Kev - Lives - Here

The ASEAN way 01-03-2009 04:43

ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, is about to get an anthem and cartoon characters:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/asean-unveils-official-anthem-and-cartoon-characters-20090228-8kyo.html

Yep, every institution worth its salt is "Olympifying" - ASEAN's cartoon characters appear here:

http://www.14thaseansummit.org/thailand_activities_08.php#

Good luck to "Blue" and co...

Recession woes in graphic form 19-02-2009 02:27

Peter Martin's blog has extracts of graphs that are interesting regarding what we in Australia will be facing in 2009:

http://petermartin.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-are-we-facing-rba-graphs-tell.html

All indicates that in the future, amongst other things, there will be falling demand for goods from our export partners, and goes some way to explaining why the government is trying to spend to keep domestic demand up?

NSW Drug Court 13-02-2009 05:28

"... Effectiveness has become this court's hallmark. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, the Drug Court is an initiative of the Labor state government that has been indubitably successful.

According to a four-year study by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research published last year, graduates from the Drug Court are 58 per cent less likely to commit another drug offence than those who did not enter the program. The bureau's director, Dr Don Weatherburn, called these "very substantial findings", and almost unmatched in the country in cutting recidivism..."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/02/06/1233423496705.html

China is changing! 08-02-2009 03:13

"Show your patriotism through spending":
http://www.danwei.org/financial_crisis/patriotic_spending_outlook.php

"Kenya: MPs Pay Reaches Sh1.4 Million Monthly" 31-01-2009 02:57

Andrew Teyie:

"Nairobi — PARLIAMENTARY remuneration appears to be far greater than presently thought.

Members of Parliament each receive total monthly salary, allowances and benefits of Sh 1,435,846. This is an average figure. Some MPs may get more, some may get less. Considering it is mostly tax free, this equates to monthly remuneration in excess of Sh 2,000,000.

The new amount is almost double the popularly accepted figure of Sh 850,000 for the monthly benefits of each MP."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200901220400.html

KES 2 000 000 = AUD39357 at today's exchange rate

Australia Day wranglings 28-01-2009 06:09

A very well written op-ed:

http://nit.com.au/blog/?p=247

William Easterly's new blog 28-01-2009 05:48

One of my favourite authors, William Easterly, has a new blog:

http://blogs.nyu.edu/fas/dri/aidwatch/

Rudd's War on the Middle Class?? 22-01-2009 03:13

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/rudd-the-worst-thing-to-happen-to-working-families/2009/01/20/1232213642972.html

Whaaaat? I think a deliberately provocative opinion piece. However I thought that wage restraint = keeping your job, and it applies to everyone (not just the middle class). That's an iron of economics that can't really be argued against. Also, if the economy is going to tank next year, inflation will be down, surely that's another case for wage restraint?

Boom years = ask for more, bust years = ask for less.

Also:

"It is also why developing countries are entitled to refuse to adopt greenhouse targets. Global warning has been caused solely by Western nations, whose use of cheap energy increased their prosperity, while at the same time refusing to share the largesse with the largely hungry Third World. People in developing nations are no less entitled to improve their lot.

Why should hungry people in the Third World care if their use of fossil fuel risks making future people less prosperous? Current destitution bites more harshly than potential future discomfort."

What????? For better or for worse, we're all in it together when it comes to global warming (whether AGW or not). Fossil fuel use anywhere is causing global warming (probably - enough evidence to act on anyways) - whether rich or poor, all countries have to reduce carbon emissions. Beggar thy neighbour policies in this area will lead to everyone being worse off, rich or poor.

Anyway, if we want development in the "Third World", surely it should be green, sustainable development. Like it or not, the world is going green; fossil fuels will be so yesterday in 20-30 years; surely the "Third World" should avoid the pollutive method to development that the "First World" has followed, from a moral point of view.

The point about raising the tax-free threshold to poverty line levels is a good one but.

Happy Obama Day! 21-01-2009 04:00

New President of the US sworn in this morning.

"UN votes for Gaza truce: US abstains" 09-01-2009 07:45

From the smh:

"UN votes for Gaza truce: US abstains

Israel has carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old war in the Palestinian territory.

As the death toll from Operation Cast Lead neared 800, 14 of the 15-member Security Council voted for a resolution calling for an "immediate, durable'' ceasefire leading to the "full withdrawal'' of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The surprise absention was Israel's main ally, the United States, although the US refrained from wielding its veto to block a resolution that had been agreed upon after lengthy negotiations between Arab and Western foreign ministers..."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/gaza-truce-vote-us-abstains/2009/01/09/1231004264020.html

Surprise abstention? The US abstaining is a master-stroke that allows this resolution to go through. Israel will now have to wear the diplomatic odium if it continues to deny humanitarian aid &etc. Hopefully Hamas will also stop firing damn rockets into Israel! While imho I think Israel has the right to defend itself, and quite rightly needed to do something to stop rocket attacks into its own territory, its "shock and awe" style response has been shown to be, well, very "unproportional"...