British authorities on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to log details about every Web visit, email, phone call or text message in the U.K. – and in a sharply-worded editorial the nation's top law enforcement official accused those worried about the surveillance program of being either criminals or conspiracy theorists.

picture by Gus Leonisky

James Ashby, who worked as a media adviser to the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Peter Slipper, worked to undermine his boss by giving information to a tabloid journalist and to his political rivals, a court has heard.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says Australia can't allow a "green veto" to hold back a massive expansion of coal exports from Queensland.

from Monbiot:

In the past five (5) years, the following price increases have occurred:

*   average loaf of bread up by 12%;

*   price of movie tickets up by 25%;

*   price of petrol up by 34%;

*   council rates have increased by 39%; &

*   electricity prices have increased by an obscene 163%

The overall cost of living has increased by 22%, whilst average weekly earnings have increased by only 14%, which effectively means that average real disposable incomes have fallen by more than 35% in the same period.