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The Good War

That is, for the services, the drug package contains four tablets of 160 mg of the active substance, our Medway pharmacists are available to offer you advice on many health conditions. Concierge service and underground parking, 4 ED has a profound negative impact on the more here quality of life.

More US soldiers killed themselves than died in combat in 2010.

For the second year in a row, more American soldiers—both enlisted men and women and veterans—committed suicide than were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Excluding accidents and illness, 462 soldiers died in combat, while 468 committed suicide.

569 replies on “The Good War”

From Talk Left.
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Tony Mauro in USA Today writes about the 2012 election and the Supreme Court. He lists the oldest justices. Three will turn 80 during this next presidential term:

79, Ginsburg
76, Scalia
75, Kennedy
73, Breyer

Mauro writes:

If a President Romney gets to appoint replacements for liberals Ginsburg and Breyer, then abortion rights, gay rights, affirmative action and campaign-finance reform could well be in serious jeopardy. If President Obama gets to replace conservatives Scalia and Kennedy, then those doctrines will probably be safer, while regulation of the environment, gun rights, property rights and corporations could win more favor.

More here…
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2012/6/7/231014/3565

Nate Silver at 538 is up with his simulation model for the November election.

His prediction as of today is 291 Obama 247 Romney.

The model will update every few days fron now til election day. Should be fun to keep an eye on. It seems a very intricate and spivvy model.

You can find it via the 538 link on the sidebar.

seems like “Rubicon” was a bit more than Jimmy the jaw told Mr Jay it was.

a) Jay: “Was told today by Cable’s adviser to approach any meeting with Lord Oakeshott as a proxy for Vince Cable, an intro discussion on the substance of Rubicon …

b) Jay: Is Rubicon the internal company name for the acquisition of — James Murdoch:Yeah, it was just a project code name on internal documents.”

http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/newscorp-real-rubicon-project.html

Households receive $1 billion in assistance
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MON 11 JUNE 2012
Prime Minister, Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

More than $1 billion in household assistance payments has been delivered to about 5 million Australian families and pensioners since the roll out began almost a month ago.

A very important vote winner!

More here…
http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/households-receive-1-billion-assistance

Leveson Inquiry: Gordon Brown gives evidence of row with Sun.
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Ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown says lessons cannot be learned about press standards unless there is honesty about how details of his son’s cystic fibrosis were published by the Sun.

He said he and his wife Sarah were “presented with a fait accompli” by the paper, before it ran a story on their son Fraser’s medical condition in 2006.

He denied that he or his wife had given permission for the story to be run.

The Sun said it was standing by its previous statements about the story.

Mr Brown is giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.

Chancellor George Osborne is now giving evidence and Prime Minister David Cameron will enter the witness box on Thursday.

The inquiry is currently focusing on the relationship between the press and politicians.

The Sun’s then-editor Rebekah Brooks had previously told the Leveson Inquiry she had the express permission of the Browns to run the story about Fraser’s medical condition, but the Browns have previously said that was “untrue”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18386968

I am a little surprised that the US election looks so close. I expected Romney to be the best Republican candidate (in other words, the candidate most able to challenge Obama), but I thought that Obama would be in a better position at this point – around 320, I would have thought.

It is going to be a bit nerve-wracking.

Just been watching John Major at Leveson.

I don’t really know much about Major’s particular brand of Tory politics or philosophies but suffice to say, being a Tory,i would probably strongly disagree with him on most things.

But on that performance it is hard to comprehend the difference in the calibre of the man to someone of the like of Tony Abbott.

John Major: ‘Rupert Murdoch Told Me To Change Europe Policy’
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Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major today told an inquiry into press standards that media tycoon Rupert Murdoch asked him to change policy on Europe.

Mr Murdoch – owner of The Sun and The Times – warned that without change his newspapers would not support the then Conservative Government, Sir John told the Leveson Inquiry.

