Represent - September 26

Trouble, and beef stroganoff, on the menu as Malcolm Turnbull admitting he’s indulged in marijuana, and John McCain prioritises the economic crisis over politics (just as well considering his polling)

 So, Malcolm Turnbull Smoked Pot Once Apparently [5:09m]: Download
 Labor Gets Frustrated in the Senate [5:00m]: Download
 Name & Shame [6:57m]: Download
 Name & Shame (P.S.) [2:12m]: Download
 Oh God, Sarah Palin's Talks About the Economy [6:45m]: Download
 Palin's Pastor; Chavez's Master [3:46m]: Download

Malcolm Turnbull has grabbed headlines in the last day - not for his sweeping economic reforms or his leadership issues, but for an admission that he tried pot in his younger days. The news brings with it a new level of bipartisanship for Canberra, with Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirming that she too has tried it, and that it’s no big deal.  No big deal, that is, in comparison with the serving sizes in the ministerial cafeteria. Apparently the serving sizes of beef stroganoff (which well-paid politicians are paying as little as $7 a plate for) were “inadequate” according to NSW Labor MP John Murphy. Murphy thought that the best forum to raise this in was a sitting of parliament. Obviously this didn’t fly too well with just about everyone, from those who seek to defend due process in parliament, to those who can’t afford even an inadequate plate of beef stroganoff.

Pollies protest pissweak portion - has our government lost touch?

Weeks after challenging the validity of Russian troops in Georgia, on the grounds of Georgian sovereignty, the US has overstepped the mark, and the Pakistani border, with a number of incidents occuring this week. It has been alleged that US helicopters have actually dropped troops into Pakistan, chasing down militants from Afghanistan, despite lacking clearance from Pakistani authorities. It is also rumoured that an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has crashed over Pakistan, raising questions of what it was doing there in the first place.

And Sarah Palin has come out and embarrassed herself on CBS, after her minders unwittingly let her stray into the realms of substantive television interviews, and not just showboating her Girl Power. Palin pulled out a few of John McCain’s interview tricks - namely “ask me a different question” and “I’m not sure, I’ll get back to you”.  Some would say these approaches undermine the idea of an interview, but that has been a marked feature of the McCain/Palin campaign. While very happy to pose John McCain’s track record as evidence, she then couldn’t think of anything that actually constituted part of that track record. However, she did make the good point that he is a maverick. Barack Obama’s economic policy, although clearly better, actually has the support of his party, OH MAN HE’S IN THEIR POCKET HE IS. 

Name and Shame

1. Australian Immigration Department - Charging refugees for detention
2. US Military - Crossing the border into Pakistan
3. Students at Oregeon University - Hanging Effigy and Graffiti of Barack Obama

Playlist

• Vanessa di Mata - Baú (SIM)
• Double Dose - Jane’s Addiction
  • Ocean Size (Nothing’s Shocking)
  • Just Because (Strays)
• Diesler - Sandcastle / Bonobo - Flutter (Solid Steel Presents Bonobo: It Came From The Sea)