If I’d been paying closer attention I’d have realised that The Butler was probably about race relations. But then again, maybe not. It stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, but the movie blurb seems deliberately anodyne. So anodyne in fact that if I wasn’t a political tragic, I probably […] Continue Reading…
October 22, 2013 | Graham
Have boobs displaced breasts?
I’ve always had a slightly antique turn of phrase. It comes from early exposure to the King James version of the bible and as a child being allowed to pick-up and read any book in our house, whenever it was written.
But I’ve also thought I was very sensitive to […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 8:06 am |
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October 21, 2013 | Ronda Jambe
Homeland Insecurity
It’s coming up to Halloween, and after nearly a month in my native land, I’m spooked. It’s not just the flamboyant (and clever) displays of skeletons emerging from the ground, cobwebs on trees, and assorted ghoulish creatures displayed, red eyes blinking and heads bobbing, in the shops along with […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Ronda Jambe at 3:30 am |
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October 11, 2013 | Graham
Vale Don Allan
Regular On Line Opinion contributor Don Allan has died. An obituary was published in the Canberra Times yesterday, and he gave a preview of his death on his own blog under the title “My death has been suspended (temporarily)”.
Don was an interesting contributor – you could never be sure […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 1:03 pm |
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October 09, 2013 | Nick
Remuneration of politicians
I have quite a few friends who are politicians. A decent chunk of them earn much less than they could in the private sector. Some of them left much more lucrative jobs to go into politics. Others that I know undoubtedly obtained a pay rise by going into representative […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Nick at 2:50 pm |
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October 04, 2013 | Graham
Minor parties plan assault on political duopoly
The election of Cathy McGowan in Indi has energised some minor and micro party supporters to become more professional. Whether they can have the same success remains to be seen, but they’re getting together to discuss how to use existing organisations and new technology to take on the major […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 5:26 pm |
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October 02, 2013 | Graham
The Downer two-step
The chance that Alexander Downer was playing a lone hand in his comments on Indonesia is about as close to zero as possible. Australian commentary and political leadership had got to the stage where the goal of foreign policy was not to offend anyone and not much else. Abbott […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 10:35 pm |
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October 01, 2013 | Ronda Jambe
The Movement Against Violent Islam
The recent attacks by Al Shebab on a Nairobi mall, and even more recently the slaughter in their sleep of Nigerian students by Boko Haram added impetus to a global movement of moderate and peace-loving Muslims. They are joined by groups opposed to the bombings in Pakistan, the radicalisation […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Ronda Jambe at 5:36 am |
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September 24, 2013 | Graham
Another reason Labor lost
Mike Kelly talking to Waleed Ali tonight on Radio National provides a complete picture of why Labor isn’t coming back any time soon. Kelly, a military officer recruited from the army by the ALP specifically to run for parliament, was a star candidate, a minister, and the member for […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 10:12 pm |
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September 18, 2013 | Graham
See Ya Kev Specials
The world really did change on September 7, 2013. Businesses are generally careful not to let their customers know how they vote. So how do you explain the See Ya Kev Specials offered by MBE?
Now we know what most of their customers are telling them.
Posted by Graham at 10:16 am |
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