Some sort of preamble and a pic
Venezuela constitutional crisis- can war be averted? A constitutional crisis forms a part of Venezuela’s wider political crisis. The current constitution of Venezuela was drafted in mid 1999 by a Constituent Assembly created through a referendum. It was strongly promoted by Hugo Chavez and became law in December 1999, supported by 72% of voters. An English translation of the entire document can be found ...
The Barrister, the Cardinal and Mick Gatto-Did Richter Err In Not Calling Pell? “Everyone who is arrogant of heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured he will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5 Robert Richter is one of Victoria’s most experienced and renowned criminal barristers. But was it a mistake not to call George Pell to give evidence in his trial for sexually assaulting two choirboys at St ...
Tribute to Barney Cooney (Published on my blog with agreement from Justin Cooney) I wanted to write something on the passing of our dear friend Barney Cooney. I won’t try and recount Barney’s numerous achievements in the political and legal fields about which others are better qualified to comment. My focus will be on Barney’s wonderful personality. I knew Barney through ...
The US and the risk of war in Venezuela US Imperialism in Latin America There is no point mincing words. The USA’s history in Latin America is one of aggression and imperialism. Some attribute US excesses, including support for right wing military dictatorships, to the Cold War. But US imperialist attitudes to Latin America have a continuity that reaches from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the ...
Original Sin The Genesis story and the Augustinian interpretation of original sin Original sin holds that everyone is born sinful. We all have a built-in urge to do bad things and disobey God. According to the teaching, original sin is the normal spiritual and psychological condition of human beings. Even a newborn baby, who hasn’t done anything at all, is ...
Nicaragua Dividida The Left is divided over Nicaragua. The divisions have become more manifest since protests, which broke out against the Ortega government in April 2018, became violent, leading to a disputed number of deaths and injuries. According to Amnesty International and other human rights groups, between 270 and 300 people have been killed. A UN Human Rights Council ...
The Insurrection- Personal Revenge or Ideological? Former adviser to John Howard and Peter Costello, Nicki Savva is a journalist who is usually a reliable commentator regarding the internal workings of the Liberal Party. But her comment on telly during the week that the actions of the Right wing of the Liberal Party in destroying the Turnbull government were based on personal revenge, with ...
ALP National Conference Delegate speaker’s notes on ‘Creation of new money in the economy by private banks’ Speaker’s notes Until 1844 commercial banks in Britain could print their own banknotes. In 1844 the Conservative Government of Robert Peel passed the Bank Charter Act 1844. This gave exclusive powers to the Bank of England to issue paper money and coins. Likewise, the Reserve Bank of Australia “designs, produces and issues Australia’s banknotes, with the objective of ...
Letter to ALP National Conference Delegate Candidates Thankyou for having emailed me requesting support for your candidature as an ALP National Conference delegate. You will see below two drafts that I think should be considered for incorporation into the ALP platform. Please advise me of your views and whether you would move or second a motion seeking to incorporate these matters. Creation of new money ...
Costa Rica- between corruption and fundamentalism Discontent with mainstream political parties is leading to bizarre political outcomes, not the least of which is the ascension of Donald Trump to the US presidency. Costa Rica is no exception. On 1 April 2018, Costa Ricans will vote in a run off election between two candidates who share the same surname- Alvarado. One is Carlos, ...
The Leap of Faith- Reza Aslan on ‘God’ Summary: There is either a God who cares about us, or an animating spirit that does not care, or creation is an accident. But the difference between an animating spirit that does not care about us and the accident theory seems negligible. Believing in a “God” that might just as easily be described as “nature’ ...
Sex, consent and harassment in the workplace Barnaby Joyce’s relationship with his now pregnant former staffer has led to calls for the Australian parliament to consider laws banning sexual relationships between politicians and their employees. On 6 February, the US House of Representatives voted to implement such a ban following a slew of sexual harassment claims. The US bill explicitly bans sexual relationships between ...
Tribute to Margret Holding Introduction Thank you for coming. Can I start by thanking Danny’s wife Delia, for doing most of the work to put this event together; thanks Delia. Margret was born in Vienna on 23 April 1932. Her father was Paul. Her mother Ilse had been born in Czechoslovakia. Her parents were secular Austrian Jews. Mum had a memory of seeing ...
Why would a Norwegian worker emigrate to the USA? Donald Trump does not like immigration to the USA from El Salvador, Haiti and African countries. “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump asked at a meeting with congress members at the White House. Trump suggested the USA should instead focus its immigrant entry policy on countries such as Norway. But ...
Did Dastyari have to go? I recently had a disagreement with two well connected ALP friends over Sam Dastyari’s resignation/sacking. They thought Dastyari’s resignation was brought about by a media “witch-hunt” and that he had committed no breach that justified his removal or resignation from Parliament. I thought he had to go. First, let’s understand the South China Sea issue that Dastyari fell into strife ...