Remember Bashar al-Assad? The man who crushed his own people under a mountain of rubble and fear? Who turned peaceful protests into mass graves, dropped barrel bombs on neighbourhoods, and used chemical weapons on children? (more…)
Author: Author Submission
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Boiling the frog of constitutional reform
The case to sever the constitutional link between Australia and the UK monarchy is self-evident to most. And, to be clear, this link is expressly to the monarch of the UK in that capacity, not to some titularly separate notional monarch of Australia. (more…)
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Nuclear power is not safe, it’s more dangerous than ever
Media and campaign coverage of the rekindled pitch for Australia to embrace nuclear power has focused on the poor economics, the protracted timelines of implementation, and dubious real-world benefits as a climate strategy. (more…)
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Would an Iranian nuke really be so terrible?
Since the Iranian people overthrew the US-backed despotism of the Shah in 1979, Washington’s 4½-decade campaign of maximum pressure has been couched in terms of countering the Islamic Republic’s “destabilisation” of the region. (more…)
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God doesn’t save the day – oh, but yes, they do!
Hi. I’m responding, if I may be so bold, to Eric Hunter’s lovely, heartfelt post on February 10, “Why doesn’t God save the day?” I want to answer Eric’s question in a very direct and positive way, but also (shamelessly) put in a plug for my new book, The God who doesn’t Exist, out now through ATF Press (see the link below*). (more…)
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Was Israel complicit in the 7 October 2023 massacre?
The dreadful atrocities by Hamas on 7 October 2023 horrified the world and triggered the destruction of Gaza, the deaths of more than 50,000 Gazan men, women and children and the wounding of tens of thousands more. (more…)
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Palestine is the issue to consider when you enter the voting booth
On the day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the election date, Jews Against the Occupation ’48 issued an open statement addressing the current government in the hope that Labor would shift its policies on Israel/Palestine. (more…)
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Israeli practices exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The Gaza Strip has witnessed catastrophic humanitarian crises during the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation. The war has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, leading to the near-total collapse of the healthcare system and essential services. (more…)
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The West and inconvenient memory: The destruction of history
“Nations without a past are contradictions in terms. What makes a nation is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past and historians are the people who produce it.” – Eric Hobsbawm (more…)
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Trump’s Ukraine-Middle East hypocrisy
Vance: Is Trump “aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now”? (more…)
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Is DEI really about justice or just what’s comfortable?
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have been under attack lately – defunded in the US, dismissed as “divisive” by Australia’s Opposition Leader and treated as a box-ticking exercise in many workplaces. But after everything we’ve seen in Gaza, isn’t it time to ask – What is DEI really about? (more…)
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A suitable piece of real estate
Exactly 45 years ago, Dr Desmond Ball, a genuine academic researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, wrote his seminal study of the American military and intelligence gathering “facilities” located in Australia. (more…)
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Absurdity and satire: The only logical approach to international politics
We live in absurd times. The nature of our current society and political landscape can only be described as “buffoonery”, and the most appropriate method of dealing with such matters is satire. But so has it always been! (more…)
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The Pacific is fighting for climate justice: Will Australia listen?
The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) participated in the final day of the Sydney Climate Action Week, on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and had the privilege of listening to Indigenous and First Nations stories, learning from their wisdom. (more…)
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Go north, old man
Donald Trump’s pledge to push the boundary of the United States of America 2000 kilometres north is not another rush of blood, but channels 300 years of imperial rivalries over resources. (more…)
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Narcissism in politics to the fore
Following World War II, a branch of American intellectuals became preoccupied with the notion of totalitarianism. (more…)
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Gove and the native title revolution
The High Court’s judgment in March 2025 in favour of the Gumatj people has reaffirmed the centrality of the Indigenous peoples of Gove in the Northern Territory in the native title revolution that was conceived in a case against mining company, Nabalco Ltd, in the 1960s and continued with the High Court’s Mabo and Wik judgements in the 1990s. (more…)
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Behind Australia’s antisemitism hoax
Australia’s recent wave of political scaremongering and hyperbolic reporting about antisemitic attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues, businesses and a day care centre has finally subsided, but its impact is still being eagerly exploited by right-wing media outlets, pro-Israel lobby groups and politicians of all stripes. (more…)
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Who’s really the boss? Taking back control of government
I know it’s an absurd thought, but in this absurd world, what’s wrong with dreaming. If we the taxpayers, are the ones funding the salaries of politicians and public officials, doesn’t that make us their employers? And if we are their employers, shouldn’t we have the power to hold them accountable for their performance? (more…)
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Restoring tax equity for the low-paid should be an election issue
The critical issue in the May 2025 election is likely to be about the rising costs of living, with competing views about whether the Labor Party is responsible for them and which of the major parties is most likely to address them. (more…)
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No such ceasefire
As the latest ceasefire has predictably ended, will the world start taking notice of the Palestinians again? There’s been a stark absence of coverage in mainstream media of the ongoing decimation of Gaza and the West Bank. I imagine the average citizen believes it’s all okay now, the onslaught has ended and there’s nothing more to worry about. Nothing to see here, folks. Phew, the Palestinians are safe. (more…)
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The science of being absolutely wrong
Scientists, who generally wear white laboratory jackets so they are not confused with economists, have a canon of sacred texts. Pride of place is occupied by the journal Nature, which is now a collection of specialised magazines that cover scientific advances in most measurable phenomena. Of course, trades and professions also have their stable of news and reference works while the public have Fox, the Murdoch press and social media. (more…)
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China’s solar space station: A game-changer in renewable energy
China is making the once sci-fi dream of space-based solar power a reality and leaving the West scrambling to keep up. Imagine a kilometre-wide solar array orbiting Earth, harvesting limitless, uninterrupted solar energy and beaming it back home, day and night, without the interference of clouds or darkness. The China Academy of Space Technology is spearheading this geostationary solar power station and with a 2028-2050 roadmap, Beijing is set to redefine the global energy game. (more…)
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Active Management – Rethinking our approach to forest stewardship
Our recent research raises an important and challenging question: Are our well-intentioned management interventions like thinning in high conservation value forests truly serving nature, or are they inadvertently accelerating the degradation of these critical ecosystems? (more…)
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Zionism, anti-Zionism, and the role of psychological coping strategies
As both the actively enabled genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the sanctioning of those who protest it continue, the associated psychological challenges likewise continue unabated. It is not only the international `rules-based’ order which is subverted (with all the political, legal, social, and economic dimensions that entails). When any pretence to a moral order is also subverted, the psychological scaffolding by which we navigate existence is at risk as well. (more…)
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Questions to ask political candidates about peace
What does it take to build peace in Australia and the world today? This is a question that has occupied the minds of a group of peace practitioners and activists in the network “Raising Peace”. Concerned with a seemingly unstoppable acceptance of war and the downplaying of peace in public discourse, over the last few years Raising Peace has heard from dozens of people who work on peace from the political to the personal arenas. (more…)
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Where are the honest and critical reports?
Can any self-respecting journalist or political commentator inform me and many Australians as to why they continue to bolster the Australia/United States togetherness as though it is the same relationship of years past? The United States is not a friend – it is increasingly becoming a pariah state, joining its very best friend, Israel. (more…)
