Missing Link on Friday

Wilcox on the McClelland Affair, via Ken Lovell

Hard on the heals of the Sudanese Affair is the Pine Boxes Affair; between them the two have raised the fury of the Government’s boo-squad to new heights, whether from outraged principle or from fear that the tactics may work. Andrew Bartlett thinks the PM is not only inconsistent, but making it more difficult for Australian governments to appeal for clemency for the likes of the Bali Nine. suz at LP is struck by the comprehensiveness of the inconsistency, when Howard makes a point of speaking ‘as an Australian, as prime minister, as an individual’. Some undistinguished occasional poster at Club Troppo hates Howard; while slim doesn’t plan to vote for him either, but for less visceral reasons.

Other posts on Federal politics are linked below.

Today’s Missing Link is due to Legal Eagle, Peter Black, Amanda Rose, gilmae and James Farrell. Sport today is DIY: readers are encouraged to post links in the comments thread. We’ll try to do better after the weekend.

News and Politics Stuff

Brigid Van Wanrooy, one of the alleged trade union stooges who produced Australia at Work, summarises the findings of the study in a guest post at Blogocracy. It would not have been hard to predict Joe Hockey’s reaction the conclusions:

The report’s findings are clear: collective workplace agreements provide better outcomes than AWAs. Employees on the basic Award or over-Award arrangements earn the lowest hourly rates (and also work the shortest full-time hours). This is what you would expect.

As mentioned in the introduction, the matter of Sudanese gangs still has many bloggers fired up. Compassionate to a fault, Jeremy Sear feels deeply for Kevin Andrews, who was only trying to win votes from red-necks, not provoke them to violence.

Honestly, if you can’t rely on the common sense of pig-ignorant racist thugs, who can you rely on?

Apathetic Gam has sent his Sudanese questions to his Labor candidate (presumably the same ones he sent to the Liberal MP), only to discover that Ryan candidate Ross Daniels has actually blogged on the matter.

By contrast, Howard’s conversion on Aboriginal reconciliation has received more ambivalent reactions. Andrew Bartlett welcomes the PM’s statement:

Whether Mr Howard’s motivations for this announcement or good or bad – or a mixture of both – doesn’t matter; he’s presented an opportunity for the country, and the more people embrace with and run with the opportunity and really try to build on it and make the most of it, the harder it will be for politicians to constrain, restrict and diminish its potential.

At A Western Heart, James Ozark has collated a selection of op-ed pieces from this week suggesting that ‘that metal on metal sound you’re hearing is the sound of the knives slipping their sheaths‘ for Kevin Rudd.

With everyone speculating when the election will be called, Andrew Landeryou sets out John Howard’s strategy – give ’em enough rope and hope. At the same time, Ken Lovell notes the complete fading away of Howard’s team since the decision after APEC to sell his leadership in terms of teamwork; while David Bath announces his intention to vote for the Democrats in the Senate, in recognition of their painstaking efforts to amend legislation in the Senate. That will please Andrew Bartlett, who here discusses his party’s prospects in South Australia, where Nick Xenophon has thrown himself into the scramble for Senate seats.

Not caught up in federal to the exclusion of state politics, Mark Bahnisch assesses the Green threat to Labor in the bye-election for Beatty’s seat (the Liberals are abstaining)

Apathetic Sarah asks: What would Kevin Andrews’ funeral look like?

The public reaction to the death of an Australian serviceman in Afghanistan appalled several bloggers this week, including Tim Blair and James Ozark. In a similar vein, Andrew Landeryou pays tribute to David Pearce and reminds us why Australia is fighting in Afghanistan in the first place. Apropos of the death of Trooper Pearce, John Quiggin sets out why we should go the distance in Afghanistan, in contrast to Iraq.

On the broader theme of the war on terror, Ken Lovell conducts a case study of neo-con rantings, with a paragraph of geopolitical wisdom from a certain Michael Medved.

Finally, some posts on climate: Robert Merkel makes the case for catstrophe narratives as a spur to action; while Tim Lambert tells the story we’re not getting from the MSM about Al Gore and the British Judge — a story featuring a pair of inverted commas and some relevant detalis about what ss406 and 407 of the Education Act actually say.

Life and Other Serious Stuff

Guido at Rank and Vile wonders whether multiculturalism was a con in the first place.

Can religious experience be replicated by popping a pill? It’s not too far off, according to Your New Reality.

James Ozark argues the medical benefits of male circumcision.

Barista on Mario Capecchi, one of the winners of this years Nobel Prize for medicine and also celebrates an Australian picking up an Ig Nobel.

Andrew Elder responds to the AFRs annual Power in Australia :

The Analyst points out some glaring ommisions from the Australian history curriculum proposed by the Federal Government.

tigtog ponders on the consequences of ‘vote-stacking’ in Australiam Idol by members of the Assemblies of God church — a vexing question for our times, if ever there was one.

John Quiggin explains the limits of rational choice as a basis for explaining behaviour.

The Yartz

At Junk for Code, apparently sometimes a pile of licorice purporting to be artwork is just a pile of licorice. I’m glad someone who has an artistic background thinks that too. I really can’t see how they read much into a pile of licorice.

A blog about the Phantom comics.

Elegantly luxurious. Luxuriously elegant. Rich and beautiful. Beautiful and rich. Music of another era. Music for today. "The Flying Club Cup" (try saying that 3 times quickly) is like lying on a thick shag pile carpet whilst someone (hopefully the love of your life) feeds you strawberries dipped in chocolate. ~ Oceans Never Listen on Beirut.

I was at the State Theatre enjoying the total sensory experience of Robert Wilson’s spectacular The Temptation of St Anthony. ~ Theatre Notes.

Shaun’s style of elongated absurdist commentary reminded me of the Micallef P(r)ogram(me) but it didn’t work as well for news satire. ~ Decomposing Trees on Micallef.

Mad, Bad, Sad and Glad

Your New Reality links to an awesome clip of a lion reuniting with his human friends.

For those who have been depressed about the Immigration Minister’s comments about African immigrants, The Blonde Canadian has a funny and sweet post on a student who wanted to support the "Souvenirs" to whom everyone was being so nasty.

The Orstrayhun asks why we don’t have more bush tucker in our restaurants. Maybe we were put off in Australia by Bush Tucker Man?

Monday is Blog Action Day, where all bloggers are meant to blog on one topic – the environment – but not everyone is impressed.

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Niall
17 years ago

Methinks ‘Missing Link’ has been usurped