The Lucky Companies

New Australian PM Kevin Rudd had his first budget yesterday. It stands to reason that the Wall Street Journal would be complaining regardless of what was in it, since Rudd is in that job instead of their beloved John Howard. In fact, the content of their complaint is an interesting example of how they twist their doctrinaire economic positions to match the circumstances. Here is part of their context-setting --

On revenues, Mr. Rudd and his treasurer, Wayne Swan, are lucky fellows. Since 2003, corporate tax revenues have doubled as Australia's resource sector profited from the global commodities boom.

Could this be the same Wall Street Journal which constantly argues that the only way to increase corporate tax revenues is to lower corporate tax rates -- with Ireland as their favourite example? Sure enough, it turns out that they need the point about booming resource revenues to rescue their advocacy of lower corporate tax rates from redundancy --

The government also did little to make its corporate sector more competitive – something that may come back to bite when the commodity boom deflates, and along with it tax revenues. The budget doesn't touch Australia's 30% corporate tax rate – one of the highest in the developed world.

It's tough always believing that lower taxes bring in more revenue for a case like Australia, so they have to make the resource exception and claim that lower tax rates would still be better. But if Australian companies are raking in the A$ simply by virtue of sitting over a big pile of natural resources, that's just as easily a case for leaving taxes exactly as they are -- or even increasing them. Those resources aren't going anywhere. Needless to say, the Journal doesn't much like the resource windfall logic, in another context --

Cue that old Labor standby: raising taxes. Tuesday's biggest revenue items included a A$640 million hike on alcoholic drinks and A$564 million windfall tax on a form of crude oil.

But as their own facts show, you get more revenue with more taxation of resource-based companies. The WSJ may be looking past January 20, 2009, and realizing what a parallel agenda might look like in the USA.

We'd all like to forget her

Israeli President Shimon Peres is various things. One of them is ... a tad absent-minded --

Your eight years were very moving years, for all of us --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

PRESIDENT PERES: -- (inaudible), that you can really watch a friendship without any bad mood. And I know that you are not a simple messenger. (Laughter.) But you never interrupted your understanding, your support --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

PRESIDENT PERES: -- and really trying to do whatever you, your administration and the lady who is on the State Department really did then to help us negotiate a difficult time.

Hopefully the actual implementation is clearer

Is the new Iraqi military operation called Operation Lion's Roar or Operation Mother of the Two Springs? Given the glorious lineage encompassing operations such as Together Forward (Forward Together), Together Forward (Forward Together) II, Imposing Law, and Del Boca VistaCharge of the Knights (Phases I-III) -- among others -- it's important to get these details straight.

A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man

George Bush, in an interview with Yahoo News/Politico --

Q Mr. President, we know you're a man of intense faith. And I wonder, what was a moment in this room over the past eight years when you needed that most?

THE PRESIDENT: Michael, I'd say daily. I mean, part of the faith walk is to understand your weaknesses and is to constantly try to embetter yourself and get closer to the Lord. And that's a daily occurrence. Obviously there's been some tough moments in here. When you know that somebody lost their loved one as a result of a decision that I made, that's a tough moment. If you're a faithful person you try to empathize with the suffering that that person is going through. On the other hand, there is a knowledge that the good Lord can comfort during these moments of grief. And that's what I ask for in my prayer.

Besides his unusual usage (embetter), note that his application of faith is feeling sorry for other people but not questioning himself. It's faith in himself.

9/11 changed everything

If by "changed", you mean stepped up tax evasion activities allowing billionaire US property developers to park assets with Swiss banks, shielding them from the Internal Revenue Service. From an American indictment of a former Union Bank of Switzerland private banker and a Liechtenstein tax consultant --

On or about September 13, 2001, defendant MARIO STAGGL caused to be sent from Vaduz, Liechtenstein to I.0. (Igor Olenicoff) at an address in the United States promotional materials that marketed the use of Liechtenstein trusts, foundations and other entities to evade United States and Swiss tax.

Next he'll be on the "peace train"

George Bush, during an interview with al-Arabiya --

I'm a peace man.

Also --

Look, the Palestinians are very entrepreneurial people.

At least he didn't propose unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit with a flat tax.

China isn't Burma

In China, after a disaster, the army tries to save people.

Photo (soldiers assembling before a rescue operation): Reuters stringer.

The good news is, it's not about oil

William Kristol in Monday's New York Times --

Americans grasp that Israel’s very existence to some degree embodies the defeat and repudiation of the genocidal totalitarianism of the 20th century. They understand that its defense today is the front line of resistance to the jihadist terror, and the suicidal nihilism, that threaten to deform the 21st.

