Ross Gittins is not my favourite commentator, but he makes a good point this morning (SMH 14 Jul 10).

Excuse me, but what's the tearing hurry? We've had a new Prime Minister for five minutes, but we're being rushed off to an election before we can get her measure. Why? Is there a fear, if the election were delayed until October, the gloss would have worn off and we'd see Julia Gillard in a less hopeful and flattering light? Is the new leader's fleeting honeymoon all that stands between Labor and electoral defeat? Is Labor's record in government that bad? Is Tony Abbott such a formidable opponent?

I'm not impressed by what we've seen of the Gillard government so far. We've seen the triumph of political expediency over good government. From her first day she's left little doubt three running political sores — the mining tax, resentment of boat people and the vacuum left by Labor's abandonment of its emissions trading scheme — needed to be staunched quick smart if the government's re-election were to be secured.

But what hasty, amateurish patch-up jobs we've seen. Wayne Swan has fudged up figures purporting to show the revenue cost of the deal done with the three biggest mining companies was minor, whereas sharemarket analysts are saying the extra tax to be paid by the companies will be minor. Then we had the fearful muddle over the Timor solution the Timorese hadn't agreed to, and now we're getting the climate change policy you have when you don't have a climate change policy.

The trouble with all this is it's terribly reminiscent of Kevin Rudd.

Just so.

Gittins asks, "So what are Gillard's priorities?" I rather hope that it will no longer be the Prime Minister’s priorities, but the government's priorities that we are asked to assess when we vote. And we know enough of those to make our choice. Its not Gillard that I'll be voting for our against, it will be the Australian Labor Party.

I'll vote Green.

Under Kevin Rudd, the Labor government achieved a great deal and also made some large failures. In the process, a previously hugely popular prime minister became widely unpopular. He was too wedded to the 24-hr news cycle. He micro-managed everything, was often angry, was hideously discourteous to those advising him, expected long nights of work on short deadlines with no notice and mismanaged the results. He disrespected the processes of democratic Cabinet government. I had high hopes for him and was disappointed. He achieved much and failed much. If only had had allowed himself to sleep more.

Following its performance against Australia in the 2006 World Cup, the commentators agree that Italy is made a strong bid for the 2010 diving championship in its World Cup match against New Zealand yesterday:
Dive, dive: a sinking superpower's 'pathetic' performance. NPR (21 Jun 10)
Tony Smith. Italian theatrics cost New Zealand famous win over defending champions Italy, SMH (21 Jun 10).
Rob Hughes finds the Italian's penalty against New Zealand "dubious" — As Europe's best crumble, the cracks are showing, NYT (20 Jun 10).

It's a long and sorry story, which FINA has failed to prevent; read Jeffrey Marcus. When a soccer star falls, it may be great acting, NYT (20 Jun 10).

From the front page of yesterday's The Australian.

The most likely candidate to ruin the World Cup experience for the entire planet is this, the vuvuzela, a plastic version of an allegedly traditional instrument with, according to Wikipedia, a constant single note of B flat. A small curse on the South African Football Association which, in a community-building project, helped manufacture the coloured plastic trumpet and also persuaded FIFA that vuvuzelas were essential for an authentic South African football experience. The result is a constant steady loud buzz that makes it nearly impossible for players to hear each other and for TV viewers to hear the commentators.

At 127 decibels up close, a vuvuzela is loud. OH & S regulations typically limit exposure to continuous noise to 85 dBA, for an 8 hour shift. For each 3 dB increase, the allowed exposure is halved. So, if you work in a nightclub where amplified music produces 100 dBA near your ears, the allowed exposure is 15 minutes. Allowed exposure at 127 decibels is effectively nil; ear protection must be worn.

The Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dr Danny Jordaan, idiotically proclaimed that 2010 "will be the loudest World Cup ever".

Local culture? So it seems. Hospitable? Not at all.

Blech.