Word: downers
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Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has a wicked sense of humor. It's why men with pipes are attracted to him. He does a good line in self-deprecation as well. Just last week he told reporters, "I am but a humble laborer in the world of politics from the Adelaide Hills." Still, the Liberal Party's self-styled toiler gets around. Downer recently charmed U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her short visit; Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and China's Premier Wen Jiabao are in for a treat, too. Downer's hyper-funny side...
...wheat marketer AWB were the initial focus of the inquiry. Lately, the questions have surrounded the actions of the Howard government; officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been warming the seat in the witness box. Every few days, Rudd points to a new "stunning revelation." Downer claims the public release of the same document Rudd has referred to "completely vindicates everything the government has said about this issue." At times, Downer has hidden behind his officials; Rudd, who may one day be their boss, has flung his missiles over their pointy heads - at Downer, John Howard...
...Basic curiosity and gumption, abundant in less prestigious agencies such as Finance or Customs, eluded the dfat megastars. Cables, statements, e-mails and memos tumbling out of the Cole Inquiry do not inspire confidence in dfat; they certainly don't justify Downer's claim of "characteristic diligence" in performing his duties. Nor do they suggest open government. "I don't think any government in Australian corporate history has been more transparent and more determined to get to the truth than we've been," Downer said of the government's willingness to cooperate with the Cole Inquiry and a U.N. commission...
...region, particularly those of us who are longstanding allies, have a joint responsibility and obligation to try produce conditions in which the rise of China will be a positive force in international politics, not a negative force" prompted her Australian counterpart, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to state that "We don't support a policy of containment of China." And, of course, Rice's comments will be perceived in Beijing as just that, further evidence of a "containment" strategy...
...role," he says. "But it doesn't do much good for me to be out trying to solve national and world issues if we're not fixing ourselves." That, of course, would be Job 1. [This article contains a table. Please see hard copy or pdf.] DETROIT'S DOWNER U.S. market share...