New South Wales finally did pass the law to put people in jail for blocking roads, with the support of the principal "opposition" party, which doesn't oppose very much.

Australia has approved a long extension for a large coal mine.

A parliamentary committee is treating the payment of a debt to Iran as a ransom.

By tying the payment, which the UK owed to Iran since around 1980, to the hostages, this investigation treats the money as a ransom and effectively criticizes the government for being slow to ransom them. Governments must not pay ransom for hostages; as Reagan taught us when he did precisely that, paying ransoms tends to encourage further kidnappings.

The reason why the UK had to pay this money to Iran is that it owed Iran the money Iran had paid for goods that were never delivered.

Biden intends to promote mining of minerals needed for batteries. Before new mines start, we must replace the old law that almost guarantees the mine will be left leaking pollution for decades, or millennia.

The obvious step is to require the mine, before it operates, to put aside a bond to clean it up — and then pay during operation to increase that bond, since the cost will probably increase.

But even better would be to operate the mine in a way that reduces or avoids the source of pollution. Has anyone developed a way to do this?

(satire) *Scientists Speculate Universe May Be Simulation After "Trial Version Expired" Appears Across Sky.*