Frost/Rudd: TV great has new leader in his sights Nov 15, 2009
Sir David has quizzed former Australian leaders including Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and John Howard. Join the conversation. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Party's over as Nelson bids fond farewell Nov 15, 2009
He paid tribute to former prime minister John Howard and praised his leadership skills even if they did not extend to giving the former GP a go as health minister. He probably knew my views on public health,'' he said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
God's memo for Kevin and Joe Nov 14, 2009
I heard the occasional quiet prayer for advancement or tastefully framed inquiry about whether I could possibly intervene with John Howard to bring forward his retirement. (Save your blushes, Member for Sturt - I regard such matters as entirely confidential. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Where gravity doesn't seem to exist Nov 12, 2009
I remember John Howard saying he was proud that house prices were going up. Can you imagine him being proud that prices for anything else would be going up. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Missing Soldier's Body Found in Afghan River Nov 12, 2009
Rudd, who ousted conservative leader John Howard in 2007 elections, fulfilled a campaign promise to pull Australia's troops out of Iraq but has consistently said Australia will keep troops in Afghanistan until the threat of terrorism spreading from the country ends. "We in Australia are here for the long haul. We from Australia will remain for the long haul," Rudd said during ceremonies remembering Australian war dead. (Time.com)
Comments 148 Nov 10, 2009
" On average, guns kill or wound 276 people every day in America. Of those shot, about 75 adults and nine children die. That adds up to just over 100,000 victims of gun violence a year. The rate of firearm murders in the United States is about 16 times that in Australia and 26 times that in Britain. In 2000, Britain's Home Office published a study that compared murder rates in the world's capital cities. Canberra had 0.64 homicides per 100,000 people. London had three times that rate.... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Rudd stays afloat in turbulent waters Nov 9, 2009
AUSTRALIANS are split evenly over Kevin Rudd's handling of the asylum-seeker issue which is in contrast to the surge in support for John Howard in 2001 over his handling of the Tampa crisis, the latest Herald/Nielsen poll shows. The poll of 1400 voters taken from Thursday night to Saturday evening, found 45 per cent approve of Mr Rudd's handling of the ''asylum-seeker issue'' while 47 per cent disapprove. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Julie Bishop almost said that whatever the Opposition said about China didn't matter. Nov 9, 2009
"They said on a number of occasions that having worked with John Howard and Alexander Downer and Mark Vaile for so many years they were keen not to lose contact," she said. "They were very keen for Malcolm Turnbull to go there.". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Evangelist PM overdoes the fire and brimstone Nov 9, 2009
The problem with the muscular conservatism of Margaret Thatcher, Dick Cheney and John Howard is that it easily degenerates into bullying and meanness - even sadism. On the other hand, civilised progressiveness as practised by Rudd, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown is open to the taunts of wet, wimpish or wussy. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Right wingers end push to oust Ruddock Nov 8, 2009
Cr Quinn has now expressed interest in Bennelong, represented by John Howard until he was ousted by Maxine McKew in 2007. He joins former tennis player John Alexander and businessman Mark Chan in the contest for the seat. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
In your ears until they bleed, the calm, methodical Rudd Nov 8, 2009
For a group of people who used to get terribly upset and mutter darkly about Orwellianisms when the former PM John Howard introduced legislation making it easier to sack people and called it the ''More Jobs, Better Pay Bill'', the Labor Government is doing pretty well on the contemporary doublespeak front. The least revolutionary Education Revolution in definitional history and the Grocery Choice that didn't actually involve any are but humble nomenclatural handmaidens to the brazen outrage of... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
* World News Quick Take Nov 7, 2009
An angry man threw a boot at former Australian prime minister John Howard during a debate at Cambridge University, the student who caught the shoe said on Thursday ... Asked about his lightning reflexes honed on the cricket pitch, he added: There wasnt a large amount going through my head at the time, other than that we had invited John Howard, he was our guest, and we have to protect him. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
To play king of the middle ground Nov 7, 2009
