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Showing posts from December, 2017

Singalong with Melbourne mayor Doyle’s driver who saw nothing

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Londoners be warned - singalong as Malcolm releases George (big beast) Brandis on your city

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North Korean hackers profit from Bitcoins as Singapore central bank warns against investing in them plus links to other news and views

Multi-stage cyber attacks net North Korea millions in virtual currencies - researchers  - Reuters A series of recent cyber attacks has netted North Korean hackers millions of dollars in virtual currencies like bitcoin, with more attacks expected as international sanctions drive the country to seek new sources of cash, researchers say. What Is Bitcoin Really Worth? Don’t Even Ask  - New York Times Singapore central bank warns against investing in cryptocurrencies  - Reuters West grows wary of China’s influence game  - Financial Times With only a brief pause following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, most developed democracies have engaged with China since the late 1970s in the belief the country would integrate into the US-led global order and eventually become more like them. But those assumptions are now under assault as the west belatedly realises China has no intention of opening up its political system. At the same time, there is growing disquiet over Beijing’s efforts to

In Bennelong Labor fell in love with having an attractive star candidate

Some thoughts on the Bennelong by-election: The Liberal pollster was right in advising Malcolm Turnbull that the Chinese community in Bennelong was predominantly anti the Beijing regime and that votes would be won, not lost, by some criticism of the activities of the Chinese government in Australia. Conversely, Labor suffered, rather than gained, from trying to make Turnbull's comments about the Chinese communist government an example of anti-Chinese racism. Labor fell in love with having an attractive star candidate and forgot that candidates count for little compared with the judgement people have about how a government has performed. As the Owl wrote back on 18 November: " When a political party has an attractive candidate it is easy to forget that elections are not personality contests. The effort goes into the froth and bubble rather than delivering the message. So now that Labor has got its Bennelong campaign underway it's time to quickly move on from happy snap

The myth that government debt is repaid by running public surpluses and other news and views

How much debt do we need? My answer: 70% of GDP - Roger Farmer's Economic Window If government borrows money to pay for a new road or rail network, the new transportation infrastructure will generate benefits to future generations. It is only fair that those generations should help pay for the investments they enjoy and, for that reason, debt accrued to pay for social investment is widely recognized to be socially beneficial. The principle that allgovernment debt should be used to finance infrastructure investments is sometimes called the golden rule of public finance. It is a commonly held belief that government debt should only finance government investment; but it is a belief that does not survive more careful scrutiny. Governments are not like households. If a household borrows from a bank it will eventually need to repay the money it borrowed. If a government borrows money from the public, it may never repay that money. It is a myth that government debt is repaid by run

Of Geoffrey Rush, Australia's racist press, songs of aggression and links to other interesting news and views

The naming and framing of actor Geoffrey Rush - Alex Mitchell's The Weekly Notebook The Sydney Theatre Company is responsible for naming and framing actor Geoffrey Rush as a sex predator. In doing so, it has behaved disgracefully and probably illegally. China's top paper says Australian media reports are racist - Reuters The reports in Australian media have been full of imagination, making baseless attacks on the Chinese government and have maliciously slandered Chinese students and people living in Australia, the paper said in a commentary. “This type of hysterical paranoia had racist undertones, and is a stain on Australia’s image as a multicultural society,” the People’s Daily said. Inequality and the Coming Storm  - Project Syndicate In recent decades, the wealth gap between a narrow upper class and the rest of the human population has become a gaping chasm, with far-reaching implications for most countries around the world. Rising inequality may be the greate

The Scoundrel theory of politics and other news and views

The Scoundrel Theory of American Politics  - New York Times It is no surprise that politics, a realm of compromise and clashing interests, does not conform to standards of abstract rationality — nor should it. But a political act is a product of the statesman as an organic human being whose judgment is inevitably bound up with his or her character. Character is not reducible to private morality alone, but the person of the statesman makes an inescapable difference in politics. His or her character — that is, who he or she essentially is — matters. It is clear enough that each party knows this to be the case, for each asserts that character is important when attacking the opposition even while denying it when protecting its own. Lost in Translation? Pope Ponders an Update to Lord’s Prayer  - New York Times In a new television interview , Pope Francis said the common rendering of one line in the prayer — “lead us not into temptation” — was “not a good translation” from ancient tex

