The British refrain for many, many decades was: ‘There’ll always be an England’.
For the US, from when Europeans first invaded, the refrain might as well have been ‘There’ll always be an enemy’.
Of course, the British empire always had an enemy too: the French, the Zulus, the Boers, the Germans, the Kenyans, the rebellious Indians, the Irish, the Russians and assorted tribal and national groups who needed to be civilised at the point of a gun.
Bill Garner – academic, author, actor and activist – attended the City of Port Phillip Council meeting discussing the Cost Review Report. (see last blog for the blog’s view of the matter).
He was cut off after two minutes and what he wasn’t allowed to say is in italics. It is a compelling defence of the role of the arts and culture. He has given his permission to reproduce what he said. His comments follow.
Sometimes the City of Port Phillip comes up with things which might as well be lifted direct from Yes Prime Minister or The Hollowmen.
It’s latest stunt is a Cost Review Program for 2022 for which the PPurpose (sic) is to outline the outcomes of the Cost Review Program 2022 to be considered as part of the development and consultation of the Draft Budget 2023/24.
Election night TV coverages blur into one big indigestible mass as the years go by. Yet every now and again a few stand out.
For progressives it was the sinking feeling as Scott Morrison won in 2019 and the clear early indication from Penny Wong’s body language. For Victorians it was probably the sight of John Pesutto, serving as an expert commentator on the ABC coverage while losing his Hawthorn seat in the Andrews landslide.
The good news for the Murdoch media is that it’s not the most distrusted brand in Australia – despite the efforts of its journalists.
The bad news is that – according to the Roy Morgan Research Most Trusted and Distrusted Brands research – it is the fifth most distrusted behind Facebook, Optus, Telstra and Amazon. It just edges out Harvey Norman, whose ads in newspapers provoke much irritation, which rated sixth.
The blog is taking a break for a few weeks.
There is an old saying – there are no atheists in foxholes. In reality, modern soldiers are unlikely to be in a foxhole. But, if they were, they would be far more likely to be uttering obscenities or blasphemies than praying.
Yet, as the Rationale magazine has detailed in a series of articles, religion is imposed on Australian military life through official support for military chaplains and religion.
Opinion polls suggest Peter Dutton and his media accomplices – both Murdoch and the Nine Newspapers – are having some initial success in confusing The Voice issue.
It’s not surprising as the tactic has worked very well in many countries in many situations for a long time as the blog recently described. It also suits the media which mainline on a daily fix of controversy and what ifs.
When companies try too hard to come up with quirky slogans or creative takes on their expertise the end result is often a dog’s breakfast, cliché-ridden text or incomprehensible New Age-y stuff.
Tony Jaques of the excellent Issue Management website and newsletter recently came across a classic example topped off with what seems to be either illiteracy or a new form of modish managerialist style.
The influence of the RSL in Victoria – and in Australia as a whole – is declining in inverse proportion to its poker machine revenue.
Back in the immediate post WWII period the RSL was a powerful political body and a strong voice for veterans. While it got pre-occupied with Reds under the Beds it did advocate for a wide range of veterans needs and rights.