Category: Politics

  • David Hicks and why people can't debate

    Miranda Devine: Australian prisoners also wait years for day in court I was reading Miranda Devine’s column in The Sun-Herald recently (see link above) and something struck me about it. I read Devine’s column when I can and though I rarely agree with what she says, I still find it interesting; she makes her points…

  • David Hicks and why people can’t debate

    Miranda Devine: Australian prisoners also wait years for day in court I was reading Miranda Devine’s column in The Sun-Herald recently (see link above) and something struck me about it. I read Devine’s column when I can and though I rarely agree with what she says, I still find it interesting; she makes her points…

  • Earth Hour a succees… kind of

    Saturday saw the first Earth Hour here in Sydney, a campaign encouraging Sydneysiders to turn off their lights from 7.30 to 8.30 pm to raise awareness for Global Warming. According to The Sun-Herald more than 65,000 homes and 2000 businesses and government departments turned off their lights. And it was quite a sight, I have…

  • Different generational views

    Just finished reading an interesting essay by David Malouf called Made in England. It was published in 2003 as a Quarterly Essay, examining our relationship with Britain and how it’s changed throughout history. Malouf’s thesis is that Australia was created as a second England left to follow its own direction, and that’s why he believes…

  • Welcome to CJ Writer

    CJ Writer is my new site, home to my fiction, news, reviews, and general tidbits. It started out as my LiveJournal, but I realised I needed a separate space, a window to reflect my thoughts on writing as well as a range of issues including news, technology, culture and entertainment.So I created this site. I…

  • Nation of convicts or second chances?

    You know, some people really should learn to keep their mouths shut. But maybe Sheik Hilali isn’t capable of it. He went on Egyptian television, saying that Australian Muslims were more entitled to be in Australia than Anglo-Saxons because they hadn’t come here as convicts. This coming from the man who had previously compared immodestly…

  • Acceptance vs. Diversity

    There have only been a few times in my life when I haven’t felt proud to be Australian. The most notable was during the Cronulla riots. They stood for everything I had always thought was unAustralian – racial hatred, intolerance -, and watching them for the first time I wasn’t sure I was in the…

  • The Worst Crisis Since Bodyline

    Two perspectives on the story:Cricinfo – Pakistan forfeit Test amid farcical scenesThe Australian – Ball Tamper Crisis More Than It SeemsThe farcical scenes at The Oval last week were unlike anything I’ve seen before. Cricket tragic that I am, I was up at 2.30 am Aus time and saw it happen live. I still can’t…