The tragedy of two more deaths among our soldiers in Afghanistan, together with news of the retrograde steps of the Karzai Government in regard to blasphemy laws and women’s rights compels me to question whether Western governments really understand the political dimensions of Islam. Western democracies are amply justified in battling in Afghanistan to defeat…
For Australians educated before the computer screen and mouse became prime tools for accessing knowledge, it is easy to identify with US commentator, Nicholas Carr, who has observed that, “the information-dense, hyperlink-rich, spastically churning internet is in effect rewiring our brains, making it harder for us to engage in deep, relaxed contemplation”. If only it were that simple. One minute it’s our concentration that’s challenged. Next, it’s the morality of Wikileaks’ handling of the 91,000 secret defence documents that fell into its hands. Well, here’s another dimension to worry about. The New York Times, on August 2, ran a thought-provoking…
Sir, By what right may people like David Brant from a disability organisation or federal Labor’s disability spokesman Bill Shorten MP restrict free speech by objecting to words in common use? Andrew Peacock’s metaphor that those who could not see the faults of the Labor government must be “handicapped” (see The Australian, August 10), may have been influenced by his well-known predilection for horse-racing. The context of his comment shows there was no intention to belittle persons with disabilities. Anyway, Peacock is perfectly entitled to use the word “handicapped”, just as other people should be entitled to express their views…
The secular left certainly dislikes religion, but it actually dislikes some religious groupings a lot more than others. The real target of the secular humanists is traditional Christianity. Those who take their Christian faith seriously are the main objects of their wrath. Religious leftists, however, are actually viewed by the secular left as “useful…