Despite not sharing his politics, Armstrong, who directed the greenie movie The Age of Stupid, told reporters she was grateful to Johnson for his gallantry, calling him her ''knight on a shining bicycle". And she made this telling observation: ''If you find yourself down a dark alleyway and in trouble I think Boris would be of more use than Ken.'' I would suggest that, when push comes to shove, it is muscular conservatives with the courage of their convictions, of either sex, who are of more use... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
The republic Nov 7, 2009
Former prime minister John Howard says Australia won't become a republic while the current monarch is on the throne ... Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, who led the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) on this date 10 years ago, when Australians rejected a proposed republic, famously blamed the then prime minister, John Howard ... I'm sure this sort of thing would not be tolerated in any other country, apart from Canada and New Zealand and some obscure country which still up holds the same... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
What they said Nov 7, 2009
Former prime minister John Howard derides the Australian student who threw a shoe at him before he addressed an audience in Cambridge: ''It was a pathetic throw. He would never have been in my team. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
Festival off to a flying start Nov 6, 2009
CROWNING GLORYMonarchists gathered at the Tattersalls Club in Sydney yesterday, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the failed republic referendum, to hear their saviour, John Howard, take them on a trip down happy-memory lane. Introducing their man, the ever-faithful convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, David Flint, noted that the disgruntled Australian who failed at his attempt to throw a Doc Marten boot at the former prime minister last week at Cambridge University had only... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Foreign investors flock to Australian property Nov 6, 2009
Kevin Rudd and John Howard have sold out this country's youth ... And John Howard did the same thing. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Ten years on, republic rivals maintain the rage Nov 6, 2009
PHILLIP COOREY AND DAMIEN MURPHY. THE awkward relationship between Malcolm Turnbull and Nick Minchin is unlikely to be improved by Senator Minchin celebrating today's 10th anniversary of the failed republic referendum as a victory of common sense over the ''intelligentsia. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Nasty shoe for nasty times Nov 5, 2009
John Howard And Boot Thrower Doc Martens Ben Power ... John Howard has a Doc Marten boot thrown at him in Cambridge and at the same time is accused of being a racist ... I think John Howard was THE BEST Prime Minister this country ever produced and I was never prouder to be an Australian than when he led this country. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
For Kevin's sake: a potshot at our wizard PM Nov 4, 2009
For decades, Australia has been blessed with lampoonable prime ministers, from the wingnut Billy McMahon to the sonorous Gough, to the bounding self-parody of Hawke, through the sepulchral drama of Keating all the way to John Howard. But Rudd is different; his face a blanker canvas, his language deliberately impenetrable. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Pilger slams govt's asylum-seeker policy Nov 4, 2009
Mr Pilger said the one difference between the actions of Kevin Rudd and former prime minister John Howard was "hypocrisy". Mr Pilger noted that in an essay in The Monthly magazine published not long before Mr Rudd became prime minister, he lauded the moral principles of the good Samaritan and left no doubt that he believed refugees should not be treated the way Jews fleeing Nazi Germany were - that is, prevented from entering western countries, including Australia. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Tiptoeing prince Nov 3, 2009
In 2006, the then prime minister, John Howard, a monarchist, raised doubts about his country's long term commitment. He told the BBC: "I don't believe Australia will become a republic while the Queen is on the throne. Beyond that, I don't know.". (BBC News)
Big is beautiful in land that thrives on foreign affairs Nov 3, 2009
This was so during the Coalition governments of the '50s and '60s and the governments led by Bob Hawke and John Howard from 1983 to 1991 and 1996 to 2007 respectively ... In reporting the outcome of the 2007 election for BBC listeners, the ABC reporter Rafael Epstein described John Howard as opposed to immigration. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Don Lane, Nero and the injustice Nov 2, 2009
November 2, 2009 - 10:46AM. The famous are judged so unfairly. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Keating sprays PM and Costello Nov 2, 2009
MARK METHERELL AND DAN HARRISON. PAUL KEATING has accused the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, of ''disloyalty'' to Labor by appointing a ''policy bum'', Peter Costello, to the Future Fund's board of guardians. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
A big week for John Pilger Nov 2, 2009
