A tribunal has held a secret hearing to decide if details of a claim on the federal government by the former Treasury official behind the Utegate scandal should be made public.

from Crikey …

Bernard Keane: snapshots from an American dystopia

from the shovel ….

from politicoz ….

four & twenty blackbirds ….

With Rudd's return making Labor competitive again – in the polls at least – a new level of scrutiny is being applied to the Opposition.

We know that half a ppm of sarin gas can kill us within half an hour. 2 ppm will kill us in seconds. So what is the problem?... We're considering a large body — a system —  that can be toppled up by less than a tiny proportion of a chemical. The amount is derisory... a milligram — about the size of three small ants. A milligram of sarin can kill you faster than you can say oops... 

And we still argue about 3 ppms of CO2 per annum...

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I was appalled by the (retired) general's aggro while being interviewed last night on Lateline. I have met Nazi people with more compassion.

The general was strongly in favour of "turning the boats around" but was not prepared to tell how the Navy could do this "because if you reveal your tactics then the enemy adapts" as the core of his appalling stone-hearted diatribe...

The real story behind the military coup in Cairo led by General al-Sissi is much more complex than the western media is reporting. Far from a spontaneous uprising by Egyptians, – aka “a people’s revolution” – what really happened was a putsch orchestrated by Egypt’s “deep government” and outside powers – the latest phase of the counter-revolution against the so-called Arab Spring.

A trend to shift responsibility for bank losses onto blameless depositors lets banks gamble away your money.

from Crikey ….

Essential: voters like Rudd more than Abbott, Coalition still leads

The Federal Opposition has called for Australian military intervention on the high seas, invoking the case of the MV Tampa in the latest stoush over asylum seekers.

Ok I lost the milk off... My cow kicked the bucket... Twice http://t.co/zwUUnXxO3G

Indonesia has delivered a rebuke to Tony Abbott's turn-back-the-boats policy, signing a communique warning against unilateral action.

Abbott's views on foreign policy are rarely discussed, but he seems to retain a Bush administration perspective on the world – 'you're either with us or against us'

From the AAI website: On Wednesday, Pope Francis addressed people from all walks of life by claiming that anyone who does ‘good’ will go to heaven, even atheists.