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US Demands China stop Supplying Russia in Ukraine

“US Secretary of state visits China and demands the Chinese stop supplying Russia arms for their war in the Ukraine” as reported on SBS world news . I wonder how it would be reported If the Chinese Secretary of state went to the USA and demanded that the US stop supply Israel weapons for use in the Palestine genocide - I wonder how the US would react?

An eminence grise in his own lunchtime

Finally got to view the Sarah Ferguson / Mike Pezullo interview. Jack Waterford treated Pezullo more kindly than he deserves; it is really very hard to see Pezullo as any more than a Dodgy Brothers plastic statuette of Arthur Tange. Kissinger redux he might think of himself but he's only about $0.30 in the $ there.

Measures That Matter, Matter

Our politics seem still dominated by short-term thinking – the result of our short federal election cycle. Chelsea Hunnicutt’s call to remind the Treasurer about his promised Measures That Matter is welcome. Short-term policy to provide short-term benefits is really just a more sophisticated form of pork barrelling. This Labor government needs to raise its vision above the daily fray, to demonstrate that it has some vision of the world that lies well beyond the next election. We have a moral responsibility to provide a secure world for future generations. The great majority of voters have a vested interest...

Israel's historical mythology and Arab Jews

Dear Jeff Kildea I agree wholly with the gist and thrust of your article. However, I must take you up on an aspect of Israel's historical Mythology - namely that the Arab Jews were 'kicked out' of the lands they had lived in for several generations - the largest population of Jews in the world in ad 750 lived in Iran, and in 1948 there were 150,000 in Tehran alone. There are still over 8000 living there. The gist of my proof comes from Israelis I have known - one, Ed Marcus, who along with his brother...

Corals warn humanity to speed energy transition

I am very much afraid that climate expert Julian Cribb is correct that the world's corals are in deep trouble due to fossil fuel emissions bleaching them; so in effect they are warning us: The corals are telling us our time on Earth may well be up, if we do not heed the warnings they provide. That is, are humans intelligent enough to survive... or not? (Coral catastrophe signals our own undoing, P&I, Apr 19, 2024). Why on Earth can't all fossil fuel companies simply accord with the very critical climate science and reform fast to making their profits...

Cautious Terrorism

Gareth Evans writes of Australia being 'the latest of formerly cautious countries' now wanting statehood for Palestine. 'Cautious' is not the word I would use for the shameful conduct of Australia in condoning genocide by the Israeli government and IDF top brass. Australia supports state-sanctioned terrorism by supplying ADF personnel and war machines and parts to help Israel murder yet more Gazan women and children. It's hard for me to condemn Hamas for defending Gazan rights for oppressed people while our 'cautious' politicians bury their heads in the sand to not see or hear the cries of...

SEZs are the answer

While the above article uses the Korean model of industrial development, the elephant on the page is China which is by far the most relevant and current example of how industrial development can happen successfully led by Government. Ironically, the To Boldly Go article features the Australian proposed legislation “Future Made in Australia” which more resembles Made in China 2025 than Korean. Special Economic Zones can be owned and controlled by Government where Australian private enterprises (not foreign multinationals) can manufacture exclusively for export thereby not distorting the domestic market . As such each SEZ can specialise and...

Labor has left the building

Given Labor's stance on Gaza and AUKUS, I can no longer preference them when I vote. This means in the next federal election I'll probably squander my vote as my electorate is safe Labor, and I'll never preference the Libs. For the next state election though, we have the best voting system of optional preferential voting so the equally disappointing Minns government will miss out. It's galling that Labor seems to think it can move so far to the right and we just have to suck it up.

Palestinian state

It seems one of the major arguments against the recognition of a Palestinian State is the borders of such a State have not been agreed to. Surely, then, this is also true of Israel. Logic would suggest we should immediately refuse to recognise the State of Israel.

We trust truth over 'news as entertainment'

Ranald McDonald’s selectivity is confounding. He implores Australian media to defend free speech and encourage honesty. Yet he agrees that under the scrutiny of a court of law, our media was found to be truthful to its readership (in the successful “truth’ defences in two recent attacks on press reliability: Ben Roberts Smith and Bruce Luhrmann), nevertheless he still encourages us to copy America and change our constitution to protect freedom of speech; questionable when the US government just passed a bill denying free speech if Israeli interests are involved. Why doesn't he address the journalistic injustices of:...

