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Keywords: Political Bias

  • MARGARET DOOLEY AWARD

    The just world fallacy and the need for empathy

    • Sarah Burnside
    • 26 September 2012
    5 Comments

    Human beings have a bias towards a belief that the world is a fair place in which one's actions have appropriate consequences. This 'just world hypothesis' implies that those who suffer calamity must be at fault. It is the opposite of empathy and poses a serious challenge for those who seek to implement progressive social policies.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    International Criminal Court's African bias

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 13 July 2012
    3 Comments

    On Tuesday, the International Criminal Court sentenced Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for his use of child soldiers. It is the first sentence handed down by an institution regarded by many as a political front. As one Congolese official noted, 'You'll never see an American pass before the ICC. All of the accused are Africans.'

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Church's preferential option for kids

    • Brian Doyle
    • 05 June 2012
    5 Comments

    'No matter what we say it's about, it's about kids,' says the archbishop. 'If it's not about kids then it's not first priority. The worst sins ever committed are against kids. That will never occur again, not here, not if I have anything to do with it.'

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  • MEDIA

    Bewailing Wikipedia's white male bias

    • Ellena Savage
    • 13 April 2012
    17 Comments

    Nearly 90 per cent of Wikipedia's editors are men, the majority in their 20s. This is not Wikipedia's fault: it exists in a world that is already weighted towards the white male experience. The murder in Florida of African-American teen Trayvon Martin has catalysed criticism of the effects of white male privilege.

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  • MEDIA

    Our racist editors

    • Geoff Davies
    • 07 February 2012
    39 Comments

    The misreporting of the Australia Day 'riot' is but one example of a growing nexus of hysteria, racism and ignorance in Australian media. It is time to rein in the increasing distortion of our social and political conversations, and require responsibility as well as freedom of speech.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The dark heart of a European Christmas

    • Bronwyn Lay
    • 12 December 2011
    3 Comments

    The EU was a panacea for Europe's nationalist and imperial history. All hope was pinned on the euro as the saviour able to transcend internal differences. As Christmas approaches, the air feels fragile. Winter will be frugal. Death and disintegration are constantly on the European mind.

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  • MEDIA

    Getting the media we deserve

    • Justin Glyn
    • 21 July 2011
    8 Comments

    It is easy to wring our hands and blame the media for bias and shoddy practices. But the truth is we like our fix of gossip and outrage, viewed through our favourite political spectacles, and are not always concerned how we get it. That is why tabloids sell.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Regional issues beyond the mad hatter's tea party

    • Rachel Baxendale
    • 04 July 2011
    4 Comments

    Some regional Australians may be enjoying the political day in the sun of rural independents Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott. But despite the prominence of the NBN and the Murray Darling Basin, flippancy and apathy dominate metropolitan Australia's attitude to regional and rural issues.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    What welfare policies?

    • Frank Quinlan
    • 30 July 2010
    7 Comments

    The current kind of content-free campaigning, appealing to popular biases and stereotypes, has real consequences for the social services sector and the people they serve.

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  • INFORMATION

    The Sydney Institute favours neither side of politics

    • Gerard Henderson
    • 07 August 2009
    12 Comments

    Sarah Burnside asserted in Eureka Street that 'conservatives can draw on a plethora of high-profile think-tanks, including The Sydney Institute, to research and enunciate their ideas'. This is false. The Institute is a forum for debate and discussion and does not do research for any organisation or political party.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Joel's junkets

    • John Warhurst
    • 14 April 2009
    3 Comments

    The undeclared acceptance by Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, while he was in Opposition, of two free trips to China, has raised eyebrows. In politics, such 'free lunches' bring dangers of bias and corruption, but also legitimate benefits.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Watching the watchdogs

    • Moira Rayner
    • 18 June 2008
    2 Comments

    Bodies such as the NSW Crime Commission and Victoria's Office of Police Integrity have proven either ineffective or vulnerable to influence themselves. Ultimately, we the people are responsible for keeping these bodies accountable.

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