Wednesday 5 November 2008

For US08 election tragics everywhere - where to find info on the night

US presidential election coverage will begin about 3-4pm on Tuesday 4 November 2008 in America, 1am in Britain, or between 10-11am on 5 November across the Australian east coast.

ABC News (US)
ABC News Radio (Aust)
BBC in America
Bloomberg.com
CBS.com - Campaign o8
CNN.com - Election Centre 2008
CNN Voter Hotline
Fox News - Election Central
iDashboards.com - interactive results
The Huffington Post
MSNBC.com - Decision 08 Dashboard Email alerts also available here
The New York Times - Text NEWSALERTS to 698698 to get national results
Twitter Election
The Washington Post


NSW North Coast Federal MP speaks out for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other human rights activists

Photo of Janelle SaffinJanelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Hansard source

This motion is to draw attention to the plight of the approximately 54 million people of Burma, Myanmar, who not only live in poverty but also live in fear. I would like to give my thanks and appreciation to the honourable member for Pearce, who is joining me in supporting this motion tonight. I know that the issue has bipartisan support.

The motion draws attention to the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is known to all of us in this place and beyond. It talks about her birthday, which was on 19 June, so it is a belated happy birthday to her. Aung San Suu Kyi's plight is shared by many others, by all of her people. She does not seek attention for herself. She seeks to draw attention to the plight of the people of Burma and also her fellow political prisoners, of whom there is a large number. The number is always debated, but it could be as many as 2,000 people. U Tin Oo is a prisoner and he is one of Aung San Suu Kyi's deputies. The UN committee on arbitrary detention has declared that he is being arbitrarily detained. I am familiar with that matter because I lodged the application with the committee and got that declaration. U Win Htein was recently released from prison for between 15 and 17 hours in Katha and then taken back into custody following a radio interview. No-one knows where he is. I express my sentiments to his family, who are obviously very distressed about those events. Khun Htun Oo and Sao Hso Hten were given prison sentences of 90 years and 75 years respectively, which seems excessive when their 'crime' was political action. And then there is Su Su Nway and many others.

Burma is a state that has silenced political voices, political leaders, by incarceration. But it can change—and everyone wants change in Burma. I welcomed the release of U Win Tin, Burma's longest-serving prisoner, who appears to be as intellectually robust as ever. He said through the media that he was not released but evicted, and he stayed in his prison blues to make a point about how bizarre it is. He was one of just seven political prisoners among the 9,002 prisoners released. It looked great—9,002 prisoners released—yet only seven of them were political prisoners.

Burma's situation, as we know, is dire. The challenges are many, including reconciliation. Reconciliation requires discussion, it requires dialogue, it requires conversation—and that is one of the missing elements there. There was a constitution which went through a process in May. It was declared to be the constitution that the regime is going to the election with. The process was neither free nor fair. In 1973 they went through the same process, which was neither free nor fair, and that heralded a constitution that did not bring any political settlement, any constitutional settlement, any reconciliation to the state. It feels like history is being revisited.

Change does not come easily, but the people desire it. Even those who rule the country can change. If asked to define a characteristic that has marked or seared the psyche of the nation of Burma, I would have to say fear. There is fear at all levels—fear of authorities, fear of speaking, fear of doing, fear of acting, fear of thinking—because people end up being trapped in straightjackets. Despite their record of brutality and inept government at all levels, the top generals are also afflicted by fear—fear of foreign incursions and fear of their own people, particularly the ethnic nationalities. The reality is that, for reconciliation to occur and for peace and prosperity to prevail, the generals—led by the SPDC Chairman, General Than Shwe, and the SPDC Prime Minister, General Thein Sein—need to be bold enough to step up to the plate of leadership. That is what the other leaders, like Aung San Suu Kyi, have challenged them to do. As they only rule with command and control, they do not lead. They must lead efforts to broker peace, because it is peace that is missing in Burma. Such a transition would ideally include a range of initiatives, and it would have to include speaking to each other.

[from OpenDemocracy.org,20 October 2008]

Are these big financial bailouts an even bigger mistake?

Here is the Mail Online reporting on the gold of 'Golden Sacks':

"Goldman Sachs is on course to pay its top City bankers multimillion-pound bonuses - despite asking the U.S. government for an emergency bail-out.

The struggling Wall Street bank has set aside £7billion for salaries and 2008 year-end bonuses, it emerged yesterday.

Each of the firm's 443 partners is on course to pocket an average Christmas bonus of more than £3million.

The size of the pay pool comfortably dwarfs the £6.1billion lifeline which the U.S. government is throwing to Goldman as part of its £430 billion bail-out.

As Washington pours money into the bank, the cash will immediately be channelled to Goldman's already well-heeled employees."

There is a lesson here for Our Kev and Young Wayne.
Enough is enough - no more bail outs.
This global financial crisis is fast turning into just another opportunity for the greedy to front the cash trough again.
There's even talk that some of the banks are holding their windfalls from the bail-out pot with the intention of using this money in takeovers or mergers to grow their empires.

The Prime Minister promised that his Australia-wide bank guarantee would involve a curb on executive salary packages, but he is not outling how this will be achieved beyond relying on financial institutions having clearer internal standards in the future.
Foxes in the hen house, my old china. Hundreds of foxes.

Tuesday 4 November 2008

It's Melbourne Cup Day

While the country stands still for the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington, there will be a word or two spoken about great race horses of the past.

Phar Lap may have the premier place in Australia's affection for the horse, but in my family a love for another champion was also handed down.

So for my Poppa - here's the great Carbine in all his glory.

Carbine

US08: As the final countdown to the ballot tally begins

RT english language news from Russia

Who won?!!

Or how this household is beginning to feel as US election mania saturates the MSM and blogsphere.

Rees & Roozendaal cut costs at the wrong end

The Coffs Coast Advocate article yesterday:

COFFS Coast mother Maureen McDermot thought education was free in Australia, but news that the State Government is planning to axe free school travel for students makes her wonder just how free it really is.
Changes to the School Student Transport Scheme, which has subsidised student travel to and from school for more than 40 years, are expected to cost parents almost $400 a child each year....
Treasurer Eric Roozendaal said reform was essential due to NSW's financial situation.
"It will be a tough process but tough economic times require tough decisions," Mr Roozendaal said.
"The government rightly subsidises the cost of public transport, but we also have to be realistic about what we can afford."
The changes are expected to be unveiled in the State mini-budget by NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal on November 11.

I think that quite a few people on the NSW North Coast can empathise with Maureen.
With many students having to travel more than average distances to local schools and with no real railway travel alternative to the school bus or family car, the high cost of unsubsidised bus travel or heavy fuel costs may just see more than one child forced to miss school because there is no money left in the family purse that week for bus fares or petrol.

Premier Rees is being remarkably short-sighted in even thinking of applying his cost-cutting to rural or regional areas.
His understanding of non-metropolitan issues is sadly wanting - the Northern Rivers has some of the lowest family incomes in the state.