The Journal
2009
-
600,000 Jobs Lost
In the US in January. Too soon to blame Obama? Well maybe. This crisis is a direct result of intervention in domestic lending markets by the Carter and Clinton administrations. Bush’s attempts to get more accountability from…
-
Obama – Winging It On Foreign Policy
In this case, on Afghanistan. As with Gitmo, and his cabinet candidates, and … and … it might have been better to have done the research and asked the questions before stating the policies which were…
-
Faked Autism Data Amounts to Murder
Dr Andrew Wakefield must have known the likelihood that his faked research would reduce vaccination rates and and lead to increased levels of preventable infectious childhood diseases. That is, he must have known than faking data so…
-
Hamas Steals Aid, Again.
The UN agency which oversees delivery of aid to the Palestinian Territories has suspended deliveries to Gaza after Hamas last week stole 3500 blankets and 450 food packages from a warehouse, and this week stole ten trucks containing…
-
Worst Fires in Australian History
Not the biggest, but the deadliest. So far 108 people reported dead. This figure is likely to increase because some bodies are still in burnt homes and vehicles. 750 homes destroyed. Whole communities have disappeared into…
-
Amanda Update
There may be no more posts today. We are arguing with staff in the ICU about whether Amanda should be returned to her completely ineffective regime of psych medication. It is difficult and time-consuming. Please continue to…
-
Amanda and Gran Torino
After an ultrasound doctors found a large quantity of fluid in Amanda’s chest yesterday, and asked us to leave for a few hours while they sedated her and inserted a drain. Dad and David and I went and…
-
Up to 38,000 Civilisations in Our Galaxy
In a process described by University of Edinburgh researcher Duncan Forgan as ‘quantifying our ignorance,’ scientists have estimated that there are at least 361 ‘intelligent civilisations’ (are there unintelligent ones too?) in the Milky Way, and…
-
Tamil Tigers Almost Defeated
I don’t know what I think about this. The Tamils have not been treated well by the majority Sinhalese. Tamils are in the majority in the north of Sri Lanka. I can understand their wanting a…
-
Villainous Capitalism to Blame – Not
Greedy or stupid policiticans, probably… Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gets one thing right in his 7,000 word reiteration of the destructive Whitlam era philosophy that big government, big spending and high taxes are good. The thing he…
-
Nyuh Zuhlunders Spuk Funny, eh?
I am a native New Zealander myself. Coming back to NZ this time I was struck by the difficulty I was having in understanding ordinary speech. New Zealanders are inclined to drop the fina consonan of…
-
And Now Solis
After Geithner, Daschle, Richardson, Killefer, et al, further consideration of Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis has been postponed because her husband ‘only yesterday paid off tax liens, some of which had been pending for up to…
-
A Better Package
Interesting to compare New Zealand’s stimulus package with those proposed in Australia and the US. New Zealand has a conservative government made up mostly of people who have actually run things before, including in many cases their…
-
Drought Fears – Walk Across The Murray
There’s always something to be scared about. But in the history of things to be scared about, this has to be at the very bottom of the list. The Murray is Australia’s largest and longest river.…
-
Lindsay Lohan’s Tantrum Works
Shouting, stomping your feet and screeching at people are an effective way of getting what you want. If you are a two year old. My Mum used to tell me that if we were in a supermarket…