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Monthly Archives: April 2022

Read more about the article Empires, power, money and war

Empires, power, money and war

April 14, 2022 Opinion by Greg Ray Case number 1: Ukraine seeks to join NATO. Russia complains that this will bring US weapons bases to its very doorstep and that this is a security risk it can’t afford to tolerate. The US empire says Russia shouldn’t be so precious. Anyway, it’s all about freedom. Ukraine wants to join NATO and it should be allowed to. Result? A proxy war in Ukraine between Russia and the US empire. Case number 2: The Solomon Islands sign a security deal with China. Australia and the US complain that this…

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Read more about the article Art and Jean Mawson’s remarkable partnership

Art and Jean Mawson’s remarkable partnership

It's strange how quickly even the most colourful characters can be forgotten. Art Mawson is perhaps a case in point, and his wife Jean maybe even more so. In their heyday this power couple were noted fight promoters, controlled seven or eight NSW coalmines and a trucking business and looked set to leave their name as a legacy on the coastal subdivision they were creating south of Swansea, near Newcastle. But the suburb of Mawson was slow to take off and the locals ended up changing its name to Caves Beach, leaving the Mawson moniker to…

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Read more about the article Some odd pieces of photographic history

Some odd pieces of photographic history

Hunting among old photo collections and antique shops you can find many interesting relics of photographic processes long gone. Opalotypes, or "milk glass positives" The first time I saw an opalotype photograph I didn't know what to make of it. A large flat white plate of glass with a portrait of great fineness and beauty, it was a strange novelty. Since then I have seen several more, usually in estates of well-to-do families, and they still catch my eye. Also known as milk glass positives, these images were made using a variety of related processes that…

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