And it happened at least 3000 years ago, most certainly was natural, and there wasn’t a damn thing they could have done to stop it.
The Indus or Harappan Civilization was one of the greatest societies in the ancient world. Contemporary with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, its population is thought to have made up 10% of the world at one point. Yet, between 3900 and 3000 years ago, the cities crumbled and the people disappeared. What went wrong, and what can we learn from its demise?
Basically the monsoons were too heavy, then as they declined they became just right, and then they declined too much.
In the latest Morgan Poll L-NP support is 61.5% (up 3.5% since last week’s face-to-face Morgan Poll) compared to the ALP’s 38.5% (down 3.5%) on a two-party preferred basis according to a face-to-face Morgan Poll conducted last weekend, May 26/27, 2012. This is a record two-party preferred lead for the L-NP in over 70 years of the Morgan Poll based on how electors said they’d vote.
Today’s face-to-face Morgan Poll shows the L-NP primary vote is 49% (up 3.5%) well ahead of the ALP 27.5% (down 4.5%). Support for the minor parties shows the Greens 13% (up 2.5%) and Independents/ Others 10.5% (down 1.5%).
Newspoll gives slightly better results but it’s still dire.
That said, Opposition leader Tony Abbott has cautioned his team not to rest on their laurels.
“Gillard won’t lie down and die. Where there’s life, there’s fight,” Mr Abbott said.
“Our job won’t be over until the next election is won.”
Good riffs. Dude is limited to technology… a violin an what not. The same music energised the masses (back before capitalism was even invented and the rest of us even had a chance).
Because it’s not like people in Australia already have to deal with a whole host of ridiculous taxes set way too high by governments that couldn’t buy an ice cream without somehow burning through 100 bucks.
Fast food giants are facing substantial local government rate increases in a bid to tackle the nation’s obesity epidemic.
Dieticians are backing the call by a Melbourne council – to slug McDonalds and KFC outlets up to 400 percent more on their rates.
Pardon my French, but just fuck off already. That goes for those dickheads in the UK and Denmark, too.
Hands up. Hands up anyone who doesn’t know that waffing too many cheeseburgers will make you fat?
Apparently, the government thinks you don’t.
It’s claimed extra money from the rate increases will be poured into health promotion programs.
I don’t give a crap if they mean well or not. What they’ve got to realise is that people are sick of the government telling them what’s best for them.
Seriously, does anyone go to McDonald’s and think it’s the same as eating a salad and jogging 10kms?
Do these government busy bodies realise we already have more than enough people telling us what to do? They’re our wives, our husbands, our parents, our friends, our co-workers, our bosses, that stupid ad on the TV, or even our kids telling us how uncool we are.
The last thing we need when we give ourselves a little treat after looking at a paycheck that’s had the guts ripped out of it, is some faceless douchebag from the government telling us they care whilst helping themselves to even more.
Councils? Just get back to mowing the parks and picking up the 15 useless garbage bins you foisted on us.
PS I wonder if this has anything to do with the ICLEI…
Motorist David Rendina, who had his two children aged 8 and 9 in the car, said police ordered him into the emergency lane about 1km before the Western Ring Road, near Epping, exit as they blocked the road using cars as human road blocks.
“I was a sitting duck,” he told ABC radio this morning.
The fleeing motorist, who is now in police custody, tried to squeeze through Mr Rendina, crashing into his car and then another three cars in the emergency lane.
You know, cops have come up with other methods to stop speeding cars rather than using innocent civilians.
Because when I hear of humans being used as shields, I think of low-life Taliban terrorists or Palestinians hiding in schools, launching rockets over the border and then blaming Israel.
So obviously, it was a stupid mistake, right?
Victoria Police has defended the decision to use motorists as “rolling roadblocks” but are reviewing the latest cop chase.
Yes. They’ve defended it. Genius!
Assistant Commissioner Fontana said if the car was not stopped a fatality was a high chance.
