American Election 2012: Singalong Edition

As 2012 slowly shakes off 2011 and starts to evolve into it's own fully formed year, it's probably worth taking note of what will be one of this year's defining events: the 2012 US Presidential Election.

Well, you may as well take note of it, as it will be impossible to avoid it.

With the global obsession with American culture showing no signs of flagging, and poltiical candidates showing an ever greater reliance on social media and the internet, the US election is now something that goes far beyond battleground states like Ohio and Florida. It's now everywhere and anywhere, an enormously expensive, theatrical game of high stakes poker played out by power suited men and women who have decided that this is the year to chance their arm and try for the top job. It's a bit like the 'West Wing' really, although without all the robust policy debate, and a bit like a reality TV show, although without the really ace prizes.

And, as such, it's totally captivating. Certainly much more so than our locally produced version of the same thing, which seems to be composed entirely of two dour, thoroughly unlikeable gits telling an indifferent public how much they hate everything.

But the Yanks infuse their election cycle with a large degree of splash and showmanship, so as to try and keep people's attention. Which is probably needed, as their election campaign runs on much longer than you would think is necessary. It is now January, with the election set for November 7, and the Republican candidates have been at it, and each other, for about 3 months. Longer if you factor in the time they spend fund raising and organising before the politickin' actually begins.

But before we get down to any sort of serious analysis of how the US election may unfold this year, it's probably worth highlighting another prominent feature of politics in the states.

Nuttiness.

That's right, things always get a little nutty, a little fruity and a little weird on the campaign trail in America. This can come from the candidates themselves or the public, but the light hearted, high spirited, loopy fru fru spirit is never far from the surface in any Presidential campaign.

Two examples.

In the recently concluded Republican Primary in New Hampshire (won by front runner Mitt Romney), second place fell to veteran congressman Ron Paul, from Texas. Known as something of a maverick and an outsider, Paul has campaigned on a platform of aggressive individual rights and the fundamental destruction of the apparatus of modern American Government. His second placing was something of a surprise, considering the radical nature of his policies, but even more surprising was his choice of theme music at his celebratory after party:



Very few, if any, political candidates had thought to employ the Imperial Theme from Star Wars on their side before.

On the other side of the aisle, President Obama is set to face an uphill battle for re-election, with a struggling economy and high unemployment reflected in his lowly approval rating. With the figures as they are at this moment, no US President has been re-elected with such low poll numbers or with so many people out of work.

Nevertheless, Barack's formidable fund raising and campaigning skills mean he cannot be discounted. Doubly so while his opponents are flirting with nominating Darth Vader as their candidate. Also worth considering is the fervent personal following Obama inspires in people, which manifest itself in many different ways:



The bloke that posted this, 'barackdubs,' has got a million of these!

Roll on 2012!

THE OBAMAS TAKE ENGLAND AND IRELAND (IN PICTURES!)

As everyone in the world is probably aware, Barack and Michelle Obama, President and First Lady of the United States, recently went to the UK and Ireland for a six day visit. And while it wasn't the first time they'd been there... and there was no specific reason for the visit... and nothing of any real substance was debated or decided... nevertheless, I think everyone in the world was in agreement that the whole thing was THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER! At least since Kate and Wills rushed off to the church so they could get married before Kate announced she's preggers. Oh ho! Did I actually say that part out loud? I've said too much!

But more on that another time. For now, pictorial highlights of the Obama's abroad:


HAIR

The gravity of the Obama's mission to the UK was established early, with earnest discussion, analysis and many pictures of Michelle Obama's hair BLOWING IN THE WIND as she stepped off of Air Force One. Dylan was right, the answer my friend, really is...



CURLING

The Obama's first stop was in Ireland, where one of the locals was generous enough to give Barack a curling stick as a present. From the look in his eye, he appears to be thinking about using it on one of his Repuiblican opponents... or anyone who says he was actually born in Kenya.



