Author Archives: andrew

Look out, Luke, democracy about

Posted on March 29, 2015 by andrew

Open letter to NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley – and the Australian Labor Party 29/3/2015 (the day after Labor lost the NSW election) Dear Mr Foley, Immediately before Labor lost the NSW 2015 election, you were publicly defending your parliamentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Should Know Better | Leave a comment

Sue Neill-Fraser: murder by the prosecution – the evidence

Posted on March 26, 2015 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban.  First published in The Australian, 25/3/2015 as “Justice cast to the four winds” (p. 11) Sue Neill-Fraser was convicted of murder in 2010, after her partner of 18 years, Bob Chappell, disappeared from their jointly owned … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy and Justice | 5 Comments

Recruit former Jihadists to combat radicalisation

Posted on March 17, 2015 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. Letter to The Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 15/3/2015 – unpublished. It is encouraging to hear of plans to use former Jihadists to counter radicalisation (SMH 14/3/2015, Ex-jihadists could be used to counter extremist message); it shows someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy And Terrorism | 1 Comment

Death penalty or revenge killing?

Posted on March 12, 2015 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban With the death penalty hanging over two Australians (and a number of others) in Indonesia convicted of heroin smuggling as I write (12/3/2015), the state sanctioned killing of criminals has generated much debate and vitriol – … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy and Justice | Leave a comment

Jihad & Judeochristianity – different moral universes

Posted on February 22, 2015 by andrew

Jihad is propelled not merely by religion but its own and different moral universe, writes Andrew L. Urban. “The struggle against Islamic extremism has been crippled by a failure of historical awareness and cultural understanding. From the very beginning, we … Continue reading →

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Australians on death row: a win-win option

Posted on February 17, 2015 by andrew

Letter to Foreign Affairs Minister The Hon Julie Bishop MP February 14, 2015 Dear Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, With the greatest respect for your work in Foreign Affairs in general and the extraordinary efforts to avert the executions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Regimes | Leave a comment

A law unto their learned selves

Posted on February 15, 2015 by andrew

Examples of senior legal practitioners disregarding the law and not being held accountable for it is evident in Australia’s criminal legal system writes Andrew L. Urban. The judges of the South Australian court of criminal appeal have accepted that Henry … Continue reading →

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Putin – takeout

Posted on February 11, 2015 by andrew

The takeout on Putin is that his increasing belligerence is fuelling ridicule. By Andrew L. Urban. MUNICH — It was at the venerable Munich Security Conference in 2007 that Vladimir Putin first sounded the resentful Cold War blast that now … Continue reading →

Posted in Regimes | 1 Comment

Anger itself fires furies of ISlam

Posted on February 4, 2015 by andrew

It’s not a mistake: I fully intend to write it as ISlam, highlighting the inbuilt anger in the very title of the religion that is setting the world on fire. By Andrew L. Urban. I found an article about Andy … Continue reading →

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Kim Slater: How I became involved in newDemocracy

Posted on January 25, 2015 by andrew

Kim Slater is the Principal of County Securities. He runs a Sydney boutique financial advisory firm and is a recent donor and supporter of the newDemocracy Foundation. This letter first appeared in the newDemocracy Foundation Newsletter, January 23, 2015 and … Continue reading →

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