All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.
- James Thurber
And All nations need characters like John Hatton and Vaclav Havel
Julian Burnside rather than Assange links to this - Given that this is the Michael Kirby Oration, allow me a couple of minutes to talk about Michael Kirby PRINCIPLES, PRAGMATISM AND POLITICS
Lions on the Move The Digger and the dirt
The next casualties of Britain’s phone-hacking controversy could come from the media, politics or the police. But whoever falls next, it probably won’t be good news for the business interests of Australia’s most influential American citizen.
They still call him “the Digger” here in London, more often the “Dirty Digger,” so it just wouldn’t ring true if he were called an American media tycoon. But in that respect, the British are not so very different from Australians.
After all, the ABC’s annual Boyer Lectures are, according to its website, an occasion when the board “invites a prominent Australian… to present six radio lectures expressing their thoughts on major social, cultural, scientific or political issues.” Yet the Boyer Lecturer for 2008 was a United States citizen. “I appreciate that many Australians will debate whether I still have the right to call myself one of you,” Rupert Murdoch (almost) apologised…
• Media Dragon Clean as a whistle [Hat tip to Leanne: How a Remote Town in Romania Has Become Cybercrime Central
With only 120000 people, Ramnicu Valcea is known to security experts across the world as Hackerville because the town is full of online hackers that haunt Wired to 42 Western Union Branches ; Hackers who fail]
• · IT IS now clear that the union movement made a bad mistake when it backed the introduction of the compulsory superannuation scheme devised by Labor’s Paul Keating, urged on by the ACTU secretary at the time, Bill Kelty Compulsory super: a policy in search of evidence ; Topping the list of indicators that people think are most important are - job securityThe Pursuit of Happiness
• · · The plan to provoke a profound shake-up to the arts ; As with the iPhone, you can download apps to your heart’s content for Android (200,000 so far), a huge number of which are free. Android, Google’s mobile phone operating system
• · · · A Global Compass - Navigating Public Sector Corruption ; Lowy Bunch: Exploring the triangular strategic dynamic between the United States, China and the Philippines, this paper argues that Manila's efforts to balance between the two great powers are being gradually undermined. Between the clawing eagle and ascendant dragon: the demise of the Philippines' policy of hedging
• · · · · As Australia continues to experience the devastating impact of huge floods, the story of 13-year-old Jordan Rice has become a global inspiration. Caught in the powerful floodwaters, Jordan told rescuers “save my brother first” before he and his mother were swept away and drowned. He is one of many to have perished in the floods.Save My Brother First ; Last Year the Federal Parliament repealed the National Security Information (Civil and Criminal Trials) Act, one of the most oppressive bits of legislation ever passed by the parliament. A small victory for human rights and common sense. All under control? Recent issues in Australia’s legal response to counter-terrorism