The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
- Bertrand Russell, Christian Ethics from Marriage and Morals (1950), quoted from James A Haught, ed, 2000 Years of Disbelief
There is a lot of it about this April, and most of it concerns poison called bailouts and Damian McBride.Whatever you do, Do not blame it on the bloggers …
The poison expressed in McBride's infantile stratagem has fed back into the bloodstream of the party he was supposed to be serving Labour pains
Federal Spending Binge Risks Massive Stagflation Bailout Baloney
The Obama economic plan will transform the U.S. economy as significantly as did LBJ's Great Society, if not FDR's New Deal. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it will increase federal deficits by more than $1 trillion annually for the next decade. How exactly will it be paid for?
As even Karl Marx once reluctantly admitted, the capitalist system has created more wealth more quickly than any other economic system in history. Yet, despite its obvious success, the system is poorly understood and almost never loved. And this ignorance and lack of affection for self-interest and profit and competition always makes capitalism vulnerable—especially during recessions—to crack-pot schemes and reforms that strike at the root of its economic performance… The idea that the rich can pay for much of it through higher taxes is fantasy. Until recently, the government never had borrowed $500 billion in a single year. Overseas purchasers of U.S. debt will be harder to find. Asian investors are troubled with their own faltering economies, and oil-rich Arab countries have been hit by falling oil prices. To sell all the debt, interest rates likely will have to rise--perhaps substantially. To deal with that problem, the Fed might agree to buy most of the debt, roughly equivalent to printing money, which almost always sets off inflation.
• The idea that the rich can pay for much of it through higher taxes is fantasy; [ The search for profit and the avoidance of loss ; Mortgage relief plan could land Australia in crisis Australian taxpayers are yet to reach into their pockets to bail out banks Ahmed Fahour; Alex Mitchell is one of the political writers I’ve always enjoyed reading. Today he excels himself in The New Matilda, with a post on other journalists–specifically economic journalists–that really goes for the jugular. Note to economics writers: your beloved free market is dead. Now tell us the real story about the global financial crisis Alex Mitchell of Bellevue Hill Fame]
• · In the Loop might persuade future historians to see suppressed macho rage and shame as a key part of both ends of the New Labour story, from the Kinnock disaster in 1992 to the Iraqi debacle just over 10 years later - and perhaps even the McBride fiasco. McBride fiasco; The Labour hierarchy is trying to dismiss ‘Smeargate’ as the actions of a rogue operator. But Damian McBride was part of a wider dirty tricks team at the heart of Downing Street The Master of the Dark Arts
• · Number 10 email scandal ; Damaged beyond repair; < Journalists knew all about the character assassination plots run from No 10. So why did we help to spread the poison? The Brown cabal motto: smears, not ideas
• · · The Sydney media are conducting a private campaign for the resignation of NSW Premier Nathan Rees, argues Alex Mitchell. Unfortunately, the biggest casualty is political journalism Journalism As Blood Sport ; Destroying NSW the mutant force: Saturday, 18 April 2009 | The Australian Financial Review | Alex Mitchell A takeover of NSW Labor has made it completely dysfunctional. Anyone investing in NSW should have a careful look at how this state is Governed. RIDING INSTRUCTIONS FROM SUSSEX STREET A weapon of Mass Destruction... Hard copy only
• · · · If you thought financial management in NSW had hit rock bottom, you were wrong. Bob Walker explains why selling NSW Lotteries might not be such a good idea Mission sale of money printers; It is somewhat strange that a man who sits on the boards of the ASX, Future Fund, QIC and United Group appears to now have less credibility than Alan Bond’s former adviser and a 27-year old greenmailer, Poison of contracts
• · · · · Cybercrime is becoming increasingly personal as criminals collect data from social networking web sites, data breaches, and other sources, according to this issue of the biannual McAfee Security Journal. The 9 articles discuss the use of social engineering techniques, along with phishing scams, malware, Trojans and click fraud. Cybercrime gets personal ; Few Web sites are immune from being compromised and are used as a host to deliver malware to their unsuspecting visitors. During 2008, Symantec observed more than 18 million drive-by download attacks and more than 23 million misleading application attacks. These two attack types represented Web attacks from 808,000 unique domains, many of which are mainstream Web sites, including: news, travel, online retail, games, real estate, government and many others. Web based attacks
• · · · · · The COI has launched a consultative review of draft guidance on measuring the quality and value of government websites. The guidance, produced in co-ordination with the Cabinet Office, will create a common framework for government departments to measure the cost effectiveness and performance of their websites COI engages the public on improving government websites ; UK Central Office of Information