Personally I'd be happy if the US did sign, but alas, it's not likely to happen under the current administration. Maybe I should move to Australia.

I'm at the UN climate conference in Bali as a Sierra Club rep. We are part of Climate Action Network (CAN) International, and our colleagues at CAN Australia put on a presentation yesterday showing how Australia can in fact meet its forthcoming Kyoto commitments.

http://www.iisdrs.org/2007/12/climate-actio-1.html

The US could do the same, if we want to, and no, it won't wreck the economy (in fact, it would provide a pretty potent boost especially on the employment side). Obviously the Bush administration isn't going to do anything at all to help out.

Of course, although they are softening and "greening up" their rhetoric, when we met with US chief negotiator Harlan Watson today he and the other official delegation members had nothing new to offer, despite the major moves forward in states and regions across the country and the imminent markup of the Lieberman-Warner global warming bill this week.

In fact, the White House sent a letter to Democratic leadership today pretty much guaranteeing a veto on the energy bill, which will have big pieces on CAFE (auto fuel efficiency), renewable resources, energy efficiency and other important items that will actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

So we are in a very interesting moment when pressure is being applied to the Bush administration at the domestic and global level simultaneously. They may not crack, but we are going to move them aside one way or another.

Much the same kind of performance can be expected of the Democrats, should they succeed the Bush Regime.

The real first thing Rudd did was stand behind Bush and his regime's imperialist policies in the Mideast with a promise of more troops in Afghanistan. Labor defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon, who was nominated as the new defence minister, stated on November 11: “We are favourably predisposed to any request to increase our commitment to Afghanistan.”

It also looks like the cabinet Rudd is amassing is very pro big business, which, of course, goes hand in hand with interventionist foreign policies as well as policies towards workers at home.

The key to seeing this is: Watch not mereley what they say, but more importantly, what they do. Talk is cheap. Anyone can say anything. Policies on the ground, regardless of rhetorical criticisms, are what matter.

Those expecting significant change from Labor in Australia (or Labor in England under Brown) - or the Democrats in the US, for that matter, should they attain presidential power in a year - are in for some major disappointments.

At some point, political lessons need to be assimilated.

PM Rudd has also created a new federal ministry - Climate Change and Water. The new minister, Penny Wong is a Malaysian-born, Chinese-Australian who is openly gay. This is not in the slightest bit controversial. My country is growing up. And it is good.

For a decade, Australia has been ruled by the fascist lite Howard government. Now the party of ogres are gone. And yes, yes, we're all popping champagne corks, reveling in the streets, and grinning from ear to ear. Howard (like Bush) was a hater of democracy, stifling dissent and prosecuting whistle blowers who dared to tell the truth. Under him, the Orwellian named 'work choices' (or as we referred to it, work no choices) was introduced giving employers absolute power over employees (who were seen as not being people but as serfs for no other purpose than to enrich elites). Education became costly and available to the privileged few. Public health was underfunded. The rich got richer and the poor poorer because of policies favouring the wealthy ten per cent. Of course they became richer when laws have been slanted to favour just that outcome, just as someone can win a race if they amputate their opponents legs. Housing became unaffordable. A negative tax (the GST) was implemented. More shamefully, a racially ideologically motivated National response Bill to take over Aboriginal land (under the guise of protecting women and children from sexual assault, which, as the little children's report claimed, was no more or less than the sexual assaults occurring elsewhere) was put into place and anti-terror laws specifically giving police and ASIO enormous powers to harass and persecute Muslim and Arab citizens came into effect. Independent voices were suppressed. The National Public Broadcaster the ABC)was stacked with pro-Howard and pro-free market ideologues to prevent diverse views (that is, views which did not support Howard's perspective). The AWB wheat scandal, the children's overboard incident, David Hicks, and his attack on worker's rights and unions all eventually were Howard's undoing. Never never again this authoritarianism. He tried to make us into America--with its hatred of the poor (with a bigotry on a par with hatred of the Jews prevalent throughout the thirties and forties) with the same myths promulgated about their worthlessness which existed about Jewish people; it's unjust work laws; it's plutocratic ways. We of the Never Never Land said no to that. It remains to be seen whether Prime minister Rudd will make Australia fair again. But we'll be watching. We'll be sure to let him know if he doesn't. Never never again another Howard. This shit has been truly flushed down the toilet. So Rudd, don't say you weren't warned.

The country in question - still deciding "how to move forward" - that Harlan Watson refers to is the Benevolent Kingdom of ExxonMobile, which helped place him as their negotiator. The people of the US of A do not currently have anyone by that name working on their behalf.

I need to clarify a few points.

1/ Our Prime Minister is still in Australia. He heads for the Bali conference on Sunday/Monday.

2/ He signed the paperwork to put the treaty into place. The UN still has to process the paperwork,and we still have to pass the laws that ratify it. The outgoing government still holds the balance of power in out upper house(The Senate), and may block the legislation. They would be fools to do so, as the majority of Australians are for signing the treaty.

3/ The announcement of Australia's signing of Kyoto was made to the Conference delegates by the head of the Australian Delegation.