John Menadue's recent articles

Our white man’s media shuns Asia

Our white man’s media shuns Asia

We talk glibly about our future in Asia, but we are stuck in a US and UK media cul de sac.

The bamboo ceiling is still very much in place Down Under

The bamboo ceiling is still very much in place Down Under

Our business sector lacks the skills to do business in Asia. And instead of improving, the situation is getting markedly worse.

PM Albanese promises to restore trust in democracy

PM Albanese promises to restore trust in democracy

But his record does not give grounds for confidence. In his National Press Club address, PM Albanese referred to the trust deficit in other democracies such as the US. The clear inference is that Australia does not have a “trust” deficit.

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Our retreat from Asia has become a rout

Our retreat from Asia has become a rout

On almost every measure, Australia has gone backwards on engaging with our region, and particularly with China, and it is time to do something about it.

Weaponisation of ‘antisemitism’ hides primitive savagery of Palestinian genocide

Weaponisation of ‘antisemitism’ hides primitive savagery of Palestinian genocide

As expressed in the UN General Assembly, the vast majority of the world’s governments and peoples agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and now the West Bank.

'Never again' for Jews, Palestinians and all humanity

'Never again' for Jews, Palestinians and all humanity

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Beijing wont be threatened into changing Taiwan plans, analysts say

Beijing wont be threatened into changing Taiwan plans, analysts say

Chinas foreign ministry lodged stern representations with the US after President Joe Biden again said American troops would defend the island if the PLA attacks.

President Abbas at UNGA: Why is Israel not punished for violating international law?

President Abbas at UNGA: Why is Israel not punished for violating international law?

Who is protecting Israel from being held accountable? Why these double standards when it comes to Israel?

Wests divide and rule culture a great threat to development

Wests divide and rule culture a great threat to development

The latest 2021/22 Human Development Report was recently released. Titled Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World, it paints a picture of a global society lurching from crisis to crisis, and which risks heading towards increasing deprivation and injustice. This is a big shock to those of us who aspire for a world of shared prosperity.

John F. Copper: Where are the Chinese students going?

John F. Copper: Where are the Chinese students going?

According to recent data published in China and admission reports from U.S. universities, the number of Chinese students applying for study in American institutions of higher learning in recent months has fallen markedly.

Neil Hauxwell: Toward a great TAFE revival

Neil Hauxwell: Toward a great TAFE revival

The most important outcome from the Jobs and Skills Summit must be some federal government leadership. Our Vocational Education and Training system, including TAFE, is in urgent need of a major reset.

Everett Bledsoe: The US military empire. How many US military bases are there in the world?

Everett Bledsoe: The US military empire. How many US military bases are there in the world?

The Pentagon does not know how many bases it has around the world so it relies on academics to tell it. The US bases are gated communities which replicate US suburbs, shops and amenities to the exclusion of local people.

Bill Armstrong: National security through community engagement. Fail to honour people and they will fail to honour you. (Lao Tsu 2000 years ago)

Bill Armstrong: National security through community engagement. Fail to honour people and they will fail to honour you. (Lao Tsu 2000 years ago)

We are living through a change of era on planet earth. Huge changes are ongoing. There is no doubt that the recent federal election gave a mandate to the incoming Government to RESET the way we do business at many levels.

Eva Bartlett: The West is silent as Ukraine targets civilians in Donetsk using banned butterfly mines

Eva Bartlett: The West is silent as Ukraine targets civilians in Donetsk using banned butterfly mines

The use of PFM-1 explosives against civilians is prohibited by the Geneva Conventionsbut this evidently isnt stopping Ukraine.

Alan Pears: Climate action will drive disruptive change, but we can build on past experience

Alan Pears: Climate action will drive disruptive change, but we can build on past experience

Election May 2022 a new beginning for climate and energy policy?

Andrew Bacevich: American Imperium - Untangling truth and fiction in an age of perpetual US wars (Repost from 1/1/2018)

Andrew Bacevich: American Imperium - Untangling truth and fiction in an age of perpetual US wars (Repost from 1/1/2018)

'Republicans and Democrats disagree today on many issues, but they are united in their resolve that the United States must remain the worlds greatest military power. In its most benign form, the consensus finds expression in extravagant and unremitting displays of affection for those who wear the uniform. Considerably less benign is a pronounced enthusiasm for putting our soldiers to work keeping America safe. This tendency finds the United States more or less permanently engaged in hostilities abroad, even as presidents from both parties take turns reiterating the nations enduring commitment to peace.'

Katrina Watson: How to save General Practice

Katrina Watson: How to save General Practice

Im a recently retired specialist doctor and I keep an eye on medical affairs. They affect all of us, especially as we get older, and people still ask what I think.

Manlio Graziano - United States: the end of an illusion of omnipotence

Manlio Graziano - United States: the end of an illusion of omnipotence

I do not accept second place for the United States of America. That simple statement, delivered to rousing effect by Barack Obama in his first State of the Union, in January 2010, managed to summarize the current American strategic horizon in a single sentence.

