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demanding equality in pre-crime
Britain’s Lord Justice Sedley has caused quite a fuss by suggesting that all Britons (and any visitors to the Isles) should be added to the British criminal DNA database (alternative article).Unsurprisingly the suggestion has caused…
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govt still meeting with extremist Christian group, rabid anti-Islamic ‘thinker’
Repeating the mantra that members of parliament meet with Australian citizens “all the time”, it has emerged that the Government’s links to the extremist Christian sect the Exclusive Brethren remain as strong as ever. As mentioned previously ( -
trade your vote in for a new one
This is an interesting development in the US – an appellate court has ruled that it is legal to ‘swap’ votes, and also to facilitate the swapping of votes.
The idea emerged in the 2000 presidential election campaign – supporters… -
a big week for the separation of powers
This week is turning into a big week for the notion of the separation of powers in Australia. As you (should) know, the separation of power between the judiciary and the parliament/executive is one of the devices included in…
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just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you
If you are the somewhat paranoid type, at least when it comes to governments, why not scare the hell out of yourself and read this little piece by Paul Craig Roberts (Assistant Secretary of the…
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two thoughts on nuclear power
There are increasing signs that Australia is going to go nuclear in the medium term.
First Thought
One way of looking at the benefits of nuclear power versus the risks is to consider the worst…
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spin of the week
The Australian runs a ridiculous front page story which describes a poll showing an electoral disaster for the Government as “HOWARD CHECKS RUDD’S MARCH!!!!1!!!11!!” (NB: there may have been fewer ‘!!1!’s).Independent (and very excellent) political analysis
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an enemy of the open society
This article from The Australian, entitled “Silencing Our Basic Freedom”, is compulsory reading for anyone who cares about the future of democracy in Australia. This blog is frequently critical of that particular newspaper, but on this issue it is fighting… -
petitio principii
This is a dangerous piece of circular reasoning: the solution to the problems created by an ageing population is to increase population growth.
The ‘logic’ employed appears to be that, in order to sustain the current number of…
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spin of the week
Once again, the spin of the week goes to The Australian (link) – this time for Dennis Shanahan’s effort in portraying polls showing an electoral massacre for the Government as “good news” for Mr Howard and Co. As… -
early pioneer of misleading spin complains about ‘feral media’
Tony “Saddam has WMDs which can be ready to attack us in 45 minutes” Blair is using his lame-duck period between now and the end of June to whine about the media. In particular he is… -
fundamentalist threatens NSW members of parliament
The double standards on display in relation to this story are fascinating. A religious leader threatening members of the New South Wales parliament with holy consequences if they vote for a particular piece of legislation:Catholic politicians who
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what a real newspaper looks like
This little exchange says a great deal about why the New York Times is a truly excellent newspaper. When the recent plot to “blow up JFK airport” was revealed, the Times looked objectively at the story and decided it did… -
spin of the week
It’s pretty clear that The Australian has abandoned all pretence of objectivity or neutrality in its news reporting. This headline speaks for itself, really – but the opening of the “story” is just as good:ACTU president Sharan
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a good compromise leaves everyone unhappy
This proposal about reform of the way the board of the national broadcaster is composed is very welcome news – both in the context of ensuring that there is at least one relatively neutral and unbiased source of…