Keith Suter’s Global Insights
What on earth is going on?
Articles (9 of 27)
Archive Article: People Smuggling - A Case Study. 22 Nov 02.
December 27, 2008 | The mass movement of peoples is going to be one of the most important problems for the 21st Century. I was in Turkey last month for a meeting of The Club of Rome. I met Professor Nilufer Narh, a professor of international relations at Marmara University, Istanbul. She is the author the article "Transit Migration and Human Smuggling in Turkey" which appears in the current edition of the journal Insight Turkey. Until the 1980s, Turkey was recognized as "sending" country in terms of people leaving Turkey to seek a better life elsewhere, such as the "guest workers" who do... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 10:05 PM Comment
Archive Article: Sydney - Capital City Of The South Pacific. 29 Nov 02.
December 27, 2008 | There has been a great deal of controversy recently about a report on the possible future size of the Australian populations. What ever will be the future, Sydney will be the capital city of the South Pacific. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has compiled a report for the Department of Immigration on the options to the year 2050 for Australia's population, technology, resources and environment. I was one of the people interviewed for the project. Some of the report discusses the options for migration. Governments are very hesitant of discussing immigration. For example, the Australian Treasurer,... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:57 PM Comment
Archive Article: Killed By A London Fog. 6 Dec 02.
December 27, 2008 | 50 years ago this week - on December 4 - a dense fog settled over London. It turned out to be one of the world's worst examples of air pollution. But it is only now that we are learning the full details of it. The current edition of the "New Scientist" magazine has a brilliant article by Fred Pearce on the 1952 killer fog. I have to declare an interest - I was four years old at the time and could easily have ended up as one of the statistics being misreported by the British Government. When the Great London... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:44 PM Comment
Archive Article: Jesus, Man Of The Millennium. 20 Dec 02.
December 27, 2008 | At this time of the year, with all the crass commercialism in the shops, there is a tendency to forget that Jesus is the reason for the season. Indeed, Jesus is almost invisible in many of the stores - it is Santa Clause who gets the attention. But Jesus has staying power; fads come and go but Jesus keeps keeping on. I have just been reminded of how fleeting are so many other things in life by reading the autobiography of George Seldes, "Witness to a Century". Seldes was one of the greatest American journalists in the 20th Century.... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:37 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Health And Environmental Costs Of War On Iraq. 3 Jan 03
December 27, 2008 | There still seems to be a high risk of war against Iraq in the next few months. I have just been reading a report on what war has already done to Iraq and what it could do in the next round. MEDACT, based in London, is an organization of health professionals that exists to highlight and take action on the health consequences of war. It is the British affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (which won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago). MEDACT has issued a report entitled "Collateral Damage: The Health and... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:31 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Need For Trust In International Politics. 10 Jan 03.
December 27, 2008 | We have moved from an age of innocence to an age of anxiety. Innocence ends when an awareness of danger in a situation arises. Thus, the era of terrorism has ended our sense of innocence. Professor James O'Connell spoke at last year's British United Nations Association Annual Conference on "From Innocence to Anxiety: Order and Disorder in a Global Age". Professor O'Connell is a Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, in northern England. Professor O'Connell said that terrorism is the weapon of the weak. It is the lashing out of those who are invisible. But it does not prove... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:26 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Catholic Land Movement. 17th Jan 03
December 27, 2008 | 70 years ago in Britain, when there was an unemployment crisis, some Catholics began a campaign to find alternative employment opportunities for people. Their work contains some lessons for today. Dr Valerie Flessati, a writer based in London, has an article in this month's edition of the British magazine "Catholic Life" on the Catholic Land Movement. 70 years ago Britain had several crises to deal with. One was the Depression, with several million people unemployed. Another was the problem in the countryside, with millions of acres lying derelict and farms abandoned because of the decline in the prices of land... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:20 PM Comment
Archive Article: The Return Of Conscription? 24 Jan 03.
December 27, 2008 | With all the speculation of an Australian involvement in a war against Iraq, there has been some suggestion that conscription should be reintroduced. There are not too many certainties in politics. But here's one: conscription will not be reintroduced. The two main reasons given for the reintroduction of conscription are that it will assist the Australian Defence Force (mainly the Army) to maintain its numbers and it will solve the problem of unruly youths. Both arguments are wrong. First, the nature of warfare has changed. It is no longer necessary to have the large fighting formations that we did in,... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:15 PM Comment
Archive Article: Signs Of Hope For Australia. 31 Jan 03.
December 27, 2008 | Australia Day is a good opportunity to reflect on where Australia is heading. I spoke at an Australia Day ceremony at The Alan Walker Village and I identified three signs of hope for this country. First, Australia in the past half-century or so has created a demographic miracle: the creation of one of the most cosmopolitan populations in the world. Australia and Canada are the two countries with the world's most diverse populations. Some politicians have complained about this diversity eroding Australia's unique identity. But in fact the diversity can actually be a unique national characteristic in itself: Australia has... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:10 PM Comment
Archive Article: Rev Dr Sir Alan Walker and New Directions For Australia. 7 Feb 03
December 27, 2008 | The passing of Rev Dr Sir Alan Walker has triggered a flood of memories of his considerable contribution to so many areas of Australia's public life. It is worth noting that right up to the time of his passing he remained the Chairperson of a unique organization: the National Goals and Directions Movement. Sir Alan started the National Goals and Directions Movement in 1981. There was then a high degree of division in the community. Sir Alan was very gifted in that he had a wide range of contacts. Once a person was entered into his address book, that person... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:05 PM Comment
Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Latest Updates
Oxfam: Gifts that give Twice
Sign up for our Newsletter!
