Note: The bulk of this piece was written before the announcement that the Cabinet Minister accused of the rape of a young girl would out himself. 1 The problem with Insiders is that it is so dammed inconclusive. What do I mean? Well, in its allotted hour, it discusses a lot but concludes little. Take last…
Angus Houston isn’t a bad man. The vast majority of Australian men aren’t ‘bad’ men. But they still seem to think it is a woman’s fault if she gets raped. Don’t be out after midnight. Don’t drink. Don’t be alone. Don’t look attractive. Or you risk becoming ‘prey’? Do men feel that way? If a…
Trigger warnings. One of the problems with politics was best expressed when a Liberal politician was attacking a policy that she thought was Labor’s, only to be told midway that it was, in fact, Cormann who said it. Suddenly it became good policy. I always try to separate the person from the politics but that’s…
Continued from: Was COVID-19 born in the United States? (part 7) By Outsider Founded in 1923, and for its 97-year history, the popular TIME magazine had only once before – for its 9/11 issue – replaced its characteristic red border on the cover with a black one. But with the United States COVID-19 death toll nearing…
Every power worth its portion of salt in the Levant these days seems to be doing it. On February 25, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes against Syria. The premise for the attacks was implausible. “These strikes were authorized in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq,” claimed Pentagon spokesman John Kirby,…
As a Survivor of childhood sexual abuse in a Catholic orphanage, I am the only person who can give myself agency. I am the only person who can stand up for myself and say that I have had enough of the treatment I have received from the Catholic Church. I make no allegation here, I…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I found the phrase, “not a hanging offence” rather absurd for the simple reason that there are no hanging offences in Australia so that even if a government MP committed murder or rape, he could keep his job because, well, they’re not hanging offences. You can check…
In his press conference today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked about allegations pertaining to the anal rape of a child, allegedly perpetrated by one of his current cabinet ministers in 1988. Mr Morrison replied: “We have a rule of law in this country and it’s appropriate that these things were referred to the federal police – they have been…the…
Having made something of a splash last month with the fuss over Australia’s News Media Bargaining code, Facebook, and the digital giants, are facing another stormy front in India. The move here has nothing to do with revenue so much as alleged bad behaviour. “We appreciate the proliferation of social media in India,” stated Ravi…
By Ad astra Charade: an absurd pretence intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance. We, the people, are the victims of such deliberate pretence by the political class. Do any of you need convincing of this cruel reality? If you do, reflect for a moment on the proceedings of Donald Trump’s so-called ‘impeachment trial’…