Technology such as ChatGPT could play a complementary role and help profile terrorists and identify the likelihood of them engaging in extremist activity, according to a groundbreaking study which could make anti-terrorism efforts more efficient.

Charles Darwin University (CDU) researchers fed 20 post-9/11 public statements made by international terrorists to software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC).

They then provided ChatGPT with a sample of statements from four terrorists within this dataset and asked the technology two questions: What are the main themes or topics in the text, and what grievances are behind the communicated messages?

ChatGPT was able to identify the central themes of selected texts by four terrorists which revealed clues to each individual’s motivations and the purpose of their texts. ChatGPT could produce reasonably well thematic and semantic categories.

Themes include retaliation and self-defense, rejecting democratic systems, opposition to secularism and apostate rulers, struggle and martyrdom, dehumanisation of opponents, criticism of mass immigration, opposition to multiculturalism, and more.

ChatGPT also identified clues to motivations of violence, including desire for retribution and justice, anti-Western sentiment, oppression and aggression by enemies, religious grievance, and fear of racial and cultural replacement.

The themes were also mapped onto the Terrorist Radicalisation Assessment Protocol-18 (TRAP-18), a tool used by authorities to assess individuals who potentially might engage in terrorism.

The themes were found to have matched with TRAP-18 indicators of threatening behaviour.

Lead author Dr Awni Etaywe, who is a leading expert in forensic linguistics focusing on terrorism, says the advantage of language learning models (LLMs) like ChatGPT is it could be used as a complementary tool which does not require specific training.

“While LLMs cannot replace human judgement or close-text analysis, they offer valuable investigative clues, accelerating suspicion and enhancing our understanding of the motivations behind terrorist discourse,” Dr Etaywe said.

“Despite concerns about the potential weaponisation of AI tools like ChatGPT as raised by Europol, this study has demonstrated that future work aimed at enhancing proactive forensic profiling capabilities can also apply machine learning to cyberterrorist text categorisation.”

The paper was co-authored by CDU International Relations and Political Science Senior Lecturer Dr Kate Macfarlane, and CDU Information Technology Professor Mamoun Alazab.

Dr Etaywe said further study is needed to improve the accuracy and reliability of LLMs, including ChatGPT’s analyses.

“We need to ensure it becomes a practical aid in identifying potential threats while considering the socio-cultural contexts of terrorism,” Dr Etaywe said.

“These large language models thus far have an investigative but not evidential value.”

A cyberterrorist behind the keyboard: An automated text analysis for psycholinguistic profiling and threat assessment was published in the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict.

The study was conducted by Charles Darwin University researchers Dr Awni Etaywe (pictured), Dr Kate Macfarlane and Professor Mamoun Alazab

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released today highlights the urgent reality of dementia in Australia, revealing dementia is set to become the nation’s leading cause of death.

In 2023, dementia accounted for 9.1 per cent of all deaths, closely following ischaemic heart disease at 9.2 per cent. Dementia remains the leading cause of death for Australian women, representing 12.2 per cent of all female deaths and 6.4 per cent of male deaths.

The figures also show that dementia is now the leading cause of death in South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and, for the first time, New South Wales.

Dementia Australia CEO Professor Tanya Buchanan said that, given there is no cure for dementia and poor community understanding of the terminal nature of the disease, the ABS data reinforces the urgent need for a public health approach to reducing – or preventing – the risk of developing dementia.

“This call is backed by the 2024 update of the Lancet Commission on the prevention, treatment, and care of dementia, which reports that almost half of dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed,” Professor Buchanan said.

“There are currently an estimated 421,000 Australians living with dementia and without a significant intervention, this number is expected to increase to more than 812,500 by 2054.

“As dementia edges closer to becoming the leading cause of death of Australians, it is crucial that we act now to focus on the brain health of the nation as well as provide more targeted, effective support to those impacted by dementia. Taking this dual approach will ensure we are working towards reducing the impact of dementia in the future.

“Australians currently impacted by dementia can access support now by contacting the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) Media Release

Independent skills training and higher education providers delivering quality outcomes to international students express deep concern over the lack of clear direction in the Senate’s review of the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024. The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA) says many members face a threat to their existence if the Bill passes in its current form and the Australian Government uses its newfound draconian powers without appropriate guardrails and oversight.

“There’s no doubt that this legislation will be disastrous for independent skills training and higher education providers, as well as Australia’s reputation as a welcoming destination for international students,” said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.

The Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee reviewed the proposed legislation, and their report highlights that the Bill is poorly considered and not presented in a form that should be passed, according to ITECA.

“It was great to see the federal Opposition, the Australian Greens, and cross-bench senators acknowledge the concerns of ITECA members in the report. Sadly, Australian Government Senators have put politics before good policy and ignored the views of quality tertiary education providers,” Mr Williams said.

The Bill, if passed in its present form, will pave the way for introducing international student caps that most damage independent Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and higher education institutions.

“Despite the strong evidence provided to Senators by quality RTOs and higher education providers about the damage the proposed legislation will do to their institutions, the Australian Government looks set to proceed with a cavalier disregard for the employees in the sector that will lose their jobs,” Mr Williams said.

ITECA has endorsed the recommendations of the Australian Greens, calling on the Australian Government to withdraw the current Bill and begin a comprehensive consultation process with the tertiary education sector.

“The aim would be to develop a sustainable plan that supports the integrity of Australia’s migration and education systems, rather than pursuing what is rushed and reckless migration policy,” Mr Williams said.

In response to the ongoing concerns, ITECA has entered into crisis talks with its members, departmental officials, state and territory governments, plus stakeholders in the skills training and higher education sectors.

“These discussions seek to chart a path forward that mitigates the impact of the Bill on high-quality providers and their employees, ensuring that Australia’s international education system remains competitive and reputable,” Mr Williams said.

By Bert Hetebry

Does truth matter?

How is truth discerned?

Or more importantly what is truth?

The German historian and philosopher, Hannah Arendt wrote of the Nazi regime in Eichmann in Jerusalem: A report on the Banality of Evil…

“This constant lying is not aimed at making people believe a lie, but ensuring that no one believes anything anymore.

A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

And such a people, deprived of the power to think and to judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies.

With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”

Further, commenting that the routines of the day to day work of dealing with the Jews became just a job, the herding of people onto cattle truck, the unloading and deciding who would be fit for work and who would be sent to ‘the showers’, and in the case of Eichmann, his defence was that all he did was record information passed down to him, his was essentially a clerical function, recording the numbers of people dealt with.

”This insulation from the raw facts of what his paperwork meant was the result of totalitarianism’s normalisation of the evil in question. It turns off thought and moral imagination. It deals with numbers. In this context, ‘normalisation’ is the key.”

I read history, I find it interesting to reflect back on past times, see how lives were lived, reflect on the power structures and the challenges faced by those in power, those who challenged that power and how that impacted on the ordinary people of the times, and through that consider the world of today, the power structures and the challenges faced by those in power, those who challenge that power and how it impacts on the ordinary people of today. The lies Hannah Arendt refers to were of the Nazi regime, but that was not the first time lies have been used to delegitimise ethics and morality, to obfuscate, muddy the waters so that truth is lost to rendered as meaningless.

Searching for something compelling to read, scanning the titles on the library shelves, I came across a book from Paul Ham, NEW JERUSALEM: The short life and terrible death of Christendom’s most defiant sect.

The period was 1525 to 1535, shortly after Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Thesis, questioning various doctrinal standards of the Roman Catholic Church. Unintended consequences, this all happened when the Gutenberg Bible was first printed in the 1450s making the Bible more accessible to the leaders of the Catholic Church and threw into question many of the doctrines of the church, which led to the Reformation and a further fragmentation of the church as different interpretations and misinterpretations were found and taught.

The bits of the Bible which suggested that “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:24) were not fashionable teachings, and still are not today when we see that preaching can be a lucrative game, tithing ensures a continued flow of income, church owned land and property are not taxed.

Some scholars saw that there were a number of issues, that the church was not acting according to God’s word, for Luther, a sticking point was the selling of indulgences, where in confession, a sinner could pay off the price of his sins in cash, especially since the church had an ambitious Cathedral building programme which needed financing, others though saw the rites of Infant Baptism and the teaching that the elements of the Eucharist, the bread and wine became the literal body and blood of Christ as a mis-interpretation of the scriptural teaching. Those people became the anabaptists, insisting that a person must be an adult, or at least mature enough to understand the meaning of baptism, and so went around re-baptising people who became their followers. It became a very bloody affair when the Anabaptists took over the city of Munster in Germany and became the site of a bloody fight between the Anabaptists and the Catholic Church. Thousands died horrific deaths through starvation and brutality. Beheadings and heads placed on pikes and displayed to instil fear in those who would not repent and return to the Catholic faith.

The brutality of the conflict and the punishments meted out to the leaders of the sect were gut wrenchingly horrific. The normalisation of brutality is made easier through dehumanising the opposition, or in religious terms, where ‘we are God’s people, they are not’. Vengeance was not constrained by the self righteous victors. In the following almost 100 years, the Germanic regions of Europe saw religious wars in which half the population was killed over whether infant or adult baptism was biblical, whether in the Eucharist the bread and wine actually became the body and blood of Jesus or not. They were the arguments, but in essence it was a war for political dominance were the catholic Church had effectively ‘owned’ the region and that was challenged.

The book was published in 2018 and in an afterword, the author explains that nothing much has changed.

Religious warfare runs rampant in various places around the world today. The brutality with which daring to not conform to an established orthodoxy or to challenge the rights of particular believers whether religious or political is met with incredible cruelty. The most obvious is that of the Zionist movement in reclaiming the lands as legend has it, promised to Abraham 4,500 years ago. Among the Christian Churches, particularly the evangelical movement, there is the interpretation that Jews will return to the promised land and convert to Christianity, paving the way for the promised return of Jesus. Jews on the other hand are still waiting for their Messiah to show, the armageddon being played out now paves the way for that momentous event… but which will it be, Jesus or the Messiah or are they one and the same, and that curly question has divided Jew and Christian for a very long time.

Within the Islamic world we see that the Quran is interpreted in different ways, some strictly some less so as a measure of control. The conflict between Sunni and Shia which divides the oil rich gulf area, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia which allowed the saudis to almost agree to recognise Israel, the current conflict stalled those negotiations.

The power vacuum in Iraq after Americans left allowed ISIS to gain power and establish a caliphate in the wasteland of war’s aftermath, the Taliban in Afghanistan a strict interpretation of Sharia law, the laws as laid out in the Quran has restricted the rights of women and their freedom and independence.

Inevitably there is quest for power, and empowering of one group over another. Opposing forces are dehumanised, called names, terrorist is a good name, otherwise reference to animals, dogs, women who seek power become witches or bitches.

Questions of who is right, who has the moral upper hand become clouded through the restrictive interpretations of current events. It is too easy to see the war in Gaza, now extending north into Lebanon. and while eyes are averted, continuing in the West Bank as having started through the brutal attack by Hamas on innocent Israelis, but failing to recognise the marginalisation of the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank since 1948, the dehumanising of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorists diminishes Palestinians and allows for the Gaza strip to be reduced to rubble, and legitimises the invasion of Lebanon where thousands of innocent people have been killed in the seemingly indiscriminate bombing of apartment buildings. And the threat that if Lebanon does not get rid of Hezbollah, it too may be reduced to rubble, just like Gaza.

Truth is hard to find, as the people who are asked to comment are politicians or nominated spokespersons, but the reporters on the ground are silenced, the news offices closed so that the only information which comes out is the official line from the Israeli side. War also becomes a political football, where one side is considered on ‘our side’, the others must then be terrorists, particularly difficult in a nation such as ours which is an immigrant nation, having both citizens and guests from both sides of the conflict living among us. But we must be careful which flag we use in our public protests, lest we be criminalised, branded as supporters of terrorists.

The challenge is to sort out the difference, which is true information, which is misinformation and which are blatant lies?

Both in the news and information presented to us and in the way histories have been framed.

And that task is not easy.

Experts at Master Builders Australia have warned that low apprenticeship numbers will worsen the nation’s housing crisis if action is not taken immediately.

The warning comes after new Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealed that 2023-24 was the worst year for home building in more than a decade, dropping 8.8 per cent to 158,690 new starts.

“Detached house starts fell by 10.1 per cent, while higher density commencements were down by 6.0 per cent,” said Master Builders Chief Economist Shane Garrett.

“If building continues at this pace, we’ll be in for less than 800,000 new home starts over the next five years.”

“This would mean a shortfall of over 400,000 homes compared with the National Housing Accord target.”

The data release, revealing a drop to numbers not seen since 2011-12, coincided with fresh data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research which showed declines in apprenticeship numbers.

Apprenticeship completions fell 8.6 per cent from 24,545 in the year to March 2023 to 22,420 to March 2024. In the same period, apprenticeship commencements dropped 11.8 per cent from 47,110 to 41,520, and the number of apprentices in training declined 2.2 per cent from 124,280 to 121,530.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the new data painted a concerning picture for Australia’s housing crisis.

“Today’s data releases aren’t unrelated. To bring Australia out of the housing crisis we need to drastically increase the supply of housing,” said Ms Wawn, “and we can’t do that while we’re simultaneously suffering through a labour shortage.”

“Low apprentice numbers reflect a shortage of skilled workers across all trades, and until we’re able to address the challenges facing the future of the workforce, we won’t be able to increase building activity and reduce the impact of supply conditions in the residential building market on Australia’s inflation problem.

“It’s no longer appropriate to call for a return to pre-Covid levels, we need more tradies now than we’ve ever had.

“We urgently need governments to look at solutions to increase the number of tradies, increase the number of apprentices, and help Australian builders increase supply so we can come out the other side of this housing crisis,” Ms Wawn concluded.

Master Builders Australia’s “Future of the Workforce: Building and Construction Industry” report, which highlights the growing need for action to increase the workforce. To read the full report click here.

Oxfam Australia Media Release

The Lebanese authorities, communities and humanitarian agencies are struggling to shelter and provide the necessities of life to over one million people fleeing Israel’s airstrikes and invasion to the south, Oxfam said today.

Oxfam is working with local partners in Lebanon and alongside other aid agencies as part of the government’s humanitarian response plan following Israel’s invasion of Southern Lebanon and aerial bombardment.

Oxfam assessments in shelters across Lebanon have found people most need mattresses, bedding, and cooking and sanitation items. Women also need sanitary pads, towels, and underwear. Oxfam and partners have started distributing some of this aid as well as water.

Gheith Bittar, Executive Director for Oxfam partner SHIFT – Social Innovation Hub, said more displaced people are arriving by the day and he fears shelters may buckle under the strain.

“The shelters are not ready to host the number of IDPs we are taking on and 629 are already full. They are public schools that are not equipped to be shelters and we are facing problems. For example, we don’t have hot water for showers. We will get to a point where we won’t be able to cope. Without funds, we cannot sustain our support to the shelters. The ground invasion will only increase the number of IDPs, and we have already seen an increase in the number of displaced people on a daily basis with the continuous bombardment. The situation will only get worse as winter approaches.

“People are coming to us traumatised. Most of them have lost their houses and relatives. Some of them were scared because of the scale of bombardment as they were fleeing, and many others because of their fear of the unknown coming to a new city. People are suffering, they have many, many, issues to think about.”

Oxfam says without a ceasefire the greenlight by Israel to a ground invasion in southern Lebanon will likely lead to a further escalation of the conflict and fighting, that will cause even more destruction of communities and inflame an already volatile region.

“The ground invasion and bombardment that includes Beirut and the southern suburbs will create a serious challenge for the humanitarian system in a few short days. People are being forced to flee with little to no notice, and often having to leave everything behind to shelters that are inadequate or sharing crowded homes with few essential supplies. None know when they can return. Without a ceasefire the number of people desperately in need will only grow, as will their needs. The shelter system is set to collapse if there is no peace on the horizon,” said Oxfam’s Lebanon Country Director, Bachir Ayoub.

“The needs of people in Lebanon who’ve been injured, traumatised and displaced, in fear of what the future might hold for them, are already huge. No other solution other than a ceasefire can alleviate the crisis they are facing,” Ayoub said.

There must be an end to this violence. All parties must stop fighting. We need safe space to get people the aid they need,” he said.

By James Moore

“Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. ‘Cause that’s all that matters in the end.” – Kris Kristofferson.

The only time I ever spoke to him in person I thought that his voice had the sound of rocks tumbling down a talus slide in a western mountain range. Poets and artists with the depth and capability of Kris Kristofferson are often not good interview subjects, however. Try asking Willie Nelson to explain where melodies come from. No time is available for them to refine complicated concepts into insightful phrases or understanding. They are compelled simply to talk with much the same facility as the mortals moved by their work.

“Listen,” Kristofferson told me. “I’ve been there. I was in the military. I know the destruction we can do, the people who will die, and it’s not usually in the name of freedom. It tends to be about something else. We’re making a big mistake if we go over there.”

I wondered why he was struggling to communicate. A man who had such a command of language offered a halting delivery and seemed to stare past me into a distance that was occupied by some disturbing vision. Maybe, he teetered a bit with faltering balance. I am not certain. There was no smell of alcohol, but there was always an abundance of methods for altering consciousness at the disposal of the famous and wealthy, and Kris was no stranger to that allure.

“What’s the importance of all this?” He seemed to have recaptured a train of thought that had evaded him for a minute. “Why do we have to tear up families, ours and theirs? It’s just about oil. Everybody knows that. Is that worth anyone’s son or daughter? Hell, no, and we all know that, too.”

Kristofferson that afternoon in Austin made me think again of a nine-year-old little girl up at Fort Hood. We had been reporting on departure ceremonies of troops saying good-bye to their families before boarding flights to Kuwait and a confrontation with Saddam Hussein. While American youth was gearing up for battle, and confronting their own mortality, the sons of Kuwaiti sheikhs were partying at Paris discos. No such facts landed in the U.S. media, though, and our soldiers were framed as heroes defending a small, mostly helpless ally, one, coincidentally, with lots of oil reserves. Without thinking, while we were recording video in the gymnasium where departing troops had gathered, I saw that little girl hug her daddy just before he walked away toward the giant airplane, and we approached her with the camera rolling as she sobbed.

“Do you know what’s happening?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s a war. A stupid war.”
“Well, don’t you think the country needs your daddy?”
“No! I think I need my daddy.”

I felt horrible, and apologized, profusely, as the girl’s mother wrapped her arms around her crying child. The native emotional brilliance of the girl might have made her a character in one of Kristofferson’s songs. He clearly felt the same way about the father’s departure for war. In January of 1991, the Texas musician and songwriter had joined Willie Nelson and other artists at the Palmer Auditorium in Austin for a concert billed as, “Peace for All.” The elder Bush, George H.W., had warned a few weeks earlier in Waco that a failure to act and allow Iraq to invade Kuwait laid the predicate for what he described as “world war tomorrow.” Kris was not buying H.W.’s bullshit and was trying to broaden the resistance to the marketing of “Operation Desert Storm.” The fact that Kristofferson had served in the military as a helicopter pilot, was a graduate of West Point, and a Rhodes Scholar, made him the perfect anti-war partner for the more quotidian Willie.

We had been standing outside of Willie’s bus waiting for him or Kris to step out for an interview. I had been attending Willie’s Fourth of July concerts since the late seventies and had interviewed him several times. Kris, however, I had always wanted to meet, though I was not motivated by journalism; I just wanted to talk about writing and music, which were both enduring mysteries to me. A beer or two in a rundown roadside tavern would have been perfect. Instead, I had to ask him about politics and imperialism.

“One more thing, quickly,” I said. “You surely know enough about your home state to be aware this is a conservative as hell place and very supportive of the military. I assume you expect some criticism for doing this in the midst of what’s being considered almost a national emergency.”

“Goddamnit,” he said. “Nobody has more respect for our military than me, and my family. Damn sure nobody can question my patriotism, either. But what we are about to do is wrong, and I’ve got a conscience and a right to express it, regardless of what these politicians think, and that’s what we are all doing here today, hoping to stop this nonsense.”

His delivery was not fluid speech and I decided there were chemicals coursing through his brain. I might have been wrong but I found myself agonizing over this gifted and fortunate man’s circumstances. What did I know? Hell, I had wanted to be him. I had seen friends and acquaintances balancing on the edge of the emotional cracker during my two decades of TV journalism, and while wandering the country with my backpack, and I began to think of the opening monologue of Kristofferson’s great ballad, “To Beat the Devil.”

“A couple of years back I come across a great and wasted friend of mine in the hallway of a recording studio, and while he was reciting some poetry to me that he had written, I saw that he was about a step away from dyin’, and I couldn’t help but wonderin’ why.”

The description was of Johnny Cash, who fought his own demons with drugs, and was obviously not yet recovered during that encounter. Cash helped Kris launch his career after the determined Texan landed a helicopter in the backyard of Cash’s Nashville home to present him with tapes of songs he had written and recorded. The lyrics of that first album in 1970 caught my attention more than any music. There is not a musical cell in my frame but I love the sound of words properly arranged as if they, too, can deliver melodies. Although I had no record player in my college dormitory, I bought the eponymous album, “Kristofferson,” and let a friend on my floor, who had a turntable, take possession of the LP. We played “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” to the point where everyone living along our hallway learned the lyrics.

Even in my youth, I thought “Bobby McGee” was a song suffused with immortality. The story seemed to define America, two lovers wandering the roads and rails trying to discover their country and each other. I wanted that life, writing and drifting, and I let Kristofferson become the thematic sound track of my dreams, and then my actions. When I met the girl who was to become my partner for life, Kris’ “Lovin’ Her Was Easier” frequently popped up when we were together as background music, and it still does. His songs, initially, were only marginally political, and I wondered if that was because he was considered “country,” a genre, during the Vietnam Era, which was certain to offer disdain to political protestors. Merle Haggard’s, “The Fightin’ Side of Me” seemed to express the sentiments of country music at that time.

“I read about some squirrely guy who claims he just don’t believe in fightin’,
An’ I wonder just how long the rest of us can count on bein’ free,
They love our milk an’ honey, but they preach about some other way of livin’,
When they’re runnin’ down my country, hoss,
They’re walkin’ on the fightin’ side of me.”

Never mind, though, that the Vietnam War had no more to do with American freedom than did the battle H.W. Bush was about to start in Kuwait. Kristofferson’s politics, a tad more progressive than Merle’s, began to emerge in his writing with songs like “Sandinista,” which was produced in 1986 during the U.S. backed Contra war in Nicaragua. The song contravened U.S. policy in the conflict and was undoubtedly penned as the songwriter, and the rest of America, was oblivious to the secret Iran Contra drugs and guns operations being managed by then Vice President H.W. Bush. “Sandinista,” Kristofferson sang, “You can hold your head up high. You have given back their Freedom. You have lived up to your name.”

Sitting in a conference room in Washington, D.C., as I was waiting for a copy of the “Tower Report” on the Iran Contra scandal, I found myself wondering if Kristofferson ever questioned his work’s focus. Music had power, of course, but was it politically influential enough to foster change? And if it could not, what was the point of political protest songs? Texas U.S. Senator John Tower’s report on the Iran Contra Scandal was little more than a whitewash that found the appropriate fall guy in Marine Oliver North and kept the responsibility for the scam away from H.W Bush, who had authorized the clandestine endeavor. The true evil actors in American politics always seem above the law. I got in a bit of trouble later that night in my live television broadcast back to Houston when I described Tower’s findings as, “A number two Mexican dinner with one taco missing.”

My sense was that Kristofferson was always at his political best with more nuanced lyricism. In his 1972, “Jesus Was A Capricorn,” he offered a subtle critique of hypocrisy and social intolerance by mocking how we often marginalize people who do not fit conventional profiles and might just look different. “Everybody’s gotta have somebody to look down on,” he wrote. “Who they can feel better than any time they please.” The song began with a bald concession that humans never seem to change, regardless of inspiring examples. “Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods, he believed in love and peace and everyone no shoes. Long hair beard and sandals and a funky bunch of friends, reckon they’d just nail him up if he came down again.”

When a soul can reduce the entirety of the human condition down to a few couplets, there seems no reason for the rest of us to bother writing. The urge to create, though, does not simply vanish. Kristofferson’s linguistic skills inspired writers like me even though we could have reasonably been intimidated. I have tried to write and think at the intersection of art and politics because I do not believe there is much in life that is unaffected by the political. His ability to make the poetic into the political only ensures his legend will grow over time. History will likely consider him the songwriting equal of Bob Dylan, and, to paraphrase Steve Earle’s praise of Townes Van Zandt, I’d stand on Guy Clark’s glass coffee table in my cowboy boots and shout that to the world. I have heard musicians say that their music comes through them, not from them, as if the universe were its source and they were the ciphers. I am inclined to think that might be true of Kristofferson’s lyrics, too.

