Vol 21 No 12

20 June 2011

AUSTRALIA

The neo-liberal face of the new Greens
- Matthew Holloway
- 01 July 2011
12 Comments
The current narrative about the ALP says the party losing its soul and ultimately turning its back on those Australians it is meant to represent. The Tasmanian experience suggests the same might be said for the Greens in the Federal Parliament, who assume the balance of power in the Senate today.
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EUREKA STREET TV

Denouncing bad religion
- Peter Kirkwood
- 01 July 2011
3 Comments
The saturation coverage of the assassination of Osama bin Laden helped the cause of anti-religionists such as the New Atheists, who make blanket denunciations of religion. Theologian Peter Vardy says it’s not enough for believers to shine the light on good religion. They must denounce bad religion as well.
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EUREKA STREET TV

Denouncing bad religion
- Peter Kirkwood
- 01 July 2011
6 Comments
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Boys learning sin and sex
- Tim Kroenert
- 30 June 2011
4 Comments
The Tree of Life is at once sublime and earthy. Watching it has been likened to 'living inside a prayer'. The adolescent Jack bonds with his emotionally distant father after taking his first tentative steps across the threshold of sin and sexuality.
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AUSTRALIA

Ethical demands of a regional solution
- Andrew Hamilton
- 30 June 2011
21 Comments
Even if the Malaysian government guaranteed the security, sustenance and education of the asylum seekers, the human dignity of those found to be refugees would still be significantly infringed. They would be unable to enter Malaysian society equally, and they have no possibility of prompt acceptance into another society.
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AUSTRALIA

Gillard the least of Labor's worries
- John Warhurst
- 29 June 2011
14 Comments
The media are not indulging in fantasies, but feeding off rumours around Parliament House and gossip from within Labor. The message is that Gillard has until Christmas to improve the party's standing. But the party has bigger problems than an unpopular leader.
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CARTOON

Political stunt show
- Fiona Katauskas
- 29 June 2011
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Honouring cleaners
- Scott Steensma
- 29 June 2011
1 Comment
The average full time employee in Australia works 44 hours a week. The people in the office Ben cleans pull 35. During his busiest weeks Ben slogs through over 70. 'I gotta lot of responsibilities on my shoulders,' he says. 'This is why I want to do well in life.'
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RELIGION

Oregon on the euthanasia slippery slope
- Frank Brennan
- 28 June 2011
27 Comments
Physician Chuck Bentz received a request to be the 'second opinion' for the assisted-suicide of a melanoma patient. Bentz objected and said there were better ways to address the needs of this patient, whom he had known for over a decade. Next he knew, his patient was dead.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Working mum's bar blues
- M. L. Emmett
- 28 June 2011
3 Comments
This woman is omnipotent. A working mother with dark shadowed eyes. She offers nothing more than serving drinks and mopping up the mess men leave behind, working stoical hands planted on the bar ready for action, ready for anything.
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MEDIA

Media gag silences asylum seekers
- Jo Coghlan
- 27 June 2011
19 Comments
Officially, the ban on journalists interviewing or filming asylum seekers in detention is for the detainees' protection. But it also stops them from sharing their stories with the public. Surely asylum seekers are capable of determining who is and is not acting in their best interests.
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AUSTRALIA

Peace in Syria will stop the boats
- Michael Mullins
- 27 June 2011
3 Comments
The international community tends to back 'democratic' revolutions, rather than national unity, in countries of the Middle East. This is good for majority populations, but Christians and other minorities can be the losers. If they're forced to flee, they become part of the 'refugee problem'.
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AUSTRALIA

Mourning Kevin Rudd
- Lyn Bender
- 24 June 2011
27 Comments
Since even the best leaders are not infallible, we must decide who is good enough. Abbott is not, and the jury is still out on Gillard. The anniversary of Rudd's fall provides an opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps regret, what we have lost.
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MEDIA

The black face of fashion
- Ellena Savage
- 24 June 2011
5 Comments
Sao Paulo Fashion Week has come under criticism for its absence of non-European models. But the absence of non-white faces is a near universal standard in high fashion. If fashion wishes to be considered a legitimate art form, it must interpret and transform the world it reflects upon.
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AUSTRALIA

Forgiving Japan
- Zac Alstin
- 23 June 2011
27 Comments
The disasters in Japan early this year left scenes of destruction reminiscent of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Australian experiences of Japanese wartime cruelty have never been forgotten or forgiven. But the problems are not all on the Japanese side.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Rednecks, bogans and bad boat people
- Kerry Murphy
- 23 June 2011
13 Comments
The participants on SBS's Go Back Where You Came From seem like rejects from a bad reality TV show and are stereotypical in their views. Some reflect on the difference between 'good' and 'bad' refugees: this false dichotomy is a sticking point for many refugee advocates too.
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CARTOON

Party time for Gillard
- Fiona Katauskas
- 22 June 2011
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ARTS AND CULTURE

My morning with Frank Brennan
- Brian Doyle
- 22 June 2011
12 Comments
Fell into riveting conversation recently. We talked about Australia's and Oregon's history with assisted suicide, the plight of Indigenous Australians, and his views on the personal and public profiles of Cardinal George Pell. Here's how it happened.
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AUSTRALIA

Doubting democracy in Muslim Turkey
- William Gourlay
- 22 June 2011
7 Comments
Much has been made of Turkey as a model for reform and democratisation in the Muslim world. If the Turkish experience is indicative, then the process of establishing robust and viable democracies in the Middle East will be long and slow.
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ENVIRONMENT

Carbon price will cause pain
- Charles Rue
- 21 June 2011
12 Comments
Our lives will change forever as we face the creative challenge posed by the carbon tax. We will pay the real cost of producing food, and cheap and frequent overseas trips will slow. But we must not let a grasping spirit hold us from imagining an economy and lifestyle that can thrive on alternative energy.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Kinglake undone
- Jordie Albiston
- 21 June 2011
5 Comments
Prayer has not prevailed. She sits silent without lover or friend: she slumps in her blackened skirts: she slumps in black dust: she slumps in her black that was green.
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AUSTRALIA

Bill Morris and Simon Overland in exile
- Andrew Hamilton
- 20 June 2011
22 Comments
Whatever his failings, former Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland was a patently good man. His resignation followed a disedifying and concerted campaign against him by media groups, the police union, some of his colleagues and many politicians. It is hard to see any good coming out of this affair.
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AUSTRALIA

Parable of the unwelcome strangers
- Greg Foyster
- 20 June 2011
22 Comments
One day a stranger knocks on the door. 'Help!' he shouts. 'The people in my house are trying to kill me!' Instinctively, you reach for the door handle. A wrinkled hand, old yet firm, grabs your wrist. You look up and see your landlord, a bald man with thick rectangular glasses and bushy eyebrows.
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Vol 21 No 12