When Tony Abbott recently accused the Labor government's budget of being a foray into class warfare, he tried to make this sound like a dirty trick. But what's wrong with a little class warfare? Isn't it the job of an alleged workers' party to represent its less privileged constituents?

Labor was quick to deny the accusation, which tells us Abbott may have been on to something. The fact that Australia is a deeply divided nation is something most politicians are reluctant to admit publicly; for them, "class" is a dirty word.

Recent months have seen a flurry of headlines about cuts (often called "threats") to the U.S. defense budget. Last week, lawmakers in the House of Representatives even passed a bill that was meant to spare national security spending from future cuts by reducing school-lunch funding and other social programs.

Here, then, is a simple question that, for some curious reason, no one bothers to ask, no less answer: How much are we spending on national security these days? With major wars winding down, has Washington already cut such spending so close to the bone that further reductions would be perilous to our safety?

adaptation of a Rembrant painting by Gus Raphael...

from The Power Index .....

Suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson took to the floor of the parliament yesterday to defend himself against claims of misuse of union funds.

Speaking under parliamentary privilege, he made a series of allegations against key figures as being complicit in a prostitute conspiracy and for leading a lynch mob against him. Here's the line-up of who he named: 

Marco Bolano, HSU deputy secretary

This is the judgment levelled by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of Craig Thomson's explanation to parliament of claims he misused union funds for personal perks and pleasures.

It is clear there is no love lost between the Liberal leader and the exiled Labor MP with Mr Thomson describing Mr Abbott as unfit to be Prime Minister - and an MP - yesterday.

Mr Thomson told parliament yesterday he was innocent of fraud allegations arising from his time as a union leader, using the speech to hit out at the Opposition and the media for hounding him and his family and placing his mental health at risk.

Here is an excerpt from President Barack Obama's remarks on Sunday in Chicago after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai:

The Australian Labor Party could learn a lot from some of the greatest disasters in military history.

The flames of the eurozone crisis leapt higher yesterday, as fears spread about the state of the Continent's most vulnerable banks.

Joe Hockey has begun the process of explaining that the Coalition cannot, in fact, be all things to all people. But only in the most gentle and generalised of ways.

For those who have puzzled at how Tony Abbott could possibly defend existing payments to the aspirational middle class and cut personal taxes and cut company taxes and abolish the mining tax and abolish the carbon tax and pay for his parental leave scheme and the national disability scheme and possibly a nanny rebate, Hockey's answer was, if you listened carefully, they can't.

When it comes to the Labor leadership, neither Tony Abbott nor his Coalition voters seem to know what they really want

Should Julia Gillard stay or go as Prime Minister? Should she call an early election or attempt to govern for a full term until 2013?

Union leader John Setka is pursuing a defamation case against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott after Abbott spoke of the thuggery and intimidating behaviour of union officials that he called "the John Setkos (sic) of this world". Sky News owner the Australian News Channel is also named as a defendant as it replayed Abbott's comments.

from Crikey .....

Police bribes probe the ticking time-bomb under News Corp

Crikey senior journalist Andrew Crook writes: