Part Four of Sir Roger Migently’s exposition of Australian values as revealed during his epiphany on The Mountain…

The Migently Mountain Manifesto   Australian values have lately been enthusiastically asserted by some Australians and Sir Roger has been much impressed – in much the same way a washed-up prize fighter feels the repeated impressions of his opponents’ fists in his guts.   These assertions of “Australian values” tend to be energetically debated in [...]

  Sir Roger believes Malcolm Turnbull could easily be the next Prime Minister of Australia. What do you think? Here’s why: 1) The coalition and the right wing media will bring too much pressure on Julia Gillard about the Slater and Gordon quagmire – either facts or compelling implications – so that either she can’t [...]

  How do you think Australia’s economy is going, compared to the rest of the world?   Sir Roger wonders because some rainbow-lovers say it’s magnificent and some shrill hurricane chasers say we’re going to hell in a handbasket and doom is upon us. Sir Roger had his servan staff do some forensic research. They [...]

  So in the Cimitière Montmartre I found one of my heroes. Émile Zola   That is to say, I found the memorial. He is interred at the Panthéon. Why a hero? Amongst his many writings Emile Zola wrote this, which is as relevant today in our political discourse and climate as it was almost [...]

Bad Apples? or Bad Apple Tree? When will they get it? Or do they get it and try to hide the truth about the Afghanistan photos before anyone notices they’ve got it? First the disclaimer: To gloatingly photograph yourself with a slain enemy (whether self-slaughtered or not) is obscene, but then if the entire situation [...]

  In the aftermath of his very public News of the World disgrace¹, as Rupert displays the abject decency and compassion he so miraculously discovered, today he has gone even further. Rupert Murdoch is determined to protect us from drivel, lies, bias, distortion and bullshit. He has today selflessly erected a paywall around his “flagship” [...]

From today’s New York Times: Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, [...]

  Sir Roger’s close confidante writes: My mother used to ask me if I wouldn’t prefer to work in a bank. In those days it was a safe occupation – safe as a bank, literally. A job for life with almost guaranteed promotion. I don’t think she was joking. Both her brothers – my uncles [...]

Sir Roger does not wish to marry a man. To put it another way, while Sir Roger and Dorothy have many good friends in common, Dorothy and Sir Roger are not Facebook buddies. And Sir Roger does not think that his personal preference for his own life is of any moment or interest whatever in [...]

  The Pacific solution didn’t work. We know that. It made too many people go mad (unless, of course that’s the point and Tony Abbot is in favour of that).   Here’s an idea! While Julia and Tony are cat-fighting over who can think up the most brutal, vicious and inhumane treatment of people seeking [...]

  David Hume, hero of the Enlightenment, father of skepticism, linchpin of democracy and human rights and freedoms, Happy 300th Birthday! Sir Roger has some understanding of how Hume felt when he said this: “Here am I who have written on all sorts of subjects calculated to excite hostility, moral, political, and religious, and yet [...]

  Right around Australia – which is, you know, NSW and a couple of other fairly unimportant (albeit it occasionally charmingly old-fashioned) bits – Community Leaders are in panic over the impending loss of all essential local services due to proposed restrictions on the spending behaviour of pokie addicts. Particularly in rural areas. The most [...]

Some things are just wrong. And xkcd knows where they are: in your head. What are your three wishes, readers? And who do you really want to be rubbing your lamp? And here’s two genies for the price of one. It’s mine, mine, all mine! I’m rich! I’m independently wealthy! I’m comfortably well off! Why [...]

Just a heads up on the NSW election result. As you already know – and here’s something you can bank on – despite all the talk of “change” and “new eras in NSW politics”, nothing is going to change except the names of the people who take the money and the names of the “mates”. [...]