But Simon & Maggie so obviously enjoy their food and each others company – there’s such a love of life, genuine interest in what they are each doing, gentle ribbing about each other’s foibles and styles.

In some ways, it’s the antithesis of the ugly Australian mentioned above – it’s what being an Aussie should be.

Plus, Maggie makes the only commercial pate in Australia that’s actually edible, so I’m already in love with her.

Guy Rundle is European editor of the Australian magazine Arena.

That’s what’s called having a holiday at the expense of the taxman. Was wondering where he’d got to. Half his luck.

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2946/

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2965/

Enjoy.

“Bear Cave, I think you’ve missed the point. We’re quite happy to be partisan as individuals, but the blog (because it contains people from varying political persuasions) is non-partisan left.”

Kim, I approve of LP’s primary purpose, but dispute the assumptions made about partisan opinion.

Some of us need to identify as partisan (namely, laborite) not to be cheer leaders, but to produce ideas I believe may sometimes resonate more effectively than a non-partisan position can, depending on the circumstance.

It should also not be assumed that having a partisan position lends support to the one party on every issue. Just as you can be non-partisan left, you can also be non-left laborite.

Only by understanding the person in question, and the context of the debate, will you understand any semantic difference of position.

Kim also wrote:

“We also don’t want to give up on analysis and criticism to form a cheer squad for Rudd, or Brown, or whoever.”

That’s good, but nobody automatically gives up analysis and criticism just because their view happens to coincide with a partisan view. In particular, I agree with Michelle Grattan’s comment in The Age today that:

“Rudd will need lots of gritty policy out to survive the realism test”.

Beyond the current Mud-against-Rudd campaign, I want to see a Kevin Rudd unashamed of the intellect required to simplify complex ideas and relationships – especially Labor’s positions on Industrial Relations and the U.S. Alliance – positions that shouldn’t necessarily be as far left-wing as some would like.

Despite the Howard Government dogma, Kevin Rudd can in fact “walk both sides of street” without the result being a “simplistic solution”.

It’s also just as likely that some non-partisan views can be quite dogmatic – you get this effect very often at socialist meetings, especially when socialists see their role as revolutionary, while regarding democracy as a high risk to their values and perspectives.

…From Justin