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Channel Nine has set up a private finance scheme to raise $15.5 million to fund production of future series of McLeod's Daughters. The project guarantees investors a 106 per cent return after seven years, on an initial minimum investment of $100,000. This is the first time this type of scheme, which is regularly used in the film industry, has been tried in the financing of a television drama series in Australia. It is aimed at the rich. The rich can fund McLeod's Daughters

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: High rollers linked with tax scam
A $300 million offshore tax evasion scheme involving rich individuals across four states has been exposed in a multi-agency investigation

Federal Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison today congratulated the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Federal Police for uncovering what he said was a major, organised effort to defraud the Commonwealth of tax revenue.
During the past two days of Operation Wickenby, which began in October last year with 285 personnel, the ACC raided 48 properties in NSW, WA, Queensland and Victoria, while the ATO took action to access documents in a further 37 locations.

It sends a very clear message that all people in Australia are subject to paying tax
• Blues Over White Collar Schemes [Democrats to deliver tax cuts ; Jacki Weaver plays a former chorus girl addicted to the one-armed bandits in Ruby's Last Dollar Blow up the pokies: Down on her luck she's down to her last lucky coin ]
• · The tyranny of the majority is even more pronounced when the minority in question repudiates not just the majority's opinion, but the social contract as such. The failure of the democrats to adequately resolve this predicament is considered a significant flaw in democracy." Does Democracy have Weaknesses? ; Business Review Weekly, 09/06/2005, by Jonathan Kuan (Letter): In presenting your report about GOD'S MILLIONAIRES (Cover Story, May 26) you draw attention to the complex relationship that exists between death and taxes, capitalism and religion. One reaction, prompted by the heading that Pentecostal churches are inheriting the earth tax-free, is simply to suggest that these churches should lose their tax-free status. If the mega-churches are indeed real commercial enterprises, then tax them like the mining companies and the multinationals Call to end conflict of faith and money; The new look business.gov.au is open for business
• · · Anne Lampe: After each of the myriad rule and regulation changes involving super over the years you'd be forgiven for thinking it can't get more complex or contradictory, but it does. Until recently, super fund members could not gain access to their benefits between 55 and 65 years of age unless they permanently left the workforce Super stream: Take your time choosing a super fund ; Super: read between the lines
• · · · Henry Kissinger, Int'l Herald Tribune Relations Between China and the U.S. ; Jim Hoagland, Washington Post Whose Asian Century? India vs. China ; Juking about Killing Dick The Assassination of Richard Nixon
• · · · · The lawyer representing a former Chinese security bureau official who has been granted refugee status in Australia has outlined abuses he says his client saw perpetrated by members of China's secret service Lawyer says Australia hosts Chinese spy network; Third Chinese man backs countrymen's claims ; Abbott, Costello back asylum for Chen ; Failure to act on Chen 'extraordinary' The discomfort zone
• · · · · · Bob Carr has confessed to fantasising about being mayor of New York City, the world's most buzzing high-density metropolis. In reality, he is more like the California highway commissioner ... Environmental road too rocky for Carr ; Carr's winning role as son of Bradfield ; Neville Wran used the 1986 ALP state conference to stun the party with his decision to resign as premier. As this weekend's conference draws near, Bob Carr, the state's longest serving premier since Federation, has been at pains to hose down speculation that he might do the same ... It would be my last if I am assassinated on the way out of the Town Hall. If I am assassinated on my way in, then the last conference I addressed was my last Carrying on

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Spending to bullet-proof prosperity - Beattie's billions to fund rush north Attack proves best defence in GST fight

Eye on Death and Taxes: A Bucket of Money: The world's most dangerous federation
It was a budget so good the Queensland treasurer called it "unbelievable"

There was the $5 billion in tax cuts, another $5.35 billion earmarked for health and $8 billion for new roads, dams, power stations, public housing and education and training. Not only that, there was $2.7 billion left over at the end of 2004-05 - a record surplus - to be followed by a projected $934 million next financial year.
This was the budget, said the Queensland Treasurer, Terry Mackenroth, that would set the foundation for the Sunshine State's future - but he rejected suggestions that it was NSW taxpayers providing the mortar through the controversial carve-up of GST revenue.

• Surplus renews GST row [All major suburban areas need quality transport links soon after the residents arrive All aboard for a more effective train system; Cracks uncovered in the pylons beneath the rail line and expressway at Circular Quay Pylons show up new cracks in rail safety record ]
• · A second Chinese defector has backed claims China has spies operating in Australia Chen's spy claim backed by second defector ; New evidence shows a Chinese diplomat appealed in writing for political asylum last month, directly contradicting federal government claims it received no such application Letter shows Chen asked for asylum ; Khaleed Shnayf Daoed was found guilty today of helping to organise the SIEV X disaster, in which 353 people died and only 45 survived when the boat capsized near Indonesia in October 2001 Man faces 20 years for people smuggling disaster
• · · The west believes it is building a safer world but it is creating a gangsters' paradise. Mob rule ; The world today is no Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by a just and angry God. The world today is of our own making. It is a world where man has sinned against man, people against people - both as perpetrators and as silent onlookers The bitter harvest of our seeding ; Fortune has failed to smile on Phillip Smiles ever since the former state Liberal MP tried to claim his children's nannies as a tax deduction more than a decade ago Nannies grin as Smiles sent to the naughty corner
• · · · The Osama bin Laden cigarette lighter is adorned with his raised, chrome portrait, an embossed ''9.11'' The globalisation of absurdity ; Greek ‘thumos’ is close to Sanskrit ‘dhum’ (smoke) which came from ‘dhu’ (to shake violently). Sanskrit formed ‘dhum’ (smoke) and ‘dhul’ (dust) from the root ‘dhu’. Arabic soul (ruh) is quite close to wind (rih). In Persian, soul is ‘dam’ which is another way of saying Sanskrit ‘dhum’ (smoke) Fukuyama’s ‘last man’: Osama bin Laden is the ‘first man’, looking for recognition
• · · · · Politicians might hear, but does popular culture have the power to actually make them listen? Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783 Keep your eyes wide. The chance won’t come again ; We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good Not all liberals are evil ; Young democracy guerrillas join forces: From Belgrade to Baku, activists gather to swap notes on how to topple dictators. From Belgrade to Baku
• · · · · · How numbers can suggest fishy business Freakonomics:What Numbers Reveal ; Forget the Founding Fathers ; Pity the author of a book on World War II scheduled for release this year Looking back on the worst conflict in human history ;
For the first time anyone can remember, the Left and the Right will sit down together at a cross- factional dinner at this weekend's ALP state conference Faction friction shows they're still the life - and death - of the party

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The answer almost certainly isn't "tax cuts." The Rich Get Richer--But Why?

Eye on Death and Taxes: NSW crime statistics
Civil libertarians have rejected assertions from NSW Premier Bob Carr that longer jail sentences are behind a drop in the state's crime rate.

Crime has fallen across the board over the past few years according to figures released by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. And Mr Carr says NSW's record prison population - which stands at more than 9000 - was the reason behind the crime reduction. Reports today said courts were now issuing custodial sentences, where previously they were more likely to issue community service orders. But the move has increased costs, with community service orders costing only $10 a day to administer compared with $173 to keep an offender in prison. Mr Carr said tougher jail sentences had reduced crime and made the community feel safer.

• 'Economics, not jail' behind crime rate drop [PDF version link to Prisons swell as tougher sentences bite ; We've had our differences, John, but you are still our last best hope for saving the nation. We need your help to bring the truth about our nation's attack on Iraq to the attention of the American people. Mr. Kerry: You Could Still Be the Leader We Need ]
• · Federal Transport Minister John Anderson is on "another planet" if he thinks one person can solve Australia's airport security issues Scully to Anderson: you're on another planet ; Your passion for democracy is inspiring and your enthusiasm contagious ... It was Paine who argued that America would afford "an asylum for mankind," provide a model to the world, and support the global advance of republican democracy. In these pages is tonic for flagging spirits facing great odds - because it was Thomas Paine who insisted that "it is too soon to write the history of the Revolution." And Writing the History of the Revolution is Now Up to You. That's what truly is at stake (Source: This is the prepared text of the speech Bill Moyers gave at Take Back America: The Conference for America's Future , sponsored by the Institute for America's Future, in Washington on Friday, June 3, 2005)
• · · Lyndsey Layton and Jo Becker of the Washington Post obtained and reviewed documents and data on the performance of the DC-area subway system Metro Off the Rails ; The logic of these cases would have to extend to computer fingerprint and DNA matching, not to mention face-recognition software Judges toss out DUIs because breathalyzers' source code is secret
• · · · There will be no bands to greet them, no parades and no presidential platitudes honoring their sacrifices 'USS Liberty' Survivors Can Never Forget; There has never been an administration, I don't believe in our history, more intent upon consolidating and abusing power to further their own agenda Hillary Unplugged
• · · · · Tax concessions for commuters would ease the gridlock in Sydney more effectively than a congestion charge like the one that had slashed car dependency in Londo Give rail and bus users a break, says NSW ; Free Gasoline Perk; The big-spending, tax-cutting budget appears to have paid a popularity dividend for the Howard Government Tax cuts carry Howard to greater heights
• · · · · · When historians look back over the last 25 years, one of the great crimes they will identify is the Third World debt crisis. Sell the Gold, Free the Poor ; Truth: A private virtue or a public reality? A moral or a logical category? A set of non-negotiable facts, or a consensus about the way the world is? What’s its opposite – falsity, fiction, omission, ignorance? Does it set us free, or bind us together? Writing "Truth" on the Sidewalk: Who Do We Think We Are?

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Make big plans, for little plans have no magic to stir men's blood and in themselves may never be realised.
-Daniel H. Burnham Lord Sydney knew all about the magic of dreaming in biblical proportions

Lofty aspirations turned into reality will serve city well The world of mirrors and the world of humans are not separated

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: It's History That's Bringing Giants like Lord Townshend Together Is Someone Reading History Over Your Shoulder?
Move from austere Czechoslovakia to this blood-thirsty city of Sydney and it's hard to escape the conclusion that the idea of English history is and always has been exciting. My heart should sing as history is more alive after you give blood, as I did today for the 13th time in Sydney; Indeed, at the Chiefly Tower/Square history is more present when you discuss with your former chairman, Andrew Tink, the future of his manuscript which aim to resurrect historical characters like Lord Sydney aka Lord Townshend...

Adam Smith, the founder of classical economics, was certain that humankind's knack for monetary exchange belonged to humankind alone. Townshend became a very significant political figure during the 1780s, playing a key role in the emergence of the United States and the beginnings of Australia and Canada. In recognition of his pivotal role in helping formalise the peace treaty with America following the Revolution, Townshend was made Baron Sydney in 1783. The name Sydney derives from Normandy and in Old English meant 'dweller of the wide well-watered land' - not a bad description of the city today.

Repeating Benjamin Franklin's famous quote at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately ...
• King George and Lord Townshend decided that the best way to get money was to tax the citizens ... Tea Taxes [At the SWF, Tony Kevin showed how little opinion Tony had about Paul Kelly who ironically writes about Living among giants ; Why Did the French and Dutch Vote No? ]
• · Victor Comras, Washington Post Following Terrorists' Money ; Andrew Bartlett Taxing Times Coming Up in the Senate
• · · A look at the decade-long money laundering investigation of Raul Salinas Unsettling accounts ; Welcome to life after the housing boom
• · · · The greatest pleasure of running a country (although no politician will admit it) is getting to tax people Here's a Tax We Can All Agree On ; Yossi Beilin Let's just dump that road map
• · · · · Isabel Hilton, The Guardian Chinese Must Tell the Truth About Tiananmen ; Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner, Platon Lebedev The Soviet Spirit Lives On ; The problem for the government is that if this were back in the old Cold War days, and a person had fled from the communist embassy, we would have welcomed the person with open arms as we did with the Petrov scandal 40 years ago. But now, of course, China is a major trading ally for Australia and we don't want to do anything that's going to be offending China in terms of its trade policies Chinese diplomat wants to defect ; Australia left me out to dry, says defector
• · · · · · Steve Forbes, Forbes Why the Tax Code Beast Must Be Killed ; A Supreme Court decision on Tuesday overturned the 2002 criminal conviction of former Enron accounting firm Arthur Andersen Accounting for an Injustice

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Any tax cut is good is a convenient mentality for the political right. It plays well in the electorate and keeps the political agenda free from pressures for greater spending. But evidence is amassing against the low tax model, and from some surprising quarters … A Little Bit of Alabama: On Australia’s Low Tax Consensus ; Mr Carmody should think a bit wider ("Tax man warns of waits for cuts under Beazley strategy," Herald, June 3). He only has to issue new tax schedules for the nine months beginning in September, giving a slightly increased cut for that period - that is, those on the lowest rate would get an $8 per week cut for 39 weeks instead of the proposed $6 per week for 52 weeks. I seem to recall the ATO doing something similar in the past. Albert Renshaw Gladesville Small change adds up ; Tax-cut-blocking strategy Van Gogh option falls on deaf ears

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: The Sydney we deserve
Doing just enough to cope with Sydney's growth is not working. On the surface, many Sydneysiders think the city's reputation for self-obsession is justified, while its 10 million annual visitors can be forgiven for assuming all is well if they stick to the Opera House, where all usually is well.

But talk to the experts, read the flood of letters and emails on the subject and it is clear swift and decisive action is needed to guide the city through the next two decades without destroying the city fiercely guarded by its residents. It seems Sydney increasingly relies on its good looks and wit to get by, hoping the charm of the destination will outweigh the trauma of getting there. But keeping up appearances is becoming difficult, because much is not working and much more isn't working well.
Sydney needs a transformation, a generational change. It needs a transport system capable of moving people quickly, safely and reliably; it needs to collect at least as much water as it sensibly uses; it needs to curb its obsessions with polluting cars and energy-hungry appliances; and it needs to provide homes that are pleasant to live in, easy to get to, and possible to pay for.

• Crisis? What crisis? says Sartor
• · Three cheers for Bob Carr ... Finally, the chance to make use of that yellowcake; Quentin Dempster interviews Bob Carr- 3 June 2005 AD Stateline Coming soon Federalism, Industrial Demicracy & The Decade of Decay - Sydney Politica Spin; A commitment to openness would affirm democratic values and principles, write Rebecca LaForgia and Bryan Mercurio Promoting democracy through free trade agreements
• · · The Qantas security manager sacked for his association with fugitive Michael Hurley may have had access to leaked confidential information about passenger alert lists Ex-manager accused of list leaks ; Researchers have made significant progress in recent years in their efforts to understand, and deal with, one of society’s most puzzling illnesses Cannabis and cities linked to schizophrenia; Madeleine Byrne listens to the stories of those who worked at the immigration detention centres and finds the divide was as often between colleagues as it was between detainees and guards Tales from the desert camps ; In a talk in the History Department at the University of Melbourne, Klaus Neumann argued that a historical perspective throws vital light on current debates about mandatory detention The Cornelia Rau case: a historical perspective
• · · · The death of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen set off an inevitable debate about his legacy. Jennifer Menzies examines his cabinet records and finds much that is very personal Bjelke-Petersen’s Private Cabinet ; ASIO doesn’t need all the emergency powers it was given two years ago, write George Williams and Ben Saul Will the PM welcome a compromise this time around?; Sally Neighbour reveals a massacre on foreign soil – and how an Australian company became implicated Massacre on foreign soil
• · · · · The Howard Government is moving to weaken the Senate committee system - one of its deepest sources of embarrassment and the Parliament's most effective means of scrutiny Howard moves to curb Senate watchdog ; Tiananmen Square Anniversary (The bitter-sweet sixteenth): Sydney-based Chinese diplomat seeks asylum ; Peter Cosgrove has a final mission as head of the Defence Force Operation protect, as SAS comes under fire

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Eye on Politics & Law Lords: A New Paradigm: The Indigent Rich
Richard Werner has written a distinguished book on world economic policies, with special reference to Japan (where he was living until recently).

You will recall that, more than thirty years ago, I tried to have our government adopt more enlightened economic policies. I published The Indigent Rich in 1971 and other books later. To no avail, of course. Successive governments became enmeshed ever more deeply in policies that have led to what I have described in my message to Werner.
Our present government has done no better - and indeed thinks the Australian economy is in splendid shape and that the prospects are bright, while it may in fact, along with others, be on the edge of an economic, political and strategic abyss.

• James Cumes in conversation with Richard Werner
• · "This is no time to pick fights with people over differences of opinion, instead it is a time to reflect upon the responsibility we hold as citizens of this country. These men and women gave their lives ; Were they missing, or just not found? Defence officials and the Labor senators questioning them at a Senate estimates hearing yesterday could not agree on how to describe the $28 million worth of equipment unaccounted for by a full stocktake of one of the department's biggest warehouses Your jet's not missing - I just can't find it, sir
• · · With that old crook Sir Joh barely cold in the grave, his successor Peter Beattie is already channelling his spirit. Last week restrictions to Freedom of Information legislation – only introduced in Queensland 13 years ago – were rammed through the state's single house parliament by Beattie's arrogant government Peter Banana vs. Orwell ; Australia has racked up its worst trade deficit on record, on a par with countries in eastern Europe - or more than $21,000 for every man, woman and child From bananas to Bulgaria: trade debt soars Any tax cut is good is a convenient mentality for the political right. It plays well in the electorate and keeps the political agenda free from pressures for greater spending. But evidence is amassing against the low tax model, and from some surprising quarters A little bit of Alabama: on Australia’s low tax consensus
• · · · The space needed to build a vital underground rail line through Sydney's CBD is poorly protected, obstructed by buildings and may end up costing the Government a premium. Railway lifeline dead on arrival ; Time is overdue for a long-term solution to the city's transport needs Can we afford not to build an effective public transport system? ; Richard Grant examines the recommendations of, and response to, the Uhrig Review The Uhrig Review and the future of statutory authorities
• · · · · Dylan Welch: Young people are struggling to find jobs in academia - and that could spell trouble for the nation University blues ; 'Politicians around the world can take all sorts of initial steps and abuses of power that resemble the sort of thing Hitler did in the early days. That ought to be pointed out!' The words 'Hitler' or 'Nazi' are so radiocative that it's rare that a reasonable debate can follow
• · · · · · First they came to get the dry liberals and I said nothing as I was one of the wet liberals. Then ... Rebel Libs leap from 5 to 9: Howard gets more talks ; Joo-Cheong Tham argues that recent government proposals to increase the threshold for disclosing the identity of political donors, and to raise the ceiling for tax-deductibility, would advantage wealthy political donors and further increase their political access vis à vis the less well off, reducing political equality. Political donation changes favour the rich and increase the risk of corruption ; United Kingdom election 2005

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Lori Rosenwasser is executive director of brand engagement at Landor Associates and leads its global brand engagement practice. Brand engagement can be a powerful tool for transforming an organization and unlocking business growth. Symbols and stories help make a brand memorable and keep it fresh A Call to Action: Miracle of Growth

Taxing Technological Miracles of Our Times: Antipodean Media Dragons
Four journalists who brought news of the assassination of President John F Kennedy into US living rooms in 1963 have found a new level of fame by using the internet to market their book about the experience Grassy knoll meets the blog

The "blogosphere" is exploding, with millions of blogs screaming for attention. Next asked some of Australia's most influential bloggers what it takes to stand out from the loudmouthed crowd.
Hugh J. Martin with Rob O'Neill: By some counts, there are more than 50 million media dragons on the web, with tens of thousands added daily I am blogger, hear me roar

Funnelling opinion with a bit of bite US consultancy Issues Dynamics last month launched a blogger relations practice while international PR firm Edelman released a blog strategy white paper titled Trust media: How real people are finally being heard, which was distributed to its Australian practices. PR whistles a different tune
• Meet Joe Blogs: Media Dragons [Oiling The Wheels Of Fake News ; Wow, I never thought I’d find myself writing about a leather thong, made for your cellphone. Yet here I am. A thong. For your cell ]
• · He has denounced shoddy journalism, defended whipped-cream-covered strippers on television, discussed the pope on MSNBC, called in to Howard Stern, exchanged erudite letters with the editor of the New York Times, and championed the idea that any citizen can be "a Wolf Blitzer in sheep's clothing Jeff Jarvis, On the Inside Blogging Out ; Blogger profiled
• · · Blogdigger Local helps you find blog and news content from the geographic location of your choice Blogdigger Local FAQ ; Online Ads at $12.3 Billion This Year, And That's the Conservative Vote ; Joi Ito has announced the launch the Technorati Japan beta site Technorati.jp beta launched
• · · · The Washington post discovers right-wing postmodernism ; Death by a Thousand Blogs ; New Adsense Test Units Spotted
• · · · · People were calling us, emailing us...saying ‘fight, fight, fight -- get in there Web Fuels Collective Sparring Over Bolton, but to What End? ; MSN Spaces now hosts over 10 million blogs, and that the adoption rate has blown past internal Microsoft expectations. Official: MSN Spaces breaks 10 million blogs; ABC on journalism v blogging
• · · · · · Scoble vs the average blogger ; Joe Vecchio, who's not afraid to expose his own worries about the modern, low-rent world we live in. Where are all the male bloggers?

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Companies these days play globally, and structure their affairs globally, putting cross-border tax specialists into an enviable position.
If tax can be sexy, international tax structuring is the glamour end of the industry. Glamour follows dollars, and the international financing deals into and out of Australia are where the dollars are: in deals and salaries. As demonstrated by payouts to top executives following Macquarie Banks record $832 million profit this week, the merchant bankers who put together tax effective financing deals can make millions: even the comparatively low-paid international tax partners in the big accounting and law firms can pull more than $500,000 per year. Nice work if you can get it, and Australians these days seem to be getting a lot. Australia has earned a reputation for innovation in cross border deals, and the reputation and the salaries can make other people suspicious: it's one reason many are convinced that cross border tax structuring equals tax avoidance.
But the tax practitioners argue that Australians are good at tax structuring because they work in a demanding environment. They reckon a tough tax system has spawned some great tax talent by Allesandra Fabro: 21/05/2005 Tough tax system spawns great talent

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Artist are cockroaches, you just can't kill us."
-Chris Latham

Sydneyrella is filled with cockroaches and creative minds. The city’s light, the Sydney Morning Herald, is the savviest newspaper the world is watching closely. On 30 May 2005 the Herald launched a campaign to fix, to heal, to mend, Sydney. A campaign to fix its water, air, urban development and transport. It is time for a boldness lacking for 50 years. Robert Whitehead

Art of Living in the City of Exiles: Power to the People
Sydney is in desperate shape. There are many signs, but you only have to look at the weather to see something is badly wrong.

By any account April was an extraordinary month in our Indian summer - hotter than March for the first time since records began. It was dry, too, with only 33 millimetres of rain, a quarter the monthly average.
Rain fell on just eight days; most of it uselessly went down the drains into the sea.
Dam levels have dipped below 40 per cent capacity for the first time, and there are fears Sydney's weather patterns will have far-reaching consequences for our water, food and gardens. People cannot control the weather, but there are things that are within their control.

• Crowded, polluted and a mess – the fix list for Sydney [Cheeks of the Devil, Charms of an Angel City in Crisis ; Building liveable communities is vital to retain a creative workforce Do the myths: now is time to create the knowledge city ]
• · Car use forecasts put quality up in the air ; Keep writing those books, Bob, and the trains will fix themselves : Off the rails: the suburbs where the car rules
• · · Be mad if you will, but at yourself The south-west is wheezy, while the east breathes easy ; Fifty years ago the American economist John Kenneth Galbraith observed a paradox in advanced economies - how private wealth grows alongside public squalor. Frustrated commuters might think he was writing about Sydney in 2005. Despite unprecedented private riches, much of the city's public infrastructure is deteriorating. Once debt-ridden, now run down

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Hugh Martin: Jozef Imrich is a prolific researcher. This kind of blog can become a trusted source of links; effectively he's editing the web for readers interested in the media - When are bloggers journalists?

People's No. 1 question is How do I find stuff? Most advertisers who survive know that - The advertising business is undergoing an upheaval, forcing marketers to try desperately to stay ahead of technological innovations Advertisers Want Something Different

The Blog, The Press, The Media: Always on Google

Kudos to Google for succeeding to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

• Integrated Media Systems Center [ A new sensation is piggy-backing on the phenomenon that is the iPod: podcasting Come One, Come All: The Rise of Podcasting ; Corporate blogs have become something of a norm Another twist in blogging's fate]
• · Blogebrity: A to C list ; Ali, Rafat ; Ace ; Chris Allen
• · · Blogs Are Just the Medium, not a Profession ; What makes a blogger a blogger?
Being a blogger is a bit like being an alcoholic: if you say you are one, you are
What makes a blog a blog?
• · · · BitTorrent Creator to Launch Search Engine ; How Old Media Can Survive In a New World
• · · · · Are Bloggers Setting the Agenda? It Depends on the Scandal ; Why is it worth having a debate about whether blogging is journalism? Because, for one thing, as James Packer points out today, online companies such as Google and Yahoo! have market valuations of $US55 billion ($A72 billion) to $US60 billion while "media behemoths" such as Viacom, News Corp and Disney are capitalised at $US50 billion-$US55 billion. The dollars will follow the eyeballs
• · · · · · 'All time Greatest Aussie Bloopers'; We are at the end of the beginning in terms of the internet Online the way to go - Packer

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As you can tell, it's the time of year for all kinds of statistical scorecards for 2005-2006. The real meaning of the forecasting season can be found in the Orwellean language: Forget land tax. The big promise in yesterday's state budget was that nobody would go more than five minutes without hearing the phrase strong and detailed plan. Since February, this has become the preferred cliche of Labour MPs Do not take our word alone: strong and detailed plan

Eye on Budget and Detailed Plan: Why I'm Still a Liberal
I am, in most things, liberal because to my mushy eyes, the American "welfare state" has been (mostly) a success. Not a big fan of government, but a believer that some things are best done together, rather than individually.

History is quite clear about what happens when the "haves" don't bother to take care of the "have nots," or even the "have somes": Rule by the rich, the few, who will, eventually, lose control, often violently. But as diehard conservatives insist we move from America's New Deal ethic into Ayn Rand Adventure Land — minimal taxes; everyone out for themselves — I can't imagine why they think our (far from perfect) system has been so awful.
After all, since Roosevelt, the United States has won the only war that really mattered, blasted into the economic stratosphere, raised standards of living, cultivated the middle class (that powerful antidote to pluto-oligarchy), become a technological Godzilla, and built the most dominant (if excessive) military in history

