For those of us who would like to see a revival of the ‘techno-critical’ tradition in public debate (the tradition of Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Ellul, Neil Postman and Langdon Winner, inter many alia), it is a cause of some irritation that the hegemonic view of technology remains the ‘instrumental’ one.
Media
In Asian media this week: Speeches show Li is for continuity, Trump insists on change. Plus: Cambodia worse than Myanmar for online “scamdemic”; How agents exploit Indians trying for work in America; Brutal competition shapes Fantastic Four tech leaders; Prabowo sets up sovereign wealth fund; Thailand joins Beatles era. The two superpowers this week laid Continue reading »
I can’t stomach reading the ABC news any longer. Their journalists must be either the most ignorant people on the planet or the most deceitful. The choice is not flattering. Consider this sentence from this morning’s ABC article “What the Trump and Zelensky fallout means for Australian Foreign Policy” where Stephen Dziedzic, the ABC’s “foreign Continue reading »
You have to admire Australian media. While the rest of us are busy paying $8 for a flat white and wondering how to stretch a pack of IndoMie for a week, our intrepid journalists are fearlessly focused on the real threats – like Chinese naval ships operating in full compliance with international law. 1. China’s Continue reading »
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a bigot as “a person who has strong, unreasonable beliefs, and who does not like other people who have different beliefs or a different way of life”. Bigotry is an individual attitude characterised by two distinct dimensions, baseless beliefs and an intolerance of others, and is exemplified by xenophobia, racism and Continue reading »
The Australian labels Albanese a “jellyfish” in the face of Chinese naval vessels, ironically the barbs came from a faceless columnist. Kudos to The Australian for keeping tabs on a US nuclear submarine in our waters, but the headline act for the Murdoch masthead was hosting its own event for weapons makers and China hawks. Continue reading »
In its response to AUKUS with its objective of militarily confronting China in the South China Sea, we should not be surprised by Chinese naval vessels sailing around Australia to pick up some intelligence or at least showing us their growing naval power. For China, it would be a good training experience in new waters. Continue reading »
Sarah Schwarz speaks to the silencing tactics against those speaking up for Palestine. Francesca Albanese outlines the many elements that make up genocide. Peter Cronau suggests Australia appears to have breached the International Court of Justice ruling by exporting coal from Newcastle to Israel, while Cameron Leckie suggests a peacekeeping force for Ukraine is disingenuous Continue reading »
The next big media scandal is only a matter of time, says independent watchdog, after successive governments refuse to further regulate the industry
When power oppresses, civil society must hold it to account. Like media and the arts, university campuses in Australia have become sites of censorship and suppression of free speech on the question of Palestine. In fact, the level of repression faced by pro-Palestine staff and students, and the stifling atmosphere, have led to the establishment Continue reading »