Politics
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Capitalism is the single greatest source of violence
What the present moment reveals, once again, is that Western aggression during the “Cold War” was never about destroying socialism, as such. It was about destroying movements and governments in the periphery that sought economic sovereignty. Why? Because economic sovereignty in the periphery threatens capital accumulation in the core. Continue reading »
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Why Australia needs a national folklife centre
Twelve months since the launch of the Albanese Government’s new cultural policy, REVIVE, it’s time we promoted Australia’s heritage of folklife. Continue reading »
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Lions lying down with the lambs
Rwanda is now a peaceful country which remembers each year, the awful genocide of 1994. People can blindly become killers if their leaders are successful in instilling enough fear into them. Learning from history is an antidote. Continue reading »
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‘National emergency’: Why Korean voters handed 192 seats to opposition parties
By stopping short of 200 seats, the electorate sent a message that both ruling and opposition lawmakers to make more use of dialogue and negotiation. Continue reading »
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China was never an imperialist state
During its long history, Chinese dynasties were as often the victims of outside aggression as they were invaders of foreign land. Continue reading »
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Why conventional economic theory is wrong about technological change
Society as a whole has a critical interest in the direction of technological innovation. This cannot be left uniquely to a limited group of capitalist bosses. Consultation with all the key interest groups and government regulation have a critical role to play in ensuring future economic growth and a fair go for all. Continue reading »
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The Belfast Good Friday Agreement – a model for Palestine?
The continuing horror in Gaza touches us all deeply, even if only vicariously. It leads us ineluctably to the question, often asked in exasperation: Is there no solution? But we’ve been here before and some point to the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement (BGFA), which ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as a possible model Continue reading »
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Marking 10 years of the Russo-Ukraine War
On February 28, 2022, four days after Russia had attacked into Ukraine, Moscow and Kiev began peace talks. Continue reading »
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Was the Covid-19 pandemic a ‘relatively mild pandemic’?
Recently, a former Prime Minister (who also once served as Health Minister) was quoted as declaring “the Morrison government’s Covid response as a ‘grotesque overreaction’ to a ‘relatively mild pandemic’”. Continue reading »
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Major acceleration in processing of asylum seekers
In the last three months, processing of primary level asylum seeker applications increased from 1,002 in December 2023; to 1,479 in January 2024 and 2,037 in February 2024 (see Chart 1). Continue reading »
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Departure of Justice Richard Refshauge: end of an era
It was a particularly technical legal point. The colleague was an experienced trial advocate with a case in which he felt there was a slim plot of fertile ground on which he might be able to appeal. But he just couldn’t quite work out how all the pieces might come together. Continue reading »
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As we approach the Federal budget, whatever happened to ‘Measuring What Matters’?
With the federal budget just over three weeks away, researcher Chelsea Hunnisett has some pointed questions for the Albanese Government, including: what happened to plans for a wellbeing economy, and where is your commitment to intergenerational investment for health and wellbeing? Hunnisett is a Laureate PhD Candidate and Government Relations Specialist in the Planetary Health Continue reading »
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The word retaliation needs to be broken open to see what’s hidden inside
Some time back I watched SBS’ ‘The Australian Wars’. It was, to many, a completely different viewpoint of settler colonialism, the impact of invasion, and the very legitimate defence of land by Australia’s indigenous native population. Continue reading »
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If the mainstream worldview was accurate, Gaza wouldn’t be burning
The destruction of Gaza proves the entire mainstream western worldview is bullshit, because if the mainstream western worldview was accurate, the destruction of Gaza would not be happening. Continue reading »
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UNRWA is facing a campaign to push it out of the occupied Palestinian territory
This is a time of seismic change in the Middle East. At the heart of this region, the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees – UNRWA – is a stabilising force. Today, an insidious campaign to end UNRWA’s operations is underway, with serious implications for international peace and security, says Philippe Lazzarini. Continue reading »
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‘To Boldly Go’—but not so far as to replace the private sector
The Government’s foreshadowed bill for a “Future Made in Australia” has been met with two very different kinds of response, one positive, welcoming the prospect of initiatives from the Government to support and promote investment in forward-leaning projects and the “industries of the future”, the other negative, saying that governments should stay out of private Continue reading »
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Environment: Expert calls Australia’s carbon offset scheme a scam
Australia’s carbon offset scheme costs a lot and captures almost no carbon but provides a fig leaf for continuing emissions. Technology-based Carbon Dioxide Removal is still a distant dream. Distributed energy resources can be the Swiss Army knife of the electricity system. Continue reading »
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The urgency of Palestinian statehood
It is time for Israel to recognize the force of the rapidly growing international movement to recognize Palestinian statehood, not as the final outcome of a political settlement but as a path to achieving it. Continue reading »
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Do we suppress authoritarians’ speech before they suppress us?
