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 )

A blog populated by three imaginary characters embodying three different modes of humour, Fafblog, has finally resumed some sort of activity after a long hiatus.Were lives lost? Of course. Were cities razed, flesh burned with poison gas, families slaughtered and children raped? Naturally. But one can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, ( Read more... )

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... )

The australian_left community has a post up today about a professor of physics at the University of Ottawa in Canada being fired for consistently introducing anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian commentary and guest speakers into cross-disciplinary courses he delivered ( 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... )

It has been but a few hours since a disaffected German kid stormed through a school, killing over a dozen people before turning the gun on himself.

And here comes one of the first "it was video games wot did it" stories ( Read more... )

This evening I was out with a friend and since we are both without doubt consumed solely by the most cerebral of matters, the conversation soon turned to prat-level debate of the economic stimulus package and how it could, or should work.

( Rather long discussion about stimulus delivery technology, my wacky unstoppable theory of super-as-fiscal-lever, and economics as not much in the way of a science. )