While Malcolm warns the Chinese in pidgin mandarin, singalong to "I Like Chinese"

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While Malcom warns off the Chinese in pidgin mandarin, we in the suburbs continue to singalong while still offering a lychee branch of friendship. From The Australian : Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has doubled down on his criticism of the Chinese interfering in domestic politics, while insisting the communist leadership will respect his tough talk. Mr Turnbull said he wasn’t intimidated by Beijing expressing “strong dissatisfaction” over his remarks earlier this week about foreign interference. He spoke Mandarin when noting China was founded in 1949 with the words “the Chinese people have stood up”. “It was an assertion of sovereignty, it was an assertion of pride,” the Prime Minister told reporters in Sydney on Saturday. “And so we say ‘the Australian people stand up’.” Mr Turnbull this week in parliament cited “disturbing reports about Chinese influence”, but he was blunter on Saturday.

How a restaurant that does not exist became London Trip Adviser's number one and other news and views

I Made My Shed the Top Rated Restaurant On TripAdvisor  - Vice TripAdvisor’s top-rated London eatery is an old shed. Its owner posted fake food photos and glowing (false) reviews for The Shed at Dulwich, which never existed. If Damian Green lied about looking at porn, I don’t blame him one bit  - The Spectator The berserk climate in which we live now leaves anyone facing this sort of charge no option Julian Assange and WikiLeaks face US election probes  - The New Daily “We have to acknowledge that Trump could be re-elected”: my interview with Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook  - Lord Ashcroft Polls Educational Opportunity For All  -  OECD Children, students and adults from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds receive too little support to succeed in school and in learning opportunities later in life. OECD data shows that social background, in particular parental educational background, plays a significant role in influencing children’s opportunities. On average,

Death of Fleet Street confirmed plus other news and views

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James Murdoch tipped for Disney role in Fox deal - Financial Times James Murdoch has been suggested as a potential successor to Bob Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney, in deal discussions with the US media company over the sale of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets, according to people briefed on the talks. Bah hiccup! Mirror journalists are limited to five free drinks at Christmas party  - Press Gazette Keith Waterhouse must be turning in his grave. Bosses at the Mirror titles have told journalists they will have to make do with just five drinks on the company at this year’s Christmas Party, in place of the usual fill-your-boots policy. Turnbull friendly fire is mostly undeserved - John Warhurst in Eureka Street Malcolm Turnbull continues to cop plenty of friendly fire. He has both a leadership and a Coalition problem. He is blamed for the ills of the Coalition government whether or not he can be reasonably held responsible for them. The art of influence: how Chi

Messrs Dastyari and Robb join Doris Day singing "why don't you stop me when I talk about Shanghai"

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Especially now we are all allergic to rice.

A quote of the day by a Liberal Senator critical of his mate Milo and Andrew Bolt does not approve

The quote of the day "You know, young man swaggers into Canberra, attention seeking, saying outrageous things and appeasing the far right, and getting some media coverage. Sounds like the coalition party room."     - Liberal Senator Jane Hume bemused about the fuss surrounding a visit by controversial right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos to Parliament House But Andrew Bolt does not approve. "For a Liberal not to get the fuss about Milo - and the 14,000 tickets sold to libertarians and conservatives around the country - explains perfectly why the Liberals are losing members and donations." She's a Liberal?  item on the Bolt blog