The most prominent group, Professor David Flint's Australians for Constitutional Monarchy , scored an early coup by signing up ''the man who broke the heart of the nation'', the former prime minister John Howard, to speak at its event at the Tattersall's Club on Thursday. But the Australian Monarchist League, headed by Philip Benwell, has struck back. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Australia to expand asylum centre Nov 1, 2009
It singles out the Rudd's government's decision early in its term to relax some of the more severe immigration policies brought in by the former Prime Minister John Howard. So the decision to expand the capacity of the Christmas Island detention centre in the Indian Ocean, where asylum seekers arriving by boat, are processed is hugely contentious. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Students find formula for HSC success Oct 31, 2009
John Howard, no less, took up the cudgels, singling out HSC English. It was not only dumber than in his day but it had fallen victim to post-modernism and political correctness, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Rudd turns grubby Oct 31, 2009
One of the most gracious things I have ever seen Kevin Rudd do happened on February 13 last year, at 10 minutes to 10. Brendan Nelson, the then leader of the Liberal Party, had just completed his reply to the Prime Minister's formal speech of national apology to the Aboriginal children removed from their families by former governments. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Getting to know all about you Oct 31, 2009
It was a program born of a time when John Howard was prime minister and of a new "social coalition" between corporates, the welfare sector and government. Cynics feared the "social coalition" was a ploy to cut government funding, and push Australia in the direction of the US with its greater reliance on philanthropy. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
NT intervention failing to make a difference: report Oct 31, 2009
The intervention was started under John Howard in 2007 and continued under the Rudd Government with extra funding amid criticism from affected communities. This is unacceptable treatment. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
On her own head Oct 31, 2009
" That the Canberra A-team is no longer protecting the monarchy means, on the one hand, republicans can't blame John Howard for their troubles any more. But, on the other, the monarchists have lost significant parliamentary firepower. The leading monarchists left in Canberra are Tony Abbott and senators Nick Minchin, Connie Fierravanti-Wells, Cory Bernardi and George Brandis. Here's something strange: Brandis to one side, they are all global-warming sceptics. Flint is one, too. In Australia,... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Rising tide of asylum-seekers: Will Australia let them in? Oct 31, 2009
Sydney, Australia - It is the enduring image of the John Howard era: special-forces troops boarding a Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, to prevent it from docking in Australia with 430 asylum-seekers rescued from their sinking boat. The 2001 incident sparked international condemnation but it helped the conservative prime minister to win his third general election. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Captain Rudd's preferred course - a little to the right Oct 31, 2009
John Howard demonstrated how potent the issue could be. But the Coalition is pursuing it in a haphazard, almost random way. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Frightened! What me! Oct 30, 2009
According to , while John Howard defined himself by the fights he took up, Kevin Rudd is defined and measured by the fights he is avoiding ... According to Peter Hartcher while John Howard defined himself by the fights he took up, Kevin Rudd is defined and measured by the fights he is avoiding. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Gillard steps in to factional hot seat Oct 29, 2009
Mr Farmer, the ultramarathon runner, was drafted by John Howard and entered politics in 2001. He has been challenged for his seat by the former Campbelltown mayor Russell Matheson. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Jackson and Safran Oct 29, 2009
True, there were moments in this rehash of John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me experiment of 50 years ago that came awfully close to blaxploitation, and true, it was impossible not to wonder what would happen to all that brotherly love if Safran's make-up (or whatever it was) started to smudge, but there's always going to be some collateral damage in an approach like his. Not everything works, but what's not to love in a project that seeks to expose the fear and loathing behind racism. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Punters got the rough end of the pineapple Oct 29, 2009
John Howard was forever banging on about mateship, even if he didn't quite fit the blokey mould, while our Kev is constantly evoking the image of the HWAF (hard working Australian family) battling on to overcome seemingly insurmountable hardships. Most Australians proudly espouse the sentiment that, unlike stuffy old England or even the US, this pretty much is a classless society. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Leader the Greens desperately need Oct 29, 2009
