Australia seems to be getting
along quite nicely without an American Ambassador. 

This month will mark the 16^th
month that the position has stood vacant, with former Ambassador, John Thomas
Schieffer, having packed-up his BBQ & headed-off to Japan back in February
2005. 

After forgetting about the
position for more than a year, the Bush administration announced the
appointment of Robert McCallum as its Ambassador Extraordinary &
Plenipotentiary to Australia, back in March. 

from tonight’s 7:00PM ABC
News Report ….. 

‘A United States military probe
has exonerated US troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi
in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no
misconduct, defence officials say. 

The defence officials, speaking
on condition of anonymity, say an investigation found no wrongdoing by US
forces.  

‘With an arrogance bordering on intimidation, the
administration of George W. Bush wishes to impose its will onto Chile's
sovereignty and force that country to impede Venezuela's admission to the
United Nations Security Council. 

That attempt came to light on
Sunday, April 28, when the Chilean daily La Tercera published a report - based
on Chilean diplomatic sources - titled "White House Ultimatum."
Progreso Weekly has translated that report and summarizes it here. Words [in
brackets] are PW's clarifications. 

 
Lawyers refuse to
undergo new security clearances .....

Lawyers representing a group of
men charged under the Federal Government's anti-terrorism laws say they
may go to the High Court to fight a requirement that they undergo security
clearances. 

Up to 50 lawyers representing the
men are refusing to submit to the clearances that are required under the
new laws. 

In a coastal town at the shores of Mr Downer's Mayo electorate, the nuclear debate is rippling through the community.

Downer's
fellow S.A. Senator Anne McEwen has cheekily suggested that the tourism
city of Victor Harbor, known to many as "God's Waiting Room" would be an ideal site
because of the abundance of water.

The Minister for Foreign
Affairs has responded rather cattily to the suggestion, describing
McEwen as a senator that nobody has heard of.

"There is no plan to build a nuclear power station anywhere in the
whole of Australia, least of all in Victor Harbor." Mr Downer told the Victor Harbor Times.

‘Something that senior officials call the "war
paradigm" is the Bush administration's central organizing principle. They
do not use the phrase publicly, just among themselves, but they bend policy to
serve it. After Sept. 11, 2001, they instantly adopted the war paradigm without
any internal discussion. George W. Bush, who proclaimed, "I'm a war
president" and insisted that he made decisions "with war on my
mind," assumed the war paradigm as his natural state and right.’ 

PM can't rule out premiums rise
with Medibank sale .....

Prime Minister John Howard says he cannot guarantee insurance premiums
will not rise when the Commonwealth sells Medibank Private. 

The major insurer is expected to be
sold in the next 12 months. 

The Federal Opposition says a
document inviting tenders for the public relations campaign shows Medibank
Private cannot guarantee premiums will not rise, and that it fears a class
action from members. 

President Bush has claimed in the past,
"We are making
progress in the march of freedom - and some of the most important progress
has taken place in a region that has not known the blessings of liberty: the
broader Middle East." (Last month, the New York Times found this
assessment to be overly
optimistic.)  

From the ABC …..

Prominent Australians' Snowy letter given to Parliament

A letter signed by a group of prominent Australians calling for the sale
of the Snowy Hydro scheme to be suspended has been handed to Federal
Parliament. 

The signatories include former
prime minister Malcolm Fraser, actor Cate Blanchett and poets David Malouf
and Les Murray. 

From the ABC …..

US orders ethical training for troops 

A top US commander in Iraq has
ordered combat troops to be trained to abide by moral and ethical
standards on the battlefield. 

The move is an apparent reference
to allegations Marines killed civilians last year. 

Three major defence companies yesterday signed deals with local universities to create "tailor made" defence degrees, and enable more work on defence technology to be carried out on South Australian campuses.

BAE, Tenix and ASC signed the joint agreement with Flinders University and the Universities of South Australia and Adelaide.  The Universities will provide courses dedicated to the companies' contract requirements  

 The announcement closely follows British university Cranfield's decision to create a defence campus in Adelaide.  Cranfield recently won a billion -pound contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to implement defence-based training programs.

Is the Bush Administration's preferred IAEA Director going
toe-to-toe with the UN's nuclear watchdog?  While Mahomed ElBaradai is
telling the US to back off in its aggressive nuclear stance with Iran,
the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister is using the threat of
sanctions as a diplomatic weapon.

A week after energy giant General Electric announced its acquisition of Australian-developed uranium enrichment technology (see Justin Tutty's
last post here)   Mr Downer today has supported US State Secretary
Condoleeze Rice's diplomatic proposal by urging Iran to cease the
enrichment of uranium, and engage in a nuclear dialogue with the U.S.

Big Bonuses Still Flow, Even if Bosses Miss Goals

By Gretchen Morgenson
Published: June 1, 2006 

It was the kind of mistake that wage
slaves can only dream of.  

Because of what the company
called an "improper interpretation" of his employment contract, Sheldon
G. Adelson, chairman, chief executive and treasurer of the Las Vegas Sands
Corporation, received US$3.6 million in salary and bonus last year, almost
US$1 million more than prescribed under the company's performance plan. 

from the ABC …..

Andrews brushes off workplace survey 

The Federal Workplace Relations
Minister Kevin Andrews has dismissed a survey that shows that penalty
rates have been removed from more than 60 per cent of agreements under the
new WorkChoices legislation. 

The Office of the Employment
Advocate surveyed 250 employers and found that 63 per cent of new
agreements had no penalty rates, and a similar number had removed leave
loading. 

‘The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)
bans the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition and retention of
microbial or other biological agents or toxins, in types and in quantities that
have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes.
The Convention also bans weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to
use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.