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In ITS obsession with property prices and housing affordability, Sydney has overlooked a startling fact: the city is awash with empty buildings. Empty dwellings in a city desperate for places to live

Can we change the heart of politics? Sydney – Last Person Switch on the light
The number of unoccupied residential dwellings in Sydney counted by census workers in 2006 was 122,211, with the highest number found in the inner city. That does not include the thousands of empty warehouses, pubs, churches and shops.

A Wikipedia-style site that allows users to map the number of empty buildings in Australia has crashed after an overwhelming response from the public. Daniel Cox, the creator of http://bubblepedia.net.au said he was racing to fix the site in spare moments between his professional duties as a specialist anaesthetist.

• Empty Spaces; [; Some of today's hottest gadgets are already infected when they leave the factory; DANIEL COX thinks the housing shortage is a myth and he has a map to prove it;]
• · UK - Councillors launch bid to put people into vacant homes ; US - The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone – individuals, advocates, agencies, developers, non-profits, and others – with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts US - The National Vacant Properties
• · The real crisis in the UK isn’t about the sub-prime collapse, it’s about consumer demand. Is the same thing happening here? The financial malaise is spreading ; A bleaker, poorer world results when languages are allowed to wither. It says that other world-views are expendable Squandered worlds
• · · With its latest Cyber Storm II exercise now completed, the US Department of Homeland Security says it expects to release an after-action report analysing the event in August, and is beginning to plan for Cyber Storm III in 2010 DHS offers first take on Cyber Storm exercise ; New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) introduces new asset control measures to prevent further losses Taxman finds all but 36 lost PCs
• · · · With Thomas Friedman's morning keynote appearance at BEA it would be poetic to characterize BEA as HOT, FLAT AND CROWDED, but between recent statistics and the opening day mood we'll have to stand with just flat: Exxon is green... GM is green... Yeah. That's not a revolution friends, That's a party. We're having a green party. But it has nothing to do with a revolution. You'll know it's a revolution when somebody gets hurt. When companies have to change or die BEA; Publishing convention not quite green
• · · · · Premier Morris Iemma says he does not feel disloyal to the NSW Labor party over his plans to privatise the state's electricity sector Privatisation ; If Australia is going to take information security seriously, we need more people like the ATO's CIO, Bill Gibson. Gibson
• · · · · · There is a tendency to only look at what we're doing today, instead of stepping back and asking: "what do we need to focus on for the future? Why You Need To Plan for Innovation Today; Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, CeBIT Australia, 21 May 2008. Good morning and welcome to the e-Government Forum at CeBIT Australia 2008, the largest information and communications technology event focused on government issues in this country. How to use information technology to govern more effectively and efficiently is a particular concern of mine in my role as Minister for Finance and Deregulation. My portfolio includes the Australian Government Information Management Office - AGIMO - the agency responsible for managing the federal government's information technology requirements." Keynote address to the e-Government forum ; Speech discusses various e-government and related topics such as procurement, web 2.0, IT / ICT and service delivery, citizens' engagement … Paper

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A group of Bohemians invaded the Ritz at Randwick, Mal and Gabbie, June and Richard, Dial, Bawa, Chris and Lidka – Kuba, Olek, John and Liz, Beck, Marion, Gerd was there in spirit, Jen-Jen, Kevin, Steve and Wendy and Jules, George as well as Vicki, Ana and Rudy, Catarina and Jack, Begonia and Lisa and so many others in the underground spirit such as Gina and Kevin INDY at 64 – when I am sixty four ; Movie Review: 'Indiana Jones' deserves a warm welcome The archaeology of Indiana Jones

RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL Bouncing Czech (oslovakian) on PURPOSE
Like Media Dragon Tom Stoppard share the same nicknames Bouncing Czechs – Tom was bounced from Czech Republic just before the Nazis came to get the Jews and then he escaped from Sinapore before the Japanese came in WWII (source Rock and Roll booklet)

• Dangerous path; [That's what I lovingly whispered Let's never be a part again" ; You don't have to be a committed thespian or theatre aficionado to understand how the Bard's 400 year old works give inspiration Shakespeare ]
• · 2008 AD - Come to the new King of all Apple Stores in Sydneyrella – It took me twenty odd years to make the Mac CEO to see the antipodean light Reminding the world to get a little CRAZY - Can I claim my iPhone on tax? New Store in Sydney Captain Matilda; Lowest earners should pay the lowest percentage of tax
• · The Crazy Ones; Think Different
• · · When Your Nonfiction Book Idea is Stuck in the Mud; We are conditioned from birth to acquire social competence in a single culture: our own Writing Multicultural Fiction
• · · · When is that 'big bang moment', that life-changing experience, that 'peak experience' - was it that moment, is it this moment or will it be the moment around the corner? Love will tear us apart … again (… and repeat);
• · · · · Reinvigorating Literary Scholarship? Literary criticism could be one of our best tools for understanding the human condition. But first, it needs a radical change: embracing science Measure for Measure; No tax returns and now apparently no book from Cindy McCain - Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has decided not to write her memoir after signing a book deal with Viking last month Cindy McCain Backs Out On Book Deal
• · · · · · Chasers were great on Friday night at the Enmore Theatre – if a bit too risqué for some -- From Parliament to Paris Hilton, Chaser writer Dominic Knight casts a critical eye over whatever's in the news. Rock and Roll and Chasers ; Business use of social networking is fuelling a revolution in collaboration. Social networking within the enterprise ; The first guideline regarding an employee blogging policy is simple - have one Two approaches to employee blogs

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Gabriella is sweet sixteen today and at breakfast I could not take my eyes of her … I I am four things – I am a Slavic Bohemian, I am a lover of freedom, I am an exile living with a soulful antipoedian homemaker Mal, and I am a father. It is so lovely for a father to see a daughter filled with laughter and health and creative ideas. Not many teenagers love to go to school these days yet Gabbie loves her talent school, the Brent Street, is just great … The reason Gabbie is so much into arts and photography is because the water broke while we were in the cinema all those sixteen years ago ... and Paddington still had a birth center under the flag of Benevolent Society of Royal Women!

