Using a card at the shop counter will eventually come back to bite you Unravelling the plastic money maze The deficit in the last three months of 2004 totalled an estimated 7.1 per cent of gross domestic product, far larger than that which prompted the warning by the then treasurer, Paul Keating, in 1986 of Australia becoming a "banana republic". Worst deficit in 50 years spells banana drama former Australian Ambassador Dr James Cumes notes how the alternative was always there in The Banana Men
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Axis of Cartel: Where in the world?
As interest goes up a story comes down about the secret history of the credit card:
Four Corners provided a fascinating insight last night into the American banking cartel and how credit card companies have been allowed to prey on consumers, profiting to the tune of $US30 billion a year. Read a full transcript of the program here and check out the replay tomorrow night if you get a chance.
Ach, I was in Canberra Tuesday and today and even the mild-mannered Treasury mandarins are suggesting that we're on a long and slippery slide to disaster ...
• Plastic People: As We Do [Prime Minister John Howard faces his toughest economic challenge after interest rates were lifted today Crunch time: good times stop rolling ; Sydney's bargain shoppers have no complaints about cheap imports Made in Australia? Forget it, says retail chief ]
• · Barbara Perkins' plea to her 20-year-old grandson Jesse Kelly came as a political stoush erupted in NSW Parliament over police bugging Mr Kelly's house Kelly manhunt continues as bugging revealed ; Almost two out of three public housing units are not being adequately maintained by the NSW, says the auditor-general Public housing not to blame for riots: Carr
• · · A Russian father and son should receive Australian protection visas despite being eligible to settle in Israel, the High Court ruled today High Court backs refugees after six-year fight ; Two gay men recently found dead in Adelaide had outed a member of the South Australian parliament Maybe there is an element of truth to them
• · · · The government planning official whose favourable report on the controversial Orange Grove factory outlet in Liverpool was overruled by her departmental head Planner tells how Orange Grove advice was ignored ; To understand political power correctly and derive it from its proper source, we must consider what state all men are naturally in Some Sympathy for Locke in modern street
• · · · · On the challenge of moral rights; Literally meaning "Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks", the Mossad is responsible for intelligence collection, covert action (including paramilitary activities and assassinations) and counter-terrorism. Up there with the CIA and MI6 it used to be known for its ruthless efficiency but some humiliating debacles and cock ups over the years have somewhat tarnished its reputation. Where has it all gone wrong for the Mossad?
• · · · · · Tribute to a Quiet Leader Remembering U.S. Rep. Robert Matsui ; Before I get underway with a look at the kick off of the 2005 political year in NSW, fairness demands that I tell you about what is playing right now at Sydney Theatre. The Permanent Way, another play by David Hare, and presented by the Out of Joint company and the British National Theatre depicts the privatisation of the British rail system in the early 1990s, and the subsequent decline in service and maintenance, with a series of accidents reducing customer confidence. Sound familiar? Theatrical Training