Journalism and other writing
INNUMERATE journalists and politicians swallow dud population figures.
JOURNALISTS are a fairly innumerate lot. Many are, bizarrely, quite proud of it.
It is a dangerous state of affairs because it means they swallow virtually any set of figures without question. Continue reading “Population projection not so simple”
WE ARE blessed by five short words that appear twice in the Constitution: “directly chosen by the people”. Continue reading “Beware MPs rigging electoral systems”
THE cry for compensation for shareholders went out almost immediately the wicked socialist Rudd government announced it would cut the Telstra Gordian knot. Continue reading “Telstra compo claims misguided”
Operation Enduring Freedom which began eight years ago next month looks as silly, though not as bloody, now as the US foray into Vietnam. Continue reading “Operation enduring war”
AT last. Australia is out of recession. “What?” I hear you ask, “I thought Australia had escaped the recession.” Continue reading “Population consumes growth performance”
THIS week the High Court did its best to ensure that “military justice” does not join the sardonic list of oxymorons like “military intelligence”, “fun run” and “Catholic education. Continue reading “Howard Govt’s lack of military justice”
AUSTRALIA is now on the receiving end of one of the great ironies of recent Chinese history. The Chinese regime is desperate to stay in power and to do that it needs to keep control and avoid unrest, turbulence and uncertainty. Continue reading “Australia hit by China’s lack of rule of law”
THE constitutional timing, the numbers and the politics, among other things, are all wrong for a double dissolution. Small wonder Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could say at the weekend he had no intention of calling one. Continue reading “Forget a double dissolution”
OPPOSITION Leader Malcolm Turnbull’s performance on the 7.30 Report this week was like one of the great constitutional fights in the High Court in the 1980s – as so many of his media appearances are. Continue reading “This is the media, not a court”
SIMON Moss, the general manager of the Global Poverty Project, asked a simple question at a lecture theatre at the University of Canberra this week. “Do you think that global poverty has got worse or better in the past two decades?” he asked an audience of mainly students. Continue reading “Getting better for world’s poorest”