Vol 19 No 1

19 January 2009

ARTS AND CULTURE

Obama vs the 'ethic of greed'
- Bruce Duncan
- 30 January 2009
6 Comments
Obama embraced Christianity because of his involvement with church groups, sustaining the moral vision of oppressed blacks. He has sketched a vision of social renewal that overlaps closely with Catholic and Christian social thought.
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AUSTRALIA

Why Aussie politicians should learn to party
- John Warhurst
- 30 January 2009
7 Comments
Obama's inauguration included official ceremonies, public speeches, street parties and ten presidential balls. Such pomp and ceremony is underrated. If he had been sworn in, Australian-style, it would have been a much duller affair.
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AUSTRALIA

Dodson honour deflects neoliberal orthodoxy
- Myrna Tonkinson
- 29 January 2009
9 Comments
Dodson can be expected to show courageous leadership, and not shrink from challenging government. The responses of Tony Abbott and some Aboriginal leaders exemplify the fact that many see the focus on Indigenous rights as passé.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Redeeming the all-American racist
- Tim Kroenert
- 29 January 2009
4 Comments
To be fair, Walt dislikes everybody. He dismisses the local priest as an 'overeducated 27-year-old virgin' and spews vile, xenophobic slander towards his Hmong refugee neighbours. Walt respects those who can give as good as they get.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

The persistence of memory
- Gillian Bouras
- 28 January 2009
5 Comments
As the bush scents drift, I remember: the aroma of fish and chips floating along the platforms at Flinders Street Station; the smell of dust that heralds a storm, as moisture hits bone-dry earth. When your life is sliced in two by migration, you do not scorn nostalgia.
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MEDIA

Ethics of a hoax
- Andrew Hamilton
- 28 January 2009
9 Comments
On first reading how Quadrant was deceived into publishing a spurious article, I laughed. My laughter, however, turned into sympathy, and even to apprehension. I recognised how vulnerable Eureka Street could be to such a high class sting.
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AUSTRALIA

How lax commentary is failing cricket
- Tony Smith
- 27 January 2009
20 Comments
Today's commentators seem determined to speak about anything but the cricket — their lunches, last night's frivolities, films, politics and, most of all, themselves. Much more than the Australian players, Test cricket commentators are in crisis.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Maori for cannibal
- Jennifer Compton
- 27 January 2009
1 Comment
There was a custom for Maori warriors to eat the enemy they killed in battle. This was called long pig because it tastes like pork but the bones are longer.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

All that jazz
- Grant Fraser
- 24 January 2009
To an outsider jazz might seem a mysterious, prowling place because it defies simple definition. This is a journal for slow reading, recommend to those who are not jazz devotees and do not prowl ... yet.
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AUSTRALIA

Obama and Baz Luhrmann's Australia
- Brian McCoy
- 23 January 2009
4 Comments
Australia Day comes this year shortly after Obama's entry into the White House. Like the child in Australia — a film that captures something of the mixed history of our Australian footprint — Obama embodies the possibility of healing across racial and other divides.
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AUSTRALIA

Indonesia's Obama dreaming
- Dewi Anggraeni
- 22 January 2009
3 Comments
In the big cities in Indonesia, most taxi drivers want to talk about the new president in the USA. Obama lived four years in Indonesia, and the country, the people and the culture left their marks on him, too.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

No cheap shots in clergy abuse drama
- Tim Kroenert
- 22 January 2009
6 Comments
On the slimmest of pretexts, fuelled by her own dubious and malicious instincts, Sister Aloysius launches a vendetta against Father Flynn. Doubt deals with the subject of clergy child abuse, though not in the way you might expect.
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AUSTRALIA

Grandeur and banality as Obama ascends
- Binoy Kampmark
- 21 January 2009
4 Comments
One reporter described the crowd gathered for the inauguration as a 'mass of humanity' with 'children living their history'. How Obama's leadership takes shape will be a point of curiosity and perhaps a dread. But in searching for consensus, Obama has started well.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Smells like Adelaide
- Malcolm King
- 21 January 2009
1 Comment
Adelaide has a large, country-town feel about it. Sputes (sports utes) abound and the word 'bogan' is a term of endearment. The mullet hair cut, check shirt and ugg boots have never really gone out of fashion here. These are my people.
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AUSTRALIA

Obama's victory for African Australians
- Saeed Saeed
- 20 January 2009
6 Comments
Upon hearing my ambition to become a journalist, elders in my community suggested I adopt a western pen-name to increase my chances of employment. Obama's win goes a long way to short circuiting the negativity in African Australian communities bred by historical grudges and ineffective social services.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Saturday night jukebox
- Thom Sullivan
- 20 January 2009
outside a rank of .. gloomy farm utes .. wide-eyed gazing .. hound dog howling .. crooning a primal .. lovelust upwards .. towards a doughy .. round of moon.
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AUSTRALIA

Tim Fischer's Bhutanese blind spot
- Michael Mullins
- 19 January 2009
16 Comments
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer is an outspoken promoter of Bhutan and its culture, which includes the concept of 'gross national happiness'. Human Rights Watch has used the term 'ethnic cleansing' to describe official attempts to preserve the country's cultural values.
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AUSTRALIA

How the world is failing the Palestinians
- Shahram Akbarzadeh
- 19 January 2009
11 Comments
Despite its offer of a ceasefire, it is doubtful that Israel has achieved its objectives in the Gaza Strip. The popular grievances that propelled Hamas onto the political stage in 2006 will continue to sustain it.
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Vol 19 No 1