Pat Buchanan: Freedom and democracy are on the march. So, says President Bush. And, surely, something is on the march on the unpredictability of revolutions An essay on a heterodox perspective on the meaning of war: The key to the accelerated pace of empire building over the past decade is the “open spaces” resulting from the demise of the collectivist states (USSR, Eastern Europe and Asia) and their overseas dependencies and allies in Africa and elsewhere Closed Spaces
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: The endless quest for ethics grail
In ancient Greece the philosopher Plato considered any form of rhetoric, or what we might call persuasion, to be spin. Being fond of the simple truth he would have called a spade a spade, and spin would be lying.
But in the 3rd century BC the art of persuasion started to appear. Aristotle, a pupil of Plato’s, saw the value of the art of persuasion in the political arena and wrote treatises on rhetoric, or what we might call spin today.
In the following centuries the sophists became masters of rhetoric, and taught this sometimes black art to the politicians and lawmen of their day. (The sophists would be able to tell their charges how to explain their New Year stay in a friend’s Spanish villa; articulate how your partnership in a law firm is not a conflict of interest with your role as leader of the opposition . . . in addition to allowing you to sound off on complex issues such as 24-hour licensing, stem cell licensing or human cloning).
• Sophists: an ancient version of Celebrity Big Brother . . . or First Minister’s Questions [A conversation with Larry Diamond on Rial Politik What to do about Iran's nuclear revolution? ; Who Should Apologize to Whom? Where is the country that Bill Clinton, a former president of the United States, feels ideologically most at home? Believe it or not, the country Bill Clinton so admires is the Islamic Republic of Iran ; Encounters is an electronic journal of political science featuring prize-winning articles by non-english language political scientists from around the world, is out The inaugural issue]
• · Mike Steketee The Right's friendly new face: Mark Arbib & Kelli Field ; Back in February 2005 Naked Eye of Sun Herald fame noted that queues were forming for Bob Carr’s seat. For the third time in recent months, Premier Bob Carr has attended his local branch meeting, spreading good-will among the comrades of Maroubra. Among the application to join the branch is Mark Arbib. Official rumours Fire began to sizzle when penalties faced the chop ; The inside word...; Sydney train driver charged over threatening letters Sour Grapes on Trains
• · · Malcolm Turnbull's tax adventures ; In new democracies and closed societies, The Open Society retains its freshness and relevance The Open Society Revisited
• · · · Ian Thorpe isn't swimming at the Australian Titles and World Championships in Sydney this week, but at the weekend he made a very astute remark when he warned about the perils of over exposure Thorpe in drowning pool; One hears the groan every four years: only one Olympic bronze medal for one billion people. Are Indians born losers?
• · · · · However, tonight on the radio the US military denied troops killed Iraqi general US troops shoot dead Iraqi general: police ; The assassination of Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov Thanks from the new Czar ; How Has War Changed Since the End of the Cold War?
• · · · · · Belgium confronts its colonial past ; The Techno-Politics of the Indonesian Crisis: An Opportunity Lost