The global movement towards authoritarianism took a step forward this week, and faced an experiment in checking its infiltration. Continue reading »
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Pope fires warning shot to Church leaders who would defy Vatican II
The neo-traditionalists have been sent a clear message by Pope Francis that their dismissal of synodality, and their disruptive behaviour do violence to the very nature of the Church itself and thereby damage the Reign of God. Continue reading »
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“Fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit”: NZ should steer clear of AUKUS
I don’t want to appall the diplomats present by using a vulgarism, but Pillar two [of AUKUS] is fragrant methane-wrapped bullshit. Australia and New Zealand are beautifully placed to nurture and defend a different model of relationships between the prevailing power [the US] and the rising power [China]: A different approach from the one that Continue reading »
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A state of Palestine? Outrage as US backs perpetual occupation and oppression
Readers will recall my article of 16 April, The end of occupation: A state of Palestine at the UN. It advised of an anticipated vote in the Security Council on April 18. The Security Council was sitting in New York. Because of the time difference, that was early in the morning of 19 April in Continue reading »
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The National Defence Strategy – a fatal fault line in Australia’s security
Last Wednesday Defence Minister Richard Marles blustered his way through a speech and Q&A at the National Press Club. He presented the National Defence Strategy (NDS) to the nation – a document laden with the jargon of new defence priorities, AUKUS and a plan for our military to ‘project power’. Continue reading »
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The impact of AI on the labour market and equality
In future AI is the new technology which is likely to have the greatest impact on our economy and our society. But how AI is used and developed is a choice, and so far AI has been predominantly focused on continuing the emphasis on automation. To realise the full potential of AI and minimise its Continue reading »
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Terrorism is what I say it is
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less’. ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things’. ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s Continue reading »
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Dutton plays to his base while Albanese neglects his
Next month marks two years since the Albanese Government came to power on 22 May 2022, leaving just one year remaining for his government to implement its agenda. At this critical time, significant numbers of Labor Party members and supporters have found themselves thinking of his government in power as Liberal-lite. Continue reading »
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The Bishop
We must always condemn violence. There must be no tolerance for brutality, and we must take action to diminish violence whether it is tied to family violence, a chronic lack of support for crucial mental health work or to sectarianism. The stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on the weekend during his church service, days Continue reading »
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Morrison’s gone, but the stench of corruption hangs over the Liberal Party – Weekly Roundup
An industry policy in development, baby steps towards a carbon price, lessons for independent MPs who want to start a party, the virtue of working less. Read on for the weekly roundup of links to articles, podcasts, reports and other media on current economic and political issues. Continue reading »
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Joining AUKUS not in NZ’s national interest
Helen Clark, o how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister – the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory – gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held in Parliament’s old Legislative Chambers on April 18. Continue reading »
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What does China’s electric vehicle rise mean for the global market?
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi recently unveiled its first electric vehicle (EV), the SU7, igniting a spark of excitement. At the launch event, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun, whose vision includes creating “a dream car on a par with Porsche and Tesla,” said that from design to batteries, intelligent driving to cockpit controls, the SU7 Continue reading »