We Need to Talk About Islam

Over the last few months, I have had an occasional exchange with a faithful reader on the subject of Christianity specifically and religiosity more generally and I am in fact working on yet another response to said faithful reader (soon, I promise!). Our discussion has been good humoured and thoughtful and conducted with mutual respect. That’s the way it ought to be. I can disagree with the opinion held by a person, but once I attack the person themselves or begin to appeal to emotion rather than logic, I lose all relevance.

Bourke Street Attack

A few days ago there was a tragic incident in Melbourne where a disturbed man drove a car at high speed through parts of the city including the Bourke Street Mall. The end result was that 5 people were killed and more than 20 injured, not counting the trauma suffered by those not physically injured. The dead included a 3 month old baby and a 10 year old girl.

Donald Trump is not my President

In case you have been in the bath for the last eighteen months, I should begin by noting that the US Presidential election took place on November 8th and was won by Donald Trump, the Republican candidate. It was probably the most unexpected election win of modern times and in the immediate aftermath, there was quite some angst on the part of the losing Democratic Party that included a trending hashtag on twitter that proclaimed #notmypresident, presumably in an attempt to dissociate the poster from the President Elect.

The Virtuous Authoritarians

This was first published at LinkedIn on 2nd July 2016. It's a long read, but I think it's worth the effort.

The left/right, progressive/conservative dichotomy is dead. The new political dichotomy is between authoritarians and libertarians and it’s the authoritarians that have the upper hand.

The authoritarians have established their position beginning at universities and spreading throughout much of the media by use of virtue signalling, conspicuous moralism and selective outrage. They believe themselves to be better equipped intellectually and morally to grapple with the issues of the day and by virtue of their intellectual and moral superiority, they have no compunction in forcing their decisions on lesser folk when those lesser folk won’t take them voluntarily.

Global Terrorism Index Report for 2016

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) Report for 2016 has been released. It shows that 74% of all terror related deaths are attributable to Boko Haram, ISIL, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

All of the top ten worst attacks were committed by these groups along with Al-shabaab, Sinai Province of the Islamic State and the Ansar Al-din Front.

It got me wondering whether there is a common thread that links all of these groups? Some common belief or understanding. Couldn't find anything though. Anyone able to help?

http://economicsandpeace.org/…/Global-Terrorism-Index-2016.…

(Note: the word "Islam" appears only 6 times in the 100 page report, so it can't be that.)

This was originally published on my facebook timeline on 17 November 2016 so if you think you've seen it before, maybe you're right!

Hitchens, US Elections and Word Play

Christopher Hitchens in 2008 looking pensive and slightly aggressive at the same time.

Christopher Hitchens died in 2011 which annoyed me terribly although it probably annoyed him more. One of the annoying things for me was that I enjoyed his opinion on the various goings on in the world; even when I disagreed with him, he expressed his thoughts so clearly and with such humour that I couldn’t help but enjoy reading them. He was also my go-to source for commentary on US politics and middle east tensions; on both of these subjects the depth of his knowledge was formidable, giving him an understanding that was available to few others.

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians live, on average, between 10 and 20 year shorter lives than non-indigenous Australians. Part of the problem with estimating the difference in life expectancy is that nobody’s too sure exactly what it is, but it’s around 10-20 years difference.

Sarkozy on Climate Change and Manufactured Controversy

A little while back, I wrote about what I called the virtuous authoritarians and their tendency to shut down debate by adopting a moralistic approach and thereby labelling anyone that disagrees with them as immoral and unworthy of being heard. I gave various examples of this approach ranging from the then recent Brexit campaign to bicycle helmet laws, gun laws and holocaust denial. One topic I did not touch on was climate change and global warming.

The Case of the Naughty Lawyers

One of my hobbies, albeit a hobby reserved for those times when I am of a particularly low mood and badly need cheering up, is to read decisions of various courts. Of particular interest is High Court decisions, but I am catholic in my tastes and have been known to read decisions of all sorts of courts and tribunals, both from Australia and overseas.

Five things I suffered through the 1970s

As a child growing up in the 1970s, I suffered a level of abuse that is difficult to conceive of in the modern age. I wonder sometimes how my parents avoided jail time for some of these heinous and wicked crimes. Listed below are five of the most evil things that they subjected me to.