Club Troppo

It's good to see that Melbourne academic Paul Mees continues to fight the good fight for rational public transport policy, unbowed by the disgraceful actions of his employer the University of Melbourne in recently demoting him at the behest of the Victorian government . In an...

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Well-being isn't just about our relationship with things, it's also about our relationships with each other. Poverty hurts, not just because it can leave you feeling hungry, cold and sick, but because it can also leave you feeling ignored, excluded and ashamed. In The Theory o...

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As Dan Herman argues , Governments using blogs is no big deal. They typically use them as new places to post press releases. Then again, that's better than nothing as the informality of blogs allows much more frequent posting so research agencies like the Congressional Budget...

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I've just finished reading Dancing with Strangers, which I've read in fits and starts because of lack of time. I'm still too busy to write a decent review, but no doubt you can find them if you look. The book was showered with praise on its release a few years ago. Rightly so....

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Sandy Levinson comments on recently deceased senior American political journalist Tim Russert: David Remnick has a very fine comment on Russert in this week's New Yorker . He notes, among other things, Russert's thorough preparation for his interviews and his desire to make ne...

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Is it just me or do other Troppo readers appreciate the irony (or rank hypocrisy depending on your level of cynicism) of the main exponents and proselytisers of fairness and equality in our society apparently applying a completely double standard, when it comes to their own re...

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Friday's edition over the fold. A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian I think the second one is LBJ but who's the third? Jim...

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Thursday's edition over the fold. A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian John Quiggin and Gary Sauer-Thompson look at the stat...

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Quite a dancer! HT The incomparable Kathy G .

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Wednesday's edition over the fold. A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian Tim Dunlop notes the AMA's bailing out of backing/pa...

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If you're interested in social policy and have a strong commitment to social justice then here's a job you might be interested in. Catholic Social Services Australia is looking for a new policy officer . CSSA is looking for an appropriately qualified and experienced person to:...

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Tuesday's edition over the fold. A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian The Missing Link team feels that we should complete th...

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Monday's edition over the fold. A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian (From Worst of Perth ) Can this gallery expect a visit...

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In a marginal note to Missing Link the other day, I expressed the view that Jason Soon and Helen Dale's advocacy for the LDP's Negative Income Tax + abolition of minimum wage policy was "persuasive". And so it was at first glance. Despite my frequently scathing remarks about e...

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At the local Rapid Creek Market this morning I gave Kevin Rudd two tomatoes. I have never given tomatoes to anyone, ever before - such is the seductive power of fame. My grandfather used to give us homegrown tomatoes - by the barrel at certain times of year. These ones were 'l...

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..Looks like a quiet night. I need to get something off my chest. I have just received a notice from the Juries Commission in Victoria that I am wanted for jury service. It's one of the letters a busy person dreads. You cannot get out of it, even by paying a fine. And they are...

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A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian Phillip Toledanos new book Phone Sex (July 2008, Twin Palms) takes us into the boudoirs...

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Cyclists are an oppressed minority. Car drivers resent cyclists on the road, and pedestrians resent us on the footpaths, even when they're designated cycleways as well. On the same ride I've been told aggressively to get off the road and use the footpath by a car driver, and t...

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A digest of the best of the blogosphere published each weekday and compiled by Ken Parish, gilmae, Gummo Trotsky, Amanda Rose, Tim Sterne, Jen McCulloch and Stephen Hill Politics Australian The hero. The leader. The god by Alexandre Kosolapov (via the Stumblng Tumblr ) Gary Sa...

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QUT researcher Axel Bruns (presumably along with usual colleagues Jason Wilson and Barry Saunders) has just published some new quantitative research about blogs which contains some interesting results. He/they undertook a textual analysis of 3 prominent blogs with somewhat div...

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