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February 2007

Dick Cheney is coming to town

"...you know have to accept that in our country we have our laws and we just administer our laws and Australia is traditionally a very egalitarian county. Therefore our laws apply to all people. We don't have exemptions from our laws for different categories of people. That's just the way we work in this country, that's just the way our country is and it will probably always be like that."

Many politicians make light work

Why is it that the Howard Government's best policies only come forth during an election year? Malcolm Turnbull's plan, announced yesterday, to legislate most incandescent light bulbs out of domestic use by 2009-10 is a good one, even though it does little more than scratch the surface of the fight again carbon emission.

Turnbull's ministerial press release can be seen here in PDF format. The key number in Turnbull's statement is the estimate of an annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 4 million tonnes by 2015. Wikipedia quotes UN figures giving Australia's CO2 emissions in 2002 at 356.3 million tonnes.

More to do but heading in the right direction... not a motorist's guide to the cross-city tunnel

1978: Wran's Our Man
1988: Barrie Unsworth - He's Good Value
2007: More to do but heading in the right direction

One of these won in a landslide, one lost in a landslide, one is expected to win for the simple reason that his opponent is worse.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Islands Could Fall Off the Map

CLIMATE CHANGE: Islands Could Fall Off the Map
- BERLIN, Feb 17 (Tierramérica) - Sylt, the largest of Germany's Frisian islands, in the North Sea, lost at least 800,000 cubic metres of sand from its beaches in the last two months, because of heavy storms and flooding that have marked the northern hemisphere autumn and winter seasons.

The Grammys

The awards started earlier than I expected today, but it's good to see in the early results that the academy is recognising up and oming youngsters like Peter Frampton (best pop instrumental album) and George Benson (best pop instrumental performance). Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder (nomination for best pop collaboration with vocals) will surely be a shoe-in.

More comments through the afternoon

A shameful week in Australian politics

KEVIN RUDD: Does the Prime Minister recall his industry minister saying just six months ago: "I am a sceptic of the connection between emissions and climate change"? Does the Prime Minister support this statement?

Mr HOWARD: It is not only remarks made by people in this parliament. There is a farmer I know who is sceptical about that connection as well! But we can debate. Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that the jury is still out on the degree of connection.

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