Confusion by design? - posted by Ronda Jambe

Trust in the markets is a brave thing, yet most people I have spoken to about the recent turbulence have voiced that view: in the longer term, the stock market only goes up. Of course, there are glitches and some... More

Sorry split - posted by Graham

The Courier Mail reports today that Brendan Nelson's agreement to an apology to Aborigines for the stolen generation will "split" the Liberal Party (although the only splinter they can find to quote is Wilson Tuckey). The state governments have all... More

Opposing from Government - posted by Graham

Labor won the last election by convincing enough people that it would be little different to John Howard while convincing enough other people it would be completely different. One group was always going to be crying into its beer, and... More

The not so super sting in the tail - posted by Ronda Jambe

Having bitten the bullet and removed my remaining funds from my industry fund, other questions arise. Namely, who 'owns' the loss? The following is based on my understanding and limited knowledge of how super works and what was said over... More

Terminator - posted by Graham

Mark Bahnisch has taken to calling Lawrence Springborg "the Borg" which brings to my mind images of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terminators. Queensland non-Labor politics seems to be caught in a continuous "B" Grade loop with a script they can't change,... More

Surplus of fashion risks economic growth. - posted by Graham

Why is Kevin Rudd set on running a budget surplus of somewhere around $17 billion? The conventional economic theory is that governments should run surpluses in good times so that they can spend them in bad times as a way... More

Bush's stimulus puny - posted by Graham

$145 Billion sounds like a lot. That's the amount that President George Bush is promising to pump into the US economy in an attempt to avert recession. Using the latest World Bank data on a purchasing power parity basis this... More

Are they missing Warnie? - posted by Graham

Just a thought. Australia's been lucky not to have lost one or other of the first two tests against India, so losing the test in Perth was no surprise. I think it has been more a batting failure than a... More

In Praise of Older Goods - posted by Ronda Jambe

...or the African Freecycle Boogie. I guess it is rewarding to live long enough to see my youthful concerns become mainstream alarms. Or at least fashionable. And that is what is now happening with recycled goods. Second hand goods have... More

Greennecks and Aqua Nullius - posted by Graham

The general media narrative equates conservationists with civility, and their opponents are most frequently portrayed as rednecks. It's easy to unconsciously slip into this dichotomy, so I found this thread on the bottom of an ABC article on the detention... More

Biofuels - told you so! - posted by Graham

I predicted 18 months ago that biofuels were problematic and would have negligible impact on greenhouse gasses at the same time leading to starvation. I didn't touch on land degradation in the post, so the European Union's ahead of me... More

Whaling illusion stripped bare - posted by Graham

Sometimes the illusion is worth more than the reality. Australia's claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Antarctic was only plausible while we tried to enforce it against smaller nations because, for example, they were catching Patagonian tooth-fish. And... More

Swan's ugly duckling with the banks - posted by Graham

Wayne Swan's copped a lot of criticism for his attempt to stop banks raising interest rates, but mostly for the wrong reasons. Swan's only powers over bank interest rates are persuasive, not real. He heavied the banks and was ignored,... More

US universities - best quality at lowest cost - posted by Graham

Generally the more in demand an item, the more expensive it is. So an Ivy League university ought to be pretty pricey. Not if you're Yale. The press release pasted below implies that most Australian students could get into Yale... More

Hey dude, who moved my super? - posted by Ronda Jambe

Like many Australian approaching retirement age, I have started to move other assets into an industry super fund. The tax free lure dangles like the golden ring on a merry-go-round. The only hitch is that it really is a merry-go-round,... More

A 12 step program for saving the environment - posted by Ronda Jambe

It's as easy as 1-2-3: Intention - Design - Governance. Times 4, because you need to keep looping around. Hello, this is my Thursday Blog, in fulfillment of the only New Year's Resolution I dare to make. A committment to... More