If you appreciate gazing into the darkness, that's all the more reason to gather around the fire. This is a story about ghosts and spooks that haunt the United States of America. When it's over, I'm going to suggest that we talk to the people in Washington who can help us make sure we can get the end of the story right. Some of the last chapters are written down and sitting in cold, unlit basements. And though this story is filled with ghosts, some of the spooks are still alive and can still talk.

Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them.

Ex-Prime Minister and post-Downing Street millionaire Tony Blair, to celebrate the publication of his book A Journey, is holding a 'signing' session at Waterstones, Piccadilly on 8 September. That this man, responsible for taking us into an illegal war, playing his part in the ruination of an ancient country because he 'believed he was right', should advertise himself in this way has caused outrage. Time, I think, to look at where we, and Blair, actually stand in terms of what we can and cannot do to call him to account.

from Crikey .....

Danger for Independents when they're not independent

Richard Farmer writes:

In a nation prides itself of being a "tolerant" and a "fair go" nation, one expects the candidates campaigning for Prime Minister position will be concerned with the Australia's complicity in illegal imperialist wars, equality and the environment. Sadly, both candidates are playing the race card, because racism is deeply-entrenched in white Australia.

Five years ago, the leaders of this sun-scorched, wind-swept nation made a bet: To reduce Portugal's dependence on imported fossil fuels, they embarked on an array of ambitious renewable energy projects - primarily harnessing the country's wind and hydropower, but also its sunlight and ocean waves.

'Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Karl Bitar

National Secretary

Australian Labor Party

Hello Karl, Whatever you do - DO NOT DELETE THIS MESSAGE -

On the eve of an election we should never have feared to lose and which we quite frankly are possibly capable of losing...& terrified of losing. I decided to reply to your automated email to my husband. We share the same email address but please NOTE this is from me.

His wife, Jackie. (Not Terrance)

Talk about sending emails & doing things at the last minute!! This is really bizarre. Here you are sending emails to"'members",  the "converted", of all people at 05:11pm on the eve of a federal election!!!

It didn't have come to this, Julia.

Although a rusted on Labor voter, I will swallow my pride, confront an aversion to conservatism and vote Liberal, purely out of spite.

Australians don't all sleep with cricket bats next to their bed to thwart invading boat people; Paul Keating was Australia's greatest treasurer, prime minister, antique clock collector and deliverer of artful insults; and Labor is traditionally the party of substantial economic reform. But it's all gone so horribly wrong.

Do not consider buying AMP products till it rescinds its planned Metro development that has already been rejected by the Marrickville Council before. Apparently the planning rights has now been bypassed from council and placed in the care of the NSW government, possibly using the Land and Evironment court quango — mostly a pro-development outfit, from my past experiences and observations.

You have to be suspicious when big policies are released this late in a campaign. As such, the Liberal Party's infrastructure policy has the distinct whiff of rodent about it.

Aside from all manner of lofty promises about systematic approaches to infrastructure (we got that from the last mob too, until there was an election to win in Sydney's west), the major announcement is a scheme for "infrastructure bonds":

Since the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet.

Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing" for Wikipedia, the online reference site.

Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, and the rightwing Israel Sheli (My I srael) movement, ran their first workshop this week in Jerusalem, teaching participants how to rewrite and revise some of the most hotly disputed pages of the online reference site.