Of Bitcoins, Nazis, boos at the opera and other news and views

Bitcoin Is Now Bigger Than Buffett, Boeing and New Zealand  - Bloomberg Bitcoin’s extraordinary price surge means its market capitalization now exceeds the annual output of whole economies, and the estimated worth of some of the world’s top billionaires. Enter the 'petro': Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency  - Reuters “Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency,” backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, [ President Nicolas] Maduro said in his regular Sunday televised broadcast, a five-hour showcase of Christmas songs and dancing. CBOE to launch bitcoin futures trading on December 10  - Financial Times Bitcoin futures trading is almost here. CBOE Global Markets said on Monday it will launch trading in futures tracking the controversial cryptocurrency next week, giving many mainstream investors their first shot at speculating on its price. Bitcoin and Fundamentals  - Money and Banking So, the price of Bitcoin has all the hallmarks of a bubble. What coul

Letting Andrew Bolt off the hook

Andrew Bolt has not done anything wrong. He reported what was reality at the time. Circumstances changed. That's not Bolt's fault. Those challenging his integrity are motivated by revenge and ideology. — George Christensen (@GChristensenMP) December 4, 2017 An endorsement from this man: George Christensen slammed as ‘weak’ after backing down from penalty rates threat - The New Daily Nationals MP George Christensen has been criticised as “weak” and “all talk” after backing down from his threat to cross the floor to protect penalty rates. Mr Christensen revealed on Monday he would not back a bill amended by Labor that would reinstate penalty rates cut by the Fair Work Commission earlier in the year, despite his frequent threats to do so.  See also: It is the word of Andrew Bolt that we cannot trust

The hoe down at Barnaby's Canberra ranch - singalong

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When Mother's Milk goes sour - Bad taste in the wine industry

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I remember the initial audience mutterings followed by a rather stunned silence even 30 years after the event. It was a speech to a who's who of the Australian wine industry in a posh hotel dining room. I had dared to begin: "Fellow drug pushers ...". It was a concept quite alien to these alcohol manufacturers; that being legal was the only thing differentiating the product they made, and I sold, from other things that you could end up in jail for being associated with. That government granted privilege of being a legal drug has slowly dawned on many in the wine industry since then. When my brother and I started putting "drink in moderation" on our Farmer Bros wine labels back in 1982 we were considered odd-balls. Such slogans are now mandatory. But not everyone has got the message that being a drug seller carries with it a responsibility to act with some restraint when it comes to marketing. Those canned vodka and fruit mixtures come close to being targeted

A dismal Newspoll showing. No, not by the Coalition. By The Owl and his readers

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And the actual result? Labor 53%, Coalition 47%. Not flash for the Turnbull led team by any means but far from brilliant by mine.

The free speech wedding cake case gets under way, Dennis the Menace is back and other news and views

Even the Bernini of Buttercream Has to Serve Gay Couples  - New York Times The Supreme Court is to hear arguments Tuesday in the case of a Colorado baker , Jack Phillips, who refused to make a wedding cake for two gay men, Charlie Craig and David Mullins. The legal issues in this case are potentially vexing and complicated, but there is a simple way the court could avoid most of them and resolve this case through the application of well-established law. ...  No one has required Mr. Phillips to pledge allegiance to gay marriage. Nor has anyone denied him the freedom to speak, write or pray against it. Mr. Phillips is not a church, a political pamphleteer or a schoolchild being forced to honor a graven image. He is a small-business owner who makes and sells pretty things to eat. That is honest and important work, but the First Amendment does not give merchants like him the right to refuse to comply with anti-discrimination statutes just because they think their personal beliefs are

It is the word of Andrew Bolt that we cannot trust

So you have a mischievous little fib to spread. Well, first of all find a gullible journalist or, even better, one who is prepared to peddle nonsense as long as it suits his political prejudices. And so this came to pass: GEORGE CHRISTENSEN WIMPS IT Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun December 3, 2017 10:46am Nationals MP George Christensen privately told me, Peta Credlin and Cory Bernardi that he would quit the Turnbull Government if Malcolm Turnbull was still Prime Minister this week. He authorised me and Peta to spread the word, without using his name, hoping to create maximum pressure on Turnbull. Twice more he urged me on, even after lying to Samantha Maiden of Sky News, telling her he was not the MP I'd referred to. He told me that he meant his threat and explicitly told me I should report it without fear that he'd back down and make me look like a party to mischief. Now he's piked, and I must say he has behaved very badly. I cannot now trust his word. He also damaged t

