July 2019 Volume LXIII, Number 7-8, No. 558
Weakness at the Centre
The Majesty of the Law
Some Fragments of Future Histories
The Forbidden-to-Forbid Generation
Endangered Science
The Escalating Madness of Leftist Crowds
Contents
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Sir: The discussion of the nature of ideologies, contained in […]June 28, 2019
7 mins
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Those of us who still believe the legal system's traditions help preserve us from barbarism can only hope the B-grade spectacle we have witnessed so many times in the persecution of George Pell is an aberration, not a portent of some squalid future
June 28, 2019
8 mins
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Transcript from 2024 Nuffield College interview with the Rt. Hon. […]
June 28, 2019
9 mins
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Where human beings are concerned, there is no new thing under the sun. Ravening egotists and narcissists there have always been, and always will be. The question and all too often the problem is not that they exist, but their number and proportion in the populationAugust 4, 2019
9 mins
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There are many possible examples, but let me cite the recent and, for the Adani mine's opponents, the convenient use of black-throated finches to further stall development. The suggestion by lawfare's urgers and advocates that an entire species was at risk is a case of 'noble cause corruption' from beak to tail feathersJuly 1, 2019
8 mins
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Nigel Farage was doused recently with a milkshake, which not only ruined a nice suit but highlighted the mania of the Left. Brexit, Trump, the ascension of Boris Johnson -- for so-called progressives these aren't manifestions of the democratic will but incitements to a galloping lunacyJuly 30, 2019
10 mins
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The working-class people outside London who supplied the bulk of the Brexit vote now know all too well what their “betters” think of them. These 17 million people are unlikely to forget being condemned and mocked as knuckle-dragging racists, imperial nostalgists and illiterate halfwitsJuly 24, 2019
13 mins
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Not merely does the leader of the Irish government apparently not know that Britain lies between Ireland and mainland Europe, his party members think they should sue whenever an adult falls off a child’s swing with a drink in each handJuly 21, 2019
12 mins
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In traditional societies one aimed above all else to tell the truth, both for moral reasons and to provide a plausible analysis of events. In education today one learns above all to be critical—I criticise, therefore I am—whereas the aim should be to tell the truth about our society, which always involves a mixture of some criticism and some endorsementJuly 4, 2019
16 mins
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While we miss the past of rose-tinted imagination, one change that modern media and educational fashion has brought really does need to be acknowledged: the extent to which rationality has been downgraded in our daily discourse. Until we grasp how we perceive change there can be no understanding of what is happening around usAugust 7, 2019
14 mins
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Before the First World War, most intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic thought that the United States represented a new civilisation, one growing ever more distinct from the Western one that spawned it. They were rightAugust 13, 2019
21 mins
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Generosity is a term that immediately comes to mind when […]
June 28, 2019
12 mins
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When I first met Les Murray, I knew nothing of […]
June 29, 2019
4 mins
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Social, political and cultural outlooks have undergone major shifts since the Sixties' coffee-table books extolling our 'vast mineral and agricultural resources' and 'laid-back lifestyle'. However, these may be just changes in the externals. A truly fundamental change beyond a general relaxation of social mores remains debatableJuly 27, 2019
33 mins
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Joe Biden sold out all his principles—if principles and Obama’s number two or, as he now bills himself, Obama’s “buddy”—can be used in the same sentence. If the establishment Democrat versus the populist Republican match-up did not work out for the Democrats in 2016, it is even less likely to do so this time aroundJuly 23, 2019
20 mins
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His Orientalism has done much to shape and twist perceptions of students and Islamists backing Hamas. The Columbia academic, a habitual liar, built his career on defaming the West, where he preferred to live, while depicting alleged wrongs done to the society where, since childhood, he had never livedMay 9, 2024
13 mins
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One day in France in July 1916, during the Allied […]
June 29, 2019
15 mins
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As the Morrison Government ponders a referendum on recognising Aborigines in the Constitution, one of the key issues will be the content of the question on the ballot -- an issue so thorny, so fraught with agendas and crosscurrents, there is a good chance what emerges will do no one any good. As Nicholas Hasluck notes, 'people of goodwill should make their voices heard before it is too late'July 12, 2019
32 mins
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The devil for indigenous recognition, like the republican movement, is in the detail. And, like Neville Bonner’s criticism of a republic, it is difficult to see how it would actually help Aboriginal Australians prosper in a modern world. “If Australia became a republic,” said Bonner, “we, the Aboriginal people, would be no better off."July 26, 2019
10 mins
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Overall, the new Indian writers show dreamers infected by the defining Western malady, a kind of anomie based on the unending search for individual and material gratification. Can East and West ever meet? On the evidence, they have long done so and give no sign of stopping any time soonJuly 19, 2019
21 mins
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A true economic and cultural renaissance -- that is the reward which awaits societies willing to take a leap of faith by embracing open markets, low taxes, and the freedom of their citizenry to dictate the kind of society they want through a greater role for individual decision-making. Look to Hong Kong for proof of thatJuly 10, 2019
