Category: World
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The Weekly Notebook – Townsville floods
Townsville floods – a bleak history of political neglect For the first time in my lifetime, Townsville is in the news. Not just the local or national news, but internationally as well. A biblical level of flooding has ruined thousands of homes, farms and businesses – and brought forth a deluge of politicians seeking votes.…
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The Weekly Notebook – On Dr Martin Luther King
Once reviled Dr Martin Luther King is rebirthed as all-American hero If you thought we had problems choosing how and when to celebrate Australia Day, spare a thought for Americans who have just been marking Rev Martin Luther King Day. About 15% took part – mainly Democrat politicians, black civil rightists and leftists – while…
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The Weekly Notebook – on national symbols
National symbols – why they matter and how they change Australia Day used to be called Empire Day and then Independence Day. Adding to the confusion the date has changed as well. Some people think it celebrates James Cook’s landing in Botany Bay in 1770 while, in more recent years, it is meant to mark…
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The Weekly Notebook – Bye bye SMH, hello dumb-ass TV
Bye bye Sydney Morning Herald – Hello dumb-ass television The front pages of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne told the story: the plundering of Australia’s two most venerable newspapers by Channel Nine and Rupert Murdoch media is done and dusted. The newspapers, with a collective history of news reporting of more…
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The Weekly Notebook – Brexit and Trump change the world
How Brexit and Trump changed the world Two unrelated events on either side of the Atlantic – Britain’s referendum vote to leave to European Union (Brexit) on June 23, 2016, and Donald Trump’s presidential election victory five months later on November 8 – have changed the face of global economic and politics. Commentators have treated…
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The Weekly Notebook – Climate clock is ticking
Climate clock is ticking away Mort Rosenblum, aged 74, is a prolific American author, award-winning journalist, editor of the International Herald Tribune (1979-1981) and ex-bureau chief for Associated Press (AP) in Congo, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina and France. He has furiously condemned those world political leaders who failed to take a stand against climate change…
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The Weekly Notebook – Hillary Clinton craves a shot in 2020
Hillary Clinton craves another shot at the White House in 2020 Maureen Dowd, the accomplished columnist for the New York Times, has just returned from Australia where she was drumming up support for Clinton Inc to capture the White House at the next US Presidential election. But she herself appears to be conflicted about the…
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The Weekly Notebook – Sydney Modern: how not to build an art gallery
Sydney Modern: A case study of how not to build an art gallery Ask anyone with any knowledge of the arts in NSW and you will discover an almost unanimous view that the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney’s Domain needs major renovation and upgrading. Everybody agrees with the proposition that the dear old 19th…
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The Weekly Notebook – Morrison shifts Australia’s foreign policy
Scott Morrison shifts Australia from Pacific “Minder” to Trump’s anti-China “Deputy Dawg” Prime Minister Scott Morrison has placed Australia at the centre of Washington’s anti-China military alliance and signed up to underwrite the failed state of Papua New Guinea. These dramatic changes were agreed by Morrison in his first overseas foray as PM – to the…
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The Weekly Notebook – Latham the One Nation rat
Mark Latham: from Labor hero to One Nation rat Mark Latham, leader of the Australian Labor Party (2003-2005), has joined Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and will lead her team in the March 2019 NSW Election. Surprised? From becoming the 18th leader of the Federal Labor Party to the leadership of NSW One Nation is a…