When Rome Counted its Citizens

You may not immediately deduce from the headline that we are about to embark upon a discourse about the Census, which will happen in Australia on or about  August 10, 2021. I say on or about because the online version of the head count can be filled in electronically on or a few days after August 10. You just have to declare where you actually were on Census night. As you will recall, the Australian…

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Down the rabbit hole, looking for trouble

The phrase ‘going down the rabbit hole’ could well apply to my activities earlier this week, as I set out to research ‘alternative’ social media networks including those adopted by the right wing. Before I disappeared down the burrow, I had some idea what I would encounter, having last year researched 4Chan and 8Chan. My research was thwarted right at the start by Amazon’s reported move to ban Parler from its web-hosting network. Apple and…

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Our Obsession With U.S. Politics

For reasons attributed to the way my mind works, the 1950s children’s song ‘Nellie the Elephant’ has been in my head for months now. If the complete domination of the airwaves by the US election is getting you down, just sing this happy refrain: “Nellie the elephant packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus, off she went with a trumpety trump – trump, trump, trump.” Yes, once heard never able to be un-heard.The song…

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When Campbell Newman lost his seat

Queensland heads to the polls tomorrow, four years and nine months after the historic defeat of Campbell Newman and the LNP Coalition. I thought it would be interesting and educational to revisit those restive times, when Campbell Newman became only the second sitting Premier since Federation to lose his seat. Mr Newman’s seat of Ashgrove was taken by Kate Jones, who ironically is quitting politics in 2020 to pursue other interests. The Tourism Minister’s last…

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