Opinion on politics and social policy
from
across the board
I was surprised the other day to be offered an AMEX card that for no additional fees offered me additional benefits, such as an economy return airfare each year. “How does this work?” I wondered.
Now I know.
I just received a letter from the Commonwealth Bank telling me that our […] Continue Reading…
Some current research reveals that 95% of Latin American cities are actively preparing for climate change, but only 59% of US cities are taking such action:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120605130752.htm
Do they know something we don’t know?
The difference clearly does not lie in wealth and ability to invest in these measures. Rather, it lies […] Continue Reading…
Today’s GDP figures prove that in this year of the Queen’s Jubilee, the economy and the Queen Mary have something in common – they don’t turn on a dime.
It’s fanciful to think that the figures owe anything to the current government’s policies.
Rather, what they prove is that no matter […] Continue Reading…
News that no-one visits the two blogs that the federal government will give $53,000 over three months to a couple of think tanks to run is hardly surprising. We foretold it all 13 years ago when we set up On Line Opinion and The National Forum, and it’s been […] Continue Reading…
There’s a lot of stupid research around (and I use the word “stupid” advisedly). There’s so much of it, that I think to the “tech boom” and the “housing boom” we could add the “academic study boom”. And like the other two it appears to be the result of […] Continue Reading…
Did you also drop your jaw, stunned, when you first heard about 3D printing?
How can that be? Surely this is something way down the track…
But having seen how sci fi influenced real science on the show Prophets of Science Fiction, I understand these things are often closer than we […] Continue Reading…
Because we will never get to evidence-based policy if we can’t agree on evidence-based science.
Last week’s program on the ABC, ‘I can change your mind about climate’ was a brave but flawed attempt to get to consensus. Young Anna Rose was marvelous, polite, restrained, and charming. Old Nick Minchin […] Continue Reading…
On the weekend, Graham Quirk led the LNP team to a massive victory in the Brisbane City Council with a significant swing to the LNP. At the same time, Jackie Trad came very close to losing the South Brisbane by-election with a further swing to the LNP on top […] Continue Reading…
Qanda’s special on climate change – I can change your mind – deployed some junk science of its own.
I completed the survey and was told my position was “Dismissive”. That might be correct, but the “profile” of my position at the end of the survey indicates that at the […] Continue Reading…
If the French elect Francois Hollande the world may get a neat natural experiment where we can compare high Keynesianism to the Washington model using the comparative economic performances of France and Greece.
Or it may be that with one of the two strong men of Europe defecting to the […] Continue Reading…