So now Israel, and not Afghanistan or Iraq, is the central front on the war on terror. But no explanation of how al-Qaeda, an entity with no state attached to it, could mount a threat similar to Hitler. Unless he doesn't mean al-Qaeda at all, but Iran. Which is how he started the article. Interestingly, the one presidential candidate who's equally fuzzy on the distinction between al-Qaeda and Iran is John McCain.

UPDATE: Kristol apparently was continuing the roll-out of Iran as the number 1 threat --

JERUSALEM (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Monday called Iran the "single biggest threat" to peace in the Middle East ahead of a visit to the region centered on celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary.

"To me it's the single biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, the Iranian regime," because of its nuclear programme and its support of groups like the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Bush told Israel's Channel 10.

It's like al-Qaeda never happened.

Finally, she'll see Bush economics in action

The Jenna Bush wedding --

After the wedding, the couple is rumored to be honeymooning in Europe, although the White House would not comment.

The dollar will be getting about 50p or 65 euro cents.

"The Economist" discovers Photoshop

This week's UK edition. Aside from the fact that one doesn't want to think too much about Gordon's body, the image of himself as a saint (Sebastian) and martyr might be comforting to him. Albeit an allegedly gay saint.

They feel our pain

The Guinness Park Royal brewery in Brent, closed by Diageo in 2005. A tribute to the building (and photo source). Here's another photo documentary, focused on the workers.

UPDATE: Diageo was too aware of the PR disaster of closing St James's Gate. But it will be a much reduced operation.

Finally, a reason to use that Darth Vader clip

The only appropriate reaction to --

[RTE] Diageo says it will make an announcement tomorrow on the future of its brewing operations in Ireland including the historic Guinness brewery at St James's Gate.

It has been anticipated for some time that the company plans to consolidate its operations in Ireland into a new green-field site.

Diageo Chief Executive Paul Walsh is to fly to Dublin for a news conference at St James's Gate tomorrow morning.

We've been warning about Diageo's ownership of Guinness for years.

UPDATE: Diageo was too aware of the PR disaster of closing St James's Gate. But it will be a much reduced operation.

National profiling

Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi did 3.5 years in Guantanamo Bay. He was released into the custody of the Kuwaiti government, charged with terrorism there, and acquitted. He showed up last week in Mosul as a suicide bomber, having apparently entered Iraq via Syria, killing himself and several Iraqi army soldiers.

Conclusion: No one should ever be released from Gitmo and everyone who is still there should be detained forever.

That's what the reactionaries will argue. But in fact it shows what happens in the twilight legal world that Gitmo represents. Without any checks or balances on what happens, who gets in or out is determined more by where they are from than what they are alleged to have done. So citizens of favoured Gulf allies are released while people with little or no evidence against them can languish for years.

There's also the possibility that Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi was embittered by his time in Guantanamo Bay, which would form another classic Bush reason for not releasing anyone: by locking them up, you've made them a threat, and so you can't let them go.

A la carte commitments

John McCain thinks that the US is locked into Iraq for a long time as a result of actions already taken by George Bush. He, or at least his foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann has a more flexible view of what counts as a Bush commitment when it comes to Russia -- where Bush and Vladimir Putin set out a positive-sounding framework for US-Russia relations at their farewell summit in Sochi --

Mr Scheunemann added that given what he depicted as the problems of working with Russia in the United Nations Security Council, the US would have to “look beyond the UN” and work with countries and groups of states in imposing sanctions on Tehran.

For several years Mr McCain has also endorsed the idea of expelling Russia from the G8 group of industrialised nations.

Mr Scheunemann went on to describe a framework agreement adop­ted last month by President George W. Bush and Mr Putin as “a legacy document between two outgoing ­presidents.”

So McCain would cobble together a new coalition of the willing to impose sanctions on Iran (and perhaps some other stuff), expel Russia from the G8, and dump the final understanding between Bush and Putin as a "legacy document". Which of course it is. But has McCain thought through the implications of such an aggressive posture towards Russia? In Iraq, everything is predetermined. With Russia, everything can be made up on the fly.

What chance have you got against a tie and a crest?

What to the three men above have in common? Ask Andrew Sullivan, who has somehow arrived at the view that Boris Johnson and David Cameron represent a similar radical and un-conservative tendency as Barack Obama in politics.

Joint exit

Bertie Ahern and Ian Paisley yuk it up for one last time in their leadership positions before leaving office this week -- at the official opening of the Battle of Boyne site near Drogheda. Apparently all Ireland's history is now done and dusted, and Bertie and Ian can put their feet up and hope that the rest of us don't waste their selfless legacy. By the way, what does Bertie have stuffed under his jacket -- large enough that the jacket no longer fits very well?

