Down under a carbon tax goes down and other news and views for Friday 25 July

• Down under a carbon tax goes down – “Australia’s right-wingers made a move to outdo their American counterparts. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his Liberal Party (as these Antipodean conservatives style themselves), won final legislative approval for repeal of Australia’s carbon tax on major polluters, which had been enacted under the previous Labor government and had set a price of more than twenty dollars a ton on carbon-dioxide emissions.”
• A country where liberal journalists risk death
• Chris Davis, former LNP member for Stafford, could run for Labor at next state election
• Feds Consider Ban On Bluefin Tuna Fishing As Population Dips 95 Percent
• Why Ukraine’s government, which just collapsed, is such a mess
• Darth Vader is polling higher than all potential 2016 presidential candidates – “On Tuesday FiveThirtyEight released the results of a poll of Americans’ opinions on the “Star Wars” universe. Not surprisingly, Jar Jar Binks is the most reviled character in the series. As Walt Hickey notes, the Gungan from Naboo posted lower favorability numbers than Emperor Palpatine, ‘the actual personification of evil in the galaxy.’ On the other hand, with a net favorability of -8, Jar Jar is considerably more popular than the U.S. Congress, which currently enjoys a net favorability rating of -65.
• Tony Abbott briefed Rupert Murdoch on paid parental leave before party room – “Tony Abbott gave media proprietor Rupert Murdoch a detailed briefing on his controversial $5.5 billion paid parental leave scheme before he announced it without consulting his shadow cabinet or MPs. The revelation about the scheme – which continues to be a contentious issue within the Coalition and between the government and the business community – is in a new biography of Treasurer Joe Hockey.”
• Does Your Dog Feel Jealous, Or Is That A Purely Human Flaw?
• Report: Climate Change Skeptics Could Reach Catastrophic Levels By 2020