Category: Friday on My Mind

Arthritis and the global business of hip replacements

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Who’d have known there were 2.150 million Australians who suffer from arthritis? It was one of the questions in the 2021 Census (asking about long-term health problems). I don’t recall answering the question, but don’t doubt that I ticked the top 3 boxes. The three biggest long term health issues in Australia are: mental health, arthritis and asthma. The 2021 Census was the first time the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) asked about diagnosed long-term health conditions….

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The Future for Refugees in Rural Australia

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Australians who support asylum seekers and refugees have been optimistic of improved policy since the Labor Party won the Federal election on May 24. As you can see by the above chart, there is daylight between the tough policies of the former government and the more compassionate policies of Labor and The Greens. While we wait for clearer direction from the new government, Australians who care about refugees ramped up their efforts for Refugee Week…

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Stagflation, recession and the price of lettuce

It used to be that using the R word in a headline was tantamount to a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I added ‘lettuce’ to diminish the risk. Those inventive purveyors of ‘memes’ (visual satire), have been going on about the supposed price of lettuces in Australia – ‘tip of the iceberg’ and suchlike puns. I tend to invoke the Darryl Kerrigan mantra when confronted with over-priced food items (as much as $11). Darryl, from the Australian…

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Tiananmen Square and the China Dilemma

We released a new CD around the time of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, or as it is known by China’s government, ‘June Fourth Incident’. I mention this not as some outrageous plug for ‘merch’ but to draw your attention to the historic photo on the album cover. (Ed is now cringing slightly at the thought of plugging ‘merch’.) It shows Prime Minister Gough Whitlam meeting China’s then-president, Mao Tse Tung in…

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