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Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • Refuting self-interested garbage in the SMH by Ben Raue

    [New post] Refuting self-interested garbage in the SMH

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    10:44 AM (13 minutes ago)
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    New post on The Tally Room

    Refuting self-interested garbage in the SMH

    by Ben Raue

    In yesterday’s Herald, Heath Aston ran an ‘exclusive’ publishing supposed modelling from a couple of so-called “veteran players in minor party preference negotiations” claiming that Senate GVT reform would deliver the Coalition a majority in the Senate.

    There’s a lot of massive problems with this prediction, and I’ll try to lay them out.

    At the end I will apply some of the same logic, but using real polling data and come up with my own less sensationalised conclusion, which suggests a Coalition win would lead to Xenophon balance of power, but if Labor recovered to a winnable position then the Greens would likely win the balance of power.

    Read more of this post

    Ben Raue | February 17, 2016 at 9:44 am | Tags: Australia 2016, Senate reform | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppI95-74k
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  • No Medicare privatisation

    No Medicare privatisation

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    Doug Cameron Unsubscribe
    12:06 PM (11 minutes ago)
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    Neville, Last week, news broke that Mr Turnbull and the Coalition are considering privatising Medicare, aged care and veterans’ payments.1 This means the payments system would be run by a private multinational corporation and there would be no gua… |
    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
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    Neville,

    Last week, news broke that Mr Turnbull and the Coalition are considering privatising Medicare, aged care and veterans’ payments.1

    This means the payments system would be run by a private multinational corporation and there would be no guarantees that our patient records would be kept in Australia.

    It’s not just these cuts either. They’re making huge cuts to pathology and diagnostic testing that would mean huge upfront costs for patients. It just seems that attacking Medicare is in the Liberals’ and the Nationals’ DNA.

    But Medicare isn’t the Liberals’ to sell – it’s for the benefit of you, your family and for all Australians. Together we helped stop the GP Tax, and now we need to stand up again to protect our Medicare.

    We’ve got a chance to do just that. A new minister has just taken the job as Minister for Human Services — Alan Tudge. As a new minister, we should let him know what Australians think about this plan from the get go.

    Let’s make it clear to him that he should rule out privatising Medicare as his first act. Can you call the incoming minister and tell him that he should rule out privatising Medicare today? Click here to get the number and some talking points.

    findoutmore.png

    Thousands of you stood up last week and we got our Facebook graphic in front of over half a million people! Now we have another opportunity to be even more effective in getting our message across. We need to make sure there is no doubt in this new minister’s mind that Australians don’t want this plan.

    We’ll give you some talking points to help you on the call, but ultimately we have one message — don’t privatise our Medicare. Click here to make your quick call and tell Alan Tudge today.

    I know you and I will never give up defending our universal health care system — and we can make sure this new minister understands that.

    Thanks for your support,

    Senator Doug Cameron
    Shadow Minister for Human Services

  • January 2016 Global Temperature Update

    January 2016 Global Temperature Update

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    Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions via mail18.wdc01.mcdlv.net 
    8:47 AM (37 minutes ago)
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    January 2016 Global Temperature Update

    Global temperature continued to rise in January.  The global mean was not only the warmest January in the period of instrumental data, the anomaly was the largest of any month in the record.

    Parts of the Arctic region, including Alaska, were of order 10 degrees Celsius above normal for the monthly average.

    The contribution of El Nino to the extreme warmth is expected to fade by mid-year.

    Please click here to view updated global temperature figures.
    Copyright © 2016 Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, All rights reserved.
    You are receiving this email because you signed up for Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions’ monthly Global Temperature Update.

    Our mailing address is:

    Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions

    The Earth Institute/The Interchurch Building
    475 Riverside Drive, Room 239T

    New York, NY 10115

  • Negative gearing reform

    Neville

    Negative gearing reform

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    Bill Shorten Unsubscribe
    1:24 PM (40 minutes ago)
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    Neville, A strong and sustainable budget is necessary so we can fund our priorities of health and education and underwrite our nation’s future. Our Budget will not be sustainable or strong until our tax system is fairer and more efficient.  Right… |
    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
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    Neville,

    A strong and sustainable budget is necessary so we can fund our priorities of health and education and underwrite our nation’s future.

    Our Budget will not be sustainable or strong until our tax system is fairer and more efficient.

    Right now, parts of our tax system are acting as a drag on growth with negative gearing and capital gains tax subsidies costing taxpayers over $10 billion every year.

    That’s why I announced this morning that Labor will reform negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount to ensure that our tax system is fair, sustainable and targets jobs and growth.

