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MEDIA

Women who discovered the world  
February 10, 2011
Eleanor Massey

Adventure and travel writing has long been a male domain. Sports and media guru Peter FitzSimons advises young men to broaden their experience, find their voice, and 'push through the hard yakka'. He says this advice is not for young women. 

VIDEO

Theology coloured by clergy sex abuse  
February 10, 2011
Peter Kirkwood

Theology coloured by clergy sex abuse  
February 10, 2011
Peter Kirkwood

Lay Catholic theologian Neil Ormerod's approach was strongly coloured in the early 1990s when he and his wife Thea became activists on behalf of survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

FILMS

Exploiting natural disasters  
February 09, 2011
Tim Kroenert

The Tsunami is recreated in spectacular fashion, but robbed of significance, except as a catalyst for one white-skinned European tourist, who survives despite the deaths of hundreds of thousands of brown-skinned Indonesian villagers. This is exploitative in the extreme.

MEDIA

Shit doesn’t just happen  
February 09, 2011
Andrew Hamilton

While it is refreshing to hear politicians speak in unguarded colloquial language from time to time, any human misfortune is demeaned if we believe it is a sufficient explanation to say, as Tony Abbott said of the death of a soldier serving in Afghanistan, 'shit happens'.

CARTOON

Whatever happened to the Real Julia?  
February 08, 2011
Fiona Katauskas

INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Ending the Intervention  
February 08, 2011
Sarah Burnside

There is evidence that, far from its stated aim of 'normalising' remote communities, the Intervention is in fact counter-productive. A few days out from the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations, the question hovers: when will the Intervention end?

NON-FICTION

Where children used to play  
February 08, 2011
Vin Maskell

After she died — her mind went first, then the rest — he moved across town, where he lived in a different type of street. A busy street with traffic and noise. No place for a street party. Once a year, though, he returns to see the next generation of neighbours. New leaves on old trees.

POETRY

Our blind search for sweetness  
February 08, 2011
Kevin Gillam

the tongue is bleeding, but the words come out the same. checking spelling, cursive immaculate, an orderly flight of birds across a yellowing page.

EDUCATION

Why private schools need more money  
February 07, 2011
Chris Middleton

A recent poll shows 70 per cent of people think the Federal Government gives too much money to private schools. Catholic schools have contributed enormously to the Australian community, and thus make a claim for some funding on the basis of the common good.

THE AGENDA

Preparing to kill the internet  
February 07, 2011
Michael Mullins

Barack Obama's calls for the protection of freedoms in Egypt failed to mention one of the Egyptian authorities' most striking violations — their switching off internet access for five days. It's likely he was treading warily due to the US Government's own plans for an internet 'kill switch'.

COMMUNITY

The future shock of aged care  
February 07, 2011
Martin Laverty

One of our most daunting challenges is how to look after the baby boomers, who are fast approaching old age. The cost of aged care, and the number needing it, is skyrocketing. Funding has not been committed, and there's a train wreck in sight. Doing nothing is not an option. 

NON-FICTION

The westernisation of Asian beauty  
February 04, 2011
Ellena Savage

In many Asian cultures paleness is an indication of class and beauty. But why would Asian women want to look like Pamela Anderson? For the same reason white women do: there's a globalised beauty standard that is gendered, racialised, and hierarchical.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Remember Sudan  
February 04, 2011
Jack De Groot

Sudan's fate may appear sealed, and with tensions erupting in neighbouring Egypt it is easy to turn our gaze away. But with poverty and prosperity hanging precariously in the balance, there could not be a worse time to forget Sudan.

CARTOON

Wrecking-ball Tony returns to Parliament  
February 02, 2011
Fiona Katauskas

FILMS

Father Brennan's jailbreak  
February 02, 2011
Tim Kroenert

A mess of maps and photos pinned to his wall reflects his obsession. A series of close calls and violent altercations reveal his rising desperation. His love of his family bolsters his conviction while allowing him to retain his humanity.

RELIGION

Pope's guide to social networking  
February 02, 2011
Andrew Hamilton

Benedict's World Day of Social Communications address shows how an elderly, intelligent man might reflect on the massive changes in social communication. He associates social networking with the young, and trusts in their freedom to use it well.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Egyptian people's vengeance  
February 01, 2011
Ashlea Scicluna

The long-time political repression of the Egyptian people is now being avenged on the streets. Any step toward democracy that arises from the protests must involve the popular Muslim Brotherhood, or else it will be a wasted opportunity.

NON-FICTION

Feathery fable  
February 01, 2011
Fiona Douglas

She sits perfectly still, as if she has given up; happy for her end to come via a predator of any calibre. At the very least, she has lost the plot. The children and I spy on her from a distance. Then, as if a switch has been flicked, a sickening sinking feeling takes hold inside me.

THEOLOGY

King James Bible a masterpiece but not an idol  
February 01, 2011
Philip Harvey

2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. It will be said that the King James is the soul of our language and that it shares pre-eminence with the Bard. But all of this talk will be at odds with the actual purpose for which it was created.

POETRY

Boys will be girls will be boys   
February 01, 2011
Stuart Barnes

marriage is a sacred sanatorium .. better late than pregnant .. Heaven knows no beauty like a woman divorced .. absence makes the heart grow abscesses

PARENTING

Schooling in the classroom without walls  
January 31, 2011
Catherine Marshall

The furore that erupted when Chinese-American mother Amy Chua accused Westerners of being too soft on their children masks a subtle sharpening of middle class parental expectations in Australia.

THE AGENDA

Natural disaster fund could be Gillard's easy path to glory  
January 31, 2011
Michael Mullins

It is difficult for Prime Ministers to impose short term pain for long term gain if they want to be re-elected. But Gillard faces a different situation because the Independents are her masters, not the 2013 voters.