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History is a great dust heap
-Thomas Carlyle

The history of modern nation building suggests that the authority of the state must be grounded in the common cultural and ethnic values of its citizens Nationhood, modernity, democracy

Eye on Politics & Taxes: KISSING UP KICKING DOWN
How well do you know your colleagues' personalities? Researchers warn some of them may have psychopathic traits.

But they say this is nothing to be worried about. They will not be violent, but their psychopathic traits will allow them to climb the career ladder, New Scientist magazine reports. Professor Robert Hare, of the University of British Columbia says "corporate psychopaths'" arrogance and focus helps them succeed. They may also be superficially charming, prone to fly into rages and likely to take credit for colleague's achievements. Professor Hare estimates that around one per cent of the population of North America could be described as psychopaths.

• How to spot a psychopath at work [ Kissing up, kicking down, blogging around ; Are you ( working with ) an Office Psychopath ? ]
• · Australian children enjoy less freedom to roam independently than children in German, English and New Zealand cities Children's freedoms reduced out of fear ; Why Nazism Was Socialism and Why Socialism Is Totalitarian
• · · Helping people break out of the poverty trap offers a career opportunity. Small is beautiful ; No government anywhere has lived up to its basic promises- all people need to contribute to building a new kind of freedom The Nature of Man and His Government ; Yes, I remember one student saying, the author has done a good job describing the way the windows broke. But he might have done something more beautiful by throwing rocks himself.... A look at France's history of violence
• · · · Here is a paradox. In the financial markets, investment information is rapidly and efficiently diffused. New product and service innovations, be they junk bonds, new forms of options, or debt securities that allocate
and price risk in an innovative fashion, get rapidly copied by competitors Presumed Truths Need Debunking ; If you want people to follow you, take a walk in their shoes How to Become a Change Agent
• · · · · Employee Engagement: New age HR ; Interesting Stuff: Hot Topic - inspirational dancing Will M&S's fancy footwork improve staff motivation? ; Peter Drucker is the one management thinker every educated person should read Trusting the teacher in the grey-flannel suit
• · · · · · There are two common misconceptions held by those who are critical of globalism. The first error is that there is a very small group of people who secretly run the world with all-powerful and unrestrained dictatorial powers. The second error is that there is a large amorphous and secret organization that runs the world. A look at The Global Elite: Who are they? ; The destiny of the currency is, and always will be, the destiny of a nation New International Economic Order ; An interview with Mark Crispin Miller, author of Fooled Again Fool Me Twice

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In its November Tax and Budget Bulletin, the Cato Institute examined the movement in several countries, particularly eastern European countries, toward adopting flat tax systems, which Cato said can attract foreign investment, reduce tax evasion, and make tax systems more fair and efficient.

Taxing Times Catching Up to Global Tax Reforms

President Bush's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform has proposed two plans to modernize the tax system.1 Both plans would take steps to simplify the tax code and reduce taxes on savings and investment. But the plans do not include large enough cuts to top individual or corporate tax rates. Many countries have cut their income tax rates in recent years to attract foreign investment and promote growth. The reforms in Eastern Europe have been particularly dramatic, with many countries adopting flat-rate taxes for individuals. Countries in Europe and elsewhere have also made large cuts to corporate tax rates. In today's competitive global economy, policymakers need to respond to foreign reforms and cut U.S. income tax rates. As a first step, they should consider versions of the Advisory Panel's plans that cut the top individual and corporate rates to at least 25 percent. If such reforms were enacted, it would help America regain its competitive edge and boost investment, wages, and growth.

Flat Tax Revolution
Nine nations in Central and Eastern Europe have enacted personal income taxes with single rates and few deductions -- flat taxes. Combined with corporate tax rate cuts, the reforms have spurred economic revival in formerly moribund economies. The table shows that the United States has much higher tax rates than do the flat tax countries, and it has a much higher corporate rate than the average of the 25 European Union nations. The following countries are some of the world's tax reform leaders.2

Hong Kong. Hong Kong has long had one of the world's most efficient tax systems. The corporate income tax has a low 17.5 percent rate. The individual income tax has graduated rates from 2 to 20 percent and various deductions. Alternately, individuals can opt to pay a 16 percent flat tax on a broader base. Individuals are not taxed on dividends or capital gains.

Ireland. Ireland has the second-highest income per capita and the lowest overall tax burden in the EU.3 Its economy has grown rapidly as a result of pro-market reforms including tax cuts, which have attracted large capital inflows. The corporate tax rate is just 12.5 percent.

Estonia. Prime Minister Mart Laar launched the European flat tax revolution in 1994 by instituting a 26 percent tax on individual and corporate income. Estonia is currently phasing down its rate to 20 percent. Another pro-growth change, adopted in 2000, was to exempt corporate retained earnings from tax. Estonia has become a magnet for foreign investment and has enjoyed real annual growth averaging 5.7 percent since 1995.

Lithuania. In 1994 Lithuania cut its corporate tax rate to 29 percent and its top individual rate to 33 percent. In 2002 the corporate rate was cut to 15 percent. In 2005 Lithuania passed a phased-in cut to its top individual rate to 24 percent. The tax rate on dividends is 15 percent.

Latvia. In 1995 Latvia cut its top individual tax rate to 25 percent. The corporate tax rate was reduced from 35 percent in 2001 to 15 percent in 2004. Domestic dividends are exempt from tax.

Hungary. Hungary cut its corporate tax rate to 18 percent in 1995 and reduced it further to 16 percent in 2004. Hungary has a top individual income tax rate of 38 percent, but dividends are taxed at a lower rate.

Russia. In 2001 Russia replaced its individual income tax, which had rates up to 30 percent, with a 13 percent flat tax. In 2002 it cut its corporate tax rate from 35 to 24 percent. Russia's system is not a pure flat tax, as it retains some deductions and narrow provisions. Domestic dividends are taxed at just 9 percent. Russia's tax reforms have been a big success. In recent years, the nation's economy has grown strongly, tax revenues have soared, and tax evasion has fallen.

Serbia. In 2003 Serbia enacted a flat income tax with a 14 percent rate on individuals and corporations.
Ukraine. In 2004 Ukraine replaced its individual income tax, which had a top rate of 40 percent, with a 13 percent flat tax. It also cut its corporate tax rate from 30 to 25 percent.

Slovakia. Slovakia adopted a flat rate tax of 19 percent on individuals and corporations in 2004. The top tax rates had been 38 percent and 25 percent, respectively. For individuals, the flat tax has a large basic exemption and few special preferences. Dividends are exempt from tax. Slovakia is attracting large investment inflows from Western Europe, and its economy is growing strongly.

