Early yesterday morning Greenpeace Activists broke into a CSIRO research farm and destroyed a field trial of genetically-modified wheat. I was appalled. “But it was only a field trial,” I can hear some…
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Politics + Society – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 13076 - 13100 of 13412 articles
Washington’s decision last week to suspend $800 million in military aid to Pakistan should not have come as a surprise to anyone who has been following recent developments in the US-Pakistan relationship…
The flurry of media that followed Julia Gillard’s announcement of the carbon price plan on Sunday had a clear, simple message. How much will you pay, and how much will you get back? But the introduction…
While “deficit fetishism” is unsurprising when championed by Liberal politicians or their counterparts in the centre-unity faction of the Labor Party, it is increasingly advocated by those positioned at…
Before the details of the carbon tax were released this week, the government was fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Sometimes it looked like it had both hands and feet manacled as Prime Minister…
It is a thankless task to track the frequent mistakes Christopher Monckton makes as he misinterprets science, as his statements are frequently at odds with the very scientists whose work he cites. It is…
When American newspapermen mused on their profession a century ago, they would confess, usually with pride, that it was both cruel and mendacious – and had to be. H L Mencken, among the most influential…
Given the often hysterical media coverage of the refugee debate you could be forgiven for thinking that people seeking refuge in other countries is a new phenomenon. Not so. Refugees have been around since…
Arthur Freeman’s involvement in an altercation in Victoria’s Barwon prison this week has again highlighted the fraught issue of how we deal with offenders who commit crimes that many of us assume could…
The flood of media coverage following the landmark Centro Properties Group findings has left directors from both the public and private sector concerned over an apparent increased level of expectation…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott claims the proposed carbon policy is “socialism by stealth”? I wish! I suspect we do need some emphasis on the common good and public benefits to counter the attempts to sell…
The ongoing phone hacking scandal in Britain raises a number of questions for Australia’s media and political future. Could the practices engaged in by Rupert Murdoch owned newspapers like the News of…
Australia has an unusually high proportion of children enrolled in non-government schools, when compared to similar nations. This dates back to the struggles between colonial governments and Catholic bishops…
Among the many criticisms of porn regurgitated ad nauseum is its supposed educative function. Coaching men on how to dominate, oppress and objectify women. Training women on how much hair to shave and…
The carbon tax is short-term carrot and long-term stick. The Coalition’s campaign against “a great big new tax” drove Gillard to introduce a tax for which most people and businesses affected will be compensated…
Since news of the controversial rape case involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn (quickly dubbed “Affaire DSK”) broke in May, the focus of the French media and French political class has been firmly fixed on…
Domestic workers now have greater protection from exploitative employers. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has adopted a convention which regulates working hours and prevents violence in the…
There was much celebrating around Australia’s university campuses when the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr announced changes to the “Excellence in Research for…
China’s phenomenal economic growth during the last three decades has significantly altered its pattern of social stratification. One of the most equal countries in the world has become one of the most…
The dramatic events around the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s London News of the World are unprecedented in a major news media organisation in an advanced industrial country. A newspaper closed…
It began with the familiar sight of the Prime Minister standing behind a lectern, flanked by Australian flags. But unlike previous press conferences, she was joined by Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate…
The Australian government announced on Sunday it would introduce a carbon tax at $23 a tonne next July, rising 2.5% annually plus inflation and moving to a market-based emissions trading scheme in 2015…
Where to begin? The closure of a 160-year-old newspaper, the arrest of the man who until recently was the Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, the revelations that the Metropolitan Police, or at…
Top Conversation author Professor Stephan Lewandowsky and former Western Australian Premier Carmen Lawrence were part of a group that sat down with Ross Garnaut during his recent visit to UWA. During the…
The Australian aid program is a multi-million dollar enterprise. It has doubled in size over the past five years to $4,836 million in the current budget, and it’s still growing. A comprehensive look at…