Tag Archives: bad behaviour

Dirty Politics

Comments: on the sad state of politics

max-P1020481Here in Australia we have suffered a series of dirty political events that have led to the election of one of the worst possible national governments. However it always an education to pop one’s head up over the wall to look to see how other countries are faring.

Here are links to two bad cases mentioned in recent articles.

Continue reading Dirty Politics

Big Corporations and Inequity

Comment: More on Corporations and Inequity

1a34098uI had reviewed Andrew Leigh’s very good 2013 book, Battlers & Billionairesclick here. Just this week there has been announcements from an American campaign that is raining voices about the control the corporate elite have on the country and how this is destroying the planet and our civil societies. click here

Continue reading Big Corporations and Inequity

Big Tobacco & Michael Moore of Canberra

Commentary: Did Big Tobacco win this one

Michael-Moore-175x1751I had previously posted a link to a good commentary by Michael Moore of Canberra. He said among other scathing things: “Tobacco companies want to prove that plain packaging does not work because it is being seriously considered by other governments across the world.”

Continue reading Big Tobacco & Michael Moore of Canberra

Hack Attack Nick Davies

2nd Notice: New Book
Hack Attack by Nick Davies

hack-attackJust to remind you that this book is worth reading. Sadly the ending is a bit depressing in that Nick considers the power elite have reshuffled a little but carry on a s before.

It has also been interesting to read the story of Rebecca Brooks. The question has been posed elsewhere, was she just a user of the corporate and political systems in order to climb the ladder to join the ranks of those in power?

Continue reading Hack Attack Nick Davies

Brickworks, Austral Bricks, Developers & political shenanigans

Commentary: emails and corporate shenanigans and lies

Brickworks – Austral Bricks – Developers and political shenanigans

rabbitt01The Abbott funding scandal story gets more interesting day by day.

I am referring to the story generated by the release of the emails between Brickworks (owner of Austral Bricks among other subsidiaries) and the Chief of Staff for Tony Abbott. The point being made now is how this company assisted in the lies about and attacks on carbon pricing while they made profits from the government subsidies then available.   click here

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Paul Costigan, 10 September 2014

Women taking on-going hits

Commentary: on the on-going inequities

croakeyCroakey author, Michelle Hughes, highlighted the ongoing inequities within the health science arena – click here.

I identify with her final comment on the selection of keynote speakers as the issue of getting women as key-note speakers was a focus of mine in the past.  I did come up with a strategy to deal with it. See my notes below.

Continue reading Women taking on-going hits

Women take another hit

Commentary: on how the women of Australia have been hit (again) by so-called education reforms.

jane_caroOne wonders just how long all thinking Australians are going to put up with so many terrible decisions being made by a federal cabinet that has just the one token woman present. Jane Caro has written a very good piece in the Guardian on how that stupid Education Minister is putting into place even more barriers to equity in employment. click here.

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Paul Costigan, 11 August 2014

Gender Inequity in Galleries

Confronting art world sexism

From an article by Jori Finkel in the Art Newspaper:

art-newspaperIn New York, Sperone Westwater comes in at 91 versus nine. Team Gallery at 85 versus 15; Matthew Marks at 84 versus 16, and Mary Boone at 83 versus 17. Some of the top galleries in Los Angeles tell a similar story: Blum & Poe is 89 versus 11; Prism is 88 versus 12; Thomas Solomon is 85 to 15, and Patrick Painter is 83 to 17.

Click here for the article.

Unloved Art

Comment: Visual Arts
The debate about getting rid of previously loved artworks

The debate over what different people, institutions and township are doing with their formerly treasured artworks by Rolf Harris has been sad to watch. This style of artwork was always more of a populist marketing campaign. His art was and remains simplistic and very ordinary at best.

I was a little shocked when he was commissioned to paint a portrait of the Queen. Continue reading Unloved Art

A Government Most Foul

Comment: while Clive distracts, this foul government moves against refugees

ac-morrison-main-20140625122735863990-620x349This country via its elected government has moved to do the unthinkable.

While we all thought that our government was already dealing out extraordinary cruel treatment to people who have had to leave everything and seek asylum in Australia, the Immigration Minister has proposed more foul legislation for Parliament to consider.

Continue reading A Government Most Foul

all that green-wash

How those carbon offsets can do more environmental harm than good
q3gx4hds-1401170769Beware of all that green-wash.

Yet again there’s a nice piece on The Conversation about how we need to be far more serious about carbon. It also points towards the use of Green-Wash by corporations to allow them to continue with business as usual.

I have commented on this on our other blog – The Sustainable Settlements Institute – click here

Brisbane’s South Bank Corporate Equity

Comment: On equity gone missing!

Brisbane’s South Bank Corporation’s lack of equity in their management

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It was while researching the background on my pieces on Brisbane and in particular on the South Bank Corporation, that I was checking on its corporate status when I came across a rude piece of evidence on the corporation. Continue reading Brisbane’s South Bank Corporate Equity

Not In Our Name

A Reminder: March in March (2014)

there’s so many issues

rabbitt01This government draws its strength from others and from their belief in the right to be in government. This government does not care what is being said by people such as those in the March in March protest. This government would view the protesters as being the problem, not their messages. It is going to be a difficult few years living in a country where democracy is being trashed.

It is worth checking the latest list of The Rabbott’s national wreckage – click here.

