Arena Magazine articles from August 2004

Arena Magazine archives from August 2004

Prometheus unhinged: Iraq, the ethics of military intervention and the politics of the new century.
August 1, 2004... Prior to the invasion of Iraq, noted humanitarian Rupert Murdoch suggested that one fantastic result of the war would be oil at $20 a barrel. Quite aside from being about as bare-knuckled an expression possible of the deep immorality of the...

Crisis in Darfur: the political manoeuvres of Sudanese militias, backed by the government, have coalesced in a genocide that has so far claimed thousands of lives.
August 1, 2004... The current genocide in Darfur is but the latest atrocity orchestrated by the Sudan Government of strongman Brigadier Omar Hassan Ahman al-Bashir. Of course, no-one is calling it 'genocide' for to do so is to necessitate immediate action under...

A golden cage: detention centres are being replaced by an equally appalling form of incarceration with the aim of dampening community concerns.
August 1, 2004... We have come a long way from the Tampa election in 2001. In the lead up to that election, Minister Reith released photos that he claimed were of asylum seekers who had thrown their children overboard and the Government took every opportunity to...

In the public interest? A critical look at public-private partnerships in Australia shows that we are travelling down a hazardous road and should be seeking alternatives.(against the current)
August 1, 2004... The connection between the provision of good quality infrastructure and collective provision has been a central part of Australia s economic history. It is a connection that has been undermined in recent decades by the processes of...

The next step in the 'business as usual' approach to saving the planet: the Howard Government's investment in geosequestration is yet another way of justifying its continued inaction on climate change.(against the current)
August 1, 2004... During its nine years in power, the Howard Government has excelled both in terms of telling people they are doing a lot for the environment and in developing a form of green nationalism that masks inaction on key environmental problems. While...

Poem to a Thief.(poetry)(Poem)
August 1, 2004... Poem to a Thief My neighbour told the police she saw you hanging over my back fence about seventeen & Aboriginal was her vague description well my friend i'm glad you didn't take my binoculars...

Restoring sanity in South Asia: India and Pakistan's moves towards a peaceful solution offer economic opportunities for one of the world's poorest regions.
August 1, 2004... South Asia comprises seven countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives. It is an ancient land with majestic mountains and abundant natural resources. There is immense cultural diversity and human potential in...

In defence of Michael Moore: the vilification of filmmaker Michael Moore as a propagandist seems absurd in the context of a war based on lies.
August 1, 2004... US filmmaker Michael Moore has been subject to a litany of criticism in the media over his film Fahrenheit 9/11. His work has even been likened to Holocaust denial and to the work of Nazi film propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Propaganda is...

Polite conversation.(tax rates)
August 1, 2004... Writing in 1978, Walter Blum and Harry Kalven suggested that arguing for a progressive tax structure was a sort of last refuge for politely doing something about the distribution of income under a market system. Alas, the Reagan-era tax revolts...

Dobbing in an atmosphere bludger.(Bites: brief notes on news and views from around the world)
August 1, 2004... Once upon a time it was good enough even for royalty to attend football matches and sit in a seat much like everyone else. Of course, the seat would be more convertible, it would be positioned nicely on the wing and a servant would be on hand...

Who's talking to who?(Bites: brief notes on news and views from around the world)
August 1, 2004... Fifteen years ago, John Potts wrote that 'talkback hosts are the most popular and most highly paid radio announcers in Australia; the extent of their social influence constitutes a factor specific to radio'. As the political establishment again...

Presidents shine in the light of history.(Bites: brief notes on news and views from around the world)
August 1, 2004... Reagan's presidency was made into one of the great wonders of the Western world when he died. All those pesky facts were cleared away and his time in office was left to shine like a benchtop in a Mr Sheen commercial. Clinton's presidency,...

Olympic depths.(doping tests)
August 1, 2004... For Australians, the drug scandals surrounding various Greek athletes are just the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of scandals and debates concerning the bewildering array of new substances, from human growth hormone to masking...

Multiculturalism: difference and/or social cohesion? Mark Latham's recent statements reflect the gap between perception and policy on the substance of Australia's multiculturalism.
August 1, 2004... Labor leader Mark Latham's address to the Global Foundation last month in Sydney was supposed to stake out some new ground on Australian national identity. Unfortunately for Latham, the speech captured headlines for all the wrong reasons. There...

From disability to minority: hearing people are always keen to give deaf people the 'gift' of hearing, but who says they need to be 'cured'?
August 1, 2004... Is deafness a disability? Of course it is, most people will answer. We have five senses, and the absence or impairment of any one is a disabling medical condition. Those with impaired hearing will say the same. But those who use sign language...

Welfare dependency: the need for a historical critique: understanding the social origins and developments of 'dependency' can help to destigmatise welfare recipients.
August 1, 2004... The welfare state is under sentence of death, and the charge is supporting a culture of 'dependency'. The problem with welfare is that it operates too much like charity... Patrons exercise their power and control without an expectation of...

They F*** you up: an interview with Oliver James: British psychologist and author Oliver James discusses the political implications of evolutionary psychology.(Arena Interview)(Interview)
August 1, 2004... Oliver James is an English child psychologist, writer and television documentary producer. He is a critic of evolutionary perspectives on psychology, a regular commentator in the British media and writes a health column for The Observer....

Saints or communists? The threat to non-government organisations in Australia represents a threat to our national democracy.
August 1, 2004... When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil NGOs and Democracy Non-government organisations (NGOs) have been embedded...

Sincerely, L. Cohen: through the works of Leonard Cohen we are reminded of a kind of humanity too often forgotten in modern existence.(Sound Recording Review)
August 1, 2004... Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried, in my way, to be free 'Bird on the Wire', 1969 I have a friend in Sydney, a melancholic artist. He once told me what he wanted on his headstone: the opening lines...

A classic cult of virtuosity: the Sydney International Piano competition exemplifies a decline in Australia's musical culture.(cooper's last)
August 1, 2004... The classical pianist is a remote figure yet one which resonates strongly within the popular imagination. Often the figure of the pianist comes to stand for something more than simply the music. There are figures of erratic or eccentric genius,...

Susan Hawthorne on the social and environmental impact of globalisation.(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Teresa Brennan Globalisation and its Terror: Daily Life in the West Routledge, London, 2002 Australian theorist Teresa Brennan was the Schmidt Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Florida Atlantic University, where she designed the...

Shane Hopkinson on the struggle between commodification and collaboration.(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Andy Blunden, For Ethical Politics Heidelberg Press, 2003 Ethics' has been (re)entering the Left's political vocabulary as it tries to grapple with the historic crisis in which it finds itself. In that sense, Andy Blunden's book is timely...

Gerry Harant on the politics of filmmaking.(book review)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Lisa Milner, Fighting Films Pluto Press, 2003 Any old pot-boiler non-fiction film you see on TV is invariably followed by interminable credit titles, listing everyone from the transport driver to the hair stylist. In the years between 1953...

The belly-dancer at the wedding: in Egypt the unusual love--hate relationship with belly-dancing persists amid a conservative culture of veiled women and virgin weddings.(Culture)
August 1, 2004... At a time when more and more Egyptian women are taking the veil, Cairo remains the world epicentre for those who wish to master a dance that is only a slight variation on the theme of Salome's shedding of her veils. And when, seaside, the bulk...

Greenland's 25 years of indigenous self-rule.(Culture)
August 1, 2004... Australia's best representative abroad, Crown Princess Mary of Tasmania and Denmark, has been touring Greenland villages and towns with the Royal Family in June-July 2004 to help Inuit celebrate twenty-five years of Home Rule. Little but the...