Issue 2019 November 16
Browse Articles
POETRY
Scanning the Distance There you were, out of the corner of my eye, laughing as I sped past pretending not to see, scanning the distance for my baby son; you, hiding behind a gorse bush no bigger than you were, both golden in the sun. In the blink of my mind I see you still, smiling as you ran into that distance…
LETTERS
On October 22, The West Australian carried an article under the grandiose headline, “Expert panel reach out to MPs to quash fake news on voluntary assisted dying laws”, in which in was reported that former West Australian governor Malcolm McCusker “reached out to all Upper House MPs” in a bid to quash “fake news” concerning proposed euthanasia and voluntary assisted suicide laws. Mr…
HUMOUR Vote 1 for the Troposphere
by the International Team of Sciences and the Climate Rescue Action Party (ITS CRAP) Once there was primordial climate chaos, known collectively as the Australian Political Establishment (APE). Out of this ooze an elite squad emerged, the International Team of Scientists (ITS). Soon another group evolved too, the formidable and all-knowing Climate Rescue Action Party (CRAP). When these two bodies merged, the only…
EDITORIAL A second chance to secure Australia’s future
Australia missed the opportunity to invest its huge export earnings from the resources boom in new industries and products. However, record low interest rates have given us a second chance. The problems There is a well-known problem in economics. When a country has a boom in export commodities (like iron ore, gas and coal), the nation’s currency appreciates in value, making domestic manufacturing…
BOOK REVIEW Quirky look at grand-scale egoism
HOW TO BE A DICTATOR: The Cult of personality in the Twentieth Century by Frank Dikötter Bloomsbury Publishing, London Paperback: 304 pages Price: AUD$29.99 Reviewed by Bill James The three volumes of Frank Dikotter’s trilogy on Mao’s China (The Tragedy of Liberation; Mao’s Great Famine; The Cultural Revolution) have been reviewed in News Weekly, and together constitute an important contribution…
BOOK REVIEW Clear critique of flaws of globalism
STRAIGHT TALK ON TRADE: Ideas for a Sane World Economy by Dani Rodrik Princeton University Press, Princeton Paperback: 336 pages Price: AUD$37.99 Reviewed by Colin Teese Dani Rodrik has certainly presented us with some straight talk on trade, but he has gone much further – he has given us a masterful and comprehensive critique of orthodox economic thinking and practice. Rodrik is Ford…
