to our aussie friends hanging upside-down in the southern hemisphere (Hi Trish!): congratulations on the election of a Labor government!
you're off to a fantastic start with ratification of the Kyoto Treaty and the naming of Peter Garrett as Minister of the Environment. Garrett has been a tireless agitator for human rights and the environment, well, forever... not to mention the frontman for the great Midnight Oil. The Oils have been favorites of mine since the 1980s. One of the best concerts I've seen in my life was Midnight Oil in Minneapolis in the late 1980's...
So not only is AU signing on to Kyoto, they're pulling out of Iraq. This compels me to quote a favorite early Oils song, US Forces:
The Us forces give the nod
its a setback for your country
Bombs and trenches all in rows
bombs and threats still ask for more
Divided world the cia
who controls the issue
You leave us with no time to talk
you can write your assessment
Sing me songs of no denying
seems to me too many trying
Waiting for the next big thing
Gah, restores my faith in human nature, stories like that! Let's hope it portends well for 2008...
Isn't it great!? The mood in Canberra has definitely shifted. It will be interesting to see how Peter Garrett goes. He's not a 'polished politician' like some of them are (he made a couple of faux pas during the campaign) but what you see is what you get with him. He was president of the Australian Conservation Society for many years, so he knows his stuff. There'll be the inevitable 'party line' that he might have to adopt from time to time, but he wouldn't have won his seat at the Election if people didn't think he'd shake things up a little.
Posted by: Trish | December 19, 2007 at 02:31 AM