More here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/12/john-major-rupert-murdoch-told-me-to-change-europe-policy_n_1589078.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Sir John said the conversation took place during a dinner in February 1997 – a few months before Labour defeated the Conservatives at an election.

“Mr Murdoch said he really didn’t like our European policies,” Sir John told inquiry chairman Lord Justice Leveson. “That was no surprise to me.”

313 Gaffhook They certainly will be catching an earful Gaffy I know of least one right beside a University. There would be many more in the at situation.

The age of the troll could be over. (In the UK).
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Websites might be forced to unmask people who post defamatory statements online.

Under new government proposals in the Defamation Bill, victims of online bullying will gain the right to discover the identity of those posting “scurrilous rumour and allegations” on the internet.

The bill, which will be debated in the Commons on Tuesday, will also see would-be claimants having to show they have suffered serious harm to their reputations, or are likely to do so, before they can take a defamation case forward.

The new rules will mean that those affected by defamatory statements can take action without going to the High Court.

Websites will not be prosecuted for displaying offensive comments if they help to uncover trolls’ identities.

More here..

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/12/defamation-bill-moves-to-unmask-trolls_n_1588793.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Jen,

Nope. Pessimists like me always see the best worst side in everything … 😉

Harry, thats for sure. I watched it and Major sure dumped a pile of excrement on Mordor and his myrmidons. Hard to see how he will not be asked to divest of lots of his media control and with a bit of luck he may even do time yet.
If a couple of the bribing the fuzz cases get up he should be in big strife in the US.

If one closed ones eyes last night it was easily thought that at most times he was describing the media in Oz.

Shorter Gaffhook, i hope it all comes down round his fucking ears.

319
Chris
how the fuck is Catrina going to control us trolls here at 101?
I’m not a lawyer so i don’t know what’s defamatory or what’s not.
Is caling SeweRoo an arsehole defamatory?

White House Debuts Ambitious Plan To Remake The Web Using Broadband.
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President Obama will sign an executive order on Thursday designed to lower the costs and speed up the installation of broadband networks on and through federal property, the White House announced in a statement.

But that’s just the beginning of what the White House has in mind for the future of the Internet in this country. Another part of the plan, a massive public-private partnership called “US Ignite,” seeks to reprogram the very Web itself for an era of near-ubiquitous, high-speed broadband connectivity.

“We view US Ignite as playing a very important role in addressing one issue,” said Tom Kalil, deputy director for Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a phone interview with TPM. “What are the applications that are going to drive the future of the Internet in the same way that search engines, web browsers and social media have transformed the Web today?”

Kalil posed hypothetical examples of such new applications, such as high-def video conferencing or 3D imagery of a patient’s beating heart that would allow a physician to give the patient a realtime, remote diagnosis, even if the two were separated across the country.

Specifically, US ignite will seek to spur development of at least 60 new prototype applications that leverage high-speed broadband networks capable of transmitting data at 1 gigabit-per-second, or “up to 100 times faster than today’s Internet,” according to the White House’s statement.

More here..
http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/white-house-debuts-ambitious-plan-to-expand-broadband-again.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

For David

Daily Kos Elections Polling Wrap: Ras goes way off the board in Wisconsin. Prescient or absurd?
A pretty good rule of thumb, it would seem, is that when everyone else says one thing, and you say something vastly different, it is unlikely that everyone else is the one that’s wrong.

Yet that’s where we find ourselves today, as the House of Ras claims a three-point lead for Mitt Romney in Wisconsin. That is despite the fact that the (corrected) exit polls from last week had Obama up by 7, and a poll by the GOP-affiliated outlet We Ask America last week had Obama up by 5.

It is possible, I suppose, that Rasmussen is ahead of the curve on this one. But, given their track record, some skepticism is probably justified.

On to the numbers:

More here
http://www.dailykos.com/

Text trail reveals link between Ashby, journo and Slipper’s rivals: court

James Ashby, who worked as a media adviser to the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Peter Slipper, worked to undermine his boss by giving information to a tabloid journalist and to his political rivals, a court has heard.

