Tag: Kevin Rudd

  • Was it right? (part 2)

    This is a counterargument to a [intlink id=”1069″ type=”post”]previous post[/intlink], in which I argued the case for switching from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Prime Minister Julia Gillard (or rather, why certain objections were unfounded). Gillard’s rise to power may have restored Labor’s popularity for the time being (and certainly at a very opportune moment),…

  • Was it right?

    Tony Abbott wasted no time in conjuring up the “midnight execution” imagery to describe Julia Gillard’s usurpation of power, and a little later trying to explain why this wasn’t precisely the same thing that he himself had done to Malcolm Turnbull six months earlier. (He probably had to go all out, because Gillard out-polls him…

  • From a campus

    I found this somewhat random piece of work (sung to the tune of Bette Midler’s From A Distance) while digging through my hard drive. I did have to change “John” to “Rudd” though. From a distance the campus looks green and orange, and the concrete buildings grey. From a distance OASIS meets the screen, and…

  • Abbott’s nightmare world

    Tony Abbott – Mr People Skills himself – is on-message, describing the Rudd government’s use of the phrase “temporary deficit” as “Orwellian”, on Insiders this morning and elsewhere. One may surmise that Abbott, being entirely honest and reasonable, fears the rise of absolute tyranny and the end of all forms of freedom, with human dignity…

  • Quality news

    How’s this for a misleading headline from the ABC: “China may have to bail us out: Rudd“. The user comments below the article howl in derision at the injustice of selling out the country to those funny Mandarin-speakers. No, people, Rudd wants China to bail out the International Monetary Fund, not Australia. The ABC’s article…

  • The “S” word

    The circus surrounding the word “sorry” in Australia is, I think, part of the fine legacy of John Howard’s very special brand of politics. By adamantly refusing to say it he only helped to entrench it as a symbol of what was missing from his worldview. The argument of course was that “we” weren’t responsible…

  • What matters in this election?

    There’s an online poll on the ABC’s 4 Corners website regarding the election. The first question asks “In the last two weeks of the campaign what do you see as the SINGLE most important issue?” You are given a choice between “Economy/Interest rates”, “Climate change”, “Industrial relations”, “Education” and “Health”. Important for whom? Us or…