ants

Although I definitely think this money should be spent and invested, those acting like government spending/debt creation has no consequences is weird. Also spending when the economy is tanking is very different to spending when there is low unemployment.

Oh, my school didn’t give a shit about sporting careers. It was just if one of the kids did well at sport they’d talk them up, while ignoring any other type of success. The school was 100% white.

The advantage is being in a group which will value success. One where the teachers presumably give a damn. Rather than a shitty government school where half the teachers treat it as just a job, most of the class have no major ambitions, unless you’re good at sport there is no acclaim, and most of the class will deride you for trying to learn and do well. I finished top 2% in Victoria in my year so you can do it. But I also swore if I ever had kids I’d never send them to a standard government school. And my parents were upper middle class so I had significant non-school support and encouragement.

Both were clear reds IMO.

Sounds to me like they just think it would be easier and quieter if he didn’t ref a Liverpool match. Otherwise all the talk and a lot of fan focus will be on him. I wouldn’t read more into it.

comparing a World Cup to the Olympics is ridiculous. Most countries make a fortune off world cups and similar tournaments as you only have to house 32 teams and usually have existing infrastructure. The Olympics, Commonwealth games and similar events are money pits because you’re having to host hundreds of athletes, use a huge number of venues, staff and security on all of them, and the ratio of tourists to competitors is much lower, while infrastructure is more expensive with less reusability.

I would argue that any deserve what is being proposed. But even if they were, as a society being willing to provide that ‘worst’ let alone deriving pleasure from it is pretty sickening.

I find the enjoyment many get at the idea of prison being a brutal punishment where the incarcerated are beaten and/or raped on a regular basis pretty sickening. It is a shame it is such a common view in the west.

I’m not sure if this is a reflection of how much I post, that I missed something in the Me Too comparison, or something else! But taking it as the first, I usually post a little in the UK politics thread, 1-3 times per 20 pages? So, been around but post less.

None of this as you describe it is synonymous with the me too movement. It never said you can’t have a relationship with a power imbalance. Just the question at work and related spheres. You’re also the only one talking about sex, the link you gave doesn’t make that claim. Frankly, without more information it seems a hatchet job. now, the claims about harassment by BBC staff is absolutely Me Too, and if shown to be factual he should have the book thrown at him.

Wow, not touched this in a while. A whole heap of books I've read recently are the Magiford city books by K Shea. A combination of romance and urban fantasy, they're set within a high magic world and specifically the city of Magiford (duh!). They are a series of trilogies which each have different races but with each trilogy centering around one romance. The romances do vary in type, although there are some common themes (the men are always kick-ass). The stories are mostly told from the woman's perspective, although not exclusively. Although trilogy is separate, they're all set within the same area and build on each other. Some minor (and some major) characters show up in the later trilogies allowing the reader to track what is happening for a lot of the characters the books have moved on from, and creating a clearly defined arc. There is both an overarching villain group, as well as characters within each book and/or trilogy. The story writing is very good and engrossing, and although the mysteries can often be solved ahead of time, they're still definitely solid. The romances are all very fun; albeit they follow some stereotypes. The series has overall been a lot of fun, and I consumed it across a relatively short period. Now waiting for the next book, but luckily the author seems to write quickly. I'd strongly recommend it for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, and probably for those who just like urban fantasy.

They presumably went under because there aren't enough with those views...

Although I absolutely agree with this, it is also worth noting Australian households weren't as leveraged in 2011, and so weren't as sensitive either.

Is there really much evidence that China has territorial (versus influence) ambitions beyond Taiwan and its immediate borders? I would have thought the trade issues you raise would mean China's main goal after Taiwan would be to gain control via influence, not force.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Taiwan did choose to begin joining China. Would that completely nullify US/China military tensions? Would it actually impact world GDP one iota? Certainly from an Australian perspective it would actually be a fantastic outcome if it reduced tensions significantly. Which then raises the question, is there an incentive for the US to abandon Taiwan?

It is usually also a symptom of the rich being better at minimising recognised income. Such as being allowed to use trusts. One thing I like in Australia is that capital gains are (mostly) recognised as income and taxed at the same rates. I hate this. We need a review of our entire tax system, including the PHI rebates, superannuation, pensions, trusts and mortgage bonuses. It's been too long since it was all reviewed as a holistic whole.

