Top 5
Used for weekly email
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New report reveals Islamophobia in Australia reaching crisis levels
The Islamophobia Register Australia officially launched its latest report, Islamophobia in Australia Report 5, on 13 March in Sydney to mark the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Continue reading »
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Gazan Ark: Reproductive violence and the right to life and death
While the biblical story of Noah’s Ark is certainly not the only ancient account of a devastating flood (the preceding Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, includes a story of the gods sending a great flood on earth), its basic plot of wrath, punishment, ethnic cleansing, and reproductive means of survival provides a compelling framework Continue reading »
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Australia-China relations: A question of trust
Let’s restore the trust in China that we once enjoyed. This was the key message I presented to an online forum titled Does China Threaten Australia’s Peace and Security hosted by the Australian Peace and Security Forum on 18 March. Following is a condensed version of my talk. Continue reading »
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To recover Australia’s sovereignty, vote strategically
There is a democratic tool at our disposal which is poorly understood and generally used ineffectively. That tool is Preferential Voting. Continue reading »
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Pine Gap – No price could ever be right
To the horror of the Australian defence and foreign policy establishment, Senator Jacqui Lambie had a characteristically sharp and to the point response to Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25% tariff on Australian steel exports to the United States. Continue reading »
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ANZUS and NATO are kaput and Trump doesn’t care
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have proven too gutless, so far, to speak frankly to Australians about the implications of the imposition of new tariffs by the US, the first of many, to be imposed on Australia. They have expressed some ritual regrets and said it was a poor reward for their sycophantic grovelling over Continue reading »
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EU welcomes its first dictatorship
Democracy has just been overthrown in an EU nation for the first time ever – with the tacit backing of the European Union itself. Buckle up: if the pre-emptive coup in Romania is allowed to stand, this means that the EU has torn up its own rule book and welcomed a dictatorship into the community. Continue reading »
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The Manichean moment is over
If Donald Trump has done nothing else, he should have convinced Australian strategic thinkers that the long-standing mantra of China-bad/America-good is no longer appropriate. Continue reading »
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Figuring out China: It’s still complicated
I visited Beijing in December for the first time since COVID, at the invitation of Renmin University and the Beijing Municipal Government. As well as attending the major conference they were hosting, I was keen to catch up with members of the network of public administration scholars I had helped to establish 15 years ago. Continue reading »
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The Australian: tool of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship?
The Australian has made itself the newspaper of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. This reflects the fact that Australia’s Right is part of a transnational network of networkers. It also conveys that these figures aim to shape the thinking of Australia’s “conservative” leaders in troubling directions. Continue reading »
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Anatomy of a public meeting: genocide a key election issue
Sunday evening in a crowded Glebe Town Hall in Sydney, the audience came to hear speakers address several objectives to “make candidates” attitude to genocide a key election issue, hold politicians accountable for genocide, vote for humanity”. Continue reading »
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The Australian War Memorial needs to be removed from the influence of international arms companies
Last week the ABC Four Corners program “Sacrifice“ highlighted the harsh reality that we have lost control of the Australian War Memorial, which is dedicated to remembering the many thousands of Australian lives impacted by war. This investigation exposed the way in which unscrupulous political decision-making has led to a major redevelopment that risks turning Continue reading »
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Slaughterhouse Syria
The terrorists set loose on Syria more than a decade ago were slaughtering Alawis, and now they are systematically slaughtering them again – in their thousands. Continue reading »
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Dutton has little faith in Medicare. Like Trump, he prefers culture wars
Peter Dutton does not really believe in Medicare. He is more interested in Trump-type culture wars than the health of Australians. Continue reading »
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Why is Israel such a big deal?
