2005 (1 Viewer)

[Rafy]

"In 2005, we were never so rich, so secure ... and so afraid."

http://smh.com.au/news/world/year-of-living-dangerously/2005/12/19/1134840772127.html?page=fullpage
A nice look at the year that was. The above quote was frightenly true.

Your thoughts on the year of 2005? From Tsunamis to a new pope, hurricanes, aid concerts and politics: Any one news story that stood out more than others for you?

I found the dramatic shift in the political landscape in both Federal and state politics to be quite significant. We saw the downfall of Latham, the rebirth of Beazely, the coalition control of the senate and the subsequent passing of controversial legeslation. On the state scene, we had the unexpected departure of Carr, and the suprise emergence of Iemma that meant that finally our trains were somewhat "fixed". And of course Brogden's demise...

Time Magazine has seleted Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates as the People of the year. I must say, that while their aid efforts are quite worthy, i would not have chosen them for such a title.

MAJOR STORIES

* Former Australian Guantanomo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib arrives back in Australia.
* Mark Latham resigns as Labor leader and the member for Werriwa. Kim Beazley is then elected Labor leader. Later in the year Latham releases his diaries which are critical of the Labor leadership.
* Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is jailed after being found guilty of charges relating to the 2002 Bali bombings.
* Prince Charles marries his long-time lover Camilla Parker-Bowles.
* Ray Williams and Rodney Adler are jailed for their role in the demise of HIH.
* German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
* Singer Kylie Minogue is diagnosed with breast cancer.
* Australian Schapelle Corby is sentenced to 20 years' jail in Bali. After an appeal her sentence is reduced to 15 years.
* Former FBI director Mark Felt is revealed as the Washington Post's "Deep Throat".
* Sol Trujillo is appointed Telstra CEO.
* Popstar Michael Jackson is acquitted of child sex charges.
* Australian Douglas Wood is rescued in a military operation in Iraq after being held hostage for six weeks.
* A Sydney-based Chinese diplomat seeks and is granted asylum in Australia.
* The National party's John Anderson announces his resignation from politics.
* The Federal Government takes control of the Senate.
* Four bombs explode on London's Underground and bus network killing 52 people.
* Bob Carr announces his retirement as New South Wales premier and is replaced by Morris Iemma.
* Thousands are believed to have been killed in the wake of a series of hurricanes which hit the US Gulf states. The worst to hit is hurricane Katrina.
* John Brogden announces his retirement from politics after a suicide attempt.
* Perth researcher Barry Marshall and Robin Warren win the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine.
* Twenty-two people, including four Australians, are killed in a series of bomb explosions in Bali.
* A major international trial confirms the effectiveness of a cervical cancer vaccine developed in Australia.
* The UN nuclear watchdog and its chief, Mohamed El Baradei, win the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.
* A son is born to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
* A major earthquake shakes cities and villages across the south Asian subcontinent wiping out several villages and killing thousands of people.
* An inquiry into public hospitals in Queensland recommends doctor Jayant Patel be charged with manslaughter.
* The Federal Government's sweeping changes to the industrial relations system pass the Senate.
* Rioting in Sydney takes police and politicians by surprise.


Year in Reviews

http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/yearinreview/2005/default.htm

Reuters pictures of the year
http://abcnews.go.com/US/YearInReview/
http://news.yahoo.com/page/year_review

 

[Generator]

Beazley wasn't reborn, he just returned to the leadership position - basically, the ACTU came back to the fore and Beazley has merely been riding along in the Unions' wake.

For me, the year started with a bang (Mark Latham) and it ended with a bang of a different sort (the Coalition's 'use' of the parliament). That's about it, really.

---

Edit: http://crikey.com.au/articles/2005/12/19-1527-6376.html

 

[Generator]

*bump*

If you don't mind, rafy, I'll try and add the odd article to the thread, too.

