The X factor in this result was the effect of the prevailing economic catastrophism: would voters take the conservative option of voting Yes to avoid the danger of deepening the crisis with political uncertainty? In the end it was the most at-risk sections of the population who delivered the most decisive No. The problem for the Treaty was that it was all too easy for voters to connect Ireland’s present economic woes to its role in Europe.

As unemployment leaps, it calls attention to all the east-European immigrants working here; as previously astronomic house prices collapse, the president of the European Central Bank announces a coming rise in interest rates; as farmers worry about their futures, the EU negotiates at the WTO to allow more South American beef into European markets; as fishermen despairing of high fuel prices stage protest blockades at key ports, they complain about EU-imposed fishing quotas that force them to dump tons of their catches.

A No vote does nothing to address any of these issues; indeed few of them even figured prominently in the campaign. But voting No was the means at hand to complain about them. [More] . . read more

The violence in Kyrgyzstan is a familiar example of political and ethnic tensions tearing across the landmark of a generally peaceful country.

However, what most people do not acknowledge is that it was a perfect opportunity.

Yes an opportunity.

You see, R2P or the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ is the new craze for the United Nations. It’s a doctrine that says we’ll stop human rights violations even before they begin, regardless of non-intervention- because that’s what a global community is all about.

So imagine the surprise when a classic R2P case saw Russia unwilling to enter the country because there’s no benefit to be gained from supplying its troops, reporters ascertaining more knowledge than the General Assembly, and a UN that mobilises the moment the violence is over.

Congratulations guys.

You’ve done it again.

Another opportunity to show that the world is filled with heartless bastards, and that the dream of universal protection for human rights can stay exactly where it is.

In the clouds.  . . read more

When they look at the Howard Government, all they see is short-termism. Nothing could have exposed this more than their recent decision to fix up just one hospital in Tasmania instead of reforming the health system for the entire nation. In every area, policy seems to be a quick-fix to get the Coalition through to the next election. And it is resulting in bad policy. Frankly, in the interests of transparency, I don’t know why they don’t just sack the cabinet and outsource all decision making directly to the Coalition’s pollsters and consultants, Crosby/Textor.

People want a government that can think ahead, develop long-term objectives and work together with the states and with business to tackle long-term problems. They want a fairer society, fairer workplaces and environmental sustainability. And that’s why many Australians are considering making the change to Labor. We still have to fully convince them.  . . read more

Sarkozy does not read and does not even pretend that he is in the least interested in literature or arts, which constitutes yet another break with the tradition of French presidents. He is the son of an immigrant from Central Europe who made it to the top of French politics without studying in the elitist Grandes Ecoles. These features should have earned him the sympathy of the French people as they like to back the underdog. However, Sarko has squandered this opportunity: his ostentatious nouveau riche profile and his courtship of the mega-rich have put off the whole nation.

In the end, Sarkozy may fail to substantially Americanize France if the French people find the political resources to defeat his neoliberal rampages through the economy. In the meantime, the country is run by a president who, like George W. Bush, thinks that the world is divided between "good" and "bad people", that intellectuals are sissies and, last but not least, that it is alright to be not so educated, filthy rich and brag about it. [More] . . read more

In the wake of his defeat the attacks on Howard's legacy will turn ferocious, but at their heart will be an unease, a ritual exorcism of something deeper that Australians would perhaps rather not admit. For a decade Howard's power had resided in his ability to speak directly and powerfully to the great negativity at the core of the Australian soul - its timidity, its conformity, its fear of other people and new ideas, its colonial desire to ape rather than lead, its shame that sometimes seems close to a terror of the uniqueness of its land and people.

At the end of his concession speech, Howard claimed to have left Australia prouder, stronger and more prosperous. But it didn't feel that way. It felt like it had been a lost decade. It felt like the country was frightened, unsure of what it now is, unready for the great changes it must make, and ill-fitted for the robust debates it must have. There was a strange sense that Australia, which had seemed so often to sleepwalk, mesmerised, through the past 11 years, had suddenly woken up. But where it might go and what it might do and be, no one any longer knew.

From The Guardian. Richard Flanagan is a novelist. . . read more

Do we have the second American civil war? Will some states want to secede from the Unitedness of it all? Will Bush hang in there for an extended second term 'in the national interest'? Will Mugabe ask for asylum?

Add to these nice concerns the impact of the recession-which-isnt-really-here-yet but will bite in the fall and the inevitable global tensions of a turbulent Beijing Olympics and you'd reckon on the message for 2009 being a right royal state of disunion. Get into gold or cash. Soonest. . . read more

Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Leonardo Dicaprio have a lot more in common than you would think. All three have invaded my hopes, dreams and aspirations, then carefully and systematically destroyed them.

Dream number 1. No more references to tomato sauce by politicians ever again. Failed. 

Aspiration number 2. Environmentally conscious and proactive politicians that utilise creative solutions to harrowing problems. Destroyed

Hope number 3. A government that reflects the voice of the people, constructively exhibiting how the democratic process can work. Slowly spiralling into the pile of discarded desires. 

As is evident by this charade of an election, neither party shall accurately carry the voice of the Australian people. What we need to do now is look forward forgetting the joke of a government that shall exist for the next four years or so.

We must look towards the young and aspiring politicians of Australia. What Australian politics needs now is depth, character and intelligence, so I ask of our schools, universities and workplaces, will the real Australian government please stand up?   . . read more

To have persuaded enough Democrats that a black man can be their champion in November and have a passable chance of winning the Oval Office is a tremendous achievement, even if Obama’s campaign has flagged badly in recent weeks... The battle was won in the first two months, when Obama ambushed Mrs Clinton’s slow-moving phalanx. He crushed Mrs Clinton in grassroots organizing and in fundraising which eventually left her campaign, top-heavy with consultants extorting huge salaries, deeply in debt. Meanwhile Obama banked millions both from big Wall Street institutions and small contributors.

Obama right now has an edge in electoral college votes, though this somewhat depends which faction of number crunchers you believe. By almost every yardstick, except the wild card of his skin color, he’ll win. It should be inconceivable for a Republican to capture the White House for the third time in a row when the price of gasoline is headed towards $5 a gallon, food prices are soaring and most Americans reckon things are going to get a lot worse. [More] . . read more

Grant Lawrence works as a school counselor and mental health counselor in Gallup New Mexico.  . . read more

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