National Observer - Australia and World Affairs articles from July 2004

National Observer - Australia and World Affairs archives from July 2004

Editorial comment.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... Mr. Mark Latham has been elected as leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party, so that he is expected to be opposed to Mr. John Howard in the next Federal election. Mr. Howard's policies are unlikely to depart substantially from those he has...

Real tax reform and fraudulent tax reform.
July 1, 2004... It is now accepted that Mr. Peter Costello's "tax reform" of 1999, when a new goods and services tax was introduced, was entirely bogus. Small reductions in income tax were soon swallowed up by bracket-creep, as National Observer predicted. (1)...

European poll: Israel "biggest threat to world peace".
July 1, 2004... The European Commission conducted a survey, between 8 and 16 October 2003, through Taylor Nelson Sofres/ E.O.S. Gallup of Europe, and those questioned were asked which countries posed a "threat to peace in the world". The survey base was...

The tax wilderness: how to restore the rule of law.
July 1, 2004... THE FEDERAL TAX SYSTEM: THE DECLINE OF LAW'S EMPIRE The Australian tax system displays a range of symptoms suggesting a virtual collapse of the rule of law. Those symptoms include the flourishing cash economy which, at an estimated 15 per...

The elite agenda and the media.
July 1, 2004... We have, in the last thirty or so years, seen remarkable change in Australia and throughout the West. The question is, were those changes planned? In a way, yes. Not through some conspiracy, or through a single party operating through cells and...

Joseph Furphy and genocide.
July 1, 2004... For half a century after his death in 1912 Joseph Furphy, better known during his lifetime as "Tom Collins", was highly esteemed by Australians interested in history and literature. In particular, Furphy was admired on the political Left. In...

America and South Asia since September 11.
July 1, 2004... For fifty-five years, U.S. relationships with Pakistan and India have been a seesaw--as one goes up, the other goes down. Historically, Pakistan has had the closest relationship with the United States. Relations became strained because of...

Constitutional lies, damned lies and plebiscites.
July 1, 2004... Most people doubtless know the famous quote from Benjamin Disraeli (who, however, attributed it to Mark Twain) that "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics". So in Australia today we have three kinds of...

The inappropriateness of political appointments: Alastair Nicholson C.J. leaves the family court.(Legal Notes)
July 1, 2004... In Australia political appointments--the appointment of judges otherwise than on merit--have an unfortunate history. Out of many examples one may take Sir John Latham, a political appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court, who was...

Are judges' salaries too high?(Legal Notes)
July 1, 2004... In April 2004 the Victorian government of Mr. Bracks announced that it would reject a recommended 13.6 per cent rise in judge's salaries since this would exceed community expectations. (Mr. Bracks was facing demands for pay increases by other...

The Red Millionaire: a Political Biography of Willi Muzenberg, Moscow's Secret Propaganda Tsar in the West, 1917-1940.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... THE RED MILLIONAIRE: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF WILLI MUNZENBERG, MOSCOW'S SECRET PROPAGANDA TSAR IN THE WEST, 1917-1940 By Sean McMeekin Yale University Press, 2003, pp. 416, $32.50 Before Rupert Murdoch, there was Willi Munzenberg. These...

A History of Britain, Volume 3: the Fate of Empire 1776-2000.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... A HISTORY OF BRITAIN, VOLUME 3: THE FATE OF EMPIRE 1776-2000 By Simon Schama London, B.B.C., 2002, 576 pages, $64.95 This is the third (and final) volume published to accompany the B.B.C.2 television series of the same name. Perhaps because...