Paul Howes, Olivia Wirth and the wisdom of Henry Kissinger

Australian political junkies will no doubt be aware that AWU head honcho Paul Howes and Qantas corporate affairs spokeswoman Olivia Wirth are an item. This is a notable development, not least because it raises questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Then there's the sheer incongruity of the union (er, the one between them, that is). Now, I don't wanna sound sexist or misogynist here, but as well as being highly capable Ms Wirth also happens to be one undeniably foxy babe. Howes, on the other hand, could never be described as tall, dark and handsome.

You've gotta ask, what's his secret?

The explanation that comes first to mind is that famous line from Henry Kissinger: "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

Yep, it's obviously pretty potent stuff. Not only does it overcome those natural forces that often bring men and women together; it also traverses ideological divides. At first blush union heavies and corporate movers and shakers seem like very strange bedfellows, after all. 

Leftist outrage over Qantas fleet grounding seems misplaced

Just re this Qantas crisis: The unions are of course outraged about the fleet grounding and there is much talk that Alan Joyce is "holding the nation to ransom". They seem most annoyed by the fact that he's done the ol' switcheroo on them. But by grounding the fleet he's effectively "downing tools", which is something that unionists do with monotonous regularity. They think going on strike is fine for employees, but they can't stand it when employers do it.

As well as union outrage, many on the green left are seething with contempt for Joyce and what he has done. But isn't this a great thing for the planet? Think of all those greenhouse gases that are now not being spewed into the atmosphere. If the grounding keeps going for weeks or even months, it will do more to prevent global warming than the carbon tax could ever do. The effect of taking all those planes out of the air must be akin to taking 45 million cars off the road, at least. Bloke's a climate change hero, surely.