8 mins
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Georg Knapp, Abba Lerner, Hyman Minsky are names few but those immersed in the dismal science will know or recognise. This is a pity, especially where the stewards of the world's economies are concerned, as it is this trio's theories which have informed the latest crackpot neo-Keynesian assault on economic sanityAugust 1, 2019
24 mins
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Let me take you back 24 years to the first great euthanasia debate, a moment that crystallised the concerns of many that the so-called ‘right to die’ would come to be felt by the most vulnerable as a ‘duty to die’. That concern remains no less valid today, as mercy killing is legislated and made normalAugust 15, 2019
24 mins
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If not for one man, Sir Edward Coke, law in the Anglosphere could have veered into the top-down, regulation-strewn path of continental Europe. This astonishing legal mind really ought to be better known and respected among conservativesJuly 9, 2019
13 mins
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Des Sturgess was the leading criminal barrister of his time, […]
June 29, 2019
13 mins
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Big, proud, well armed, well trained and drilled, haughty but honourable, the German army in its day was the most fearsome fighting machine on earth. But in the world crisis that began in 1914, its top brass wrecked its own worldJuly 14, 2019
9 mins
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According to the spiritual progenitor of Al Qaeda, violence for the sake of the universal liberation of man, given the opportunity presented by revelatory Islam, becomes 'legitimate'. An absolute submission to Allah and his Prophet becomes the compelling and only true cause and true remedyAugust 20, 2019
8 mins
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Mark Dapin is a military historian and journalist with a […]August 24, 2019
5 mins
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The mini-series charting to path to war in 1914 isn't without its faults, but they are minor. As one reviewer noted, “this three-parter is little short of a triumph—gripping, complex, superbly performed and as clear as clear could be. On this rare occasion, history is better served by drama than documentary'August 22, 2019
16 mins
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Progressive Melbourne playwrights have a brainwave moment and decide to contribute short performance texts inspired by May 18's election. These are published daily online, and the result? Crying trees, wailing authors, a dismal certainty about voters' ignorance and, just for the fun of it, a child burned at the stakeAugust 2, 2019
11 mins
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I do not flatter myself into thinking that, when the […]
June 29, 2019
20 mins
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Do we know how Humbert Humbert dressed, The Leopard, Pierre Bezukhov and so many others? I confess to being fascinated but I don’t remember whether their attire is ever effectively described. We’ll just have to read, or re-read, the books if we want to find outJuly 15, 2019
9 mins
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The true measure of an artwork’s credibility: is it the best expression of what it is meant to be in itself? On this basis, many activist artworks seem flawed due to the compounding of art with a demand for social justice. But when there is none of this double-mindedness, but attention only on the good of the artwork, the result can be specialAugust 8, 2019
20 mins
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If a man looked as though he was close to […]
June 29, 2019
15 mins
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The last time they spoke, although she did not know […]
June 29, 2019
7 mins
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Is it any wonder Rudd & Co's plan to insulate homes against climate change went so wildly and tragically astray? Predictably, the number of insulation installers soared twenty-eight fold, cowboys dominated, reputable operators forced out and people died. This is what happens, folks, whenever the dead hand of government gets involvedAugust 19, 2019
8 mins
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To the Glory of God We have what’s called a […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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From a Russian Proverb Rage all you want. It won’t […]
June 29, 2019
2 mins
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Ghazal on Envy A mate rolls up in his Jag […]
June 29, 2019
2 mins
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Rector Magnificus Married and monk amid joys of earth; cloistral hush […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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Chagall From the shtetl, To universal pictures, Of love and […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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Tonal Effect, Driving Home As day wanes to palest grey […]
June 29, 2019
2 mins
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My Father’s Suit Faithful as Greyfriars Bobby My father’s good […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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The True History of Philosophy (and Religion) For malt does […]
June 29, 2019
9 mins
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Poetess Meets Poet They met as I recall, At one […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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Yachts in Winter Perched on salt desert precarious pillars of […]
June 29, 2019
3 mins
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WHAT ABOUT THE GROOM? The bridal party crowds the […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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we burn the dictionary use my words like childish […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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The Hollywood Producer The Hollywood producer plucked the fruits of […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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The Green Tint of Time The past, like old stones, […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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No Limits A stack of notebooks sits in front […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
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glass wall the glass between you and the wind […]
June 29, 2019
1 mins
