New Zealand
Latest polls show that National and their leader John Key have swung away to a large lead over labour. The Dominion’s head line “poll-axed” did not make much sense either and something like “Key kicks Clark” would have been better. The results give National 55% of the party vote, 23% above Labour. With the Greens the only other party to break the 5% threshold.
This result reinforces my opinion that polls cannot be trusted. Not because National has a large margin, but because smaller parties are not tracking so well. The media also portrays polls as election results. There is only one poll that matters and that is the general election.
Chris Trotter of the Dominion was reported to say that Labour’s only hope was to ditch the Clark and put the Goff in. This political commentator thinks that Labour should live by the Clark and die by the Clark. Changing Leaders now would be political suicide for Labour.
Owen Glenn continues to hobble around with one foot in his mouth. Shut up why don’t you already. I will offer Owen a couple of my socks to shove in there, please provide a postal address to jackson@salient.org.nz. This furore continues to dominate media attention. Lets face it Glenn isn’t exactly a Bob Jones. Let him be. No one really cares.
The anti cluster munitions conference kicked off in Wellington this week. 500 delegates from 120 countries gathered to draft a treaty on the use of cluster bombs and other such discriminate weapons. Good to see NZ continuing to support worthy causes.
New Zealand’s health system was in the heat lamp again with the release of DHB statistics into accidents, and inadequacies in the Ambulance service. Health Select Committee chair and Green Party spokesperson for Health, Sue Kedgley day tripped it out to Otaki to highlight Saint Johns only having one driver.
The Bolshevik-Terrorist Alliance occupied (and by occupied I mean, there were 10 people, one of which was a child waving a Maori Sovereignty’s flag on top of a phone booth, and the other 9 were emo’s) Manners Mall. They were calling for the charges to be dropped against the Ruatoki accused, the repeal of the Terrorism Suppression act. VUWSA President Joel Cosgrove and former VUWSA president turned bus driver Nick Kelly, were spotted at the protest picking their noses and eating it.
Australia
A Kevin Rudd cardboard cut out is passed around Australian Parliament after the new Labour government made a decision to withdraw all ministers from the house on Fridays, probably so they could enjoy a quiet Fosters. One Liberal MP had to be escorted out of the chamber, and another was asked to leave for bringing the cardboard cut out in. Anna Burke, the Deputy speaker eventually had to suspend the sitting. What is the point of having Question time on a Friday if the people who answer the questions are not there? Rudd is this one of your schemes to have a 4 day working week?
A former Mayor of Darwin was arrested for stealing a refrigerator, woman’s underwear and a Darth Vader voice distorter. Sounds a bit too much like something Michael Laws would do.
United States of America
McCain has denied accusations that he did a ‘Clinton’ and slept with/had relations with a lobbyist. This comes as a blow (heh heh) to his high ethical standards. Not that I blame him, she is quite foxy.
Nader is considering running again.
Hillary is on 1250 delgates
Barak is on 1319
Non English Speaking Countries
Stuff gets blown up in Kosovo, US embassy attacked, UN police in Kosovo beaten up by angry Serbs.
Turkish troops have entered Iraqi territory chasing some Kurds (and Whey), even though the US has asked them to stop doing so in fear of sparking a wider conflict and calls for separation of a Kurdish state from eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and west Iran.
Iran continues to violate UN sanctions, and supposedly is manufacturing weapons grade radioactive materials.
President Bush visits Liberia, the place where they booted out all the slaves when owning them became illegal.