SynthOrange posted:

what the gently caress

quote:

Christians living with Jews = No Problem

SynthOrange posted:

Australia has attempted to derail a ban on nuclear weapons at a UN meeting on disarmament, by single-handedly forcing a vote on a report that had been expected to pass unanimously.

The report, which recommended negotiations begin in 2017 to ban nuclear weapons, was eventually passed by 68 votes to 22. An Austrian-led push for the treaty had reached a milestone on Friday, when the report was presented to representatives of 103 nations in Geneva.


Australia defends opposition to global push for nuclear weapons ban
Read more
Moves towards a ban have been pursued because many saw little progress under the existing non-proliferation treaty, which obliges the five declared nuclear states to “pursue negotiations in good faith” towards “cessation of the nuclear arms race … and nuclear disarmament”.

The proposal recommended a conference be held next year to negotiate “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

The text was carefully negotiated, and compromise was attempted on contentious paragraphs.

Anti-nuclear campaigners involved in the process expected the report would pass without objection. But Australia surprised observers by objecting and forcing a vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/21/australia-attempts-to-derail-un-plan-to-ban-nuclear-weapons

what the gently caress

Recoome posted:

ISIS: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION

Doctor Spaceman posted:

What's the bet the US asked us to tank it?

Big Willy Style posted:

What makes the Philippines the linchpin of the UN?

Big Willy Style posted:

What makes the Philippines the linchpin of the UN?

Au Revoir Shosanna posted:

fact based justification for neoliberalism

Solemn Sloth posted:

Au Revoir Shosanna posted:

For anyone interested, my search for fact based justification for neoliberalism finally turned up this pretty good but kind of old paper by Scott Summer Cyclops: http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2010/Sumnerneoliberalism.html

It's an interesting alternative argument to the echo chamber but doesn't really do much to counter that recent IMF report so \_(ツ)_/¯

That said, full agrarian communism now.

Recoome posted:

no sorry due to the availability bias all mus_lims = bad and all christians or other religions = good. I mean name 10 famous muslim people from Afghanistan who WEREN'T terrorists. Bet you can't!

quote:

Malcolm Turnbull to introduce new laws to protect CFA volunteers from fire fighters' union By political reporters Matthew Doran and Stephanie Anderson Updated 22 minutes ago

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will today outline new legislation to protect emergency services volunteers from excessive union influences, in the wake of the bitter Country Fire Authority (CFA) dispute in Victoria.

Key points:

Legislation will eliminate parts of EA that interfere with organisation's ability to manage volunteers
Volunteers will also be able to make Fair Work submissions about any agreement negotiations
Government 'optimistic' legislation could pass new Senate
Mr Turnbull made the fight between CFA volunteers and the fire fighters' union a key part of his election campaign in the state, promising to act on the matter as a priority in the new Parliament.

The new legislation will amend the Fair Work Act, and strike out any parts of enterprise agreements which interfere with an emergency services organisation's ability to manage and promote its volunteers. It will also invalidate any terms that are inconsistent with the state and territory laws that govern such organisations. Communications Minister and Victorian Liberal senator Mitch Fifield said the Government was optimistic the legislation could pass the new Senate. 'CFA works well, they should leave it alone' Senator Fifield told the ABC the proposed amendment sent a clear message to the Victorian Labor Government. "This is a really important piece of legislation, we took it to the election, to make clear that what the Andrews Government is seeking to do by giving union control over the CFA isn't something that we could allow to pass," he said. "What the Victorian Government is seeking to do is to hand control of 60,000 CFA volunteers to the United Firefighters Union (UFU). "The CFA has served and protected Victorians for over 70 years and what the Andrews Government is seeking to do is destroy the culture of the CFA, is to mess with one of the great fire fighting organisations.

"It works, it works well, they should leave it alone."

But Victorian Emergency Services Minister James Merlino accused the Federal Government of playing politics and refuted claims the deal unfairly impacted on volunteers. "The Prime Minister continues to use this as a political football, pitting firefighters against firefighters," he said. "These changes are totally unnecessary as the proposed CFA agreements specifically protects the vital role of volunteers and does not impact upon the power of the chief officer to manage emergencies.
"What Malcolm Turnbull needs to do is to explain to the people of Melbourne's growing outer suburbs and in our regional centres why he is prolonging this dispute."

'You can't take away the authority of those volunteers'

Opposition spokesman Brad Battin said he welcomed changes to the Fair Work Act, and said workplace agreements should comply with state laws. "The CFA Act states that the volunteer organisation of the CFA is a volunteer organisation first, supported by career firefighters and you can't take away the authority or power of those volunteers," he said. "We welcome Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's announcement of new legislation to ensure any EBA in Victoria complies with our state acts. The EBA that [Premier] Daniel Andrews is trying to force through removes power from the chief and this piece of legislation will ensure that can't happen." Under the new laws, volunteers will also be given the power to make submissions to the Fair Work Commission about any agreement negotiations — something they currently cannot do.