T-SHIRTS

Of course, the Irish were pretty excited to find out that Barack was actually an Irishman himself, as his Great Grandfather on his mother's side hailed from there. This guaranteed Barack a warm welcome in the country, and guaranteed that many fine t-shirts, commemorating the fact, would be produced. This one - 'BIFFO: Barrack is from Feckin Offaly' - just one among many.



COUPLE OF DRINKS

And like any Irishman, Barack is a man who enjoys a drink... or two... of twenty... So I says, Yeah! You want that money, come and find it, coz I don't know where it is you baloney! You make me wanna... retch.



CROWDS

The Obama's then moved onto England, where the President demonstrated his unprecedented pulling power with the European crowds was undiminished. I mean, George W. Bush used to pull crowds this size, but they were mainly young people there to set off smoke bombs and fight with the riot police, so it wasn't quite the same.



THE QUEEN

The Obama's would have an audience with the Queen which provided an opportunity for many photos of the world's most powerful man grinning like a nervous schoolboy, while the assembled press waited with bated breath to see if the bloke on the right would say anything about 'darkies' or 'coons.'



NAPKIN

BARACK: What do you call this thing again?

THE QUEEN: A napkin.

BARACK: Outrageous!



BBQ

The Obama's would also spend some time with the Camerons, David and Samantha, Prime Minister and... ummm... wife?... of England. For the chaps, this gave them an excellant opportunity to do one of those things that male politicians love best: getting down to their shirt sleeves and pretending to be like regular folk. Here barbecuing for some military cadets at the back of the PM's residence...




TABLE TENNIS

... and here playing table tennis at a local school. Eye of the Tiger Barack!



MICHELLE O. VERSUS SAM CAM

Looking either really friendly or like they're about to punch on, the First Lady and the... errr... Wife of the PM? Go toe to toe outside Number 10 Downing Street.



WASHING THE CAR

And here's a photo of some underling washing the Obama's car... Did I tell you I was a bit obsessed with them? Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Speaking of the Obama mobile - sometimes referred to as 'The Beast' - here is the undoubted highlight of the Obama's trip:



Even for the coolest couple in the world, not everything goes to plan.

Best Photos of the Week - 30 January 2011

Let there be no doubt, I have a bit of a thing for photographs. Not enough to get a camera and go out and take any but... well, I like to pace myself. In the absence of any work of my own, then, here is another array of remarkable pictures from the week just passed.

THONGS

Photo: Tracey Nearmy
Thousands of people flocked to Bondi Beach on Australia Day to take part in something called 'The Giant Thong Challenge': Essentially walking around all day with an inflatable plastic thong emblazoned with advertising slogans. The US celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Fance the storming of the Bastille... and we celebrate Giant Thong Day. It's a rich cultural history we have in this country, there can be no question.

TEXT

Photo: K.M.Chaudry
12 people were killed when twin suicide bombers targeted Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. A 12 year old boy lies injured in the street, in the immediate aftermath of the Karachi attack... and it looks as though he's texting someone about what's happened. But that can't be right... surely?

POULTRY

Photo: Jeff Mitchell
Karmel Kwipprath and Donald Bruce prepare to show their entry into the '2011 Scottish National Poultry Show.' Am I alone in wishing we could hear them talk too?

WHALE

Photo: Paolo Lazzeroni
An 82 foot long whale fatally beaches itself on the beach at San Rossore, near Pisa, Italy.

CAVE

Photo: Mark Metcalfe
Veteran punk/rock/alt/style icon Nick Cave shows off his chops and his natty socks, headlining the 'Big Day Out' in Sydney.

COMMUTERS

Photo: Pavel Rahman
A tricky one for anybody who suffers at the hands of Melbourne's utterly hopeless public transport system. Yes, these commuters in Bangladesh (returning from a three day Muslim festival at Tongi) are sitting on the roof and we should all be thankful for the fine service that 'Metro' provides to us... on the other hand, these roof travellers have got mobile vendors (seen hopping from roof to roof) selling them drinks and snacks. When was the last time we got that on the 8.31 to Epping?

