If day one of the election campaign is anything to go by, it’s going to be a long seven months until the September poll. As many commentators lamented yesterday, the announcement by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday has kick-started a campaign which is likely to be driven more by personality than policy. At least … Continue reading Australian public to endure eight month election campaign
Tag: Politics
Australian republic debate a distraction, says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott says Wayne Swan should concentrate on running the economy rather than raising "red herrings" like the republic debate. The Treasurer revived the republican debate in a Fairfax opinion piece today, saying a reflection on cricket's 1930s Bodyline series should hasten the creation of an Australian republic. But the Opposition Leader - an ardent … Continue reading Australian republic debate a distraction, says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
Australian Prime Minister looks to East Asia, digital threat, in new security strategy
Julia Gillard has waved a final goodbye to the so-called "9/11 decade", heralding a new age dominated by threats of cyber espionage and traditional great-power conflict. Like her centre-left contemporary Barack Obama, she is moving her party away from the preoccupations her predecessor - Middle Eastern conflicts, ballooning defence and intelligence budgets, an incessant focus … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister looks to East Asia, digital threat, in new security strategy
Australian Prime Minister’s speech to have China, cyber crime focus
Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, reportedly will seek to boost Labor's defence credentials in a speech singling out China and cyber attacks as key security concerns. Ms Gillard will make the comments on Wednesday in her first important speech of the election year to the Australian National University's National Security College in Canberra, The Australian newspaper … Continue reading Australian Prime Minister’s speech to have China, cyber crime focus
Julia Gillard ahead as Australia’s preferred Prime Minister
Julia Gillard has kept her lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister in the first opinion poll of the year. The Essential poll, published on Monday, put Ms Gillard nine points ahead of the opposition leader who was rated preferred prime minister by 33 per cent of voters. The coalition's two-party vote was down … Continue reading Julia Gillard ahead as Australia’s preferred Prime Minister
Australia: Hundreds to go in Queensland police shake-up
The biggest overhaul of Queensland police since the infamous Fitzgerald inquiry will remove more than 100 senior officers and scrap regional offices in some areas of the state. Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, who was installed in the job last November, today announced the restructure of the service in a bid to cut bureaucracy and boost … Continue reading Australia: Hundreds to go in Queensland police shake-up
Australian political leaders off and running
AS Australians yesterday put the final touches on their New Year's Eve celebrations, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott fired the first shots of the 2013 election campaign. In a sign of what is in store for voters this year, the leaders used their New Year messages to pitch their plans to the people. The Prime … Continue reading Australian political leaders off and running
July 29 1900 Italian American assassinates Italian king
On July 29th 1900, in Monza, Italy, King Umberto I was shot to death by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian-born anarchist who resided in America before returning to his homeland to murder the king. Crowned in 1878, King Umberto became increasingly authoritarian in the late 19th century. He enacted a program of suppression against the radical … Continue reading July 29 1900 Italian American assassinates Italian king
July 16 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China’s Catastrophic Deleveraging Has Begun Posted by jackbassteam ⋅ July 16, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment 1. The frustrated and aggressive central bank If one wants to know how bad the health of China’s economy has gone, look no further than the PBOC‘s composure, which seems rather frustrated and aggressive as of late. On 5th July, … Continue reading July 16 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 11 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China gives family in forced abortion case US$11,000 Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 11, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment The family of a Shaanxi woman forced to undergo an abortion because she ran afoul of the mainland’s one-child policy has accepted a cash settlement from the government. Feng Jianmei’s husband, Deng Jiyuan, said on … Continue reading July 11 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 10 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines (July 5-10)
China number two on Fortune 500 list Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 10, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments Two years after eclipsing Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, China on Monday stole the number-two spot on the Fortune 500 list of the biggest global companies from its Asian rival. In its annual revenue rankings, Fortune … Continue reading July 10 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines (July 5-10)
July 10 1985 Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
