Billablog

28 February, 2016

Thinking of linking

This week I have been mostly reading...

Australia:

Finally we have a real tax reform debate

Smashing the Preference Whisperers’ Business Model

AMA President Brian Owler says Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have spoken over Baby Asha case

Baby Asha: this is the Australia we love!

Unsafe schools (trigger warning)

Bill Shorten grows a spine

View from the Street: Are Australia's children being bullied enough?

Incensed By Its Irrelevance, The Coalition’s Far Right Is Running Riot

How to criticise Bernardi without calling him a homophobe

Bracket creep is code for cutting high-end taxes

Malcolm Turnbull wants an early election, but would it spell disaster?

What is the point of Malcolm Turnbull ask voters?

PM Turnbull spurns his devoted supporters

Tony Abbott: I could have won this year's election - Of course you could have, sunshine! Run along now.

I think it would be fun to run a country – Our Charles Foster Turnbull is lost

US:
Donald Trump Takes Ownership of Republican Party

The moment of truth: We must stop Trump

Donald Trump’s foul mouth is just a cover for his ignorance

Why Trump Is Still Here

Stopping Trump: The Nuclear Option

Christie’s Endorsement Of Trump Totally Makes Sense

Scalia's Death Prompts Dow to Settle Suits for $835 Million

The US Landed on the Moon In Less Time Than It Took to Build DC's Two-Mile Streetcar

Campaigning While Christian: 6 Tips for the 'Jesus' Candidates

UK:
Blair's baffled by the left because he doesn't see the bigger picture

World:
Heroes Unlooked For: A Tale on the COMELEC 35

Music:
Sgt Pepper, the musical

Magic Shop, Where Bowie Secretly Recorded ‘Blackstar,’ To Close

Mike Love Is Kind Of An Asshole

Producer Bob Ezrin Triggers Twitter Outburst From Kanye West

Society:
Why This Radical Leftist is Disillusioned by Leftist Culture

Are you an office doormat?

The Thing All Women Do That You Don't Know About

Media:
Newt Gingrich: "You Could Say That Trump Is The Candidate Fox & Friends Invented"

'I'm not a 14-year-old': How 5 agency Gen X'ers Snapchat

And the winner, yet again, is Sydney: how Fairfax betrayed the Age

Facebook tells Viz to f**k right off

Tech:
The man who made 'the worst video game in history'

New HTTP error code 451 to signal censorship

With 12 Other Active Cases, The FBI Can’t Claim That It’s Just About One iPhone

History:
How a union saved the city

Thoughts on democracy from a martial law baby

Mental health:
6 true things about living with an anxiety disorder

Epicure:
How To Make Rey’s Portion Bread

Humour and satire:
Noam Chomsky steps aside to make way for Russell Brand

Clickbait of the week:
Every episode of House in a gif

CHP Helicopter Tracks Down Escaped Unicorn Near Madera

I got stupid on me and now I'm wiping it off on you:
People too scared to speak about issues: John Howard - Um, John, if people are scared to express honestly held opinions because they might be rebutted, that's not censorship, it's cowardice.

Piers Morgan Doesn't Really Seem to Understand How iPhones Work - Irony of the week.

The least boring photo on my camera roll:

Yes, it's been a particularly dull week for photos.
Post your responses in the comments if you like.

27 February, 2016

I have mostly kept away from the US presidential campaign thus far, mostly because I do not have time to wash all the stupid off afterwards. I will take this opportunity to observe that the so-called front-runner Donald Trump has polled roughly one third of the vote in most primaries so far. Notwithstanding Nevada, where Trump's 45% could almost be considered convincing, at least two thirds of Republican voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina voted for someone else.

Are you starting to see why simple majority winner-takes-all voting systems are bullshit?

I couldn't let this clip pass without comment though:

No. No no no. I don't repeat myself. I do not repeat myself.

If you heard a pair of 12-year-olds talking like this, you'd bang their heads together and tell them it's time they grew up. Whoever would have thought we would miss the calm, sober reflection of George W Bush?

However, it does tell us that if nothing else, Rubio can learn from a mistake. It also tells us Trump can't think on his feet, constantly resorting to don't-you-know-who-I-am finger waving and talking over everyone. He doesn't understand that when running for office, he can't just order people around like he's used to. And if this century's political history has taught us anything (and it probably hasn't), it's that he won't be able to get his own way as president either.

So it's down to Rubio, a 69-year-old man who hasn't matured since the age of 16 and a guy who thinks it's big and clever to cook bacon by wrapping it around the barrel of a machine gun.

If I were a Republican, I'd be pretty embarrassed right now.

21 February, 2016

Thinking of linking

What I've been reading lately...

Australia:
No Shame: The Science Behind Why Most Australians Feel Okay About Tormenting Asylum Seekers

Dan Andrews: It wasn't a political stunt, it was a moment of clarity

The gun-toting, gay marriage-opposing Nationals senator...who lives in the inner city

'Unspeakable crimes' take toll on MP

Two Victoria Police officers take their own lives in a week

Minister Stuart Robert’s trip to China in 2014 has raised some key questions for the government

Australia to sack hundreds of climate change scientists because it has learnt everything it needs to about basic global warming science - Which is kind of like saying "We know cancer's a thing so get over it."

