Thursday 26th of December 2024
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rogue rattus .....

 

rogue rattus .....

from our ABC …..

PM promises hard yakka after poll result

The Prime Minister has resolved to work even harder following the release of opinion polls which put Labor ahead of the Coalition.

The Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper shows the Coalition behind Labor by 8 percentage points on a two-party preferred basis.

It puts Mr Rudd 10 percentage points ahead of John Howard as preferred prime minister.

Mr Rudd's support increased from 39 to 47 per cent in the last fortnight, while Mr Howard's vote fell from 40 to 37 per cent.

Mr Howard says that prompts him to commit to keep working on issues like his $10 billion plan to takeover management of the Murray-Darling Basin.

"This is very much about the water security future of Australia," he said.

"And as always the Australian people want their political leaders to work hard and to deliver outcomes and I hope that on Friday of this week we can reach agreement."

Kevin Rudd says the Opposition still has a truckload of work to do.

"We've got nine months to go before the election," he said.

"This fight has barely begun and we've got a long way to go still to earn the trust and respect of the Australian people."

provocative presence

From the Guardian

raq: the British endgame

· 1,000 troops out by May, all gone by end of 2008
· Pace of pullout much slower than anticipated

Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday February 21, 2007
The Guardian

All British troops will be pulled out of Iraq by the end of 2008, starting with the withdrawal of 1,000 in the early summer, the Guardian has learned.

Tony Blair is to announce the moves - the result of months of intense debate in Whitehall - within 24 hours, possibly later today, according to officials.

The prime minister is expected to say that Britain intends to gradually reduce the number of troops in southern Iraq over the next 22 months as Iraqi forces take on more responsibility for the security of Basra and the surrounding areas.

Article continues <a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&spacedesc=mpu&site=Politics&navsection=3367&section=111381&country=aus&rand=3015052"> <img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&spacedesc=mpu&site=Politics&navsection=3367&section=111381&country=aus&rand=3015052" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt="Advertisement"></a> Ministers have taken on board the message coming from military chiefs over many months - namely that the presence of British troops on the streets of Basra is increasingly unnecessary, even provocative.

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Gus: so what's the beef with our little warrior? 

Clowner approves confused purposes

From our ABC

Blair's Iraq decision makes good sense: Downer

The Federal Government has played down a decision by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair to start withdrawing his country's troops from Iraq.

Word that one of America's closest allies is going to start pulling out of Iraq comes as President George W Bush faces heavy opposition to his plan to send more US troops in.

The White House has confirmed Mr Blair has phoned the President to tell him about the move but there is no confirmation of the details.

British media say that as many as 1,500 UK soldiers could be home as early as March and that 3,500 will be home by Christmas.

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Gus: as " The White House says the British withdrawal is a sign of the increasing stabilisation in Iraq.", the US and our ratus send more troops over there... Confusion of intent and purposes, isn't it?

Guilty as not charged yet

From the ABC

....

But Mr Howard has a different approach.

"Our view is that whatever sentence he receives should be offset by the amount of time he's served in Guantanamo Bay, and the residue should be served in an Australian prison," he said.

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Gus: As the rodent plays "ball" with both legs trying to kick, he scores an own goal...

He first says : "Hicks does receive the presumption of innocence under the US military commissions, despite claims to the contrary by Mr Rudd" and then says "Our view is that whatever sentence he receives..."

So Hicks is going to be sentenced no matter what? And all the presumption of innocence is hogwash considering the way the Coyote military courts are set up with hearsay and "evidence" that cannot been seen nor tested by the defense?

Go wash your mouth with soap, Mr PM Johnnochio... and if you see your nose has grown 10 inches in the mirror, don't worry it's made of conglo-woodchips...

Govt's "Clean" shave after five years of hogwash and bad breath

From the ABC

Hicks will serve sentence in Aust if found guilty: Cheney

United States Vice-President, Dick Cheney, says it has already agreed that if found guilty, Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will serve his sentence in Australia and time he has already served in Guantanamo Bay would be taken into account.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, raised the issue with Mr Cheney this morning, asking for Hicks to be brought to trial quickly.

But the Vice-President says he cannot intervene with the judicial process involving the South Australian.

However, he says he understands Australia's desire to have him bought to trial quickly.

"The Prime Minister's been very direct with us - we appreciate his candour," he said.

"He's talked to the President [George W Bush] about it and we've discussed it again this morning.

"I can assure you we want to do everything we can to deal with these matters in as expeditious a manner as possible, consistent with the statutes and the laws that apply in this case."

David Hicks, originally from Adelaide, has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002.

The convert to Islam was captured in Afghanistan where he allegedly fought alongside the ruling Taliban against US-led forces who invaded after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

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Gus: is this the Cheney from Comic and Guns inc?