Body of the article from today's edition of The Australian:
PRINCE Albert II of Monaco has announced his engagement to 32-year-old South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock.
Albert, 52, has ruled the tiny Mediterranean principality since succeeding his father Rainier III in July 2005. Wittstock was a school teacher and is a former Commonwealth Games 100 meter backstroke champion.
The prince, a longtime bachelor who many thought would never marry, is the son of famous American actress and style icon Grace Kelly.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/prince-albert-to-marry-olympic-swimmer/story-fn3dxity-1225883404831]
Body of the letter:
PETER Apps (Letters, 22/6) seems to have forgotten that families where both mum and dad have a paid job have two $6000 tax-free thresholds.
Families where dad has a wage and mum cares for the kids pay much higher rates of tax on the same total income.
The Howard government introduced the family tax benefit part B to lower the tax rates of single-income families, but it's not full compensation. Income-sharing for tax purposes would be a fairer solution.
Apps should redo his sums, taking total family tax into account. He would find that on average, families where mum receives paid parental leave will be better off by thousands of dollars than families with a stay-at-home mum and the baby bonus.
A. Carman, Greenacres, SA
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/parental-pay/story-fn558imw-1225883050290]
It's all there online
I was amazed to read Bruce Ryan's complaint about the lack of online library access in Australia (Letters, June 22). His experience is not mine. I don't claim to be an academic, but I am retired and a researcher who specialises in colonial South Asia.
Through the National Library of Australia I can access a wealth of digitised resources from home, which are the envy of friends and colleagues in Britain and elsewhere. These include historic and current newspapers, magazines, academic journals and innumerable books. All Australian residents need is internet access and a National Library reader's ticket, which they can apply for online without charge.
Sylvia Murphy Telopea
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/emerging-nation-cries-out-for-breathing-space-20100623-yyvg.html?skin=text-only]
From a post at AQ:
Despite tensions over the deployment of Patriot missiles, Russia and NATO are cooperating with increasing closeness, especially in military training.
At least 10 Russian combat units are heading to various NATO countries, including the U.S. and Germany, to participate in international military educational programs.
This comes as part of collaboration on military training exercises within the framework of Russian-NATO relations, which includes cooperation on broader issues like fighting terrorism and drug trafficking.
Launched in 2004, the joint exercises will resume for the first time since the conflict in South Ossetia two years ago that severely strained relationships between Russia and NATO.
The positive trend was also reinforced by the presence of NATO troops from the US, Britain and France taking part in the Victory Day Parade on May 9 in Russia this year.
The Russian armed forces also announced they will be ordering a new fleet of military transport aircraft from Ukraine.
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32195]
No comments:
Post a Comment