Smoking for the Economy

In Hubei Province in central China, local government issued a regulation determining quotas of cigarettes to be consumed by all public employees. They must be local brands to stimulate the local economy. It is estimated that quotas requiring consumption of 230,000 additional cigarettes a year will generate 4 million RMB for the local economy.

For more read here.

"Come on Turnbull" Facebook site gets 10,000 friends in one day

In an intriguing milestone in social media based campaigning in Australia, the Facebook page "Come on Turnbull, don't take away my $950 bucks" has attracted over 10,000 friends in one day.

Developed as a response to the Federal Coalition's decision to block the $42 billion economic stimulus package put forward by the Rudd Labor government, the site also provides resources for members to lobby the Greens Senators and independent Senators Nick Xenophon and Steve Fielding to pass the package, which promises (among other things) $950 to all taxpayers earning less than $100,000 a year.





Update: At 2.15pm Friday 6 Feb, this site had 31, 206 members. This cycle has some momentum.