(Part 2) Best products from r/australia

>politicians and political parties are allowed to have far too much vested interests in certain sectors of the economy which is having too much influence on political process

This is where you are wrong, it's not a problem of individual corruption but group corruption, where the people go back and forth from government to private industry, all doing favors for each other in expectation that favors will be returned later, often called the revolving door.

>Game of Mates will convince you that seeking favours, be they planning approvals or the right to build casinos or toll roads, is what makes Australia go round. Certainly it makes Australia's job market go round. Local council planners move into positions with developers, state and Commonwealth government ministers take up positions with companies they used to regulate and former Treasury officials sit on the boards of private banks. The book's appendix on movements in and out of the offices of mining ministers is eye-popping.

If you are interested in this topic I would strong recommend you read the book

>https://www.amazon.com.au/Game-Mates-favours-bleed-nation-ebook/dp/B06Y1WF2BC

and read the indisputably best business journalist, Michael West

>https://www.michaelwest.com.au/revealed-revolving-doors-public-servants-fossil-fuel-lobbyists/

Another great book on a topic you mentioned, the privatization of Australian government services, is Governomics: Can we afford small government?

>People have good reason to demand decent public education and a well-funded health system, to yearn for an economy that doesn't trash the environment or for a smaller gap between rich and poor. Almost without exception, sound economics is on their side.

>We've grown used to public debates that pit people and the planet against an abstract, distorted image of 'the economy', but it doesn't have to be this way. Governomics shows that an emaciated state is bad for business, and that standing up for government means standing up for a public sector that truly serves the public.

>'Everybody knows governments are wasteful, incompetent and a drag on the economy. But if you're not sure that's true, read this book.' Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

>https://www.amazon.com.au/Governomics-Can-afford-small-government-ebook/dp/B00XCHJX3S

>No one's dumb enough to believe that some guy whose best showing is the 300000th best selling kindle book on Amazon is living the high life of an artist mate.

I mean, this is getting really bizarre and kind of sad, but...

I actually sell a great deal more on Google Play than Amazon these days. You can tell this by the Amazon version of Lacuna having 374 reviews despite being published in very early 2012, and the Google Play version having 2,166 reviews, despite being published in like... I don't even remember. 2014?

Accordingly, if you go to the Bestselling charts for Google Play, you will see that Lacuna: The Requiem of Steel, my most recent Lacuna novel, is currently #12 bestseller in that category, above various other novels such as Mass Effect novels, Star Trek: Voyager novels, Star Trek: Enterprise novels, and other such things. #20 is Lacuna: The Spectre of Oblivion, #22 is Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi, #23 is Lacuna: The Prelude to Eternity, #25 is Lacuna: the Ashes of Humanity, etc etc.

That's not #1 bestseller territory, and I'm no Hugh Howey, but I feel being sandwiched amongst official Star Trek novels and Mass Effect novels is a pretty good place for me to be.

Even on Amazon, my first novel, "Lacuna", is currently #4,440 Free in Kindle Store, which given how many books there are there, is quite high. This makes it #22 in the "Space Fleet" category, #30 in the "Space Exploration" category, and #40 in the "Alien Invasion" category.

That's a little better than 300000th best. Like I said: I'm no Hugh Howey, but I sell enough to pay my bills.

How many novels have you written?

>Btw, it's really dumb to have 'Author' in your username lol.

I don't really care about your opinion on this matter.

I can recommend to you a number of books regarding the subject, as history would be the best evidence to offer in these highly anecdotal conversations.

First, an understanding of discrimination and how modern societies treated groups seen as 'others' both culturally and religiously. It draws parallels that are very useful for understanding the problems that minorities face.

The French Enlightenment and the Jews : the origins of modern anti-Semitism

https://www.worldcat.org/title/french-enlightenment-and-the-jews-the-origins-of-modern-anti-semitism/oclc/21442210

Secondly, a fascinating book describing Muslim communities, from their viewpoint, within post-reconquista Medieval Spain.

