Politics
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A five-minute scroll
Al Jazeera has produced a documentary of graphic war crimes, academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi receives death threats after setting Sky News straight, reports that Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire before Nasrallah assassination, Jayson Gillham takes a stand against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, amd more war crimes. Our five-minute scroll on X. Continue reading »
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Israel’s ideology of genocide must be confronted and stopped
Israel’s violent extremists now in control of its government believe that Israel has the Biblical license, indeed a religious mandate, to destroy the Palestinian people. Continue reading »
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On nuclear weapons, how long will Australia continue to be out of step with its nearest neighbours?
Last week, Indonesia, our biggest and closest neighbour, deposited its instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN. This was a major international and regional development, a good-news story with a very positive impact on international security, but we’ve heard virtually nothing about it from our government Continue reading »
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The ‘Haredisation’ of Israel and its demographic future: Is there a case for ringing alarm bells?
“Haredim, not Arabs or Iran, are the biggest threat to Israel’, Dan Perry, 2021 Continue reading »
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Why I can’t celebrate the Jewish new year
I am a cultural Jew because I am an atheist. I cannot celebrate the Jewish New Year because of the continuing horror in Gaza, and now in Lebanon. Continue reading »
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The ABC’s racism review is scathing. Can Aunty find the strength of character to properly address it?
I am writing this because no one at the ABC — whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest — has uttered one word of public support. Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I don’t hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure. Continue reading »
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Lowy’s dangerous fantasy of a stable bipolar Asia
Lowy’s fudge doesn’t work – Australia has to choose between peace with China or following the US towards war. Continue reading »
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Beijing’s big policy shift signals new approach to state-market ties
Much more than a cyclical adjustment, Beijing’s latest policy shift marks a milestone in the history of its economic management. Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
In our five-minute scroll on X: Julian Assange recognised as a political prisoner; shameful, divisive western media commentary; Iran strikes Israel’s most secure air base; Russian carpet bombs in Volchansk; Malcolm Turnbull speaks his mind on Peter Dutton, and Hong Kong anti-China groups awash with mystery cash. Continue reading »
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Sheridan wrong on Wong
Greg Sheridan is doubtless now too long in the tooth to change his journalistic ways. But it really is time that he recognised the force of that immortal observation by Shakespeare’s contemporary, Francis Bacon, that ‘Speaking in perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but love’. Continue reading »
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The Earth is sick – and getting sicker
Planet Earth is sick – and getting sicker, according to a new Planetary Health Check. Continue reading »
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High noon on the Korean Peninsula
As a return visitor to the beautiful, lively and fascinating city of Seoul, I am beginning to learn something about the way South Korean people think about their future and their complex relationships with both neighbours and allies. Continue reading »
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Who’s next on Israel’s destruction list?
“Defence” is a red herring rotting under the heat of war Continue reading »
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“Terrorism” by the weak versus the high technology violence of the strong
Perhaps the only intellectually honest and globally workable definition of “terrorism” is an explicitly subjective one—“violence which I don’t support.” Continue reading »
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Do we need universities?
Australian universities are starved of funds and forced to operate as commercial entities focused on profit, not the pursuit of knowledge. Continue reading »
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Assange: ‘My naivete was believing in the Law’
Read all of Julian Assange’s remarks, including Q&A, in Strasbourg Tuesday morning, on the plea deal, WikiLeaks work, the Espionage Act, the C.I.A.’s retribution and more. Continue reading »
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The impact of China’s rising soft power
A recent article in the US journal Foreign Affairs, written by Daniel Mattingly of Yale University argues persuasively that: “China’s Soft Sell of Autocracy is Working”. One reason is that China’s soft power today relies on an unmatched performance scorecard. Continue reading »
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The United Nations pact for the future: progress or pablum?
Within the UN, it is clear that member states need to find new or re-tooled diplomatic vehicles to advance progress on the broad disarmament agenda. Continue reading »
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Is this how western media would report Netanyahu’s killing by Hezbollah?
Western journalists claim to report the news objectively and fairly. If they really did, this is what coverage of Netanyahu’s assassination might look like… Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
Today our five-minute scroll on X was filled with Julian Assange’s first public appearance before the PACE hearing, a parliamentary hearing on his detention and conviction on 1 October 2024. Continue reading »
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Palestinian refugees in Lebanon: bombed to death, yet again by Israel
Innocent citizens in Gaza (80 % of whom are refugees), the West Bank, Lebanon and Yemen are being blown to bits in horrific numbers. But it is Palestinian refugees across the region who have been the principal target of this horrific war machine for over 76 years. Continue reading »
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How should Australia respond as Israel provokes war?
It surely behoves our government to stand up to the Israel lobby and the Christian Zionists. The big war that Netanyahu wants would be catastrophic for the peoples of the world. It would cost the lives of ADF personnel and have a serious detrimental impact on our economy… Continue reading »
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Alice in the Australian Wonderland as government demonises victims of terrorism
The context to my article below is today’s extreme media, and Dutton’s and the Albanese government’s hysteria regarding the appearance of the Hezbollah flag at this week’s protest against the Gazan genocide and bombing of Beirut in Melbourne. Continue reading »
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The challenge of nuclear weapons to the UN Security Council: Adapt or Die
The United Nations is the biggest incubator of global norms to govern the world and the vital core of the rules-based global multilateral order. Four parts of the UN system have complementary roles in efforts to regulate and eliminate nuclear weapons. Continue reading »
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Will the iron ore bonanza be repeated with “green” steel?
Iron ore has underpinned Australia’s prosperity. Gas and coal exports are bound to fall as market countries cut their carbon emissions. Can we build our future on “green” steel? Continue reading »
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Australia’s school system: losing common ground
The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose from off the common; but leaves the greater villain loose who steals the common from the goose. Continue reading »
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Supermarket pirates: The Coles-Woolworths racket
There are few economies on the planet more concentrated in terms of vital services and markets than Australia. The players and actors are few and far between, be they in banking, insurance, supermarkets, the media or the aviation market. Continue reading »
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Tasmanian Holocaust Centre must reflect the horror of genocide in Palestine
In the past 5 years both the Morrison and Albanese governments have provided funding to enable each state and territory to build, or expand on an existing, Holocaust museums or education centres. The Tasmanian government announced last year it had secured $2m in Commonwealth funding to build a centre at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Continue reading »
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Chinese economists were pleading for government action
Ren Zeping’s almost frantic call one week ahead of Beijing’s dramatic loosening of monetary policy. Continue reading »
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Nasrallah is dead but Bibi hasn’t won
Many people now mourn Nasrallah’s death, in Lebanon and elsewhere, but Hezbollah’s existence is nowhere near in question. Continue reading »