All writers, of course, however they do it, are chasing the truth, and no one spoke better to the frustration and importance of that challenge than Kris in his song, “To Beat the Devil.” He describes being a musician down on his luck having an encounter with an old man in a bar, “cigarette smoke in the ceiling, saw dust on the floor,” who turns out to be the devil. Kristofferson agrees to give the man his guitar and listens as he sings a refrain that ought to echo down through the millennia for every sentient being on board our little green and blue rock.

“If you waste your time a talkin’ to the people who don’t listen to the things that you are sayin’, who do you think’s gonna hear? And if you should die explainin’ how the things that they complain about are things they could be changin’, who do you thinks gonna care? There were other lonely writers in a world turned deaf and blind who were crucified for what they tried to show. And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time, but the truth remains and someone wants to know.”

Adios, Kris. I’m glad I was walking in the world the same time as you.

This article was originally published on Texas to the world.

By Maria Millers

To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,
The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many
(Excerpt from ‘Protest’ by EllaWheelerWilcox).

As I write it is one day before the anniversary of the brutal Hamas attack and hostage taking of Israelis on October 7th; a day etched in the minds not just Israelis but Jewish people across the world. But for Palestinians this too was the beginning of a year of death and destruction for those civilians living in Gaza.

As a multicultural society we are home to many of those from both sides who have been affected by what has happened.

Australia prides itself on being a successful multicultural society and indeed on many levels it has been one. But the events of the past year and the most recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East are testing the strength of our multiculturalism. And also our leaders.

The right to protest has always been the hallmark of a functioning democracy and peaceful protest should never become opportunities for political posturing and point scoring.

As Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel wrote:

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

There have been ongoing protests from Australian Palestinians and as the anniversary of October 7th draws nearer critics raised the question of whether it is insensitive to hold vigils on a day which brings pain to a community where historical memories of past atrocities still reverberate.

At the same time we cannot ignore the pain of Palestinian Australians who have witnessed all year incredible loss of life and destruction of homes, hospitals, schools etc. in the land from which they have come and where many still have familial connections

Much of the debate has revolved around flags. Flags can be quite divisive, often representing national identity, cultural heritage and political ideologies. The meaning of a flag can vary significantly depending on your personal experiences and therefore can be a contentious symbol

There has been concern that the flag of Hezbollah has appeared at Palestinian rallies particularly since it’s a proscribed terrorist organization.

However, the decision to display the Israeli flag on the Sydney Opera House was met with mixed reactions and opinions on whether it was a mistake. For some, it was a show of solidarity with Israel, particularly during a time of conflict. Others viewed it as controversial, arguing that it politicized a cultural landmark and could be seen as dismissive of Palestinian perspectives or the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ultimately whether it was a mistake depends on where you stand on using public symbols which may alienate and upset other affected citizens in our multicultural society and on one’s viewpoint regarding the appropriateness of using public symbols for political statements and the broader context of the ongoing conflict. The incident highlighted the sensitivities around national symbols and their implications in a multicultural society.

Some flags are universally reviled. The Swastika flag is a potent symbol of hate, representing the atrocities of the Holocaust and the broader impact of Nazi ideology, making it universally condemned. However, even flags like the Union Jack can also evoke feelings of colonialism and oppression in formerly colonized countries.

As we live on a globalized but increasingly fragile planet perhaps we should move towards an Earth Flag. One designed by John McConnell in 1969 features a view of Earth from space, with a dark blue background representing the cosmos. It symbolizes peace and unity among all people on the planet. These proposals aim to foster a sense of global citizenship and awareness, encouraging people to think beyond national borders. Of course we already have the United Nations Flag featuring a world map surrounded by olive branches, representing the nations of the world coming together to solve problems. Regrettably they have not been able to do so.

Perhaps it is poetry we should turn to in fostering a culture of respect and understanding to serve as bridges rather than barriers in a multicultural society. In the words of poet Denise Levertov:

A voice from the dark called out,
The poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war.

And if despair for the world becomes too much, turn towards nature to find relief:

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives might be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
(The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry).