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Author: Ben Coleridge

  • AUSTRALIA

    Young Somalis are Australians too

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 12 August 2009
    18 Comments

    If there's a problem with Somali youth integrating into the community, let's all own it. That means taking an interest and being open to friendship. It's not just the responsibility of bureaucrats who devise 'policy solutions'.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The roots of Obama's Afghanistan strategy

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 10 July 2009
    4 Comments

    The current strategy is underpinned by a consensus on counter-insurgency that has gained ground since 2007. Marine Brigadier General Nicholson advocates drinking tea and eating goat with the locals, over and above firing bullets.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Rehabilitating Stalin

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 31 March 2009
    4 Comments

    The Russian language has two words for whisperer: one who whispers behind others' backs, and one who whispers for fear of being heard. Government forces wish emphasise Stalin's achievements as the builder of the country's glorious Soviet past.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    National pride revives Russian soul

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 16 January 2009
    2 Comments

    When it comes to political debate, being a foreigner can be difficult. Former president Vladimir Putin's recent State of the Nation address, made on the eve of his departure from the presidency, called for national unity and 'stable development' to the exclusion of foreign influence. (March 2008)

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Gaza conversations

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 08 January 2009
    1 Comment

    We were invited to share a meal with a Jewish family in Haifa. They welcomed us, and conversation was happy and inviting. Inevitably, the topic of conflict between Israel and Palestine reared its head. The atmosphere was transformed.

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  • EDUCATION

    Why the Melbourne Model is failing students

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 12 December 2008
    5 Comments

    Widespread subject cuts and reductions in staff numbers have eaten away at students' plans and rendered the new breadth component impotent. Horizons seem to be shrinking, which makes it increasingly difficult to 'dream large'.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    National pride revives Russian soul

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 05 March 2008
    1 Comment

    When it comes to political debate, being a foreigner can be difficult. Former president Vladimir Putin's recent State of the Nation address, made on the eve of his departure from the presidency, called for national unity and 'stable development' to the exclusion of foreign influence.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Russians voting against democracy

    • Ben Coleridge
    • 12 December 2007
    1 Comment

    Russia's apathetic young people assert that even if they vote, nothing will change. They don't actually want things to change. They compare Russia with the troubled Yeltsin years. The economy and lifestyle have boomed, so why worry about free speech?

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