I’ll begin with a reminder, for the Zionists in the audience, of what antisemitism is. I grew up surrounded by adults with blue numbers tattooed on their forearms. My primary school teacher relentlessly picked on the three Jewish kids in her class. My high school refused to discipline a girl who punched me in the Continue reading »
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How the West was lost
Europe’s panicked response to the shift in Washington’s priorities raises a number of intriguing questions, not least why its leadership was so ill-prepared for the second coming of Donald Trump. Continue reading »
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No apologies over fabricated terror plot from pollies or lobby groups
When it comes to antisemitism, politicians in this country are often quick to jump on the claim without waiting for evidence. With notable and laudable exceptions like the Greens and independents such as Tasmanian federal MP Andrew Wilkie, it seems any allegation will do when it comes to the opportunity to imply Arab Australians, the Continue reading »
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Keir Starmer’s psychiatrist report leaked
Dr Edmund Freud of the European Centre for Political Pathologies recently completed a secret in-depth review of world leaders for the United Nations Security Council. His reports on President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer are now public, thanks to hackers, believed to be Russian, who have posted the findings on Tik-tok. Continue reading »
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Universalism the panacea for Palestine
Defence of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination is a collective responsibility fuelled by commitments to theory and ideology inherent in universalism. In domestic and foreign policies and in the conduct of personal relations, the values associated with universalism concern altruism and inclusiveness, each goal delivered in a spirit of generosity. Continue reading »
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Are America’s values our values anymore?
No issue in the forthcoming election is as important as Australia’s international identity and the crisis in the Western alliance about its senior partner, the United States. The alliance is fragmenting and, it appears, President Trump is daring Europe to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression independently. He wants NATO members to double their defence spending Continue reading »
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Noicide: advent of a new Dark Age
Something far more sinister than mere genocide is unfolding in the United States and other advanced nations around the world: the forces of darkness have declared open war on human knowledge. Continue reading »
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Dutton’s stuff-ups: N-plan could add up to $600 per year to bills by 2030
A new report has torpedoed Peter Dutton’s claim that the Coalition’s nuclear power plan for Australia would be 44% cheaper than Labor’s plan for renewables, finding instead that it would inflate average consumer electricity bills by up to 41% between now and 2030. Continue reading »
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Challenging ‘antisemitism’
The definition of antisemitism has been hijacked and devalued, most recently in the craven acceptance by vice-chancellors that it should also cover some criticism of Israel. This article argues that the time has come to push back by actively resisting the misapplication of the term and restoring it to its proper meaning – hatred of Continue reading »
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The AUKUS chickens are coming home to roost, already
In its response to AUKUS with its objective of militarily confronting China in the South China Sea, we should not be surprised by Chinese naval vessels sailing around Australia to pick up some intelligence or at least showing us their growing naval power. Continue reading »
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Russophobia and Sinophobia: projection, narcissism and denial
There is a certain cadence to decline, a rhythm of arrogance and desperation, of miscalculation and delusion. The late-stage empire, unmoored from reality yet clinging to myths of its own indispensability, lashes out at perceived threats not because they are real, but because it cannot conceive of a world in which it is no longer Continue reading »
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Minority government: what will it look like?
After the election Australia is likely to have a minority government with the independents, who will hold the balance of power, negotiating each issue on its merits. But democracy is best served if each independent states before the election which party they will support to form a government by guaranteeing supply. Continue reading »
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Is there a shift in our appreciation of dissent?
Since the Israel/US alliance went into full-throttle war machine mode in the name of Israel’s right to self-defence, fissures have appeared in the global community, delineating various camps. Roughly speaking: those who support Israel, those who condemn Israel, and those who question Israel. Continue reading »
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Ukraine deal: Beware of Americans bearing gifts
Witnessing the extraordinary cage fight this week between Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump in the Oval Office provided an eye-popping glimpse into what is normally kept behind closed doors when world leaders meet to nut out matters of great consequence. Continue reading »
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Albanese is as misinformed on the US alliance as live-fire drills
The petulant demand of tribute to the Trump empire and his transactional ethos surely now challenges the agreed balance sheet between Australia and America. Continue reading »
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Why I signed an ad urging rejection of Trump’s Gaza plan
In the swirl of horrendous news following the US president-elect’s taking his oath of office, there’s been one shining light. On 13 February, an ad boldly declaring “No to Ethnic Cleansing” appeared in the New York Times. More than 350 American rabbis, creatives and activists put their names to it, protesting against the president’s blithe Continue reading »