Margo Kingston: Lib MPs 'stand up for human dignit Rebel Liberal backbenchers Petro Georgiou and Judi Moylan today pledged to present and vote for two private members bills to overturn their government's mandatory detention regime and grant refugees on Temporary Protection Visas permanent residency.
• Gee, what a trainwreck [ Once again labor leaders are debating new approaches to organizing In Need of Lifeline, Labor Must Rethink its History and Future ; Tweed Shire Council Council sacked after property corruption probe]
• · ASIO doesn’t need all the emergency powers it was given two years ago, write George Williams and Ben Saul Will the PM welcome a compromise this time around?; The rise of the Christian right might suit the moderate Liberal leader's next election campaign Brogden a chance for the top job if he can ride the factional cycle
• · · In Robert Bolt's play, A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More is confronted by Richard Rich, whose perjury will lead to More's execution. More's son-in-law, William Roper, urges More to arrest Rich. More answers that Rich has broken no law and is free to go. And go he should if he was the Devil himself until he broke the law! Saddam's Underpants are not the Issue. But the Law is ; President Bush said the other day that the world should see his administration's handling of the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison as a model of transparency and accountability. He said those responsible were being systematically punished, regardless of rank. It made for a nice Oval Office photo-op on a Friday morning. Unfortunately, none of it is true Patterns of Abuse
• · · · Ross Gittins: Take the Michael Egan out of Bob Carr and you're not left with much in the way of financial discipline. They've lost the plot, along with their nerve ; The world's dumbest tax has killed the property market in NSW and driven investment to Queensland, Victoria and even Bob Carr's preferred investment location, New Zealand Brogden attacks high-tax approach
• · · · · No-one even blushed, let alone admitted that last year's land tax changes had been a political misjudgement of the first order. A spectacular backflip with not a red face to be seen ; It was hard to know who was happiest at noon yesterday - Bob Carr, celebrating his 10th anniversary as Premier; Andrew Refshauge, celebrating his first budget as Treasurer; or his predecessor Michael Egan, tucked snugly asleep in his bed somewhere in France Left, Right, the Carr battalion marches on
• · · · · · Politics is not a profession for the weak-hearted Balmain Boys Do not Commit Suicide ; Put aside the issues of increased debt for infrastructure and the 10-year pay-as-you-go policy it reverses Like Carr's record term, a budget adding up to little

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We give them money, but are they grateful?/No, they're spiteful and they're hateful No one likes us, I don't know why....

Eye on Taxing Times: Soul of the Senate
There's a new documentary on Sen. Robert Byrd's life story "of strength and fortitude" debuting this week. It's called "The Soul of the Senate" (website to be launched soon ). The Sunday Gazette-Mail reports:

Soul of the Senate highlights moments in Byrd’s life from his graduation as valedictorian from Mark Twain High School in Stotesbury in 1934, to being congratulated by President John F. Kennedy as he received his law degree at American University in 1963, to chairing major committee hearings in the U.S. Senate.

• The Life and Times of Robert "Sheets" Byrd [Alex Robson demonstrates that every dollar the government raises in tax has a cost. He calculates the total deadweight loss of taxation could be as high as $61 billion per year – more than the federal government spends on health The costs of taxation ; Leigh, Andrew: Do income taxes levied at a state or regional level affect the after-tax distribution of income? DP 490 Can redistributive state taxes reduce inequality? ]
• · In a paper to be published by the University of San Francisco Law Review, Professor Mirko Bagaric and Julie Clarke of Deakin University make a case for legalising torture. Their argument fails morally and practically, write Sarah Joseph and Marius Smith Torture is inhuman, illegal and futile ; The international convention against torture needs to be strengthened, argues Ben Saul Law needs refining
• · · Scott Brenton examines data from the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes and the 2004 Australian Electoral Study, in considering whether there is declining confidence in Australia’s democratic institutions. He examines issues of democracy, government, politicians, parliaments, the legal system and public servants - Democratic Audit of Australia, Australian National University (PDF file) Public confidence in Australian democracy ; Poverty rates by electorate ; This study is examining the impact of Australia’s unique social and cultural environment on the next generation Growing up in Australia ; Was there another story behind this yarn in The Australian on Friday about electoral roll errors? What's going on with the electoral roll? ; Electoral Fraud And Multiple Voting
• · · · Does a university education make people more inclined to have an empathetic view of the world? David Burchell critically examines this view in his reappraisal of what he describes as the ‘empathy wars’ of the past decade, in which attitudes towards Indigenous people and refugees acted a marker of social divides The trouble with empathy ; In June 2004 the Liberal Party’s Bill Stefaniak introduced the Charter of Responsibilities Bill into the ACT Legislative Assembly Bills of responsibilities: is one needed to counter the ‘excesses’ of the ACT Human Rights Act 2004?
• · · · · Jo Barraket reports on a preliminary analysis of Australian third sector, or non-profit, organisations’ attempts to mobilise citizen engagement using online technologies. She reviews recent debates about the impacts of online technologies on citizen engagement in order to identify the significance of these technologies to third sector organisations. While the organisations reviewed are using online technologies to present information about their offline activities, they are less consistent in using these technologies to mobilise civic engagement in new ways Australian Centre for Emerging Technologies & Society Online opportunities for civic engagement? An examination of Australian third sector organisations on the internet ; ASIO’s questioning and detention powers
• · · · · · Do Australians surround themselves with like-minded people and what unites and divides them? Colliding worlds of people unlike us ; Does Peter Costello have something to learn from Prince Charles? Michael McGirr reports on three events and what they meant in southern NSW Last Tuesday, this Tuesday

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Alex Robson demonstrates that every dollar the government raises in tax has a cost. He calculates the total deadweight loss of taxation could be as high as $61 billion per year – more than the federal government spends on health The costs of taxation

Eye on Taxing Times: V-E Day
Prague's World War II commemorations, as usual, all but left out a band of heroes who saved the city

Good progress, this year" said a colleague at Czech TV who had been monitoring the Czech press and TV coverage of the V-E Day celebrations — also 60 years after the fall of Nazi Prague — for references to the Russian Liberation Army, the ROA, aka "Vlasov's army" after its leader, the renegade former Soviet general whose troops turned on their Nazi sponsors and made possible the liberation of Prague without the massive bloodbath and destruction that would have undoubtedly happened otherwise.

• Rewriting history [Political Affairs, on the “ultimate bullshit” which has deformed American politics since the beginnings of the cold war “Totalitarianism” or “Bullshit” ; Open Democracy, a look at the hidden history of the United Nations. The hidden history of the United Nations ]
• · David Starkoff’s blog The merits of torture ; Why Freedom? The Castle in real life ; Australia's elected representatives have shown just how ugly IT cost-cutting exercises can become if users are not consulted. An opt-in option has produced an uneasy truce over attempts to force-march senators onto electronic documents and away from paper Parliamentary paperless coup aborted (courtesy of Catherine the Great ;-)
• · · At least 56 police officers are facing the sack for allegedly committing crimes such as rape, making up evidence and break and enter 56 cops face sack over crimes CityRail's train breakdowns are driving commuters insane Driven insane: 1242 train breakdowns ; Tomorrow's budget is expected to include infrastructure spending that will top last year's $7.5 billion. State budget aims at voter confidence
• · · · Via Scoop: Craig R. McCoy, Jennifer Lin and Mario F. Cattabiani of the Philadelphia Inquirer detailed the relationship between state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and the bank he heads PSB Bancorp Inc. has served one man especially well: its chairman, Sen. Fumo ; Ames Alexander of the Charlotte Observer investigated the relationship between lawyers and judges in the North Carolina’s judicial district that is most lenient on drinking and driving. Judges Under the Influence
• · · · · Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach of the Syracuse Post-Standard analyzed records from New York’s Empire State Development Corp., which offers businesses tax breaks and other incentives to create jobs State gives away millions for jobs that never come ; Andrew Conte and Mark Houser of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review created a database from paper campaign finance filings in Pittsburgh’s mayoral race, finding that “about $1 million in campaign donations has come from people who live outside the city,” more money than came from people living in Pittsburgh Campaign dollars coming from afar
• · · · · · Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle compiled information on deaths at oil refineries from various sources to find that “BP leads the U.S. refining industry in deaths over the last decade, with 22 fatalities since 1995 - more than a quarter of those killed in refineries nationwide.” Fifteen of those deaths occurred in a March accident at BP’s Texas City facility BP leads nation in refinery fatalities ; Karen Augé of the Denver Post used state records to show that “nearly every agency, contractor and department that touched the state’s new $200 million computer benefits system in some way contributed to its debacle Blame aplenty in benefits mess ; Anne Applebaum The Torture Myth

