I have known my postman for more than 20 years. Conscientious and good-humored, he is the embodiment of public service at its best. The other day, I asked him, “Why are you standing in front of each door like a soldier on parade?”

from politicoz ....

In his Farewell Address in 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a stark warning that must have shocked Americans at that time. He said that the vast U.S. “military-industrial complex” constituted a grave threat to their democratic processes.

from Crikey ….

Military reshuffle: Abbott's 'Operation Sovereign Borders'

The Coalition has today responded to Kevin Rudd's PNG agreement on asylum seekers with its own announcement of "Operation Sovereign Borders".

Australians might view Detroit's decline with only passing curiosity but it offers an object lesson in the need to nurture economic competitiveness, writes Julie Novak.

Shocking Things Wall Street Financiers Say Off the Record About Their Bloated, Corrupt Industry

A new survey shows how brazenly immoral Wall Street is.

An ex-CIA officer convicted by an Italian court of kidnapping a terror suspect in 2003 has been detained in Panama.

News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch says he was "frustrated" and "overly emotional" when he was secretly recorded describing the police investigation into alleged wrongdoings at his publications as incompetent.

Security forces in Brazil have banned masks at Pope Francis's opening Mass at the Roman Catholic World Youth Day festival in Rio de Janeiro next week.

So, just why are we having this debate?

Why not just give Christmas Island to Indonesia?

There are a number of narratives  being floated by the usual suspects to attempt to demonstrate that Edward Snowden is a traitor who has betrayed secrets vital to the security of the United States. All the arguments being made are essentially without merit.

from politicoz ….

Tony Abbott has been quiet since his statements about a 'so-called market' on invisible substances, but Coalition spokesmen Greg Hunt and Joe Hockey have been doing the media rounds, painting the government's move as "a complete con, a complete fix, a complete fiddle".