 

[Rafy]

Edit: http://crikey.com.au/articles/2005/12/19-1527-6376.html

"Opposition Foreign Affairs Spokesman Kevin Rudd....he would comment on the opening of mail if it got him a news grab." – Ashley Manicaros

rofl, thats so true. One can only hope he dosent become leader; perhaps another media manipulator like Carr was?


Go right ahead Generator...

 

[Rafy]

2005 Year in Review

Seismic shifts, super storms and a senate majority shape 2005.

Natural disasters exacted a heavy toll in 2005, as earthquakes and hurricanes wrought havoc in Asia and the Americas.

As the year began, South-East Asia was still reeling from the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that claimed more than 220,000 lives. Aid workers were just departing the region when another earthquake struck on the Indonesian island of Nias, killing up to 2,000 people.

Australians responding to the disaster were caught up in the tragedy when a helicopter crashed on the island. Nine people on board the Navy Sea King were killed.

The United States and the Caribbean also felt nature's wrath, as an unprecedented hurricane season battered coastal communities.
When the fourth hurricane of the season, Katrina, tore through the US Gulf states, it left New Orleans devastated.
As the once-vibrant city descended into chaos, the world watched in disbelief at the slow response to the needs of those left behind. The images were more easily associated with the Third World than the United States.

In October, more than 73,000 people died when an earthquake hit Pakistan. Aid was pledged quickly but seemed to arrive in slow motion. And even approaching year's end, thousands of survivors faced the prospect of a harsh winter in temporary shelter.

Australia did not escape the natural disasters. Nine people, including two children, were killed in a bushfire on South Australia's lower Eyre Peninsula in January.
Heavy rain brought floods that caused the evacuation of a northern New South Wales town. Two people drowned in a swollen creek on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Violence and terrorist attacks cast another shadow over 2005.

In Iraq, a campaign of suicide bombings left hundreds dead. Even the fear of an attack was enough to kill - almost 1,000 people died when the rumour of an attack caused a stampede during a religious festival.

But the bomb attacks were not enough to prevent the first democratic elections in Iraq for 50 years. Nor did it prevent the opening of the trial of Saddam Hussein on charges arising from the massacre of 148 people from the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982.

Terrorism also returned to the streets of London as home-grown suicide bombers targeted London buses and trains in July, killing more than 50 people.

In the wake of the bombings, London police shot and killed a young Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes, tragically mistaken for a potential suicide bomber.

And, for the second time in three years, suicide bombers struck in Bali. Twenty-two people, among them four Australians, were killed.

The Australian Government sent aid and police specialists to both London and Bali. It responded to the London attacks by moving to tighten counter-terrorism laws in Australia. As the debate about the changes continued, authorities in Sydney and Melbourne swooped, arresting 16 men suspected of planning a terrorist act on the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney.

The fate of Australians charged with drug offences in South East Asia made headlines for much of the year.

The first was Schapelle Corby, who was tried and convicted of trafficking in Bali. Then the "Bali Nine" - eight men and one woman aged between 18 and 29 - were charged with trafficking heroin. Model Michelle Leslie was imprisoned for three months for using ecstasy.

But it was Melbourne man Van Nguyen who paid the ultimate price for drug trafficking when he was executed in Singapore. The debate surrounding the death penalty divided the nation.

In politics, the Howard Government pushed through major changes but not without controversy.

Prime Minister John Howard's Government took control of the Senate in July and by year's end had passed sweeping changes to Australia's industrial relations laws and legislation reflecting its policies on terrorism, welfare-to-work and voluntary student unionism.

But it was not all good news for the Government. The key vote of Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce was not easily won and scandal surrounding the wrongful detention of Cornelia Rau and the wrongful deportation of Vivian Solon highlighted deficiencies in the Immigration Department, prompting an apology from the Prime Minister.

Mark Latham's diaries added to Labor's woes.Meanwhile, the Labor Party spent much of the year coming to terms with the departure of its leader, Mark Latham, in January and the publication of his vitriolic diaries in September.

