Writing about writing and the News Media.
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Read 2 days ago and current, but nothing has been published for 7 years.
One reason Labor lost the election has to do with deliberate lies and distortions of its policies. Labor’s Tony Burke pointed this out in his interview with Patricia Karvelas (ABC Afternoon Briefing, May 23, 2019): “Much of our time at polling booths was spent telling people there was no death tax and negative gearing would … … Continue reading →
Do you think corruption in politics can be addressed by a new political party, one specifically designed to deal with the problem? Is corruption in politics inevitable? Is it the inevitable consequence of adult behaviour? Is it true that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely? Is this a cliché, with some truth to it? … … Continue reading →
I’m an atheist. A hard core non-believer. Religion grew out of Mankind’s increasing self-awareness and a feeling that somehow we were just too significant for our life to end with our death. Hard to say when it began, but Neanderthals showed reverence for their dead and ancient Egyptians (and not only the Pharaohs) went to … … Continue reading →
The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (TURC) is a farce. It is not hard to prove this. Proof hangs on a single item: A Royal Commission has been established to do the job existing law enforcement agencies should be doing. It is as simple as that. For reasons not known to me, … … Continue reading →
A small heading in today’s Sydney Morning Herald said Tony Abbott is not a bad leader. But how do you judge? If you judge him by his party’s 2PP polling he would fail the test. If you judged him by his personal popularity polling he would fail the test. If you judged him on party … … Continue reading →
Australia’s federal Treasurer Joe Hockey could retire today and he’d live comfortably on his parliamentary pension, apart from his accumulated wealth and income from property investments. But he’s still working, because he wants to ensure millions of Australians have a smaller pension to live on. He refers to this as “making the pension sustainable into … … Continue reading →
The failure of white Australia to recognise Indigenous inhabitants in the Constitution from the very beginning has been an on-going disaster. Reports to the English government and instructions to Governor Phillip make it clear the land was occupied and the original inhabitants were to be treated with respect. Pretty weird when you think about it. … … Continue reading →
The Liberal Party of Australia believes in more freedom. Sounds good. Beats slavery — for the slaves. But what does it mean? What does it lead to? These questions are not answered by the Liberals. I suspect there is no answer because they haven’t thought it through. You will see some indications in the form … … Continue reading →
There is a question Tony Abbott has never answered. Perhaps he has never been asked. I cannot find any record of an answer. It goes back to the aftermath of the 2010 election. You might consider that ancient history, not worth going into now, but it goes to the nature of the man — and … … Continue reading →
He admits, on global warming or climate change: “… I’ve been a bit of a weather vane”. He flip-flops on policies, like a weather vane. His hand-writing looks like this: Deciphered: Work Choices Dead buried cremated Tony Abbott 19/7/10. We know it says that because he told a radio interviewer he would put it in … … Continue reading →
