26 April 2025
The Legacy of a Jesuit Pope politics, religion
The Argentinian Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a serious contender for the papacy at the conclave which elected Joseph Ratzinger in 2005. The cardinals who voted for Ratzinger saw him as a faithful preserver of all that Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła) had achieved in his long papacy from 1978 until his death in 2005. Ratzinger as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had provided much of the intellectual ballast for John Paul’s theological positions. The election of Ratzinger was a vote for continuity as the Catholic Church continued to wrestle with the changes...
26 April 2025
Why has there been no discussion of asylum-seekers in this campaign?
Despite it being a perennial topic during Elections this century, neither major party wants to talk about asylum seekers this time around.
26 April 2025
On ‘moral panic’ and the courage to speak: The West’s silence on Gaza
Palestinians do not have the luxury to allow Western moral panic to have its say or impact. Not caving in to this panic is one small, but important, step in building a global Palestine network that is urgently needed.
Israel's war against Gaza
Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.
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26 April 2025
How is the US civil service responding to the Trump administration?
There is a perennial debate in all democracies about how responsive the civil service should be to the elected government and about the degree of independence implied by merit-based employment, professional competence, non-partisanship and impartiality.
26 April 2025
If Einstein spoke today, he would be accused of antisemitism
In 1948, as the foundations of the Israeli state were being laid upon the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian villages, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the American Friends of the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, condemning the growing Zionist militancy within the settler Jewish community.
26 April 2025
The Syrian genocide and its dangers for Australia
Members of the Australian Alawite community are receiving harrowing messages from their families and friends in Syria.
26 April 2025
Worried about a ‘baby bust’? Then prevent pregnancy ‘wastage’
Hardly a day passes without anxiety-laden news stories about falling birth rates across the globe.
26 April 2025
Housing affordability: Which party has better policies?
The housing policies announced in this election by both the Labor and Coalition Parties are seriously flawed.
26 April 2025
ACCCR calls for ethical and responsible leadership in the federal election
As Australians prepare to vote in the upcoming federal election, the Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (ACCCR) is calling on voters, political leaders, and policymakers to place social justice, compassion, and integrity at the forefront of governance.
26 April 2025
The myth of the US good cop
As Donald Trump destroys the old world order a new myth is taking hold: before Trump, it is said, America benevolently provided the defence for the Western world, policing rogue states and promoting international free trade.
25 April 2025
Anzac voices – voices of warning
A shade over 110 years since the Gallipoli landings, Anzac Day is a day of mourning for many. Respect is due. And more. If we listen to the original Anzac voices, we may recognise voices of warning – relevant today.
Latest on Palestine and Israel
26 April 2025
On ‘moral panic’ and the courage to speak: The West’s silence on Gaza
Palestinians do not have the luxury to allow Western moral panic to have its say or impact. Not caving in to this panic is one small, but important, step in building a global Palestine network that is urgently needed.
26 April 2025
If Einstein spoke today, he would be accused of antisemitism
In 1948, as the foundations of the Israeli state were being laid upon the ruins of hundreds of Palestinian villages, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the American Friends of the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, condemning the growing Zionist militancy within the settler Jewish community.
25 April 2025
Even in sickness, Pope Francis reached out to Gaza's Christians
For months, the pontiff spoke by telephone almost every night with people sheltering in a Catholic church in the battered enclave, a ritual he tried to keep up in the hospital.
24 April 2025
The uniform public utterances of our days
British scholar Leonard Schapiro, writing on Stalinism, observed that “the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade. But to produce a uniform pattern of public utterances in which the first trace of unorthodox thought reveals itself as a jarring dissonance. And it seems that in the current sanctioned discourse, the jarring dissonance is speaking up against a genocide streamed live on our phones.
23 April 2025
Pope Francis dies at 88 after final appeal for Gaza ceasefire
Will the millions who will mourn his death these coming days respect this wish of his? Will they care for Gazans and Palestinians the way he did?
23 April 2025
Beyond fear and false choices: Why loyalty to the major parties is no longer tenable
It's time for Muslims and allies to vote with principle, not fear.
22 April 2025
Silence is no response to slaughter, so at least recognise Palestine
Death, destruction and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and on the West Bank continues. Israeli savagery, lying, and disdain for international law display the depths of inhumanity, but when challenged to show courage by supporting life for Palestinians, the Australian Government remains silent.
17 April 2025
Israel is about to empty Gaza
As Israel prepares to ethnically cleanse the whole of Gaza, it is also setting the stage for a regional crisis.
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25 April 2025
Election looms, time to ramp up the China scare campaign: Anti-China Media Watch china, media, politics
Hampered by an underwhelming election campaign — where the Labor/LNP “uniparty” faces the harsh reality that the punters don’t think China is about to invade Australia — Murdoch media is going all out to put those commie bastards front and centre. There’s the inconvenient truth that the Australian military is gearing up to hit China with a barrage of US-made missiles; the Chinese Communist Party is meddling in the affairs of the Catholic Church; and a 60 Minutes report tells us Barbie has fallen victim to the Chinese.
24 April 2025
Memory shapes China's response to Trump’s tariffs
To asses China's reaction to Donald Trump's tariffs we have to go back around 165 years.
24 April 2025
China's two 'secret weapons' in the tariff war
As of 15 April, the White House indicated on its website that tariffs on products imported from China could rise as high as 245%.
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