Amongst the chunky grey soil and sun-bleached rocks, a burst of colour appears under the scorching Mexican sun; a sea of pink shocks the eye into focus. At least a dozen names are written in cursive; Brenda, Esmeralda, Veronica… also written is the word Desconocida – Spanish for Unknown. The names (and tragic substitutions) adorn…
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What’s a summer BBQ, a lengthy cricket match, a birthday party or a live concert without a drink in hand? Not much, it seems. Alcohol, in whatever form, is generally an expected accompaniment to most social events. This prevalence of alcohol in Australian life has enticed many young Australians to begin to experiment with alcohol…
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It was a chilly Canberran afternoon (in November!) when I met up with Los Capitanes vocalist, Tim Kent, to talk about the band. We’d initially made tentative plans to meet on a Sunday, the day after the bands’ performance at Stonefest (a music festival held at the University of Canberra) but we rescheduled– giving the…
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Married gay people will encourage others to be gay. Allowing same-sex marriage could increase gay public displays of affection. Gay people don’t deserve to be married. Those three lines, those empty assertions, are some of what’s being aired out in the fight over legalising gay marriage. At this point in time marriage seems to have…
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From first impressions Marisol Valles appears to be like any other young Mexican woman. The criminology student is pictured wearing a pink patterned shirt and a pair of rectangular glasses that seem to add harshness to her otherwise approachable demeanor. That harshness may come in handy, though, as 20 year old Valles was recently appointed…
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The annual Forbes magazine ‘World’s 100 most powerful women’ issue has hit the shelves and makes for some interesting reading. The women range in age from 24 (Lady Gaga) to 84 (Queen Elizabeth II) and hail from all ends of the Earth; from Costa Rica to Qatar. These women run the countries we live in,…
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In what’s been a whirlwind two months, the federal election was called (rushed forward), the campaign (war of words) run and finally, the election was held. Well, can we really call it an election? The pre-election mentality seemed to be ‘We’re going to get stuck with either Tony Abbott or Julia Gillard as Prime Minister,…
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Last week primary state elections took place in the USA, resulting in five women (four Republican, one Democrat) successfully winning their campaigns in the five key states. Regardless of one’s political affiliation, it seems a great individual achievement for each of those women. It’s also a sign that times are changing when a traditionally conservative…
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