‘Special intelligence operations’ grant ASIO officers immunity from prosecution if they break the law; they are also protected by an impenetrable wall of secrecy.

Not since 1977 – almost 40 years ago – has a governor-general performed so poorly at the Melbourne Cup.

In 1977 Sir John Kerr got a bit plastered and was out of control.

Not so in 2015. Sir Peter Cosgrove was in total control. So much in control that he was utterly controlled by what seemed to be a pre-prepared speech.

Just fill in the blanks with the name of the jockey, trainer and owner.

He completely missed the point of history.

Why didn't he just chuck away his prop – his prepared speech – and seize the moment of history. For the first time in the 155 years of its running, a female jockey won the Melbourne Cup.

Yay.

Some people have wondered why Europe did not close its borders before the recent incursion by known incendiarist Tony Abbott. A more pertinent question for us is why we would let him return to Australia.

On Sunday 1st November, the Bolt Report had a guest who was conferring with Andrew Bolt about the farmer who took his life because of his battle with mining companies. The case was used by Bolt to bash the ABC yet again. Bolt was asserting that we "did not know" why the farmer took his own life and we should not blame the CSG mining companies for this fellow's despair. But according to Mr Bolt we should bash the ABC for assuming it was the fault of the miners. 

The rumours were sealed with a kiss.

When Crabb breaks bread with the Morrisons and Macklins of the world she helps further marginalise the people being punished by their policies, writes Amy McQuire.

John Kerr decided to remove Gough Whitlam in the week before the Dismissal and was in secret discussion about this with Malcolm Fraser.

This is the most explosive revelation of a new book that throws in doubt the 40-year-old claim that the Governor-General acted alone.

Which one would bend the banana first?... Way before FUTURAMA — that cartoon about a courier company in 3000 AD written by the fathers of "The Simpsons" — I had written the pilot script for a funny sitcom about a courier company and had started to draw a comic strip I called FUTURON. But FUTURAMA is sometimes about president heads in brine, or whatever, still leading the world to perdition. The one-eyed Leila is the most sane of a mad crew in which the uncle is younger than the grand-grand nephew due to a cryogenic accident. So I relate well to insanity. 

E-vo-lu-tion is not an option. It's the way life works. In medical sphere, the adaptation of bacteria, microbes and viruses tells us irrevocably about adaptation, including that in which our army of antibiotics are becoming lamer. Things evolve, change, devolve, become extinct, not because of the grace of a god's fart but because the total environment, including the biotic environment, in which we live also changes. 

Ousted former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has come under fire from prominent Australian Catholic priests after calling on Europe to shut its borders and deny entry to asylum seekers.

From personal experience and by all other accounts, Tony Abbott is a good guy.  Many suggest he's surprisingly funny, caring and dedicated to public service.  People who know him best say he's the sort of guy you can have a beer with.  After all, what's not to like about a politician of 21 years standing who can ride a bike and hold his own on a big day at North Steyne?