Loyal ABC listeners and watchers are appalled, and, as a consequence, the national broadcaster’s ratings are in free-fall. The reason? Regular programming was blacked out so that every radio and TV channel in every State and Territory captured (kidnapped?) an audience devoted entirely to the funeral of Mrs Brenda Windsor and the elevation of her…
Page from history “Do you know that there is a duke in Scotland who can ride 90 miles without leaving his own estate?” asks a man in Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel, The Man Who Laughs. “Do you know that Her Majesty has £700,000 sterling from the Civil List, besides castles, forests, domains, fiefs, tenancies, freeholds,…
For years and years, every time politicians or commentators were asked about adopting a Republic in preference to a Monarchy, they replied: “Let’s not talk about Republicanism now. It’s such awfully bad manners. We should wait until the Queen has died and then we can have that discussion.” Well, folks, the Queen is dead. She…
Page from history: bushies go to war “Total silence befell the gathering as the announcer, in sombre and subdued tones, began to read a message from the Prime Minister advising that Britain was at war with Germany and that Australia, as a member of the British Empire, was also at war. “Young men were urged…
Stay in indoors but stay connected: Follow current affairs that’s important and professional, and it’s FREE: Baroness Scotland’s scramble to hold onto Commonwealth job; Britain’s Windrush crime; Baroness Scotland’s curious Commonwealth allies; Sharan Burrow, ex-ACTU boss, makes friends in Saudi Arabia, the Arab Gulf’s bloodhouse; When famous sayings were really famous; List of great sayings. “Baroness…
Exclusive menu of independent reporting: Who is Lyle Shelton? US multi-millionaires get cash from Washington stimulus package; Deep South pastor asks for stimulus cheques; Henry Kissinger’s plan to “save” capitalism; The day Laurie Brereton shocked the ACTU Congress; Travel PR puffs aren’t journalism; PLUS Quote of the Week and Pseuds of the Week Meet the…
Another menu of independent current affairs: US Democrats face choice between VP Joe Biden (right) and Senator Bernie Sanders (left); Why Donald Trump is a moving target; The “scramble for Africa” was repeated around the world; Brixton leader “Red” Ted Knight dies in London, aged 86; plus Quote of the Week and Mark Latham’s love-in…
An exclusive feast of current affairs items: Global rallies for release of Julian Assange; Rupert Murdoch empire grows like virus; Murdoch goes after ABC Classic Radio; “Fatty O’Barrell” fits India perfectly; House of Lords savages rebirth of apartheid; The New Yorker morphs into Clinton-Obama-Biden tool; Rush Limbaugh unlocked Julian Assange wins global support On 24…
In this issue: 1) The Murdoch media’s PR makeover; 2) Bad language in Uganda; 3) ABC Classic under threat; 4) Nye Bevan on Parliament; 5) Quote of the Week Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is undergoing a public relations makeover. His son James has collected world headlines for condemning News Corp’s climate denial during Australia’s bushfire…
This week: 1) Tribute to a revolutionary filmmaker; 2) A triumph over the British Stalinists; 3) Sir Keir Starmer’s political history; 4) The bad sex fiction awards Tony Garnett, British producer of such memorable films as Cathy Come Home, Up The Junction, Kes, episodes of Z Cars, Days of Hope, the four-part mini-series about the…