If I put my and Gabbie's birthday together we are much, much, younger than the Czechoslovak Radio Happy Birthday - Lidka a ... Gitka are celebrating in Praue this weekend

Tonight I laughed with Mal at a movie that no critic can ever give it any justice in words ... impossible just like As it is in Heaven - Who says it is easy is just once in a lifetime story a light story with so many characters from my days in the Czech army and even I recognise a few librarians and journos from Macquarie Street Bear Pit as both places were like laboratories of human nature ... An amiable but uninventive romantic comedy about a square whose life turns heart-shaped, Juan Taratutos - Who Says Its Easy? — like the helmers debut - Its Not You, Its Me, — is basically a vehicle for the talents of hangdog thesp Diego Peretti. Main characters spiritual journey could have shed 10 minutes, but is made worthwhile by an emotionally rewarding final reel and the always-watchable Peretti. Aldo is in complete control of his life and surroundings, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Andrea has long since thrown caution to the wind, having traveled the world for fifteen years. Now Andrea is pregnant, and she's not even sure she can identify the father of her unborn son. On the surface it would seem almost impossible to love a man as rigid as Aldo or a woman as unpredictable as Andrea, but as fate would have it their eccentricities might just fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Who Says Its Easy? - Quien dice que es facil?
I'm shattered into million pieces with laughter . Still I know how broken hearts are much harder to heal than broken bodies

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Labor has delivered a moderate budget that it hopes will "build the nation" by dedicating spending on health care, welfare and infrastructure while winding back the direct benefits to the nation's well-paid. The first Labor budget in 13 years has maintained the tax cuts promised during the election and will now means-test welfare and the controversial baby-bonus which rises to $5000 from June Swan on song ; WAYNE Swan's razor gang has identified $7 billion in savings next year alone; Treasurer Wayne Swan's first budget has been well received by economists but government forecasts for slower economic growth could be too low. Economists praise budget The numbers: What you'll get in the Budget's tax cuts (Google hunter and gatherer $38B investment plan to boost Aussie economy

Yes, Prime Minister: What's in store for Budget 2008? The PM sees public service in brighter light
Address to heads of agencies and members of senior executive service Rudd, a former bureaucrat himself, is — was — one of them. As the PM noted in his address, he has played all the main roles in Yes Minister: I have acted both as a Humphrey, as Bernard and now I'm the minister … So when Ken Henry, the secretary of the Treasury, looks at me through … highly intelligent glasses and says 'courageous, minister', I know the text and the sub-text …

the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister, speech, Canberra, 30 April 2008. "Members of the Senior Executive Service, I begin this morning by honouring the traditional owners of this land on which the Parliament now sits. Thank you for the efforts that each of you have made to attend this morning. I know that your workload has been unusually heavy in recent months. Alongside an exhaustive spending review process for the Budget, the transition to a new government means managing new priorities and new policies, and adjusting to new ministers and their offices. The leadership roles that each of you exercise require you to balance the day to day needs of government with longer term policy and planning; in short, the reactive versus the strategic. In the early days of a new government you face both enormous day to day demands while also needing to start implementing new policy platforms."

• Only half joking, senior public servants have been commenting on how much better the country has been running during the caretaker period, without an elected government running the show Running Show; [ All about to change; Yes, Prime Minister. All change for the public service]
• · The whole point of politicians and political parties declaring campaign donations is to show the public what's going on. They are meant to reveal who is giving what to whom, and to sound the alarm at the appearance of improper influence on individual MPs and governments Political donations: disclosure is all show and no tell ; Michael Booth's career began crashing in great, ghastly pieces around his ears. But, surprisingly, it was not on the day in 2006 when he was accused of academic misconduct, but on the day he claims he annoyed a minister. A Sydney researcher claims he paid a high price for offending a government minister
• · The 800 include many of Australia's biggest companies, which have given between $1525 and $543,000 each - and they face fines of $11,000 for each offence 800 face charges for donations ; Money went to party, not me, says Sartor
• · · Brotherhood of St Laurence - This report highlights key federal taxation areas requiring reform, with brief case studies illustrating the inequities, and presents a number of recommendations for a fairer system. The Brotherhood is urging the new federal government to examine options to create a fairer, simpler and a more efficient tax system that maximises economic and social participation. PDF version link ahead The case for change: a snapshot analysis of the Australian tax system ; As far as Budgets go, the bar was set pretty high on this one Swan plays Robin Hood in Budget that takes from the rich ; A COMPREHENSIVE review of the nation's tax system will be unveiled in Tuesday night's federal budget, Treasurer Wayne Swan says. Tax review to be unveiled budget night
• · · · How Boris triumphed in London by not being Boris Mayor ; You know, I have always had a soft spot for Cherie Blair. You may think I am mad, but I have resented the attacks on her, and suspected that it is to do with the jealousy that surrounds a successful, high-earning woman who possesses a mind of her own. Boris on his website on crime and London ; The curse or joy of the Spectator Melisa and Johnson
• · · · ·A revamped data warehouse is helping Victoria Police to reduce crime rates and has delivered AU$2 million in productivity benefits, despite a lack of initial budget planning which threatened to derail the project early on Victoria Police cut crime with data warehousing ; When Philip Hind joined the Australian Taxation Office as chief knowledge officer, the task of managing the organisation's data warehouse was widely viewed as a poison chalice. How did the ATO evolve to make its warehouse-dependent BI applications a critical enterprise tool?... How ATO found an antidote to the BI poison chalice
• · · · · · This Oscar-winning WWII drama puts devils, as well as angels, on the head of the pin The Counterfeiters ; After seven days, she announced the blog was an art project and she wasn't planning to kill herself. I wanted this blog to be about personal discovery … When a 24-year-old woman who called herself "90DayJane" launched a blog in February announcing she would write about her life and feelings for three months and then commit suicide, 150,000 readers flocked to the site. Some came to offer help, some to delight in the drama. Others speculated it was all a hoax. Your blog can be group therapy

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It is Mothers Day and June and Dial had made my weekend ... after a icy swim at the Iceberg

The purge of Liberals involved in undermining Victorian leader Ted Baillieu could reach into the offices of state or federal MPs, with several more staffers under threat of explusion over the blogging scandal that claimed a third scalp yesterday Blog crisis 'tip of iceberg' [Google that cheeky collector and gather New scalp claimed in Liberal blog scandal

Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary Memoirs: whose truth – and does it matter?
If You're Looking for a Level-Headed Piece on Memoirs
The Christian Science Monitor has one. There's not a lot new here, but with the Seltzer furor having settled down, a little more perspective prevails. At Powell's Books, marketing manager Michal Drannen says, There was a certain amount of interest in Margaret Jones [Ms. Seltzer's pseudonym] regionally and locally. But we haven't seen a decline in sales of the genre. From my perspective, I don't think there's a general concern about the veracity of nonfiction memoirs or biographies.

