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Authors: Andrew O'Keefe
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page, after it dominated for five years. In compensation,
Times
commentary has dwelt, until a month or so ago, on political progress not following military success.
However, Shia and Sunni appear to be seeking accommodation. The Iraqi government is rehiring relatively large numbers of Sunnis who were ejected from public service jobs after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Though parliament has not yet passed a law specifying a system for distributing oil revenues among the provinces, the government is fairly equitably handing over the money.
Of profound strategic significance is the governmentâs reportedly favourable attitude to permanent US bases in Iraq.
With a dainty turn of phrase,
The New York Times
notes that US presidential candidates are seeking âtonal adjustmentsâ of their Iraq positions. After wavering for a long time, Hillary Clinton declared herself anti-war when the Democrats won a congressional majority a year ago. The latest Rasmussen poll shows her trailing leading Republican candidate and war supporter Rudy Giuliani.
With the schadenfreude prospect of watching some awkward clearing of the throat by our own proclaimers of American humiliation in the morass of Iraq, itâs no wonder Iâm cheerful.
MARIEKE HARDY
Er, thanks for your support. No, donât call us, weâll call you
âI would like to keep our place like it is and I guess (joining the) Liberals would be natural.â This was the important announcement this week from a colourful and in no way unhinged Sydney resident, Kate McCulloch of Camden, after she had successfully prodded at her local council to reject a proposed building site for an Islamic school.
This, of course, was after sheâd appeared on television wearing an oversized Akubra hat that had Australian flag postcards stapled to it like a misguidedly patriotic entrant in a primary school parade, blithely referred to our general Muslim population as âthe ones that come hereâ, and then rounded off by declaring that famous colonials John and Elizabeth Macarthur would no doubt be on Team McCulloch were they a) alive and b) remotely concerned with local education-based planning issues. She certainly couldnât be accused of being dull.
What the Liberal Party made of her coy public flirtations can only be a matter of speculation. Presumably they spent the ensuing hours changing their locks and answering the phone using a comedy accent and repeating the words âBrendan Nelson? Nobody here by that name, sorryâ, though this is, of course, guesswork.
Who knows, perhaps a wild-eyed maverick with a fondness for controversially divisive politics and potentially slanderous quips may be just the thing theyâre looking for. Wilson Tuckey wonât live forever, you know.
With folk like Tuckey and McCulloch in mind, Iâll proffer this alarming truth: you can never hand pick those who appoint themselves as mouthpieces for your particular cause. And moreâs the pity, too. No doubt there were a small number of Camden residents who may well have opposed the Islamic school solely on planning grounds and would have quietly preferred rabid âget orf my landâ types like McCulloch to shut the hell up and let them handle things, but those few, itâs sad to note, never made it to the papers. What was that Groucho said about not wanting to belong to any club that would have you as a member?
As a young lady with left-leaning tendencies, Iâm far happier when the acerbic wit of comedian Jon Stewart steps up to bat for my side, rather than the interminable musical stylings of John Butler. It could be an entirely personal thing, but a well-timed satirical knockknock joke seems able to prick a few more consciences than an eight-minute marimba solo.
Bill Hicks is infinitely preferable to the caterwauling of the Dixie Chicks, Stephen Colbert is hands-down more punk rock than Rage Against the Machine will ever be, and Chris Martin from
Times
commentary has dwelt, until a month or so ago, on political progress not following military success.
However, Shia and Sunni appear to be seeking accommodation. The Iraqi government is rehiring relatively large numbers of Sunnis who were ejected from public service jobs after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Though parliament has not yet passed a law specifying a system for distributing oil revenues among the provinces, the government is fairly equitably handing over the money.
Of profound strategic significance is the governmentâs reportedly favourable attitude to permanent US bases in Iraq.
With a dainty turn of phrase,
The New York Times
notes that US presidential candidates are seeking âtonal adjustmentsâ of their Iraq positions. After wavering for a long time, Hillary Clinton declared herself anti-war when the Democrats won a congressional majority a year ago. The latest Rasmussen poll shows her trailing leading Republican candidate and war supporter Rudy Giuliani.
With the schadenfreude prospect of watching some awkward clearing of the throat by our own proclaimers of American humiliation in the morass of Iraq, itâs no wonder Iâm cheerful.
MARIEKE HARDY
Er, thanks for your support. No, donât call us, weâll call you
âI would like to keep our place like it is and I guess (joining the) Liberals would be natural.â This was the important announcement this week from a colourful and in no way unhinged Sydney resident, Kate McCulloch of Camden, after she had successfully prodded at her local council to reject a proposed building site for an Islamic school.
This, of course, was after sheâd appeared on television wearing an oversized Akubra hat that had Australian flag postcards stapled to it like a misguidedly patriotic entrant in a primary school parade, blithely referred to our general Muslim population as âthe ones that come hereâ, and then rounded off by declaring that famous colonials John and Elizabeth Macarthur would no doubt be on Team McCulloch were they a) alive and b) remotely concerned with local education-based planning issues. She certainly couldnât be accused of being dull.
What the Liberal Party made of her coy public flirtations can only be a matter of speculation. Presumably they spent the ensuing hours changing their locks and answering the phone using a comedy accent and repeating the words âBrendan Nelson? Nobody here by that name, sorryâ, though this is, of course, guesswork.
Who knows, perhaps a wild-eyed maverick with a fondness for controversially divisive politics and potentially slanderous quips may be just the thing theyâre looking for. Wilson Tuckey wonât live forever, you know.
With folk like Tuckey and McCulloch in mind, Iâll proffer this alarming truth: you can never hand pick those who appoint themselves as mouthpieces for your particular cause. And moreâs the pity, too. No doubt there were a small number of Camden residents who may well have opposed the Islamic school solely on planning grounds and would have quietly preferred rabid âget orf my landâ types like McCulloch to shut the hell up and let them handle things, but those few, itâs sad to note, never made it to the papers. What was that Groucho said about not wanting to belong to any club that would have you as a member?
As a young lady with left-leaning tendencies, Iâm far happier when the acerbic wit of comedian Jon Stewart steps up to bat for my side, rather than the interminable musical stylings of John Butler. It could be an entirely personal thing, but a well-timed satirical knockknock joke seems able to prick a few more consciences than an eight-minute marimba solo.
Bill Hicks is infinitely preferable to the caterwauling of the Dixie Chicks, Stephen Colbert is hands-down more punk rock than Rage Against the Machine will ever be, and Chris Martin from
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