May 16, 2022
1

For [Scott] Morrison, words are just distracting noises that come out of a hole in his head. They are not connected to any logic or fact or principle. They are not constrained by anything he has said or done in the past, nor do they commit him to any future course of action. To expect otherwise is to make a categorical error. Morrison’s political career provides no grounds for believing that he will ever give a straight answer to any question, offer a cogent and consistent argument, explain himself in any way, or do anything he says he will do. He has never baulked at any hypocrisy, small or large. He speaks in order to make the very act of questioning him an exercise in futility, addressing no concrete reality beyond the immediate imperative to generate static. It is a form of anti-oratory: the rhetorical equivalent of avoiding an awkward conversation by starting up a leaf blower. [https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essay/amen-snorter-rotten-fish/]

James Ley
May 13, 2022
0

When Christians talk about how they are being ‘persecuted’ what they really mean is that they are discontent at no longer being able to use social and political power to force their views, their morality or their dogma onto other people the way they once did. They can no longer burn people at the stake, prosecute people for blasphemy, and have much less of an ability to oppress minorities and ‘keep them in their place’. The dogma, ignorance and authoritarianism that is required for Christianity to maintain control has greatly diminished and religious authorities and their institutions no longer have the power nor the respect that they once had. This makes them feel that they are being unfairly persecuted, though they actually have no real understanding of what that word really means.

Ephraim C. Brown
April 27, 2022
1

‘The unborn’ are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.

David Barnhart
April 25, 2022
0

I'm working on a research paper analysing the interaction between journalists and the audience on twitter. What we've found so far is that, contrary to what we often hear from journalists, replies to news items are not full of what could be deemed 'personal abuse' but instead show the audience is pleading with journalists to look at stories from different perspectives, and to do a better job of verifying information - for example. These critiques of journalists' work are almost entirely received defensively by journalists as 'trolling'. I thought about this when I read the different perspectives from journalists in your [Tim Dunlop] piece. Apart from Amy Remeikis, they all did feel quite defensive in justifying what they're doing. I disagree that the audience don't 'understand' journalism - they know how important it is to democracy and when they see it being done badly - for whatever reason - they complain. And rightly. It's their democracy. I also don't think the journalists collectively can discount just how damaging the obvious bias of Murdoch has had on faith and trust in journalism as an institution. It has become a rule of thumb that most Murdoch journalists are out to campaign for causes rather than objectively reporting facts. When the audience has acknowledged that the largest media organisation in the country is producing what looks more like propaganda than news, it's only natural that they'll draw parallels between this bias, and bias creeping into other outlets - particularly the ABC of late. Journalists don't seem to want to acknowledge the problem of Murdoch bias, and instead host Murdoch journalists and commentators in a collegiate way on their panel shows etc., and sometimes even defend them as 'friends' when they're being criticised. As as media researcher interested in the sustainability of quality journalism, the lack of concern from journalists about the impact of Murdoch bias on trust in journalism is the elephant in the room amongst discussions of 'disruption' and 'doing more work with less resources'.

Victoria Fielding
April 12, 2022
1

I spoke today with a long time friend who used to work in the Canberra press gallery. I asked him for his opinion of the current cadre. His thoughts were *very* interesting. Firstly, he is an old-style journo of high repute. He has little if any regard for the current cadre. “Mostly lazy, and think that an answer to a “gotcha” question qualifies as a story. In his opinion, it’s symptomatic of the abject laziness of the current press gallery. It used to be a prerequisite for press gallery journos to live in [Canberra]. Today, they are mostly [Fly In, Fly Out] and often don’t even bother turning up to [Parliament House] on sitting days. They rely on politicians to come to them with stories rather than the other way around. He noted that there is an absence of collegiate thinking in today’s cadre: they don’t seek each other’s counsel, and certainly don’t respect boundaries. Rather, they are all hyper-competitive and think nothing of nicking stories off their compatriots. Importantly, he noted a distinct absence of senior mentors in the gallery. There is no Laurie Oakes, Mike Carlton or Paul Bongiorno to show them how to research and analyse a story, rather than go for a lazy “gotcha” or gossip moment. Overall, he rates the current press gallery as lazy, juvenile and overly competitive with no sense for “digging in the dirt”. [P.S. This Steve Conroy is not the retired senator]

Steve Conroy
March 26, 2022
0

Pandemics and climatic disasters are the new normal and the response must prioritise this generation and the next but the political horizon has shortened to just days, weeks, months when more than ever we need intergenerational solutions and purposeful courage and commitment. We are all searching for people to trust that have our best interests at heart [as well as those of] the global community. In this vacuum, community leaders have found new prominence, many of them brilliant women speaking truth to power and they have greater social trust than many politicians because leadership is about sacrifice for others, not the sacrifice of them.

Craig Foster
February 27, 2022
1

Stipulating that we have no idea how this will turn out, it is worth tallying some of the surprises thus far.
Apparent lack of punch in Russian initial attack, to include on Ukrainian air forces; ineffective airborne assaults and spetsnaz raids; ferocity of Ukrainian resistance in depth.
Unanimity of western response, to include arms supplies (e.g. Sweden of all places), and Germans not only participating in sanctions, but deciding to lay out double their annual defense budget. This on top of demonstrations, etc.
Extent of sanctions, to include suspending SWIFT, and much more; closing of air space to Russian aircraft, and the general move to make Russia a pariah state. This includes denunciations from, e.g. Kenya and other non-European states.
Western and Ukrainian superiority in the information warfare realm -- to include heartening videos and stories, pictures of Russian soldiers looting or being pushed around by Ukrainian civilians, etc. all on top of effective release of US and allied intel before the crisis.
What appears to be considerable Ukrainian tactical successes against Russian armored columns, and serious problems with the battalion tactical groups which we have heard so much about.
A variety of forms of opposition to the war being expressed in Russia, which takes considerable courage on the part of those doing it. Including more muted criticisms from within the elite.
The leadership qualities of President Zelensky, grossly underestimated by a lot of Western analysts.
And I could go on. The point is that analysts who were (a) mesmerized by Russian hardware; (b) impressed by Russian doctrine; (c) inclined to pessimism about Western democracy in general and the willingness to push back of our leaders missed a great deal.
Instead, some old truths, all found in Clausewitz and Tolstoy, viz., the moral element matters in war, as do the decisions of many individuals; that the fog of war exists; that war is the domain of surprise; and that it is about interaction, not mechanical planning.
Finally: we do not know how this will unfold, but one does sense that history is moving remarkably quickly here. And - at great cost in human suffering - the outcome may be the end of the road for a brutal dictator, and renewed confidence in free institutions. One hopes. [https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1498026780204191747.html]

Eliot A. Cohen
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