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The news is making us stoopid

Posted On Wednesday, 30 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Education, Media Tags: current events, Dan Cassino, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Fox News, John Stewart, media, media misrepresentation, MSNBC, New Jersey, news, news making us stupid, Occupy Wall Street, PublicMind Poll, Syria, The New York Times, US, USA Today

According to results released this week from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind Poll, some American news sources make people less likely to know what’s going on in the world.

Scorn for nationalism the second enemy of the Republic

Posted On Wednesday, 30 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Australian identity, Republic Tags: 2011 National Republican Lecture, Australian customs, Australian identity, Australian republic, John Hirst, National Republican Lecture, nationalism

In his 2011 National Republican Lecture, Dr John Hirst identified 3 enemies of the Republic. Last week we presented his first enemy — a desire to wait for the Queen to die; here we present the second part of his speech – the second enemy – a scorn for nationalism.

Wall Street Banks received secret Fed loans worth $7.7 trillion before GFC

Posted On Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Finance, International Tags: bailouts, Bank of America, banking, Barney Frank, Bloomberg News, Brad Miller, Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, finance, Glass-Steagall Act, Judd Gregg, Morgan Stanley, OWS, Sherrod Brown, TARP, Think Progress, Travis Waldron, Wall Street

Wall Street banks received huge secret payments from the Federal Reserve in the lead up to the GFC that dwarfed the amounts doled out in the TARP bailout.

Why people reject science

Posted On Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Environment, Science Tags: acid rain, AGW, Albert Einstein, CFCs, climate change, Dan Kahan, gloabl warming sceptics, global warming, HPV, Reye’s syndrome, science, Stephan Lewandowsky, theory of relativity, tobacco, World Health Organisation, Yale University

Why do people distrust science? Why do some of us reject consensus on a whole range of scientific findings? As Professor Stephan Lewandowsky explains, it often comes down to the way we look at the world.

Bring back the eight hour working day

Posted On Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Business, Human rights Tags: business, crime, eight-hour day, entitlements, lawlessness, rights at work, Shaun Newman, Unions, work dtress, Working day, working parent

We work too hard these days, says Shaun Newman, who advocates a return to the work, rest and play that came with an eight-hour working day.

Peter Roebuck and the League Of Gentlemen

Posted On Monday, 28 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Life, Sport, Women Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Brendan Fevola, Clarke Bingle breakup, cricket, crikcet tours, Edvard Munch, Khoisan, Lara Bingle, Michael Clarke, Peter Roebuck, rape, sexual assault, sportsmen, sportsmen behaving badly, Tess Lawrence, The Scream

When Peter Roebuck took his own life "he took his demons and deadlines with him," says contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence.

Callous Abbott hypocrisy installs Slipper as Speaker

Posted On Monday, 28 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Politics Tags: Harry Jenkins, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Mal Brough, Peter Slipper, Peter Slipper becomes Speaker, signed deal after last election, Sunshne Coast, Tony Abbott

By attacking Labor over the Jenkins/Slipper Speaker’s swap, Tony Abbott conveniently ignores his own dodgy dealings after the last election. Hypocrisy reigns, David Donovan comments.

Curiousity from NASA offered the chance of Fukushima for everyone

Posted On Monday, 28 Nov 2011 By admin. Under Environment, Science Tags: Bruce Gagnon, Charles Bolden, Curiosity, Fukushima, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, John Gofman, John Stewart, Karl Grossman, Mars mission, NAP-9A, NASA, Pax Christi Tampa Bay, Phobos-Grunt, plutonium

NASA have just launched a rocket to Mars, called 'Curiousity', containing 10.6 pounds of plutonium. Karl Grossman from Truthout filed this report just prior to yesterday's, thankfully, successful launch.