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As a party servant, he looked a most unlikely premier. Now Bob Carr's unbroken stretch at the top is about to hit the history books - As good luck would have it Bob Carr Holding the Fort as Marcus Aurelius

For the Left, the wrongful deportation of the mentally ill Alvarez has been an apocalyptic journey into the heart of darkness, where stone-heart racists impose cold immigration laws with all the flexibility of Hitler's SS. Harry Freedman. George Newhouse had also spoken to NSW Premier Bob Carr's chief spin doctor, Walt Secord, another mate. As an immigrant with an accent, the Canadian-born Secord was horrified at the idea he would have to carry his passport around to avoid being deported by federal agents Behind the battle to save Vivian

Eye on Taxing Times: Brogden attacks Carr's on infrastructure
The NSW government cannot be trusted to deliver on promises of increased infrastructure spending, the opposition says.

Treasurer Andrew Refshauge is expected to announce major increases to infrastructure spending in Tuesday's state budget.
More money is expected to be pumped into significant public transport projects and capital works in the areas of water, power and ports.
But opposition leader John Brogden said the Carr government had a record of making "lots of promises that are either never delivered, delivered late or over budget".
Mr Brogden released a list of 25 key infrastructure projects, including major transport works and hospital upgrades, which were promised in the 2002 NSW State Infrastructure Strategic Plan.

He said six of the projects had been abandoned, the costs for 13 had blown out and 11 had been delayed
• Many of Bob Carr's promised projects have been abandoned, buried or are simply languishing in the assessment stage [Canberra is tough and ambitious on industrial relations and infrastructure but is decidely cautious when it comes to health Howard tightens his grip and pokes Labor states in the eye ; Google: I couldn't have beaten Howard: Carr ]
• · BOB Carr yesterday performed one of his greatest political backflips, ruling out Keno in hotels within 12 hours of it being confirmed by government sources as going ahead Carr denies plan to extend Keno to hotels; Faced with surging demand for power-hungry air-conditioners, the NSW Government is preparing to approve the extension of a coal-fired electricity plant near Lithgow and has cleared the way for more coal power stations Greens condemn coal power plants
• · · Just in case … the city steps up its terrorism-proofing ; Thousands of items of fake designer sportswear, sunglasses, watches and children's toys were seized Police raid market stalls
• · · · NSW Treasurer Andrew Refshauge's first budget on Tuesday will bury the Carr Government's previous aversion to big spending on infrastructure with a program of projects covering public transport, water, power and ports Refshauge's first budget to look at the big picture; Political donations plan raises corruption fears ; Schapelle Corby Meet the Corbys: dad busted for drugs
• · · · · Inverell has galvanised behind this American Christian group's attempt to beat immigration restrictions Town unites to save its model immigrants ; Right means might for state Libs ; Performances in the teatre of the absurd Loyal hardliner takes in his new view
• · · · · · Andrew Metcalfe PM's man tipped for ASIO job ; British tabloid publishes photos of Saddam in underwear ; Alvarez on police files

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Bill Ives Business Blogs: A Practical Guide is Now Available ; CEO Blogs -- Where Angels(?) Fear to Tread Where are the CEO Bloggers – USA Today

The Blog, The Press, The Media: Was Newsweek Doing "Trust Me" Journalism?
Blogger and journalism professor Jay Rosen has the ultimate analysis of the Newsweek Koran story fiasco. His conclusion: Newsweek was doing Take-Our-Word-For-It journalism.

And, increasingly, it seems like Jay Rosen is right.
Trust Me Journalism is a kind of journalism that boils down to this: trust us because we're reporters. Trust us because we work for a prominent news magazine that has given you reliable information in the past. Trust us because we had to pay incredible dues to get where we are to edit and report in these positions (unlike you guys in pajamas at your computers).

• Trust me.... [ Jay Harris says at ethics forum Don't lose faith
in journalism; In case you haven't noticed, (having suddenly awakened from, say, a persistent vegetative state) the blogosphere is officially "hot." So hot that there are now at least ten million web logs in the world -- one third written in English, but one fifth in Japanese and another fifth in Korean -- with more on the way every day Craigslist for Media? ; Journalists thrive on conflict - Conflict emphasized because it's believed to increase audience DC reporters hype political battles]
• · This Conversation Hour with co-host Andrew McIntyre Jay Rosen and Virginia Haussegger ; Will blogging make journalism better? Media Futures ; Gary Sauer-Thompson: Forum on the media
• · · Red Light, Green Light: A Plea For Balance in Media Ethics ; Journalists address media credibility
• · · · Single Document Publishing; Good intentions cannot replace good communication What Is Going On In Newsrooms?
• · · · · Hugh Martin: Media Blog ; Prediction: Mainstream press will open archives

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John Kenneth Galbraith, a now deeply unfashionable economist, identified one of the great doctrines of our age as a belief that the rich don't work because they have too little money, while the poor don't work because they have too much. Or, as John Button once paraphrased it, the rich need more money as an incentive and the poor need less money as an incentive: While last week's budget rewarded the wealthy, the poor got more stick --- Treasurer's tax cut justification a bit rich

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: The pursuit of happiness: Torture, anyone?
An innocent life is an innocent life irrespective of race, situation, colour or time.

G'day. It's a funny old world. As we face the fact that our government and its organs cannot be trusted to respect the rights, or even the humanity, of innocent Australian citizens, the same government and its organs are calling for the downgrading of citizen's protections agains abuse of power by the State with a view, perhaps, to the legalisation of state torture.

