News from Around the World

This interesting article appeared today:

The ruckus over Australia's involvement in Vietnam kicked off my political awareness, but I didn't really notice Joh until after the election of the Whitlam Labor government in 1972. Politics was a lively subject of discussion during family dinners. My (late) conservative father hated Whitlam with a passion and, not surprisingly, thought Joh was pretty good. I was rather apethetic about politics before then. The contrast of styles between Whitlam and Bjelke-Petersen started my thinking about where I stood politically.

Joh was a cunning, unsophisticated, politically savvy yokel who allowed corruption to flourish, and was (probably) too close to notice it. His relentless championing of development at any cost, and his ruthless silencing of discent formed the basis of my dislike of the philosophy and methods of the conservative side of politics.