Conservative politicians like Tony Abbott and Steven Fielding who widely promote the use of “temporary protection visas” and that boat people are “jumping the queue”, are in fact giving people smugglers a product to sell to desperate refugees. …We will put the temporary protection visas back in place. (Abbott, 18 March 2010) Temporary protection visas [...]
This week has seen what appears to be the end of the honeymoon period for Tony Abbott, coinciding with his triathlon run, resignation of key powerbroker Nick Minchin, reshuffle and demotion of Barnaby Joyce, and his disastrous health care debate with Rudd. Abbott’s reversal of fortune is a case study of Machiavelli’s advice to “avoid [...]
I wrote a few months ago that in the United States, TV weathermen are increasingly skeptical about climate change, while at the same time being highly trusted on the issue by the public. This is despite many TV weathermen not having a degree relating to their on-screen activities (the days of meteorologists being hired by [...]
With Tony Abbott on the bike part of the triathlon while I write, Insiders has pointed me to an article in The Age about the physical effects of extreme physical exertion. VIS sports scientist Danielle Stefano cites the risk of dehydration, heart strain, cognitive impairment or heat stroke in today’s forecast 28-degree heat in Port [...]
I heard on News Radio today that Tony Abbott will be running a triathlon (a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and a 42km marathon run). ”I haven’t done anything like the training that I should have for this event because it is impossible to get out for the two and three hours a day that [...]
I’ve just been reading Bows against the Barons, by Geoffrey Trease, which has a pre-socialist Robin Hood leads the Merry Men and the townsfolk of Nottingham into a revolt against the lords of Britain. Now, I’ve finally gotten around to looking up this Robin Hood tax idea that is gaining traction in the UK. Basically, [...]
The UK Labour Party have been widely decried as being on their last legs, out of ideas, dead ducks, etc. However, behind the scenes, a growing movement of vibrant progressives is building and organising. Much of it is being supported and encouraged by the Labour Party. This rise of progressive online political action also coincides [...]
The ITUC has launched a new online campaign highlighting the exploitation of workers and children in the third world. The campaign’s website – Change the World - is very professional, although it is unfortunately flash-based meaning that it takes a long time to load. The campaign’s posters are amazing – very confronting and stark in [...]
I’ve been reading Reworked – a new book by 37 Signals – which suggests that work meetings are “toxic”. (Download a short sample here.) The worst interruptions of all are meetings. Here’s why: They’re usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things. They usually convey an abysmally small amount of information per minute. They [...]
The Liberal Party in Australia has launched its new website, on the heels of Labor’s new “Labor Connect” site. I’ve written before about how previous Liberal leaders have mimicked a lot of the style of UK Tory leader David Cameron (Turnbull especially), but I haven’t commented on how much of the presentation of the Liberals [...]
Following from my previous post on the lessons that Machiavelli’s The Prince can give us today, I thought I’d discuss the timing of policy reform. This is applicable, in my view, for most policy makers, especially political policy makers, and for large reforms. This series of posts is part of Project 52 – one post [...]
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