Latest Story
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The Seven Lies of Kadeer
Open Forum | September 25, 2009The July 5 riot that happened in China’s Xinjiang led to 184 dead, about 1,680 wounded, and many public facilities being were destroyed. Among the death, 137 were Han, 46 were Uygur and 1 was Hui. The deadly riot also brought Rebiya Kabeer, Rebiya Kadeer leader of World Urghur Congress (WUC), into spotlight. China believes the WUC were the planners and instigators of the riot.
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The Experiment that May Change the World
quagga | September 24, 2009Today a small group of scientists and a technician at Lawrenceville Plasma Physics plan to do a test run of a nuclear fusion device that *may* one day forever change the way we produce electrical power!
Over the next few years they will experiment with this device to test their theories that they can produce positive net power from the fusion reaction of Boron and Hydrogen. Successfully harnessing the energy of this particular fusion reaction is revolutionary because its reactants and products are common non-radioactive elements.
If this machine works as planned it has the potential to revolutionise the power industry because it will produce power at a fraction of the cost of all known current methods in a safe way.
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Abolishing the States a Step Too Far
Tony Abbott | September 24, 2009When I talk publicly about battling the dysfunctional federation most responders want to go much further than I propose and to abolish the states altogether.
I appreciate that constitutional change can fail because it’s seen not to go far enough as well as because it’s seen to go too far. Witness some direct election republicans’ failure to support the 1999 referendum.
Still, the supporters of change will often back some movement on the grounds that a little progress is better than none at all. Invariably, the chief obstacle to improving the federation is the number of people who think that change is wrong in principle or that the constitution is inherently sacrosanct.
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Challenges Facing Entrepreneurship Education
Karen Wilson | September 23, 2009In my last blog, Entrepreneurship Education: Unlocking Potential, I wrote about the key success factors of entrepreneurship education.
Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills are core components to building socially inclusive and highly participatory economies in an increasingly global and competitive world.
Innovation and economic growth depend on being able to produce future leaders with the skills and attitudes to be entrepreneurial in their professional lives, whether by creating their own companies or innovating in larger organizations. It is imperative to develop entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and behaviours in school systems (primary, secondary, higher and vocational education) reaching across all ages as part of a lifelong learning process.
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Looking straight past a golden opportunity to get the work/life balance challenge right
Juliet Bourke | September 22, 2009I fear we are looking straight past a golden opportunity. For years Australian employees have talked about the need for greater work/life balance (with an emphasis on getting the life side of the equation right), and employers have resisted by raising concerns about whether flexible work practices might hamper productivity and performance. As a result of changes introduced by the Federal Government in the Fair Work Act 2009, from 1 January 2010 we will have access to a National Employment Standard to help resolve these tensions in a practical way.
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Some Practical Advice for Government to Truly Support Innovation
Olga Sawtell | September 21, 2009One of my proudest professional achievements has been the success rate of the start-up companies that were supported during my time as Director of the Federal Government Industry Research and Development Board.
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Kill a Chicken to Scare the Monkeys
Sonia Han | September 21, 2009You would not expect the Australian ambassador to China Geoff Raby to appear at a small university festival concert among a crowd of less than a hundred and stay for the whole four hours till midnight on a Friday night.
Unless of course it’s Askar Grey Wolf, a rock band from Xinjiang province in China, with eight Uyghur and Han musicians, who performed at the University of Sydney’s Verge Art Festival on September 4.
There are tensions between the two countries. Then we saw the cautiousness from Australia.
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China Already Stepped Back but Australia Misunderstood
Xue Han | September 21, 2009The tense relationship between China and Australia has been heated up tenfold by an Australian Government request to meet with the Dalai Lama.
A signed US $41 billion deal for liquefied natural gas earlier was seen as a turning point in bilateral relations. Obviously, Kevin Rudd’s government misunderstood China’s one-step back.
But China might make concessions again in order to uphold a One-China policy; the most important policy on China.
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Gold Coast Hospital Fighting for its Life
Alana Jones | September 18, 20092012 will see the opening of a $1.52 billion University Hospital in Parkwood on the Gold Coast.
This facility will provide 750 new beds for Gold Coast residents. However, with population increase and the already dismal state of the region’s health care facilities, it will be inadequate for the future; unless the Queensland Government alters their plans and keeps the Southport Gold Coast Hospital in full operation.
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Firewall of Lies
Alexandra Roach | September 18, 2009The glaring technical flaws of the proposed mandatory internet filter scheme are bad enough, but it is the lies that have been used to sell it which should alarm us the most.
American Senator Boise Penrose once stated that “public office is the last refuge for the incompetent”. Harsh words, but few in the political sphere have done much to contradict such assumptions.
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NATO Air Strike Leads to Restructured Western Alliance
Uli Kammerer | September 18, 2009Eight years after 9/11, a war that started as a swift counterattack has turned out to be a long-term muddy mission.
The death toll is at a high since the start of the war 2001. The United Nations-backed election commission found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in Afghanistan’s presidential elections and the Taliban keep attacking NATO forces and gaining influence at the frontier regions of nuclear power Pakistan.
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Frogs in the Melting Pot
Gang Shen | September 18, 2009Some 547,000 overseas students help create an A$ 15.5 billion annual industry for Australia.
However the countries third-largest export industry, following only coal and iron ore exports, is under threat as Australia ignores the calls of international students for better safety and fair treatment following a re-emergence of racist attitudes.
Hundreds of students took to the streets on 2 September 2009 in Sydney; again, to protest against racism. They urged the Australian government to take seriously students’ grievances; including concerns about safety, accommodation, visas, transport concessions and shonky institutions.
To be frank, none of these problems are new.
For a long time an inefficient bureaucratic system and ingrained racist attitudes have allowed all of these problems to remain unsolved in Australia.
The situation is similar to putting frog in slowly heated water.
