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Iowa Republican Caucuses

Showtime!

Voting is underway in the Republic Caucuses in Iowa. With less than 1% of the count Ron Paul lead the pack. With 3% of the count Rick Santorum took lead position. With 6% counted Rick Santorum held 1st. place with 1,229 votes just 25 votes ahead of Ron Paul, but just now the count clicked over to 11% and Ron Paul takes the lead, followed by Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann.


Live results here.

UPDATE: Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum share dibs on first place, Ron Paul not far behind. Newt Gingrich in forth place closes the door on the Iowa circus leaving Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann alone in the dark.

1,289 replies on “Iowa Republican Caucuses”

HarryH @ 1200

Harry, every journalist that I read or listened to yesterday noted that Clive Palmer’s announcement was unwelcomed by Tony Abbott. And listening to Abbott’s lukewarm reception to the idea confirms it. Abbott himself said Lilley should have a grassroots candidate, not a lobbed in billionaire.

It was a dumb move by Palmer and Abbott was blindsided. It was a gift to Labor, who woke up Monday morning with dreadful press all round re Slipper and Thompson. The focus came off the call for Gillard’s resignation from Grattan.

KL

Palmer has zero intention of running for Lilley.

The “meme” is not that the Libs are fantastic and DESERVE Government.

The “meme” that the media are running is that the Gillard Government are HOPELESS and can’t do a thing right and MUST be replaced.

Labour brought forward an important and major policy announcement to try and counter this meme for a single day….and up pops Clive to completely bury the announcement.

It matters squat that it embarrasses Tony fuckin Abbott.

Tony Abbott is irrelevant.

We are not being ASKED every day to vote FOR Tony Abbott. We are being TOLD evey day to vote AGAINST Julia Gillard.

There must never be news about competence to reach the public about this Government.

This is bloody desperate times for media organizations. Big business.

I’ve never seen a pile-on like it in my life.

Katherine Murphy again started her column today with wtte “I know you’re sick of this, we’re sick of this. I know you want to hear about policy, we want to write about policy” and then went on to write about speculative crap that 197 other crap journos wrote and talked about AGAIN.

It is PATHETIC.

Au contraire Katielou. I have just read Antony Greens blog and having now read it one wonders who fed off who. With a few changes of words here and there it is almost identical to Andrew Elders Blog which contains all the moot points. Which one went to print first. I would suspect Elder but that’s neither here nor there.

Yesterday the Prime Minister held a press conference at a fairly good turnout rally for NDIS. ABC 24 gave it about one minute of air time and had their usual technical glitches when the PM is annuncing something important or holding a special press conference.
How was the Retards in the LNP going to spoil it. Simply have some idiot like Clive Palmer state that he is going to stand against Wayne Swan. Is that more important for Australians to know than hundreds of thousands of disabled people were going to be heaps better off.

Well what those 100s of thousands got to know about the NDIS was fuck all and they now know that Clive Palmer said he would stand against Wayne Swan.
This was deliberately done by the Murdoch media and the right wing reactionary Mark Scott at the ABC so that once again the ALP got no part of their message out and then the media tell people the ALP can’t get their message across and people like Jen then add their two bobs worth and sink the boot in to the ALP about how hopeless they are in front of cameras etc. Which is exactly what the MSM is portraying.

I am quite sure that if the press were praising all the positive legislation that has happened in the last two years and how wonderful and brilliant Julia Gillard has been in steering a minority government trough all the bullshit the monkey has carried on with there would be a different attitude toward her.

The media made sure Rudd was buried and they are now in the process of trying to burn Julia and if they are successful then whoever steps up to the plate will also get severely burned and the process will continue until Murdoch has installed his corrupt enablers in to the seats of government.

Elder and Green could have written off Clive Palmer in one sentence.

Clive Palmer, who is earning in excess of $150k per hour will not sell his mining interests or his other business assets, so that he has no conflicts of interest, to sit in Parliament as a backbencher on $150k per year. I doubt you will hear anymore about Clive Palmer and the seat of Lilley as what they did achieved their purpose, as Harry says Look over there.

Nearly 300 pieces of legislation in 18 months through both houses supported by the Greens and Independents says a lot and if i had the choice of two statements to promote this and deny oxygen to the reactionarys;

1/. Julia Gillard with the support of the Greens and Independents is doing a terrific job getting all this positive legislation through Parliament.

or

2/. Julia Gillard is fucken hopeless in front of a camera

I would print 1/. every time.

I have absolutely no desire for murdoch and his band of reactionarys to be running this country and will do my best to stop it

Rather than say Julia Gillard is fucken hopeless in front of a camera i think it would be more positive for the ALP and Greens to be saying what a grub Tony Abbott and his band of reactionarys are by trying to interfere with due process of the law, involving two MPs, for political gain when members of his own party including himself are facing or have faced civil actions and continued as normal while due process of law takes place.

I watch the Leveson enquiry live evwry chance i have and it is plain to see that the good ship Mordor, and those that sail in her, are the most evil bastards that someone ever shovelled guts into and they are not bent in any way with the intent of us mere mortals having anything as beautiful as the NBN. Mordor wants to control it all and us pay him for him to tell us how well off we are.

I don’t want that to happen so as far as i am concerned i hope he is sent to prison for 10 years in the UK and all the inmates have their turn with him and yhen 10 years in The US prisons where the inmates can also have their turn with him.

I am usually a peace loving person but when it comes to Murdoch i don’t give a fuck what happens to him as lng as he gets out of my life. He has got away with it for too long and it is now catching up with him at long last.

1202
Katielou and behind the scenes Tony Abbott was saying phew, thank fuck big Clive came to the rescue as i did not know how i was going to suck the wind out of the Great news about the NDIS.

It is all part of the game for them and they are good at it, because they have the resources and tools of trade with which to do it.

There could be a diversion there as well as i am sure Hockey and Abbott are not seeing eye to eye at the moment and i don’t know where big Clive sits with Abbott, but Hockey recently had a huge breakfast with big Clive on the Sunshine coast. It is rumoured they ate 13 dozen eggs and the equivalent of two large pigs made in to bacon on 8 loaves of bread made in to toast. They then went to KFC for afters and ordered 14 large family buckets.

I’ve never seen a pile-on like it in my life.

Too true Harry.
They are desperate to get rid of this government before July 1 when all the biggies kick in.

Go Swanny

WAYNE Swan has called on Coalition opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne to release his phone records amid revelations he spent two hours drinking with James Ashby a month before sexual harassment claims were made against embattled Speaker Peter Slipper.

The Treasurer today said Mr Pyne had “many questions to answer” over his meeting with Mr Ashby, who last month lodged a claim in the Federal Court against Mr Slipper, his former employer.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/christopher-pyne-denies-any-conspiracy-with-slipper-accuser-james-ashby/story-fndckad0-1226343913455

apparently Pyne was asked if Ashby raised any concerns about the speaker at the drinks and Pyne replied;
He didn’y know he had any until we told him. :mrgreen:

Gaffy….You’re a fucking champ! 😆
That’s as good a (series of) sprays as I’ve read in a long time. !!!
If all turns out as it should….The “cretins deck” of the SS Titanic, should *just* fail to reach the lifeboats in Oct next year. 🙂

I forgot to mention in 1204 that after ABC cutting the PM to Tech Difficulties, Mr Abbott was duly given around 20 minutes of untroubled broadcast time.

The Select Committee report is out and you can take your pick about links to stories.
This one is from the Guardian

upert Murdoch is “not a fit person” to exercise stewardship of a major international company, a committee of MPs has concluded, in a report highly critical of the mogul and his son James’s role in the News of the World phone-hacking affair.

The Commons culture, media and sport select committee also concluded that James Murdoch showed “wilful ignorance” of the extent of phone hacking during 2009 and 2010 – in a highly charged document that saw MPs split on party lines as regards the two Murdochs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/may/01/rupert-murdoch-not-fit-select-committee?CMP=twt_fd