Be both alert and alarmed

Time to be both alert and alarmed. The Great Barrier Reef is facing its fourth mass bleaching. Deteriorating oceanic conditions presage further damage. Reefs globally are facing the same existential threat. Should they die, many species which depend on these reefs will follow; our environment will experience cascading extinctions. While climate change denial may have reduced in recent years, its stable-mate - climate action procrastination - is thriving. Our government makes such gestures to control carbon emissions as it can negotiate with, among others, the fossil fuel industry. Government talks up its actions, but they remain insufficient for the...

Recognising Palestine

Larry Stillman's argument for recognising Palestine as a first step to peace in the region, with which I largely agree, includes one possible scenario involving a condominium. This brought to mind the condominium established by France and Great Britain in the then New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, in 1906, lasting to independence in 1980. Those who lived through it usually referred to it as the pandemonium. The aftermath of the chaos was still evident when I lived there in the early 1990s, and it's hard to see how such an arrangement would work in a much more fraught...

Gender theory exists

Francis Sullivan, 'gender theory' exists. It is taught in universities (reference Judith Butler) and in schools. It is embraced by our governments, the public service, corporations and sporting bodies. Workers are afraid to criticise it for fear of losing their jobs. The mass media, including the ABC, censor criticism of it. In 2013 the government amended the Sex Discrimination Act to accord with it. Discrimination on the basis of sex was replaced by discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and the words 'sex', 'man' and 'woman' were deleted. The result is that people are not permitted to advertise...

We ARE part of the problem!

Larry Stillman and Harold Zwier write 'We urge the Australian government to maintain its support for Israel, for Palestine and a negotiated settlement to the conflict through recognition of Palestine'. Whilst few could argue with the substance of their joint article, the suggestion that the Australian government should 'maintain its support for Israel', given the acts of genocide currently being perpetuated by Israel, is a position that can't and shouldn't be justified, morally or politically. The only way to shift Netanyahu's and Israel's intransigent position, that Israel is and will forever remain the sole state, is for Australia...

We must stop mining fossil fuels.

Dr David Shearman has long campaigned to end fossil fuel mining in Australia. He is highly qualified and was a co-founder of Doctors for the Environment Australia in 2001. He quotes the scientific fact that For every thousand tonnes of fossil fuels mined, one person dies. This leads to the utterly abhorrent statistic of 540,000 deaths annually as a consequence of using fossil fuels. Obviously it must not continue. However, at present gas in Australia is being hailed generally as a transitional fuel to the clean energy future. But Shearman describes it as damaging especially to children in...

Fossil fuel users can pollute in secret

All life on the surface of our planet shares a common atmosphere. Long lived pollutants injected into our atmosphere are shared with flora and fauna on the Earth’s surface, and potentially with water dwelling life. At this point in our planet’s history, the most important long lived pollutant is carbon dioxide, which not only stays in the biosphere for many many human generations, it also dissolves in oceans where it interferes with the chemistry of natural processes. Carbon dioxide is of course the primary driver of global heating. Almost all the carbon dioxide added to our atmosphere in the...

The real battle to save NDIS is about people

The true failure of this NDIS Bill will be revealed in the likely extensive amendments . This misguided article fails to provide an analysis of real cost saving. Instead the rationing of NDIS supports could cause cost increases, due to serious health breakdown, compared to the disallowed $500 piece of equipment for independence costing years of a support worker. Reduced therapy could mean the difference between a future taxpayer or a lifetime on welfare. It is the incompetent NDIA and the not fit for purpose PACE IT system that is the real threat. It is shameful that the Agency...

We need to see what lobbyists do

Democracy should be government by the people, for the people. As John Menadue’s submission makes clear, what we have is too often government by vested interests in favour of vested interests. Coming from senior government and military positions, lobbyists may be better informed than politicians and staffers; they may be better connected. Lobbyists outnumber those in government, and their numbers are growing. There is no visibility for who they lobby, when, about what. They are credited with resisting essential reforms for our climate, our environment, our tax system and more. They are clearly a cost-effective investment for the interests...

The only planet

I'm never sure if you lift me up with your spot-on cartoons but you certainly keep me alive and kicking!

