The death in Ireland of a woman whose repeated requests for an abortion were turned down - reportedly because “this is a Catholic country” - has sparked international protests and condemnation.

In Dublin more than a thousand people staged a demonstration outside the Irish parliament amid calls for an independent inquiry into the death.

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.

from politicoz ….

keating lashes foreign policy ….

from Crikey ….

You couldn’t make it up. Months of plaintive cries that government cuts to frontline services such as Centrelink are hurting might have fallen on deaf ears. But yesterday it could not be ignored.

from Crikey ….

'Royal commissions aren't called lawyers' picnics for nothing'

The man trying to rehabilitate his career in mainstream British politics, infamous liar & war criminal, ‘aussie tony’ Blair, is proving very reticent when it comes to public appearances.

Legal historian Evan Whitton says white collar criminals in England and its colonies have been a protected species since 1275.

from Crikey …..

Don't write Tony Abbott off yet. But if you do ...

from Crikey …..

Royal commission on child abuse will be transformative

A former New South Wales priest claims to have witnessed a "system of cover-ups" within the Catholic Church to hide child sexual abuse.

Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham, will become Archbishop of Canterbury when Rowan Williams steps down at the end of the year.

An Argentine court has ordered to seize US oil giant Chevron Corp's assets in the country in order to carry out an Ecuadorean court ruling that awarded $19 billion to plaintiffs in an environmental damage lawsuit in the Amazon, said a lawyer representing Ecuadoran plaintiffs on November 7, 2012 [1].

US president Barack Obama is insisting that the wealthiest Americans should pay more tax and says his re-election victory gives him a mandate to pursue that aim.