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Vol 33 No 20

16 October 2023


 

  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Another Melbourne

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 27 October 2023

    Set in a Melbourne bursting with bohemian allure, Chris Womersley's The Diplomat is a book of despair and the agony of regret. Intertwining the worlds of art, drug addiction and deception, the author confronts us with the question: how well can we truly know another? 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    The uses of violence: The Israeli-Hamas war

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 26 October 2023
    5 Comments

    Following the Hamas attack on October 7, the world is forced to grapple with the profound complexities of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, a mire of historical grievances, selective narratives, and devastating violence. With both sides weaponising the weight of their tragedies for the international stage, the tragedy's core remains: innocent lives lost in a perpetuating cycle of violence. 

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  • EDUCATION

    How should my class reckon with the referendum?

    • Helena Kadmos
    • 26 October 2023
    2 Comments

    In the wake of the referendum, how can a curriculum be used to foster a sense of reflection, understanding, and dialogue among young minds? As classrooms become the backdrop for conversations around Indigenous voices, democracy, and social change, what does it mean to truly listen?

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Disarming truth

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 26 October 2023
    3 Comments

    Amid escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas, the focus should turn to the mounting stockpile of advanced arms. In our bid to secure a world worth living through weapons, we may annihilate it. Disarmament may seem utopian, but the real madness lies in an unchecked arms race.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    The weight of shared history

    • Erica Cervini
    • 26 October 2023
    11 Comments

    A large part of my feelings of connectedness to Jews in Israel and around the world can be explained by my link to Jewish history. There is the cultural and broader history and my own family history. So many of the Jewish festivals commemorate Jews escaping persecution.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Politicians and their words

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 25 October 2023
    11 Comments

    In a world where every politician has something to say, only a select few wield their words well. As we grapple with the failure of the recent Voice referendum, it's worth drawing from these leaders and questioning what truly guides political decisions - morality or self-interest?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Yesterday to today

    • David Rowland
    • 25 October 2023
    1 Comment

    Paul McCartney's concerts evoke a communal magic, lighting up arenas with shared cultural memory spanning generations. Seeing the legendary musician perform in concert, retaining a youthful vigour, the experience can feel like a poignant rendezvous across time. 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Conflict over the conflict

    • Kenneth S Stern
    • 25 October 2023

    The university campus is really the ideal place to tackle thorny issues. It is a safe place to examine all ideas, even — or perhaps especially — those that people find offensive or disturbing. The sad fact, though, is that there is a push these days to send the opposite message to students — that they should be shielded from intellectual discomfort. (From 2022)

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Taking measures

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 25 October 2023
    1 Comment

    Stray thoughts are ideally as light as leaves drifting in the wind, which land without making a mark. This week, however, thoughts and words drop as heavily as the hearts of Indigenous Australians after the Referendum on the Voice and the families killed in Israel and Gaza. Prose doesn’t cut it.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    David Marr's penance by storytelling

    • Peter Craven
    • 20 October 2023
    3 Comments

    In Killing for Country, David Marr confronts Australia's dark colonial past, revealing unsettling truths about the Australian Native Police's brutal acts. Published during the Voice referendum, Marr intertwines personal ancestry with national guilt, urging Australians towards truth-telling and reconciliation. This isn't just history; it's a call for atonement.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Why did the referendum fail?

    • Joel Hodge
    • 19 October 2023
    44 Comments

    The Australian Indigenous Voice referendum has been rejected, as anticipated by many, with the meaning and consequences now up for debate. This debate may be as crucial as the referendum debate itself to determining the future of reconciliation and what it means to be Australian in the 21st century.

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  • CARTOON

    Voiceless

    • Glen Le Lievre
    • 18 October 2023

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  • RELIGION

    What connects the Voice and the Synod of Bishops?

    • John Warhurst
    • 18 October 2023
    9 Comments

    This month we navigate the dual milestones of a failed constitutional referendum and the First Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Seemingly disparate, these events converge in debates over tradition, leadership, and discourse. Their outcomes promise to shape the nation's spiritual and secular contours for generations.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Trying to hold on to the better angels of our nature

    • Warwick McFadyen
    • 17 October 2023
    3 Comments

    Most people of sympathy and empathy would believe there is an invisible thread that binds humanity. To think otherwise, to echo British jurist Lord Denning, is to consider a panorama too awful to contemplate, that is, what if a life is just mere object to another? When the massacre becomes the norm, does the world become numb to it? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Avoiding the blame game

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 October 2023
    13 Comments

    When tragedies unfurl, the rush to apportion fault often overshadows the lives that hang in the balance. It's worth remembering the multi-faceted nature of tragedy, and the human costs behind the headlines. Every story, much like life itself, demands understanding, compassion, and the commitment to build harmonious bonds in the face of adversity.

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  • EDUCATION

    Inclusion in education? Not without a revolution first

    • Michele Freeman
    • 11 October 2023
    6 Comments

    With an education system in crisis, teachers on the front lines face daunting challenges as they strive for true inclusion. With classrooms overwhelmed and resources dwindling, educators reimagine a system that both listens to its educators and prioritises the well-being and growth of every student.

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