David Chin, the barrister for Mr Slipper, told the Federal Court today that Mr Ashby’s lawsuit for sexual harassment has been designed to cause “political and reputational damage” to the Speaker and for the “political advantage of his political opponents in the Liberal-National party”, including former Howard cabinet minister Mal Brough.

Julian Burnside, QC, for the Commonwealth, told Justice Steven Rares that mobile phone records show Mr Ashby and another adviser, Karen Doane, “were working together to undermine Mr Slipper when they were still working for him”.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/text-trail-reveals-link-between-ashby-journo-and–slippers-rivals-court-20120615-20e55.html#ixzz1xqMJ754Y

Mormonism is not an issue in the US election. Mormonism will not be an issue. The fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon will not play a part in this campaign.

Chris, you can’t say it will play no part at all. The polls show that some voters are affected by his religion, but it is small.

As an aside Book of Mormon is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen live. If it comes to Australia, go see it. I loved it, and I hate musicals.

I am sure Mr Murdoch would not perjure himself and make shit up. That’s not in the nature of all the media companies he presides over.
I do hope Mr Leveson comes to terms with the issue of the non existent phone call that SeweRoo remembers so precisely took place, but can not name the date and time it was supposed to have happened.
Whereas Mr Brown has precise records of all his phone calls as they were all hooked up with Downing street so there would be witnesses.
Good luck with that Roo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18459013

Gordon Brown Denial Over ‘Declaring War’ On Murdoch Supported By Phone Records
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The Cabinet Office has no record of a disputed telephone call in which Rupert Murdoch claims Gordon Brown said he was declaring war on the media mogul, it emerged today.

The only recorded telephone contact between the then prime minister and Mr Murdoch in late 2009 was on November 10, when they apparently discussed Afghanistan, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on Friday.

Murdoch told the Leveson Inquiry in April that he had spoken to Mr Brown by telephone on or soon after The Sun switched its allegiance from Labour to the Conservatives on September 30, 2009.

Got im.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/15/no-record-of-disputed-phone-cal-between-rupert-murdoch-and-gordon-brown_n_1599519.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Poll: Latinos More Enthusiastic About Obama After Immigration Move.
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President Obama has gotten Latino voters’ attention with his Friday announcement that his administration will no longer deport some young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, according to a new poll.

Obama’s new policy applies to undocumented immigrants under 30 years old who were brought to the United States before the age of 16, have been in the country for at least five years and graduated from high school, earned a GED or served in the military. The administration will begin granting work permits to those who meet the guidelines. The new policy will affect around 800,000 immigrants.

More here…
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/latinos-more-enthusiastic-about-obama-after-immigration-move.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

Obama Holds Wide Lead Over Romney
A new Bloomberg poll shows President Obama leads Mitt Romney by a wide margin, 53% to 40% among likely voters, even as six in 10 say the nation is headed down the wrong track.

Meanwhile, just 39% view Romney favorably, while 48% see him unfavorably. A majority of likely voters, 55%, view him as more out of touch with average Americans compared with 36% who say the president is more out of touch.

Key finding: “The presidential race is roughly tied among the most enthusiastic voters, 49% of whom back Romney compared with 48% for Obama. Still, Romney inspires far less enthusiasm even among his supporters than does Obama, with 35% of Romney backers saying their support for him is ‘very strong,’ compared with 51% of Obama backers who say so.”

Said pollster Ann Selzer: “You can see in these data how important turnout will be. Those most enthusiastic about the election are more supportive of Romney, but Obama’s voters are more locked into their candidate than Romney’s. Building resolve to vote and making the vote stick is job one, and both candidates face obstacles toward getting that done.”
http://politicalwire.com

354 KatieLou
Kathy Jackson looked so unconvincing all along.
Lov e it when there is some kind of justice- even if its just poetic.

Rebekah has had her first day in front of the beak. Hopefully there will be a few more days lashing her up and she spills on Roo under cross examination.

She faces three charges of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, while her racehorse trainer husband is charged with one count of the same offence.