• Has the pendulum swung? A case for torture [Capitalism has usually had a bad press. Left and right have combined to denounce mass affluence and the Church has been hostile from the beginning. Even one of the quotations printed on the back cover of Rich is Beautiful says it is “the indefensible argued with vigour” Rich is Beautiful: A Very Personal Defence of Mass Affluence ; Government that’s rational and the market that’s dumb The New York Times begins a special series on social class in the US ; Top 10 Kerrys ... The richest 200 Australians increased their wealth by $11.9 billion to a record $83.4 billion in the past year, according to BRW magazine's annual rich listBillionaire Beauty Boom ]
• · Ironically, the extent of US failure to control Iraq is masked by the fact that it is too dangerous for the foreign media to venture out of central Baghdad. Some have retreated to the supposed safety of the Green Zone. Mr Bush can claim that no news is good news, though in fact the precise opposite is true Iraq is a bloody no man's land. America has failed to win the war. But has it lost it?; Increasingly, business must weigh in on hot social issues -- and suffer interest groups' slings and arrows Culture Wars Hit Corporate America
• · · Tim Dunlop: Professor Bagaric said that one of the reasons that he and Mrs Clarke had submitted the paper to a American law journal was because they are more open to new ideas on human right Torture is Good for you: Professor Bagaric is a part-time member of the Government's Refugee Review Tribunal and Migration Review Tribunal ; How to be a Conservative Pundit in Three Easy Traits
• · · · A Quick Guide to the Second Annual Personal Democracy Forum, This Monday, May 16 Second annual Personal Democracy Forum ; The Wall around the West: Globalisation along rich-poor divides is less the swan song of state power Than its siren song
• · · · · Most disturbing sexual fantasies include sleeping with Michael Sandel Sexual Fantasies ; Torture produces misinformation rather than information, since victims of torture will confess to anything to make it stop When democracy is corrupted; Premier Bob Carr's two limousines were slapped with parking fines worth nearly $500 last year and taxpayers picked up the bill Bob's left us in a fine state; Melbourne: Weapons seized in police raids on bikie gang
• · · · · · Top spy bound for Washington: Wanted: New chief spy for Australia ; Torture advocate dismays colleagues, survivors : Moving from Voluntary Euthanasia to Non-Voluntary Euthanasia ... Right to die ; PDF version Goodbye Justice, Hello Happiness: Welcoming Positive Psychology to the Law

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The landscape of international politics in a few decades will be dominated by a company of giants: societies that will range demographically down from India and China at over a billion each, through those at four or five hundred millions, like the US and the EU, to those at the hundred million plus level Living with giants: Finding Australia’s place in a more complex world

Eye on Politics & Land Lords: Colliding worlds of people unlike us
Do Australians surround themselves with like-minded people and what unites and divides them?

This article explores the questions of real and imagined social and political divisions in its latest edition. In this introduction, Julianne Schultz explains that ‘in recent years the language of politics has focused on dividing and in this edition of the journal we investigate whether these wedges are real, the damage they cause, and what it is actually like to move out of our comfort zones

• Griffith Review (Pdf File) Dragon slayer [The Australia Institute (PDF file) Over nine million Australians travel to work each week, commuting by car, bus, train, tram, bicycle, ferry or foot. These days, more than ever before, employees are commuting for longer Off to work: commuting in Australia ; Rick Snell discusses the ACT government’s fees for Freedom of Information requests Open government: missing the target by a country mile ]
• · While opportunistic crime in Australia’s fishing industry has existed for a long time, there is increasing concern about illegal activity Crime in the Australian fishing industry: key issues ; Peter Mares reviews a new book that reveals the complex and diverse reasons why people leave their home country Stories of flight ; Vienna of Flights
• · · Should taxes be cut? ; Optimal design of earned income tax credits: evidence from a British natural experiment ; John Quiggin looks at the longer term trend in average tax rates The budget changes: who benefits?
• · · · Dr David Clune’s protege, Talina Drabsch, is not just a pretty face. Talina explores the possibilities of no fault compensation, where the entitlement to compensation is not linked to the ability to prove that a person’s injuries were due to the fault of another No fault compensation ; Australia’s year-old energy policy is already out of date, argue Allan Fels and Fred Brenchley It’s no time to be over a barrel
• · · · · Andrew Leigh explores the impact that individual, local and national factors have on voters’ decisions Economic voting and electoral behaviour: how do individual, local and national factors affect the partisan choice? ; The quest for democracy shouldn’t obscure the real lessons of Iraq Intervention and the left ; Over half a century ago Douglas Copland described Australia as a milk bar economy. How much has changed, asks Alex Millmow The Milky Bars are on him
• · · · · · Simon Evans and Carolyn Evans look at the issues facing a new committee A bill of rights for Victoria? ; David Peetz suggests the government industrial relations cure could be worse than the disease Still waiting for a plumber ; At a time when dissatisfaction with politicians is glaringly evident, the solution is not less democracy, of course; it is deeper democracy. And in deliberative experiments around the world, governments and NGOs are attempting to extend citizen participation beyond voting, lobbying, and protesting Citizens and governments: Stroppy adversaries or partners in deliberation?

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Czech out this web site with the tax rates (individual income tax, corporate income tax, and value-added tax) for 55 countries around the world. Tax Rates Around the World

There’s a lot of evidence that people aren’t always rational, and suffer from a range of cognitive biases. But thanks to arbitrage, rational people stand to profit when irrational people let prices and wages stray from efficient levels. That’s what justifies the economist’s assumption of rationality—a small number of rational profit-seekers keep markets rational as a whole even when many participants aren’t. Unfortunately, tax policy has no such mechanism. Solutions To Bad Taxes - And Bad Government

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: America Needs a Better Tax System For
Debunking the Tax Basis Myth Taxes good, market bad

For millions of Americans, the annual rite of filing taxes has become a headache of burdensome record-keeping, lengthy instructions, and complicated schedules, worksheets, and forms – often requiring multiple computations that are neither logical nor intuitive.

• PDF version Sharing the burdens and benefits of the Federal tax structure [More comprehensive tax data are available on the OECD web site OECD Tax Database ; Subscribers only: Tax reform is in the political air, but not all reforms are created equal ]
• · Top Countries for Big Business Why does business seem to thrive more in some countries than in others? Best for Business ; Do taxes matter when companies decide where to locate? In theory, yes. After all taxes are just another cost of doing business, and companies streamline whenever possible Do Companies Run from Taxes?
• · · Control of large projects, such as upgrading Parramatta Road and high-rise developments near railway stations, may be removed from councils and given to the State Government as part of plans to build more than 450,000 homes in existing suburbs over the next 25 years. Councils to lose control of more sites ; Great leaders elevated by those they lead What Leadership Lessons Can We Learn From Alexander The Great?
• · · · Brogden wants 18,000 jobs axed; The sexual irony of the calendar is clever – the picture on the site is captioned “Are your butts covered? We thought ours were too!” In today’s PC world, this is definitely a shot across the bow cockpit. Stewardesses Stripped
• · · · · Not all characteristics VCs look for in an investment actually help a company succeed; some may just reveal value the company already had. In a world of ruthless efficiency weeding out evolutionary misfits, why in the world would a peacock evolve such a big, clumsy tail? Sex, of course. Why Are Startups Like Peacocks? ; As the monetary costs fall, the most important impediments to a transaction are non-monetary: search costs and psychic costs. Cold River Peppered with Matchmaker, Matchmaker: Of Searches and Psychics: The Costs of Long Tail Businesses
• · · · · · Which is bigger: Ad Dollars Spent on Outdoor Advertising or Online? ; What Keeps Us Where We Work?

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For Sweden, my homeland, the United Nations is a sacred cow. But today, many Swedes, like others around the world, are having second thoughts. Three events incited these doubts: Rwanda; Kofi Annan; Commission exists to promote human rights and democratic freedoms - yet some of the worst human rights violators are Commission members Make the UN Stand for Freedom

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Building a fairer Australia
Our great country is about to enter the second decade of conservative rule.

