http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/max-mason/ Max studied journalism, government, international politics and American studies for five years before receiving two fantastic pieces of paper (degrees) for his efforts. Before graduating in 2010 Max had already joined news.com.au having worked at numerous other media outlets. Some of Max’s interests include international politics, photography and forging his career as an Ultimate Frisbee champion. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/lebanon-is-on-a-knife-edge/ While all eyes have been on Egypt the past three weeks, across in the Arab world another country is going through massive transformations that have a major impact on Western support and influence in the region. Lebanon is due to form its Hezbollah-backed government in the coming days. The group is officially listed by the United States, Israel and many other European countries as a terrorist group and the formation of such a government has been interpreted by these Western countries as a rise in Iranian influence, effectively hijacking the US-backed government and its influence in the region. It is this naïve interpretation of events that could serve as a catalyst in sparking violent conflict within the region. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Max Mason) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/lebanon-is-on-a-knife-edge/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/lebanon-is-on-a-knife-edge/#item5146 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:35:36 +0000 Max Mason | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-north-africa-they-are-fighting-for-freedom/ “Give me Liberty, or give me Death!” These infamous words of Patrick Henry resonated throughout the Western world and described in a nutshell man’s yearning for freedom. This is also true in Tunisia, where Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 year old university graduate who could not find work nor feed his family, sparked ‘The Jasmine Revolution’ by setting himself alight in protest to the now former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s regime. This protest sparked action in Egypt, which is now facing its largest uprising in three decades. There are reports of dozens of deaths. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Max Mason) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-north-africa-they-are-fighting-for-freedom/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/in-north-africa-they-are-fighting-for-freedom/#item4991 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:00:02 +0000 Max Mason | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/netanyahu-standing-in-the-way-of-his-own-peace/ One can’t help but compare the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to that of a cat with nine lives. They seem to die over and over again with no resolution, but how long until their luck runs out, the blood boils over and the Gaza region breaks out in all out war. Since the establishment of the state of Israel, crisis points have come and gone and the populations of Jewish and Palestinian peoples have found no peace. Unfortunately this time will be no different. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Max Mason) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/netanyahu-standing-in-the-way-of-his-own-peace/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/netanyahu-standing-in-the-way-of-his-own-peace/#item4793 Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:50:16 +0000 Max Mason | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dude-wheres-my-future-the-myth-of-gen-y-apathy/ Entering a newsroom as an aspiring young journalist ,it can safely be assumed that even the most educated individual is naïve to the workings of the world. It could be said this never changes. Working in the media you come across countless information and are exposed to thousands of stories. Some of them are uplifting, showing us the amazing things humanity is capable of. Others just show the dark side of a species bent on destroying itself. More and more I find myself reading information and stories that make me disillusioned about the future. I am constantly raided with information about joblessness, climate change, rising house prices, incompetent government, racism, sexism, wars being waged apparently to protect me. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Max Mason) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dude-wheres-my-future-the-myth-of-gen-y-apathy/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dude-wheres-my-future-the-myth-of-gen-y-apathy/#item4491 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:30:57 +0000 Max Mason | Author bios | The Punch