Ari on the web

I'm not usually found riding the literary bandwagon. My tastes are a tad obscure and off-beat for the Best Seller lists. This time, though, I just can't resist. After coming on sale this morning, by just after lunch I had my hands on a copy of The Latham Diaries . Asking the friendly sales staff at the Melbourne Uni bookshop whether there'd been much interest in the book, she replied in the affirmative, and explained that they were expecting to have difficulties getting more copies from the publisher, such was the interest. As I grabbed my copy, I noticed there were quite a few browsers, although whether they have the dedication to wade through 429 pages of Latham's ranting is another question. Though you wouldn't get the impression from the media coverage, The Latham Diaries is about much more than his time as leader. After a lengthy sociological-anaylsis-cum-introduction, the book publishes Latham's diary from his election to parliament in 1994 to his fa...

Why go out with a whimper when you can go out with a bang? That's no doubt the approach Mark Latham has taken, and it's one of the bigger bangs ever to hit Australian politics. My suspicion is that Mark Latham is mentally unwell. When Jeff Kennett brought up this suggestion a few months back he was shouted down , but perhaps Il Duce was on to something. Having seen his appearance on Enough Rope on Monday Thursday at 8:30 10:30, and read his interview with Michael Harvey and Paul Kelly in The Australian on Friday, I get the distinct impression that he is suffering from some form of depression, possibly coupled with paranoia. For me perhaps the most significant reason to think this is the fact that Latham has not restricted his savage criticism to a few select political opponents, but has lashed out at anyone and everyone whom he encountered in his eleven years in politics. Take Gough Whitlam, Latham's political mentor, first political employer and inspiration in the na...

A reviewer's ethical dilemma: I've been commissioned to write a review of a new play as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival . The play is Not Dead Yet , a collaboration between Born in a Taxi (a well established physical theatre company) and Rawcus , a community theatre group for people with a disability. If the play is great, I'm free to say so. But if it's crap...? Should it be judged by the critical standards that other theatrical productions are judged by, or should it be treated more sympathetically by virtue of its positive social purpose? Here's what I wrote. Am I a bastard?: Death. It’s a word that you whisper. Utter, perhaps, with a pained grimace. Never spoken, though, and certainly never performed in a song and dance extravaganza. Until now. It seems strange that death is a subject that most of us are so unwilling to talk about it. Though it’s something that we’ll all need to confront at one time or another, many of us feel that by remaining...

Earlier this week the Israelis concluded the bravest political move in the Middle East in a long time - the withdrawal from Gaza. For Sharon, this was a tough move which may still endanger his political career, though. Now that the withdrawal is complete, the pressure shifts back on the Palestinian Authority to see how it handles the governance of a newly 'liberated' political entity. This aint a good start. For more on the burning of Synagogues, and the international media response, check out HonestReporting .

From The Age... AN AMERICAN environmentalist and peace activist, in Australia to talk about non-violent methods of protest, has been arrested as a security threat. History teacher Scott Parkin, 35, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in Melbourne on Saturday as he travelled to a workshop he was conducting on the US peace movement. Last night he was being held at the Melbourne Custody Centre. An Immigration Department spokesman confirmed he had been arrested on "character grounds" at its request and he would be deported "as soon as practicable". Whatever you think of his politics, this is a disgrace. It seems fairly transperant because of the government's dislike of Parkin's politics, probably with some pressure from the US. As Julian Burnside pointed out during the day, if he is a genuine security threat (which seems extremely unlikely), how did he get through in the first place, and why did it take so long to arrest him. This is not merely a qu...

Spotted in Lygon Street on Friday afternoon: a delegation of half a dozen well-dressed middle-aged North Koreans, complete with Kim Il Sung badges. Unable to resist my curiousity, I started speaking to one in the group who spoke English. They seemed like a friendly bunch, but unfortunately I was unable to find out what brought them to Melbourne (presumably it wasn't the Pong Su ). Any ideas?

So far I've been quiet - well, silent, really - on Telstra, and I want to make a quick post about it. Not, as one might imagine, on the issue of privatisation (Ari's solution: split it in two: wholesale and retail; as a monopoly owner of infrastructure, keep wholesale in public ownership; privatise the retail divison. Easy. Next problem, Mr H?), but on something else dear to my wallet heart. The issue I really want to muse on, though, is corporate democracy. Much as it pains me to say it, I'm a Telstra shareholder, and yesterday an invitation to the company AGM arrived in my email inbox. Not keen to head to Sydney for a morning of boring speeches and cucumber sandwiches, I decided instead to lodge a directed proxy vote. Whilst in the past I've been tempted to do this for the handful of companies lucky enough to have me as a shareholder, in most cases the effort necessary has been sufficiently high for me not to bother. This time around, though, the process is see...