Conquered

The Fractured Cloud


The fractured cloud struggles just to breathe. Tortured and tormented by the stresses of life, she is teetering on the brink of sanity. She started her existence normal enough: calm, collected, and clear-minded, but recently something changed. It started off small. A stream of small problems and challenges not unlike those she had faced earlier in life, but this stream never stopped. She tried to get through solely on her own steam, too proud to ask for help. This was probably her undoing. In time, this stream of problems turned into a web. Trapping, and immobilizing her to the point where she was no longer even able to partially slow the flow of problems. Now she sits, helpless, gathering all of her might to unleash in one final burst of strength. How this will affect her situation, and what effects it may have on her psyche is not quite clear, but at this point one thing is quite clear: no matter what the consequences, this is her only remaining hope.


http://theweeklycloud.blogspot.com/2007/11/fractured-cloud-struggles-just-to.html


The country has changed already; almost overnight; and the sweet chaos to which we had all beckoned, it was gone. A smooth incumbent. The parties in chaos. The building kept burning in his imagination; as if it would never stop; the sequence of yesterday's events playing through his head. There were other reporters involved now; police, social affairs, legal affairs. The stream of consequence moved forward like a great procession; and he had nothing to say for himself.

He waited until there was a gap in the authoritarian rule of his boss and made his own way back up to the scene of yesterday's events. Police tape still surrounded the building, which was still closed to staff and the public. Traffic diversions were still in place. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered to gape at the damaged building; the misshapen penthouse on top of the stolid, expensive government architecture.

He recognised a couple of faces in the crowd; not just other reporters gathering atmosphere or seeing for themselves; but faces he had seen in meetings long long ago. Had they, too, just come to see for themselves? Or was it more? The changing nature of everything; the overthrow of the mundane; the increasing expansions of their brains. The meetings were coming up in his head now; as if from a retrieval system; and he could see the impassioned talks in the town halls. Before the implants came. They were trying to argue it was wrong; that we as a race would never be the same. Those who were protesting in a stream of impassioned words were painted in the media and therefore in the public mind as reactionaries, alarmists, old fashioned and ridiculous. Who wouldn't want a better brain?

Already he could see his phone going off again. That woman never rested.

THE BIGGER STORY:

ABC:


Outgoing prime minister John Howard has arrived back at Parliament House for the first time since his election loss, to clean out his office and make way for his replacement Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd may not officially take over until early next week and says he hopes to have his new Cabinet finalised by Thursday and sworn in by next Monday.

In another of Mr Rudd's priorities, the Labor leader says any apology to Indigenous Australians will only be made after adequate consultation with Aboriginal communities.



Bernama
Howard was bushwhacked
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 15 hours ago
Kevin Rudd has fractured the electoral coalition that kept John Howard in power for more than a decade by winning over voters from the provincial and rural ...
Kevin Rudd pushes Work Choices, Kyoto mandates NEWS.com.au
Howard's official website suspended Hindu
Howard’s end leaves poorer legacy National Business Review
RTT News - Telegraph.co.uk
all 2,293 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
Libs turn on Howard: let's dump Work Choices
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 13 hours ago
"No Liberal candidate could look in the mirror and say the leadership of John Howard was not the central factor on Saturday," Mr Pyne said. ...
Keating says Bishop should lead Libs The Age
Three to contest Liberal leadership The Age
Rivals left to slug it out among themselves Sydney Morning Herald
NEWS.com.au - The Age
all 275 news articles »

Canoe.ca (subscription)
Howard cleans out office as Rudd looks ahead
ABC Online, Australia - 2 hours ago
Outgoing prime minister John Howard has arrived back at Parliament House for the first time since his election loss, to clean out his office and make way ...
Australia's PM-elect to say sorry to Aborigines Reuters South Africa
Rudd Will Apologize to Aborigines The Associated Press
New PM Kevin Rudd to apologise to Aborigines Telegraph.co.uk
BBC News - Melbourne Herald Sun
all 118 news articles »

Canada.com
mckew Set to Win Howard's Seat, First Leader to Lose Since 1929
Bloomberg - 25 Nov 2007
26 (Bloomberg) -- Maxine mckew, a former journalist, is set to topple John Howard from his Sydney seat, making him the first Australian Prime Minister to be ...
Howard's End CounterPunch
Easy life on pension for John Howard Melbourne Herald Sun
pm's people didn't think we had it in us: mckew Sydney Morning Herald
Reuters UK - Melbourne Herald Sun
all 449 news articles »

