HAPPY PLANET INDEX

Duckpond - July 5, 2009 - 1:55am

The New Economics Foundation has an index, first published in 2006, that combines scores for most countries into a single index combining life expectancy, carbon footprint and subjective life happiness.
Read more »

If it's July it must be time to mention Monsanto again....

North Coast Voices - July 5, 2009 - 12:10am

Another month has passed and the big biotech companies continue their push to dominate the basic mechanism of food production - seeds, fertiliser Read more »

Is Mel Gibson’s , ‘The Passion Of The Christ’, Anti-Semitic ?

Under the Milky Way - July 4, 2009 - 9:09pm

Introduction

I wrote this little essay around the time ‘The Passion Of The Christ’ came out. I still assert that ‘The Passion’ is not Anti-Semitic but, in light of Gibson’s arrest for drunk-driving and the anti-semitic comments he made at the time, I was obviously wrong about Gibson’s personal anti-semitism.

Is The Passion Of The Christ Anti-Semitic ? Read more »

Take that intertubes ... and connecting devices

Harrangueman - July 4, 2009 - 1:53pm

I am a bit of a numpty when it comes to electronic devices. TheWife, for example had to set up the digital recorder because it nearly made me cry :(

We've decided to advance our IT solutions and get us a laptop with a wireless connection. I've had the laptop a week and the router for three days before I even summoned the courage to open it.
Read more »

Liebowitz on the Subprime Crisis: Again

Catallaxy - July 4, 2009 - 10:44am

Stan Liebowitz was the person who very early fingered the underlying causes of the subprime crisis. John B. Taylor has shown how the loose monetary policy contributed while Liebowitz described the housing train wreck. Liebowitz is back again - writing in the WSJ - arguing that it was the relaxation of prudent ending criteria and not adjustable rate loans that is the main culprit. Read more »

Driving charges

Core Econ - July 4, 2009 - 9:34am

In the Sydney Morning Herald today, a call for charges in driving.

In a paper released this morning which the Treasury stresses does not represent its official view, economist Paul Hubbard commends Sydney’s experiment with time-of-day pricing levels for the Harbour Bridge and Tunnel and says it could go further.

Read more »

Men can multi-task just fine…in the bedroom

The Punch - July 4, 2009 - 6:00am

Women of the world, don’t be fooled. Men can multitask – if they have powerful jobs and are not expected to be faithful.

Silvio Berlusconi, Senator Mark Sanford, Gordon Ramsay and Eliot Spitzer are all superb multi-taskers who check all of these boxes:

Big time job, tick

In the public eye, tick.

Gaining considerable fortunes, tick.

Discovered to be having extra-marital affairs, tick. In some cases, tick tick tick.

If Only We Could Mine And Export 'Having A Go'

The Orstrahyun - July 4, 2009 - 2:20am

PM Kevin Rudd gets a decent, fairly serious profile in the US Time Magazine. Read more »

Who Lincoln Was

3 Quarks Daily - July 4, 2009 - 2:02am

Sean Wilentz in The New Republic: Read more »

Higher weekend petrol prices

Core Econ - July 4, 2009 - 1:25am

John Hewson writes in an Op-Ed in the AFR today that he has observed over a long period of time that a particular petrol station raises it prices by between 15 and 25 cents on Thursday mornings.  He deduces that this is a simple case of “gouging customers”.  I have heard this argument quite a few times, even from people at FuelWatch in WA.  Read more »

Why has The Oz become Fox News with words?

Pollytics - July 4, 2009 - 12:55am

Reading the latest piece from Michael Stutchbury got me thinking, is the reason why The Australian has turned into Fox News with words because of a relatively recent demographic shift in their audience?

Is it a case where large demographic slices of people with any get up and go, simply got up and left the musings of The Oz, leaving behind an old, but educated audience of has-been conservatives, getting their world view tickled by one ideologically soothing editorial line after another to shore up market share?

It would explain a lot if it were the case. Read more »

John Hartigan : The Uastralian iS Stell Aa Qaultiy Newpaper

The Orstrahyun - July 3, 2009 - 3:56pm

I'm absolutely loving how many blog posts the speech by News Limited CEO, John Hartigan, is producing for this blog. All that free content courtesy of Harto himself. Brilliant. And all from a speech where he berated bloggers and independent online news sites for taking a free ride on "original content" produced by News Limited. Read more »

Frank Devine RIP

Catallaxy - July 3, 2009 - 3:50pm

Long time columnist for The Australian and man of letters Frank Devine has passed away at the age of 77.

Ex-PMs attack Defense White Paper

Peter Gallagher - July 3, 2009 - 3:39pm

Malcolm Fraser and Paul Keating, who would have believed it? Both criticize the obscurely Sino-phobic tone of the White Paper and advocate—in place of a more belligerent regionalism, or reliance on the US alliance (for something it is not designed to deliver)—a more effective regional engagement. Read more »

Election Simulation - 17 seat ALP gain.

Pollytics - July 3, 2009 - 2:01pm

With the new Newspoll quarterly aggregates out, we can combine these State based breakdowns with the breakdowns from the 2 Nieslen polls taken over the same period and run some election simulations to find out what would most likely have happened were an election held last quarter and had results the same as the polling.

