National Observer - Australia and World Affairs articles from September 2003

National Observer - Australia and World Affairs archives from September 2003

Practicalities in regard to the repatriation of Moslems from Australia. (Editorial Comment).
September 22, 2003... Recent events in regard to Iraq, and derivatively in a large range of other Moslem countries from Algeria to Indonesia, have served as a warning in regard to the aggressive aspects of Islam. Tensions throughout the Moslem world, which have...

When does governmental control over universities become totalitarian?
September 22, 2003... The recent closure by the Commonwealth Government of a private university (Greenwich University, which was set up in Norfolk Island in 1998) raises important questions relating to governmental control over universities. It may be thought...

The good offices of Mr. John Stone.
September 22, 2003... Australia is unfortunate in lacking a class of public-minded individuals of real ability who pursue the general good for high motives, and who are not actuated by ambition or financial gain. In general our commentators and analysts make a poor...

The history of appeasement repeats itself.
September 22, 2003... Appeasement, the attempt to conciliate or bribe a potential aggressor by making concessions and sacrificing principles, became a highly damning charge against politicians and commentators in Britain and France who, prior to World War Two,...

The threat to the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy: the judiciary's replacement of parliament as lawmaker.
September 22, 2003... The most disconcerting outcome of the Mabo and native land title affair is that the High Court turned the Australian system of parliamentary democracy topsy turvey, by assuming the role of law maker in place of parliament. For the legal...

Keith Windschuttle and aboriginal history.
September 22, 2003... "Bring me my liar." (Remark attributed to Frederick the Great, when wishing to have history read to him). Precious few authors ever produce a book which can be legitimately called "life-changing", so that readers' minds would be differently...

Lessons from the Vietnam War.
September 22, 2003... More than twenty years have now elapsed since the end of the Vietnam War. That War has left many painful memories, but with the passage of time it has become possible to make clearer assessments than formerly of events that have generated...

Concerns about child care: part two.
September 22, 2003... III. PREFERENCE FOR HOME Feminist commentators continue to insist that most women want to be in the paid workforce, and therefore we need to expand formal day care and related services. Pamela Bone is one such writer who regularly argues...

A new high court: Justice Dyson Heydon. (Legal Notes).
September 22, 2003... The recent appointment of Justice Dyson Heydon--a legal scholar with an international reputation who had been a member of the New South Wales Court of Appeal--has assisted the slow process whereby the formerly activist Court (which included...

Common Ground: Issues that Should Bind and Not Divide Us.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By Malcolm Fraser Camberwell, Victoria and elsewhere: Viking (Penguin Books), 2002, pages 267, $35 In assessing any statement or writings of Malcolm Fraser over the past twenty years it is essential to recall his rejection by the...

A Short History of China and South-East Asia: Tribute, Trade and Influence.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By Martin Stuart-Fox Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2003, pages 264 and index, $29.95 Professor Stuart-Fox is an expert in South-East Asian history and politics and Professor of History at the University of Queensland. ...

Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By Tanya Reinhart Sydney: Allen Curwin, 2003, pages 265 and index, $17.95. Professor Reinhart is a professor of linguistics and cultural studies at Tel Aviv University. She is one of a number of Israelis who are now prepared to stand...

Multiculturalism and the Politics of Guilt: Toward a Secular Theocracy.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Paul Edward Gottfried Columbus, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2002, pp. 200 and index. Whilst the observation is hardly original, it still deserves emphasising: America's finest, most courageous university presses are the...

Democracy: The God that Failed.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By Hans-Hermann Hoppe New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2001, pp. 292 and index. A common aphorism is that democracy is a poor system of government, except when compared with other systems. There is some merit in this...

Dry: In Defence of Economic Freedom.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... By John Hyde Melbourne: Institute of Public Affairs, 2002, pages 279 and index. John Hyde has been one of the principal proponents of "economic rationalism" since he was elected as the member for the seat of Moore in 1974. Although he...

Amity: Journal of the Victoria League (W.A.).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... Perth (276 Onslow Road, Shenton Park, W.A.), Quarterly, $22 per annum. Amity is published by the Victoria League (Western Australia), and its editors are Dr. John Coe and Dr. Hal Colebatch. The cost of subscription to Amity is small,...