Vol 20 No 8

26 April 2010

EUREKA STREET TV

Peter Kennedy's first year in exile
- Peter Kirkwood
- 07 May 2010
31 Comments
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MEDIA

Sympathy for Catherine Deveny
- Andrew Hamilton
- 07 May 2010
22 Comments
Catherine Deveny's sacking smells of hypocrisy. Some will say that those who live by the sword die by the sword. But in this case it appeared that those who provided her with the sword and encouraged her to use it liberally, stabbed her in the back with it.
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AUSTRALIA

Politicising women's bodies
- Catherine Marshall
- 06 May 2010
36 Comments
What's the difference between wanting a thin wife and wanting an invisible wife? Which is more democratic: the western tendency to idealise the porn-star aesthetic, or the old-fashioned imperative for modesty and virtue? When the chips are down, is raunch culture really more dignifying than discretion?
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Sport as class warfare
- Tim Kroenert
- 06 May 2010
Tony is the working class underdog battling to excel in a sport dominated by private school boys. The temptation for the poor westie Tony to engage in petty crime is a cliché too far, but does help to highlight the social structures that define Tony's world.
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AUSTRALIA

Making poverty personal
- Simon Moyle
- 05 May 2010
7 Comments
Last week the world was shocked by CCTV footage of people walking past a homeless man as he died of stab wounds on a New York pavement. People on the streets know violence, but cold indifference hurts more than targeted physical attack.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Rudd and the art of talking in circles
- Bill Collopy
- 05 May 2010
7 Comments
Kevin Rudd has raised circumlocution to an art since coming to office. But recently his polysyllabic heart rate seems to have slowed. What's changed? Could it be the patter of Tony feet? Time to restart that 'working families' mantra: plain prose beats purple.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

After the Latin
- Peter Steele
- 04 May 2010
1 Comment
They change the sky but not their soul who run .. across the sea: the impartial earth .. gapes for the child of a pauper as for a princeling ... (For Peter Porter)
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ENVIRONMENT

Climate action after Rudd
- Tony Kevin
- 04 May 2010
24 Comments
Rudd is technically correct that the opposition parties stymied his CPRS bills, but the buck stops with his disappointing climate policy leadership. Upon the failure of Australian parliamentary politics, we need now to find the courage to support mass non-violent public action modelled on Vietnam War protest.
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AUSTRALIA

Rudd tax act leaves vulnerable Australians hanging
- Susan Helyar
- 03 May 2010
2 Comments
Hopefully the Government's delay in providing a comprehensive response is not a sign of lost momentum, but rather means it is going to work directly with disadvantaged and vulnerable people and the organisations that support them to determine how best to address critical outstanding issues.
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AUSTRALIA

Rudd the Terminator
- Michael Mullins
- 03 May 2010
19 Comments
Increasing the cost of cigarettes hurts the poor more than the rich. Kevin Rudd is acting with the callous efficiency of The Terminator when he really needs to find a more equitable incentive to give up smoking.
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AUSTRALIA

'Bigot' gaffe jars with British presidential politics
- Peter Scally
- 30 April 2010
8 Comments
Gordon Brown's campaign has hit rock-bottom thanks to an inadvertent remark being whipped into a huge story by mischief-making reporters. He is to Tony Blair what Pope Benedict is to John Paul II — shy, serious, and a little too 'heavy' for our sound-bite culture.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Shane Howard's constancy in hard places
- Andrew Hamilton
- 30 April 2010
3 Comments
Most of these could be described as love songs, even when they focus on the land, on values or on people overwhelmed by misery. Although they tap deeply into the darkness of being human, they are sweet and wistful in the hope that animates them.
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RELIGION

A childish view of Melbourne Storm
- Andrew Hamilton
- 29 April 2010
15 Comments
When I first heard of the Melbourne Storm tragedy, I laughed. My attitudes to games had remained stuck in an ill-spent childhood in which a little cheating was part of playing games. Even now, I confess, I enjoy stories of cheating done in style.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Music as religion
- Tim Kroenert
- 29 April 2010
3 Comments
Fingers, impossibly nimble, weave melody amid the dappled tips of sunny seas. Rush it to foamy, gushing peaks. Drop it amid thundering, vigorous rolls. Set it adrift once more, wet, bruised and quietly thrilled. It's the moment when God arrives, whatever it is you understand 'god' to be.
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EDUCATION

Why NAPLAN boycott must happen
- Fatima Measham
- 28 April 2010
19 Comments
Julia Gillard has not truly engaged with concerns from teachers, principals, academics and parents regarding the overemphasis on NAPLAN-based school comparisons. For many teachers, the professional and only ethical thing is to oppose such moves.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Confession of a football criminal
- Frank O'Shea
- 28 April 2010
7 Comments
The case was not reported in the local paper, much to our disappointment, so we never had the distinction of being described as 'local youths'. In our pre-teen innocence, we were convinced our parents would appeal, all the way to the High Court if necessary. They had more sense.
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AUSTRALIA

Rise of Tasmania's 'Green devils'
- John Warhurst
- 27 April 2010
12 Comments
The Greens represent not just 20 per cent of the Tasmanian electorate but 10 per cent of the national electorate. Australian politics will benefit when the Greens are better integrated into the system rather than frozen out.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

In the suburbs of glut
- Les Wicks
- 27 April 2010
1 Comment
The same delusion that made us rich .. leaves a Hungry by the doors .. By comparison the 'wealthy' ones, Australian with homes .. on the market, no offers .. bereft in Bankstown .. wails in Warrimoo .. People are and want good.
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AUSTRALIA

Storm blows Anzac values
- Michael Visontay
- 23 April 2010
9 Comments
The salary cap in sport is one of the last remnants of Australian egalitarianism. This is one of the reasons why the Melbourne Storm's behaviour is so offensive. It is an offence against one of the values Australians hold so dear, especially at Anzac Day — a fair go.
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AUSTRALIA

Manipulating the nation on Anzac Day
- Aurelien Mondon
- 23 April 2010
5 Comments
As Anzac Day approaches, Australian flags adorn our streets. To many, this display of nationalism is inoffensive and appears even as a sign of cohesion. But it may also be a worrying facet of the growing appeal found in exclusionary identity politics.
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Vol 20 No 8