The Concatenate

AFP, via Yahoo, has a story on the carnage in regional stock markets after the Shanghai Stock Exchange suffered bad reverses yesterday.

So far the losses are pretty much what most of the smart money was already anticipating. Shanghai had large numbers of investors who were unaware markets could go down and here in Australia we were well due for a correction.

China will, however, bear careful watching. If the bad loans overwhelm the banking system we won’t just be looking at a commodities boom coming to an end. Chances are there’ll be a civil war of globe shattering proportions.

The ABC reports that the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) is planning new guidelines to ban the practice of rental auctions.

The fear now will be that less transparent practices will take place.

Vitamins are bad for you

The SMH has numbers linking vitamin supplements to early deaths. This message brought to you by Big Pharma.

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Booming Melbourne

The Age is thrilled that new figure show Melbourne’s population is booming like never before since the 60s.

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History repeating as farce

The Australian has word from the Labor bunker that they’re going to try and out-macho the Government on border security and particularly the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” from Sri Lanka.

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Welcome again the the Question Time fashion wrap. Email readers will need to click the story link to be able to see the wrap’s pictures. All photos are courtesy of the ABC Question Time broadcasts.

I thought David Hawker looked quite good. It was still a pity about his suit and robes, but that tie worked magnificently with the high cut, navy suit.

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Tony Abbott has announced that he’s slipping a $70 million wad to his buddies in suburban pharmacies.

“The Commonwealth Government will provide almost $70 million direct to community pharmacies as part of its commitment to quality assurance in community pharmacy. From April 2007, up to $5,000 a year will be provided to accredited community pharmacies improve their service to patients.

The service that’s so good it can’t be jeopardised by allowing competition in the sector now needs millions to be improved? Surely not??

Bruce Billson has announced that quiet but determined lobbying by the defence lobby has paid off with a new review to be conducted into Defence superannuation arrangements.

A particular bone of contention has been the delay in tax concessions for Defence folk who are forced to retire due to disabilities incurred as a result of their service.

“The review will be led by Mr Andrew Podger AO, a former Public Service Commissioner with strategic Defence experience. He will be assisted by Dr David Knox, a recognised superannuation expert and former APRA Board member, and Air Commodore Lee Roberts CSC who will provide advice about ADF personnel and bring a military perspective to the review team.”

The Register informs us that the film maker James Cameron (Aliens, Titanic, some Terminator flicks) is claiming in a new documentary to have found the grave of Jesus, and (for the Dan Brown fans) his son.

Apparently DNA analysis confirms the finding, which does make one wonder where they got the DNA to compare it to.

Liberal woes

The SMH has numbers showing the NSW Liberals are going so badly they could actually lose seats come election day. The Australian thinks it’s all over.

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Bottled water

The Age is worried that it’s bottled water fetish plagued readers could be damaging their children’s teeth with a lack of flouride.

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Happy feet

The Australian is thrilled that Aussie George Miller won the Oscar for best animated feature yesterday. The Terror has the winner’s list

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After listening to this album a few times, trying to get a sense of where it comes from and what it’s trying to say, but knowing nothing about the group and paying scant attention to anything but the sounds, I’m not surprised to discover that the title of the album is A Weekend in the City. This album clearly does not come from a place where there are trees or sunshine. But instead comes from a place where there is lots of beer, concrete, cocaine, and 25 year-old male angst and energy.

A Weekend in the City has a ceaseless hyper-busy mix of driving, relentless semi-electro drum beats, keys, riffs, pretty-boy hair cuts, terrible geezer accents, almost-offensive self-confidence, and other “Nu Skool Brit guitar band” qualities and characteristics. The band’s website uses the words an “unashamed celebration of the liberation of hedonism”. Personally, I’d describe it more as immature “everythingness”. In fact, I feel like the producer, Jacknife Lee (of U2 and Snow Patrol fame) should’ve known better, and should have pulled the reins in a bit every now and then to give the album more depth and less franticness. But then again, maybe it’s just a sign that I’m not a 25 year old lad, and what I find a rather exhausting listen is what others find exhilarating.

I think that the most disappointing thing about this album is that it lacks slightly in stand-out tracks that have strong hooks or draw the listener in. Or, perhaps, maybe the problem is actually that there are too many tracks that all try so hard, are all so full-on, so in-your-face and so hook-heavy that the listener gets over it real quick.

This album is quantity. Not quality.

2 stars.

Maxine for Bennelong

The SMH is delighted that the former ABC broadcaster and lunching luvvie, Maxine McKew, is going to run as the ALP’s candidate in the Prime Minister’s own seat of Bennelong. It would be ironic if John Howard were to suffer the fate of Stanley Bruce and lose his own seat. As PM from 1923-1929 Bruce was one of Australia’s most highly regarded Prime Ministers on the world stage and tried to radically reform the industrial relations system. The Australian is also intrigued.

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Disadvantage

The Age has a heads up on a report to be released today by the Catholic Church highlighting the most disadvantaged areas in Australia and noting that disadvantage converges along many metrics.

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Liftoff!

The Australian carries claims by Iran that they’ve pushed a rocket into space (but notably not into orbit). A sub-orbital flight should be just about right for dropping surprises on Tel Aviv. The Oz goes on to report that the British have heard rumblings within the Pentagon that many generals would resign before taking part in an attack on Iran.

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The ABC reports that John Howard’s water plan has gained the approval of all the involved jurisdictions bar Victoria.

On an issue no doubt focus grouped within an inch of its life the other Premiers have decided they have more to gain by going along than kicking up. Steve Bracks of course is thrilled for any issue to distract attention from his dirty secret deals with the police union.

The Democrats Andrew Bartlett is sounding the alarm over Peter Costello’s plans to make it illegal to organise consumer boycotts of products one takes issue with.

“Why should people who are concerned about what’s involved in a product’s production whether it’s animal welfare, labour standards or pollution not be allowed to urge others who share their concerns not to buy that product? The government wants to stifle the right of consumers to be told about issues and to be able to protest with your wallet.”

Costello’s authoritarian streak seems to get bigger with every passing day.

Appropriate behaviour

The SMH has the bizarre news that the NSW Liberals have sacked their candidate for the seat of Wyong for nothing more than sending a poor joke via text message around Christmas Time. There shan’t be any Liberals left if they apply this sort of standard. One wonders if the real reason isn’t something else entirely.

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Costigan on Bracks

The Age reports that the legendary corruption fighter, Frank Costigan, has warned of the “peril of the community” arising from Steve Bracks making secret deals to protect corrupt police at taxpayers expense.

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Brian Burke

The Australian is gob smacked that a fourth WA Cabinet Minister has been implicated in the ever expanding Brian Burke scandal. The West Australian notes that Premier Carpenter is flying home early to try and hose down the fire storm. The West also reports that Anthony Fels of the Liberal shadow cabinet has been taken to the back of the woodshed and has not returned for his part in the spider’s web.

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The ABC, via Yahoo, has a fascinating revelation that the drug which killed Annabel Catt over the weekend was not in fact ecstasy but the rare and little known PMA (paramethoxyamphetamine).

While presented as a further risk of illicit drug taking, here at The Concatenate we wonder if an end to drug prohibition would not have prevented this death also. If Annabel had been able to get a pure and regulated dosage of the drug she was after she’d probably be alive today.