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Latham’s lament

Latham’s lament

‘Fuck, cunt, poo, bum.’ Mark Latham, Melbourne Writers Festival, 22 August 2015 I’ve long harboured what’s now an unfashionable affection for the politician, diarist and columnist formally known as The Real Mark Latham. His frustration with the way identity politics...
Why we aren’t more shocked by Nauru revelations

Why we aren’t more shocked by Nauru revelations

In his revolutionary pamphlet, ‘Rights of Man’, Thomas Paine responded to Edmund Burke’s criticism of the Parisian masses. They had razed the Bastille, killed a number of men they suspected of betraying them, put their heads on spikes and paraded...
Foreign fighter with the ‘Anzac spirit’

Foreign fighter with the ‘Anzac spirit’

It’s hard not to admire Reece Harding, who died in Syria fighting for the Kurdish peshmerga against IS. His sense of social justice, idealism and internationalism led him to take up arms against an organisation he seemingly believed lived up to Tony Abbott’s...
Jihadi Jake: The product of a toxic Right and an impotent Left

Jihadi Jake: The product of a toxic Right and an impotent Left

It’s somewhat sobering to read Jake Bilardi’s final blog post—less manifesto, in parts, more expository essay—and find oneself agreeing with many of his views and opinions on the state of the world. He was revolted with the Israel–Palestine conflict, which he—echoing...
We need to talk about radicalisation

We need to talk about radicalisation

PM Tony Abbott blames the Muslim community for not doing enough to curb radicalisation, but until the West confronts its role in the process nothing will change, writes Tim Robertson. POLITICALSPEAK has brought an early demise to many a good word and valued phrase,...