Poland. In 2004 Poland cut its corporate tax rate from 27 to 19 percent. The top individual rate is a high 40 percent, but reforms may be on the way. One party in the new coalition government favors a low-rate flat tax, while the other favors a cut in the top rate to 32 percent.

Georgia. In 2005 Georgia adopted an individual flat tax with a 12 percent rate. The top individual rate had been 20 percent. The corporate tax rate is 20 percent.

Romania. Soon after coming into office last year, Romania's new president issued an edict to replace the nation's income tax with a 16 percent flat tax on individuals and corporations, effective for 2005. The top tax rates had been 40 and 25 percent, respectively.

Recent Developments and Outlook
The large benefits of cutting top income tax rates suggest that the trend will continue for some time. Nations are cutting rates to attract investment, reduce tax evasion, and make tax systems more fair and efficient. Here are some recent developments:

Israel is cutting its corporate rate from 34 to 25 percent and its top individual rate from 49 to 44 percent.
Greece is cutting its corporate rate cut from 35 to 25 percent and is considering a flat tax for individuals.
Austria cut its corporate tax rate from 34 to 25 percent in 2005.
Netherlands reduced its corporate tax rate from 34.5 to 31.5 percent in 2005 and is considering further cuts.
Germany's new conservative chancellor wants to cut tax rates, but even the former leftist chancellor had planned to cut the corporate rate to boost growth.
France is planning to cut its top individual income tax rate from 48 to 40 percent.
Belarus is considering adopting a low-rate flat tax, like the one in neighboring Russia.
Slovenia's leader plans to enact a flat tax after being inspired by Estonia's success.

The Bush Advisory Panel's proposals would create tax systems with three or four individual rate brackets and top individual and corporate tax rates of 30 percent or more. Those would be only minor tax rate changes compared to some of the reforms enacted abroad. The United States is particularly lagging on corporate tax reform. Ongoing tax cuts have reduced the average corporate rate in the 25 EU countries to just 27 percent. That compares to 40 percent in the United States, based on the federal and average state rate. U.S. policymakers need to wake up to the new global tax realities and put marginal rate cuts front and center in upcoming federal tax reforms.

Top Statutory Income Tax Rates, 2005

Country Individual Corporate

Countries with Individual Flat Taxes

Estonia 24.0% 24.0%
Georgia 12.0% 20.0%
Latvia 25.0% 15.0%
Lithuania 33.0% 15.0%
Romania 16.0% 16.0%
Russia 13.0% 24.0%
Serbia 14.0% 14.0%
Slovakia 19.0% 19.0%
Ukraine 13.0% 25.0%
Flat tax countries 18.8% 19.1%

Other Countries and Regions

Czech Republic 32.0% 26.0%
Hong Kong 16.0% 17.5%
Hungary 38.0% 16.0%
Ireland 42.0% 12.5%
Poland 40.0% 19.0%
Singapore 22.0% 20.0%
Europe: 25 countries 40.6% 26.6%
United States 38.6% 39.5%

Source: Author, based on sources in endnote 2. Rates include the
national and average subnational tax rate.

FOOTNOTES:
1 President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, "Simple, Fair, and Pro-Growth: Proposals to Fix America's Tax System," November 2005.

2 Numerous sources were used for this Bulletin including European Union, "Structures of the Taxation Systems in the EU," 2004; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), various working papers; KPMG, "Corporate Tax Rate Survey," 2004; www.russianeconomy.org; www.freedomandprosperity.org; and news articles from Tax Notes International and www.tax-news.com.

3 OECD, "OECD in Figures," 2005, p. 12. Income is GDP per capita (at purchasing power parity). See also EU, 2004, p. 165.
November 2005 - by Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy, Cato Institute

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A look at when corruption makes perfect economic sense Zero tolerance for corruption

Eye on Politics & Taxes: There Are Too Many Losers in Globalization
On globalization's losers: Politicians need to be braver when capitalism is the only game in town

It was pure Fawlty Towers. According to Helmut Kohl, Margaret Thatcher's comment after the Berlin Wall came down was: "We've beaten the Germans twice. Now they're back."
If true, this seems a rather perverse response, since Thatcher had spent the 1980s supporting Ronald Reagan in the last big battle of the Cold War, one that resulted in an economically weak Soviet Union being bankrupted by its attempts to keep up with the west in an arms race. Thatcher and Reagan hailed the demolition of the Berlin Wall as the release of millions of people from tyranny

• Deep irony [The Utility of Force: the art of war in the modern world ; Gene Sperling on how the time to think about helping displaced workers is before they lose their jobs. The Early-Warning Economy ]
• · The more extravagant promises of globalization theory have come to naught. Where do we go from here? The Collapse of Globalism ; In the untamed world of hedge funds, rigged deals and manipulated markets help the wealthy thrive while ordinary investors wither. Behind the Hedge
• · · And Sixties counter-culture had a point, it was an act of rebellion. Forty years on, the need is just as great Grandchildren of the revolution ; The fruits of freedom
• · · · Injured accused terrorist Omar Baladjam was moved from hospital to prison in Sydney's biggest ever anti-terror convoy Huge convoy for injured suspect ; Investors should be keeping some powder dry rather than taking extra risks to cope with the prospect of lower investment returns Tycoon says greed has rotted enterprise
• · · · · Bush lied ; The Australian Newsagency blog is one of my favourite Australian blogs and I've mentioned it before. For the past couple of weeks, blogger/newsagent Mark Fletcher has been running a series of posts complaining about the unfair competition newsagents are receiving at the hands of Australia Post. Today, he summarises his case in a letter to Crikey: The postman always rings twice
• · · · · · The public has become suspicious about public-private partnerships Tunnel trouble will lead to deeper difficulties ; WANT to buy the Sydney Harbour Bridge? The question, used to sort out gullible blow-ins, has been part of this city's larrikin streak for generations. Deal-making flaws must be addressed

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In the middle nineteenth century, Jay Gould's Erie Railroad fought with Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt's New York Central. In one battle, Vanderbilt lowered the rate for hauling steers from Buffalo to New York from $125 to $100 per carload. Gould counterattacked, lowering Erie's rate to $75. Vanderbilt then went to $50, then Gould to $25. Vanderbilt filled every car when he lowered his rate to a rock bottom one dollar. Unfortunately for the Commodore, the cattle he was carrying were Gould's. Gould had bought up every steer he could find in Buffalo and shipped them on Vanderbilt's railroad. Vanderbilt had made the mistake of believing that his objective was to carry the most beef on the hoof, while Gould didn't lose sight of the real objective - to make money."