Photo: REUTERS/PA Pool/Niall Carson

It's a shout-out to Benedict

Amid tough competition, perhaps the strangest aspect of fin-de-siecle George Bush is the tilt towards his own brand of Catholicism [ABC Good Morning America] --

Q Jenna did not want to get married here at the White House, wants to get married at the ranch in Crawford. So what have you done to make it special there? I know that it's always special at the ranch, but for this wedding?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, one thing we did -- I'll let Laura -- she's been in charge, but my one contribution is to -- we put a giant cross made out of Texas limestone that will serve as the altar, but also serve as a landmark on our place for years to come.

Q That's beautiful. So it's right there -- that's where the altar --

THE PRESIDENT: That's where she's going to get married, right in front of this Texas limestone altar with a cross on it -- by our lake.

Protestants don't do giant crosses. This sounds like one that he wants to be able to see from Air Force 1. One wonders what the Middle East will make of the wedding photos.

UPDATE: Picture added. There seems to be Stonehenge aspect to the cross -- both in terms of the altar and Bush's description of it as "giant" relative to its actual size, suggesting a Spinal Tap-esque mistake over the dimensions.

So he is Barack O'Bama after all

The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan comes up with an interesting analogy for why Barack Obama should get a little slack for having sat through Jeremiah Wright's sermons --

This week I talked to a young man, an Irish-American to whom I said, "Am I wrong not to feel anger about Wright?" He more or less saw it as I do, but for a different reason, or from different experience.

He said he figures Mr. Wright's followers delight in him the same way he delights in the Wolfe Tones, the Irish folk group named for the 18th-century leader condemned to death by the British occupying forces, as they say on their Web site. They sing songs about the Brits and how they subjugated the Irish and we'll rise up and trounce the bastards.

My 20-year-old friend has lived a good life in America and is well aware that he is not an abused farmer in the fields holding secret Mass in defiance of the prohibitions of the English ruling class. His life has not been like that. Yet he enjoys the bitterness. He likes going to Wolfe Tones concerts raising his fist, thinking "Up the Rebels." It is good to feel that old ethnic religious solidarity, and that in part is what he is in search of, solidarity. And it's not so bad to take a little free-floating anger, apply it to politics, and express it in applause.

He knows the dark days are over. He just enjoys remembering them even if he didn't experience them. His people did.

I know exactly what he feels, for I felt the same when I was his age. And so what? It's just a way of saying, "I'm still loyal to our bitterness." Which is another way of saying, "I'm still loyal." I have a nice life, I'm American, I live far away, an Englishman has never hurt me, and yet I am still Irish. I can prove it. I can summon the old anger.

One could extend the thought. It's not just Irish traditional music where this happens. The crowds always seem very into the defiance of "Irish Blood, English Heart" at Morrissey concerts. On the other hand, it's worth asking whether the Wolfe Tones represented a posture or a real political position -- and if it's the latter, then it's a political position long since dumped in Ireland during the time of the Great Helmsman, Bertie Ahern.

But prior to that, were they a harmless outlet for vestigial nationalism, or a ready recourse for sloganeering and cynical opposition to change? The relevance for Barack Obama is whether he might realize that doing things he wants to do might involve turning his back on things that were part of his identity for a long time.

America, 2008

Tapes 'N Tapes with Hang Them All. Inflation, poverty, and convenience store robbery culture all in one. Brilliant.

Separate Peace

Bertie Ahern --

After so many decades of conflict, I am so proud, Madam Speaker, to be the first Irish leader to inform the United States Congress:

Ireland is at peace.

The picture shows the "interface" between Springmartin Road and Upper Ballygomartin Road in Belfast, dividing the Catholic and Protestant communities. More background here.

Photo: Frankie Quinn for Belfast Interface Project. Here is their map of the 41 interfaces.

The Red Sea crisis zone

Not an original point, but watching John McCain tie himself in knots trying to deny that oil is the reason that the US invaded Iraq brings up the obvious counterpoints: if the reason that the US keeps ground forces in Iraq is to prevent al Qaeda from taking control of what would otherwise be a failed state, then why are US troops not in Somalia and Yemen, where al-Qaeda linked insurgencies do threaten weak or failed states? Or, if it's sufficient to use air attacks to keep al Qaeda in check in Yemen and Somalia, why is that not sufficient in Iraq?

Lost in translation

In Boris Johnson's victory speech at City Hall, he thanked, among others, "the knocker uppers", a somewhat unfortunate usage given its American slang interpretation and that business with Petronella Wyatt.

Praying to whom?

George Bush, finishing up an extended tale, that he has told many times before, about being asked to choose a rug for the Oval Office --

Here's an interesting lesson about the presidency and life in general, if you're delegating. I said to Laura -- I said, I want the rug to say "optimistic person comes to work." I didn't say, here are the colors. In other words, I left the tactics to her, and the strategic thought was mine. The strategic thought is, behind that, is that you can't possibly lead unless you're optimistic that tomorrow is going to be better. And just so you know, I hope at least one thing you come away from this is, I am absolutely optimistic, in my very soul and very core, that in the defense of America, we're laying the foundation for peace.