It's made us cynical. He and his colleagues have developed a running joke. Whenever they come across an especially sensational life story, somebody will ask, What's the pool? How many weeks before it's exposed as fraudulent? That said, Mr. Donaghy admits, The averages are not too bad. Not that it mitigates it at all, but it's not anything I'd call a pandemic. He cites "Beautiful Boy" as one recent example of a memoir that read as especially genuine.

• It made the booksellers' employees cynical ; [Two years after telling the world he was finished with writing, Gabriel Garcia Márquez has rediscovered his muse. The Nobel prizewinner is giving the final touches to "a novel of love", according to a friend. Marquez Writes Another Novel After All; Let's hear it for freedom of speech! Tibet, Zimbabwe and now Myanmar are all refusing access to journalists who want to report on the hardships of their people. NBC News World Media Dragon aims to provide a dynamic look at world events and trends -- both big and small NO JOURNALISTS ALLOWED TO TELL THE STORY ]
• · Everyone networks everyday; they just may not think they do. Everyone talks daily to a family member, a work colleague or a friend and this is a form of networking. Additionally, almost everyone meets someone new everyday. The trick is to find a way to build and maintain your network that is comfortable for you Networking: what is your NQ? ; The more information we place online and the less discriminating we are, the greater the risk of exposure to ID theft and more. Privacy and social networking; How easy is it for thieves to steal your identity? Are we making it easier for them by putting our lives online? Stolen ID ; Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster is famous for his hunger Me want cookie!

• · News Creed – The internet is littered with people who don't know what they're talking about. Common sense is usually enough to separate the junk from legitimate articles, but even the most highly-regarded publications have been infiltrated by reporters who like to make things up NewsCred: Just How Trustworthy is Your Favorite Blog?; NewsCred gives you credible and quality news from your favourite news sources. News Media Dragons
• · · THE writer and social commentator Anne Manne sees this as an historic moment. We are poised at a fork in the cold river How do we want to live? ; Almost all creative ventures fail, but the successes can be spectacular Winner creates all?
• · · · The Sydney Writers' Festival director Wendy Were was excited about bringing five virtual guests to town, including Iain Banks and Alan Bennett, via LongPen technology. Virtually impossible ; Sydney Writers Festival is on next week and it is peppered with lunches – one with Czech Jana Wendt not to be missed … 200 flesh-and-blood authors
• · · · · Australia's richest literary prize won by Jozef Imrich Riches for writers ; A couple of great movies are out right now in the States and should be with the rest of the world soon. Danis checked out I’m Not There, with its great soundtrack and standout album track by Los Lobos. Here’s Danis’ review... Imrich - I’m Not There
• · · · · · After seeing Rock and Roll of Stoppards with Jeff Avril and David in the audience this is another czech artistic invasion … A documentary shot over a period of 13 years that traces the fascinating life of dissident poet turned politician Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, has become the biggest ever theatrical release for a non-fiction film in the former Warsaw Pact Central European country … We are very excited by the success of 'Citizen Havel' at the cinemas. It has by far exceeded everyone's expectations. Directed by Pavel Koutecky (who died in 2006) and Miroslav Janek, "Citizen Havel" was 13 years in the making, with shooting beginning in 1992. 'Citizen Havel' rakes in Czech coin ; Documentary shot over a period of 13 years

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This year has been a year of Film Festivals from French to German and now the Spannish. But the best plays are still with Czech accent as Tom Stoppard rocks the rocks of the Sydney Warf Theatre of Cate Blanchet fame on Thursday in the row F In 2008 Tom gave Australia one of his finest plays Rock 'n' Roll. Jan, the Czech student, lives for rock music; Max, the English professor, lives for Communism; and Esme, the flower child, is high. By 1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. Stoppard's sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years, at the end of which, love remains-and so does rock 'n' roll. Utopia of Indian and Czech connections: Mal and Joe

CODA: Australia – My New Home - new book about the life stories of Australian Czech and Slovak community members has been published. This book is the product of two years of research by the Kratochvíls’ amongst the Czech and Slovak communities in Australia. It depicts life stories and experiences of Czechs and Slovaks who were accepted by Australia as exiles and lived in the capital city of Canberra, and in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. It focuses on life in refugee camps in the US zone in Germany, which a large number of refugees passed through in the 1950s, the inception and existence of Czech communities and their clubs operating in Australia (for example, Sokol, Orel, scout and outdoor clubs and associations, sporting clubs, and Jewish organizations), Czech community periodicals and magazines published in Australia, theatre, and Czech and Slovak radio broadcasting. For further information or purchase of Austrálie – můj nový domov / Australia – My New Home please contact Mr Jan Kratochvíl by email – krat3@volny.cz or the Czech Embassy in Canberra.

Ach, An Antipodean Letter of the year: With planning and thought, our films can be adopted by the caring and shown to the intelligent - Australian films deserve better than doing battle with blockbusters

From little things big things grow Building a Big SHACK
USA Today looks at the success of William Young's self-published THE SHACK, a wrenching parable about God's grace.

Co-published with Brad Cummings under the banner of Windblown Media, with assistance from author and former pastor Wayne Jacobsen, they say they have 880,000 copies in print, 750,000 in distribution, and we're talking to New York publishers. USAT reports: Published a year ago and promoted by snowballing attention on Christian radio, websites and blogs, The Shack ($14.99) is now in mainstream bookstores and Wal-Marts nationwide, and the trio behind it are talking to Hollywood about a possible film deal

