Australia has dodged global attention on fossil fuels because of assiduous diplomatic efforts | Richie Merzian and Fergus Green | Environment | The Guardian: countries that are subsidising and facilitating the expansion of coal, oil and gas production merit just as much critical scrutiny as those that are burning these fuels. Just as it would be wrong to tackle smoking by focusing only on smokers and ignoring the efforts of Big Tobacco, it is wrong to tackle the global fossil fuel addiction by ignoring the countries that deal heavily in the product. [...] if Australia achieves its planned fossil fuel expansion, the world cannot achieve the climate goals of the Paris agreement.
It's hot in here: the evolution of Goth subculture in sub-tropical Brisbane: Here's a glimmer from the past: Brisbane in the 90s. Summer. The Goths drift through the heat haze; insults and disapproval hang in the air. But they only have eyes and ears for one another. The tribe is everything. On the days when those tight black pants were unbearable, with the sun bleaching the sky and the humidity closing in, the boys would discuss it, and the shorts would make a rare appearance. Still black, of course.
We're fair-weather diehards and rugby league villains, but I'm still a Roosters fan | Scott Mitchell | Sport | The Guardian: Most see the Roosters as anathema to what the sport of rugby league is about. They see a hollow club representing the big end of town, with mercenaries for players and fair-weather fans. Fair Weather Diehards is a perfect description. For a few days around a winning grand final you see mint-condition supporter gear worn carefully over designer outfits, but otherwise you'd be forgiven for not knowing their stadium is next door. There are a few real diehards out there but far more of the fair weather variety.
Payments giants abandon Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency - BBC News. Going to be hard for Libra to gain traction in western markets without Mastercard, Visa, eBay, Paypal and Stripe. There are still a lot of other markets though, some with rather less-powerful regulators.
Spending More Time On Your Hobbies Can Boost Confidence At Work — If They Are Sufficiently Different From Your Job – Research Digest: The researchers found that when participants spent longer than normal doing their leisure activity, their belief in their ability to perform their job increased. But this was only the case when they had a serious hobby that was dissimilar to their job, or when their hobby was similar to their work but they only did it casually. When their hobby was both serious and similar to their job, then spending more time on it actually had a detrimental effect, decreasing their self-efficacy.