Monday, November 25, 2002

Society Why Are You Not Like Me? it's a pity we're still strangers

The vast majority of migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds do not feel they belong to Australia, despite being very satisfied with their quality of life here.
· Exiles [Sydney Morning Herald 24/11/02]

The Skeptical Conservative

Keep government small, said skeptic Michael Oakeshott. No one can know enough to govern adequately, so let us limit the potential of our masters to do damage ...
I think the need to know the news every day is a nervous disorder.
· Small is ... [AEI]

Politics Out of the sand pit and on to the hustings

Bear pit, shmear pit. If the past couple of weeks are anything to go by, the NSW Parliament should be renamed the snake pit. Or should that be the sand pit? The Opposition Leader, John Brogden, to the Premier: Sit down, you stupid girl.
· Pitty [Sydney Morning Herald]

History Sex Crimes & Punishment

If William Naphy's book proves anything, it is that people were prepared to spy on each other and report anything that struck them as odd. This gave busybodies, voyeurs and the downright nasty ample opportunity to grass up their neighbours for no other reason than that they felt like it. The resultant court reports show harassed elders trying to untangle situations where spite, greed and unrequited love conspired to produce a charge of sexual impropriety against someone whose only crime was to smile too brightly at an interesting stranger.
· Voyeurs [Guardian]

Media Comparative Advantage
There have always been columnists who, for better or worse, commanded the greatest attention of their day.

I think that if I’d known what it would be like, I’d never have agreed to do this column,” admits Paul Krugman, a man both loved and reviled..
· Ruggy Columnists [Washington]