Environment: Climate protesters blockade Newcastle’s coal port despite government bans
Draconian laws don’t discourage climate protesters. Hydrogen’s rainbow of colours. CCS continues to underperform. Clean …
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Australia at war – again, again and again
Every year or so Australia gets a bulky new book about an Australian war, military action, hero or some other military matter written by what is known as ‘storians. Continue reading »
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America’s decline: An Australian-American’s response to the US elections
My friends will have to excuse me for not being sufficiently riled up about the second coming of Trump. To me, he’s a phase in America’s inevitable decline, on the way to the end of the US Empire. Continue reading »
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A ceasefire in Lebanon – Gaza next?
Third party intervention led by the US and France has achieved a ceasefire in Lebanon. The US now needs to push for a settlement in Gaza where the combatants withdraw, and an external force is charged with maintaining the peace. Continue reading »
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Updates from Jerusalem, then and now
From the Committee to Protect Journalists: “The Israel-Gaza war has taken an unprecedented toll on Gazan journalists since Israel declared war on Hamas following its attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. As of November 26, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 137 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Continue reading »
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Another nail in the coffin for Australia’s phantom defence needs
The US submarine base was always going to come first, not for the sake of supplying useless boats for Australia’s phantom defence needs, but for keeping an ever watchful US imperium stocked. Continue reading »
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The Future Fund must be a fund for the future
Like all policy instruments, the Future Fund was created to manage the challenges the country was facing at the time. The government has every right and reason to adjust and adapt the mandate to manage very different political and economic challenges today. Continue reading »
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Inside out: powerful advocates have judges’ ears
The ACT Supreme Court was the scene of two uniquely powerful demonstrations of advocacy on the one evening last week. Continue reading »
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Another unwelcome ICC arrest warrant?
On November 27, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he is seeking an arrest warrant against Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military junta, for his role in the commission of crimes against humanity against his country’s Rohingya minority. Continue reading »
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Feng Yujun on the prospects of Russia-Ukraine war after Trump’s reelection
The leading expert on Russia says Trump’s bold claim to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours is highly unlikely to materialise, and only a just peace can lead to lasting peace. Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
“This should be frightening for everyone” said Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan in an eye-witness report of the genocide in Gaza at the UN on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on November 26th. In Pakistan, snipers are shooting Imran Khan supporters as they protest. Indigenous people confront settler colonial narrative on Thanksgiving, Continue reading »
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Will Joe Biden pardon Julian Assange?
Julian Assange may no longer be behind bars, but his conviction casts a shadow over press freedom and the safety of journalists everywhere—a wrong Assange and his supporters world-wide are determined to set right by overturning his wrongful conviction via a presidential pardon from Joe Biden. Continue reading »
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A necessary reckoning of bloodletting in Gaza
The premeditated bloodletting in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and many other largely forgotten parts of the world speaks hauntingly of the normalisation of death and destruction, largely for cruel, self-serving and illusory reasons. Continue reading »
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War powers reform: no ticker for a no-brainer
Worst of Friends by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain is a simply wonderful book, aimed at “pre-schoolers and up”. Continue reading »
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The Australian dream
Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating — who is staunchly against AUKUS — said, of Australians, that we are not content with our geography. Continue reading »
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Australia’s school system: winners and losers?
In a school system so deeply segregated along class and cultural lines it is not hard to identify the losers. But the question is whether there are any real winners? Continue reading »
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Women missing from strategic decision-making: A call for inclusive leadership
As conflicts rage across the world, one painful truth remains: women are still missing from the decision-making table. Decisions that shape the futures of millions continue to exclude half the population. Continue reading »
