Author Archives: Stuart Rees

Responses to the mayhem caused by the destruction of Beirut will have much in common with the aftermath of Covid 19: long term recovery from devastation coupled to an opportunity to build societies so different from those which preceded the … Continue reading →

Australia identifies with and supports US democracy, yet values and dominant modes of thought in America have produced a form of governance so dysfunctional that Australians should question their assumptions about the two countries’ similarities.

A healthy civil and democratic society depends on citizens’ ability to weigh up diverse views, to re-frame issues and to consider the dangers when powerful people make claims without any obvious evidence.

Over six thousand kilometres to the north of Australia, a dangerous pandemic is spreading and needs to be contained. President Duterte of the Philippines is consolidating his dictatorship with an Anti-Terrorism Bill which defines terrorism so broadly that free speech … Continue reading →

Sickness and deaths from the corona virus present challenges to save lives, but could also prompt discussion about different ways to live.

The operation of Copyright Laws amounts to a giant con, a legal farce and an opportunity for corporate greed.

In the 15th century, King Henry VII of England established a Court of Star Chamber. Operated by Privy Counsellors and judges, it developed a reputation for arbitrary power leading to cruel and unusual punishments. There was no due process and … Continue reading →

While in Washington, the Prime Minister witnessed President Trump speaking about nationalism, patriotism, the treason of traitors and the irrelevance of international treaties, his latest flag waving endorsement of American sovereignty as the entitlement to do what it likes.

In early August, two events cast a shadow over Australia’s democracy. The US Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) met in Sydney to fight to ‘protect the future.’ The High Court ruled that the government may restrict the right of public … Continue reading →

  Hong Kong’s autonomous, free status, One Nation Two Systems agreement is at risk of disappearing. The Hong Kong legislature had proposed extradition laws which would make residents and foreigners who live there or who might be travelling through the … Continue reading →

  Bernie Sanders, US Democrat candidate for the Presidency has caused controversy by criticising what he calls the cruel, racist policies of the government of Israel towards Palestinians. But it’s time that such comments were seen as not unusual, even … Continue reading →

Julian Assange faces extradition to the United States to face a grand jury’s secretly concocted charge of ‘computer intrusion’ to obtain and reveal classified information. Reaction to Assange’ arrest shows powerful people protecting establishment interests, which, over centuries, have involved … Continue reading →

  In denying the American/Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi a visa to enter Australia, what on earth was the Australian government thinking? What stereotype assumptions about the word ‘Palestinian’ influenced that decision?

  Fear, deceit, racism, illegalities and foreign interference contributed to Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union. The referendum outcome resulted from a giant con trick, a democratic absurdity which should never have been taken seriously.

If an individual is repeatedly labelled ‘unusual,deviant,criminal, possibly a terrorist’, that person’s guilt of something reprehensible begins to be taken for granted.

Bahrein soccer player Hakeem Al-Araibi has Australian residency, has lived here for four years but has been held in a Thai prison for sixty days. He was arrested in Bangkok because an Interpol Red Alert warrant indicated that he was … Continue reading →