abnormal is the new normal

This is an excellent piece by Barry Jones in The Australian in which he highlights the extraordinarily dangerous attitude currently being promoted as the “new normal” by politicians and their lackeys in the western world, in which objectivity, rationality and…

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…

police state: sneak preview

Crikey yesterday described the APEC security arrangements thus:

For the cops, APEC is a vision of the world as it should be. Expanded powers, new equipment, media support, and maybe a chance to try out new toys like the water

…

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…

australia: leading the world in spying on its citizens

This article in The Age is superficially positive – the new British PM is having trouble getting extended detention powers in anti-terrorist legislation implemented in Britain due to rational parliamentary opposition.  The reason is a report from the Joint Committee…

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…

islamofascists want to blow up your cat

…at least that seems to be the case according to “Let’s Get Ready Sydney“, a disturbingly Cold War-esque (and red, really, really red) website about planning for an ‘emergency’ that might cause you to leave your home in…

fence posts

More than six out of ten people regularly commit criminal acts (in Britain, at least). Democratic governments seem to regard legislation criminalising particular forms of behaviour as the default, and indeed only, way of dealing with most…

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…

how to undo 61 years of progress

This is a heartwarming little story – the process put in place to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay lacks some of the essential elements of fairness that were afforded even to the senior Nazis tried at Nuremberg. That is according…

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…

david hicks in sa – a bill of attainder?

As you are no doubt aware, David Hicks is now back in Australia and locked away in a maximum security prison in Adelaide. The South Australian government in its wisdom has now announced legislation to stop Hicks from…

politician got on his jogging shoes

…he must be running for office, got no time to lose

I really enjoyed this post over at Blueberry Fool about the symbolism of concerns about terrorism leading to the public (and indeed, the Treasurer whilst…

going through all these things twice

Looks like I wasn’t the only one to notice The Australian‘s little effort yesterday: Crikey ran a similar piece here.

a standing army of newswriters – today’s australian

Australia’s only national broadsheet, The Australian, is one of the best sources of real news and analysis in the country. Unfortunately it is also utterly biased, not only in its editorial section but also its news and features.…