• Aim at 'spiritually interested' sparks 'The Shack' sales ; [As expected, Amazon filed suit with the Supreme Court of New York to "challenge the constitutionality of a newly enacted New York State statute that requires out-of-state internet retailers, with no physical presence in New York, to collect sales and use taxes." Amazon Sues Over Proposed NY Tax; So far former Houghton Mifflin publisher Janet Silver has moved Monique Truong, Peter Ho Davies and John Pipkin to Nan Talese, and Silver doesn't officially start as editor-at-large until May 1 - I called Janet and she sent us a list of the authors she had worked with and the ones who'd said they wanted to come with her, if not immediately then eventually. We ran down the financials and ... we made an agreement with her that she would stay up there in Massachusetts. It was all done in a rather good fashion. Which Authors Will Follow Janet Silver to Nan Talese? ]
• · the blog of the national book critics circle board of directors Commentary on literary criticism; Guest Blogger: James Frey James Frey is "guest blogging" at Amazon's Omnivoracious this month--and maybe he's doing other media, too. "Two big things for me this month. One is that I am guest-blogging on Amazon all month. The other is that my new novel, Bright Shiny Morning, comes out on May 13th. Will check in now and then with updates, stories, impressions. I'll be doing some press, and will be on tour for a couple weeks." Press-Shy Frey Will Blog for Amazon
• · Seattle's Jackson Street Books will close at the end of the month as the owners retire I Been Healed and so can you!; This year's PEN World Voices Festival in New York City, themed Public Lives/Private Lives, features over 170 authors coming from all around the world. World Voices Invigorates NYC: Everyone has a story
• · · Memoirs should explore some sort of new ground, challenge and explore notions of truth and telling the truth, how we remember and how these memories relate to universals. At the very least, they should tell a good story Newest memoir from Augusten Burroughs has too much bite ; My father himself used to read the published correspondence of authors he was interested in, as well as their diaries and memoirs The letters of men of letters; Burn After Reading
• · · · Memoirs rose in popularity during the '90s on the backs of such books as Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes." Now they're in such demand that, in 2007, more memoirs were accepted by publishers than debut novels Everybody has a story -- but is it worth telling?; The author of the much-touted memoir, Love and Consequences, about a foster child who escaped gang life in South Central Los Angeles, Margaret Seltzer (who wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Jones), turned out to be a white woman who grew up in wealthy Sherman Oaks (the part where “Desperate Housewives” is filmed) Fake Memoirs and the New Racial "Passing"
• · · · · Your crazy life story could translate into mega publishing bucks. But is it true? Here's a foolproof way to tell Put Your Memoir to the Test!; THERE he could be when Parliament resumes next week busily tap, tap, tapping away on his laptop, composing his memoirs as question time drones on. Tap dance to immortality: A Million Little Pieces of Deception
• · · · · · These memoirs dig deep into the heartbreak, humor of divorce "How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed" | Memoirs of a divorcée Mamas, don't let your daughters grow up to marry narcissists; As a literary genre, a memoir from the French: mémoire from the Latin memoria, meaning "memory", or a reminiscence, forms a subclass of autobiography: Everyone has a story, but not everyone puts it in writing. Now, my story is out there … floating Cold River When fiction is not enough

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Back in my childhood days in Czechoslovakia on 1 day of May we marched to the music of Soviet composers ... It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to put school memories into a political and media blog. As the half way point of the year creeps up on us, we tend to reflect on the achievements of first few months of the year and look towards the exciting possibilities the rest of the year may hold.

Among the many things my soviet communist teachers taught me:
Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.
Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.
The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.
Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.
A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.
Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate … (

Among the many new links created in the cyber space: Even with the bar set pretty high, Amazon and Morava (Cold River) met or exceeded analysts' consensus expectations with first quarter sales of $4.13 billion, up 37 percent, and net income of $143 million, up 30 percent from a year ago. Another Jump for Amazon

Historic nobodies like MEdia Dragon The Memory Thief: Landscape of feeling
The painter Franz Kline once said, To be right is the most terrific personal state that no one is interested in. The other is that they need to educate and edify their readers.

The best criticism, as Adam Gopnik wrote inan appreciation of the poet and critic RandallJarrell, should be "not a slot machine of judgment but a tone of voice, a style, the promise of a whole view of life in a few pregnant sentences". Contrary to those who believe journalistic criticism will struggle to survive in the internet age, however, I think people are actually going to want more and more of it. If you step back and survey the situation, it seems simple. In affluent societies, of which there are more in the world than ever before, the arts rise in stature, and as they do, people naturally want to discuss them.

• I am not a writer I am a storyteller. In Cold River the words that flood the pages - they are not always perfect Bloggers are saved from the lynch mob... for now ; [I have always loved a good conspiracy thriller, easily sucked in by the conflict of secrecy and spies, the darkness in the shadows Internal affairs ; AUSTRALIANS have begun searching an online archive for news of their ancestors' nefarious dealings in Victorian London.
Old Bailey puts criminal past on web]
• · The great historical issues of our day are being decided not by historical argument, but by parliamentary vote, with judges enforcing these decisions - Dutch historian Pieter Geyl famously wrote that history is “an argument without an end”. In Switzerland today, arguing about history can mean you might end up having to explain your historical views before a judge of law. History: an argument with an end; For historians, Anzac Day, is 'a martial affair with military music and ritual', while for churches and their army chaplains, it’s a 'faith event'. Anzac day: a faith event?
• · courtesy of Mal - Catherine Austin Fitts is president of Solari, Inc.Solaris ajaja jaj Where is the Money? Let’s Get it Back!; To Blog or Not to Blog: An Employer's Dilemma
• · · The underlying metaphor of Cold River really is that it does not matter where you are stuck in life or what you think you have to do you can always choose something else – there is always a different path Sydney Writer Festival coming soon and Post-Festival of Books: Science fiction notes; Torture, terrorism, eco-disaster... a wave of new films is tackling some of the world's most pressing issues head-on, winning critical praise and box-office rewards. Can films change the world?
• · · · Went to Chauvel and saw the WAVE – Akin to life and death - Go and see it too! One of the most powerful films in the İstanbul Film Festival's international feature competition, German Dennis Gansel's "Die Welle" (The Wave), is inspired by the infamous Stanford prison experiment that took place in Palo Alto, California in 1969. The Wave' by German director Dennis Gansel; Sometimes dubbed Germany's answer to Gerard Depardieu, the gap-toothed Vogel has featured in the German Film Festival here over the past few years Jurgen Vogel at Chauvel
• · · · · A hard-fighting author has never forgotten his impoverished upbringing. Imagine you fall on hard times and (it's hard, but try) imagine further that there is no government welfare to fall back on. In with the underdogs ; One cannot go wrong in Sydney at Dan Murphy but the Bohemians know also about Dan Brown located at 9 Brisbane Street, Surry Hills A drop in the ocean - Independent Discount Liquor of Underdogs
• · · · · · A 25-year-old media dragon magnate has been revealed as the buyer of one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Australia Virtual estate; If you haven’t started a blog yet, it’s time. Blogging comes with benefits. I went to the Web 2.o Expo this week in San Francisco, a “gathering of geeks,” if you will. So as such, of course, it had a fabulous blogger lounge that was anything but geeky. Free massages, Wii on a big screen, music by Pandora, free drinks and–best of all–networking with other bloggers Another Reason to Start Your Own Blog

