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Introducing the Anthony Albanese ale. Beer icon: Anthony Albanese. Photo: Andrew Meares Prime Minister Tony Abbott won over punters by throwing back a schooner at a Sydney pub in April, and former prime minister Bob Hawke may have skolled his way into the record books. But Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has done one better, with a micro brewery naming an ale in his honour. The "Albo Corn Ale Beer", crafted by the Willie the Boatman brewery in Mr Albanese's Grayndler electorate, was officially launched on Friday night, with the former deputy prime minister in attendance. A Sydney microbrewery has named their new drop after Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese Local craft brewer Pat McInerney and his team at Willie the Boatman in Tempe spent the past two months perfecting the Albo Ale, to the surprise of its titular inspiration. "I had no idea they were naming a beer after me until I started seeing all this stuff floating around on social media about 'Albo Ale'," Mr Albanese said.

"It's in a long neck bottle, which I like. Faceless and facepalm: the ALP, factions and us - The Drum Opinion - What do we know now that we didn't know before last night's Four Corners episode? Not much. Find More Stories Faceless and facepalm: the ALP, factions and us Ben Eltham What do we know now that we didn't know before last night's Four Corners episode? Not much. Kevin Rudd is rude and nasty in person? Heard that before. Perhaps the most important new nugget of information is that Julia Gillard was rather more intimately involved in the plot than first assumed.

Again, there's nothing surprising about that. Actually, that might be the real revelation of Andrew Fowler's episode: Labor's ongoing inability to explain the leadership transition. Explaining to voters just why Labor needed to dump its leader remains the key moral dilemma of Julia Gillard's prime ministership, just as the removal of Rudd himself remains the original sin. Nearly two years and a general election after the event, Gillard is still struggling to find the right formula to explain the coup. Four Corners did provide one valuable interview, and it wasn't with the Prime Minister.

Indeed. But does anyone care? Email x. Libertarianism: a nice idea, but doomed - The Drum Opinion. Find More Stories Libertarianism: a nice idea, but doomed Darryl Adams There is a lot of discussion regarding libertarianism, but it is being confused by Ron Paul saying stuff. In a nutshell, libertarianism is like pure communism and pure capitalism. A nice thought experiment for ivory tower types. It is based on the assumption that every person is sane and sensible. A libertarian is someone who knows that his or her decisions are the best, and any regulation is a personal affront to their liberty. So, using a scenario, let's explore one aspect of liberty. In a libertarian world, every person has the right to own and use fireworks in any way they see is appropriate.

In the real world, this has some major issues. Firstly, people find new and novel ways, generally with the assistance of alcohol or drugs, to injure themselves or others with fireworks, which are in reality controlled explosives. And more importantly, many of the injured are children. Hence there is a demand to regulate. Email Share. Hawke and Keating: a masterclass in political killing - The Drum Opinion - On December 19 this year it will be 20 years since the Labor Party caucus elected Paul Keating as prime minister. Find More Stories Hawke and Keating: a masterclass in political killing Cameron O'Reilly It is today 20 years since the Labor Party caucus elected Paul Keating as prime minister.

It was Keating's second attempt and even then it was a close run thing, with Keating's margin just 56-51. I remember December 19, 1991 distinctly, as a bit player in a day of high drama. The polls following the release of John Hewson's "Fightback" manifesto earlier that year were disastrous for Labor and there was a feeling that if they were going out, they might as well do so with the fearless Keating at the helm. The acrimony of that time was on full display in 1993 when the ABC series Labor In Power was released. One notable absentee from the program was Laurie Brereton, Keating's close friend and - at the time - my employer. Brereton and Keating were friends from their teens and were nurtured by the twin faiths of the Labor Party and the Catholic Church. It was none other than Laurence John Brereton.

Email Share x. Humphrey McQueen. Humphrey McQueen (born 26 June 1942) is an Australian author, historian, and cultural commentator. He has written many books on a wide range of subjects covering history, the media, politics and the visual arts. He also broadcasts on radio and is regularly asked to speak at public lectures and conferences. McQueen was born in Brisbane and educated at Marist College Ashgrove and the University of Queensland. He moved to Canberra where he taught at the Australian National University.

Between 1972 and 1974 he developed Australia's first full-year university course on 20th-century Australian history[dubious ]. The life and work of the self-employed socialist intellectual, Humphrey McQueen. By Bob Gould Never trust Tories bearing gifts There is a tradition in academia of dedicating to veteran or retiring scholars a "feschrift", which is usually a collection of essays by other scholars about the scholar's chosen field and their contribution to it. Humphrey McQueen has done his prolific and wide-ranging intellectual work mainly outside academe, and is a self-employed freelance historian and journalist, so he has no institution to give him a feschrift, but some of his writing is available on the web, so Ozleft has put together a list of this material as a kind of virtual feschrift.

This is not to suggest that Humphrey may be about to retire, as he shows no sign of running out of intellectual steam and he has no great pot of superannuation to live on in any case. I have a lot of sympathy for Humphrey in this respect. Humphrey McQueen's life Humphrey McQueen was born in Brisbane, into a Catholic working-class family that was active in the Labor Party. Politically homeless. First, there was this superb dissection of how The New York Times published only the story its journalist was able to write. This is an excellent takedown of standard political reporting. Nikki Barrowclough started out writing profile pieces on herself living in France, or with a Frenchman, or something like that. For some reason The Good Weekend commissioned her to write a profile piece on Mark Arbib. Arbib is one of those figures in politics who doesn't have a high profile, but who has a considerable impact on those who do and on the way politics works, and in a way that isn't fully explained in Politics I courses.

To do a profile like this you need to be able to explain how a kid from Bondi got to wield such power, not just describe his ascent through Young Labor and Sussex Street as though he rose smoothly in a balloon, or on some sort of escalator, like it was inevitable. ... He is Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness, and it is unclear what he is doing in that role. Private schools get $12b advantage: union - ABC News (Australian. Timothy McDonald for AM Updated Mon 18 Jan 2010, 1:34pm AEDT A new report commissioned by the Australian Education Union shows the Federal Government is giving more money to private schools than public schools.

The report says that private schools will receive $12 billion more funding than their public counterparts over the life of the current five-year funding agreement. Over the six years to 2013, private schools will get $47 billion, while public schools will get $35 billion. Only one third of school students attend private schools. The union's federal president, Angelo Gavrielatos, says the Federal Government needs to overhaul its funding system. "A discredited, unsustainable schools funding system must be replaced with a funding system that provides a primary obligation, a primary focus, on government schools across Australia," he said. "After all, true equity in the provision of education can only be guaranteed if it is government schools that set the standard for high quality. " Gillard angered by KKK cartoon - ABC News (Australian Broadcasti. Updated Sat 9 Jan 2010, 7:19am AEDT Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard has reacted angrily to a cartoon published in India that depicts a police officer in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

The Delhi Mail Today newspaper published the cartoon in response to the murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne last weekend. The cartoon shows a person in a Ku Klux Klan hood wearing a police badge, with a caption that reads: "We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime". The Indian media has suggested the attack may have been racially motivated, but Melbourne police say there is no evidence of that. Ms Gillard says Victorian police officers work well with Melbourne's Indian community and she is outraged by the cartoon's Ku Klux Klan reference. "Any suggestion of that kind is deeply deeply offensive to the police officers involved and I would absolutely condemn the making of a comment like that," Ms Gillard said.

The Victorian Government has also added its voice to the condemnation of the cartoon. Les crucifixions de Facebook. Médias sociaux : rétrospective de l’année 2009 en dessins et en.