Government squibs response to human rights consultation
The Australian Labor Party has long had a commitment to entrenching the protection of human rights, driven by a continuing tradition of legal liberalism associated with luminaries such as Gough Whitlam and Gareth Evans. Yet the ALP has also had [...]
Tony Abbott and the God question
The first few days of Tony Abbott’s leadership have seen a concerted effort by the conservative commentariat to decry any criticism of his reactionary policies on women’s rights and social issues as ‘anti-Catholic’. A number of points need making about [...]
Daffy Defender of the Faith
Cardinal George Pell has indulged in a, dare I say it, comic attack on liberal Catholics: Too many Donald Ducks produce the feel-good society which works to remove personal guilt, anything that would make people feel uncomfortable so that complacent [...]
Open Golden Globes frocks thread!
We seem to have a habit of doing this, so that’s good enough reason to do it again. I still reckon George Pell frocks up better than most Hollywood types, but if you’d like to challenge that assessment, or just [...]
Debating Santamaria's influence
There’s something of a debate in today’s Crikey email, where Christian Kerr and I have published opposing views on whether Santamaria’s legacy in terms of political thought had any lasting influence. Articles reproduced over the fold, with permission. I’ve specifically [...]
Religion, Politics and Blogging
Andrew Norton has a post up critical of Marion Maddox’ rather confused position on politics and religion. I’ve been critical of Maddox’ work in the past, because she tends to read Australian culture and politics too much through the prism [...]
Rats in the Ranks
Amidst the somewhat artificial furore about Mark Latham’s comments on the ALP, there are a few interesting and many more tired themes emerging in media and political debate. My suspicion is that the public will regard internecine sniping in the [...]
Southpark Good, BB Bad
Southpark’s biggest fan, the Devine Miss M, worries about the effect of “Banal sewage being pumped into our living room” by Big Banal Brother. How will BB housemates’ antics distort the fragile minds of today’s conservative Southpark loving family values [...]
Ticker etc. III
Why is this man so needy? Costello is neither spiritually nor organisationally ready to launch a challenge. But he has now reached the point where he accepts it could well be necessary. His relatively small group of backers hope that [...]
Virtual Conclave
The field for Pope is shaping up, with doctrinal enforcer Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger apparently planning a concerted campaign: As cardinals continue to meet before their conclave starts on Monday, Cardinal Ratzinger is thought to have as many as 50 supporters. [...]
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