CRAIG MURRAY. Biden works to prolong Ukraine war

CRAIG MURRAY. Biden works to prolong Ukraine war

Why we live in a world where the goal of nations is to damage the lives of inhabitants of other nations is a question which continues to puzzle me.

Peter Tait: Vote Independent? If that doesn't work, then what?

Peter Tait: Vote Independent? If that doesn't work, then what?

Voting independent needs careful preferencing. If your independent doesnt get up (or you dont have that option), you can try Active Democracy

David Van Deusen: No love for Putin: No guns for Nazis in Ukraine

David Van Deusen: No love for Putin: No guns for Nazis in Ukraine

Ukraine in fact has a serious Nazi problem.

Kathy Kelly: The people of Yemen suffer at the hands of the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia...377,000 dead

Kathy Kelly: The people of Yemen suffer at the hands of the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia...377,000 dead

The United Nationsestimated last fall that the Yemen death toll would top 377,000 people by the end of 2021. Compare that to the deaths in Ukraine! Our media shows no interest or concern.

Tobias Debiel and Herbert Wulf: Escalation and de-escalation in the Ukraine War-A German perspective

Demonization and humiliation do not pave the way to the negotiating table.

The shabby treatment of nurses by medical doctors.

A collection of recent articles about the dismissal of the key role of nurses by the Medical Benefits Schedule Review Taskforce. The doctor dominated Taskforce is determined not to understand that nurses hold the health system together

GARRY EVERETT. Sex Only??

The recent Hollywood movie, On the basis of sex, tells the story of the first successful court case argued by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 9th Circuit Court. The subject matter was discrimination by the Federal Tax Laws, against a man who was denied a tax concession as his mothers carer, on the grounds that only women were regarded as carers. It was the early 1960s, and one wonders how such an antiquated view could have still prevailed in the USA legal system.

CHAS W. FREEMAN JR. After the trade war, a real war with China

[T]he greatest danger of a [real] Sino-American war is Taiwan. Taiwan is a former Chinese province that was recovered from its Japanese occupiers by Nationalist China at the end of World War II. In 1949, having been defeated everywhere else in China, Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist forces retreated to it.

STEPHEN de WEGER. Clerical sexual abuse of adults. Another blind spot.

In 2013, after working as a research assistant project into clergy sexual abuse of children, I decided to undertake an exploratory study into clergy sexual misconduct against adults. During this study I came across what I believe should be a strategic document regarding the understanding of the clergy sexual abuse crisis we are witnessing right now - Sipes 11-point thesis. (The late Dr Richard Sipe was a note US psychotherapist and acknowledged expert in the psychosexuality of Catholic clerics).

FRANCIS SULLIVAN. Pell conviction blows apart bishops' mantra

Yesterdays announcement of the conviction of Cardinal George Pell has been shattering for many and a relief for others. The fact that the most senior cleric in Australia has been found guilty is devastating on many levels. Not the least because he was such a high-profile proponent for the safeguarding children in the church and its provision of compensation to victims.

BARNEY ZWARTZ. George Pell has fallen, but the cardinal's legacy casts a long shadow

So Cardinal George Pell by far Australia's best-known church leader of the past 25 years, the highest-ranked Australian ever at the Vatican, a confidant of prime ministers faces a jail sentence for child sexual abuse. The dispenser of God's grace (through the sacrament) has surely reached the nadir of human disgrace.

GEORGE MONBIOT. Dark money is pushing for a no-deal Brexit. Who is behind it?

Modern governments respond to only two varieties of emergency: those whose solution is bombs and bullets, and those whose solution is bailouts for the banks. But what if they decided to take other threats as seriously?

DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO AND DAVID BOND . UK National Cyber Security Centre says Huawei is manageable risk to 5G( Financial Times London 18.2.2019

British intelligence has concluded that it is possible to mitigate the risk from using Huawei equipment in 5G networks, in a serious blow to US efforts to persuade allies to ban the Chinese supplier from high-speed telecommunications systems.

MARILYN HATTON. Pray and light a candle for our church in crisis.

For years a small but expanding number of Catholics in Australia have beenappealing for church reform and have struggled to gain attention from our bishops. Our prayers and entreaties for change in the clerical, male-dominated cloisters have fallen on unattentive ears.

RUTH ADLER. Brexit uncertainties fuel speculation on Irish unification referendum

With weeks remaining until the 29 March deadline for a deal on Brexit, there is speculation that failure to reach agreement will result in increased momentum for a referendum on Irish unification under the Good Friday Agreement. Several Cabinet Ministers in Theresa Mays government are reportedly seriously concerned about the prospect, with one describing it as very real. Another has expressed concern that the British government risks sleepwalking into a border poll. Such a referendum would, however, be unlikely to succeed at the present time.

