There are diplomats, academics, intellectuals and theologians. There are hardliners, conservatives, ultra-conservatives, moderates, mavericks and many who simply defy categorisation. When it comes to the conclave of 115 cardinals who will choose the next pope in the next few days, the phrase broad church is entirely appropriate.

You can feel an election coming on when Pauline Hanson sticks her addled head above the parapet. There she was in The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday, warmly endorsing the Prime Minister's sudden and impulsive war on the hordes of wicked foreigners on 457 work visas who are snatching the bread from the tables of modern Aussie families.

The ALP’s original purpose, the mass participation of working men and women in parliamentary democracy, has dissolved. Very few unionists are still active in the party. This is clear from statistics released by the former NSW assistant general secretary Luke Foley. Only 16 per cent of party members belong to a trade union affiliated to the ALP. By far the biggest category (55 per cent) is concessional membership, that is, people outside the workforce, mainly retirees.

Ten years ago, Bush made disastrous foreign policy decision that we will pay for for a long, long time.

CHICAGO — There is an advertising war being fought here — not over soda or car brands but over the true meaning of the word “jihad.”

Far from being a competitive market, the same few big players dominate Australia’s corporate landscape, reports Murray Hunter.

from Crikey ….

Tony’s own goal ….

from Crikey …..

Rundle: Chavez dies, and the West hates some more

A complaint about former federal treasurer Peter Costello lodged with Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission highlights potential conflicts of interest between his job overseeing the future of the state's finances and his ownership of a lobby group representing companies that could benefit from state asset sales.

Settling for sleep one night I dreamed I saw a war

the like of which humanity has never seen before

A sea of grey that rose and fell as it spread acros the land

of barren soil- the nanotechs used everything at hand

Every body, every tree, every blade of grass

fashioned by technology to a dark and rolling mass

That held the hearts and and minds of all, for Gaia was within

bound within the construct to fulfill the masses' whim

The Climate Commission has received questions from the community and the media seeking to understand the influence of climate change on the recent extreme summer weather.