The former News of the World editor is accused of removing boxes of material from the News International archive and trying to conceal documents, computers and other material from Operation Weeting, Scotland Yard’s inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

Her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter, the head of security at News International Mark Hanna, her chauffeur Paul Edwards and security consultant Daryl Jorsling were also in court.

They all face a single charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The judge, Mr Justice Fulford, set a date of 26 September for a plea and case management hearing at the same court.

He extended bail to all six defendants.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/22/rebekah-brooks-court-charges-phone-hacking

Obama Immigration, Gay Marriage ‘Evolution’ Shifts Voter Opinion, Galvanizes Base.
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Nearly 65 percent of likely voters surveyed after Obama’s deportation reform announcement said they agreed with the new approach, according to a Bloomberg poll released this week and conducted after the president’s immigration announcement.

And in a Washington Post-ABC news poll conducted within weeks of the president’s gay marriage announcement, a record 53 percent of Americans indicated they too support gay marriage. Still, two-thirds of Americans also thought the president was motivated to speak publicly about his changed stance on gay marriage by political gamesmanship, according to a New York Times/CBS poll taken shortly after the ABC interview where Obama spoke of his “evolution.”

More here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/22/obama-immigration-latinos-voters-gay-marriage_n_1618684.html

Obama Pollster Says Ignore the Polls
Obama pollster Joel Benenson tells Greg Sargent that coverage of “meaningless daily polling” distracts from coverage of the actual policy differences between the two presidential candidates.

Said Benenson: “The only thing that’s bouncing around are the public polls. The electorate doesn’t bounce around like that. It’s more static than the noise in all these polls. If you watch the electorate over time, they don’t jump up and down. This is a process.”

He added: “Movement tends to come in small increments, and people ought to be mindful of that. We had 45 different polls over a 42 day period. It’s an industry unto itself.”
http://politicalwire.com

Obama Still Way Ahead Among Young Voters
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A new Garfield Institute poll of young voters aged 18-29 finds they prefer President Obama over Mitt Romney, 50% to 37%, but that Obama’s support has slipped significantly from the levels the president enjoyed in the 2008 presidential race.

Formatted for EC. He Really appreciated my formatting. 🙂

http://politicalwire.com

Obama Has Big Lead Among Latinos in Swing States.
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A new Latino Decisions poll shows President Obama way ahead of Mitt Romney among Latino voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia.

“In Florida, the poll found Obama leading Romney by a margin of 53% to 37%, a slight increase from a 50% to 40% lead Obama held over Romney in a January 2012 Latino Decisions/Univision News poll in Florida. In the five states combined Obama lead Romney 63% to 27%, however in southwestern battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada Obama performed even better. In Arizona Obama received 74% to 18% for Romney, in Colorado he was favored by 70% to 22% and in Nevada 69% to 20%. In Virginia, Obama lead 59% to 28% over Romney among Latino registered voters.”

Alex Burns notes Obama “won the Latino vote by 36 points nationally in 2008, which is the same margin he leads Romney overall across these five swing states.”

A real nail bighter David.
http://politicalwire.com

Steve Lewis might conveniently have lost his phone or Iphone. It seems to run in the “family”

But News International has only managed to locate three of the phones, opening the possibility that emails and, in particular, text messages archived on the missing handset have been lost and cannot be scrutinised. The phones were “heavily used” by the executives, who ran up a bill of nearly £12,000 between them in the 11 months to this May.

The failure of NI to take possession of one of the phones was confirmed at the High Court in London by Hugh Tomlinson QC, the barrister representing victims of phone hacking by the News of the World in civil damages claims. Mr Tomlinson said three of the four phones had been located.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mystery-of-vital-iphone-lost-by-news-international-7876756.html

tabloidman ‏@tabloidtroll
Extraordinarily sinister developments at News International with Operation Elveden cops now taking up residence in Wapping IT room.

