by Heather Hastie | Feb 13, 2015 | Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Religion, Terrorism, USA
On Tuesday 10 February 2015, Sydney Police arrested two Muslim men. They had received information that they planned to carry out a random murder that day. On raiding the men’s home the police found a hunting knife, a DAESH flag and a self-made video describing...
by Heather Hastie | Feb 7, 2015 | Democracy, Freedom of Speech, International Politics, Religion, Terrorism, US Politics, USA
In the United States there is a growing rift between Democrats and Republicans on how to describe the terrorism in the Middle East and northern Nigeria. (As if politics in America needed any more rifts!) The Obama administration will not use the word...
by Heather Hastie | Nov 7, 2014 | US Politics, USA
On Tuesday the US Republican party had several big wins in their country’s mid-term elections. As a result, they took control of the Senate and increased their majority in Congress. Thus the only branch of government in Democratic hands is the presidency. (Mostly,...
by Heather Hastie | Nov 5, 2014 | US Politics, USA
It seems the American federal government is constantly in electioneering mode. The latest one comes to an end today, with the likely result that the Republican party will retain control of Congress and gain control of the Senate. As usual in the sixth year of a US...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 25, 2014 | US Politics, Women
Anyone speaking English (or American!) on Twitter will have seen tweets, especially around election time, of the US Democratic Party accusing the US Republican Party of waging a War on Women. The phrase is so common it’s become capitalized. So is it a fair accusation?...
by Heather Hastie | Oct 5, 2014 | International Politics, Russia, US Politics, USA
Whenever President Vladimir Putin of Russia is in the media due to his regular land-grabbing actions, the right-wing media in America take the opportunity to contrast certain aspects of his personality with President Barack Obama in an attempt to undermine Obama. They...
