The recent kerfuffle between the parties over who has the best strategy for cutting petrol prices - the Liberals pushing for “at least” 5 cents a litre cut in the excise, and the government considering lifting the double-tax of the GST on the excise - effectively cutting 3.8c - is astonishing in its short-sightedness. The Liberals above all are aiming for populism, to say to the people that hey, we’re doing something real about petrol prices. The government appears to be aiming for a pragmatic populism - to say we’re doing something, but we’re not as reckless as the opposition, and we’re doing a “sensible” tax cut. Both appear to fail to acknowledge that the price fluctations could wipe out their cuts in less than a day. ...

And the survey says… my last post isn’t far off wider sentiment: okaaaaaay, now I really need someone to restore my sense of hope and the possibility of getting out of this rut we’ve landed in. (via)

Climate change. Global food shortage. Global oil shortage. Global Overfishing. Deforestation. Desertification. Ice caps melting. Credit Crunch. Corporate short-sightedness. Inflation. Labour shortage. US Recession. China overheating. Growing inequality. The war in Iraq. The war in Afghanistan. The never-ending Israel-Palestine-Lebanon conflict. The “War on Terror”. Rising nationalism. Rights abuses. Increasing surveilance. Decreasing freedoms. Continuing racial inequality. Continuing sexual inequality. Increasing sexual exploitation. AIDS. STDs. SARS. Bird Flu. Cancer. Hyperbole. Do tell, why is the above wrong? Anything else to add to the above list? ...

It’s not exactly a light topic, but here’s a thought on democracy. I’m sure most people understand the rudiments of democracy - rule of the majority is essentially what it boils down to, or so that’s the theory. Which is the point I was pondering the other day, really - if you take the English model, the numbers look a bit off to me. To win government, a party must have 51% of the members in the parliament. To win a seat, a candidate must win 51% of the local vote. Nothing here however says that the overall popular vote must be won, though. ...

An excerpt from Devil May Care, the new James Bond novel - such a pity this is just about the best chapter, with the rest being a ham-fisted unreadable monstrosity.