In light of recent debates at Troppo , readers might be interested in an excellent op/ed piece by Gary Younge in The Guardian .
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A quick update on the IR wars. Kenneth Davidson has a cogent op/ed piece in The Age today demonstrating how lowering the minimum wage would not necessarily contribute to employment, would harm the low-paid, and do nothing for the skills shortage. The government's latest gambit...
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As the intensity and pace of the Troppo culture wars over sexuality and schools diminish rapidly (though increasingly people are commenting elsewhere - see Tim Dunlop's contention that there is no centrist position on the issue recently posted at Road to Surfdom ), it's probab...
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Just eight days after she announced her retirement from blogging , to general and justified lamentations from her devoted readers, Gianna came back ! Yay! Welcome back, G! Why wasn't I told earlier???!!!!
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I'm not inclined to participate further on the debate on non-heterosexualities and school education, partly because I think it's rapidly running its course , and partly because at the moment I can better focus my writing energies on my thesis. So after this post, I'll disappea...
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Rob Corr has put up a very measured post summarising the debate which started with the incident of the student teacher having her prac terminated because she answered children's questions about her same-sex partner over at Kick & Scream . Rob's post is tellingly titled 'Discre...
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Feeling generally overtired, a bit ill, and reeling from all sorts of things that are stressing me, I was delighted to be asked out by a good friend of mine for a Corona or two tonight (a very good rule of thumb is that any drink that can reasonably have a lime in it is a good...
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In light of events at Troppo over the last couple of days, now might be an opportune moment to post an extract from a post by the wise but currently absent Don Arthur at his now-moribund blog: A deeper form of civility asks us to make an effort to treat other people with respe...
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For American talk radio host Bruce DuMont ideas are just another product traded in the marketplace. And unlike some right wing whiners, he thinks the marketplace is working just fine: Yes, my Classically trained friends, "Praise be to Adam Smith!" It is my position that maybe,...
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Unfortunately, I'm feeling unwell today so unable to go into work. Happily, though, this gives me the chance to post on International Women's Day. There are a number of entries around the 'sphere - Rob Corr's birthday is also today, and he has some interesting reflections on c...
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You'd get the impression from parts of the recent comments threads around this joint lately that Western civilisation is about to collapse if the shaky heteronormativity in schools isn't immediately reinforced. As a number of us have pointed out, though, there are real people...
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Mark's posting on what he sees as a 'rightwing PC' intolerance of sexuality in schools has led me to present these few thoughts to Troppo Armadillians, based on my own observations and experiences in schools. I'm not interested in debating the rights and wrongs of the toleranc...
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Much of the talk about IR Reform is based on assertion - and misinformation, or perhaps creating an impression which proves to be untrue on closer inspection, if that's a different thing. The current contention that a panel of experts is needed to assess the economic impact of...
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From the age of 10 we Parish kids were expected to do squad swimming training. Every morning from September to April we'd be driven down to the local pool at South Curl Curl beach before 6am to churn up and down for an hour and a half before school. During the early part of th...
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I previously argued that talk of values - usually found associated with education debates - can be code for imposing conservative social values on everyone , and that one value that rarely gets mentioned is the fundamental liberal value of toleration. As the right wing culture...
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At the very welcome recommendation of a friend, I reread the second "Lightness and Weight" chapter in Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being on Saturday. Kundera reminded me of the truth of a metaphor Maurice Merleau-Ponty used for how our lives are shaped by remembered...
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Fresh from a coup in snatching the free to air coverage of The Ashes series against England which Channel Nine declined and the ABC dithered over, public broadcaster SBS will tonight show highlights of the Danish Royal Wedding . I'll be watching - I still have Princess Diana's...
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I've been collecting and reading old magazines just as long as I've been collecting and reading old books, ie since at least the age of 16. Though the pleasure each has given me is related, old magazines make for a distinctively different reading experience from old books, bec...
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My provocative post about Immanuel Wallerstein seems to have antagonised Mark Bahnisch. I devoutly hope that won't prove terminal to his participation at Troppo, partly because he's a valued blogging colleague, and partly because his prolific posting takes the pressure off me,...
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Or, the Civil in Civility It's odd that we hear so much about the Judaeo-Christian tradition (usually in the context of values) these days from the Culture Warriors who believe that our values are going to ruin all around us . It's as if, like the artist Frederick Goodall , th...
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