What About Free Speech?

27/06/2020

Random short rant in response to a comment I saw underneath an Advance Australia post.

“Black Lives Matter are in fact promoting a ‘racial divide’ and perpetuating racism. The left thrive on division.”

So the post claims. Below in the comments, a response not only highlights some people’s ignorance of the Black Lives Matter movement (or any “leftist” movement, whatever that means), but, seemingly without self-awareness of any kind, advocates rather totalitarian methods of combatting them. As the post title suggests, it is, ironically, an attack on free speech.

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Friendlyjordies Tapping at The Mainstream

19/06/2020

While I had a kindling interest in politics before finding the Friendlyjordies channel on YouTube in (I want to say) 2014? It was through him I heard about Noam Chomsky, and from that bizarre link I stumbled into anarchism and that minor interest became a greater focus as the years went by. Created by Jordan Shanks, the Friendlyjordies channel has been a counter to the mainstream media narrative here in Australia, with the clear aim of showcasing Coalition failures and giving a platform to the usually neglected or misconstrued Labor Party (with, you know, actual evidence to support his claims and views). It’s been a long ride, but he’s getting too big to ignore.

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Politics Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Like the Planet

30/05/2020

I’ve made the observation before that a lot of what we consider to be political issues are, in fact, a collection of other issues given a controversial spin that generally leads nowhere but a breakdown in discourse and understanding. The main example I used at the time was that abortion was a healthcare and women’s rights issue, not political, and certainly not religious. The most impactful on a global scale is, of course, climate change.

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Report Truth, Not Views

23/05/2020

The idea of journalism being an adversarial “pillar of democracy” is laughable, as I have written a few times on this site before. One of the books I am reading at the moment, Merchants of Doubt, provides examples of how the “fairness” and “balance” aspects of journalism, however desirable in theory, are corrupt and abused in practice. As “conservative intellectuals” of the Internet age love to say, facts don’t care about your feelings, folks.

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Media on the Bushfires

04/01/2020

I commented on Twitter the other day that I’ve been a bit more attached to the social media platform in the past week or so, primarily to see personal accounts from those who are in the affected regions. But not everyone uses Twitter, and of those who do, there’s a fair share of questionable content that some can get lost in (i.e. those downplaying the extremity of this crisis, or the causes). “Traditional” (like newspapers, but also liberally applying that label to TV and digital media) media is still very important as it shapes a lot of opinion and knowledge.

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Scott Morrison Must Leave

02/01/2020

I don’t care how, he just needs to get the hell out of it. A resignation would be welcome, as would a vote of no confidence – but his criminal gang masquerading as a political party would laugh it down as they did Medevac. He could run off back to Hawaii and leave someone competent in charge, but that wouldn’t be possible because competence isn’t the Coalition’s strong point. I wouldn’t condone it, but I also wouldn’t shed a tear if the man pulled a Harold Holt or JFK.

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Coalition Still Campaigning

22/11/2019

Despite winning the election in May, the Coalition seems to still be stuck in a lot of their campaigning habits. The reason, in my opinion, is a relatively simple one, but it’s mind-boggling to think that a government can be so awful that, only six months into a third term, all they can think to do is self-promoting PR.

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We Can’t Afford This Cycle

21/11/2019

We elected the Coalition into government in 2013, and twice since then in both 2016 and 2019. In NSW, the Coalition has also been voted in for three consecutive terms. My interest in politics didn’t start until 2015, and I’ve only voted in two Federal elections, but there is a very clear pattern that has emerged in that time that is incredibly worrying. The media is, as usual, one of the greatest contributors to this mess.

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Government Ignoring Climate Emergency in Bushfire Escalation

10/11/2019

Queensland and New South Wales are experiencing more bushfires, forcing people to evacuate homes, straining emergency services, and destroying animals and habitats. Any rational and compassionate government would be doing everything in their power to help people who are struggling and work tirelessly to alleviate the conditions that spark such brutal blazes. Australia is lacking this basic expectation.

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Don’t Sympathise With Corruption

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.

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