Wow Gaffers –
me thinks you are misrepresenting me a tad.
I do not think that Gillard’s performance in front of a tv camera matters more than the policy initiatives Labor has achieved. However sadly I only get one vote, and the average punter who is flooded with wall to wall media crap delivered mainly from Rupert’s toilet makes up their mind based on the 6pm news shots of Julia’s wooden and unconvincing performances . This is totally wrong, unfair and misrepresentative of her ability, but its how politics works.
The sooner Murdoch is finally buried the better . I am the first to say that it is a total travesty that he determines the political destiny of the entire western world, and therefore the damage unleashed by the likes of George W Bush, John Howard, Tony Blair etc etc. I detest the man.
But that does not change the fact that Gillard has not been able to convince the electorate that she can lead, not least because she has too often appeared to be driven by focus groups instead of principle. I personally respect her and at the moment feel sorry for her – I think she is misrepresented and treated unfairly. I have also been disappointed in a number of policy decisons she has made along the way.
None of which however comes close to the horror I feel at the thought of Abbott as PM.
I just wish she was more convincing when deaing with the public because like it or not that is how she is judged by them.

agreed that Bushfire Bill’s piece is excellent –

as is the news from the UK .
Geezus -Could it really be enough to bury Murdoch??? There may be some kind of glimmer of hope after all .

Julia’s wooden and unconvincing performances…

Unlike those dynamic, scintillating performances by Howard and, dare I say, Milne? 😉

BTW, well said Gaffers (at 1204), and with luck the turning wheel will roll over Murdock and his pestilent enterprises.

Oh alright you guys. Julia has been sensational and everybody should just stop picking on her and Labor, who have all performed magnificently and if only everybody got to hear how fab they were the elecorate would love her to bits.
Seriously… you don’t think they have given the the likes of Murdoch any fodder???
Please.

and yeahFlanners agree- hence my previuos statements lamenting the lack of leadership in Oz politics.

From swing state to firewall?
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A new poll of Virginia shows President Obama opening up an 8-point lead in the state, after two polls earlier in April showed likely Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with small leads. Now the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows Obama with a 51 percent to 43 percent lead over Romney, as the numbers reveal a large gender gap among women and a GOP base not yet rallying behind the presumptive nominee.

Below the top-line results, President Obama’s approval rating has improved slightly in PPP’s last poll of the state, taken in December. Obama’s rating now stands at 50 percent to 46 percent, up from the previous 48 percent to 47 percent split. Romney has improved as well, as 38 percent of Virginia registered voters now see his favorably, against 52 percent who see him in a negative light, up from this December rating of 33 percent to 52 percent.

Great news.
More here..
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/va-poll-obama-opens-an-8-point-lead.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

I admire your optimism Chris. I doubt the interest rate cut(s!) will have any effect on the polls. The straw I’m clinging to is that the electorate’s mind will focus once we get near an election. I fear that this government is one of those ALP governments that will be fondly remembered once they’ve gone.

1225 Flaneur Every little bit helps. “The straw I’m clinging to is that the electorate’s mind will focus once we get near an election.” Me too.

Obama in Afghanistan Declares ‘Light Of New Day’ In Speech To America.
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In a dramatic address to Americans broadcast from a military hangar outside Kabul, Afghanistan, President Barack Obama on Tuesday trumpeted the near-end of U.S. military operations in the country, 10 years after the U.S. invasion and one year to the day after he ordered the assassination of Osama bin Laden.

Speaking against the backdrop of two armored military vehicles, one draped with an American flag, Obama said that he just signed “an historic agreement” with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai outlining a new, post-war relationship between the two countries.

But before outlining the agreement, Obama reminded Americans why U.S. troops were there in the first place: Osama bin Laden, a topic that the president and vice president haven’t been shy about highlighting on the campaign trail.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/obama-afghanistan_n_1469429.html

Love these kind of reports

Nor will the Murdochs ever be allowed back. The further conclusion is that there is now a sharemarket overhang in BSkyB. At current pricing BSkyB represents about 12 per cent of News Corp’s valuation.

Once having been found to be “not fit and proper” in one jurisdiction, it will be hard for other jurisdictions such as the US and Australia to ignore such findings. The US Fox TV network, which represents a far more significant 58 per cent of News Corp’s current value, is therefore at risk. In Australia, News Corp has been suggested as a possible lifesaver for long-suffering Ten Network shareholders. I don’t think so.

http://m.businessspectator.com.au/businessspectator/#!/article/Rupert-Murdoch-News-Corp-hacking-BSkyB-shares-pd20120502-TVSKV?OpenDocument&src=sph&modapt=commentary

call me a conspiracy theorist but it seems hard to find much on Rupert’s drubbing on many of the MSM sites :mrgreen:

1231 Jen Maybe they are not game to cover it. It did make the front of the Huffington Post. I didn’t put it up as others had put links up.

