Politics
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The West now wants ‘restraint’- after months of fuelling a genocide in Gaza
The Middle East is on the brink of war precisely because western politicians indulged for decades every military excess by Israel. Continue reading »
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Australia’s leadership is destroying the very fabric of this country
Some days I wake up and don’t recognise the country we have become. It is not the country I grew up in. It is not a country I can be proud of. It is not a country that has a bright future under current leadership. Continue reading »
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Podcast: Herzl’s Nightmare — one land, two peoples
Paul Collins interviews former Australian Ambassador to Israel, Peter Rodgers, on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Zionist movement and the creation of the Israeli state, and the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Continue reading »
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Intervention to stop genocide: From investigative reporting to freedom flotillas
The leader of South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance insists that the ruling of the International Court of Justice ‘requires the whole world to play their part to stop genocide unfolding in Gaza.’ Continue reading »
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Why does Australia want to be so suicidal?
Australian leadership is no longer an embarrassment at UNFCCC COPs. Nonetheless, Australia’s participation in the fossil fuel industry, including through new projects, is not putting us on the fastest path to net zero. Will we miss our “brief and rapidly closing window” to secure a liveable future? Continue reading »
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Responding to tragedy
Much has already been said and written about the recent tragic stabbings at Bondi Junction. Daily, we are also exposed to stories about the ravages of war, hopefully neither suppressing nor being overwhelmed by them. As a funeral celebrant, I am familiar with, but never complacent about death and suffering – indeed, it is a Continue reading »
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A new 60-day prescription policy may halve your visits to the GP and pharmacy
The changes will be particularly helpful for women living with conditions including epilepsy, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases and more. Continue reading »
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Modi will win again. But India may well end up the loser
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to win a third consecutive term in office in general elections in which voting begins on April 19 and runs over seven days. Continue reading »
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“Seamless integration”: Japan to become sub-contractor for US aggression towards China
‘New era for alliance’ headlined the right wing Japan Times after the Japan-US summit talks in Washington this week between President Biden and Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida.. But not everyone was so enthused. Continue reading »
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The notion of China as “uninvestable” is simply wrong
Despite challenges, including the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and structural concerns, voices from within the business community underscore a robust economic outlook. Continue reading »
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Pope Francis has abandoned transgender Catholics
In a recent official Declaration on Human Dignity, Dignitas Infinita, the Pope has endorsed a document that effectively outlaws sex change for transgender Catholics. The Declaration is both harsh and unrelenting in its tone, dismissive of new science and judgemental of those Catholics who in good faith make life choices contrary to the edicts of Continue reading »
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The end of occupation: A state of Palestine at the UN
UNSC approval of the application for Palestine to become a full UN member state this week would necessarily lead to the end of the occupation. One UN member state cannot occupy the land of another. In the present circumstances, a US veto of Palestinian statehood would make America look ridiculous. It would be seen as Continue reading »
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Lest We Forget: Japan joining AUKUS a stark reminder of China’s Century of Humiliation
With the addition of Japan, AUKUS ceases to be a device to supply nuclear powered submarines to Australia several decades in the future but a stark reminder of the oppressive powers that abused Chinese sovereignty in the 19th and 20th centuries. Continue reading »
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Over Dutton now looms the spectre of a quick trip to Government House
By mid-May, Budget time, the Albanese government will be a week short of two years in power. Albanese is moving into the zone where he could confidently approach the Governor-General, new or old, for an early election, perhaps as early as July, unexceptionably in October or November. Continue reading »
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How many more tragedies? Sydney siders in disbelief as they lay flowers
Our society is failing the seriously mentally ill. Continue reading »
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XR blocking arteries of capitalism labelled “catastrophic inconvenience”
One month ago, three Extinction Rebellion protesters led by Deana ‘Violet’ Coco blocked the Westgate Bridge to deliver a desperate plea to all Australians. ‘Climate Breakdown has Begun.’ Continue reading »
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Tasmanian politics and the Lambie train-wreck
Jacqui Lambie tried to turn her idiosyncratic brand into a sort-of-party. But, like so many of those arrangements before, it’s quickly falling apart. Continue reading »
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Ok, Allah, we passed your test
There are five major and hundreds of minor religions in the world. But don’t worry – yours is the right one. – Anon Continue reading »
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Shielding the dollar by bashing China
Ian Bremner argues convincingly that the American Dollar remains embedded as the global reserve currency since: “you can’t replace something with nothing”. Nevertheless, intensifying US misuse and abuse of the dollar’s standing has expanded the worldwide search for one or more “alternative somethings”. Now an intriguing argument has been advanced that a central reason Western Continue reading »
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US declines Israel’s invitation to start WW3 (for now)
Iran has carried out its long-promised retaliation for Israel’s attack on its consulate building in Damascus, launching a massive barrage of drones and missiles which it claims hit and destroyed Israeli military targets, while Israel says they dealt only superficial damage with a few injuries. The US and its allies reportedly helped shoot down a Continue reading »
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Western powers never believed in a rules-based order
Liberal democracies remain shamefully complicit with Israel, despite its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. Continue reading »
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Access, undue influence and the Constitution
The sponsored pass system for lobbyists to access Parliament House opens the door to undue influence and potentially corrupt behaviour. Facilitating such opportunities is both unwise and inappropriate. Continue reading »
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Western misinformation and the so-called Xinjiang genocide
The UN Human Rights Report of August 31, 2022 says what’s happening in Xinjiang constitutes “crimes against humanity”. In plain English, this is saying it is not genocide under the UN Genocide Convention. It confirms an earlier Amnesty International report in 2021 to the same effect. Both are clear implicit rejections of unsubstantiated genocide claims. Continue reading »
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Even-handed? No. Just inane
I think if I hear again, in some attempt at a supposed even-handedness an interviewer ask a representative of the Palestinian people in this terrible time, ‘do you also oppose the actions of Hamas on 7th October?’ I will puke. That is not a pleasant prospect. Continue reading »
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Labor not tribal enough for three of its own
The ACT Labor-led Government might lead the nation in many worthy ways and it might, too, you might think, especially six months out from an election, be vigilant to avoid what many might see as an embarrassing own goal. But no… Continue reading »
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TAFE shutting the door on the battlers
Recent figures show that around 30% of Australian school children do not have adequate reading skills. This 30% of Australian school children need vocational knowledge and skills to find a productive place in Australian life, but some will have their reading tested by TAFE then told, without a hint of irony, “You need to go Continue reading »
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Glencore and the patronising disposition of unaccountable power
The recent P&I article by Chris Douglas featuring Glencore and the Great Artesian Basin raised many genuine concerns, especially regarding the sophism of corporate social responsibility. These included Glencore’s predatory culture and rapacious deeds and the egregious conduct of many other extractive mining brigands across Australia and elsewhere around the globe. Continue reading »
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Does Australia owe Fiji $75 billion reparations for historical blackbirding?
In 2023, an American economics firm, Brattle, provided its reparation calculations to a symposium on Transatlantic Slavery Reparations chaired by international judge Patrick Robinson. Brattle calculated that the USA and slave-trading European countries owed the Caribbean and Americas US$130 trillion for wrongs done over a 400-year period. Continue reading »
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How the left became cheerleaders for US imperialism
Figureheads like the Guardian’s George Monbiot have wrecked the left’s ability to think critically, encouraging an analysis of power politics more suited to the playground. Continue reading »
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The stark monuments of conflict in Israel and Palestine
Visits to the historical sites of Israel and beyond provide stark reminders that the past – including the recent past – is always with us, with places and monuments marking conflicts of ideologies and conflicts of people. Continue reading »