Whatever our creed, and wherever we are, in whatever circumstances, there are always times during which we need to be comforted and guided. (more…)
There will be no posts on December 26, 27 and 28. Ian McAuley and Peter Sainsbury will have some weekend breaks. There will be some scheduled ‘holiday’ and some ‘new’ posts on other days.
Many thanks to readers and contributors.
Have a peaceful and happy Christmas and Hanukkah and .. other. (more…)
Aboriginal people in Alice Springs say global heating threatens their survival.The town has had 55 days of above 40C in the year to July 2019. Central Australian outstations are running out of water. Poor quality housing in town camps cannot be cooled effectively. Indigenous leaders fear extreme heat will cause an influx of internal refugees.
See the following link to The Guardian of 18 December 2019 for this ominous prospect.
Photos are by Mike Bowers.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/18/too-hot-for-humans-first-nations-people-fear-becoming-australias-first-climate-refugees?CMP=Share (more…)
Australia’s contribution to the climate crisis is bigger than we think. ActionAid Australia uncovered that Australian companies are expanding coal, oil and gas operations with little oversight in some of the poorest areas in the world – and women are paying a high price.
Prior to the UN Convention on Climate Change talks held in Madrid, the sense that tradition would assert itself was hard to buck. Weariness and frustration came in the wake of initial high minded optimism. (more…)
The Scottish National Party election landslide win augurs more than Scottish independence – including a profound threat to the viability of Britain as a Nuclear Weapons State. (more…)
The message of Christmas is our New Year’s challenge: to believe and to act on our beliefs. We believe that truth is stronger than fake political rhetoric and falsehood. Being a bully is destructive and demeaning. We are all our neighbours’ brothers and sisters, even when community harmony is difficult to achieve and maintain. Our human climate is threatened. The survival of humanity — everyone’s human dignity and worth are at risk. Yes our ongoing challenge this Christmas and in 2020.
The health care system in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was once a grave social concern and a major reason behind public disapproval of the government, but recent policy change that emphasises fairness, efficiency and strong government involvement has significantly elevated public confidence in the system and support of the government. (more…)
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences farmpredict model finds that changes in climate conditions since 2000 have cut farm profits by 22% overall, and by 35% for cropping farms. (more…)
As the climate argument meanders slowly through the science it is becoming more apparent that the “Canberra bubble” is a misnomer. “Canberra vacuum” better describes the thinking related to our national capital’s climate change policy. (more…)
Although 2019 was a mixed year for Catholics in the Islamic republic, there were some encouraging signs.
No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas
without being truly poor.
Australians need to understand more about Chinese hard and soft power, given the weight of the Chinese economy in world trade and the role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in international organisations. (more…)
Some countries are now giving priority to wellbeing over economic growth, but are they going far enough fast enough? (more…)
One of the biggest challenges of modern health care, especially care delivered in hospital, is to identify, investigate, respond to and, where possible, prevent the near misses and adverse events that have been consistently documented in many developed countries. (more…)
Religious believers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can certainly practise their faith freely and openly, provided the government does not see any threat to state power or security. (more…)
Yes, it’s dark. Darker, arguably, than at any point since the Second World War. We have a government not of conservatives, but of the radical right, who will now seek to smash the remaining restraints on capital and those who accumulate it. They will take their sledgehammers to our public services and our public protections. They cheated and lied to assist their victory; they will cheat and lie even more to implement their programme. (more…)
The whole person must be saved: body and soul, individual and society. (more…)
The economic transformation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come at a tremendous environmental cost. In the wake of increasing public concern, serious policies have been put forth to revitalise the environment and to introduce a more sustainable economy. (more…)
In celebrating Christmas, many Christians do exactly the opposite of what the earliest Christians did. By celebrating Christmas, they succeeded in bringing Christ into the pagan feast of the sun. Today’s Christians’ neopaganism is managing to paganize Christmas.
THE MJA-Lancet Countdown released its much-awaited 2019 report on climate change and health in Australia on 14 November 2019. This report provides a critical update on how Australia is managing climate change, which the World Health Organization has acknowledged as “the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century”. The report’s message is clear: the time for action — by individuals, local groups, and at all levels of government — is now. (more…)
The economic takeoff that has pushed China up to become a middle-income country has certainly brought great social changes. Economic development has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of absolute poverty, but one marked social change is increasing disparity as a result of sharp stratification of social classes. (more…)
ASEAN should have begun to crack and fall apart from the strain of the rising geopolitical rivalries in Asia between the United States and China, if what critics say about its fragility were true. But ASEAN steadily marched through another difficult and challenging year and quietly delivered many positive results that will improve the wellbeing of its 650 million people. (more…)
Following the Trump Administration’s shift on the legality of Israeli settlements I wrote the following article for Plus61JMedia. The Morrison Government’s silence on this issue is striking. (more…)
The twin concerns in Australia about the People’s Republic of China (PRC), relating to increased economic dependency and tensions over politico/security policy, are common throughout the Asia Pacific region. (more…)
“Failure to heed these warnings and take drastic action to reverse emissions means we will continue to witness deadly and catastrophic heatwaves, storms, and pollution.”