Does anyone know if the US has these “fit and proper” tests for media ownership. I would’ve thought the 1st Amendment would make such laws problematic.

IMO, Labor has no chance to get close to a 40% primary vote for the next election. The electorate in the middle has switched off Labor, and especially Julia. The only thing that might work is if Labor did a Howard and bought off the electorate. But they won’t do that. I don’t endorse that sort of policy, btw, but I think sadly that’s the political reality in Australia. That is Howard’s legacy. Abbott will get in and reap the rewards of Labor’s decent handling of the economy and fiscal policy. We will have donkeys running the country.

Flanners I am sure they do as they are desperately waiting for a bribery case to go through the courts. Then it is easy for the US to bring their FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) in to place and if there are enough of those convictions then Mordor will be in deep shit and probably spend more time behind bars than Conrad Black.

His evidence at the inquiry was all full of shit and his admission of guilt, IMHO, is in the fact that he has known all along that the shit will hit the fan and for quite a few years now he has been financing a very expensive lobby group, spending millions of dollars, to have penalties in the FCPA watered down if not made redundant. So far he has failed.

A brief resume of the FCPA is here.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa/docs/lay-persons-guide.pdf

I am sure there is no love lost between the Democrats and Mordor and son and my prediction is for Mordor and son to be on the inside looking out for a few years, plus i reckon they will take Camerons scalp in the UK as well.

I am sure Rebekkah Brooks is sitting on a treasure chest of incriminating communications and if Cameron does not prevent Mordor being thrown under a bus then he will be taken for the ride as well.

Remember Mandy-Rice Davies and Christine Keeler.

I hope you ticsters feel happy for me. I am about to go off NBN trial and hook up permanent to a $100 telstra internet phone bundle which will give me 200G of data at 100 down and 40 up. At the moment i still have to use the standard phone but overall the plan i have signed up on should save me between $30 and $40 per month for Internet and phone.

Having spoken to a lot of people during the process i am sure the NBN is going to be a very big factor in the next election as it has been unanimous that nobody wants it shut down. If they don’t want it shut down then they certainly will not vote for the reactionarys Abbott and his fascist merry band of lying rogues.

Thanks for that Gaffhook – I’d forgotten about the FCPA even though you have mentioned it before. Sorry.

Yes (he said between gritted teeth), we are happy for your permanent NBN connection. 😉 Have you looked at Internode?

http://www.internode.on.net/residential/fibre_to_the_home/nbn_plans/

I *think* that you can pay an extra $10/month to get a SOHO account, which gives you unlimited downloads. At least that is the case for their ADSL plans. Of course, 200GB/month is a lot – that’s what I have now and I hardly ever use it all. :-O

Err, “unlimited downloads” should be “unlimited uploads” – ie doesn’t count against your download quota.

Rockerfeller is on the move against Rupe.

The BIG Showdown is upon us.

CFR v Neo-Con.

1240 Flaneur Err, “unlimited downloads” should be “unlimited uploads” – ie doesn’t count against your download quota.
Companies treat download and upload the same way.

Chris,

I’ve done my first prognostications for the 2012 election and come up with Obama on 299(270 needed) Electoral College votes at a minimum…..and that doesn’t include Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire or Colorado which i think he has a better than 50/50 shot at…..and then there’s Arizona…wouldn’t that be a hoot lol.

Do you mean for the NBN Chris? I seem to recall the Internode plans for the Tasmanian NBN had an option to not count uploads in the quota – though I may be misremembering.

1244 HarryH I haven’t worked mine out yet. It depends on how the Democrats run their campaign. At the moment I would be very similar to yourself HarryH. With a strong pro female pro Latino campaign. I am very optimistic.

Barack Obama Rock Center: President Describes The Killing Of Osama Bin Laden As The ‘Most Important’ Day Of His Presidency.
********************************************************

A year after the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama reflected on the decision he made to carry out the deadly raid.

