Media
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IAN WEBSTER. The need for more balanced media reporting of alcohol and illicit drug problems.
To those who work in the health system, ‘ICE’ is but one problem among many and pales into the background of the prevailing problems of addiction and misuse of alcohol and drugs. Continue reading »
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PAUL BUDDE. Australia needs a proper NBN.
Regrettably it appears that on both counts – proper infrastructure plans and the need for affordable services – the government and the nbn company, despite spending something like $50 billion, have failed to come up with the right solution for Australia. Continue reading »
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WALTER HAMILTON. Fake news triumphant
Japan’s Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have a great deal in common, particularly their aversion to being exposed to a free press. Continue reading »
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TONY SMITH. Media ignorance of disrespect for parliament and people
It is a shame that at a time when government is so hollow, only a handful of journalists can escape the cliché and find a basis for critical analysis of policy, which ought to be the basis for judging a government’s performance. Continue reading »
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Local boy makes good!
Michael Kelly SJ, a regular correspondent for Pearls and Irritations, met with Pope Francis on February 9. In the photo below Pope Francis greets Father Michael Kelly SJ, executive director of ucanews.com on the occasion of receiving the English edition of La Civita Cattolica, at the Vatican February 9 (Photo L’Osservatore Romano) Continue reading »
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JAMES O’NEILL. Just whose news is fake?
The term “fake news” has gained a certain currency in recent months, perhaps reaching its apogee with the Washington Post’s notorious list of alleged fake news sites. Continue reading »
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ALISON BROINOWSKI. The pact of silence.
The death of Dr David Kelly in 2003 has not been explained to the satisfaction of everyone in Britain. Investigations suggest the Government of Tony Blair still has questions to answer. Continue reading »
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TONY KEVIN. Trump, Putin and the priming of the impeachment trigger.
A game plan is now evident for the possible expulsion of Donald Trump from the US presidency by impeachment, unless he toes the line of Washington’s established bipartisan national security agenda. Putinophobia is central to this dark Shakespearean drama. Trump is increasingly friendless and bereft of the respect normally due to a US President. Recent Continue reading »
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RICHARD BUTLER. Australia and the US: Truth Time.
There is an extraordinary amount of deception and lying around current US policy. The Republican establishment will need to work out where it stands on Trump’s agenda. This is precisely the time for truthful discourse in Australia about our relationship with the US. Continue reading »
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THOMAS BABOR, DAVID JERNIGAN, CHRIS BROOKES. Alcohol marketing: the simple truth
According to the World Health Organization, there are 3.3 million deaths attributable to alcohol use worldwide each year. Alcohol marketing, promotion and sponsorship are widespread in most of the world today and marketers are moving increasingly to digital and social media, where efforts at regulation have fallen far behind industry innovations in producing audience engagement Continue reading »
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Karl Rove’s Prophecy.
The neocons stayed put in the State Department and other positions closely linked to the Obama White House, where they became allies with the liberal hawks in continuing ‘spreading democracy’ by overthrowing regimes. America’s mainstream news and opinion purveyors, without demurring, accommodated the architects of reality production overseen by Dick Cheney. This did not end Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Democratic Renewal; Vested interests and the subversion of the public interest?
This is a repost from May 13, 2015. There are many key public issues that we must address such as climate change, growing inequality, tax avoidance, budget repair, an ageing population, lifting our productivity and our treatment of asylum seekers. But our capacity to address these and other important issues is becoming very difficult because Continue reading »
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IAN WEBSTER. Protecting young people from our ‘favourite drug’ – alcohol.
Marketing of alcohol is out of control. 20% of those watching major sporting events on TV are under the age of 18 years. Continue reading »
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TESSA MORRIS-SUZUKI. Anti-PC gone mad.
The moment you condemn something or someone for being “Politically Correct”, you have transformed yourself from being a billionaire businessman, a media pundit, or the bloke down the street, and have instantly become a champion of the oppressed silent majority against the murky and invisible forces of darkness that are supposedly imposing Political Correctness on Continue reading »
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JAMES O’NEILL. More alarm bells ring for Australia in the South China Sea.
President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of state had his confirmation hearings in Washington last week. A number of his reported statements should have raised alarm among Australian politicians and foreign affairs bureaucrats. With the exception of former Prime Minister Paul Keating however, the response was largely asinine. Continue reading »
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TONY KEVIN. Obama’s years of promise and frustration.