You can the see the mechanics of how the monte carlo simulation works over here. Read more »

And then he drove me mad

North Coast Voices - July 5, 2009 - 12:15am


There is no excuse for domestic violence and even though we all know this such violence often goes unaddressed by families and communities alike.

So it was interesting to come across the website He Drove Me Mad: our traumatic experiences shared.
Read more »

No Rest for the Wealthy

3 Quarks Daily - July 4, 2009 - 8:01pm

Daniel Gross in The New York Times: Read more »

Creeping acquisitions

Core Econ - July 4, 2009 - 6:34pm

John Durie finishes his column in the weekend Australian as follows:

Next Friday is the closing date for submissions on creeping acquisitions and the big business lobby is adamant no new law is required. The odds of Emerson agreeing with big business are high.

Let’s hope that Mr Durie is reading the political tea leaves correctly. Read more »

Weekend Essays on Liberty: Two Kinds of Exchange

Catallaxy - July 4, 2009 - 11:20am

The latest issue of Policy has an article by Fred Argy comparing classical liberalism and social liberalism (no link). I thought this weekends Essay on Liberty should set out the differences between classical liberals (or libertarians) and social liberalism. It is by Leonard Read and was first published in 1954.
Read more »

Telstra usage meter redux

Core Econ - July 4, 2009 - 10:45am

Last week, I wrote about concerns that Telstra’s Bigpond usage meter was not measuring usage accurately. Similar issues were echoed by David Firth in The Australian who quoted from my experience (I posted my account on Whirlpool with the username ‘EconProf’ — that wasn’t to be anonymous but I must have chosen that at some earlier stage). It is time for an update. Read more »

Carbon reduction and India

Core Econ - July 4, 2009 - 9:36am

One of the concerns I have long had about international carbon pollution reduction schemes is that they are designed by nice people in the developed world who have never been near a developing country. An article from the Indian “Economic Times” summarises my concerns. The article is here. The problem is simple and summarised by this quote from the article. Read more »

Ashes 09: North finds touch

Charlie Happell - July 4, 2009 - 7:58am

Australia has looked narcoleptic at times during this match.

But some cool shit has happened to the players who are awake.

Michael Hussey came back from the wilderness.

Brett Lee proved earnestness can produce wickets.

And now Marcus North, their major form worry, has made a calm hundred.

Sure Phillip Hughes can’t play short or full balls. And Nathan Hauritz would be more use cutting the oranges or holding the bags. But having three players find form in one match is pretty handy. Read more »

Looking to America for some sense on emissions

The Punch - July 4, 2009 - 5:40am

A funny thing happened on the weekend: the world’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter - the US - took the first step towards establishing a carbon reduction scheme and almost nobody wanted to talk about it.

The Obama-endorsed scheme passed the US House of Representatives and only has to clear their Senate to become law.

In Australia, a few people welcomed the vote and applauded the move, but almost no-one dared to lift the carpet and comment on the design of the US scheme.

Honduran Coup: Target Left?

3 Quarks Daily - July 4, 2009 - 2:23am

Roger Burback in CounterPunch: Read more »

One of those irregular verbs

Pure Poison - July 4, 2009 - 12:58am

I write about you in a professionally detached manner;
You engage in “navel-gazy bullshit”.

77cTsrewdgw

Progress on US Climate Bill

Public Polity - July 4, 2009 - 12:55am

There has been further progress on the US Climate Bill in the past week with the US House of Representatives passing the cap and trade bill with a vote of 219 – 212. The vote, providing a major victory for Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi will now see the bill, which mandates for 17% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 80% cuts by 2050 (based on 2005 levels), sent to the US Senate ready for debate after the July recess. Here is faces an uncertain future, with doubts over a number of controversial issues within the text of the bill. Read more »

Just how much do presidential words of wisdom cost?

North Coast Voices - July 4, 2009 - 12:18am


This week the U.S. Executive Office of the President has released a list of White House office staff and the annual remumeration received.

President Obama's speech writers collectively cost taxpayers US $276,000 annually as of 1 July 2009: Read more »

Revenue caps

Core Econ - July 3, 2009 - 10:54pm

Back in the 1990s, I can remember being asked by a state government agency to comment on their proposal for ‘revenue regulation’ of a state utility. For the reasons stated below I told them it was stupid.

A few years later my colleague at RSSS at the time, Rohan Pitchford, was asked a similar question by a regulator. I can still remember him talking with me about it – something like “this is just nuts isn’t it?” Read more »

Frank Devine RIP

Club Troppo - July 3, 2009 - 8:15pm

Frank Devine passed away on Friday morning. He enriched the lives of many people, whether or not they agreed with his views on politics, religion or anything else.

An early tribute can be found in The Australian, from Bernard Lane . The Weekend Australian tomorrow will carry stories from Peter Coleman and others.

Condolences to Jacqui, Miranda, Rosalind, Alexandra and others who are close to him. Read more »

Abbott pwned

Harrangueman - July 3, 2009 - 5:17pm

Following on from Tony Sez, I sent the ABC article to a friend for her edification.

Edification = Outrage. Read more »

Where's the economy headed?

Peter Martin - July 3, 2009 - 3:46pm

Find out in The Age tomorrow Read more »

Blurb me, baby

A Pair of Ragged Claws ALR Blog - July 3, 2009 - 2:00pm

He may have missed out on the Miles Franklin but if you need proof that Christos Tsiolkas is the writer of the moment, just check…