Tensions first began when talks over wage and conditions between the CFA and UFU broke down in October last year, prompting the intervention of the Fair Work Commission at the request of the Victorian Government. Among the recommendations, handed down on June 1, was the non-binding call for a minimum of seven professional firefighters be dispatched to incidents "before commencement of safe firefighting operations". The CFA board voted against the proposal — saying it had 14 areas of concern about the agreement, including that some clauses may be unlawful — but they have since been sacked and Victoria's Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett has resigned from Cabinet. In June, Mr Turnbull promised to make the CFA legislation the "first item of business" for the new government. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten told PM in June it was a state issue.

quote:

Australia's growing inequality gap reaches 'crisis' point: Wayne Swan Monday 22 August 2016 8:14AM (view full episode)

We only need to look to Brexit, the rise of Donald Trump in the US, and Pauline Hanson and other independents here in Australia to know that a lot of people are fed up with mainstream politics in the world's advanced economies. Despite rising prosperity in the developing world, many in the richer world feel they are being left behind as rising job insecurity, housing affordability and stagnant wages exacerbates the growing inequality gap. Now, a new paper from Labor Party think tank, the Inclusive Prosperity Commission, says unless inequality is tackled seriously in Australia, the nation's economic growth and social cohesion will be under threat. Wayne Swan, chair of the Inclusive Prosperity Commission, joins Fran Kelly on RN Breakfast.

quote:

New welfare recipients to get less as carbon tax compensation dropped

Scott Morrison proposes two­-tier system, with up to $14.10 a fortnight denied to incoming pension, Newstart and family payment recipients

Treasurer Scott Morrison, asked about the potential two­-tier welfare system that would be created by grandfathering carbon tax compensation payments, said, ‘when you’re transitioning, that can be the case’. People who move into the welfare system will get up to $14.10 less a fortnight as the government scraps carbon tax compensation for new recipients. The government will save $1.3bn over five years through the measure, but effectively create a two-tiered welfare system, with new recipients on a worse deal than those already on welfare. People who enter the welfare system from 20 September this year will not receive the carbon compensation introduced by the Labor government as part of the carbon tax package. <snip>

quote:

Indigenous challenge to Adani Carmichael coal mine dismissed by Federal Court By Andrew Kos Updated Fri at 5:40pm

The Federal Court has dismissed a challenge from a Queensland traditional owner to mining leases for Adani's Carmichael coal mine. A member of the Wangan and Jagalingou people was trying to put a stop to the multi-billion-dollar Galilee basin project. Senior traditional owner for the Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owners, Adrian Burragubba argued that a determination made in April 2015 by the National Native Title Tribunal, relating to the proposed granting of two mining leases, was made incorrectly. He argued the approval of mining leases would extinguish native title over parts of the group's lands. Mr Burragubba made the application for judicial review against the Queensland Government, Adani and the National Native Title Tribunal. His position was not supported by two other people that, at the time, made up the Wangan and Jagalingou group.

Mr Burragubba argued that Adani misled the tribunal about the economic benefits the mine would create and as a consequence the tribunal made the wrong decision. But Adani said it had worked closely with traditional owners and the majority supported the project. In his judgement, Justice John Reeves concluded that none of Mr Burragubba's grounds of review had merit. Justice Reeves said the tribunal did not fail to observe the rules of natural justice or constructively fail to exercise its jurisdiction.

Mr Burragubba said he would continue to fight the mine.

"While I respect the judgement of Justice Reeves, we will seek advice from our legal team on an appeal," Mr Burragubba said. "It is clear, however, that my submissions to the court and our concern to protect our life, culture and traditions and the social, cultural and economic structures of our group were dismissed and overridden. We continue to be restricted in the full expression of our laws and customs, in service to the machinery of mining development and the destruction of our country and culture." Adani said it would continue to work with the Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owners to help ensure the benefits of the mine, rail and port project were realised.

quote:

Complaints about financial institutions rose 60pc in six years, Labor says, repeating call for probe AM By political reporter Naomi Woodley Updated about 3 hours ago

The Federal Opposition says complaints about banks and financial services have increased by 60 per cent, while the big four banks have posted multi-billion dollar profits.

Key points:

More than 31,000 complaints in 2014-15
Labor using complaints data in case for a royal commission into banking
Government bill set to include $6.5b in budget cuts
Labor has released research from the Parliamentary Library to bolster its case for a royal commission, as both sides of politics prepare for the new parliament to sit next week.

Between 2008-09 and 2014-15 the number of new complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) went from 19,107 per financial year to 31,895. "This is one of the reasons why we would argue that we need to have a very systemic look at Australia's banking system and the financial services system more broadly," Shadow Financial Services Minister Katy Gallagher told AM. The Prime Minister said the Government was considering setting up a banking tribunal to help customers who could not afford court action, as suggested by several Coalition backbenchers. But Labor said the increased number of complaints to the FSO showed another tribunal would not be enough. "There is no point in just, in isolation, establishing a tribunal to deal with a few tricky backbenchers that are arguing for change, but at the same time failing to deal with some of the cultural issues that are there for all to see in the banking system more generally," Senator Gallagher said. "A royal commission would be able to deal with that." But Labor will not yet confirm if it will move a motion in Parliament next week to call for such an inquiry. "We will be looking at every measure that we can take in the Parliament and outside to argue for a royal commission because whilst we want a strong, profitable and well-led banking system, we don't want that at any cost," Senator Gallagher said.