    Under a Shorten Labor Government, negative gearing will only be available from 1 July 2017 for newly constructed homes. All current investments — and any made before this date — will not be affected by this change and will be fully grandfathered.

    This plan will help level the playing field for first-home buyers, whilst ensuring investors currently accessing negative gearing will be no worse off.  It will put the great Australian dream back within reach of working and middle class Australians, who have been priced out of the market for too long.

    Can you share this graphic about Labor’s plan to pay for health and education by tackling tax subsidies?

    Negative-gearing-2.png

    And to improve the efficiency and fairness of our tax system, the capital gains tax discount will be reduced from 50 per cent to 25 per cent. 70 per cent of these tax subsidies are being used by the top 10 per cent of income earners. These subsidies are not working as they should and in many cases, the system is being gamed by those who can afford to minimise their tax.

    Together, these decisions will save $32.1 billion dollars. It will also put fairness back into the housing market. It will encourage the building of thousands of new homes every year and increasing housing supply. It will help lower costs for renters.

    There’s no doubt that vested interests who have become accustomed to these tax subsidies will campaign hard against our plans. I need you to help take up the fight to so we can make the system fairer.

    I’m proud that today’s announcement means Labor doesn’t just have plans to improve education and health — we have plans to pay for them.

    Thanks for standing with me on this,

    Bill

    PS You can read more about our plan to limit negative gearing to new homes and putting fairness into the market right here.

    Australian Labor Party
    Authorised by G. Wright, Australian Labor, 5/9 Sydney Avenue, Barton 2600 ACT

  • the John James newsletter 104

    The John James Newsletter 104

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    John James
    6:23 AM (1 hour ago)
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    The John James Newsletter 104
    13 February 2016
    You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out
    Warren Buffett
    if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu
    Jim Hightower
    If There Is a Recession in 2016, This Is How It Will Happen
    What we’re dealing with isn’t just a run-of-the-mill economic slowdown in emerging markets, but the reversal of a 15-year cycle in which capital has flowed into emerging markets while debt grew. Now that’s reversing.
    The Scariest Trade Deal Nobody’s Talking About
    TiSA would restrict how governments can manage their public laws through an effective regulatory cap. It could also dismantle and privatize state-owned enterprises, and turn those services over to the private sector.
    The IMF Changes its Rules to Isolate China and Russia
    Russia and China are simply doing what the US has long done: using trade and credit linkages to cement their diplomacy. This tectonic geopolitical shift is a Copernican threat to New Cold War ideology:the main motive for changing the rules was the threat that China would provide an alternative to IMF lending and its demands for crushing austerity.
    Synthetic Forests of GE Trees
    184 million acres of native forests around the world will be bulldozed and replaced with plantations of genetically engineered trees.
    Iraq Was Invaded to Secure Israel
    “Let’s realize we are in real trouble. Saudi Arabia is in trouble. Israel is in trouble. The United States is in trouble. I am going to state what I believe to be the fact. Nobody is willing to stand up and say what is going on.”
    Russia Warns Gulf Intervention in Syria Risks World War
    Moscow warned that any move by Gulf nations to send in troops to support the rebels in Syria would risk a “new world war.” The goal is to totally liberate Aleppo and then to seal the northern border with Turkey, to stop the offensive would be tantamount to defeat.
    Are We on the Eve of War?
    The reaction of Saudi Arabia to the Russian intervention in Syria has always been the wild card. Turkey and Israel, along with Saudi Arabia have the most to lose from the strong alliance between Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia.
    Saudi Arabia Makes “Final” Decision To Send Troops To Syria 
    Direct interventions are tricky. Russia has never denied it intends to bolster Syrian government forces against the rebels, all of whom Moscow deems “terrorists.”
    “What Do You Want Me To Do, Go To War With The Russians?!”
    The US has completely abandoned the idea that Assad should step down.
    Risking World War III in Syria
    After the Syrian army cut off Turkish supply lines, the US appear poised to invade Syria and force “regime change” even at the risk of fighting Russia, a gamble with nuclear war.
    In rare admission, Pakistan recognises growing presence of Islamic State
    There are reports of fighters being recruited by sectarian and other outfits, and being sent to Syria. The number of people leaving from Pakistan to Syria to join IS are in hundreds
    Gravitational waves discovered: top scientists respond 
    When black holes meet: inside the cataclysms that cause gravitational waves 
    Gravitational waves: breakthrough discovery after two centuries of expectation 
    Here is the video
    Iran Dumps Petrodollar, Wants Euros for All Oil Sales
    Yet another act of defiance against dollar dominance. This week Russia became China’s biggest oil partner, thanks in part to Moscow accepting payment in yuan. And last month, Iran and India announced that they intend to settle all outstanding crude oil payments in rupees, as part of a joint strategy to dump the dollar and trade instead in national currencies.
    Major Wildfire Outbreak in Central and Western Africa as Drought, Hunger Grow More Widespread
    Wildfires are plainly visible in the NASA/MODIS satellite shot — covering about a 1,400 mile swath stretching from the Ivory Coast, through Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon and on across the Central African Republic, the Congo, and Gabon.
     
