Witchcraft is now on the agenda of the United Nations. The UN itself - as a secular organization on the church/state split of the United States Constitution -cannot get involved in the official propagation of witchcraft or any other sort of religion. But witches who are persecuted for their religious belief may become "refugees" and so very much a matter for the UN. Like all other humans, they have basic human rights. In my current radio interviews I am making three points 1. Witches as Victims The current media interest (September/ October 2009) comes from discussions at the UN refugee... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 7:28 PM 1 comment

Tags: Africa, Europe, religion, sociology

Amidst all the media's current doom and gloom, there has been one inspiring piece of news: the marking of the 40th anniversary of the famous picture of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road in north-west London at 11.35am on August 8 1969. It is wonderful to hear that it remains a place of pilgrimage - a shrine to the golden era of the 1960s. Events are currently being held to commemorate that famous walk. I used to visit Frances and Andrew Boyd who lived in Alma Square near Abbey Road. The Boyds were among the UK's most experienced commentators on international... Full article »

Tags: Europe

Keith's recent comments about Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi conduct caused a stir in the Sunrise studio last week. See the footage below and let us know what you think! This clip was taken from You Tube and was posted there by Sunriseon7. You can see more information on Sunrise by going to their website... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 1:37 AM Comment

Tags: Europe, Keith Suter, media

                    There is no higher calling than saving test cricket from being short-changed by 20 Twenty. While some are confident floodlit tests are the answer, wiser heads believe it lies in responding to the desperate plight of the cricket fan. Fans arriving at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the first day of a test match are brimming with excitement until their grog is confiscated upon entry. The mid-strength grog available inside the ground doesn't contain enough of the good stuff to sustain excitement over a five day stay at the ground;... Full article »

Tags: Australasia, entertainment, Europe, sport

Susan Boyle, the 48 year old scottish church volunteer touched so many hearts over the last eight weeks on her "Britains Got Talent" journey which ended last night. Her strong and powerful voice got her global attention culminating in Oprah Winfrey inviting her onto her talk show in the USA. However, the instant fame came at a price and for the last two weeks Susan had been followed and hounded by the tabloid press, bringing her to tears and almost to the point of quitting the show. Susan made it to the final and pulled out a stirling performance of "I... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 11:11 AM Comment

Tags: entertainment, Europe

Over 450,000 German troops were lost in the January of 1945 as they fought to keep Russia back from their eastern border. That is higher than the total number of casualties lost by Britain or America in all theatres during the entire war. Hitler and his army fought to the bitter end, declaring war on America before being crushed by the allied forces, its military machine smashed and its leadership destroyed. But what about the average German citizen? What challenges faced the families left torn apart, the fatherless children, the widows and those left homeless.  Richard Bessel explores the fate of... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 2:16 PM Comment

Tags: conflict, Europe, media, reviews

This fascinating book outlines how a mix of effective Public Relations and ineffective political leadership can lead to disaster. While Yugoslavia's borders had shifted over the years since its inception, the republic remained relatively peaceful and united under the communist rule of Tito. After Tito's death in 1980, a string of leaders followed, all of which struggled to deal with the vast range of ethnicities and heritages that made up this great land. In addition, the fall of communism provided the catalyst needed to hammer the nails into the lid of Yugoslavia's coffin. Slovenia the first to declare independence in... Full review »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:05 AM Comment

Tags: Europe, media, religion, reviews, security

Susan Boyle, Singing Sensation! After an outstanding performance on TV talent show "Britain's Got Talent" on 11th April, Susan's quiet life ended. With her "You Tube" video receiving over 17 million hits since the show aired she has hit the big time. Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 11:12 PM Comment

Tags: entertainment, Europe

Two British soldiers have been killed in Northern Ireland. This is the first fatal attack on British soldiers in just over a decade. We will know in the next few hours days whether the Real IRA (which has claimed responsibility) will be able to trigger a fresh round of violence - or whether the communities will remain calm. The shooting is a litmus test of the success of the remarkable NI Peace Process. I was in NI in the 1970s and I could see the level of hatred in parts of both communities. But we should not over-estimate the level... Full article »

Tags: Europe, media, religion, security

Rating:

• Currently 3

Switzerland has voted in the last few days to join the United Nations. It will become the UN's 190th member (with an independent East Timor in due course to become the 191st member). Switzerland is governed partly by referenda. All major issues (not just foreign policy ones) may be put to the vote. The result then binds the government. The result also binds the losing side (and so the people who lost in the UN referendum will not try to overturn it). Switzerland has not been involved in a major war since Napoleon's day, two centuries ago. Its neutral status... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 1:43 PM Comment

