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Australia’s refugee intake at historic lows
Update November 2016: Since this post back in 2015, Australia has announced a special humanitarian intake for Syrian refugees. According to information published by the Department of Border Protection, in the 2015-16 year, 17,555 humanitarian visas were issued including almost 3800 to Syrian refugees. In a discussion paper issued for the 2015-16 year, the Department estimates that the 2019 program will be no less than 18,750 places. Meanwhile the global situation for refugees is no better. Such improvements while welcome are insufficient to the need. Australia cannot solve the problem alone. Yet, it is important to continue to ask if we are doing all we reasonably can and should in…
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Racism – a daily reality
Racism is an almost daily news item. For many, its a terrible lived problem. But, many have trouble believing it exists, except perhaps at the the margins of society. If we don’t see the obvious symbols of racism: arm bands, hate flags, white hoods, we may think the problem is no longer there. We have a curious situation where “racism” is almost a taboo word. It is politically incorrect to call racism, well, racist. As a consequence we sometimes see heated debate over whether this or that is an example of racism. A recent example from my own country was the treatment of Adam Goodes on the sporting field. He is a…
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Patriotic Cosmopolitanism
Can we, at the same time, love our family, our neighbours, our country, our people, humanity and the world we live in? Surely we can. And to love any of them, properly considered, is to love them all: for their welfare is intimately interwoven. There is no contradiction in speaking of patriotic cosmopolitanism – understood in this sense. The dichotomy between community and the world is a false one. We can love our history, our language, the good in our traditions, values which have proven their worth in peace and prosperity, our own family stories. And we can also, without contradiction, delight in the history, languages, stories, good in the…
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Parliamentary Committee: Law to Strip Citizenship Lacks Proper Justification
The Human Rights Committee of the Australian Parliament has expressed serious concerns about human rights compatability of the proposed law to strip citizenship from dual nationals suspected of involvement in terrorism. (Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015) The Committee, which has the job of making sure Australian laws are human rights complaint, made its findings in its latest review of Bills before the Australian Parliament. The Bill (which is expected to be adopted by Parliament) proposes to automatically strip citizenship from a dual national where the person is involved in a terrorist act or in supporting terrorism. The Committee notes that removal of citizenship has broad ranging human…
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Pitch Perfect 2 – Feminist Storytelling
Warning, this one has some plot spoilers. Pitch Perfect 2, is a great dose of quirky, catchy and exuberant musical fun. And just for fun here are the Barden Bellas with their re-mix of Just the Way You Are from the first Pitch Perfect movie. But this fun movie has a serious message, not far from the surface. The explicit and implicit feminist sub-texts of Pitch Perfect 2 are gracefully woven into the latest adventures and music of the Barden Bellas, an all female a capella group, for whom the label ‘misfits’ is spelled with a capital “M”. The characters of the Barden Bellas are a collective challenge to…
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Upgrade Our Social Operating System
“Exiters are leaving outdated systems and creating new ones”. These guys have some interesting ideas. From their website at: http://voiceandexit.com “In this Voice & Exit 2013 talk, V&E co-founder Max Borders sets out his vision for social change. How can people “criticize by creating?” How can human beings flourish? Can we create new communities? Can we upgrade our democratic operating systems (DOS)? Meet co-founder and filmmaker Seth Blaustein as they launch their inaugural event.” Below Max Borders on: upgrade our social operating system.
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Frontera Movie Review
The Frontera movie is a story about lives shattered by the US-Mexico border. The story unfolds around two families: one from the Mexican side, one from the U.S. side. Miguel (Michael Peña) crosses the border to find work to support his family, including his pregnant wife Paulina (Eva Longoria). On the other side lives a retired sheriff Roy (Ed Harris) and his wife Olivia (Amy Madigan). From the moment Miguel crosses the border everything goes wrong. As the tragedy unfolds, Olivia is shot and killed. Miguel, in the wrong place at the wrong time, is wrongly blamed. The actions of a cast of villains and fools deepen the tragedy as…
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Seeing With New Eyes: Ibn Al Haytham, Optics and Foreignness
When we think of the science of optics we may think of Isaac Newton, who together with his other discoveries, made important studies in the field of optics. We are far less likely to think of the breakthroughs in optics and science made by Ibn Al Haytham, a scientist who lived in the Islamic world in the tenth century. To Europe he was known as Alhacen or Alhazen. Al Haytham largely solved a scientific problem that had frustrated previous thinkers for more than a thousand years. How do we see? The problem stretched back to the time of Aristotle. Aristotle spoke Greek. Al Haytham’s work was written in Arabic and…
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Movement Against Xenophobia – I am an Immigrant
“I AM AN IMMIGRANT” is a positive campaign out of the United Kingdom. It celebrates the contribution immigrants make to society. Xenophobia is rising around Europe. Rather than buying into the controversy, the campaign shifts the rhetoric by simply telling the truth. The truth is captured in stories to be placed on posters throughout Britain. The posters tell the story of the contribution that migrants have made to Britain. These stories are as diverse as life itself: from heart surgeon to train driver. Organizers cite the toxic political debate which vilifies migrants and fosters xenophobia as the motivation for the campaign. The video below introduces the campaign. The campaign…