BARACK

Photo: Tim Sloan
President Barack Obama delivering the annual 'State of the Union' speech to the US Congress on January 25. In keeping with his recent strategy (ignoring his opponents and staying upbeat), Barack kept his hour long address optimistic, highlighting America's ability as an innovator and world leader in technology and new industry creation... and so was roundly criticised on all sides for doing this. Doesn't he understand that he's just meant to get up and yell about how America's enemies are out to destroy her?

TIGER

Photo: Stringer
A five month old tiger cub at Jiufeng Zoo, Wuhan, China is gifted a rabbit to practice it's hunting skills on. The rabbit seems oddly serene about what is about to happen to it, either because it has a Bugs Bunny style scheme to trick the tiger and save it's skin, or it's doing what the rest of us do when we see a tiger cub: 'Awww... cute!'

MALLOWPUFFS...

Photo: Brian Snyder
... before they get coated with chocolate and on a giant scale. Or, slightly less excitingly, outdoor table settings at a restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts after heavy snowfall.

JOKER

Photo: Suzanne Plunkett
Initially I thought this was just one of my friends, the one who really REALLY liked 'The Dark Knight' (and you know who you are. 5 out of 5 indeed!). But it actually turns out to be actors in London, waiting in line to audition for a 'Batman Live' stage show (and I know which of my friends will be first in line if this ever comes out here).

The Politics of Disaster

During last years Federal Election campaign, there was a lot of pundit speak about how the struggling Labor Governments in New South Wales and Queensland may hamper Federal Labor's chances in those states. And by struggling, we mean 'thoroughly despised.' So badly were both of those Governments travelling, and so entrenched had voter dislike of them become, it was considered a rock solid, lay down, close the betting markets certainty that both would drag Federal Labor's vote down and both would be turfed out at the first available opportunity.

This is now true only in New South Wales.

Last November, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh faced polls that showed her Government's primary vote on 28% and her own approval rating at 25% (with 70% disapproving), figures that indicate electoral oblivion. This week, as raging flood waters swept through her state and Mrs Bligh worked tirelessly to try and keep spirits up and keep people informed (no mean feat, doing these simultaneously), more than one daily newspaper referred to her as a 'hero.' When things return to something resembling normal, she can expect to see her standing in the polls considerably strengthened.

Such is the dramatic nature of The Politics of Disaster.

Now this is not to suggest that Bligh has done this deliberately, or tried to milk the flood disaster for her own benefit. Far from it. Throughout, she has been hard working, diligent, compassionate and is obviously trying her best to try and manage the still developing crisis as well as it can be managed.

The point is, Anna Bligh has always been hard working, diligent and compassionate - she's a very down to earth, no frills sort of person - and these character traits had lead her to a point where, before the flood crisis, people spat on the ground whenever they mentioned her name. She is the same, the extraordinary circumstances that she and her state find themselves in are what is different.

Nevertheless, she is going to reap a benefit in both plaudits and polls, due to her conduct so far.

But The Politics of Disaster is a fickle thing. For evidence of this, and the flipside of Bligh's experience, we need look no further than the other woman involved in the disaster this week. And by this we mean none other than Julia Gillard. C'mon, you remember her... You know, the Prime Minister!

In any case, Gillard's efforts during the flood crisis were much the same as Bligh's; she toured affected regions, repeatedly briefed the media and freed up as much emergency cash as the Government could spare. She even stood behind the Queensland Premier while she gave one of her tear streaked, highly emotional and highly popular press conferences:



And her reward for these efforts? A mild to severe case of loathing and revulsion. Gillard was described, at various times this week, as 'cold,' 'aloof,' 'disengaged' and that she 'doesn't appear to care.'

As noted, the difference between Gillard's and Bligh's performances over the past week or so is only minimal. But the perception of the differences in their performance is stark; hero on one side, cold hearted bitch on the other. What we can take from this is that The Politics of Disaster is a complex and unpredictable thing. People are highly emotional in times of crisis and their judgments not always rational. Political leaders can even experience the whole spectrum of emotions going from hero to bitch/villain in the space of just a few days or weeks.

