Truth
Bill Kelty’s awkward syntax and mumbled diction have always been a bit of a paradox. For 17 years to 2000, he was the influential head of the industrial wing of the labour movement - a crucial ideas generator for the most successful ALP federal government in our history.
He was also a gifted communicator, there being few people who could pack more meaning into so few words.
It makes for a startling contrast with the current crop of politicians who rely on workshopped lines and regard not being trapped into revealing what they actually think as the mark of a successful interview.
Continue reading "Wise words for all politicians: the truth will normally do" »
Research released this week by the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) shows that 95 per cent of people are unable to correctly identify safe alcohol drinking levels.
This suggests that only a small minority of Australians is aware of or concerned about short- and long-term harms associated with excessive and prolonged drinking.
Not only are people ignorant of the risks, they are reluctant to be honest about how much they drink – with themselves, their family and friends, and with their doctor.
Continue reading "Take off your boozing beer goggles and admit the truth" »
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Sean says:
2 standard drinks, what a joke. We know what you’re doing. You’ve beaten tobacco, so now you’ve moved on to attacking alcohol, or else you’d lose your funding or your jobs. Read more »
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jade (the other one) says:
The problem of pre=loading has only become an issue since new pricing laws made it too expensive to drink on a night out. Because of the extra expense, people get drunk before they leave home. When drinks were reasonably priced, this wasn’t a problem, and people didn’t get as drunk.… Read more »
The campaign tactics of all major parties in the NSW election proved we live in an atmosphere where truth is negotiable and lying is routinely accepted as a political necessity.
The result is widespread public cynicism that often masquerades as humour - but is, in fact, an excellent form of crowd control.
We do not expect our politicians to amount to much, so we are neither surprised nor particularly upset when they don’t. Rather than demand reform, we tell cynical jokes and are bemused by their brazen immorality.
Continue reading "In politics truth is negotiable and morality is optional" »
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Tom says:
Knemon, good comeback. Have a good weekend. Read more »
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persephone says:
Mahrat don’t blame others for your poor expression - what milton says is the exact opposite of what your original post says. Milton says that politicians should be rewarded on the basis of performance. Your original post says they shouldn’t. If it doesn’t say what you think it does, maybe… Read more »
American celebrity culture and Australian politics don’t often make for useful comparisons - but then, it’s not every day that Charlie Sheen comes along.
Sheen is a highly amusing egomaniac but - unlike most Australian politicians - he also tells the truth. “I believe in the truth and that’s what rules me”, Sheen said in an interview with Andrea Canning for the ABC network in America. He certainly does.
When asked to describe the last time he used drugs, Sheen said, “I probably took more than anyone could survive… I was banging seven gram rocks… that’s how I roll. I have one gear—go.” It’s the answer no one else would’ve given even if they had’ve banged seven gram rocks (which I assume means consuming a lot of cocaine).
Continue reading "Cory Bernardi is our very own Charlie Sheen" »
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Dan says:
Matt says- “Dan, you’re ignorant and you’re arrogant.” Ignorant? God no, that would be you, who seems to think Australia is a Christian country! Arrogant? If arrogance is knowing I am more intelligent than you, then guilty as charged. BTW, considering that you think you have the right to judge… Read more »
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Dan says:
“Dan, you’re ignorant and you’re arrogant.” Ignorant? I’m not the one who thinks that Australia is a Christian country!!! As for arrogance, I’m not the one who think that I’m the arbitor of who contributes positively or not. I will say this; if being more intelligent than you, and knowing… Read more »
The dodgiest place to go for information used to be Wikipedia.
In 2006, its burlesque unreliability was parodied on the satirical web site The Onion which suggested the on-line encyclopedia was celebrating 750 years of American independence.
This fake news story said that, according to the Wikipedia database, America was 212 years older than the Eiffel Tower, 347 years older than the earliest-known woolly-mammoth fossil, and a full 493 years older than the microwave oven.
Continue reading "Conservapedia: a beacon of truthiness in dark times" »
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David Harris says:
I agree with the sentiment but I’ve never read this in any Encyclopedia. Which ones are you quoting? Read more »
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David Harris says:
Conservapedia could only really come from a country like America. The right wing of a country that has appropriated the English language and corrupted it to the extent that hybrid terms like ‘gotten’ and probably the most stupid of all ‘normalcy’ occur in almost casual conversation, America is nuts about… Read more »
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