Terror has been in the news again in the last two weeks. First there was the atrocity in Brussels and over the weekend a major terrorist attack in Lahore. The motive behind the killing of defenceless people in these mass murders is almost incomprehensible to most of us. The nature of these bombings was on […]
As I sit down to write this week’s blog essay, Easter is almost upon us. Well, traditionally Easter is the most sacred celebration in the Christian calendar but for most of the population it has become little more than a very long weekend and a spurious opportunity to indulge children with Easter eggs and such […]
A common expression that you are all familiar with is “looking at the world through rose coloured glasses” which implies that the person is unduly optimistic or idealistic. The saying propagates a myth. It implies that everyone else sees the world directly and consequently, more realistically. But as much as we might want to think […]
Growing up in a country town in North Queensland I had little exposure to other cultures. I went to school with quite a few indigenous children but I knew little about indigenous culture. In fact now I come to think of it they didn’t make a fuss of it either, but seemed determined just to […]
Most of us believe Albert Einstein was a brilliant physicist who invented a new form of physics derived from the Theory of Relativity, that enabled us to gain more insights about the universe then the previous paradigm of Newtonian physics allowed. But Einstein was a deep philosophical thinker as well. Let me share with you […]
Times are tough if you are an Australian worker. Not only are unemployment levels presently high (currently around 6%) but wages in real terms are falling (except those who are ensconced in feather-bedded public sector jobs). Now, as I have argued in previous essays, one of the major reasons for these dismal outcomes is the […]
Some of you have remarked to me how difficult it must be to define a topic each week, research it and then write an essay to post for you. In reality it is not usually hard because I write about things that have interest to me and that have often come up in discussion with […]
Life has many disappointments. There wouldn’t be a human alive that has not experienced a disappointment when fervently hoping for a better outcome. And this week we were bound for more disappointment as this year’s “closing the gap” statistics were released. But those of us who wished to see our indigenous compatriots prosper have had […]
A friend just recently commented that he thought my thoughts about militant Islamism had changed over recent times. That is no doubt true. But it also provided a spur to me to summarise what I currently think on this issue. This short essay seeks to do just that. It is difficult to understand the phenomenon […]
This is the week of Australia Day. First up on the day, while it was still cool (36 degrees being the forecast maximum), I did something very Australian and mowed the lawn. Then I sat down to read the newspaper. I couldn’t help peruse the Australia Day honours list to see who I knew had […]