As Julian Assange awaits the UK Supreme Court’s decision on his extradition to Sweden, to answer questions about dubious sexual assault charges, Australians should be questioning our own government’s lamentable conduct in this affair. European Arrest Warrants and Swedish law are fraught with numerous legal difficulties – outlined by Jennifer Robinson, one of Assange’s lawyers, [...]
Archive for February, 2012
Wikileaks, Julian & Wilfred
Posted in Diplomacy, Editorial, World, tagged Jennifer Robinson, Julian Assange, Wikileaks, Wilfred Burchett on February 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »
In Pursuit of the Perfect Pearl…Buyer
Posted in Society, tagged conversation, ING fraud, Paspaley Pearls on February 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Paspaley Pearls is the giant (quasi-monopoly?) of the Australian pearling industry, proud of its family business heritage going back to 1935. ING is a multinational finance company, which recently suffered a $45.3 million fraud by a ‘trusted long-time employee’. The fortunes, so to speak, of the two companies thus became intertwined, perhaps like a couture necklace. The [...]
The Other Peter Principle
Posted in Society, tagged fitness, getting old, Peter Principle on February 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »
As some wit put it, the great thing about getting old is that it beats the alternative. As baby boomers face their inevitable physical decline, and philosophise about life and the d-word, the sharing of practical wisdom can be useful too. The importance of fitness is a subject dear to our hearts, so to speak, [...]
Adieu Afghanistan (next year?)
Posted in Diplomacy, World, tagged Afghanistan war on February 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
NATO governments & allies (International Security Assistance Force), including us, are gathering momentum for a stampede to the Afghan exit, strategy or not. Or ‘faster beat in the retreat’, as the SMH put it before Xmas. The French have moved forward their departure (despite our clever Foreign Minister Rudd declaring only last week that this [...]