The memory of John Howard siding with the Tasmanian forest workers in Hobart in 2004 and going on to win that election has been branded into Rudds mind. The Prime Minister is too politically astute to make the mistake Latham made as party leader to allow the ALP to be seen as siding with the Greens over the interests of everyday working Australians. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Police head to Asia to fight smugglers Oct 28, 2009
But the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, said yesterday the so-called Indonesia solution had begun in ''about 2002'' under the former prime minister John Howard, who provided millions of dollars to Jakarta to assist with processing refugees and preventing illegal migration. Our engagement with Indonesia on these matters is longstanding and that funding of these measures has been going for many years under successive governments,'' Senator Evans said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Sri Lankan asylum seekers refuse to leave boat Oct 28, 2009
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the Indonesia solution had actually begun under former prime minister John Howard, who gave millions of dollars to Jakarta for processing refugees and preventing illegal migration. With MICHELLE GRATTAN, AAP. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Wielding the whip on asylum seekers Oct 27, 2009
In part, this is because the Coalition is in opposition; in part, it is a result of such experienced political warriors as John Howard, Peter Costello and Alexander Downer no longer being in Parliament ... Here, Labor is quick to contrast its own approach with that of John Howard towards children. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
US Senate candidate Michael Capuano visits West Roxbury Oct 27, 2009
Scott Brown, and three independent candidates with Joe Kennedy, John Howard and S. Lusty Lustgarten. The hour-long meeting Saturday was the first of three Open Mike discussions taking place that day in West Roxbury, Milford and Westborough. (Allston Brighton TAB, MA)
Smith calm amid storm Oct 26, 2009
John Howard gave the line credence in the final week of the election campaign six weeks later. As this fight rolls on, its political potency should not be underestimated, but so far it lacks the backbone of eight years ago. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
All Saints fades away Oct 26, 2009
In its time on air, there were many other much-loved characters, including paramedic Bronwyn Craig (Tanner), doctors Vincent Hughes and Jack Quade (Christopher Gabardi and Wil Traval), nurses Erica Templeton and Gabrielle Jaeger (Jolene Anderson and Virginia Gay) and cranky but lovable Dr Frank Campion (John Howard). McGrath believes the cast played the most significant role in the show's longevity. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
The name's Bond - and it's about time we gave him the credit he deserves Oct 26, 2009
John Howard for Nobel Peace prize. Ruddock for Party Animal of the year. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Black and white Oct 26, 2009
It would have seemed very different 50 years ago to the white Texan writer John Howard Griffin, when he embarked on one of the most remarkable one-man social and psychological experiments in history ... John Howard Griffin was a remarkable man. (BBC News -- Americas)
Factional war over as top Liberals declare a truce Oct 25, 2009
During the 2007 federal election campaign his views on no-fault divorce and abortion prompted Kevin Rudd to call on prime minister John Howard to dump him for his ''extremist views. Last week, Mr Hawke said his values had always been ''consistent'' but conceded becoming an MP had made him more moderate. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
The line the new black Barbies won’t cross Oct 25, 2009
It was the same year a white journalist named John Howard Griffin took extreme measures to darken his skin and write about his travels through the deep South passing as a black man. The stories of the intense hatred he experienced were eventually published in the landmark book Black Like Me. (Boston Globe)
Liberals search for star power in 2011 push Oct 24, 2009
THE Liberal Party's search for candidates at the next state election has it talking about recruiting everyone from the former ABC broadcaster Sally Loane to the former right-hand man to John Howard, Arthur Sinodinos, Liberal sources say. Ms Loane has been included on a wish list as a candidate for Coogee and Mr Sinodinos is being looked at to run in the eastern suburbs seat of Vaucluse, replacing the former Opposition leader Peter Debnam, Liberal sources said yesterday. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Racist violence Oct 24, 2009
These are the ones that John Howard and Pauline Hansen competed over in a race to the bottom ... John Howard understood this deep instinctive need to attack the weak and exploited it brilliantly to retain a tainted power. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Rudd on top by keeping off the field Oct 24, 2009
