thanks giving

November 29, 2013

What happens when you just give poor people money? It’s funny how simple questions like this can link up with other questions and reflections, and then crossover with ideas that lead to a deeper mindfulness and awareness about the original question. Last night I was...

Cats and dogs

October 31, 2013

A recent news report on the Australian abc news network featured a story on retired military dogs. This got me thinking. What happens to these animals that are trained to faithfully serve and protect their owners when they finish that commission? And then...

The u-turn

September 30, 2013

Last week I read an obituary for Christopher Koch the author of The Year of Living Dangerously. Koch’s novel was one of my favorite and frequently used reference books when I was teaching Indonesian history in high schools in Australia. Koch also wrote the first draft...

Breaking bad

August 14, 2013

The phrase ‘to break bad’ in American Southwest slang means to challenge conventions, to defy authority and to skirt the edges of the law. The same phrase has assumed new connotations as a result of the hugely popular AMC series now entering its final season. When I...

Courage

July 18, 2013

On Friday July 12 Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for attending classes, addressed hundreds of young people at the United Nations, urging them to use education as a weapon against extremism. We should not forget that she just...