Is Australian coal finally having its “oh sh*t” moment?

Malcolm Turnbull cannot afford to upset millions in the middle

Greg Hunt wins inaugural Best Minister in the World award at Dubai summit - yeah, um, I don't think that should necessarily be taken as a compliment.

Greg Hunt, the greatest minister in the world, accepts his colleagues' acclaim

Peta Credlin as the new Sex Discrimination Commissioner? YES!

Gippsland school mourns loss of Holly Nicholson, who drowned trying to save brother at beach

Work for the dole has little effect on finding work: review

John Howard's tax turns up to ruin the Coalition party

Tim Wilson resigns as Human Rights Commissioner, seeks preselection for Liberal Party - What?? A senior IPA member turned Abbott Govt appointee was a Liberal all along? Well, I AM surprised!

The Territory’s greatest living artist gets his day in Court

We must invest now in elite detectives or cop the consequences

'That's right, I'm a girl': Australian comedian comes out as trans on YouTube

George Pell controversy: pursuit of Cardinal hindering royal commission

A helpful guide to free speech: don't be a dick

The world regards Australia's healthcare system as one of the best. It's time we realised why

Independent modelling backs Labor's negative gearing policy

Negative gearers aren't poor, Mr Morrison

Negative Gearing: There’s No Positives For Renters Like Me

Negative Gearing – Why Boomers and Gen X Need to Let It Go

Baby Asha: Authorities preparing to remove asylum seeker baby from Lady Cilento Hospital, refugee advocates say

US:
After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward. Here’s Why. A crash course in social democracy.

The rise of Donald Trump is a terrifying moment in American politics

Trump supporters file 'birther' lawsuit against Cruz in federal court - I've no time for Cruz but if the worst thing you can say about him is that he wasn't born in the right place, that's pathetic

We Already Had an Election to Decide Who Gets to Appoint the Next Supreme Court Justice, It was in 2012. - Republicans didn't wait until the body was cold to start salivating for their next overreach.

Ronald Reagan Once Urged Senate To Act On Lame-Duck Supreme Court Nomination Of Anthony Kennedy - but it's okay for Republicans.

How America Was Lost "Once upon a time, the death of a Supreme Court justice wouldn’t have brought America to the edge of constitutional crisis."

Shed no tears for Antonin Scalia: Let us not praise the man who gave us Citizens United and Bush v Gore - He also ruled that new evidence of innocence is no reason not to execute someone. So yeah, fuck that guy.

Trump says Planned Parenthood does ‘wonderful things’

The Death of the Republican Party

All the terrible things Hillary Clinton has done — in one big list

You’re Damn Right Electability Matters to Black Voters

Stop Bernie-Splaining to Black Voters

Feeling the Yern: Why One Millennial Woman Would Rather Go to Hell Than Vote for Hillary

Senior U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas ranch

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia agree to disagree

“Where to Invade Next” Is the Most Subversive Movie Michael Moore Has Ever Made

Donald Trump and the conservative psyche: What Republican operatives don’t understand about the Donald’s transcendent appeal "the GOP has allowed itself to shape-shift over the course of the last five decades from a political party to a quasi-religious movement."

Trump Wins South Carolina; Rubio Edges Out Cruz For Second

UK:
Sir Terry Wogan: Veteran broadcaster dies, aged 77

Lambeth Bridge bus explosion: Central London blast for Jackie Chan film sparks panic among unsuspecting viewers

World:
Antarctic penguin colony decimated after giant iceberg alters access to water, food

Hamburg Eliminates Coffee Capsules And Bottled Water From Its Public Services - Good!

Dairy economics: A ban most farmer unfriendly

Music:
David Bowie’s ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ Claudia Lennear of Pomona remembers her friend

Beware of Mr. Baker

Final pictures of Viola Beach revealed as friend shares band's last hours

Rolling Stones 'under 24-hour armed guard' after a worker on their tour of South America is shot dead

24/192 Music Downloads ...and why they make no sense - I'm not clever enough to argue, although I would say the greater care taken in the mastering of hi-res downloads is worth it whatever the bitrate.

Why CDs May Actually Sound Better Than Vinyl - They can, but again: mastering.

Paul McCartney’s “Wild Life!” The Disastrous Debut Of “Wings!” McCartney’s Plea To John Lennon! - "a video promoting the 2012 remastered version of the album..." yeah, um, nope.

