planet B

Are we alone? 

It’s the ultimate question, but it’s also an impossible task. 

“We could find signs of life, but it’s not going to be the definitive proof that we were hoping for when we started out on this journey.”

buffett

BBC

The BBC is the final liberal monolith in a British media landscape that has been dragged to the right by Rupert Murdoch and others. The Conservatives seem focused on doing all they can to tame it and bring it under political control. The broadcasting giant, meanwhile, seems intimidated, and has even backed down on occasion, as seen during the flag controversy in March.

Some believe that the BBC, in the 100th year of its existence, is fighting for its very survival. Others believe that such claims are even understated.

fleebag

balloons

Many of us have heard about the prosecution of Bernard Collaery on the say-so of Christian Porter. But very few know much more than that it is an almost secret trial against the former ACT Attorney-General. Unfortunately, John le Carré is no longer with us to tell this intriguing tale.

Witness K and Bernard Collaery

al weiwei

soldier flies

There is a "new" fly in town… It has been introduced a while back in Australia… 

Hermetia illucens [black soldier fly] originates from the Americas, and was probably introduced into Australia by the importation of decaying plant material (Callan 1974). It is now well established throughout Australia, and has been recorded from all states except South Australia, although it almost certainly exists there too. Although the authenticity of the Tasmanian record is questionable, this represents the southern-most occurrence of this species globally (Callan 1974). 

mobility

racing

The expert advice changes, not infrequently, during this pandemic. And that applies even when that “advice” comes in the form of a one-liner.

As criticism mounted over the slowness of the vaccine rollout, Scott Morrison and his ministers have been increasingly dogged by the PM’s claim, especially early on, that the vaccination rollout was “not a race”.

Despite it being very obvious it was indeed a race to get the job done, once the line was in the script, ministers parroted it or struggled with it.

choochoo

The NSW government’s upcoming budget deficit would be $2.7 billion worse than forecast – or almost 50 per cent bigger than expected – without a controversial rail entity propping it up, with a further $1.3 billion benefit the following year.

A confidential Treasury document from February also warns that any attempt to abolish the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) would create a massive $14.6 billion hole in the budget over the next 10 years.

“Dissolution puts pressure on funding and is high risk to deliver,” the document states.

goldberries

Kiwifruits are native to China but it was New Zealand that perfected the golden variety found on supermarket shelves today.

It costs New Zealand farmers a sizable amount of money to license the SunGold kiwifruit and sell it across the world.

inclusion

Australia’s defence chiefs have ducked questions on the importance of inclusion in the military after introducing a ban on “woke” events.

Defence held morning teas earlier in 2021, where staff wore rainbow clothing to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia.

Employees were encouraged to show support for LGBTI people by standing against prejudice and discrimination and demonstrating inclusion.

economist

The Economist brands Mexico's AMLO 'false messiah' but president's supporters find article unoriginal, hypocritical & ridiculous...

 trick

In choosing the Thom Roberts — a portriff of Adam (Shane Simpson AM), as one of the finalists, the Archibald Prize Committee fell for the old trick… A) the portraidfhp does not look anything like Shane Baby and B) the illusion is hackneyed. One does not have to go afar to find the illusion as shown for a while now on 

https://www.bleacherbreaker.com/incredible/real-life-optical-illusions-to-mystify-your-mind/

miraculous

In its response to Covid, the Morrison government has achieved an almost perfect result in maintaining the Coalition’s record since 2013 of doing nothing, achieving nothing, solving nothing. No big projects, no great initiatives or memorable policies. Failure to tackle key issues such as fire, climate change and Covid.