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Perhaps those Chinese protesters, denying others the right to free speech during the Olympic torch relay, should follow their own advice and go home First byte: A cool idea to warm to by Cold River
Historic nobodies feature in Cold River When fiction is not enough "Wise people store up knowledge - Eternal vigilance the price of freedom

Falling waters Sobel Reflects
Jofie Ferrari-Adler's latest interview in the Poets & Writers series with publishing veterans is with agent Nat Sobel. Excerpts:

It's only been in the last twenty years, or maybe the last ten years, that I became aware, as did Judith [Weber], that we wanted the agency to reflect our tastes, rather than just take on things that were saleable. Our list is our taste. Which means that there are a lot of areas of publishing that we will not go into because we aren't interested in them. So we've never done any romances, for instance.
I think what is evolving today for agents is that they need to be the first line editors for their authors. Judith and I really love the editing process. We have spent years editing nearly every novel we've ever agented. We did that long before we began to discover how little editing was going on in the publishing houses. But today agents need to be far more proactive in almost every other area of the publishing process. We have to be the marketing directors for many of our books. We have to involve ourselves in looking at the jacket design, the jacket copy, the catalogue copy. We have to be very proactive in how we help direct the writer to help sell his or her book. Those are things you never thought about in agenting when I first came into it. You made the deal, you negotiated the contract, and that was it—the publisher took over

• For the life of me, I can't remember when I met Nat Sobel for the first time A Q&A With Agent Nat Sobel; [Writing is hard work-- and there are no shortcuts. When it comes right down to the nitty gritty, it's just you and that glowing computer screen. Discover writing markets from North America, Europe, Australasia and other places. It's free, so come and try it Naked Writing: The No-Frills Way to Write Your Novel!; Like some of the luckiest people in high tech, John Buckman made a mint on his first company and now dabbles in passion projects. Silicon Valley adage: Strike it rich once, you're lucky. Twice, you're smart. Free BookMooching Sells Books]
• · Art of drinking no frill milk in Australia Believe it or not – we have to live with this supermarket ; Technology has resulted in teenagers and young adults having a very different conception of privacy. The new digital paparazzi
• · Mark Story: Good knowledge management ensures continuing access to employees' know how, even when they move on. A look at how one organisation's (State Revenue Office, Victoria) systems mean they no longer rely solely on what's in the heads of individual staff Storing knowledge ; A trickle of cold river books about Australians at war has become a torrent The Digger distilled: When fiction is not enough
• · · Nabokov's last work will not be burned - Dmitri said, I'm a loyal son and thought long and seriously about it, then my father appeared before me and said, with an ironic grin, You're stuck in a right old mess - just go ahead and publish! The most concentrated distillation of [my father's] creativity; We don't need more books, we need better books. We're going to spend even more time to make sure that the products are right before they go out Elephant in the room
• · · · I love all forms of sisomo but this sisomo card created by artist/designer Julie Ruiz for VH1 is special. It’s proof again that the size of the idea isn’t always about the size of the budget. Light a candle for sisomo; One of the best fast food experiences I've enjoyed recently was in, of all places, Cincinnati. It's called Ingredients and it's healthy, fresh, tasty, a far cry from pizza and fried chicken, and it really is fast. Imagine a large, spacious production line with four production workers... Ingredients: Fast Food Heaven I'm not often in New York over a weekend, but when I am, my Sundays have a distinct pattern. It all starts with a lazy breakfast at one of the many neighborhood joints in Tribeca. Unfortunately, although I'm just across the road from Bubby's, it's become such an attraction it's lost its local charm... Weekend in NYC - The heart is what keeps Agatha’s designs pumping. She is a breath of fresh air in the jaded world of 'me-too' fashion
• · · · · Raymond Baker writes: the primary reason for the existence of Liechtenstein and some 90 other tax havens is to provide secrecy for illegally generated money to move across borders. I've researched this question all over the world (Capitalism's Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System, Wiley 2005) -- what is the basic motivation for use of money-laundering techniques, abusive transfer pricing, disguised corporations, and anonymous accounts? Most people think it is to avoid taxes or the risk of inflation or confiscation. Not correct. The basic motivation is the hidden accumulation of money, hidden primarily as to origin and secondarily as to purpose. Use of these techniques and facilitating structures is about piling up cash secretly in a foreign locale without having to share with employees, family members, and others locally or disclose the provenance or purpose of such funds. Which Is the Bigger Challenge: Tax Havens or High Taxes? ; If you were a member of the Wall Street aristocracy, one of those hedge fund hot shots who makes half a billion dollars a year, which horse would you bet on in the race for the White House? Mr. Obama? He backs something called the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, a measure that would limit all offshore accounts that the wealthiest hedge funds have set up. That’s not something Wall Street wants … So why is Mr. Obama such a popular choice among the hedge fund crowd?
In a word, access. Just like at the Bear pit … Unlike Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama is relatively new to national politics and is therefore open to bringing new people — and new money — into the tent. For money types who want a table, or at least to look involved and get an invitation to the right parties, Mr. Obama is the candidate. Then again, politics, like the markets, can change fast. As one hedge fund manager who is backing Mr. Obama said, “It is very possible I may change my mind.” They don’t call them hedges for nothing Hedge Fund Investing and Politics
• · · · · · I love your region’s energy, audacity and drive to diversify. The Gulf to me is guts, risk-taking and high adventure, supercharged by dreams: Beyond the Horizon; The digital revolution is transforming marketing, entertainment and technology everywhere. The boundaries between media and advertising, content and products, creator and producer, audience and critic are dissolving: To Survive, Print and TV Must Engage Consumers Radical Optimist - Why 'love' is the new black

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If you stick your neck out, be prepared to have your head cut off – ouch …

There's an old Slavic saying that describes the master-servant relationship. It goes: I'm the boss, you're an idiot. You're the boss, I'm an idiot. Overhead in the Two Good Eggs: The property tax system is busted, and we’re at the end of the road … The blast from the past, Malcolm Farr, noted in the Daily Telegraph on 24/04/2008 ( Families struggle as 13th rate rise looms) Spending cuts in next month's Federal Budget could be even more severe after a round of price rises drained family purses and boosted inflation by more than 4 per cent. Chances of a cut in interest rates this year have been erased by the inflation jump, and a 13th rise in a row is now in prospect
H E may be the state's Housing Minister but, as a landlord, Matt Brown claims to not know what is going on State Housing Minister has 14 landservants warning PDF list Landlords and Landladies: the wild men and women of Sydney

Can we change the heart of politics? MP cashes in on rental crisis
NOBODY can say NSW Housing Minister Matt Brown isn't qualified for his portfolio. After all, the member for Kiama owns 14 investment properties, which must afford the Minister some special insights into housing issues.

