from Crikey…

One of the most startling cases of a government using the fig leaf of “national security” to protect its own interests is happening right before our eyes - and it should have Australians up in arms.

James Packer's Crown Resorts has been asked to reduce the size of the podium for its proposed casino tower and move the podium back from the waterfront, to address concerns the lower floors of the casino will dominate the public space and constrict the harbour walkway.

The suggested changes from the Department of Planning NSW are contained in a draft recommendation that was sent to Lendlease and Crown for comment in November last year. The recommendation by the department is for approval of Modification 8 which, among other changes, relocates the hotel from its original site over the water to the land.

The get Russia campaign is in full swing... The lies out of America are coming thick and fast. Because "we" in the west are aligned with the USA, we don't see the trick which is designed to push the Russians to respond in kind. 

The price of oil is in nosedive — mostly designed to hurt Russia. "Some" people — including the Saudis — have been told to make some sacrifices in order to achieve this aim.

The US is about to spend four times as much on "defending Europe (east)" contrarily to all the agreements made between Reagan and Gorbachev

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told Coalition MPs that a double dissolution election this year is a "live option".

Abbott knew it was daft because he had said so just three months earlier. After the Irish vote, he rejected the idea for Australia because “questions of marriage are the preserve of the Commonwealth parliament”.

"Secure, affordable housing that is connected to transport and jobs, to education and support services, is a crucial piece of the puzzle for reducing poverty and disadvantage in this state," she said.

Ms Howe said she believed the fund had the potential to deliver "far more" than 3000 additional homes.

IPA chief executive Brendan Lyon said the fund "will see thousands of people get stable housing and tailored support services, but it also begins to trial new ways to solve the public housing backlog".

However, opposition spokesman for social housing, Tania Mihailuk, questioned why the government needed to subsidise developers in "a booming housing market" with rents "on the rise".