For eight years I have delighted in Barack Obama’s words – even richer and more inspiring to see and hear in his ringing tones , than to read in cold print. . Those days are, sadly, about to depart. The Chicago valedictory address was his last, magnificent, gift to us. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Molan v. Woolcott: The rough and the smooth in regional diplomacy
Molan writes that this sensitive touch in relations with Indonesia is reflected in a long tradition of Australian diplomats putting Indonesia’s interests and the views of Indonesians ahead of our own. Indeed he implies that but for geography Indonesia would be of little or no importance to us at all. Continue reading »
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FRANK BRENNAN SJ. The cost of Alexander Downer cutting corners on Timor Leste a decade ago.
If only the government and their supporters like News Ltd had been prepared to listen to the parliamentary committee a decade ago. Continue reading »
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SPENCER ZIFCAK. Robert Manne v Ramesh Thakur v Gillian Triggs: What on Earth is Going On?
If one were ever in this situation, who would one wish to speak for them: George Brandis or Gillian Triggs? That’s the choice. Continue reading »
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CHRIS SIDOTI. 30th Anniversary of the Australian Human Rights Commission. Part 2 of 2.
Human rights work has a cost, and we need to remember the cost and the toll that it takes on the people who are doing it. Those who are paying the price need the support of those who are not paying so much. Continue reading »
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RICHARD WOOLCOTT. Indonesia – Complexities, restraints, and opportunities for Australia
The importance of our relations with Indonesia in the future and in the wider context of the Asian century cannot be overstated. It is essential that each country acts to know more about its neighbour. Continue reading »
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CHRIS SIDOTI. 30th Anniversary of the Australian Human Rights Commission. Part 1 of 2.
Chris Sidoti recounts the context for the establishing of the AHRC, (formerly called the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) and records the frequent conflicts over the years between the AHRC and the government of the day. This is an edited first half of the speech. The second half will appear in the next P&I. Continue reading »
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IAN McAULEY. Brexit, Trump and the Lucky Country 1 – Who’s been left behind?
In “developed” countries the benefits of 35 years of economic growth have been unevenly distributed. Many people who once had well-paid manufacturing jobs and many who live in the country have fallen behind. While this has been most starkly manifest in the US, it is also happening in Australia. Continue reading »
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Brexit, Trump and the Lucky Country 2 – The response of those left behind
It would be hasty to attribute the Brexit and Trump votes to a “swing to the right”, or to an ill-informed electorate. The most compelling explanations are in terms of protest votes. People’s anger of electorates has given an opening for political opportunists. Continue reading »
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IAN McAULEY. Brexit, Trump and the Lucky Country 5 – How we lost trust in government
We have lost trust in our governments and in mainstream political parties. Politicians, the media and corporate interests have been responsible for alienating governments from the people who elect them, creating fertile ground for populists. Continue reading »
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IAN McAULEY. Brexit, Trump and the Lucky Country 8 – Don’t wait for a “leader”: we need leadership.
We have many hard issues to confront but our present political elites are adept at avoiding them. It’s futile and dangerous to wait for a “leader” who will solve our problems. The task of leadership is one that falls on anyone who has voice. Continue reading »
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JAMES O’NEILL. Lessons from the Iraq War: a reappraisal.
The release of the Chilcott Report into the circumstances under which the United Kingdom (UK) became a party to the invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 has raised fresh questions about the circumstances surrounding Australia’s involvement in that same war. Continue reading »
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Chomsky interview on the ravages of neoliberalism.
In this interview, reported in The Wire on 31 January 2016, Noam Chomsky talks about the ravages of neoliberalism. this is a repost from 21 February 2016. Continue reading »
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DAVID MENERE. How the mainstream media mislead the public on Syria
The bias in the treatment of the Syrian conflict by the mainstream media is not accidental or due to laxity on the part of the media. Rather, it is the result of the opposition groups’ exclusion of independent reporting, coupled with western governments’ financial assistance to the opposition for media production. Continue reading »
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RAMESH THAKUR. AHRC President Gillian Triggs: a year of living dangerously. Part 3 of 3.
In hearings before a Senate estimates committee on 18 October, Triggs said her interview had been inaccurately reported, with quotes taken out of context and even fabricated. When the paper’s editor replied they held an audio recording of the interview, Triggs acknowledged that ‘the article was an accurate excerpt’. Continue reading »