Germany has found that it has 1.5 million fewer people than was generally assumed, following the first census since reunification in 1990. The new data revealed a population of 80.2 million, the federal statistics office Destatis said. The census in the EU’s most populous country was carried out on 9 May, 2011. Until now, the [...]
Smart Growth is a term of art. In the words of Wikipedia(tm), Smart Growth: is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, andmixed-use development with a range of housing choices. The term ‘smart growth’ is particularly used in North America. In Europe [...]
By Lorenzo
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Also posted in Australia, Immigration, Public Policy
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Tagged california, Doncaster rail line, Hong Kong, infrastructure, Manhattan, power outages, public transport, Sayers Road, Smart growth, water shortages, Western Melbourne
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April 22, 2013 – 10:30 am
Novelist Kerry Greenwood (the author of the Phryne Fisher books, now a successful TV series), has recently published a book on the Somerton Man mystery, Tamam Shud: the Somerton Man Mystery. The book interweaves Kerry’s memories of her late father–a wharfie who loved telling stories–and her memories of Adelaide with the famous mystery of the unidentified man [...]
By Lorenzo
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Also posted in Art, Australia, Books, Events, History
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Tagged Castle, Drizzt Do'Urden, Dungeons & Dragons, Faerie, fiction, I am a Dark Elf, J R R Tolkien, Kate Beckett, Kerry Greenwood, Non-fiction, On Fairy Stories, Phryne Fisher, Richard Castle, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam, secondary belief, Somerton Man, Sydney Review of Books, Tamam Shud, true crime
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April 17, 2013 – 10:30 am
That modernising societies experience a “demographic transition“–a change from high fertility and high death rates to low fertility and low death rates with an intermediate period of high fertility and low death rates–is well known. The likely reason is lags in adjusting to changes in death rates. The price of children Having children is a [...]
By Lorenzo
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Also posted in Economics, History, Marriage, Parenthood, Public Policy, Technology, Welfare
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Tagged asset booms and busts, death rates, debt bondage, debt foregiveness, demographic transition, embedded transactions, fertility rates, gold standard, human capital, inflation targeting, manorialism, public bonds, public goods, railway mania, risk premium, serfdom
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April 12, 2013 – 11:25 pm
Downing Street has released the names of more guests who will attend Lady Thatcher’s funeral, including US politician Newt Gingrich and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Advertising magnate Lord Maurice Saatchi, internet pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee and singer Katherine Jenkins have also accepted invitations. The ceremony will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral in [...]
Three priests and a former priest have said that they felt “vindicated” after Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien admitted sexual misconduct. The group had accused the senior Roman Catholic clergyman of “inappropriate behaviour” towards them in the 1980s. Catherine Deveney, the journalist who broke the story in The Observer, said she had spoken to the four [...]
By DeusExMacintosh
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Also posted in Britain, Fark!, Funnies, Popular culture, Religion, scotland, Sexuality
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Tagged archbishop of glasgow, archbishop of st andrews and edinburgh, cardinal keith o'brien, cardinal tartaglia, homosexuality, Roman Catholic Church
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February 20, 2013 – 7:46 pm
Anjem Choudary was secretly filmed mocking non-Muslims for working in 9-5 jobs their whole lives, and told followers that some revered Islamic figures had only ever worked one or two days a year. “The rest of the year they were busy with jihad [holy war] and things like that,” he said. “People will say, ‘Ah, [...]
By DeusExMacintosh
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Also posted in Britain, Economics, Funnies, Immigration, Law, Politics, Welfare
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Tagged anjem choudary, Department for Work and Pensions, DWP, jihad seekers allowance, job seekers allowance, JSA
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February 12, 2013 – 9:01 pm
Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85. The unexpected development – the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years – surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even his closest [...]
January 22, 2013 – 5:51 pm
Prince Harry shot at Taliban insurgents during his time as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, he says. The prince, whose four-month deployment to the country has just ended, spoke about his role as an Apache co-pilot gunner, and whether he had killed. “Yeah, so lots of people have. The squadron’s been out here. Everyone’s [...]