Goodness me! After glancing at the tweet stream for 4 corners and then Q&A…(I couldn’t bear to actually watch.)
It seems our dear American cousins are even crazier than we are.

Lawmakers are not usually eager to get back to Washington after a weekend in their districts, especially during campaign season. But Representative Michele Bachmann boarded a flight from Minnesota on Sunday night — even though the House will not meet until Tuesday — to make sure she would not miss the Washington moment she has been excitedly anticipating, the Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s health care law. …

http://is.gd/XYCZcA

On Social Issues, Voters Trust Obama More than Romney

A new AP-GfK poll shows that voters trust President Obama over Mitt Romney on social issues by a margin of 52% to 36%. Same-sex marriage will be on the ballot in four states: Maryland, Washington, Minnesota, and Maine. Given that these are all blue states and the public generally supports same-sex marriage by a small margin now, it is doubtful that it will have much of an effect. It is amazing how fast public opinion has changed on this subject. In 2000 and 2004, Karl Rove used referendums on same-sex marriage as a technique to get conservative voters to the polls. Now with a small majority of voters favoring marriage equality, the technique is a spent force.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Slipper diary ‘was sent’ to LNP rival.
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THE former Howard government minister Mal Brough received stolen extracts of Peter Slipper’s diary as he conspired with the Speaker’s aides to damage Mr Slipper and advance his own political prospects, new court documents allege.

Documents filed in the Federal Court by Mr Slipper’s lawyers and released to Fairfax say that from March 29, the aide James Ashby ”unlawfully communicated and sent extracts of the diary kept by or on behalf of Mr Slipper … to Brough”.

At the same time, Mr Ashby was telling Mr Slipper he did not like Mr Brough, who was, and still is, seeking preselection for Mr Slipper’s Queensland seat of Fisher.

THE former Howard government minister Mal Brough received stolen extracts of Peter Slipper’s diary as he conspired with the Speaker’s aides to damage Mr Slipper and advance his own political prospects, new court documents allege.

Notice the word conspired David.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/slipper-diary-was-sent-to-lnp-rival-20120626-210mz.html#ixzz1ywl6aTHx

Poll: Mitt Romney less popular than George Bush (and Barack Obama)
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A new MSNBC/WSJ poll shows only 9% of people have a “very positive” feeling about Mitt Romney. Less than George Bush, and far less than Barack Obama.

http://www.americablog.com

Another set of numbers from our new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll: 60 percent say President Obama inherited the current economic conditions, compared with 26 percent who blame his policies for the state of the economy.

That’s a slight change from Aug. 2011, when 56 percent said the president inherited the economy, versus 33 percent who singled out his policies.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/26/1103390/-Americans-still-blame-Bush-for-nbsp-economy

ok – so lets cut to the chase… what to do???
People are fleeing terrible situations to seek a better life – which is their right under the UN Convention on the Rights of Refugees.
However, they drown o the way – Which is not OK by anyone’s standards – (I will even include Tony Abbott in that statement,
despite the political mileage it gives him )
so:
options are:
1) stop them coming (how?)
2) when they get here – punish them (really?)
3) stop people wanting to come here … (bring about world peace)
4) accept that when they do get here we should treat them decently (well hello the Greens)
or
5) stick your head up your arse and pretend that desperate people will listen to the government of a wealthy nation saying Dont Come and say OK We Wont Even Try
:(((

385
Jen Change the method of their arrival.
This needs lateral (brave) thinking.
(1) Stop seizing and burning every boat that arrives.
Then they’d use better, more seaworthy boats.
(2)Stop arresting the crews.
Then they’d use better crews.

Doubtful the Govt is that brave and it probably needs the Greens to come up with some serious alternatives tomorrow.
Right now, Tony Abbott holds the “popular” majority in the polls and with the media.
Oakshott’s bill was a start today. (Not a great one I’d agree.)
But the political reality is growing more depressing as each week passes.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I just hope Christine can make a break through.
The blame game is alive and well, and it’s the Greens who’ll be the easy targets. 🙁

The Greens should stick to their guns.

