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Author Archives: andrew
When ridicule is best
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
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Offend me. Please!
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
Posted in Humour and Democracy
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What is really galling about global warming
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
Adversarial or collaborative democracy?
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
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Labour distressing democracy – Part 2: Sky is not the limit
By Andrew L. Urban The most alarming sign that the Gillard Government has no qualms about stomping on democratic principle was the mess that was the Australian Network tender process, in which two independent assessments, departmental and legal advice … Continue reading
Posted in By The Way
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Australian Labour is distressing democracy
By Andrew L. Urban Ever since Julia Gillard climbed over Kevin Rudd in his first Prime Ministerial term in 2010, Labour collectively has behaved as if it is determined to diminish and distress Australian democracy, slippery bit by slithering bit. … Continue reading
Posted in Regimes
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Censorship is power; transperancy required
By Andrew L. Urban Censorship these days is essentially about the use of minority power; the power of a small group denying the entire wider society access to a film (or book, or painting, etc). Besides all the rational arguments … Continue reading
Posted in Should Know Better
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Time for the drover’s dog ….
Letter to the Editor, The Australian, August 29, 2011 Quite right Peter van Onselen, your own mini-Q&A “Will replacing Gillard, even done smoothly, save Labor? Probably not,” (Labor Should Take The Risk and Dump Gillard, The Weekend Australian, August 27-28) … Continue reading
Posted in By The Way
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Gambling on pokies reform
By Andrew L. Urban Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie seems to have a good heart – not sure about his thinking prowess, though. He is wagering the Gillard Labour Government against poker machine reform. If the Government doesn’t pass the … Continue reading
Posted in By The Way
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Democracy in the carbon sandwich
By Andrew L. Urban [Elements of this paper form a submission to the Australian Select Senate Committee on the Scrutiny of New Taxes, August 15, 2011.] In the interests of democracy,Australiashould re-frame the discussion on climate policy as … Continue reading