Guardians of Islam: Religious Authority and Muslim Communities of Late Medieval Spain

https://www.amazon.com/Guardians-Islam-Religious-Authority-Communities/dp/0231136129

I don't want to overload you, so I'll offer a final recommended book.

The Ornament Of The World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Menocal

https://www.amazon.com/Ornament-World-Christians-Tolerance-Medieval/dp/0316168718

I'll just steal the brilliant book description from a better writer here

A brilliant introduction to the multifaceted society of Medieval Spain, which consisted of a community of not only Muslims, Jews, and Christians living together, but of Arabs, Visigoths, Berbers, and other ethnic backgrounds. Very enlightening for those who have never read about Islamic Spain previously. It's important to recognize that Menocal's idea of a "culture of tolerance" is a very modern value and a projection onto a past whose residents, most scholars would argue, would never even have thought in those terms.

LAST POINT
I think the final word I will put in here is that culture and religion is always much more complex than we believe it is. Knowing that, we should strive to be polite, understanding and welcoming. Our personal anecdotal evidence is in almost all situations overblown or highly inaccurate. Thus, we should treat others as we wish to be treated and remember that fear and intolerance is always dangerous, whilst understanding and politeness will only make our world a better place.

>However the reality is the evidence has shown you people just won't do that - and after 25-30 years you need to accept the way our society is set up; which means your 'solution' isn't.

I really don't understand how you're concluding this? There are countless examples of developed cities that rank very high on liveability and quality of life measures that environmentally outperform Australian cities by a long, long way. Australia has one of the worst carbon footprints per capita, primarily because of the way we structure our cities. Strategic approach to cities do evolve and many cities have adopted a compact growth approach to great success.

>And hence why you have accept that people require space, and that it IS perfectly possible to do that within the behaviours of our society

That's the thing though. By using all of our space for private homes we sacrifice shared spaces like parks, pedestrian boulevards, recreation facilities and wilderness/conservation areas. By developing up you can free up a huge amount of space that's available to all of the community (not fenced off to private homes).

You're equating quality of life with the internal size of a house which I strongly disagree with, and modern subdivisions don't even include large backyards anymore. There are so many trade-offs that are made when you subdivide land for detached homes that outweigh the extra size of people's wardrobes or an extra bedroom that isn't occupied.

There's a wealth of material on the subject. I studied urban planning and have been working in the industry for years so I've spent some time researching it. I'd recommend David Owen's Green Metropolis as a good entry read on the subject.

>Australia sites/stores are no longer competing against online stores with a 10% price benefit. So, you know, local suppliers and employees benefit

I'd say this relies on a premise which just often isn't tru.

The idea that the price benefit is only 10% just doesn't bear out a lot of the time. Let me give you an example - this cast iron dutch oven, from Amazon US, costs 73 USD (~97 AUD) shipped to Australia. If 10% GST was charged on the whole transaction, you'd be looking at something like 106 AUD total.

However, Lodge, the manufacturer of the good, sell these direct to the Australian market for 149.95 AUD including shipping; similarly, Kitchen Warehouse sell the same good for 143.20 currently on sale; normal price being 179 AUD not including shipping.


So, for just one example - and keep in mind, it's a heavy good which costs a ton to ship - it's still a LOT cheaper to buy the good from Amazon US than it is to buy either direct from the manufacturer's online Australian presence, or from another Australian retailer.

It's not the 10% that's making the difference for consumers - in this case, it's the other 40% of the price. I'd gladly pay an extra to get the item in Australia (for quick shipping, ease of returns, and easier warranty enforcement, and hell, to generate some tax money) if that was the difference; but, often, the difference is significantly more.

This makes it look like the issue is really about taking choice away from Australian customers by creating burdensome arrangements which slow down these sorts of transactions and create paperwork headaches, whilst also making it even less attractive for Australian consumers to get the best deal on goods.

If you're honestly interested, I can wholeheartedly recommend the book Rubicon by Tom Holland. A wonderful readable account of the fall of the Roman Republic.

