King's presence was hotly anticipated given the controversial anniversary scheduling of "Beckapalooza." Although Beck said the date was a coincidence—then later dubbed it divine providence—many civil rights' activists, such as Rev. Al Sharpton, had taken umbrage to what they saw as Beck's appropriation of the day for causes incompatible with MLK's vision. (An online campaign to declare that "Glenn Beck is not Martin Luther King, Jr." gained more than 30,000 electronic signatures in the two days before the event, and Sharpton led his own march to celebrate the speech right along side of Beck's event.)

Always look on the bright side of life. Stalemate though it is, an election which rids the nation of Wilson Tuckey and the Family First Senator, Steve Fielding, cannot be all bad.

Tuckey is gone, hurrah, the voters of his Western Australian seat of O'Connor deciding at long last that they could stand the oaf no more. A regrettable flaw in the constitution means the idiotic Fielding will pester us in the Senate until next July, but his end is in sight.

War profiteering is defined by Stuart Brandes in his book "Warhogs, a History of War Profits in America," as "a gain in economic well-being obtained as a result of military conflict."

As he shows, there is a long history of war profiteering in the United States and an equally long history of public disgust for it. One of the most quoted expressions of this disgust came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II: "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster."

from Crikey .....

Common sense from independents has conservatives deeply unhappy

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

The Coalition has dismissed the complaints of three independents about its election costings and declared it will not be told what to do in return for the numbers to form government.

As the independents expressed anger at Tony Abbott's refusal to have Coalition policies costed by Treasury, the shadow finance minister, Andrew Robb, said there would be no change.

''We don't want to have a fight with these guys but we're not going to be dictated to and not tug our forelock like Julia [Gillard] has on every issue,'' he told the Herald

The Coalition has slapped down a threat by the family First Senator, Steve Fielding, to try to cripple a Labor government, by refusing to endorse him in blocking supply.

Senator Fielding appears to have lost his seat but will sit in the Senate until June 30.

He claims Labor does not deserve to govern the country and if it forms a minority government, he will use his crucial Senate vote to block all Labor legislation, including its next budget.

However, to be effective he would need the support of the Coalition.

A spokesman for the Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, said if the Coalition were in Opposition, it would not block supply.

from Crikey .....

Pearse: Greens should let this government fall and learn

Guy Pearse, Research Fellow at the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland, writes:

Former Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says all unions and corporations should be banned from making political donations.

Mr Turnbull was going to retire at this election but was convinced to recontest his Sydney seat of Wentworth, which he won with a swing of 11.5 percent.

He says while it is not Coalition policy, he thinks there needs to be major changes to the way campaigns are funded.

"We should get rid of unions, we should get rid of corporations, we should get rid of huge donations, level the playing field," he said.

There should be an informed debate about the country's continued role in Afghanistan, the Australian Defence Association says, with 20 soldiers now killed in the conflict.

The Greens, who want troops withdrawn from Afghanistan, said yesterday that after nine years it was time a parliamentary debate was held on the war. All other 42 nations in the NATO-led coalition had done so.

Two more Australian soldiers were seriously wounded when a bomb exploded in the Baluchi Valley region of Oruzgan province on Saturday, just a day after Private Grant Kirby and Private Tomas Dale were killed in the same area.

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.