The Conversation: Oct 2018 Monika Merkes Honorary Associate, Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing, La Trobe University In reply to Arthur Beau Palmer: Not too much food, but the wrong type of food. Huge reductions in meat-eating are essential to avoid dangerous climate change, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of the food system’s impact on the environment. In western countries, beef consumption needs to fall by 90% and be replaced by five times more beans ...
Climate Rally Speech
Climate Rally Speech Tony Dickson 20/09/14 I’m holding in my hand my CFS pager, a singularly odious device that I regard with anxiety and anger in equal measure. Anxiety, because I dread fighting fires: they terrify me. Anger, because it represents the wilful ignorance, short sighted self interest and callous indifference to exploitation that is increasingly defining our society. It was suggested that I regale you all with horrifying tales of my experiences in a long career as a ...
VICTIMS 17-9-01
Dear Phillip et al at LNL, Again, well done. LNL is a drop of sanity in an ocean of madness, or at least profound and wilful stupidity. Whilst listening to Wednesday's programme, and particularly to Prof. Steinburg's ardent views, a number of thoughts occurred to me. The first was that I would not like to be dependent on the good prof. S. to resolve any conflict that I was involved in. The second thought concerned the notion of "innocent victim(s)". This designation has been employed ...
LETTER TO THE OXFORD DICTIONARY 2013
To whom it may concern, I have been using my Concise Oxford for many years. Having been given a more recent edition, I noticed some changes which cause me some concern. For many years I have been fighting a losing semantic battle with the forces of reaction, as the English speaking world staggers erratically to the Right side of the political spectrum. My battle ground is nothing less than the identity of the Left. My battered old Oxford defines Left Wing as:“progressive, radical”… and “more ...
AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL POLITICIANS
As most of you know, there is a common misunderstanding that a lawyer’s primary obligation is to his or her client. In reality a lawyer’s first responsibilities are those of an officer of the court, i.e. to the legal system itself. I suggest that parliamentarians have a similar obligation to the democratic system they serve. I understand that those of you who are motivated by a desire to serve the electorate according to personal or ideological preferences, may be tempted to conclude that you ...
Prof. Anon
From: Tony Dickson Sent: Friday, 22 April 2016 12:24 AM To: Subject: Volunteering Dear Professor ....................., I have just listened to this programme about the value of volunteering with my usual frustrations with the city-centric focus of the media in this country. Whilst I do not disagree with the analysis presented, I suggest that its focus was on relatively trivial examples of the failure of economic orthodoxies and public policy to account for the value of ...
Andrew Leigh Productivity…
Your use of the word productivity appears to be a misnomer. What you really mean is efficiency of output per unit of labour. What is the difference? I suggest that whilst the latter designation is largely value free, the former is a riddled with subjectivity. I acknowledge that this assertion is at odds with the usual usage of the word productive and indeed with most dictionary definitions. However, I would argue that usual definitions are based on a false premise: that increases in ...
Meta Conversation
The term, “meta-data” has been much used of late and I have been reflecting on its etymology and its potential for wider usage. Why not meta-conversation? Indeed, I was having a meta –conversation with my old friend Dennis just the other day. I was telling him about an impromptu tete-a-tete I recently had with a guy I met in the pub. We had been conversing at the bar for a few minutes when I remarked that despite the very modest extent of my powers of perspicacity, I sensed from his ...
LET’S SCRAP THE SUBSIDIES – THE COUNTRY FIRE SERVICE AND THE MARKET ECONOMY.
Nov 2009. To whom it may concern, I am a lucky man. I am a farmer and as such, of necessity, something of jack-of- all -trades. I enjoy the beauty of my environment and the intellectual and creative challenges that daily confront me. I work seven days a week with occasional breaks to join my neighbours on the fire truck; for training, or the real thing. Most of the work I do is “overhead” (weed control, fuel reduction, fencing, machinery maintenance, book keeping, beaurocratic ...
Response to The Business Council of Australia’s: Action Plan for Enduring Prosperity
I was more than a little disappointed with BCA spokesperson, CEO Jennifer Westacott’s recent interview on Radio National. As usual, her reasoning was unassailable. However, it proceeded upon a set of assumptions that may be described as being, at best, highly contestable and at worst, absurd. The topic under scrutiny was the BCA’s prescription for the provision of increasing living standards for Australians. The assumption underpinning this prescription is the necessity and viability of ...