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Paul Costigan, 5 April 2014

Empires of Food

Review: Book

Empires of Food: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations

Evan D. G. Fraser and Andrew Rimas.  Random House, 2010

empiresoffoodAs if there was not enough information available on how the world is not paying attention to all the warning signs, this book was recommended to me to make me aware of the dire situation coming our way in relation to the supply of adequate food for coming generations.

This is all linked in with the issues of climate change, population growth and the way we have allowed our food supplies to be controlled by particular market and political forces. This book is a must read for all.

Continue reading Empires of Food

social media and narcissism

Opinion: Social Media and Narcissism

130611122111-largeWhat does it take to bring out even further that narcissist behaviour that occasionally surfaces within social and business interactions? By my reckoning, not much.

I have witnessed that when a certain group in society gains access to any social media, or online forums, or even reply sections online, that with very little encouragement, they quickly plunge headlong into some of the worst troll like and uncivilized behaviour.

Continue reading social media and narcissism

sad behaviour

something very sad about human behaviour

If you have been to any event lately, you may have observed how people now use their phones to take photographs. This habit of taking a photo before taking something in is not new. What is new is the barrage of camera phones that now appear above any crowd when something is happening. There’s a very telling photograph heading up an article on this in Rolling Stone. Click here for the article.

and I also agree with most of the listed complaints about people’s behaviour at concerts.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Opinion:
Be Afraid, be Very Afraid of balance as provided by the ABC

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Once upon a time I was a rusted on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) watcher. I relied on the ABC, and SBS, for most of my news and current affairs.

Over time as a reaction to the style of gotcha journalism that became the norm on the ABC, radio and TV, I started watching less and less. Today as the result of this quiet reduction in watching and listening to the ABC, I have found that I now routinely do not watch or listen to the ABC.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Opinion: Political Stupidity Reigns Again

The Latest from our Rabbott Government

rabbott01Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The national edukashon minister announced that after years of development, years of consultations and a bloody huge amount of work, that he considers he needs to appoint two close political associates to look into getting ‘balance’ back into the curriculum. They state that they will be independent. That probably means their report will be independent of facts and of intellect.

It is obvious that this is more about getting the old ‘culture’ wars started again and to drive particular ideological points into the headlines while loads of other disastrous changes are being put through by the Rabbott.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Cafe Music

Opinion: Cafes and Loud Music

We wandered recently over to Green Square Kingston for some late breakfast and coffee. There are now four different cafes serving breakfast/brunch in this one place with another across the street. I would estimate that there would be at least another six further around the block. We thought we may check out a new cafe that had opened just weeks earlier.

Continue reading Cafe Music

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Opinion: Be afraid, be very Afraid

Stupidity in action

From The Guardian Australia: Tony Abbott’s top business adviser accuses IPCC of ‘dishonesty and deceit’. ‘The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling,’ Maurice Newman says.

It does not get much worse than this. The Rabbott government has been doing some stupid things of late, and there’s promise of even more stupidity to come in 2014.

Continue reading Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Political Distraction

Opinion: Rabbott Distracts while cutting deep

rabbott01Very cleverly  the Rabbott Government used the ‘shock’ announcements of vehicle manufacturing closures to distract attention from the government’s cuts to key social programs.

The mainstream media filled headline after headline about the closure of a particular car manufacturing company.

Our loyal opposition parties did not help as they joined in crying out loud through the media about the closures. Meanwhile damage was being done elsewhere in plain sight.

Continue reading Political Distraction

Workplace Bullying

Opinion: Workplace Bullying

An emphasis on the Not For Profit Sector

It was after a couple of conversations in the last months with people with whom I was able share experiences about bullying in various workplaces, that I have decided to make research in this area one of my ongoing topics.

As I have spent most of my working life in the Not For Profit sector I am including this sector as part of the main focus of this research.

This line of research and subsequent comments will be a ‘work in progress’.

Continue reading Workplace Bullying

The Media

Opinion: The state of Australian Media

The Democracy experiment continues to be under threat

An article from the Asia Sentinel hits the mark on the media issues in Australia.

A milestone of a dubious kind was passed in Australia recently when it was discovered that the number of public relations practitioners had for the first time exceeded the number of journalists actually working as reporters and editors. (Hamish McDonald)

The full article is a good read. Click here.

Democracy threatened by dangerous idiots

Politicians & their supporting media types do not know when to keep their dangerous comments to themselves!

There’s nothing more basic in our democracy as the processes that underpin the election of our governments. At the time of writing , the WA Senate election has become  complicated, not just because of the necessary recount given the closeness of the first results, but because of the unfortunate event whereby by about 1,400 previously counted votes have been misplaced.

Continue reading Democracy threatened by dangerous idiots

When Names Stick

Sometimes your image of particular people changes to something silly and from then on they can no longer be taken seriously

It was while I was sitting at a meeting a couple of years ago that I became quite irritated and maybe even a little bored with the posturing, the rantings and endless domination of the conversations by one particular male at the meeting.

Continue reading When Names Stick

Truth is out there

political spin at its worst

This morning on the ABC program, INSIDERS, the group were discussing the two very successful events last week whereby Anne Summers had two conversations with Julia Gillard, one in Sydney and the other in Melbourne.

Julia had made a statement that it was not acceptable to do things that undermine the government and the labor party. She was clearly having a go at Kevin Rudd and his close supporters and their three-year campaign to internally disrupt the Prime Minister and her government and to create the environment for Kevin to be re-installed. Continue reading Truth is out there