The media's love-hate relationship with another political figure ended when Queensland's longest-serving premier, Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen, died after a long illness.

A new pope was elected. The Catholic Church also lost a long-serving leader when Pope John Paul II died in April. As thousands thronged to the Vatican to pay tribute to John Paul, Cardinals elected Joseph Ratzinger as his successor. He became Pope Benedict XVI.

It was a year for great highs and dismal lows for Australian sport.

The Socceroos gave Australia a chance at the World Cup.The Socceroos' triumph over Uruguay put Australia into the World Cup in Germany in 2006. Australians also shared in Makybe Diva's achievements. The nation stopped to watch her claim a third straight Melbourne Cup and then debated whether 'the Diva' could be better than the legendary Phar Lap.

But these high points contrasted sharply with the loss of the Ashes in cricket.

And, as always, the movie stars, royals and rock stars grabbed their share of memorable moments.

Frederik and Mary celebrated the birth of a son.There was a royal wedding in London when Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles tied the knot but more eyes were on the Australian-born Crown Princess Mary of Denmark as she toured Australia with Prince Frederik and later gave birth to a royal heir.

It wasn't quite royalty but the whirlwind romance and wedding of tennis star Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright also managed to capture the nation's attention. They too showed off their bundle of joy before year's end.

Not so joyous was Russell Crowe when he was bundled away by the New York police for throwing a phone at a hotel clerk who had reportedly dismissed the actor's frustration at being unable to phone his wife by saying "whatever".

Live 8 raises money to fight poverty.Rock stars came to the aid of the poor and hungry in Africa as they did in 1985. Bob Geldof urged music fans at Live 8 gigs around the globe to cry "no more excuses" to the leaders of the world's richest nations in a bid to "make poverty history".

Australia's home-grown pop star, Kylie Minogue, shocked the nation with her sudden announcement that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing her to postpone her tour Down Under.

Also in the headlines was Michael Jackson, who was cleared of child molestation charges after a trial which received such saturation media coverage that actors re-enacted the proceedings daily for avid viewers.

The year drew to its close on a disturbing note.

In Sydney, gang riots reached new levels when thousands of people turned out to a rally called after two lifesavers were attacked at Cronulla beach. People of Middle Eastern appearance became targets of violence. Ethnic gangs retaliated with attacks on whites.

 

[Iago]

2005 showed people how fragile they are. always good to have a wake up call.

my highlights include the latham explosion and the slow rise of a fascist australia.

 

[Rafy]

Now for a satirical look at next year (Some of this stuff is quite good):


2006: Bring it on!
December 31, 2005

THERE are many years in the 12 months ahead. The people who designate world celebrations have declared 2006 the Year of Mozart, Rembrandt and Tesla (Nikola, pioneer in electrical current, if you want to know) and the International Asperger Year.
They constitute belated birthday greetings to the musician, painter, scientist and Hans Asperger (discoverer of Asperger's syndrome), all born between 100 and 450 years ago.
It's a special year for Australia, the Dry Continent, too. The United Nations has declared 2006 the International Year of the Deserts and Desertification.
That much we know; the rest of 2006 is a blank slate. But if satire ruled the stars, the following might be a ready reckoner to the future.

JANUARY

Vice-regal notes: War Propheteer Pty Ltd, a company owned by members of the Governor-General Major-General Michael Jeffery's extended family, wins secret contract to supply meat pies to Australian troops stationed in Iraq.

Nellie Melba revisited: John Farnham announces farewell national tour. Missy Higgins to play support.

Shelf life on Earth: The European Space Agency announces plans to launch the KEO space time capsule with memory banks large enough to host messages from every one of the 6 billion inhabitants of Earth. The DVD messages will endure 50,000 years. There are concerns that nobody will know how to decode DVDs. A sadly resigned Peter Costello bitterly reassures French space scientists that John Howard will still be holding office.

