Went to a debate the other evening on the Voice; now that the dust has settled. It was at the Sydney Institute, which is run by Gerard Henderson. He puts on many good shows. When I say debate I mean separate short speeches by Paul Kelly (The Australian) and emerita professor of law Anne Twomey.…

Cats, this is not necessarily a point of zero inspiration. Imposing a “theme” on a Saturday night Radio Show seems unnecessarily restrictive, racist and hoplophobic*. So there will not be any of that. On a personal note (again) I’ve been lately listening to above album by Matt Johnson, which essayed themes that were simply not conscious…

Politicians lie compulsively, it’s sometimes said. Maybe. Certainly they don’t let reality interfere too much with their promises before elections. At the same time, I am reluctant to badge them all as liars. For example, both George Bush senior and Paul Keating failed to deliver tax cuts which they’d promised. Tony Abbot introduced tax measures…

Just short of twelve months into the Pacific War, Australia’s east coast capital cities had succumbed to an invasion of sorts, albeit from friendly forces. While the influx of American personnel and equipment buoyed public morale and allowed the process of forward defence – in Papua and New Guinea – to begin, the economic and…