Fellow travellers, as international socialists we can all agree that patriotism is an ugly emotion. And it brings out other malignant sentiments, for example the flagrant, insensitive and deeply racist waving of Australian flags (still, revoltingly, including the Union Jack) by drunken revelers at various Australia Day events and gatherings.

Not surprisingly this brutal nationalism often dredges up the vile prejudice of speciesism as well. Take this regular Australia Day horse racing event tha...
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Fellow travellers, as any of us who has worked in Australia's thriving arts sector knows only too well, Australian films are without doubt the best in the world! But sadly, local audiences are usually too stupid to appreciate them. Consequently they often fail to attract substantial crowds and lose money.

Of course, I don't consider box office failure a problem in itself, since I am against the profit motive in principle. However, it is undeniably unfortunate that every time an Aussie movie l...
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Fellow travellers I am sure that you are as shocked and offended as I am that the appalling Mel Gibson has another movie out at all, let alone so soon. But that's not the most worrying thing about The Beaver. The film's storyline is perhaps even more disturbing than its star.

You see, it focuses on a depressed man who gets his mojo back by putting a beaver puppet on his hand and letting it speak for him. Now, while some people may find this a charming plot device, I am not amused.

I do find it...
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Fellow travellers, I am heartened to know that sassy sister Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director, and her film won Best Picture. This is certainly a highly empowering development for women all across the globe. And it's a nice coincidence that it just happened to occur at around the same time as International Women's Day.

But I am frankly appalled that she dedicated her win to "the women and men in the military who risk their lives on a daily basis in Iraq and Afghanistan. May they...
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