of donations from developers and hotels.

Mr Iemma has asked the ALP general secretary, Karl Bitar, to consult the other parties to gauge support. The ban would be unprecedented in Australian politics.

‘Unprecedented in Australian politics’? How about simply ‘unprecedented in politics?‘

I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where political donations are banned.

While such a sweeping reform is long, long overdue from ANY politician or government, I doubt it’ll ultimately save Iemma’s political bacon… but it sure is a mightily brave populist move.

Onya Morrie, you get ONE attaboy.

-weez

Despite Rudd complaining bitterly while still in opposition about the unnecessarily limited terms of reference available to the Cole inquiry into the AWB scandal, Rudd’s terms of reference for the inquiry into the Haneef debacle will also be limited.

No, Kevvo, no.

Bad Kevvo. Bad.

Sack Mick Keelty and start a proper investigation with terms of reference that will allow the actual causes of the Haneef farce to be publicised. Keeping it hush-hush or limiting the scope to exclude stuff like assessment of the validity of the Scotland Yard info on the location of Haneef’s SIM card, makes the inquiry a complete waste of time and money. If it will be hobbled, Kevvo- please don’t bother.

Nobody, especially not AFP nor Kevin Bloody Andrews (and all other parliamentarians), those who need the lessons the most, will learn anything about the public’s tolerance for being jerked around with the terrorism!!! bogeyman for political point-scoring, without being held properly, fully and publicly accountable by an open and transparent inquiry.

Ever the diplomat, KRudd is allowing some parties to escape with their pride at the expense of the public’s right to know.

That’s NOT why we put you there, Kev.

-weez

A date has been set for the trial of eleven actors and staffers of ABC’s The Chaser’s War On Everything, who famously breached APEC security cordons in a fake Canadian diplomatic motorcade, getting within metres of Shrubya’s hotel, with Chas dressed as Osama bin Laden.

I do have the feeling that the Iemma govt will regret bringing this to trial. Give the Chasers a platform and they will put you on it and make you look stoopid. Iemma needs no help in that regard. A trial will also allow discovery of certain materials from the cops, which will give an insight into the heavy-handed policing farce that was the Sydney APEC summit, some of which won’t seem to go away.

Let the games begin!

-weez

Say for a moment, you’re a CEO of a large company. You get sacked by the board for having fully mad, ill-considered policies and a destructive management style.

Do you:

1) Lay low until it all blows over, give it all some serious thought and later admit you were wrong

2) Go on a public speaking tour, addressing fellow nutballs, vehemently insisting you were correct and it’s the board which has a problem

Path 1 has worked pretty well for Malcolm Fraser… but if you’re John HoWARd… months will go by but you still can’t work out what’s wrong with that mean ol’ board of directors. Littler Johnny would like you to believe he was unseated by those evil trade unionists… but I got a clue for the old boy, no trade union official filled out my ballot.

Could it be any more obvious that John HoWARd wasn’t ever interested in participatory democracy, rather in ruling the stupid masses by edict, for their own good? No wonder HoWARd and King George get on like a house afire.

-weez

Thanks to King George, McCain’s electoral chances have been smashed. Lest we forget, control of Congress was handed to the Dems last November on a platform of stopping the Iraq war, whether the sods have done anything about it or not.

Clinton Inc. picks up TX & OH, but Obama still leads the delegate count. In the end, it’ll depend on the will of the wholly undemocratic ‘superdelegates’ at the Democratic National Convention.

Still looking like Obama vs McCain. No contest.

-weez

Alan Moir bangs another one for 6.

Alan Moir for The Sydney Morning Herald

Scary if Alan’s right… but he usually is.

-weez