Captain Cook, Joseph Banks and smallpox

This article is an oldie but a goodie, I wrote it a few years ago. I thought I had already put it up on Paradigm Oz but I was wrong, so here it is.
This is an article about covert biological warfare, Captain Cook and Joseph Banks, about the deliberate infection of disease which spread like [...]

Anna Nicole Smith and asylum seekers from Sri Lanka.

The sad demise of Anna Nicole Smith and her son have for some reason have captured the public’s attention. Indeed, my use of her story in this article makes me complicit in the public ghoulishness that has been generated by her tragic situation. Anna will be remembered partly because she was a playboy model and [...]

Aboriginal Australia, non-Aboriginal Australia

Firstly, for those who have not read a similar disclaimer in other things I have written, I am Irish and English by bloodline. I am the first of my family to be born in Australia.
The now defunct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) defined Aboriginality – a precondition for voting in ATSIC [...]

having problems commenting?

Apparently some people have been unable to post comments on this site. I apologise for this, it is a technical hiccup, not censorship. I’ll do my best to find and fix the problem, but in the meantime, if you have trouble commenting, send me an email (details on “about Paradigm Oz) and [...]

Shit happens; but so do blessings.

This is a bit of a test post really, running my new laptop through its paces to see what happens, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
A lot of shit has happened in the life of me and my partner Theresa in the last year. We had huge plans about building a sustainable housing [...]

The core issue of Aboriginal deaths in custody

I just posted this on a thread on “The Bush Telegraph” (see blogroll) and I thought I’d put it here too since I was near a computor.
There has been a lot of talk about the Royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody and how its reccomendations have been largely ignored. The police unions present push [...]

Greenies and Murries

*”Murri” is a term often used by Queensland Aboriginal people to describe themselves and is increasingly making its way into mainstream language (even on T.V.).
The following article is the draft that I have submitted to the Australian Greens “Green Magazine”. One of the editors, Drew Hutton, asked me for such a thing.
I wait anxiously [...]

Hundreds of impoverished indigenous people in remote communities have been hit with fines totalling nearly $600,000 for breaking Queensland’s controversial alcohol management laws.

From the Courier Mail 8/2/07 full story – Fines cripple disadvantaged

“Reports of the penalty tally was greeted with dismay by Aboriginal leaders who said most people could not pay the fines and the AMPs were not working to curb violence.
Townsville-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Legal Service chief executive Randal Ross said the AMPs [...]

Media release from Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR) regarding native title

14 February 2007
Government seeks to wind back Native Title rights – Again
Amendments to the Native Title Act being debated in the House of
Representatives today would increase the powers of the Minister and
Native Title Tribunal at the expense of traditional owners, their
representative bodies and the Federal Court, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).

Can’t see the forest for the trees!

Sorry it has been so long since posting. A combination of no computor (still) and pressing commitments has kept me away from the keyboards.

I am presently writing an article for the “Green Magazine”, the journal of the Australian Green Party, about sustainability and development in Aboriginal communities. I will post the article here when it [...]