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Articles by Tom Bamforth
Out of the Blue: Rising to the Challenges of Australia’s Maritime Security - Tribune Content Agency
In recent weeks ongoing tensions within the South China Sea have flared up. The contest over Second Thomas Shoal between the Philippines and China has led to Beijing sending more than 100 coast guard and other government-linked ships to the area to prevent the resupply of Philippine military personnel stationed on the Sierra Madre – a deliberately grounded ship that serves as an outpost on the shoal and a symbol of Philippine maritime claims. Incidents like this are of grave concern to Australia.
Out of the Blue: Rising to the Challenges of Australia’s Maritime Security
Australia has an opportunity to play a more proactive role in coordinating a regional framework to address security concerns across numerous domains. In recent weeks ongoing tensions within the South China Sea have flared up.
Using tragedy to trigger change in Türkiye, north-west Syria
In the early hours of Monday 6 February 2023, more than 50,000 people were crushed to death across Türkiye and Syria following two devastating earthquakes and numerous aftershocks. The ancient cities of Antakya/Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Sanliurfa and many others now lie under rubble. The earthquakes have displaced 2.7 million people, and more than a million people are now without homes in freezing winter conditions.
Using tragedy to trigger change in Türkiye and north-west Syria
In the early hours of Monday 6 February 2023, more than 50,000 people were crushed to death across Türkiye and Syria following two devastating earthquakes and numerous aftershocks. The ancient cities of Antakya/Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Sanliurfa and many others now lie under rubble. The earthquakes have displaced 2.7 million people, and more than a million people are now without homes in freezing winter conditions.
Elevated IGF-1 levels can accelerate aging and promote dementia
In our previous Column, we presented the ground breaking work of Colin T. Campbell Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Nutrition Chemistry at Cornell University in New York, USA, whose scientific research proved that animal-based diets promote cancer. Gaining international recognition, he was next invited to head a collaborative study between Cornell University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Oxford University.
Tom Bamforth reviews 'Syria Betrayed: Atrocities, war, and the failure of international diplomacy' by Alex J. Bellamy
As the war in Syria enters its second decade, the human scale of the catastrophe is difficult to comprehend. Shocked by the security service’s torture of children who had graffitied the words ‘Down with the regime’ on a wall in the city of Daraa in 2011, nationwide demonstrations rose up against Bashar al-Assad’s tyrannical government.
Tom Bamforth reviews 'Where the Water Ends: Seeking refuge in fortress Europe' by Zoe Holman
Politics The callousness of the EU border regime Where the Water Ends: Seeking refuge in fortress Europe by Zoe Holman Melbourne University Press, $29.99 pb, 319 pp Politics The callousness of the EU border regime Facing the ‘global refugee crisis’, politicians in Europe and Australia claim they are protecting their countries from the arrival of untold multitudes. Yet the ‘crisis’ is not global but highly specific.
Uninvited guests: the evolving practice of international humanitarian response to cyclones in the Pacific
Uninvited guests: the evolving practice of international humanitarian response to cyclones in the Pacific Written by Tom Bamforth As named events, Pacific cyclones often have their own distinct personalities. Some become memories, others become mantras. The experiences of Tropical Cyclones (TC) Pam (Vanuatu, 2015), Winston (Fiji, 2016), Gita (Tonga, 2018), and now Harold (Vanuatu and to a lesser extent Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji, 2020) informed each other.
The Atoll at the Center of the World
During my first few days on the island, I roamed the streets, walking as far and as fast as I could in the sun and the heat. On the ground, Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, looked much as it had done from the air: a long, thin sliver of atoll a few hundred metres wide in the middle of the ocean, with a single road running its length.
God, the Pandemic and an Easter Pastoral Message
By Reverend Professor Dr. Upolu Lumā Vaai Principal Pacific Theological College, Suva, Fiji This Holy Week will definitely be coloured with mixed feelings and emotions. As a community of faith we fear that the worse is yet to come as coronavirus invades our Pacific shores.
Emily Gallagher reviews 'My Father’s Shadow' by Jannali Jones, 'This Is How We Change the Ending' by Vikki Wakefield, 'It Sounded Better in My Head' by Nina Kenwood, and 'The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling' by Wai Chim
Fiction Reviewed by Emily Gallagher • Fiction Reviewed by Emily Gallagher • A whistleblower’s child hides from a drug ring in the Blue Mountains. A sixteen-year-old rolls through life like an armadillo. A Melbourne high-school graduate wrestles with her insecurities. The daughter of a Chinese restaurateur juggles her responsibility to care for her siblings as her mother’s health deteriorates. Four lives, four fragile families, and four exquisite books.
West Island: Five twentieth-century New Zealanders in Australia
New Zealand Reviewed by Brian Matthews • West Island: Five twentieth-century New Zealanders in Australia by Stephanie Johnson Otago University Press, $39.95 pb, 284 pp, 9781988531571 New Zealand Reviewed by Brian Matthews • Australians and New Zealanders know it as the Tasman Sea or more familiarly The Ditch: for Māori, Te Tai o-Rēhua. Significant islands in this stretch of water are Lord Howe and Norfolk.
An interview with Thea Astley
Ramona Koval interviews Thea Astley, co-winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award for Drylands. Ramona Koval: In a reversal of a trend in Australian fiction, which has novels set in wonderful little country towns with odd and amusing zany characters, you’ve set your new novel or collection of linked stories in Drylands, the town that everyone is dying to leave. Were you consciously aware of going against the tide in this particular setting? Thea Astley: No, not at all actually.
