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26 May 2008
Events such as the National Apology and the Northern Territory Intervention loom large in the collective memory. Many of the struggles faced by early 20th century activist Fred Maynard regarding the protection of Indigenous rights remain with us today.
The Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, is mounting a defence of the place of the British monarchy in the Australian Constitution. On several occasions recently Jeffery has proclaimed a very conservative view of Australian constitutional arrangements.
The magic of Flight of the Red Balloon is its delicate approach to exposition. Details are revealed gradually, like a photo blooming in a darkroom. Simon's carefree childishness shines in contrast with the complexity of the adults' lives.
All is not well between the Prime Minister and the Public Service, as evidenced by the leak of Cabinet documents related to Fuelwatch. Such a leak may have been avoided had Rudd removed notoriously Howard-compliant departmental heads upon taking office.
Jimmy Carter's meeting with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Masha'al contradicted US policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Hamas carries a popular mandate to establish Palestine as a sovereign state. Peace is not going to reign in Palestine or Israel if Hamas is excluded from negotiations.
In Australia I had never been taunted because of my migrant father, but after moving to Greece I was ridiculed and bullied because I was half-foreign, and because my mother was entirely so. I began to do my best to deny her existence.
Water colour petals grow into a crowd .. They populate the dustproof draft of an afternoon under the offices .. a saint shall guide anyone towards a meditation on the whole picture .. the Central Business District.
Labor has followed the former Howard Government by not nominating a figure in its submissions to the Fair Pay Commission's review of minimum wages. If the commission discounts wage increases to balance tax cuts it will tip the scales against disadvantaged working families.
The controversy surrounding art photographer Bill Henson's images of nude pubescent children reveals how strongly in our culture runs anxiety about child abuse. As a media event his art has been confused with the commercial exploitation of children.
Both the Federal Government and Opposition have proposed easing the pain of ballooning petrol prices with flat tax reductions. However they would be doing us more of a favour if they treated oil dependency as an addiction, and imposed extra taxes that would further increase the price of petrol.
This week's international conference in Dublin has agreed on a draft treaty to ban cluster bombs. The Rudd Government has become the bad guy, by ensuring the 'smart bombs' purchased by the former Howard Government were excluded from the treaty.
A change of British statutes in 1815 gave mental illness a new public face that was unequivocally female. Mad, Bad and Sad is a new study that charts the role of madness as a barometer of the values, concerns and morals of its day.
The supernatural elements in The Orphanage provide an allegory for Laura's grief for her lost son. But it's the tangible, human elements that will leave both mind and gut churning late into the night. Be prepared to lose sleep.
The Australian Catholic Bishops argue that Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book on sexual abuse questions the authority of the Church to teach definitively. But Bishop Robinson is right when he calls for reflection on the factors within Catholic culture that foster abuse.
One of the teenage mums writes poetry. The Goths are into dragons and wizards. A girl in a wheelchair says, 'Melanie. A novel.' A tattooed youth drawls, 'Sean. Dirty realism.' Reading work aloud is voluntary but most are keen.
Aid agencies are working hard, but some fear that once the emergency phase is over, access will again be denied. This would have unspeakable consequences for the people of Burma, who need long-term help to recover from Cyclone Nargis.
Treachery tumult happiness hope.. Maddening fits of loneliness.. the satirist in him self-abusive.
Northern Ireland has celebrated a year of normal political life. If St Paul got hit by a bolt of lightning, what persuaded Ian Paisley to change from a brand-name for bigotry into a reasonable human being?
Cardinal George Pell opposes a bill of rights in any form, but there are pros and cons. Some judges are tempted to extend their reach, running ahead of the public in forcing a social agenda.
Brazil produces plenty of food and has large exports thanks to its plentiful GM crops. Yet 40 per cent of its people go to bed hungry. GM is about making money, not feeding the hungry.