Latest Story
-
Australia Finally Heading in the Right Direction on e-Health
Robin McKenzie | October 16, 2009I read with great interest the words of National e-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) chief executive Peter Flemming quoted in Australian IT on 13 October which indicated that the original vision of a single e-health record system had been abandoned in favour of "person-controlled" records that could be adopted more quickly.
The article quotes Flemming, "Five years ago, there was a strong view that there would be an e-health record for all Australians held on a massive database somewhere," he told the Medical Software Industry Association conference in Sydney last week. "That’s no longer the view".
-
Beyond laptops: the real education revolution
Sheryle Moon | October 15, 2009It is a time of great upheaval in the economy and consequently, the role our education system plays in preparing young Australians for the changing world of work is under renewed scrutiny.
-
Tea Laced with Poison
Susan Merrell | October 15, 2009Barack Obama’s recent Nobel Peace Prize is testament to his popularity and respect internationally. Yet at home he’s facing strong opposition. Elected to office on a platform of ‘change’, Obama has encountered a considerable backlash implementing those changes.
The USA is a profoundly Christian and traditionally conservative country. Puritan Christians founded it and it retains many of their values. It was also a pioneering nation where carrying a gun was a necessary part of survival. Add to this that the prosperity of the nation was built on the back of black slavery and we start to better understand the legacy of the past to the value system of the United States of America, with all its paradoxes.
Taking this into consideration, it’s hardly surprising that there should be a substantial backlash to Obama and his government’s domestic initiatives.
-
UncategorisedUyghur and Han Perspectives
editor | October 14, 2009In September Open Forum published a blog from a Chinese national currently studying in Australia, Xiaonan Liu, titled The Seven Lies of Kadeer. Since then we’ve published responses from two Uyghur human rights activists. First came Xinjiang: Where the Truth Goes to Die from a contributor writing under the psuedonym Erland, followed by this response from the Uyghur Human Rights Project. For completely contrasting perspectives, read them all.
-
As Consultation Closes Debate on Australian Human Rights Act Heats Up
sally.rose | October 14, 2009At 12:30pm today (Wednesday 14 October 2009) The Committee Chair Fr Frank Brennan will address the National Press Club on the findings of the National Human Rights Consultation.
Fr Brennan says in his introduction to the final report, “Never before has a public consultation generated so much interest: the Committee received more than 35 000 submissions”.
Even so, as with most public consultations it has attracted criticism for not being genuinely representative, but in this case the Committee deserves a nod for their impressive effort to genuinely gauge community sentiment.
-
Salvation
Open Forum | October 13, 2009When walking along the downtown street, do you hear the guys playing instruments in some corners? Or do you notice the guys who are swiftly washing the windshields of cars waiting for the traffic lights when passing by a cross junction? They are homeless people living in cosmopolitan Sydney.
-
Dividing the Uyghur from the Han Chinese: Troubling Aspects of Chinese Propaganda
Uyghur Human Rights Project | October 9, 2009
The article by Liu Xiaonan,The Seven Lies of Kadeer, published on September 25, 2009 on Open Forum is a fascinating glimpse into the dangers of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.In the article, Ms. Liu offers a number of disparaging and unsubstantiated claims against World Uyghur Congress leader, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer. The claims not only echo CCP misinformation on events in Urumchi during July, 2009, but also, and more worryingly, display a complete disregard for the possibility of genuine dialogue between Han Chinese and Uyghurs. As stated, this latter observation is cause for concern; however, it is compounded by the fact that Ms. Liu is merely restating the Chinese government’s position of refusal to engage in a process critical of its handling of Uyghur issues.
-
National Human Rights Consultation: Final Report Released
editor | October 8, 2009Recommendation 1: The Committee recommends that education be the highest priority for protecting and promoting human rights in
-
Uncategorised
Ageing Australia
editor | October 8, 2009Liam Kinkead wants the national health and hospital reforms to support Meals on Wheels arguing prevention is the best medicine for aged-care. Dr Mark Fear of the McComb Foundation examines a few of the challenges for healthcare as Australia’s population ages and CEO of Aged Care Services Australia Greg Mundy on talking about the 70s, 80s ans 90s…
-
Cyber-Bullying in Schools
Rob Sieben | October 7, 2009Schools today are required to meet an ever growing demand for access to information and communication technologies (ICT). Whilst all schools would attest that their most valuable asset is their teachers, the computer network is close behind in importance.
Unfortunately the same advances in technology that allow children to encounter diverse learning experiences also leave them vulnerable to harm. Governments and schools must make every effort to provide a secure and safe environment for their students, whilst at the same time, maximising the learning experience.
To that end, I applaud the National Filter Scheme as a visible starting point. Hopefully the recently announced national pilot project aimed at addressing cyber-bullying in Australian schools will go to the next level, because it is an unfortunate fact that filtering alone does not provide for the safety of children.
-
Talking about the 70s, 80s and 90s…
Greg Mundy | October 7, 2009Do you know anyone in your circle of friends and colleagues who talks about getting old, really old? Like 87 years old? Do you talk about getting old?
-
Top Climate Scientists Opt for Carbon Taxes & Slam ETS
Dr Gideon Polya | October 7, 2009We live in an increasingly dangerous world with the greatest threat coming from man-made global warming. Our societal response to threats such as anthropogenic global warming (AGW) must involve rational risk management. This successively involves (a) getting accurate data, (b) scientific analysis (the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses) and (c) sensible, informed systemic change to minimise the perceived risk.
Unfortunately human nature inevitably perverts rational risk management with (a) censorship, self-censorship, intimidation and dishonesty, (b) anti-science spin involving the selective use of asserted facts to support a partisan position) and (c) blame and shame politics with minimal systemic change and often discouragement of vitally required reportage (“shooting the messenger”).