Quite the fascinating affair. It has it all. Mob justice, autocrats, public opinion, lies, back-stabbing, constitutional upheavals and more.

Quite appropriate really. :)

That paragraph you quoted has it exactly right.

In a truly free society people should be able to say what they like regardless of the offense it might cause. This inevitably means that you have to put up with a lot of rubbish at times.

"Racism" and "inflammatory speech" are things that mean different things to different people and some people would like to pass laws using these terms to muzzle people who's opinions they don't share.

If you're really interested in the debate I recommend reading "Kindly Inquisitors". It's only a short book and it sums up the argument for free speech well.

http://www.amazon.com/Kindly-Inquisitors-Attacks-Free-Thought/dp/0226705765+

Here's an interview with the author:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFVRRP-J9mI

Thank you for your clarification.

Christians have been interacting in the public square in a major way, compelled by their faith, ever since Christianity was a thing. They still do today. Personally I think the world would be a worse place if they did/do not.

I hope you don't mind if I present some examples:

Due to his faith, Basil built the first large-scale hospital in 369 A.D., and other believers pioneered hospitals and healthcare through history.

Christians have also had a big impact in education, founding the earliest universities, introducing the first schools in places such as Australia, and missionaries initiated global mass-education.

In the orphanage movement (and in many other areas of great social need), Christians have been at its forefront to the present. There are many other areas of Christian inspired charity work on large and small scales, too numerous to present.

Christians led the abolition of slavery and the personal testimony of certain Christians had the ability to start the peace process in war, and afforded them opportunity to see it through.

All of these are relating to the public square. Are you suggesting that you'd prefer this work to not have happened?

Christians inspired by their faith have consistently sought to care for others in the public and private square. Would you prefer this to stop?

Then consider the personal activities of Christians:

Evidence suggests that religiously observant people are better neighbours, more community-minded, more likely to volunteer and give more money to charity.

Some of these issues directly influence the public square, such are donating money, others are more indirect: being a better neighbour is on a personal level, but it makes a difference on the lives of others, thus affecting those in the public square.

Would you prefer for this to stop as well?

I questioned by the age of 5, and attempted to set up scientific tests. By 8, I had enough evidence to say that Santa was very unlikely to exist in any form other than ordinary people using an old story as a reason to be generous and giving. That was when I knew that Santa Claus was real, but not in the way I had expected. There is nothing unreal about a legend that inspires real actions.

On the 6th of December, the 24th or the 25th, or whatever other day you give someone a gift without expecting anything in return and give the credit away, you are Santa Claus and Santa Claus is alive in you.

Your son is probably the right level of maturity to read Millions and understand it.

That's good, as it will save you a fair whack of money.

I bought this one from the US a year ago and I've been mostly happy. It's great for looking at the moon, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. I haven't tried to get a good look at Saturn yet because I need to spend some time re-collimating it, but it should just do the job.

The bad thing about telescopes is that no matter what you buy, you'll wish you bought one with a bigger mirror 6 or 12 months down the road. Better lenses can help squeeze a bit more viewing out, but you can will quickly spend way more on lenses and other odds and ends as you spent on the scope itself.

This isn't meant as a discouragement at all, just consider your purchase really well before jumping in.

And coming up this Christmas, the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of "Good Omens" in 6 parts, available worldwide, for free.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04knthd

following on from so many other 3-10 hour adaptations of books they've done.

Thing is, it's pretty cheap to do them on the radio. Get some well known voices in a room for a few days, add a few sound effects, and you have a product you can broadcast AND can earn money as a download once it's gone off the free catchup. A ready market for those commuting every day, etc.

eg previous adaptation, Neverwhere - $11 - http://www.amazon.com/Neverwhere-Adaptation/dp/B00ELIKX9K

If they spent slightly less on yet another cookery show, they might actually be able to fund some home grown content...

