Keith Suter’s Global Insights
What on earth is going on?
Articles (7 of 27)
Archive Article: The Uniting Church Turns 25 21 June 02.
December 29, 2008 | The Uniting Church has turned 25. Its 10th anniversary generated a great deal of interest. There has not been quite so much excitement this time. Perhaps this is a good sign that the Uniting Church has become one of the established churches in Australia and so it is no longer such a novelty. The Uniting Church was created in 1977 by drawing together the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. In the case of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, their system of church governance required a vote in each parish. Some parishes voted not to join and so stayed out... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 10:05 PM Comment
Archive Article: Why Is Tibet Such A Popular Cause? 28th June 02
December 29, 2008 | The Dalai Lama was recently in Australia and his lecture tour attracted enormous interest. A colleague of mine has asked me why there is so much support for the Tibetan cause in Australia. This is an interesting question - given that there is so little at first sight to attract Australians to the cause. The Australia Tibet Council has estimated that 110,000 people attended the public talks of the Dalai Lama. This is an astonishing number. They cannot all have been Buddhists (even though there are now as many Buddhists in this country as Baptists). Australia is one of... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:56 PM Comment
Archive Article: Indigenous Communities And Australian Business 5 July 02
December 29, 2008 | July 7 is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday. This is an opportunity to reflect on the place of Indigenous Peoples in Australia. One area of concern is the high rate of unemployment among Indigenous Peoples. Wesley Mission has been a trendsetter in the employment of Indigenous Peoples. For example, it has helped establish the Mimi Mothers who support women and their families throughout the Nambucca Valley on the mid-north coast of NSW. The Mimi Mothers centre also provides an opportunity for mothers to participate in arts and crafts and develop life skills. It is also acting as support... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:51 PM Comment
Archive Articles: Peace Proposals For India And Pakistan 14 July 02
December 29, 2008 | The greatest chance of there being a deliberate nuclear war is now between India and Pakistan. The flashpoint will be over Kashmir. The problem over Kashmir goes back to the winding up of the British Empire in the Indian sub-continent. India contained many princely states that had a high degree of autonomy. Gandhi hoped that all of the states would agree to go into the new country. But some Muslim leaders wanted their own country and so the sub-continent had to be partitioned at the time of independence in 1947 between India and Pakistan. Kashmir, on the Indo-Pakistan interface,... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:46 PM Comment
Archive Article: War Crimes In Former Yugoslavia 21 July 02.
December 29, 2008 | In the recent heated debate over whether Australia should ratify the treaty for the International Criminal Court, there were fears that Australians could end up in The Hague. Well, there are already some Australians at The Hague. The Deputy Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia spoke at a recent public meeting organized by the Australian Red Cross (NSW). The Deputy Prosecutor is a very distinguished Australian: Graham Blewitt. Before going to The Hague, Mr Blewitt conducted an inquiry into alleged war criminals now living in Australia. Coincidentally, there are a number of other Australians who are... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 7:05 PM Comment
Archive Article: The War For Talent. 2nd August 02.
December 29, 2008 | The Enron financial scandal in the United States has led to a large amount of soul-searching. I have just been reading an excellent analysis of what went wrong with the type of people recruited to work at Enron. Malcolm Gladwell has written in the July 22nd edition of "The New Yorker" magazine an article entitled "The Talent Myth: Are Smart People Overrated?" Five years ago, McKinsey & Company, the US's largest management consulting firm, launched what they called the War for Talent. They examined the most successful companies to find out why they were successful. They found that the key... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:51 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Culture Eaters, 9th August 02.
December 29, 2008 | We like to think of backpackers as pleasant, easy-going people who do not do any harm to people or to the environment. This may not always be the case. Campbell Smith, himself a young person, has an article in the current edition of the new Australian current affairs magazine "The Diplomat". He argues that when it comes to environmental vandalism and social exploitation, backpackers can hold their own against the worst excesses of any transnational corporation. His article is entitled "The Culture Eaters". Presumably this is a play on words from the title of an Australian best-seller on what we... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:47 PM Comment
Archive Article: The US And Iraq 16th August 02.
December 29, 2008 | There is increasing debate over whether the United States will attack Iraq to get rid of Saddam Hussein. How has the US got itself into a position where a further war seems to be the only answer? Back in 1991, when the US successfully drove Iraq out of Kuwait, the US was obliged to have limited war aims - and getting rid of Saddam Hussein was not one of them. The US achieved what it set out to do - it liberated Kuwait. The US very wisely decided not to drive on to Baghdad. It could then have been sucked... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:43 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Baby Boomers In Old Age. 23rd August 02.
December 29, 2008 | Some of us have for many years warned about the economic implications of an aging population. The Australian Government has now responded with a major statement. It looks as though the Australian Government will be able to cope with the aging Baby Boomers - but the Baby Boomers themselves may have a tough time. In all the documents tabled by the Treasurer Peter Costello in this year's Australian Government Budget there was "Budget Paper No 5". This was the first public attempt by the Treasury to assess the long-term financial impact of an aging population. In short, the Treasury estimated... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:39 PM Comment
Archive Article: 25 Years Of Change In World Affairs 30 Aug 02.
December 29, 2008 | The world has seen many changes in the last 25 years. A few days I did a survey of some of the major changes in world politics. The Wesley Christian Fellowship (formerly Christian Climbers) was created about three decades ago by Win Walker, wife of the then Superintendent of the Mission. In more recent years, the fellowship group has been convened by Ben and Merle Smith. I first spoke at the fellowship group 25 years ago. Ben and Merle Smith are now stepping down from their role and so a few days ago at a meeting of the Wesley Christian... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:24 PM Comment
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