Qed

Can we afford democracy?

david — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:50:40 +0000

Today the Age had this on Italy’s new PM.

As a highly respected economist and bureaucrat, Mr Monti is certainly a sterling exemplar of his kind. For critics worried about democracy, though, there has been a question about an unelected person running a nation.Concerns about the will of the people are low on the radar of [...]

Independent Producers defend ABC outsourcing

david — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 05:03:47 +0000

How self serving is this? The beneficiaries of the ABC outsourcing juggernaut disagree the move will see job losses or a reduction in the creative independence of Aunty. Meanwhile the group has been very active in lobying the federal government for more money for the ABC so it, the ABC, can spend more money on [...]

Hockey and the GFC

david — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:58:19 +0000

Joe says

Well, this will be different. I think what we saw during the GFC was a transfer of debt from the private sector to the public sector, and now sovereign debt around the world is a major issue…the question of how governments are going to fund the servicing of that debt is a major issue.

Joe, [...]

O’Neill, the visiting expert on free will

david — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:02:30 +0000

I wonder who paid for Brendan O’Neill to visit these fine shores and lecture us on the perils of censorship? He has appeared on two ABC shows while also penning his eloquent prose for the discriminating readers of the Oz. It’s curious. Did he or some agent spruke his credentials to various decision-makers at a [...]

US Media reactions to the Debt Ceiling/Spending Cuts

david — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 03:02:28 +0000

Some clips from the US.

Stephen Colbert…

And Jon Stewart

Trouble in Greece, but don’t blame the media

david — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:35:32 +0000

On the Greek news agency site, the Greek Reporter, Anastasia Chaini tells us 800 Greek Right-Wing Racist Blogs are under police supervision. Meanwhile AP are running this story about the rise of the ultra-right in Greece which it links with increasing economic hardship.

The xenophobic rage exploded in May, when youths rampaged through a heavily immigrant [...]

On Murdoch’s testimony and US politics

david — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:28:04 +0000

British lawmakers on Friday demanded that James Murdoch clarify why testimony he gave to a parliamentary committee probing the phone hacking scandal conflicted with a statement from two former executives.

Sounds serious. I mean the whole idea of a testimony is to uncover some truth and when the testimony from one person doesn’t marry up with [...]

James Murdoch confirmed as BSkyB chairman | Reuters

david — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 01:09:32 +0000

Despite the fact that

Murdoch’s testimony given in parliament last week has already been called into question by two ex-News of the World executives, who say he was aware of evidence that showed the hacking was not limited to a couple of "rogue" individuals.

James Murdoch is unanimously re-confirmed as chairman of BSkyB. Maybe the possible [...]

Bolt calls it “the gloating sound” from the left polemicists

david — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:07:12 +0000

Andrew Bolt, outspoken shock jock for the Murdoch press in Oz is keen to defend Christianity against the charge that Breivik’s religious and political beliefs somehow contributed to his decision to commit mass-murder in Norway. However in true Bolta style his article is long on opinion while short on facts, he seems far more concerned [...]

Is Facebook worth more than Google? • The Register

david — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:25:11 +0000

Social, not algorithms, is the basis for all human commerce. Facebook owns social. That’s got to be really, really big. At least as big as Google, and arguably bigger.

With every click on Facebook you add to their data store and increase their market reach, in much the same way as your clicks helped create Google’s [...]