Nuclear Smoke and Fossil Fuel Mirrors

I do not believe there is any real conviction in the Liberal's policy of going down the nuclear path for Australia's base load. It is being done deliberately though. It is being put out there to further stifle any hope, in the short term, of a unilateral will in the Australian government to adopt a fast renewable energy transition. Where does it originate from? Considering the political, corporate and media interests promoting this faux policy, you need look no further than the fossil fuel industry. They are the rabbits digging the rabbit hole. This deliberate talking...

The whisper of an eternity beyond

And yet in all our hearts, that single entity doing good, there is the whisper of an eternity beyond what is too much blood and bone and ‘rubbles’ and grief and infant death. Palestine has shown us, there is more that unites us than our leaders who divide us and it is eternal and unyielding. Take heart Mr Leunig, we do. Link X

Shame on Labor

This is especially relevant given the role of Dr H. V. Evatt as both a Labor leader and UN president. One has to wonder what this eminent figure in both Australian and world history would think if he were alive to witness the flaccid and gutless response, by the current federal ALP administration, to war crimes currently being perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Indeed, is there any such thing as an independent Australian position? A position that acknowledges that deliberate targeting of women, children, the vulnerable in medical care, the elderly, NGOs, and...

Infinite growth equals infinite stupidity

Imagine a goldfish bowl with one fish in it. Along comes an economist with a theory that the bowl can hold an infinite number of fish provided it is managed correctly. The aquarium manager embraces this concept with glee and greed because more fish means more money and worldly goods. A filtration system is installed and the citizens hail the wonders of science. Four fish now live comfortably in a space that previously only housed one. The tank is cleaned out daily, the fish are fed a special diet of high nutrient but non-polluting food, an aeration...

Albanese and killing of Zomi Frankcom

On face value, it is appalling that it takes the death of an Australian to prompt Albanese and Wong to stand up to Israel when the massacre of 32000 Palestinians fails to do so. Perhaps however, Albanese is cognisant of similarities between two countries in that they both have settler colonial origins. Both have histories of oppressing and trying to wipe out the original inhabitants. The referendum on the indigenous voice just one week after the Hamas attack, saw to this country’s shame, 60% of Australians rebuff the opportunity to accept what was done to First Nations people...

One State: The Only Future for Palestine - Israel

Indeed, given that Zionism has always seen the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland as a key objective, one could say that the two state solution has always been a fraud. Kanck’s suggestion of a one state solution has merit and is, as she has said, the only way out of this intolerable mess. Readers of P&I who would like to explore this idea could do no better than to pick up a copy of Ghada Karmi’s “One State: The Only Democratic Solution for Palestine – Israel” published in 2023 by Pluto Press. Born in Jerusalem in 1939, Karmi...

First they came for Palestine

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. —Martin Niemöller First they came for the mosques and I did not speak out because I am a christian

The fragility of existence

Peter Sainsbury (Environment: Australia publishes its first Climate Risk Assessment, 7/4) once again challenges us to look climate change in the face. Australia is vulnerable in many ways, not least to high temperatures and heat waves. According to the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience reports In Australia, “heatwaves are more deadly than any other natural hazard and predicted to increase in frequency and intensity as a result of climate change”. The Lancet medical journal last year reported that heat-related illnesses and deaths “are rising as the world warms, and forecasts “a 370% surge in yearly heat deaths by mid-century if...

Arrogance and Absolute Lies

It has been obvious from the start of this whole dreadful mess that the Israeli government and the IDF have lied blatantly and with contemptuous arrogance for the intelligence of the rest of the world. I have been copied in to communiques from some senior ex-IDF personnel and other highly-ranked Israelis that shows clearly that these lies are also being perpetrated by Netanyahu and the IDF top command on to its populace via manipulation / cenorship / physical force and even murder of media resources. Over many years, the world agonised about whether the average German citizen truly realised...

Population - an insidious problem

Michael Keatings perfunctory dismissal of population growth not having any bearing on housing is incorrect. Overpopulation is an insidious problem, its the main driver of war, climate change, famine, homelessness, &c. The global population of over 8 billion people is consuming more than 1.8 times the resources of the planet. While the Australian landmass may seem vast to many, the resource that constrains population growth among others is water. Despite Australias wet summer, Australians are using more water than can be replenished as ground water supplies slowly diminish. The transition to a fully renewable energy regime will take...

