AFGHANISTAN, AGAIN

This appeared yesterday (Saturday) in the Canberra Times.

There is a good argument to be made for staying in Afghanistan, but not as we are at the moment.

If you insist that our current course is the correct one, then you also have to admit we are losing the war . . .

THE NEW SUBMARINE

The biggest defence decision the country must make - the one that will define our forces over the next couple of decades - is what sort of submarine we should buy.

This summarises some of the arguments . . .

THE MEDIA WE DESERVE

Do we really get the media we deserve? 

Julia Gillard doesn't seem to think so. Unfortunately, her critique is based on the idea that the owner chooses what is published, and this doesn't explain the way the media works at all. 

If we want to improve journalism in Australia, this column suggests that the best way is to get a reliable, independent body to investigate the way the media works . . . 

AFGHANISTAN. WHY?

Another two deaths in Afghanistan . . . but ones that have a personal meaning for me.

Thanks to great help from a fantastic NGO, The Liaison Office, I was able to meet Jan Mohammed Khan. This week he died, at the place where I last saw him.

This piece tries to encapsulate some of the questions his assassination raises . . .

THE SECURITY DIMENSION

Labor is doomed to failure over its bid to introduce a Carbon Tax unless it broadens the agenda away from the immediate issue of 'how much will it cost?'; to 'how can we not afford it?'.

This column examines the security ramifications of not acting . . .

Carbon Tax

This column was originally printed in the Canberra Times (CT) on Tuesday a week before the Carbon Tax (CT) was announced.

(Oooh, how spooky . . . the initials of both institutions are "CT"! Is there a link? Think about it! I note that the plan was also announced after the 6th/6th. Is it the work of Satan? Probably not, although you wouldn't know that to listen to the outrageous hype being encouraged by some of our politions at the moment.)

Here it is . . .

Let's Try Again

Back.

Sorry about the break in transmission. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I lost the password and then began attempting to log in while having a page running with another google address, etc, etc . . .

Entirely my own fault. Now I have managed to solve my little problem I will begin posting regularly again (and also make up the posts I missed).

The big issue at the moment, of course, is that we finally have a carbon tax. Although I have significant problems with it, this column is a celebration of the fact that an Australian politician has finally managed to do something. Anything.