We shall fight them on the beaches: The Blair Government releases newly discovered petition from Botany Bay Aborigines, dated December 11, 1805, to Governor designate William Bligh. The locals complain heavily armed groups of Englishmen carry out hit-and-run attacks, do not respect their women and unfurl the Union Jack everywhere. A further cause for complaint was the English habit of wearing clothes in the water. The Colonial Office orders Port Jackson beaches locked down. Copies of Sydney Gazette feature Bennelong and John Macarthur urging convicts and redcoats to return to the beaches.

Imperialism's end: Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are changed from imperial measurements to metric to meet European Union regulations. Thousands of confused Irish never reach their destinations. Bono pleads for calm.

FEBRUARY

Not the shower scene from Psycho: Moralising Liberal backbench MPs Trish Draper and Peter Lindsay, who led the campaign against last year's Big Brother Uncut shows, see the upside of instant celebrity, and apply for and are selected as housemates for the 2006 series. The politicians spend two weeks showering in their clothes until being voted out.

MARCH

Warring city states: Melbourne continues to trash Adelaide, building on its formula one grand prix coup by scheduling the Commonwealth Games to clash with the Adelaide Festival and the South Australian election.

Lord of dogtown: Heath Ledger holds out late run by cold-blooded Philip Seymour Hoffman ( Capote) to win Oscar for Brokeback Mountain at 78th Academy Awards. David Strathairn's portrayal of righteous, heavy-smoking American newsman Edward Morrow in Good Night, and Good Luck goes unOscared but saves the tobacco industry.

Total eclipse of the sun: On March 29, the moon's umbral shadow begins in Brazil and blacks out the Atlantic, northern Africa and central Asia, ending at sunset in Mongolia. Europe has partial eclipse. Energy stocks soar, Kyoto Protocol ditched, Bono pleads for world calm at Sydney Telstra Stadium U2 concert.

London not calling: The BBC World Service ends broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian and Thai. Starts Arabic service. British spy industry collapses, John le Carre suffers writer's block, takeaway restaurant trade plummets.

APRIL

Mad monkeys: Tony Abbott finds out he is adopted. Calls The Bulletin to leak cover story on his parentage but cancels after DNA tests show Mark Latham and he are half-brothers. They were raised in a foundling home before being sent, respectively, to the North Shore and the western suburbs as existential experiment by Camus-influenced Jesuit wanting to know whether Riverview or Hurlstone Agricultural College produced better leaders. Priest still undecided.

Investment news: The All Ords hits 5400, up 15 per cent since the new year. The new industrial laws keep a lid on inflation, with no rate rises in sight. Meanwhile, Russia is investment heaven with benchmark RTS index up 98 per cent in 2005. Moscow shares climb steadily as continuing high oil prices bring billions of dollars and euros into Russia. Australian oil companies jump on board, ramping petrol prices by 25 per cent and offering cheap slabs of Coke and Cherry Ripes as offsets.

MAY

Beazley Agonistes: Another opinion poll shows people prefer bird flu to the Labor leader, Kim Beazley. Focus group research also reveal voters want a leader in touch with family issues but prepared to take the tough decisions that go with leading a nation at war with terrorism. Beazley dyes hair red. Julia Gillard hones leadership aspirations by deserting her mad Socialist Left faction for Victoria's pragmatic Labor Unity faction. After faction leaders consult focus group research, Gillard given voice lessons, dyes hair blonde. Kevin Rudd sees Gillard, shaves head.

All Greek to him: The 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is held in Athens. Sardonic voiceover host Terry Wogan has laryngitis. SBS runs one of his 1970s commentaries. Nobody notices.

JUNE

Tunnel of love: Cobwebs growing in the Cross City Tunnel. The Premier, Morris Iemma, closes CBD to traffic, hoping to force all city motorists to western suburbs no matter what their intended destinations. Iemma says move will clear traffic congestion. It also fulfils contractual obligations to Hong Kong triad. Bob Carr - socialist, Goethe prizewinner and professional bushwalker - eviscerates Labor Government for adding to Sydney's pollution, says motorists should be made to pay more for motorway tolls as Macquarie Bank is an admirable example of capitalism at work. Facing political gridlock, Iemma seeks help, joins Opus Dei.

