Vol 21 No 9

09 May 2011

EUREKA STREET TV

Good news from Palestine
- Peter Kirkwood
- 20 May 2011
5 Comments
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ENVIRONMENT

Cardinal Pell's climate hot air
- Tim Stephens
- 20 May 2011
79 Comments
The difficulty is not his privately-held heterodox views on climate change, but that Australia's most senior Catholic clergyman vigorously advances a position that could be interpreted as a statement of the official stance of the Catholic Church in Australia.
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EUREKA STREET TV

Good news from Palestine
- Peter Kirkwood
- 20 May 2011
The idea of establishing a university in Palestine was first mooted during the 1964 visit of Paul VI. Today Bethlehem University has 3000 students, and has had 12,000 graduates since its foundation. Current vice-chancellor Peter Bray is well placed to lead it through its next phase.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Last-ditch confession
- Tim Kroenert
- 19 May 2011
2 Comments
First he built a church, an act of penance and a bribe to God. Next came 40 years in self imposed isolation. Neither act could replace the course he needed to take: to confess and accept responsibility; the only true salve for guilt.
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RELIGION

An Anglican angle on Toowoomba
- Andrew McGowan
- 19 May 2011
14 Comments
Anglican bishops are not appointed more democratically or transparently than Roman Catholic bishops, although there are better-known processes and lines of accountability. And they would have better legal redress should anyone try to get rid of them.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Teaching boys to love and hate books
- Gillian Bouras
- 18 May 2011
7 Comments
My sons had their bedtime stories for years, but had to become used to my saying 'Just a minute' while I raced to the end of a page or chapter. Now grown, my technophile youngest had a most surprisng reaction to the marvellous present sent to me recently.
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CARTOON

Wealthy battlers
- Fiona Katauskas
- 18 May 2011
2 Comments
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AUSTRALIA

Philippines bishops' contraception conundrum
- Fatima Measham
- 18 May 2011
30 Comments
While Catholic bishops in the Philippines have opposed modern forms of birth control, the public paralysis this has engendered over sexual health care has led to high rates of abortion. The Philippine Catholic Church can thus be seen to be at odds with its ministry for the poor.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Osama bin Laden's wasted life
- Brian Doyle
- 17 May 2011
25 Comments
Imagine the same man, rather than consumed by hate, alert instead to humour, to the power of mercy, apology, simplicity, conversation, common ground. Imagine what he might have done for the religion he loved, to which he instead did more damage than anyone else in history.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Dangers of democracy
- Various
- 17 May 2011
You ... are a man of steel with an impotent nation in your care: talk peace; but make strong allies everywhere.
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AUSTRALIA

Bishops sad not mad over Morris sacking
- Michael Mullins
- 16 May 2011
17 Comments
While the Australian bishops' letter indicates that they accept the decision to sack former bishop of Toowoomba Bill Morris, there is nothing to suggest that they agree. In fact they carefully distance themselves from the decision.
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RELIGION

Trust at stake in Toowoomba
- Andrew Hamilton
- 16 May 2011
38 Comments
The treatment of Bishop Bill Morris risks further blurring the image of the Church. The story told of a good man who encouraged his church, who was resolute in dealing with sexual abuse, but was removed in an untransparent process, will confirm many in their distrust of the Church.
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AUSTRALIA

The Scots' war on everything British
- Duncan Maclaren
- 13 May 2011
16 Comments
The Scottish National Party government has rid Scots of the sense of inferiority hammered into them by the British state. Australians, given their outrage over the banning of The Chaser's royal wedding commentary, know something of how this feels. The British state is past its use-by date.
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INTERNATIONAL

Good news about the Malaysia solution
- Caz Coleman
- 13 May 2011
5 Comments
Just as it should be the role of lawyers and refugee advocates to analyse the disadvantages and possible unlawful elements of this announcement, we must also consider the opportunities. The Malaysian agreement may also deliver good news for some asylum seekers and the refugee sector.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Bulldozing famous backyards
- Brian Matthews
- 13 May 2011
2 Comments
Great sports men and women have emerged from suburban backyards and the tutelage of their parents on the rapidly wearing lawn. The yard Michael Younes wanted to obliterate in order to construct town houses had been the childhood training ground of one of Australia's greatest sportspeople.
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INTERNATIONAL

Why Malaysia is no solution
- Andrew Hamilton
- 12 May 2011
27 Comments
Anne Frank described a refugee as a parcel that is sent from post office to post office. The 'Malaysian solution' is like solving the problem of overloaded post offices by sending incoming parcels straight to the shredder.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

South Australia's mundane horror
- Tim Kroenert
- 12 May 2011
2 Comments
Hatred against paedophiles and fantasies of violent retaliation are stoked by gossip around dining room tables. Snowtown portrays the evil that humans are capable of under mundane circumstances, and the devolution of morality when it is nourished by sick ideologies.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Record store pilgrim
- Vin Maskell
- 11 May 2011
5 Comments
Once, I soaked up so much music it seeped from my pores. A week wasn't complete without buying a few albums, seeing a few bands, talking music with mates until dawn. Now I wonder if my weekly pilgrimage to a city music store is merely a break from the working day, or a respite from fading dreams.
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CARTOON

'Malaysia solution' winners and losers
- Fiona Katauskas
- 11 May 2011
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AUSTRALIA

Mixed Budget blessings
- Paul O'Callaghan
- 11 May 2011
7 Comments
The Budget contains a number of positive measures to promote mental health, employment and training. But without greater investment in individualised support for job seekers and those on disability support pensions to assist their transition to work, we are not likely to see major change.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

The other me
- Various
- 10 May 2011
1 Comment
No longer on useless shopping sprees .. No longer overeating .. Knowing the difference between right and wrong .. Singing a happy song .. Bright and cheery .. No longer dull and dreary .. A brand new woman
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AUSTRALIA

Border Protection's selective rescue
- Tony Kevin
- 10 May 2011
15 Comments
Last November, a refugee boat was lost at sea en route to Christmas Island. It's presumed the 97 on board perished. Evidence suggests Australia's Border Protection Command selectively chooses to make little or no effort to find and help SIEV boats in possible distress.
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EDUCATION

How to measure a teacher
- Fatima Measham
- 09 May 2011
17 Comments
One in ten primary and secondary teachers will be entitled to extra pay as acknowledgement of their performance. While this is positive, the evaluation criteria seems biased against teachers in disadvantaged suburbs or those who voluntarily teach in remote regions.
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AUSTRALIA

WikiLeaks and the killing of bin Laden
- Michael Mullins
- 09 May 2011
22 Comments
One day we're told he was armed and used his wife as a human shield. The next, that he was unarmed, and that his unarmed wife rushed at a US attacker. WikiLeaks could be the only organisation we can expect to furnish us with reliable information on important events.
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Vol 21 No 9