At the Sydney Writers' Festival last weekend, Alan Ramsey, once of these pages, was asked why he referred to Howard as the Toad.

''Because I didn't think I could get away with Turd,'' he replied.

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For longer than anyone can remember, Daphne Lucas has been making jams and pickles in the kitchen of her home at Bomaderry, down on the south coast near Nowra.

They are her contribution to democracy. At election time she sells them to raise campaign funds for the Australian Labor Party, of which she is a long-standing member.

There was a moment back in 1945 when physicists were preparing for the first test of an atomic weapon at Los Alamos. A few scientists predicted that there was a tiny chance that the bomb could actually light the atmosphere on fire and incinerate the planet. We went ahead regardless.

Hundreds of tests by a number of nations later, we still have our atmosphere, but the very cells of every living thing, including us, are permeated with subtle radioactive compounds. We went ahead regardless.

The pervasive illusion was that the humans who are in charge of oil rigs would never let an accident of this magnitude happen. But it did.

from Crikey .....

Impartiality and the ABC: the Middle East doco rejected for broadcast

Crikey intern Matt De Neef writes:

from Crikey .....

Abbott's new Pacific Solution: 'cruel' treatment for asylum seekers

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

This week, newspapers around the world received reports and signed documents from South Africa. The reports said that, in 1975, Israel agreed to sell South Africa nuclear weapons. South Africa then released an arms agreement signed by current Israeli President Shimon Peres. This is the document "heard round the world."

What are we doing in Afghanistan? According to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, the Administration together with the Congress are working to complete our "mission". This is good news for enthusiasts of American imperialism who naturally take to national, militaristic, rallying calls. Mission is a carefully chosen word. Used in this sense by propagandists, it connotes purpose, goodness, unity, and suggestively...Stop! Because once you accept the premise that we have a mission in Afghanistan, you are sufficiently indoctrinated.

The head of BP struts around like a peacock as his company ravages nature, living things and jobs, while Greenpeace protesters are arrested and maybe charged with terrorism for painting an offshore drilling protest on the side of an oil company vessel. Where is the justice in that?

Germany vs. Europe

Germany’s commitment to the European Union has been central to its postwar rehabilitation and its economic success. For years, Germany played the role in Europe that America so frequently plays globally — the locomotive whose dynamism and demand helps turn around recessions before they deepen into depressions.

Climate change no longer 'crap': Abbott says man makes a difference

LENORE TAYLOR

Colonel Klink and sergeant Schultz...

Asylum seekers could again face processing in overseas countries under a Coalition government, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has announced.

The Opposition's immigration policy, released today, also includes plans to bring back temporary protection visas and would make visa holders work if they wanted to claim welfare.

The Coalition has also vowed to turn back boats from Australian waters if necessary.

The processing policy would be similar to the Howard government's so-called Pacific solution, which saw asylum seekers processed in countries such as Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

from Crikey .....

Don't look at what the miners say, look at what they do

Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane write:

Mr. Geithner lobbied against Chinese government procurement rules that give preference to products with intellectual property developed in China. American businesses, particularly in technology, complain that this handicaps them and deprives China of state-of-the-art products.

“Innovation flourishes best when markets are open, competition is fair, and strong protections exist for ideas and inventions,” he said.

The Chinese have their pet issues as well: Beijing is pushing for the United States to loosen controls on exports of high-technology equipment with potential military applications. A raft of questions from reporters for state-run Chinese media organizations suggested a coordinated campaign.

2010’s Debates Still Trapped in the 1960s

By MATT BAI

You would not think Richard Blumenthal and Rand Paul would have anything in common, aside from the fact that they are both running for Senate.

 

Silicon chips that are allowed to make mistakes could help ensure computers continue to get more powerful, say US researchers.

As components shrink, chip makers struggle to get more performance out of them while meeting power needs.

Research suggests relaxing the rules governing how they work and when they work correctly could mean they use less power but get a performance boost.

Special software is also needed to cope with the error-laden chips.

from the BBC

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