Your Mother’s Faith You mock her gently in a … loving way This beautiful woman who bore you Patronising wouldn’t be too strong But not a callous superior attitude More one of gentle, patient tut-tutting She really should know better! Blind belief in things so vague So naive, so childish almost How embarrassing to have a mother Who can’t see the modern way…

Revive Bradfield I read Chris McCormack’s excellent recent article on the Bradfield scheme with considerable interest (News Weekly, June 1, 2019). It is heartening to know that Barnaby Joyce and other political figures have come out in support of the scheme. Only a government with a great deal of courage and vision can make it a reality. Too many politicians are quick to…

Deeply disaffected voters have indicated that unless there are new economic policies to restore the suffering middle class, Scott Morrison’s victory is no assurance that his Government will hold office after the next federal election.   Morrison’s success may have been unexpected, but it was not a landslide. The Coalition has only a wafer-thin majority (77 out of 151 seats), and the protest…

A WORLD MADE NEW: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Mary Ann Glendon Random House, New York Paperback: 342 pages Price: AUD$36 Reviewed by Madeleine van der Linden The creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a momentous achievement, as nations tried desperately to create peace and safety in a world shattered by World…

GALILEO REVISITED: The Galileo Affair in Context by Dom Paschal Scotti Ignatius Press, San Francisco Paperback: 276 pages Price: AUD$37.95 Reviewed by Michael E. Daniel Those who wish to argue that Christianity, Roman Catholicism in particular, is opposed to science invariably cite the condemnation of Galileo. In the popular mind, one need look no further than this example, arguing that…

WHAT WENT WRONG: How the 1% Hijacked the American Middle Class … and What Other Countries Got Right by George R. Tyler BenBella Books, Dallas, Texas Hardcover: 576 pages Price: AUD$47.99 Reviewed by Colin Teese George Tyler comes to a discussion of the American economy with the necessary experience (the U.S. Treasury and the World Bank) to advance a coherent…