Tags: Europe

There is a great deal of attention to the prospect of war in Iraq and the continuing violence in Afghanistan. But it is worth recalling that there is an entire region that is in crisis. I have just returned from the annual conference of The Club of Rome, the global think tank. This year's conference took place in Turkey, at the country's first private university - the Bilkent University. With all the debate in Australia over private higher education, it is worth noting that this new university is already one of the country's finest and it is one of the... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 10:15 PM Comment

Tags: Asia, Europe, Middle East

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

Tags: Europe, law, sociology

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

Tags: Europe, health, science

The controversy over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is simply the most recent in a long line of events in the troubled history of chemical and biological warfare. The world's first anthrax bomb was invented by the British and dropped on a Scottish island. If the rest of the project had been carried out, then parts of Germany would remain contaminated to this day. The story of Britain's anthrax experiments in World War II did not come to light until about forty years after the experiments had been conducted. To this day, there is some hesitation about visiting "Anthrax Island"... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 5:50 PM Comment

Tags: conflict, Europe, Middle East

Now that Australia is going to have a federal election fought partly on a Goods and Services Tax, it is worth looking at the taxation debate that will come after the GST one. I have just returned from Germany. I was a guest at last week's luncheon at the Rotary Club of Hamburg-Blankenese, where there was a speaker on new environmental taxes. Before looking at the new form of taxes, it is worth noting that Germany has had a Goods and Services Tax - what is called the Value Added Tax - for three decades. This is a policy of... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:19 PM Comment

Tags: Australasia, economics, environment, Europe, law

Iraq is back in the news again this week. There are renewed concerns about a confrontation over the international inspection of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. What are the lessons for the mass media arising out of these periodic confrontations? The World Association for Christian Communication is an organization of corporate and personal members who give high priority to Christian values in the world's communication and development needs. It is not a council or federation of churches. The majority of its members are communication professionals from all walks of life. The World Association has just published a booklet, edited by... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:03 PM Comment

Tags: entertainment, Europe, media, Middle East, religion, technology

This month is the 300th anniversary of John Wesley's birthday. Wesley Mission is part of an international network of churches and other organizations holding commemorative events. John Wesley lived for most of the 18th Century, from 1703 to 1791. He lived in one of the most momentous centuries of England's history. The century began with England as an impoverished small country on the edge of European affairs, with a minimal overseas empire. It ended with England undergoing the world's first industrial revolution and on the way to becoming the "workshop of the world" and creating an empire that in the... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 8:07 PM Comment

Tags: charity, Europe, religion

Britain was the centre of Western civilization at the end of the 18th Century. It was starting point of the Industrial Revolution, the emerging economic system called capitalism and the beginning of what is now called liberal democracy. Roy Porter's "The Creation of the Modern World: The Untold Story of the British Enlightenment" traces the developments in Britain in that magnificent 18th Century. Britain began the century as a poor country on the edge of the European continent and it ended it as the emerging economic super power. One person who lived through most of that momentous century was John... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 7:58 PM Comment

Tags: charity, economics, Europe, religion

Rating:

• Currently 1

RADIO 2GB NEWS COMMENTARY BROADCAST ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 1998 ON RADIO 2GB'S "BRIAN WILSHIRE PROGRAMME" AT 9 PM, AND ON SEPTEMBER 6 1998 ON "SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE" AT 10.30 PM. Now that Australia is going to have a federal election fought partly on a Goods and Services Tax, it is worth looking at the taxation debate that will come after the GST one. I have just returned from Germany. I was a guest at last week's luncheon at the Rotary Club of Hamburg-Blankenese, where there was a speaker on new environmental taxes. Before looking at the new form of... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 8:56 AM Comment

Tags: America, business, economics, Europe, law, religion

RADIO 2GB NEWS COMMENTARY BROADCAST ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5 1999 ON RADIO 2GB'S "BRIAN WILSHIRE PROGRAMME" AT 9 PM, AND ON NOVEMBER 7 1999 ON "SUNDAY NIGHT LIVE" AT 10.30 PM. Peter Cook was one of the funniest people in Britain in recent decades. But he also had a terrible life as an alcoholic. Harry Thompson, a former BBC colleague, has written an excellent book on Peter Cook, "Peter Cook: A Biography." He recalls Cook's slide into alcoholism and his eventual death from it. Peter Cook was born into an English middle class family, with a tradition of civil servants... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 8:39 AM Comment

Tags: entertainment, Europe, health