The Australian

The Australian

Glory be to Gaia, I’m dreaming of a green Christmas

20/12/2010
Christmas is when two great religions collide: Christianity and environmentalism. It’s God v Gaia, Christmas trees v tree huggers, and peace on earth v Greenpeace. Christians do not see nature as an end in itself. As Genesis puts it: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

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The Australian

German polemic has resonance for West

04/12/2010
When a German language book causes a global stir, it must be of relevance beyond the narrow national confines. This explains the scores of articles dedicated to Deutschland schafft sich ab (Germany abolishes itself). Written by former politician and central banker Thilo Sarrazin, it covers topics such as the effects of the welfare state on the country’s underclass, demographic change and the ageing society, the failure of public education, and the problems of integrating Muslim migrants.

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The Australian

Population bomb still a fizzer 40 years on

08/11/2010
Worshipping their new goddess nature, the environmentalists have forgotten something. We human beings may not all be cute and cuddly, but we deserve at least as much love and attention as our distant relatives in the animal kingdom.

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The Australian

Trivial Twitter

29/10/2010
Now that Twitter has more than twice as many employees than the number of characters it allows per message, perhaps it’s time to reflect on this latest internet phenomenon.

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The Australian

Germany proves clumsy with foreign matter

21/10/2010
Germans are also learning the hard way that some groups are more willing to integrate into Western society than others. The debate is now about Islam for a reason. No integration issues are reported with respect to Danes, Poles or Vietnamese, all of whom live in Germany in great numbers.

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The Australian

Scrap ‘Cash for Clunkers’ scheme, not older cars

30/07/2010
Australia should study the German “environment premium” example closely in the debate over the Prime Minister’s “cash for clunkers” proposal. It was one of the most bizarre and wasteful programs ever to be implemented by any government. Instead of scrapping hundreds of thousands of perfectly functional cars for imaginary benefits, the Prime Minister would be better advised to scrap her lunatic proposal.

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The Australian

Get a kick out of these soccer figures

05/06/2010
THE global financial crisis has shaken the belief that economics can tell us anything worthwhile about human nature. Given this sad image of economics, it is refreshing to see that there are still economists out there who have something worthwhile to say. Even if it is only about soccer.

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The Australian

Cap and trade our way out of red-tape pollution

19/05/2010
WHAT do carbon emissions and red tape have in common? They are both unwanted by-products. Carbon emissions result from the use of energy, whereas red tape is caused by regulation. Since both of them are a kind of pollution, there is no reason we should treat them differently.

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