This well-argued book is a warning from history. Anyone who wants to understand how the Nazis came to power and how much democracy depends on commitment to making the system work should read it. Historian Benjamin Carter Hett shows the similarities between the diabolical political …
Read MoreRights denied
Australia has a long and proud history of fighting for human rights. Australians fought in both world wars, and many since, against the scourge of tyranny. Australia has a long history of defending human beings’ dignity and worth. Eminent Australian Dr Herbert Vere Evatt helped …
Read MoreBeware mythology
The loss of the Great War, the Great Depression and political catastrophe are often cited as the reasons for the Nazi’s ascension to power in Germany. They were factors but there’s another: Paul von Hindenburg. President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. …
Read MoreHappy birthday
Earnest but ineffective was how my right wing international political professor described the 39th president of the United States. He was replacing his objectivity with his political views. Today, 1 October, is President Carter’s 93rd birthday. By any objective measure, President Carter, in office from …
Read MoreWe want peace
German World War I leaders knew the conflict was lost by September 1918. The spring offensive had failed and the entry of the United States on the Allied side made German victory almost impossible. The war had been led and managed by a military-industrial dictatorship …
Read MorePlebiscite ploy
Malta last week became the latest in an increasingly long list of countries to legalise marriage equality. Catholic conservativism has been upturned. Malta is 91 percent Catholic. And the parliamentary vote was an overwhelming 66 to 1. Spain has a Catholic population of 77 percent …
Read MoreIdentity created
Germany is known for many achievements. More recently the country has made international headlines for legalising same-sex marriage. Germany was the birthplace of modern gay identity. As in so many things, Germans were at the forefront of thinking. Robert Beachy tells the story of the history …
Read MoreMission accomplished
Germans got a prelude to the madness in store for them on 29 June 1934. Between 6am and 7am that morning, the Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, weapon drawn, charged up the stairs of the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee. His quarry: the head of the Nazi …
Read MoreContemptible ministers
An apology is better late than never. But sometimes the damage done wouldn’t have been as great if the apology had been earlier. Three Australian Government ministers apologised yesterday for egregious comments they made on 13 June about judges of the Australian state of Victoria’s …
Read MoreCynical gamble failed
She’s Brenda from Bristol. She became an internet sensation thanks to British Prime Minister Theresa May. “You’re joking, not another one,” she told a BBC TV reporter when asked her reaction on 18 April to the snap election. “There’s too much politics going on …
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