Author Archives: andrew

Gambling on pokies reform

Posted on August 20, 2011 by andrew

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 →

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Democracy in the carbon sandwich

Posted on August 10, 2011 by andrew

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 →

Posted in Democracy and global warming policies, Making A Difference | Leave a comment

Democracy and speed cameras

Posted on July 30, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban It’s encouraging to see that people do participate in democracy when given a chance. And just as gradual, almost invisible erosion of democratic principles is as dangerous as large scale trampling of those principles, so is … Continue reading →

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Misplaced party loyalty

Posted on July 27, 2011 by andrew

There are those who vote for their preferred political party out of blind loyalty; this is one of the features of democracy, of course, but it shows poor quality of thought. Loyalty to a sporting club or other social group … Continue reading →

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The faked killing of Osama bin Laden

Posted on July 27, 2011 by andrew

16/5/2011: General Hamid Gul, a former director ofPakistan’s ISI, believes that Osama bin Laden’s killing by US Navy SEALS on May 1 was “an elaborate hoax by Obama to get re-elected and an excuse to go after our nuclear assets. … Continue reading →

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Kissing and no telling

Posted on July 27, 2011 by andrew

16/5/2011: Henry Kissinger’s new book, On China, has surprised and disappointed many in theUS for the way Kissinger glosses over human rights abuses inChina and ignores crackdowns on dissidents. In 40 years, Kissinger has visitedChina more than 50 times. He … Continue reading →

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Syria unrest Q&A July 24, 2011

Posted on July 24, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban  A leaflet comprising 20 question-clusters and intended for media outlets was sent to me onJuly 19, 2011 by Susan Dirgham, a Melbourne woman married to a Syrian academic working inAustralia. It was the latest in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Regimes | 1 Comment

Living the Dreamocracy

Posted on July 17, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban All democracies are equal – but some democracies are more equal than others, if you’ll pardon the Orwellian correlation. All democratic governments make mistakes and some make terrible mistakes. Some are gold plated, a few are … Continue reading →

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The burqa, dress codes and democracy

Posted on July 15, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban   Inflamed by the notorious case of a Muslim woman falsely accusing a Sydney policeman of forcibly removing her face covering (June 7, 2011), the public bushfire over the banning or not of the burqa continues to … Continue reading →

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China – compassion, its final frontier

Posted on July 3, 2011 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban The Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 90th year this month – July 2011. It can celebrate another milestone as it overtakes Japan as the world’s second largest economy. But the candles are blown out by the … Continue reading →

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