According to the Parliament's pecuniary interests register, 47 out of the 135 MPs in NSW have second homes or rental investment properties - many have multiple properties.
Mr Brown is the most prolific landlord in Parliament, with properties listed in Ultimo, Inverell, Ayr, Rotorua (NZ), White Rock, Secret Harbour, Brisbane, Canningvale, Campbelltown, South Brisbane, Bushlands Beach, two more lots in undisclosed locations as well as his home in Kiama. House leader John Aquilina is also a leader in the property stakes, with an investment apartment in York St, on top of his family home in Blacktown and a holiday house - plus adjoining vacant lot - in Portland. Police Minister David Campbell has six properties in total - although two of them are car spaces - including two apartments in Potts Point. Nationals MP George Souris has 12, including properties in Redfern, Surry Hills and Darling Point - as well as six in Kythera, Greece.

• Politicians like Lawyers are already drunk with power Masters and servants; [People who rort the NSW public housing system are costing taxpayers up to $53 million a year, prompting a new crackdown by the state government Rich and Poor; Property agents cash in on housing squeeze: I have always loved a good conspiracy thriller, easily sucked in by the conflict of secrecy and spies, honour and betrayal, the darkness in the shadows Internal affairs ]
• · STOCK market. Once upon a time that meant what it says: redolent with the smells of cattle and manure, a place for selling beef on the hoof. Lately stock markets around the world have been anything but bullish, and billions are being lost. After riding high for so long, many an investor and broker is now broke. That great Texan put-down comes to mind: “All Stetson, no cattle.” Our hearts go out to them. At least they’ll be relieved of the burdens of tax avoidance and luxury purchases. Mysterious bank accounts from Switzerland to the Maldives will be cleaned out – and the purveyors of preposterously expensive clothing, cars, wristwatches and paintings will be in for a long, lonely winter. Bears ate my Ferrari: Bulls***; Homelessness will be a test of the Rudd government A roof over every head ; Big house, big car, big TV, big mortgage? And you can't make ends meet 'Can't make ends meet' syndrome
• · · Developing a strategy that will lead to a sustainable competitive advantage often requires a broader set of leadership competencies - Interpersonal skills are equally if not more vital since they enable a leader to tap into the knowledge and experience Characteristics of effective leadership: strategic acumen ; Robert Gates and Vladimir Putin are the outstanding personal successes produced respectively by the intelligence services of America and Russia over the second half of the 20th century. How (not) to maintain and manage power
• · · · HSBC today faced the prospect of an investigation by the City watchdog [UK's Financial Services Authority] after admitting it had lost a disc containing details of 370,000 customers. The disc went missing around four weeks ago after being sent with an external courier from the group's offices in Southampton to a reinsurer. It contained the names, dates of birth and insurance cover levels of people with life assurance at the bank, generally linked to a mortgage HSBC faces probe after lost customer data disc ; 250 IT Managers from each of the following countries Australia … Skills gaps in the world's IT workforce
• · · · · Nation's future health goes on life support. Think prevention - not just cure: this is how Australia must fight emerging epidemics. Stopping the Cold River of illness at its source; The Governance stream at the Summit produced enough ideas to keep us going until 2020 The post-Summit buzz
• · · · · · No job is completely recession-proof, but if you follow these six guidelines you may avoid becoming a 'recession casualty' by keeping your career on track 6 ways to recession-proof your career; you're tired of struggling to find a job and don't want an economic slowdown to hurt your chances of landing a new one, try these tips for conducting a job search when times are tight. 10 secrets for searching for a job during a recession If

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Mal and Begonia looked after the popcorn side of Charles Chauvel kino life. A day before the Anzac weekend we chose a great story about human right. The love mother stores in her huge heart for freedom and her children. (Giana will love this movie too)Border of Despair was a great story even Gabbie enjoyed the 3 and 1/2 hour long moving story it does go with the story of Lives of Others and Falling Slowly

Story of Anzac Anzac: the language of a legacy
FOR many Australians, Anzac Day is far more than a simple public holiday.

Australia's last surviving World War I soldier, Jack Ross, will be enjoying a quiet Anzac Day with his daughter at his nursing home in Bendigo, Victoria, this Friday. The original ANZACS tell their stories in their own words.
The blood and glory of the landing at Gallipoli is said to have turned Australia from a federation of states into one nation. As the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War nears, Max Prisk brings together from Herald files the story of that deadly beginning - told by those who went through it.
Sentiment of Anzac: Mr Ross, who turned 109 in March, last attended an Anzac Day march two years ago at Kangaroo Flat, but now finds it difficult to even get in or out of a car. Lest we forget is a term taken very seriously by the children and grandchildren of Marlborough's war veterans, with Anzac parade crowds growing ...
Watching the Anzac Day march on the telly was an annual event as I grew up. My grandfather had been in the thick of it during World War I, so it was just something you did. Wading through the often-naff commentary each year, I sometimes wondered about the point of it all. But then you'd see the proud bearing of old soldiers, medals on their chests, all marching together - and you'd hear the dreadful stories of their battles as they marched - and at some point or other you'd get a little teary.

• Old Testament In the true ANZAC spirit; [At 2.30 am on 25 April 1915, as the men of the Anzac Corps approached the coast of Gallipoli in the ships of the invasion fleet Historic journey ; Far from signalling a glorious victory, ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day recalls the 8-month battle against Turkey which ended in a humiliating evacuation Lest we forget ]
• · On Anzac Day I think of WWII and its Kokoda Track, Trail, and the man who writes so pationately about the fight for freedom - James Cumes; James knows the high price of Hot and Cold War: bloody good read; Brilliant James Cumes Petrov affair dramatises alos economic injustices The Black Death of financial collapse
• · · ANZAC Day commemorations in Europe will focus, for the first time, on the First World War battlefields of France where 46000 Australians died Anzac Day focus turns to Western Front; Anzac Day for Bob is all about the camaraderie The power of the little people
• · · · The internet of media dragons is creating a more dynamic and interactive understanding of what disinterested reporting can mean Gatewatchers - What the internet means for the way journalists write ; Selling your story—literary proceeds orders under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 Interest in the cases of Mark ‘Chopper’ Reid, Schapelle Corby and David Hicks ; Just as independent presses have taken on the role of publishing what large publishing houses deem unprofitable--namely, literary fiction, noteworthy non-fiction, and poetry--so too have independent reviews set out to discuss work that the mainstream publishing world ignores Independent Reviewers?

