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Monthly Archives: August 2022

Read more about the article The Adventures of James Tucker, Convict

The Adventures of James Tucker, Convict

When the book The Adventures of Ralph Rashleigh was first published in England in 1929, it was assumed the tale was a straightforward autobiography by a convict in the British colony of New South Wales. Its descriptions of life in the colony, and especially the miseries of convict existence, were so vivid and plausible that it wasn't hard to believe it might be a first-person account. But though the book was based on a manuscript that was certainly produced by a New South Wales convict, the truth was more complicated that it had seemed at first.…

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Read more about the article Bashing students with the bible
Christ driving out the money-changers, by Caravaggio.

Bashing students with the bible

The scripture for today in the USA, apparently, is from the book of Mark: “For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” The American Christian Taliban thinks it’s outrageous that some US students might have a sliver of their tuition debts set aside. Oh dear. Apparently they’ve been able to find some verses in the bible that condemn people who don’t repay their debts. I suppose they must have been furious during the Global Financial Crisis when the world’s governments bailed…

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Read more about the article The British crown and Australia’s identity issues
The Queen of Australia

The British crown and Australia’s identity issues

Australia has an identity issue. Or two. Or three. And having representatives of the British crown sitting on top of its elected governments doesn't help matters at all. For non-Australians who might be tempted to think I'm joking, here's a quick sketch of my strange country. As a white settler nation, forcibly transplanted over the top of a pre-existing ancient population and sitting uncomfortably on the fringe of Asia, Australia is a very long way from the Europe of its white origins. White Australians love to be thought of as in tune with the huge continent…

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