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President Obama today announced increased military strikes against ISIS. This amounts to extending the current strategy in Iraq of air strikes against ISIS strongholds and providing arms, training and money to ISIS's opponents into Syria. The decision to extend operations into Syria brings in some new players, and the need for a new Coalition of the Willing (or whatever they're calling it this time).

Last week the Abbott government made the decision to freeze compulsory superannuation contributions at 9.5% for at least the next 7 years. This decision means that by 2025 there will be $128 billion less deposited into superannuation. That’s $128 billion less to fund people’s retirement, $128 billion extra in age pensions coming out of welfare, $128 billion cut from schools, hospitals and government services to pay for it.

A few weeks ago Hamid Kehazaei, a 24 year old asylum seeker on Manus Island, cut his foot. Due to the Government’s cruel and petty practice of denying basic medical care to detainees the injury was left untreated. While a dab of antiseptic and a band aid was the only act of compassion required to save this man’s life, Hamid received no medical attention until he developed advanced septicaemia at which point he was airlifted to an Australian hospital where he died on arrival.

The base salary of a backbencher in the Australian parliament is $195,130. This is 2.8 times the average annual wage in Australia, making them among the highest paid politicians in the world.
The average annual increase on an MP’s base salary is 6.9%. Additionally MPs receive an electorate allowance between $32,000 and $46,000 (depending on the size of their electorate). This is treated as taxable income with the MP allowed to pocket whatever they don’t spend.

The government now wants to limit the list of acceptable excuses for not attending a job interview to the following:
1. Bushfire
2. Serious illness or the death of a family member
3. You were the victim of an assault (provided it took place in the last 24 hours)
The list of acceptable reasons for the Prime Minister not attending an interview include:
1. Labor
2. Terrorism
3. Can't be arsed
4. Dropped in at a cancer hospital so I could claim expenses from the taxpayer for attending a Liberal party fundraiser the night before

Since September 11 2001, approximately 3,520 people have died due to workplace related injuries in Australia. This figure excludes deaths due to disease, conservatively estimated at 2,000 per annum.

No additional funding was allocated for OH&S in the last budget. Despite a decline in workplace deaths in recent years the Abbott government is considering scaling back current OH&S legislation and abolishing Safe Work Australia as part of its promise to Australian businesses to cut red tape.

I'm puzzled by the sentiments expressed in the article "The world must tackle this mass psychosis", The Age (26/8). Linking anarchism with the posturings of the ISIL religious
fundamentalists, is ludicrous. Anarchism is a political and social philosophy based on the creation of a society without secular and religious rulers. It's no accident the rallying cry of anarchists during the Spanish revolution was "no Gods, no Masters".

It's good to see an article about Senator Ricky Muir that gives the man some credit, "Muir a tale of ordinary gladness" Sunday Age (24/8). It's Senator Muir's ordinariness that makes him such an extraordinary Federal Parliamentarian.

Father at 17, sawmill worker, regional Victorian father of 5, a man who has experienced unemployment, he knows the price of a carton of milk. Senator Muir will in time, once he finds his feet and understands the power he is able to exercise in the current Senate, make a significant contribution to the lives of ordinary Australians.

"We're not exactly asking for their left kidney"
-Christopher Pyne in response to protests against proposed increases to university fees.

The average amount you can expect to sell your kidney for on the black market is $5,000 (http://www.havocscope.com/black-market-prices/organs-kidneys/).

News Corporation's losses (The Age 21/8) are a drop in the bucket when compared to the 882 million dollar windfall News Corporation received from the long suffering Australian taxpayer in 2013. Using a little bit of creative accounting, Mr Murdoch was able to legally engineer a tax refund in Australia while\ making hundreds of millions of dollars profit from his extensive global empire.