On July 10th 1985, in Auckland harbour in New Zealand, Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior sank after French agents in diving gear planted a bomb on the hull of the vessel. One person, Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira, was killed. The Rainbow Warrior, the flagship of international conservation group Greenpeace, had been preparing for a protest voyage to … Continue reading July 10 1985 Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
July 2 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Apple pays $60M to settle iPad case; Foxconn plans Brazil iPad factories Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ July 2, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Apple has paid $60 million to settle a dispute in China over ownership of the iPad name, a court announced Monday, removing a potential obstacle to sales of the popular tablet … Continue reading July 2 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
July 1 1997 Hong Kong returned to China
On July 1st 1997, at midnight, Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful. In 1839, Britain … Continue reading July 1 1997 Hong Kong returned to China
June 30 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Mongolia’s Coal Riches Causing Diplomatic Nightmare with Russia, China Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 30, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment Mongolia boasts huge deposits of coal, copper, gold, uranium and many other rare minerals, and is opening up its vast resources to the world; this has however led to many diplomatic problems for the … Continue reading June 30 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 29 1974 Isabela Peron takes office as Argentine president
On June 29th 1974, with Argentine President Juan Peron on his deathbed, Isabela Martinez de Peron, his wife and vice president, was sworn in as the leader of the South American country. President Isabela Peron, a former dancer and Peron's third wife, was the Western Hemisphere's first female head of government. Two days later, Juan … Continue reading June 29 1974 Isabela Peron takes office as Argentine president
June 17 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s swansong on democracy Posted by chankaiyee2 ⋅ June 17, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment For years, Premier Wen has talked about political reform and democracy, but seems to have little effect. However, he quoted the poem of Lin Zexu, a well-known patriot and talented official of the Qing Dynasty, to express his … Continue reading June 17 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 13 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
Forced abortion in China on woman seven months pregnant Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 13, 2012 ⋅ 4 Comments Graphic images posted online showing the bloody corpse of a baby whose mother was allegedly forced to terminate her pregnancy at seven months have caused an uproar in China. Rights groups say authorities in north … Continue reading June 13 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
June 5 1968 Robert F Kennedy assassinated
On June 5th 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day … Continue reading June 5 1968 Robert F Kennedy assassinated
June 3 1990 Bush and Gorbachev end second summit meeting
On June 3rd 1990, President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended their three-day summit meeting with warm words of friendship, but without any concrete agreement concerning German reunification.Bush and Gorbachev held their second summit conference in Washington, D.C. The main topic of conversation was the future of a reunified Germany. Communist rule … Continue reading June 3 1990 Bush and Gorbachev end second summit meeting
June 1 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
China factory surveys signal wider economic weakness Posted by China Daily Mail ⋅ June 1, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment China‘s economy betrayed signs of a broadening slowdown as surveys of its vast factory sector showed momentum eased in May, signalling a deeper-than-forecast deterioration in demand at home and abroad and the likelihood of more … Continue reading June 1 2012 China Daily Mail Headlines
May 22 2004 Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme d’Or
On May 22nd 2004, Michael Moore’s documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 beat out 18 other films to win the coveted Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It became the first documentary to triumph at Cannes since The Silent World, co-directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, won the Palme d’Or in 1956. … Continue reading May 22 2004 Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme d’Or
May 11 1988 Soviet double agent Kim Philby dies
On May 11th 1988, Kim Philby, a former British Secret Intelligence Service officer and double agent for the Soviet Union, died in Moscow at the age of 76. Philby was perhaps the most famous of a group of British government officials who served as Russian spies from the 1930s to the 1950s. Philby came from … Continue reading May 11 1988 Soviet double agent Kim Philby dies
May 7 1960 Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
On May 7th 1960, Leonid Brezhnev, one of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's most trusted proteges, was selected as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet—the Soviet equivalent to the presidency. This was another important step in Brezhnev's rise to power in Russia, a rise that he later capped by taking control of the Soviet … Continue reading May 7 1960 Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
The following editorial, among the most famous ever written, appeared in the New York Sun in 1897. Since it's Christmas, etc... Also, it is a great piece of writing: We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is … Continue reading Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
Craig Hill 