The NSA, political collateral and the privacy discussion we had to have

Let’s not pretend for a minute that spying among allies and foes alike hasn’t been happening for centuries. Some even thought the end of the cold war would result in an age of openness, transparency and good will between old foes. 

In the public’s mind these activities have been traditionally been limited between government agencies embassies and those generally in the game of spying.

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The Politics of Asylum Seekers

The decrepit asylum seeker debate continues to drag on in Australia and everyone has an opinion on what to should or should not be done with asylum seekers. The 90 to 95 per cent that are found to be genuine refugees fleeing persecution from countries that Australia has had direct involvement in or turned a blind to. I’m talking countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka etc.

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Asylum Seeker Debate Threatens to Scuttle Gillard Government

The divisive asylum seeker debate that swings like a wrecking ball through Australian politics looks like it has claimed another scalp, this time it may be the Gillard government itself.  The asylum seeker debate has taken another turn after yesterday’s ruling by the High Court. The landslide six to one ruling has put another nail in the coffin of the minority government.

In short, the judgment has found that Australia can’t send asylum seekers to Malaysia because of the absence of legal protection for asylum seekers within the laws of Malaysia thus contriving Australia’s own commitments under the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention. Malaysia, unlike Australia, is not a signatory.

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Twelve Months of Julia Gillard as Prime Minister

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has now been in office for 12 months, a year that can only be described as turbulent at best. After scraping back into government, with the help of Independent and Green Members of Parliament at November’s federal election that has forced Labor into minority government the Australian political landscape is almost unrecognisable.

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MUCH ADO ABOUT TRUMPING

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