Party on like it’s 1999!

Denialist lobby shills and hacks are pleased with their tiny contribution to the relentless propaganda campaign to undermine public confidence in science which has resulted in an Observer poll that finds the majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans – and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem. Mind you, if scientific understanding depended on public opinion we’d probably still be banging rocks together in a cave somewhere.

The finding is not surprising as Britons are starting to feel the burden of actually doing something about energy consumption and carbon emissions. Much easier to believe that there’s nothing that can be done without Greater Asia following suit so we may as well party on like it’s 1999! It’s not our problem, even if it exists. I dare say the Filipinos in the picture above may have other ideas.

Glad we sorted that one out.

Filed under: Ass Hattery, Big Picture, Environment, Pseudoscience, Science, Society, Boltheads

Bolt explained

Changa’s Boots, at the new Possum Box offers insight into why Andrew Bolt and his ilk do what they do:

[The Right]…“know that by playing to their base in very well-crafted ways, they can shift the very definition of what the middle is. By introducing radicalism into the public discourse (and taking initial heat for it), whatever used to be radical within this context becomes moderate by comparison.”

Australian attack bloggers and the Overton Window « The Possum Box

And here I was wondering whether an otherwise intelligent, educated person (I’m giving Bolt the benefit of doubt), pouring out a relentless excrescence of dishonest and disingenuous drivel for the purpose of cultivating ignorance, prejudice, intolerance and misinformation could have some qualms about his fundamental lack of moral, intellectual and ethical integrity.

Oh wait…

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Filed under: Big Picture, Blogging, Howardians, Ideology, Media, Pseudoscience, Wingnuttery, AndrewBolt, Boltheads, Culture Wars

The market imperative for higher teacher pay

VICTORIA will need to immediately recruit teachers from interstate and overseas to avoid a shortage of high school teachers, according to an internal report to the Brumby Government.

That might explain the recent pay rise for teachers. But will it be enough to compete in the global market for graduate teachers?

Since Thatcher gouged the British economy of sufficient capacity to train and supply its own teachers, Britain has been absorbing graduates from around the Commonwealth, Australia included, for more than two decades. Straight out of college, Australian Graduates can earn $AUD80—120,000 in Britain or any number of wealthy Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

We’ll either have to create greater demand for teacher training courses by paying teachers more, or we’ll have to make do with whatever teachers we can poach from countries less affluent than ours. India, Indonesia, Africa, South America, perhaps? I doubt that’s what Boltheads have in mind when they deride those leftist teachers unions holding the public to ransom, but that’s the market for ya.

Filed under: Economics, Education, Boltheads, Labour Market