In an interview on “Rock Center With Brian Williams,” which aired Wednesday night, Obama described the event as the “most important single day” of his presidency. Yet the death of the Sept. 11th mastermind was actually two decades in the making.

Both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had attempted to capture and/or kill bin Laden, but were unable to complete the task. So the focus of the Obama administration, from the very beginning, was to get the al Qaeda leader.

“That was a piece of unfinished business that went to the honor, as well as the security of our country,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

After years of hunting for bin Laden, the Central Intelligence Agency caught a break in 2010. It was then that the CIA discovered the home of bin Laden’s courier in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Further surveillance revealed someone else living in the compound, a tall man analysts nicknamed “The Pacer.”

An awesome video. MUST watch video that will play a big part in the election.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/barack-obama-rock-center-brian-williams-interview_n_1473390.html

Hi Ticsters,
back in Melbourne after many months in France, have sold my house in Abbott’s ville (Warringah) , and it’s good to be home again. Was too depressed about Oz politics(mainly Abbott) to contribute but was a lurker for much of the time.
Great to be back …..we’re doing well here compared to other parts of the world!!!

Welcome home Megan. You do more overseas miles than Mr Rudd used to. :mrgreen:

Though i am a little concerned that anyone would want to call Melbourne home. 😀

Thank gawd you’re out of Warringah Megan. Unfortunately, the state of Australian politics does not reflect the country’s good performance economically. Abbott looks set to romp it in.

From Facebook: President Obama should go on television and ask people not to eat yellow snow. Only for the joy of seeing Fox News explaining how good yellow snow is for you.

Government names 250 companies to pay carbon tax
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Companies such as Alcoa, BHP Billiton, Boral and La Trobe University are among about 250 companies that will pay the carbon tax when it is introduced on July 1.

The Clean Energy Regulator has today published an initial list of 250 ”liable entities” that will face the $23 per tonne tax, however a further 80 companies have also notified that they are likely to face the new tax in the 2012-2013 financial year.

It says these companies and facilities will account for more than 95 per cent of emissions covered by the carbon price mechanism. The list will continually be updated.
Advertisement: Story continues below

Other entities listed by the regulator today include the Brisbane City Council, BlueScope Steel, the City of Armadale, Rio Tinto and Thales.

The government has been estimating that about 500 companies would pay the carbon tax.

“I think we’ll come in underneath 500 but it is a matter for the regulator to determine,” Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/government-names-250-companies-to-pay-carbon-tax-20120504-1y3gu.html#ixzz1tskktKiz

Rival Brough met Slipper accuser: claim.
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ANOTHER prominent Liberal is said to have met the staffer at the centre of sexual harassment allegations against Speaker Peter Slipper in the days before the explosive claims were made public.

A Sunshine Coast LNP member has told the National Times that James Ashby met with Mr Slipper’s long-time political rival and former Howard cabinet minister Mal Brough on the Sunshine Coast in early April when he was still working as Mr Slipper’s press secretary.

The meeting is said to have taken place on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast – Mr Brough and Mr Slipper’s home territory. It is not known whether it was Mr Ashby or Mr Brough that initiated the meeting.

Smells like a conspiracy to me.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/rival-brough-met-slipper-accuser-claim-20120504-1y3b6.html#ixzz1tsm0CpXC

1260
Definitely one of George’s better efforts Gaffy. :mrgreen:

Plus, there’s a Friday night bonus sitting of the Leveson Inquiry tonight. 11 PM our time.
Via twitter.

The inquiry will sit at 2pm this afternoon (4 May 2012) to hear an application for core participant status on behalf of the Government.

You can just about hear the Tories, shitting themselves from all the way over here in the colonies. 👿 🙂

Obama Ahead in Virginia
A new Washington Post poll in Virginia finds President Obama leads Mitt Romney by seven points, 51% to 44%.

