THE ZOO

Otherwise known as parliament (any/or, I have no reason to expect otherwise). Specifically, in this case, Federal Parliament earlier this week. Where the inhabitants of this zoo, made verbal war on one another, with accusations of failure and bad management; inexperience and weakness.
In the lead up to the election, age was brought into play with Labour suggesting Howard was 'past it' and that the mantle should be passed to someone more virile in younger years. Virtually everyone over 60 called the radio stations expresing outrage and with their own stories of how they worked to a hundred.
Howard supporters defended their leader with gusto, referring to Howard's strict fitness regime (he walks every morning - bodyguards silently following). A plethora of examples of sucessful older men were paraded as evidence.
Then some investigative journalist uncovered Kevin Rudd's medical file and the tasty piece therein telling of his heart operation some 20 years ago. Morality and ethical behaviour were roughly shoved aside in favour of political expedience and point scoring.
It caused a stir and no mistake with the sanctimonious calling shame shame shame. Why is it any of your business? They asked. And they should, to a degree at least. Is this sort of invasion of privacy, and the exposure of such really the sort of behaviour we want from supposed honourable men?

The government have also employed a, get this, forensic accountant, and instructed him to go through the opposition leader's entire financial life in search of something, anything they can use as a weapon in this closest election in many a year.
When a crime is committed - a serious one like murder, a forensic scientist is used to attempt to find single threads of DNA even, using microscopes and other such technological wonders - anything to solve the case.
Rudd's financial records are being searched for that same strand - that often tiny piece of information that would normally be used to solve murders but in this case, damage a man's reputation in the name of the fight.
It all turned particularly agressive in Federal Parliament, with both sides hurling slurs and insults, and resulting in ejections from the house for some hours. The ejected was a member who repeated the precise words earlier uttered by the government. That government member was allowed to stay however - can hardly eject the PM I suppose...
Then the rabble descended to a lower level still with the Prime Minister first, then followed by his deputy, trying to surreptitiously (unsucessfully it has to be noted) give the opposition 'the finger'. Howard disguised his offensive gesture by pushing his glasses up his nose with the finger; the deputy didn't have glasses so his was particularly obvious. (I've employed this very tactic myself when giving the finger in company - but I'm not an 'honourable member', more's the pity cause I couldn't do much worse a job that the current idiots!)

It raises a question for me; is this rabble really all we have to run our country? A group of infants name-calling and hand signalling (who's going to be first to use the international sign of the wanker I wonder...)