Club Troppo

There are few things more certain in blogging than that Tim Blair or Professor Bunyip will post on Margo Kingston's latest Web Diary frolic . Published to mark the second anniversary of the sinking of the asylum seeker vessel SIEV X, one of Margo's favourite obsessions, what i...

Continue reading →

My passing mention of the Anzac myth in a post earlier today has triggered a train of thought I can only quench (derail?) by writing. It's perhaps the most powerful aspect of Australian heritage and tradition, its effects flowing down through Australian society to the present...

Continue reading →

While searching unsuccessfully for the conference paper on which Errington and van Onselen's article on political party databases (see the previous post) was based, I came across another interesting paper by Brian Galligan and Winsome Roberts titled Australian Multiculturalism...

Continue reading →

The SMH/Age carries an article this morning that deserves close attention by anyone who really considers him/herself a student of Australian politics. It's by Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen and it deals with political party databases. Update - Jozef Imrich has kindly pr...

Continue reading →

My personal desire to revisit the History Wars is roughly on a par with my aspiration to experience the joys of lung cancer or leprosy. However the topic has been a perennially popular/controversial one on Troppo Armadillo, and always seems to generate acrimonious (and sometim...

Continue reading →

With news this week that " the Jews rule this world by proxy ", NSW Opposition police spokesman Peter Debnam would like to make you aware of another sinister cabal : There's about a thousand young men, typically between 18 and 30 who are basically running Sydney at the moment,...

Continue reading →

45 - 8 after 50 minutes Wallabies v Romania. But a sub-standard effort against sub-standard opposition. Too many penalties conceded, far too many dropped balls in the backs and a continuing lack of fluency and combination. Matthew Burke's having a great game at centre, but tha...

Continue reading →

Reading Gianna's blog I had to look at the orgasm simulator and decided to read the blog Bifurcated Rivets when I saw an interesting bit on credit cards . My credit card (CC) has been taking a hammering lately as I book flights and accommodation in preparation for going to Sou...

Continue reading →

Soaking rain last night. Good for garden, bad for cycling. Steep downhill pinch to Lee Point, loose damp gravel and wet leaves. Front brakes grab, sail spectacularly over handlebars then graceful forward roll on impact. Armadillo unhurt, bike completely cactus. Carry bike back...

Continue reading →

As Roop Sandhu decided to post his first piece to TA before I woke up this morning, and Wendy James left hers until after I'd left for work, it's only now that I've found time to post their respective biographical sketches (after prioritising appropriately and watching The All...

Continue reading →

Hello. My name is Roop Sandhu. You might know me as "adam" from the Floating Baby Moses Syndrome . Then again, you might not. In time, I too will take potshots at Alan Cadman . That is all.

Continue reading →

So, people have criticised the decision of the "Coalition of the Willing" to go to war with Iraq. Said criticism is often based on the fact that Iraq did not pose an imminent threat. From this, a conclusion is drawn by some anti-war types that the Coalition misled us, because...

Continue reading →

Stan Gudgeon has trained his beady, jaundiced bunyip eye on leftie econo-blogger John Quiggin: Being of the left, it goes without saying that John Quiggin is an enemy of pleasure -- at least those that don't involve curtailing the not-good-for-you joys of others. The focus of...

Continue reading →

TA reader Homer Paxton has been hounding me for news of the outcome of the recent Katherine by-election in the NT, caused by the retirement of long-serving former CLP Deputy Chief Minister Mike Reed. The CLP candidate won, but there was a swing to the ALP of almost 10%, and th...

Continue reading →

I've just posted the following announcement on the websites for the undergraduate units I'm teaching this semester at CDU: Tomorrow's classes are still on, notwithstanding the strike. I certainly support strongly the principle of academic independence, and strongly oppose gove...

Continue reading →

For a while now I've read the global warming debate on this site but, not having sufficient knowledge of the arguments to be able to contribute, have not added to the comments of JQ, bark, draino and sMiles flying back and forth. Anyway, I'm much more interested in the 'big pi...

Continue reading →

It's a signal indication of the strange place that the Parliamentary Labor Party currently resides in when they can devote their weekly caucus meeting to a discussion on whether or not to stand up or sit down in the presence of the United States Head of State and where clappin...

Continue reading →

Ever lie awake thinking about how great Richard Perle is? Or find yourself rolling on the floor at the wicked, rapier-like wit of Rummy? You could just have insomnia - or indisgestion. On the other hand, you too could be a neocon. The Christian Science Monitor (kooky religion,...

Continue reading →

* Warning another long global warming post - probably should be ignored by all but enthusiasts. John Quiggin and Ken Miles are both erudite and generally mild-mannered bloggers, except when it comes to the global warming debate. John Quiggin, for instance, tends to label peopl...

Continue reading →

I'm back from New Zealand and I can inform you that it was very green - and very neat. In fact, my partner, Lance, observed that the lush, manicured verdure through which we were driving looked like it was mown and rolled on a daily basis. The cows and sheep are also sparkling...

Continue reading →