Key finding: “The new poll shows Virginia voters are equally split on Obama’s major initiatives, including his signature health care reform law, and remain deeply pessimistic about the way things are going in the country. But the president has a key advantage in his bid for reelection: The coalition of Virginians that propelled him to victory in 2008 — young voters, suburban Washingtonians, women and African Americans — is largely intact.”
http://politicalwire.com/

Hi there megan – good to see a Tickster return to the fold.
And you make a good point that we are far better off then the rest of the world – if only the voters knew it ! 🙁

Slipper accuser Ashby was secretly helping rival .
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THE man who has accused the Speaker, Peter Slipper, of sexual harassment and fraud was actively working against his boss’ re-election as he continued to work in Mr Slipper’s office.

The Saturday Age can reveal that James Hunter Ashby was actively promoting the preselection campaign of one of Mr Slipper’s Liberal National Party political rivals in a series of YouTube videos while he was working as a media adviser to the Speaker.

The Saturday Age has also learnt that Mr Ashby held a secret meeting with another of the Speaker’s political rivals and former Howard government minister, Mal Brough, just two weeks before his explosive claims against Mr Slipper were made public.

Smells like a conspiracy to me.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/slipper-accuser-ashby-was-secretly-helping-rival-20120504-1y4in.html#ixzz1txbDJ9If

Brough denies conspiracy against Slipper.
*********************************

Former Howard government minister Mal Brough says he was not involved in any conspiracy against Parliament Speaker Peter Slipper.

Mr Slipper has continuously denied claims he misused taxi dockets or that he sexually harassed his former staff member James Ashby.

Mr Ashby has filed a civil case against Mr Slipper, and federal police are investigating the Cabcharge misuse claims.

Mr Brough is seeking Liberal National Party pre-selection to run against Mr Slipper in the seat of Fisher at the next federal election.

Mr Brough has confirmed he and his wife met Mr Ashby three times before the allegations were made public.

He says he was extremely sceptical at first because Mr Ashby was working for Mr Slipper at the time.

He obviously reads our blog. 🙂

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-05/brough-denies-conspiracy-against-slipper/3993124

Changing stories on Slipper saga put Coalition in the frame
**********************************************

Regardless of whether there is any Coalition ”honey trap” involved in the case of Peter Slipper’s staffer James Ashby, there is certainly a sticky spider web and it is snaring prominent Liberals.

Mal Brough, a former Howard government minister who is set to restart his parliamentary career at the next election, has been caught out being misleading over what he knew of the Ashby matter.
Advertisement: Story continues below

Brough said a week ago he had no prior knowledge of Ashby’s sexual harassment civil suit. Turns out, he counselled Ashby — with whom he had three meetings — about the staffer’s allegations.

However Brough tries to spin it, and whatever the specifics of his knowledge, he knew a great deal and this has now come out.

Brough (who will take Slipper’s seat) is aware this is not a good look for a man aspiring to be a senior figure in a future Coalition government. Integrity is important and this is a potential stain on his. Suddenly he is all over the media attempting to explain himself, and how he was just trying to help the ”distressed” young man.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/changing-stories-on-slipper-saga-put-coalition-in-the-frame-20120505-1y5dn.html#ixzz1u0AsOZTf

Obama 2012 Rallies Escalate Election Fight In Ohio, Virginia.
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Plunging into his campaign for a new term, President Barack Obama tore into Mitt Romney on Saturday as a willing and eager “rubber stamp” for conservative Republicans in Congress and an agenda to cut taxes for the rich, reduce spending on education and Medicare and enhance power that big banks and insurers hold over consumers.

Romney and his “friends in Congress think the same bad ideas will lead to a different result or they’re just hoping you won’t remember what happened the last time you tried it their way,” the president told an audience estimated at over 10,000 partisans at what aides insisted was his first full-fledged political rally of the election year.

Six months before Election Day, the polls point to a close race between Obama and Romney, with the economy the overriding issue as the nation struggles to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 8.1 percent nationally, although it has receded slowly and unevenly since peaking several months into the president’s term. The most recent dip was due to discouraged jobless giving up their search for work.

And only six months to go.

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/obama-2012-rallies_n_1483491.html

ExxonMobil’s Sinister Kingdom and ‘Private Empire’.
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The world’s largest publicly traded company operates as an independent sovereign, and it is one of the most secretive networks on the globe. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Coll talks to Jimmy So about the consequences of its ruthless tactics detailed in his new book, Private Empire.

