Not much time to write about this -- on my way out the door for work -- but just noticed the interview I saw of General Clark on Australian TV last night is now available on line in full.

I think you'll all enjoy seeing him interviewed by someone other than the US media. Couldn't believe myself how different the tone and some of the content was.

Got a call from a friend of mine who'd never seen General Clark before right after the interview. He was impressed and finally understands why I've been raving about the General for so long :-)

Amongst all the bad news, here is something that's cheered me a little -- although the poor man's nightmare is, I'm sure, not entirely over.

David Hicks has been released from prison.

Wearing jeans and a green polo shirt, the 32-year-old walked from Adelaide's Yatala Prison at 8.17 (CDT) and was escord to a waiting car, bypassing the waiting media pack that had been keeping a round-the-clock vigil.

I've just returned from a trip to the West Coast of Australia and found that my friend's article about an Aussie's view of the US electoral process that I mentioned in my previous blog has been printed.

As I'm sure most of you are aware now, we have new government in Australia. The new Prime Minister and his ministers were sworn in yesterday and, already Prime Minister Rudd has agreed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Whenever I try to describe to an American the last man who was a Labor Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating I usually fall back on the glib line "He was our version of Bill Clinton."

Paul Keating

I've just voted in the Australia Federal election -- and frustratingly just did a long blog about it that I just accidentally deleted. (Firefox is great, but when I went to click a tab I accidentally caught the edge of the one next to it and shut CCN. Grrrr!.)

I'm hoping John Howard, the big Bush buddy in this part of the world gets beaten. The polls have been in favour of his opponent, Labor's Kevin Rudd all along, but right at the end the gap has been narrowing, so I'm nervous.

You are well aware, I assume that Sydney, Australia is babysitting your President this week. Or perhaps you just prefer to forget he exists when he's finally out of the country, in which case could we characterize these coming days as Aussies providing some respite care for their American friends?

And may I say, we're having enormous fun with him. For those of you who don't have the patience for the long serious reading matter ahead, please amuse yourselves by

What's the connection?

The story of Ana Ivanovic, the 19 year old who has just reached the final of the French Open tennis.

One of the reasons General Clark knows war is always, always, always only a last resort is that among the targets and  -- the military, the bases and the enemy infrastructure -- are ordinary people trying to pursue ordinary interests, sometimes with extraordinary talent.

I almost embarrassed myself at the office the other day.

I work for a media organisation and the person sitting next to me was arranging an interview with Major Michael Mori, the marine lawyer who represented David Hicks (I've written about Major Mori at CCN before.)

A lot of time being a citizen of a country that's regarded as one of the staunchest allies of the United States doesn't make me feel so great.

But somehow when General Wesley Clark mentions Australia's solid relationship with the US, it doesn't feel so tainted. It feels like recognition rather than a reason to cringe.

....Ten out of fifteen countries in a Chicago Council of Global Affairs poll show that the most common view is the United States cannot be trusted to act responsibly in world affairs.