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Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a close personal friend of George W Bush, has never been known for suave charm and delicately-tongued rhetoric. Not to put too fine a point on it, he’s a loud-mouthed bum who shows about as much finesse as the Aussie Red-Back Spider that may likely bite his ample butt while he sits on his toilet seat (we can hope!).

Consequently, it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to read that Howard has stuck his fat nose into US affairs by condemning Barack Obama for his promise to pull American troops out of Iraq, if voted into presidential office in 2008. Howard is quoted by the BBC thus:

[Obama’s stance on Iraq] “……will just encourage those who want to completely destabilise and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for an Obama victory. If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats.”

It makes one wonder how many telephone calls have been flying across the Pacific in the last few days, between the White House and Canberra. Obviously something has prodded Howard’s sudden verbal diarrhea. Is it, perhaps, because George W Bush has lost so much support at home he is forced to turn overseas for a politician prepared to speak out for him?

Howard went on to say that withdrawal of US forces would mean defeat for Washington and end hope for peace in the Palestinian territories! Perhaps he should open his eyes and see there is no hope for peace in the Palestinian territories, whether the US remains in Iraq or not.

Peace in the Palestinian territories, like peace in the Middle East generally, requires not only an American withdrawal of troops, but a completely new set of American foreign policies – towards that region in particular, and the rest of the world in general.

John Howard’s criticisms are not just of Barack Obama, but of the American people, who by a large majority have shown their contempt for the policies of the present US administration and its overseas supporters like John Howard and Tony Blair. He is also disparaging his own people, who have made it very clear they do not support the Iraq war, or Australia’s part in it.

In fact, John Howard may well find himself on the opposition benches later this year, as his popularity in the polls is way down and Australian elections are due in 2007.

If he is ousted from power by the Labour Party it will be cause for celebration, not just among Australians, but by all who view freedom and democracy in a somewhat different light than the Bushes, Howards, and Blairs of this world.

BBC report HERE.

Filed under: Ignorant peasants

Vladimir Putin’s comments on US aggression at a security summit in Munich “……may signal a more assertive Russia” according to some correspondents, says a BBC report.

US Senator Joseph Lieberman said Putin’s remarks were “provocative” and “sounded more like the Cold War.”

Are all American politicians total idiots, or is Lieberman atypical?

The BBC’s report says Vladimir Putin told delegates at the summit that America’s “very dangerous” approach to global relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race,” and that nations were “witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations……. One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way,” he continued, “”This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law. This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons.”

Since when was speaking the truth considered “assertive”, “provocative”, and reminiscent of Cold War rhetoric?

Whatever one’s personal opinion of Vladimir Putin and his handling of Russia’s problems, he should be applauded for speaking out against preemptive US aggression when other nations prefer to sit on their hands and pretend it’s not happening.

After the speech, Russian spokeman Dimitry Peskov explained:

[The speech was] “not about confrontation, it’s an invitation to think. Until we get rid of unilateralism in international affairs, until we exclude the possibility of imposing one country’s views on others, we will not have stability.”

Does any sane person find that illogical?

Just what does Joseph Lieberman hope to achieve by his arrogant, overbearing attitude to a voice of sanity on the world’s political stage? Is he so blind he cannot see what others see – that US policy is creating division, hatred, war and suffering throughout the world?

Earlier in the conference German hard woman Angela Merkel had announced that the international community was determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

By “international community” she, of course, means Europe and America, who between them have nuclear weapons sufficient to destroy the planet umpteen times over.

Rather than attempting bully boy tactics to persuade Iran away from its present policy, perhaps if those nations made some effort to implement the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty they signed way back in 1968, and agreed to extend indefinitely in 1995, it may persuade Iran that nuclear weaponry was not necessary to that nation’s security.

That is not going to happen. Instead the Big Five have consistently ignored their obligations under the Treaty while demanding compliance from the weaker, non-nuclear, countries.

By any standards that constitutes bully-boy tactics. The very same aggressive stance criticized by Vladimir Putin in Munich.

More from the BBC report HERE.

Filed under: Insanity reigns OK?

In a postscript to a previous article “Roll Up And Stake Your Claim” it seems that Anna Nicole Smith has left a furor behind, along with her daughter, in the Bahamas.

Bahamian Immigration and Labour Minister Shane Gibson is accused of accepting $10,000 from Nicole Smith in exchange for “permanent residency” in those islands.

Gibson denies having known Nicole Smith longer than a few months, despite describing her as a “close friend”, and taking responsibility (via his mother) for caring for her five-month old daughter while she was away in America.

The Bahamian Tribune newspaper is not amused by these revelations and is demanding Gibson’s resignation.

More delights from the Tribune HERE.

Filed under: Money talks