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If even the drugged and disorderly like Jozef Imrich can ward off their personal apocalypse, then perhaps there is hope for us, too. Born in 1988 in Moravia, Marketa Irglova, 8 years after I swam across the river Morava, she is the Moravian girl who gives hope to one and all ;-)
Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we’re standing here tonight, the fact that we’re able to hold this, it’s just the proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don’t give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are! Markéta Irglová; Ach Falling Slowly

There is an echo of Cold River Addiction of chasing crazy dreams Quit Lit: A Million Little Pieces of Binge Drinking
19 Apr 2008 in the bible - The Sydney Morning Herald - Luke Benedictus, the editor of Dazed & Confused, writes 1858 words which describe how the publishing industry is developing an addiction to tales from the world of rehab. $53 Million spening on prevention strategy for binge drinking …

. Quit Lit: the secret of its excess is the story of people who crave more, learning to live with less … Like the alcoholic for whom one drink is never enough, western society is driven by an urgent hunger for further acquisition. Enslaved by advertising and consumerism we have become hard wired to yearn more – the new car, the plasma TV yet another pair of shoes … We are trapped in the cycle of insatiable craving that only snowballs the more we consume. I want a drink. I want 50 drinks. I want a bottle of the purest, strongest, most destructive, most poisonous alcohol on Earth. I want 50 bottles of it. I want crack, dirty and yellow and filled with formaldehyde. I want a pile of powder meth, 500 hits of acid, a garbage bag filled with mushrooms, a tube of glue bigger than a truck, a pool of gas large enough to drown in. I want something anything whatever however as much as I can. And maybe this is one of the things about Frey, whatever he does, whether it be tubes of glue or writing books, he wants to do it the most - to be the hardest, to be the strongest, to win and to defeat

• THE NEW TESTAMENT Quit Lit: the secret of its excess ; [LB; The Benedictus, given in Luke 1:68-79, is one of the three great canticles in the opening chapters of this Gospel, the other two being the Magnificat Luke Benedictus lives in Sydney and is the editor of Dazed & Confused Aus/NZ ]
• · The Herald's books writer Susan Wyndham flips the pages of new titles, ideas, news and gossip from the book world. Join her, too, for the Undercover book club. Become a crime writer; Mentally ill women have survived the past 200 years of medical treatment Mad, Bad And Sad
• · David Stratton's obsessive streak results in a strangely engrossing autobiography I Peed On Fellini; Luke Davies climbs up a notch by stepping into the shoes of one of the 20th-century's most intriguing characters. God Of Speed - fever-dream of a book - intriguing characters.
• · · A magnificent depiction of human distress and testament to the author's stunning talent - The climactic image in Julia Leigh's stifling novella, Disquiet, is of a woman foundering in cold river The climactic image of Julia Leigh ;
• · · · Study Reveals Why People Might Crave Cocaine; What the quit-lit doesn't tell you

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By the way, the German Film Festival in Sydney has a good story on Check Point Charlie Border of Despair


TT: Annals of failed flackery
People in my line of work have to sift through a lot of press releases and other forms of flackery, all of which we take with a stalactite or two of salt. It's part of the job. Nevertheless, I confess to having boggled at the blurbissimo I encountered on the back of my advance readers' copy of Andre Dubus III's The Garden of Last Days, which will be published by W.W. Norton in June.
Here it is, in its entirety:
One early September night in Florida, a stripper brings her daughter to work. April's usual babysitter is in the hospital, so she decides it's best to have her three-year-old daughter close by, watching children's videos in the office, while she works.
Except that April works at the Puma Club for Men. And tonight she has an unusual client, a foreigner both remote and too personal, and free with his money. Lots of it, all cash. His name is Bassam. Meanwhile, another man, AJ, has been thrown out of the club for holding hands with his favorite stripper, and he's drunk and angry and lonely.
From these explosive elements come [sic] a relentless, raw, searing, passionate, page-turning narrative, a big-hearted and painful novel about sex and parenthood and honor and masculinity. Set in the seamy underside of American life at the moment before the world changed, it juxtaposes lust for domination with hunger for connection, sexual violence with family love. It seizes the reader by the throat with the same psychological tension, depth, and realism that characterized Andre Dubus's #1 bestseller, House of Sand and Fog--and an even greater sense of the dark and anguished places in the human heart.
Right.
I didn't read House of Sand and Fog, so I suppose it's within the realm of possibility that Andre Dubus III is a serious writer. Still, it isn't very likely that I'll be reading The Garden of Last Days, much less reviewing it. I don't mind having my intelligence insulted by publicists--some forms of suffering are hard to avoid--but a critic can only be expected to swallow so much guff, and the Norton publicity department just blew my quota for 200 Garden of Last Days

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The Dow Jones picks up my sentiments Good financial management is like fresh air, exercise and a healthy diet. Organisations need it every day to stay fit and to live a full and active life.

Isn't it peculiar that governments in South Australia and Tasmania are stoutly resisting cries for permanent corruption commissions to be established in those sainted states? It scarcely seems credible that they should resist such a terrific suggestion. A glance at the NSW model of corruption fighting should be enough to put any besieged government entirely at ease. Odd to fear watchdogs, as bark's worse than bite

Am I the only person to be surprised not by the complaints but by the lack of ambition Martin Wolf
This is not an example of public sector inefficiency as a result. It is an example of private sector greed and inefficiency.