Even if AQ does not exist in the manner you think it does, the ideology behind it is a driver for actions that people have undertaken. That means that it does exist and has had an effect on the world. You can deny that a main organization exists, or that they undertook certain actions, but you cannot deny that the idea of them has driven people to actions. That in itself means it exists in some way. I take it on step further and believe this idea was created by an organization in a way to propagate itself (Edit: Their ideology). My real world evidence comes from trusting of real world accounts presented to me second hand, but I do trust the sources that have encountered them in real life.

Further edit: Read this book and tell me this man has written several items on a related topic including a group that doesn't exist.

If you're into Alexander the Great then I quite enjoyed this. It's a fictional re-telling of Alexander's youth, when he was tutored by Aristotle. It's from Aristotle's perspective, and probably riddled with historical errors, but a good insight into both personalities and a great read!

Also, if you're in Melbourne then I found it on Readings' bargain table for $8 the other month.

Impressive answer, thank you. I agree that nothing is a forgone conclusion and the existing players have some advantages.

My understanding of the Kodak story is not as positive. More like this:

https://www.economist.com/node/21542796


In some ways I like other answers to the electric world with different form factors like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-long-range-Fold-n-Carry-Ultra-Lightweight-electric/dp/B076KKX4BC/ref=lp_13280951_1_2_sspa?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1521006162&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1

or this:

https://www.gocartours.com/

>Ugh. I'm good thanks. I've had more than enough cringe watching his humans need not apply video

https://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Handbook-Behavior-Almost-Politics/dp/1610391845

Read that instead then - Also great you judge people on one piece of their work - he has done many other videos on many other subjects - but ok.

>Why do you think the liberals hate scientists themselves though?

Tacit Consent.

They pull funding from STEM fields and in-turn people like the OP are finding it harder to find work in Aus - we have a major brain drain with people leaving Australia to find work in their field.

So while individually they might not even care about scientists one way or the other - by their actions or inactions they consent to a permeating culture of scientific regression in Australia from the Liberal party and its supporters.

A Dagg at My Table: Selected Writings

Kahlihliji Bran

Kahlihliji was a migrant to Australia, settling in Sydney from Lebanon. He had studied sculpture under Rodan but at that time nobody in Australia had heard of either Rodin or sculpture. Kahlihliji became a visionary.

THE HALF-YEARLY PROPHET

And a Punter came forth, which was not unusual, and said

Speak to us of Race 5 at Randwick.

And he answered and said:

Goodness me, is that the time?

People of Moron, I say to you, Wisdom is not in others. It is

in ourselves. We are not others. Other people are. We

are us. And yet they are not Them. They are merely an Us

which does not include anyone here. Any questions so far?

The world is a seamless cloth. Take shelter in it but do not

expect it to fit

Love and Understanding are but winds that bear the spirit.

Love may be given but cannot be taken.

Understanding can be neither given nor taken but is the

string in the bow of Life.

We are not Us either, incidentally, I should make this

clear. Just a small one thanks.

Everything is its own opposite.

Paradox is that which is not paradoxical.

Only the living know death. Only the dead are living.

Only the lonely, dum dum dum dumdedoowah, know the

way I feel tonight. Jamerson's if they've got it.

A cow has many windows, but only one rudder.

Reason is a tool. Try to remember where you left it.

If you are rich and you would give, give not your money.

The poor know nought of money. Give them of yourself.

A smile, a pat on the head, something of that order.

And he beckoned to the pilot.

I must take rest for a time, he said, possibly on Venus.

And he was gone.

For anyone interested in actually quitting, I highly recommend checking out this book.

I've attempted quitting a bunch of times, and each time I felt like I was actually giving up something, which would usually end in caving in and buying a new pack.

After reading this book however, giving up was incredibly easy. Cold turkey too! I haven't wanted a cigarette since and don't see myself ever wanting one again.

You have no idea how amazing it feels to no longer be a slave to nicotine.

I couldn't recommend it more.

Didn't know of that one, thanks for the tip.

EDIT: wanted to add, if you like things like this about WWII, I can recommend this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Gold-Incredible-Europes-Bullion/dp/1605989754 was a great read.