Category: World
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So the British blame the Russians…
It’s Putin and the Russkies wot done it! Really? Those of us diligently following the poisoning of Colonel Sergei Skripal, the Russian double agent, are terribly confused: everything keeps changing in the British narrative except one thing – Russian President Vladimir Putin definitely did it. Promoting the Brit storyline has become the first priority of No…
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The law laid bare
How the legal profession is being trashed Growing up in North Queensland, high on our list of Most Revered Citizens were solicitors. The legal practitioners were known far and wide as men (there were very few women in the profession in the 1950s and 60s) of conservative habits but irreproachable integrity, honesty and wisdom. Making…
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Bill Shorten and the general election
Why I can’t possibly vote for Bill Shorten As Australians draw nearer to a general election – it must held before May next year but can be called any time sooner – I am frequently asked whether I will be voting Labor. The answer is “No”. ALP leader Bill Shorten is congenitally weak-kneed; if ever…
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“Self-help” for public servants
“Self-help” books for public servants – gimme a break! Not a day seems to pass when my blood isn’t boiling and my heart rate isn’t soaring to stratospheric levels. This week I’m mad as hell, to coin a phrase from a popular TV show, about the NSW Government’s decision to spend about $600,000 to buy…
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Why journalism has run off the rails
Every single reporter should be an investigative journalist. No exceptions and no excuses. It’s the tool of the trade. When they sign up to become journalists, that is what ninety-nine per cent of them want to do. The other 1% are sons and daughters of the proprietor and people on the make who were too…
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Implosion of USA as a super power
USA: the implosion of a global super power For many years it was widely accepted in progressive circles that we all belonged to “one race, the human race”. That, of course, is an undisputed biological fact. Problems arose, however, when people began to deny the existence of national differences within the human race. This is an…
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The US ambassador from Pacific Command
New US ambassador is Pacific fleet admiral Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was so excited by the appointment of an American Ambassador to Canberra following a frigid 16-month delay that he tweeted: “Great to see Admiral Harry Harris nominated by Donald Trump as US Ambassador to Australia. Look forward to seeing you in Canberra, Harry!” This…
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Crimes of the American mainstream media
A case history of recent crimes by America’s mainstream media Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter James Risen has written an insider’s account of the ugly side of the paper’s skewed editorial policy. It makes unpleasant reading for all those who are infatuated with the belief that the venerable NYT, aka the “grey ghost”, is a…
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Hollywood massacres the Pentagon Papers story
The Post: Hollywood’s massacre of the Pentagon Papers story Hollywood is America’s dream factory. It has been selling its version of American exceptionalism and superiority to the world for almost 100 years. Since my days in short trousers and bare feet I’ve been addicted to movies of all sorts, American, British and Australian. However, it has taken…