Martin Wolf is one of the best respected economic commentators in the world. His column in the FT this morning is a classic. He argues that:
Am I the only person to be surprised not by the complaints [by the non-domiciled], which are predictable, but by their lack of ambition?
And he goes on, by arguing in absurdum, that if the non-doms arguments are right:
a) Everyone in the UK should be able to use the remittance basis and so pay tax on an optional basis;
b) There should be no tax on incomes over £100,000;
c) Because they generate so much wealth those earning over £100,000 should in fact have a negative tax rate;
d) Billionaires should be paid to come to the UK.
As his argument makes clear, no one has put forward such claims because they know that tax has to be paid by someone. What the wealthy want is that it is paid by anyone but them. As Leona Helmsley put it:
We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.
This is what the non-dom debate is about. But as Wolf puts it:
From long experience, I am deeply sceptical of special interest “the sky is falling” pleading. More fundamentally, I am opposed to this particular pleading because it is subversive of any enduring political compact among citizens. If we take the principle that successful people are too important and too mobile to pay tax to its logical conclusion, political community will collapse.
And as he concludes:
Yet the experience also shows that the case for a simple, neutral and stable fiscal system, which taxes the worldwide incomes of all long-stay residents on the basis of ability to pay, is overwhelming. As soon as one departs from that principle one enters in a maze of special pleading or invidious distinctions, in which failed ideas of industrial policy - subsidising winners through the tax system - return to the fore. If the application of that great principle means some rich people leave the country, so be it.
I agree. Entirely.
I also agree (and some should note this) with the simplification part of this argument. Getting rid of the domicile rule would be a great way to do that. But for once the professions seem quite opposed to simplification. Is it because they too think that only the little people should pay tax? I fear it is.

• I agree. Entirely. [Everybody, listen to me, And return me, my ship. I'm your captain, I'm your captain. Although I'm feeling mighty sick. -- Mark Farner American Poet B. Flint AGE OF UNREASON ; ]
• · It's not going to be pretty at the Labor Party's state conference when Morris Iemma lines up to show who's in charge - Donations fuss driven by media dragons … Premier's power play; A man's home may no longer be his castle, but it could well end up being somebody else's castle - THE State Government plans to give its agencies and councils power to compulsorily acquire private land to re-sell to developers at a profit - or, if they choose, at a reduced price so the developers make even more money State can sell your home
• · When stainless steel corrodes - which it shouldn't but does - the result is especially catastrophic because the corruption works unseen, crumbling the core material while leaving its glorious surface unblemished. Nothing is visible, until that fateful instant when the bolt, cleat or cable gives way with a sudden hollow shudder. And calamity abounds. There are various theories on this chemical perfidy. Most involve pitting, from microscopic manganese inclusions that disturb the electrochemistry within, voluntarily rearranging the electrons without approval from head office, much as happens in political parties. Highly polished Carr a rust bucket in disguise; NSW Labor to reform political donations
• · · THE Opposition has accused the Government of contempt of Parliament by failing to disclose four documents containing criticisms of a deal to allow development on land that Planning Department staff had rejected as highly unsuitable. O'Farrell outraged at papers' absence; NSW Opposition leader Barry O'Farrell has marked his first anniversary in the job with a stinging attack on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), accusing it of ducking tough State Government corruption claims. In an extraordinary outburst, Mr O'Farrell said the ICAC was a far cry from the fearless watchdog it was under previous commissioners Ian Temby and Barry O'Keefe. O'Farrell attacks watchdog
• · · · Duncan Hardie YOU only have to look at Duncan Hardie's sprawling faux Spanish villa in the Hunter's wine district to know this is a man who thinks big. Sweetwater Ridge is the realisation of the ultimate dream home for the chairman and founder of Hardie Holdings. Sweetwater was also the name the 57-year-old New Zealand-born speculator gave to another unlikely dream, a new city of 28,000 homes for 59,000 people, with a university and commercial centre thrown in. Paving paradise to save it; The Hardie Holdings subsidiary Eco Trades exhausted its bank of high-conservation land in 2006 when it agreed to hand over 7400 hectares of land to the state's national parks system. Developer moves on to Mid North Coast
• · · · · Hardie Holdings; Land-clearing blots no barrier to biobank plan - Environment ...
• · · · · · THE State Government dismissed advice from its own planners and allowed developers to clear valuable bushland to build housing estates away from existing towns and transport, after months of aggressive lobbying by developers. Secret files expose the sway of developers ; A FEDERAL Government move to expose the lobbying industry to greater public scrutiny has generated a backlash, with lobbying firms seeking changes. ; COMMUNICATING WITH GOVERNMENT - A BUSINESS - Bruce Hawker. Managing Director. Hawker Britton Pty Ltd. On TUESDAY, May 13, 2008 George Orwell and the STATE GOVERNMENT FAMILIARISATION PROGRAMME ; ONE of the problems for long-term governments is that the past inevitably catches up with them. Hawker pops up in the spin doctors segment on Sally's show about once a month - If you’re in government – any sort of government – there are two things you could be doing: selling your programs or defending them. All of these are possible sources of juicy stories which can stop promising careers in their tracks.

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1,007 delegates gathered at Parliament House in Canberra this weekend for the Australia 2020 Summit How good would it be if we were our imagined selves and not our real selves? Australia's 2020 Summit

View from the floor: Vision for the future Republic, treaty and tax reform top the list
RADICAL tax reform, a push for a republic by 2010, a new bill of rights and a treaty between black and white Australia were among a swag of ideas flung onto the national agenda at Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's historic 2020 Summit yesterday.

Nation building recommendations floated by the 1000 delegates who gathered at Parliament House in Canberra included:
A move towards a republic within two years, as flagged by Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus. Delegates in the governance group originally agreed to a 12-year target but, when Mr Debus challenged them to commit to a shorter time frame, he was cheered and clapped. "I want us to say that we will proceed to a republic by 2010," Mr Debus said. Summiteers in the stream voted three to one to endorse the ambitious target.
Higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol and a "fat tax" on junk food, to help fund more preventative health programs.

• Strengthening Communities; [Fewer homes were built in NSW last year than any year since records began in the mid 1980s, figures from the Bureau of Statistics show Buyers scarce despite house shortages; Kevin Rudd's world tour might be over, but his fingerprints were everywhere this week Talking about a Kevolution ]
• · If Rudd takes just one of these observations to heart, this book will have been worthwhile Dear Mr Rudd;Olympic torch sizzles in Australia: Kevin Rudd has little option other than to go to the Olympics in Beijing or risk offending China. Protests will make China reluctant to lose face
• · A SYDNEY businessman is taking legal action after he was allegedly knocked unconscious three times by police and transit officers at Town Hall station. Mark Girvan - Brother of British lord sues over Sydney station assault; Google defies sceptics with 30% profit rise - Public trains The thrill of risking explicit exposure makes the naughty business wickedly arousing
• · · The State Government's promised power privatisation is hotting up with a Labor Party branch pushing to have Premier Morris Iemma and Treasurer Michael Costa kicked out of the party Move to sack Iemma, Costa on power sale; John Pilger gathers journalism's revelations that have shaken the world While everyday reportage tells us the who, what, when and where of events, it usually fails to chart the deeper, less accessible level that lies below - the how and why