Rowland Croucher
Asylum-seekers: Australia doesn’t have a good record
Labor needs to rethink asylum seeker policy Date January 3, 2014 A new year should see Labor take some moral leadership on the treatment of refugees. Syrian refugees outside a makeshift home in Ankara. Photo: AFP The start of a year is all about new beginnings, so here’s my New Year’s submission: with fresh new leadership […]
Bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism and sport
Soccer’s no place for anti-Semitic salutes Date January 2, 2014 Kavitha Davidson Sport and politics are a poor mix, with the latest incident in England highlighting soccer’s inability to reconcile racial issues. Illustration: John Spooner. French soccer player Nicolas Anelka spurred controversy on Saturday after flashing what supporters have called an innocuous gesture in celebration […]
Terrorism: a bit of history helps understand some of it…
Centuries-old dispute haunts Sochi Olympics Date January 2, 2014 James Barry North Caucasians have long railed against Russia’s rubbery notions of people and place. A bomb ripped apart this bus in Volgograd this week, killing 14 people. Photo: Reuters Why would a Chechen war widow become a suicide bomber in Volgograd? Why would Chechens attack the […]
Tobacco’s ugly truth must be uncovered (Julia Gillard)
In Australia, 15,000 people die a year due to tobacco use. The fight has not been won yet, but our plain packaging policy works and should be defended Monday 23 December 2013 Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco still cause 15,000 deaths a year in Australia. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA Julia Gillard A family friend recently told […]
TED talks: a recipe for civilisational disaster?
We need to talk about TED Science, philosophy and technology run on the model of American Idol ¢â‚¬“ as embodied by TED talks ¢â‚¬“ is a recipe for civilisational disaster Monday 30 December 2013 Alain de Botton speaks during during TEDGlobal 2011, in Edinburgh. Photograph: James Duncan Davidson/TED Benjamin Bratton In our culture, talking about […]
50 Spiritual Classics
(by Tom Butler-Bowdon) Revisited January 1, 2014 First, a disclaimer: I ¢â‚¬â„¢m impressed with the early Christian evangelist Paul ¢â‚¬â„¢s market-place dialogue with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens (Acts 17): although he disagreed with many of their presuppositions he was willing to quote their poets when he agreed with them. I believe strongly that our Christian apologetic should […]
The worst troll of 2013?
Who was the worst troll of 2013? Heard something inflammatory and outrageous this year? Odds are one of this lot said it. So in a head head-to-head contest, who’s the most horrible troll of them all? Monday 30 December 2013 18.00 EST Game of trolls … the contestants. Illustrations: Toby Triumph Stuart Heritage Don’t feed the trolls. […]
Gratefulness: the Key to Happiness (David Steindl-Rast)
Today (31/12/2013) I watched a recently-recorded TED talk by David Steindl-Rast. Some have said the mantle of Thomas Merton has fallen on this gentle Benedictine monk. I remember when he came to Melbourne in the 1980s and a small group of us were privileged to spend a day with him, sitting in a circle in […]
New Year Prayer (Karl Barth)
KARL BARTH’S PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR O Lord, our Father! We have gathered here at the turn of the year because we do not want to be alone but want to be with each other, and together be united with you. Our hearts are filled with somber thoughts as we reflect on our misdeeds […]
Atheism vs the track record of Christmas
I recently read a modern day story about the true meaning of Christmas. Titled “Heart of the Slums”, it was a compelling account of a Melbourne family, the Barkers, who have embedded themselves for the last 12 years in Bangkok ‘s largest slum, Klong Toey, to embody and make tangible the divine love that came […]
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