Brett's list of bits - stuff and things as well as things and stuff...
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www.alexaobrien.com |
Posted: October 2, 2014 @ 13:32 |
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mashable.com |
Australia did not send anyone to the UN Climate Change Summit. Clearly the biggest issue facing humanity is not important enough - even though Tony Abbott and his entourage were going to be in the same city next week.
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Posted: September 24, 2014 @ 12:25 Modified: September 24, 2014 @ 12:55 |
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newmatilda.com |
And a friend of mine said this best:
Benjamin Franklin's commentary that “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” still holds true in my opinion. |
Posted: September 23, 2014 @ 14:47 |
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firstlook.org |
I wonder how much we (can't) trust the Australian government.
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Posted: September 15, 2014 @ 15:32 |
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theaimn.com |
The violence in the middle east is abhorrent and ISIS are clearly a malevolent force. But just wandering in blindly now (well after there should have been a considered international response) - and considering our (global) failure to bring peace to the region (and even the creation of various groups by fiddling there in the first place) we should be very careful.
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Posted: September 15, 2014 @ 08:57 |
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theaimn.com |
It's a pity the other parties are just as bad.
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Posted: September 5, 2014 @ 09:54 |
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tech.slashdot.org |
At least our government wants some sort of high speed broadband - even if it isn't progressive enough to go for the newest technology. So the Liberal government aren't quite luddites - at least their ahead of Iran.
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Posted: September 1, 2014 @ 11:36 |
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newmatilda.com |
So the mainstream media gets all upset when other (Labour) politicians screw the taxpayer for a few hundred dollars in taxi fares - why not the same squealing when it is the PM? To admit that you created a media event just so you could go to a private party the night before is not only dishonest but probably illegal. And that's not to mention the $400-odd dollars in travel expenses - what about the rest of his entourage?
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Posted: August 27, 2014 @ 12:37 |
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www.abc.net.au |
When you've got conservative commentators telling you (Tony Abbott) you're doing it wrong there is definitely something wrong with what you're doing.
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Posted: August 23, 2014 @ 15:53 |
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www.abc.net.au |
No, really? And the government is listening to them, not the science.
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Posted: August 18, 2014 @ 11:46 |
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www.npr.org |
Scary to think that Obama campaigned on the back of cleaning up Bush's mess - but hasn't done a lot of the big things he promised. Yes, there has been some marginal improvement but a lot of the big, behind-the-scenes stuff that happened with Bush still happens now.
Pity. |
Posted: August 14, 2014 @ 16:05 |
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theaimn.com |
In addition to the Joe Hockey "the poor don't drive as much" comments here's a good summary of how out of touch Tony Abbott is. His denial of broken promises is stunning.
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Posted: August 14, 2014 @ 13:54 |
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www.cato-unbound.org |
My opinion on this is divided but this is an interesting article from someone who calls themselves a libertarian - so in theory, to the right of politics. It's a good read.
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Posted: August 7, 2014 @ 12:30 |
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www.bloomberg.com |
Crypto currencies are very interesting - they decrease the friction with which money can be shifted around - good for consumers as you don't have to worry about banks clipping the ticket along the way - but there are also significant legal hurdles. And there are volatility issues - no-one wants their money to devalue overnight.
Having a government come forward and back a currency gives it legitimacy and an actual real value. Very interesting times. |
Posted: August 7, 2014 @ 10:23 |
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www.abc.net.au |
Shame on the AFL to banning advertisements for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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Posted: August 7, 2014 @ 08:56 |
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newmatilda.com |
IMHO a very balanced commentary - in short, we have an incredibly right-wing government with no viable opposition. And a hostile "free" press.
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Posted: August 4, 2014 @ 17:11 |
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www.newscientist.com |
Repealing the carbon tax - just another conservative move to please big business because the replacement systems will not be anywhere near as effective.
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Posted: July 19, 2014 @ 07:01 |
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tech.slashdot.org |
By any reasonable measure (payload; range; speed; theatre survivability) the plane is a dog. We should cut our losses. And it is a political football in the US too.
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Posted: July 11, 2014 @ 17:19 |
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www.glennmurray.com.au |
While I think it is unwise to me randomly spending money we don't have a debt crisis but our current Liberal government is manufacturing the belief that we do. If we do have a debt crisis, why are we giving money to healthy companies (witness Cadbury at the lower end of the scale) and spending money on warplanes (the highly compromised F-35)?
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Posted: July 8, 2014 @ 11:49 |
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tech.slashdot.org |
I'm guessing that lawmakers in every country of the world really don't understand technology that much. Taken literally, this would pretty much stop the Russian people accessing the Internet.
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Posted: July 5, 2014 @ 13:03 |
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Basically, using metadata (you know, the stuff the Australian government says is safe to keep) you can be easily put onto a terror watchlist with no recourse.