Government to pursue budget savings

The Federal Government's priority for Parliament will include an omnibus bill, which will wrap together $6.5 billion of budget cuts. The bill is expected to include savings measures that Labor has committed to support, and the Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said it should not be controversial. "The principle is this: are they going to honour the commitment that they made in the election?" But Labor has continued to argue that it needs to see the legislation before deciding whether to offer support. "I don't think it's an unreasonable position for Labor to take that we would like to see the bill first," Senator Gallagher said. "We did go to the election outlining a number of savings measures, we do want to participate in fair budget repair, but in terms of legislation we would need to see that."

Welfare groups want rethink on payment cuts

About $1.3 billion of savings in the bill come from scrapping the clean energy supplement or carbon tax compensation for new welfare recipients. It amounts to $4.40 less per week for people going on to Newstart, or just over $7 less per week for a new recipient of the disability pension. "People with a disability are living in poverty, [and] any cut to their income support, or any lessening to their entitlement to income support, is going to have a large impact," Matthew Bowden from People with Disability Australia (PWD) told AM. PWD has joined a coalition of other welfare groups writing directly to the Prime Minister and Opposition leader, describing the cut as "unconscionable" and urging them to reconsider. "It probably doesn't sound very much to people who aren't poor, but for people who are living on, or below, the breadline, this $4 or $7 makes a massive difference to them in the week," Mr Bowden said. The Government said the savings were needed to help pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, but PWD has described that as "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

quote:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...49f6e77405cfc7c
MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars destined for vital research have been handed to arty academics for social engineering projects ranging from Tibetan philosophy to office gossip and warfare in ancient Tonga.

In a series of government grants branded “absurd and obscure” by critics yesterday, researchers at Monash ­University have been awarded $105,000 to study “a new philosophical vision of what it means to be human”, through the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Australian National University (ANU) academics got $467,997 to “investigate warfare in the ancient Tongan state through a study of earthwork fortifications’’.

“The project would benefit Australia by showing how changes to political systems are associated with phases of conflict and peace,’’ they told the ARC. Another ANU team will get $414,000 to explore “truth, realism and epistemic justification” in Tibetan ­philosophy.

A University of Sydney study to work out whether colleagues chatting in open-plan offices “creates annoyance’’ and affects productivity will cost taxpayers $405,000.

Some $340,000 will be spent for the University of Wollongong to study how ­“socially engaged art’’ can “catalyse new dialogue between farmers, scientists, environmentalists and policy makers” on the Great Barrier Reef.

Monash University has been given $333,000 to investigate “an important collaboration between a leading filmmaker, a neuroscientist and a psychologist’’ in 1920s Russia.

A study of the “post World War II evolution of the ­Australian university ­campus’’, by University of Melbourne academics, will cost taxpayers $302,627.

The impact of feminism on contemporary Australian art will be explored by University of Melbourne researchers, using a $195,000 grant.

The Turnbull government slashed ARC funding by $68 million in this year’s budget, after the ARC gave $357m in grants to 899 research ­programs for 2016.

Centre for Independent Studies economist Michael Potter said it was “absurd that taxpayer money is being spent on these kinds of obscure ­projects when other research is being cut”.

“Would it not be a better investment to fund research into cures for disease, major social problems, and ways to boost the Australian economy?’’ he asked.

Before the 2013 election, the Coalition promised an audit of “ridiculous research grants’’ awarded by the ARC.

It declared that “taxpayer dollars have been wasted on projects that do little, if anything, to advance Australians’ research needs’’.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham yesterday said humanities research made up just 7 per cent of the ARC budget.

“We will continue to look for ways to improve the value for money from research ­programs, without undermining decision making based on ­independent, expert advice.”

open24hours posted:

I can't work out the angle, are they utterly irrelevant or dangerous social engineering?

open24hours posted:

I can't work out the angle, are they utterly irrelevant or dangerous social engineering?

Jumpingmanjim posted:

“post World War II evolution of the ­Australian university ­campus’’ is like the laziest thing to research.

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

It's incredible just how comfortable people are with sounding exactly like fascists.

Cartoon posted:

Of course you can't object! You aren't nearly the right shade.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-19/indigenous-challenge-to-adani-carmichael-coal-mine-dismissed/7765466

BBJoey posted:

I wish I could get a grant to study the effect of feeding imbecile journalists to lions.

SMILLENNIALSMILLEN posted:

Is the entire obsession over 18c jist bilt wanting to make his conviction to go away?