Media Dragon: Faith Learning to Swim: Stand out from the crowd

Hard problems usually need even harder solutions to swallow.

~courtesy of JD

Bushfire smoke lingers over Sydney for fourth day as fires burn across NSW

The Bureau of Meteorology says even with a wind change the smoke is unlikely to dissipate any time soon

After two years without rain, this town sucked a river dry

Tamworth mayor Col Murray said the city had no groundwater and had run out of alternatives – it is swapping its beloved river for a pipe.

The Arts Minister and his $1000-a-night London study tour

Since June, the Berejiklian government has spent $550,000 on overseas travel.

Faith Learning to Swim

BY FRANCES ANNE KEMBLE
Better trust all, and be deceived,
   And weep that trust, and that deceiving;
Than doubt one heart, that, if believed,
   Had blessed one’s life with true believing.

Oh, in this mocking world, too fast
   The doubting fiend o’ertakes our youth!
Better be cheated to the last,
   Than lose the blessèd hope of truth.

Cig Harvey, The Channel Marker, 2004. Self Portrait. Shipping Lanes, Bermuda.

"Now dissect our bodies, pull out heart, shit, and eyes, and see each one of us is each other, we are orchestras, we are bombs. We are houses of cooking smells, arms around us and two aspirin. We are a normal pap smear, the first violets and meeting the bus from school. We are a Tuesday where nothing really happens. We are first cups of morning coffee, hand-printed welcome-home signs and community. We are paying attention. We are only this moment, the length of a photograph."

Westpac ticking every anti-money-laundering box wouldn’t make much difference to criminals

NEED A BETTER WAY: Consider the number of reports involving suspicious transactions vs the number of arrests and convictions.

21ST CENTURY PROBLEMS: 5 Impressive Ways Criminals Use Wireless Signals to Steal Everything—Even Your Car.
The unbearable loneliness of the concert pianist. Applause, green room, hotel room, taxi, airport lounge. Reprise, repeat... Unbearable Loneliness

Your VodkaPundit Holiday Cocktail Guide.

CHINA READS THE NY TIMES EDITORIAL PAGE:

During the Cold War the easiest job in the Soviet Union was the person at Pravda assigned to produce anti-American editorial propaganda, because all you needed to do was reprint New York Timeseditorials. This was often literally true, as Pravda loved to quote the Times, the Post, and other American publications, along the lines of “Even the esteemed New York Times thinks President Reagan is an extremist,” etc.

Well now it is China’s turn. Stung by President Trump signing the bill stating our solidarity with the cause of freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, someone who appears to be a factotum of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken to Twitter to recite all of the usual leftist talking points about how terrible America is.

Chronicle of Higher Education, Data-Visualization And Student Evaluations: Male Profs Are Brilliant And Funny; Female Profs Are Mean And Rude

PREMIUM Case study: how not to hire a public service leader from the private sector (or: How a highly respected CEO of a venerable NGO learned about politics the hard way)

THE ROMAN COLISEUM: Questions peppering the government, allegations of misleading statements to parliament, contentious appointment procedures, attendance at party fundraisers — South Australia’s got it all. Lessons here for everyone.

2 journalists were murdered — but their investigations live on
Teams of journalists came together after the murders of Jan Kuciak and Daphne Caruana Galizia to ensure their investigations were completed and published. The resulting articles are having lasting effects.

Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will resign next month as an investigation into the death of a journalist continues. Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb in October of 2017. She had been reporting on alleged corruption within the government. Those close to her have accused Muscat of trying to shield members of the government from the ongoing investigation.
Muscat said he has “deep regret” for Caruana Galizia’s murder and said the country needs a “fresh page.” However, he also said, “This case cannot define everything that our country is.”