Ironically, while populationist groups focus attention on the 7 billion, protestors in the worldwide Occupy movement have identified the real source of environmental destruction: not the 7 billion, but the 1 per cent, the handful of millionaires and billionaires who own more, consume more, control more, and destroy more than all the rest of us put together.
via Population crisis: blame the 1 per cent – The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
It can’t be this simple, and it isn’t – this is done with austerity and health /welfare budget slashing, but everyone seems to participate, realising it is for the greater good.
The Estonians, with little debt, an enthusiastic attitude toward Europe and a stoic approach to austerity measures, are a model EU nation in the midst of a crisis. They live in a digital republic defined by a business-friendly atmosphere and government transparency, an image that is attracting European expats.
via Skype and Sensibility: Estonia Lives the European Dream – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.
My goodness. A rational, decent perspective. Astonishing!
Ahh Dale Farm, just the mere mention of the name and the machete’s are out. The stream of vile, murderous invective on the #dalefarm Tweet stream had to be read to be believed. Fool that I am I made a comment, well, I was avoiding getting down to work.I was then obviously the recipient of a stream of tweets criticizing me, yes, it was the normal stuff, ‘you live in a media bubble,’ ‘come and join the real world’ and ‘it’s different for ordinary people like us, we live near them.’
This is about the broken health lack of care system in the US, where, basically, money means survival.
All the riches and ‘freedom’ in the world won’t save your ass if you don’t have access to the right treatment. And when effective medicine isn’t getting out there because the financial incentive isn’t compelling enough, it’s just plain sickening.
via Deus Ex Malcontent: Quote of the Day.
Annabel Crabb is one of the preeminent, (and if not the most popular, certainly listed highly among them), voices in political reporting in Australia. Unlike many of her peers, she has embraced the changes the Internet has wrought in her profession. She not only reports using the new tools, she discusses the changes themselves. Here is one of her speeches on the subject captured in her blog.
Brilliantly put :
The reason baby boomers don’t understand the protesters is because we grew up with all advantages now being denied the younger generation—and it’s left us totally clueless.
via Occupy Wall Street: Why Baby Boomers Don’t Understand the Protests – The Daily Beast.
While we argue about politics, and mac vs pc, and social networks – let us have a dose of hard, sad reality hit us. People who claim Obama wants a totalitarian state have no damn idea what that really looks like. It looks like this. This is evil.
VIDEO: Footage shows starving N Korea children (ABC News)
via Footage offers glimpse of N Korea hunger crisis – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Image via Wikipedia
Labor soul searching – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Well, not much soul left, when will the searching stop, and the change begin?
I used to be passionate about politics, and believed labour had something to offer, but now, the diference between parties cannot be found in the Large Hadron Collider!
We have a woman PM, Julia Gillard.. We have on, not as shiny Caribou Barbie, aka Sarah Palin, (cynically bought in to try to gain the disaffected Hillary Clinton voter base, when Obama won nomination), butwon the role as an outstanding politician (come on, no matter weter you like or dislike her, everyone HAS to concede politics is something she shines at), who happens to be of female gender.
The fact she was sworn in by our first female Governor General, (an appointed role, not an elected one), was spiffy and nice and all, but it will mean something if and when Gillard is elected in her own right. Personally, i’m inclined, at this stage, towards voting for her (though i tend Greens and independents too).
Not just because i am against Tony Abbott. I could have seen myself voting for Malcolm Turnbull at times. Abbott – worries me. An absolutist in ways of religion and old school attitudes, he is trying to refashion himself as tolerant and more pro equality – but that is stage dressing. He cannot manage the conviction he can evince so well.
Much has been written on this. Here are two articles that I think caught something beyond the breathless media echo chamber.
Rudd’s downfall: he never really got it.
Why Julia Gillard is no Kristina Keneally
For balance of an odd sort :
Interesting that Gillard is finally one of my lot, an atheist. Religion kept being snuck into politics here with Rudd, John Howard, and Abbott. Thankfully, not Turnbull. Religion and politics MUST be kept separate. The shaman and the vizier are different roles. Government must strive to serve the majority, in as many ways as it can. Religion serves only and absolutely its believers.
Image via Wikipedia
Gizmodo wants to get rid of Senator Stephen Conroy (well, who doesn’t), and suggests the rather better suited for the job Kate Lundy….I know, someone with some tech savvy, bit weird, but hey, it this crazy idea might just work!!
Support Gizmodo’s Campaign For Kate Lundy As IT Minister | Lifehacker Australia.
