You know what? I am willing to be convinced about the need for different rules to apply to suspected terrorists. I think that terrorism is a scary thing that we don’t really understand and which can leave us vulnerable because we frame our society in such a way that we think our values […]

Jon Owen asks some powerful if not disturbing questions about the Aboriginal sexual abuse issue and John Howard’s new found interest in the issue.

“1) Why doesn’t Mr Howard work with the local Aboriginal leadership and get them involved in the planning of strategies to fight the problem? Why doesn’t he consult the Aboriginal elders and […]

As a father of three with an interest in not only their education but that of all the other kids in our society - how can I make wise choices about school education?
Should I stick my kids in the best school I can afford and stuff the neighbours who go to the State school? Enrol […]

I have been enjoying the conversation on this post about the kind of sociological tendencies we can observe and how we react to changes in society (at least that is what I think the discussion is about).
As a result I wanted to share some experiences of my workplace. A fairly large chunk of my […]

I read with interest Naomi Wolf’s article which posits that the US Bush government showed signs of at least the beginning of each of 10 steps which are part of the path toward fascism. It’s an interesting article.
Slacktivist responds to some of the criticism of the article, labelling it as the NABA defence - […]

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To […]

Violence, like a multi-headed hydra, surrounds us.
In one sad week we had a mass shooting at Virginia Tech, USA that rivaled Australia’s notorious Port Arthur massacre; more suicide bombers in Baghdad, Iraq; the Palestine/Israel violence took the life of a kidnapped BBC journalist; and preparations for Australia’s (and New Zealand’s) observations of ANZAC Day […]

On the day when the papers report that Rudd’s approval rating has hit 65%, Howard decides to enter into a public bitch fight with newly announced candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Barak Obama:
“If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as […]

Thought provoking article from Justin Whelan in the latest Online Opinion, responding to Tony Abbott’s recent statement to the young liberals convention “There is not a single, authoritative Christian position on the Iraq War, climate change or border protection.”  Justin disagrees.

This statement will surprise the churches, whose public statements on each of these issues have […]

Chris who used to comment regularly on signposts - when we only had half a dozen readers has a letter in the age today.
When ‘ratting’ is the right thing to do
PICTURE this: We are at a party in the outer suburbs, a group of young blokes full of youthful confidence and fired with testosterone. The […]