When the USSR collapsed more than 20 years ago, right wing academic Francis Fukuyama wrote a notorious article announcing “the end of history”. What he meant was that all the great ideological battles of human history had been settled, free market capitalism had triumphed, and there was nothing of any significance remaining to be fought over.

from our friend Vacy Vlazna

How to lose half a million dollars and feel better in no time.

Not many of us could give away $500,000, then forget we’d done it. Paul Ramsay is one of the few.

The NSA whistleblower says: 'I have never spoken with, worked with, or provided any journalistic materials to the Independent'

"The torpid languor of one hand washes the drowsy procrastination of the other. Are these phenomena indications of something chronic in the modern state of litigation? Or are they merely acute and atypical breakdowns in an otherwise functional system? Are they signs of a trend, or do they reveal only an anomaly?"

Crazy Murdoch: paving the path to demonise Councils... and eventually remove Councils from the face of the earth by a Liberal Government. When one reads the small print, one should be horrified:

from antony loewenstein ….

Sydney Airport has paid no tax in the 10 years since it was privatised by the government.

Tony Abbott has instructed the Liberal party to accept no further donations from tobacco companies on the grounds that Labor was using the issue as a “distraction” in the election campaign with its promise to ban all tobacco donations to political parties.

From Dana Milbank