Sky News Australia
Howard told to quit a year ago
The Age, Australia - 15 hours ago
SENIOR Liberal strategist and former minister Nick Minchin strongly advocated a leadership change more than a year before the poll, telling John Howard he ...
Pasquarelli: Howard held hostage by Bennelong's ethnic make up Crikey (subscription)
Liberal senators round on Howard Sydney Morning Herald
Defeat can be a new dawn for the Liberals Sydney Morning Herald
ABC Online - ABC Online
all 95 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
Knives come out for final act
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - 11 hours ago
By Greg Ansley The battle to succeed John Howard as leader of the Liberals has already begun. Photo / Getty Images As Labor Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd ...
Downer out as senior Libs jockey Melbourne Herald Sun
With new Labor in place, can new Liberalism be far behind? The Age
Libs more harmonious than ever: Hockey Melbourne Herald Sun
Melbourne Herald Sun - The Age
all 551 news articles »

Time Travel

"I am focused on spending my waking hours and my energy over the next three days in saying to that group of people ... if you think that Howard hasn't done a bad job, if you think the economy's good and national security's being looked after, if you're flirting with change just for the sake of change, remember that you can't have a changeless change of government." John Howard.

"John Howard is running in this election to retire, it's an extraordinary thing, unprecedented in Australian political history that a leader walks into an election campaign and says I'm going. The problem with being a lame duck, and John Howard is a lame duck, is that your promises don't count. Anything you say does not bind your successor." Kim Beazley.





He didn't know why he was wanted. It wasn't safe anymore. Cracks kept appearing where ever he looked, he didn't know why. His head was full of things he shouldn't have known. There were even little video clips running in his head of their last dozen visits. They were being watched, even back then. He wished he could withdraw everything that had happened, but it was impossible. Regret was mashed up with a jumbling set of priorities, he would have to act. His boss was at him, again and again. She never gave up. He swallowed every last shred of dignity and bowed his head to his desk. There was no way out.

There was more political turmoil running on the screens constantly, politicians denouncing each other in a strangely restrained way; as if the truth was something no one could face. For a moment, deciphering the streams of propaganda, he thought it was a fight between those with implants and those without. He could see the government's press releases, call them up in chronological order, collate them by topic. It was useless information and his head was full of it.

Don was no ordinary friend. Their friendship blossomed in a different time; away from the fluorescent lights that now pierced his soul; in quiet suburban streets where secret networks pulled towards each other; where all their lives had been destroyed by government agencies and there was nowhere to go. There was no sanity in the system. There was nothing to keep them safe; nothing to make them belong. He crawled up inside and knew the answer; plain as the nose. It was all there, the recordings of their conversations. Strangely, considering the normally shot nature of his memory, he could recall every last word of their last encounter. That cryptic look, those cryptic words. It all made sense now. How far would he betray someone, for the sake of a story? How far was he driven, to do what he did?

THE BIGGER STORY:

Howard says Rudd would be for life, not just Christmas
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 1 hour ago
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, who today received a 90000-signature petition calling for the laws to be scrapped, challenged Mr Howard to release the ...
'Bomber' flies last mission for Rudd The Age
Kevin Rudd slips slightly in poll Melbourne Herald Sun
Rudd's approach to economy hijacks Coalition's strongest selling point The Age
International Herald Tribune - NEWS.com.au
all 379 news articles »

The Age Rudd would seek four-year fixed terms
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 5 hours ago
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd told reporters he would put the issue to a referendum if he won government. "I do not believe it is proper for the prime ...
Rudd's $5m mentor plan Sydney Morning Herald
Rudd visit inspires a case of school daze The Age
Teen girl faints as Rudd mobbed Melbourne Herald Sun
The Age - ABC Online
all 159 news articles »
Rudd given anti-Work Choices petition
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 9 hours ago
Labor leader Kevin Rudd has been presented with a petition signed by 90000 people opposed to the Howard government's industrial relations laws. ...
Rudd can't fathom workchoices secrecy Melbourne Herald Sun
ALP ramps up Work Choices scare campaign Sydney Morning Herald
PM denies second wave of IR reforms LIVENEWS.com.au
NEWS.com.au - The Age
all 176 news articles »
Kevin Rudd's 'cocky little smirk' won't work - Alexander Downer
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 7 hours ago
LABOR leader Kevin Rudd's "cocky little smirk" and cliche-driven style won't wash with voters, says Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. ...
Downer attacks Rudd's 'cocky little smirk' Daily Telegraph
Press ganged into that sinking feeling The Age
all 14 news articles »

Gulf Times Australia's Rudd will sign Kyoto pact if wins vote
Reuters - 18 Nov 2007
By Rob Taylor CANBERRA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd said on Monday he would lead his country's delegation to December's ...
Rudd won't commit Garrett to portfolio Sydney Morning Herald
Rudd sets emission target The Age
Carbon copies the order of the day The Age
AFP - NEWS.com.au
all 117 news articles »

