palimpsest: "if CJ morgan, FrankGol and co. are representative of the support Rudd attracts then we are in for a hate inspired government come the election."

Wrong again, pal - I'm not a Rudd supporter either. And while I might regard Howard as a mendacious political rodent, that's not the same as "hating" him.

I don't think I hate anyone, actually. It's an emotion I've always struggled to understand. I know it when I see it - like in much of the xenophobic twaddle one reads in this forum, for example - but I'm not sure I've ever really experienced it.

Tell me, palimpsest, what's it like?

FIGJAM Fitzpatrick, expert on everything, anywhere anytime. You gotta love him.

Rainer,
As long as the economy is ok let's not worry about anything else that may fit into the catergory of "social issues" JWH has never let those distractions hinder him, as long as the BIG end of town is ok. If he wanted to genuinely do something about child abuse a phone rings in this country every 2 minute to report child abuse, why not treat the rest of the populations problem.

I do not support John Hirst’s politics, but the personal attacks on him are extreme and have no facts presented to support them, as is the case with so much that passes for debate on this and other sites. John Hirst was my tutor in Aboriginal History 35 years ago. It’s a long time, but while people change their view, they rarely change their character. He’s no redneck. He’s not lame; try reading his “Sense and nonsense in Australian history” for an insightful perspective on lots of aspects of our past. He is not a bludger, but a hard-working academic who freely and genuinely helped his students in their studies. Those who keep up with the decline of our universities would know how much worse staff-student ratios are nowadays. I am told tutorials now have 20 to 30 students in them, while 30 years ago there were eight to 10. You would not survive as an academic today unless you worked hard.

We can obviously all argue about the details of John Howard’s intervention in the Northern Territory, but those who are content to dismiss it as “racist” or “genocide”, rather than argue the specifics, will simply help the Liberal Government be re-elected because they tar all opposition to it as extreme and make it seem safe and mainstream.

Chris.C,
I recomend you refer any questions to Prof Terje, I see she is still here pedaling her rubbish about reds under the beds, the yellow peril and those mean and nast socialists who want to put a roof over everyone's head as well as Jamie Packer.

Chris C

I think John Hirst put others off-side by attacking other members of society.