History will mark 1996 to 2006 as the Liberal/National Government’s decade of deception. Year after year of lowering the ‘truth’ bar then deliberately crawling under it. With one common theme – the Government deceives, and Australians pay.
But Mr Speaker, this year we’ve learned why this Government has been so deceitful. We uncover their motive with each new economic indicator. With one of the highest foreign debt levels in the world. With a record current account deficit. With household debt rising and rising. And with the tragedy of a Government that turns away tens of thousands of Australians from TAFE colleges whilst the Treasurer makes a virtue in his Budget speech of importing skills from overseas to make up for the difference.

• The 2005 Budget: A squandered opportunity [The Case for Palestine: An International Law Perspective ; Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Building Democracy]
• · ISA is a leading provider of global analysis and forecasting. With an international presence and coverage which spans the entire globe, ISA has the scope to provide our clients with insights they will not find anywhere else ISA ;The former homeland terror boss implies that Ashcroft is to blame for the idiot color-coded alert system. Here's the solution: let's blame all the conservative commissars. (Thanks to Bill Sardi for the link.) Now, who was the duct-tape guy? Not Wasn’t Me: Says Ridge
• · · What the “long tail” means for the economics of e-commerce Disruptive obscure cold river technologies, learning curves, tipping points Profiting from obscurity ; "Has any country ever had a more arrogant, insolent, contemptuous leader than we have? Really, I can't think of any monarchs or popes who behave this presumptuously, but then they only think they are God's representatives on earth, not God himself. I guess we know why John Bolton is such a favorite around this White House." President
• · · · Most people know three things about Australia, and all of them are wrong. They think it is vast, remote and lucky—as in the lucky country, meaning blessed with natural resources and therefore in fact unlucky, because resources diminish the incentive to specialise in less capricious sources of wealth Beyond lucky ; This evening before you go to bed, get down on your knees and thank God that your children are safe Mayor's Advice Is Seriously Twisted
• · · · · Australia's constraints are all on the supply side The limits to growth; If you own Daimler Chrysler stock, sell it now. I’m not a stock analyst, nor do I even play one on TV, but my “sell now!” instincts were alerted by this post at the Forum by Reader Scott: Corporate Stupidity
• · · · · · "The Instapundit reacts to this Will Collier piece on the United Airlines scandal and states: Whatever you call this, it's not free enterprise.... Of course it isn't- it is a legally sanctioned attempt to pass on the financial obligations of private corporations to the public. And it is going to be successful.... They had a name for this sort of thing back in the day. I believe it was Rober Barons ; More on United Airlines

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This week's Economist magazine, in a rare cover story on Australia, warns that Australia's record run of economic growth is under threat if investment in infrastructure is not improved. Noting that Australia is now "bumping up against supply-side limits", the clear message for state governments is that investment in infrastructure is essential to maintain economic growth. It's time to rebuild a city collapsing under the weight of growth

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: 2005-06 Budget At A Glance
Fiscal Outlook
_The 2005-06 Budget provides for an underlying cash surplus of $8.9 billion. This will be the Government’s eighth surplus.
_A strong budget position is being maintained while delivering further personal income tax cuts and introducing significant reforms to the welfare system, aimed at improving workforce participation.

Economic Outlook
_ Prospects for the Australian economy remain strong.
_Economic growth is forecast to be 3 per cent in 2005-06.
_The unemployment rate is forecast to remain around its generational lows.

Tax cuts
_All taxpayers will benefit from a further $21.7 billion in tax cuts over the next four years.
_The 17 per cent tax rate will be reduced to 15 per cent from 1 July 2005.
_The tax threshold for the 42 per cent and 47 per cent rates will be raised on 1 July 2005 and again on 1 July 2006.
_This means that taxpayers will not reach the highest marginal tax rate until they earn around 3 times average weekly earnings.
_The Government will abolish the superannuation surcharge on contributions and termination payments made or received from 1 July 2005 to encourage private savings.

Welfare to work
_The Government is committed to increasing workforce participation.
_ From 1 July 2006 a wider range of income support recipients will be obliged to seek work.
_Newstart Allowance will be enhanced from 1 July 2006 to improve the rewards from part-time work.
_More than $2 billion will be invested over four years to ensure that those seeking work have the necessary support services and training.
_Incentives to find work will be strengthened by a change to the compliance framework, incorporating payment suspensions.

Reduced business taxes
_The 3 per cent tariff applying to business inputs where no substitutable goods are manufactured in Australia will be removed from Budget Night. This will cost $1.3 billion over five years.
_A broader range of expenses incurred by business will become tax deductible.

Reduced business taxes
_The 3 per cent tariff applying to business inputs where no substitutable goods are manufactured in Australia will be removed from Budget Night. This will cost $1.3 billion over five years.
_A broader range of expenses incurred by business will become tax deductible.

Ensuring a sustainable health system
_Record spending on health and aged care by the Government – $45 billion in 2005-06, up from $20 billion when the Government came to office.
_$196 million over five years for the Strengthening Cancer Care initiative, including funding for additional research, screening and prevention initiatives.
_$321 million package to make dementia a national health priority. This includes 2,000 dedicated places to provide high level care for people with dementia in their own home.
_Medicare Safety Net and the PBS made more sustainable.

More support for families and carers
_ Since the last Budget, the Government has increased the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part B, costing $2 billion over five years.
_The level of income allowed before Family Tax Benefit Part A is withdrawn will be increased to $37,500 a year from 1 July 2006.
_A bonus payment for carers will be paid in June 2005. $1,000 for recipients of Carer Payment and $600 for recipients of Carer Allowance.

Providing for Australia’s security
_$239 million over four years to further enhance the investigation and language skills of intelligence agency personnel.
_$522 million over four years to improve protective security, including in missions overseas.
_$580 million for additional quarantine screening.

Enhancing our international engagement
_ $1 billion aid package to Indonesia to assist with tsunami reconstruction and development efforts.
_$841 million over four years helping the Solomon Islands restore law, order and sound public finances

• Treasury provides advice to Government ministers and other services in support of 'effective government spending and taxation arrangements' Budget 2005-2006 [Barista Budget in a Nutshell: Book of Budget ; Bloggers on Budget ]
• · Glance Back: Past Budgets ; When push comes to budget, we all did it
• · · Labor splits emerge over Budget response ; A taste of Crikey's Budget coverage
• · · · Mike Steketee: An eye on day after tomorrow; Tax cuts: the difference between eating out well and a hamburger The rich, the poor, the budget
• · · · · Daniel Gross, New York Times A Perfect Storm That Could Drown the Economy ; Politicians and their staff are chronic leakers and briefers because they know how important it is to get their message across to the public via the media Off the Couch, Deeper Into the Psyche
• · · · · · Hurley and Mara had told Hatfield RI 719 was the informer. At the meeting Hatfield asked him strip to his underwear and then go for a swim. RI 719 talked his way out of it but perhaps this was the point his handlers thought things had become too risky as police on Monday raided homes throughout Sydney Insider spills beans on coke smuggling ring ; Corby team says Keelty must go