An alternative voice in search of truth and justice.
26/10/2019
There is not a political party or personality that is above criticism. There will almost always be flaws and concerns that can be raised, always problematic positions and actions that should be challenged. You can be the strongest supporter of a party or person, but if you fail to acknowledge their failings then your support isn’t admirable, it is blind and narrow loyalty.
13/10/2019
My political communications lecturer was at pains to differentiate between propaganda and political public relations, but even using the definitions provided to us and the reasoning for it, I’m not sold on it. It’s the only unit I’ve actually done on a political topic, and I am already starting to see how universities frame this kind of content to fit the mould that the mainstream media and academics slowly adjust to. It actually makes me interested in doing further study into it just to observe how a course on these issues is carried out.
Continue reading “Political Public Relations is A Form of Propaganda”
21/09/2019
Sam Dastyari resigned from Parliament after it was revealed he was under the influence of Chinese donors. Whether you believe his tale of being used without realising or not, that he resigned almost immediately and has since recognised his mistakes is good. But it was still corruption, and I don’t exactly feel sorry for his career falling down as a result. And now he’s trying to get us to sympathise with Gladys Liu.
14/09/2019
Scott Morrison, that (big L) Liberal, has had enough of the racist accusations being made towards Gladys Liu. What is he, some leftie cuck from the snowflake generation that gets offended when the loyalties of someone deeply connected with the Chinese Communist Party are questioned? What’s wrong with the CCP? Don’t all of these Aussies know we’re only supposed to hate innocent black families now?
(The above is all tongue in cheek, of course.)
07/09/2019
I usually listen to music when taking the bus to various places, and recently I have started – for no real reason – picking out lyrics from songs that, out of context, could be associated with climate change. The one that seems most relevant this week?
“Welcome to the world, now let’s watch it burn.” – Gotta Let Go, Hollywood Undead.
28/08/2019
The Australian had a headline saying that there was havoc in the CBD. Pauline Hanson called protesters ‘serial pests’, and Lord Mayor of Brisbane (Adrian Schrinner) said they were ‘worse than the CFMEU’ and doubled down on his ‘extremist’ comment. Even friends sent me annoyed messages. That’s it everyone, they caught us, civil liberties are just too inconvenient a responsibility to have laying about.
14/08/2019
The High Court has ruled that Michaela Banerji’s sacking from the (then) Department of Immigration and Border Protection – Home Affairs sounds much nicer for the PR – was legitimate. This ruling has (to borrow the frequently used phrase from everywhere) rather chilling effects for democracy and free speech, and also has implications for other areas as well.
01/08/2019
Nothing that benefitted any oppressed or supressed demographic was gained by doing nothing. Every major movement of the last century or so, from the black rights’ movement to the #MeToo movement, Union actions to revolts against autocratic governments, environmental and anti-war causes – all of these have involved some form of protest.
29/07/2019
Despite having two other books to read for university and a topic to read up on for an upcoming internship role, I impulsively bought Refugee Rights and Policy Wrongs and read it within a few days because bookshops are a (wonderful) trap. I am glad I did get it, though, because while my knowledge of international and Australian law is passable (read as: probably not great, but most people I know, in the nicest terms, don’t have a clue so I appear intelligent), there is always more to learn, a fact to add to your arsenal. When the topic is humanitarian issues, the outcome literally means life and death.
Continue reading “Refugee Rights and Policy Wrongs: A Reflection”
28/07/2019
… I told you so. It’s beyond the realm of predictive speculation – what the current government has done, or been tangled up in, has been blatantly obvious since the beginning. If people paid any attention or read into policies and the like, maybe they wouldn’t be so dismayed and shocked when certain stories break in the media. Although granted, the media is half to blame for most of this ignorance. There are countless examples that could be used, but here are four (mostly from this month).
Anarchist Rising 