The logic of both are astoundingly bad. For the Voice, even if she was right about New Zealand, how would that be relevant for the Voice given there will be no veto powers? And for the statement above by Paxter, it's the left who are the ones who do care about indigenous incarceration rates.

But that’s what usually happens when inflation is high, and one of the reasons governments nowadays try to keep it within a range. Because higher inflation causes a spiral exacerbated by greed and fear. that wasn’t the initial driver if the high inflation though.

That’s reacting to inflation and why we try and control it. If there wasn’t demand and initial inflation they couldn’t/wouldn’t do that.

What profiteering? The supply shocks arose from Covid which would have dampened demand except that governments spent big. So they are tied to the government spending.

It shows how conservative the Federal liberals are. Dutton’s not only splitting his party, he’ll be campaigning against multiple State Liberal leaders.

Given I think government spending during Covid was a huge factor in our current inflation, I very much disagree with this sentiment.

A sufficiently high GST is one of the few ways to catch tax cheats and criminals' money, and people who game the system (such as small businesses putting all the family items as purchases through the business/restaurant/store etc.). The GST should really be higher, but it doesn't need to be if we were also introducing a carbon tax alongside it. The tax system should try to be progressive, but the benefits of some features on regressive measures more than offset the issues with them. The reality is though that the tax system is only one arm, support for the poor should also be coming through the social security or other systems (such as help with housing). Anyone who wants to be fair/unfair can set up the entire system to work for or against the poor. The individual levers matter less than the overall intent.

True, it’s kind of a back-door inheritance tax (which I thoroughly support). Not much of one. I'm generally against inheritance taxes. Put in taxes to tax assets now. If I was the dictator of Australia I'd be (blue reductions, red increases): Scrapping CGT, stamp duty, rates, property taxes and payroll taxes Reduce income taxes Introducing an asset tax. All asset types. All Australian assets and international assets owned by Australians. With a provision for unlisted companies that when they state their value, that means other companies can buy that company with the same arrangements. Starbucks wants to say International companies want to say their Australian subsidiaries have no income and little value, someone else can buy them. The major exception is superannuation (to a limit) and the family home. Local councils receive money from the central area based on needs/area covered/population etc. basis. Tax trusts at a high level, with some exceptions for very special ones such as ones set up for vulnerable people with settlements, etc. Increase taxes on religions. Anyone where tithing is either required, or they tithe but gain benefits from the religious entity/group, are automatically not treated as a religion and taxed accordingly. Broadening the coverage of GST Introduce a GST like carbon/bad emissions/lead tax. Any part of the process that takes carbon in/out of the process adds/subtracts from the new tax. Imports receive an estimate based on their type and original location. Exports have it dropped. The focus is on capturing the 'inputs' into creating emissions, and then letting it flow through the system. With superannuation, the government takes out the money to pay for the pension when you reach retirement age, and everyone receives the pension (no means testing). The government also allows you to buy a higher pension with superannuation. Everything above that (with maybe some buffer) is taxed at normal levels. Both after and before retirement. Anything above that level with the buffer is also able to be withdrawn at any time. The government invests the money collected for the pension + higher pension, but with the benefits of grouped mortality, no capital requirements and higher grouping should achieve a cheaper pension in retirement than the private industry. On private health insurance, scrap the rebate and community rating, and have government funding be based on the likely cost of a person in the public system. Then have the private system fully cover all of that person's costs, whether emergency, GP, dental, out-of-pocket or other. If they can do it cheaper/better, good for them. However, also allow private health insurers to direct customers to their preferred providers and have some say/advice on treatment, where those plans are up-front and priced differently. The hope is that the new system would have a broader tax base, with less incentive for people to get into assets (such as property) and hold them with no use. The system would also systemically penalise people choosing non-green options, but not impact imports/exports. The new system should be much more egalitarian, with a reduced reliance on income tax reducing the "real" indexation thresholds as you go up income levels and lose benefits, while asset taxing and taxing trusts should reduce the ability of the rich to avoid taxes legally.

Not outside the USA its not. It's the Global Financial Crisis.