February 2012
2 posts
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Australian economic inequality: We would like a...
With the Occupy movement filling headlines across the globe, leaving an empty vacuum instead of solutions to their vaguely stated complaints, it is important that we look to Australia, and our own economic situation here at home.
While we pride ourselves on our egalitarianism and in our belief in a ‘fair shake of the sauce bottle’ for all (as one former Prime Minister put it), we must...
January 2012
11 posts
2 tags
Australia Day
It is a date on the calendar almost designed to stir up controversy. On the 26th of January each year we celebrate who we are as a nation, remembering that this day in 1788 marks the moment when the British first landed on the shores of Botany Bay, changing forever the history of our arid continent. 224 years later, we are a country of 23 million people, from every island, continent and land on...
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Health insurance is funny. Here are some of the humorous coverage exclusions on my Bupa plan (emphasis mine):
‘We will not cover any loss or damage as a result of, or caused by:
loss of enjoyment
any form of consequential loss
war or warlike activities, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, civil war, revolution, insurrection or act of a military power
anything nuclear or...
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Nowadays, a candidate must believe not just some but all of the following...
– The Economist—on the Republican primary | The Economist, December 31, 2012
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SOME teamwork is fine and offers a fun, stimulating, useful way to exchange...
– Susan Cain—on the need to collaborate for the sake of collaboration | New York Time, January 13, 2012
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Just close your eyes / The sun is going down /...
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I feel like any sort of federal welfare payment, like the Family Tax Benefit (A and B), should come with the disclaimer,
‘You may only be eligible if you:
Have two photogenic young children, or
Live in a swing electorate in Western Sydney, or
Live in Queensland.’
Because my single parent family on a teacher’s salary isn’t eligible for anything, while this charming...
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December 2011
14 posts
Apparently mum didn’t like the picture of her as a green bean, so I deleted it.
You can take any word in the English language that excites you—sex, or food, or...
– Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, in The Special Relationship
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Steer clear of anyone who abbreviates “mainstream media” to...
– Rules to live by
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$29,616,400,000,000
– The cost of the Federal Reserve’s bail out of the US financial sector
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Average Weekly Earnings: Australia and US
US: $795.42 - BLS.gov
Australia: $1,050.16 - ABS.gov.au
Figures are seasonally adjusted, $USD, all employees
Dom: Oh, I've got a new Twitter display picture to upload!
James: Is it one of you this time?
Dom: NO IT'S A PONY!
James: O_O okay
At the same time, the conference also voted to change its policy platform on the...
– Abc.net.au—on the Labor party’s National Conference
November 2011
14 posts
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99% vs 1%
By design, great universities challenge social values, policies, and...
– Professor Jonathan R. Cole, Columbia University
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Commonwealth Bank Future Business Index →
October 2011 - March 2012
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In four years of reflection and rather intense involvement with this financial...
– Larry Summers—on general equilibrium theory during the financial crisis
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It appears if I mention Florence + The Machine, I get lots of likes. So… Florence.
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October 2011
29 posts
1 tag
Just keep following the heartlines on your head.
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It shouldn’t matter, but it does— while so many bands at their...
– Pitchfork.com—on Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto
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You have lost a good opportunity to shut up. We are sick of you criticizing us...
– French President Sarkozy to British Prime Minister Cameron—on the Euro crisis
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Summer Reading: Books With Colons
With the academic year coming to an end, I feel it’s appropriate to share what I’ll be (attempting) to read over the summer. This isn’t a complete list, because that would be too long, and too expensive.
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World - Michael Lewis
Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy - Raghuram Rajan
Crisis Economics: A Crash Course...
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Today we saw an historic vote on one of the most important economic reforms in a...
– Wayne Swan—on the passing of the Clean Energy Bills through the lower house of Federal Parliament, 12 October
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Shit That Siri Says →
FOLLOW FOLLOW FOLLOW
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I have a vision – maybe just a hope—of a great revulsion: a moment when the...
– Paul Krugman - The Great Unravelling