Rupert Murdoch is a bloody shrewd businessman. And like many in business these days, he knows that the long-term effects of climate change are bad for business. Hence this week's announcements of News Corporation's plans for carbon neutrality.

Here's the News Corp press release, and a full transcript of Rupert's speech on Wednesday morning.

As the Governor of the US Protectorate of England, Tony Blair, prepares for the next stage of his career, ie. the autobiography, read this tribute to the Great Man from Tariq Ali.

Australia is scheduled to play three one-day internationals in Zimbabwe in September. They should not go. Furthermore, they should not pay the $US 2 million break fee for not going.

It doesn't take rocket science to understand why. Playing international cricket in a country which has been governed into an absolutely ruinous state would be a sign of ceremonial largesse of the most unspeakable obscenity. Inflation is running at more than 2000 per cent per annum, 38 per cent of the population are malnourished (source: World Food Programme), 85 per cent are unemployed, about a quarter have HIV/AIDS, and President Robert Mugabe rules dictatorially, violently suppressing opposition and silencing contrary opinion in the media.

We've accepted by now that the Federal Budget gave little more than lip service to handling climate change. One of the more kindly suggested reasons could be that the Government might be saving up its pork barrelling... er, expenditure announcements till the Prime Ministerial Task Force on Emissions Trading presents its report on May 31.

The Task Force's sub-website can be found here. Worth noting is the composition of the PMTFET:

"Australia is in the middle of a climate change wildfire and Peter Costello just fired a water pistol at it."

- Senator Lyn Allison (Australian Democrats), 9.5.07

Peter Costello got some feedback from God this morning. Here is the transcript of their conversation.

"Annual funding for Indigenous health has increased by over $270 million or by more than 170 per cent in real terms since 1996."

- Opening paragraph of press release on indigenous health budget initiatives, Tony Abbott, 8.5.07

Golly gee. Fair bit of good that has done, as I have already noted.

"At this rate, it will take Australia 267 years to make the kind of shift to solar that California has planned for 10 years - a million solar roofs by 2017."

- Senator Christine Milne (The Greens), 8.5.07

Senator Milne is referring to the extensions in the solar panel rebate program, or PVRP - Photo Voltaic Rebate Program announced in the 2007-08 Federal Budget. Extensions worth $150 million - that's $7 per capita. Seven dollars.

There's three main areas that I have been focusing on in studying this Federal Budget:

1. Environmental management
2. Millennium Development Goal No.1 on foreign aid
3. Tackling indigenous poverty

And the Government is not scrubbing up too well in these areas.

Let's start with foreign aid, and the two opening paragraphs from Alexander Downer's press release on the Overseas Aid budget announcements:

Even Peter Costello who, one way or another, will not be Treasurer in 2005,...

- Rick Eyre, 1.10.04

Peter Costello is still in parliament, still in government, and still the treasurer, and tonight he handed down his 12th budget. He's been lucky that China has been such an avid buyer of Australian natural resources, a phenomenon that is better known under the expression "The Howard Government's strong economic management".