Volume 16 No.6

13 June 2006

ARTS AND CULTURE

Political thrillers expose corrupting personal ambition
- Tony Smith
- 12 June 2006
It is interesting and somewhat disturbing to discover how readily popular novelists regard politics as an appropriate background for crime stories. Tony Smith previews two novels that get much mileage from the intrigue of the political sphere.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Those among us: Three stories
- John Laurie
- 12 June 2006
Photographer John Laurie traces three brief portraits of immigrants who have come to this country seeking work, opportunities and freedom. While their lives may not have turned out as planned, the three subjects profiled here have two things in common - lives well lived, and a love for this country, and what it has given them.
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AUSTRALIA

Do Indonesian maids really lie as a matter of course?
- Dewi Anggraeni
- 12 June 2006
The depiction of domestic helpers from Indonesia is disturbing. At home, they're portrayed as puerile characters, easily manipulated and needing guidance. In destination countries, they're seen as bereft of any sense of ethics or morality.
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AUSTRALIA

How to measure corporate social responsibility
- John Sweeney
- 12 June 2006
15 Comments
Corporate social responsibility is not the same as ethical behaviour, but it is an important component of such action. It is therefore important to measure companies’ social responsibility and work out how their performance can be improved.
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RELIGION

Indonesian Muslim-Christian relations: a story of harmony
- Greg Soetomo
- 12 June 2006
1 Comment
Islam in Indonesia is not monolithic, Indonesian Muslims have generally engaged with other faiths, and are unique in tolerating without outrage the conversion of their people to Christianity.
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AUSTRALIA

The rise of family values in Angela Merkel's new Germany
- Peter Matheson
- 12 June 2006
Phrases such as ‘family values’ are increasingly bandied about, as a conservative reaction against modern pluralism, and against ethnic, particularly Turkish enclaves, in the 'new' Germany.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Memories of Beograd
- Adrian Lane
- 12 June 2006
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AUSTRALIA

Football and social harmony
- Michael Mullins & James Massola
- 12 June 2006
1 Comment
The Australian national football team has played and won its first game in a World Cup for 32 years. Not for nothing did Kofi Annan remark recently that he wished the UN could bring people together so effectively, and in such good spirits.
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ENVIRONMENT

Want to live to be 100?
- Tim Thwaites
- 12 June 2006
1 Comment
As researchers learn more and more about how organisms work, it’s becoming increasingly evident that our lifespan is programmed into us and can be reprogrammed.
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RELIGION

The emerging patterns of Benedict's papacy
- Andrew Hamilton
- 12 June 2006
John Paul II’s world was the post-Reformation Church, seen from a Polish perspective. Benedict XVI is rooted in the Catholic Church before the Reformation, reflecting the subjects of his academic dissertations - Bonaventure and Augustine - who were masters in the exploration of symbols.
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AUSTRALIA

Ways of reading sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities
- Myrna Tonkinson
- 12 June 2006
4 Comments
It has become unpopular to invoke cultural and individual factors to explain the appalling conditions of Australia's Indigenous population. Some of the pronouncements emanating from government and other quarters are patronising and couched in terms that suggest that Indigenous people are wilfully recalcitrant.
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AUSTRALIA

Grass roots amongst the rubble
- Rebecca Duffy
- 12 June 2006
Rebecca Duffy is an Australian student studying in Indonesia. She witnessed first-hand the earthquake in Yogyakarta; this is her account.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Strong performances with no cultural cringe
- Donald Russell
- 12 June 2006
A genuine Australian story with no hint of the dreaded 'cultural cringe', there are some genuinely humorous moments amidst the tension in this film.
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MEDIA

Online social networking beyond the grave
- Margaret Cassidy
- 12 June 2006
The presence of the deceased is palpable in the obituary postings at MyDeathSpace.com. In addition to declarations of love, many speak of knowing that the deceased has “gone to a better place”.
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RELIGION

Town and country parish life
- Margaret Cody
- 12 June 2006
Margaret Cody belongs to two Catholic parishes, one in the city and one in the country. They offer a striking contrast in liturgical experience and congregational demographics.
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INTERNATIONAL

'Red pole' justice in Nepal
- Sushma Joshi
- 12 June 2006
The three metre long red wooden pole is an instrument of humiliation for convicted criminals that is chillingly reminiscent of the Chinese Red Army. It has made its appearance, not under Maoist inspiration, but because of the absence of a functioning state legal system.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Fractured narrative glosses over ethical dilemmas
- Donald Russell
- 12 June 2006
In X-Men: The Last Stand, there is no build-up of tension, long-serving characters are treated with contempt, and the climax is a cacophony of special effects with actors serving only as props.
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Volume 16 No.6