Since the days of Alexander the Great, binge drinking has been a very popular past time - leading to him apparently killing a friend and burning down Persepolis while drunk.

Those are some Great shoes to fill.

Yet, governments, schools and the media have repeatedly tried to teach us of binge drinking's dangers. 

Dartmouth University has taken the lead, instigating a new nationwide policy to curb heavy drinking by their students.

Pour me another glass.

Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men — or four or more drinks in a row by women — at least once in the previous 2 weeks. Heavy binge drinking includes three or more such episodes in 2 weeks."

Seems I don't know anyone who isn't a heavy binge drinker.

Do you think this definition should be changed or should we change people's attitudes? Or should you follow HPD's no fools guide to drinking a lot but not dying?  . . read more

Long knives and short memories seem to be the go. Add to that a complete disregard for the empowerment of community by social networks, mobile technology and the culture of the ‘local' and you have the recipe for the demise of parliamentary democracy.

Not that we will be sorry to see it go. What is interesting, however, is when and what will replace the two-party system and the party machines.

AS a first step look out for the proliferation of political parties in the next Australian elections as voters embrace pluralism in a stand against the Obeid's and Tripodi's of this world.

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Yet, few progressive women would be celebrating Kristina Keneally's recent rise to the NSW Premiership.

Few women would be happy reading through a political career that has reeked of backroom cynacism and transparent grabs for their votes.

Looking back to the beginning, it's been well reported that Keneally's husband had his eye on Labor preselection for the seat of Heffron- only missing out due to affirmative action rules which secured Kristina as the candidate.

Her acceptance of the poison chalice of the Premiership was equally Machiavellian on the part of the backroom boys. Apart from her loyalty to the Labor Right, coming from the fairer sex must also have been seen as a way to attract dispirited voters.

Now not to simplify the issue but Keneally's sudden and dramatic rise does seem suspect, begging someone to ask the question:

Does having internal genitalia dictate a good candidate?

At a State and Federal level the kingpins may not think so, but they know it's a good way to secure votes.

So why aren't women more annoyed?

Yes, all the above mentioned women seem very capable, and they should probably be in the positions they are in, but, with the exception of Anna Bligh in Queensland the real positions of power are still held by men.

And the worst of it is that men in dark rooms believe that women will vote for women- purely on the fact the candidate is female.

So are we going to prove them right? . . read more

Reading it can give you a sense of hopelessness, a sense of powerlessness that is very similar to the experience people feel after talking to Peter Garrett’s office. People in the solar cell industry, people with “illegal” e-bikes who send in submissions that are never even acknowledged and writers like myself have all felt this. We know that real change needs micro steps as well as macro plans but Labor “environmentalists” are so glued to “the big picture” they can’t see how they are not only going backwards and disappointing us but also taking incentive away from real people to give to big corporations who will not deliver anything but profits to themselves. As the Oils once sang “Brave faces… fall silent… got those tears in their eyes”. Does it make sense to you, Peter?  . . read more

It gets worse. These offers are being made from billions of dollars of surplus tax revenue which are largely derived from the export of carbon emissions. An unsustainable economy delivering rapid growth at the expense of global social responsibility. Meanwhile the domestic public value of health, transport, education and social justice is eroded by a consumer choice-economy which is not asked to address our needs as citizens of Australia, just the price at which these services are provided.

The Federal Labor Party will discover on 24 November the downside of Kevin 'R2Me2's' failure to put value squarely before price (despite today's protestations) because it really doesn't matter who is elected. This is a Coles vs Woolworths election; the 'super-store me' of political obesity. Where to from here? As Whitlam said 'It's time'. But not for a 'me too' Labor government.

It's time for a new political framework built on the passions and values of people who know the current political framework is as dead as last week's special offers at the mall.  . . read more

Take for example the Railway Bus system which is crucial to overcoming the daily frustrations that afflict Sydney. During the Pope’s recent visit all of the delays and breakdowns disappeared so (unless you think it was a papal miracle) we know it can be done even with our current technology. It’s possible but it will take a change in the working dynamics of both State Rail and the buses and all parties will have to work at it. We need this new government to work with and transform our public transport network into working like it did during the Pope’s visit everyday – with the same workers and with the same resources. Does everyone in Sydney have to become a Catholic to get the trains system working better?

The point is the biggest change our public transport system needs is not expensive new capital assets but transforming our transport workforce to work at it’s best 99% of the time. If Nathan Rees and David Campbell, his Transport Minister, can avoid go-slow campaigns and win the union’s eager involvement they can do it. Remember, Nathan, most people in Sydney have the daily transport experience to see if your government works better than the old one.  . . read more

One unique contribution of the Net is to provide a stage which is not bounded by demography, geography, economy or spin. Get ready for the ride. And watch this space! . . read more

Foreseeable to everyone except for (seemingly) the Labor Party, Kevin Rudd has made his presence (or lack thereof) felt in this election.

If he’s there, the country is reminded of how he was deposed, if he’s not there the country is reminded of his rift with the Party. Either way, Kevin Rudd’s shadow holds sway over Gillard’s election campaign. Australia loves giving sympathy and it’s been long enough for Kevin Rudd to receive that. What it hasn’t been long enough for is Gillard to come across as a leader for the future. Here’s a suggestion – quit being in denial.

You screwed over your boss.

Deal with it.

Otherwise keep watching Tony Abbott basking in your foolhardiness.  . . read more