i love the tour, and go cadel! but there is no way cyclings event is the world premier event...

you forget yourself sprint.

world cup and then olympics, then the tour.

anyway good on Iraq, they played with hearts, even though Korea, Saudi and Australia whom they all beat are way better teams, it  goes to show a lot of heart (and a good european coach) can get you a long way.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21404747-2703,00.html

DESPITE sectarian slaughter, ethnic cleansing and suicide bombs, an opinion poll conducted on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has found striking resilience and optimism among the inhabitants.

The poll, the biggest since coalition troops invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, indicates that by a majority of two to one, Iraqis prefer the current leadership to Saddam Hussein's regime despite the collapse of security and lack of public services.

The survey, published yesterday, found that contrary to the views of many Western analysts, most Iraqis do not believe they are in a civil war.

Officials in Washington and London are likely to be buoyed by the poll, conducted by the Opinion Research Business, a British market research company that funded its own survey of 5019 Iraqis over 18.

But the poll highlights the impact that sectarian violence has had. About 26 per cent of Iraqis - 15 per cent of Sunnis and 34 per cent of Shi'ites - have suffered the murder of a family member.

Kidnapping also plays a terrifying role: 14 per cent of Iraqis have had a relative, friend or colleague abducted, rising to 33 per cent in Baghdad, since the fall of Saddam.

But 49 per cent of those questioned preferred life under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to living under Saddam, while 26 per cent said things were better in Saddam's era, 16 per cent said they were as bad as each other and the rest did not know or refused to answer.

Not surprisingly, the divisions in Iraqi society were reflected in the statistics: Sunnis were more likely to back the previous Ba'ath Party regime (51 per cent) while the Shi'ites (66 per cent) preferred the Maliki Government.

A surprise was that only 27 per cent believed they were caught up in a civil war. Again, that number divided along religious lines, with 41 per cent of Sunnis believing Iraq was in civil war, while 15 per cent of Shi'ites thought things were that bad.

In a boost for the other arm of the surge, Sunni tribes from Anbar have united to oppose al-Qa'ida, sending thousands of young men to join the government security forces and co-operating with US and Iraqi commanders.

One question showed the sharp divide in attitudes towards the continued presence of foreign troops in Iraq. About 53 per cent of Iraqis believe security would improve after the withdrawal of foreign forces, while only 26 per cent think it will get worse.

Despite the sectarian divide, 64per cent of Iraqis still want to see a united Iraq under a central national government.

One statistic that bodes ill for Iraq's future is the number of people who have fled the country, many of them middle-class professionals. Baghdad has been hard hit by the brain drain - 35 per cent said a family member had left the country.

Quote:

Hmm, I agree.

Although I would be a supporter of change were Saddam never ousted, I would support that change from within, not from outside.

Saddam would have been the mediator.

He could have also handed out fairy floss on the street corner.....

Classic Liberal wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2007 at 9:29pm:


Pender is a juden

The Australian Wheat Board included $290 000 000 worth of bribes to Saddam Hussein as deductions in it's tax return. The Australian Tax Office saw no problem with this and has accepted their inclusion. Meanwhile Australian farmers are rallying behind the AWB, despite the risk of economic fallout for them resulting from the kickbacks scandal. I guess they considered the risks and thought they would get more money with the AWB doing 'whatever it takes' to sell their product for them.

To me this indicates that foreign troops are still having a net beneficial effect in Iraq (though it would be good to see the actual numbers). Having destabilised the country politically and destroyed many of their critical institutions, we should feel obligued to help them rebuild.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22337285-31477,00.html

THE US troop surge in Iraq has thrown al-Qa'ida off balance and produced a dramatic reduction in sectarian killings and a drop in roadside bombings.

David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, said the build-up of American forces in Baghdad since late January had produced positive outcomes. These included the killing or capture of al-Qa'ida fighters, causing the terrorist group to lose influence with local Sunnis.

General Petraeus told The Australian during a face-to-face interview at his Baghdad headquarters there had been a 75 per cent reduction in religious and ethnic killings since last year, a doubling in the seizure of insurgents' weapons caches between January and August, a rise in the number of al-Qa'ida "kills and captures" and a fall in the number of coalition deaths from roadside bombings.

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AWB breaching the law, says Labor

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/AWB-breaching-the-law-says-Labor/2007/09/13/1189276890657.html

A fresh ruckus is erupting around AWB as the disgraced company prepares to handle one last wheat pool.

Labor and farm groups are outraged by an apparent attempt to insert extra costs into the 2007-08 wheat pool.

Opposition primary industries spokesman Kerry O'Brien says the costs of winding up AWB International along with costs from previous seasons are being included in the up-coming pool.

"I have received legal advice which raises serious concerns about AWB's conduct in relation to this final pool," Senator O'Brien told the Senate.

How do we feel about that?

I feel as though he is a just a  sacrifice for the Bush administration.

Supposed to have killed thousands but being charged and convicted over the death of 147 kurds..

Whats going on???