Shameful oil and gas realities

In an era of accelerating global heating it is vital to shine a light on the oil and gas industry (Environment: Oil and gas making massive profits now but stormy waters ahead, Pearls and Irritations, 17/3). Despite the International Energy Agency clearly stating back in 2021 that there is no need for any new investment in fossil fuels, gas and oil production is still expanding. That energy export companies who produce oil and gas contribute just one per cent of global clean energy investment shows where the priorities of these companies remain. Although both dire climate predictions and economics point...

Deaths in Gaza and Ukraine

Peter Rodgers writes in the above article that the UN states 10,582 Ukrainian civilians were killed in the two-year period to February 2024, while barely six months into the Gaza war 31,000 plus Palestinians have died at the hands of the IDF (which includes a disputed number of Hamas fighters). The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is horrific, but this comparison is incorrect and diminishes the impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The U.N. has stated several times that its figure of verified deaths is just the tip of the iceberg because Russia has not allowed...

Unity of Life

We will not find God and transcendence in a cynically consumerist and secularist world, and not in the insipid, self-engrossed church. When Stan clearly relates First Nations beliefs with Christianity and he speaks about meeting hatred with love, he is speaking the truth. My people can teach the world to love Dont mistake our love for weakness, it is our strength. In Christ we are called to love each other, there is no colour, sex, slavery, all Christians are equal parts of the body of Christ in the world. If Christians are alive to God, they will remember why we...

Wow!

What Anna said!

Can Tanya Plibersek give us a sustainable future?

First Nations peoples nurtured their environment as it nurtured them. Colonists came to exploit a new resource, giving little thought to sustainability. Colonialism brought capitalism in its wake, depleting our resources of land and sea through whaling, mining and farming. This attitude may have moderated in recent times, but the capitalist compulsion still holds sway. Our environment has been degraded to the point where many species risk extinction, and we emit far more carbon than our environment can absorb. Graeme Samuels report describes clearly the dangerous position this leaves us in. David Shearman highlights that we are living with...

Security Council needs to back up its resolution

The Security Council has the powers under Article 42 of the UN Charter to ask countries to contribute to an armed force to enforce the ceasefire. It should use it if there is not prompt compliance with the resolution by both Israel and Hamas.

Tony Abbott and news corp

A well needed reminder. Tony Abbott nominated to Fox Corporation board of directors. (SMH 6 months ago). We need to remind Australian readers of this enormous bias and travesty of our free press

So Ashamed

We are not a country of a fair go as long as our government refuses to think for itself about the situation in Gaza and Palestine as a whole. There is no possible acceptable rationale for the settlements in the West Bank or for the horrifying wholesale suffering inflicted on Gaza in the name of 'self defence'.

U.S. ENTRAPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

We still see ourselves as an appendage of the Anglosphere entrapped in South East Asia with Asians, especially the Chinese, coveting our Continent. We are still obsessed with the fear of encroaching Yellow Peril-itis. The response to this irrational view of ourselves and of our neighbours has led our leaders to hysterically cling to; initially Great Britain, which as the fall of Singapore exposed was not Great anymore, to then equally hysterically, to the apron strings of the U.S. Our blinkered leaders on both sides of politics continue by surrendering our sovereignty to the Americans, in pursuit of America's...

Why does my tax fund discrimination?

The always worth reading Jack Waterford says: 'In the modern era, schools and other church social services are heavily funded by the state. [...] But when ... they take the government dollar (and could not continue without it) they have less right to complain if the state insists that they conform to the ordinary laws of the nation.' It isn't just the government's dollar, it's all taxpayers' dollars, my dollar! I object enormously to the tax I pay funding discrimination based on some people's 'beliefs' - well, based on anything but especially unsubstantiated 'beliefs'. I believe in the tooth...

We can see the future, and it's bleak.

Julian Cribb joins the dots of the challenges that humanity is facing. While there are many threats to life on our over-burdened, under-protected planet, they could each be managed by an intelligent species prepared to see and accept the reality that each presents. As Cribb notes, this capacity is being forever undermined by those with the wealth and power to tell the people that these claims of risk are exaggerated or wrong; that everyone should just continue either to live as they like to now, or at most make modest changes to their lifestyles as if any gesture of...

