International relations
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Arab governments fiddle while Palestine burns
The Arab response to the unfolding Palestinian catastrophe has been underwhelming. Palestinian intellectuals, journalists, activists, and the wider Palestinian public have had no illusions as to what to expect of the US political and military elites. They did, however, expect more of Arab governments. Continue reading »
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First the CIA, now the US Dept of Justice, could take actions that would see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dead
Documents obtained under FOI applications have revealed a worrying side to official Australian efforts regarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Continue reading »
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Hebron and links to today’s far right Israeli politics
In July last year I went on a study tour to Palestine with the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN). I witnessed apartheid but also resilience and resistance. I met with Palestinian and Israeli women and men dedicated to a just outcome for Palestinians. Unlike our Western politicians they were ‘walking the talk’. Continue reading »
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USUKA: The hidden history of AUKUS
The Australian Citizens Party (ACP) have written to the National Anti- Corruption Commission (NACC), asking them to investigate former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to join private companies who will profit from the massive defence expenditure resulting from Morrison’s decision to establish AUKUS — a decision the ACP characterised as “extraordinary, unilateral and secretive”. Dr Continue reading »
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‘Devastating’: wife of imprisoned journalist Julian Assange mourns death of Alexei Navalny
“Navalny was an opposition figure, but his investigative journalism exposed the corruption of the ruling elites in Russia,” said Stella Assange. Continue reading »
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The moral world falls at the end game in Rafah
People in the West are Gaza-war weary. You see it in fewer reports, articles and commentary. It is an understandable by-product of the complicity-cum-impotence of Western civilisation in the face of Israeli barbarism. Continue reading »
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South Africa seeks ICJ emergency order to halt genocide in Rafah
South Africa has made an urgent request for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue emergency orders to prevent “large-scale killing, harm and destruction” from Israel’s imminent assault on Rafah. The ICJ, which is preparing to commence separate hearings on the legal status of Israeli occupation next week, has yet to respond. The world Continue reading »
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Silencing Francesca Albanese
It was with a sense of disgust rather than despair that I read in the Jerusalem Post this week: “‘Antisemitic’ UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese banned from Israel.” We’re being gas-lighted again and this is a chance to push back against the narrative that to support victims of Israel is to somehow be antisemitic. Continue reading »
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How the CIA destabilises the world
There are three basic problems with the CIA: its objectives, methods, and unaccountability. Its operational objectives are whatever the CIA or the President of the United States defines to be in the U.S. interest at a given time, irrespective of international law or U.S. law. Its methods are secretive and duplicitous. Its unaccountability means that Continue reading »
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Complicit: Victorian government’s secret Israeli Defence Ministry MOU sparks outrage
Last month, news bubbled that the Victorian State government had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Israeli Defence Ministry in December 2022. “As Australia’s advanced manufacturing capital, we are always exploring economic and trade opportunities for our state – especially those that create local jobs,” a government spokesperson stated in January. Continue reading »
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Deflect, distort, deny
In what world does a dominant state claim they have a right to defend themselves against those they have unethically, immorally and illegally imprisoned for decades, killed and persecuted without trial? Continue reading »
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Let them eat dirt
The final stage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, an orchestrated mass starvation, has begun. The international community does not intend to stop it. Continue reading »
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The US plan to kill more Ukrainians
Biden and Schumer’s proposed $61 billion for the Ukraine war will make no difference on the battlefield except to prolong the war, the tens of thousands of deaths, and the physical destruction of Ukraine. Continue reading »
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Biden re-elected could be the worst strategic outcome for Australia
It matters for Australia that Biden not be re-elected to the US presidency. A Trump administration might mean domestic chaos, violence, and division for the Republic, however, the danger is that Biden would be more likely to lead the world into catastrophic war. Another Trump imperium would be sadly the least worst, yet still terrible, Continue reading »
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Why Yang Hengjun should be released – he’s Walter Mitty not James Bond!