LIVENEWS.com.au Rudd won't pull Liberal appointees from diplomatic postings
ABC Online, Australia - 12 hours ago
Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd says he will not recall former Liberal politicians who have been appointed to diplomatic roles if he wins government. ...
Rudd to keep pm's diplomatic postings The Age
State 'will lose clout' with Rudd Advertiser Adelaide
You're toast, says one happy little Vegemite to the PM Sydney Morning Herald
LIVENEWS.com.au
all 11 news articles »
Waxing frugal, praise rings in Rudd's ears
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 21 hours ago
Future aspirants will note there is no evidence it damaged Kevin Rudd's standing and it did give him something to joke with Rove mcmanus about - "I was just ...


LIVENEWS.com.au Media complicit in Rudd's spin
LIVENEWS.com.au, Australia - 13 hours ago
There has been criticism, as you know, of Kevin Rudd pulling out of difficult engagements with the media. I have no problem about that, he's entitled to go ...
Howard is a big finisher but Rudd still holds the cards Courier Mail
Poll will be closely, says Rudd Sydney Morning Herald
Polls have Rudd winning nailbiter NEWS.com.au
Melbourne Herald Sun - Special Broadcasting Service
all 106 news articles »

Sky News Australia Election an IR 'referendum'
The Age, Australia - 8 hours ago
Labor leader Kevin Rudd says Prime Minister John Howard wanted the election to be a referendum on industrial relations - and he's got it. ...
workchoices clash Sky News Australia
maccormack: The government's bad luck campaign continues Crikey (subscription)
It's not workchoices, it's the economy: Hockey The Age
ABC Online - NEWS.com.au
all 59 news articles »
Rudd dismisses interviews criticism
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 13 hours ago
LABOR leader Kevin Rudd has dismissed criticism that he has not made himself available for challenging news interviews, instead preferring soft media ...

Gaps In The Transmission

"He passed houses and tenements which had grown into desolation the way a man grows into senility, unnoticed, with a fragmentary concern; each existed on the edge of life, and carried the despair of being incomplete. He moved towards the centre of town, but swung round after a few minutes, avoiding the centre. It was clear to him, in this peculiar light of evening, that the days of youth were really gone: the smooth days, the balmy days, the days of no decisions had petered out, like a disused road."

Randall Flynn


There were gaps in the transmission, when he stepped over the edge into a vast silence; when the mall that was his face held corrupted secrets; and all was lost. These moments never lasted long; as he sat at his desk, dialing routinely, pretending to be busy. There wasn't any way out, or through. He could guess. The crime linked back through other crimes; and his own vageries, his own indulgences, were swept away by the passing days; his skeleton on the planet surface, his strong desire for release.

The termination date, however, came as an unpleasant surprise. he had always thorught he would be there forever, his consciousness just not the type to be washed away easily. Somehwere, in the internal alley ways, he would survive, hunted but alive. He could see the date, ten years hence, as if on a digital clock, hanging in his brain. Would he betray his friend? Without proof, but with absolute certainty. Would they find the evidence to prove his madness? Did he know anymore, if at all, what he stood for?

The timescales were impossible, he knew. The country has been enveloped in an election. The ads batter each other on television, 70% of a Rudd Labor government would be former union officials, the ads pound. And Labor fights right back. Don't let Howard and Costello expand the IR laws. They fight only on the grounds on which they're comfortable. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion, the Liberal National government heading towards defeat; or annihilation on some predictions. Howard could lose his own seat. They stare defeat in the face. The tumult and the shouting will die down. And half the country is barracking for one man's disaster; the shocked stare out the window of the government limousine. The end of an era.

THE BIGGER STORY:


Turkish Press
Five days left and Howard looks a goner
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - 10 hours ago
By Greg Ansley CANBERRA - Prime Minister John Howard today starts his final week of campaigning for Saturday's elections so far behind the only question ...
Australia's battlers 'to turn on John Howard' Telegraph.co.uk
Howard, Rudd switch to all-out attack Melbourne Herald Sun
Howard attacks Rudd on mining boom ABC Online
Earthtimes - The Age
all 313 news articles »

The Age
Howard shores up Asian vote
ABC Online, Australia - 2 hours ago
By Peta Donald Prime Minister John Howard talks to members of the Sydney Sae Soon Presbyterian Korean Church. (AAP: Paul Miller) It is almost 20 years since ...
Howard losing the Koreans and Chinese Sydney Morning Herald
Rudd, Howard deny cockiness on campaign trail ABC Online
God likes Liberal policies: Howard Sydney Morning Herald
New Zealand Herald - Telegraph.co.uk
all 46 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
JOHN HOWARD has always been shrewd but, famously, he has also had ...
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 13 hours ago
Bad luck, John. Even after embracing climate change as a cause last year, Howard still has trouble mentioning it without immediately adding the word "but". ...
World won't end tomorrow due to climate change - Howard NEWS.com.au
Environment goes from bad to worse Sydney Morning Herald
Poll spotlight on climate The Age
ABC Online - Border Mail
all 94 news articles »