John Howard was a prime minister who defined himself by the fights he picked. He would often champion an unpopular policy, then go into a mighty campaign of public advocacy. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
The Australia clause bites back Oct 24, 2009
Most will remember that after George Bush withdrew America from this first important international agreement to address man-made global warming, John Howard followed suit in a two-nation coalition of the unwilling. Howard resolutely held to this refusal until his 2007 election defeat. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Nelson was 'outstanding:' Turnbull Oct 23, 2009
Senior Liberal Party figures - including the federal opposition leader, former prime minister John Howard and former treasurer Peter Costello - gathered for a dinner in Sydney on Friday night to honour Dr Nelson, who officially resigned from parliament on Monday. Dr Nelson, minister for education and defence in the Howard government, was deposed as opposition leader by Mr Turnbull in August last year. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Senior Neighbors: Oct. 22 Oct 23, 2009
John Howard, financial advisor and registered investment advisor, will be at the Council on Aging to present an informational workshop to help you prepare for the ideal retirement. He will discuss the social changes affecting retirement today, inflation, healthcare, market volatility and the impact of living longer. (Wellesley Townsman, MA)
Backstabbing Liberals look like a rabble without a cause Oct 23, 2009
By the time Alexander Downer imploded on the job in the mid-90s, John Howard was primed and eager to resume the federal Liberal leadership. The Victorian Liberals, too, have had leaders-in-waiting at key moments during their difficult decade in Opposition. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
The Ghost of John Winston Howard Oct 23, 2009
As opines the presence of John Howard is still very much felt in the corridors of parliament house and even more so in the liberals own haunted house. Where for except for the existence of a few skeletons in some cupboards all matters supernatural were unheard of till a few years ago. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Bid to install Howard as rugby league boss given boot Oct 23, 2009
A PUSH to appoint John Howard to a senior position administering rugby league has been torpedoed by the federal Labor minister and South Sydney Rabbitohs diehard Anthony Albanese. The Herald can reveal that Mr Albanese was instrumental behind the scenes in lobbying the NRL against giving the former prime minster a role on the code's new independent commission. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
Jack Nelson - L.A. Times reporter - dies Oct 22, 2009
John Howard Nelson was born on Oct. 11, 1929, in Talladega, Ala. and graduated from high school in Biloxi, Miss. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Crime)
Australian Government Pursues Anti-People Smuggling Accord With Indonesia Oct 22, 2009
The opposition says Rudd has made Australia a magnet for people smugglers by weakening the refugee policies of his predecessor, John Howard. Since winning office in November 2007, Rudd has dismantled Howards Pacific Solution policy of detaining refugees in island camps in third countries and speeded up the assessment of asylum claims. (Bloomberg -- Australia & New Zealand)
Rudd's musical taste like his politics: borrowed from the original Oct 22, 2009
Uncool Kevin, currently trying to give a slightly more melodic tune to policies he has borrowed from John Howard - who was a bit of an original, whatever you thought about him - suits the times, right down to his favourite song, borrowed from the original and made to sound nice. Tony Wright, the National Affairs Editor for The Age, is The Goanna. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Call for compassion before politics Oct 21, 2009
He then invoked the former prime minster John Howard: ''It should not ever be controversial to state as a matter of policy and principle that Australians have the right to decide who comes to this country - our country - and the manner in which they come. . (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Bob Ellis: Who are we protecting ourselves from? Oct 21, 2009
And the Prime Minister is no longer John Howard. Or is he. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Yudhoyono thanks his friends Oct 21, 2009
He is seen as a man of the people - he has been known to sing karaoke-style on the campaign trail - but has also carefully forged strong personal relationships with world leaders, including Mr Rudd and John Howard. Their friendship made it possible for Mr Rudd to pick up the phone two weekends ago and ask that Indonesia intercept a ship of asylum seekers bound for Australia. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Turnbull defends border protection views Oct 20, 2009
October 20, 2009 - 7:54PM. Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says wanting to stop asylum seekers reaching Australian shores by boat does not make him a racist. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)