News
The Government's carbon package is due to pass the House of Representatives this morning, after notching up a 74-73 victory during the second reading yesterday. This must be exciting news for the Government, because it means they can move straight into a potentially doomed vote on their refugee policy tomorrow. Meanwhile, Labor's national conference in December is shaping up to be quite the affair, with massive splits already evident both in regards to gay marriage and
now refugee policy. With the otherwise stagnant nature of our political debate, it will be interesting to see whether the open expression of opinion within our ruling party actually leads to substantial political change.
The Senate yesterday voted to repeal the Howard Government's voluntary student unionism package, ensuring that student unions will actually have some amount of money for the let's say 2-3 years until the Coalition gets in and promptly reverses it again. This also ensures that students will have to pay up to $263 a year for the privilege of going to university, which is something to look forward to for the cash strapped amongst us.
The Occupy Wall Street protests have quite rapidly moved from fringe event through to mainstream protests event through to
major world news event. From China to the Arab world to here (prediction: Occupy Melbourne will attract around 100 people), people and governments are taking notice of what seems to be yet another symbol of America's newfound fragility. The links to the Arab Spring are obvious, if not particularly instructive – perhaps tellingly these are essentially protests against the idea of unfettered freedom rather than direct repression. Still, both movements are base level reactions to out of control elites making life worse for ordinary citizens, so I guess they're not entirely dissimilar. Yesterday as
tens of thousands marched through New York once again, the cavalcade of stars lending their support to the movement also grew, with recent Q and A attendee and political firebrand
Slavoj Zizek making an appearance, as did
Kanye West whom I can only presume doesn't really have a full understanding of what the phrase "We are the 99 percent" actually means. Meanwhile,
Democrats have started to align themselves with the movement, perhaps seeing in the mass discontent the beginnings of a Tea Party-esque political realignment. They can certainly hope so, because right now the only thing saving them from further political oblivion is the lack of feasible candidates in the Republican camp. Oh, and this is an instructive table:
International justice: the system works! The lead judge in a UN-backed trial against five members of the Khmer Rouge has resigned amidst accusations of political interference from the Government of Cambodia. As he joins the entire UN investigative team on the sidelines, the trials, which have so far cost $1 bn over five years, face imminent collapse.
The US is accusing Iran of being behind a plot to
murder the Saudi Arabian ambassador and bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington. Which, uh, would have taken a bit of diplomatic rebuilding.
One of the most enduring squabbles between Israel and Hamas could be at an end, after it was announced that
a deal had been struck to ensure the release of Galid Schalit, an Israeli soldier captured five years ago and held hostage ever since. Long a sore point for the Israeli government, they are apparently releasing a thousand Palestinian prisoners in the exchange. Which does perhaps speak to the disproportionate power relationship between the two, not so much in that the Palestinians can extract 1000 prisoners from Israel, but more that Israel actually has 1000 prisoners to release...
Reports from Burma continue to be lightly encouraging, with reports that
over 6000 prisoners will be given amnesty by the regime. It is hoped that this includes the 2000 political prisoners currently languishing in the country's cells, rather than say a backhanded attempt to sew chaos by releasing every murderer and rapist worth their salt back into the community.
Features
Rolling Stone America goes toe to toe with Australia's unfurling climate change disaster. This makes for pretty chastening reading, I won't lie to you.
So, how exactly did the euro turn from wonder currency to the single greatest threat to the world economy today? Der Spiegel investigates.
Oddities/Curiosities
My favourite suggestion yet for the fixing of the US economy:
Floridian Republican Ritch Workman has filed a bill to bring back dwarf-tossing, on the grounds that in this current environment it's just flat out insanity to stop people (read: dwarves) from working.
Now I can heartily recommend that you all see Ryan Gosling's latest movie Drive, just don't go –
as this woman who is now suing the studio for deceptive advertising did – expecting a rehash of the
Fast and the Furious franchise. A lawsuit that I think is particularly remarkable for how willing this woman seems to be brand herself as somebody so passionate about the
Fast and the Furious franchise that she's willing to launch legal proceedings against a film for not being enough like the
Fast and the Furious franchise. The mind boggles.
Video
Welcome to Poland, where they do political campaign ads... differently. Hell, I'd vote for her.