Get political

Feel like a bit of grit in your Saturday?

Power Without Responsibility

Over the last 10 years, The Australian has become one of the most prominent conservative political campaigners in this country – so comfortable in this assumed role that in an editorial in September 2010, the paper announced that it believed the Greens ‘should be destroyed at the ballot box’. But what does it mean for a newspaper, which claims to uphold the ideals of fair and balanced reporting, to be such an overt political actor? And what effect does this have on the political debate in Australia? 

If you’re quick this morning you could get along to BMW Edge at 10am to see Robert Manne and Eric Beecher talk about Manne’s new Quarterly Essay: Bad News – Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation, examining The Australian’s political voice and it’s role in public debate. For those of you still coming down from the New News conference and Jay Rosen’s excellent keynote last week, this could be the perfect antidote.

Middle East – Spring or Fall?

The popular uprising in Egypt that began on January 25 toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Soon Egypt will be holding its first elections post-uprisings. But how did the uprising come about? What did it mean for the people? What are the complications involved and how might it be seen in the context of the revolutions occurring all across the Middle East? Professor Amin Saikal, commentator Mona Eltahawy and narrative non-fiction writer Joseph Braude will be discussing with Louise Adler the history and the possibilities for the region, today at 2:30pm in BMW Edge.

Big Ideas: 10 Years After 9/11 – Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Struggle for Democracy

“They are wasting your taxpayers’ money and the blood of your soldiers.”

If you haven’t yet heard former Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya speak – if you missed her Monday night appearance on Q&A, or her appearance on the Conversation Hour with John Faine on Friday morning – here’s your chance. Joya’s uncompromising politics are underpinned by years of underground activism for women’s rights, a public fight against internal corruption in Afghanistan, foreign occupation and war. Defying death threats and surviving assassination attempts, Joya continues to speak out despite attempts to silence her, making her one of the strongest and clearest voices against the war. She is speaking tonight at BMW Edge at 6:30pm as part of the MWF’s Big Ideas program.