Category: Australasia

Being a Muslim country, or a mixed religion country with a large number of Muslims, many women in Borneo wear headdresses in public. Interestingly, I saw a number young women in high heels, tight pants, tight tops and push-up bras wearing the headdress too. I wonder if this means that Malaysian men are more distracted… Continue reading Hair drives men to lust

On my way up the bush track from home to the station yesterday, I found a man with a clipboard prodding at the stone steps. With long hair tied back, khaki clothes and trekking boots, he might have been a ranger, but he didn’t have the badges. I struck up a conversation and learnt that… Continue reading Track Work

I’m often frustrated by the selfish actions of Sydney commuters, but this morning I saw my first case of rail rage. My own gripes are to do with the way people will turn the seat in front of them around so that they don’t have to sit facing anyone, even when that means someone who… Continue reading Rail Rage

Sculptures by the Sea is run every year about this time as a little bit of Sydney culture. I went today with the AFS gang and took my camera. I started out trying to take photos of the sculptures I liked best, but there were always people in the way. Soon I realised that it… Continue reading Sculptures by the Sea

Aboriginal elders walked off the community land in July to protest against the Northern Territory Intervention, which it says is “widening the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.” This mirrors the first move to reclaim their traditional lands in 1966, when Aboriginal stockmen and their families walked off the Wave Hill Pastoral lands. Then, the action made… Continue reading Aboriginal Elders Leave Community

I’m again slow on the uptake here as uni has been keeping me very busy, but I want to highlight the recent visit of a UN expert on human rights to Australia after complaints about NT Intervention violating the rights of Aborigines. As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of the idea of global… Continue reading UN Slams NT Intervention

Returning to Australia from Bhutan, I’m often frustrated by the way we seem to replace responsibility for control. I’m not sure whether it’s enforcing rules to compensate for a lack of responsibility or if responsibility is lost because we have laws to compensate. Either way, I think it’s sad. People are no longer as free… Continue reading School Zones

Strangely, given my desire to take more interest in Aboriginal issues and to keep this blog up to date, I have failed to mention the Social Justice Report that appeared in June ’07. It was a major news item at the time and one of the few headlines that encouraged me to follow the news.… Continue reading Northern Territory Intervention

I remember going to a baseball game in Japan and being amazed at the coordinated chants of the crowd. They were very complex, each a whole song, and lead by a chant coordinator in each stand. I was lucky enough to attend the Australia – Japan World Cup qualifier in Melbourne on Tuesday evening with… Continue reading Aussie Chants

I’ve ignored this blog during the uni term, but now it’s over I realise that there were many interesting points I could post. It’s anthropology after all. The first discussion that comes to mind regards racial identity. Aborigines, for example, are being asked to prove their Aboriginality to receive land grants and other benefits. The… Continue reading Racial Identity