Friday 29th of March 2024

the great productivity lie .....

the great productivity lie .....

from Crikey .....

GDP figures out this morning were stronger than expected. The Australian economy grew by 1.2% in the June quarter, real gross domestic income grew 6.5% in the 2010-11 financial year -- the largest growth since 1987-88.

Nice maths for Treasurer Wayne Swan. If only President Obama could boast a better set of figures. Obama will take the nation through the numbers of his jobs package plan Thursday night (US time) in his address to Congress.

"aussie tony" & the importance of media relationships .....

"aussie tony" & the importance of media relationships .....

from Crikey .....

Buried in the glossy pages of the October edition of UK Vogue is the revelation, midway through an interview with Wendi Deng (who wasn't sleeping due to the stress of the phone-hacking scandal, thanks for asking), that former British PM Tony Blair is godfather to Rupert's and Wendi's daughter Grace.

trust who .....

trust who .....

from Crikey .....

We trust Laurie Oakes and George Negus to bring us the news. But not Alan Jones and Andrew Bolt.

And the news is worse for Bolt, the nation's pre-eminent conservative crusader, with more than half of respondents to an Essential Research survey not knowing who he is.

Essential put a number of journalists and commentators to its weekly online panel to ask who they most trusted. The results perhaps aren't surprising, and skewed with state-based stars, but show among the trustworthy and reviled that some of the nation's hot-headed megaphones aren't as famous as they might think.

a way of life attacked .....

a way of life attacked .....

Progress has been made in fighting terrorism since the outrages of September 11.

Time not only heals wounds but also changes perspectives. The greatest apprehension felt by Americans after the attacks of September 11, 2001, was that there would be further attacks on their country; the questions were when and where, rather than if. Understanding this is central to a proper historical analysis of American actions, and those of her allies such as Australia, over the past 10 years.

blood stains...

olivebranch

More than 300 asylum seekers who had been slated to be sent to Malaysia will now be processed in Australia after the High Court threw the Government's offshore processing regime into chaos.

This morning Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told Radio National that 335 asylum seekers on Christmas Island would have their refugee claims heard on Australian soil.

The men, women and children had been due to be sent to Malaysia under the now-defunct swap deal with Kuala Lumpur.

protecting our way of life .....

protecting our way of life .....

Europe's human rights chief launched a blistering attack Thursday on European governments' counterterrorism actions, accusing them of helping the United States commit "countless" crimes in the past 10 years.

The 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is an occasion to analyze whether the official responses have been proper and effective, said Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's rights commissioner.

the wheel of fortune .....

the wheel of fortune .....

It is not hard to picture Tony Abbott bouncing awake each morning and spinning a large chocolate wheel to see which of the government's competing misfortunes he should exploit that day. They include:

Asylum seekers: The High Court has killed the Malaysia solution, putting the sword to Julia Gillard's pledge for a regional solution to people smuggling. Now presiding over a split party, her options are to backflip and embrace Nauru, or allow onshore processing.

of carbon tax and direct action...

electricity

picture by Gus

Federal Treasury analysis shows the Opposition's direct action climate change policy would cost twice as much as a carbon tax for the same reduction in emissions.

The analysis has been released following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Both major parties have committed to reducing carbon emissions by 5 per cent by 2020.

The Treasury analysis says the Coalition's direct action plan would be more expensive because it forgoes opportunities for cheaper, international sources of abatement and would be generally less effective.

time to clean house .....

time to clean house .....

News Ltd owns 70 per cent of the circulation of major newspapers in Australia. If Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, were an apolitical or a distant figure, this might not matter, but he has a powerful set of ideological beliefs and is determined to maintain tight control over the political line of all his papers on issues that interest him.

sharing the spoils .....

sharing the spoils .....

The Holy Triumvirate - The United States, NATO and the European Union - recognizes no higher power and believes, literally, that it can do whatever it wants in the world, to whomever it wants, for as long as it wants, and call it whatever it wants, like "humanitarian".

too much navel-gazing...

navel gazing

Retail sales rebounded in July and business investment plans surged to a record high, boosting the Australian dollar and making the debt market think twice about expectations for deep interest-rate cuts.

The debt futures market, which weeks ago was betting on global market turmoil sending rates plummeting by 175 basis points, fell on the data today.

"There's nothing here that adds to the rate-cut case which is doing the rounds of markets, and it shows why rates over the medium term are going to need to go higher," said Michael Blythe, chief economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

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