Yes the blame game will be on. The ranters will rant. The ravers will rave.

But i have a confidence in the 12% of people who have long ago dismissed the ranters and ravers . Their raving and ranting has been disgusting us for years.

Today i saw crocodile tears from both sides of the House for people they don’t give a flying fuck about….all they want is for them to disappear and make the Lindsay voters happy. Malaysia?..Nauru? bleh bleh bleh….puke.

Stick to your guns .

There are decent ways to deal with these situations and you know it .

Because you get no support from the parties trying to pass the Lindsay test as dictated by Singleton and Murdoch, doesn’t mean you don’t have support.

The LNP policy is , We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come’

In short, no brownies thankyou.

The Greens policy is welcome to AS but we demand onshore processing but if you happen to drown trying to get here well that is just bad luck.

In short, make the journey and we’ll make you a citizen.

The ALP policy is to welcome to AS but we don’t want you to drown as a result of unseaworthy boats getting here. What you need to do is come via an organised offshore processing facility, the first of which will be Malaysia, followed by Thailand and others in the region to be established in the near future. Get to one of them with your claim and you will be processed and either flown here or shipped here in a seaworthy craft. People smugglers are not offshore processing facilities and anyone using them will forfeit the immediate right for asylum.

The legislation passed the house yesterday to enable the Government to make legal decisions regarding immigration laws. It will go before the senate today.

We can have a further twelve months of just letting people die at sea by senators blocking that legislation or we can have an opportunity/trial, using the sunset clause, to attempt to create a safe situation for people to come to Australia.

If the legislation is blocked in the senate today then those who block it will be known as the “Cadaver Pouches R us” party.

No ifs or buts, if the legislation is blocked there will be no progress at all.
If the legislation is passed and the number of those lost at sea is reduced dramatically then there will be progress.
If the legislation is passed and there is no reduction in those lost at sea then the sunset clause will kick in after twelve months and then what?
for people to come to Australia.

Gaffhook –
the problem with your position is that it is predicated on the belief that offshore processing will deter Asylum seekers . If incarceration in concentration camps and the real risk of dying doesn’t deter them why would the threat of OSP do it?
The Greens are saying we need to deal with the countries of origin to assist faster processing at the point of departure, increase our intake of humanitarian refugees so that people reaching Indonesia and malaysia are processed more quickly so that they don’t get on boats to risk coming as they will get here sooner anyway, and then for those that still try – and they will – we treat them decently.
Are we seriously going to put those people who survived yesterday’s disaster on a plane and send them to 3rd world country which has no obligations to treat them humanely??? Look at the way this country treats them FFS.
This is a vexed, complex issue and OSP is a simplistic approach that simply puts people out of sight out of mind.
They have a right to seek asylum – we should help them.

Obama Leads Romney In Polls Of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.
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Three new Quinnipiac University polls released on Wednesday show President Barack Obama leading presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The Quinnipiac polls find evidence of movement since May in Obama’s direction in Ohio and Florida and voter support for Obama’s newly announced immigration policy, particularly in Florida.

The new Florida survey is the second from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in June, and both give Obama a lead of four percentage points over Romney: 45 percent to 41 percent on the just completed survey and 46 percent to 42 percent on a poll conducted two weeks earlier. These results represent a reversal from a Quinnipiac poll in mid-May that showed Romney leading by six points (47 percent to 41 percent).

Polls by other organizations in May showed a mix of results: three had Obama slightly ahead, and one gave Romney the advantage. When combined in the HuffPost Pollster Florida chart, the combined trend lines show a continuing Obama edge of just under one percentage point (45.5 percent to 44.6 percent). Unless and until other polls confirm the slightly bigger lead measured by Quinnipiac, Florida should be considered a toss-up.

