International relations
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Trump’s quick deal with Putin could reshape the global order
Did anyone pay attention? If he wins, Donald Trump says he will bring about the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine between his election and inauguration, a period of about eleven weeks. In so doing, Trump might just destabilise the West and reshape the global order. Continue reading »
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Australia: a very fine example of the ultimate vassal state
Australia currently has a Labor-Coalition political class which is committed to serving the interests of the United States as its highest priority, and within that frame the most significant conflicts that exist internally between the main factions of that class, Labor and Liberal — party labels which bear no relationship to the meaning of “labour” Continue reading »
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A solution in Ukraine?
There must be a negotiated end to the Ukraine War. The alternative is nuclear armageddon. Continue reading »
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For a pacific Pacific: thoughts about how to promote peace
Naval and air standoffs, sabre-rattling and accusations of underhand dealings are heightening tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and causing a security dilemma. It does not have to be like this. Diplomacy and referral to international dispute resolution mechanisms can make a difference. Continue reading »
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Antisemitism tangle: Can ridicule depict reality?
Current responses to the Gaza “war” would seem to suggest that antisemitism is the priority issue, not the unending slaughter of Palestinians. Continue reading »
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Aiding and abetting and war crimes
The participation of four Israeli arms companies in the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition in Melbourne is a clear instance of the Australian Government aiding and abetting the commission of an ongoing war crime in Gaza. Continue reading »
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A foul formula: Zionism x Appeasement = Genocide
The capitulation by seemingly intelligent and decent-minded national leaders to the Holocaust Industry’s relentless campaign to validate any action by Israel in the current conflict in Palestine is seriously affecting the political landscape. It seems that the leaders of “the Western World” have learned nothing from nearly a century of calamitous events. Continue reading »
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The defence of self-defence
The self-defence trope used to characterise Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza Continue reading »
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Avoiding an ‘exclusion’ disaster in the Pacific – a different lesson from Ukraine
The most senior US officials, including President Joe Biden himself, refer to US alliances with individual or groups of countries in the Indo-Pacific as benign and defensive in nature. These references contrast with warnings about the possible “knock-on” effect of a Russian victory in Ukraine which, it is said, could encourage China to seek to Continue reading »
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Palestine defines us
The citizenry of past nations engaged in genocide woke up each morning focused on their challenges of everyday life, not those of the people their rulers were butchering. The victims may have been across continents or within the same population, and so awareness of the slaughter varied, but propaganda and dehumanisation were the ever-present balm Continue reading »
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Why we’re still at war with terror
The talented comic song-writer Tom Lehrer, from a family of secular Jewish New Yorkers, complained during the Vietnam war that nothing was funny any more. He would agree now about the war in Gaza. Continue reading »
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The United Nations and states, individually and collectively, are responsible for Palestine and Israel
The United Nations General Assembly commences its 79th session this week. The session continues until the end of the year. Among other things, at this session the GA will respond to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Continue reading »
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The deputy sheriff rides again
In recent days, Australia’s ‘”deputy Sheriff” role has been on full display again in our foreign policy. The prime minister’s extraordinary gaff at the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum, when caught out joshing along with US Deputy Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, would have been noted not just among Pacific Island leaders, who would be entitled Continue reading »
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The long arc of India-Russia relations
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia on 8 and 9 July and embraced President Vladimir Putin. The outcome of the visit included mutually beneficial substantive agreements, but damaged India’s reputation in the West at a time when President Joe Biden hosted the NATO summit in Washington. The BBC featured an analysis under the title Continue reading »
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Australia’s collaboration with Israel’s genocide
Republished from DECLASSIFIED AUSTRALIA, September 03, 2024 FOI document releases show that behind the press releases and statements of concern, lie the facts of the Australian Government’s knowing support for some of the gravest human rights crimes of the century. Continue reading »
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The loss of global influence by the United States is China’s gain
The world doesn’t see an “indispensable nation” in America, only one that is ‘dysfunctional at home and pursuing naked self-interest abroad’ Continue reading »
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Are the people of Israel really the chosen people?
What is the point of the International rule book of law and order? What is the point of UN treaties and conventions if justice is only dealt out to the chosen few? Why are they chosen and who chooses them? Continue reading »
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The democracy metanarrative
In its strategic competition with Russia and China, the United States has constructed a metanarrative based on democracy versus authoritarianism (i.e. good versus evil). Continue reading »
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UN expert says impunity for Israel must end as ‘Genocidal Violence’ spreads to West Bank
“Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement, and territorial expansion,” said United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Continue reading »
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The US made the Dutch an offer they couldn’t refuse
Hold on to your mobile phones, civilians, this is gonna get rough. If you thought the Sopranos and Corleones were intimidating, check this out. Continue reading »
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Pope takes refugee concerns on the road
Pope Francis’ milestone tour from 2-13 September includes Papua New Guinea, the nation that has long hosted the largest number of refugees in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Indonesia, the country from which those asylum seekers fled. Continue reading »
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AUKUS could be the biggest Ponzi scheme in history
Much of the angst being generated by the worst foreign policy decision since joining the American invasion of Vietnam may well be misplaced. Continue reading »
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Gaza happened because we forgot Korea
History didn’t start on 7 October. True that. To get a deeper sense of why the shocking destruction in Gaza is happening, we have to revive the forgotten war that the US waged against North Korea in the 1950s. In many ways, it was the template for all that followed. Continue reading »
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PNG’s sustainability rests on funding people, not elites
Political and economic pressures are rising in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with escalating social tensions suggesting a need for focused regional support. Critics argue that given ongoing civil unrest, political instability with Rainbo Paita’s challenge to Prime Minister James Marape and substantial economic challenges such as a stagnating minimum wage and increasing poverty, financial aid Continue reading »
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Rewriting history will not serve Australia well
China has never expressed aggressive intentions towards Taiwan, it has repeatedly maintained it is prepared to wait, but will never rule out force to defend Taiwan Continue reading »
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Indonesia: going for gold
Australia and Indonesia are to have new defence cooperation agreement. A big deal for a government whose foreign policy is repeatedly trumped by defence; less of a deal for our northern neighbour which, like us, looks north for its prosperity and security. Continue reading »
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The plight of the Iranian people
Given the growing likelihood of the Gaza maelstrom moving on to a direct military confrontation between the US and Iran, the epic plight of the Iranian people should not be overlooked – a plight which Britain and the Americans instigated back in the 1950s with the removal of their democratic rights and in which hopes Continue reading »
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What happened to the surfers in Gaza?
Sometime in 2016 , soon after I’d joined the Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine, a group of us visited the then premier of New South Wales in his Manly electorate office. Continue reading »
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Advocates for nuclear power should heed the lessons from Kursk
On 22 August, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned of the deadly effect a military attack on Russia’s nuclear power complex at Kursk would have on civilian communities in Russia, Ukraine and potentially across Europe. He had previously warned of the consequences of such attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear reactors at Zaporizhzhia. Continue reading »
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Ukraine, Russia and the West
It would be fairly uncontroversial to describe Ukraine’s recent military advance into Russia’s Kursk region as a deliberate provocation. Kyiv’s claim that it was intended chiefly to prod Moscow towards a negotiated peace, if true, appears to ignore Vladimir Putin’s tendency to stick to his guns in the face of embarrassments. Continue reading »