Popular

Tony Abbott, the poor and Jesus  
Andrew Hamilton 19-Feb-2010
Expressing scepticism about the value of politicians committing to healing social problems, Abbott quoted Jesus: 'The poor you have with you always'. This phrase, used here to diffuse the claim the poor make on us, is much richer in meaning when read in context.

Conversations with atheists  
Andrew Hamilton 05-Mar-2010
Australia's first Global Atheist Convention will feature such speakers as Richard Dawkins, Philip Adams and Peter Singer. I look forward to it with the same tempered gloom that would descend upon me if a convention of Christian evangelists came to town.

Real stories betray Abbott's homelessness untruth  
John Falzon 18-Feb-2010

Everyone has a story, and they don't happen in limbo. Tony Abbott's comments about homelessness mimic the paternalistic attitude pushed by Margaret Thatcher, where the focus is on supposed individual deficits rather than structural deficits.

Liturgical payback  
Neil Ormerod 25-Feb-2010

It's unlikely people will flock back to mass simply because a new translation is in place. Far more likely is that, as with the change at Vatican II, there will be a disaffected minority who cease to practice because their experience of the sacred has been violated.

Making more room for women in the Church  
Peter Kirkwood 26-Feb-2010
In 2000, Sister Joan Chittister defied a Vatican order forbidding her to speak at a major women's ordination conference. Now in her 70s, Chittister is still a dynamo. She's highly focused, intense, bristling with energy. Exclusive video interview

Boys with knives  
Moira Rayner 23-Feb-2010
Adolescence is a time of violent, primitive emotions, of play-acting and the most intensely lived reality. Boys' passionate assertion of relative worth is developmentally necessary. That child's place in the society of his peers is, for that moment, a matter of life and death.

Libraries lead the e-book revolution  
Philip Harvey 01-Mar-2010
We are seeing only the early technology of the e-book. In five years the e-book will look, feel, sound, smell and gesticulate in very different ways from its iPad and Kindle prototypes. As usual, libraries are quietly ahead of everyone else.

Legacy of a whingeing bogan  
Irfan Yusuf 17-Feb-2010
It's official: Pauline Hanson the whingeing bogan will soon become a whingeing Pom. She may not remain in Australia in body, but her spirit will stay with us for decades. Our politics, media and public discourse have been infected by Hansonite thinking.

Scapegoating ministers  
John Warhurst 02-Mar-2010
We are often quick to blame government ministers. In the case of Bill Shorten, Stephen Conroy and Peter Garrett, they may emerge with tarnished reputations. But in rushing to criticise our ministers we often let ourselves off the hook too easily.

Misdiagnosing Benjamin  
Barry Gittins 22-Feb-2010
The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may merge Asperger's into the broader 'autism spectrum disorder'. The father of a misdiagnosed two-year-old boy reveals the emotional and social implications of mental illness pigeonholing.

Most Commented

Liturgical payback  
Neil Ormerod 25-Feb-2010

It's unlikely people will flock back to mass simply because a new translation is in place. Far more likely is that, as with the change at Vatican II, there will be a disaffected minority who cease to practice because their experience of the sacred has been violated.

29 Comments.

Conversations with atheists  
Andrew Hamilton 05-Mar-2010
Australia's first Global Atheist Convention will feature such speakers as Richard Dawkins, Philip Adams and Peter Singer. I look forward to it with the same tempered gloom that would descend upon me if a convention of Christian evangelists came to town. 28 Comments.

Tony Abbott, the poor and Jesus  
Andrew Hamilton 19-Feb-2010
Expressing scepticism about the value of politicians committing to healing social problems, Abbott quoted Jesus: 'The poor you have with you always'. This phrase, used here to diffuse the claim the poor make on us, is much richer in meaning when read in context. 27 Comments.

Taliban friend's letters to the enemy  
Benjamin Gilmour 12-Feb-2010
In the tribal areas of Pakistan, close to the Afghan border, Abdullah Khan, a friend and unashamed supporter of the Pakistani Taliban, gives me a present. Slowly I open it. Lying on a bed of white fabric is a US military service medal on a ribbon. 'Just 200 rupees a piece', he tells me. 21 Comments.

Real stories betray Abbott's homelessness untruth  
John Falzon 18-Feb-2010

Everyone has a story, and they don't happen in limbo. Tony Abbott's comments about homelessness mimic the paternalistic attitude pushed by Margaret Thatcher, where the focus is on supposed individual deficits rather than structural deficits.