LIZ HANNA. A warming Australia spells serious trouble for human health

Climate change. Global warming. A hotter planet. A hotter Australia. Yet few are asking the difficult question of how hot is too hot?. We have so many elephants in the room at present that the room is getting pretty crowded, but as we are barrelling towards 1.5oC of planetary warming since pre-industrial times, the how hot is too hot elephant is definitely in the room. We need to let it out and examine heat tolerance.

GERARD O'CONNELL. Before arriving in U.A.E., pope challenges his hosts to help end Yemen crisis

Pope Francis made a powerful appeal to the interested parties and to the international community to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen in which some 10 million people risk starvation.

CLAIRE GIANGRAVE. UN panel probes Italys role in Churchs child abuse scandals

A United Nations Committee for the protection of minors questioned the Italian government last week about clerical sexual abuse in the country, expressing concern over laws that protect predator priests from criminal charges.

IAN AND TIM ROBINSON. A Sad Excuse for a National Day

A National Day should be the anniversary of a central event in the life of the nation, a day when we all come together and celebrate our nations shared values a celebration of the start of our nations journey, usually the attainment of independence, or some other significant national milestone.

CIARA MORRIS. Seeing China Through a Washington Lens

Balancing relations between China and the US is arguably Australia's greatest foreign policy challenge in the 21st century. But is Australia getting it right?

PATSY MCGARRY. Church response to modern abuse scandals 'same as 30 years ago.'

Marie Collins claims lessons of abuse in Ireland not being used to change policy elsewhere The church reaction is a mirror image of what we were hearing here in Ireland 30 years ago.

SANG JIEJA. Tibetans get home decor order: Hang Xi, Mao portrait

Dalai Lama images removed from temples, monasteries as Party reinforces iconography of its 'heroes'; households next

RICHARD KINGSFORD. The catastrophic fish kill on the Darling River decades in the making

The plight of the Darling River shocked the nation last week, when up to a million fish were killed by lack of oxygen, accompanying the disruption of a blue-green algal bloom on a forty kilometre stretch of the river near Menindee, southeast of Broken Hill. This followed a similar kill of tens of thousands of native fish in December.

'CHRIS HARRINGTON. Care? The scourge of the ward station'

The professionalism in hospitals may have contributed greatly to better data collection and use of technology, but after a visit to a hospice and an ICU unit recently, I wondered what has happened to care. Our system is failing us.

JEFFREY SACHS and others.- Fully Filling the Global Fund.

In a world divided by conflict and greed, the Global Funds fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria is a matter of enlightened self-interest and a reminder of how much humanity can accomplish when we cooperate to save lives. For public and private donors, that means providing the financing needed to eliminate all three scourges by 2030.

JONATHAN WEISMAN. American Jews and Israeli Jews break up

The events of the past year brought American and Israeli Jews closer to a breaking point. President Trump, beloved in Israel and decidedly unloved by a majority of American Jews, moved the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May, with the fiery evangelical pastors John Hagee and Robert Jeffress consecrating the ceremony.

PETER WOODRUFF. What Matters at the Show and in the Church.

I spent my childhood and youth in Tasmanian towns, never had any desire to live on a farm but always enjoyed going to what I knew as the show, which was in fact an agricultural show. The show offered two kinds of spectacles: what went on in the side-shows and what happened in the main arena.

GARRY EVERETT. A Legal Leap of Faith?

GARRY EVERETT. A Legal Leap of Faith? In the Weekend Australian (5/6 Jan.19), Professor Greg Graven wrote an article entitled Taking a Legal Leap of Faith. In essence it is an examination of the key issues involved in trying to legislate in the matter of religious freedom. This is a disappointing contribution.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB. Pope Francis comes out in support of Macron and Merkel in warning against the resurgence of Nationalism.

The Pope said the 'resurgence of nationalistic tendencies' is at odds with the 'vocation' of international bodies The Tablet 08 January 2019. Pope Francis leads an annual meeting to exchange greetings for the new year with diplomats accredited to the Holy See, at the Vatican Jan. 7. Photo: Pope Francis leads an annual meeting to exchange greetings for the new year with diplomats accredited to the Holy See, at the Vatican Jan. 7.

MARTYN LLOYD JONES, PAUL KOMESAROFF. Here's why doctors are backing pill testing at music festivals across Australia

For many years experts in the field of drug policy in Australia have known existing policies are failing. Crude messages (calls for total abstinence: just say no to drugs) and even cruder enforcement strategies (harsher penalties, criminalisation of drug users) have had no impact on the use of drugs or the extent of their harmful effects on the community.

STEWART FIRTH. China, Samoa and debt-for-equity swaps- East Asia Forum Jan. 3 2019

Last year, Australia discovered the debt owed to Chinese banks by Pacific island countries. As the debate over Chinas intentions in the region grew, commentators pointed to the possibility that Pacific countries might be compelled to accept debt-for-equity swaps if they could not repay. The port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka, where a Chinese company obtained a 99-year lease to run commercial operations in return for helping to pay the countrys debt, was the commonly raised example.

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