Some more examples from recent political history further illustrates the point:

Example 1: John Brumby versus The Victorian Bushfires
The then Labor Premier started out pretty well in the crisis management stakes. Similar to Bligh, Brumby was a dour, reserved sort of guy and his grave, solid demeanour was what the public wanted to see as large parts of Victoria burned up. But Brumby proved less adept at managing the recovery, as reconstruction moved slowly and the Royal Commission he instigated produced a series of recommendations that he didn't want to implement (compulsory buybacks of property among other things). His standing was subsequently damaged, although he probably managed to break even overall.

Example 2: George W. Bush versus Al Qaida and Hurricane Katrina
The drawling, cowboy inflected, wannabe macho Texan saw both sides of The Politics of Diaster, although with each separated by several years. The 9/11 terrorist bombings probably saved his presidency, after he had made a mediocre start in the wake of the 2000 election controversy. A drawling, macho, cowboy was exactly what America wanted after the terrorist attack had shaken them and, since, no real ones were available, Bush made an acceptable substitute. His approval ratings soared above 90% as a result. But flash forward to 2005 and this schtick was completely wrong for the Hurricane Katrina disaster (which called more for a diligent, Bligh style approach). It appeared for a time that Bush either didn't know where New Orleans was, or didn't care that most of the poor people living there had drowned. Sending Dick Cheney in to tour the aftermath probably wasn't a great idea either:



Bush's long slide in the opinion polls started shortly after.

Example 3: Barack versus the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
The boy wonder President was determined not to repeat Bush's mistakes, when a giant oil spill threatened the same part of the country as Katrina. He got his hands dirty as soon as he could; touring the area repeatedly, addressing the nation in prime time, massaging cash assistance through Congress, even taking his holiday there to try and help the tourist industry. He reaped some initial rewards for his efforts but, as the weeks and then months dragged on and oil continued to flow, support for his efforts began to collapse. It seemed almost as if, by working so hard to try and solve the problem and being so omni-present around it, Barack had himself become associated with the leak... and then blamed for it. Damage was undoubtedly done to his standing as a result of this, although how much remains to be seen.

And this is the problem that may lie in the future for the Queensland Premier. While her constituents are united behind her at the moment, the flood crisis has a long way to run. And once the waters start to subside, a massive reconstruction effort will need to be overseen by a Government who's poor record in competent service delivery had lead to their hopeless position in the polls last year. And people living in temporary shelters while they wait for the Government to declare their houses safe to return to are understandably impatient.

The Politics of Disaster will also demand that the Queensland Opposition, after a brief period of bipartisanship, will almost immediately begin to criticise all of the Government's reconstruction efforts as slow, inefficient, cheapskate and completely bloody useless. In this scenario, Bligh's diligent, hard working public demeanour, which is serving her so well at the moment, may become a liability again, as she may not seem to be energetic or vigorous as she should be. She's a plodder, is Bligh, not a racehorse and people without electricity or with a front yard full of dead fish and garbage,



often want a racehorse.

The Queensland Premier, like the population of her state, has a large and difficult time ahead of her. We wish her well.

And Now for Something... Completely Different

THE BEST PHOTOS OF 2010

It's time to take a brief break from politics. For yes, it's that time of the year again, when untalented people with too much time on their hands start compiling lists of things that talented peopled did during the year that we liked. And so we have the year in photos. I've tried to cast the net as wide as possible this year, and get as diverse a range of topics as I could muster. Of course, you (meaning me) could always do more, but I have spent about 14 hours researching this now and am starting to resemble one of those fish that live far below the surface of the ocean, where no light penetrates. And besides, there's laundry to be done:

Death Valley in Winter

Photo: Steve Sieren
Found on one of those websites where amateur photographers with great skills and flash cameras show off their relentlessly amazing pics. Immediately below this quite beautiful image, in the 'Comments' section, was a text argument between the photographer and someone else about whether he'd used the right camera settings to capture the moon properly.

