The adage that war is politics by other means needs to be updated. In light of the ongoing carnage in Gaza and the rain of Hamas rockets on Israel, a more accurate summation would have it that media coverage, and manipulation of the media, is the latest front
The editor of The New Criterion has watched with alarm and dismay as President Obama fulfilled his pledge to set about “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” Six years on, he will discuss those changes at the next Quadrant dinner on August 6. Click here for tickets
Scotland may soon gain the authority to levy income taxes, a remarkable development in a nation with a unitary system entirely unlike that wrought by Australia's founding fathers. Turn back the clock or copy what is likely to happen in the UK, it wouldn't matter, but something needs to change
Prevailing opinion concedes that Israel has the right to defend itself. But this pro-forma position is largely cancelled by the argument which says that if Israel is too effective in its self-defence, it will be guilty of "a disproportionate response"
Joe Hockey's appallingly inept budget is no longer the real problem for a government the polls suggest is on the ropes and quite likely to stay there. The bigger threat and greater folly is Abbott & Co.'s delusional refusal to recognise the scope of its mistakes
Dismantling the West's cultural heritage continues apace, with the Norse god of thunder now the latest victim of a ceaseless quest to shape the future by kidnapping the past, even on minor salients like the comics rack at your local newsagent's
It is small potatoes in the grand, cosmic scheme of things, but worth noting all the same that the Archie & Jughead comicbooks are no more. In case you haven't heard, the 75-year-old central character was shot dead in the final edition by a homophobic gun lover
If catastropharians are correct, their own antics are actively eroding any hope of coping with the headline-grabbing disasters they so frequently predict. Please, men and women of science, re-embrace genuine science by attempting to disprove, rather than confirm, your pet theories
Israel's assault on Gaza is out of proportion with the provocation, the so-called experts insist. Perhaps, if they and their families were obliged to live beneath a hail of rockets and threats of annihilation, their sense of perspective might be somewhat different
Six months ago, Russia denied its troops were involved in the invasion of Crimea. Today, the claim is that Moscow is blameless in the destruction of Flight 17 -- yet another transparent lie and a reminder that Putin has as little regard for world opinion as for his neighbours' borders
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald are ardent advocates of sustainable living, placing a heavy emphasis on re-cycling, amongst other green virtues. Going by his latest column, Ross Gittins is the poster boy for making sure other people's words get a second airing
The countries whose citizens were murdered should confront Moscow with an ultimatum and a pledge: hand over those responsible, or see Russia deemed a pariah state with all of the consequences that follow
Finally, it's dead -- the Carbon Tax, that is
"Politics is not about the pursuit of power as an end in itself. Those who seek power for the sake of power will always fail. Politics is about seeking power though democratic means in order to take power away from the elites, whether bureaucratic or corporate, and return power to the people."
Being dismissed did wonders for Gough Whitlam's reputation, making a martyr of an arrogant and devious incompetent. Beset by scandals and the bitter fruits of his governance in these, the dog days of his presidency, Obama must be wishing for the distraction of a Republican push for impeachment
Originality has long been in short supply at The Sydney Morning Herald and its Melbourne stablemate, The Age, but who would have thought those publications so bereft of inspiration that they would embrace a caricature popular in another country some 80 years ago.....
Eight decades after Stalin inflicted a murderous famine on the Ukraine, academics still debate the extent of his inhumanity. It is a frustration likely to be shared by those hoping for definitive answers to the fate of Flight 17.
Recent history suggests that Coles' move from groceries into petrol, liquor retailing, insurance and credit cards is by no means the high-water mark of its ambitions. Australian consumers may well regret that their elected representatives facilitated such an expansion
Remember how the Climate Council was going to work pro bono to counter sceptics, deniers, carbonistas and all the other planet-fouling monsters in the warmists' bestiary of evildoers? It seems volunteer efforts now come with a price tag
How did Australia get itself into a situation where labour is so over-priced that it’s no longer economic to run a TV/radio repair shop, or worthwhile training young people in the basic skills of hands-on electronics?