Every Monday morning during my radio show on community radio 4ZzZ FM, I chat with Peter Black, a constitutional lawyer, follower of social and political issues and obsessive user of social media. I don’t normally put links to those chats on this blog, but given that our talk this morning was all about the federal election, I thought it was worth putting a link to it on this occasion.
You can have a listen to it by clicking on this link.
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Given I am now running as a Greens candidate, I suppose it is no surprise that I am indicating my agreement with a comment that Bob Brown made today. But I would also say that it isn’t any secret that I haven’t agreed with every public comment that Bob has made, and I would agree with the following comment about the schoolyard level nonsense regarding another possible leaders debate even if it had been made by Steve Fielding:
“What we’re seeing now between the two leaders is an absolute farce and people everywhere are rolling their eyes at Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard not having the maturity to get together to agree to the series of debates which would have enlightened the electorate,“
It is a joke and a sad reflection on the optic and image driven nature of political media coverage in Australia. A couple of weeks ago, there was a three way debate at the National Press Club on important ICT issues such as internet filtering, broadband and wider communications policy. More... ()
A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about mountaintop mining in the USA. All mining has some impact, but the sheer destructiveness of this type of mining is astonishing – and that’s before you take into account the greenhouse impact of the coal.
This article in the New York Times details the potential impact of a similar project in West Virginia. The significance of this proposal is that there is the possibility it may be stopped, or seriously curtailed, by the Obama administration, which would be a signal of a positive shift on this issue.
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Following are links to a couple of recent radio interviews I’ve done, plus an online one
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As I noted in my previous post, this week’s Newspoll saw the Greens register 16% support – the highest that party has ever achieved, comparable to the Democrats best Newspoll result of 17% back in 1990. History suggests it is unlikely that this peak will be maintained right through to election day (or even the next Newspoll) but it is part of a continuing trend of solid Greens results. I’ve written a piece expanding on this, and how the party might approach the challenges ahead, at The Drum/Unleashed on the ABC’s site – which you can read by clicking on this link.
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Contention over Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation has been bubbling along for quite a while now. Unfortunately, as with many issues which become polarised, each “side” is focused on defending their position, which has meant that some important underlying issues are not getting the attention they deserve.
I’ve just had a piece on this topic published at The Drum on the ABC’s website. It’s fairly long, so they published it in two parts – the first part is at this link and the second part is at this one. I should emphasise that the article reflects my personal views, and is not a formal view of the Greens, nor of ANTaR Queensland, who I am also involved with.
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Hip hop fans in Brisbane might be interested in tuning in to my radio show on 4ZZZ FM this Monday morning around 7:30am. I’ll be talking with the Gold Coast based duo Choose Mics, who are launching their debut full length album Beggars Can’t Be Choosers at the Step Inn in the Valley this coming Friday night as part of what will be a big night for fans of hip-hop/rap/urban sounds, with Brisbane’s The Optimen also launching their second album “The Out of Money Experience” as part of the same event.
Even though there is a steady stream of musical offerings in Brisbane, a double album launch of this magnitude doesn’t come along every day of the week, so I’ll dedicate a half hour or so to exploring not just the words and sounds of Choose Mics, but getting a broader overview from them of the hip hop related scenes locally and nationally.
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5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Susan Prior
Hi Andrew, the link to Malalai Joya’s talk is broken and I can’t find any mention on the Avid Book Reader’s site. When is she coming?
Jun 4th, 2009
Andrew Bartlett
Hi Susan. The link seems to work for me – have tried it on three different computers and browsers.
In any case, the Avid Reader appearance is at 6.30 on Thurs July 2. There are also three events listed in Adelaide on the 7th and 8th July. I presume she will be appearing in some other states as well – perhaps those details will appear closer to the time.
Jun 4th, 2009
Glen
The amount of violence in any society seems to be is inversely proportional to the amount of influence women have with the Taliban at one extreme.
Jun 4th, 2009
Carolyn Campbell
I have just read Malalai Joya’s book and found it deeply inspiring and disturbing. It seems yet again our policies of paternal hegemony have again caused more trouble than they have solved. I have read many books regarding Afganistan and after each I never know what I can do to help in some small way. I would like to donate at least some money but am unsure which one actually delivers to the people it should. This probably also applies to actions of animal liberationists, who dont consider the broader implications of their demands – what will happen to the animals which are liberated? There are moral dilemmas at every turn.
Jul 15th, 2009
Desiree Yap
I heard Malalai Joya speak today and plan to get the book tomorrow. Like Carolyn, I would like to contribute somehow. It is possible to donate directly to Joya, but the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) http://www.rawa.org/index.php is apparently also a good way to contribute. Yes it is all complex, but there is an imperative to at least act somehow, isn’t there? I am also going to give the book as a gift to friends and family this year.
Jul 15th, 2009
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