The Journal
2011
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Gillard’s Own Goal Record Continues
Julia Gillard has lost the last milligram of respect I had for her. Her smarmy and disingenuous comments about Mary Jo Fisher – an attempt to distract media and public attention from Craig Thomson – reveal…
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When Does Someone Cease to be a Person?
Any doctor or family members considering turning off a ventilator or withholding food and water from someone who is ‘brain dead,’ or to use the currently preferred term, in a persistent vegetative state, should read the…
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Telstra Free Directory Assistance Number
You can’t blame Telstra for wanting to make money. If they offer a paid directory assistance number and people choose to call it, that increases returns to shareholders. Nothing wrong with that. But Telstra does have a…
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WA Wildflowers
I lived in Western Australia, the “Wildflower State,” for a few years, but never really appreciated how beautiful these flowers are. We are in Geraldton to visit Kathy’s mum, who has been in hospital. She is…
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Adventures in Melbourne
It was Kathy’s 50th birthday on Saturday, and I took her to Melbourne to see Love Never Dies, the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. There were no deep social messages. It was…
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What Is Love?
A (slightly edited) letter by Carrie Geshus in the May 1st issue of reason magazine: Extreme paternalism, over-protectiveness, giving in to a loved one’s every desire are simply shortcuts and not expressions of real love. It…
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Not Buying It
Everyone can relax. The whole Craig Thomson thing, it was all just a misunderstanding. He thought the union said it was buy-sexual friendly.
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Ignoring Reality
In a natural follow up to the story below, where a bunch of toddlers attempt to pretend something does not exist, the UK government and the BBC pretend something does exist – cheap renewable energy. Christopher Booker…
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Julia and the Toddler Team
Julia’s toddler team is certainly entertaining. Australian politics have not been so interesting since the days of Joh and Russ. Of course, ‘May you live in interesting times’ is a well known curse, and this government has…
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Why Women Earn Less
Essentially, it is because women have choices about blending work, leisure, and home life which are not available to men. Warren Farrell said in The Myth of Male Powerthat women have three options when it comes to work:…
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Rape, Lies and Socialism
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the former head of the International Monetary Fund. Whatever happened in his New York hotel bedroom on May 14th, prosecutors are right to drop rape charges against him. “The nature and number of…
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What Oakeshott and Windsor Should Be Saying Now
Andrew Wilkie wouldn’t recognise a pimple on his own nose. But Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor just might. This is what they should be saying: After the general election I believed the interests of my electorate, and…
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A Government of No Consequence
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese today threw his support behind Mr Thomson, saying he “absolutely” believed the Member for Dobell’s denial of wrong-doing. “I have the view in life that when someone tells you something you believe…
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Durban 3, Israel and Chocolate
‘Zionism’ is simply the assertion that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. This is no more racist than saying that Jordan or Saudi Arabia have the right to exist as Arab states. Jews…
