Keywords: Human Interaction
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AUSTRALIA
- Greg Foyster
- 06 February 2015
3 Comments
After years of writing pain-at-the-pump puns, journalists are giddy at the prospect of prices heading south for once. The low price is a boon for motorists and regional tourism operators. But it won't change the face that we've hit 'peak car' and are driving less. Young people now prize access over ownership.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 20 November 2014
2 Comments
The three recently reunited sisters are immersed in whispered conversation, during the second day of mourning at the house. In the next room, older men in ceremonial garb chant a mourning ritual. Suddenly, the sisters get the giggles, only to be angrily shushed by one of the men in the next room. But grief can't be stage managed, and it seems only natural that the process should be guided by normal human interaction.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
The succubus of medieval legend is a female demonic being, sexual intercourse with whom can result in sickness or death. This resonates uneasily with the attitudes of contemporary 'men's rights' movements who view women as social and sexual aggressors. The greatest irony confronting the 'succubus' of Under the Skin is that the femaleness that she had wielded as a weapon proves also to be what marks her out as a victim.
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AUSTRALIA
- Ellena Savage
- 09 May 2014
8 Comments
There's nothing wrong with being nice. But women need to stop asking nicely for equality, and instead just expect it. I relate strongly to my near namesake, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Eleanor Savage, who in 1920 asks why she couldn't have been born 100 years into the future, assuming that a century of progress would give her the freedoms she desires. Women do have it it better today, but that is not the same as having innate equality.
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AUSTRALIA
- Frank Brennan
- 07 September 2013
12 Comments
How clever of you to choose the day of the federal election for me to offer these reflections. I come amongst you, not as a publisher or journalist but as an advocate in the public square animated by my own religious tradition as a Jesuit and Catholic priest engaged on human rights issues in a robustly pluralistic democratic society.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
While Anthony the Maronite is dismissive of his Buddhist hosts' beliefs, Freeman the Buddhist finds meaning in the symbols and rituals of Catholicism. The overly simplistic intention seems to be to set open and inclusive Eastern religion alongside narrow-minded, arrogant Western Christianity.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 11 April 2013
1 Comment
A Rabbi informs Joseph that although he has been circumcised and celebrated his Bah Mitzvah, the revelations about his biological origins mean he must undergo 'cleansing' rituals to be accepted as a Jew. Religious institutions err when they elevate legalism over human need. In this instance the institution is found wanting.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 15 November 2012
5 Comments
A quadriplegic and a virgin, Mark hears from others how disability hinders or enhances their sexual activity, and recalls the humiliation of ejaculating involuntarily while being bathed. It is a human dignity issue for him, but what of the dignity of the 'sex surrogate' whose specialised services he employs?
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 14 September 2011
2 Comments
UN peacekeeper Kathryn Bolkovac uncovers evidence that some of her colleagues have been involved with sex slavery and human trafficking. Her interactions with one victim reinforce her determination to achieve justice, while highlighting the limits of her ability to do so.
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MEDIA
- Michael Kelly
- 02 September 2011
5 Comments
Co-founder and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, played a pivotal role in the shaping of the publishing and media landscapes in recent decades. The developments initiated by Jobs and Apple are of profound significance for the Church — for better and for worse.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 03 April 2011
2 Comments
High profile furniture and electronics retailer Gerry Harvey has announced that Harvey Norman would reluctantly open an online store. Most businesses are not yet confident about how to replicate online the interpersonal relationship that lies behind every economic transaction.
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AUSTRALIA
- Sarah Burnside
- 07 January 2011
2 Comments
'This election', says Tony Abbott, 'is about you.' Recently, passengers on a Perth bus found themselves involved in an impromptu social experiment. 'This guy has no money and tried to give me a ticket that's two days old,' the bus driver said, 'What do you reckon? Should I let him on?'
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