I prefer something productive like widely shown moderated public debates like we have in Australia. This could be the basis of an enforced voting question to ensure the voter at least bothered to skim an hours TV. We get away without the voter question as several million of our population watch the shows and discuss it after with those who didn't.

Our two successful formats are 'the worm' and 'Qanda'.

• In the worm a panel of the countries best media journalists ask targeted policy questions of the two contending political leaders and an audience (either right/left or swing only) controls an opinion graph that is shown to the TV audience in real time.
• For Qanda a balanced audience including undecided voters and online viewers may ask literally any question and a moderator enforces either a reasonable answer or an admission of some type. The audience and moderator ensure facts are kept forfront so very little spin survives the process without embarrasment.

Exactly.

Furthermore, CSIRO immediately reinvested almost all of this money into developing better wireless technology for rural communities in Australia and worldwide (as part of the NBN project). If patent trolls used their gains for research instead of lining pockets of the rich I imagine we'd all have a very different opinion of them.

Why would they want to take down what may become the most effective honey pot in history?

I watched Avatar in 2D as that was all that was on offer and I suggest an alternative reason Avatar was successful.

It was a well directed, acted, scripted, and paced movie telling a time old tale that was fun and enjoyable.

I'm sure you won't agree as in your world view only technology dictates how good cinema is.

I know school supplies were very expensive when I was young but I'd have thought that $499 american dollars probably covered all of my pens and paper for at least half of my schooling, if not all of it. Where is the rational to splash out on iPads but then continue to penny pinch on basic supplies?

I, for one, don't see why we bothered moving past valves for transisters.

Where are the coal versions of Fukushima and Chernobyle? Surely you can point to tens of examples easily as coal has been in use much longer and on a larger scale.

I was flying to Brisbane from Melbourne just before Christmas and my only thought, as I lined up for 20 minutes to get through the huge crowd at security, was that I felt insanely less-safe in that small enclosed space with 200-400 other people than I did on the plane.

If you attack the plane it requires thought, planning, and luck. Compare that to just blowing yourself up in an unmoderated stagnat enclosed queue. They are shifting the threat to another venue that is easier to exploit which can only support the Security Theatre argument.

Then again, Australia has never had a terrorist attack on its soil and ASIO is doing a bang up job getting those who are plotting, so why aren't we giving them this money?

That's all fine and dandy if you know that the source you are downloading is in fact the source that everyone has reviewed. And, if you're paranoid enough to go along with things like Iron this is something that would concern you. However, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of Iron users are actually downloading the binary which really could have anything in it so my first point is moot.

This another choice that you knowingly allow yourself to make. Two adults should be able to maintain separate incomes, spending, and control of their money in a committed relationship without a problem. This includes rent, bills, and mortgages (though maybe not children? I can't comment on that yet) where you both commit to have an amount paid regularly. I don't think in my current long term relationship I've ever even known the general balance of my partners bank account and I've never wanted to. The important part of a relationship is that you're fair and there to help when needed, if you're able... Pet needs to go to the vet and the other doesn't have the cash up front? Simple. Lost your job and need to be covered for a few months until you're sorted? Tough but you'd expect the same in return. Partner doesn't think you've paid enough of the bills recently? Got it, next few bills are on me.

Allowing your SO to control your bank account is a trade-off that so many people make and then complain about.

And Mythbusters.

I'm pretty sure the rest of us left Internet Explorer due to its lack of bloat (no modern features at all) and its total lack of churn ('IE6 is perfect, it'll never need another release!').

Guess you just have a short memory.