Raise the Dust is clearly a rusted on Laborite, criticising John Howard (even to the hackney inclusion of Howard’s middle name) about Iraq, but not saying a word about Afghanistan, which is supported by Labor.

Iraq, like John Howard, is over. Afghanistan is still on, with Labor’s help. Australian soldiers are still being killed; the whole thing is a mess without end.

Lorry (that’s a truck isn’t it?) is still fighting the class war – “upper class twits” – there is no politician dead or alive who was ever “upper class” – they have all been pretty low class!

The sooner they abolish compulsory voting so that people like these two don’t have to vote, the better off Australia will be.

"It is easy to be cynical in the modern world. To do so often feels like rebellion, but it merely masks an acceptance..." says Justin George.

Not necessarily so. I have been cynical of the Australian political system for over 10 years at least, and in forums like this and elsewhere have often advocated trying to change it by voting the 2 major parties last. Which is what Justin George himself is essentially recommending. It's about the only lawful option I can think of that might work.

But do you think enough Australians will do it? Not likely given the experience of past elections, given the way young people are educated about political matters in the government's schools, given the slanted media coverage thrust upon us, and given the essential stupidity of so many of Australia's people.

Call me a cynic if you like, but I will need to see some positive results before believing anything will change as a result of Justin George's nice article. Pity!

If you want to change this economic oppression,then reform the banking system.The RBA paid the Aust Govt in 08/09 a dividend of $ 5.9 billion.Our our economy grows by and average of 3% and we have an average inflation rate of 3.5%.So the money supply is increased annually by 6.5%.Now our GDP is $1.2 trillion and 6.5% of this is $78 billion but our Govt only got $ 5.9 billion.Who created the rest of the $72 billion? Well the private banking system does and much of it is borrowed for global reserve banks who create it in their computers.

This is why we are so much debt.Our personal debt is now bigger than our GDP and higher than USA per capita debt.We have given out GDP to foreign bankas to be loaned back to us as debt.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It is not daylight but an oncoming express train, and the people it is going to run down, like Augusto Pinochet was run down, is going to be the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police first up, and then eat its way up and down the food chain, taking the superannuation and wealth from some of our lazy and severely criticized judiciary, unless they start doing their job properly.

The sad part is that it does not need to happen. The Commissioner Australian Federal Police can do his job, and the International Criminal Court can be held at bay, and denied jurisdiction. The struthious conduct of every High Court since 1952, must end for them to enjoy a peaceful retirement. Struthious means make like an ostrich. Bury your head in the sand, and hope that the train never reaches the platform. Rules 6.06 and 6.07 of the High Court Rules 2004, must be set aside to avoid retribution.

Kevin Rudd like Keating introduced some serious reforms, and these were supported by the Opposition, in most cases. Kicking and screaming, the Commonwealth Government has made itself again liable to criminal sanctions, and by S 64 Judiciary Act 1903 is in law the same as you and me. S 65 allows a Ch III Constitution court of Judicature, that is a court with judges, as an administrative act, as in a fully functioning democracy, on order of the Presiding Justice, to issue a warrant on the Consolidated Commonwealth Revenue.

This warrant for a penalty is due from the Commonwealth because it is not enforcing the law of the Commonwealth on the States. These nasty State Governments, have blatantly flaunted the laws of the Commonwealth, by creating themselves as God. In our law, based on a big family, Almighty God is the father, the Queen is His delegate in law, and all jurisdiction derives from Almighty God through Her. The Parliament of the Commonwealth has put in place an International Court that can exercise jurisdiction over even Her. This happened in 2002

The advent of Christianity was the most radical event ever to overtake mankind. It tipped almost everything then in force on its head, and by the Gospels, gave us a template for a fully functional democracy. Those who would destroy democracy, also deny that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a law of the Commonwealth. Some of our learned legally qualified co-posters have argued that it is not a Schedule 2 to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 and display their poor education, by not knowing that by S 12 and 13 Acts Interpretation Act 1901 it is law.

They are still displaying their mediocrity when they deny that Schedule 1 to the International Criminal Court Act 2002, is the Statute of Rome. They are displaying their mediocrity when they deny the enforcement of S 268:11 and 12 of the Criminal Code Act 1995. They will find out that six judges, a plural number on the International Criminal Court do have jurisdiction to enforce that Statute, and any Judge and Magistrate in Australia who does not do his job, and abide the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can and will lose his job. There is in Australia one David-Wyn:Miller a radical educator from Hawaii with an IQ of about 200, who claims that under the International Criminal Court he has obtained the resignation of about 4,000 Judges.

This is radical, and just as Jesus Christ was radical, so too is he. He says that all language can be reduced to a mathematical formula, and this radical syntax reduces human behavior to a code of conduct. The Holy Bible is a code of conduct, and it contains all the necessary essentials for a fully functioning democracy. Jury trials come straight out of the Holy Bible. The Lord said: Judge not that ye be not judged. Matthew 7:1. We all sin in that respect, but on election day, we are going to be judging Julia. As a collective the Christian Big Jury will decide. The Christian little juries could forgive our judiciary

Briar Rose - You say that Howard and Rudd saw us through dangerous economic times; and while I agree with other things you've written, I can't accept this about Howard. In particular, the Howard Govt let the housing bubble get out of control, and that means interest rate movements are WAY more sensitive than would otherwise have been the case, locking many out of the market. Not to mention failing to invest in infrastructure and education.

Yabby: You portray any debate about socialised mining as belong to the past, going against the accepted wisdom of the market etc.

But we could have public mining enterprises that operated in a competitive INTERNATIONAL context. The competitive pressures would still apply, but within Australia the profits would be socialised. And I think we're talking tens of billions.

It's possible to have a democratic mixed economy; with a strategic mix of public and private; maintaining competition where appropriate; or having natural monopoly where appropriate. (water, energy, transport infrastructure, communications infrastructure etc)

The best way is to decide public or private on a case by case basis; but the neo-liberal ideology allows for virtually no exception.

It's also possible to have a democratic private sector via mutalism, collective capital formation and co-operatives.