The Australian threat analysis may be faulty

Australia seems to be perceiving a threat to its territorial integrity but without any major strategic threat to itself from any of the neighbours. Does Australia have any unsolvable threat such as territorial claims from any of its neighbours or regional countries? There are no evidence of any such dispute. Yes, there are a few issues relating to trade, mostly initiated by Australia. Consequently, China had blocked import some of Australian agricultural products. Australia for some unknown reasons has entered the US-China competition in the Solomon Islands and the other Pacific islands. Australia siding with US would...

Please, please, please ...

Please, please, please let us exit from AUKUS as soon as possible. I don't know a single person who thinks it's a good idea or even believes it could ever happen. I anticipate a massive vote for Independents in the next election.

Understanding (some/most) Jewish people

The Jewish film Israelism shows how Jewish children in the US are educated to see Israel as the enemy. They are given talking points to answer criticisms of Israel but no history to give them understanding. This film shows some young Jewish people who, after visiting Israel, sometimes serving in the IDF, began to unravel when what they learned didn't match the reality they saw and experienced. Some referred to it as being lied to. They now support Palestinians. Highly recommended for all non-Jewish people, especially those who support Palestine, to enhance understanding of the Jewish mind-set when it...

Is Susan Abulhawa's story a fair assessment?

I have long believed that the treatment of the Palestinian People has been unfair, frankly outrageous. So I am naturally someone who would be sympathetic to the opinions in Ms Abulhawa's article. Given its headline, I expected it to be partisan and that's OK provided it's based in facts and reasonable interpretations of what is happening. Of course Ms Abulhawa, who has friends and relatives in Gaza, is disgusted by what is being done there by the Israel Defence Force. But as I read the article, I began to wonder about the author, and there is plenty to be...

Fear and Wrongdoing

Mother was a true thinker and always challenged the status quo. I had been musing on awful events in the world and what was behind them. She thought for a moment and then responded with one word. Fear. This struck a chord for me. Since then her insight has proven true. Fear is what makes good people do bad things. Knowing this often helps me focus not on the manifestation but the context of unacceptable behavior. As the Tao tells us, Ever desireless, one can see the mystery, ever desiring, one sees the manifestations. Our reaction to wrongdoing comes...

Old economist wakes up - better late than never

Well, bugger me, who would ever have thought that fluffy irrelevant concepts such as power, ethics, equity, human wellbeing, relationships, communities, social justice, long term consequences, contingency & multiple and multidirectional causality & different perspectives (systems thinking), and (surely not, this really is going too far) unions and worker-power might be important?? Some idiot will soon be promoting the idea that a sprinkling of humanity might not go amiss. Marx was an economist who was extremely well read in philosophy, history and sociology. Just saying, Angus. Heres an interesting exam question: 'Individuals and communities have additional obligations to...

Reflections on P&I

P&I is a splendid offering, and we should all pay tribute to the leadership of John Menadue and his editorial team. I have rarely stepped back from an article and not learnt something new. I find Ian McAuley's weekly wrap is an excellent snapshot of recent past events and prescient about future events (is that tautology?) - thoughtful and wide-ranging. Many thanks to you all and your contributors Kind Regards Erik

Albanese Must Lead Boldly

Ian Dunlop urges a green economy and reconsideration of a carbon price and asks PM to back them. Dunlop summarises his three main reasons: *the globe's increasing heat; *the consequent unliveable future; *Australia's first-ever climate-risk assessment reveals extreme conditions of lack of water and food et al. Dunlop concludes by directly asking, PM, do you have the vision and courage to inform the community about climate risk? If Albanese does, he must lead Australia boldly and fast with both policies.

HEU: ANCIENT WISDOM, MODERN LESSONS

On 15 March Pearls and Irritations published an article by Sue Wareham entitled AUKUS: risks, risks and more risks. The proposed AUKUS submarines, she declares, undermine efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons because they will be powered by weapons grade highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which is nuclear bomb fuel. HEU: Highly Enriched Uranium. Three letters casually typed into scientific or military reports anywhere in the world these days. But in fact the acronym would gain much valuable significance from one quick addition: a simple exclamation mark. HEU! Latin literature records that many a Roman gasped...

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