Sydney Morning Herald
'I'd take Howard in a bar fight'
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 13 hours ago
And he didn't disappoint, admitting he was a nerd but saying he could beat John Howard in a bar fight. Mr Rudd was forced to use his skills as a diplomat to ...
Rudd shows soft side on Rove show NEWS.com.au
Leaders gear up for final campaign week ABC Online
It's not workchoices, it's the economy: Hockey The Age
Sydney Morning Herald - ABC Online
all 88 news articles »
Howard promises drug crackdown
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 18 hours ago
... Government would take control of the welfare payments of people convicted of offences involving hard drugs, Prime Minister John Howard announced today. ...
Howard to withhold welfare from drug offenders ABC Online
AMA slams Howard drug plan Gold Coast News
Welfare plan to hit drug users The Age
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney Morning Herald
all 59 news articles »
Girl faints as Rudd visits
The Age, Australia - 52 minutes ago
Quizzed about his breakfast preferences on Network Ten's 9am with David and Kim, he said he liked simple fare and, like John Howard, he makes it himself. ...

Sydney Morning Herald
Vaile denies Coalition split
ABC Online, Australia - 1 hour ago
Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has today denied newspaper reports that he has privately criticised Prime Minister John Howard for staying on and has ...
Vaile says sorry to auditor Melbourne Herald Sun
Regrets, the Deputy pm's had a few The Age
PM backs Vaile over grants The Age
The Age - ABC Online
all 73 news articles »

The Age
Election defeat looms for ‘big spender’ John Howard
Times Online, UK - 17 Nov 2007
JOHN HOWARD, Australia’s prime minister since 1996, may be ousted in federal elections next Saturday, polls suggested this weekend. ...
The most important week of all? The Age
Labour’s Rudd set to oust Howard in Australian election Sunday Business Post
Try-hard looks good to beat the devil you know The Australian
The Australian - Melbourne Herald Sun
all 13 news articles »

The Polluted Line

These were the points of shame; the entire public debate polluted with negativity, hostility, lies in the old format. There wasn't going to be any salvation, any way back. The public discourse had been entirely corrupted. His brain kept flitting across the extra domains of information it had acquired; the maps that showed him where his friend Don lived; the telephone number; all of it.

And oddly, he could see a list of all the numbers Don had called over the past six weeks; although there were patterns in the numbers. He could see, he didn't know how; that he had trouble with his plumbing a fortnight ago and called both his landlord and an emergency plumber; that he had been robbed and had to replace all his credit cards. But something inside him told him more; that one of those numbers held the key.

But who's side was he on? That's what he wanted to know.

Any progress? his boss asked yet again.

And he shook his head again; lying, again.

Partly because he couldn't explain how he knew what he knew. And partly because he kept glimpsing the full depth of Austin's bastardy; the callous disregard for those who had appeared before him; the sounds of children crying, daddy, daddy. And he was unconvinced the world was not a better place without him.

The thought kept recurring: should he tell someone the implant wasn't working? Should he go back to the doctors? Should he just let the chasms that kept opening up take their course? He didn't know, he just really didn't know.

THE BIGGER STORY:

THE AGE:

A bugger of a sorry life

Jewel Topsfield
November 10, 2007


WHEN Jackie Kelly decided to quit her seat of Lindsay in Sydney's western suburbs, the home of the mythical Howard battler, she famously declared politics was a "bugger of a life".

John Howard was probably inclined to agree after he courageously, some might say foolishly, visited the mortgage-belt electorate in the same week he declared he was sorry — but was not apologising — for a rate rise, and then blamed the other mob for playing word games. Quizzed ad nauseum about when sorry did not mean sorry, Mr Howard clarified on radio that he was the Prime Minister and not an English teacher.

He then dropped in on working-class Lindsay, held by a precarious 3 per cent by Ms Kelly, who came to symbolise the Coalition's success in winning seats considered Labor territory.

Mr Howard visited a fencing factory, where everyone was apparently loving workplace agreements, before braving the uncharted territory of Penrith shopping plaza.

There was chaos and carnage. The Prime Minister was mobbed by shoppers, demanding handshakes, kisses, photos — and to know what he was going to do about interest rates and climate change. One woman was knocked out cold by a rampaging soundie in the thick of the media scrum.