Independent Minds Matter
MOHAMAD ABDALLA: Western media was quick to associate the Boston murders to the fallacious fact that the brothers were ‘devout Muslims.’ This means, by extension, that Islam is to blame, again. By definition, a ‘devout Muslim’ is one who abides by the laws and dictates of Islam, including the command not to murder. Islam is explicit in its prohibition of the killing of any innocent human whether Muslim or not, during times of peace or war. Islam declares that the killing of … [Read more...]
BEN WILSON: Friday nights from March to September were always hallowed nights in the Wilson household. When I was in high school I would tear down Spring Hill after band practice finished at 4:30, stop in at the Myer Centre Woolies for a bag of Twisties and a two litre coke, and then jump on the 5 o'clock bus home where I would sit on the floor of Dad's bedroom while he lay on his bed, stuffing my face with chips while the epic battles of the early 2000s were fought out on his 10 inch television … [Read more...]
CHRISTINE BARTON: There’s only one day of the year we can pull, and get away with, the most outrageous, outlandish, and absolutely crazy practical jokes and hoaxes imaginable; April 1st. The origin’s of April Fool’s Day are uncertain, but have been traced back as far as 1392, in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Others believe it stemmed from the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, which was ordered by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, while others see it as a celebration of the turn of the … [Read more...]
ANGELA RANKE: So Sunday is Australia’s Neighbour Day. For those of you who don’t regularly peruse government websites, “Neighbour Day is Australia’s annual celebration of community, bringing together the people next door, across the street or on the next farm for a beer, a barbie or just a cuppa. “Held on the last Sunday in March every year, it’s the perfect day to say thanks for being a great neighbour and for being there when I needed you most.” Now, thanking nice … [Read more...]
SARAH BRIGDEN: Workplace bullying is not a topic that is commonly discussed. One widely held view is that such a notion is the product of a “molly coddled” society, dreamt up by those who wish to wrap us all in cotton wool. Nevertheless, it was enough of a problem for the Gillard government to propose a system to allow victims of workplace bullying to make complaints to a national body, rather than state workplace safety authorities. According to an article in the Sydney Morning … [Read more...]
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KIMBERLEY VLASIC: Have you ever imagined your phone vibrating in your pocket? Do you compulsively check Facebook and Twitter? I grow anxious if I leave the house without my iPhone and, despite my best efforts to resist the temptation, check Facebook at least once an hour. This condition has reached the point where I sometimes find myself frantically searching for my phone only to realise I am in fact on the phone. Idiot. As a journalist in training, I justify these compulsions by … [Read more...]
JANE SYMONDS: Bullying: when I see the topic come up, I feel an overwhelming desire to contribute to the conversation, matched only by a certainty that I have nothing new to add. No precious wisdom to unveil, no controversial perspective to unleash. I’m not an expert, or a psychologist, or even someone who has followed the media interest particularly closely. All I have to offer is a very personal experience, and some resulting observations. And is that, ultimately, what it’s all … [Read more...]
BECI VIRGEN: I think that bullying is a horrible thing at the time you are going through it. When I was in grade 11, I was sitting on the dunny. I looked up at the wall in front of me, and somebody had written, ‘Beci is the scum between my toes.’ I remember thinking, 'Ewwww! That person has scum between their toes!' Ladies and gentlemen, I possibly went to school with some of the biggest morons on the face of the Earth. This experience of someone proclaiming that I am scum between their … [Read more...]
CHRISTINE BARTON: Celebrity humanitarians; we either love them, or hate them. Regardless of their motivations, we often assume they are doing it to gain publicity, improve their celebrity status or maybe even to help them sleep at night. When the rich of the rich (aka the Oprah Winfrey’s of the world) give money we often brush it aside, claiming they have enough money to burn, so why not put it to a good cause? But we often fail to realise that these celebrities are already famous enough, … [Read more...]
LOTTIE MORTIMER: Two weeks ago, award-winning novelist Hilary Mantel gave her public lecture “Undressing Anne Boleyn” at the British Museum for the London Review of Books Lecture Series. A few days ago, the lecture was published online on the LRB website titled “Royal Bodies” to coincide with the 21st February LRB publication. Last week, the media was plagued with accounts that, in her speech, Mantel had verbally attacked Britain’s beloved national treasure, Kate Middleton. The … [Read more...]
