Category Archives: Quotidian

By Andrew L. Urban. Australia’s cultural descent has accelerated. Only last year Barry Humphries was moved to remark that Australia had become a puritanical society. What a turn-around. “We think we live in a liberated age but we don’t really … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. We used to trust them. Scientists, doctors, journalists, commentators, the media generally (and the Australian public’s own ABC in particular), academics, public servants, police, the courts, sportsmen and women … no, perhaps not politicians so much. … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. Here in a nutshell is the insoluble conundrum of Muslim integration into Judeo-Christian society: two Muslim teenagers waiting to be granted citizenship in Switzerland, claim that their Islamic rules override the practiced traditions of their hosts. … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. On Thursday, June 30, 2016, two days before the 2016 Federal Election, Sky News Channel’s Political Editor, David Speers, hosted what was called a Focus Group discussion with 12 uncommitted voters at the suburban Rooty Hill … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. Democracy? Demonocracy is what we are heading for, here in Australia, as the July 2, 2016 Federal Election campaign begins its final 4-week marathon. Both three sides of politics – the Liberal/National coalition, Labour and the … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban “Love her or hate her, to disrespect the PM is to disrespect our entire system,” writes Jacqueline Maley (Why it takes a flying crust to burst the political bubble, Sydney Morning Herald, June 1, 2013). Maley … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban Same sex ‘marriage’ is a hot issue around the Western world, with uncivil arguments and nasty remarks keeping it hot – but not too enlightened. By contrast, writing in the Weekend Australian (May 25/26, 2013) Peter … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban May 14, 2013: We have to praise President Barack Obama’s response to alleged wrongdoing at the IRS. “If in fact IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →