The fear that the world is falling apart is not new. It stretches back into antiquity. End of the world fears have manifested over thousands of years. For almost all recorded history, and no doubt beforehand, there have been wars, violence, greed, and cruelty committed in the name of some collective cause. For most of recorded human history, there has been slavery, hunger, famines, plagues, mass killings, genocides, human sacrifice, mass migrations, extraordinary poverty, mass illiteracy, wars of conquest, endless atrocities, tyranny and relentless exploitation of people and land. (more…)
Adam Hughes Henry
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The rules based international order? A pledge to American empire
When states says that they support the rules-based international order, they are pledging their support for American empire. No more, no less. (more…)
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The gatekeepers have spoken
Since 1901, the often-self-appointed gatekeepers of Australia’s defence and diplomacy have had the greatest difficulty with the idea of accountability. (more…)
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Whistleblowers beware
Individuals who come forward to report unethical and illegal behaviours in their professions and workplaces, face a fateful decision. While books, articles and movies are inspired by courageous truth tellers who do not stay silent, who refuse to turn a blind eye or acquiesce to corrupt forces, the personal and professional costs they will experience stay with them for the rest of their lives. (more…)
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Tenancy rights offer opportunities for change
The threat of being unable to afford to buy a home is now supplanted by the fear of being unable to afford ever increasing rents. (more…)
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Timeless tale about the evils of corrupt power and its enablers
Hans Christian Anderson’s folktale The Emperor’s New Clothes provides a salutary reminder of how easy it is to stay silent about, and remain complicit in, corruption when the consequences of challenging such behaviour risk personal comforts.
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Will the real Scott Morrison please stand up?
Since what has often called a miracle federal election victory, there has been a strange ongoing discussion about Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Who is he? What does he believe? (more…)
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ADAM HUGHES HENRY. Unresolved questions of “Independence”.
One of the core areas of interest for Gough Whitlam and his government in the realm of international affairs was a process of modernisation in Australia’s engagement with international law and its impact on the domestic scene. Some of this related to imperial practices that continued to play a central role in national civic life (God Save the Queen or Imperial Honours), but most other activities were strongly connected to numerous international treaties that the Whitlam government endorsed and legal domestic offshoots within areas such as indigenous rights or racial discrimination. The desire to present a more modern and even cosmopolitan Australia to the world (and its own region) was a driving factor in leaving behind the last vestiges of the White Australia policy, earnestly opposing Apartheid and promoting multiculturalism. In terms of the cultural and political relationship with Asia (another key part of the Whitlam program), this was not only sensible but a practical objective. (more…)