In the so-called advanced countries, the galloping innovation of communications technology means that I can represent myself, thank you. Don't ask Bill who is being told by Ben how to vote - ask me! And don't ask me before I vote how I am going to vote because you never know - I might just change my mind and do what I want. Now where is my VOTAFONE? . . read more

Welcome to the emergence of deliberative democracy. I am my own party and the only voter. And I will engage with all the other ‘I’s’ to create the new wisdom of crowds.

Cork the caucus and fiction the faction. The New Deal is in hand.  . . read more

In one year we've had "democratic elections" in Iran and Afghanistan. Iran was a farce, leading to riots and violent civil unrest.

Afghanistan was ridiculous. It already had civil unrest, so they had to go one up and procure not one but two ridiculous elections. You can just picture all the American philosophers slapping their faces thinking

"how do they keep fucking this up?"

The founding Greek philosophers are rolling in their 2400 year old graves.

One must give credit though to the innovation of these countries; they keep providing us with brilliant examples of how warped democracy can be.

Which brings us to our Christmas special, Honduras.

A democratic election that was always set to ensue has now been held a few months after a military coup - the exact opposite in principle. It's practically hilarious. But the world (especially the Americas) awaits the result with bated breath.

What will Honduras come up with? Can it match the standard set by its predecessors?

I can't wait to find out.

Enter Noel Pearson whose Cape York Institute yesterday handed a report to the Australian Federal Government, proposing the end to 'passive welfare' with trials in Far North Queensland that move financial assistance, as the report is named, From Hand Out to Hand Up. The central theme is that sustainable change is dependent on active intervention; if you make grants conditional upon on changing values and behaviours then you have a chance of getting somewhere new – of doing better things.

This is tough politics. It flicks the 'nanny' state and its 'safety net' into touch and offers new hope based on self esteem and self reliance and genuine social change. The quiet determination of Mr Pearson’s radicalism up north is an object lesson to us all. . . read more

John Howard and Brendan Nelson you are as two-faced as Janus. Fortunately, the Australian voter, according to the polls, has at last got the message and your days are numbered. (All sing) When the m-moon shines over the c-cow shed, we'll be waiting to kick down your k-k-k-kabinet door. . . read more

After 15 months Rudd's environmental policies have failed to cut CO2 emissions yet and, more importantly, show no likelihood of getting back below 2007 levels until late in the next decade. The only big (short-term) reduction came from last year's oil price peak. There have been a lot of household and a few business efforts and even a few government efforts to make reductions but Rudd is, unbelievably, giving all those gains away with an Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) that gives all those gains to the CO2 emitters. Another $20 million in NSW today will reduce private emissions and increase emissions available to business. Even Ross Gittins (SMH 25/11/09 Page 13) complains that this mechanism is counterproductive and must be changed. Surely it can't be too hard to separate private use so as to quarantine those gains from the emitters. The scheme is a box with holes in it for more CO2 to escape. They promise to review it in ten years!

Costa has long been a Climate Change denier and is angry that Garrett's department is not rubber stamping new developments and that "green groups want to include global warming as an assessment trigger...to close down the nation's coal industry." Well, that's why Garrett needs to pull Rudd into line, Michael. Climate Change is happening already and every extra dollar spent now on new coal power stations and coal mining facilities is an utter waste of money. You may as well just burn the money because by the time new investments are up and running the world will be closing them down or else there will be devastation. But you refuse to believe this - you just want money now.

Garrett will be doing the Labor Party the biggest favour in his power if he tells Rudd and Wong that mass geo-sequestration will never work in our lifetime (that's why the coal industry won't R&D it) and tells them that the current ETS has so many holes in it it won't catch any CO2 emissions. Nothing will get better until people go public to get real emission reductions. Meanwhile people of goodwill will make submissions and run into Labor Party brickwalls including Garrett's. As the Oils once sang "Brave faces ...fall silent ...got those tears in their eyes". Does it make sense to you, Peter?

How can we expect the exercise of our freedom to assemble to have any value if the assembled masses are doing little more than throwing temper tantrums at not being in control? How can we expect fair treatment in a court of law if we are not willing to respect the laws in our own actions of living? How can we expect our vote to matter if we do not hold those we elect accountable to their promises and our expectations?...

If we are in danger of losing our freedom of religion, isn’t it because we have not practiced what we have preached? If we are in danger of losing integrity in our news reporting, isn’t because we have not asserted our right to know and understand the truth? If we are in danger of losing our freedom of speech, isn’t it because we have chosen to remain silent? If we are in danger of losing our right to assemble, isn’t it because we have wasted the effort when assembled together? If we are in danger of being treated unjustly, isn’t it because we have chosen to disregard justice? [More] . . read more

Only a day later, on the opposite and non-EU side of Europe, Russian and Ukrainian officials met, with Putin announcing that he would be easing gas supply terms to a neighbour that is crucial for Russia's European pipelines. 

Is it too cynical to think this isn't it a coincidence? 

Is it unreasonable to think that as Putin spins a tighter trade web with Former Soviet Republics that this could be his attempt to stand tall and unthreatened by a stronger EU? . . read more