The Leader of the Free World is now completely unhinged and other news and views

So, here is the News this morning. The Leader of the Free World is now completely unhinged, but we can't do anything at all about it because he has rock solid support from racists, and all the very rich Republicans who badly need another tax cut And now, the weather... — John Cleese (@JohnCleese) December 1, 2017 Trump Is Cracking Up - New York Times There is a debate over whether Trump is unaware of reality or merely indifferent to it. He might be delusional, or he might simply be asserting the power to blithely override truth, which is the ultimate privilege of a despot. But reports from the administration all suggest an increasingly unhinged and chaotic president. Trump’s aides are trying to spin his behavior, which they clearly expect to get worse, as a sign of heightened confidence. No more shilly-shallying  - Dis-Con notes by John Stone in The Spectator For more than nine months now (at least) a dreadfully adverse electoral verdict has become ‘baked in’. Vot

A salutary tale for Bitcoin buyers, a link to sex and power and other news and views

Bitcoin’s surge little comfort for burned Mt. Gox clients in international legal limbo  - Japan Times When Mt. Gox, the world’s largest bitcoin trading exchange, collapsed in early 2014, more than 24,000 customers around the world lost access to hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and cash. More than three years later, with the price of bitcoin skyrocketing to more than $10,000 in some markets, not a single customer has recouped a single cent, crypto or otherwise. It’s not clear when they will. The failed exchange has become stuck in a morass of litigation — a Russian doll of bankruptcies in Japan and New Zealand, four in all, plus lawsuits in the United States and competing claims from creditors. And although the Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee recovered digital currency now worth more than $1.6 billion, under Japanese law the exchange’s customers likely will recover only a fraction of that. Potential Catastrophe: How the Irish Border Became Brexit's Biggest Hur

Barnaby the clear New England favourite as The Australian sends in its "Social Affairs" reporter

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New England voters tipped to return Joyce Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is tipped to comfortably win the New England by-election this weekend but his primary vote could take a hit if voters punish the troubled Turnbull government. Mr Joyce will almost certainly regain the NSW seat in the absence of a high-profile opponent when almost 110,000 voters go to the polls on Saturday. Betting websites have Mr Joyce as the overwhelming favourite. Low-key Barnaby Joyce campaigns under a veil of secrecy  - The Australian RICK MORTON Social Affairs reporter writes: Barnaby Joyce’s campaign for the seat of New England is in lockdown in its final days after his team received “security advice” that has seen the former deputy prime minister duck the media spotlight. Mr Joyce, who had to resign from the seat he won at last year’s federal election after it was revealed he was a dual New Zealand citizen, has continued campaigning across the electorate under a veil of secrecy. He is expected to

Once again Cut & Paste in The Australian tells you all you need to know

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No royal commission into banks. Say that again, PM Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra, yesterday: Cabinet has met this morning and is determined that the only way we can give all Australians a greater degree of assurance about the financial system is through a royal commission … The Prime Minister addresses the media in Bennelong, Tuesday: Let me tell you, if we had set up a royal commission into banks two years ago, none of the reforms that we have undertaken would have been able to be achieved. You know why? Because people would have said: “Oh, don’t do that. Wait for the royal commission’s report. Wait for the report. Wait for the report. Wait for the report.” Turnbull on the Nine Network’s Today show, Monday: Karl Stefanovic: But let’s make it ­simple, just to write that one off. While you are PM, under your watch, there will be no banking royal commission? Turnbull: Karl, there is not going to be a banking royal commission and look, can I just say Karl, the reason for that is that