At last, a reason for our involvement in the Iraq war that makes sense (arising from the Oil for Food scandal surrounding the Australia Wheat Boardcorrupt payment of huge kickbacks to Saddam's regime):

"While AWB was doing its last shabby deals in Baghdad, the Australian Government was at work in Washington pledging military support and securing Australia's hold on the wheat market in post-Saddam Iraq. It would be a cheap crack to say we went to war for wheat, but Australia was not going to join the Coalition of the Willing only to see its market taken by the ruthless and highly subsidised wheat traders of the US. Australia sold an audacious plan to the US: after the fall of Saddam, AWB's former chairman, Trevor Flugge, a man who knew Iraq and its old regime well, would run the Ministry of Agriculture. His formal role would be to assist the "revitalisation of Iraq's agricultural sector". But as Howard would later tell Parliament: "The Government has sought the involvement of Mr Flugge in post-Saddam Iraq ... because our principal concern at that time was to stop American wheatgrowers from getting our markets."

Interesting talk of an Australian unconference. It's good to see Ben Barren take Amy's suggestion on board. I cringe at the term 'Aussie Chick Blogger' that Leisa uses in the comments.  

I decided to strip the notes out of the puppetry list for now, keep it lightweight in that respect. I've done most of that editing. Now I just keep changing my mind about how selective I want to be, considering the whole gamut from Casaubon delusion through personal reading list of ten. Yeah, its okay, the Casaubon extreme is not on!