20 Comments.

Making more room for women in the Church  
Peter Kirkwood 26-Feb-2010
In 2000, Sister Joan Chittister defied a Vatican order forbidding her to speak at a major women's ordination conference. Now in her 70s, Chittister is still a dynamo. She's highly focused, intense, bristling with energy. Exclusive video interview 19 Comments.

Misdiagnosing Benjamin  
Barry Gittins 22-Feb-2010
The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may merge Asperger's into the broader 'autism spectrum disorder'. The father of a misdiagnosed two-year-old boy reveals the emotional and social implications of mental illness pigeonholing. 17 Comments.

Israel's rogue behaviour  
Michael Mullins 01-Mar-2010

Last week Israel's air force unveiled its Heron TP fleet of unmanned aircraft, which it says can travel as far as Iran. War by remote control is faceless. We remain at a distance from those with whom we disagree. There is no basis for trust.

14 Comments.

Legacy of a whingeing bogan  
Irfan Yusuf 17-Feb-2010
It's official: Pauline Hanson the whingeing bogan will soon become a whingeing Pom. She may not remain in Australia in body, but her spirit will stay with us for decades. Our politics, media and public discourse have been infected by Hansonite thinking. 14 Comments.

Boys with knives  
Moira Rayner 23-Feb-2010
Adolescence is a time of violent, primitive emotions, of play-acting and the most intensely lived reality. Boys' passionate assertion of relative worth is developmentally necessary. That child's place in the society of his peers is, for that moment, a matter of life and death. 12 Comments.

Retrospective

Best of 2009: Rudd faces ugly story of abused innocence  
John Honner 13-Jan-2010
The Prime Minister offered his apology to those who spent their childhood in care, via a carefully crafted speech. He said it is an 'ugly story' that must be told without fear or favour. Some who worked in or were associated with these children's homes may not like this judgement. November 2009

Pope skips language of love in Anglicans manifesto  
Charles Sherlock 20-Nov-2009
Pope Benedict XVI's recent Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus (‘Groups of Anglicans’) moves the pastoral openness of Vatican II towards a ‘Rome is right’ mentality. This is disturbing and dangerous, not only for Anglicans, but for Roman Catholics themselves.

Rudd faces ugly story of abused innocence  
John Honner 17-Nov-2009
The Prime Minister offered his apology to those who spent their childhood in care, via a carefully crafted speech. He said it is an 'ugly story' that must be told without fear or favour. Some who worked in or were associated with these children's homes may not like this judgement.

Bud Tingwell and I  
Andrew Hamilton 20-May-2009
I only met Bud Tingwell once. Like so many others, I went away the better for the brief encounter. But the meeting also led me to ask questions about what matters, and how we should nurture it in Australian society.

East Timor's digger friend  
Paul Cleary 09-Mar-2009

When East Timor was struggling to get a fair deal in negotiations over Timor Sea oil, Kenneally rallied his mates to fight. Appearing on national television, he told Prime Minister Howard: 'I'd rather you did not come to my ANZAC Day parade.'

Obama's challenge to the Church  
Andrew Hamilton 26-Feb-2009
The standard by which the most vocal Catholic Bishops judged Obama was his position on abortion, same sex marriages, and on the use of embryos for research. Obama has done the churches a favour by stealing their clothing.

Who cares about students  
Fatima Measham 10-Feb-2009

Many of the things that impact upon a teacher's efficacy are beyond their control - the quality of a child's homelife, the politicisation of the curriculum. One thing they can control is much they care, though this may bring new teachers little comfort in the months ahead.

Humanity endures in bushfire tragedy  
Andrew Hamilton 09-Feb-2009
During the financial turmoil this summer, images of fire have abounded. The economy is 'going into meltdown'. Shareholdings 'turn to ashes'. This weekend's bushfires make us ask instinctively what really matters.

My friend Justice Kirby  
Frank Brennan 03-Feb-2009

Prior to convening his own farewell ceremony yesterday, Kirby published his last dissenting judgment, stating Aborigines should have their day in court over the Intervention. Though respecting tradition, Kirby has long thrived on conflict and change.

Glamour returns to post-war Australia  
Madeleine Hamilton 09-Jan-2009
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first showing of Christian Dior's New Look fashion designs in Sydney. After years of wartime material restraints the New Look offered Australian women a fresh way of expressing their individuality and sensuality through fashion. (March 2008)