from Crikey ….. 

Why is Hicks any less dangerous now?

Greg Barns writes:

From plastic bags to all kind of pollution, we create events and chemicals that combine to contribute to the extinction of animals and plants. Unfortunately it seems, we've made the decision to destroy the natural planet, while keeping a few zoos for entertainment value...  

The only educational value plummets to "what once used to be not a very long time ago". Tragic. 

Last year's election campaign was all about Kevin Rudd convincing us that he could more or less reproduce John Howard's government, only without John Howard at the helm. 

And it worked. 

But good Lord, they're similar sometimes. 

Monsanto’s high-profile advertisements in Britain and the US depict the corporation as a visionary, world-historical force, working to bring state-of-the-art science and an environmentally responsible outlook to the solution of humanity’s pressing problems. 

But just who is Monsanto?  

Detroit came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, cap in hand and requesting $25bn in alms. 

As if to underline the fact that the financial crisis is shaping every corner of industry, the three top executives of what is still known as the Big Three companies of the US car industry appeared at the US Senate banking committee asking for a slice of the US's $700bn (£467bn) financial rescue package. 

Israel is collectively punishing innocent civilians by withholding and controlling food and medicine to Gaza, says Christian Aid. 

The errors of Iraq are being repeated - and magnified ....

The awful prospect is of Obama and Brown, no fans of the 2003 invasion, blundering on in a more perilous war: Afghanistan.

One of Britain's most authoritative judicial figures last night delivered a blistering attack on the invasion of Iraq, describing it as a serious violation of international law, and accusing Britain and the US of acting like a "world vigilante". 

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has clashed with members of Congress over the $700bn US financial bail-out plan.  

Mr Paulson told a Congressional committee that injecting cash into banks was the most effective way to stabilise the financial system.  

from Crikey ….. 

The Howard Years: history told by the players 

from Crikey ….. 

Ul-Haque case gives ASIO licence to play rough 

Greg Barns writes: 

As Doctor Nelson, the former leader of the Australian Liberal Party, graces the doldrums of the parliamentary hills with his affable nature, his heroic grandstanding on global warming is only belittled by his own insistence to give a tax rebate of 5 cents a litre on petrol back to the punter, so they can add more CO2 into the atmosphere...  

The Catholic Church in South Carolina is telling its members, who voted for Obama that they cannot receive communion without confessing and repenting for their sin.  

The more details emerge, the clearer it becomes that Washington's handling of the Wall Street bailout is not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal.  

In a moment of high panic in late September, the U.S. Treasury unilaterally pushed through a radical change in how bank mergers are taxed - a change long sought by the industry.  

Vice President-elect Joe Biden is getting a tour of his new home from the outgoing occupant, Vice President Dick Cheney. 

Biden arrived Thursday at the Naval Observatory, the home for vice presidents, with his wife, Jill. They were greeted with smiles by Cheney and his wife, Lynne.