from Crikey …..

Every kid in Australian schools know our flag. They know the seven pointed star beneath the union jack symbolic of a colonial past. But not our valiant Turdy. Apparently he never studied the flag. He never looked at it beyond seeing the union jack from his country of origin. He is a pom, flaunting the laws of Australia. 

Last year, Treasurer Joe Hockey famously declared that Australia needed to be a nation of “lifters, not leaners”.

The Coalition wants us to believe workers and the poor have it easy—and that the funds for their coveted budget surplus should be taken from our pockets. Labor leaders, for their part, largely agree.

Gary Foley has written the following on Facebook about the recognition campaign:

The problem of vested interests and their corruption of public debate must be addressed. It is urgent if we are to have democratic renewal, restore some faith in our public institutions and develop sound public policies. John Menadue reports.

ABC Shops around the country will be phased out and closed as the national broadcaster moves to an online retail model.

Up to 300 staff employed by the ABC's commercial division through ABC Retail were briefed on the decision in a national video hook-up last night.

We, atheists, have a problem on our hands... We do not have an international company nor a small shop-front from which to sell the concept of being an atheist. We don't have a church not even a cottage industry... We do not have "followers" because we don't have anything to be followed for, except our raw essential human ethics based on sound analysis of reality and a lack of god(s). 

Apart from some famous atheists who can be counted on one hand for raking in a living from it, there is no money in atheism. 

"We are under pressure from the Treasury to justify our budget, and commercial espionage is one way of making a direct contribution to the nation's balance of payments." - Sir Colin McColl, MI6 Chief