The theft of public money by Members of Parliament, including government ministers, has given Britons a rare glimpse inside the tent of power and privilege. It is rare because not one political reporter or commentator, those who fill tombstones of column inches and dominate broadcast journalism, revealed a shred of this scandal. It was left to a public relations man to sell the "leak." Why?

from Crikey .....

By 2010, ASIO will have doubled in size

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

It's been a fairly tame Estimates hearings so far. Only those with patience and a remarkable capacity to stay alert for hours on end will have gained anything. And I'm talking about all the participants, from senators to bureaucrats to journalists.

from Crikey .....

Israel's "useful idiots" in the Australian media

Greg Barns writes:

Back in the days when the hammer and sickle flew proudly, the Soviet Union would spend big dollars on paying for journalists, academics and diplomats to see for themselves the "workers' paradise". It was part of a long term and relentless strategy by the Communists to win the propaganda war against the West.

"One of the great attractions to patriotism, it fulfils our worst wishes. In the person of a nation we are able, vicariously, to bully and cheat while feeling we're profoundly virtuous." Aldous Huxley

Iraq ............... 1,300,000

Afghanistan ....       35,000

Pakistan .........        5,500    

Vietnam ......... 

Guatemala .....

Chile .....

Honduras .....

Philippines ....

The hypocrisy of our politicians is simply breathtaking ....

Between 1945 & 1992, the US conducted more than 1,000 nuclear tests & mounted two nuclear attacks on the defenceless civilian populations of Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

from Crikey .....

AFR defends the indefensible on bank fees

Adam Schwab writes:

Australia's leading banking journalist, the Financial Review's Andrew Cornell, undertook a valiant, albeit flawed defence of banking exception fees yesterday.

Millions worldwide rejoiced in January when Obama entered the White House & said torture would cease.

During Barack Obama's inauguration speech, it was striking to hear him declare that "we are a nation of Christians and Muslims" - indicating that both have the right to live and practice their religions in America, free from discrimination.

President Obama today signed into law a bill that prevents credit card companies from raising interest rates arbitrarily and limits the fees they can charge, meeting his own deadline of enacting the bill before Memorial Day.

"Just as we demand credit card users act responsibly, we demand that credit card companies act responsibly too," he said before signing the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.

It is truly an amazing hat.

That's the kind of hat that if anyone other than a priest were seen to be wearing it, small children would point and whoop with laughter, adults would purse their lips in concern and cross the street to avoid it, and concerned policemen would pull over to politely ask, "Do you need some assistance, sir? Are you on any medication?"

No doubt you're going to feel terrible about this. Top executives of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse, are in a pout about how they're being treated by you and me ie: the public.

The change that we are witnessing is in Obama, not in policies. Obama is morphing into George Bush.

Obama has not been in office four months and already a book could be written about his broken promises.

Obama said he would close the torture prison, Guantanamo, and abolish the kangaroo courts known as military tribunals. But now he says he is going to reform the tribunals and continue the process, but without confessions obtained with torture. Getting behind Obama's validation of the Bush/Cheney policy, House Democrats pulled the budget funding that was to be used for closing Guantanamo.

from Crikey .....

 PM's media deceptions treat voters like children

 Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

What a Jekyll and Hyde mob this Government is. While John Faulkner is commendably leading the charge toward greater transparency and accountability, the Prime Minister is engaged in a deeply cynical and unashamed process of manipulation.

Amid much speculation over US President Barack Obama's upcoming address to the Muslim world, reports published on Wednesday outlined the details of his Middle East peace plan, which are said to include a demilitarized Palestinian state.

The US president's initiative, which was formulated in consultation with Jordan's King Abdullah II during the two leaders' recent meetings at the White House, reportedly does not significantly stray from the pan-Arab peace initiative proposed in 2002. Rather, it bolsters certain details within the Saudi-proposed plan.

In the Empire State, opponents of gay marriage are disorganized and poorly funded. The New York Times details several reasons why America's self-appointed moral scolds aren't mounting much of a fight on this one, among which is this delicious bit:

"The state's Roman Catholic bishops have been somewhat distracted, too, having focused their lobbying energies this session on defeating a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse to bring civil claims, and have appeared unprepared for the battle over marriage."

Hey, there are only so many hours in the day.