Author Archives: andrew

How Islam went rogue

Posted on May 7, 2013 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban In the age of postcolonialism, Muslims have become largely preoccupied with the attempt to remedy a collective feeling of powerlessness and a frustrating sense of political defeat, often by engaging in highly sensationalistic acts of power … Continue reading →

Posted in By The Way | Leave a comment

Images, democracy and human rights

Posted on May 6, 2013 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban “China leads the world in internet users. Yet due to strict censorship policies, it is also the world’s biggest prison for bloggers and cyber-dissidents.” I came across this sentence as a caption for a video trailer … Continue reading →

Posted in Organisations And Groups | Leave a comment

Australia ranks low on press freedom register

Posted on May 5, 2013 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban  Even without the controversial (ill thought out, badly prepared, muddle-headed) press regulation legislation threatened by Comms Minister Senator Stephen Conroy just a few weeks ago in early 2013 (now dead – the legislation not Conroy), Australia’s press … Continue reading →

Posted in Organisations And Groups | 4 Comments

Kicking against the Cornerstone of Democracy – MEAA Report 2012

Posted on May 5, 2013 by andrew

The Media Alliance’s annual press freedom report is claimed to be the most comprehensive survey of media law and regulation in Australia. The report covers all aspects from the recent debate over press regulation to shield laws for journalists and … Continue reading →

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Provocation as terrorist strategy

Posted on April 29, 2013 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban Let’s hope Daniel Pipes is right (Boston attacks alert the West, The Australian, April 29, 2013) in being cautiously optimistic about the West “repulsing the Islamist threat” – by sheer weight of public opinion. The problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy And Terrorism | Leave a comment

Australian democracy and the lesson of the frog

Posted on March 25, 2013 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban You know the story: if you put a frog in water and slowly bring it to the boil the frog won’t notice it is being boiled alive. In the first half of 2013, Australian democracy is … Continue reading →

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When ridicule is best

Posted on December 29, 2012 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban I was reading about the dismissal (December 2012) of Richard Falk from the Santa Barbara Committee of the prestigious Human Rights Watch, after an open letter of complaint to HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth (December 17, 2012) … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour and Democracy | Leave a comment

Offend me. Please!

Posted on December 27, 2012 by andrew

Offend me, please! Unlike so many thoughtful, democratically minded commentators, I welcome the proposed new ‘Take Your Offence to Court’ legislation that Attorney General Nicola Roxon is trying to shepherd through Parliament in 2013. Finally, I will be able to take … Continue reading →

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What is really galling about global warming

Posted on December 27, 2012 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban “My objections to the global warming propaganda are not so much over the technical facts, about which I do not know much, but it’s rather against the way those people behave and the kind of intolerance … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy and global warming policies | Leave a comment

Adversarial or collaborative democracy?

Posted on June 16, 2012 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban I was invited to attend this week’s Yaketi Yak organised by the Centre for Social Impact,  in which the ABC’s Peter Thompson interviewed Luca Belgiorno-Nettis about his ongoing search for a better system of democracy. Luca has … Continue reading →

Posted in Making A Difference | 1 Comment