Here are some thoughts and reminiscences of Jan Sokol, prominent Czech intellectual. The Czech Republic and the Future of European Politics

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Mikhail Gorbachev on Perestroika, 20 years later
Your policies of “perestroika” and “new thinking” on global affairs were announced 20 years ago this summer. How do you evaluate their accomplishments and failures now?

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, now heads Green Cross International. He spoke with Carlos Gardels and Nathan Gardels July 8 at the Gorbachev Foundation headquarters in a modern bank building on the outskirts of Moscow. In the summer of 1985, he first announced his ideas of “new thinking” and “perestroika.”

• Perestroika’s greatest achievement was to awaken and liberate the mind [ On the Wal-Mart Money Trail ; Wal-Mart: is this the worst company in the world? It is the biggest private employer in America ; Wal-Mart turns in student’s anti-Bush photo ]
• · Frank Furedi on how the French riots reveal the political exhaustion of Europe French lessons for us all ; Steven Levitt on rational choice and voting: There's no good economic rationale for going to the polls. Why Vote? ; Michael D. Yates' keynote speech atHow Unions Matter in the New Economy in Toronto, 28-29 October 2005 Do Unions Still Matter?
• · · EJ Dionne on a vision check for the Democrats. Vision Check for the Democrats ; Billy Joel was on to something when he sang "Only the Good Die Young." Sweet Dreams for America's Ruling Elite and their Sycophantic Loyalists
• · · · A look at the long history of US politicians’ denial of their country’s imperial reach An empire in denial ;
• · · · · Wellesley's Thomas Cushman on Democracy and its enemies ; The impasse of the authoritarian command economic systems in the communist zones of the 1970s brought a great deal of rethinking about economic planning and co-ordination in non-market societies within the East Bloc and outside Democratic Economies
• · · · · · From Multinational Monitor, a series of articles on The People’s Triumphs over Corporate Power Victories! Justice! ; This morning as I was driving to work I heard HoWARd say (in reference to the Paris riots) that he saw a direct correlation between highly regulated labour markets and high unemployment. Pile-up in Western Sydney

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Diversity means different things to different people and the blogs I read value All People. Diversity is 'otherness' or those qualities that are different from our own and outside the group to which belong. There are many dimensions to diversity such as age, ethnicity, gender and other qualities that can be changed such as marital status, income, educational background, geographical location and work experiences. Diversity means more than just acknowledging or tolerating difference. Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve appreciating interdependence of cultures. To me diversity means sharing all kinds of stories at Media Dragon. The concept of diversity encompases acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique. The whole wide world of the internet is moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the RICH dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. Who could be more diverse than Shel and Robert ;-)

Eye on Politics & Taxes: An Interview with God
What would you like to ask God?

The beautiful and powerful presentation that has inspired
millions will bring you closer to God

• God is Light: Beautiful Flash presentation [A study links information and communications technology to political 'place-making' efforts A sense of place ; From Business Week, a cover story on Ikea: How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand. Ikea ]
• · Cross City Tunnel scandal threatens to sweep up the former premier, two of his ministers and the state' Scandal hits premier's men ; Real estate is a national obsession in Australia but this week comes warnings that the market may be in for hard landing. Prices have already come off 10 percent in Sydney Safe as houses ; According to this premise, when a real-estate bubble bursts, It smells like syrup
• · · Who deserves to be a citizen? Migrant Worry ; Ex-communist countries are competing hard in the global education bazaar From Marx to marketing
• · · · What Chou En Lai said about the French Revolution holds for the Russian as well: Too soon to judge (subscription req) ; After Nov. 1, 1755, the new Lisbon would be a monument to the Enlightenment, a living metaphor of effective government. Stirred, Not Shaken
• · · · · An article on the demise of Canadian ideas Intellects can't be public without good magazines ; Christian pacifists ignore the true ambitions of terrorists Peace Now
• · · · · · Francis Fukuyama knows how to toss out an idea that, like a baby rattle, is big enough for small minds to hold onto. History in the Remaking ; The conservatives may look to be imploding at the moment, but liberals have a serious long-term problem that won't go away Can We Talk?

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I was trying to think of a way to make the point that this whole war is such a waste. But I also wanted to honor the troops I believe our government wrongly sent to Iraq Luckovich spent 13 hours working on his "Why?" cartoon
(Mike Luckovich's Wednesday editorial cartoon has the hand-written name of every American soldier killed in Iraq)

Eye on Politics & Taxes: The Polish autumn
The double election victory of the Law & Justice party has left Poland’s leading political actors embracing new friends and old enemies, finds Adam Szostkiewicz.

From Open Democracy, the double election victory of the Law & Justice party has left Poland’s leading political actors embracing new friends and old enemies

• Polish political sclerosis [French people’s impatient distrust of their ruling class is a symptom of a deep political and Social malaise ; Latin Americans do not want to go back to dictatorship but they are still unimpressed with their democracies Democracy's ten-year rut]
• · Byelection hopefuls quizzed on sex life ; Economist.com Cities Guide: Sydney Briefing - October 2005
• · · James Q. Wilson to Californians: Lawmakers stole your vote; Research Service, Parliament of New South Wales Industrial relations reforms: the proposed national system
• · · · Essential liberties are lost in imitation ; An overview of the effectiveness of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance
• · · · · George Williams surveys the High Court career of Justice Michael McHugh Democracy and the High Court ; The political process is being used to wage a civil war in Iraq, writes Derek Woolner War by other means
• · · · · · Will Howard investigate seditious leaks on terror scare against his public wishes? (rhetorical question) ; Webdiary

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Is the Prime Minister misusing the Government's Senate majority by rushing to introduce two major pieces of legislation? Emperor Howard

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Terror defence, or slur?
In what is perhaps the most bizarre business idea to spring up since the 9/11 attacks, an American entrepreneur is trying to show that, in the fight against terrorism, the pen is mightier than the sword

An American entrepreneur is trying to show that, in the fight against terrorism, the pen is mightier than the sword

