Category: Politics
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Labor leadership: It’s on
Exciting times: Kim Beazley has put his job on the line by announcing a caucus leadership ballot for Monday morning. Ballots will also be called for the deputy leadership as well as all positions on Labor’s frontbench. (From the Herald). I don’t know who to go for here. Beazley has shown himself to be serially…
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Victorian elections
First off: I miss Jeff Kennet. I haven’t cared about Victorian politics very much ever since he left the scene. That said, it seems that the Victorian government is just about where the NSW government was one term ago – getting a bit long in the tooth perhaps, but still with enough talent to justify…
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Enjoying the victory
I’ve been watching the commentators at The Corner, where they’re learning to come to terms with the election defeat of the US Republicans: A friend of mine […] has long argued for amending the constitution so presidents have one five year term and then can only run for one two year term. Eight years is too…
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What would the Middle East look like with more sensible borders?
From the Armed Forces Journal is this article Blood borders that looks at how the Middle East would look if you drew the borders based on ethnicity, rather than the arbitrary borders drawn by the Europeans: It’s pretty interesting (and obviously politically impossible now). But the article mainly talks about the winners and losers in…
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US Elections
Great stuff in the US elections… As expected, the Democrats are going to easily get control of the Houes. But it’s looking more and more like they’ll get control of the Senate too. Well, Lieberman willing. As of this moment (10:10pm AEST) the Iowa Electronic Markets are suggesting a 60-95% chance of winning the senate.…
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What free trade agreement?
From The Courier-Mail (via Boing Boing): THE United States has slapped a ban on Vegemite, outraging Australian expatriates there. I don’t feel that I’m exaggerating when I say that this is the greatest outrage ever! Where’s Mark Latham when you need him?
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Genocide: a primer
A quick primer for beginners: Yes, genocide: the premidated, state mediated murder of over 5.7 million members of a single ethnic group. No, not genocide: criticising $350 million in relief payments to farmers. John Cobb describes [comments made by Clive Hamilton] as “agrarian genocide”. Any questions?
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From the Annals of Laws Certain to be Followed
The Australian Government Attorneys General’s Department has just announced (long overdue) changes to copyright law with respect to making personal copies of television shows and CDs. Most of it seems fairly sensible, albeit long overdue. But one aspect of it strikes me as… somewhat optimistic about the willingness of Australians to comply: The first private…
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Jeff Kennet back? Oh please oh please!
From today’s news, Jeff Kennett is considering returning to the Victorian lberal party leadership. All I can say is: oh please, let it be true! State politics in Australia is populated by such a group of bland nonentities that I find it very hard to get interested. Jeff Kennet would be such an entertainment. (He…