The fact that Facebook won't allow the word "suicide" to be used in an event title shows how much the subject has remained taboo in this new electronic information age. While understandable that nobody wants to see folks invite others to their deaths, it certainly doesn't help those who are trying to stop more suicides from happening.

Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats.

Corporations are roaring. Wall Street is rolling in cash. C.E.O. bonuses are going gangbusters. It’s a really good time to be rich!

If you’re poor, not so much. The pall of the recession is suffocating. The unemployment rate is still unbearably high. The Census Bureau reported in September that the poverty rate for 2009 was 14.3 percent, higher than it has been since 1994, and the number of uninsured reached a record high. And the Department of Agriculture has reported record “prevalence of food insecurity.”

Can we ban the term ''un-Australian''? At the very least, I'd like to see hefty legislative controls. For example: an ''un-Australian'' licence in which people would pre-commit to how many times they intend using the phrase ''un-Australian'' in any one political argument.

As with gambling, pre-commitment is so important. We all know how common sense can depart after a few drinks. There you are, out with friends, planning to have a quiet discussion about climate change or Wayne Swan's hair and within a couple of hours you find yourselves repeatedly screaming ''that's un-Australian'' at each other while being circled by security guards.

This is why we need swift legislative action.

After a two-year bipartisan probe, a Senate panel has concluded that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. profited from the financial crisis by betting billions against the subprime mortgage market, then deceived investors and Congress about the firm's conduct.

Some of the findings in the report by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will be referred to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible criminal or civil action, said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the panel's chairman.

from Crikey .....

Is today's press coverage relating to Andrew Wilkie's behaviour as a senior Duntroon cadet in 1983, on balance, in the public interest?

Wilkie himself, in a thoughtful and forthright performance at his press conference today to respond to the claims, dismissed a direct link between this matter and the club industry's expensive, if barely literate, campaign against him. Beyond that, it is a fine judgment to make.

from Crikey .....

Sydney's sparkling elite gather to hear Julia kick the bludgers

Margot Saville writes:

Some dinosaurs did their hunting at night, new research suggests.

Studies of the eyes of existing birds and reptiles with different daily activity patterns were compared with similar parts in dinosaur fossils.

The results suggests that small, meat-eating dinosaurs were nocturnal; large, plant-eating dinosaurs tended to forage both during the day and at night.

The Science study also challenges the notion that mammals' nocturnal nature evolved to avoid day-active dinosaurs.

from Crikey .....

Barry: 'Larrikin' Wilkie and his death-defying fight against pokies

Crikey senior journalist Paul Barry writes:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13058818

Clubs Australia says it is "outraged" at suggestions it may be involved in a death threat against independent MP Andrew Wilkie.

Mr Wilkie has claimed the gaming industry is mounting a smear campaign against him because of his calls for tougher laws to target poker machines and problem gambling.

The Tasmanian independent also says there has been an attempt to blackmail him with supposed "compromising photos", and threats to trawl through his past as an Army cadet at Duntroon.

"In the past two days I've received a death threat, been threatened with the existence of compromising photos, and am having my past as a cadet at Duntroon nearly 30 years ago trawled over,'' he said.

HUNTING in 29 national parks, relaxation of gun licensing laws and shooting as a school sport: these are some of the demands the Premier is about to be confronted with by the Shooters and Fishers Party, which now shares the balance of power in the NSW upper house.

As the make-up of the Legislative Council was decided yesterday, documents obtained by the Herald reveal the extent and cost of the shopping list likely to be presented to Barry O'Farrell as he tries to negotiate his legislation through the new Parliament.

US President Barack Obama has said he enjoys golf in large part because a game is the only way he can escape outdoors for hours at a time.

He said he misses the trappings of ordinary life - weekend lie-ins, trips to the market and walks in the park.

"I just want to go through Central Park and watch folks passing by," he told Hearst newspapers. "I miss that."

Mr Obama's security bubble precludes much privacy and spontaneity. He recently announced a re-election bid.

"I miss being anonymous," he told Hearst Magazines' publishers and editors at the White House.