I cannot remember when I have experienced this much schadenfreude. As a rule I avoid the emotion as I see it as destructive, but for HoWARd I’m making a big, fat exception and you know, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Merely, 2 days after Howard the retiree and 1 day after Team HoWARd we get this.

“The opinion polls do indicate that my level of personal popularity is quite high, given I’ve been prime minister for 11 and a half years, it really is. In fact, my level of personal support is significantly higher than that of the party’s. If the party’s level of support in the opinion polls was as high as mine is, well, we’d be a different story.” Team HoWARd spokesman – John W.

My thinking on this is, YAY, I’m being helped by the enemy in bringing the enemy down…

So, keep up the good work guys.

APEC is by and large over, however, the criticism of the dozens of police who were unidentifiable will be investigated for failing to wear name tags during a weekend protest amid accusations their tactics were unnecessarily heavy-handed.

“People need to remember we’ve had incidents in the past where those badges (when they were made of metal) have been taken by protesters and used as weapons against police- people need to keep an open mind.” -NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

Not placing metal weapons on police which may be used against them in a violent situation is reasonable, however the missing name tags are cotton patches attached with Velcro.

Image text is “STAY IN YOUR HOMES you’ll only get in the way.” Image from here.

My work has recently seconded me to the Sydney West area. Yesterday I was having lunch in Queens Street, St Marys, when I looked up and saw this.

My apologies for the poor quality of the image from my phone. It seems that the driver of this polluting style of advertising had stopped for lunch and while doing so someone had climbed upon the truck and spray painted WANKA on HoWArd’s forehead and drawn him a pirate’s moustache.

It absolutely made my day and I couldn’t stop giggling, especially as I observed the hapless driver attempt to engage a police officer, in the seriousness of this crime, as people busted a gut laughing, as this advertisement was clearly doing its job- and being noticed.

I wonder what the driver was trying to have the offender charged with- it would be a tossup between misspelling and substandard face sculpture.

How can a country allow someone as incompetent as the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to remain in charge of anything more than a mobile dog wash?

Recidivist dismisser Downer is at it again. His only response to dissent is dismissal. Following, please find evidence of his most recent dismissive-ness and add it to his litany of offending behaviour.

AID/WATCH is a not for profit activist organisation monitoring and campaigning on Australian overseas aid and trade policies and programs. They ensure aid-funding reaches the right people, communities and their environments.

AID/WATCH recently reported that more than $170 million of Australian aid money earmarked for humanitarian relief in Iraq was misused to promote Australian economic gain.

“Far from protecting Iraq’s own food security, which was the stated objective of Australia’s aid mission, Australian officials paid by AusAid focused on guaranteeing ongoing wheat contracts for Australian companies and removing subsidies and protections for Iraqi producers in ways that gave considerable advantages to Australian farmers.” – Flint Duxfield.

A spokesman from Mr Downer’s office dismisses the report and says:

“Aid Watch is an extremist organisation that has repeatedly misrepresented the nature of Australia’s aid program. Mr Downer does not take the report seriously.”

Back on 02/10/06 Downer dismissed the findings from the Lowy Institute that found that 84 per cent of respondents believed the US-led invasion into Iraq, had done nothing to lessen the threat of terrorism.

“The problem with the poll is that they’ve [the Lowy Institute] clearly decided there are certain answers they’re looking for instead of trying to look at the totality of the issue. The Lowy Institute chose not to ask the central question, and the central question is should we now and should the Americans now surrender to the terrorists in Iraq, or should we stay the course? And the answer to that, I think you’ll find, is that most Australians think that (Opposition Leader Kim) Beazley’s policy of surrender in Iraq is a policy of defeatism, and most Australians would reject that.”

Previously, on 12/04/06, Downer dismisses as insignificant three separate reports that Australian wheat company AWB Ltd paid more than $200 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s government; testimony comes as investigation, now in its fourth month, focuses on what government knew about the kickbacks.

“This is unassessed intelligence from foreign sources. This isn’t Australian intelligence.” – Source.

Prior to that, in a white paper on terrorism- ‘Transnational Terrorism: the threat to Australia’ launched publicly by him on 15/07/06 is quoted by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) on 04/08/06, as having said,

“Downer dismisses as illusory the notion of root causes of terrorism. Poverty, disadvantage or hopelessly entrenched political impasse have nothing to do with terrorism: they are all of them in any case long-running and endemic features of life throughout the Middle-East.”

Serial offender Downer, on 13/03/05, in response to the $1 billion Australia has pledged in Tsunami aid, amid warnings that the money could turn into boomerang aid– where the cash ends up in the pockets of wealthy Australian companies, said this:

“A spokesman for Downer dismissed the claims as a hoary old chestnut. We are making sure this money is spent in an effective and accountable way.”

Habitual dismisser Downer, on 23/08/04, Downer dismissed newspaper claims the Australian government was repeatedly warned its support for the Iraq war would impede the fight against terrorism.

“Nobody has any idea what these specific claims would be and what they relate to”

Dismissing Downer, yes please- vote this insufferable idiot out.

Image from here

If we re-elect HoWARd, the paternalism will be out-of-control.

In legislation proposed yesterday, from July 1, 2008, low-income Australian families whose children are neglected or have unexplained school absences, will have the right to freely spend their government welfare payments withdrawn and replaced with a Centrelink-controlled electronic spending card.

The government plans to ‘store’ welfare payments on a parent’s individual electronic spending card which could only be used at shops to buy food and clothing for children or to pay rent.

“Governments must never be neutral when it comes to the special responsibilities that families shoulder in our society and to the importance of parents providing basic essentials like food, clothing and shelter and ensuring children attend school.’’

Under this proposal, each family would lose the ability to spend their payments autonomously. They will need to gain the approval of a public service organisation (or perhaps a private tender company) to buy essentials.

I think this government is missing a perfect opportunity for some social engineering if it doesn’t also address Australia’s childhood obesity problem, its aging population and low birth rate and the need to reduce the effects of global warming. Whilst, within this policy, there already exists Centrelink control of the parent’s electronic spending card, why not go that step further?

Clearly the PM loves the number eleven (as in 11 years in power) so in honour of that achievement, policy will be aligned to the number eleven.

Parents and their children would be weighed and if any one person in the family is more than 11 kilos overweight, the card could ban the purchase of any processed, fatty and sugary foods.

Until you have 11 children, all forms of contraception would be replaced by one cheap book- “The Billings method.”

A family’s car, if they have one, would be checked for air pollution and greenhouse emissions. If it’s over 11 (three stars), your family gets a bus pass.

Our PM, John HoWARd ends his policy statement with this:

“No one has a right to have the Australian taxpayer fund their irresponsible behaviour.’’

So, given that $55 million was spent on advertising WorkChoices legislation, the word WorkChoices will be reintroduced into the political landscape, eleven times every day, up to and including election day, so as not to be responsible for irresponsible taxpayer funded behaviour.

Image from here