• Revenge [Villawood hunger strike into its 10th day ; Heavy weapons in the home of democracy ; What use is the CIA? asked Richard Nixon. They’ve got 40,000 people over there reading newspapers. Not a bad idea, actually Reexamining the Distinction Between Open Information and Secrets ]
• · Mate! Citizens, aliens and ‘real Australians’: the High Court and the case of Amos Ame ; Peter Mares and Nic Maclellan argue that it’s time to create opportunities for lower skilled workers in our region Knocking on Australia’s door ; World Bank: Doing Business database
• · · More splits for Labor? ; Marc Mauer: Experience from the US suggests that prisoners should keep the right to vote Disenfranchising criminals is bad for democracy
• · · · Derek Woolner: The political process is being used to wage a civil war in Iraq War by other means ; Police probe Liberal Party fraud claims ;Nicolaou chosen to contest Brogden's seat
• · · · · John Singleton made a Fabian Society speech on Labor's chances of winning in 2007; The NSW Police Integrity Commission is probing suggestions that police phone tap warrants used to snare 12 of the so-called exam scammers were obtained using false or misleading information Police watchdog bitten by scandal
• · · · · · You've bought your home and now you want an investment property. So, do what millions have done before you - borrow the money, buy an apartment and write off the interest against your tax. In this special series we debate whether so-called negative gearing is wrong The great Aussie dream - take two ; Sedition, or How I Learned to Love Howard's Terrorising Legislation ; Bibliography of News and Gov. Docs on Libby Indictment

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Sometimes schadenfreude just feels so good...
Unfortunately nobody ever finally knows these things until such time as the court rules: Costello adds to Howard's terror woes

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Read all about it - soon it will be a crime
Bilal Daye and ASIO director-general Paul O'Sullivan have got at least one thing in common - they both went to school at Randwick's Marcellin college

But for that footnote in their CVs, there is little to compare the two men. One is the head of Australia's domestic spy agency, the other was raided twice by federal authorities, suspected of being a terrorist. On Tuesday, Mr Daye will take Mr O'Sullivan and the Commonwealth Government to the District Court, seeking damages of up to $750,000 for a bungled swoop by ASIO agents and heavily armed police on his Mascot home

• It is a story that anyone interested in the subject should read now. Under the proposed anti-terrorism laws It turned out is was real and a nightmare [ Cracks in terror solidarity ; AUSTRALIAN wheat sales to Iraq were used to illegally funnel about $US200 million from the UN humanitarian oil-for-food program to prop up Saddam Hussein's murderous regime UN scandal hits wheat board sales ]
• · Over 50 Great Radical Centrist Political Blogs Great source for other links in the great center uprising ; Conference offers fresh and compelling new views on terrorism as nation's partisans sleep
• · · RTA chief Paul Forward quit today amid deepening controversy over Sydney's Cross City Tunnel as the Roads Minister accused him of neglect RTA chief falls on his sword over tunnel ; The Fight Over Wireless Will we get Internet access from big government or big business?
• · · · Bob Carr has aggressively defended his new role as a consultant with Macquarie Bank, describing journalists who asked if there was a conflict of interest as "silly" and "mistaken" - I would not have allowed a question like that at a press conference in my day Green Carr denies climate of conflict in new role ; The specter of a “Colored Revolution” in Kazakhstan Whither Kazakhstan? ; Whither Kazakhstan ... continues part 2
• · · · · It provokes extreme passions. From a country the size of Wales, conflicts and arguments touch lives and shake economies across the globe. In the pages that follow, distinguished writers analyse the phenomenon that is Israel, its people, its past and its future, while here Mario Vargas Llosa introduces a nation he both admires and fears Democracy and demons ; How the Right Has Won ; Ethical imperialism: A review of books that reveal the political atrophy of foreign policy today
• · · · · · You've heard of money laundering; now welcome to "policy laundering" Big Brother goes global; Why Most Meetings Stink ; An overview of the effectiveness of closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance

A Small Virtual Key Open Big Door

[Blogging] business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side ...
-Hunter S. Thompson Meeting the Whole Wide World

Once upon a time I had a pleasure of reviewing a masterpiece by Dan Gillmor entitled We The Media and this week I ploughed through another global treasure entitled The Naked Conversations. If you know who the honest, naked, guys are who wrote this amazing tome then the future has never looked brighter. However, if you have no idea who wrote the story then the future has never looked more bleak.

This is a story of a modern revolution
Imagine what it would be like to live simply and purely, dedicated to a force larger than yourself. This is exactly what Robert Scoble and Shel Israel have done over the last twelve months or so. You know that both of them spent hours and hours on the story because the first page that you open of the Advanced Uncorrected Proofs - Not For Sale - is dedicated to Maryam Scoble and Paula Israel. The boys could not have given birth to this wonder without them;-) If you happened to have the time over the last twelve months to follow their virtual fingerprints you would realise that Shel and Robert are like those creatures with two legs and eight hands.

Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers taps into something under the surface, which I think is intriguing, and there is a mystery there which drags you through the new virtual world. The struggle to get ahead in the new brave world makes for a memorable read. As Tom Peters, the blogging guru, notes in his forward ‘Biz Blogging ... WORKS. It is of ... MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE. (Or can Be) Listen. Please (If you don’t you’re a Damn Fool)’

The introduction: of Bloggers and Blacksmiths envokes an image of middle-aged white guys talking in the nude around a camp fire. Terry Catchpole gets to have the first say: ‘It began with conversations. Then we got into broadcast media. Now we are going back to conversations. It’s a full circle.’

The book consists of three parts and it is peppered with pertinent quotes and observations. In my eyes, the basic points for this book are also found inside Aristotle’s The Rhetoric. Technology changes but human nature and how we converse, think and act remains the same. We all want to practice ‘honest and, naked, conversations with customers that build loyalty and trust.’ “Three Legs of Persuasion” found inside The Rhetoric enable us to share great conversations with people. Miss any of the three legs and it is like trying to sit on a three-legged stool that is missing one leg! What are the three legs? They are: Logos, or Logic. Pathos, or Passion. Ethos, or Ethics. All 15 chapters of this book are based on these three legs. There are no tricks, no superficial concepts and certainly no short cuts. In order to obtain full benefit one needs to read one and all chapters.

When I think of Robert and Shel I think of what Oliver Wendell Holmes had to say about leaders:
‘There are one-story intellects, two-story intellects, and three-story intellects with skylights. All fact collectors with no aim beyond their facts are one-story men. Two-story men compare reason and generalize, using labors of the fact collectors as well as their own. Three-story men idealize, imagine, and predict. Their best illuminations come from above through the skylight.’