Hollywood finds Holy Grail: The Da Vinci Code movie opens. It never closes. Box office smash outlasts Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on Billboard 100 and Dan Brown's novel of the same name on bestseller lists. Opus Dei recruitment soars.

JULY

Treasurer trove: Peter Costello, grown sick and tired from waiting, swaps jobs with brother Tim Costello. Peter finds unexpected surplus in World Vision, privatises Aceh rebuilding efforts. Tim, after a discreet period, quits Liberals for Democrats, becomes independent but, further disillusioned, resigns to take up Dollar Sweets franchise in devastated Sri Lanka.

Near dead language: The world congress of barely alive language, Esperanto, is held in Florence. Based largely on words common to the main European tongues, Esperanto has been struggling to obtain a voice since its invention in 1887 by the Russsian L.L. Zamenhof. The late comedian Spike Milligan summed up the language's universality thus: "I can speak Esperanto like a native."

AUGUST

State of the nation: The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts its 15th census of population and housing on the night of August 8. In a money-saving innovation called eCensus, households are able to submit information over the internet. Bureau staff enjoy huge discounts for Viagra as bureau website jammed by spam for six months.

Nellie Melba revisited: John Farnham announces farewell national tour.

SEPTEMBER

Great Walk of China: The Chinese take their first space walk on the third space mission Shenzhou 7. Meet Foo Fighters, who order meal, request that it contain no MSG.

French Connection United Kingdom: Rugby league grand final shifted back to 9.30pm kick-off. Adult viewing time allows players to swear freely without corrupting minors.

The Barnaby who cried wolf: Nationals attempt to convince their great white hope, Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce, to stand against Tony Windsor, irritant independent MP in New England. Joyce gives 15 exclusive interviews to media saying he will, then he won't, but either way it is a great moment for Queensland. Windsor claims Nationals asked Macquarie Bank to give him a job in return for quitting politics.

OCTOBER

Low mileage: Republic of Ireland holds a referendum on the European constitution. Concerned citizens demand referendum rider to change road signs back from metric to miles to guide lost loved ones home.

Divine inspiration: Controversy follows call by the Fair Pay Commission chairman, Ian Harper, to employers, unions and welfare lobbyists, to join hands and pray for guidance while he strikes new rate for Australian workers. Harper grants wage slaves extra three Roman denarii a year.

Working the phone: Desperate and disgraced financial entrepreneur Rodney Adler loses Bathurst jail television rights after being caught on old tin-can phone to business associates.

NOVEMBER

Thus Spake Malthus: World oil production, according to American petroleum engineer Richard Duncan, peaks and after that it's Doomsday time with the industrial civilisation having less than a century before it's back to the Dark Ages or even hunter-gathering. Coal prices soar. Australian balance of trade healthy.

Liberal follies: Upper house Liberal powerbroker David Clarke seeks lower house preselection. State leader Peter Debnam joins Opus Dei, also dyes hair red.

DECEMBER

Nellie Melba revisited: Johnny Farnham announces a farewell national tour on the back of unexpected crossover hit with Dr Dre of Sadie the Cleaning Lady the Dance Mix/ Eat My Mop Rap.

Vice-regal notes: Iraqi insurgents kidnap Australians working for War Propheteer Pty Ltd. They demand ransom and that the Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, use his influence on the British Crown to broker English troop pull-out. Howard Government in crisis talks but PM steadfast over profit motive: "What the relatives of the Governor-General do is their own business."

Regal notes: Queen Elizabeth, unamused by events in Australia, quietly arranges for the Duchess of Cornwall's family company, Shand and Co (tampon manufacturers by royal appointment), to withdraw representatives from Iraq.