    40,000 starving to death as Sudan teeters on famine
    The figures released in a UN report describe some of the worst conditions yet in more than two years of a civil war marked by atrocities and accusations of war crimes, including the blockading of food supplies.
    Global warming linked to spread of zika virus 
    The Zika virus, transmitted by the same mosquito as dengue fever, has spread with alarming speed throughout South and Central America – and scientists in Brazil suspect that global warming is exacerbating the problem.
    Uganda Discovered the Zika Virus. And the Solution for It.
    Uganda’s success in containing outbreaks is no accident. It is the product of a long history of cutting-edge infectious disease research, dating back to the founding of UVRI to stem the spread of yellow fever in East Africa.
    Support For Poroshenko Regime Collapses In Ukraine
    The evaporation of popular support for the entire political system takes place amid the collapse of Ukraine’s economy.
    Wind overtakes hydro in EU power mix
    The wind industry has surpassed the hydro industry as the third largest player in the European electriticy grid in terms of capacity, and is fast closing the gap on the coal and gas sectors that continue to dominate the continent’s power mix.
    Consequences of twenty-first-century policy for multi-millennial climate and sea-level change
    Policy decisions made in the next few years will have profound impacts on global climate, ecosystems and human societies for the next ten millennia and beyond.
    Next Onslaught In Gaza: Why The Status Quo Is A Precursor For War 
    Israel’s strategic, political and military tactics, as it stands today, will not allow Gaza to live with a minimal degree of dignity. On the other hand, the history of Gaza’s resistance makes it impossible to imagine a scenario in which the Strip raises a white flag and awaits its allotted punishment.
    European Sovereign Risk Soars As Bank Contagion Spreads
    The ECB’s “whatever it takes” ponzi strategy of keeping the dream alive in Europe’s financial system has finally been caught as rapid collapse in the banking system is contagiously spreading to peripheral sovereigns once again. Portugal risk spreads are up 120bps in the last 3 weeks and Spain and Italy are soaring over 35 and 50bps respectively as the almost self-dealing nature of banks buying “risk-free” EU bonds and repoing for cash via The ECB comes home to roost.
    Tasmania’s Burning Peatlands Could Take Some Of Us With Them 
    On Friday there were still over 70 fires – 30 of them uncontrolled – still burning across Tasmania. Smoke has reached as far as Melbourne, and it’s likely around half of Tasmania has been exposed to the damaging haze.
    Coal reality: Global energy transition occurring faster than expected
    What does it say that Indian coal imports fell 28.6 percent year over year in January 2016 and U.S. coal production was down a record 32.4 percent?
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  • Senate voting reform looks set to go ahead by Ben Raue

    [New post] Senate voting reform looks set to go ahead

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    12:35 PM (54 minutes ago)
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    New post on The Tally Room

    Senate voting reform looks set to go ahead

    by Ben Raue

    According to a report in this morning’s Guardian, the Coalition, the Greens and Nick Xenophon appear close to an agreement on Senate voting reform. There’s also an accompanying media release from Lee Rhiannon.

    The proposed plan, put to the government by the Greens, would abolish group voting tickets (the mechanism whereby preferences flow according to pre-lodged party preference decisions when voters vote ‘1’ above the line for a party), and would allow voters to number their own preferences for parties above the line or for candidates below the line.

    This proposal is very similar to that proposed unanimously by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM), with a few exceptions:

    • Voters would be expected to number at least six boxes above the line or twelve boxes below the line. As I understand it, there would be a savings provision so votes that don’t number enough boxes would still count.
    • The Greens don’t propose any changes to party registration rules, whereas JSCEM had proposed raising the threshold for party registration from 500 members to 1500 members.

    While the article is written as if agreement has been reached, it’s unclear whether the Coalition has agreed to the Greens’ demand that party registration be taken out of the package. It’s also unclear where Labor stands on the proposal – while some senior Labor senators are opposed, there are others in the party who support Senate reform.

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    Ben Raue | February 12, 2016 at 11:35 am | Tags: Australia 2016, Electoral reform, Senate reform | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppI95-730
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