Wishing You an Unhappy Birthday

This evening our pathetic excuse for a national news TV channel ABC News 24 broadcast Prime Minister Julia Gillard giving a jocular speech in which she acknowledged the presence of a number of federal ALP colleagues at the celebration of the AWU's 125th anniversary at the Gold Coast. The list of ALP guests listed by Gillard consisted mostly of Wayne Swan and all of the infamous "faceless men", of which two have been leaders of the AWU, an influential union. Gillard made a joke about AWU leader Paul Howe's role in the coup that removed then-PM Kevin Rudd in June of 2010, an incredible lapse of taste in my opinion. It is no surprise at all that one major figure in the ALP was not mentioned in Gillard's list of party guests.

I'm guessing that Gillard might be keen to crack jokes with and slap the backs of her faceless pals, as there has been a persistent rumour repeated by a number of different sources lately that one of these unpleasant friends, Bill Shorten, is planning some type of coup to intall himself in Gillard's place. No, seriously, I am not making this up, this is not a joke, yes, apparently Shorten sees himself as our Prime Minister, not in 20 years time, but now. Yes, that bloke with the psycho-eyes. What's with the eyes? He must be as mad as he looks. Bill Shorten as PM? Imagine that. I can see rioting in the streets, Egypt style.

After all of the natural disasters that have been visited upon our great nation in the last few months, why couldn't a flaming fireball of a rogue asteroid plunge through the Earth's atmosphere just above the venue for this gathering and blast a hole of fiery destruction just big enough to wipe out these thoroughly dislikeable people? Why not?

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8210517/awu-national-conference-opens-in-qld

http://www.awu.net.au/712743.html

Mining industry spent $22 million in 2010 in its campaign against Rudd's resource super profit tax

A snip at $22m to get rid of PM
by Mark Davis
Sydney Morning Herald.
February 2, 2011.
smh.com.au
http://www.smh.com.au/business/a-snip-at-22m-to-get-rid-of-pm-20110201-1acgj.html

A political quote to ponder

If Mark had become Prime Minister, he would have had around him an absolutely first-class front bench which would have taken care of any emergency situation that arose....If anything went seriously wrong with the leadership while we were in office, we would have dealt with it.

- Kim Beazley about Mark Latham, quoted in the 2008 book Power plays by Laurie Oakes, p. 326-7