Robert and Shel are three-story men and blogging champions who even make each chapter heading thought-provoking. Where other technical evangelists and business consultants pander, lecture, exaggerate or understate, Robert and Israel are content with an intimate recitation of fact and wisdom. They lay out the core beliefs, the core practices, and the core virtues of blogging. And they work hard to get those things working in your personal and professional life.

In a light-hearted, motivating tone this book explores many nuggets of genuine wisdom. The virtual terms are all explained using real-life examples and interesting tidbits from 200 or so interviews. You will find handy 'must know,' 'should know' as well as 'could know' spread throughout the book. For instance, find out how Google delivered golden needles. This is a book that most of us need on our bookshelves and one that we will likely refer to time and time again. The authors’ extensive business and marketing experiences are evident as every page is filled with useful tips, concrete examples, and thoughtful suggestions for improvement.

To paraphrase an old song, blogging is not for everybody - just the sexy people
Naked Conversations is the ultimate reference for people wishing to develop their blogging and marketing skills. This indispensable guide is packed with professional tips on how to add more zap and clarity to personal and business communications.

This book is a delight to read for many reasons. It encapsulates the skills and techniques for improving people's blogging and writing in one accessible book. And it practises what it preaches, in the sense that it is easy and enjoyable to read.

It is hard to compete for thoughtful reviews with writers like Jeff Clavier who posted the first review of the galley proof, to boot, autographed by both Scoble and Israel, Naked Conversations

Congratulations are in order for creating something out of nothing, and may the word spreads like a good old Australian bushfire ...

Soon, around Christmas, Robert Scoble and Shel Israel of Naked Conversations are going to strike a few sparks at the Les Blogs conference
Defining together these new values:
1. How they challenge the corporate world
2. How they change the media landscape
3. How they bring more democracy in politics
4. How education evolves
5. What are the tools used and how we can all best benefit from them
6. Where we are going in the near and longer term future

CODA - Worthy reads: The PC Doctor » Here to help! I have a galley proof!
Neville Hobson makes an observation about two events that have happened since the two authors delivered the completed manuscript to Wiley and which are not in the text - IBM's global employee blogging initiative and eBay's acquisition of Skype Naked Conversations Is A Cracking Read
Steve Rubel links to Naled Conversations
Alex Barnett Markets *really* are conversations
Jim Minatel writes: I read the first 3 chapters of Scoble and Israel's Naked Conversations in galleys today over lunch. Yes, I'm reading the actual hardcopy, not a Word file or PDF. Why? Because almost everyone buying the book will read a hardcopy version too, it only makes sense to experience the book the same way the customer will. Reading and editing on paper
Church of the Customer Podcast Women's word of mouth; Wanna be a business book author?
I've Been Selected to Review Robert Scoble and Shel Israel's New Book The Mason Technologist
I got another great treat today: My galley copy of Robert Scoble’s and Shel Israel’s Naked Conversations hit my desk A Book Publisher Blog
Business Blog Consulting The Newest Blogging Book to Hit the Market
Michael Martine pointed out: Business blogs are personal in the sense that they are not the product of a marketing department or public relations firm. How Do You Draw the Line Between the Personal and the Private in Your Blog?
Robert Scoble wrote about his recent visit to high end audio/video cable manufacturer Monster Cable: Why Should Businesses Have A Blog?

After the Matter: A note from Robert and Shel - The Media Dragon Loves us

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James Jupp reviews the Draft Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005. He notes that the draft legislation breaches a number of long-standing legal protections and raises concerns about how it may be implemented Draft Anti-Terror Legislation reviewed and Christian Kerr notes how Peter Beattie has made a committment to anti-terror measures, but he still thinks the proposed counter-terrorism laws may be unconstitutional Sowing the seeds of Terror Australis

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Points and Counterpoints: Are we becoming bad losers?
There is a crisis in mental health in Australia.

Its magnitude, and the level of community concern, is reflected in the 500-plus submissions made earlier this year to the federal government’s Senate Select Committee on Mental Health. Writing in New Matilda, Jennifer Smith and Anne-Marie Boxall draw on several of these submissions to highlight the critical issues facing mental health care in Australia

• New Matilda [David Elliott: The NSW Liberal Party should take the leadership in campaigning for sweeping constitutional reforms, including the abolition of the upper house NSW upper house 'has had its day' ; The man who instigated the Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police force has cast doubt over the ability of future corruption inquiries to attract key witnesses John Hatton ]
• · Multiculturalism is an ally not an enemy, argues Petro Georgiou Multiculturalism and the war on terror ; Race against time to create a 1000km bird flu buffer zone
• · · Washington Post (reg req): Indonesia Neglected Bird Flu Until Too Late, Experts Say Bird Flu: A Government's Criminal Failures ; Falconio told of tax debt on day he disappeared
• · · · Linda Botterill examines the role of Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in the wake of the controversy over ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope’s publication of the draft Anti-Terrorism Bill. COAG and the limits of parliamentary scrutiny ; The agenda lurking in the shadows ; Despite the controversy over the Cross City Tunnel, partnerships can work, writes Gary Sturgess Private funding still a better way forward for public projects
• · · · · Bullies are all the same. They hunt in packs, pick on those weaker than them, then scurry like rats when someone, in a moment of bravado, takes them on. And so it is with the infamous NSW right-wing Labor machine The sissies of the Labor Right ; Raunch culture: Feminism set out to free women from roles imposed on them by males, but a new book accuses women of building a new, self-imposed prison by acting like sex objects and tolerating sexism
• · · · · · The Conservative Party is looking for a leader with the qualities to sweep them to power. But what's the secret to great leadership in the wider world? The best boss is... A leader is a dealer in hope; Anti-terror policies 'failing'

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Tanya Giles of the Herald Sun used Australia’s Freedom of Information law to find that the Victoria provincial government “has signed closet deals worth more than $55 million with scores of private companies without putting the lucrative jobs up for tender.” Secret deals worth $55m

Eye on Politics & Taxes: The Human Race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television
Many Republicans came to Congress pledging to fight corruption. How quickly they forget

Unlike many observers who have gleefully exulted in Tom DeLay’s recent indictments, I think his guilt or innocence is almost beside the point, particularly since he’s still in the House wielding his considerable power.

