http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/22/2852973.htm

When the story was first breaking in July last year, I made this post.
"Look at it from a Chinese perspective. Currently contracts signed last year between the Chinese government and Rio, prior to the ( Read more... )

( some venting on the subject of Stern Hu )

So, which is worse?

1. Sending an email to facilitate a friend / business associate / political back-scratcher's obtainment of government support, otherwise via the usual channels, and receiving support from said friend / associate to the tune of (a) a borrowed ute and (b) < $1000 worth of fundraiser tickets.
2. Faking an email with the intent of ( Read more... )

1. On policy announcement #1: the government is spending too much and throwing money away on an economic stimulus plan that will fail!
2. On policy announcement #2: sure we would spend 90% as much money, but our dollars would be magic dollars that went to better places!
3. Prior to figures #1: the government spent all that money and it hasn't done anything!
4. ( Read more... )

On Friday night, after a great and supernaturally cheap meal at Sparrow Indonesian on William St, I saw a great new Australian film called Samson and Delilah, and want to pass on the recommendations I've already received. The film is about Aboriginals.

As I see it, Samson and Delilah has two or three good ideas in it that taken together ( Read more... )

My home state of Western Australia is having this ridiculous referendum on the introduction of Daylight Savings Time on Saturday. I say "ridiculous" because in WA this issue has assumed an importance far beyond that which it rightly deserves ( Read more... )

A nice article from Possum's Pollytics explaining, in the face of "shock horror", "incredible turnaround" and "Rocky VI" articles about the Labor defeat of the LNP in Queensland, why in fact the statistics and polls didn't lie at any stage about probable outcomes. The real problem was a total failure by journalists to check what sort of figures ( Read more... )

Today a massive "stimulus package" was announced to "kickstart" the economy.

( And now I'm going to ramble on about that and other topics. )

Found out from Larvatus Prodeo today that Overland have started putting a lot of material up online, free-gratis. There is a nice short story called "Nothing Surprises" from the previous issue up there, by a writer called Steven Amsterdam. A simple story about a family, with a magical element that I enjoyed ( Read more... )

( Read more... )