Home » Edition

NON-FICTION

A child's 'Christ bus' in America  
December 18, 2009
Brian Doyle
Once I opened a present on which a young niece had written MARY CHRIST BUS, with every iota of her tongue-clenched diligence. If I was a wise man, I would have saved that paper, so that I could even now open it and see the world as it is, ancient, glorious and written endlessly by the young.

MULTICULTURALISM

Carols in the gangland  
December 18, 2009
Sarah Ayoub
Men of dark hair and olive skin travelling in packs, bound by an unbreakable tradition. They have found a niche for themselves in South-West Sydney, and no matter how they are stereotyped, they continue to meet, greet and roar as they beat, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, on their drums.

VIDEO

Ethical solutions to the global moral crisis  
December 18, 2009
Peter Kirkwood

'There will be no peace among religions without dialogue, and there will be no serious dialogue without common ethical standards.' In this video interview controversial theologian Hans Küng speaks exclusively to Eureka Street.

POLITICS

Chaotic endgame in Copenhagen  
December 18, 2009
Tony Kevin

At conferences like this, an atmosphere of crisis is necessary for final deals to be achieved. Kevin Rudd will not want to define the summit as a failure so, hopefully, his notorious 5 per cent emissions reduction target will be left behind.

EDITORIAL

Holiday greetings from Eureka Street  
December 18, 2009
Staff
A big thank you to all our readers for your support during 2010. Eureka Street will begin publishing its Best Articles of 2009 on 4 January. Our regular publishing schedule will recommence on 18 January. We hope you have a fulfilling and relaxing holiday season. See you next year!

ENVIRONMENT

The morality of population control  
December 17, 2009
Paul Collins
It's hard not to sound misanthropic when discussing population. Conservatives accuse you of favouring abortion, contraception and sterilisation in developing countries. Progressives say you're a cultural imperialist diverting attention from social justice.

FILMS

Samson and Delilah and other great Australian stories  
December 17, 2009
Tim Kroenert
Back in March, I strolled the streets of Fitzroy in Melbourne's inner north with Warwick Thornton, trying to find a quiet spot for an interview. Two months prior to the release of his feature debut, Samson and Delilah, Thornton was quietly hopeful his film would be positively received.

POLITICS

Abbott needs to be a better boxer  
December 16, 2009
John Warhurst
Tony Abbott sees the role of the Opposition as merely to oppose the Government. This fits the image of Abbott the boxer standing his ground resolutely in the middle of the ring. But it is a simplistic view not just of Opposition, but of boxing.

NON-FICTION

Christmas cakes in art and war  
December 16, 2009
Frank O'Shea
If you ever hear a House Manager admit that her neighbour has made a better Christmas cake, write down the time, place and the names of witnesses, and get it signed by your parish priest. It is the kind of thing that might be useful in the early stages of a canonisation process.

RELIGION

The inhospitality of Bendigo Anglicans snub   
December 15, 2009
Andrew Hamilton

Christmas is a time for hospitality, and hospitality is central in the Christian tradition. You may not have thought this was so when, recently, the Anglican Church in Bendigo, Vic., was denied the use of a Catholic cathedral for the ordination of four female deacons.

POETRY

Half-baked takes on the glory of God  
December 15, 2009
Michele Madigan Somerville

spires nosed upwards to touch the celestial concert of bodies ... We emulate with half-lame gestures, insufficient and diffuse, dissolving into air like smoke ascending from a goat on an altar — as if God were open to flattery

EDITORIAL

The opportunity cost of Rudd-love  
December 14, 2009
Michael Mullins

If Hawke and Keating had failed to act on economic reform, the opportunity cost would have been devastating unemployment during the GFC. It is not difficult to imagine the opportunity cost of the priority Rudd is giving to his own popularity over reforms that are now urgently needed.

SPIRITUALITY

Marketing the Dalai Lama  
December 14, 2009
Yannick Thoraval
When the Dalai Lama appeared, people flocked to the stage, mobile phone cameras in hand, so they too could own a piece of the Dalai Lama. As a measure of our cultural values, it is interesting to consider that the Dalai Lama has become a commodity.

POLITICS

Let's redistribute hope  
December 11, 2009
John Falzon
Aside from a few fanatical poverty-deniers, there is a broad consensus that we have a serious problem. Frantz Fanon reminded us nearly 50 years ago that we need a redistribution of wealth. 'Humanity must reply to this question, or be shaken to pieces by it.' We have been shaken to pieces.

BOOKS

Illuminating the St Mary's conflict  
December 11, 2009
Andrew Hamilton
The conflict between Archbishop John Bathersby and Fr Peter Kennedy was passionate and public. This book shines a light on the dispute, setting it into a human context that is much larger than that offered by the media coverage.

FILMS

Children and other wild things  
December 10, 2009
Tim Kroenert
Max has an erratic imagination, and is prone to extremes of emotion. There are hints of mental illness, but, really, he is simply Every Child. Following a ferocious fight with his mother, he flees into fantasy and becomes king to a group of melancholic monsters.

HUMAN RIGHTS

South Africa's black and white minstrels  
December 10, 2009
David Holdcroft
The performers, in white-face make-up and baggy trousers, have two minutes to catch a driver's attention and elicit a few rands. Their skill is as remarkable as the cultural and racial ironies of their performance.

POLITICS

Guerilla president cements Uruguay's left  
December 09, 2009
Antonio Castillo
Four decades ago 'Pepe' Mujica was a ferocious Latin American guerrilla leader. His election as president of Uruguay shows that the Latin American people continue to reject the neoliberal experiment that has brought so much poverty and injustice.

BY THE WAY

Close encounters with cricket history  
December 09, 2009
Brian Matthews
January 1961: the fourth Ashes test. On the eve of the final day, with Australia's plight looking grim, we went to a Chinese restaurant. We'd just given our orders when Richie Benaud, Neil Harvey, Allan Davidson and Ken 'Slasher' Mackay walked in.

POLITICS

Fresh female face of fatigued NSW politics  
December 08, 2009
Tony Smith

Some cynics say female leaders are the housewives and mothers of politics, expected to clean the mess left by the men who preceded them. Male premiers have been shaping NSW for over 150 years now, so Kristina Keneally must clean up after 41 predecessors.

POETRY

Guttered brotherhood  
December 08, 2009
B. N. Oakman
Our town nuisance, eyes bulging from a hollowed head, trousers like tattered flags half-mast on broomstick legs, a pest to the tourists ... a handy arrest for the police

ENVIRONMENT

The silent narrative of trees  
December 07, 2009
Thor Beowulf

Trees are recognised as powerful cosmological agents in many of the earth's myths, rituals and religious beliefs. A worldwide 'bell ringing for climate justice' on 13 December will signify a vocal, moral and spiritual re-engagement of churches with nature.

EDITORIAL

Abbott's vision for a better Australia  
December 07, 2009
Michael Mullins

There is a view that Tony Abbott is seeking to expand the public's moral imagination rather than simply pander to avarice. This should be tested against his characterisation of the ETS as a giant 'tax grab'.