The Abbott Government this week
An open thread in which to complain about the new Government and speculate on what happens next.
#Syria roundtable
Dedicated thread for discussion of Syria and related Arab Spring/Middle East geopolitics in light of the recent massacre of civilians using chemical weapons and the international responses.
Australia’s intelligence agencies reviewed
If you can find anything substantive – anything at all – in the unclassified summary report of the Independent Review of Australia’s intelligence community, perhaps you should apply for a job at one of the agencies reviewed.
Invasion Day/Australia Day: Unity/Disunity
I think everyone of a certain age can remember a certain mantra from John Howard. Symbols, he intoned, are not important. “Symbolic Reconciliation” is not important, he couldn’t say Sorry. The Republic was just a symbol, of interest to “elites”. […]
What now for Libya?
“For Libya’s interim government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), the aftermath of the bloody nine-month conflict may prove as difficult and treacherous as the conflict itself.”
#GoBackSBS asylum-seeker doco aftermath
The #GoBackSBS hashtag on Twitter over the last few days has been running hot and garnered worldwide attention – “ordinary Australians” on a reverse-journey – from Australia back to where some of the immigrant refugees they meet at the start came from.
What happened to our annual Eurovision post?
I have absolutely no idea what Bahnisch thinks is more important right now – please, share your thoughts on what’s happening in Düsseldorf tonight. UPDATE 11:30pm: the Eurovision Song Contest winner for 2011 is Azerbaijan!
Anzac Day roundtable – what have we forgotten?
As part of her visit to Korea, Julia Gillard helped to unveil a memorial to the Battle of Kapyong, described as “the forgotten battle in the forgotten war”. But it’s hardly the only aspect of Australia’s wartime experience that has […]
Quick link: Engage in the struggle against anti-Jewish racism
Engage is a website originally formed by left-wing activists in Britain’s University and College Union opposed to proposals for an academic boycott of Israel. Engage’s current focus is as follows: Engage is a single issue campaign. It focuses on one […]
God save your Queen?
In honour of Australia Day, the 2011 NSW Australian of the Year, Larissa Behrendt, has had an opinion column full of heart-warming bonhomie about “national values” published in the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s quite difficult to disagree with Behrendt’s sentiment […]