Category Archives: By The Way

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

14/5/2011: Robert Fisk in The Independent (UK): “Christopher Hill, a former US secretary of state for east Asia who was ambassador to Iraq – and usually a very obedient and un-eloquent American diplomat – wrote the other day that “the … Continue reading →