Especially if you force a man with his two young kids in the car to purposely get in the way of some asshole going 200km/h.
Also of note is that Ass.Comm. Fontana said if he were asked to do the same, he’d refuse.
I won’t go as far to say it was an abuse of power, but there’s no way something like this should ever happen again. I really hope it was only the cops involved, and that they’re taught better methods (no, not fired), and that – please no – using us as human shields isn’t actually in their effing manual.
Australia’s live cattle export trade was almost brought to its knees last year when the Gillard government, in a knee-jerk reaction, temporarily banned it after shocking footage was aired on the ABC.
The timing couldn’t have been worse – just as cattle were being loaded onto the boats.
The timing of the ABC 4Corners report raised a few eyebrows as well. A report they’d been sitting on since January of last year was aired in the worst possible month, June.
Further investigation revealed that whilst the footage was in no way doctored, it was not representative, either.
Naturally, once all the facts came to light, the trade was allowed to resume. But the damage had been done. A government that should have had more information at its fingertips than a graphic, yet sensationalist current affairs report, had acted.
And the cattle industry wants them to pay for their stupid, short-sighted, ill-informed mistake.
Bit of a shame really, and with our deficit climbing at around $2 billion per week, how many times will the Gillard government be able to bribe itself into some (short term?) popularity?
Labor’s targeted cash handouts to lower-income earners in the budget saw the government’s popularity jump to 30 per cent of the primary vote, up from 27 per cent last fortnight.
A bit of a shame because as adults, we should be able to see past expensive gimmicks.
What a shambles of a week. No, not for yours truly, but that pack of self preservationists “running” the circus down in Canberra. Shagger Thomson beating the three year statute on limitations so he can’t even be dealt with for using union funds to finance his election campaign. Not to mention the $600,000 legal bill his Labor mates are continuing to happily pay for the new “independent”. But will Windsor or Oakeshott – the other “independents” – do anything about it? Those two know they’re out of a job come the next election, and might find it hard obtaining another one ever again (on the pay scale they’re used to anyway*), so take the money while you can. Windsor wants his federal pension, too, but he won’t get it unless this government completes a full term. Katter’s a lost cause. What was he on about this week? Some “Australian” test? OK, Bob.** And people say drugs will f#&^ you up. What’s he on? And what does the slime bucket govt. try to pull? Some trumped up charge from before I was born, foisted on Abbott by some ALP hack student unionist, and there’s Anthony Sleazyvile trying to pee on the desert and claim it’s a flood, but all he ends up with is a wet sock.
And then along comes Wayne.
Treasurer of the Year Wayne Swan.
The bloke who had about $100 billion every year more to play with than “rivers of gold” $20 billion surplus Costello, Wayne still manages to go an average of $40 billion over budget… every single budget. Cripes, even the Wayne’s carefully calculated projected deficit of Budget Past blew out by a factor of 100%. And now The Tan with a Plan reckons he can turn that round into a surplus, yet is outed within hours of pushing some crap back into this year, other crap into the next budget.
And Labor, not content with lying to real families about the carbon tax, then decides, hey, why not lie to the business community as well (as if they don’t have families). So Wayne gives another bribe to the “real families” who apparently don’t do any business out there… I dunno, maybe like the housing commission ones with the yacht parked out on the lawn and HSV?
No, I haven’t mentioned Gillard specifically. Speak no ill of the dead and all that (for this post anyway).
Speaking of anyway, it is Friday. Not completely super pumped this time over as I watch this government, this glass-jawed government cop one on the chin, too see the shards go deep, deep in the shag, the very fabric of Australia.
Deep, deep in the shag.
Well, they say fight fire with fire. So let’s fight deep with deep… for right now at least.***
* if Windsor and Oakeshott’s next jobs were as three star Michelin chefs working in the Burj Dubai, and the dinner were free, I’d still go to McDonald’s in Albuquerque.
** what is it with people named “Robert” in Australian politics???