More here..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/quinnipiac-polls-obama-romney_n_1630225.html

Jen the problem with your position is that you have already doomed something that has not been tried, as an alternative to what happens now, to failure.
There is no point sitting in either house of parliament and just saying your idea is fucked, therefore it is no good, therefore we vote no.
You need to come up with proper amendments that are different to what happens now, to try, and are accepted by the majority.
In life if you can never have your ideal, then you should accept something as close to your ideal as is possible.
It is called compromise and progression.

Anything short of compromise and progression is the policy of the “Cadaver Pouches R us” parties.

I think we should give offshore processing a run. I think it’s a real option to reduce the number of people taking dangerous sea voyages. The government has organised for UNHCR oversight of the program. The government should continue to work for regional cooperation to try and settle these people.

Good idea also to increase Australia’s intake, though it was offered by Abbott for political reasons only.

As much as Abbott and Morrison make me want to puke, I’m also annoyed with the Greens for not making any compromise (sorry Jen, just speaking my mind).

For a bit of good news, Obama is pulling ahead in key swing states.

This article suggest Obama’s attack ads are working in key swing states and quotes a poll that says he is ahead by 8 points overall in those 12 states.
ow.ly/bRNrh
And a quote from the poll:

The president’s advantage widens in the states typically considered up for grabs — Obama leads by 8 points (50 percent to 42 percent) in a combined sample of voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“Also in these swing states, Romney’s favorability numbers have dropped, possibly reflecting the toll the negative Obama TV advertisements are having on the former Massachusetts governor in these battlegrounds,” MSNBC’s FirstRead blog wrote. Those attacks include a sustained critique of Romney’s time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm that he co-founded.

thebea.st/LD0LLf

Giant projects in the pipeline point to $209bn pay dirt from exports
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EXPORT revenue from mining and energy will hit a record $209 billion in the coming financial year, as a wave of new resources projects click into gear, an official forecaster says.

Despite commodity price falls in recent months, the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics said yesterday that a rapid expansion of iron ore, liquefied natural gas and coal output would drive higher export earnings.

The bureau’s chief economist, Quentin Grafton, said the forecasts assumed some slowing in China and Europe, but increased output would make up for any price falls.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/giant-projects-in-the-pipeline-point-to-209bn-pay-dirt-from-exports-20120627-212u4.html#ixzz1z2fEzHDN

Here are the Greens amendments to the bill they are debating now.

http://greensmps.org.au/content/motions/migration-legislation-amendment-bali-process-bill-2012

Blockquote>(Second reading amendment to be moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Milne, on behalf of herself and Senator Hanson-Young)

At the end of the motion, add:

but the Senate:

(a) calls on the Government to take immediate action to:

(i) provide safe pathways for refugees to discourage people taking life threatening journeys;

(ii) increase Australia’s humanitarian intake from 13,750 to 20,000, including additional places to be immediately allocated to targeted resettlement of 1,000 people from Indonesia and 4,000 people from Malaysia;

(iii) immediately increase funding to United Nations High Commission for Refugees by $10 million to boost the capacity of Refugee Status Determination assessments in Malaysia and Indonesia;

(iv) establish a multi-party committee, charged with developing a framework for a long-term regional solution which is underpinned by the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the related 1967 Protocol;

(v) enter urgent discussions between Australia and Indonesia to address the critical need for cooperation and effectiveness of intelligence sharing and resourcing between Australia and Indonesia in order to save lives at sea;

(vi) codify Australia’s Safety of Life at Sea Convention 1974 obligations across all relevant government agencies and increase Australia’s rescue capacity in Australia’s northern waters; and

(b) resolves that a message be sent to the House of Representatives immediately to acquaint it with this resolution.

I dont see the Government really disagreeing with the basic principles of these amendments.

What the practicalities (particularly logistics and hardware) of introducing them are is another question especially in the case of (vi)

Therefore i would say that the government will compromise and agree to them, the LNP won’t, and the fact that the Government will agree will mean that the Greens will vote for the bill with their amendments included. The Govt and Greens should be a majority if my maths are correct. The LNP will be without Xeno.
This will effectively shove Abbott down the sewer where he belongs.

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