More here…
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/06/steve-coll-on-exxonmobil-s-sinister-kingdom-and-private-empire.html

I tend to agree that Brooks and Coulson may just do some damage this week on Leveson

The greatest fear is among the Conservatives. Murdoch’s decision to release emails that showed how Jeremy Hunt’s adviser was facilitating News Corporation’s takeover of BskyB was a taste of what may come. Not just Hunt, but Cameron and George Osborne were complicit in promising sweetheart deals to News Corporation. Coulson, Brooks, James Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch know it. What is more, the Tory leadership suspects they can prove it.

We are in the absurd position where the Conservatives dare not stop fawning over Murdoch now for fear that he will reveal how they fawned over him in the past.

Cameron could end the absurdity in a day. He might ally with Labour and the Liberal Democrats and take the best opportunity in years to establish the new system for regulating media monopolies Britain will need as Google and the other net giants grow. That he lacks the bravery to seize the moment tells you all you need to know about the littleness of the man.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/06/nick-cohen-camerons-fear-of-murdoch

1273 Gaffhook Excellent article Gaffy. Don’t forget to Tweet it and Facebook it. Its not what you say when you Tweet and Facebook. It what and who you link to.

Cameron has all week to shit his pants wondering if Bekkie is going to dump on him and cover him in excreta from head to toe. Her and Coulson and SeweRoo have been thrown under the bus and i expect their past friendship will go to hell in a handbasket when Mr Jay quizzes her on Friday and she reveals her texts to and from Cameron.

Maybe she wants him under the bus with them. I do hope so.

David Cameron faces the embarrassment of highly personal text messages and emails to and from former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks being revealed this week.
Mrs Brooks and the Prime Minister’s ex-No 10 spin doctor, Andy Coulson, who resigned as editor of the News of the World newspaper over phone hacking, are both due to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into the scandal.
It has been claimed that Mr Cameron was so close to Mrs Brooks that he texted her up to a dozen times a day – and that Mrs Brooks has kept all the communications.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140290/BSkyB-scandal-David-Cameron-fears-Rebekah-Brooks-texts-public-Leveson-Inquiry.html#ixzz1u7wJhVmn

Get off Gillard’s back, urges Westpac chief.
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WESTPAC chief executive Gail Kelly has urged other business leaders to work constructively with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and put aside the combative approach that some have taken to her minority government.

In a rare public endorsement from one of the nation’s most powerful bosses, Ms Kelly said Ms Gillard was ”a consultative person” for whom she had ”a very healthy respect”.

”It’s important that big business rolls up its sleeves and engages constructively, and I think the Prime Minister is also adopting this approach,” Mrs Kelly told The Age.
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Mrs Kelly’s stance is in sharp contrast to some of her peers in big business, particularly in the mining industry, who have been publicly at loggerheads with Ms Gillard’s government over policy issues.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/get-off-gillards-back-urges-westpac-chief-20120507-1y96k.html#ixzz1uC7gAps4

Obama Up with $25 Million Ad Buy
David Axelrod said President Obama’s re-election will spend $25 million on swing-state ads this month, according to NBC News.

The ad is a positive one and Axelrod claimed that the sum spent on this ad would be more than Mitt Romney spent on positive ads through the entire GOP primary.

Said Axelrod: “I believe that by the end of this week — certainly by the end of next — we will have spent more money offering people a positive vision for the future, talking about the president’s record and the nation’s record under his leadership and where we’re going than Gov. Romney has in his entire campaign and there’s a reason for that.
http://politicalwire.com

Romney’s Ron Paul Problem
Ron Paul’s strategy of organizing and working arcane delegate selection rules began to pay off over the weekend.

Christian Science Monitor: “And that could mean big trouble for Mitt Romney and his plans to smoothly pivot to a campaign aimed solely at incumbentPresident Obama. Yes, Mr. Romney is still the presumptive nominee. It’s highly unlikely Paul will be able to deny the former Massachusetts governor the prize he’s sought for so long. But Paul’s forces aren’t lining up and saluting a Romney victory. When they show up in Tampa in August they may be strong enough, and prepared enough, to throw the convention floor into embarrassing disarray.”
http://politicalwire.com

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