Fly to Eye

Photo: Bence Mate
A green pit viper and a hummingbird come face to face in this 'National Geographic' prizewinning photo.

Eyjafjallajokul

Photo: Lucas Jackson
The unpronounceable volcano from Iceland derailed travel plans worldwide (and thinned the hair of countless airline executives) but produced some of the years most spectacular photos. This photo was taken at midnight and shows the Northern Lights hovering over the ash plume.

La Valle

Photo: Daniel Rericha
Mountainside church at the village of La Valle, Italy.

Antennae Galaxies

Photo: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J.DePasquale; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI
62 million light years from Earth and more than a 100 million years in duration, the Antennae Galaxies slowly collide, triggering the birth of millions of new stars. This is a composite image formed from three - count 'em! - different telescopes, each measuring a different type of light; x-ray, optical and infra red.

Aisha, 18

Photo: Jodi Bieber
'The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. They dragged her to a mountain clearing near her village in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, ignoring her protests that her in-laws had been abusive, that she had no choice but to escape. Shivering in the cold air and blinded by the flashlights trained on her by her husband's family, she faced her spouse and accuser. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Later, he would tell Aisha's uncle that she had to be made an example of lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing. The commander gave his verdict, and men moved in to deliver the punishment. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose. Aisha passed out from the pain but awoke soon after, choking on her own blood. The men had left her on the mountainside to die.' - From 'Time' magazine, August 9 2010.

Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, 17

Photo: Unknown
On March 29 2010, Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, boarded a train on the Moscow Metro system with explosives strapped to her body. She detonated them at Park Kultury station, as part of a double suicide bombing that killed 40 people, including both perpetrators. Her husband, pictured above, was a Caucasus rebel who had been killed earlier in the year by Russian Special Forces.

Jose Humberto Castro, 26

Photo: Eliana Aponte
It's November 3, 2010 and Honduran citizen Jose Humberto Castro has made his way to the Mexican-American border to hop a freight train that will take him illegally into the United States, much as tens of thousands of Central Americans do every year.

Survivors

Photo: Ivan Alvarado
On March 1, 2010 an Earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated coastal areas of Chile. This survivor from the village of Constitucion (75% of which was destroyed) told the photographer, 'I lost my home, the sea took my son and my wife, and this is all that was left. I can’t leave the dog here. He was my son’s.'

Shark

Photo: Feisal Omar
A man walks through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia (sometimes referred to as the world's most dangerous city) carrying a grey shark. Sharks once infested the waters off the East coast of Africa, but overfishing is dramatically reducing their population.

Backside Tailslide

Photo: Brian Gaberman
Levi Brown cuts it up in one of 'Skateboarder' magazine's snaps of the year.

Bikes!

Photo: Fabrizio Bensch
Christian Petersen admires the facade of the bike shop he co-owns in Atlandsberg, north east of Berlin.

Barack

Photo: Larry Downing
Well, I was hardly going to let a list like this go through without at least one Barack Obama photo. The former last, best hope of mankind endured a tough year, with his inherited wars overseas dragging on chaotically, while domestically a poll of US voters showed that 90% of them thought he had raised taxes while he'd been in power... when in fact he'd cut them. Tough crowd or what? Even the weather seemed against him, as we see here as he addresses a Memorial Day crowd at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood. The question is, tough it out and let your audience get wet? Or wait and try again later? Either way, 'Fox News' would have him on toast: 'President Obama disrespected his audience of veterans and children by keeping them out in the rain today...' or 'President Obama disrespected his audience of veterans and children today by postponing his speech due to a drop of rain...'