The standard media news bite is that Yang Hengjun is a Chinese born Australian pro-democracy writer who was unlawfully detained and now jailed for life in China. But the full story is murkier than that. Continue reading »
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Police debunk Pro-Israel NSW premier’s false “Gas the Jews” claim
A lie travels around the world before the truth puts on its boots. 120 days since the Australian Jewish Association AJA, alleged pro-Palestine, antiwar protesters chanted “Gas the Jews”, the truth arrives with boots and all. Continue reading »
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The Nord Stream Pipelines and the perils of containment
The sabotage in the Baltic Sea was the result of a long-standing US policy of driving a wedge between Russia and Western Europe. Continue reading »
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Hold the outrage
We need to be careful with the outrage over the sentencing of Yang Hengjun in China. Continue reading »
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Are Australian government ministers complicit in genocide?
The 26 January findings of the International Court of Justice relating to South Africa’s genocide claim against Israel, do not only have bearing on that state, but they trigger the obligation to prevent genocide required of all 153 state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, including Australia. Continue reading »
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The edge of war, our battle for truth
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell, 1984. Continue reading »
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The West has lost the will for peace
Détente would be good. Dialogue and diplomacy would be better. An end to US-led covert actions and cold wars would be better still. Continue reading »
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How to break free from slavish adherence to U.S. foreign policy
Current Australian defence policy involves close integration with the United States military in all areas, making an independent foreign policy impossible and ensuring Australia’s automatic involvement in US-instigated wars such as a war with China, our major trading partner. A policy of neutrality would free Australia from involvement in such disastrous military adventures and enable Continue reading »
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Australia’s stake in the coming U.S. presidential election
Those following the U.S. Republican presidential race will have noted from the voter polls that the issue of foreign affairs ranks amongst the lowest or is the lowest of the priority concerns that the American public sees as critical to themselves and their country. A variety of polls held before the recently concluded nomination battles Continue reading »
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When escalation means escalation
In one of the world’s poorest countries, Yemen, there is a tribe called the Houthis. Emanating from that tribe to lead a larger coalition of other tribes is a group which does not want to be ruled by a Western or Saudi backed puppet government, they are called Ansar Allah, which means Supporters of god. Continue reading »
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The state of Israel: A critical Swedish assessment
Around two decades ago, the Swedish writer, Henning Mankell, took an increasingly close interest in the wretched condition of Palestinians living under punishing Israeli domination. What he saw convinced him that Israel was maintaining an apartheid state very like those he had previously visited, at length, in Southern Africa. Continue reading »
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New Zealand goose-steps towards the moral abyss
With its decision to suspend or “pause” funding to the United Nation’s key organisation that is providing assistance to Gaza’s famished, desperate population, New Zealand could open itself up to a charge of participating in a genocide. Continue reading »
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Australia must not join the US in goading China to war
There is clear evidence that US efforts to build a coalition of allies in our region is directed at containing Chinese power and developing the capability to eventually confront the Chinese military. That scenario is a nightmare for Australia. We now find certain elements of a Labor government flirting with containment and confrontation with China Continue reading »
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Israel and Gaza: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Veterans of Middle East affairs say wryly that anyone who claims to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict has been misinformed. This paper reviews the complex and emotionally fraught history of the Conflict; looks at 10/7 and Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza in retaliation, and then speculates on possible pathways to the conflict’s resolution that could Continue reading »
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Letter from Damascus: The impact of sanctions
A Syrian friend in Damascus was commissioned to translate Bridge of Clay, a tender, beautiful novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. As it is not an easy novel for a Syrian who has never lived in Australia to translate, my friend and I have had quite a few WhatsApp calls to discuss tricky bits in Continue reading »
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Finding a way forward: A review of Australia’s relations with China
Let’s not reject forty years of cooperation and exchange with China. Australia has greatly benefitted from trade, investment, cultural exchange and collaboration over these decades. Now, as the United States and Europe threaten to raise tariffs, erect barriers to exchanges and prioritise security concerns, it is time to remember when we espoused multilateralism and openness. Continue reading »