And so the rug looks like the sun. And you walk in, man, I'm telling you, it is optimistic. (Laughter.) It's a fabulous rug. (Applause.)

Yes.

Q I just want to start by saying that my mom prays for you every day. (Applause.)

Prayer that he can make a good choice of rug?

Why does George Bush hate western Pennsylvania?

In St Louis --

And they're sophisticated -- you know, 19 kids on three airplanes -- it's a sophisticated operation -- four airplanes, excuse me.

Why did he initially think 3 -- when he prides himself on remembering 9.11 better than other Americans? Probably because his brain misfired over United 93, which was brought down over Shanksville Pa. and didn't hit another building.

America's NHS Trojan Horse

George Bush in St Louis --

I'll tell you an interesting story about that. The Veterans Administration in New Orleans was clobbered during Katrina. And so you had a lot of veterans leaving the New Orleans area -- many of them going to Houston, for example -- but they had electronic medical records. It turns out the Veterans Affairs is generally ahead of the rest of the field. And all they did was take their chip and they plugged it into the computers in Houston, and the whole medical records was available. That's -- not only it's good for the customer, the patient, but what I'm telling you is it'll help wring out the inefficiencies in the system. Health care is an inefficient system right now.

Who runs the Veterans Affairs health system? The government. And without barring people with pre-existing conditions.

The Mexican insurgency

George Bush sends his 5th of May greetings on 2nd of May --

Cinco de Mayo is a joyful day in Mexican history and an important milestone in the history of freedom. On May 5, 1862, an outnumbered band of Mexican soldiers defeated a large European power against overwhelming odds at the Battle of Puebla. Emboldened by victory and yearning for independence, Mexican patriots ultimately won independence in 1867. Today, we remember these heroic accomplishments and all those working to advance peace and liberty around the globe.

A small band of locals takes on an invading power, wins one victory and lays the groundwork for eventual expulsion of the foreign power. Sounds like ... 1776 and somewhere else in the news right now ...

Where are they now?

The Abraham Lincoln, the aircaft carrier upon which George Bush landed on May 1 2003 to deliver his end of major combat operations/Mission Accomplished speech, was recently moved to the Persian Gulf. It's unusual to have two aircraft carriers there at once. One wonders if Bush has more plans for that banner.

Even flow

Andrew Sullivan is future-blogging --

Friday, May 2, 2008
After Wright Week

02 May 2008 10:39 am

He's in Washington, where it was 7.20pm on Thursday 1 May when that post appeared.

UPDATE: He pulled the post. Will it reappear at the indicated time later today?

FINAL UPDATE: The post comes back. The future-blogging only works if you don't post the stuff when you wrote it. More strange practices from Sully documented here.

Let's just call May Day "Irony Day"

Once again it is an overloaded calendar, as May Day must compete with Mission Accomplished Day, Loyalty Day, and Law Day for the American nation's attention. This year's theme for Law Day is The Rule of Law --

Nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta placed the authority of government under the rule of law; centuries later, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution marked tremendous advances in the march of liberty. These documents established enduring principles that guide modern democracies. Today, we are reminded of that past and look toward a hopeful future as we work to secure the liberty that is the natural right of every man, woman, and child.

On Law Day, U.S.A., our Nation celebrates our belief in the equality of each person before God and renews our commitment to strive to bring America ever closer to its founding ideals.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, in accordance with Public Law 87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2008, as Law Day, U.S.A. I call upon all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also call upon Government officials to display the flag of the United States in support of this national observance.

This would be the same George Bush who believes that domestic laws do not constrain a president in a time of war, and who has denied terrorist suspects the habeas corpus right from the Magna Carta. One other question -- is it a violation of Loyalty Day to mention the Mission Accomplished banner?

Solidarity

The most troublesome aspect of Bertie Ahern's speech to Congress yesterday was this --

So we are profoundly aware of those challenges as we ask you to consider the case of our undocumented Irish immigrant community in the United States today. We hope you will be able to find a solution to their plight that would enable them to regularise their status and open to them a path to permanent residency.

i.e. special pleading for illegal Irish immigrants, right before he went on to quote the famous words from the Statue of Liberty, words which offer the ideal of a welcome to everyone. The real courage would have been to make a parallel with the modern day equivalent of the poor but striving Irish masses arriving at Ellis Island -- the millions of Mexican immigrants who would hope to be part of a general immigration reform next year. Hiving off the relatively small Irish group into a special deal would remove a politically influential group from the broader cause.

White House photo by Chris Greenberg