Anti Obama

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli
Barack's shadowy, spiritual opposite, Sarah Palin, had something of a charmed year however, entrenching herself as a 'Fox News' talking head, setting cable ratings records with her show about killing things in Alaska and getting the first vestiges of a tilt at the Presidency in 2012 under way. Confidence sky high, she had no problem owning up to the fact that she writes cheat notes on her hands before giving speeches (as demonstrated here, after an address to the commencing class at California State university). You can almost sense this sort of thing resonating with her supporters: 'She's a nitwit... just like me!' Hell, it worked for Bush for 8 years.

WikiLeaks

Photo: Herald Sun newspaper
I've posted this one before, but who could resist another look? Mild mannered internet geek (and WikiLeaks founder) Julian Assange recast as a Bond villain, replete with sinister 'lair.'

Inspired Genius

Photo: Unknown<
I'm always impressed by Americans and their desire to get out and protest things. And I'm even more impressed by their desire to protest things with fruity signs. Most impressive of all is the foresight, insight and sheer determination being shown by the bloke on the right.

Angry Monks

Photo: Unknown
In similar vein to the previous photo is this group of people dressed as Angry Monks from the annual San Fransisco 'Bay to Breakers' fun run. In fact, smart people will forgo the rest of my effort here and have a look at the gallery for that event instead.

Google Earth

Photo: Google Earth
The onset of the eye-in-the-sky service that is Google Earth seems to unearth previously unseen oddness every year, whether it was that US Navy building shaped like a swastika, or the mysterious blood red lake in Baghdad. This year, and quite incredibly, a Star of David was noticed on the roof of the 'Iran Air' building in Tehran. It seems that the building had been constructed by Israeli engineers in the 70's, when the Western friendly Shah was still in charge. Make that, constructed by Israeli engineers with a sense of humour.

Khayelitsha

Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly
View through the window of an abandoned caretakers hut at the cemetery at the Khayelitsha township, just outside of Cape Town.

Chateau-d'Oex

Photo: Valentin Flauraud
The annual 'Hot Air Balloon Week' at Chateau-d'Oex, Switzerland.

Orlando

Photo: Anthony Suau
Discarded objects outside neighbouring homes in Orlando, Florida, both of which have been abandoned after mortgage foreclosure. At the peak of the Global Financial Crisis, an American home was foreclosed every 7 seconds.

The Man They Call Tiger

Photo: Mark Pain
At the Ryder Cup this tear, Tiger shanked this shot out of the rough and collected cameraman Mark Pain, breaking his camera a split second after this photo was taken (and apparently earning a filthy look from The Champ too). Perhaps even better than this photo, is the sudden global fame afforded to the spectator to the right of Tiger, who the net community would soon come to know as 'Cigar Turban Man' and who would spawn a few photo lists of his own.

JUR - RAH!

Photo: Ray Titus
Yes, I'm undoubtedly biased (being a Melbourne supporter) but I could never get tired of looking at Liam Jurrah, AKA 'LJ,' AKA 'The Walpiri Wizard' at his best. Actually, now I have to look at the video too...

Conan

Photo: Marco Grob
Conan O'Brien fufilled his long held dream of taking over 'The Tonight Show' from Jay Leno... and then lost it again when Leno's new prime time show bombed and he wanted his old chair back. Conan did some live shows, grew a beard and took the most famous hair in television to another network.

Zuck

Photo: Martin Schoeller
You've seen the movie... and maybe the Oprah interview... and you sure as shit use the website. The immediate future has arrived, and it's so innocuous looking that it almost calls to mind that 'banality of evil' thing they used to describe Eichmann.

Mac and I

Photo: Christian Charisius
30 years of technology in two hands, as Hans Henrik Duessel takes his old Apple Macintosh along to the Apple shop on the day iPads are released in Hamburg.

LCD Sound System

Photo: Will Deitz
LCD Sound System at 'Terminal 5' in New York City.

Lady GaGa

Photo: Merlin Bronque
The world's most unavoidable hermaphrodite pop singer gets in touch with her fans, crowd surfing at Lollapalooza.

Mr Snuggies

Photo: Unknown
I learned my media chops from the nightly TV network news: always end on something cute.