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writer, singer, webwrangler, blogger, comedy tragic | about.me/vivsmythe

  • Yesterday’s beach walk

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    My favourite shot of the morning – mum and bub were just having so much fun here (playing Harry by the Sea, where “Harry, a friendly little dog on a visit to the seashore, is mistaken for a sea serpent… Read More ›

  • I’m an auntie once more!

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    I have a new niece, delivered just on an hour ago by caesarean section. Her mum is still in recovery after the surgery. Her nana says she’s beautiful, but I’ll have to wait for a little while to see her…. Read More ›

  • GOP: vote because you’re scared

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    The GOP message basically boils down to this: We have created a world so unstable and hostile with our unbroken string of blunders and unnecessary provocations, can you really risk electing someone new who will squander two weeks learning the… Read More ›

  • May my Kiwi readers forgive me

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    An hour ago I was standing on the promenade at Coogee above where Willie Mason was sunbathing below, skylarking (loudly) with a few fellow Kangaroos. How did I know they were Kangaroos? They were wearing their team shorts. Wasn’t that… Read More ›

  • Will the Grauniad’s servers cope?

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    Ricky Gervais is back podcasting for free at the Guardian, for three seasonal specials: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. His initial free podcasts, of material written with The Office cowriter Stephen Marchant, were so successful he was able to take them… Read More ›

  • The veil dilemma

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    Speaking out against the veiling of Muslim women is hugely problematic because of the way niqab has been politicised, and also because the experience of North Africa shows that when Western feminists get shrill about Islamic oppression of women it… Read More ›

  • Wheels grinding slowly

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    Good news from India – a new law gives broad protections to women against domestic violence, specifically including the special violence that results when trying to get a larger dowry payment from the bride’s family. The framers of the new… Read More ›

  • Privilege and higher education

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    The SMH reports on the results of a study by ANU academics titled Why are high ability individuals from poor backgrounds underrepresented at university? RESEARCH has exploded some myths about university entry and performance – including the notion that richer… Read More ›

  • Reproductive Freedoms roundup

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    Australia’s abortion healthcare is superior but improvement has stalled due to stigmas on training programmes: It shows that the most common [abortion] complications occur far less frequently in Australia than in other western countries. Only 0.2 of every 1,000 abortions… Read More ›

  • Are we allowed to disagree with Uncle Sam?

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    Tim Dunlop over at Road to Surfdom analyses the Australia-US alliance and the growing rift between the PM and the electorate about how we handle ourselves in that alliance. This is basically handing our foreign policy decisions to the United… Read More ›