National Security
The plummeting sales of newspapers worldwide have brought about an epidemic of soul-searching about the future of journalism: do people still want straight reporting in the age of blogs? Is there room any longer for large reporting organisations like newspapers and network TV News? Above all, who’s going to pay?
Whatever the answers to those questions, it’s a good time to be reminded of what journalism can be at its best, and the Washington Post has produced exactly such a reminder. If you read nothing else this week, bookmark this site.
Over two years, two Washington Post reporters have been assembling an investigative series into what they call Top Secret America, and the results are fascinating.
Continue reading "Quality journalism exposes the counter-terror industry" »
A cynic might query the timing of the announcement - as a devastating tsunami hits the Pacific, news sneaks out that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is spending $35 million on a White House-style “situation room” or war room.
It will certainly come in handy when New Zealand finally declares war on us. And if you’re going to devote yourself to a life of sacrifice in public office, it seems only fair that you get your own room with big maps and lots of pins in it, so you can chart the performance of the ADF along the eastern front running from Dubbo to Orbost as our boys repel the Kiwi invaders.
But maybe it’s just a huge waste of money. It’s certainly a lot of money. Seventy times more than the $500k John Howard wanted to spend on expanding meeting space in the PMO, which he was hounded over in estimates by John Faulkner and Robert Ray.
Continue reading "Oh what a lovely war room, Prime Minister" »
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Mary says:
Jay - thats a laugh! all we ever hear about is how hopeless the oppositon and Turnbull are….I rarely read anything about Rudd and his Government putting a foot out of line. Although there doesn’t seem to be enough time for reporting on Rudd as all the focus is always… Read more »
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Terry Barnes says:
A Situation Room? It sounds like the ideal place for a secret romantic “situation”, and being next to Rudd’s office easier to find than Parliament House’s legendary Meditation Room, of which the locals say the meditation is mostly of the tantric variety. Get real, Kev. If Hawke, Keating and Howard… Read more »
Has anyone else noticed there was something missing from the reaction to last week’s failed terrorism plot to stage a Last Stand at Holsworthy?
I pricked up my ears and sniffed the air but try as I might I could no longer detect a dog whistle, that barely audible call to channel justified fear into something altogether more ugly.
In a sign that the Howard era is finally over, both the Prime Minister and the besieged Opposition Leader exhibited a fundamental decency in playing the men and not the race.
Continue reading "Down boy - no more whistling to tune of terror" »
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Dan says:
R.E.L. Your talk of Islamicism taking over by winning eharts and minds is absolute nonsence. Burt even if it were true, there’s nothing wrong with attempting to win hearts and minds. Also, Howard played the man, not the ideology. He dog-whistled so much that he might as well have had… Read more »
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Aaron says:
Spot on Peter. There’s a stack of good (but detailed non-headline grabbing) work the Rudd Government (especially McLelland and Evans) have done on civil liberties and refugee/immigration reforms etc etc. They appear to have intelligently restrained themselves from blowing their own trumpet on a lot of these progressive reforms. The… Read more »
One of the most disturbing things about this morning’s counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne is the profile of the suspects, who were allegedly planning a Mumbai-style machine-gun attack on Australian Army barracks.
They were, The Australian reports, construction workers and taxi drivers of Somali and Lebanese descent, living in suburban Melbourne.
Combine this with the admission of Anglo-Australian terrorist Shane Kent that he was part of a terrorist organisation and it’s clear terrorists don’t look like anything in particular and could be living in your street.
Continue reading "Race profiles a blunted tool in fight against enemy within" »
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johnv_au says:
The profile is they will be muslim they will be residents in the country they are going to attack and young and ready to kill non muslims and the authorities and law abiding muslims will probably already know them and they will be driven by what is happening to muslims… Read more »
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Paul says:
Paul Colgan your politcally correct views in this case are absolute nonsense. how many innocent people will have to die before fools like you admit that our biggest terrorist threats are from EXTREMIST MUSLIMS primarily of ARAB AND AFRICAN DESCENT. how on earth do you get away with publishing drivel… Read more »
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marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
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