• Beginning Of The End For The GOP [Dahrendorf: The politics of frustration Does extreme poverty breed violence and ultimately revolution? ; Andrew Fraser, apologised to State Parliament last night after an altercation with the Minister for Roads, Joe Tripodi, during which he manhandled the minister Minister and MP scuffle in chamber ; Fists and claws no more, even in bearpit ]
• · George Packer, The New Yorker Can Democrats Seize the Momen; After weeks of public anger the NSW Government has agreed to release Cross City Tunnel papers it said it could never make public because they were commercial-in-confidence Tunnel deal: the whole bloody thing will be made public ; Mayors peddle green message but revhead wants V8 ; The Government would rather tax renters and leave home owners and holiday owners untaxed than act according to principle. Property tax: how to balance the addiction
• · · Stephen Schwartz, TCS How Long Will the Media Get the Iraq Story Wrong? ; Justice Kirby has seen much change in his decade in the High Court From hostile politicians to homosexuality, we've come a long way
• · · · Henry Miller, Wall Street Journal We Are Ill-Prepared for a Flu Pandemic ; Cathy Young, Boston Globe The Problem of Poverty ; We keep getting richer without getting better off. Indeed, in some respects we're getting worse off Humans don't just need leisure time, they need time off work at the same time as their spouse and while their children aren't at school. That's why weekends were invented, particularly Sundays An efficient ride up the garden path ; Bring us in out of the cold, help us become real participants in Australian society and take our part. Don't leave us like lepers of the 21st century - untouchable and untouched NSW in the sin bin on mental health ; Irony of IR PR: Same job but one gets $4987 less than the other
• · · · · The Price of Low Expectations ; Nobody's asking about the ROI for each little initiative. What's at stake in analytical competition is not an application, but a corporate strategy. Assembling the right data, finding and using the right tools, and developing the right relationships between analysts and decision-makers all take time. Therefore, it makes sense to start pulling them together now Success Through Analytics: History seems to be on the side of the numbers
• · · · · · Hollywood history is made daily in Sydney, if you know where to look Sydney's reel estate ; An investigation by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has failed to determine why a maintenance worker at Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor has recorded an unusually high dose of radiation Radiation leak feared at reactor

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Most of us don't like risk and uncertainty. That's too bad, because there's no shortage of either.

The free world has a responsibility to help Cubans mastermind a "velvet revolution" of their own Castro vs. Cuba

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Young man Luther
In the first of two articles on The Latham Diaries David Burchell discusses the relationship between politics and the media

I ut off buying The Latham Diaries when they were first released in mid-September. There are some journalists and novelists for whom writing appears to be a kind of therapy. Their plan, it seems, is to ‘work through’ their anger, traumas and personal disturbances on the page, the better to fight through the fog of their own complicated personalities to the glimpsed rays of sunshine beyond. I’ve got no particular problem with this approach to self-help, except one. If you insist upon using art as your therapy, hang the results on your own wall; don’t ask me to hang it on mine.

• The Latham Diaries [I've been trying to get Tony Harris, friend, some time colleague, Auditor General and Fin Review columnists to post on Troppo for some time. He sent me the fantastic piece you see below the fold - which he published in the Fin on Saturday. Bob Carr, Marcus Aurelius and PPPs ; A Former Police Chief Calls for Drug Sanity ; Elections Around the World ]
• · John von Doussa - Democratic Audit of Australia, Australian National University Human rights and national security ; John Quiggin We will find ways of getting by without cheap oil and coal Price matters
• · · How can a country that victimises its greatest living writer also join the EU? Turkey: Salman Rushdie ; Beattie moots tax on interstate migrants
• · · · Only 9 per cent of Australians attend church The future of Australian secularism ; Overtly Christian parties might be polling modestly, but their influence is broader God and the New Zealand 2005 election
• · · · · A review of private rental support programs: final report ; Giving Australia: research on philanthropy in Australia
• · · · · · Immigrant satisfaction: what is it? does it matter? ; Michael Gordon introduces Ali Mullaie, one of the refugees he interviewed on Nauru for his new book, Freeing Ali: The Human Face of the Pacific Solution Freeing Ali

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Wags are saying it's all the Parliamentary Library's fault. On Tuesday they published a paper in PDF version called Crossing the floor in the Federal Parliament 1950-August 2004 – and that evening he walked.

Eye on Politics & Law Lords: ICAN - Independent Candidate Advisory Network launched
The independent MPs in the House of Representatives today launched ICAN - the Independent Candidates Advisory Network to provide advice, support, and a focal point for people interested in standing as true representatives of the people at future elections.

Peter Andren, Member for Calare, Tony Windsor, Member for New England and Bob Katter, Member for Kennedy launched ICAN at Parliament House this morning and introduced former Telstra Country Wide Manager Mr Gavin Priestley, as the co-ordinator of ICAN.

• We Can [After a record-breaking 10 years in office, Mr Carr has taken a consultant's job with the state's biggest infrastructure investor, Macquarie Bank, known as the Millionaires' Factory, for an undisclosed fee. Carr should be banished from Tower, Debnam says ; It's impossible not to join the howls of outrage about former NSW Premier Bob Carr’s decision to sign on as a $500,000-a-year, part-time “consultant” to Macquarie Bank, the very financial institution that, over the past ten years, has pocketed more than $1 billion from NSW government “public-private partnerships” More corporate Labor sleaze – outrageous but hardly surprising; Group Lists 13 'Most Corrupt' in Congress ]
• · The Federal Government has failed to provide adequate public consultation on proposed new anti-terrorism laws Lack of debate an 'abuse of power' ; From nuclear weapons to climate change, the Vietnam war to urban segregation, the prize-winning economist Thomas Schelling’s leaps of lateral thinking are weapons of enlightenment Games of enlightenment ; Barnett & Isabel Hilton’s definition of the threats to democracy fails to convince Roger Scruton Democracy or theocracy?
• · · Carmody unveils major tax compliance reforms ; For decades so secret it did not even officially exist Web of intrigue: MI6 reveals (not quite) all online
• · · · GAO Examines Program to Create Governmentwide E-Rulemaking System ; As Australia heads into a long hot summer, the threat of terrorism weighs heavily on the nation’s consciousness Make laws, not war
• · · · · Large Business and International homepage Commissioner's speech - 13 October 2005 Commissioner's speech on large business and compliance ; In September 2004 the Commissioner announced he had appointed Kevin Burges to conduct one-on-one interviews with representatives of large corporates to get a picture of their experiences and concerns about Tax Office audits Burges report ; We regard some current Australian Tax Office practices more as an attempt to harass and intimidate corporates than a genuine effort to obtain relevant information Carmody unveils tax compliance reforms
• · · · · · Antony Loewenstein - In praise of... Harold Pinter We bring torture and misery : We have brought torture and misery in the name of freedom Harold Pinter winning the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature

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Bob Carr is a bright fella. So is former federal health minister Michael Wooldridge. So, arguably, is a bevy of other former federal and state cabinet ministers like Peter Reith, Larry Anthony, Richard Alston, Graham Richardson, Alan Stockdale and Terry McEnroth. But "bright" is definitely not the best description of their sense of judgment, timing and probity in catapulting themselves from influential positions in government to influential positions in the business world.
Carr's announcement yesterday that he was joining the Millionaire Factory, Macquarie Bank, as a consultant less than three months after retiring as NSW Premier is, as Stephen Mayne puts it in today's edition (for subscribers only), a disgrace. "Just look at the $1 billion plus Macquarie and its investors have made from the Eastern Distributor toll road between the city and Sydney Airport which the incompetent Carr Government presided over. The Millionaire Factory may as well have said, 'Thanks for the billion Bob, now here's an undisclosed amount of money for you, to help us try and suck in the next bloke'."
We called Bob Carr's office this morning to ask him to explain/justify/spruik his new role. He's overseas and therefore unable to apply his considerable verbal dexterity to the task – no doubt it would include words like "trust," "responsibility" and "reputation." To which we would add these words: shonky, conflicted, inappropriate, the wrong look, money-grabbing, undiplomatic, grasping ... you get the idea. via email Crikey

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Should politicians say what they really think?

David Cameron wants to restore the British public's trust in politicians by making them more independent. Cameron, the Conservative Party's youngest
leadership contender, argues that MPs ought to have more opportunity to stand up for what they believe in instead of being forced to toe the party line.

• Political Drive [ Where there is no vision, the people perish ; The rise of the Aussie intellectual? ]
• · Politicians fiddle over ports, roads, rail, power and gas ; Andrew Bartlett Sausage Factory gears up
• · · Sellers beware - taxman wants a share ; Students from poor families face huge, often insurmountable, financial hurdles to get a university education Talent and drive, but no money? Forget uni
• · · · So what qualities does a would-be mogul require? Stressed for success ; Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Pierre Omidyar, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, Sivio Berlusconi, George Soros and Carlos Slim Helu. The FT Top 25 Billionaires: 1-9
• · · · · Vern Hughes Mental health - it’s time for a new paradigm; Orange Grove defence bill passed $1 million
• · · · · · As America becomes more polarised, its political writing is getting worse Fools' gold ; Under the existing rules and conventions, what private citizen Bob Carr chooses to engage himself in now that he has departed the political realm is matter of his own choice and judgment entirely Changing camps raises hackles

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Can you ever think too much about freedom? Not in my book. Cold River is of such cruel destruction that it will sweep anyone away Paperback Edition

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On the road it is more important to be wise than to be right. That truism holds for politics.

German sociologist Max Weber described the work of politics as a strong and slow boring of hard boards Why do it? It's the politics, stupid

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Espionage Case Breaches the White House
Undetected for 3 years?

Both the FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of espionage in the White House in modern history. Officials tell ABC News the alleged spy worked undetected at the White House for almost three years

• Who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity [SPY in the House of Bush ; US officials brace for decisions in CIA leak case ]
• · Interview: Prime Minister John Howard; Putting Charity Through the 'What's in It for Me?' Test
• · · Chief Justice John Roberts, meet party girl Anna Nicole Smith Roberts will face a diet of legal hot potatoes ; O'Reilly's Sneak Attack on Bloggers! ; O'Reilly calls Media Matters "assassins" and "the worst" among "most vicious" political websites O'Reilly bashes Media Matters
• · · · The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a case to determine whether states can use tax incentives to attract businesses in a major test of economic development policies Justices to mull business tax lures ; In effect, the court said the tax break for Chrysler unconstitutionally interfered with interstate commerce. The war between the states ; Bottom-Up Versus Top-Down Lawmaking
• · · · · Court to rule on tax breaks; States use incentives to lure businesses ; THE ULTIMATE TROJAN HORSE?: She's polite. Shy. Smart. Modest
• · · · · · In just a generation, the lower and middle ranks of the American working class have suffered a precipitous decline in their living standards and job security The misdirected rage of middle America ; The anti-war left has not explained how tyrants should be stopped Calling for peace is the easy option

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Federal auditors said on Friday that the Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party Buying of News by Bush's Aides Is Ruled Illegal

The Blog, The Press, The Media: The Power of Many: We the Webdiary
Historically, journalists have been charged with informing the democracy.

But their future will depend not on only how well they inform but how well they encourage and enable conversations with citizens. That is the challenge. Websites like Webdiary understand the importance of Dan Gillmor’s basic premise: "My readers know more than I do - and that's an opportunity." The ability of anyone to make the news has given new voice to people who used to feel voiceless—and whose words we need to hear. According to Dan, webdiarists and citizen journalists are "showing all of us—citizen, journalist, newsmaker—new ways of talking, of learning. In the end, they may help spark a renaissance of the notion, now threatened, of a truly informed citizenry

• We the Media: Grassroots Journalism By the People, For the People [ New Politics Blog: The Fix ; Bloggers Debate Miers ]
• · Google Wants to Provide Free WiFi to SF ; Blog, blog, blog...
• · · A history of medical weblogging ; Doing Legal, Political, and Historical Research on the Internet
• · · · Blooks aplenty ; Large Firms Discover New Marketing Tool: Blogs
• · · · · Yahoo Blog/Feed Search Coming ; Companies learn the goodwill value of Web diaries
• · · · · · Blogs vs. the law: A showdown about third party commentary ; New kids on the blog: CEOs

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Imagine a Nazi masterpiece, if you can. At the bottom of that pit lies some truth, about art and life. But it is an elusive truth."
-Tom Stoppard, Czech-born

The success of a new democracy depends on the openness of a country’s economic system at the time of political transition Democracy Comes Second

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Battle to be the daddy of them all
Some American political commentary sorts political parties into two basic personality types - Mummy parties and Daddy parties.

A Mummy party is most interested in caring for people. It is empathetic, inclusive and concerned with fairness. In short, it wants to give you a cuddle. A Mummy party is seen to be best at providing services - especially health, education and welfare. A Daddy party, on the other hand, is strict. It is big on self-discipline and self-reliance. It is frugal and interested in obedience. In sum, it will stand you on your feet but keep you on your toes. A Daddy party is trusted to look after the fundamentals of keeping the family secure - with good economic management and competent national security.