Judy and Punch (Madman Films)
The fictional town of Seaside is ‘nowhere near the sea’, state the opening credits of Judy and Punch. Fine, but where or even when this film is set remains a puzzle throughout. The two titular characters, puppeteers Judy (Mia Wasikowska) and Punch (Damon Herriman), speak with an Irish lilt. The rest of the townsfolk – who come bedecked in grimy pirate shirts and motley, corseted gowns – possess an array of Scottish and English accents.
In defence of travel writing
251 words In defence of travel writing 14 November 2019 The author responds to Robbie Robertson’s recent review of his book, Rising Tide Right: Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images Professor Robertson’s review of my book misses the point and misrepresents the text. Travel writing — or creative nonfiction — is a distinct approach to writing.
The Irishman (Netflix)
Martin Scorsese, as the world well knows, makes movies about Italian restaurants. Sure, he makes bloody crime films, too, but at some level he seems to be asking: what’s the difference? In Goodfellas (1990), a man crashes into a pizzeria, one hand shot to pieces, bleeding all over the place. He’s kicked out, and the film cuts to a platter of deli meats surfing through a crowded eatery. The gambling mastermind at the centre of Casino (1995) masquerades as a ‘Food and Beverage Manager’.
Debra Adelaide reviews 'A Constant Hum' by Alice Bishop
Fiction Reviewed by Debra Adelaide • A Constant Hum by Alice Bishop Text Publishing, $29.99 pb, 240 pp, 9781925773842 Fiction Reviewed by Debra Adelaide • Thanks to the internet, the 24/7 news cycle, and social media, certain books are preceded by their reputations. They arrive freighted with so much publicity hype that reading them with fresh eyes is almost impossible.
The Rising Tide: Among the islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean
Environmental Studies Reviewed by Ceridwen Spark • The Rising Tide: Among the islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean by Tom Bamforth Hardie Grant Books, $29.99 pb, 263 pp, 9781743793077 Environmental Studies Reviewed by Ceridwen Spark • During cold southern winters, the islands and atolls of the Pacific seem to offer an idyllic escape. Advertisements for cheap flights to Fiji or New Caledonia present smiling ukulele players and al fresco massages.
Underland: A deep time journey
History Reviewed by Alison Pouliot • Underland: A deep time journey by Robert Macfarlane Hamish Hamilton, $45 hb, 496 pp, 9780241143803 History Reviewed by Alison Pouliot • Underland is English nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s longest and, by his own admission, deepest and strangest book. It took almost a decade to write.
The Rising Tide: Among the islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean
Environmental Studies Reviewed by Ceridwen Spark • The Rising Tide: Among the islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean by Tom Bamforth Hardie Grant Books, $29.99 pb, 263 pp, 9781743793077 Environmental Studies Reviewed by Ceridwen Spark • During cold southern winters, the islands and atolls of the Pacific seem to offer an idyllic escape. Advertisements for cheap flights to Fiji or New Caledonia present smiling ukulele players and al fresco massages.
2019 Arts Highlights of the Year
To celebrate the year’s memorable plays, films, television, music, operas, dance, and exhibitions, we invited a number of arts professionals and critics to nominate their favourites. Robyn Archer Zizanie, Meryl Tankard’s new work for Restless Dance Theatre, premièred at the Adelaide Festival: a work of such charm and intelligence it makes you wonder what the word ‘disability’ actually means. The work deserves to be seen Australia-wide.
Tom Bamforth reviews 'No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s housing crisis' by Peter Mares
In his analysis of Australia’s growing urban inequality, Peter Mares recounts a conversation with a homeless man outside a train station while Mares was walking his dog. The dog is well fed and has a warm place to sleep, but Mares can only give the man a few coins. These are implicit priorities we all share. Why, asks Mares, do Australians unhesitatingly spend $750 million annually on a ‘flutter on the neddies’ at the Melbourne Cup rather than on housing our fellow citizens?
Past meets present in a Berlin refugee camp
In a quiet, leafy Berlin suburb known as Little Switzerland, I am walking around a refugee camp with Adnan, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid worker, and Aliya, a doctor from Iraq. Neither is a refugee; they are visiting Germany as guests of the government, and I quiz them about their lives back home. “It’s amazing,” reflects Adnan, drawing deeply on a cigarette. “Everyone goes to the town centre and smokes and drinks coffee until four in the morning.
Rescuing the republic
Already most media reports of Labor’s plan to hold a republic plebiscite during the next parliamentary term come with a disturbing accessory: the estimated price tag. As in: “Labor’s $160m Plan for Republic Plebiscite.” When we have this kind of vote, cost is almost always a key part of the No campaign. Why are we wasting money and time on this; wouldn’t it be better spent on schools and hospitals? So this development isn’t a great omen for the republic’s chances.
“It amazes them when I say I’ve been there”
In a quiet, leafy Berlin suburb known as Little Switzerland, I am walking around a refugee camp with Adnan, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid worker, and Aliya, a doctor from Iraq. Neither is a refugee; they are visiting Germany as guests of the government, and I quiz them about their lives back home. “It’s amazing,” reflects Adnan, drawing deeply on a cigarette. “Everyone goes to the town centre and smokes and drinks coffee until four in the morning.
125 years of Seventh-Day Adventism in Samoa
His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Ta’isi Efi Head of State Remarks at Lalovaea, Apia, Samoa, 3 December 2016 I am grateful for the invitation to share with you today in the celebration of this wonderful milestone in your church history. To reach the age of 125 years and still be strong and healthy as a church is no small feat. 125 years is at least four generations of solid commitment and service.
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