Classic albums given new life at Abbey Road Studios with 'half-speed' vinyl treatment

Bay Area Woman Supervising Grammys House Mix Wins Her Own Award

Society:
I’m not your mitzvah project

Animals:
The truth about dogs and humans - we're different

Media:
ABC acknowledges error in reporting of Nauru child sexual assault story, paediatrician says she provided correct information - this in no way implies that children are not being abused

How the bimbos of breakfast TV disgraced themselves and feminism

Sunrise host Sam Armytage hits back at Virginia Haussegger for calling her a 'mindless bimbo'

Scream It Until Their Ears Bleed: Pay The Fucking Writers

Tech:
Twitter changes its live timeline, introduces ‘Home’ feature

Hard decisions for a sustainable platform

Latest financial report for streaming service SoundCloud is far worse than anybody imagined

Whatever You Do, Don't Set Your iPhone To 1970

Apple: A Message to Our Customers

Mental health:
The design of work needs to change to prevent mental illness

We need a better vocabulary to describe emotional emergencies

An apology to my autistic students…

History:
A Reminder: Halliburton Related KBR, Inc. Made A Profit Of $39.5 Billion From The War In Iraq

How American tipping grew out of racism

How A Dead Millionaire Convinced Dozens Of Women To Have As Many Babies As Possible

Science:
Don’t use body mass index to determine whether people are healthy, UCLA-led study says

Man given two weeks to live after taking popular weight-loss product purchased online

You Can't Judge How Healthy Your Food Is by Whether or Not It Rots

New Research Shows Earth’s Tilt Influences Climate Change

Culture:
Eric Idle - Chapter Five: B Day

Art:
Artist Stephen Lund Rides His Bike to Create GPS Doodles

Satire:
I’m Not Political (Because I Assume I Will Retain All of My Privileges Forever)

Clickbait of the week:
These hilarious Star Wars gifs imagine Kylo Ren's difficult teenage years

I got stupid on me and now I'm wiping it off on you:
Alex Jones: Obama Murdered Justice Scalia And Donald Trump Is Next - I actually can't believe if took him all of 24 hours to think of this.

The least boring photo on my camera roll:

07 February, 2016

Thinking of linking

This week I have been mostly reading...

Australia:
'The end of TAFE as we know it': leaked paper details federal vocational takeover

Labor senator Sam Dastyari claims 10 companies have taken control of Australian politics

Malcolm Turnbull has legal defence but not a moral one over Nauru and Manus "The high court decision means Malcolm Turnbull can – legally – continue to hide the policy reality behind euphemism and sound grabs and process. It’s his decision whether – morally – he wants to."

Churches offer sanctuary to asylum seekers facing deportation to Nauru

Scott Morrison needs more than slogans to sell GST increase to sceptical voters

Tony Abbott's 'private dinner' with Barack Obama actually a lunch attended by dozens

Why Abbott should go

Climate science to be gutted as CSIRO swings jobs axe

Premier Daniel Andrews tells Malcolm Turnbull that Victoria will take asylum seekers See this? It's called leadership.

Victoria will take the 267 asylum seekers, Daniel Andrews tells Malcolm Turnbull

US:
Saudi Prince Epically Burns Donald Trump: Remember Those Two Times I Bailed You Out Financially?

Ted Cruz Super PAC Releases New Ad That Misspells the Word "Country"

Woman with Asperger's syndrome who shared viral dog video shot dead by police in Arizona

24-Year-Old Transgender Man With Asperger's Killed By Arizona Police Weeks After Beginning Transition

Benghazi is a sideshow. Hillary Clinton’s real scandal is her role in pushing the war against Libya.

Iowa proved Bernie Sanders can win – and that Hillary Clinton is beatable

St. Aug drum major talks about what it's like leading a Mardi Gras parade

Apollo Astronaut Edgar Mitchell Dies at Age 85

World:
Bangladesh's 'Tree Man' to undergo surgery

Music:
Wonderful Life: The 'lost' interview with Colin Vearncombe RIP

Why David Bowie Never Listened to David Live

When they was Fab

The long, hard road to rock’n’roll success: ‘We’re essentially skint’

The guitar Kurt Russell smashes in The Hateful Eight was a priceless antique - Morons!

Martin Responds to “Hateful Eight” Destruction of Antique Six String

Society:
Mitchell Pearce is part of a lost generation of men

You wanna talk about cultural APPROPRIATION vs cultural APPRECIATION? Fine.

Study finds romcoms teach female filmgoers to tolerate 'stalking myths'

Media:
It's Facebook's 12th Anniversary — Here's What People Thought About It Early On

The End of Twitter

Culture:
Epic ‘Frinkiac’ Search Engine Matches Any Simpsons Quote With Its Still

Humour and satire:
Local Property Developer Couldn’t Give A Fuck If You Have To Leave The Pub 5 Hours Earlier

Clickbait of the week:
20 works of street art that make you say: how did they even think of this?

These gloriously adorable shelter pets found new lives as viral YouTube and Instagram stars

I got stupid on me and now I'm wiping it off on you:
Let’s Kill All the Mosquitoes - probably not satire. File under "what could possibly go wrong?"

The least boring photo on my camera roll:

Here we see the trail of the Southern Mulleted Hoondriver.
The seemingly random, staggering nature of the tracks indicate what could be a mating dance, or possibly a reaction to the failure of said mating ritual.