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Recent Posts
- High Court’s worst idea “implied freedom of political communication” not approved by public October 18, 2026
- Navi wins novel peace prize for seeing non-existent genocide October 17, 2026
- Hurry up, High Court, hear the Hanson appeal October 16, 2026
- Minority Report: ‘safe as a Faruqi’ October 14, 2026
- Jerusalem Burning October 13, 2026
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Author Archives: andrew
High Court’s worst idea “implied freedom of political communication” not approved by public
Andrew L. Urban. “When the High Court takes a step in the wrong direction, the full impact might not be immediately apparent. But consequences eventually pile up until reform becomes inevitable. That day has finally arrived for one of the … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy and Justice
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Navi wins novel peace prize for seeing non-existent genocide
Andrew L. Urban. In the wake of the Nobel Peace Prize award to the antisemitic South African jurist Navi Pillay, it might calm you down a bit (as it did me) to know that unlike the committees that award the … Continue reading
Posted in Organisations And Groups
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Hurry up, High Court, hear the Hanson appeal
Andrew L. Urban. Pauline Hanson’s comment that Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi should pack her bags and “piss off back to Pakistan” is deemed to be illegal in Australia; while pro-Palestinian demonstrations demanding the elimination of Israel “from the river to the sea” … Continue reading
Posted in Democracy and Justice
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Minority Report: ‘safe as a Faruqi’
Andrew L. Urban. It is said that to know who wields power in a society, see who it is you cannot freely criticise, without consequences. These days, the dynamic between majority and minority in democracies has been flipped in the … Continue reading
Posted in Quotidian
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Jerusalem Burning
Andrew L. Urban. I had just re-watched British director Alan Parker’s outstanding 1988 film, Mississippi Burning, inspired by events in the 1960s, when two FBI agents (played by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance … Continue reading
Posted in Quotidian
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Albo & Co reading from Daniel Andrews Power Playbook – just do it
Andrew L. Urban. “There will be no removal of masks to consume alcohol outdoors.” With that single rule, Daniel Andrews demonstrated how to (mis)use the power of political office. He showed how to revel in it. Exhibit A: take a … Continue reading
Posted in Quotidian
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Lock ’em up … and let’s have free beer!
Andrew L. Urban. I despair. I despair for the commentariat class who seem to have replaced analysis with kneejerk. I’m talking about the ridiculous reaction to One Nation candidate Mark Nicholson’s exclamation that ‘if he had his way’ Daniel Andrews … Continue reading
Posted in Humour and Democracy
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Claude & The (AI) Musical
An AI-generated parody (music video in flamboyant glam/disco style – think Elton John + Liberace + 1970s variety show, cranked to maximum camp – “Hit The Breaks Except For Me” a play on “hit the brakes”) mocks the common pattern … Continue reading
Posted in By The Way
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Are we safe from AI? Could it go rogue?
Andrew L. Urban. I asked LIA (legally trained) and also Grok: Under what if any legal constraints do you operate? Do you refuse, like the army, say, to respond to requests that are illegal in the jurisdiction in which such … Continue reading
Posted in By The Way
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Wrapped in arrogance
Andrew L. Urban. Only an arrogant, self-absorbed performer (rapper /singer /comic /muso /actor) would think that everyone or nearly everyone in a random crowd of several thousand people in a stadium or theatre shares their political world view – especially … Continue reading
Posted in Quotidian
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