Tag Archives: Op-Ed

An Ongoing State of War North Korea has declared that it has entered a state of war, and will use wartime protocols to deal with its counterpart South Korea. As a country, North Korea has been largely shut off from, and closed to, the rest of the world.  Where things often taken for granted elsewhere, such as mobile phones and even magazines are not allowed to cross the borders.  This speaks to the level of control the government – or, dare it be called a regime – exerts upon its citizens.  Methods such as this are used as a means of media control.  To stifle the ease, and freedom of speech; and promote the party line (and propaganda) of the ruling body politic.  If one thinks about how hard it is to monitor and censor statements made, especially in real time, on mobile phones, the link between their availability and the level of a society’s ...

That there are inconsistencies with discrimination is likely little surprise.  The nature of discrimination is to differentiate and discern differences.  That anti-discrimination can also be so inconsistent or contradictory, however, warrants further thought. The issue of same-sex marriage, or gay marriage to use another term, is something which continues to strike discord amongst many. There are those for it.  Often gay couples, annoyed and dismayed by the fact that two consenting adults whom love one another are all too often unable to be married.  Apart from an expression of love and commitment, marriage has various legal and financial ramifications conveyed to a spouse but not necessarily to a de facto partner. There are those against it.  Often drawing a line in the sand on religious grounds, that a marriage must be between a man and a woman.  That somehow, allowing same-sex marriage supposedly degrades the institution of marriage and may pave the way ...

Over months, if not years, the embattled Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has managed to hold onto both her position as PM and the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). After failing to win the 2010 federal election decisively with a clear majority, yet managing to form a minority Government, Julia’s grip on power has been tenuous, albeit just enough.  A fact reiterated on the 21st March 2013, with the latest Labor leadership spill, this time initiated by Simon Crean. With a voice that some Australians find less pleasant than fingernails scaping down a blackboard, Julia has repeatedly irked many Australians, whom have called for her removal.  This has been largely borne of the way in which she came to the position of the PM.  Regardless of one’s political views, knifing Kevin Rudd in the back for the top job, has not sat well with many Australians. Perhaps oversimplifying things, the paradox of voting states ...