The headline is probably inaccurate, because the reality in Australian politics is that oppositions don’t win elections, incumbents lose them. Polling is tight from what I’ve read, but word on the street from a few people I’ve spoken to has Carps on the nose, and Barnett looking like a safe choice after years of Liberal instability.

Having said that though, two issues: one vote, one value makes the throwing out the Carpenter Government way harder than it has ever been before. Second, well…it’s the same as the first. There’s going to be a swing against the Government, but will it be in the right places? Extending the gas pipeline from Bunbury to Albany is a solid idea, but the voters in Manjimup don’t deliver enough votes for victory.

If the Liberals do get up, and a small part of me, as an ex-Liberal wishes that they will, it won’t do anything for the betterment of politics in this country, because it will only go to prove once again that vision has been replaced by cynicism amongst voters. Also it’s important to remember, on a wide range of issues, the ALP is to the right of the Liberal Party in the state. It was one of the many reasons I quit back in 2005.

Both show me tired, a little puffy, sadly (in retrospect) unshaven, bad hair (I’d confused the conditioner which said something like Apres Shampoo in french on it as being shampoo) but jeez Brian Solis takes a good pic.

Original source links via the pics themselves

I was in a cab yesterday and the driver had the radio tuned into what I believe was Ernie Sigley’s afternoon show, and they were talking job cuts at Fairfax. The discussion was not about how these job cuts are directly related to the downturn in print advertising caused by online alternatives, no, according to the clowns on the radio, it was the beginning of a new recession where unemployment will go through the roof. It’s a sign of the times they claimed, a weakening economy, the first of massive job cuts to come.

I wonder what it’s like to live in a state of pure ignorance, a delusional state that ignores reality instead of looking at the real reasons. I know that not everyone is so stupid in the Australian media as to not understand the changing marketplace, and talkback radio isn’t always a platform for highlighting the most intelligent debate, but still, it doesn’t bide well for large chunks of the mainstream media when they simply can’t see the change not only coming, but happening all around them.

On my brief stopover Monday on the way back from Seattle I headed to Hollywood Boulevard and did a spot of celebrity tourism. Having no idea what to do once I got there, and not having a lot of time, I paid to go on a Celebrity homes and Hollywood tour in an open top van (sort of a long ute with seats in it). We drove around Beverly Hills holding up traffic and offensively filming and capturing every tawdry bit of second hand celebrity possible. The two poms behind me we in tears when ZOMG we saw Becks house on the hill, and they incessantly rambled about how amazing it all was and how they couldn’t wait to share it on Facebook.

I will admit to being impressed by the houses, they were, to put it nicely, freaking huge, but the thing that struck me on the drive back from Rodeo Drive after seeing the houses was the stark contrast between the stars and the surrounding areas, often the backstreets behind all the gloss. Ghetto isn’t the right word, but cheap, nasty, and depressed immediately come to mind. The contrast was staggering, all within the space of 100 metres.

I’m no socialist on wealth, and good on those who work hard to get where they are, but what does such a contrast say about society? That divide of course exists everywhere, but I’ve never seen it so extremely demonstrated before.

Video of Beverly Hills to follow once I get around to download it from the camera and cutting it.

See some details here. But the question: how do I make the world a better place. What to pursue? I love to spread the word of the web, and yet I know that it may be pointless to those who have no food, let alone an ADSL connection. But likewise the proverb of teaching a man to fish.

Open thread for suggestions: what inspires you, how do you think I might be able to make a difference.

Western Australia will go to a State Election September 6. Shame I only just swapped my electoral enrollment over to Victoria, I could have voted.

Credit to Alan Carpenter, he’s a crafty bugger in terms of the timing. The Liberal Party is going to be wiped off the electoral map. If the introduction of one vote, one value legislative boundaries wasn’t hard enough on the conservative side of politics, four leadership changes in four years certainly won’t help matters. The best Colin Barnett could come out with in response to the news:

Mr Barnett said today there was no constitutional or parliamentary justification for an early election. He has accused Labor of running scared from a Corruption and Crime Commission report into the activities of Brian Burke which was expected to be released within weeks.

True, the ALP does still have the stench of WA Inc 2 around it, but when the voters are given the choice of a slightly tainted ruling Government at a time the State has never been in better shape, or a rabble of backstabbing, listless wannabes, it’s pretty easy to predict who is going to win. The only question now is how big will the ALP victory be?