• The red-and-blue map of Australian political incumbency [Switzerland's Justice Department is likely to pass on the records of more than 500 Australians implicated in the country's largest tax evasion probe Swiss agree to assist in ATO tax probe ; If Harold Wilson was on the money about a week being a long time in politics, what vast change might a decade bring? Scrutiny, like nostalgia, has become a thing of the past ]
• · Family and Community Services Minister Kay Patterson says local and state governments are to blame for spiralling child-care costs We're doing enough on child care: minister ; Jonathan Power prospects out the inevitable issues of death and taxes: After a rocky patch in the early 1990s, the Swedish model of high taxes and high spending is now stronger—and more popular—than ever. Sweden's prime minister explains why Sweden hasn’t always been a success ; There's no country in the world as we stand at the moment which is ready for the next influenza pandemic Bird flu — the coming pandemic
• · · Welcome... and pick a fight with The Contrarian ; Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus by Donald Alexander Downs The Cost of Free Speech
• · · · In 1992, a scruffy old Russian in shabby clothes arrived at a British embassy pulling a battered case on wheels. The former KGB archivist Indira's India and the KGB ; More random tests for drug-using police
• · · · · The people wield the big stick when it comes to law and order We have the power ; Altered states ; Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS
• · · · · · Justice Peter Hely. Another Federal Court judge dies ; Should judges serve for life or should they be more accountable to the public? Judges on trial; Police to investigate Brogden suicide note leak

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Adam Michnik, co-founder of the Polish trade union Solidarnosc, looks back on its founding 25 years ago, and forward to today's turmoiled times In search of lost sense: Dad, please don't beat me

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Why the states matter in industrial relations
Since the federal election of 2004, and particularly since the Coalition gained outright control of the Senate from July this year, industrial relations policy has been centre stage.

The key shift is the transition of ideology and practice from traditional liberalism—where the competing objectives of employers and employees, manifested through trade unions and other third parties, are both legitimate—to ‘neo-liberalism’—where, in the name of market efficiency, the objectives of management are paramount, with little or no room for other interests.

• The States: Difference And Fragmentation [Webdiary: Mark just like Darren Rowse is well aware that lists are popular O’nya Mark ;-) Ten reasons why young idealistic people should forget about organised politics ; Mark Latham followed his controversial book with a provocative lecture Organised politics is bad for your ideals, Latham tells students ; Slavoj Zizek: Against Human Rights (New Left Review 34, July-Augus ]
• · What makes people more democratic, anyway? ; Police could lock down an entire suburb and carry out unfettered searches on homes, vehicles and individual Labor terrorism laws give police free hand
• · · It is a highly addictive drug, but governments everywhere encourage its use Gerin oil (or Geriniol to give it its scientific name) is a powerful drug which acts directly on the central nervous system to produce a range of characteristic symptoms, often of an antisocial or self- damaging nature Opiate of the masses ; In the Heart of Europe: Social Models and Geopolitics
• · · · Those who live in their own homes emerge as winners from the tangled web of taxes and concessions imposed on properties, a study says. Such people have an overall subsidy of $2000 a year. There's an inequality or tax concession here: on exactly the same property, one landlord's paying tax and one isn't Home owners net $2000 a year bonus ; Cash transfers, with strings attached, are a better way of helping the poor than many previous social programmes New thinking about an old problem
• · · · · Social programmes that are good for democracy as well as for the fight against poverty Not always with us ; Mike Berry summarises the housing affordability picture and the forces driving the recent housing boom Show me the money: financing more affordable housing
• · · · · · Rachel Gibson from the ACSPRI Centre for Social Research and Ian McAllister frm the Political Science Program show that web campaigning is associated primarily with the political attitudes and outlook of candidates (being left-wing and young) rather than the amount of campaign resources available. Does cyber campaigning win votes? Online communication in the 2004 Australian election ; It was a collision of cultures made for a novel by Tom Wolfe, who as it happened was there. On Saturday, if you got out of the Washington Metro at the Smithsonian stop, cheery volunteers pointed the crowd in opposite directions. "The book festival is to your left and the march is to your right," the volunteers chanted. Coverage in the NYT focuses on which authors attended a White House breakfast and which ones declined for political reasons On the Mall, 2 Events Speak Volumes

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There is a saying that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

Left and Right simultaneously will not solve any problems, says Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht on the eve of the German election Indulging a penchant for paradox

Given the fact that the Bush administration is a criminal organization, it is naïve and ignorant to expect it to behave in a humanitarian fashion. For any reason. Ever. On the other hand, it is predictable that it would seize every opportunity, and take advantage of every moment of chaos, vulnerability and inattention, to sink its poisonous fangs deeper into the carcass of American democracy The more you ask, the more you shall receive

Eye on Politics & Taxes: Equal Exchange
So, you have a democratically run coop in the states that partners exclusively with Fair Trade coffee cooperatives around the globe. So… how’s the coffee?

Equal Exchange is an unusual company. It’s not simply an employee-owned business (a growing number of companies are, for a given value of employee owned) but is instead a worker-owned cooperative... which is a very interesting and balanced thing to be when one deals with a great many worker-owned coffee cooperatives. There’s kind of a Zen thing at play there.

• Tasting: Equal Exchange Mind, Body & Soul [ Happy ever after with no effort? Tell 'em they're dreamin' ; How forensic science TV is helping the real crims ]
• · The Flight of the Creative Class - Beacons for the world’s brightest Creative Capital: The Key to Prosperity ; There is perhaps no more popular guessing game for pundits and prognosticators than predicting which nation will threaten the United States as the next great power - Creative diaspora The Greatest Competitive Threat of Our Time
• · · Case Against Inheritance Tax Is Bogus ; The best laid plans usually go awry
• · · · A sadly entertaining peek at some of the bills Congressmen have proposed this year The circus is back in town ; Simon Zadek, chief executive of AccountAbility, introduces a new debate on openDemocracy that explores a new generation of accountability mechanisms focussed on the horizontal, not the hierarchical Reinventing Accountability for the 21st Century
• · · · · Finnish-born feminist academic Tiina Rosenberg is involved in setting up a new party Tiina Rosenberg wants to shake up Swedish politics; Why politics matters and why British politics matters
• · · · · · Sydneysiders have found a way into the property market - buying houses with friends Through the side door ; The 18-year-old Hurstville man jumped onto the train tracks from platform five at Town Hall station while trying to flee the transit officers Teen loses thumb in Town Hall train drama; Gee, lucky all those cameras were in place. They obviously really helped