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We wish all our visitors a Happy Christmas and New Year

This is the time to wish all our readers a Happy and Relaxing Festive Season with your Family, and to thank all of you who have sustained The Political Sword throughout 2017.

First, thanks go to our writers. Ken Wolff and 2353NM, who joined me to author countless articles on TPS and TPS Extra during 2017. Sadly, dear Ken died during the year. We miss him greatly.

Their pieces have been of universally excellent standard on subjects of relevance to the political scene here and overseas. The insights that these pieces have brought to readers have been deeply appreciated.

The Australian Independent Media Network (AIMN) has reproduced many of these pieces on its site. Our thanks go to Michael Taylor who operates the Network.

Backing up our authors is our coding expert Bacchus, who, working behind the scene, ensures that the pieces appear in word-perfect shape with graphics in place. This is a time consuming and exacting process, for which we all thank him. He, with the other authors and my dear spouse, proofread the pieces to ensure that they appear error-free. We are thankful for their attention to this demanding task.

Even further behind the scene is our Webmaster, who maintains the backend of The Political Sword. He has ensured that it performed as expected. We thank him for his support, now in its tenth year.

This year he has spent many months reshaping the site, using a blog engine that he designed himself. It offers many new features and a unique vibrancy. You have experienced it since its launch in October. We are sure you will continue to enjoy it during 2108.

The TPS Ambassadors have given great support to The Political Sword throughout 2017 by publicising on Facebook and Twitter every new piece posted on the site. We thank all of you for your continuing contribution to TPS.

Finally, we thank all of you who have visited The Political Sword during the year, and those of you who have left comments that have added so much to the value of the site.

We hope you have a refreshing break over the end-of-year period and that you will join us again in 2018.

There will continue to be much to write about in these turbulent political times, here and around the world. Now we have a brilliant new blog site on which to display our offerings.

With warmest Christmas Greetings and every Good Wish for 2018.

Ad Astra
Ad.astra5@me.com

Is adversarial politics damaging our democracy?

It was twelve years ago, on July 10, 2008, before The Political Sword was inaugurated, that I wrote Is adversarial politics damaging our democracy?.  It was published on The Possum Box hosted by Possum Comitatus, who gave me my start at political blogging, for which I continue to be grateful. ...

  • 3/08/2020

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Fuelled by a number of world leaders and media outlets that should know better, the pandemic has generated considerable commentary about buying locally rather than imported products. In some ways, it does make sense as there is considerably less chance of the product made from material that is gener...

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The Trump dilemma

Don’t get me wrong. Trump is not the dilemma to which I’m referring. His behaviour is no longer a quandary. With every word he utters, with every tweet, he confirms that his mental state continues to deteriorate to the point where commentator after commentator expresses astonishment and alarm at his...

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Information and critical thinking do matter

When Prime Minister Morrison was advised there was the risk of uncontrolled spread of a deadly pandemic on the horizon early this year, he was slightly wiser than at Christmas when he left a burning Australia in the ‘capable’ hands of Deputy Prime Minister and National Party Leader Michael McCormack...

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Morrison morphs into ‘Strict Father’ mode

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Double standards

There has been general praise for the Australian Governments (at all levels) and their management of the COVID19 pandemic. While the politicians signed off on the decisions, they listened to and generally acted on the advice of the state and federal Chief Medical Officers. In comparison to a lot of ...

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People trusted Holden

In the 1970s and 1980s the slogan was ‘People trust Holden’; and they did. General Motors Holden had spent a lot of time and money over many years marketing Holden vehicles as Australia’s own car and as a result Holden sales were going gangbusters. While a considerable amount of design, engineerin...

  • 15/06/2020

Listen to the experts

Are you as impressed as I am with Australia’s response to COVID-19? It is regarded as perhaps the most competent reaction, amongst similar nations, of how to manage an outbreak of a vicious virus. Why is it so? In my view, this outcome has resulted because our decision makers at both federal a...

  • 9/06/2020

Is China a bully?

Is China a bully? If you stopped the average person in the street and asked this question, the answer would probably be a resounding ‘YES’. Why? A bully is defined as: Someone who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable. So how could China be a bully...

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Give us a break

A week or so ago, we discussed the union bashing disguised as concern for ‘essential workers’ from LNP MPs Andrew Laming and Peter Dutton. Unfortunately, the pitiful behaviours exhibited by these two LNP politicians is not reserved to the outer suburbs of Brisbane. It is on the record that the Prem...

  • 25/05/2020

People that live in glass houses

You may have seen Federal MP Andrew Laming’s comment in the media recently suggesting that parents send their children back to school, regardless of the recommendations of the various Education Departments around Australia. The ABC’s version of the story is here. "Essential workers are being seco...

  • 18/05/2020

The Trump Dx – have we seen the clincher?

Code: Dx = diagnosis. ‘The clincher’ = a fact, argument, or event that settles a matter conclusively. How many times have we questioned the mental status of POTUS Trump? It was as far back as November 2016 that we began to do so with Let’s welcome President Trump. Even then, Michael Moore...

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3 COMMENTS

2353NM

24/12/2017

I too wish all the 'co-conspirators' and readers of The Political Sword the happiest of Christmases and a wonderful 2018. Enjoy some time with your families, celebrate the everyday, drive safely and take care.

TalkTurkey

26/12/2017

Hi to all at TPS. I'm still around but Comrades I find it hard to say anything helpful. If I say anything more it will inevitably be unhelpful - I'm so sorry to you personally Ad that we haven't beaten these bastards and so now we get Trump and Barnaby Joyce and craziness reigns supreme all around the world. So all I will do to the wise people here - because Ad's friends are indeed wise - is to wish you well and happy for the times to come. But you know you always have those wishes anyway. Cheers.*

*Anagram of Escher! 

Ad Astra

27/12/2017

Talk Turkey

How good to see your comment.

Indeed the world is in a sorry state, and politics is distressingly awful. I suppose it has been worse, but it’s hard to remember when it was as bad as it is now.

All during 2017 politicians the world over have exhibited the most selfish, the most incompetent, and the least statesman behaviour we have ever seen.

With Donald Trump raving daily from the White House, Kim Jung-un raving recklessly from Pyongyang, Therese May stumbling at every step as she tries to achieve Brexit, Benjamin Netanyahu aggressively pursuing his selfish agenda, Chinese leaders flexing their economic and territorial muscles, Vladimir Putin making international power plays, African leaders in cut-throat fights for power, and at home a pathetic Malcolm Turnbull constrained by uncertainty and indecision, it’s hard to pick an admirable world leader. Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau are the only ones who come to mind.

I suppose all we can do is to go on pointing out the worldwide scourge of inequality, the widespread disregard for the environment, and the incompetence of our politicians in dealing with these existential threats, and hope that 2018 might be a brighter year.

The voices of the people, our voices, may be the only ones that can influence political behaviour. So try we must, always.

All the best to you and J for 2018. 

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How many umbrellas are there if I start with two and take 2 away?

All issues are political; politics is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.

George Orwell

Deals are my art form. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks.

Donald Trump

We just can't stop people from being homeless if that's their choice.

Tony Abbott

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.

Mark Twain

The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs.

A. Toussenel